Major League Soccer will not play league matches during the two-week group stage of next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Okay, fine. If teams are going to be without star players, and if you believe (as I do) that MLS’ product suffers by comparison when you watch high-level international play and then watch an MLS match, not a bad move.

They’re also going to play a balanced 30-game schedule, with each team playing each other team home and away, just like In The Rest Of The World^TM.

But here’s what MLS is not going to do:

1. Go to a single table standings setup. Two more teams come along in 2011 and perhaps more after that. A 20-team league playing a balanced 38-game schedule isn’t an option for us.
2. Switch their schedule to fall-to-spring, again just like ITROTW^TM. That’s a non-starter. Oh, you can play soccer in winter weather. Nobody’s going to go watch it, though. Don’t tell me about the Germans and the Brits - they like soccer and British winters are more temperate than, say, Chicago or Foxboro.

When MLS launched, it made a number of mistakes in hopes of “Americanizing” the game and giving it broader appeal in a nation that, it was feared, wouldn’t embrace the game’s traditions. Among those mistakes were the shootout, silly team names and uniforms, a clock that counted down and (after a few years) overtime to attempt to decide tied games.

All of those things are gone now.

Are you happy?

Those of you who have been whining about all this stuff for years, are you happy now?

Is there anything else we can do for you, or, after all of these changes are made, will you just find some other reason not to support your domestic league?

EDIT: I don’t know if there’s a connection, but it’s interesting that this wasn’t announced until after the US Men’s National Team had clinched at least fourth place in World Cup qualifying, meaning they’ll at least make a playoff for a spot in South Africa.