Me talking about David Beckham

People who have no interest in soccer, should consider skipping the conversation, and checking out this link instead. For the rest of you....

David Beckham is coming to America. Unless you've been out of touch with the media, you've probably already heard. I believe that Beckham was a great player in his prime, with Manchester United. He's still good, but he's not great.

What kind of impact will he make here in the US? Well, MLS and the Galaxy are hoping for a big impact. Perhaps the Galaxy were looking for somebody to spell Landon Donovan. Or replace him. What concerns me is that Beckham is more injury-prone than ever. And if he brings the metatarsal curse over to our shores, it's impact will be greater than his. It'll be like Wayne Rooney all over again.

But for the short-term, it definitely bumps up the profile of MLS. People in Europe are saying "Beckham's going where?" So maybe it'll create some overseas interest. And I think that if the money that Beckham is getting is still available, then MLS will become the new pension plan for European soccer. Ronaldo will be over in another year or so. If Michael Owen can't recover completely from his knee surgery, he's coming over here. Sol Campbell and Ryan Giggs will be over too.

So that's how MLS is going to go out. We'll see how it works out. Beckham will certainly raise the sport's profile because of his celebrity status, but I don't think there's another footballer who would have a celebrity impact like that.

I'll be interested to see how it plays out. Especially now since he's been permanently benched at Madrid, so he may not be in good fitness by the time he gets to Los Angeles.