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The Los Angeles Galaxy will aim to complete one of the most remarkable transformations in Major League Soccer history on Saturday when they host the New York Red Bulls chasing a record-extending sixth MLS Cup crown. A year ago, the California franchise had hit rock bottom, plummeting to their worst ever regular season record to finish one place off the bottom of the Western Conference. The team that had once been a home to the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were engulfed in crisis, with fans boycotting fixtures after nearly a decade of failure on the field. Moreover, the Galaxy's status as one of MLS's glamour clubs had been diminished by the arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, as well as the emergence of city rivals Los Angeles FC, winners of the MLS Cup in 2022. The febrile atmosphere at the Galaxy prompted team ownership to shake up their front office, with Will Kuntz appointed general manager to replace long-time predecessor Chris Klein, who was fired in May 2023. The turnaround since those changes has been dramatic. After winning just eight fixtures in the 2023 season, the Galaxy under head coach Greg Vanney won a record-equalling 19 games this season to finish joint top of the table, second only to leaders LAFC on goal difference. The Galaxy kept up their winning ways in the postseason, swatting aside Colorado 9-1 on aggregate to wrap up their first round series, before thrashing Minnesota United 6-2 and then squeezing past Seattle 1-0 last weekend. Those results have left the club on the threshold of a first MLS Cup title since 2014 and a record sixth championship overall. Victory in Saturday's showpiece in Carson would be especially sweet for Vanney, who appeared in three MLS Cup finals with the Galaxy as a player in 1996, 1999 and 2001 -- and lost all three. Reflecting on his team's journey to this year's final, Vanney said this week his team had thrived under the pressure of being expected to challenge for silverware. "The expectation is to be in games like this, to win trophies and win championships," Vanney said. "This group has come out and attacked it from day one and hasn't been afraid of it or in awe of it -- and that's one of the beauties of this group. "I'm excited for this group and this opportunity and now the objective is to win it and put the stamp on it, rewriting a new group of players and new legacy for this organisation." Vanney's task has become more complicated by an injury to star midfielder Riqui Puig, who suffered torn knee ligaments in last week's Western Conference final win over Seattle and will miss Saturday's game. "He's the ultimate competitor," Vanney said. "He wants to win, compete, and take responsibility on the field. He drives the team in so many ways. "We're going to have to adapt, and we're going to have to adapt in a collective way." The Galaxy meanwhile will be wary of a New York Red Bulls line-up that have ripped up the form book en route to the final. After finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference -- 27 points behind leaders Inter Miami -- the Red Bulls stunned reigning champions Columbus in the first round of the playoffs before wins on the road over rivals New York City FC and Orlando to book their place in their first MLS Cup since 2008. New York's Scotland international midfielder Lewis Morgan says the team is unfazed by Saturday's assignment in Los Angeles. "For me, it doesn't really matter where it is: it's playoff football," Morgan said this week. "It's not the regular season. These games are more cagey. You go 1-0 up, we defend a little bit deeper and we're relying on guys at the back. There have been massive performances." rcw/bbFormer Kinmen county commissioner Lee Wo-shih is pictured in an undated photograph.Photo: Taipei Times By Chang Wen-chuan and Jason Pan / Staff reporters The Supreme Court yesterday rejected an appeal by former Kinmen county commissioner Lee Wo-shih (李沃士) in a corruption case, upholding his seven-year-and-six-month sentence. 請繼續往下閱讀... The court affirmed Lee’s earlier conviction of “taking a bribe while on official duty” in contravention of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), and ruled that he must serve the prison term imposed by the High Court in a retrial in May. He would also be deprived of his civil rights for five years. That was the final verdict on the case. The May trial had also overturned an earlier trial that found Lee’s wife, Su Feng-ying (蘇鳳英), guilty of being an accomplice in the crime; she was acquitted. 請繼續往下閱讀... Lee, representing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), served as commissioner from 2009 to 2014. He had authority over Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor — known for its sorghum-fermented kaoliang and other liquor products — as it was owned and operated by the county government. Investigations found that Lee had two main financial backers for his election campaign: a technology company chairman surnamed Hsu (徐) and a marketing firm chairman surnamed Huang (黃). They had bankrolled Lee for many years and helped him win two terms as county councilor in the early 2000s. Hsu and Huang originally wanted Lee to give them a monopoly over the casino and gaming business in Kinmen County, but they met opposition from regulatory bodies and other sectors, the ruling said. The two decided they wanted to obtain the rights to sell Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor products in China instead, as the demand in the Chinese market could make big profits. Lee prompted company executives to go for a new marketing campaign for its high-end products, but Hsu and Huang said the retail prices were too high so margins would be low, it said. The ruling said Lee and Su were invited for dinner at Hsu’s house on July 2011, where he was requested to ask officials to adjust the prices to raise the margins from liquor sales in China. Su was given a paper bag containing bundles of cash amounting to NT$1 million (US$30,762), which was then handed to Lee, the ruling said. Lee later used his authority to pressure the company to lower its prices and grant discounts to retailers at below 60 percent, it said. Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor executives held an internal discussion and in a final meeting in October 2011 decided to scrap the marketing program, and the public tender was canceled, the ruling said. Soon after the company’s decision, someone filed a complaint to prosecutors and alleged that Lee and Su had taken bribes, which led to the investigation in late 2011. 新聞來源: TAIPEI TIMES 不用抽 不用搶 現在用APP看新聞 保證天天中獎 點我下載APP 按我看活動辦法

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