It was every MLS geek's favourite day of the year! No, not the MLS Cup final. Not even the draft or First Kick. Rather it was Don Garber's state of the union address.
An annual opportunity to hear The Soccer Don deliver clichés in a authoritative manner while confirming information reported by some blogger six months ago. The only thing better is when Garber talks to reporters in an prospective expansion city. That's spectacular.
Today, Garber confirmed the 30-man roster, reminded us that the cap will go up to $2.67 million USD (as mandated by the CBA), announced the return of the reserve division (for the truly dedicated/insane) and confirmed the exciting news about the home-grown rule being relaxed.
So, nothing new then.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
He also made some noise about expansion - NEW YORK, BABY! (and the south. If they can find an owner. Good luck) -- talked about tweaking the playoffs (including a disturbing thought of adding teams - don't worry TFC fans, the Reds would still find a way to miss) and moving the MLS Cup final away from a neutral venue to the highest seed playing (no word on whether he got that idea after seeing last minute ticket sales data from Toronto).
Basically everything is fine. And it basically is. There is no CBA cluster-you-know-what hanging over our head this year and, hey, they aren't the NASL, so party on!
That said, there are always things about this league that drive us all a little batty. I, however, have the ability to at least question the league about some of those things.
You see yours truly gets an audience with Garber (along with a select few other bloggers from around North America) on Saturday. That seems unfair. I mean, who am I?
So, let me throw it out to you. What would you like asked of him? The comments section beckons.