SI’s Grant Wahl spoke to various MLS coaches and execs during Thursday's SuperDraft about which city would be the best candidate for an expansion team, and St. Louis emerged as a clear favorite. Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch called St. Louis a “great sports town” and noted with the Rams leaving for L.A., it is a "perfect hole that they’ve left for MLS.” Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear said he did not know if a team "would be supported well enough" in St. Louis. But he cited the city's "history of soccer" and said, "There’s a storyline behind it that I think it would be perfect.” NYC FC Sporting Dir Claudio Reyna said, “It’s got a long tradition in the sport.” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes also endorsed St. Louis, saying it “would make for a good crosstown rival for us." Vermes: "In a lot respects their history in the game probably deserves (a team)” (SI.com, 1/14). MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Thursday addressed whether St. Louis was "on the MLS expansion radar" following the Rams' departure to L.A. Garber said, "There are many cities in the U.S. and in Canada ... that can support an MLS team and have owners who want to be involved and cities that want to be engaged with those owners on a stadium. And St. Louis is one of those cities." He added, "I have yet to speak to the governor or the mayor (of St. Louis), but we have been in touch with the group that was leading the effort for MLS and I think it kind of gives a little more momentum to that city than perhaps before the Rams left" (MLSSOCCER.com, 1/14).
REPLAY ON ITS WAY? Garber on Thursday said the league is “pretty focused” on ensuring that third-tier USL adopts instant replay for the ’16 season, with MLS perhaps following in the future if proven successful. “I’m a big believer in instant replay,” Garber said during the SuperDraft. Instant replay, which would enable referees to review goals, red cards and penalty kicks, has been a cause of debate in European soccer. While all North American sports have implemented instant replay, FIFA has been resistant to introducing the technology (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer).
