If you were a fan of the Red Sox or Cardinals -- two teams with huge and loyal followings that extend far into neighboring states -- you were probably glued to your television watching the World Series that ended Wednesday night.

The Seattle Sounders set an MLS attendance record for the fifth year in a row as they averaged 44,038 fans a game at CenturyLink Field. That's higher than any MLB team averaged in 2013 except the Los Angeles Dodgers, who averaged 46,216, and more than double the Seattle Mariners averaged.<

One's first thought upon reading the report that Lionel Messi became the first soccer player to rank in the top 10 in the ESPN Sports Poll of Americans' favorite athletes is, what took so long? It would have said something if, after all these years of blanket coverage of soccer on the major networks, a soccer player did not rank so high. And in Messi's case, he is an iconic soccer figure like Pele and Diego Maradona, ranking as the dominant soccer player of his time.

Telemundo's broadcast of Tuesday's Hexagonal finale between Costa Rica and Mexico that almost resulted in El Tri's elimination from the World Cup averaged 4.64 million total viewers and 2.81 million adults 18-49, outperforming Fox's entire primetime lineup, as well as ABC's programming from 9-11 p.m. ET among adults 18-49.

Fox, without a major European league since the loss of the EPL to NBC and Serie A and Ligue 1 to beIN Sport, has signed a deal with the Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL) to carry the German Bundesliga, beginning with the 2015-16 season.

Mondelez International, the maker of such snacks and gums as Oreo, Ritz, Trident and Sour Patch Kids, is making a major consumer play with soccer through a series of wide-ranging deals with U.S. Soccer, Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara and U.S. national team players.

According to figures released Tuesday, former England and Galaxy midfielder David Beckham banked enough compensation last year to pay for his discounted stake in an MLS team.

The Orlando group seeking an MLS expansion team cleared another hurdle when the Orlando board of commissioners voted unanimously Monday to approve the use of Tourist Development Tax funds for multiple venues, including a proposed downtown soccer stadium.

Major League Soccer has extended its relationship with Match Analysis to utilize its K2 Panoramic Video system, player tracking and tactical analysis tools to track and analyze the movement of all its players and officials in every match.