Major Link Soccer: Tacos and Skittles

Sounders

It's no big deal but Erik Friberg just re-signed for the Sounders. Just kidding it's a huge deal and you should be unreasonably excited.

The Jordan-Morris-turning-pro story is far from over, but it definitely just passed another hurdle. Morris is now saying he'll sign with a professional team in December, although the question still remains as to where.

Last Sunday's game was not a fun one, but in case you were masochistically interested in reliving the night with photos, here you go.

Also, USL's Sounders beat USL's Timbers by a 2-0 scoreline, which must count for something, right?

FIFA law requires a portion of player's professional contract signing fee end up in the hands of the youth team that developed them. US Soccer however, does not abide by said FIFA law. In a recent letter to Tottenham Hotspur, Crossfire Premier asked for their cut of DeAndre Yedlin's signing fee, however their letter was eventually rebuffed by the English team. The correspondence has sparked a debate on whether paying successful development academies would be a good way to end the pay-to-play model of US youth soccer.

USA

Since the recent Department of Justice investigations into Traffic Sports, the owner of the Carolina RailHawks, the NASL has been in some hot water. While the RailHawks are currently being run by the league, the team's future is still up in the air. NASL already owns one team, the Atlanta Silverbacks, and probably isn't looking into long-term ownership of two (they aren't even looking into long-term ownership of one, as they've been trying to sell the Silverbacks since 2014). Could purchase by a Mexican side looking to boost viewership in the United States save the RailHawks and potentially NASL?

In other NASL news, the league has dropped a lawsuit against a member of Oklahoma City Energy's ownership group.

Everyone knows that the Cascadia Cup is fantastic. The roaring fans and on-field passion make the exhilarating battle between good and evil/disgusting (and also that third team) one of the best rivalries in North America. Other fans in MLS are now trying to emulate the rivalry, launching the Midwestia Championship.

Real Salt Lake lost two key executives in the past two years: head coach Jason Kreis and general manager Garth Lagerwey. They could be losing another as president Bill Manning's contract is set to expire today, with an extension yet to be announced.

With all the recent MLS expansion news, it's pretty easy to lose track of a story line. The group pushing for expansion in San Antonio is worrying about just that: losing steam in the long and tumultuous process that is expansion.

MLS Atlanta recently announced its official name "Atlanta United FC," which spurred the New York Times into taking a look at the naming conventions of MLS. Taking the easy way out, the NYT decided to blame all problems on those pesky millennials.

Erick "Cubo" Torres was about the hottest striker in MLS last season, but after Chivas USA was shut down and Torres was transferred back to the mothership, Chivas de Guadalajara,  (in order to eventually be transferred back to the Houston Dynamo) there has been relatively little news from the Mexican international. Well the Dynamo are now saying that they're trying everything possible to get the striker to Houston as soon as possible.

New York City FC have made a pattern of signing old and basically retired players, which is why their next new signing should definitely, without a doubt, be LL Cool J.

With the next round of Open Cup matches advancing, a few MLS teams appear to be in a tight spot. The LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, and New York Red Bulls have all scheduled meaningless friendlies for the same two day stretch in which they are supposed to play US Open Cup ties. The Earthquakes have just moved their meaningless friendly to their home pitch, but all three teams are still trying to pressure US Soccer into changing the Open Cup dates. Given how unlikable these three teams are, one could make a good argument for them having to forfeit their Open Cup matches.

There are only two more teams with more US Open Cup wins than the Sounders: Bethlehem Steel, and the Maccabis. While much is known about Bethlehem Steel, the record books run a tad sparse when it comes to covering the predominantly Jewish Maccabis.

The Galaxy have not had a fantastic season so far either. The player supposed to (hopefully not) change that, Steven Gerrard, is set to be unveiled to fans this Saturday in the Galaxy's match against Toronto FC. "If he's not being unveiled to his own rap video after widespread Twitter hysteria does it even count as an unveiling?" asks Clint Dempsey.

While Orlando City SC could definitely have done worse in their first year in MLS (cough cough NYCFC cough cough), the team is certainly not doing well. Apparently head coach Adrian Heath's plan to fix that involves spending some money.

One team that probably isn't interested in spending any more money is the Philadelphia Union. After Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz spoke on SiriusXM's Soccer Morning talk show yesterday, discussing fan protests which happened over a month ago, Union beat writer Kevin Kinkead went on a 36 Tweet tirade about the club's ownership group not being willing to dish out the money necessary to compete.

Here's my message to Jay Sugarman: do the right thing and sell this franchise

— Kevin Kinkead (@KevinKCBS3) June 30, 2015

World

Remember when people said that no one would watch the Women's World Cup? Well those people were (obviously) wrong. Since the beginning of the World Cup, Fox's overall viewership ratings have risen by a whooping 23 percent.

The United States plays Germany today, and after a few not so stellar performances by the USWNT, head coach Jill Ellis has some tough lineup decisions on her hands.

Being both a mother and a professional athlete offers a unique set of challenges. Amy Rodriguez and a few other stars from the World Cup spoke to The Atlantic about how they cope.

According to a recent report, Brooks Lennon, a 17-year-old striker from Arizona is going to sign with Liverpool sometime in the coming days. Lennon's signing has been long delayed in order for him to acquire an Irish passport. He is likely to play his international soccer for the US.

Moving the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to winter may have solved the impending hundred cases of heat stroke, but that doesn't mean it was good for everyone. A report commissioned by Spain's La Liga found that the league would likely lose about $71.6 million dollars if the World Cup were to be played in winter. La Liga is hence filing an appeal against FIFA.

Watching children play soccer is obviously incredibly boring, unless you're watching them getting schooled at soccer by Xherdan Shaqiri dressed up in an old man costume, in which case it's hilarious.

Ronaldinho has decided on his future for the foreseeable future, and it's not MLS. The world-renowned striker is transferring to the newly-promoted Antalyaspor in Turkey.

And finally, the only thing you've ever wanted in life: