Monday Freedom Kicks: Jumping for Joy (and Jalen)

First things first: if you haven't, stop by the player ratings post and vote. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Second, Jay Heaps said after the game last weekend that he wasn't prepared for Alvaro Saborio and Fabian Espindola to return to the lineup. So that means two things to me; either he doesn't read the tweets of our own Steven Streff (and if you don't, you need to fix that). Or he's kind of dumb for a Duke guy. I thought Duke guys were supposed to be smart.

Recaps of D.C. United's win over the New England Revolution by us (with more from us here), MLS (with more from them here) and the Washington Post. The Bent Musket covers things from the other end of the field.

Jalen Robinson stands tall against New England in his first MLS start - Black And Red United: More on the game from the man himself.

Bad first half dooms Washington Spirit to 2-1 loss against Sky Blue FC - Black And Red United: Not sure how this happened, and the 4th place Spirit do have a game in hand on the teams above them, but boo nevertheless. More on the game from the Washington Post.

Do poor kids make better pro soccer players? Well, it’s complicated — Soccer Wire: Charlie Boehm with a great discussion based on an interesting point raised last week.

Tifo displays change and grow right along with MLS: Nice little read, and also le sigh about RFK tifo these days.

A few good minutes with former U.S. soccer star Landon Donovan: The only thing from this of interest: "..Sources told the Insider that (Steve) Kaplan and (current D.C. United Managing General Partner Jason) Levien envision Donovan as a soccer brain behind the (Swansea City) operation."

USA vs. Colombia, Copa America 2016: Final score 0-1, Americans rue missed chances and finish fourth - Stars and Stripes FC: So, not a surprise about this United States result, right?

So Short and So Old — Washington Spirit: Four words: True Detective Season Three.

Why I Saw Strange Men in my Room (and am telling you about it 9 months later) — Arrow Living: An excellent read about an NWSL player and concussions.

Kickers’ Matthew Delicate recovering well | WRIC: A welcome update about a beloved member of the Kickers.

Longtime MLS defender James Riley brings player's voice to league office | MLSsoccer.com: The MLS journeyman fullback with a bunch of US Open Cup titles to his credit (including one with D.C. United) has found life after playing.

Former Sounder Eddie Johnson rips Nelson Valdez in Twitter rant | The Seattle Times: I think we can all agree retirement Eddie Johnson may be the best Eddie Johnson.

Ramos Names 21-Player U-20 MNT Roster for 2016 NTC Invitational - U.S. Soccer: You'll notice a DCU Academy player (and current Maryland Terrapin) amongst the names.

Finally, ATX TV is a festival in Austin that focuses on TV as an art form in storytelling. I went last year and enjoyed myself, and if you watch even a couple of shows, it's worth the time. Anyway, here's David Simon (The Wire) and Tom Fontana, both of whom worked on the Baltimore cop show "Homicide: Life on the Street," as they are interviewed by Beau Willimon ("House of Cards"):

--t