Rapids Class VI

MLS Random News

(Updated @ 4pm today) Here's a few bits that might be interesting to the MLS & US Soccer enthusiast.

MLS Roster Deadline Today
As of March 1st, all teams must pare down their rosters to 28 total players: 18 senior roster and 10 developmental players. Look for announcements of players cut throughout the day from various clubs, and official word from all clubs by tomorrow.

American Idol
From the return of British Royalty department, we've received news that Posh is set to become the new American Idol! Huh. Didn't know she could sing.

New MLS Player Transfer Fee Policy Implemented
Here's the practical implementation of MLS Clubs getting to keep more $$$ from a player transfer fee (Frank Dell'Apa, Boston Globe):

"The timing of Clint Dempsey's move to Fulham FC was optimal for the Revolution. Dempsey's transfer was worth $4 million, a Major League Soccer record, and it happened to be the first significant move of a player since the league's board of governors voted to increase teams' shares in transfer fees.

So it seems the Revolution are in position to make significant additions, since their portion of the Dempsey transfer is $2.64 million. Previously, MLS teams received very little of the transfer fee and had no direct control in reinvesting that money. But though the Revolution have received more transfer money than any previous MLS team, they can use only $500,000 of it for an "allocated player." The other $2.14 million must be "reinvested in the MLS product in some way," according to MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis. "It could be training facilities, player development, it could be infrastructure."

The $500,000 limit has been placed on the Revolution for competitive reasons. If allowed to use all of the transfer money, the Revolution "could swamp the league this year," Gazidis said. "They would have so much money within the traditional MLS system. It would be very unbalanced. It's not Beckham money, but it's enough money for a significant player."

Full-time Wankers
U.S. Soccer has announced it will employ four referees on a full-time basis for the first time, a move that hopefully will raise the quality of officiating in MLS.

Sounds cool to me. Finally we can finally expect a little more from our officials, and yell that much louder when we see the same ol' blind calls from them!

Equal Opportunity Alert: Looks like we can yell at the women again, beginning next year (from an L.A. paper)
"A women's professional soccer league, running partially in tandem with Major League Soccer and operating in some cases in MLS stadiums, will be launched in the spring of 2008 with at least six and possibly eight teams, including one in Los Angeles. Locally, the team will be owned by AEG, which operates the Galaxy, and will play at the Home Depot Center, sometimes as part of doubleheaders with the Galaxy."

Bizzy gNATS
And, finally, with a tune-up exhibition against China June 2, the USMNT is bizzzzy this summer. Take note of your favorite players that will go missing from MLS for a while!
June 2 vs China
Gold Cup...
June 6-24 (across U.S.)

Copa América...
June 28 vs Argentina
July 2 vs Paraguay
July 5 vs Columbia
July 6-15 if the US wins, they'll keep playing

And finally, bad news for FC Dallas? Bummer!
"FCD shocked to learn it dealt for damaged goods" reads the headline. Awww.

"FC Dallas officials said they weren't aware that Adrian Serioux had an injured left knee when the club traded for him last November. The defender/midfielder underwent successful surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss about half of the season.

"He said that he had minor injury problems on and off for quite a few years," Morrow said. "It was a shock for us to see how serious his condition was." FC Dallas gave up All-Star midfielder Ronnie O'Brien for Serioux, who was left unprotected by Houston during the expansion draft. FC Dallas learned of the injury during training camp. "Without being too controversial, it's something that the league needs to look at," Morrow said.

Class VI begins selling single game tickets

Our Grand Poobah and our Rapids Account Manager are kickin' ass, takin' names on your behalf.

Literally! (about the takin' names part)

Beginning Right Now Class VI is the first and only organization (including the Rapids) to be selling single-game tickets for each Colorado Rapids home game in 2007!

What, not good enough? Let me sweeten the deal a bit.

Class VI members can now order single tickets for any game for Friends & Family to sit in our section with you by pre-purchasing single-game tickets through us.

Two notes here. If you are a season-ticket holder, these single-game seats won't necessarily be next to yours, since other season-ticket holders will be there already. The seats *will* be in section 108 very nearby.

Second. For the Beckham game only (Aug 26th) you must also buy a ticket to either July 8 or May 19. That's a'right.

