Story highlights "I was very pleased with his progress. He's making progress," Graham said

McCain, 81, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July

Washington (CNN) Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday that his close friend, Sen. John McCain, is recovering well from brain cancer.

"I was very pleased with his progress. He's making progress," the South Carolina Republican, who visited McCain in his home state of Arizona last week, told CNN's Dana Bash in an exclusive interview.

"We laughed a little bit. We cried a little bit. I admire him greatly and I'm hoping he can come back and be with us," Graham continued.On a dizzying Monday in which Real Salt Lake and Portland dominated the first day of offseason wheeling and dealing, Major League Soccer also announced the list of players eligible for participation in the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Process, which included some surprising names.

Chivas USA's Danny Califf, FC Dallas' Julian de Guzman, Chicago's Gonzalo Segares and Colorado's Marvell Wynne were among some of the more prominent players among the list of 63 whose contracts are either lapsed or whose options weren't picked up by their clubs.

That doesn't mean they'll all get new addresses in the coming weeks — clubs may still sign their Re-Entry Process-eligible players through 5 pm ET on Thursday. Additionally, eligible players may opt out of the Re-Entry Process between now and 5 pm ET on