Monday Freedom Kicks: Happy Birthday Jaime Moreno

Before we get into kicks, D.C. United legend Jaime Moreno turns 41 today. Memo to Don Garber: a trophy in Moreno's honor would be appreciated, OK?

With that, on with the links:

For DC United duo Perry Kitchen and Steve Birnbaum, USMNT call-ups just the first step | MLSsoccer.com: Yes, yes it is. Keep doing work boys.

Grading the 2015 MLS SuperDraft | College Soccer: Top Drawer Soccer chimes in on how the teams in the Lig did, including our own.

SuperDraft: DC United able to get their guys despite sitting low in the draft order | MLSsoccer.com: And some quotes from the brass on the picks.

Get to know an MLS draft prospect: F Miguel Aguilar, San Francisco | The 91st Minute | Soccer Blog | Videos | Pop-Culture: Along with that, TDS has a piece with D.C. United's first-round pick.

D.C. United GM Dave Kasper talks with Sebastian Salazar at the MLS Super Draft | Comcast SportsNet Washington: We get some insight on the picks and on Jairo Arrieta and Markus Halsti as DK talks with Sebi.

DC United signings Markus Halsti, Jairo Arrieta bring depth, international experience to strong core | MLSsoccer.com: And a little more on the new non-draftee signings, courtesy of MLS Soccer.

RBNY Town Hall: A Summary - Once A Metro: ICYMI, some New York Red Bulls Season Ticket Holders were invited to a town hall which included their new Sporting Director (and D.C. United alum) Ali Curtis and their new coach (and D.C. United alum) Jesse Marsch. Once a Metro summarizes things, but a word on the #RedBullOut campaign. When an enemy makes a fool of themselves, get out of the way and let them.Case in point.

Boston Games could rely on distant venues - Sports - The Boston Globe: So the Revs may get a new stadium out of a possible Olympic bid, but they may want to use RFK during the 2024 Olympics? Ooookay.

Match Report: Empoli 0-0 Inter - Chasing Consistency - The Offside Inter Milan: In partner club news part one, Xherdan Shaqiri made his debut for Inter Milan in what ultimately was a lifeless draw with Empoli, keeping them firmly in ninth in Serie A.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Sunderland: Eriksen’s Late Strike Stuns Sunderland - Roker Report: In partner club news part two, Sunderland stay in 16th, one point out of the drop, as a late Christian Eriksen goal ruins the debut of Jermain Defoe..wait what?

SAFC - Defoe signs: Yes, that's right, but the bigger story was...

Jozy Altidore officially joins MLS, Toronto FC - Stars and Stripes FC: Yep, Jozy back, playing in Toronto...

Bradley had big impact in luring Altidore | Toronto FC | Sports | Toronto Sun: ...and Michael Bradley did some lobbying (and apparently contract restructuring) to bring Jozy Altidore home. But that's not all...

Toronto FC signs Juventus midfielder Giovinco - Sportsnet.ca:...TFC brought in 27-year old Giovinco from Juventus? Yep, looks like it. So this is as good a time to segue into the next couple of things:

Why MLS May Be Headed For A Work Stoppage: F.C. Dallas alum Bobby Warshaw back with another article that muses on the coming labor issues (I may add here that more than a couple players noted that their bosses can't claim pauper-dom after moves like TFC is making).

Major League Soccer: Deciphering the Single Entity | OTF Soccer: " Stadium gate receipts go to the league, with a percentage given back to the individual owner/operator." Add that to things I didn't know about single entity. The article is a year old but worth the read.

New Women's World Cup commercial - Stars and Stripes FC: Fox rolled out their first commercial touting coverage for the Women's World Cup. Not bad.

NFL players are wearing Cristiano Ronaldo’s boots | Dirty Tackle: Well, a lot of players dive already, so this is kind of logical.

Steven Soderbergh posts his 110-minute recut of 2001: A Space Odyssey · Newswire · The A.V. Club: Dropped out of films and doing occasional products still (the show "The Knick" was a Soderbergh joint), he also does fascinating products like recutting 2001 into a trimmer, tighter version. Interesting at the least.

Oh hey, players start reporting this week. Let's get rolling.