Still not satisfied? Let's talk money. Class VI has just finalized single game prices for 2007 for premium section 108:

Rapids Regular Price: $32 -- Pretty good, no?
Group Price: $29 -- getting warmer!
CVI Member Price: $27 -- Ding-ding-ding!!!! We have a winner!

You will be able to buy these tickets through this website soon. For now, please email or call Marcus Myrick directly and say you want Class VI single-game tickets. He can be reached at 303.727.3541, email mmyrick@dsgpark.com

One Final Important Note: There are only a limited number of these tickets for each game, and they are first come, first serve.

Class VI Official Pre-Season Party Announced!

"It's that time of the year again for the annual pre-season party..."

At least, that's what we'll say next year if our planned Inaugural Class VI Pre-season Party goes off without a hitch!

March 24th, 3-7pm.

It's Party Time! Mark your calendars now.

Details:
What & Who: Class VI pre-season party, open to all Class VI members & family, as well as friends/associates you are trying to get signed up with Class VI!

We are also inviting several Rapids players to join us for a few hours of fun and merriment and conversation. Entertainment will also include DVDs of an historic FA Cup Final and more!

And if that's not enough, we've got soccer ball cookies to commemorate the Class VI tradition of bringing food to share at games. And we have another surprise dessert on tap as well!

When: Saturday, March 24th, 2007. 3-7pm.

Where: British Bulldog in downtown Denver (also our official away-game viewing party location!)

Food/drink: Isaac will be hooking us up with great drink specials: 2-for-1 on Beer, Well, & Wine! (Do they even serve wine at the Bulldog?)

What can I bring? For starters, your Rapids gear and Class VI pins! If you don't have a pin, don't worry, you can pick up one or more at the party ($4)! Don't forget to bring money to purchase some of the Bulldog's celebrated American and Pakistani food selection!

Finally, a sense of humor is always nice ;-)

New Ticket Exchange Policy

Rapids' introduce new "recycled" tickets?

The revised "Flexible" ticket exchange policy only affects season and partial-season ticket holders. Background: For the past umpteen years, we all could purchase season tickets, and had an unlimited free exchange policy.

Why? Because everyone misses a game now and again, so the Rapids would allow the ticket holder to turn in that unused ticket from a previous game for the current game. (i.e. bring a friend, you've got an extra ticket to exchange and give him or her).

They continued to advise that this was the case for this season, and that's the expectation under which everyone bought tickets.

This has changed.

The new Ticket Exchange Policy: Un-used tickets may only be exchanged for the following six games:
Sun, April 15 vs Fire
Thurs, May 10 vs Fake Salt Lake
Sun, July 8 vs Red Bulls
Sat, Aug 16 vs Revs
Sun, Sep 16 vs The Goats
Sun, Oct 7 vs Canucks

Other restrictions: only 8 tickets per game allowed, it remains free to exchange, and this is subject to availability.

Thoughts on this... First, we know exactly which 6 games the Rapids expect to have low attendance at, since they are willing to exchange tickets for the games. That's handy ;-)

Second, in response to questions, the Front Office says this is a "league-wide" policy change: somewhat unbelievable, and a pass-the-buck response. In reality, it is up to the Rapids, period. Their stadium, their policies.

Finally... This had to be expected if we'd thought it through. By definition, if the Rapids can actually manage to fill the stands, there's simply no way for them to exchange tickets for those nearly or sold-out games! That's reasonable, and makes sense.

Why couldn't the FO simply have said that?

Look. In exchange for having our own stadium, and the resulting increase in popularity of the Rapids and the resulting filling of the stadium, we as fans have to accept a different set of perks.

Trading off all that empty space for a packed house is worth it, even knowing that we have to give up conveniences like most ticket exchanges. Sure, we'd all like to have unused tickets exchanged for the Beckham game. But it is understandable when the FO wants to sell that out at the highest price instead.

However, there's usually a more flexible way to manage this. If the day's game isn't sold out, why would the Rapids deny us the ability to exchange tickets for it and beef up attendance for that game? And, if it is sold out... too bad, the rest of us will be inside rocking the house.

