The additional list include Seattle’s Kasey Keller, Fredy Montero, and, yes… Freddie Ljungberg have been added to the squad.

Goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen (Kansas City), midfielders Joel Lindpere (New York), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), and forward and Conor Casey (Colorado) round out the final group.

The three Sounders will be on the “Inactive” roster.

How Ljungberg makes it over Steve Zakuani? Sad.

RENTON, WASH. – The Seattle Sounders FC announced today that central defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado has been placed on injured reserve due to a torn left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Hurtado suffered the injury in stoppage time near midfield while closing down Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski, who was aiming for a try at Seattle’s open net. Behind 1-0, goalkeeper Kasey Keller had come forward on a 93rd minute corner kick.

Hurtado is required to miss the next six games of the season. He is eligible to return to league play for the July 15 game at D.C. United.

Hurtado, 26, has started and played the full 90 minutes in all nine appearances this season; his second in MLS. He did not play at Toronto FC. Last season for Seattle, Hurtado started and played the full 90 minutes in 28 of 29 appearances with one goal and one assist. He was named an MLS All-Star and was a finalist for Defender of the Year.

The match will take place at Houston’s Reliant Stadium on Wednesday July 28th, when MLS’s First XI take on Manchester United.

Fan voting will comprise one quarter of the total vote for the First XI selections, with MLS players, coaches & GM’s, and media each accounting for one of the other three quarters.

For the first time in League history, fans may also vote by texting a last name from the ballot to “22442.”  Additionally, fans can text an MLS club name to “22442” to vote for all nominees from that team.

Kickoff is schedule for 530p PT.

On the ballot, you can find Sounders Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua, Pat Noonan for Forwards.

For Midfielders- Freddie Ljungberg, Osvaldo Alonso, Steve Zakuani, Brad Evans, and… ummm… Leo Gonzalez

Defenders- Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and James Riley.

And, of course, Kasey Keller.

part 2 of 4 in explaining MLS: The New Collective Bargaining Agreement by Gilby

If you’re like me you were sitting around the week before opening day contemplating life without the MLS this year. The last 5 year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) had expired and the players and owners had spent most of the last month digging in their heels and leaking ominous threats to the media. Players were pushing for Free Agency and guaranteed contract the owners had vowed to shut down the league before granting either. Five days before the season was set to start compromises were stuck and a new CBA was signed with 5 years of labor peace being assured.

The CBA provides the basic structure and the rules that the MLS will use over the next 5 years. Things like salary cap levels, minimum and maximum salaries, contract guarantees, benefits and roster composition are all contained in its 70 some odd pages. Instead of taking you through all of the nitty gritty details of the CBA I’m going to spend my time going over a few of the key changes that I think will specifically benefit the Sounders going forward.

One caveat before I start neither the MLS nor the Union has released a copy of the full CBA yet all we have to go on are the various press releases and information that has been gleaned from player and MLS quotes.

Salary Cap raised $240,000

Obviously every team gets the same salary cap bump that the Sounders do but coupled with the lowering of the cap hit that accompanies signing a designated player the increased cap space offers a unique benefit to teams willing to spend their own money on premier players. In 2009 two designated player would’ve taken up roughly 34% of a team’s cap space making it almost impossible to complete a competitive roster with 2 designated players. In the new system a team can 2 designated players for 25% of their cap space and can use allocation money to lower that figure to less than 13% of cap space making a second DP much more likely for teams like the Sounders that have strong revenue sources.

Salary Floor was raised to $40,000:

In the past the floor for MLS salaries was incredibly low especially for developmental players. Players like Michael Fucito and Sanna Nyassi were making salaries right around $20,000 a year for others it was as little at $15,000. At salaries like that it can be very hard to attract players from outside of the area. In signing Lamar Neagle last year Sigi acknowledged that part of the reason he signed Neagle is that he had local ties and free housing so he could survive on the limited salary MLS was offering. With the raised salary floor the Sounders can use their larger scouting department to cast a wider net then most MLS teams and bring in talent like Montano that may have been put off by the MLS’s previous meager salary offerings.

