MLS: Television Ratings Are the Biggest Issue Facing the MLS Today

The MLS (Major League Soccer) is fast approaching a serious roadblock to growing into a sport with a truly national following. This roadblock is also related to a common criticism that the sport in general is boring.This sentiment is best reflected in television ratings, because if a sport is truly popular, then there would be people watching it on television.The MLS has television deals with NBC and ESPN, so just how bad are the ratings for the "world sport"? Well, for NBC's first broadcast of an MLS game, there were only 82,000 viewers. If the MLS were a sitcom, the show would have been canceled faster than you can say "Viva Laughlin."True, the attendance figures for games on average has increased, but sports leagues don't make a majority of their money from attendance; they get revenue from television deals. Due to the lack of television ratings, it will be hard for a network broadcasting the games to generate ad revenue because of how few people watch. That is a serious problem, because networks like NBC or ESPN will drop coverage due to lackluster ratings.  If ESPN no longer broadcasts NHL games, then they can very easily pull MLS.There is also a perception problem with the MLS, because ...

Soony Saad Brace and Jon Kempin Saves Lead Sporting Kansas City to 3-2 Win

On a night when MLS teams were falling left and right, Sporting Kansas City managed to avoid the upset and put away 10-man Orlando City 3-2 in front of 12,217 fans at Livestrong Sporting Park in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.Sporting KC were led by a pair of teenagers. 19-year-old goalkeeper Jon Kempin, making the first competitive start of his young career, made six saves, including at least one that would be a candidate for MLS Save of the Week in league play.During the postgame press conference I attended, manager Peter Vermes said:He’s grown a lot and I thought he was very good tonight. He made some really good saves that kept us in the game and also didn’t lose his cool. There are a lot of things we’ve been talking about—managing the game, building out of the back and being confident—and I thought he was pretty good. For his debut, that was a big-time game.In the locker room after the game, I asked Kempin if he'd thought he'd be in a position to make his first start in tonight's game in only his second full year as a pro. He ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Carolina RailHawks: 6 Things We Learned

This has been a May of futility for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy. No wins, only one draw. Could things get any worse for Arena? Could his role as the boss be in grave danger?On Tuesday night, the Galaxy surrendered a one-goal lead to the Carolina RailHawks and lost 2-1 to crash out of the U.S. Open Cup.With a long, long break before the Galaxy return to MLS action, here are six things we learned regarding the culmination of a futile month of soccer for the Galaxy.1. Arena Fails To Take the Cup SeriouslyThis was perhaps doomed from the beginning. A number of key starters were not on the plane to North Carolina: A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Todd Dunivant, Juninho and David Beckham.Because of this, Carolina were able to take advantage of an under-strengthed LA Galaxy side and leave the match late.2. A Full 90 minutes from LeonardoOne of the bright spots to take from this defeat was that Leonardo, who was injured for a majority of last season, earned a full 90 and stoppage starting in the back line for the Galaxy. Whether or not his performance will lead him to playing time during the MLS season remains to ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Carolina RailHawks: 10 Bold Predictions

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy have one last chance to salvage their season when they travel to Cary, N.C., to take on the Carolina RailHawks in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.Kickoff at WakeMed Soccer Park is scheduled for Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. ET.Here are 10 bold predictions for this week's matchup.Begin Slideshow

Poor Starts to Blame for Chicago Fire’s Offensive Struggles

After a 2-1 loss this past Saturday to the Columbus Crew, Austin Berry (second career goal) and the Chicago Fire have to be licking their wounds. The biggest problem the Fire has is getting off to better offensive starts. Going down 2-0 in Columbus marked the ninth time during the season that the Fire have been forced to fight back from a deficit. No one will question the Fire’s resiliency and toughness. There are no issues with the talent. The team has talent ranging from the aforementioned Austin Berry to Mexican superstar Pavel Pardo. Adjustments have been made with Rafael Robayo being added to the starting 11. Before the FC Dallas game, Robayo would be a late game substitution to provide a spark on the offensive end. The thought process behind including Robayo with the starters was: passing would be crisper, shot opportunities would increase, and there would be more spacing on the field. As a result, teams have stacked their defenders around midfield in an attempt to interrupt the Fire’s offensive flow. The Fire must come out with a purpose at the opening kick. They must find Dominic Oduro as well. He has been missing in action ever ...

