New York Red Bulls started as the NY/NJ MetroStars, one of the original MLS founders. Prior to the 1996 kickoff season, the club signed top U.S. players Tab

New York Red Bulls started as the NY/NJ MetroStars, one of the original MLS founders. Prior to the 1996 kickoff season, the club signed top U.S. players Tab Ramos and Tony Meola, plus Italian superstar midfielder Roberto Donadoni. Most folks expected them to be the dominant team in the league, but this never came to fruition.

Since the start of 2023, more than 70 players signed MLS Homegrown contracts. Most played in MLS NEXT, which starts at the youth Academy level and goes up to second-team pros. Since the launch of MLS NEXT Pro in 2022, more than 155 of those players have signed MLS first-team contracts.

Then a warm-up will occur this weekend into early next week. According to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, quite a bit of cloud cover and some flurries are forecast for Friday morning. Then the day will continue with mostly cloudy to overcast skies which should keep temperatures a bit on the colder side.