Makes sense, and hopefully the Rapids will see there's no reason to tighten the ticket noose too tightly.

Rapids Random News

In player news, Rapids playa Stephen Keel has a blog with a couple of entries from Mexico.
Check it out to read what Beckerman's been wearing lately.

In other news, The Dick finally has an official website at DSGpark.com. Lots of "coming soon" sections, but there's a few interesting tidbits, including this map of the stadium concourse: concessions, team shop, Cantina & entrances!

Class VI is in section 108, which is on the right (East) side of the stadium, second section down from midfield, nearest entrance "B". Here's more information on Class VI seating.

Conspiracy Theory?

...or just a history that never was?

Thanks to the quick sleuthing of CVI member JasonMa, we've uncovered more evidence that the owner of our beloved team had planned to rename us to Arsenal Colorado.

It's on the new DSGpark.com website in the FAQ.

And, in case they take the page down as they did with arsenalcolorado.com or fix it, we captured it for posterity:

The Arsenal Colorado that never was...

You can also go to their FAQ page to find out how big The Dick really is (and how it stands up to other stadia around the world).

Team Pride Tattoos

The Peanut Gallery suggested we should start getting tattoos to show our pride for the new team. They also suggested more photos on the CVI site. Thankfully, they didn't suggest this last month before the color change.

Okay, I'll go first and get the ball rolling.

BilFish gets tattoo'd and heads to the Bulldog

April Road Trip Cancelled

Sorry about the bad news. Here's the note from our Grand Poobah:

The April 28th road trip to Salt Lake unfortunately has been canceled.

While the Rapids website is not showing the change, MLSnet.com and the Fake Salt Lake websites both show the game as being moved to Monday April 30th.

Monday just won't work for most people.

I want to thank Tina and Kelsey for an absolutely OUTSTANDING job at the work they did putting this together for us even though it hasn't panned out.

We will be going to the other game in Salt Lake City in September (the third game of the Rocky Mountain Cup).

And only if there is enough interest, we will be going to Los Angles for a game. There are three possibilities, June 16th vs Chivas, September 8th vs LA Galaxy (Beckham), or October 14th vs Chivas. Remember the 9/8 game is very close to the 9/22 game in Salt Lake City.

Please, give us your thoughts on the discussion boards - or email roadtrips@rapidsclassvi.com about these possibilities. The road trips are EXCELLENT - perhaps one of the best Rapids experiences you can enjoy all year ... and a great way to make some good relationships.

Apologies to the people that had planned on this trip in April.

Scarf Voting Closed!

Well, it will be, in about 3 hours and 5 minutes. (Update: Polls now closed!)

Final talley:
Black & Blue: 20%
Burgundy & Blue: 80%

So... if you want to make that change.... stop sitting on your hands and get typing over to our discussion board! (Update: Don't bother, polls now closed!)

We will keep everyone updated on our work in getting the scarves from a small graphic on a website to physical scarf you can blow your nose with!

Obsessed by The Dick?

DSG Park is a brilliant new stadium, and I think many of us are obsessed by it.
In fact, it reminds me of a Dr. Phil show I saw recently...

Dr. Phil was conducting a group therapy session with four young mothers
and their small children. "You all have obsessions," he observed.

To the first mother, he said, "You are obsessed with eating.
You've even named your daughter Candy."

He turned to the second mom. "Your obsession is with money.
Again, this manifests itself in your child's name, Penny."

He turns to the third mom. "Your obsession is alcohol. This,
too, manifests itself in your child's name, Brandy."

At that point, the fourth mother got up, took her little boy by
the hand and whispered, "Come on Dick, we're leaving."

Road Trip!!!

Class VI is getting ready for its first road trip of the year – Salt Lake City on April 28th. It’s our first match-up against our rivals, and the first game of the Rocky Mountain Cup! We all had a blast last year, and this year will be even better.

The Road Trip Committee has put in a lot of hard work to organize this trip. We’ve reserved plane tickets and rooms for the night of the 28th. We will also organize all transportation during the trip. The only thing you have to worry about is cheering for the Rapids!

