The MLS started in 1996 in the US as a result of a bid to host the world cup in 1994. It was keen to make use of football’s popularity after one of the world’s most celebrated sports tournaments was held there.

The first championship game was won by D.C. United. They won the most league titles between that team and the Los Angeles Galaxy, with four championships each. 

MLS doesn’t yet come anywhere near the prestige of the English Premier League or other European football forms. Nevertheless, it has caused many well-known international stars from Grassroots football UK to join the league, thanks to greater exposure to the increasing American football market.

Beckham is One Major Star Who Joined the MLS

After joining back in 2007, he enabled Galaxy to achieve back to back wins in the MLS. Perhaps one of the best advantages of this is that it enhanced the league’s media attention through mainstream and entertainment media. 

Therefore, it can be argued that this helped raise the league’s profile somewhat, which clearly raised interest for the MLS for many Americans, similar to what Pele achieved back in the 70s.

Beckham is just one of 78 other players from the UK who have joined the MLS. Today, 10 are on current rosters, but since its beginnings in 1996, there have been another 68 other players involved.

Previously, Beckham was playing for Manchester United, a high-profile UK team who dominated the Premier League for many years. Unfortunately, their close rival Man City are outshining them completely this season, with City being given odds of 1/16 (1.06) of winning the Premier League, according to one UK online bookmaker.

Bradley Wright-Philips, Like Beckham, was Another Successful MLS Player

Recently taken on by LAFC, this former New York Red Bulls striker has played for some big UK teams. This includes Man City, Plymouth Argyle, Southampton, Brentford and Charlton Athletic. He then took up his MLS position in 2013. 

He has a reputation for being one of the best finishers in the league, scoring an impressive 27 goals over 32 regular-season games. 2014, in particular, was a standout year for him.

Working with Thierry Henry, he produced goal after goal. Upon finishing the league, he actually became the top scorer for it, with 24 goals over 34 games. 

So why is he so good at this? He’s speedy, intelligent and persistent, three factors that make him very dangerous.

Considering this, it’s no surprise that he comes in as 7th of all time on the scoring charts, tying with Jason Kries with 108 goals. 

What’s interesting is that Wright-Phillips took 195, compared to Kries with 305 games. He’s done well to have such a successful season, despite back in 2019 suffering from many different injuries. 

These days, he brings his top performance to LAFC, taking his place as a solid veteran striker for the club. 

Interestingly, his younger brother Shaun also seems to have followed in his footsteps, enjoying a successful stint with the Red Bulls between 2015 and 2016 before joining Phoenix Rising FC in 2017, before retiring at 37 in August 2019.

Have any Other Players Experienced Much Success with MLS?

Absolutely - there are a fair few! However, we feel that two, particularly Mandela Egbo and Saphir Taider, deserve specific mention.

Firstly, there’s Egbo, a former Crystal Palace player who, after playing for Borussia Monchengladbach in Bundesliga, then moved onto Darmstadt in the first half of this season in the German second tier. 

Despite not achieving outstanding success levels by other players like Jadon Sancho or Reece Oxford, this London born defender eventually joined the New York Red Bulls. 

Now, he’s looking to improve on the elimination of last season in the first round and the end of season playoffs.

Saphir Taider didn’t spend long in England after spending some time on loan with Southampton. This was cut short for some mysterious reason back in 2014, and he’d only had one chance to appear in one friendly before making a departure.

The good news is that this hasn’t appeared to affect him very much. He put in an impressive performance at Bologna before a good two further years at Montreal Impact. while on loan once more.

Luckily, a loan deal has now been permanent in the offseason, with two further players also benefiting from this in 2020: Lassi Lapalainen and Orji Okwonkwo.

Now 25 Years Old, the MLS has Come a Long Way from its Humble Beginnings

Starting in 1996 as a modest football tournament, the MLS has developed over the years, benefiting from much media attention thanks to major stars joining the league. The future of the league is looking bright and with exponential sums of money being invested into some clubs, the league may become competitive on a international scale. 

