MLS new conferences

With the MLS season starting on March 15, with Seattle Sounders FC hosting the L.A. Galaxy, many are wondering about the conferences now that Portland and Vancouver have joined the league.

The addition of Portland and Vancouver brings the league to 18 teams. The MLS wanted to have two conferences of nine teams.

Since the league currently had two conferences of eight teams someone would have to move to the East. Unless the league did something dumb like make Portland go to the East.

But thankfully the MLS decided to continue with the geography and send the furthest East team of the Western Conference to the East. That would be the Houston Dynamo.

Along with the new Conferences also comes a new play-off qualifying system for the league.

With 18 teams playing a balanced schedule, we will see the top three teams from each conference automatically qualify, followed by four wild-card teams regardless of conference.

However, the wild-card teams square off with a play-in game to reach the main field, where the survivor with the lowest seed will face the conference winner with the most regular-season points, and the higher-seeded wild-card team will play the opposite conference winner.

Now I'm not sure what will happen next season once Montreal joins the league. But we'll worry about that next year. For now, let's just hope the season get's started the right way in two weeks. With a Sounders FC victory!

Portland Timbers 2011 jersey

Earlier this week I showed you a preview of the 2011 Seattle Sounders FC jersey.

Well tomorrow, December 9, the Sounders biggest rival, the Portland Timbers, will unveil their 2011 jerseys.

Seattle's other rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps, showed off their new logo and jerseys earlier this fall. And I must say that I really like their logo. It's very sharp.

The jerseys on the other hand, are pretty plain and simple. But at least they don't have the dumb "X" pattern that the Sounders do now.

The Timbers jersey sponsor will be Alaska Airlines. While the Whitecaps jersey sponsor is Bell Communications.

Here's a look at the logo and jerseys for the Whitecaps:

This is how the MLS should look by 2011

There currently 15 teams in Major League Soccer. The teams are divided into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

These conferences, in case you couldn't tell, are divided up based on the location of the club. Seven in the East and eight in the West.

This got me thinking that how will the conferences be divided up over the next few years as the league expands by three teams, Philadelphia in 2010, and Portland and Vancouver in 2011.

Philadelphia joining will obviously head into the East, making two conferences of eight teams. But what about when 2011 rolls around?

Well, obviously Portland and Vancouver are both located on the West coast, so they couldn't just split the two teams among the conferences. Instead, realignment will be needed.

And I have come up with the solution.

The Eastern teams are currently:

• D.C.
• New England
• Chicago
• Kansas City
• Columbus
• Toronto
• New York

The Western teams are currently:

• Los Angeles
• Seattle
• Salt Lake
• Houston
• Chivas (LA)
• Colorado
• Dallas
• San Jose

Now, add Philadelphia to the East, (cause that is obvious) and in 2011, add Portland and Vancouver to the West.

To make up for the Wests new teams, looking at geographical locations, it only makes sense to move Houston and Dallas into the East.

This will create two equal conferences of nine teams each.

And 2011 will be great for the MLS. I can't wait to see three teams in the Pacific Northwest competing in professional sports. Go Northwest! And the best part is, the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps will create instant geographical rivals.