MLS to Name Sounders Today

As we told you yesterday, the MLS will announce the name of the city's new soccer franchise, set to start play in 2009.

We think the league learned their lesson from Houston when they named that franchise Houston 1836, the year that city was founded. This, however, was also the year that Texas won its independence from Mexico, and the name didn't sit well with many Mexican-Americans in the area who the team would be targeting.

So a week later they adopted a new name, the Dynamo.

For that reason don't expect the Seattle franchise to be given one of the following names:

-the Confrontation
-the Plastic Shopping Bags
-the Diversity
-the Warm Spring Days
-the Statutoriacs*
-the Time to Remove Your Kerry/Edwards Bumper Sticker

We kid of course. The name will be chosen following days of fan voting between Alliance, Republic, Seattle FC, and our choice, the write in vote for Sounders.

The announcement comes at noon, and you can watch live here.

UPDATE: Our new team. The Seattle Sounders FC. We like it, we like it a lot. Now, no one tell Howard Schultz.

EtheE has updates from the press conference.

*A bad idea league wide.