Sooo...since this is actually getting some traction, I'll repost here some thoughts I had on the start of the MLS season.
1. A Less Violent Game?'
The refs were harder on fouls and even threw out two second yellows for persistent infringement, could MLS be moving towards a less violent play style? The refs were also harder on "simulation", particularly in Orlando the refs pulled out the yellow card for multiple "simulation" situations. On Sunday, the only game that didn't see a second yellow for multiple infringements was Sounders vs Revolution (two teams known for being "soft" in the league).
2. Big Money Pays Off
Whether it's Altidore's brace, the Dempsey and Martins show in Seattle, NYCFC vs Orlando or Keane in LA, the vast majority of goals were scored by designated players this weekend. With a few exceptions (I'm looking at you Villa!) MLS designated players showed why they earn the big bucks. The new CBA increases the minimum salary, but it's pretty clear why teams continue to chase the "right" designated player.
3. Fox Sports Did...Okay
A lot of people were worried because Fox Sports is taking over from the very excellent NBC/NBCSN soccer coverage, and that's a very valid concern; that said, Fox Sports did okay this weekend. While the announcing for Sporting vs Red Bulls was terrible (seriously, super bad, like hearing paint dry), Lalas and Strong make an excellent "A team" of announcers. Even if you dislike Lalas (I do!) there's no doubt his team is superior by a large distance to the "B team" and that even if you don't like his opinion he at least expresses it in an entertaining way. From an in studio perspective, Landon Donovan may be an excellent analyst from a technical perspective, but the man needs to let some emotion into his voice; I think he will improve. Overall, I can't complain too much about their coverage, after all, NBCSN stumbled a bit at the outing too.
4. Unimas is a Problem
The opening game was on Unimas, but Unimas is not on the vast majority of cable and satellite packages. Set aside, for the moment, the idea of a primarily English speaking country having to turn on SAP to understand what is being said by the announcers, the fact that Unimas isn't on most TVs is an issue. I've heard that Unimas had a live stream that was free, after the fact, but MLS didn't advertise this, perhaps because they have a pay to watch streaming service themselves. MLS needs to sort this out and either advertise the live stream or find an alternative way to get this on most TV sets.
5. Sloppy Openers
Most of the games on tap this opening weekend were pretty sloppy, filled with fouls and restarts. Part of this is because of the refs finally clamping down on fouls (see 1.), but I think a lot of frustration and jitters from the CBA are a factor here too. I'd expect to see smoother games come next month.