Kei Kamara, CJ Sapong Lead Sporting Kansas City to 2-1 Victory over Earthquakes

Sporting Kansas City rode first-half goals by C.J. Sapong and Kei Kamara to a 2-1 victory of the San Jose Earthquakes in front of 19,974 fans at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. The win snaps Sporting KC's four-match winless streak.The win was also the first in the month of May since May 16th, 2009 in a road win against Real Salt Lake, a span of 13 matches without a win.Sporting KC opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Earthquakes defender Brad Ring poked the ball away from Teal Bunbury, but Graham Zusi got the ball right back. Zusi made a pass out wide to Kei Kamara on the right. Kamara crossed the ball into the penalty area where Sapong put the ball in the back of the net with a sliding one-timer from about seven yards out.In the locker room after the game, Sapong told us he was wearing a pair of cleats borrowed from Kamara. "I must have packed my shoes in the wrong bag or something," Sapong said. "I came early, didn't even look until 10 minutes to go out and realized I didn't have my cleats. I tried to keep quiet about it. I mean, he (Kamara) is the ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo: Rating David Beckham’s Performance

The cold, hard, nasty truth must be hitting David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy straight in the face. It's hitting him straight in the showers, following him everywhere he goes. A footballer that is 37 years young, and the truth dangles in front of him like a carrot on a stick.No, it's not the fact that Engelbert Humperdinck's song for Eurovision was the second-worst in the entire contest (courtesy of Scotland on Sunday). It's the fact that Beckham is consigned to working with a team of Boy Scouts in man-suits.But despite seeing his Galaxy drop another match, 2-1 to the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, Beckham did show flashes of his past self, as seen in the 10th minute of the match.Beckham delivered a through ball to Chad Barrett, who found Edson Buddle in open space. The goal was Buddle's second of the season, but the Galaxy's defensive issues would make the lead short-lived.A flash of brilliance from the Brit, who is still pining for a certain Stuart Pearce.But alas, there is only so much a man with experience can do when leading this group of Boy Scouts. It leaves the embattled soul frustrated, seething, ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo: Rating the Galaxy Players

This is turning out to be quite the broken record: it's another soul-crushing defeat for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, who can't beat the Sisters of Mercy with their mastery of gong show football. Despite being able to score first, as with the San Jose match Wednesday, the Galaxy capitulated on a own goal by Mike Magee and poor set piece defending en route to a 2-1 loss at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Now there are some readers who argue that my ratings are not fair. Well, to those, I say this: life isn't either, and to the players of the Los Angeles Galaxy, you will continue to get dismal ratings for your performance until you do something right for once and win a game. It's so simple, even a rocket scientist monkey can comprehend it. With all that said, it's time to break down the player ratings.  Brian Perk 5.5 Perk was not helped by the likes of Mike Magee in the first half and could not save the set piece conversion by Andre Hainault in the second half. However, he did make collections and stop a number of chances from Houston.  Bryan Jordan 4 Dead weight is ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo: 6 Things We Learned

This May has nothing short of a month of horrors for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, who have no defense, have a lackluster offense and have another loss to their ever-putrid ledger.On Saturday afternoon, the Galaxy stunk it up once more and suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Tex.Here are six things we learned from Saturday's defeat.Begin Slideshow

MLS: Top 10 Most Unforgettable Moments in League History

When looking back on Major League Soccer's 16-year history, you probably can recall several events that have remained strong in your memory.From the good, to the bad, to the heroic, the league has been full of memorable moments that have been stuck in the minds of fans since the day of their occurrences.Instead of searching through the archives of your brain to remember some of these events, I have conveniently listed some of the best moments in league history in this slideshow.Take a trip down memory lane and enjoy.Begin Slideshow