Tuesday Morning Odds and Sods, Volume 4

It's a MAJOR AWARD! Major League Soccer has leaked ...er... released information concerning a major announcement today, featuring such major luminaries as a German Bundesliga Big Shot, Don Garber (you already know all about him) and Ivan Gazidis (ditto) in a major resort at the major Sun and Fun City, Miami, Florida.

If this major announcement is anything like the last one, where Alexi Lalas tried to pass off another Chelsea training trip to LA as the World Series of Major Soccer Stuff, or some such nonsense, we are seriously risking the evisceration of all meaning from the word major. It's as if MLS Bosses got together and decided, like Ralphie's Dad in A Christmas Story, that shouting, "It's a Major Award!" might obscure the fact that a butt-ugly leg lamp is ruining the feng shui of the front parlor.

The major announcement is scheduled for 1pm ET today. Could a Bayern Miami franchise be on the way, with Cosmos legend, Der Kaiser himself, Franz Beckenbauer in charge? Is Landon Donovan gonna give Leverkusen one last shot? Stay tuned for the straight dope, but don't be surprised, if after hearing this major international news, you find yourself saying, "Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian."

UPDATED, 2pm ET: Yup. What Ralphie's Dad said. MLS will school the Bundesliga on the virtues of the single-entity ownership scheme, while the Germans will reciprocate with "new ideas" on officiating. Yeah, you read that correctly. Officiating.

The Red Bull Park Construction Site Webcam is live. Don't look too close, or you may be called to testify before the Newark Grand Jury.

Big Apple Soccer breaks down the Amado Guevara Reunion.

The Crew topped FC Dallas in the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup. The match was a real yawner, but they did raise some money for charity.

The ManU-Euro All-Star exhibition is slated for today, but the Zidane-Materazzi lovefest has been cancelled, as Zizou is in New York negotiating with Bruce Arena and Donald Trump. Ha! Made you look!