2014 MLS Schedule Released: No Weekend Home Games vs. United, Union

The league released it's 2014 schedule today and, at first blush, it's not great for the Red Bulls.

I'll have a more in-depth analysis later, but the things that jump out right away is that the Red Bulls home games against D.C. United and the Philadelphia Union both fall on Wednesdays.

You can see the full schedule here.

This season, the Red Bulls had the advantage of playing both those teams at home twice. Obviously, that switches for 2014, but in 2013 those games were on weekends, allowing the Red Bulls to capitalize on the rivalry to sell tickets and allows a solid base for traveling support. That made for a great atmosphere, especially given the teams' proximity to each other. That won't happen in 2014, unfortunately.

Meanwhile, neither of the other big rivalries -- the California Classico between the San Jose Earthquakes and the LA Galaxy, or the Cascadia Cup -- have matches on weeknights.

(It's also worth noting the league will take a break for the World Cup group stage.)

Some highlights (all times eastern):

Season opener: at Vancouver Whitecaps, Sat. March 8, 7:30 p.m.

Home opener: vs. Colorado Rapids, Sat. March 15, 4 p.m.

at D.C. United, Sat. April 12, 2:30 p.m.

vs. Philadelphia Union, Wed. April 16, 7:30 p.m.

at Philadelphia Union, Wed. July 16, 7 p.m.

at D.C. United, Sun. Aug. 31, 2:30 p.m.

vs. D.C. United, Wed. Sept. 10, 8 p.m.

at Philadelphia Union, Sun. Sept. 13, 3 p.m.

Last home game: vs. Columbus Crew, Oct. 19, 3 p.m.

Season finale: at Sporting Kansas City, Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.