The MLR postseason has potential to be one of the competition’s best editions. We’ll all have to toil through a weekend of glorified friendlies first.
In the East, New England locked down the top seed weeks ago. New York and DC will play in the first round of the postseason with the location still technically up for grabs. That one will almost certainly be the Big Apple. New York is 4 points clear with the tiebreaker in hand. Unless they can’t pick up anything against Utah and DC grabs all five against Atlanta, the United Ironworkers (or whatever they are this year) will host. (DC plays on Saturday, so New York will know what they need well before kickoff.
The West has nothing to offer. At all. San Diego holds the 1. Seattle will host Houston in the first round. The certainty robs us of a Legion/Seawolves match with any meaning. Hopefully we’ll get a make up in a couple weeks, because the league’s best rivalry makes the playoffs ever hotter.
The lack of jeopardy is something the league office should be watching. With Miami set to enter next year, the league will return to at least 13 sides. Additional plans to expand annually will further stretch the player pool. While these playoffs feature four very good teams, (New England and the entirety of the Western playoff,) the gap between the top and bottom is growing.
There are steps the league can take to prevent the gap from getting too large. Just don’t hold your breath.
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