MLS Commisioner Don Garber, center, greet Union Academy director
Tommy Wilson, right, and sporting director Earnie Stewart
Tuesday at YSC Sports in Wayne.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber toured the Philadelphia Union’s holy triangle of sites Tuesday – first Chester, then Wayne, then Philly – to see firsthand the infrastructure in which the club has invested so heavily in recent years.

Most of Garber’s remarks, to students at YSC Academy and then to a Town Hall audience at City Hall in Philly, centered on the Union and their situation within the MLS landscape. But in a one-on-one setting afterward, members of the media asked Garber some more pointed questions that went outside that local box.

A few highlights:

- First, a question from the town hall audience directed at Garber was aimed at the growth of the game via expansion and television. Garber said that the MLS TV contracts were set through 2022, but “we’re soon to announce over the top a social media package where games will be available on one of the more well-known social channels.” Feel free to speculate what that is, but there is recent precedent for experimentation in that realm. Liga MX and CONCACAF Champions League have taken to Facebook, the NFL used Twitter to livestream games and YouTube has been the chosen platform for the U.S. Open Cup for several years.

- In February, Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl published a report on a “Designated Player-level” prospect who elected not to move to an MLS club due in part to the legal climate in the United States. The player, a Muslim, reportedly did not feel safe in the U.S. in light of President Donald Trump’s (since reconfigured) travel ban on residents from seven Muslim-majority countries. (The player was not from among those countries, Wahl reported.)

Garber said he wasn’t familiar with Wahl’s report or the player or club in question, but he did say the league is monitoring how the executive order changes.

“I think the bigger issue is how is the most recent law going to impact all Americans and impact all businesses. We have a particular interest because of the number of international players we have. I don’t know who that player was and I haven’t spoken to him and I haven’t heard anything else about that specific player. But we are a league for a new America, and you look at those kids there, I pointed to the mayor to look at the diversity of those players that are in the Union Academy, that’s what makes our country great, that’s what makes our league great, and I hope that we’re going to be able to continue to represent the wonderful story of immigration and diversity of our country. But it is very premature. We, like all other sports leagues, are carefully monitoring what’s happening. As you can imagine, we are following it closely to ensure that we are able to operate our business in a way that reflects on our values and those things that really matter.”

As far as any concerns regarding MLS players carrying passports from any of the countries on the list being barred from re-entering the country if they were to travel to a game in Canada, for instance, Garber said: “Not at this point. … None. We have not had any issues, but we are closely monitoring it.”
Read more »

MLS and the MLS Players Union avoided a strike Thursday night by striking a new collective bargaining agreement. The basic facets of the deal provide for a limited form a free agency and increases in both minimum salary and the salary cap, while MLS has confirmed the pact to be a five-year deal. There's much more to be disclosed about the deal, and there are early signs of discord among the players.

Thursday night, the Union released the following statements on the deal:
 

CEO and Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz: “We are very happy for our great fans and had confidence in the strength of the relationship between MLS players and our ownership that a positive outcome in the CBA negotiations would occur and it has. We applaud the leadership of both Commissioner (Don) Garber and the Labor Committee members as well as the MLSPU for coming to a timely resolution in a professional and respectful manner. Well done and now its game on!”

Head coach Jim Curtin: “All of our preparation and focus this offseason has been to get three points on March 7 and we’re all excited to know there’s an agreement for the season to go on as scheduled. We’re counting it down just like all of our great fans and we can’t wait to see everyone at PPL Park on Saturday.”

Union Player Representative Brian Carroll: “Danny (Cruz) and I are proud of the work that was accomplished today by the Major League Soccer Players Union. We are extremely thankful for the fans continued support throughout this entire process. We look forward to a successful season and the growth of soccer in this country.”

Here's what MLS commissioner Don Garber had to say:

“We are pleased to finalize the framework for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with our players. We now enter our 20th season with enormous momentum with our new television partnerships, dynamic star players from the US, Canada and abroad, and two new expansion teams in New York City and Orlando that will debut in front of more than 60,000 fans on Sunday in the Citrus Bowl. This agreement will provide a platform for our players, ownership and management to work together to help build Major League Soccer into one of the great soccer leagues in the world.”

The countdown to the MLS All-Star Game, against Chelsea FC at PPL Park, has begun.

Later today, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter and MLS commissioner Don Garber will officially open the ceremonies with a 2 p.m. press conference on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Here's a preview video to further entice your appetite for next Wednesday's big game. Enjoy.

