Monday, October 14, 2013  State of Major League Soccer  *Note:
This post is the second in the MLS series. For the first part,
check out Transfer Monday: Vol. Dempsey  This has been a long
time coming. Sorry for the break in between updates. No excuses,
play like a champion. Let's just get right into it by breaking
down MLS into three categories: Format, Schedule, and Quality.
Here's the rundown of how MLS works, for those unfamiliar with
the rules:  Right now, the league has 19 teams split up into two
conferences (Eastern and Western). The schedule is unbalanced to
favor regional rivalries. After a total of 34 games (fairly
divided based on said rivalries,) 10 teams make the playoffs.
The fourth and fifth placed teams of each conference play a wild
card round, with the winner advancing to play the top seed of
the division. From there it is a, somewhat, standard American-
style elimination bracket with the Western Conference champion
facing their Eastern Conference counterparts in MLS Cup.  Now,
traditionalis