At his state of the league speech before MLS Cup, MLS commissioner Don Garber said the deadline for a decision on naming the 16th team in time for the 2009 season was Jan. 31. Today, during the ESPN telecast of the draft, he said a decision on the next team — either Philadelphia or St. Louis — would come in 30 to 45 days. He said the team would probably start in 2010. Analyst John Harkes even tried a follow up on expansion after a few minutes and Garber said, “It’s going to come down to the wire, John.”

The ability to start in 2009 was one thing working in St. Louis’ favor. An additional month could give Philadelphia more chance to get the funding it needs, though if it dies in the legislature in the next few weeks, it will likely be dead for a while. Presumably, that month could also give Jeff Cooper’s St. Louis bid the time to get more ownership in line. So it looks like we might not see a decision by Jan. 31 as originally advertised, other than that there won’t be a 16th team anywhere in 2009.

By the way, Harkes’ presence on the draft broadcast may be a sign of things to come. Soccer America reported that ESPN wants to put Harkes on MLS broadcasts in place of Eric Wynalda.