Major League Soccer President and Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott met with the media in Portland on Tuesday ahead of the leagues All Star Game against German giants Bayern Munich (Wednesday night - live on TSN at 9:30pm et). Abbott was the leagues first employee back in 1993. He discussed many of the big issues surrounding MLS at the moment including comments made by FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Toronto on Monday. Blatter said MLS is pressing ahead with plans to realign its schedule with the FIFA calendar, but Abbott maintains the leagues stance has not changed: "We looked at it last fall and concluded that at this point in time it is not a change we could make," he said. "There is nothing imminent." Here are some of the other highlights from Abbotts meeting with the media: On a big summer for soccer: "It has been a great week so far for us in a Portland and part of a tremendous summer for us. The World Cup had a breakthrough in cultural relevance that we hadnt really seen before. It showed how big the fan base is." On finding new buyers for Chivas USA: "Weve been spending a lot of time talking to potential buyers. I am very optimistic we can find a wonderful ownership group. I dont have a specific timetable yet but it is an area of high focus for me. I anticipate in a reasonable period of time we will have a new buyer for that club. We have been looking at USC as a potential site for a stadium. Our focus is on a central LA location. We are not going to publicly negotiate the price but it will be more than was paid by Orlando." On the stadium situation in Miami: "Clearly we were disappointed about the two sites we had been focused on. We are spending a lot if time trying to find a location for the stadium along with David Beckham and his people." On Canadian players being treated as domestic players in the United States: "There is a US law issue. Anybody who is not a US citizen has to be treated the same, that being said, we have committed to the Canadian Soccer Association that we will look at potential solutions that can help. In my experience, when people are committed to solving a problem, they will find a solution. We value our partnership with the CSA, and it is a focus for us." On Sacramentos bid for an expansion franchise, and potential ownership involving Sacramento Kings: "We always talk about three things we look at. The first is market dynamics, and there are a lot of really wonderful things going on in Sacramento. The second is, you have to have a facility. We are going to visit the market later this year. The third is the ownership group. There are significant people in Sacramento who have an interest in seeing MLS come there, including the Mayor. I do not want to get into specifics regarding potential ownership groups but we have great respect for what the ownership groups have done with the Kings and also Sacramento Republic." On an increase in salary cap: "Without taking about specifics, over time we will confine to invest more in players and we have shown that consistently. We recognize the importance of continuing to grow the product on the field. Over the last couple of years we have shown our desire to invest in players." On the upcoming CBA negotiations: "The Collective Bargaining Agreement is about investing in players. Those discussions will be about how we invest in players. We are not going into it looking for a work stoppage, we have a good partnership with our players and we talk a lot with them. We are tremendously proud of our players of the way they conduct themselves on and off the field. They are committed to helping build the sport. CBAs by their very nature involve contention. Sometimes that can get a little noisy, but if we can keep it all in the negotiation room, that provides everybody more flexibility to get things done. We met with the union not long a go and they would like the same thing. We dont go into it looking for a fight and nor do they." On introducing promotion or relegation: "I would say that never happens." On the playoff format: "From a general perspective, the format we have, we like. It doesnt mean we might not tinker with it, but we are happy with what we have. The playoffs are working. The basic concept is one we think makes sense and is correct." On seeing the league grow over the last two decades: "It has exceeded every expectation that I had. It is bigger in terms of its relevance. The sport has grown in a way none of us saw coming. It is the demographic shifts that you couldnt have seen 20 years ago. In every way we have exceed where we thought we would be, but we also recognize there is so much opportunity and more to be done." 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Gary Trent Jr. Blazers Jersey . Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead Chicago to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Monday night.LOS ANGELES -- After Patrick Marleaus fourth career playoff overtime goal silenced Staples Center for maybe the next-to-last time this season, the veteran San Jose Sharks forward attributed his knack for post-season heroics to one simple trait. "Well, you just try to shoot it on net," Marleau said. "This one was not a hard shot by any means, but you just get it to the net." Thats how good things happen for Marleau and the Sharks, who weathered the Los Angeles Kings best game of the series and emerged on the brink of advancement. Marleau scored 6:20 into overtime, and the Sharks beat the Kings 4-3 on Tuesday night to take a 3-0 first-round series lead. Rookie Tomas Hertl tied it with 10:43 left in regulation for the Sharks, who had to grind out a nail-biting victory after two blowout wins in San Jose. But the Sharks have won five straight overtime playoff games and 10 of their past 11, with Marleau repeatedly delivering the decisive blow. "For Patty Marleau to come up with that goal, its just huge for us," captain Joe Thornton said. "It was just going back and forth." The Kings largely controlled overtime until Marleaus shot banked off Kings defenceman Slava Voynovs stick on its way past Jonathan Quick, who made 36 saves in his third straight loss. Marleaus goal was his third of the series. "They had the bat in their hands, and they were going to swing it," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "They had us on our heels, but sometimes it goes that way. We will take that break." Matt Nieto got his first career playoff goal for the Sharks, and Brent Burns also scored. Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots for San Jose, winning three straight in the matchup of Stanley Cup-winning goalies. Game 4 is Thursday in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has slipped to the brink of first-round elimination just two years after its Stanley Cup title run. The Kings were the NHLs best defensive team during the regular season, but theyve allowed 17 goals in the first three games of this series. Only three teams have ever rallied to win a best-of-seven NHL playoff series after trailing 0-3. "It was a better effort," said leading scorer Anze Kopitar, who doesnt have a goal in the series. "We had some chances, but it wasnt enough. Were going to have to come back in a couple of days and throw everything at them.ddddddddddddquot; Jeff Carter tipped in a tiebreaking goal for Los Angeles on a power play early in the third period, but Hertl evened it right after a power play expired. San Jose dominated the third, but Quick made 23 saves to send the Kings into their first overtime playoff game at home in three years. Marian Gaborik scored and Jarret Stoll ended his 29-game playoff goal drought for the Kings, who stumbled back home after opening the series with two disastrous games at the Shark Tank. The Kings nervous fans got quiet early on when Burns partly whiffed on a wrist shot and produced a knuckling puck that sailed past Quick just 10 seconds into a Sharks power play. Stoll evened it with his first playoff goal in two years early in the second period. Stoll hadnt found the net in the post-season since his series-clinching overtime goal against Vancouver in 2012. Gaborik then put the Kings ahead all by himself, lugging the puck from the opposite blue line and beating Niemi with a vicious backhand. "I think our better players were better," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "That was noticeable. That will give us a chance next game." San Jose evened it 1:18 later when Nieto, from nearby Long Beach, scored into an open net. Quick had been knocked to the ice by Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr moments earlier. Carter capitalized in the waning seconds of a power play by tipping Anze Kopitars shot in front for his first playoff score since Game 2 of last seasons Western Conference finals, ending a personal 393:34 drought. Hertl converted his own rebound midway through the period to even it again, scoring on the rink where a knee-on-knee hit from Dustin Brown sidelined the Czech rookie for 45 games earlier this season. NOTES: The Kings scratched F Colin Fraser after recalling the two-time Stanley Cup champion from the AHL earlier in the day. Los Angeles also scratched F Kyle Clifford, who went scoreless with a minus-3 and 16 penalty minutes in the first two games, and D Matt Greene, a minus-4 in the series. ... The Kings dressed F Tanner Pearson, who made his NHL playoff debut last season before he had ever played in a regular-season NHL game. ... Los Angeles played its 41st playoff game in the past three seasons, the most by any NHL team in that span. ' ' '