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ASN Morning Read

Garber: "Slow and Steady" Trumps "Exciting and Fun"

Major League Soccer wraps up its 2016 campaign tomorrow in Ontario, where snow flurries and sub-freezing temperatures are expected. Want a pro/rel sound bite to add to the chill in the air? You got it.
BY John Godfrey Posted
December 08, 2016
8:45 AM
  • In case you were still wondering, promotion/relegation will never, ever happen on Major League Soccer's watch: 

  • "If you could wave a magic wand," MLS Commissioner Don Garber told ESPNFC, "and not have to address things like: What do you tell a municipality who invests in a public stadium and expects to have the revenue streams that come from being in the first division? What broadcast agreements and other revenues that you have to abide by and manage through Collective Bargaining Agreements and a myriad of other elements?

    "Certainly I can see how fans would think it is exciting and fun, but we are investing billions and billions of dollars in growing professional soccer in North America, and that has us laser-focused on building the right facilities, investing in the right player development programs—which obviously have proven to be successful—to create the right digital and social media activities, and to do it in way that ensures that we have this slow and steady path that ensures viability."

  • Does that sound cold? Well, this is colder

  • Many MLS players just punch the clock, Toronto FC midfielder Will Johnson told the Toronto Star:  “Most guys come in, train, do their work and get out of there. It’s different here and it’s different for a reason—because that’s how we want it to be."

  • Clint Dempsey won't be playing in tomorrow's final, but he is up for U.S. Soccer's Male Player of the Year.

  • Not planning to watch MLS Cup? That's OK. There are approximately 10,000 other soccer matches you can watch on TV this weekend—which is still occasionally shocking to those of us old enough to remember when three televised weekend matches was a pretty big deal.

  • Prediction: Christian Pulisic transfer rumors will not let up until January 31

  • Jurgen may be gone, but Jonathan is sticking around—at least for the moment. Does that surprise you?

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