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Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Carlos Bocanegra has moved to Rangers, but he would have found better competition in Major League Soccer. Carlos Bocanegra has moved to Rangers, but he would have found better competition in Major League Soccer.

According to Entertainment Weekly, "Captain America" is one of the hits of the summer. And my first thought upon hearing that soccer's Captain America, Carlos Bocanegra, had moved to Glasgow Rangers was that Ally McCoist had pulled off one of the best bits of business of the summer transfer window. That's still the case, but now I'm wondering whether Bocanegra did himself a disservice by moving to the Scottish Premier League. After all, he could have returned home to a much more competitive league, and -- dare I say it -- a higher standard of play in Major League Soccer.

I can feel the outrage at the very notion that MLS could be better than the SPL. But I'll risk that for once. Just take a look at what's happened in the respective leagues recently. MLS has signed a new national TV deal for next season; its teams are winning game after game in the CONCACAF Champions League (including wins for FC Dallas and the Seattle Sounders in Mexico); and, despite the Los Angeles Galaxy's recent substantial investment in Robbie Keane (and Toronto FC convincing Torsten Frings to head across the Atlantic), the just-around-the-corner MLS Cup playoffs are up for grabs.

What's happening in Scotland? Rangers tumbled out of the Champions League at an early hurdle and then were knocked out of Europe altogether before the Glasgow schools were back in session from the summer holidays. Archrival Celtic, once an icon of European nights, had its Europa League exit visa stamped by FC Sion of Switzerland, (although that result is under appeal with UEFA due to alleged Sion player-eligibility issues), while Hearts only got to cross Hadrian's Wall as their European adventure ended quickly against Spurs. At least Dundee United players got a Euro 2012 preview with a visit to Poland before going out on the away-goals rule to Slask Wroclaw. Would any of this quartet gain victories in Mexico in recent weeks? I doubt it.

But maybe the Jambos and the Terrors are saving their energy for upending the Old Firm's SPL title-winning monopoly. Then again, maybe not. What are the chances of any team other than Rangers or Celtic winning the SPL this year? I'll offer next to zero. I'm not questioning the intensity of the Old Firm rivalry; it's way beyond compelling, but its significance only resonates in Scotland these days. October's upcoming Manchester derby will have the world's attention, and at the moment, there can't be enough Real Madrid-Barcelona encounters.

The Old Firm has been swimming in red ink for some time, and it shows on the field. Neither team was a player in the summer transfer market, and Rangers haven't been for a long time. Just like MLS, most SPL teams feature a wide spectrum of young players, veteran professionals who have found their level and pockets of international-quality talent.

But while the SPL flounders in the doldrums, MLS is sailing along on the strong breezes of new stadiums, a growing and passionate fan base and elevated play on the field. Sure, it would be fun to see more goals and fewer defensive tactics from most MLS head coaches, but the fact is that there are very few pushovers in the league, and owners are demanding results. That alone shows how serious soccer has become in the U.S. in the past decade. Teams are fairly evenly matched, and the players and their fans know that, like in most American-based sports, anything can happen if you can get into the playoffs.

In the 1970s, the old Anglo-Scottish Cup pitted Scottish teams against English teams. It would be interesting now to see a U.S.-Scottish Cup between MLS and SPL teams. Any MLS naysayer might be shocked as to how competitive the league's teams would be, but I doubt Rangers would. McCoist not only signed Bocanegra this summer, he also added another U.S. international, Alejandro Bedoya. They joined former Toronto FC starlet Maurice Edu. All three followed in the popular Ibrox bootsteps of longtime U.S. national team stars DaMarcus Beasley and Claudio Reyna.

Reportedly, the SPL started early this season to help its teams be more competitive in European competition -- a move that clearly didn't work. Where does the SPL go now? Well, almost certainly to a season-long Old Firm title showdown with few other serious contenders involved. In other words: same old, same old.

Meanwhile, MLS will just keep getting better. And much better, if sometime soon the league decides to pay American stars (not just imported older non-U.S. stars) top dollar, so the likes of Bocanegra can think about coming home instead of playing in the stagnant SPL.