The objections of D.C. United head coach Thomas Rongen notwithstanding, playing a friendly against Jamaica Sept. 8 in Kingston is a shot in the arm for MLS as well as American soccer. Bruce Arena has called up another eight uncapped players, as well as those who’ve had nibbles with the national team like Jason Kreis and Steve Ralston. This helps the sport, and the league, in several ways: Arena gets a chance to observe the players up close, in his training sessions, in his system, to see what roles they might play. He used every player on his roster at the Confederations Cup, and knew his personnel so well he fielded a reserve team to beat Germany. The players return to their clubs invigorated psychologically. Being among the elite drives players to excel, and they carry that enthusiasm into their MLS efforts. Slacking off in MLS games, as many players did in the first three years of MLS, is now counterproductive. The teams lose players but gain the commensurate publicity, which just about every MLS team sorely needs. Newspapers in Denver, for example, heralded Matt McKeon’s call to the national team for the Confederations Cup, but so did the press in St. Louis, where McKeon was born and played college ball. A league starved for national coverage should exploit the national team call-ups. The tie-ins to hometowns and colleges is a resource MLS has not utilized. Those teams deprived of players for MLS games have to dig deeper into their rosters, thus opening up playing spots for reserves. Sharper competition for spots on the national team will carry over to the MLS rosters. And thus Arena, and the U.S. Olympic coach, will have a larger and deeper player pool to pick from. These games should be scheduled to minimize conflicts with MLS, but they must be pursued. FANS, LET’S HEAR YOUR VIEW Click here to log onto (Soccer) American Graffiti. Then click on the topic titled “YOUR VIEW: Deepening the pool” and respond to Ridge Mahoney in 200 words or less. Best responses may be reprinted in Soccer America Magazine. If YOUR View is selected, we’ll send you a cool T-shirt and pin… Because You’re FANATIC.