MLS on an Imperial March: D.C. United & Sundry Soccer Links for 13 March 2015

Friday Freedom Kicks is like a holiday on a tropical island.

A tropical island without a beach.

And a holiday where you're still at work.

Enjoy your Friday the 13th.

Jairo Arrieta Delivers On Arrival | D.C. United:  DCU gives us its take on Arrieta.

Washington, D.C. named the Best American City for Sports Travel - eTurboNews.com:  Cheap tickets and lots of ticket sales.  Our metro area rocks.

Kaka's friends, family impressed by rowdy Orlando City crowd at MLS debut - Orlando Sentinel:  Brazil is impressed by Orlando's 60,000 fans at one game.  Good job, Orlando.

TSN Scores Record Audience for Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC Season Opener - Bell Media:  Last weekend's Toronto-Vancouver match was the most-watched MLS game ever on TSN.

MLS expansion update: Decision to come in "45-60 days" as cities wait | ProSoccerTalk:  MLS's growth has now reached a fever pitch.

MLS seeing unprecedented growth in social buzz | Soccer | Sporting News:  MLS social media team chatter increased 34 percent over one year, leaving other sports in the dust.

With Soccer Moving In, Yankees Fret Over Their Field - WSJ:  More than 30,000 tickets have been sold for NYCFC's home opener, but the Yankees are worried about the state of their silly diamond.

MLS commish says NYCFC home game will be played as scheduled - NY Daily News:  The aerial photo at the NY Daily News is a little terrifying.  No matter what we say about RFK, our field itself is pretty prestine.

Minnesota United group have inside track to join MLS reports say - ESPN FC:  Someone in our comments section recently predicted as much.

Toronto FC vs Columbus Crew SC - Match Preview:Trillium Cup 2015 - Waking The Red:  Let's mark this down as the Game of the Week during this DC United bye weekend.  Let's see if Altidore and Bradley can put one away while...away.

Houston Dynamo's Owen Coyle gets ready to face a familiar foe - Soccer by Ives:  Tonight's MLS game features the dreaded orange team versus Kaka's Orlando City.

Pfeffer working toward bigger role with Union - The Mercury:  This Pfeffer cat's season is something to keep an eye on.

New York Red Bulls midfielder Lloyd Sam retooling his game to get in more goal-scoring positions | MLSsoccer.com:  Without Henry, RBNY is looking to Lloyd Sam to score goals (not just create opportunities), which he did last week.

It's official; Red Bulls release Ruben Bover - Big Apple Soccer:  One less Spanish midfielder in the MLS.

Sebastian Velasquez plots revenge against David Villa | MLS Now | MLSsoccer.com:  MLS Now's Rachel Bonnetta flicks her hair with Mix Diskerud.  More, much more, of Rachel Bonnetta, the former Molly Bruh of TFC, can be found here.

Playing for soccer’s Cups brings out flair for dramatics - SFGate:  Cup competitions explained.

World’s worst team Bhutan kick off 2018 World Cup qualifying with victory | Football | The Guardian:  Remember when American Samoa was the worst team in the world?  Well, now it's Bhutan, which just beat Sri Lanka, which makes Sri Lanka....what?

Klinsmann: Zelalem at a level to play for U.S. senior team right now - Goal.com:  Klinsmann is hot to trot for this German-Ethiopian-American midfielder.  He wants him on our senior team as soon as possible.

FIFA's Jeffrey Webb says Russia 'can't have a World Cup' in 2018 with current racism conditions - ESPN FC:  Good for Webb!  But this probably made Blatter chuckle.

And your Friday Freedom Kicks treat is this craziness on a Brazilian highway.