MLS Cup playoff dates set, starting on October 29

Major League Soccer has finally announced the dates for the MLS Cup Playoffs, which are scheduled to begin on October 29 and October 30. Those two dates will feature the two conference knockout games, which involve the fourth place team taking on the fifth place team in each conference. The playoffs proper then begin with the first legs on November 1 and November 2, with the second legs on November 8 and November 9.

The playoffs will then pause for FIFA's international break, with no games on November 15 or November 16. The conference finals' first legs will take place on November 22 and 23 with the second legs coming on November 29 and November 30 (which is the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving). MLS Cup will take place on Sunday, December 7. The scheduling works better than last year, putting the week-long break between rounds of the playoffs rather than in the middle of a round. Barring a catastrophic collapse, D.C. United's first playoff game should be in early November.

I still like the idea of putting MLS Cup on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but this schedule is about as good as it could be with the current setup of the playoffs and the scheduling of the international break. What do you all think?