Oh, where to begin.

Marcelo Gallardo participated in full workouts and seems set to start Saturday night at Chivas USA. "He has looked as good as he's looked all year," teammate Santino Quaranta said.

Luciano Emilio, who has a quadriceps strain and sat out a portion of training, declined an interview request. While walking away, he said, "No, I don't play Saturday."

Asked about Emilio's status, Coach Tom Soehn said: "He's going. We are just in a situation where we have not been getting enough out of that position and it is time to give someone else a shot."

Who?

"We haven't decided that yet."

However, later during his interview session, when asked to confirm that Emilio is traveling but not starting, Soehn said: "I didn't say that either. You never know. We have a few days before we decide what our lineup is going to be. We're leaving early so that we can make sure we get there and figure out what all our options are going to be."

What does Emilio have to do to turn things around?

"He just has to dedicate himself to the game. He has got to apply himself more and work harder like everybody else in every other position. The harder you work at it, the more you are going to get out of it."

What is his problem right now?

"It is a combination of things. I think he's not very sharp in some areas. He has got to work really hard to make sure he gets back to his form of last year."

Fred, while jogging around the field during workouts, was asked if he's heading to L.A. with the ballclub. "No, no," he said. Soehn confirmed he's not traveling. "We could probably chance it, but you risk losing him for an extended period of time," Soehn said. "But he is making progress."

Devon McTavish jogged on the side and appears unlikely to play.

Marc Burch said he expects to return to his left back position in a 4-4-2 and Quaranta said he expects to start on the right side of midfield in a 4-4-2 with Bryan Namoff providing support behind him at right back.

Domenic Mediate participated in workouts again and would seem to be a prime candidate to start in central defense if Gonzalo Peralta is not available. Here's the deal with Peralta:

He missed training the previous two days to be with his wife, who is late in pregnancy, suffering from a virus and on bedrest. Peralta will not travel with the team today, but if his wife improves, he could fly to L.A. tomorrow or Saturday.

So to summarize.....

Emilio is traveling but seems unlikely to start. Gallardo is fine. Fred and McTavish remain out. Peralta is questionable.

Got it?

You may have noticed that Peter Nowak included a familiar name -- Josh Gros -- as an assistant coach for his U.S. under-23 national team's trip to France for the Toulon International Tournament, which begins next week.

"We didn't talk about it all. It was a complete surprise," Gros told the Insider before boarding the team's transatlantic flight last night in New York. "He just gave me a call a few weeks ago and asked if I would be interested. I was surprised and excited."

Gros, as you recall, stepped away from D.C. United and competitive soccer after four seasons at age 25 after suffering a series of concussions and head injuries. He has moved on with his life, joining an engineering firm in McLean, Va. His title is junior engineer and he has made site visits in D.C. and worked on projects in Maryland. His bosses gave him time off in order to join the U-23s, who will play Turkey, Ivory Coast and Italy in the group stage of this major tuneup for the Summer Olympics.

Though Gros initially said he was going to take a year off and re-evaluate his situation next winter, retirement seems certain.

"I haven't completely shot down the idea of returning, but based on what the doctors have told me, it's probably a bad idea to try and play again," he said. "So the answer is probably, 'No'."

Gros has been working in his free time with the DCU youth academy and will continue to pursue opportunities in coaching.

"I'm enjoying it and it keeps me involved," he said. "It's the next best thing to playing."

*MLS tonight: Real Salt Lake (2-3-2) at Colorado (3-4, first place!), 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

*The Celtic family loses Tommy Burns.

*The transcript from my online chat yesterday. (Ignore the reference to Martin Palermo being from Mexico -- brain freeze.)

*Joel Senior, a Howard University sophomore midfielder, was among 25 players called into Jamaica national team training camp this week.

*DCU boss Kevin Payne will make an appearance on Comcast SportsNet's "Washington Post Live" today. The show airs from 5-6 p.m. and replays at 11 p.m.

Back soon with a Josh Gros update.

I'll end this thread with Boca 2, Atlas 2 (Copa Libertadores quarterfinals, first leg):

Insider loyalists have known for some time that RFK Stadium would be the site for the USA-Cuba qualifier in October (assuming both advance next month). Today, the USSF officially announced that game, as well as Toyota Park in suburban Chicago for the USA-Trinidad match in September and Dick's Sporting Goods Park near Denver for the the USA-Guatemala meeting in November.

Sept. 10: USA-T&T in Bridgeview, Ill., 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Oct. 11: USA-Cuba in Washington, 4 p.m. (ESPN Classic)
Nov. 19: USA-Guatemala in Commerce City, Colo., 10 p.m. (ESPN2)

All matchups are contingent upon the teams winning their two-game, second-round series in June.

Click here for full details.

*From the Kasey Keller podcast on the USSF Web site, this great line about the reaction from Fulham owner Mohamed Al-Fayed when the club avoided relegation last weekend:

"He was saying the whole time, 'Keep believing, if you believe you can do it, you can do it.' He was very supportive. His big quote was, 'Cavier and Viagra for everybody!' He's crazy."

To listen to the entire podcast, click here.

*To watch video highlights of Natasha Kai's hat trick and the USA's 6-0 victory over Canada at Estadio RFK, click here.

