My calendar says August 12th, which means that the MLS transfer window for attached players ends in just a few days. Considering the rather busy summer we've had for MLS signings, it would hardly be a surprise if all of the big splash moves have been consummated and the window will close without another name player joining MLS.


Call me greedy, but that makes me a little sad.


Oh, I know - with Henry, Marquez, Nkufo, Fernandez, Castillo, even Mista and Boskovic, MLS has added a slew of talented and expensive players to the mix. It should make for an exciting stretch run, and we're already beginning to see the fruits of the broadened DP rule on the field. I'm particularly struck by how much one player can affect the confidence of his new teammates; it looks to me like several Red Bulls have upped their game since Titi arrived in Harrison.


I should be sated, I suppose. But the silly season hit MLS full force for the first time in 2010, and damn was it fun. From nonsensical rumors to the what everyone knew was inevitable, MLS teams garnered headlines in places the league had never gone before. That's half the point, of course. These are good players though, players that should in almost every case help their teams be better. The ceiling is higher for some because of the talent they joined, but the league as a whole will undoubtedly benefit from a bump in the number of high-class footballers. If the play is better and attendance increases because of select signings, it's hard to see a negative in the Summer of Signings.


So bring on more, I say. Why isn't that Ronaldinho deal done? Can MLS somehow pry Raul away from Schalke? Where's New England's obviously needed Portuguese star? How do we convince Kroenke to spend some cash? Shouldn't Chicago have a third DP?


I'm hunting rumors in foreign-language sources, I'm looking for any indication MLS teams are still searching, I'm scouring page after page of blog posts and "reputable" reporting for a whiff of something, anything, coming.


Omar Bravo will be a Wizard? That's great! Oh, in January. Hmmm...


Rooney to Seattle? Of course, it's not Wayne. Not much to get excited about there.


If it is done, if MLS teams have exhausted themselves for this particular window, consider it mission accomplished from a profile standpoint. Perhaps Henry would have brought the league increased attention all on his own, the way Beckham did in '07 but to a somewhat lesser degree; but with multiple players of recognition and quality signing in one fell swoop, MLS multiplied the effect. Providing clubs with options to mitigate the DP salary cap hit as well as purchase a third slot has proved to be a stroke of genius from most angles.


That's if you like good players plying their trade in your backyard in stadiums now fuller because they're there.


Which is why I don't want this window to close without squeezing everything out of it humanly possible.


Can I have just one more? I'd even settle for a non-DP most people have heard of...or a goalkeeper.


Damn, this is getting sad.