Adam Silver told the Spurs during the postgame award

TORONTO -- Former MLS player Herculez Gomez marked the release of the leagues salary list with a tweet and a telling hashtag. "So MLS salaries were published today. Never an easy day for anyone, very uncomfortable for all. Low or high paid. .ElephantInRoom." While salary transparency is part of doing business in North American sports, it is rare in the soccer world outside of MLS. But here, they are released by the Major Soccer League Players Union. The pay discrepancy between the stars and grunts is especially striking in MLS, where a few elite are paid outside the salary cap. The rest make do in a league that holds most of the cards when it comes to salary negotiations and free agency. At his current annual salary of $48,825 (all figures in U.S. dollars), it would take defender Mark Bloom four years ($195,300) to make what Toronto FC teammate Michael Bradley makes in one game ($191,176). Bloom, a well-spoken 26-year-old who has started all four of Torontos games this season, is not about to make waves on the subject. "It really doesnt mean much to me," he said after practice Friday "Im going to come here and do what I always do, just work hard as, work as hard as I can, improve myself day in and day out. "Those figures, you cant read too much into these. You get worried about the business side of it, then your heads going to be out of the game. So Im just focusing on whats going in on the field." Did you look at the salary figures, he was asked. "I did. Of course," he replied with a smile. "Theres a pretty wide gap. You can see that every player is pretty much underpaid," he added when pressed. "Hopefully that will get fixed and that will be addressed." Bloom joined Toronto last year after playing his way out of the minor leagues. Ironically he got his chance to start late last season when the club elected to bench English fullback Richard Eckersley, who was on the way out because of his high contract number. Bloom made $46,500 last season, about one-tenth of Eckersleys pay. Manager Ryan Nelsen acknowledges the difference in pay scale can cause problems within the locker-room when the numbers are revealed. "It does if youve got bad characters. Definitely," he said. "If youve got guys who are insecure about themselves or a wee bit jealous, yeah. A lot of teams have a lot of problems with that. "Fortunately, nobody can argue what Michael Bradleys done in his career or Jermain Defoes done in his career. And anybody who questions the difference, I just say Well go and do that. Then you can go and ask for that money." But Nelsen agrees salaries need to be raised at the bottom end. "I think they will address that," he said of MLS. Nelsen says he has been in both camps, making $24,000 as an MLS rookie in 2001 and then watching his pay grow as an English Premier League veteran. "Youve got to earn it," he said. "I always think that the market determines what you get paid. And those guys at the lower end, if they perform well, they get paid better. Its just a matter of time" Under MLS rules, a first-team roster is comprised of up to 30 players with players occupying roster spots 1-20 counting against the clubs 2014 salary cap of $3.1 million. Players occupying roster spots 1-24 must earn at least $48,500 this year while the minimum for roster spots 25-30 is $36,500. Bradley is one of three TFC designated players, meaning only $387,500 of his US$6.5-million salary counts against the cap. Bloom, whose wife is expecting their first child, did note that players who play well do get pay bumps. Just look at 21-year-old Toronto midfielder Jonathan Osorio who, after becoming a starter as a rookie last year, went to $142,600 this season from $46,500. Osorio says Bradley and fellow DPs Defoe ($6.18 million) and Gilberto ($1.2 million) have fit in smoothly. "Theyre great guys. Theyre not egotistical, noting like that," he said. "And (Brazil goalkeeper) Julio Cesar is a tremendous guy too." John Smoltz Jersey . Messier, who had been a special assistant to Rangers general manager Glen Sather, announced Thursday in a statement that he is resigning in order to "expand the game of hockey in the New York area by developing the Kingsbridge National Ice Center. Dansby Swanson Jersey . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/hank-aaron-braves-jersey/ . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Orlando Cepeda Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings. Winners of 15 straight, with a healthy roster, the Spurs have overtaken the Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder for the number one ranking. Chipper Jones Jersey . Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. On the ensuing penalty kick, Lee Nguyen picked up his fourth goal of the season, giving the Revolution a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon.SAN ANTONIO -- Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the winningest trio in NBA post-season history, shared hugs. Players wrapped themselves in flags from around world, a reminder that the San Antonio Spurs look far beyond the border to build champions, as confetti fell from above. Painfully denied 12 months ago by the Miami Heat, this victory party was worth the wait. "It makes last year OK," Duncan said. The Spurs finished off a dominant run to their fifth NBA championship Sunday night, ending the Heats two-year title reign with a 104-87 victory that wrapped up the series in five games. "We had a great first quarter, but from that point on they were the better team, and thats why theyre the champions in 2014," said LeBron James, who led the Heat with 31 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio erased an early 16-point deficit and routed Miami for the fourth time in the series, denying the Heats quest for a third straight championship. A year after the Spurs suffered their only loss in six finals appearances -- a heartbreaking seven-game defeat -- they turned the rematch into no match at all. "We wanted to redeem ourselves. Im just glad we were able to do that," Parker said. Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who added this title to the ones they won in 1999, 2003, 05 and 07. They nearly had another last year, but couldnt hold off the Heat. "Ive said many times, a day didnt go by where I didnt think about Game 6," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the turning point in last years finals. "So I think, just in general, for the group to have the fortitude that they showed to get back to this spot, I think speaks volumes about how theyre constituted and what kind of fiber they have." Not to mention tons of talent, and perhaps the best coaching in the game. "They played exquisite basketball this series and in particular these last three games and they are the better team. Theres no other way to say it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The Spurs won four titles in nine years, but hadnt been back on top since 2007, making Foreigners "Feels Like the First Time" an appropriate song choice after the final buzzer. Duncan and Popovich have been here for all of them, and it was the fourth for Parker and Ginobili, who with Duncan are once aagain the reigning the Big Three in the NBA.dddddddddddd Chris Bosh finished with 13 points and Dwyane Wade just 11 on 4-of-12 shooting for the Heat. The painful conclusion to last years NBA Finals served as the fuel for this one, powering the Spurs to a league-best 62-win season and a rematch with Miami -- the first in the finals since Chicago beat Utah in 1997-98. Round 2 went to the Spurs, but both teams have challenges to navigate if there is to be a rubber match. San Antonio will face questions -- as it has for years -- about the age of its core, and whether Duncan, Ginobili and Popovich want to stick around. The Heat will brace for the potential free agency of James, Wade and Bosh, and will need younger, fresher pieces around the three All-Stars if they all stay. But this moment belongs to the Spurs. Playing a methodical, albeit winning, style for many years made San Antonio respected, but never beloved. The Spurs were TV ratings killers, casual viewers finding them not much fun to watch. But Popovich opened up the offence a few years ago, making the Spurs an easy-to-like, tough-to-beat group that thrives on ball movement and 3-point shooting. "You showed the world how beautiful this game is," Commissioner Adam Silver told the Spurs during the postgame award ceremony. A decade and a half after winning their first title in 1999, when Duncan was in his second season, the Spurs remain the NBAs model organization, a small-market team that simply wins big and hardly ever does it with a high draft pick. Instead, they found players overseas or in other organizations who would fit the Spurs way of doing things and mesh with the Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, who have teamed for 117 postseason victories. That included Leonard, acquired in a draft-night trade with Indiana after playing at San Diego State, and Patty Mills, an Australian national who scored 17 points off the bench. In the end, the Spurs made winning their fifth title look stunningly easy -- much to the delight of the home crowd. After the slow start, they had their fans standing, chanting and dancing much of the second half. Notes: It was the Spurs 12th win by 15 or more points, most ever in a post-season. The Spurs outscored opponents by 214 points in the post-season. ... Miami had won 11 straight series, tied for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history. ' ' '