Exhibition Bonus’s

Although the final figures haven’t been released MLS teams are now allowed to pay players appearance bonuses for exhibition games played outside the regular schedule. For the Sounders this is potentially huge we are among the leaders in scheduling large international exhibitions. These extra bonuses allow creative teams to build extra compensation into lower paid player contracts something I’m sure Adrian will exploit to the Sounders advantage. This is just conjecture but if the Sounders can work 5-10k in extra compensation into a player’s salary that can make a huge difference in attracting foreign talent.

but i am not too proud to say that they are F’ing confusing and i know that i am not alone in this opinion. many of them are unlike any other sport, many of them aren’t published (or at least not up to date) and i can say with confidence, that most fans cannot explain them to another fan. for a while, i hung my head down in shame, not able to look another fan in the eye…. what if he asked me what i though of our use of our allocation money in order to secure montero??? what would i say? but then, about a month ago, i sat in a room with Joe Roth and Drew Carey and they too were asking for clarification from Adrian… so, if the owners don’t always know, well, you and i can be forgiven as well.

so let’s take a look at 4 of the most talked about rules and try to break them down… .

oh, and you are in luck, i am not going to be the one explaining.

last week, i was on the goal seattle board, and for the first time, i read a clear, concise and easy to understand description of all the rules around allocation money. it was so easily digestible, that again, i felt silly for not knowing all of it, but then again, maybe this was the first time in the history of the earth that it had been written in such a simple way. anyway, i reached out to the poster of such fine words and asked him if he would write up a few posts for us. he said sure, and hopefully it is as useful and informative to you, as it was for me. btw, he asked us to call him Gilby and he even uses capital letters… so those of you that hate my punctuation, or lack there of, enjoy.

• Part 2 – The new collective bargaining agreement
• Part 3 – How MLS negotiates and signs contracts
• Part 4 – The new home grown player rule

and without further wait…

Part 1 Allocation Money the Abridge version.

By Gilby

In the world of MLS Jargon one word causes more confusion than any other; Allocation.  It doesn’t help that MLS uses the word to refer to two separate an unrelated roster rules.  The first is the Allocation list which determines the order in which MLS teams can pick returning U.S. National team players.  The Second which I’m going to go over today is Allocation Money.

What is Allocation Money?

Allocation Monies are funds that teams can use to exceed the set cap of 2.55 million or to exceed the individual salary maximum. They are provided by the league and paid by the league. Teams can use the allocation funds on one of three ways:

1. They can use those funds to pay a onetime transfer fee to acquire a player.
2. They can be used to buy down a player’s salary either partially or to pay their whole salary.
3. They can be used to buy down a designated players cap hit reducing their impact on the overall salary cap.

There are some caveats Allocation Money cannot be used to reduce the cap hit of an existing contract and in most cases you cannot use Allocation Money to resign an existing player unless approved by the league.

How does a team get Allocation Money?

When you look up the official regulation about how Allocation Money is the dispersed this is what you get:

A club receives allocation money for (1) poor performance during the preceding MLS regular season; (2) the transfer of a player to a club outside of MLS for value; (3) roster purposes due to expansion status; and/or (4) exceptional circumstances as approved by the Competition Committee.

So you can receive allocation dollars if you are a. Bad b. sell a player to a foreign league c. are an expansion franchise or d. any reason the MLS sees fit.   The other problem here is that although we know Allocation Money exists MLS does not publish when Allocation Money is granted or how much it is. The only specific amount that is published revolves around the Allocation Funds a team can receive by selling a player.  In this case the team typically receives 2/3^rd of that fee and up to $650,000 can be used as Allocation Money.

Why is Allocation Money important?

