The search for a commissioner, as hinted during months of interviews and evaluations, has taken Major League Soccer far away from the well-trodden path of pro sports executives and ex-NASL officials.
No announcement has been made, but MLS has chosen Doug Logan to assume the position that current league chairman Alan Rothenberg had once envisioned for himself at a salary of $1 million per year.
Several MLS owners objected to the high price tag Rothenberg had placed on his services as commissioner, and in short order decided he wasn’t the right man for the job at any price.
Logan, 42, formerly worked at Ogden Foods, Inc., one of the nation’s largest concessionaire services. He will take over most of the commissioner duties this month. Rothenberg will return to the law firm of Latham & Watkins, which he left to serve as World Cup 1994 chairman, and will continue to work for MLS.
On the player front, a waiver snag is preventing defenders John Doyle and Steve Trittschuh from signing with MLS. Both have reached agreements to leave their A-League clubs, but have been claimed on waivers.
Doyle, who played this past season for the Atlanta Ruckus, arranged his release with team owner Johnny Imerman. He must now settle with the expansion franchise in Rochester, which claimed him and is asking $10,000 for his rights — a fee MLS refuses to pay.
MLS should announce the signing of more than a dozen players by the end of November. Included in this latest batch are midfielders Peter Hattrup and Shawn Medved of A-League champion Seattle.
by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney