"For a league that non-believers will tell you really doesn't matter, Major League Soccer has certainly generated a whole lot of press these past few months," observes The Globe and Mail's Stephen Brunt of the months of offseason talk surrounding David Beckham and MLS expansion talk.

While even the biggest companies and most solid sports leagues are cutting back, with its announcement of new teams in Vancouver (Wed.) and Portland (expected Friday), MLS "is the only North American professional league that is growing in the face of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression," points out Brunt.

"The fact anyone is willing to ante up to buy into a sport that has been the subject of an active will-it-survive debate in North America for the better part of 30 years," states Brunt, "suggests something has gone right both in terms of the game, and in terms of the league's business model."

 

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