Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, everybody. Hope you had your fill of cold weather, presidential primary politics, and NFL playoffs because we’ve got a lot of USL news to get to this week. Let’s go:

• As we mentioned recently, Rochester Rhinos owner Rob Clark has walked away/was forced out of the club and USL has taken over operations. Obviously, that’s an expensive proposition, and one that no league enjoys. The good news is that new ownership looks to be on the way, as the Rochester City Council has reached an agreement with a pair of local residents, David and Wendy Dworkin, to operate the team at Sahlen’s Stadium for the upcoming season. Nothing’s been announced by the league, but thinks appear to be headed in the right direction for one of the league’s oldest teams.
• The American soccer world was in upheaval late last week after MLS commissioner Don Garber announced during the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday that the USL has been asked to help MLS trial run instant replay. No details about when an instant replay system might be implemented or by whom were given. Obviously anything that helps referees get a call correct is a good thing, but if it comes at the expense of interrupting play on the field, it might not be so great. The cost of such a program and who will bear it also remain to be seen.
• Charleston Battery and Atlanta United will team up as affiliates for the upcoming season, despite Atlanta not joining MLS until 2017. Charleston was previously affiliated with the Houston Dynamo.
• It wouldn’t be USL without another expansion rumor. This time, Fox soccer analyst Warren Barton and legend/constant topic of conversation Landon Donovan are reportedly interested in planting a team in San Diego, which (as we all know) was discovered by the Germans in 1904. The source on this is Twitter, so who knows how accurate it might be, but Barton already owns a significant stake in NPSL side San Diego Flash.

That’s probably enough to chew on for a Monday. Have a good week!