MLS

We’ve come to understand that VAR is going to get weird. There are going to be suspensions of play that feel strange, there are going to be offenses that are bizarrely non-reviewable, there are going to be goals disallowed for offenses in the buildup that’ll feel mysteriously idiosyncratic. It all comes with the power of time travel.

But the one surreal use of VAR we never expected would be the one ending with the brandishing of a straight red card to the wholesome Kaka, which happened on Saturday. This wasn’t your classic sending off — it was weird as s**t. 

In a World Cup year, it’s only natural that national team regulars are put under the microscope every week. With only 23 spots available on the final World Cup roster, each and every week during the club season is a personal battle and test of merit. In that sense, no USMNT player has been failing as spectacularly as Los Angeles Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes.

Carlos Vela will soon move to Los Angeles to play for LAFC, where he will play derbies against Mexico teammates Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos, who play for the LA Galaxy. Vela appears to have a healthy competitive attitude regarding the whole thing, which is to say he will stop at nothing to destroy his friends in the name of three points.

Carlos Vela and the Dos Santos Bros = Mexico teammates, LA foes.

FC Dallas' social media team has apparently forgotten the number one rule of Twitter: never tweet.

If they had followed this rule, the world would not have been exposed to this monstrosity:

Photo: @JeffVeillette | Twitter

It’s a fun little quiz that takes less than a minute. Find out if you would be allowed to immigrate to the United States under the Republican-proposed, president-backed, merit-based point system created to slash legal immigration.

Carlos Vela, he of 28 years of age and over a half-century of caps for Mexico, has revealed his ambition to jettison from La Liga’s Real Sociedad in favor of 2018’s Los Angeles Football Club, i.e. a branding person’s wet dream.

Carlos Vela is rumored to become LAFC's first designated player when the team begins MLS play next season, and the Mexican attacker took the first step toward that goal Tuesday. Real Sociedad announced Vela would be leaving the club for MLS in January.

 @RealSociedad pic.twitter.com/tdKu24MiRk

— carlos vela (@11carlosV) August 8, 2017

The L.A. Galaxy are in a major rut and everyone is piling on, from opponents to technology. In a 3-1 loss to the Portland Timbers on Sunday, the Galaxy were one of the first MLS clubs to have a goal disallowed by video review. Then the Timbers slammed home two of the best goals of the weekend to rub it in and spoil the debut of Jonathan Dos Santos. 

L.A. thought it had scored in the 12th minute when Gyasi Zardes poked home from short range. But the officials checked the tape and discovered Zardes had handled the ball prior to the goal.