Lion Links: 9/11/15

Normally I start Lion Links with a welcoming statement or something funny but before I go any further, I want to take a moment to remember the lives lost on this date in 2001. On Sept. 11, 2001, our country was rocked at its very core in an event that will always be remembered. It will also be remembered as the day our country was able to unite, regardless of any personal beliefs or practices. Please take a moment today to remember the lives lost. Thank you.

With that, let's hop into some Lion Links.

The Mane Land Ticket Giveaway

If you have just crawled out of your proverbial rock to join us on the internet, we are giving away two free, yes, FREE, tickets to the match-up between Orlando City and Sporting Kansas City. All you have to do is go to our contest page (click the link in the previous sentence) and submit your caption, as well as send us your email for a chance to win. All of the details are located on the contest page, may the odds be ever in your favor.

Orlando City Youth Soccer Success

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Orlando City Youth teams continued their tournament success. With both the boys and girls teams playing, seven teams finished as champions of their respective tournaments. Orlando City is well known for building on young players and hopefully this success at a young age can eventually lead to success at the senior level for the men's (and eventual women's) teams.

MLS Foreign Player Impact

Yesterday, MLS featured an article talking about the impact that foreign players are making in the league. While signing a foreign player does not always equal success, many teams benefit from the influx of players from outside of the U.S., including Orlando City. Orlando has the most English players of any other team in the league, with four, and also boasts players from Brazil, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland, and Colombia to name a few.

EPL on Record Red Card Pace

So it isn't just Orlando City. The English Premier League is on pace to break its own record for red cards in a season and, as SB Nation's Andi Thomas writes, some of them are wonderfully stupid. At the current rate, the top flight in England will see 104 sendings off this season. West Ham alone has had three in the league and a fourth overturned. Check out the EPL mayhem in Andi's column.

Sacramento Republic Break Their Own Record

In what has been a record breaking year for USL, Sacramento Republic FC have broken their own record. Last year, Sacramento had a total of 158,107 fans at all home games and this year they broke that with 158,516. For a league that is technically the third division of U.S. Soccer, this record is incredibly impressive.

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That's it for Lion Links today. Have a great day!