Trip to LA is No Vacation for Barbados

A disappointing crowd of just over 11,000 wasn't disappointed by the US National Soccer team, which crushed Barbados by a score of 8-0 this afternoon at the Home Depot Center in Carson. The World Cup qualifier match was the team's largest margin of victory ever and tied their record for most goals scored.

While the game wasn't much of a contest, it was a rare scoring spectacle in a sport that many Americans clearly don't appreciate -- or even understand. The game's two most frequently confused rules (offsides and handling) were enforced perfectly by the officiating crew, yet the crowd booed loudly on at least two occasions out of sheer ignorance. It made the so-called Lakers fans seem hardcore.

Those in-the-know were entertained by Freddy Adu's blazing first steps, a pair of goals for both Clint Dempsey and Brian Ching, and Barbados' bumbling defense. The fans might have felt sorry for the goalkeeper, but he does live on a tropical island and leads the life of a professional athlete. Boo hoo.

There actually was a good reason to run up the score. The US and Barbados are playing a home-and-home series that will be determined by combined goals. Hypothetically, the United States can now lose by seven in Barbados on June 22 and still advance.

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In other footie news today, Brazil was stunned 2-0 by Paraguay -- a nation that doesn't even show up in a Blackberry spell check. David Beckham was a good little celebrity and attended the Lakers game.

AP photo by Ric Francis.