Lion Links: 7/29/20

Good morning, Mane Landers! I hope the day finds you well. Let’s go ahead and jump right into the links.

Pride Players Critical of Ellis

Ali Krieger and Sydney Leroux have spoken out in separate interviews to criticize former USWNT Head Coach Jill Ellis. Sydney Leroux recalled working with Vlatko Andonovski to coordinate a plan with Ellis for her return following the birth of her son Cassius. Leroux said Ellis dismissed the idea because she had “a really poor 2016 season,” despite the fact that she didn’t play a single game that year.

“She had already had her mind picked out of what was going to happen regardless of how I came back or not,” Leroux said. “So that just left a really bad taste in my mouth. The best thing was for [Ellis] to go,” Leroux said. “I think Vlatko’s going to do a great job. He’s a great coach, he’s a good person so I’m excited to see what he’s going to do with the national team.”

COVID-19 Testing in the Bubble

With the many of the drive-thru testing sites being shut down, Floridians are being forced to wait for coronavirus testing and then wait some more for the results. With Orlando being the hub for national sports right now, players and staff members are being tested every other day to keep the bubble safe. This has sparked some concerns but Bio Reference Laboratories, the company managing the testing, claimed no special treatment is being given to athletes. Bio Reference Executive Chairman Jon Cohen added,

“We continue to prioritize hospitals, health-care workers, people admitted [to hospitals], front-line responders. They get priority,” said Cohen, who added that nursing homes fall into that category as well. The amount of testing we do for the sports franchises for MLS and NBA is minimal compared to our 70,000 capacity.”

MLS has joined the NBA in funding a community testing location at the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets, which began earlier this month.

NWSL Challenge Cup Final Viewers

As the National Women’s Soccer League works hard to grow support, viewers showed up for the Challenge Cup final on CBS. The match saw over 650,000 viewers tuned in to watch as the Houston Dash took home the hardware. Before that, the Challenge Cup opening match drew in close to 530,000 viewers. Here’s hoping that the NWSL being the first professional sport to return in the U.S. will motivate more supporters to cheer on the women.

Another American Abroad

Norwich City FC announced yesterday that the club has signed U.S. youth international Sebastian Soto. The 20-year-old striker will join the Canaries now that his contract with German 2.Bundesliga side Hannover has expired.

“It’s a proud feeling. It’s super exciting to join Norwich City. The facilities here are really impressive. From the minute I arrived here, it’s given me a lot of excitement,” Soto said.

Free Kicks

• Louder for the ones in the back!

• Sky Sports named their “Best of” for the Premier League 2019-2020 season.
• Is it just us, or does this kit look a bit familiar?

That’s going to do it for me today, everyone. Have a great day and stay safe.