There Is Only One Sinnacle

MLS fans had better brush up on their French. They also might want to learn a few bars of “O Canada” for good measure.

That’s because Montreal and Vancouver look certain to be candidates for the next two expansion teams added to the league, with a formal announcement coming around the MLS Cup this November.

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Currently their are 14 teams in MLS with Seattle and Philadelphia on the way. MLS has stated that they wish to have 18 teams by 2012 but as expansion fees get higher I’m sure that by 2016 the MLS will top off at 20 teams.

The four cities that should be awarded an MLS franchise.

17. Montreal - New soccer stadium, great city, with Toronto being a success the MLS will look to expand further into Canada and Montreal makes a logical choice. The strong Canadian dollar coupled with future rivalries with the likes of Toronto, New York and New England, all three cities close enough to traveling support to watch a game makes Montreal a logical choice.

18. Vancouver - A perfect choice to compliment the new Seattle franchise. Toronto before being awarded an MLS franchise has failed to support a soccer team since the Toronto Blizzard days in the NASL, Vancouver has always been able to maintain a strong local fan base for the Whitecaps.

19. St Louis - Strong history with the game as the 1950 U.S World Cup squad was mostly made up of players from St Louis. The NASL was started by a St Louis resident. Fast forward to modern days St Louis is a hot bed for soccer plus it would strengthen the mid west region of MLS.

20. Portland - College Sports aside they is only one game in town with the Trailblazers who has always had strong local support in good times and bad. Key theme with most of the expansion choices adding Portland will create a strong northwest base with Seattle and hopefully Vancouver.

Teams that should never get an MLS team.

1. Las Vegas - How many teams have to fold before the message is sent. a) Vegas is a shift work town. It’s isn’t a 9-5 job environment thus many people are either sleeping or working when the games start. Plus playing in the summer is bad enough in most cities. Playing in the heat of Las Vegas would almost be too much.

2. Any Florida city - They had their chance and failed with Miami and Tampa Bay folding. College/NFL aside people just don’t support pro teams when they not winning. Miami heat can’t draw fans when they not winning and the Florida Marlins have one of the worst attendance in Major League Baseball.

3. Ottawa - Government town with no real history with the game. That being the case many of the local residents come from other parts of the country thus making it tough for the team to build a relationship with the citizens.

It appears he is not happy with Ruud Gullit

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New coach = new ideas and Xavier wasn’t a part of Gullit plans going forward. To be honest Xavier never seemed to find his footing playing for the Galaxy after a decent run at Middlesbrough in 2007 so him being released can’t come as a shock. With that said a coach shouldn’t throw a player under the bus after he is released. It isn’t like Xavier was accused of not trying out on the pitch.

On a personal front never could quite forgive Xavier hand ball call against France in the semi finals of Euro 2000 that is until he was in the stands with the fans during the semi finals of the 2006 World Cup. You could tell that he wanted Portugal to win and it’s rare to find non big name players watching the National team live.

OKLAHOMA CITY — An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on Friday after a passenger stripped nude and later tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of a professional soccer team and others, the FBI said.

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See British press this is an example of a flight from hell. The death penalty should be in effective for these type of people. Commit murder you should rot in jail and suffer for the rest of your life. Being an idiot on a plan and risking the lives of outside, hell just walking out of a bathroom naked should be enough to flip the switch as that person offers nothing to society.

NEW YORK (AP) - Canada player of the year Dwayne De Rosario and two other members of the national team were chosen to represent Major League Soccer as reserves for the American league’s All-Star Game against West Ham United on July 24.

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With the exception of the MLB all star game that never seems to end tonight most North American based sports all star games are awful. The MLS format however I do like. It’s fun seeing a European team take on the best of MLS. Sure match fitness for West Ham will be an issue so early in the season but it gives the MLS players motivation to put on a performance which usually leads to a decent game.

After a 14-year professional career that saw him play in Germany, England and Scotland before returning to the United States, former U.S. national team captain and New York Red Bulls midfielder Claudio Reyna is retiring immediately, sources within MLS confirmed to ESPNsoccernet on Tuesday.

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While Reyna was an expensive bust for the New York Red Bulls, he can look back fondly on his career. Reyna has played all around the World and was captain of the U.S national soccer team at the World Cup. Nothing flashy but the type of midfield who gave it his all for the full 90 minutes which endured myself to many fans.

My weekly catching up on the world of MLS.

MLS is now the only show in town until the European season starts up again.

One of these weeks I’ll remember that they post it on Wednesday night.

NEW YORK (AP) - France and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry can see himself following David Beckham’s path and leaving Europe to join Major League Soccer - someday.

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This won’t happen for another year or two at least it will happen at some point. Henry often makes mention of his fondness for the United States and how he can see himself playing in the MLS one day. He is also close friends to Tony Parker and makes time to watch basketball whenever possible. The MLS gets a rap for being a retirement league but the day Henry does decide to cross the pond will be a good day for MLS and its fans none-the-less.

Always a good recap of the goings on in the world of MLS.