Allocation Money has a number of advantages in addition to being able sign a player over and beyond the cap and salary maximums.  Allocation Money can be traded , last year Seattle reportedly gave up a 100k in Allocation Money to acquire Tyrone Marshall.  It can also be used to buy down the impact and cost of a Designated Player.  In the past a Designated Player would take up $415,000 in cap space almost 20% of a team’s total cap.  The new rule has lowered that number to $335,000 and now allows teams to use Allocation Money to buy down that cap hit to $150,000.  What this all means is that if you can acquire enough Allocation money you can basically have three Designated Players while taking up same cap space as one player last year.

MLS also notes how revenue will be shared between the clubs and the league if players are sold.

RELEASE: As part of Major League Soccer’s ongoing efforts to improve the quality of play, the League has added two additional roster slots per club for Home Grown Players identified and developed by the local club. This creates additional opportunities for top young players in the United States and Canada to gain MLS experience.

In conjunction with the League’s partnership with adidas and its commitment to player development, MLS clubs may also sign Home Grown Players from their youth development programs to Generation adidas contracts without those players having to go through the SuperDraft.

MLS launched its youth development initiative prior to the 2007 season, requiring each team to establish a program separate from the first team with at least two youth teams and a full-time coaching staff. Several of these programs are free of cost to the players.

“Our clubs have made a significant investment in their youth academies and many of those players are ready to take the next step in their development by becoming professionals. We have increased the roster size to ensure that our teams have the ability to sign those players,” said Todd Durbin, MLS EVP of Player Relations and Competition. “This change illustrates our continued long-term commitment to player development.”

Players registered for at least 12 months in an MLS youth program become eligible to sign a professional contract with that team without entering the MLS SuperDraft. These are known as Home Grown Players, and teams may sign up to four such players per year. Since the inception of the Home Grown Player initiative in 2007, 10 players have been added to MLS club rosters with this mechanism.

“With the Generation adidas program and ongoing youth initiatives, adidas has a long-standing commitment to player development in the US,” said Antonio Zea, director of soccer for adidas America. “This roster expansion takes the important step of adding to the number of players getting experience at the professional level and gives up-and-coming players one more opportunity to play for their hometown teams. We at adidas are proud to be partnering with MLS to offer these additional on-field opportunities.”

Each MLS team’s 26-player roster is now structured as follows:

Senior Roster (Slots 1-20)
MLS teams may have 18-20 players on their senior roster. These players will make no less than $40,000 per year and count against the 2010 team salary budget of $2,550,000.

Protected Roster (Slots 21-26)
Teams may have up to six players that do not count against the salary budget. Players on this roster may include Generation adidas players, players earning the 2010 League minimum player salary of $40,000 per year, and two of these six slots are reserved for home grown players who earn a minimum of $31,250 in 2010.

Teams are not required to fill all 26 slots at any given time.

At the same time, MLS increased the portion of a transfer fee that a club receives in the event that one of its home grown players signs abroad. The League also increased the amount of that revenue that can be used as allocation money.

Revenue generated from transfer and loan fees provides an incentive for MLS clubs to invest in their scouting and youth development programs. Previously, an MLS club received 2/3 of any fee collected for one of its players transferring (or being loaned) abroad, with the League distributing the remaining third among all owners. Now, revenue from player transfers and loans will be divided as follows:

Home Grown Player:
• Club receives 3/4 of transfer fee revenue and the League receives 1/4

Generation adidas players & non home grown players acquired in the SuperDraft:
• 1 Year of service: 1/3 to Club and 2/3 to League
• 2 Years: 1/2 to Club and 1/2 to League
• 3+ Years: 2/3 to Club and 1/3 to League

All other players:
• Club receives 2/3 of the transfer fee revenue and the League receives 1/3

The maximum amount of a given transfer fee’s revenue that may be used by a club as allocation money has increased from $500,000 to $650,000. Allocation money may be used to reduce the portion of a player’s compensation that counts against a club’s salary budget in connection with signing players new to MLS, or re-signing existing MLS players to a new contract.

Additionally, each club has an option to purchase a third Designated Player spot for $250,000 (that money will be dispersed to teams not using a 3rd DP).

