MLS "continues to insist on allowing games during the FIFA calendar," and with many players on national team duty this week, somebig matchups have "lost much of [their] luster," according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. MLS has "again let down its clubs and supporters by stubbornly defying the sport's annual agenda," as more than 50 MLS players will be "affected this week and next" for national team duty. While most leagues around the world "have stepped aside for countless World Cup qualifiers and other competitions, MLS will conduct eight matches over seven days." The league "undercuts its own efforts of making the regular season matter" and "cheats fans out of seeing teams at full strength." Over the years, MLS has "gotten better in respecting the calendar by arranging fewer matches and, when there is a conflict during the playoffs, going completely dark." It also "halted play during the group stage of the World Cup and, this summer, took a break for part of Copa America Centenario" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/30).
KEEP ON KEEPING ON: In Portland, Jamie Goldberg writes 15 years "after it nearly folded, MLS is thriving." The league is "attracting more fans than ever before and recently signed a historic eight-year TV deal with ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision." And throughout the U.S., more and more fans are "embracing soccer, a strong indication that MLS has even greater potential." MLS Commissioner Don Garber said, "We feel empowered by some of that success, but moving forward, we still see enormous growth. There is a real view that our best days are still ahead." However, MLS "still faces some significant challenges." From the beginning, MLS has "attempted to grow in a slow and sustainable manner by using a single-entity structure and employing a modest salary cap." Still, in '14, Garber said that the league's franchises "were combining to lose" $100M annually (Portland OREGONIAN, 8/30).
