ALL-STAR VOTING UNDERWAY; SUPPORT THE RED BULL NOMINEES!!

Voting has begun for the MLS All-Star game, which will take place at Toronto FC's BMO Field on July 24. To vote for your favorite Red Bulls (and I guess some other players, if you want to), CLICK HERE to go to the official site. The link is on the media wall.

This year’s All-Star team will take on West Ham United, who boasts a roster full of international talent, highlighted by the captains of Sweden, Australia and Wales – Freddie Ljungberg, Lucas Neill and Craig Bellamy. The club also has several England internationals including Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Scott Parker and Kieron Dyer plus American defender Jonathan Spector and Portuguese forward Luis Boa Morte. West Ham United features one of soccer’s most recognizable jerseys, with the claret body and sky blue sleeves. The team is affectionately known as the “Hammers,” a reference to its origin as the company team for Thames Ironworks.

This year marks the fifth time that MLS All-Stars have taken on a high-profile international opponent in the MLS All-Star game. In 2003 the MLS All-Stars defeated Mexican club CD Guadalajara 3-1, in 2005 claimed a victory over English opponents Fulham 4-1, in 2006 beat English power Chelsea FC 1-0 and last year they defeated Scottish Premier League front-runners Celtic FC 2-0 on goals from New York Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel and FC Dallas midfielder Juan Toja.

The announcement schedule for the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Team is as follows. Dates are subject to change.

· Wednesday, May 14 – Online fan voting begins
· Monday, June 30 - All-Star Coach announced (decided by team with the most points per game as of June 29th)
· Wednesday, July 2 – Online balloting ends
· Thursday, July 10 – All-Star ‘First XI’ announced
· Tuesday, July 15 – All-Star reserves announced