A very important announcement was made in the world of sports today.

Nope. It had nothing to do with which uniforms the teams in the Super Bowl will be wearing.

Nope. It had nothing to do with that trade of Ron Artest to Sacramento.

Nope. It actually had nothing to with anything you'd see on the front page of any sports section anywhere but Houston, Texas.

Yes, it was the announcement of the new nickname for Houston's new Major League Soccer team.

It was so important that the team - which is relocating to the city after a successful on the field tenure in San Jose - that it took place in front of 150 excited students at Lanier Middle School in Houston.

Nope. There was no mass media conglomeration on hand at Lanier. Just a maximum of 150 new Major League Soccer fans, which some critics of the league would suggest isn't too shabby.

The fun part of the whole thing, of course, was when the new name of the team was announced. After Internet polls and what was probably all-night brainstorming sessions, this is what they came up with ...

The new logo for MLS franchise Houston 1836.

Houston 1836.

Yes, Houston 1836 (it should also be noted that the team colors are raven black, "Space City" blue and "wildcatter" orange).

This comes from the same league that brought you Real Salt Lake, CD Chivas USA, FC Dallas, and Milwaukee Iron Horse SC. Actually, I totally made that last one up (no, I didn't. I can't take credit for that one. I saw it on some forum on BigSoccer.com and thought it was totally cool).

How are we supposed to take this league seriously?

I guess, for short, sports fans can call this new MLS team the Houston 36ers (you know, like the Philadelphia 76ers ... 1776, 76ers, get it?).

However, before we get all up in arms over some MLS team, let's consider what they are trying to do, which is soccer-ize American sports team names.

All across the world there are names for soccer clubs that harken back generations - FC Schalke 04 and Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga have similar names to Houston's new club. So, why can't brand-new American soccer teams do the same thing?

In Houston, this new team name will help educate the masses about their civic history. On March 2, 1836, the Republic of Texas declared independence from soccer-mad Mexico. The city of Houston was founded, too. A gentleman named Sam Houston was a big part of all that (sound interesting? Then, go rent The Alamo starring Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton). Immediately thereafter, rather than play Mexico's brand of football, Texas decided to adopt a more rugged style that required helmets and shoulder pads. Generations later, soccer returned to Texas only to continue to be overshadowed by its gridiron counterpart.

Even though MLS usually flies under the radar, some already ponder whether or not this new name could upset the very fanbase the new Houston franchise hopes to lure to games ... Hispanics.

Wouldn't it have just been easier to name this team the Apollos, now twice the bridesmaid in Houston's name-that-team sweepstakes?

-- JIM REINEKING