Pregame From Estadio RFK

-- Kickoff will not be until 8:20 p.m. Blame Fox Soccer Channel. (For those taping the game on TiVo or DVR, you might want to program the 10-10:30 slot as well.)

-- Fred is in the media guide. He is, indeed, wearing No. 7. Still awaiting international clearance before he officially joins the club. He has arrived at RFK with his reps and was given the tour of the stadium and offices by Dave Kasper.

-- As you may have seen earlier, third-string goalie Shawn Crowe and rookie Brad North, who has been sidelined with a leg injury, signed developmental contracts. So if you include Fred, the club has 26 players under contract -- two below the maximum.

-- Lots of Chivas fans have already arrived. On my drive into town on I-66, Mexican flags hanging from windows of cars with West Virginia plates. Traffic ain't pretty.

-- Field looks much better than the Olimpia match two weeks ago. Of course, the steady rain now falling is not going to help matters.

-- Starting lineups:
Chivas: Michel, Magallon, Martinez, Rodriguez, Reynoso, Mejia, Pineda, Morales, Bravo, Santana, Bautista.
DCU: Perkins, Erpen, Boswell, Namoff, Olsen, Carroll, Simms, Gomez, Gros, Moreno, Emilio.

Houston 2, Pachuca 0 (final)