Final 7 MLS All-Stars Announced

The final 7 All-Stars were announced today with coach Steve Nicol selecting Juan Pablo Ángel (forward, New York Red Bulls), Jim Brennan (defender, Toronto FC), Christian Gomez (midfielder, Colorado Rapids), Pablo Mastroeni (midfielder, Colorado Rapids) and Pat Onstad (goalkeeper, Houston Dynamo).

Commissioner Don Garber selected Edson Buddle (forward, Los Angeles Galaxy) and Dwayne De Rosario (midfielder, Houston Dynamo) as the two "Commissioner's picks."

Looks like a few surprises here actually. It seemed likely Revolution captain Steve Ralston, who leads the team in goals and assists, and leads the league in game-winning goals and game-winning assists would be selected by Nicol. Angel has missed nearly half the season injured and has only 3 goals, so it's hard to say he deserves a spot. Mastreoni is a bit questionable too as he's only started 10 of Colorado's 16 games this season. Not to mention Colorado has struggled, though Gomez has been having a good season and his pick can be justified. Picking a Toronto player, Brennan, for the home crowd, and a long time Canadian International, Onstad, aren't at all surprising.

As for the "Commissioner's picks", Buddle was an obvious selection as he leads the league in goals. Since the game is in Toronto and De Rosario is a Canadian International, his pick is understandable as he's been having a pretty good season, though by no means his best.

Full 18-Player MLS All-Star Roster:

Goalkeeper: Pat Onstad& (Houston Dynamo), Matt Reis* (New England Revolution)
Defenders: Jim Brennan& (Toronto FC), Jimmy Conrad* (Kansas City Wizards), Frankie Hejduk* (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst* (New England Revolution)
Midfielders: David Beckham* (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cuauhtémoc Blanco* (Chicago Fire), Dwayne De Rosario+ (Houston Dynamo), Christian Gomez& (Colorado Rapids), Shalrie Joseph* (New England Revolution), Sacha Kljestan* (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni& (Colorado Rapids), Robbie Rogers* (Columbus Crew)
Forwards: Juan Pablo Angel& (forward, New York Red Bulls), Edson Buddle+ (Los Angeles Galaxy), Kenny Cooper* (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan* (Los Angeles Galaxy)

* First XI
& Coach's Selection
+ Commissioner's Selection