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame has announced the Class of 2021, which comprises of five former players, a coach and contributor.  

The new members are:

Will Johnson, Linebacker.  Calgary 1989-96 & Saskatchewan 1997.  From Northeast Louisiana, Johnson briefly played for the Chicago Bears, before finding a home with the Calgary Stampeders.  A five-time CFL All-Star, Johnson anchored the team to a win in the 1992 Grey Cup.  Individually, Johnson recorded 99 Sacks over his career, twice leading the league in that stat.

Marv Levy, Coach.  Montreal 1973-77.  Before he made himself a legend in Buffalo, Levy led the Montreal Alouettes to two Grey Cup wins (1974 & 1977) and had a 43-31-4 record.  Levy becomes the third person to enter both the Canadian and Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining Bud Grant and Warren Moon.

Nik Lewis, Slotback.  Calgary 2004-14 & Montreal 2015-18.  Lewis was a Division II All-American at Southern Arkansas, and he became one of the top receivers in CFL history.  Winning two Grey Cups with the Stampeders, Lewis was the 2004 Rookie of the Year with and was named to three straight All-Star Games (2010-12).  Statistically, Lewis had 13,778 Receiving Yards and 71 Touchdowns, and is the all-time league-leader in Receptions with 1,051.

Doug Mitchell, Commissioner, 1984-1988.  Mitchell was a three-time Grey Cup Champion (Hamilton 1967 & 1972, Montreal 1974) as a Center, but achieved more notoriety as the CFL Commissioner in the mid-80s.

Orlondo Steinauer, Defensive Back. Ottawa 1996, Hamilton 1997-2000 & Toronto 2001-08.  Steinauer was a five-time CFL All-Star who won two Grey Cups as a player, one with Hamilton (1999) and a second with Toronto (2004). Recording 49 Interceptions, Steinauer is second all-time in Interception Return Yards (1,178).  He is currently the Head Coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Mike Walker, Defensive Tackle.  Hamilton 1982-89 & Edmonton 1990-91.  Walker was a three-time CFL All-Star who helped lead the Tiger-Cats to a win in the 1986 Grey Cup and had 95.5 career Sacks.  The former Washington State Cougar has been the Defensive Line Coach for the Edmonton Eskimos since 2009.

Don Wilson, Defensive Back.  Edmonton 1987-89, Toronto 1990-92, Edmonton 1993-94, Toronto 1995-96, B.C. 1997 & Edmonton 1998.  Wilson was a part of four Grey Cup championships (Edmonton 1987 & 1993, Toronto 1992 & 1996) and was a four-time All-Star.  A college player at North Carolina State, Wilson had 61 Interceptions, which is fifth all-time.

The ceremony is scheduled for November, which will be four months after the COVID-postponed Class of 2020 enters.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

The most awaited two minutes sport is coming very soon. Happening every first Saturday of May, this year's event falls on May 01. The fun-packed event is looked forward to with action and excitement by horse enthusiasts. The upcoming race is the 147th Grade 1 Thoroughbred stake race in Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. 

The event will host a total of fourteen races; the dirt track accommodates racehorses that belong to a 3-year-old thoroughbred category racing a distance of 1 ¼ mile. The event is fascinating, anticipated by around 155,000 sports fanatics, including celebrities and top names in sports. People are placing bets and anticipating winnings. But they are not just ins for the wins but also for the age-old traditions that they always celebrate. 

The Derby Traditions

Every event is a celebration for horse enthusiasts because they are eyeing on their best contender, anticipating the traditions that they always celebrate. The Kentucky Derby 2021 is awaiting men and women celebrating in their bold formal fashion wearing bright, colorful, wild patterned, and creative hats. It is a showcase of lavished fashions for everyone. 

