United Notes: NASL to charge for online broadcasts

The NASL launched a new-look website on Wednesday, and the biggest change will be in the way the league delivers live games. The league has broadcast their games online for free over the past few years, but in 2014 that will change; the league is set to charge $5 per month for access to watch streaming games online.

It's a move that, at least to me, makes very little sense. Following a second-division soccer team is hard enough already; being able to watch league games online for free was more or less the only thing that made following a team easier for NASL fans. Now, the league will take that ability away.

The package price seems high, as well. Among other things, in 2013 it was just $60 for an 8-month season - $7.50 a month - to purchase the same watch-the-games-online package from Major League Soccer, which is a first-division league with first-rate broadcasts. I'm not sure who will pay two-thirds of that for the NASL, which has in previous years included many broadcasts that were so poorly produced that they were virtually unwatchable.

United, for their part, is already working to find a way to ease this extra burden on their season ticketholders. For a league like the NASL, though, which has to fight for attention in America's oversaturated sports market, putting a damper on new fans - in order to monetize the few fans the league already has - is a curious decision, to say the least.

Ramirez, Gyorio sign on for 2014

United announced a pair of signings last week - forward Christian Ramirez and midfielder Mozesh Gyorio.

Ramirez played last season with Charlotte in the third division, and trained with Minnesota following the conclusion of the USL Pro season. The 22-year-old striker- he'll be 23 at the beginning of April - scored twelve times in 26 games last year for Charlotte, after a college career at Concordia University Irvine in California that saw him make the NAIA All-America team.

Gyorio also immediately vaults onto the list of the best names in the history of Minnesota pro soccer, right up there with Ace Ntsoelengoe and Zafer Kilickan. (For reference, his name is pronounced moe-zee GEE-or-eo.)

The moves add some offensive depth for United, which sorely needs it. At the moment, Ramirez may well be the team's second-best striker, behind Pablo Campos, and Gyorio joins a midfield that's still in search of an offensive spark.

Ultimately, though, United needs more than just these two moves - not least because they have only 17 players currently on the roster, which usually extends to 24 or 25 guys. The team needs more attacking help, and while Ramirez and Gyorio may play roles, it's unlikely that either one of them is really the answer.

Minnesota native to lead reserves

Minnesota United's reserve team, set to begin play this year in the fourth-division NPSL, will be led by Minnesota native - and former Minnesota Thunder standout - Donny Mark, who has led an interesting life as a soccer nomad.

Mark's reserves will play their games in the South Washington County school district - that's Woodbury, East Ridge, and Park high schools. Most of the games will be played at East Ridge.

Preseason announcements on the way

Nothing is official yet, but it's likely that Minnesota's preseason schedule will be a bit more exciting - and a bit less cold - than in previous years. At least two training trips appear to be in the works, one of which may take the team to a much warmer destination, potentially even somewhere overseas.