Lion Links: 5/10/16

Good Tuesday morning, Lions. While Orlando City hasn’t managed a win since April 3, the good news this morning is that things could be worse. After all, a star striker and a No. 10 play-maker are at odds in Columbus, and at least the Lions have managed to scrape out points three times during their current five-match winless run, which is something they were unable to do with regularity last season.

It's a glass-half-full kind of day around here, so polish off your glass of orange juice with a fresh serving of Lion Links as we look forward to another two-match weekend involving the Lions and the Orlando Pride.

Goal Guide

The Orlando Sentinel has gotten on the infographics bandwagon and produced this interactive graphic that shows the positioning for all of Orlando City's goals in the 2016 MLS season. One problem that immediately jumps out is that we have yet to score this season from outside the box, but it is nice to see that more than five Lions have found the score sheet through the first nine games of the season.

Pride Rise in NWSL Power Rankings

This week's NWSL Power Rankings have dropped, and the Pride is on the rise following a 2-0 win over Seattle Reign on Sunday night. It was Sarah Hagen and Lianne Sanderson who provided the goals in the home win for the Pride, but Ashlyn Harris was her usual stone wall self between the posts in registering a clean sheet. The Reign, which saw an 11-game scoring streak brought to a halt in Orlando, was supplanted by the Pride and dropped two spots following the loss.

Rivaldo Advises People to Stay Away from Rio

Former Seleção legend and 2002 FIFA World Cup Winner Rivaldo is advising people to stay away from Rio de Janeiro for this summer’s Olympic Games. Citing increased violence in favelas, he says people would be risking their lives to travel to Rio. When you add this to concerns about Brazil’s economic viability, political instability, water pollution and the Zika virus, he may have a case. However, I will say as someone who traveled to Rio to cover the Lions last year, it is a beautiful, vibrant city and despite all of the warnings I read before traveling, I felt safe and really enjoyed my visit.

Laws of the Game

News that is not going to delight MLS fans was released yesterday with the announcement of changes to the Laws of the Game by the International Football Association Board. Some of the new rule changes involve denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, run up on penalty kicks, and so on. So expect more PRO mistakes — if you can imagine more PRO mistakes than we already see — once the rules come into effect on June 1.

Platini Resigns

After failing to get his six-year ban from soccer overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), UEFA President Michel Platini has announced that he will resign from his post. Platini was suspended from soccer last year, along with former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, after a suspect $1.87 million payment was discovered between the two. In their ruling yesterday, CAS stated that they "were not convinced by the legitimacy of the payment," so the ban would remain in place, but it was reduced from six years to four. His decision means that UEFA will head into the European Championships with no President at the helm, leaving the organizing body in turmoil.

Wambach Walks Away

TMZ yesterday reported that Abby Wambach reportedly flipped her SUV in a car accident back in 2014 and walked away from the scene without reporting it. Wambach was not arrested or cited for any infraction resulting from the crash, and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office that reported to the scene are claiming they didn't give her preferential treatment because they didn't even know who she was. This statement, unfortunately, says more about the popularity of women's soccer than anything about Wambach herself, and probably highlights why this is only now coming to light after her DUI arrest in April.

That’s it for today, Mane Landers, but make sure you check back with us as we preview the upcoming Pride match against the Western New York Flash on Saturday and as the Lions head west this weekend to play Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.