Detroit didn't have the horizontal line to make a square in the box, and the goalies were handling the ball up into the arc. Maybe it's the camera angle, but the penalty area in San Diego looks short. (Probably the camera angle.) But... the Detroit thing is more troubling to me, and another situation where not everyone is playing by the same rulebook. WTF?
Worse for Detroit is they have no glass above the goals, so a ball that goes a couple inches above the goal goes out of bounds rather than being playable as a rebound.
The rule book posted at www.MASLsoccer.com is confusing in this regard. It states that the horizontal line shall be drawn, but it still calls the entire arch the penalty area, without any mention of what the horizontal line is actually for. I know at the Sidekicks-Comets game, the goalkeepers repeatedly ran up to the top of the arc on their throw ins.
Except they didn't. They both had the ball out of their hands at the top of the box. ESPN3 still has the video up if you want to see for yourself.
OK, so I noticed in Chicago that the top of the box line is drawn closer to the goal line than the penalty spot. In Dallas, the top of the box line was farther from the goal line than the penalty spot. I happen to agree that I'd rather see the entire penalty area open to the GK, especially since we have the stupid shootout for blue cards rule. But, if there is going to be a line, then everyone should have it, and it should be in the same location on each pitch.