Scorecard March 24, 1997

4) Will teams score enough to satisfy the offense-oriented American fan?

Hard to say. But one of MLS's goals last season was, well, goals—and by soccer standards the league got plenty. The league average of 3.37 goals per game far outstripped the average in most other major leagues around the world. (Games in Germany's Bundesliga, for example, produced an average of 2.71 goals.) Some say the scoring was simply due to a dearth of good defenders and goalkeepers, but Roy Lassiter of the Tampa Bay Mutiny, who led the league with 27 goals last year, might disagree, and most U.S. fans would say, Keep it coming.

5) Does MLS have a counterpart to Dennis Rodman?

Sort of. League MVP Carlos Valderrama and his 'do (imagine a blond Rodman on Chia Pet megavitamins) return for the Mutiny, and the second annual Carlos Valderrama Wig Night is scheduled for May 10 at Houlihan's Stadium. At last year's event, every member of the regrettably named Kansas City Wiz (this season it's the Wizards), including coach Ron Newman, wore a Valderrama rug for a pregame photo. Could you imagine Pat Riley in a Rodman wig?