Happy Friday. The good screen has some a roundup of soccer news and notes, the opening of the USL Championship season and some must reads about Saturday’s Sounders opponent.

Puget Sound soccer

Olympique Lyonnais sale: Minority stake of Ligue 1 club on the market to 'strengthen its financial structure' - CBSSports.com
Pathe and IDG look to move on from the French giants, as OL looks to continue investment in Reign and other projects.

Cristian Roldan and Fredy Montero named to CCL Quarterfinals Leg 1 Best XI | Seattle Sounders
Two Sounders named to CCL Leg 1 Best XI following dominant SEAvLEO win

MLS

MLS leverages $25 million loan to promote economic justice | AP News
Major League Soccer will leverage a $25 million loan from a coalition of Black-owned banks in an effort to promote economic equity and justice. The partnership announced Thursday with the nonprofit National Black Bank Foundation aims to grow the banks' capital through interest earned and fees — which in turn creates the capacity for new lines of credit for loans in communities of color.

MLS finances $25 million loan with Black banks to close equity gap | The Tennesseean
MLS has partnered with the National Black Bank Foundation to leverage a loan, building credit with numerous Black banks across the U.S.

Are they back? LA Galaxy set to put strong start to the test against the Seattle Sounders | MLSSoccer.com
Through two games of their 2022 MLS campaign, it's been an encouraging start for the LA Galaxy.

LA Galaxy sign defender Eriq Zavaleta - LAG Confidential
Veteran brings depth to G’s.

G of the Week: Efraín Álvarez - LAG Confidential
Weekly column celebrating the sauce in life.

Portland Timbers offered inducements to not pursue charges against Andy Polo - Genessis Alarcon
Genessis Alarcon has said that two representatives from the Portland Timbers attempted to dissuade her from pursuing charges against Andy Polo.

Lower division men’s soccer

USL Championship Power Rankings – Preseason
Newcomers Detroit City (18) and Monterey Bay (2) start off in the bottom half, but ahead of the remaining deuces.

USL Championship News & Notes - Week 1
Lots to keep up with in the league of Serrano, Villanueva, and other former Defiance players.

Washington overcome Bedlington 25-24 on penalties to set new shootout world record - BBC Sport
A world record 54 penalties were needed to separate two lower league sides from England's north-east in a marathon cup shootout.

NWSL

What convinced the NWSL owners and players that Jessica Berman should be the league’s next commissioner – The Athletic ($)
'I think she just will have a really good handle on what it will take to make this league not a charity'

Hina Sugita adjusting to new team, culture with arrival to Portland Thorns - oregonlive.com
The Japanese midfielder is making her first foray into the NWSL and enjoying her time in Portland.

Global soccer

Roman Abramovich: UK sanctions Russian oligarch and Chelsea owner - CNN
The UK has added Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich to its list of sanctioned individuals as part of its efforts to "isolate" Russian President Vlamidir Putin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- throwing the sale of the London club into doubt and prohibiting the buying or selling of players until further notice.

Abramovich sanctioned, assets frozen, Chelsea to operate on restricted basis - We Ain't Got No History
Oh FFS

Genre stuff I like

SFWA Announces Nebula Award Finalists - The Nebula Awards®
Two Clarks are up for novel the Nebula Award for Novel and I'm not related to either one.

A God of War TV Series Is In the Works at Amazon Prime Video - IGN
A God of War TV series is in the works for Amazon Prime Video with the creators of The Expanse and The Wheel of Time.

Common Knowledge in the Lands of the Everflow | Full Moon Storytelling
What nearly every person would know about the Land of the Six Kingdoms. This campaign two-sheet supplements the mechanical rules from a one-sheet.

What to Watch

The suggested matches for the weekend lean heavy on MLS with a dash of USL Championship, MASL, and of course Liga MX on Friday night.

Friday

Noon — Atlético Madrid vs Cádiz on ESPN+. Atlético should boss this one, watch them style.

7:06 PM PT — Monterrey vs Mazatlán on FS2. Two bottom half of the table teams, but Friday Night Futbol is worthy of eyeballs.

Saturday

10:30 AM PT — Inter Miami vs LAFC on Univision and TUDN and Twitter. Can DeAndre Yedlin control the LAFC attack by himself? No.

12:30 PM PT — Us versus Them on FOX and FOX Deportes. You’ll be reading a lot more of the biggest match of MLS this week.

Sunday

9:05 AM PT — OL vs Rennes on BeIN Sports. They’re kind of like our stepdad.

Noon PT — Florida Tropics vs Tacoma Stars on YouTube. The Stars are six points out of the playoffs, with two games in hand.

1:30 PM PT — Atlanta United vs Charlotte FC on FS1 and FOX Deportes. The South is a soccer country now.

2:00 PM PT — Birmingham Legion vs Tampa Bay Rowdies on ESPN2 and WatchESPN. Legion are in a new stadium this year, will they be able to compete with the giants of the East?