Garber delivers State of the League address

TORONTO -- The MLS All-Star Game is a focal point of the Major League Soccer season where the entire league gathers to discuss and celebrate the events of the previous year. It was therefore only fitting, said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, that the 2008 All-Star Game be held in the league's most prosperous new market in the wake of the league's most successful year.

"What with the excitement, success and soccer passion that exists here in the city, we believed very early on that this would be the perfect site for our annual All-Star Game," Garber said. "Our expansion in Toronto will go down as one of the key moments in Major League Soccer history and I for one believe that the launch of Toronto FC was one of the most memorable and successful new-team launches in the history of professional sports in North America."

The commissioner praised TFC's ownership group, corporate sponsorship and most of all fan support several times during his biennial state of the league address on Wednesday, even noting at one point that his remarks were beginning to sound like "an advertisement for Toronto." Still, Garber was effusive in his praise of TFC's quick evolution into one of the model organizations of MLS after just a season and a half of play. The latest example, Garber said, was the extensive schedule of interactive fan events, concerts and activities set in motion for the All-Star week. NEWS