SHORT TAKES

• Liga MX starts its fall season — the "Apertura" — this weekend. The Mexican league plays two half-seasons every year, 17 games apiece, with playoffs after each half. It's hard to predict a winner in such a short tournament, but keep an eye on Mexico City powerhouse Club America, which might be due for a title run after two years without a domestic trophy.

• The National Women's Soccer League got some bad publicity this week. Western New York hosted Seattle at Frontier Field, the home of Class AAA Twins affiliate Rochester. The temporary field for the game was painfully small, about 10 yards shorter and 15 yards narrower than usual. It looked like a youth field — not a good look for a league that desperately wants to look like anything but an afterthought.

• The U.S. women's national team had to cut its 23-player roster from last year's World Cup down to 18, to meet Olympics requirements. In the end it was easy, thanks to a combination of retirements and pregnancies. The only questionable decision was the choice of midfielder Megan Rapinoe, who hasn't played since last year's knee injury, over Heather O'Reilly.