Glen Wheaton, Md. Why doesn’t MLS stop its contract with ABC and ESPN? If the MLS wants to grow, how can it without the games on national television where it can advertise the games? ABC and ESPN have [English-language] coverage of all American soccer till 2002, most of which will be on ESPN. How can it help MLS if the TV viewing stays this way? Ridge Mahoney: The games ARE on national TV, as in ESPN and ABC. Now, I won’t say MLS and its broadcast partners have done a good job of producing and promoting the telecasts, but ESPN is by far the dominant sports channel on cable, and ABC is the only — and I repeat only — major network to show any commitment to American soccer in the past decade. Boosting the ratings will take some creative thought, some money, sharper productions, and hopefully, some good soccer. This is just one of many problems the new commissioner and the operator-investors must address, but it is up the league and its broadcast partners to put more thought and more muscle behind its TV elements.