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Major League Soccer
MLS' Will Parchman has his list of the top five draft prospects at each position, offering plenty of interesting reading even for teams picking later in the first round (like MLS Cup champions).
Drafting strategy is tough, and everyone knows it can be a crapshoot. For some insight on how Seattle approached the draft for its MLS existence thus far, Sigi Schmid talks about his draft strategy and how much homework goes into the process.
Rumor has it that both expansion teams are looking to move back in the draft in exchange for other valuable assets. Who will trade the spots from Minnesota and Atlanta? Colorado, perhaps? Also at this link, a roundup of recent transfer rumors suggests some teams are going to be making splashy moves in the rest of the offseason.
The official match ball for the 2017 season has been released into the wild, and now you can see a 'visual history' of the MLS match ball from the start of the league. Somehow the 2017 ball looks more 90's than anything they used in the 90's.
Both Fox Sports and ESPN are highlighting their MLS coverage for next year. ESPN points out about every stat imaginable about their games (26 of 29 matches include a playoff team!), and Fox follows suit (Five appearances by the 2015 MLS Cup Champion Portland Timbers!).
Former Chicago midfielder and club VP Logan Pause is now the head coach of LAFC's USL affiliate, Orange County Blues.
Seattle
Jordan Morris sat down with Taylor Twellman to discuss his 2016, which was rather remarkable. [Video] Morris talks about winning MLS Cup, the struggles of the season, and his personal expectations and goals as he heads to January camp with the US National Team.
AEG plan to submit a proposal to the City of Seattle to 'Reimagine' Key Arena, and it sounds as though their preference would be to keep the roof of the structure intact and do a remodel.
NWSL
The sale of FC Kansas City to a new Minnesotan owner is complete, but the team will definitely be staying in KC. The new owners want to "keep the foundation steady."
World
Lionel Messi is on an absolutely ridiculous tear of scoring perfect free kick goals in three matches in a row, and you should do yourself a favor and watch them here.
In the Player's Tribune, Ronaldinho writes a letter to himself as a young boy, telling him what his life will be like and giving his younger self his best advice. The joyous Brazilian midfielder has quite the story.
We can debate the motivations behind the move, but this New York Times piece looks at how the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams has created a new path to glory for those countries that would always struggle to qualify for the 32-team version.