par-3 13th that rode the ridge down to about 4 feet, and a

Major League Soccer President and Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott met with the media in Portland on Tuesday ahead of the leagues All Star Game against German giants Bayern Munich (Wednesday night - live on TSN at 9:30pm et). Abbott was the leagues first employee back in 1993. He discussed many of the big issues surrounding MLS at the moment including comments made by FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Toronto on Monday. Blatter said MLS is pressing ahead with plans to realign its schedule with the FIFA calendar, but Abbott maintains the leagues stance has not changed: "We looked at it last fall and concluded that at this point in time it is not a change we could make," he said. "There is nothing imminent." Here are some of the other highlights from Abbotts meeting with the media: On a big summer for soccer: "It has been a great week so far for us in a Portland and part of a tremendous summer for us. The World Cup had a breakthrough in cultural relevance that we hadnt really seen before. It showed how big the fan base is." On finding new buyers for Chivas USA: "Weve been spending a lot of time talking to potential buyers. I am very optimistic we can find a wonderful ownership group. I dont have a specific timetable yet but it is an area of high focus for me. I anticipate in a reasonable period of time we will have a new buyer for that club. We have been looking at USC as a potential site for a stadium. Our focus is on a central LA location. We are not going to publicly negotiate the price but it will be more than was paid by Orlando." On the stadium situation in Miami: "Clearly we were disappointed about the two sites we had been focused on. We are spending a lot if time trying to find a location for the stadium along with David Beckham and his people." On Canadian players being treated as domestic players in the United States: "There is a US law issue. Anybody who is not a US citizen has to be treated the same, that being said, we have committed to the Canadian Soccer Association that we will look at potential solutions that can help. In my experience, when people are committed to solving a problem, they will find a solution. We value our partnership with the CSA, and it is a focus for us." On Sacramentos bid for an expansion franchise, and potential ownership involving Sacramento Kings: "We always talk about three things we look at. The first is market dynamics, and there are a lot of really wonderful things going on in Sacramento. The second is, you have to have a facility. We are going to visit the market later this year. The third is the ownership group. There are significant people in Sacramento who have an interest in seeing MLS come there, including the Mayor. I do not want to get into specifics regarding potential ownership groups but we have great respect for what the ownership groups have done with the Kings and also Sacramento Republic." On an increase in salary cap: "Without taking about specifics, over time we will confine to invest more in players and we have shown that consistently. We recognize the importance of continuing to grow the product on the field. Over the last couple of years we have shown our desire to invest in players." On the upcoming CBA negotiations: "The Collective Bargaining Agreement is about investing in players. Those discussions will be about how we invest in players. We are not going into it looking for a work stoppage, we have a good partnership with our players and we talk a lot with them. We are tremendously proud of our players of the way they conduct themselves on and off the field. They are committed to helping build the sport. CBAs by their very nature involve contention. Sometimes that can get a little noisy, but if we can keep it all in the negotiation room, that provides everybody more flexibility to get things done. We met with the union not long a go and they would like the same thing. We dont go into it looking for a fight and nor do they." On introducing promotion or relegation: "I would say that never happens." On the playoff format: "From a general perspective, the format we have, we like. It doesnt mean we might not tinker with it, but we are happy with what we have. The playoffs are working. The basic concept is one we think makes sense and is correct." On seeing the league grow over the last two decades: "It has exceeded every expectation that I had. It is bigger in terms of its relevance. The sport has grown in a way none of us saw coming. It is the demographic shifts that you couldnt have seen 20 years ago. In every way we have exceed where we thought we would be, but we also recognize there is so much opportunity and more to be done." 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The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries.PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Martin Kaymer and Jordan Spieth are having a blast at The Players Championship -- one because hes playing good golf again, the other because thats all hes been doing. Kaymer followed his record-tying 63 on the Stadium Course on the TPC Sawgrass with a 3-under 69, capping off his round by hitting a pitching wedge to 3 feet on an island green with a back pin on the 17th hole. He had a one-shot lead going into the weekend as he tries to end more than two years without a victory. "Everything is coming together nicely," said Kaymer, a former PGA champion and world No. 1. Spieth, in his first big tournament since his runner-up finish at the Masters, hasnt shown any signs of a letdown. He pieced together another bogey-free round and converted pure swings into tap-in birdies on consecutive holes on the back nine that carried him to a 6-under 66. "I dont think its going to be possible to stay bogey-free for two more rounds with the greens firming up," Spieth said, not sounding at all like someone making his Players Championship debut. "Thats a nice goal to have, I think. When bogeys come, its going to be how I rebound." Kaymer was at 12-under 132. That matched the best 36-hole score on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass in 20 years, dating to Greg Normans record-setting performance. Norman made only one bogey that week. Spieth hasnt made a bogey all week -- he has gone 51 holes without a bogey going back to the third round at Hilton Head -- though he had to make a couple of tough chips look easy to keep a clean card. The 20-year-old Texan was still on the practice range when he saw Kaymer finish at 12 under, a score that felt impossible to catch in warm, blustery weather. The grass remained soft on the golf course, however, allowing players to take aim at the flags. Some players had no choice. Adam Scott, in his first tournament as a married man, kept alive his hopes of going to No. 1 in the world this week with three birdies in his last four holes for a 67. That was a 10-shot improvement from Thursday and enabled him to make the cut on the number at even-par 144. Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn finished the second round in a tie for 25th place. Rory McIlroy shot 42 on the front nine and appeared headed home early until making birdie on the 18th hole to salvage a 74 to make the cut. Not so fortunate was Phil Mickelson. He missed his birdie attempt on No. 18 and had a 70 to miss by one. Mickelson now has missed the cut in the two biggest events of the year -- the Masters and The Players.dddddddddddd "I dont feel bad about the game," Mickelson said. "But mentally, Im just really soft right now." Kaymer is winless dating to the HSBC Champions in Shanghai at the end of 2011. The more good scores he sees, the more often his name is on a leaderboard, the more confidence he gains. Darren Clarke watched it for two days, referring to him as a "finely tuned engineer." Even so, the 29-year-old German is hesitant to look beyond the next day. He knows its tough to follow a record-tying round with anything remotely close. So he lowered his expectations, figuring anything around par would be suitable, and then kept his distance from the field. "Yesterday was just a very special day for me," he said. "Even though I shot 9-under par yesterday ... if people want to talk negative about it, I then shot six shots worse. But you can always go in the negative. I see very positive things that I backed up that 9-under par with another decent round." Spieth was even better. He had to scramble for par from short of the ninth green and from behind the 10th green. He hit his stride in the middle of the back nine with two shots that were nearly identical -- a 6-iron on the par-3 13th that rode the ridge down to about 4 feet, and a 6-iron from 184 yards on the 14th to 3 feet. "It was a nice break to land and roll to pin-high, because it was a very tricky pin with quite a bit of slope around the hole," he said. Spieth has said he was proud of how he played the final round of the Masters, even with a two-shot lead with 11 holes to play. His game looks every bit as solid at Sawgrass, a course he had only seen while playing a junior event. He finished second in that one, too. And thats what keep him going. Asked he if was getting bored being in contention so much, he smiled and said, "No, because I havent won one." "You should probably have to win every time in order for it to get boring," he said. "But not even Tiger gets bored." Russell Henley didnt make a par over his last six holes -- three bogeys, three birdies -- for a 71 and was in third place at 8-under 136. Sergio Garcia (71), U.S. Open champion Justin Rose (71), Gary Woodland (71), Lee Westwood (71) and Jim Furyk (68) were six shots behind. The course appeared to be getting slightly firmer by the end of the day. The excitement figures to start on the weekend. ' ' '