NEW YORK -- Major League Soccer hopes to place its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. "Were making progress in both of those markets. I wouldnt say were close," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday ahead of this weekends championship game between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City. Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham is leading the Miami effort and has the right to an expansion team at a discount fee of $25 million. "We are very excited about the opportunity of David putting together an ownership group and finalizing a stadium site in downtown Miami," Garber said. "We cant go to Miami without the right stadium solution. David understands that. The city understands that. That is an indisputable fact." New teams have been announced for 2015 in New York City and Orlando, Fla., increasing the leagues total to 21. MLS began with 10 teams in 1996, expanded to 12 and then contracted to 10 in 2002 when Miami and Tampa Bay were eliminated. "The Miami today demographically, socially, politically is very different from the Miami of 2002 where we folded the Miami Fusion," Garber said. "So we believe Miami could work if we get the right stadium situation. We dont have that yet." Falcons owner Arthur Blank heads the Atlanta venture, which would play at a new stadium for his NFL team, a venue scheduled to open in 2017. "Weve been working on a downsizing technology that we think would be unique, would be the only one of its kind anywhere in the world," Garber said. "Weve got to continue to work hard with Atlanta to see if this whole project makes sense for them. But I am encouraged by the discussions and hope to be able to finalize something." They would give the league 23 teams, one short of the leagues goal for 2020. Garber said Tuesday that Minneapolis, San Antonio, St. Louis and Austin, Texas, are among the possibilities for a 24th team. MLSs regular-season attendance average increased from 15,504 in 2006 to a record 18,807 last year before dropping slightly this season to 18,594. Garber said the league is spending more than $20 million annually on player development and must grow revenue. "Major League Soccer still loses money as an enterprise, and weve got to find a way that we can get closer to being a break-even enterprise," he said. The league receives an average of about $28 million annually from its national broadcast contracts with ESPN, NBC and Univision, which expire after the 2014 season. In the first season after Beckham left the Galaxy, regular-season ratings dropped from an average of 180,000 viewers to 170,000, according to Nielsen Media Research. However, viewers for the playoffs not including the final have increased from 240,000 to 270,000. "We did a heat map of the MLS broadcast schedule against that of the EPL, two other European leagues and the four other major leagues in this country, and you get dizzy looking at the MLS schedule," Garber said. "What we need to have is a consistent game of the week or games of the week that run from the beginning of year to the end of the year as much as we can at consistent times. And if that can be a Friday or a Saturday or a Sunday, that would be a positive." In its first season televising the English Premier League under a $250 million, three-year contract, NBCSN is averaging 429,000 for games televised in the U.S. mostly on weekend mornings. Nine games on NBC are averaging 788,000. "I think what NBC did for the Premier League is unprecedented in the history of pro sports. They really took the Premier League and made it as important as anything that was going on in the NBC Universal family, and its paying off in ratings and its certainly making economic sense for them," Garber said. "So if were able to create that kind of a scenario with a broadcaster, I think it would be beneficial for us." Garber also went into detail on the leagues examination of whether to switch its March-to-December schedule to the international calendar, which runs from August until May. MLS discussed playing from July until December, taking a break and finishing from late February until May. "Its not just about are we going to play a few more games in cold-weather markets at an earlier time of the year. Its about what do we do with an extended break, because I dont care what market it is, were not playing in February and in January in places like Toronto, Vancouver," he said. "We went through some fairly extensive discussions as a league to figure out if we could do this sometime in the future. It wouldnt have been for 14. But thats not something that were going to do in the short-term." He also promised more transparency in the leagues complex and opaque player control rules, which make if difficult at times to determine which teams control rights. "We are still evolving," he said. "and we still are doing some of this stuff on the fly." Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Air Max 90 Cheap Uk .Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St. http://www.airmax90outletuk.com/.com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Air Max 90 Wholesale Uk . -- Falcons running back Steven Jackson, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday. Cheap Nike Air Max 90 Online .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45.On Sunday, TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Bob McKenzie revealed their projected list of players who will be named to the Canadian Olympic hockey team on Tuesday based on information that they have right now. The pair also spoke to how P.K. Subban might deal with a reduced role on the team, the make-up of the Canadian defence and whether or not players currently on the fringes - like forwards Chris Kunitz and Martin St. Louis will make the squad. Hockey Canada announces its mens team for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games on Tuesday. You can catch full coverage live on TSN, TSN Radio and TSN.ca at 10am et/7am pt. Goaltenders: Carey Price, Roberto Luongo and Mike Smith Defence: (Left) - (Right) Duncan Keith - Drew Doughty Jay Bouwmeester - Shea Weber Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Alex Pietrangelo Dan Boyle (R) - P.K. Subban Forwards: (Left Wing - Centre - Right Wing) Logan Couture - Sidney Crosby - Steven Stamkos Jamie Benn - Jonathan Toews - Corey Perry Matt Duchene - Ryan Getzlaf - Claude Giroux Patrick Sharp - John Tavares - Rick Nash Patrice Bergeron - Martin St. Louis Fighting for Positions: Forwards: Eric Staal, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Marleau and Jeff Carter Defence: Mark Giordano, Dan Hamhuis, Marc Staal and Brent Seabrook Considering the minutes he logs and the role he plays for the Montreal Canadiens, can P.K. Subban be a seventh or eighth defenceman for Canada? Dreger: If you ask P.K. Subban, hell say absolutely - "Just name me to the team and Ill worry about where I fit in when we get to Russia and we start competing in the Games." But from a management or coaching perspective, Team Canada has to ask the question. Youre a big minute guy for the Montreal Canadiens - are you okay with being a bit player - if you will - not playing in games and being used sparingly if all the defencemen on Team Canada remain healthy? Again, I believe that the answer is yes. P.K. just wants to make this team. Back in the summer, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said hed like four right defencemen and four left defencemen. Do you think it will end up that way? McKenzie: I think its likely that its going to be four lefts and four rights and that might be problematic for P.K. p;Subban or Brent Seabrook or Dan Boyle, one of the very good right defencemen.dddddddddddd. But I think this is what Mike Babcock wants. Now in the final analysis, do they maybe change their minds and go with two rights and go with Subban and Seabrook as your seventh and eighth defencemen? I suppose thats a possibility, but I dont think theres any question that Mike Babcock would prefer four lefts and four rights. Chris Kunitz is having a great year alongside Sidney Crosby and hes listed as "fighting for a position." Can he win over the decision makers? Dreger: I think he can, but its going to be a really difficult decision and the next round of decisions will be made on Monday. And dont be surprised if Kunitz becomes one of those players who is a final decision leading up to the announcement as late as Tuesday morning. Thats what its going to come down to. Statistically, hes made a very strong case. Is he better than Patrick Sharp? Is he better than Matt Duchene or Jamie Benn? And what happens, God forbid, if Sidney Crosby goes down? Can Chris Kunitz be as effective without No. 87? Steve Yzerman did not pick Martin St. Louis for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, but now hes the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis has been a superstar for him. Is there any way he cant pick St. Louis? McKenzie: I cant imagine that Martin St. Louis is not going to be on this team and when I look at that right wing position and you see St. Louis competing for a spot, I can see possibly four guys ahead of him - Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux, Corey Perry and Rick Nash. I believe that those four guys will be on the team, but I also think in the final analysis, with Stamkos out and St. Louis absolutely carrying the Tampa Bay Lightning, I cant imagine that Steve Yzerman can do anything but make St. Louis one of the 14 forwards. If thats the case and there are five guys on the right, then youve got seven guys - Logan Couture, Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Patrick Marleau, Patrick Sharp, Eric Staal and Chris Kunitz - with only four who can make it. Thats the kind of difficult decision that people will have to make. Hockey Canada announces its mens team for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games on Tuesday. You can catch full coverage live on TSN, TSN Radio and TSN.ca at 10am et/7am pt. ' ' '
