Welcome to Starting XI, our Friday rundown of what to watch for this weekend in MLS and beyond. And don't forget to get your Spanish-language fix with FutbolMLS.com.
Our recommended listening for this holiday weekend comes from senior editor Matthew Doyle is "Love My People" by Crown and the M.O.B., for all the MLS nerds out there.
1. MLS NEXT: Wiped out from the SuperDraft? Good. It’s the perfect time to discuss the guy who will be the top pick in 2016: Georgetown center back Josh Yaro. Even as a sophomore last season he was the best prospect in the college game, but he turned down a deal to join MLS this season so he could go back to campus for his junior year. Originally from Ghana, he’s lived in the US the past four years (he went to prep school in Santa Barbara) and while it’s unclear if he’ll come out next year – or go to Europe – MLS teams will be salivating over this kid a year from now. Bank on it. – NICK FIRCHAU
2. COMING OF AGE:The 2015 SuperDraft was the first event of the league's 20th season. We'll be hearing a lot about how MLS is all grown up now that it's broken out of its teenage years. But it's not just rhetoric. The league's history is rich enough that it can label an award after an ex-player and it can move the next generation to emotion that we've frankly not witnessed before (we counted five players who shed tears in Philly and then there was this:
3. A BLOODIER, BIGGER DEAL: OK, so Bloody Big Deal v1.0 didn't quite pan out. But with Jozy Altidore, a deep draft class, and possibly an in-his-prime Italian playmaker on the way, maybe – just maybe – TFC have the talent to finally earn a postseason berth. Of course, this is the same refrain TFC fans feel they've heard for eternity, but this year could be different, right? Right?
On another note, this is certainly an interesting look for a team from Canada's biggest city. – NICHOLAS ROSANO
4. THEM DAMN KNICKS: Thierry Henry might be excited about his new gig in London working as an analyst with the BBC, but not all is well these days with Titi. His beloved New York Knicks are stuck in a suffocating losing steak that reached 16 games on Thursday night at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in a game played in London. Henry was courtside for the game (with Didier Drogba and Cesc Fabregas) and, well, this picture says it all, doesn't it? – NICK FIRCHAU
5. I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE: Pablo Mastroeni's moustache game was, as the kids say, "On fleek." If you're gonna go hipster, go all the way. – MATTHEW DOYLE
6. DAP KINGS: The rest of MLS just shudders when it watches this: Garth Lagerwey and Sigi Schmid, working together. Gulp. – NICK FIRCHAU
7. HOW DID WE GET HERE?: The US Under-20s are in a confusing place, having picked up one point from their first two CONCACAF U-20 Championship matches against Guatemala and Panama before pushing around Aruba to the tune of an 8-0 scoreline. The goals certainly helped their goal differential, pushing them into the third-place spot required to at least have a shot at qualification for the U-20 World Cup. But the job is far from over, with games remaining against hosts Jamaica on Sunday (8 pm ET, Fox Sports 2) and Trinidad & Tobago. Who knows how to feel about this team? – NICHOLAS ROSANO
8. LEIF'S LEGACY: Canada and Iceland have escaped to warmer climes in Florida to renew some long-standing historical ties, but the question remains as to whether they'll light up the scoreboard in their two-game series on beIN Sports that starts Friday (4:30 pm) and concludes on Monday (4 pm ET). But there is the chance to see some MLSers in action on both sides, and for Canadian fans to take measure of where their side stands heading into a year that will see them contest the Gold Cup and kick off World Cup qualifying. – NICHOLAS ROSANO
9. MT. AXEL: Here’s hoping that Marquette defender Axel Sjoberg finds a way to stick with the Colorado Rapids this season after he was taken 14th overall in the SuperDraft on Thursday. At 6-foot-7 he joins Columbus Crew forward Adam Bedell as the tallest players in MLS history, and at least one of his new Rapids teammates has already begun to take notice. Imagine if Sjoberg makes the squad and plays when the Rapids take on Real Salt Lake this season on June 7, pitting the league’s tallest defender against RSL forward Joao Plata, who at 5-foot-2 is the smallest player the league has ever seen. – NICK FIRCHAU
10. EXPANSION NEWS: It's felt weird. In recent years, when there has been a prospective MLS expansion list, the soccer hotbed considered by so many to be the spiritual home of the sport in America was not on it. Ever since 2008-2009, when there was a failed bid, we've never heard St. Louis in the mix until now. All is well again in the soccer universe.
11. JAPANESE BINOCULAR SOCCER: Sometimes you don't need to say anything beyond "Japanese Binocular Soccer." – MATTHEW DOYLE
