Lion Links: 1/8/16

Happy Friday everyone, you have made it to the weekend. Here are today's Lion's Links, but first: A happy birthday wish to Orlando City center back Conor Donovan, who turns 20 today.

MLS 2016 Schedule is Released

The schedule is finally out and we can plot which days we need for those pesky midweek games. Our schedule breakdown article can be found here. There’s a lot of excitement as Orlando City will be on national television a total of 16 times. Key matches of note come against the defending MLS champion Portland Timbers in Orlando on April 3, and on Aug. 28, New York City FC comes to the Citrus Bowl which, unlike Yankee Stadium, doesn’t have the same dimensions as my back yard. Finally, and worst of all, we have to wait until Sept. 17 to come up with a nice chant for Kei Kamara when he brings his Eastern Conference champion Columbus Crew to Orlando. Orlando City has a nifty way to add the schedule to your mobile calendar here.

Chinese Super League Team Denies Kaká Transfer Rumor

This one kind of came out of nowhere, but Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng had to deny reports of a transfer for Orlando City captain Kaká. The report comes out of the Xinhuanet News stating they were not interested in a potential move for the Brazilian. This is the second report out of China linking Kaká to a Chinese first division team. There’s no way Orlando would ship Ricky out of here, but rumors do come in different shapes and sizes. I feel a Dom Dwyer returning to Orlando rumor is always just around the corner.

Platini Withdraws from FIFA Presidential Race

It should shock no one that former UEFA boss Michel Platini is giving up his attempt to become FIFA President. The Associated Press article states that Platini will be focusing more on overturning his eight-year FIFA ban than the Feb. 26 election. The election is less than two months away and the FIFA ethics committee is still looking into more evidence of FIFA corruption, so the race to replace Sepp Blatter could have more turns than a country road still to come.

LAFC Unveils New Logo

LAFC showcased its new crest and colors Thursday ahead of its 2018 MLS Inaugural campaign. Some people say it has an LA Raiders feel to it, which I don't get. Let's just say it's not very impressive, there's some gold and black and a reference to the "City of Angels." Hopefully this team will last longer than Chivas USA was able to.

There was a lot of buzz on twitter about the crest following the announcement.

My personal favorite came from our SB Nation sister site, Dirty South Soccer.

The crest doesn't look too original when you place it next to Minnesota or Atlanta's crests.

Have a great Friday and a great weekend, Lions!