The new rules note that all Designated Players will be a $335,000 hit against the Salary Cap. The DP slots cannot be traded.
Press Release:

NEW YORK (April 1, 2010) – The opportunities have doubled for Major League Soccer’s clubs to pay select star players above their club salary budgets. All 16 MLS clubs now have the opportunity to sign at least two Designated Players. The Designated Player Rule is a mechanism that in 2007 began allowing an individual club to pay one player any amount above a fixed salary budget charge. The club salary budgets are an expense shared by all MLS owners.

Under its new parameters, the Designated Player Rule also gives clubs the option of “purchasing” a third Designated Player slot for $250,000 that will be dispersed in the form of allocation money to all clubs that do not have three Designated Players. Designated Player slots may be used to sign and retain existing MLS players, but they are no longer tradable.

“Expanding the Designated Player Rule is another example of MLS’s commitment to providing top-level soccer for our fans,” MLS EVP of Player Relations and Competition Todd Durbin said. “After three seasons, we have seen that the Designated Player Rule improves the quality of play, creates intrigue and discussion, and enhances our clubs’ distinct on-field identities. We will continue to see varied approaches from our clubs in assembling their rosters, and these changes will give them increased flexibility.”

A club’s salary budget will be charged $335,000 for its first Designated Player under contract, $335,000 for its second Designated Player under contract and $335,000 if it signs a third Designated Player. If a Designated Player joins a club’s roster in the middle of the season, that club’s salary budget for the year will be charged $167,500.

The previous budget charge for a club’s first Designated Player, $415,000, accounted for approximately 18 percent of that club’s salary budget. The current rules reduce that budget charge to approximately 13 percent of a team’s salary budget.

Additionally, clubs have the option of “buying down” the budget charge of a designated player with allocation money. The reduced charge may not be less than $150,000. Allocation money are funds, separate from the club salary budgets, provided by the League based upon finish in the previous season, fees collected for the transfer of a player abroad, expansion or exceptional circumstances. Allocation money may be used to reduce the portion of a player’s compensation that counts against a club’s salary budget in connection with signing players new to MLS, or re-signing existing MLS players at the end of their contracts.

In the event that an MLS club transfers a Designated Player under contract to a club in another country, that MLS club will recoup the amount it has spent on that Designated Player before any additional transfer revenue is shared with the League.

These changes to the Designated Player rule are effective immediately. The Primary Registration Window — in which MLS clubs can conduct transfers to acquire players under contract in leagues of other countries — concludes April 15. The Secondary Registration Window opens July 15 and closes August 14, 2010. Registration windows always apply to the country of destination in a transfer. Players out of contract may be signed at any time.

Toronto FC and BMO Field will host the 2010 MLS Cup in November.

First off, Match Day Live is awesome. HD Quality is great and better than CBS’s March Madness on Demand. The ability to watch multiple matches is a bit overkill, but a nice feature nonetheless.

But to the drawbacks…

1. Where are the scores? Go to NBA.com or NHL.com and what do you see across the top of their sites? SCORES of the most recent games (plus the pending schedule for the next games). MLSsoccer.com has this set up with their banner listing the matches, but alas, no scores.
2. Update the damn site. It’s 3 days after the Sounders vs. Union match and the MLSsoccer.com/schedule shows the match as <blank>-<blank> score with an attendance of 0.
3. The schedule notes that 4 of yesterday’s matches are set for today (Sunday). For what it’s worth, they have all the weeks’ scheduled messed up (HOU vs. RSL & LA v. CHV are on Thursday 4/1, but they’re noted for Friday 4/2 on MLSsoccer.com). Plus, would it be hard to have TV listings there?
4. I will admit that I was surprised to see that the current standings are correct. But, the stats are still showing 2009 data.
5. I miss the ability of clicking directly to a club’s website from the mini-icons across the header.

Alright, all in all, this site is about Design and not Data, Flash over Content. Hopefully this is just a work in progress so MLS had SOMETHING new to release for First Kick. In my opinion, it’s better to release something great a bit late than meeting a deadline with a sub-par product.

What about you? Did I miss any glaring functional miscues? Is there anything new that you like?