• Minnesota United already is announcing some of its 2016 preseason plans. In February, the Loons will travel to Portland, the MLS Cup winners, for a preseason tournament that also includes MLS teams Vancouver and Chicago.

• On Thursday, Chelsea fired manager Jose Mourinho, not quite halfway through its attempt to defend its Premier League title — a stunning failure. Chelsea won just four of its first 16 games this season, and Mourinho went on a series of bizarre postgame rants as things got worse, including blaming his players for letting him down.

• Tyler David, who starred at Lakeville North and for the Minnesota Thunder Academy before playing soccer at St. Louis University, is one of 59 players who were invited to the MLS Combine that starts Jan. 7. It'll give David a chance to show his skills ahead of the MLS SuperDraft, which takes place Jan. 14.

• Another local product, Bloomington native Jackson Yueill, was named to the All-Far West first team, another accolade after an impressive freshman season at UCLA. Yueill, who has played for the USA youth national teams, may be a candidate to make the jump to MLS before his college eligibility is up.