Welcome to the new Arsenal

Long the subject of rumors, it looks like the Colorado Rapids are about to become real Arses as they are set to announce a "groundbreaking international soccer partnership" with Arsenal of the English Premier League.

It looks like this deal will mean "the teams play against each other in friendlies, work on coaching initiatives, and develop players" and will also lead to a name change for Colorado. It might also mean that Rapids owner Stan Kroenke is becoming a shareholder in Arsenal.

The name options are Arsenal Colorado or Colorado Arsenal. Personally, Colorado Arsenal sounds better to me, but it really matters little. Expect the team's colors to change, again, to the maroon seen in their new logo.

It also looks like Colorado is going to start making use of this partnership soon as the club just announced yesterday that they are going to England from March 8-13 for pre-season training. And where will they train? "Fernando Clavijo’s side will be training at the Arsenal Football Club’s Training Center at Colney."

The more involvement between MLS and the EPL (and other major leagues around the world) the better. These agreements allow MLS players an opportunity for improvement and a greater chance of recognition from across the Atlantic. For the clubs of Europe, this allows them to expand their brand. One of the hardest challenges soccer faces in America is the fact that the best don't play here. However, if MLS can get folks interested in their league because of the connection to other leagues, they will be on to something wonderful.

The formal announcement of this agreement will happen today at 3pm ET.

Update: Colorado will not change their name, just their colors and Stan Kroenke is not buying into Arsenal.

So it will be Celtic this year, let's just hope Becks doesn't dress

The Colorado Rapids and their new stadium might have lost out on MLS cup to RFK, but they will still get to play host the other two big MLS games this season.

They were already selected to kick off the season against DC United on April 7, however, now they will also host the MLS All-Star game. And this year the best MLS has to offer will play against Scottish giants Celtic.

They might not have the fan base of Chivas Guadalajara (2003), Brian McBride (Fulham, 2005) or the world spotlight of Chelsea (2006), but Celtic is a fantastic team with a wonderful tradition. Yes, DC United mopped the pitch with them during the visit to the states last year, but don't judge them just by that.

As much fun as it will be to watch Celtic on ABC, there is something very disturbing about all this as MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis has said that Beckham might take the field as a MLS All-Star.

"If he's available, he will be available to be selected (for the All-Star game)," Gazidis said. "There's two commissioner's picks. I leave you to speculate whether he'll get selected."

The game will take place on July 19th. If all goes as it currently looks, Beckham will still be part of Real Madrid till June 30. The schedule has not been released, but changes are he would have only played in, at most, three MLS matches before the All-Star game (and there is actually a very good chance he will have played in none).

There is no way that any player should be called an All-Star of the league after playing so few matches. I know MLS is so excited to expose their new multi-million dollar player to the US public, but let's not lose control here. If the All-Star game is a reward for good play during the first portion of the season, how can you place someone on the team that missed most or all of that season?

Beckham will, if nothing else, bring a lot of media attention to the league, but please do not insult the league by calling him one of the best before he has even proved it.