Good afternoon all. As you await the start of today’s Champions League matches, here are some interesting news tidbits from the world of Major League Soccer.

Before we get to the news, here is my column in Tuesday’s Herald News on how the Red Bulls should approach the Wilman Conde situation. In short, Juan Carlos Osorio shouldn’t go overboard when it comes down to making an offer for Conde. Yes, Conde is a quality defender, but Osorio can’t risk weakening his roster too much. Another interesting tidbit from the column comes in the Red Bulls notes. The Red Bulls are shopping Liberian forward Francis Doe.

Now, onto some news from Colorado, Houston and Toronto:

Reinaldo in Colorado’s sights

Hoping to repeat the success enjoyed by D.C. United last year when it signed Australian-based Brazilian Fred, the Colorado Rapids have jumped into the chase for forward Reinaldo and appear to have first crack at him. James Edward, Real Salt Lake’s top beat writer, spoke to RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey, who stated that Colorado has a discovery claim on Reinaldo.

Yes, you read that right. Apparently Colorado is interested in the Brazilian striker, which means the Rapids may actually spend some money. Between that revelation, and this morning’s word that New England was lining up to use its designated player slot, I’m half expecting to see frogs start falling from the sky.

Toronto takes look at new faces

Toronto FC will bring in veteran Portuguese forward Joao Pinto and Colombian defender Julian Barragan for trials this week. Pinto and Barragan join Colombian playmaker Johnnier Montano and Dutch winger Kiki Musampa on the list of foreign trialists TFC is looking at. One source said the club is also set to look at a Portuguese defender.

Mo Johnston is desparate for an attacking midfielder more than anything else. Will Montano be that player? I think he can be. The real questions are whether Pinto has anything left, and whether a player who once punched a referee in anger should really come to MLS.

That’s all for now. Share your thoughts on any of these stories below.

Houston ponders Dynamo stadium deal

The city of Houston has offered more than $15.5 million to buy land that could be used to build a Houston Dynamo stadium. The city still has to approve the deal AND the city and Dynamo still have to reach an agreement on a stadium. In other words, a stadium is still off in the distance but at least there is something moving in that direction.