Well, the big tournament that absolutely nobody has been waiting for is finally about to start! Back in September of 2011, the Colorado Rapids were informed that they were invited to the 2012 Hawaiian Islands Invitational Soccer tournament, kind of a re-branding of the old Pan-Pacific Championship.

The two semi-finals games -- it's a quick tournament with only four teams, eh? -- will take place on Thursday the 23rd while the final and 'consolation final' between the third and fourth place teams will both be on Saturday the 25th.

The first game will feature the Colorado Rapids and Yokohama FC of Japan's J-League at 11:30 PM Mountain Time. Yeah, the games are really late at night for us, thanks Hawaiian Standard Time! If you want to catch some earlier action, Melbourne Heart play Korean side Busan I'Park FC at 9 PM Mountain Time.

The championship game will be on Saturday at 10:30 PM MT if the Rapids make it past Yokohama.

You can watch all the games of the Invitational on ESPN 3 if you want to get your Rapids fix before the home opener on March 10th. It's always fun to win Mickey Mouse cups so... go Rapids!

The Colorado Rapids avoided the giant snowstorm that's hit Colorado in the past couple of days with a trip to California, good on them! They'll be going through a couple of preseason scrimmages and some training to prepare for the 2012 MLS season during their California trip, starting Sunday with a scrimmage against the Ventura County Fusion.

Ventura are a Southern California based team started in 2006, and will probably be the first team called 'Fusion' that the Rapids have played since 2001 when Miami still had an MLS team. If Wikipedia's article on them is anything to go by, they also have some... interesting looking jerseys. They also have a player named Dillon Barna, which kind of sounds like Dillon Serna. Yee-haw for random notes!

Apparently the Fusion have done quite well for themselves in the Premier Development League since their team was founded in 2007, so hopefully they'll give the Rapids a decent game leading up the Colorado's first MLS scrimmage against Chivas USA later in the week.

I'll assume that the Rapids will follow the 11 AM match-up with various Super Bowl parties, just like the rest of America will be doing!

As the top seed in the Eastern Conference, Sporting Kansas City will host the 2nd Leg of the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, October 2nd, at Livestrong Sporting Park. Sporting Kansas City have a two goal advantage courtesy of a 2-0 win at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on the weekend. Kickoff will be at 6:00 MST and the game will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel

The Rapids will go into this game facing a selection headache due to three injuries sustained during the first leg of the semifinal matchup. Caleb Folan, Kosuke Kimura, and Drew Moor joined Conor Casey, Anthony Wallace, and Pablo Mastroeni on the injured list and will not be available for selection. Tyrone Marshall also will not be available due to suspension after the Jamaican defender received a straight red card during the first leg. 

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The Wild Card stage of the MLS playoffs are complete and the Conference Semifinals have commenced. The Colorado Rapids will play host to Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinal on Sunday, October 30th, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Kickoff is set for 5:30 MST and the match will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.

The Rapids are fresh off a 1-0 win over Columbus Crew in freezing conditions at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Thursday evening. Colorado faces a quick turnaround against a Sporting Kansas City side that is confident heading into the MLS playoffs as the top seed from the Eastern Conference. The Rapids will be without the services of midfielder Jamie Smith, as the Scotsman tore his ACL during the match against Columbus. 

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For the second consecutive year, the Colorado Rapids will open the MLS Cup playoffs against Columbus Crew. Last year, the Rapids needed penalty kicks in the second leg to send the Ohio club packing. This season, MLS unveiled a Wild Card round that is just one match, with the Rapids hosting as the higher seed. 

Columbus enter the postseason with wins from two of their final three games. However, the month of September was not kind to the Crew as they were winless in five matches, including only one draw. It is also noteworthy that the final game of August featured a Columbus side that was humbled 6-2 at CenturyLink Field to Seattle Sounders FC.

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The Colorado Rapids have already clinched a playoff spot after drawing Real Salt Lake and then getting some help from Sporting Kansas City, but have a chance to both gain a little playoff standing in the Wild Card spots and retain a bit more pride from a disappointing season when they finish out their year against the Vancouver Whitecaps tonight at 5 PM Mountain Time.

Two of Colorado's most important players will miss this match with Drew Moor getting a well deserved rest due to card accumulation and Pablo Mastroeni still struggling with the concussion that he suffered near the end of the Salt Lake match. No word yet on whether he'll be all right for the mid-week playoff game that will be on Wednesday or Thursday. The rest of the team is also tired after the trip to Mexico where they lost 2-0 to Santos before getting knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions League, so it's possible we'll see a fairly reserve-heavy side take on Vancouver this evening.

It probably isn't too bad of a problem to have since all that this will determine is if the Rapids get a home game in the playoffs for the Wild Card round or not; considering they've been a better team on the road somehow that's not even as much of a problem as it probably should be.

Colorado won their previous match against Vancouver 2-1 off goals by Conor Casey and Scott Palguta during that great mid-season run of form. A win today will guarantee they get the #2 wild card slot, else they will have to watch the Houston vs. Los Angeles match and hope that LA gets the win.

On Friday, October 14th, the Colorado Rapids will welcome Real Salt Lake to Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The match is a vital game for the Rapids, who are trying to secure a home wildcard playoff spot. Given the fact that DC United and Chicago Fire recently lost, the Rapids should have no problems qualifying with two matches remaining. However, the Rocky Mountain club desperately wants to claim a home match for the wildcard play-in game. 

This matchup is also special within MLS, as it is referred to the Rocky Mountain Derby. The matchup between Colorado and RSL is not only a geographical rivalry, but also features the Rocky Mountain Cup, which is a trophy given to the supporters of the two clubs by the victor. Since RSL defeated Colorado 1-0 in Salt Lake City last April, Colorado needs to win by a margin of 2 goals to reclaim the Rocky Mountain Cup for the first time since 2006. 

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e: Dammit Richard, you have to make all the Dallas articles have Benitez face!

On Saturday, October 1st, the Colorado Rapids will look to take a giant step into qualifying for the MLS postseason as they welcome FC Dallas to Dick's Sporting Goods Park. At the midweek, a Rapids team full of reserves had a historic win in El Salvador against Isidro Metapán, boosting their chances of qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals. 

The last time Colorado won against MLS opposition was August 13th, a 2-1 win away in San Jose. The Rapids will look to reverse this winless streak as the club has three league matches left, two of which are at home, against rivals FC Dallas (Oct 1st) and Real Salt Lake (Oct 14th). The final match of the regular season is against bottom-feeders Vancouver Whitecaps on October 23rd at the BC Place in Vancouver. 

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