Major League Soccer

Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney moves the CBA story along about a fraction of an inch by reporting that the league and players union are engaged in "marathon talks." He then goes on to re-state all the conventional reasons why a strike would be a black eye for the sport.

But other than the fact that the two sides are talking, we really know next to nothing about what is happening. All I can say at this point is that it remains a positive sign that the sides are talking and that no one is throwing the dreaded word "impasse" around.

Other than that, there's nothing...

So, DC United has gone out and signed MLS' first ever Australian, forward Danny Allsopp from Qatar's Al-Rayyan club.

Earlier, I tweeted that I hated the move. Maybe that was a bit harsh. Let me restate it this way instead. I am hugely worried about this move. Here's why.

First off, I don't know what his salary is yet, so this is just speculation on my part. That said, I suspect he's going to be overpaid. Why? Because that's why a player goes to Qatar and...

I just spoke with a prominent MLS player agent on the ballroom floor regarding the labor negotiations. Here's what he had to say:

• There have been two recent meetings between Garber and the union chiefs. One took place last Friday 1/8 and another took place yesterday (Wednesday) in Manhattan. He didn't know anything about what took place in those meetings.
• There is a real concern amongst the players that the Union is not keeping the rank-and-file informed.
• Says that the "two big things" the players are pressing on are guaranteed contracts and free agency.
• He said, "the players are

...

I'm live on the floor at www.twitter.com/aaronstol.

I am here live in the MLS Superdraft in Philadelphia and let me tell, Union fan are out in force. They have nearly half of the spectator area to themselves, with DC and NY fans located on the quiet side. Philly fans have been singing and threatening to get into it with NY fans in the lobby.

Hell of a scene. I've just gotten off the bus so I need to catchup with all the moves.

Okay, so DC got Troy Perkins back. That's fine. He's an upgrade over the pu-pu platter we have back there last season.

Fred is staggeringly overrated so I don't mind losing him so much. If Fred wasn't Brazilian, he'd be down in the USL with other players of his ability.

That said, right now DC has one MLS-caliber central midfielder (Simms), one unproven and apparent malcontent (Szetela), and a non-entity known as Brandon Barklage.

DC better have something(s) else up its sleeve or else they've collectively lost their minds over there. That first round...

Believe it or not, tomorrow will be the first MLS Draft I've attended despite following this league from its inception. I've always wanted to get to one of these, but even when they were in Baltimore, I could never make it and the draft location sync my school, college, and/or work schedules. Thus, I am really looking forward to it, but if you want deep breakdowns of who's going to go where, look elsewhere, because quite frankly, I have no idea.

I don't pretend that I scout these players and...

I cannot go more than a day or two without reading another impassioned screed excoriating the owners in the on-going MLS labor negotiations in order to avert a "lockout." First of all, allow me to quickly crib from Dan's outstanding explaination of why a labor stoppage in MLS will not likely be a lockout.

...

My hands shake as I prepare to write a sentence I never thought I'd have to write. Today, we witness an event that shakes the foundations of society. The moment we dreaded most and expected least has finally, finally come to pass.

It appears that the New York Red Bulls made a competent coaching hire.

God help us all.

In all seriousness, I really like Hans Bakke's resume. He's had lots of success in Scandinavia working under similar financial restraints to MLS and...

I am really happy to see an MLS team finally hire a Mexican coach full-time now that it's looking like Chicago is going to hire Mexican Carlos de los Cobos from the Salvadorean NT. (Javier Ledesma was first Mexican to coach in MLS with Chivas, but as an interim coach). It's never made sense to me that nobody in MLS has ever looked South to find an ambitious Mexican coach eager to move and coach in the US. I've always wanted someone in MLS to throw lots of money at Enrique Meza who...