Major League Soccer says that it won’t be adding any more Canadian teams. So,with franchises in Ottawa and Edmonton, the North American Soccer League looks to be the place where we’ll see more expansion north of the border. We talk to NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson about those Canadian-division rumours, and how he sees his league in the Canadian market, both now and in the future...

Midfielder Dominic Oppong and goalkeeper David Monsalve played their youth soccer together in Toronto. They were teammates at FC Edmonton. Now, in Finland, the pair have reunited once again...

The third issue of PLASTIC PITCH, our national soccer magazine, is out as of right now.

And, while at Portsmouth, he roomed with someone who had a pretty strong relationship with Edmonton — goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Days after the interviews were done and the framework of the story was crafted, I got a press release from the Scorpions that announced they’d made a trade for Costa Rican César Elizondo. But, Elizondo would have been the eighth international on the roster, and NASL rules allow only seven. So, later in the release, came the news that Saiko had been cut loose from the team.

The Scorpions are to the NASL what the Oakland Raiders were to the National Football League in the 1970s. They’re a bunch of so-called bad apples brought together — and then transformed into one of the best units in the league.

Since an expansion of the stadium isn’t in the cards yet — and the team has broken the 4,000-ticket mark just twice this season — the fact that the NASL club continues to grow is a testament to the Fath family’s commitment to the game in Canada.

“We have had discussion in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and over the next 60 to 90 days we expect to have more discussions in Canada,” said Peterson.

During the first half of Sunday’s match between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and FC Edmonton at Clarke Stadium, NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson came into the broadcast booth and compared the two teams to heavyweight fighters. They were pushing each other, feeling each other out, looking for weaknesses.

But there’s something I hope came up at the marketing meetings. If MLS has decided to go ahead with a major rebranding of itself, it should tackle what is maybe its own worst enemy. And that's its name.