WASHINGTON - Major League Soccer attendance surpassed 2 million for the first time and television ratings increased by 25 percent this season, commissioner Don Garber announced in his state of the league address yesterday.
Garber announced earlier this week that Seattle will be the league's 15th team in 2009, and said another city could be announced by Jan. 31. St. Louis "is a front-runner for expansion," Garber said.
Other expansion candidates include Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami, Montreal, New York (Queens), Philadelphia (Chester, Pa.), Portland, and Vancouver. Las Vegas would play in an indoor stadium.
Seattle sold 5,000 season tickets this week, Garber said.
The San Jose Earthquakes have been reestablished as the 14th team next year, and teams will be required to release a list of players next week for an expansion draft. MLS teams can protect 11 players and will not lose more than one to the Earthquakes.
The site of the MLS Cup, to be played Nov. 23, 2008, will be announced soon, Garber said.
Opportunity for advancement
The winner of tomorrow's MLS Cup will advance to the Champions Cup, which extends from March through May. No matter the result, the Revolution and Houston Dynamo could be involved in the Champions League and Superliga (top four MLS and Mexican League teams) tournaments next year. The Champions League will have 32 teams from the region and compete in group play from August 2008 through May 2009, mirroring the European version.Twellman fan
Eric Wynalda, who will be a commentator on the ABC telecast of the MLS Cup, has predicted the Revolution's Taylor Twellman will eventually break the US national team goal scoring record of 34, which Wynalda shares with Landon Donovan. Twellman has scored six goals for the United States but is on a record scoring pace in MLS, his bicycle kick against Chicago in the conference final bringing his goal total to 100 in playoff and regular-season matches."That's what you dream of doing from the time you are 5 or 6 years old," Wynalda said of Twellman's bicycle kick.
Wynalda remains a strong backer of Twellman for the national team.
"How many times does he have to prove it?" Wynalda asked. "I am impartial to the result [of the MLS Cup] but if anyone deserves to hoist the cup, it's [Twellman]."
Franchino practices
Defender/midfielder Joe Franchino joined the Revolution for training. Franchino (peroneal tendon surgery) played three games, then was declared out for the season and is ineligible for the final . . . More than 40,000 tickets have been sold . . . Cuauhtemoc Blanco's 25-yard blast for Chicago against Real Salt Lake was selected in a fans' vote as MLS goal of the year. The Revolution's Michael Parkhurst was among five finalists for his 57-yarder in a 2-2 tie with FC Toronto Oct. 13.
