In 2011, the MLS schedule was released in February. MLS fans eager for league news got a surprising gift on Thursday when the league released the entire 2012 schedule more than one month earlier than last year. For business junkies, the most interesting part of the release is probably the announcement of nationally telecast games.

Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer is delighted with the rate of growth within Major League Soccer.
The North American domestic league has been going from strength to strength both on and off the pitch in recent years and Hanauer is ‘thrilled' with how things are fairing in MLS.

Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer is delighted with the rate of growth within Major League Soccer.
The North American domestic league has been going from strength to strength both on and off the pitch in recent years and Hanauer is ‘thrilled' with how things are fairing in MLS.

How does a 20-team MLS sound to you as a stopping point? Enough? Too many?

Either way, you might just need to formulate a personal opinion on this matter, because it looks like official MLS policy is leaning in on the big 2-0.

MLS commissioner Don Garber was in Dallas over the weekend for the Red Bulls-FCD contest.

The most powerful and prestigious soccer leagues in the world have stopped at 20. From a huge country like Brazil to a relatively small one like England, 20 clubs seem to be the limit for even the strongest circuits. Whether it's to keep the number of games manageable, maintain the depth of the talent pool or simply a trend, 20 has become the standard.

Great news! In an article printed on Monday by Sporting News, MLS president Mark Abbott stated that there are currently no plans to expand beyond 20 MLS teams. Here's the exact quote:

"Our focus right now is the 20th team in New York and we have not yet set a timeline for expansion beyond that, or even (determined) if we're going to expand beyond that.

All y'all MLS nerds aka My People should find out more about Kathy Carter and Mark Abbott. From the outside looking in you get the impression that The Don runs the show solo for dolo but the man has some help...they just don't get much ink.
Brian Struas nabbed MLS President Mark Abbott earlier in the week and ESPNW just threw something up on Kathy Carter, President of SUM, this morning.

I saw this quote in an article on MLS expansion over at the Sporting News. Nothing really ground-breakingly new in the piece on expansion. The same markets are mentioned but the meat is really in this quote. Abbott says the league will likely slow down expansion after number 20, something I've been saying on here for a couple years now.

With Week 26 action coming to close with a bang, we have a new slate of matches to look forward to. Up tonight we have CONCACAF Champions League action. The Galaxy travel to Morelia to take on the feisty Mexican side. I take issue though with a few of Arena's comments though. In particular he suggests that without the success of Seattle and Dallas, Morelia would have fielded a weakened side.

Since IMS reported over a week ago that the Viking owners have made acclamations that they would like to bring Major League Soccer to Minnesota IF they could get a new domed stadium, nothing new has developed from an official standpoint. However, lots of things have been going on behind the scenes.

The Sons of Ben get Drudged | The Goalkeeper | 04/25/2011
A photo of the Sons of Ben celebrating Carlos Ruiz's goal in the Union's home opener against Vancouver is being featured on the Drudge Report today.

I'm all YSA'ed Out « Union City Blue
Enough already with "You Suck, Asshole" – I really don't care that much either way.

Any talk of promotion and relegation in Major League Soccer was squashed this week when MLS president Mark Abbott announced that there are no plans of doing so. He also mentioned that the league has no plans of switching to the same international calendar that most other leagues in the world use.
Whether the rumors of exploring both were genuine, or just a ploy to attempt to influence FIFA in giving the United States a World Cup bid, it appears that any chance of either of those changes are gone for now.

It's because of you that all must be destroyed.
Quote: Speaking Thursday with the Associated Press Sports Editors, MLS President Mark Abbott said "promotion-relegation is not something we're looking at."
"I don't see that in the future, certainly in any reasonable future for us," he said.

Pre Game – RSL vs Philadelphia Union " Unholy Union
The UU guys joke around about the rescheduled RSL game.

April 30 vs. San Jose to be Dietz & Watson Dollar Dog Day | Philadelphia Union
Chester Pa. (April 20, 2011) – Philadelphia Union's next home game vs. the San Jose Earthquakes will be Dietz & Watson Dollar Dog Day, the club.

The sound you hear is the sobbing of some European soccer fans in the US who have grown up watching games from Europe on TV and see promotion and relegation battles as the greatest thing ever. Because today in an interview with the Associated Press Sports Editor, MLS president Mark Abbott said in no uncertain terms that promotion and relegation isn't happen, at least for the foreseeable future.

The sound you hear is the sobbing of some European soccer fans in the US who have grown up watching games from Europe on TV and see promotion and relegation battles as the greatest thing ever. Because today in an interview with the Associated Press Sports Editor, MLS president Mark Abbott said in no uncertain terms that promotion and relegation isn't happen, at least for the foreseeable future.

NEW YORK, – Today Major League Soccer and FOX Soccer announced the TV schedule for the upcoming season. year. The premier soccer-only channel in North America will broadcast up to 31 regular-season games, plus three exclusive MLS Cup Playoff matches including a Conference Final – all in high definition.

It's official - Major League Soccer and Fox Soccer Channel are back together again, at least for one more year.

The two sent out a press release today trumpeting the agreement which will see 31 regular season games and three playoff games (including one conference final) broadcast by the cable channel.

On a beautiful sunny Saturday Afternoon in downtown Houston, a big festival was forming while dignitaries from MLS, City of Houston, State of Texas and the members of the Dynamo were all on a stage showing everyone what will entail for this 22,000 seat stadium that will be ready for the 2012 season.

As we do every Monday, here is a roundup of some business issues from Friday and the weekend that we didn't hit in our previous posts. We'll start in WPS, where,iIn conjunction with primary partner PUMA, WPS debuted the Women's Soccer Training Collection last week. A number of PUMA/WPS athletes were part of the launch of the new soccer themed clothing line.

Photo by Katy Umaña

At last, the shovels are in the dirt and construction can begin on the Houston Dynamo's new downtown stadium. It's been a long time coming for ownership, staff and fans and all the speed bumps, delays and political debates are over. All that matters now is that this time next year, we'll be preparing to open a beautiful new soccer stadium in Houston.