"My Old Kentucky Home," the state's song, is happily played and participated by everybody is also a tradition starting off the event. The iconic Mint Julep, the traditional symbolic drink during the derby, is feasted for the celebration. A Mint Julep in a souvenir glass costs $15 on Derby Day, but it costs as high as $2,500 available on deluxe to cash-rich aficionados. Another tradition is the giving of iconic roses to the champion horse.

But the most anticipated tradition is the placing of bets to their eyed contenders. Betting has become synonymous with racing that spans a whole weekend to stack racing cards. Bets are placed to contenders that will give a strong winning pick and best-winning forecast. Thus, try to visit TVG to check out the latest odds and pick who is among the top of the 2021 Kentucky derby. 

The Top Contenders

In anticipation of the win, horse aficionados always place their bets on who they believe are strongest to give them the winnings they expect. And for the 2021 Kentucky Derby, these horses are on the top list of winnable contenders:

Hot Rod Charlie

Hot Rod Charlie is rated 7.99 of 10 and has 110 total points in his record. The top four finishers only get the points on a 150 - 60 - 30 - 15 point basis. Hot Rod Charlie just won the $1 million race over Midnight Bourbon in the recently concluded Louisiana Derby just this March 20, 2021.  

Hot Rod Charlie is trained by Doug F. O'Neil, owned by Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing LLC, and his jockey is Joel Rosario. He now ranked first in points among the nominated horses for the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Like The King

The victory of Like The King in the 1 ⅛ mile earned him 100 points, guaranteed to berth the Kentucky Derby. He defeated Sainthood in his most recent victory last March 27, 2021, and earned him 100 points in a neck-back finish.

Like The King is an active 3-year-old colt, his owner is M.Racing Group, LLC. Like The King is trained by a retired champion jockey Wesley A. Ward, known for his training skills in Thoroughbred horses, and among them is Like The King.

Known Agenda

Known Agenda is a Kentucky bred born in 2018, now ranked third in the Kentucky Derby contenders. He has 102 points that he recently earned from winning over Greatest Honour at the Florida Derby last March 27, 2021. Known Agenda swept away the $750,000 stake from his Florida Derby victory. He was trained by Todd A Pletcher and competed by Jockey Irad Ortiz. 

Greatest Honour

Greatest Honour has the reputation as The horse to beat in Florida Derby, who headline among the recent winners preparing for the "Run For The Roses" derby. Greatest Honour has 82 points, and he earned the fourth spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. He is an active three-year-old colt owned by Courtlandt Farms and trained by hall of fame trainer Shug McGaughey. Greatest Honour has a career record of 3 wins, four placings, and seven starts.

Midnight Bourbon

Midnight Bourbon had run solid races; he just finished off the LeComte Stakes last January 16, 2021, in a 1 1/16 miles race, advancing to rank five in the Kentucky point standings. Midnight Bourbon just finished off Proxy on second and TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun on third.The $200,000 debut was a qualifying race for Midnight Bourbon to the Kentucky Derby. 

Final Thoughts

The Kentucky Derby is an event to look forward to for horse lovers. Placing bets and anticipating wins for their horse contenders listed on top of the point standings. For 2021, you would expect an exciting race with the horses on the top list like Hot Rod Charlie, Like The King, Known Agenda, Greatest Honour and Midnight Bourbon. They are the stars of the race to watch out for. 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021 revision of our top 50 Green Bay Packers of all-time.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL. 

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

There are no new additions in the Top 50, but two elevations, from current Packers.  One of which, effects our top five.

As always, we present our top five.  They are:

1. Brett Favre

2. Don Hutson

3. Aaron Rodgers

4. Forrest Gregg

5. Bart Starr

You can find the entire list here.

Rodgers, the reigning MVP, moved up from #6.  

The other jump is Offensive Lineman, David Bakhtiari climbed six spots to #30.  He was a First Team All-Pro this year, despite only playing in 12 Games.

We welcome your input and commentsand as always, we thank you for your support.