10 Teams, single table, play each team twice for 18 games per mini season. 6 teams to the playoffs. Teams 1 & 2 get a bye to the semi final, and home field. Teams 3-6 playoff for the other two semi final spots. 2 seasons, Spring and Summer. Spring: March - Early June. Summer: July - October. Spring Season: March: S1,S8,S15,S22,W26,S29 (S1 = Saturday the 1st, W26=Weds 26th etc.) April: S5,W9,S12,S19,W23,S26 May S3,W7,S10,S17,W21,S24 Playoffs 1: May 28. a. 6 @ 3 b. 5 @ 4 Playoffs SF: May 31. c. Winner of a @ 1 d. Winner of b @ 2. Spring Final : June 7. e. Winner c v Winner d. Summer Season: July F4, W9, S12, S19,S26 August S2, W6, S9, S16, W20, S23, S30 September S6, W10, S13, S20, W24, S27 Playoffs 1: W. Oct 1. a. 6 @ 3 b. 5 @ 4 PLayoffs 2: S. Oct 4. c. Winner of a @ 1 d. Winner of b @ 2 Summer Final S. Oct 11. Winner of c v Winner of d. Grand Final: Oct 25: Winner of Spring v Winner of Summer If same team wins both, then Winner of Both v Best Regular Season Team other than them.
Word around the cup final weekend is that the league will be kicking off in April and the final will be the sunday before thanksgiving....
Didn't MLS say that they would release the 2003 schedule at MLS Cup 2002? Come on--just release the thing! The suspense is almost as good as OT was yesterday!
LA Galaxy Fan not sure if this is what you meant but when said the season is over that doesn't mean that there isn't a playoff game that would be around Thanksgiving as JGOAL5 stated.
So it's kind of like the J-League's format. There are 2 phases in the season and the winner of each phase meet in the final.
I would not be opposed to this J-League style set up (guess I'll be called a Asiasnob now). You'd still get that month off in the summer for international competitions. It would be tight, but there is still room for U.S. Open Cup games. I'd add that the top two teams from each season (Spring/Summer) get the MLS spots in the Concacaf Champions League. Would like to see the home & home two legged playoff format (two games gives both sets of fans a chance to see their team in action plus you don't have to worry about rushing ticket sales for a third game; can concentrate on the one) with a single game final. Good post. Interesting idea. Plus, get rid of the all-star game and just show the spring final on ABC and the summer final on ABC plus the grand finale on ABC (since they do about three games a year anyway).