The MLS Cup playoffs are underway without the league’s biggest star, but with a brand-new expanded — and controversial — format.

This year, 18 teams qualified for the postseason, including four wild cards that played in single-elimination games. Now, eight first-round matchups are being played over a three-game series before the remainder of the tournament features knockout-style matches.

Last year, 14 teams made the playoffs, which consisted of only single-elimination games.

But after MLS broke attendance records this season on the back of Lionel Messi’s arrival to the league, its postseason format is coming under scrutiny from players and fans alike — a setback amid otherwise overwhelmingly positive momentum.

LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau questioned the need for lengthy series in soccer. “Home-away games, I totally understand it. We’ve seen it for years,” he said. “But to start to add on and add on and add on, does that really translate to our sport? I don’t know.”

Both LAFC and the Philadelphia Union had thousands of empty seats during their opening first-round matches, per the Los Angeles Times.

Luciano Acosta, captain of FC Cincinnati, which led the MLS season in points, thinks the format doesn’t reward regular-season play enough. “It doesn’t give the biggest advantage to the team that won the Supporters’ Shield, but these are the rules,” Acosta said. 

The expanded first round does give Apple, which is paying $250 million a year for exclusive global broadcast rights, more game inventory. However, some critics have wondered if that actually dilutes the product with less exciting play on the pitch.

First-round matches will continue until Nov. 12 if necessary, while the conference semifinals will begin on Nov. 25 after an international break.

The relationship between the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group and the Arizona Coyotes has already been severed by a court, but is still not over yet. 

Less than a month after the bankrupt parent of Bally Sports rejected its local rights to the NHL club, ushering in a dramatic new era in Phoenix sports television, the Coyotes filed a formal claim with a U.S. bankruptcy court in Texas for $17.9 million in unpaid rights fees. 

The claim is similar to one for $24.6 million that the Coyotes’ crosstown neighbor, MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks, filed with the court in August, less than four weeks after their rights were also dropped by DSG. Both clubs, however, will face an uphill climb recouping most, if not all, of that money. 

The teams’ repayment claims are considered unsecured debt — and such claims in bankruptcy proceedings are often repaid at a small fraction of the original value. 

Mounting Pressures

The Coyotes’ claim is just the latest in a growing series of pressures on DSG as it seeks to reorganize. 

DSG continues to fight a multipronged struggle against its creditors, leagues, distributors, and even its own parent company, Sinclair Inc. More clues on that reorganization effort are expected in the next month as Sinclair reports its next set of quarterly earnings on Nov. 1 and DSG follows suit on Nov. 28.

The Coyotes have finalized plans with Scripps Sports to show their games locally on that company’s Antenna TV network.

The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club wants to make Wimbledon even bigger — and just took a key step in its ambitious growth plans.

Wimbledon is the only one of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments to not hold its qualifying event on site. Qualifying currently takes place several miles from the club at a venue with a capacity for 2,000 fans.

But a local council has approved plans for the club to build 39 new courts — including an 8,000-seat stadium — on the site of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club. The All England Club purchased the neighboring land in 2018 for $79 million. If given the official green light, Wimbledon’s new qualifying space wouldn’t be ready until 2030 at the earliest.

In 2024, Wimbledon will run from July 1-14. If the All England Club could host qualifying onsite, though, it would become the epicenter of professional tennis a week earlier, when Wimbledon qualifying begins on June 24.

However, Wimbledon’s organizers have been dealing with a contractual clause that prevented “the use of the land otherwise than for leisure or recreation purposes or as an open space.” Some opposition still remains, and the All England Club’s plans could still be thwarted by another local committee or even London’s mayor.

The All England Club has promised that the new 23-acre public park will be fully accessible to the community outside the Wimbledon weeks each year. An ultimate resolution could be determined by the end of the year, although no official timeline has been guaranteed.

The NFL’s throwback uniform wave has hit celebrated new heights this season with retro designs from teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning widespread praise from fans and pundits. 

Now, a new legal fight involves one of the most revered looks of all.

The league has sent a formal cease-and-desist letter to the University of Houston, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle, asking them to immediately stop their “blatant copying” of the Houston Oilers’ former uniforms. In addition to preventing any merchandise sales, the NFL also sought to discontinue any social media or promotional efforts involving the uniforms.

The Cougars wore those uniforms — which feature a powder-blue color scheme with red stripes — for their Sept. 2 season opener against the University of Texas at San Antonio. Despite no move by the university to monetize its homage to the Oilers’ famed “Luv Ya Blue” era, the NFL is looking to put a halt to any such activity.

“The Houston Cougars’ attempt to free-ride on the popularity of the NFL and the club violates the intellectual property rights of the NFL and the [Tennessee] Titans,” wrote league attorney Bonnie L. Jarrett in an Oct. 13 letter.

On Sunday, the Titans wore Oilers throwbacks in their home victory over the Atlanta Falcons and will again later this season in a game against the Houston Texans. After the Oilers left for Tennessee to become the Titans after the 1996 season, the team retained the Oilers’ trademarks.

Cougars Response

The Cougars haven’t sold any of their light-blue uniforms, saying there were “roadblocks” in the approval process, and have taken down relevant social media posts. The school added it was merely paying respect to a former era in Houston’s football history, as well as a color used for many years by the Houston Police Department.

“When and if we plan to market merchandise, I remain committed to coming to you for further discussion prior to implementation if it becomes necessary,” wrote Dona Cornell, university vice chancellor for legal affairs, in a response to NFL Properties.