Tim Parker and Aaron Long sat on a bench under a blazing sun at the New York Red Bulls training facility on Thursday, shedding their shirts in order to catch some rays and bask in the first truly hot day of the season.
The Red Bulls center-back tandem will be feeling heat of a different kind on Saturday when they face Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy, the most dangerous striker in the league and one of the most in-form teams in MLS. The match-up comes a week after Ibrahimovic's highly-publicized run-in with Real Salt Lake defender Nedum Onuoha, who bashed Ibrahimovic for trash-talk during the Galaxy's 2-1 win against RSL.