Here are the details:

Leave Denver – 8:20 am, Sat. April 28th
Arrive SLC – 9:50 am, Sat. April 28th

Game – 6:00 pm, Sat. April 28th

Leave SLC – 1:30 pm, Sun. April 29th
Arrive Denver – 2:55 pm, Sun April 29th

We will try to plan a group lunch, and maybe another activity to fill the time before the game.

You will have two plans to choose from:

Plan A (with airfare): $195 per person (double occupancy) or $230 per person (single occupancy). This includes the plane ticket, hotel room, transportation to and from the game, and game ticket.

Plan B (without airfare): $60 per person (double occupancy) or $90 per person (single occupancy). This includes hotel room, transportation to and from the game, and game ticket.

We need to know how many people are interested by Monday, Feb. 19th so that we can sign a contract with Frontier. You are not officially committing yourself at this point, but we would like the numbers we give Frontier to be as accurate as possible.

* There is a $40 deposit required by March 1st for each person attending.
* The remainder of the balance will be due April 1st.

Please send responses to roadtrips@rapidsclassvi.com. And feel free to ask any questions. This trip will be a ton of fun and an excellent way to bond with your fellow Class VIers!

Class IV Road Trip Committee
roadtrips@rapidsclassvi.com

The Dick gets lit!

Stunning look at our new stadium!

British Bulldog for top sports bar?

We all love the British Bulldog for watching our favorite sport: soccer!

Now let's throw those dogs a bone. 5280's Top of the Town voting is on now. Sign up and make sure to choose British Bulldog for Best Sports Bar!

5280 Magazine: Top of the Town

And make sure to pass it on...

Scarf competition Hottin' Up!

Despite more votes in favor of the leading new-rapids-color scarf, the old Black & Blue is making a comeback! Yep, it's up to 18% of the votes (from 8% yesterday).

So... if you have a preference, get that vote in soonest!

The voting continues on the CVI discussion board, and could end at any time, perhaps even today! Or maybe Tuesday, February 20th.

Scarf vote update

The voting will continue on the CVI discussion board for only a short time longer, so get your votes in!

In the mean time, there's a heavy favorite emerging at this time. It's the scarf with the new Rapids colors, and our logo in traditional Black & Blue. 92% have voted in favor of this scheme!

We expect to order scarves in the next week or two. Reminder, they will be $15 for CVI members.

Ticket prices (non)update

The Rapids did not, as they said, unveil single-game ticket prices a couple days ago.

Here's what they HAVE said this week, providing confirmation and some clarification:

Colorado Rapids full-season seat holders will have the MLS All Star Game included in their 2007 package at no additional cost. All partial-season seat holders will receive a discounted priority purchase option on their seats prior to them going on sale to the general public. The on-sale date for the general public, along with individual ticket prices, will be announced in the near future.

More on Roberto Brown signing

Comment by Marc Connolly in a recent USsoccerplayers.com article (he also writes for ESPN):

"It flew under the radar a bit, but the signing of big striker Roberto Brown by the Colorado Rapids is one I like a lot. Brown has always given Eddie Pope a run for his money when the US and Panama have played in the past, and surely will cause a tough matchup for some of the smaller centerbacks around MLS such as Carlos Mendes and Michael Parkhurst."

Soccer America says:

''El Bombardero'' scored against the USA in a 1-1 tie during qualifying play for the 2006 World Cup. He arrives from Tacuarembo FC in the Uruguayan first division.

''His addition to the offensive line will help solve the scoring drought issues from last season,'' said Colorado coach Fernando Clavijo.
============

Let's hope he's that big target head we've been looking for to get on the ends of Cookie Kicks!

Scarves!

Okay, now that the dust has settled on the near Arsenal renaming, we can move forwards with Class VI plans.

The whole Front Office Shenanigans led us to put the voting on hold for the scarves since we weren't sure if Class VI would need a new logo or whatever else ... boy, those discussion boards got busy for a little while.

Anyway, here are the final versions (after some feed back from YOU CVIers on the message boards) of our two scarf designs - front and back for each design. You will need to vote on the Message Boards as to which of these two designs you think we should go with.

If you have not yet joined the message boards, click Discussion Board here or over in the right side menu. Create a username, then email Mark Bodmer your user name so that you can get permissions into the boards, as they are for CVI members only! Scarves will be just $15.

