All you need to know about the ML:

The Champ

Black Chariot is on a roll. They won the ML last season. They've won the US Open Cup for the last 2 seasons. They made it to the quarterfinals of the Copa Americana.With sometime US GK Rich Stanley and 3 other young NT players, BC is poised to be a power for a long time.

The Big Three

Cheeseheads FC.  FC Cape May. Airing of Grievances. Between them they've won 7 of the 11 ML championships. They have the largest fanbases in the country - all 29000+. They boast incredible histories. Cheeseheads and Cape May have never finished below 5th. AOG's worst finish was 10th, but they are the Copa Americana holders. Their youth programs churn out small armies of great prospects. None of these teams are ever far from a trophy.

The NT Manager

Mad River FC took a unique approach after taking the NT job. He bypassed the veterans in the US and went straight for the young guys. Early results were a little dicey, but it paid off with a runner up in the Cup of America competition. His club side almost took a big hit though. He needed a Houdini act of the first order to escape relegation last year. A world class GK would fix that problem.

The Contenders

It's always tricky to try to predict who will emerge from the pack. Madison Mavericks boast a 10/10 YD and a lot of young talent. Badgers FC would normally top this list. With US NT GK Larry Lesley, The Badgers were in the US Open Cup final in season 11 and were ML runners up in season 12.  But Billy Badger has announced he'll leave at the end of the season so it's hard to tell how his team will perform. The most feared youth program in the ML belongs to AC Boston. They could parlay that into a top 5 finish. Carolina takes a "nativist" approach with no foreign players on the roster. They were in contention for much of last season before falling off to 7th.

The New Boys

4 teams were promoted from D2 last year. FC Arctica gets its second chance at the ML. They'll have to hope that Fairbanks Alaska provides a difficult home field advantage. FC Bobcats are a former US Open Cup champion and finally made it out of 2.1 after 9 seasons. RKS Maine is going to have to hope that GK Hugh Smith can keep them in the ML while their youths develop. Texas 1836 SC only spent two seasons in D2. I think they have the best chance of the 4 to finish top half.

The Rest

Gilman have a chance to be a force, but I think a lack of depth hurts them. Thedza have the same type of problem. SBS and Notgood will struggle to avoid relegation. FC Nashville have been in the league a long time, but it's hard to see more than a mid table finish.

Predictions

What, do I look like Kreskin? I have no idea how this will play out. But since it's an odd numbered year, Cheeseheads FC are always a good bet.