Lion Links: 6/2/16

Happy Thursday, everyone. Brad here with your food and drink pairing. Well, we have a bit of a conundrum this week because neither Orlando City nor the Orlando Pride play this week. OCB does play Louisville though. I’d suggest Papa John’s pizza, but, we get enough of that already, amirite?

So, as we approach Copa America Centenario and the USMNT’s match against Colombia, I’m gonna say we go to Junior Colombian Burger and get a number 9. That’s the Burger Dog: Serrano ham, lettuce, tomato, pink sauce, crushed potato chips, and a grilled hot dog — all on a burger. Two sandwiches for the price of one, what a value! Pair it with a Budweiser America ‘Merica heavy.

Now, on to the links!

SB Nation's Copa America Centenario Preview

Tomorrow marks the opening of the Copa America Centenario and the Costa Rica-Paraguay match here in Orlando takes place Saturday night. Keep in mind, if you're attending the match or any others at Camping World Stadium or abroad, Copa America does have some pretty strict bag policies as you head into venues. Over on the SB Nation mothership they have a nifty Copa America Centenario preview page that'll keep you abreast of all the goings on throughout the tournament.

Orlando City Captain Joins National Team, Gets Hurt, is Dismissed by National Team

Prior to Sunday's match against NYCFC, Orlando City Soccer Club captain Kaká had a surprise call-up by the Brazilian National Team after Douglas Costa picked up an injury and they were looking for a veteran presence heading into Copa America. After coming on as a substitute in Brazil's victory over Panama during Saturday's match in Colorado, it was revealed Wednesday morning that Kaká had picked up a knock and was held out of Tuesday's practice in Los Angeles until later on in the evening it was decided that the Orlando City captain would not be a part of Dunga's final roster and would be replaced with former OCSC target, Ganso… and thus, the circle of life is complete.

Study Names Orlando City Fans "Best in the Country"

According to a Wallethub study that looked at 256 cities across six divisions of professional soccer here in the United States, Orlando has the best fans in the country. The study took Facebook likes for each team and weighted them with 10 metrics that determined what the team score would be in relation to how well each team performs in its market and how each team's fan base engages with the team.

U.S. Soccer Federation Asks for Wage Discrimination Complaint to be Dismissed

So, in a move that (litigation wise) makes sense, the USSF has asked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to dismiss the USWNT Players Union's complaint of wage discrimination. One of the primary concerns of the players is that a wage dispute would cause the team to miss out on the upcoming Olympic games in Brazil. Often times, defendants will move to have complaints dismissed and argue them in front of a judge just to see if you can't have some of the complaints dismissed before heading into mediation.

Free Kicks

Today’s birthdays: Actor Stacy Keach is 75, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is 64, Zachary “New Spock” Quinto and The Phenomenal One, AJ Styles are both 39, Dominic “Howard Stark” Cooper is 38, Morena Baccarin is 37, Abby Wambach is 36, and Freddy Adu is 27 … The Pride’s Aubrey Bledsoe is up for NWSL Save of the Week honors … Serie A side Juventus and British Premier League team Liverpool FC are the most represented clubs in Euro 2016 … and finally, a man spent five months in Rikers not knowing his bail was $2.

That's it for today!

Play us out, David Villa!