Ladies and gentlemen, we did it.



We got the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge back.



I have been a proponent of the return of the MLS Skills Challenge for quite some time now, in addition to my notable work agitating for the return of Goalie Wars to the MLS All-Star festivities, and making NASL penalties the default tie-breaking format for all official FIFA competitions. We’re still working on those last two, but WE GOT THE SKILLZ CHALLENGE BACK, BABY. ROLL THAT TAPE.



Thank you, Saving-Private-Ryan-era Rob Stone.



The MLS All-Star Skills Challenge of old was obviously a tongue-in-cheek event, lifted from similar events held during the all-star festivities of other American sports. The theory was pretty simple: People love watching a glorified batting practice like the home run derby, or the aerial theatrics of the slam dunk contest, so who wouldn’t want to watch Jeff Agoos and his Conan-the-Barbarian ponytail obliterating his quads...