Leading Off
Why MLS should have picked Sacramento over Minneapolis
Why MLS should have picked us over them
Major League Soccer announced Wednesday that Minneapolis has been awarded the league’s 23rd franchise, beginning play in 2018.
Although Sacramento is considered a near lock for a future expansion team, we wonder how commissioner Don Garber could have picked the “City of Lakes” over “River City.”
Here’s how we see the comparison:
▪ Their NASL team, Minnesota United, averages about 5,900 fans per match; our USL team, Republic FC, averaged 11,294 in its inaugural season.
▪ They don’t have a stadium-financing plan; we have a group of investors that has pledged to build a stadium without public funds.
▪ Their summers are hot and humid, and it doesn’t cool down at night; we have dry heat and Delta breezes.
▪ They have to plug in engine-block heaters if they park outside in the winter; we plug in our cars to be green.
▪ They ice fish; we fish.
▪ They eat lutefisk; we eat fresh salmon.
▪ Their state has 10,000 lakes; we have two great rivers.
▪ Their state bird is the mosquito; ours is the quail.
▪ They have one Prince; we have a team of Kings.
▪ They had Jesse “The Body” Ventura; we had Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
▪ Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges collects Wonder Woman memorabilia; Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson collects political allies.
▪ They are in the Midwest; we aren’t.
Tom Couzens
tcouzens@sacbee.com
What to watch I
Men’s NCAA Tournament, UCLA vs. Gonzaga, 4:15 p.m., Ch. 13: The first of the day’s four regional semifinal games will decide West Coast supremacy.
What to watch II
NBA, Kings at New Orleans, 5 p.m., CSNCA: Kings are going for their fifth win in a row.
Worth repeating
MLS Commissioner Don Garber, after Wednesday’s announcement about Minnesota: “We all know they’ve got to get a project done. And if not, then we’ll have to take a step back, mutually, and assess whether or not it makes sense.”
On this date
1971: UCLA beats Villanova 68-62 for its fifth NCAA basketball title.
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