I could see them playing 24 more, rather than just 24. Use those extra two games to fill in for the odd numbers in the conference, and count everything. It wouldn't be quite as "even", but it would be close enough.
They'll at least have to even out the # of home and away matches for teams, so it won't be just a conference schedule. I imagine it would be conference + whatever else is needed to balance things out.
I doubt they do that but if they tried it would prompt complaints about tampering with the standings. The first 2 weeks were played in good faith and should count. MLS also won't want to refund tickets for what they claimed were competitive matches but now don't count.
Perhaps, but there were kind extenuating circumstances. Pretty sure most people would understand and move on real quick.
You say that, but almost assuredly the teams that make the post-season would be different with and without the result of the two rounds already played. If the two games are ignored and NYCFC makes the post-season over Atlanta United FC, the shit storm will go on for years.
Hell, in this scenario if the Rapids miss the playoffs by less than 6 points, I'll still be posting about it during MLS's 50th anniversary year...
Like everyone else, I have heard absolutely nothing official about what the rest of the season looks like. If, however, they decided to hold the season with fewer games, it seems possible to me that they could do something like "home and away within your conference", in which case they might not count some of the games already played, because they were inter-conference.
I could see that as a new schedule. They aren't likely to get 34 games in this year. But whatever they do when they resume, they shouldn't exclude the games already played from counting in the standings. As a Crew fan, there's an element of self-interest but I remember when baseball struck in the early 80s and had their split season. The Reds had the best overall record that year but were left out of the playoffs because they were a half game behind the Dodgers due to the latter having played 1 more game.
I've posted this several times: That doesn't work with 13-team conferences and a cramped calendar because it idles two teams every weekend when they could be playing each other.
I'm not going to go through the whole schedule to determine feasibility, but if you have 10 teams from each conference play each "match day", and 3 off, then you have pretty much a "three on, one off" cadence, which if you're cramming it down to playing weekend + midweek every week seems about right to me.
Then just make imbalanced conferences by putting Nashville in the east. Western teams get to play rivals an extra time or 2. Just a thought.
Perhaps Garber looks to what the NFL did for the 1982 strike shortened season. A one time expansion of the playoffs. You could go to 8, 10, 12 or all 13 in each conference. These are extraordinary times, a little flexibility in terms of scheduling / post season should be expected. It might go a ways to help fan bases in Miami and Nashville who must feel like the rug was pulled out from beneath them. *Edit* Actually come to think of it if you "scrap" the first two weeks and reset with just intraconference matches to determine post season tournament seeding, you could easily go to all 13. You could then add the points from the first two matches back in for the purpose of draft position, shield position so those points are not totally ignored, but are also not used to determine tournament seeding.
I've started a thread in You Be The Don for discussing what MLS should do if it restarts the season. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/what-should-mls-do-if-the-season-restarts.2109494/
Trouble in Fiorentina? Looks like our esteemed "savior of American soccer" is mad about government red tape and is threatening to sell the team. Fiorentina can't compete at the highest level without a new stadium, hmm...sounds familiar.