With Major League Soccer growing at the rate it is, I thought about five possible sites where the MLS boom could expand to. 

Here are the five options that should be considered for expansion franchises, as well as possible names for the teams. 

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But yesterday seems like two months ago, and a clean slate awaits the defending MLS Cup and Supporters Shield holders. Now L.A. finds itself in a race with 18 other teams hunting for hardware, the newest side being the Montreal Impact, who have an intention of living up to their moniker.

As part of Bleacher Report's continuing coverage of the 2012 MLS season, we bring you the preseason power rankings for the league's 17th season. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

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Some teams place very little importance to this drafting process and the quality that can be gained from subsequent drafting. This article will give a little life to this process and show just how important a good draft can be to the success of an MLS franchise.  

Counting down the best MLS picks of the past decade.

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Last season, English full-back Richard Eckersley was signed on loan from League Championship side Burnley.  In his first season with The Reds, Eckersley showed competence at right-back, a desire to push forward and attack from the back, as well as great heart and desire on the pitch.  

However, after finally finding the right-back the team needed, it became evident that retaining Eckersley from his loaner team would not be an easy task due to finances and league policies.  In fact, there were several instances in this short offseason where it appeared as though this signing would not be possible.  

On Thursday, January 26, Toronto FC officially announced the re-signing of the former Manchester United youth defender Richard Eckersley.  

At only 22 years of age, Eckersley holds and has already proven a great deal of potential to be successful in the MLS.  Both team and fans alike can breathe one deep sigh of relief that this deal has been finalized.  Per Toronto FC, club manager and technical director Aron Winter stated:

“Signing Richard was a very high offseason priority, our team has worked tirelessly to ensure he would be returning. This signing represents another successful step in our off season progress as a club. Richard is an important player for our club. We know our fans will be excited to see Richard on the pitch.”

No contract information has been released to date, but this is a permanent move to secure Eckersley.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

And when you think golf, you think Tiger Woods.

However, it's not just in the sporting sense that Woods and Beckham compare. They have both succeeded and suffered in their careers very similarly.  

Woods was rising as the best golfer in the world, winning his first Masters Tournament in 1997 and PGA Championship in 1999.

Meanwhile, across the pond, Beckham helped Manchester United become the first team to ever win the coveted treble—winning the English Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League—during the 1998-99 season. 

And from that success came the usual: money, fame, endorsements, notoriety. Both Woods and Beckham rode their success to levels not seen by many before. 

While still in Manchester United, Beckham signed a three-year extension in 2002 worth £90,000 a week. The contract made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time. 

Around the same time, Woods was raking in the dough from his PGA Championships. He started the new millennium collecting just over $9 million in PGA prize money. Since then Woods has collected over $10 million in PGA prize money three different times—2005, 2007 and 2009.

Beckham's popularity and demand continued to grow, signing for what has been considered one of the most expensive soccer clubs in history—Real Madrid—with a £24.5 million transfer fee.

Four years later, after Beckham's contract was up in Spain in 2007, he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy for a five-year $35 million contract.

Even with the success both Woods and Beckham have been able to create, everyone falls from the top at some point, and it was the same for these two celebrity athletes.

Beckham's biggest downfall was during the 1998 World Cup playing for England. He was red-carded and ejected in the second-round match versus Argentina, which England eventually lost in a penalty-kick shootout. Fans and media alike blamed Beckham for the loss, which led to harsh criticism and death threats. 

However, the Englishman's redemption came several years later in the last game of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers against Greece. Beckham's signature free kick in the waning moments of the match helped England seal the single point needed to qualify outright to the 2002 World Cup.

Woods' fall from grace was far more turbulent, all stemming from a reported accident during the Thanksgiving weekend of 2009. His incident opened the door to reveal Woods' infidelity to his wife, Elin, in a string of affairs linking up to a dozen women.

Woods was severely bashed for his infidelities. He lost several endorsement deals, including Gatorade. Eventually the scandal forced Woods to remove himself from golf and the public eye for some time. Not even Beckham's nanny scandal while playing in Spain was as bad as what Woods went through in the U.S.  

Unlike Beckham, Woods hasn't had an iconic, ceremonious return to the hearts of fans. The golfer returned to the game in April of 2010, placing fourth in the 2010 Masters Tournament, and has slipped down the world rankings since, going down to the mid-50s but rising again to No. 25.

After winning the 2011 MLS Cup, Beckham recently signed a two-year $15 million extension with the LA Galaxy. Meanwhile, Woods will be competing at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which comes with a guaranteed appearance fee of $1.5 million.

Of course, it is endorsements and ad revenue that make these two hot commodities, and Woods and Beckham take advantage of it better than anyone.

Watch company Rolex locked Woods into a multi-year contract as an ambassador late in 2011 – it was the first major deal since his fiasco. Beckham is also reaping the rewards of being a soccer icon, working a deal with Armani for its underwear line.

As you can see, about 15 or so years after starting their pro careers, Tiger Woods and David Beckham still follow a similar path. Both are trying to maintain the success, wealth and fame after they made their names not just recognizable in the golf and soccer world, but instead a worldwide brand.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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J.D Krug wrote a fascinating piece in yesterday’s Bleacher Report titled 10 Things Europeans Don’t Know About American Soccer and Juan Carlos Salas recently did a feature on MLS:  10 Things It Does Better Than the Premier League, which highlight just how far the MLS has come. So is it fair to start thinking about the soccer in America being the equal to its European counterparts or perhaps even better? Is the MLS now one of the best soccer leagues in the world?

While I’m all for supporting the MLS and encouraging the growth of soccer across the nation,  let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. European soccer fans probably don’t know a lot more than 10 things about the MLS.

While they may be missing out on a lot of good things happening in the game here, they have very little interest apart from reading about their favorite old boys such as Thierry Henry or Torsten Frings. As for 10 things the MLS does better than the English Premiership...well that’s like saying Van Halen with Sammy Hagar was better than the lineup with Dave Lee Roth.

The MLS isn't that bad, though, and with a few changes, I believe soccer fans across the planet will soon know everything there is about American Soccer. Here is my list of 10 changes that will put the MLS up there with the EPL and La Liga.  

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A few draft picks here, a couple trades there, mix in a couple free agents with the pieces already in place, and you begin to get a picture of what Sporting KC will look like on Opening Day.

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The Herbalife sponsorship remains, but the overall feel of the jersey is different from past years.  The new Adidas jersey sports a sash reminiscent of the U. S. Men's National Team kits.  The navy blue sash includes watermarked netting.

David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and the rest of the defending MLS Cup champions will also sport the championship patch above the Adidas logo.  

Fans gearing up for the season may purchase the new kits here.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

For teams starting from scratch, and for those rebuilding, a young prospect can be a very valuable asset to make a run for MLS Cup and to build for many years to come.

Here are 10 young prospects fans should keep an eye out once the 2012 MLS season commences.  

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