Lion Links: 2/22/18

Hey everyone. My name is Ethan Smith, and I am the newest member of the staff. So I guess I’ll introduce myself. I am 19 years of age from Pittsburgh, PA. I have lived in Georgia for most of my life and I picked up the Orlando City bug a while ago. I have been a fan ever since and am proud to join the staff and give you all the Orlando City news you are craving. So lets get down to the nitty gritty and get my first Lion Links going!

But first, here’s a tease Orlando City put out Wednesday afternoon for the club’s 2018 away kits:

Orlando City to Use Amazon Alexa to Provide Updates

Fans of Orlando City who use Amazon’s smart speaker will soon be able to configure their settings to get up-to-date news for everything Orlando City. Fans will have to download the Alexa Skills app and adjust the settings to gain news about player signings, results, upcoming fixtures, and other daily news about the Lions. Just say, “Hey Alexa, what’s the news?”, and she will automatically tell you daily Orlando City news.

Orlando Pride Announce 2018 Schedule

The 0rlando Pride officially announced their full schedule on Wednesday, with their season opener March 24 at home against Utah Royals FC. The rest of the NWSL schedule was also released after being pushed back a day. The Pride will go on the road the two weeks after the opener before an international break halts NWSL play at the beginning of April.

MLS Targets Next Generation of Fans Through FIFA eSports

With soccer still trying to catch up here in the States and Canada to become a “major sport,” MLS needs to attract a younger audience. To that end, MLS will use the eMLS Cup, hosted by EA Sports FIFA 18 to start the process of bringing younger audiences into North American soccer. MLS has always had a good relationship with FIFA games dating back to when the league changed its crest after the 2014 season and debuted the new crest in FIFA 15. Orlando City is one of the 19 teams competing in the eMLS Cup, which will be played at PAX East in Boston in April. PAX East will take place from April 5-8. Details for the official eMLS Cup details were released by the league.

The Orlando City competitor has yet to be determined, but will be in the coming weeks leading up to PAX East in Boston. MLS hopes to get all 23 teams involved, as well as the incoming expansion teams from Nashville and Miami in the coming years.

Turner Sports Looks to Hire Steve Nash to Broadcast Soccer

Steve Nash, who most of us know as a former all-star point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, and Los Angeles Lakers, will be making a move to the broadcast booth, but not for basketball. Nash, who is an investor in Vancouver Whitecaps, will sign with Turner Sports to become a studio analyst for the company’s UEFA Champions League coverage.

Nash is also the general manager of the Canadian Men’s National Team, but it is unclear if he will retain that role with this move to cover the Champions League. This opportunity also opens the door for Nash to jump into the basketball department at TNT, where personalities such as Shaq, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith already sit as studio analysts. This move is a very intriguing one by Turner Sports, and we will watch and see how it plays out for the company and Nash himself.

Major Changes Coming to EPL on U.S. TV

Changes are coming to U.S. television coverage of the EPL. These changes are mainly based on the time that matches will start, and these effects should take place in the 2019-2020 season through the 2021-2022. Fans in the United States will see more Friday matches, with kickoff times around 2:30 or 3 p.m. ET. Saturday matches will begin around 2:45 p.m. ET and early Sunday matches and late Sunday matches, which start at 8:30 and 11 a.m. ET, respectively, will each moved back half an hour. These changes allow the EPL to stretch 10 games across eight TV windows, an increase of two TV windows in the format at the moment.

Free Kicks

• The firm that designed Orlando City Stadium was named a 2018 Most Innovative Company.
• It turns out a lot of people at U.S. Soccer made more money than Jill Ellis did as the USWNT’s head coach.
• Just nine more days to kickoff: off-season pick-up Justin Meram will wear this number for the Lions
• Famous birthdays for the day include: President George Washington (deceased, 286), reality star Steve Irwin (deceased, 56), game show host Bruce Forsyth(deceased, 90), basketball player Rajon Rondo (32) and basketball player Julius “Dr. J” Erving (68).

With my first Lion Links coming to a close, I wanted to share one of my favorite sports moments that I was able to witness, sadly not in person. You will all soon find out that I am a very big Manchester City fan, and of course one of my favorite Manchester City moments was when Sergio Aguero scored the last-minute game-winner vs. QPR to win the EPL in the 2011-2012 season. I decided to get the clip of the commentary from Martin Tyler. As many of the staff are Manchester United fans, I apologize.