Short takes
• Rayo OKC coach Alen Marcina, a former Minnesota Thunder player, stepped down this week, along with the NASL team's front office, after team ownership implemented a host of drastic cost-cutting moves. The franchises in Oklahoma City and Fort Lauderdale are both struggling to survive — not good news for a league that looks likely to lose Minnesota United FC to MLS next year.
• The saga of FC Dallas winger Fabian Castillo has been a sight to behold. Posts on Twitter showed him signing a contract with Trabzonspor in Turkey and being mobbed by fans at a Turkish airport. Simultaneously, though, Dallas announced that his move had fallen through, and that Castillo was AWOL from his club. Friday, the clubs announced that Castillo had been loaned to Trabzonspor for the rest of 2016 — because he wouldn't come back to the USA.
• Fans of the Mexican national team have popularized a chant, consisting of a single anti-gay slur, that's shouted at the opposing goalkeeper when he takes a goal kick. This week, the Chicago Fire announced that anyone participating in the chant at its games will be ejected from the stadium — a strong stand that other clubs will hopefully choose to follow.
