Undoubtedly such questions were valid 10 years ago when in the Fraser v. MLS antitrust lawsuit there was testimony, from MLS, that it lost $250M in the first five or so years of operation. Now the lawyers among us might understand a context and basis for such testimony - that it may have been expert opinion testimony using darn lies and statistics to show that there cannot be anticompetitive practices if you are anticompetitive - i.e. losing money. Nonetheless, it was spoken, under oath. With three league owners (Anschutz, Hunt, and Kraft), 10 teams, and no stadiums, MLS was not stable if you don't consider the collective wealth of those three owners.

Fast forward 10 years. There are 14 owners with 11 added since 2003. Currently 14 teams, the league will be at sixteen teams in two years. Nine of the current 14 teams play or soon will be playing in soccer specific stadiums. (It can't come soon in enough in Harrison, NJ.) And no discussion on MLS' viability can be complete without mentioning Golden Balls. That his Galaxy (boo!) jersey was the most purchased jersey in any sport in the world at least assures that overstated franchise unmatched worldwide publicity.

And so it was without exaggeration or strained credibility that this week MLS Commissioner Don Garber told the AP that the question is not, "Will MLS Survive?" but "Where will MLS land in the sports landscape?" Since we here in San Jose understand Garber when he talks about the new America, we are confident it will land close to the top of the heap. The hope is that our community, collectively, wants to be a part of that in a deal that on current economic reports not only does not harm the City's general fund, but helps it to the tune of $1.5M - $2M a year on conservative estimates.

Sounds like a win-win to us. Oh, and if you click on the supporters group audio link to the left you can hear the Don give us some love, after mentioning some group called the Sons of John Adams.

Why is this proposal worth all the trouble? Because it may well deliver an extraordinary public benefit that's not attainable any other way: a professional soccer stadium at no public cost.

Yesterday, the paper said this:

The city has passed a policy allowing for a zoning change to secure an "extraordinary public benefit," and a stadium certainly would be that. But traffic and other effects of the housing plan need further study. And the precedent of deciding on zoning based on a payoff rather than the best use of the land remains troubling.

So which is it — are they endorsing the extraordinary public benefit policy or is it too "troubling" to them? They can't have it both ways.

Meanwhile, as the paper is trying to straddle both sides of that fence, the editorial board is also bringing up questions that have already been answered. "Projections of broad economic benefits from the airport and Edenvale developments are lavish, but not all the money goes to the general fund," says the editorial. "Before saying yes, the mayor and council have to be certain that this deal does not worsen the deficit." That's precisely the kind of question that the City of San Jose's recent economic impact report (you'll find the PDF here) was designed to answer. You may remember that report — it was unanimously approved by the City Council last month.

Apparently, the Mercury News doesn't remember that far back, so we'll recap it here. The report estimates the following:

• Economic impact related to the construction of the entire project of over $2.0 billion
• Annual economic impact of the soccer stadium of $62.3 million
• Annual net fiscal impact to the city's general fund between $1.8 and $2.8 million
• Annual net fiscal impact to the city's redevelopment agency of $7.7 to $8.5 million
• Creation of over 14,000 jobs related to construction activity and approximately 5,000 sustained jobs
• Generation of nearly $850,000 annually for arts and cultural programs through the city's transient occupancy tax (i.e., hotel tax)

"Net fiscal impact to the city's general fund between $1.8 and $2.8 million" answers their question, doesn't it?

We're not sure why the folks at the Merc are having such a hard time keeping up with the news — unless, of course, they're relying on their own publication to provide it.

We'll give you the bad news first: a major earthquake is a near certainty in the next 30 years. The good news? A major Earthquakes stadium is a near certainty in the next two years.

Yes, despite the fact that someday the ground may shake beneath it, the big news today is that the "San Jose soccer stadium (is) closer to reality," as the Mercury News puts it.

San Jose and a team of developers have agreed to a $132 million deal that sets the stage for a major league soccer stadium near the airport as early as 2010.

Terms of the deal must still be formally approved by the city council next month. But Monday's financial agreement between city officials and Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff and his partners is a giant step toward building the stadium and an accompanying retail, office and hotel project on the 75-acre site on Coleman Avenue.

"If and when we pull it off, it is going to make me feel - well, at my age, that would be a great accomplishment," the 72-year-old Wolff said from his Los Angeles office. "It would cap off a long time of development in San Jose." Wolff developed downtown San Jose's Fairmont and Hilton hotels and also owns the Oakland A's, for whom he is working to build a new stadium in Fremont.

San Jose leaders also cheered the tentative agreement Monday because it would funnel at least $17 million into the city's general fund - which is perennially racked by deficits.

According to terms of the deal, Wolff and his partners would pay $132 million for 66 acres of the former FMC manufacturing plant. Of that, about 18 acres will be set aside for the 18,000-seat soccer stadium and parking.

The city bought the land in 2005 for $81 million.