*CONCACAF has outlined the format for its inaugural Champions League, which begins this summer. Click here for details.

Before we get to the TFC stadium issues, let's stay in Canada.....

*Former DCUer Nicholas Addlery scored in USL1 Vancouver's 2-1 exhibition victory over David Beckham and the Galaxy before more than 37,000 spectators in Edmonton.

*TFC supporters are suggesting a protest during the MLS All-Star Game to express their dissatisfaction with the possibility of BMO Field becoming the home of a Canadian Football League team. This dispatch was passed along to me from a supporters' message board:

The Toronto FC Supporter Groups believe it is time we turn our concerns into actions. The possibility of BMO Field losing its SSS label and being shared with the Argos is a very real possibility and something that we are aware that could become a reality. So no longer in our minds is this something that we can forget, dismiss and move on, we need to take actions, and not only during one game but actions during the season and off-season. Actions that will ensure we have done all possible to avoid this scenario. I want to be clear, TFC, BMO Field Staff and more so the Argos are not the enemy, we are protesting the possibility of our BMO Field no longer being a SSS in seasons to come. For some this may be an Anti-Argo movement, but we don't want to look it just as that. During these protests we encourage everyone to join in and participate, but we also ask you to keep the banners civil, clean and classy. You don't achieve much with vulgar language, it shows poorly on you and on what we are trying to achieve. Protest Date: All-Star Game. Protest: Everybody wears black. We are asking all TFC Supporters to wear a black t-shirt for this game. No Supporter banners, only "anti-Argo" or anti-pigskin football banners. Why the All-Star Game? Well, no game will have more media exposure than the all-star game. Not only that something like this would get coverage over the media not just in Canada but in the USA and also would put some pressure on the City of Toronto, and MLS in general. Most people are not willing to do anything resembling a protest during a TFC match for many reasons that there is no point in illustrating, so an ALL-STAR game is also the best way since TFC is not directly involved. So it is not like we are turning our backs on the team.

What do you think? Good idea?

*As your favorite soccer/culture blogger, I was trying to find the right music for D.C. United's back-to-back shutout losses over a recent five-day period. How about "Five Days in May" by Blue Rodeo, the countryish band from Toronto? (DCU does, in fact, play TFC twice next week.)

Sometimes the world begins

To set you up on your feet again

It wipes the tears from your eyes

How will you ever know

The way that circumstances go

Always going to hit you by surprise

I know my past

You were there

In everything I've done

You are the one

Onward.....

*Click here to read my DCU story from the print edition.

*Click here to submit questions for today's live online chat and to read the transcript later. The fun begins at 1 p.m. ET.

*UEFA Cup final today in Manchester: Glasgow Rangers vs. Zenit St. Petersburg (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel). Visiting supporters have been warned about racist taunts.

*Copa Libertadores quarterfinals today: Atlas-Boca Juniors (6 p.m., Fox Sports en Espanol) and Fluminense-Sao Paulo (9:30 p.m. FSE). Tomorrow: San Lorenzo-Quito (5:30, FSE) and America-Santos (8:30, FSE).

*For the few thousand fans who show at Home Depot Center on Saturday night for DCU (2-5) vs. Chivas USA (1-4-2), you are in for a treat! Mickey Mouse Ears while supplies last, and Mick (not to be confused with Roberto "The Rat" Ayala or Kevin "Mighty Mouse" Keegan) will make special appearances on the field prior to the match and at halftime.

Launch your MLS/Mickey Mouse jokes in 3...2...1...

Unless there is breaking news, I probably will not join you again today.

Share your thoughts on these topics or anything else transpiring on Planet Futbol.

For no apparent reason, I leave you with footy-lovin' SpongeBob SquarePants (known as SpongeBob Schwammkopf in German) and friends singing the Bayern Munich supporters song:

Just when you think you've nailed down a juicy item along comes more information.

Remember this morning when I told you a German club had been told it would have to pay at least $7 million for Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore? Now I am hearing that MLS turned down $8 million from Reading in January and is looking for something in the neighborhood of $10 million. The Reading-Altidore connection is not new, but the dollar figures are.

Stay tuned.....

[update on the update!]

Sorry to interrupt the lively discussion on Toronto streamers. Good stuff!

Marcelo Gallardo (groin) and Fred (quad) did not practice -- jogging and stretching only -- while Devon McTavish (foot) said he is making progress and might be available Saturday night at Chivas USA (10:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel). Domenic Mediate (hamstring) is training again.

Gonzalo Peralta missed practice to be with his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child soon.

UPDATE: Turns out, Fred's right quad is fine. But as he was rehabbing last week, he said he pulled his left hamstring.

Zach Wells, on Kevin Payne's pointed comments after Thursday's match: "As an observer who is watching the whole game, he has the right to call everyone out. I don't think anyone from the players' perspective can really argue with anything he said. He is completely right. How can we argue when we are in last place? It's gone on too long. We need to snap out of it."

So let's suppose Gallardo and Fred are out again and McTavish and Mediate are available for a few minutes in the second half. What's your starting lineup this weekend? Keep it the same as last Thursday? Or make changes?