Short takes
• U.S. Soccer is at it again, cannibalizing the National Women's Soccer League for its own financial gain. The American governing body announced that the U.S. women's national team will play Brazil, Japan and Australia in a tournament July 27 to Aug. 3, in the middle of the NWSL season. NWSL clubs will lose their best players for at least two games. I'll never understand why U.S. Soccer helps fund the NWSL, then turns around and takes the league's best players for weeks at a time.
• Lyon dominates women's soccer in Europe, but owner Jean-Michel Aulus always is on the hunt for better players, with Twitter serving as his main recruiting method. U.S. Soccer filed an official tampering complaint with FIFA this week after Aulus tried to tweet-recruit Portland and USA midfielder Allie Long, who is under contract with the national team and allocated to the NWSL.
• Chelsea, sitting atop the Premier League table since November, clinched the championship with two matches to play with a 1-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Friday, the lone goal coming when substitute Michy Batshuayi scored in the 82nd minute. It's Chelsea's fifth Premier League crown and second in three seasons, but a big bounce-back after a 10th-place finish last season.
