The following are quotes from the June 8 MLS media teleconference that featured MLS commissioner Doug Logan, MLS executive vice-president Ivan Gazidis, Dallas Burn coach David Dir, Dallas Burn midfielder/forward Jason Kreis and Kansas City coach Bob Gansler. Doug Logan Opening Remarks “The first installment of our All-Star Fan balloting numbers will be released today, and [D.C. United midfielder] Marco Etcheverry leads all players with over 9,500 votes … Overall, the balloting on Yahoo! is going extraordinarily well.” “Attendance held up remarkably well last weekend, despite disappointments in both New York and Los Angeles … Once we get ourselves headed in the right direction with the return of Carlos Hermosillo in Los Angeles we’ll see good attendance … In New York, that situation will right itself … We’re probably a week away from being able to report progress with the MetroStars’ player allocation.” “We are looking at the weekend of Saturday, June 26 with a great deal of interest because we will have hosted our 10 millionth fan on that date … With matches in Washington, Miami, Columbus, Dallas and Colorado, only our auditors know exactly how that fan will be selected, but we have some secret surprise promotion to commemorate that 10 millionth fan … We are well on our way to setting our single-season attendance record … In 1996 we were at 3.1 million fans, before dropping to 2.5 in 1997 and rebounded with expansion to a little over 3 million in 1998 … We will be close to 3.5 million this season by the time this season finishes.” Ivan Gazidis Opening Remarks “We’re continuing to work with the teams in San Jose, Kansas City and New York with respect to their allocated players, but there’s no announcement we can make at the moment … We’re making progress on all three fronts, and we should be able to let you in on some of the progress that’s being made in the next 10 days or so.” David Dir Opening Remarks “We’re very happy with our progress … It’s too early to worry about first place or any place to be honest … We’d like to be at the top at the end of the season, not at the beginning … The team’s making progress on the offensive end and obviously we’re solid on the defensive end … We’re about as healthy as we’ve ever been since I’ve been here.” Bob Gansler Opening Remarks “I’m still trying to digest last weekend’s game [a 1-0 loss at Los Angeles] … There were good signs of progress, but we have not played consistently well for 90 minutes … We’ll have good spells for 30 minutes or a half, but we can’t sustain it on either side of the ball for an entire game … We’re trying to catch up from the preseason and prepare for an upcoming opponent at the same time .. The former has to take precedent, and that’s what we’re about right now.” Jason Kreis Opening Remarks “We’re happy where we’re at right now … It’s important to remember that the heart of this team is in the defense … We’re seeing teams start to score goals, not just us but all the teams, which should continue for the rest of the season … Things continue to bounce well for me right now and I’m just happy with my fortunes … As far as the national team is concerned, I can’t really comment on it … I tend to be more concerned about things that I control so I’ll focus my energy on that and playing well for Dallas, and if I get called to the national team, then that’s outstanding.” Logan on Jorge Campos’ return to MLS “We have a meeting scheduled with him tomorrow to discuss his future with the league … It’s a difficult year to utilize Jorge’s services, with his Mexican League season ending a couple weeks ago, an early start to the Mexican season next year, and the two competitions for the Mexican national team this summer [Confederations Cup and Copa America].” “Unlikely that Jorge will play in MLS this season, but that does not mean that Campos’ MLS career is over.” Kreis on personal success against Kansas City “What I’ve noticed about Kansas City is that they’ve always come out to play against us, and us against them … Neither one of us is scared or wants to play defensively, so those games are open and I get a lot of chances … Also, I grew up in Omaha and have a lot of friends and family at the game, and that provides a lot of energy.” Dir on Wizards being 1-10 this season “It’s a great rivalry no matter the record … When you look at their talent, we’ve never been able to take them lightly … Teams get on rolls and confidence becomes a factor and they’ve had some bad breaks … We have to focus on our team playing the best we can play when we go to Kansas City this weekend.” Kreis on his performance this year as opposed to past seasons “Each year I’ve grown as a player … I’m a better player now than in 1996, 1997 and 1998 … To be fair I still give credit to the team … They’ve provided me with quality chances that are easier to score than they would be to miss.” Dir on scoring woes on the road “The team is going in the right direction each week … We play very well on the road against tough opponents at Los Angeles and at Chicago … We’ve created some chances … We just want to concentrate on getting better each game … The New York game gave me some leeway to get Dodd into his first game and Pareja some minutes where he’s coming off the hamstring injury … Those things are important for the team in the long run, to have 20 players who can start and that’s what you need to contend for a championship.” Gansler on taking time off after national team jobs “There is a major soccer league in existince now as opposed to 1991 … Steve Sampson and I, and David and other coaches are concerned is that we’re lifers as this game is concerned … We hone our craft and hopefully make a contribution … It’s not a matter of stepping aside as much as seeing what opportunities present themselves.” Gansler on difference between A-League and MLS “Coaching is coaching … You have to help younger players along with the technical parts of the game and help more mature players with decision making … What do you do with Mo Johnston and Preki and Uche Okafor but get out of their way? … You have to make sure that they’re comfortable with the way the game is being played and with the way the team is put together … You are an advisor and coach and teacher at all of these levels.” Kreis on impression of the Fusion “I’m pretty impressed with Miami … They have young players who are extremely talented, but its going to be a difficult season since they don’t right now have anyone who is taking the game into his own hands … They’re going to end up doing alright, as far as this being a rebuilding year I don’t know.” “Finishing depends on focus … Training has to be taken seriously … You have to focus to convert the one chance that makes the difference for your team.” Logan on increasing the MLS salary budget “The salary budget is not going to increase … I know that we have temporary dislocations that occur in New York … People think the simple answer is to double or triple the budget and that that’s the answer to everything, but it’s no answer at all … New York is a very different market than others … They can’t do what Columbus did which is draft young and have them grow and mature together … In New York we need one or two or three international players to make a decent business of it … That’s what we’re in the process of doing … I don’t think a couple weeks of mediocre attendance in New York means that we need to throw away a very good business plan … The plan has a long-term horizon, not one of next week or next month which would require us to put financial band-aids on it.”