Lion Links: 11/29/15

Welcome back, Mane Landers, for week two of Sunday Funday Lion Links! While you are contemplating if your Bloody Mary will complement the blueberry waffles you are eyeing on the brunch menu (pro-tip: you might prefer a Mango Bellini pairing), take a quick scroll through the top soccer happenings in the last 24 hours. Cheers!

#ThanksToSoccer

While we are still the mood to give thanks, MLS wants you to send in your reasons for why you are thankful for soccer. This is the third year that MLS has rallied fans and supporters to send in their reasons to give thanks for the beautiful game. Tag your photos and thoughts with #thankstosoccer and @MLS will retweet some of their favorites.

@OCPres scouting at Barça?

Orlando City President Phil Rawlins tweeted photos yesterday of himself at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s stadium, and the internet couldn’t help but speculate. Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 4-0 and Real Sociedad’s striker, Carlos Vela, has been rumored to be imminently joining MLS side Colorado Rapids. But of course we cannot help but wonder, was Phil there just to hang out and enjoy some good soccer, or was this a scouting mission? Either way, this visit does nothing to stop the lingering rumors of a short term transfer of Kaká to the Catalan team. Who doesn’t love the rumor mill? Since we do — another one is that Barcelona and Orlando City may be in talks about a preseason game.

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy Breaks EPL Record

You could say that Jamie Vardy is having a pretty good season. On Saturday, the English striker broke a Premier League record by scoring a goal in 11 consecutive matches, breaking Ruud Van Nistelrooy's previously held record. Van Nistelrooy then took to Twitter to congratulate Vardy, which is cool. The 28-year-old Vardy only started playing league soccer in 2012, having previously plied his trade outside the main divisions of English soccer. This achievement also caps a great 2015 for Vardy, who also made his England debut this year and has helped propel Leicester to second in the EPL standings.

USWNT Continues to Break Barriers

With the introduction of women's teams this year in the popular EA Sports title, FIFA 16, you could be forgiven for the fact that you may have thought that most gamers would stick to what they know. However, it turns out that the USWNT is the 23rd most selected team in the game out of the 600 plus that are available. The fact that women's soccer has been so readily accepted by gamers highlights that the women's game is growing.

Kiwi Flavored Football
Another women's side that made a name for itself this weekend was New Zealand. The 16th-ranked Kiwis managed to beat seventh-ranked Brazil in Sao Paulo for the first time ever and it helps end the year on a high note after the Football Ferns (as they are affectionately known) were eliminated from the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup during the group stage.

Well, that's it, folks. Enjoy those waffles and make sure you save room for this afternoon's Part II of the MLS Conference Finals with Western Conference FC Dallas versus Portland Timbers at 5 p.m, followed by Eastern Conference Columbus Crew versus New York Red Bulls at 7:30 p.m.