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Good morning! It’s me again, as Donald and I traded days due to the whole Thursday night D.C. United game this week thing. We’ve got some DCU news, some Washington Spirit, a little NWSL, and some looks at two clubs who made mistakes. Let’s get into it:
Shot for a shot: DC United hosts vaccine event | WTOP
If you haven’t gotten your Covid vaccination yet, you can get it done tonight at Audi Field, and the first 100 people to do so get a ticket to a future game.
Here’s your pre-game thread of tweets from United’s pre-game press conference, with a couple of modest injury updates included:
Hernán Losada is talking #DCU's next game right now. He says Paul Arriola has trained with the group a couple of times now, they're hoping to get him up to speed soon.
— Jason Anderson (@JasonDCsoccer) May 11, 2021
Meet the Washington Spirit’s Newest Investor: Alex Ovechkin | Washington City Paper
Still quite wild that this has happened.
Inside the meeting where Columbus Crew fans were shown the club’s rebrand: ‘I’m just shocked and appalled’ | The Athletic
The number of times Crew supporters were told things that are demonstrably not true by Crew ownership/employees feels like a sign of the times. You know the vibe: “we’re doubling down on...” a thing they’re actually moving away from. Just a colossally dumb thing to do, on top of being dishonest.
The battles for control through Atlanta United’s rapid ascent and sudden backslide | The Athletic
A different sort of “oof” here, as it sounds like Atlanta United’s initial success is a little more about money and luck than it is about a brilliantly-run club.
NWSL minimum and maximum salaries, team caps each rise 5-10% in 2021 | Equalizer Soccer
Details on the NWSL’s minimum and non-allocated maximum salaries going up, and this year’s overall salary cap.
Debinha named MVP of 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup presented by Secret | NWSLsoccer.com
Debinha was the last player left off of my ballot (we were asked to put our top three choices forward), but you can make a case for her for sure.
I need breakfast and a good stretch, so that’s it for me. However, I’ll leave you with one last bit on our returning insect overlords:
#Cicada time in Prince George's County, Maryland! Here they come... @capitalweather #CicadaWatch2021 pic.twitter.com/wZ5tSfuDxy
— Dr. John Slattery (@JohnSlatteryPhD) May 11, 2021