MLS A-to-Z guide for 2020 season

C is for Cap, salary. MLS prefers it be called a budget. Each team in MLS has a salary cap. In 2019, that salary budget was $4,240,000. The total is drawn from the 18-20 players on the club's senior roster. It doesn't include salaries paid to Homegrown players or Generation Adidas players. A club's overall ability to spend will increase from $8,490,000 in 2019 to $11,643,000 in 2024.

D is for Designated Player. These are the players whose salaries exceed $530,000 (toward the salary cap) if he starts to play at the beginning of the 2019 season. Atlanta United's DPs are Josef Martinez, Pity Martinez and Ezequiel Barco.

E is for Eastern Conference. The seven teams from 12 that advanced to the playoffs last season were: NYCFC, Atlanta United, Philadelphia, Toronto, D.C. United, the New York Red Bulls and the New England Revolution. Those who didn't were Chicago, Montreal, Columbus, Orlando and Cincinnati.

F is for First round. The format of the playoffs for the second consecutive year provides a bye to the first-place teams from each conference. The second seed will play the seventh, the third will play the sixth and the fourth will play the fifth. First round can also count for the first round that MLS teams enter the U.S. Open Cup, which will be the tournament's third round this season. In the past few years it was the fourth round.

G is for Garber, Don. He is the commissioner of the league, a job he has held since 1999.

H is for Homegrown Players. These are players who are signed by MLS teams after they come up through the team's academy. Teams can sign as many as they want each year, but each team has roster spots available. It is the equivalent of a farm system. Atlanta United has three Homegrown Players: Andrew Carleton, who is on loan to Indianapolis in the USL, centerback George Campbell, who likely will start for Atlanta United 2 in the USL, and fullback George Bello, who will compete for a starting spot with the senior team.

I is for International. Each team starts with eight slots available to sign international players. They don't have to be used. They are also tradeable.

J is for Jersey sponsors. MLS was the first of the big 5 professional sports leagues to allow sponsors on the front of its jerseys. Atlanta United's kit is sponsored by American Family Insurance.

K is for Kit. A soccer jersey, shorts and socks is called a kit. Get used to it. Adidas designs the kits. Each team can change one kit every two years. After two years of wearing the peach kit for away games, Atlanta United's kit changed this season to one that features gold as its secondary color.

L is for the Landon Donovan MVP Award. LAFC's Carlos Vela won the award last season. Atlanta United's Josef Martinez won it in 2018.

M is for MLSPA, which is the Major League Soccer Players Association, the group that represents the players in the league.

N is for Newspapers. Please support your local. Whether you believe it, the coverage provided of teams by the local paper often drives the amount of coverage provided by other outlets in that market. The content provided by journalists provides talking points that are often used (sometimes uncredited) by others. This isn't true in all cases. Blogs and other outlets also provide valuable and original content, but newspapers play an important role.  The Oregonian recently decided that it could not longer support a beat reporter for its two teams. It will be interesting to see how that decision will affect the coverage of the teams by the other outlets in that wonderful city.

O is for Overtime, or extra time. Overtime in soccer parlance is extra time and is used when the teams remain tied after 90 minutes plus whatever is decided is stoppage or injury time. It consists of two, 15-minute periods. It will be used in the playoffs.

P is for Penalty kicks. They are awarded for fouls inside the penalty box and will also be used to decide outcomes if certain games finish tied. The penalty spot is 12 yards from the goal line. Penalty shootouts are best-of-five. If the teams remain tied, the penalty kicks go into sudden death mode and will continue until a player on one team makes one and a player on the other team misses.

Q is for Quality. The quality of the play in MLS is a constant debate. Thought it can't match the world's best leagues such as in England, Spain, Italy and Germany, it in improving incrementally each year.

R is Referees. There are many debates about the quality of the refereeing in the league. There is one referee on the field, and two assistants.

S is for Supporters' Shield. This is given to the team that finishes the regular season with the most points. LAFC won it last season. The L.A Galaxy (4) have won it the most.

T is for Targeted Allocation Money, one of the financial mechanisms invented by MLS to help clubs acquire certain players. Its impact is going to be slowly reduced in the new CBA because it will transition into General Allocation Money, which has more diverse uses.

V is for VAR, or Video Assistant Referee. Each game in MLS is monitored by a Video Assistant Referee, who watches different broadcast angles of a live game to assist the referee and his assistants. The VAR is supposed to recommend to the referee that he or she review a play when there may be a clear and obvious error. It's still not clear what clear and obvious may be.

W is for Western Conference. There are 13 teams comprising this group. Last year's playoff teams were LAFC, Seattle, Real Salt Lake, Minnesota, L.A. Galaxy, Portland and Dallas.

X is for Expansion. Nashville and Inter Miami are the two new expansion teams. Austin and Charlotte will begin play in 2021. St. Louis and Sacramento will start in 2022.

 Y is for Yellow cards. A yellow card is given typically when a player is more aggressive than necessary. Two yellow cards equal a red card and the player is sent off, reducing his team by one player on the field.

Z is for Zero. Teams get zero points for a loss, one for a tie and three for a victory.