• Minnesota United has chosen not to retain Chris Lidholm, the team's longtime play-by-play announcer. Lidholm was the best of the play-by-play voices in the North American Soccer League, and it won't feel right at all to see the team on TV without his voice providing the soundtrack.
• Add another Gopher to the National Women's Soccer League ranks. Rashida Beal, who was named the Big Ten Defender of the Year for Minnesota this season, was taken in the fourth round by FC Kansas City, conveniently the closest NWSL club to Minnesota. The surprising thing was that, given other Minnesota talent that was draft eligible, Beal was the only Gopher taken.
• In some ways, it feels as if Major League Soccer finally has come full circle this week. The league's teams, for the most part, got their start by playing matches in borrowed NFL stadiums. Almost all of the teams now have their own soccer-specific stadiums, which have become pillars of the league's growth. This week the San Diego Chargers announced that they will move to Los Angeles and borrow the StubHub Center from the Los Angeles Galaxy as their temporary home.
