MLS unveiled its newly-designed Alan Rothenberg
Championship Trophy, which was designed by Tiffany & Co, and
will be awarded to the league champion at the conclusion of
the November 21 MLS Cup at Foxboro Stadium. The league also
unveiled its primary logo for the MLS Cup and announced
"Quest for the Cup '99," a retail promo where fans can fill
out the '99 MLS playoff bracket, via mail or on MLSNET.com,
and register to win a free trip to MLS Cup '99 (MLS).
A HIT OR MLS? After interviewing MLS Commissioner Don
Garber, ESPN.com's Jamie Trecker wrote that Garber is "on
the right track to getting the league back on track."
Trecker adds that Garber "has grasped" that MLS "needs to
focus more on sports fans -- and entertainment buyers --
than just soccer fans" because "hardcore soccer fans just
aren't a big enough audience." Trecker added that for MLS
to "survive, the league might have to embrace an environment
that promises a total entertainment package rather than just
the product on the field," which is how Garber sold NFL
Europe "to countries that plainly didn't want it." Garber:
"All I want to say is that we need some time. We're in a
re-launch mode." Trecker: "This is a dangerous admission
for any sports league to make because it implies that it
isn't doing real well to begin with" (ESPN.com, 9/14).
CUP HALF FULL? In Richmond, Jerry Lindquist writes that
the A-League Rhinos U.S. Open Cup win over the MLS Rapids
"before a crowd of 2,000" at Crew Stadium was a "terrible
game that did nothing to sell a sport that craves attention
it doesn't get in this country. ... Still, it was a big
moment for the ... A-League, which supposedly is a notch
below MLS" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 9/16).
