MLS Releases 2011 Schedule, Promises Playoff Format In ‘Near Future’

If you were anywhere near Twitter today, you probably saw at least a few tweets with the hashtag #MLSScheduleIsLateBecause attached them. The hashtag was so popular that it was actually trending worldwide. According to one website, there were nearly 5,000 tweets with that hashtag and more than 1,500 tweeters contributed.

The Daily Soccer Fix, Steve Davis’ SBN soccer blog, took the time to compile some of the best #MLSScheduleIsLateBecause tweets. What he found was a virtual treasure-trove of pop- and soccer-culture references.

There were plenty of hilarious Tweets that came out today with the hashtag #MLSScheduleIsLateBecause, but the SBNation/soccer staff wanted to widdle it down to a more accessible number. We scoured Twitter looking for the top 10. This was our list, in no particular order:

The only time all 18 teams will play on the same day is March 26, which will feature a MLS record nine matches. Every other week will feature games on at least two different days, and every day of the week will have at least one game played on it at some point in the season. Still, the league scheduled a lower percentage of games on weekdays than in years past, as 82 percent of regular season games will now be played on Saturday or Sunday.

In an attempt to more closely adhere to the international schedule, MLS left several dates open, including two weekends. No MLS games are scheduled for Aug. 10 (a Wednesday) or on the weekends of Sept. 3-4 and Oct. 8-9. The complete MLS schedule can be viewed at MLSsoccer.com.