Beckham, Davids, Ronaldo, oh my!

Even people in BFE North Korea have heard by now the David Beckham is joining the LA Galaxy for the 2007 campaign. Originally he wasn't going to suit up until August, but who knows about that now.

And then we have Dutch international Edgar Davids going to FC Dallas? Is he? Is he not?

And of course there's the constant speculation over Ronaldo making the move and Claudio Reyna coming home.

Who knew the DP slots would come into play so quickly? Obviously the Beckham deal was the worst kept secret and RBNY trying to bring in some studs was well known, but FCD trying to hop this crazy train is a bit of a surprise.

I like the Beckham deal more and more I think about it and the more one understands the financials a little better.

Most sane people appreciate that while he's not the best player, he's a damn good one who just happened to be able to capitalize on other assets than strictly talent.

He's the Brian McBride that made it big, i.e. he's probably the best craftsman of the game as compared to the artists like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, et al. He's not going to pull off incredible displays of dribbling and vision but when you ask him to take a free kick or hit a streaking forward pin point from 40 yards away he's going to do it better than anyone else.

It's just funny that a craftsman also became the most popular, world-wide, soccer player. Do hate on him for that. His wide-spread popularity never affected his on-field performance. He may not play the best every single game but he plays 100% every single game.

You also never have to worry about him embarrassing the club or the shirt. He doesn't do off-field antics that distract from his playing. The consummate professional.

The more money LA, other teams in the league, and MLS make the more they can put back into their clubs and upgrade the talent and quality over all. And if a bunch of hunk-happy girls who don't know anything about soccer want to help finance that, then that's fine with me.

And people seem to be talking about the attendance bump of people just wanting to come out and see Beckham as a bad thing. No matter what sport your in this happens. The home games against LA and Kobe, the Cavs and LeBron, Allen Iverson, et al. all have bumps in game attendance because people want to see them. It happened with Jordan. And that's the great thing about pro sports. A lot of the fun is seeing your team play but also see great players from other teams in person.

I hope people will calm down about all of this soon. This is the same hoopla that went on when Chivas USA was coming into the league at that situation resolved itself just fine, turning into an asset for the league.

Just another Beckham to MLS blog post. How special.

I'm sure I'm only like the 1,000th person to post about the latest on the David Beckham to MLS saga that, if you believe Fox Sports, should resolve itself today sometime.

And there's this from Beckham's appearance on this morning ABC's "Good Morning America" when he's quoted saying, "I've played now for two of the biggest clubs in the world. I've played at the highest level for 15 years, and now I think I need another challenge."

Apparently, though no dotted line has been inked by Beckham for the LA Galaxy, they have a press conference tentatively scheduled for today. This just so happens to be the same day that Becks is supposedly supposed to tell Real Madrid, "thanks, but no thanks" to their two-year extension offer.

Because his current contract with the Galacticos does expire until June, Beckham would have to miss the first two months of MLS action before meeting up with his new team.

Is signing David Beckham a good move for MLS and the Galaxy? Some will adamantly argue "no" but I'm not necessarily in that camp.

LA would be able to get top dollar for what ever jersey sponsor they sell, they'll raise ticket prices, and I can promise that whatever stadium in the league the Galaxy goes to play at will be sold out. Kinda like the attendance boost Adu made but x10. The media attention the team, and vicariously MLS, will garner that year will be a dramatic boost as well, especially internationally.

I'd also be interested in seeing him paired with Landon Donovan. While he's not the best player in the world (nor really ever been) David Beckham is still more talented than all but a few in this league. Donovan, when he wants to be, is one of the few who's talent is on par with his. I think Donovan will be happy to have someone else to share the burden of expectations with rather then often have to carry his team on his own. The Gals getting Joe Canon in net during the off-season will also help.