Here are a few news reports and comments on the labor news of yesterday (see post below).

News from USA Today.

News and some analysis from the Star in Toronto.

And commentary from Columbus.

The Major League Soccer Players Union released this statement today:

“Effective at midnight tonight, our collective bargaining agreement with MLS will expire,” MLSPU executive director Bob Foose said.

“While we expect that negotiations with MLS will resume at some point, there simply hasn’t been enough progress made in the negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement. We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA. In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues. We

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Lamar Neagle of Federal Way sent home today’s lone goal off a Peter Vagenas corner kick, as Sounders FC finished is visit to Spain with a 1-0 win over Norway’s SK Brann.

The Sounders finished 2-1 in the La Manga Cup, good for fifth place in the La Manga Cup on Thursday afternoon.

Assuming no work stoppage, the Sounders FC will resume play at 4 p.m. March 6 at the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Here’s a detailed report from the club:

Once again, Seattle’s match was made challenging by steady winds across and in its attacking face for the first

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Our buddies over at Prostamerika.com have confirmed international reports that Colombian striker Miguel Montaño will be playing for the Sounders in the coming season … assuming there is one.

Here’s today’s report from Sounders FC:

The 70-minute training game with Midtjylland broke open in the second half with the Danes scoring twice in a three-minute span to turn back Seattle, 3-1. Midtjylland’s diminutive, 20-yard-old forward Jude Nworuh scored all three goals after coming on at halftime, each time using his speed, quickness and deft finishing.

Sounders FC controlled much of the first 35 minutes. Tye Perdido was involved in two of the three near-misses. He was a split-second from meeting a Peter Vagenas driven cross at the near post when it was nicked away by a defender. Just before

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Here’s the latest (bad) news on MLS-union (non) negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The current negotiating deadline – extended twice already – is now scheduled for tomorrow.

What’s new this week – other than a newly nasty tone – is that trigger finger has now shifted over to the players.

When talks began, it seemed the most likely work stoppage would come from the owners locking the players out during training camp. That would have seemed to have hurt the players most by denying them paychecks while not denying the owners any of the income from …

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Here’s the daily training report from the Sounders in Spain:

Clouds parted and a warm sun emerged as the team stepped off the bus for the morning session. Featured in the 75 minutes was a 9 v 9 + 1 game with three small goals on each end. The drill addressed changing the point of attack and, defensively, shifting quickly once the ball is switched. The session concluded with a shooting drill emphasizing playing balls into space, getting a quality first touch and shooting quickly.

Orange team: Gonzalez, Marshall, Hurtado, Riley, Ljungberg, Sturgis, Alonso, Estrada, Montero

Blue team: Wallace, Parke,

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Here’s the release out of Kansas City:

The Kansas City Wizards announced today that the team will not be renewing the contract of Argentine midfielder Claudio Lopez. The team had been in negotiations with Lopez throughout the preseason.

“We would have liked to have Claudio back in 2010, but unfortunately it became clear early in the contract negotiations that we could not give him what he desired,” Wizards Manager Peter Vermes said.