Major Link Soccer: B-Rad is the Best RB

Sounders

You may have heard that Fredy Montero is having a pretty decent season in Portugal with Sporting. According to a recent "Se Dice en Europa" article on FutbolMLS.com, Fredy Montero is having the best start to a season as a scorer in the Liga Zon Sagres since Manuel Fernandes in 1985-86, a season that ended a year before Montero was born.

Mike "The Gasman" Gastineau's book about the Sounders, entitled "Sounders FC: Authentic Masterpiece" is now available. Due to a glitch, the book is now available on Amazon for $19.95. The official book release event is still scheduled for October 22nd. Tickets are $40, which includes admission to the event and a signed copy of the book. Ross Fletcher, Sigi Schmid, Zach Scott, Brad Evans, Roger Levesque, assistant coach Brian Schmetzer and goalkeeper coach Tom Dutra are all scheduled to attend.

US Soccer

The USMNT plays Jamaica in Kansas City this afternoon, and they are now down to one Sounder in Brad Evans, with Eddie Johnson injured and presumably on his way back to Seattle. If Evans gets booked today, he'll be suspended for the weekend qualifying match and will be eligible to return to the Sounders in time for the match in Portland. In Evans, Klinsmann sees a player whose goal in Jamaica turned the USMNT's fortune around in the Hex and beyond.

Although the World Cup is still 8 months away, Grantland attempts to predict which players will make the World Cup roster. Eddie Johnson, Clint Dempsey and Brad Evans all made the cut. It seems that, despite missing the last two qualifying matches due to injury, Evans is very much Klinsmann's "first choice" right back.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated on Wednesday, Jürgen Klinsmann expressed his interest in continuing as the manager of the national team beyond the 2014 World Cup. He also addressed the issue with Dempsey playing for the Sounders on Wednesday night and had this to say concerning Brad Evans and the right back position with the national team:

Well, the front man is Brad Evans right now. He established himself as the number one in that spot.

MLS

With New Zealand's national team expecting Mexico to wind up winning CONCACAF's continental playoff spot for a position in the World Cup, they began to seek out a Mexican team to schedule a friendly against. They were originally supposed to play a tournament in LA this weekend that was to include two Mexican clubs and Chivas USA. The tournament wound up being cancelled (possibly due to New Zealand pulling out), but the Kiwis will still play a friendly behind closed doors against Chivas USA this weekend.

It was bound to happen, wasn't it? An 18 year old striker scores a hat trick against the Sounders and suddenly Europe comes calling. It's a bit of a shaky rumor at best, but Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are reportedly interested in Vancouver's Kekuta Manneh.

Robbie Rogers is writing a memoir that will be released next year, titled "Coming Out to Play". It will cover his experiences from childhood through his signing with the LA Galaxy, where he became the first openly gay pro athlete to play in a league in the United States.

USL PDL

One western city that is occasionally mentioned as a dark horse candidate for MLS expansion at some point in the future is Las Vegas. It is a city that does not yet have a team in any major pro sports league, with a AAA baseball team being the closest resemblance to a pro team. Beginning next year, Las Vegas will be the home of a new PDL team: the Mobsters.

World Cup

Although the United States is hesitant to bid for the World Cup again and Mexico probably unable to afford it without a joint bid with the US, Canada seems to be moving forward with its plans to bid for the 2026 World Cup.

Bob Bradley will be relieved to discover that Ghana will have to play without Schalke defender Kevin-Prince Boateng in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying playoff round. There are 3 additional regular fixtures to Ghana's roster that won't be available to the Black Stars.

FIFA has finally confirmed that goal line technology will be used in the 2014 World Cup. The system will be provided by GoalControl.

Mexico's World Cup qualifying match against Panama tonight will draw a little bit more than a typical Sounders match at Centurylink Field, as only 40 percent of the tickets at Azteca's 104,000 capacity stadium have been sold.

Spain

Real Madrid has come under fire recently for reportedly hiding the severity of their finances. According to a Spanish economist, the club may be $732 million in debt.

Italy

The results of a poll of 50 Serie A players were released recently, with depression and racism being identified as the biggest issues. 3 of the players surveyed said they have played with a teammate that admitted being gay. Mario Balotelli was identified as the most overrated player in the league.

Europe

An idea proposed by a Galatasaray chairman would see UEFA Champions League either replaced or superseded by a new competition provisionally labeled "European Super League". It would function more like a domestic league, complete with relegation from the league to the top flight leagues of each respective country.

Flowcharts

Are you a fan of flowcharts? Do you not know what to do after being taken down during a soccer match? Here's a flowchart that helps you determine whether or not you're injured.

TV:

World Cup Qualifying: USA vs. Jamaica 3:30 PM ESPN