Major Link Soccer: The season begins

Seattle

Look, there's a Sounders game in two days, right? We're all pretty much ready for that to happen.

Who else wants Sunday to get here already??

— Lamar Neagle (@LamarNeagle) March 5, 2015

But anticipation is part of the fun, and there's nothing to up the ante on that like season previews on season previews.

The Sounders spend a lot of time and energy on scouting, and just brought in Garth Lagerwey who has shown a flair for identifying players at a good value. Matt Pentz at the Seattle Times has a feature on how it all works.

Clint Dempsey is also ready to get some grass (or turf) stains on his brand new clothes.

Repost from @soundersfc dope pic

A photo posted by Clint Dempsey (@clint_dempsey) on Mar 5, 2015 at 7:43pm PST

Major League Soccer

You know the saying about opinions. Well, everyone's got something to say about the CBA, and plenty are worth a read:

American Soccer Now says the big winner in the deal is the league's single entity structure.

If you want to hear a pretty frank reaction from an actual player rep who was in the meetings (you know, the source), look no further.

Hudson River Blue has a great piece pushing back a bit against the extremists who feel like absolute free agency should have been won out of these talks.

Here's a view from across the pond with some interesting quotes, notably Tally Hall who feels the agreement "changed the dynamic of the league."

It's very fair to say all the players involved are not satisfied with what's in the CBA. Don't miss these juicy quotes.

There's a reason some of the players feel they had more leverage now than ever before, and should have gotten more from their threat to strike. It would have been a huge blow for the league.

The fact that a strike was averted and the league will start on time prompted this love letter to MLS from Massive Report, and I have to say -- I agree.

NASL, for their part, say they aren't concerned about the effect of the new agreement on their league, and are proud of their free-market system. (Though, not everyone agrees they have nothing to worry about).

If you're curious which players could become free agents (sort of) under the new rules, check out this breakdown.

Ok, that's enough CBA talk. How about some season previews! You may not be shocked to hear that Soccermetrics has the Sounders finish the season beaten for the Shield by the Galaxy on a tiebreaker.

ESPN has a very fancy 20 questions for the start of the season.

However I prefer SB Nation's fanciness, definitely worth a look.

MLS has a nice little infographic as a cheat sheet for the Designated Players of 2015.

How about Sports Illustrated with some hot takes on MLS all-time honors before the new season begins?

The Telegraph thinks Jurgen Klinsmann is playing a dangerous game with his "disdain for MLS."

Is playing in the CONCACAF Champion's League really doing any good for MLS? Should we just drop out entirely?

PPL Park is a great stadium, and the beer there just got better.

Strange translation aside, this rumor of a future Villa + Xavi NYCFC team teases what would be a fun thing to watch.

Judah Friedlander can help you if you don't know how to choose english on your Univision Deportes broadcast.

World

This weekend is about MLS, but we can talk about the rest of the world a little bit.

Footage emerged of sexist chants from the stands directed at female staff and officials during a Chelsea match, and the FA is not happy.

This is an amazing story of a terminally-ill man who chose to put off his euthanasia so he could attend one more Club Brugge match. Warning: you might notice some dust floating into the room while reading.

In Qatar, many things are larger-than-life, and the world's most aspirational soccer academy is no exception.