Short takes
• Apart from Manchester United and Manchester City, I like Chelsea and Tottenham to take the other two top-four Premier League spots. At the bottom, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town seem likely to make a quick return to the second division. My guess is that Swansea City will join them. And, if I must make a solitary pick for the title, I'll take Manchester United to return to the top of England.
• Second-division club Miami FC dominated the North American Soccer League spring season, but owner Riccardo Silva keeps making waves for other reasons. First, he very publicly offered to buy MLS' media rights, even though they aren't for sale and won't be for six more years. Apparently, he did this so that he could claim that the league had turned him down because he wanted to introduce promotion and relegation. Now, he has applied to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in an attempt to force FIFA into making U.S. Soccer introduce promotion and relegation. I'm starting to wonder why Silva doesn't just buy an MLS franchise and get the whole thing over with.
