On soccer: Garber has MLS thriving This article basically is an upbeat look at what Garber has done for MLS. My favorite quote of the article:

"The old regime tried to win over the basic American sports fan, which led to things like the old end-game shootout to break ties. Now, the focus is on winning over the ethnic soccer fan who follows teams abroad but hasn't connected to ones here. There really is a strong market for soccer in this country," says Garber, "if you go out and work hard and connect with those who already love the game.

I especially like the last phrase: work hard and connect with those who already love the game. Get those who are already soccer fans behind MLS, and everything else will fall in place. Turn the soccer fans against MLS in a fruitless effort to appease the non-soccer fans, and you have a mess on your hands. (Don't even get me started on the tie-breaking shootouts!) If the soccer fans get behind MLS, two basic things will happen. One, MLS will have a loyal fan base, which is any league's or team's dream. Two, the excitement will be contagious. People like games where there is a lot of excitement. The only way to have excitement is to have loyal fans. I think you get the idea: MLS needs to find ways to be appealing to soccer fans. They have already made siginifant progress (for example, the abolishment of the shootouts and the establishment of a timing system that counts up, instead of down), but more needs to be done.

No Fusion, but MLS still bears watching