Every year before the MLS Cup, Commissioner Don Garber talks about the state of the league and answers questions from reporters.

On the subject of MLS expansion, he said: ”I know we’ll have 18 teams in 2011. We’re having productive conversastions with Montreal to be No.…

A few other notes/thoughts/observations about the St. Louis entry in the New Unnamed Soccer League (NUSL):

It took about six months for the WPS to get sanctioning from U.S. Soccer. Since some of what the federation looks at is things like…

Our Town’s Steve Ralston won the MLS Fair Play Award for sportsmanship. It’s the third time he’s won the honor, but the first since 2000. (Along the way, Brian McBride won the Fair Play Award in 2003, meaning players with St. Louis…

We take a break from our WPS postings for some non-expansion MLS news. Houston has signed its first designated player, 24-year-old forward Luis Angel Landin. He’s the second youngest player with Mexican national team experience to sign with MLS, and…

My business colleague Tim Logan has a story about a proposal to put an MLS-sized soccer stadium in Richmond Heights. Jeff Cooper has distanced himself from the project, saying he’s been apporached about it but he first is looking at Collinsville and Fenton.…

It’s apparently official. The Kansas City Wizards will play Mexican club Atlas on June 21 at SLU’s Hermann Stadium in an opening round, pool play, Superliga match. Tickets will range from $20 to $35. The start time will be 3:30.

Tickets…

I forgot to mention this yesterday and my colleague Bernie Miklasz slipped it into his column this morning, but Soccer America has rated SLU’s recruiting class 10th in the nation. They hadn’t been ranked in the top 10 in the ratings…

Former SLU midfielder John DiRaimondo, who has yet to get off the bench for D.C. United this season, is being loaned to third division Harrisburg for a USL2 match this weekend in Bermuda, reports Steve Goff in his Washington Post blog.…

U.S. Soccer put out the list of venues that responded that they would be interested in hosting World Cup matches if the U.S. hosted the tournament in 2018 or 2022. Fifty-eight venues in 49 markets said they were interested. St. Louis,…

In case you missed it — it was a U.S. Open Cup play-in match and not a league match — former SLU midfielder Brandon Barklage made his first start for D.C. United on Wednesday and scored his first goal in…