1. Update mls-simulator.ts module comment to document the new step-3
externalId fallback in the conference resolution order
2. Tighten normalizeConference to exact-match "Eastern"/"Western
Conference" instead of broad substring, preventing false matches
on names like "Northeast"
3. Pre-parse statsMap for each entry before the sort so it isn't
rebuilt O(n log n) times during comparison
4. Document the externalId name-matching tradeoff on
parseConferenceFromExternalId
5. Try ESPN's gamesPlayed stat before falling back to wins+losses+ties
sum; export parseConferenceFromExternalId for direct testing
6. Add tests: normalizeConference passthrough, winPct=0 at preseason,
and parseConferenceFromExternalId (case-insensitivity, null/undefined,
numeric ESPN IDs, unrecognized strings)
https://claude.ai/code/session_01WhzXHpv6taXdHzhgvnv83u
9ae5bd4cf6