The MLS Western Conference Final, which pits the resurgent LA Galaxy against the perennially contending Houston Dynamo, is set for the Home Depot Center tomorrow night.


Unfortunately, if you live on the East Coast, you'll probably need a pot of coffee to catch the whole thing.


Kickoff for the match will be at 11:27 PM ET, a ridiculously late start for those of us that call the right side of the country home. West coast games are routinely late starters, something we've generally grown accustomed too; I can't count the number of times I've found myself up beyond midnight waiting for a match to end. It's usually not that big of a deal.


But Friday is just a little different. It is the playoffs after all, contested between (supposedly) Major League Soccer's best teams, and the should be type of game the league would want to be in front of the largest audience possible. Unfortunately, Friday's start time makes that almost impossible; I realize that it's annoying fact for much of the country, but the fact remains that a predominance of the US population resides east of the mighty Mississippi.


It's TV, I know. MLS is suckling at the teat of ESPN, and it's hard to blame them. But a kickoff time of roughly 11:30 PM not only eliminates a portion of the game's potential audience, it gives the impression that MLS is so beholden to the "Worldwide Leader" that they can pushed in any direction the Bristol-ites choose. Even if that is the reality (which it clearly is), the perception that MLS is a a pushover, even during their most visible portion of the season, is troubling.


Forget the Beckham Effect, because playing until after 1 AM on the East Coast negates it. Forget that the game could be a thriller, with two teams on solid form and who possess marketable young stars, because most of the country's population will miss it. Forget that ESPN is the best place for the profile of MLS to grow, because despite being broadcast there, the number of people who might stumble upon it and stick around is now a fraction of the possible total.


The hardcore, of which there are fewer than there should be but whom certainly exist, will stay up. I myself will be brewing the aforementioned pot of coffee, or stocking up on Red Bull (wait, never mind, make that Monster), or both, setting myself down and committing to a late, late night. It is the playoffs after all. How could I miss it?


Thanks MLS. And thank you ESPN.