Vote Now at the CVI Discussion Board

Rapids sign Roberto Brown

Just who is this Mr. Brown? Sounds like an alias. Or a Palindrome:

A Man. A Plan. A Canal. Panama.

Hmmmm. Indiana Jones. Panama Brown.... it could work! Everything but the Canal sounds good.

Here's the official Rapids release on the new signing.

This is our biggest signing of the season (not counting the loss of Old Man Joe 'MVP' Cannon).

My favorite quote from Dick'stator Plush in another article about the acquisition:
"Clearly a Mexican national or a South American player makes more sense here than an Eastern European, just from our ethnic background here," Plush said. "They have to want to come here, too. We live in Denver because we love it. It's still a smaller market. It's not New York City. It's not Los Angeles. So we have to find the right person who's going to adapt here and be excited to be here."

Nice. Thanks for slamming us to the world. Next time? Put the "rock" in Rocky Mountains.

Plus, Señor Plush, it's too bad we signed a Central American instead of a Mexican Int'l or South American as you suggest. I didn't realize we had a huge Panamese contingent living in Denver to cater to? Cool. Never had Panamanian food.

Now... what about Brown as a player, instead of as a Hispanic figurehead?

Wel-l-l-l, he plays for the powerhouse Panamanian National Team. He last played for a club team in Uruguay. Hmmmm. Uruguay. Sounds familiar for some reason. That's right. It's where our head coach vacations.

Plush has this to say: “Fernando’s experienced eye for scouting talent, along with the strategic partnerships that we are building with selected teams around the world, have led us to be able to reach out to players like Brown,” said Colorado Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush.

BilFish had this to say: International teams around the world phooey! FC went to Uruguay to visit relatives in the off-season, came back with the guy who lives just down the street, that nice Brown fellow.

Otherwise, we know little about him. See the great info from his last club and be astounded! BTW - Delantero means "forward." Not even a height measurement.

I'm sorry to sound a bit pessimistic, but it would just be nice to know a bit more about this guy we just signed. However, I'm willing to settle for Brown simply fleshing out his own résumé right here at The Dick with a dozen goals.

Maybe Brownie can do a Baker's dozen for us!

Arsenal Alliance

We would love to elaborate on the new marketing/development deal with Arsenal F.C.U.K. but we just gave you all the details in two words.

Sure, they say things like: Arsenal Cup. But don't explain what it means. American club teams will be allowed to play. Pro? Amateur? Invitation? U-17? Old enough to drink? Who knows?

There's the Arsenal Center of Excellence to be located at The Dick. Sounds grand. If someone knows what it means, they are keeping mum.

"exchange of best practices" means, I sincerely hope, that we get all the good stuff (both on and off-field) from Arsenal and send none of our own 2-bit management their way.

Oh, and our guys get to see what training at a top-flight soccer club in London is like for a week. Then they come home.

Truly, a "ground-breaking alliance" that will "benefit both clubs significantly."

Don't get us wrong: conning Arsenal into working with the Rapids? Pure Guinness...errr... Genius. We just wish there was some meat to the arrangement. You know, we're asking Mgmt. to show a little leg!

We'll give Dick'stator Plush the final word (from the Denver Post): "It is intangible," said Jeff Plush, the Rapids' managing director.

Single Ticket Pricing details

For all of us Class VI members who are NOT season tix holders... some good news is coming soon!

The Rapids have announced that we should have further details about single-game seat pricing early next week. We'll be posting details of any pricing breaks for Class VI members as the information becomes available.

In the meantime, enjoy adding home game dates to your personal organizers and calendars! And don't forget about the All-Start Game July 19th vs Celtic of the Scottish Premiere League. They were green hoops, like little FC Dallas Leprechauns or something! Wait... that would be Irish. Okay, scratch that.

The Rapids are Dead. Long Live the Rapids!

Yep.

The Rapids were unable to put a deal together with Arsenal of England for use of the name (in our opinion), and will remain the Colorado Rapids.

The new colors you already know: burgundy and blue, (PMS-202 & 278 for those who care).

The logo is what we have at the top of this site.

You've all seen them, but here is an updated look at the new rapids uniforms.

