Jim Rowland Vernon Hills, Ill. How concerned should MLS fans be regarding the players’ lawsuit against the league? Does this lawsuit have the potential to bring down the league financially? What do you see as the practical implications (for the fans) if the players win this lawsuit? If the league wins? Ridge Mahoney: Jim, fans should be worried, since the single-entity structure, in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement, is being challenged. Either by settling out of court or losing the case, the league would be endangered, since I don’t think the operator-investors want a free, open player market and the players don’t like the current setup. Unfortunately, if the case does go to trial, and the league sees it will probably lose, a settlement would be that much harder to hammer out. And if both sides dig in their heels, as they’ve done so far, MLS could be in jeopardy. Ticket prices would certainly rise if the operator-investors must cede freedom of movement within the league to the players, as salaries would have to go up. And it might hurt attempts by the league to sign better foreign players, since more money would have to be paid to players already within the league. There have been talks on and off about settling out of court. It hasn’t happened yet, but I still think it is the most likely resolution. But what financial implications there might be, beyond what I’ve speculated, won’t be known until it happens. Marc Dannon Dallas Why do MLS foreign allocations seem to get better during the season? I was shocked that they were able to get [Alex] Bunbury and [Mauricio] Solis. Wouldn’t it help season tickets sales and get more people pumped if they signed guys like this “before” the season starts? Pete Bailey: In a perfect world, yes, but remember that the March-October MLS season does not run at the same time as the rest of the world’s leagues. Most European leagues run from August until May, which is why MLS signed Bunbury in June, at the completion of his season in Portugal. It’s a lot easier to sign someone whose contract is up or whose season has ended. We’ve seen a number of such mid-MLS-season signings — Carlos Hermosillo, Alain Sutter, Jaime Moreno, etc. The Solis situation is a little more complex. The Clash had been after him for a while, but there were difficulties because his former club (Comunicaciones of Guatemala) owed him a large sum of money and wanted a higher transfer fee than MLS could (or would) pay. These issues have now been resolved and it looks like Solis is set to debut for San Jose on June 30 at Columbus. Dom Apollon Mountain View, Calif. What’s up with Alain Sutter? Will we ever see him in an MLS match again? I remember thinking he was pretty good when he first came into the league, although after awhile it didn’t seem like he was trying real hard. I don’t mean to insuate that he’s feigning injury, but what is the diagnosis? Is this like a Bo Jackson injury or something? I’d really like to see him in a Burn uniform again. (By the way, does he count against the Burn’s foreign player quota?) Scott French: Hi, Dom. Alain Sutter suffered an odd, career-ending hip injury during a training session last season. The injury — torn cartilage — was far worse than it sounds, making it impossible for Alain to run or to have the motion required to play at this level. He remains on the Burn’s roster for purely legal reasons — he and MLS are negotiating a career-ending-injury settlement package — and does not count against the Burn’s foreign quota. Mike Dillon Herndon, Va Why does your current poll not allow votes for “Don’t send anyone to Europe?” Suppose I want to keep them all? I didn’t exactly get four season tickets to D.C. United only to see Tony Sanneh get sold to Hertha Berlin! Let me put it this way: Should I support MLS? Do you? D.C. defeated Vasco da Gama and you said it wasn’t of major significance because the team was not all-American. Hey, we only had two foreigners, Etcheverry and Moreno, for the full game. How many did Real Madrid need to defeat Vasco? My point: keep them all here and MLS will be one of the finest leagues in the world in a very short time. You seem too enthralled with the past, i.e. Europe and South America. We can’t make our own “style” and “tradition” without our own players. I’ll take Ben Olsen over, say, Carlos Valderama or Juergen Klinsman any day. What about you? Ridge Mahoney: Mike, who is being “sent” to Europe? The players, like Sanneh, want to go there, for whatever reason(s). Many other Americans have tried, and failed, or changed their minds. It’s called free will. Most fans tie their loyalties to a club, and of course they suffer if a popular player leaves. But that’s the nature of soccer, and of pro sports, and of business. “Keeping them all here” isn’t as yet financially feasible, given the constraints adopted by the MLS operator-investors. As a fan, would you be willing to pay double current ticket prices to bring Keller, Reyna, Friedel, O’Brien, etc. to MLS, assuming you could convince them their abilities would improve? Our own “style” is a characteristic of the national team programs, not individual teams. I see very little similarity in the styles played by D.C. and Chicago, let alone Tampa and Columbus. Those are functions of the coach’s directives and decisions, not an inherent blend of influences unique to a U.S. player. And “keeping them all here” could stagnate them once they reach a certain level. The coaching and systems and competition in Europe and South America offer Americans opportunities they simply can’t get in this country, with a very few exceptions. Our cover the week D.C. beat Vasco had Bruce Arena lifting the trophy with a headline stating “King of the Americas.” In that same issue, in a My View, I wrote “This was a grand triumph, earned with grit and opportunism and flair, and it was applauded and saluted in knowledgable circles.” And, “The fact that Eddie and Carlos and Ben and John stood toe-to-toe with Felipe and Mauro Galvao and Nesa and Donizete meant a lot to a lot of people.” If you read the story on Sanneh we ran in March, the Hertha scouts were impressed by his performances against Vasco and his goals encouraged them to sign him. Maybe we should forbid our best young players from watching European league games, or European cup matches, or big tournaments like the World Cup and the European Championship and the Copa America, so they don’t get the wrong ideas. Eighty percent of MLS roster spots, by decree, are filled by Americans. If you choose to abandon your team because one player leaves for a better opportunity, that’s a pettiness to which I can’t respond. The league did sign Olsen to a five-year deal, remember, but if you’re comparing players of the same age (22), I might take a Hidetoshi Nakata or any one of the dozens playing for top teams in, you guessed it, Europe or South America — the past (???), as you call it. Of course, on a dollar for value basis, Benny is a great buy, and for the sake of MLS, I hope he stays. If he chose to leave, I’d wish him great success. But I’d certainly let him make up his own mind. Pete Bailey: Mike, our June poll is a chance for fans to vote for which young MLS players they think would succeed in Europe. It doesn’t mean they have to leave MLS. You might want to check out the results of our August, 1998 poll, when we asked whether a young, national-team caliber player would be better off staying in MLS or going overseas — 81% of our respondents thought top young players should go abroad. J.J. Martinez Los Angeles Do you think it would be possible for the MetroStars to make the Metropolitan Oval in Queens their home (I mean, if the grounds were restored)? This would put the MetroStars in a intimate home of their own that has a great soccer history in the New York Metropolitan area. Mike Woitalla: Coincidentally, J.J., I visited the Metropolitan Oval last month, getting a look at the venue before its renovation. It is certainly a nice small stadium for youth and amateur soccer. It would be unsuitable for MLS, though, because the entire plot, which is closely framed by other buildings, is barely bigger than the field itself. I doubt you could ever provide seats for more than a few hundred. Moreover, there is no parking lot, and minimal street parking. An excellent alternative, that would be able to draw the Queens and Manhattan crowds the Meadowlands doesn’t get for MetroStars games, would be Shea Stadium at Flushing Meadows. One plan would have MLS pay for Shea’s renovation if the Mets build a new stadium. (Renovation costs may be the same as demolition costs.) An MLS team at Shea, especially with a Colombian player or two and some decent soccer to offer, should draw extremely well.