Beckham Makes US Debut

American soccer's great British hope was cheered, and tackled in his debut yesterday. David Beckham made has first appearance with  the LA Galaxy, subbing in for about 15 minutes in the team's loss to Chelsea FC. After a roaring standing ovation, Beckham's uneventful stint on the field was ended by a tackle that took him down and left him clutching his already-injured left ankle.

Beckham had been touch-and-go to play all week because of the ankle injury. "The ankle has swollen up slightly, but that was going to happen anyway, so we’ll see how it is tomorrow," he told reporters after the game. He holds a $6.5 million a year contract with the Galaxy, who hope his celebrity status might draw indifferent Americans to the sport. (More soccer stories.)