Roberto Brown, Dick'stator Plush, Nico Hernandez, Some pasty-white guy from England, Another pasty-white guy from England who plays for us, the coach, Colorado Becks

The Century Club!

That's right, Class VI has grown to over 100 members!. Things are going to be mighty this season in the new stadium.

We've got some road trip plans going on and some big tailgate plans!

If you're new to Class VI - WELCOME! We're Glad to have you.

NO FAN ALONE.

Rapids 2007 schedule on line!

It's here!

And it's almost 2 months earlier than normal for MLS, so that's a first. Read the press release.

The official Rapids schedule page has all the details.

HIGHLIGHTS of the 2007 schedule:
30-game season, changed from 32 last year, and several other changes to accommodate the 13-team MLS world.

All-Star Game! July 19th. We get to see it, and season-ticket holders get to see it for free. Beckham should be in attendance, hopefully on the field.

Beckham: Speaking of the quarter-Billion-dollar man, August 26th is our first chance to play against him on the field at home.

TV? Oh, yeah!!! Kroenke doesn't to... but MLS is making every MLS team guarantee television for each and every game on the schedule! 17 of those games will be nationally televised. Of course, that includes HDNET and Spanish broadcasts, which everyone may not receive or understand.

The Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry will go at least one more year (depending on whether FSL gets sold or moved). Dates are once again early and late season, April 30 at FSL, May 10 at home, Sep 22 @ FSL, and the final Rapids home game of the season October 20th!

The 4th of July "what, there's a soccer game? Where's the" fireworks show will happen at The Dick.

And.... as we already knew, the first game of the season for MLS, called "First Kick" happens at our new home, Saturday April 7th at 1:30pm against DC United sans Adu.

Note: I haven't seen the latest official announcement come out, but play-off spots berths will be awarded differently this year. Stay tuned for final details, but basically the top 3 of each conference makes it, and then the next 2 overall teams makes it in (either conference).

US 2: Mexico? 0 again!

Report from Phoenix, your Class VI reporter was on the ground in Arizona to give Class VI the inside scoop.

First, let me report that while Joe Cannon didn't make it on the pitch, he was on the sidelines and in good spirits and gave us a friendly wave. Of course, if *I* had just gotten traded to the world famous LA Beckhams, I too would have a grin on my face.

The game was "sold-out" but clearly not completely packed in the stands. The announced attendance of 62,000 plus wasn't that far off, however, with 50,000 of those fans wearing green. As I keep telling Rapids fans, let's not go backwards, because green doesn't look good on anyone ;-)

And (stretching back in time) 753 minutes later.... Mexico still hasn't scored against the USA!

The US is now 7-0-1 against Mexico in their past 8 outings, scoring 13-0.

Wow. Good game, excellent but very laid-back crowd atmosphere, and unfortunately the game play was significantly reserved and laid back as well, at least on the US side.

On the down side, the US played a mediocre game. On the plus side, they still beat a hard-charging Mexican team 2-0.

That works, I guess.

Field Player report:
Howard... bobbled his first touch, eliciting some groans and cries of "Cannon!" but then put on a decent show, finishing with some spectacular saves.

The central back line of Bocanegra & Conrad were the pair of the match. Fantastic play start to finish, Conrad even stepping up to play both sides of the ball with his MOTM-sealing header.

As good as the central D was, the wingbacks were ridiculously poor. Bornstein and Mophead were outclassed and outgunned and outmaneuvered and outplayed and outwitted and outlasted.

I'm not sure what to think about the midfield and fowards. I think we decided that Bradley wanted to play the attack conservatively. Nobody was allowed to make a run, there were no through or long passes, and it was an embarrassment of slacker-behavior.

Rolfe was a disappointment at minute 10, 20, 45, 60... you get the point.

The subs were no better. Brian Carroll tried hard, but still had several goofs that don't help at the national level. Eddie Johnson made everyone else look like superstars, and Joshua Gros essentially picked up where Albright left off.

Very disappointing to see the US bunker down.

And we're still not sure what to make of Donovan's killer run through 3 guys at midfield. With an easy breakaway, he turned and started motioning repeatedly for EJ or anyone to come up with him. With Mexico's defense bearing down on him, LD finally went for goal without breaking a sweat, juked the goalkeeper in a classic move, and sank the shot so casually it reminded us all of when Landon last played for the US team... Uhhh, 2002.

