MLS' Garber dishes on expansion, Beckham and more

During his eight years as MLS commissioner, Don Garber has overseen unprecendented growth in soccer in the U.S. Al Messerschmidt/MLS

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Being a league commissioner in American sports is a thankless gig. Unless you're a pioneer like Pete Rozelle or David Stern, you're not remembered for much besides being the guy in a sharp Armani who hands down steep fines or calls off tied All-Star games.

It's even tougher when you're the head of Major League Soccer, which still trails the four major American sporting leagues -- and NASCAR -- in popularity. There's plenty of work to do to put MLS on the road to elite status, but Don Garber is undeniably a trailblazer. Under the eight-year reign of "The Don," the league has seen unprecedented spikes in attendance, corporate dollars, broadcasting deals and growth. And oh yeah, he helped pave David Beckham's road to America.

We asked for your questions, and the Commish answered: everything from the MLS playoffs (he loves 'em), future expansion possibilities (ready for another try, Miami?), new stars on their way (paging Juan Sebastián Verón) and much more.

Considering that MLS used overall point totals to determine who made it to the playoffs this season, why don't you scrap the artificial conference system altogether?
-- Robert Rodriguez

We're still a professional soccer league competing in the American sports market, where the model places greater value on playoffs and television ratings than it does the regular season. And we must get our ratings to grow. Having a regular season that ends without a really compelling race to the playoffs isn't good for anybody. The last couple weeks of the season were evidence of that. That Chicago-L.A. Galaxy game last weekend was the most important game of the year for both teams [The Fire won 1-0, clinching a playoff spot over Beckham and the Galaxy]. That situation might not exist if you had a single-table approach.

There has been some interesting talk about extending the Designated Player ruling to two DPs per team, as long as one of the players is an American citizen. Do you think this will happen prior to the three-year evaluation period for the DP rule?
-- Scott Madison, San Diego

That's never been anything that we've discussed. I don't see many changes to our system until the end of that time period. It's been a great program from the start, from the popularity and excitement of Beckham, to the great talent of Juan Pablo Ángel, to the deliverables of Cuauhtémoc Blanco. I hope more teams continue to sign designated players, and I believe you'll see a handful of other big-name players coming in 2008.

Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Philly and others are mentioned for possible expansion. We know San Jose will be joining the league next season and probably a couple more soon after. Is this all too much, too soon? What's going to be done to ensure the already stretched talent pool isn't diluted too much?
-- Eric PZ, South Bend, Ind.

In MLS we have the benefit of being able to select from an almost unlimited pool of international players, so it's less of a concern for us because of the international nature of our sport. The NHL, for instance, also had that problem in the late '90s because it went to non-traditional markets. But we've probably got another six to eight markets -- major metropolitan areas, many of which have enormous soccer history and passion but don't have teams. I don't see us having the same issues the NHL has experienced until we're fully expanded. That might be 20 to 25 years from now.

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