Lion Links: 4/16/16

Good morning, readers, I hope you're all ready for a weekend packed with Orlando soccer. With all three of the city's teams finally in full swing this weekend, there's plenty to talk about. Make sure you get your household chores out of the way before the OCB game tonight, otherwise you might not have time tomorrow between the City and Pride matches.

With that in mind, let's dive into today's Pride-packed Lion Links to get you prepped.

García Joins OCB

One of the surprising omissions from the club’s original release of loanees down to the USL side, Devron García will be with the club for the season, Orlando City announced Friday. It will be interesting to see where he projects at the MLS level and where Anthony Pulis decides to play him as the club looks to get him more minutes. He could certainly help OCB’s defense, which just got gashed for four goals last week. The senior club does have the right to recall the defender/midfielder at any time.

An Inside Look at Alex Morgan

FourFourTwo posted this feature on Pride forward Alex Morgan. With Morgan having a special connection to the opposition this weekend, it's an interesting look into her decision to move to Orlando and her ties to the Thorns. It's some nice insight into what makes the team captain tick.

Pride Preview

Sticking with FourFourTwo, if you'd like a rundown on everything Pride before first kick tomorrow night in Portland, Paul Tenorio has a comprehensive take on the roster and the season's outlook. It's a nice quick-yet-detailed look at Tom Sermanni and the challenges of an expansion side in the NWSL. And for even more NWSL talk, The Guardian hosted a round table about the upcoming season and the consensus seems to be that Seattle, Portland and Houston are really good. They've got lots of predictions about the 2016 campaign.

Questions with Stumptown Footy

Our own Gavin Ewbank sat down with Portland blog Stumptown Footy to give his perspective on the Pride's season opener. With a potential four Pride starters being brought in from the Thorns, there is a little bit extra on the line this weekend. Be sure to catch up on the rest of our Pride coverage as the weekend rolls on. Gavin's Media Day recap for the Pride can also be found here.

When Will Women Footballers Get Paid?

Yes, there's a bit of a theme here with the NWSL, but bear with me. It's shocking how little professional women's soccer players get paid. This piece by Kevin McCauley at the SB Nation mothership does a nice job of detailing just what a struggle it is for women who want to make a living playing the beautiful game. Now that the NWSL has survived into its fourth season, it's time to find a way to help these athletes make a living wage. McCauley's story is a good read as well as an eye opener.

Blatter Speaks

As I wrote about last week, Sepp Blatter was the keynote speaker in a conference regarding fixing corruption in FIFA. His talk did not disappoint. Most notably, he blamed the Western Hemisphere for FIFA’s corruption. His assumption is that, had the United States not lost its World Cup bid for 2022, he would still be in power as president. You can say a lot of things about Blatter, mostly bad things, but the man is bold.

That's all for this Saturday's edition of Lion Links. Here's hoping for three victories in three matches this weekend!