And there was pitifully little in the way of US merch. to purchase if you don't prefer Landon Hoodies.

And that was all there was to it, I guess. No need to talk about the sad parking lot mgmt after the game at the new U of Phx stadium. Just sad, really.

Rapids Off to Mexico

Official Announcement: As reported right here a bit earlier, the Rapids are off to Mexico.

Read the official announcement here.

They are also heading to the U.K. and possibly to Spain, although the wording is a bit unclear, and could mean playing a Spanish 1st Division side in the U.K.

Rapids pre-season kicks off!

Sounds like the Symbol Formerly Known as the Rapids is back in the saddle!

Pablo Mastroeni and Kyle "Colorado Becks" Beckerman got an early start, joining the January USMNT camp and playing in the 3-1 win at the Home Depot Center over Scandinavia.

Both were called back in for the USA v Mexico camp, but only Pablo made the final 20-man roster for the Wednesday night game.

Before we truly get started with Pre-Season, let's take a look back at 2006 and see what big questions remain (from MLSnet.com)

And what does pre-season mean? Lots of getting in shape, lots of remembering how to kick a ball around, and this year lots of trying to find a non-snowy field to play on.

Pre-season also means Roster Roulette is here! With no official roster expected until March 30th or so, it's speculation season as well. For starters, well, we have 5 Senior International (SI) starters. MLS only allows 4. Musical chairs are going and at first blush it appears Karanka won't be able to find a seat.

I'll leave to you any thoughts on how nice it is to have 4 positions for 5 players.

Officially, the Rapids haven't posted Pre-Season travel plans, but they are returning to Mexico February 16-28. Then they are heading back to Spain from March 8-22, arriving back in Colorado about 2 weeks before the season opener against D.C.

In any case, they have to be back in time to smack down on FSL in Vegas on March 31 at 7:30pm

US/Mexico

Wednesday, February 7th, 7pm (ESPN2) - there will be a handful of people at the British Bulldog for the US v Mexico game.

This isn't so much an "official" gathering - but if you're looking for some company to watch the game with ... the British Bulldog at Stout & Broadway downtown is the place to find it.

Go Bears!

Go Bears!

Arsenal (?) Colorado Update

(Updated: 8:15pm)

During elections, each news station competes to declare a winner, even before the final votes are in.

While this can bite one in the arse, as it were, we're call it: we now root for Arsenal Colorado. Unless something goes wrong, of course.

Kroenke management gave über-fans like us a preview of the new ArsenalColorado.com website yesterday for an hour. Most links didn't work, and it was clearly just a template.

An official announcement WAS expected today (but it never arrived).

Instead coloradorapids.com site is brutally, painfully, s-l-o-w-w-w-l-y unveiling the new colors and logo in small snippets through the main flash item on the front page. It's still going on as of 8:15pm Friday night.

Some things to note. The main page had the "new" Colorado Rapids shield logo, but internal pages had the Arsenal Colorado logo in the entry just below this, which we captured before the site went back off-air. Huh.

Arsenal Colorado

Welcome, Arsenal Colorado?

Goodbye, Rapidos?!?

Gravity-defying BIG announcement today

At least, Rapids press releases swear up and down this is true.

As news comes in, we'll keep everyone updated with all the important bits right here, so keep checking back.

12:45pm: It's UP!!! And it looks like we'll be called "Arsenal Colorado."

11:22am: still nothing ;-)

11:20am: Nothing

11:15am - NOTE: ColoradoArsenal.com used to be password-protected. That protection is gone and it is now showing a blank page (no html coding).

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is set to make some big announcements (plural) regarding the fate of the MLS team that plays home games in Colorado.

Sorry to be so roundabout, but it appears more and more likely, based on research and a lack of denials by Team Management, that the new name of our beloved MLS soccer team will be:

Colorado Arsenal, but until the ink is dried and the deal is done, I don't expect an announcement on this.

What we do NOT know is if the name change will be a part of the news today or tomorrow.... or perhaps whenever the Rapids get around to it.