Are You Ready for Some Futbol? DC United & Sundry Soccer Links for 6 March 2015

Can you even stand it?  The MLS 2015 season kicks off tonight at 10 pm EST, with the LA Galaxy hosting the Chicago Fire, available on Unimas and MLS Live.  To hear Unimas in English, MLSsoccer.com has provided this helpful guide on using SAP, depending on your cable system.

Absolute hilarity will ensue on Twitter if Chicago manages to start their season with a draw.

And tomorrow, we're gonna be bouncing around on a Saturday afternoon, whether at snow-plowed RFK or at home in front of the tv (Comcast Sports Net at 3 pm EST), watching our beloved Black and Red launch their 2015 campaign for the MLS Cup.

In the meantime, here are your Friday Freedom Kicks.

MLS Preview 2015 | SB Nation: It's big and beautiful. Previews on every single team from bloggers that know them best.

Despite CCL ouster, D.C. United players relieved with CBA deal - SI.com:  Chris Rolfe and Chris Pontius give the new CBA a thumbs-up, calling it progress.  (But check out the long list of mostly negative assessments at the bottom of this Freedom Kicks.)

D.C. United vs. Montreal Impact | MLS MatchCenter:  The usual preview of our season opener tomorrow.  Not much here, statistically.  But let's note that, out of the last five meetings, DC won twice, tied twice, and lost once.

Subway Yellow Card | D.C. United:  These saved me some pocket change last year, and it looks like they will save me pocket change this year.

MLS Preview: Montreal Impact - TSN:  The Impact has undergone some serious changes since last year.  Whether they are for real, we'll see on Saturday...or not.  Both Montreal and Toronto seem to come out strong in the early part of the season, only to fizzle out by May/June.

MLS Set to Begin 20th Season with New Lineup - NY Times:  Is the key question for DC United really whether Eddie Johnson will recover soon from his mystery injury?  I want him back asap, but, if getting EJ back asap is the key to our season, we're in trouble.

FourFourTwo's MLS 2015 season preview: Eastern Conference team by team | FourFourTwo:  According to this season preview, DCU's story is that we're struggling "to keep up with a changing MLS."  That sounds about right, actually.  Nevertheless, our goal this season is a top three finish in the Eastern Conference, so it can't be that bad.

MLS 20 Questions - espn.go.com:  So goes the partnership between Markus Halsti and Perry Kitchen at midfield, so goes DC United?

MLS Rivalry Power Rankings: The Top 10 rivalries in MLS as voted on by the fans | MLSsoccer.com:  Our rivalry with the Red Bulls is only the fourth greatest rivalry in MLS, according to this poll.

MLS: Best XI, player, coach, goal, team ahead of 20th season - Planet Futbol - SI.com:  You'll find DCU scattered throughout this "best in MLS history" rundown, including a mention of our 2004 playoff game at RFK versus New England as the best MLS game in history.

MLS Q&A: Go-to karaoke song? - ESPN FC:  Bradley Wright-Phillips is a talented vocalist, according to Bradley Wright-Phillips.

I am Alexi Lalas. I am here. I possess thee mutant gene - reddit:  Alexi Lalas spends time on reddit.  At turns, he's hilarious.

NYCFC hopes a nickname develops organically - NY Daily News:  OMG.  Joke away.

Orlando City announce sellout for MLS opener against New York City FC | FOX Sports:  Wowza.  Orlando and NYCFC will debut in front of 62,000 people on Sunday.  (ESNP2, at 5 pm EST.)

Reports: Miami-Dade commission set to offer David Beckham stadium site | Soccer By Ives:  It's really happening.  Sorry.  That should read:  It's really happen-ing?  Lift the pitch and lilt your voice a little bit on the last syllable.  Then snort bottled-up laughter.

Washington Spirit sign Whitney Church - INSIDENOVA.COM: Sports:  Whitney Church is a Broad Run High School grad who played defense for Penn State.

Video highlights of USWNT vs. Norway - Youtube:  If you were stuck at work and unable to stream the game, here are youtube highlights of USWNT's thrilling comeback victory over Norway.

Arena Soccer World Cup coming to Flint's Perani Arena | MLive.com:  It's nice to see Flint get some action.  These minifootball games start on March 21.  Here's the schedule.  Unclear if it will be only webcast or broadcast somehow.

Russian Soccer Stadiums a Throwback to 1980s England - Idaho Statesman:  As someone who's been to a few Russian premier league matches in Moscow, I can say that this article is all very true.

Sepp Blatter calls for much tougher action on racism - World Soccer:  Blatter says clubs with racist fans need to have points deducted and should even be relegated.  Does that create an incentive for people to stage racist false flag operations inside rivals' stadia?

When They Mattered: Anderlecht’s time as a European power | Soccer Gods:  Since our favorite Belgian club is Andy Najar's Anderlecht, perhaps you might want to learn more about its storied history.

Rich List 2015 - Goal.com:  The richest people in soccer.  One of those slightly annoying slideshow things.

Evans, Cisse charged for spitting incident; Robinho gets Brazil recall; and more | Soccer By Ives:  Didn't somebody say that Rolfe got spit on at the second leg on Wednesday night?  (Probably hard to tell in all of that rain.  The soccer gods were spitting on us all.)  But here's an example of players getting in trouble for spitting on each other.  Please send this to all CONCACAF refs.

Also, for those who are interested, here are some more CBA assessments from around the internets.  For the most part, people are disappointed in the outcome:

Defeat: Major League Soccer Players Union Scores an Own Goal | The Nation

Major League Soccer Averts Work Stoppage With New Collective Bargaining Agreement - Forbes

MLS And Players Union Reach Agreement. What Does It Mean, And Who Won? - Deadspin

MLS Players And Owners Agree To Keep League Mired In Mediocrity - Deadspin

Who Won the MLS Labor Negotiations? Single Entity - American Soccer Now

Despite Excitement Of Season Starting, MLS Players Disappoint Nearly Everyone - The Nutmeg News (satire)