Major Link Soccer: CBA still under negotiation

Sounders

2014 was a big year for Stefan Frei. After not getting enough playing time in Toronto he decided on a move to Seattle, where he played well. Frei is now looking ahead to an exciting 2015.

Michael Tetteh was drafted by Seattle in the 2011 SuperDraft. In a recent article, Tetteh describes his origins playing soccer in Ghana: "Soccer saved my life and molded me into the man I am today."

MLSsoccer.com released their preview of the Sounders' 2015 season yesterday:

MLS

DC United's Bobby Boswell spoke about the CBA discussions yesterday, basically saying that he thought a deal could happen before the deadline, but the players and the league still stand apart on some issues nothing.

The Soccernomics guy has released another few thoughts on MLS, this time on his own website.

Sporting Kansas City made a move to firm up their back line, signing potential left back Marcel de Jong. They don't appear to be happy with their current line up though. Rumor has it that they're looking to splash some big money on a certain Rafael van der Vaart. German newspaper Bild is reporting that van der Vaart has been offered nearly $5 million per year to play in Kansas City.

Not to be outdone, Orlando City FC are rumored to be in the market for Liverpool and Italy striker Mario Balotelli. Heavy emphasis on the "rumored" part of that sentence.

Alexi Lalas spoke with MLSsoccer.com about how things have changed since he played in MLS, his usage of Twitter, and comparing present players to those of the past. Oh, and he also pegged the Sounders as 2015's MLS Cup winners.

For a while now, the Sounders have had a monopoly on the attendance records in MLS. Starting this year it looks like we could have a bit of competition. Orlando City FC have sold out their home opener in the Citrus Bowl against NYCFC.

Former USMNT captain Carlos Bocanegra has been announced as the technical director of a 2017 MLS expansion side. You would think Bocanegra would be staying in his home state to technically direct the natural successor to his previous team (Chivas USA), but no, Bocanegra has chosen a life in Georgia with MLS Atlanta.

While we don't usually root for the LA Galaxy, when they're standing up for MLS it's a little bit hard to root against them.

Okay back to hating the Galaxy. The LA club released a new secondary kit yesterday, and it is as ugly as the faces of their players and fans. Not sure if that was too mean, lost my bearings in the whole not hating the Galaxy thing above.

The Chicago Fire released new secondary kits as well, as did Real Salt Lake.

World

Heaven for sports nerds, the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, was last weekend. The conference gathered many of the top sports analysts from around the world, most of whom were male, as FiveThirtyEight.com's Christie Aschwanden noted.

A goal by Liverpool's Phillipe Coutinho was posted to an adult website for being "pure filth."

Angel di Maria is not considered to be the prettiest of soccer players. According to Barcelona's Director of Football, Real Madrid sold the Argentine to Manchester United as his face didn't quite fit their brand image. Let that be a lesson to you kids: be handsome or you're going to have to play for Manchester United.