We're going to pause for a moment to emphasize those numbers. The City of San Jose is currently paying $6 or $7 million a year from its general fund to pay for the purchase of that land. Under the terms of this agreement, not only will the city be able to get out from under those payments, but it will realize a profit of over $50 million on the sale of the property which it first purchased in 2005. That's a 59 percent profit in just three years. We don't know the details, but that sounds like an amazing deal for the city.

It's too early to celebrate, but we're a whole lot closer to that party than we ever have been.

A number of Quakes supporters in San Francisco and the Peninsula are lobbying CalTrain for special service to and from Quakes games. If you think you would use CalTrain to travel to Quakes games, please let them know that you'd appreciate a change to the train schedule on game days to accommodate fans.

But the team has one more game before the big opener, and that's this weekend when the Quakes take on the Timbers at the University of Portland. Quakes defender Ryan Cochrane grew up in the land of Powell's Books and microbreweries, and the Oregonian catches up with Cochrane in their story, "Trading Texas Heat for West Coast Cool." Here's a taste:

As a freshman at national powerhouse Santa Clara, Cochrane drew the attention of Dominic Kinnear, then coach of the original San Jose Earthquakes, whose first — and lasting — impression of Cochrane was of the defender flattening an opponent with a strong midfield tackle.

"When I saw it happen," said Kinnear, also Cochrane's coach with the Dynamos, "I thought, 'He'll be a good one.' "

Speaking of Pacific Northwest native sons, Ian Russell, who used to flash a "What's Up West Seattle?" t-shirt after scoring goals for the Quakes, is interviewed on MLSinSeattle.com, the site run by the owners of the 2009 Seattle MLS expansion team. Russell answers a number of questions, with perhaps the most pressing ones being about the Quakes' roster:

Since opening training nearly two months ago, what’s it been like in terms of evaluating players? For us it’s been difficult because we have to look at a lot of players. The old teams, like when I was with San Jose and we were successful and winning championships, we were only looking for 1-2 players for a certain position. For this team, we’re looking for every position, either to start or add depth, so we’ve brought in tons of players. We give them a chance, but we want the right players. With 14 players, we’re not saying we just need to sign four more guys. We’d rather go into the season with 15 players than have three guys that won’t contribute, and we have guys in the reserve team. We want to make the right decisions.

Kansas City signed a designated player just about two weeks before opening day. What’s the mood when you know your coach is still shopping for talent, yet you know it might come at the cost of your playing time or position?
The league wants us to fill out the roster and we will in time. But in Europe they are still playing and have to wait until some players who are out of contract. We might get some guys in May that might be our marquee guys. It’s just tough for right now. The most important thing for Frank is that he wants a good locker room, guys that get along and play well together.

Speaking of Seattle, the team is taking a vote on the new team's name and the polls opened today. The three names being suggested by the club are "Seattle Alliance," "Seattle FC," and "Seattle Republic," but they are taking write-in votes and "Seattle Sounders" is expected to make a strong showing. In fact, SSV has been contacted by several Sounders fans in the hopes that SSV members, who fought to retain the name, colors, and records of the Earthquakes, would want to help them retain the decades-old tradition of Seattle Sounders soccer. If you do, feel free to click the link above and cast your ballot.

Finally, we promised a marketing idea for you. Are you ready? Scottish premier league side Gretna has run out of money, and last night they released 22 players. One name in the list caught our eye: David Bingham. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

Is this a great marketing opportunity or what? We can see it now: press releases trumpeting the signing of the UK's David Bingham, with strategically-placed blotches of ink to cover the "ing" in his last name. A few mispronunciations in the TV and radio ads and the celebrity watchers will come out in force! Now, if we can just get his wife to change her name to something like "Push Space," we'll really be cooking.

Yes, that is a Charleston Battery scarf that he's wearing. He's not switching allegiances, though. "I'm wearing a Battery supporters' group (Regiment) scarf which I traded for a 1906 Ultras scarf with Battery fan Mikey Mouse (his BigSoccer handle)," he explains.

Not a bad little trophy for a pre-season tournament. And, of course, any trophy is better than no trophies.

If you missed it, the Quakes became the first team ever to win all their games in the tournament by shutting out the MetroStars Toros Rojos de Nueva York, 3-0. That score line doesn't flatter the Quakes at all — they really were that dominating.

Here at the blog, we thought that match might represent a bigger challenge than that posed by either a USL team (Charleston) or last season's cellar-dwelling Toronto FC. After all, New York is the only team with two official Designated Players in Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna. The Quakes scored early and often, though, starting with a Kei Kamara header in the first minute of the match. There were times that the side on the field even bore a passing resemblance (pun intended) to the previous Yallop-era teams. We still wonder where all the goals are going to come from, but on Saturday night the answer to that question was Kai Kamara, Gavin Glinton, and New York defender Eric Brunner who knocked the ball into his own net.

Meanwhile, MLSnet is chock full of Quakes goodness these days. There's an in-depth profile of defender James Riley from writer Andrew Hush as well as a season preview with a projected starting 11 from Jeff Carlisle. Opening day is on its way!

