Nine (somewhat) Easy Steps to Get Through the Off Season:

Yeah, MLS has one of the longest seasons stretching from March into November (February if you include preseason), which means that the off-season stretches from November through January. A player reaching MLS Cup gets no more than 10 weeks off.

But to an MLS fan, it’s the longest 10 weeks of the year. So in order to break up that 10 week span, here’s a list of MLS offseason waypoints.

• Expansion Draft: 11/21/2007. OK that one’s already passed, but it’s the first offseason activity (or last 2007 activity? either way, it’s progress).

• Waiver Draft: 11/29/2007. Where teams let players go and other teams can pick them up on their current salary, OK, not that big of a deal but it’s one more step to starting the 2008 season.

• Opening Day 2008 announcement: Soon. While we won’t see the whole schedule, we will find out who and where Unitedplays on March 27, 29, or 30.

• New uniform unveiling: Likely sometime before the draft. United’s up for a new uniform (the two year cycle on the current ones is up), and rumors persist that they’ll land a sponsor. Look for it to be based on one of the adidas Euro 2008 design templates.

• 2008 Combine: January 2008. A bunch of college guys go to Home Depot Center (likely) and run around for coaches, and sometimes some really dedicated fans.

• 2008 MLS Super Draft: Late January 2008. It’s back in Baltimore, so it’s a local event to attend, and possibly pass out at. Just don’t let future bad guys (but a real good sport) catch you.

• Training camp/preseason begins: Early February. The guys work out the kinks from not playing for a long (well, comparitively) time. Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

• CONCACAF Champions Cup: Mid March. Will we be off to the frozen tundra of Germantown to see United play Harbour View again? These games are great, because it helps us work the kinks out as fans (though it’s better when the temperature is somewhere above freezing).

• 2008 MLS Season Begins: Last weekend of March. See? 120-some days can go by fairly quickly. And I didn’t even include any of the spiffy Screaming Eagles Happy Hours, or the Fifth Line’s Capitals’ games.