Welcome to your late edition of Freedom Kicks. I am your scrambling-to-finish author who totally forgot to do this last night. Here are the links:
Really real: D.C. United stadium project inches forward as city spends $25 million on land acquisition | Soccerwire.com
A quick wrap of the latest stadium news.
Editorial: Investing in sports | The Jakarta Post
Rich uncle Erick has one more thing on his plate, as he was elected head of Indonesia's Olympic committee.
Damien Perrinelle to miss rest of playoffs | Once A Metro
It didn't look good when Damien Perrinelle immediately crumpled to the ground at RFK, and it was confirmed yesterday that the (still unspecified) injury to his knee is going to keep him out for the rest of 2015. United will in all likelihood face Ronald Zubar instead, as the MLS Disciplinary Committee - in their great and unquestionable wisdom - decided that launching yourself at the ball with reckless, violent abandon is not worthy of a suspension.
For United, Zubar may be a more tempting target to isolate Fabian Espindola against. Zubar has had a very inconsistent season for the Red Bulls on the occasions he's been healthy enough to play, and we've seen how he can let the moment get the better of him once already. The Black-and-Red will need to engage in a lot more constructive soccer to make this change count, though.
Professional Referee Organization announces referee assignments for Conference Semifinals second legs | MLSsoccer.com
Ted Unkel will referee United's second leg at Red Bull Arena. I'm not a big fan of Unkel, who seems to have a hard time keeping a consistent handle on games. He's the kind of referee that will miss a few medium-sized calls and then overreact when a big decision comes up. On the other hand, he probably would have sent Zubar off because it was extraordinarily obvious that a red card had to come out there.
Tottenham scout Anderlecht winger Andy Najar ahead of possible transfer – report | Metro.co.uk
Andy Najar has already had a trial at Spurs in the past, but I guess they're re-interested? Is that a word? Let it slide, friends.
Benny Feilhaber, Sebastian Giovinco, Kei Kamara contend for Landon Donovan MVP as MLS announces 2015 Awards finalists
Here is the full list of MLS award finalists. As you may have seen yesterday, Bill Hamid is United's sole nominee. The "how did this happen?" award finalist, in my book, is Mike Grella. He had a strong season, to be sure, but people overlooked David Villa, David Accam, Krisztian Nemeth, Octavio Rivero, Laurent Ciman, and Kaka to put him on the Newcomer of the Year medal stand. That is flat-out insane.
Orlando Pride roster takes shape | The Bent Musket
Unfortunately for the Washington Spirit, that Pride roster includes Ashlyn Harris. The move is not a surprise, as the USWNT's second-choice goalkeeper is a Florida native. The Spirit lost no other players in the expansion draft Monday, but the NWSL can get pretty crazy when it comes to wheeling and dealing (just ask Meghan Klingenberg).
Champions League 2015, Week 4: Live coverage and score updates | SB Nation
Real Madrid and Manchester United won their Champions League games yesterday. Here's a round-up featuring numerous stories on those games.
Feel free to pad today's FKs with more links in the comments. I'll try to remember to do this before 7:03am next Wednesday. Deal?