I'm just so used to seeing Kroenke be douchey in a soccer context, I was confused by seeing it happen in a football context.

In that way, sure. But it also gives them a bump in ticket and kit sales, surely? In some ways, the limited amounts that they can spend on DPs - and this goes for the whole league, not just LA - might give them more bang for the buck in those areas than stacking the entire first XI.

You're absolutely right, and that's the part I'm bitter about - to your point, I'm a KC fan as they were the first team that really attracted me in any of the markets in which I've lived (Chicago, Boston, New York).

In what way is the NASL better in that regard? I genuinely have no idea - I was under the impression that everything was far more of a free-for-all there, and it would seem to me that would harm the smaller-market teams just as badly but with more transparency around it.

Yeah, I'm with you. I think that my own bias shows in my first post, and it agrees with your comment.

I asked this over at MLS' site recently, and I expect that if I go back to check that I'll be inundated with LAG fans telling me I'm being whiny and bitter. Perhaps there's a better group here for it:

We have it here for soccer, that will have to do for you. :)

My wife and I did our honeymoon doing B&Bs in Ireland, and we absolutely refused anything without a bathroom en suite. Anyone who does not do this is an idiot.

I like that you bought season tickets for a club you're not sure you can support. I'm not being sarcastic, that's actually a great idea to do - you will be able to see a great deal of good matches and it's without any sort of obligation to consider yourself a fan of anything other than soccer.

Fair enough! I think I allowed myself to deviate from my original point, anyway, which I can put more succinctly now: "name" players have too much control over pushing MLS where they want to go once the league contract is signed. The transparency in such things for MLS is terrible.

RBNY is as far beyond most clubs as LAG is beyond RBNY. Using my team as an example: our current international DP is Claudio Bieler. Do you think Lampard or Gerrard would even consider a contract for Kansas City?

As someone who has watched both EPL and MLS for quite a while (LFC and SKC respectively), I can agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment, but also add in some more anger as follows:

I don't even get the error, just an empty area on the page where the stream should appear. Thankfully my wife went off to have a bath, leaving the best TV unguarded.

Illinois is suspiciously front-and-center in that shot. Honestly, I'd take a four-star anything. Caterer?

Four million a win is one hell of a deal. Harbaugh better jump at that.

I cop to being a dumb American! :)

Sorry, you lost me at "Liverpoop." It's one of the key indicators I have when discussing soccer that the poster doesn't really have anything of value to say.

It's interesting that you can know of that recent Basel history and still call the group "obscenely" favorable. "Marginally," I think most Liverpool fans could get behind, but I don't think there were very many who ever thought that this would be an easy group from which to get second, which was the only possible…

Futurama and Doctor Who? Dammit. I already collect the 3" vinyl minifigs from Kidrobot and... whoever does the DW ones.

He's doing science and he's still alive!