Finally, we have something fowl to report. The Quakes are joining with KFC to create the Colonel's Corner, a corner section in both Buck Shaw and the McAfee Coliseum where you can get a ticket for, ahem, a poultry $15. Wing it on down to your local KFC to purchase your tix and we will promise, as always, to keep you abreast of any new developments.

"I think there is pressure on all of us because we want to start the season off well and make the playoffs like every other team in this league," said Yallop... "We don't want to just sit here and settle for second best. We are trying to prepare the team to win every match we play."

Ah! That's the Earthquakes attitude we've been missing for two seasons. Anyway, despite the reporter's repeated misspelling of Ryan Cochrane's last name in the story, it's a good read.

We have two other stories to pass along today. First, MLSnet.com's Steve Davis looks at San Jose's midfield in his "Five-a-side" column. (Someone needs to tell him that Ramiro Corrales spent plenty of time in central midfield during his previous tenure with the Quakes. It's not really much of an experiment playing him there now.) Also, the Pocono Record includes a quote from Frank Yallop in their article on soccer tennis.

Finally, we hear that the Soccer Pro stores in San Jose, Dublin, Pleasant Hill and Modesto expect to receive their first shipment of home and away replica Earthquakes jerseys sometime on Monday. Tell them the blog sent you...

Also in today's news, an interview with David Beckham will be broadcast on "60 Minutes" Sunday night, and mixed in with what we're sure will be fascinating questions about Posh, his tattoos, and being perhaps the most famous athlete on Earth is this fact, as reported by The Canadian Press:

David Beckham has an option to buy an MLS franchise when his five-year Los Angeles Galaxy contract expires after the 2011 season, according to a CBS "60 Minutes" profile scheduled to air Sunday... the option was granted to the 32-year-old midfielder and his manager, Simon Fuller.

Interesting, huh? Are we talking expansion franchise or is it possible that Beckham could one day own the Galaxy itself, thereby ridding MLS of AEG except for the portion of Houston that they still own? (And to think some people scoffed when Beckham said he was coming here to benefit American soccer!)

There. Feels good, doesn't it, even if it is a pre-season tournament? Hey, somebody had to win it — it may as well have been us.

There's an extended match report on MLSnet.com and another on Charleston.com. A user named Mikey also has a gallery of photos from the cup over on SmugMug.com.

Meanwhile, SI.com reports that no new progress has been made on the rumored acquisition of A.S. Roma by Quakes investor John Fisher. Interestingly, however, they note that Italian daily sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport "is today reporting that Fisher's plans for Roma include the development of a new stadium to replace the Stadio Olimpico."

Apparently, soccer stadiums are like potato chips — you can't build just one.

Finally, we have a video from Channel 5's St. Patrick's Day broadcast featuring momentary Time magazine honoree Ronnie O'Brien.

The goals came from Ramiro Corrales and Kei Kamara after the team went down 1-0. A comeback win to take the cup... hmm, that sounds a little bit like 2001, too.

We'll have links to the relevant news stories tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to pop that bottle of pre-season champagne!

Today, MLSnet.com features a nice profile of Quakes' forward Gavin Glinton. If you've ever looked at Glinton's career stats and figured he was a marginal player because he bounced around between MLS and the USL, you may be interested in knowing that the only reason that happened was bad luck — two broken ankles in two successive years! Now that he's recuperated fully, he's looking forward to a productive year in San Jose.

We had two other links to pass along today. Thanks to reader Kevin (AKA Zungazan) for passing along a link to blogger Melissa's season preview over on theoffside.com. Melissa likens the Quakes to the Scoobies — does she mean the Buffy-Willow-Xander Scoobies or the Fred-Daphne-Velma Scoobies? We're betting it's the former, so does that mean our team features Gavin the Galaxy Slayer? Hmmm...

Finally, the Cary News has more information on Chris Carrieri's retirement.

"We could sign players, but I want to make sure they're good signings and what we actually need," says Yallop, who has former San Jose and D.C. United striker Jamil Walker with the team for the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston. "We have enough players to field a team. We will fill the roster as we move along."

Yes, that's the other news. In addition to Trinidand & Tobago striker Conrad Smith, Yallop has invited former Quake Jamil Walker to try out for the team. Walker, who is recovering from a severe Achilles tendon injury, was recently cut by DC United.

Oh, and there's one other thing: the Washington Post's Steven Goff says that the Quakes may be looking at Argentine forward Facundo Sava, who Wikipedia says is 34.

In other news, Elliott Almond of the Mercury News spoke with MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis, who believes that one of the Quakes' biggest challenges will be building team chemistry.

"You're trying to develop team chemistry from scratch, with a new collection of players," Ivan Gazidis said Monday during a conference call. "The difficulty of doing that, regardless of the quality of players you have, is sometimes underestimated."

Finally, the Quakes have hired Jed Mettee as the team's director of broadcasting and communications, a role similar to what he held with the Quakes from 2001 to 2005. Our congratulations to him.