(Associated Press)

Union captain Carlos Valdes has made the MLS All-Star Game's 18-man roster, and will be eligible to play July 25 at PPL Park against Chelsea FC.

This will represent the first All-Star Game appearance for Valdes, a second-year MLS player who has anchored the Union's central defense since 2011. He was named the club's captain in May, following the trade of Danny Califf to Chivas USA.

"I think it;s fantastic for Carlos and he's most deserving of this," said Union interim manager John Hackworth, who will assist D.C. United coach Ben Olsen with the MLS All-Star Game's technical staff.

"Carlos has had two outstanding seasons with us, he's our captain and it's an honor. We needed another centerback on this roster, and Carlos is one of the best centerbacks in the league. He's very deserving of this."

Valdes earned the All-Star nod Sunday as one of two players voted in by MLS commissioner Don Garber. Both Garber (two selections) and Olsen rounded out the All-Star Game's 18-man roster. The first XI were named a week ago.

It's been a whirlwind 24 hours for Valdes, who followed up his game-winning goal Saturday against Montreal with the first All-Star selection of his career.

The Union have had three All-Star selections in as many seasons since joining MLS in 2010. Striker Sebastien Le Toux started the 2010 showcase game and Faryd Mondragon got the start in goal in 2011.

(Times staff / COLIN KERRIGAN)

It's been 27 days since John Hackworth took over, and in the near-month that he's been at the helm, well, the Union have played pretty-darn good.

But that doesn't nearly do the Union justice, does it?

They're scoring with regularity, playing out-of-their-minds defensively and getting under the skins of their opponents ... as evidenced by their 3-0 throttling Sunday of Toronto FC.

Just about the only thing that should come as a surprise to anyone is that the Union are playing this well so quickly after the firing of their head coach and the dismissal of the scouting director, Diego Gutierrez ... and that they're playing nine matches over a 27-day span, including Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal against Sporting Kansas City.

"Everyone knows what they need to do to get ready for the next game," said Antoine Hoppenot, who tallied the Union's third goal Sunday. "People are ice bathing, getting in the hot tub so they are getting stretching regimens and the guys know what they need to do.  They are professionals so they make sure they are ready for the next game."

The Union -- who also got goals from Freddy Adu, pictured, and Gabriel Gomez -- are making Hackworth look good. They're creating some space between they and last-place Toronto, closing the gap between they and their competition for one of the five playoff spots in the Eastern Conference ... and returning an exciting brand of soccer to PPL Park.

Something that hasn't been there since, say, 2011. Remember those days?

A couple 'how' situations here:

• How does Antoine Hoppenot keep doing what he's doing?
• How did Sheanon Williams make this save, protecting Zac MacMath's clean sheet?
• How cool was it to see Roger Torres make his way onto the pitch? The midfielder, who checked in for Michael Farfan in the 83rd minute, hadn't played in MLS competition since March 24 while recovering from an MCL injury.

#       #       #       #       #

U.S. OPEN CUP: The results of the bidding war to host the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final are in ... and it's only half-good for the Union.

They'd host Chivas USA in a final either Aug. 7 or Aug. 8, assuming both win their respective semifinals. But if the Union draw Seattle Sounders FC, they'll have to travel to the West Coast to face the three-time Open Cup champs Aug. 8.

MLS ALL-STAR XI: The starting XI for the MLS All-Star Game, July 25 at PPL Park, was unveiled this weekend ... and the Union don't have anybody who made the cut.

That's not to say the Union won't have anybody representing the host club when the MLS stars face Chelsea FC, but it's in the hands of MLS commissioner Don Garber, who will pick two players next Sunday, July 15, and a vote of players will yield the rest of the roster, which will be announced on matchday.

It sounds like MLS commissioner Don Garber likes the idea of using his league as a guinea pig for the sport on a global scale.

Garber said Thursday while speaking to the Associated Press Sports Editors that he'd be OK with implementing goal-line technology as soon as possible, should it pass through FIFA's rules-making body later this summer.

Here's how it would work: A ball-tracking system would coincide with a magnetic field that accompanies a special ball, which would send a signal to the referee less than a second after the ball crosses the goal line.

The rules board meets July 2.

Said Garber: "We're interested in being a test league and we hope that we could achieve that. I would be open to whatever it is that could be done to ensure that we have goal-line technology."

So what do you think? Should MLS be the first league to test out this stuff?

(Photo: Associated Press)