MLS "emerges from its five-month hibernation Saturday, stumbling and blinking into the sunlight of its second season," according to Grahame Jones of the L.A. TIMES. Jones: "In many ways, this year will be more important a test for the fledgling professional league than its inaugural season. ... Now comes the tough part -- improving." Although the league faces a players suit over antitrust charges, Jones wrote that "as MLS moves into its second season, MLS leaders realize that their real fight is not to achieve player peace or to put fans in the seats or to increase market visibility. Their real fight is to find a lasting niche in the overcrowded American sports calendar" (L.A. TIMES, 3/20). In Hartford, Jerry Trecker: "A year ago, Major League Soccer underestimated its impact. Now the question is, can MLS produce an encore worthy of its remarkable start?" (HARTFORD COURANT, 3/20). USA TODAY's Jerry Langdon writes the league is eyeing a 15% increase in attendance -- it averaged 17,416 a game last year -- with ticket prices averaging $13.16. MLS' promotion spending "will be increased fourfold, with an estimated" $2.2M available, up from $500,000 last year. Last year, the league lost $19M and the "anticipated loss" this year is $12.9M. In a sidebar, Langdon adds that fans in the ten MLS cities will be able to see "at least" 72% of their team's games on national/regional TV (USA TODAY, 3/21). GROWING THE FIELD: In St. Petersburg, Rodney Page noted that the league "is expected" to announced today its plans to expand to Chicago and Miami for the '98 season. That move "would seem to provide stability" for the Tampa Bay Mutiny, as there have been "rumors" that the Mutiny would move. MLS Commissioner Doug Logan: "I'm not moving any team during my tenure. So you'd better find somebody to fire me before any team moves" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 3/20). But in Dallas yesterday, Logan "danced around the topic of expansion" (Jill Dorson, FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/20). FEET OF PLAY: MLS took out a full-page ad in USA TODAY promoting the start of its second season with Saturday's game on ESPN2. Under the tagline, "This Stuff Kicks," the ad features a bare foot, along with sponsor identification from All Sport; AT&T; Bandai; Bic; Budweiser; Fujifilm; Honda; MasterCard; Pepsi and Snickers (USA TODAY, 3/21). ALL SOLD: Clash Dir of Ticket Sales John Tebaldi said that Saturday's home opener "will be a sell-out (30,011 capacity) or close to one" (S.J. MERCURY NEWS, 3/21).
