Or maybe someone at Fox Sports is well aware of the toxic gotcha "cancel culture" we're currently living in, as well as all of the turmoil surrounding the women's game and how it is treated that they figured they better put that on there lest it go viral for forgetting about women and what was meant to be a helpful infographic instead becomes a social media bludgeon.
There are a few leagues that FOX has nothing to do with in that graphic. It looks more like FOX Soccer promoting soccer even if they are only tangentially invested in it.
Well this is sad and gross https://equalizersoccer.com/2019/10...-fan-houston-dash-tigres-uswnt-pitch-invader/
Well, looks like another step away from that "difference" of women's football that I always loved. I know that the movement has to grow for making a living out of football being sustainable for a woman, but I can't help being said everytime the ugly side of the growth of this sport rears its head.
A compliment is due to Allie Long who attempted to restrain the woman who rushed onto the field and to Carli Long who greeted a possible threat coolly and calmly. One of the things I like about NWSL soccer is that in some stadiums a spectator can sit only a few feet away from the pitch and the players and feel a part of the action. Please, lets not mess that up with a need for security and isolating the players from the spectators.
Denise O'Sullivan is from a town called Knocknaheeny in County Cork. I have to remember that. I read it in a nice article on Ireland's win over Ukraine yesterday The Cork woman seemed to be absolutely everywhere at oncehttps://t.co/zd1P0McOri— Cork Beo (@corkbeo) October 9, 2019
"New Ireland manager Vera Pauw..." Wow, I totally missed *that* happening. Last I heard, she had a position with Thailand. Between Roche, O'Sullivan, and now Pauw, a lot of ex-Houston has made its way to Ireland's WNT. Interestingly, (tellingly?), none were with Houston at the same time...
Lyon have started negociating with two NWSL teams with a a view to buy during the ICC, talks are in progress. L'OL est en négociations pour racheter une franchise américaine de football féminin https://t.co/4YzK80rBOX pic.twitter.com/r5JsHSu4Av— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) October 10, 2019
If negotiations go as expected, OL anticipates announcing the acquisition of a NWSL team in late October. So, which team is it? Portland would cost big bucks; Sky Blue would be cheap. Orlando is vulnerable because it's been such a flop; and Houston has been a semi flop. One of those four I would guess.
Could this be investing and not necessarily outright buy? I'm willing to guess Arnim could use another investor in Chicago.
The article makes it pretty clear it's an outright purchase. Granted, that doesn't mean a current investor could be looking to get out completely, but maybe just selling off majority ownership and keeping a minority stake for themselves. But I'm guessing it's an outright buy, if it happens. The obvious candidate is Sky Blue. No way in hell it's Portland - IDK where someone would get that idea. Running down the other options: NC - also no way, both from the ownership perspective and the fact that they're essentially rivals UTA - the RSL ownership is heavily invested into the women's team; situation similar to POR IMO SEA - *also* has new ownership, so I'd doubt a buyout, but SEA is still a semi-independent team and the culture of SEA might mesh well with Lyon DC - similar to DC, new ownership and on an upswing, but I could also see the culture of DC meshing well with Lyon CHI - again, has a devoted owner, but also "independent". IDK; I could see Lyon potentially wanting Kerr in their brand though HOU + POR - have MLS ownership, but I could see both organizations trying to offload their NWSL since they have a ton of other problems too. Wouldn't be good visibility for *anyone* to see an MLS team offload their NWSL side, though I still think it's Sky Blue. IDK who the second team might be, but it's highly highly unlikely to be POR, NC, or UTA.
If I have deep pockets and I want to buy a NWSL team, I'm going to explore buying Portland first. It's the only really successful NWSL team, financially speaking. All the other teams are more like hobbies, rather than businesses.
Buying the most successful team may look good at first, but it's not the smartest decision for several reasons. First: it's going to be the most expensive option. Even if you have deep pockets, you don't want the most expensive option. Second: it's a bad long-term business decision. If you want to invest in the league, you don't buy out the only team that strongly in the black, since the league overall is not improved by your purchase. Heck, the fact that the other teams are currently "hobbies" as you say (which is a *huge* slight to at least half of the other eight ownership groups, IMO) makes them more attractive because it's a lot easier to impart your own decisions on a "weaker" organization *and* gives you the biggest bang for your buck as you turn it into a "business" - i.e. the availability to really improve the organization will be a bigger ROI. The idea that POR was ever discussed with any seriousness is dumb, sorry. Maybe Lyon floated the idea internally for a hot second, but if they're down to two teams as of the article going up, it's not POR. If they were even dumb enough to ask, they would've been absolutely stonewalled, full stop, and they wouldn't have reported it. The tone of the report makes it sound like they're fairly deep into discussion, not just testing the waters.
Most likely Orlando Pride. I've looked at some news and its not confirmed, but Jean Michel Aulas has mentioned in the past he wants a team based in Florida, Miami. Closest one is Orlando Pride which by the way has Alex Morgan former Lyon player and Marta, famous Brazilian player as well as Sydney Leroux. And the team is in last place I believe and probably cheap to buy right now.
Since there was mention of two teams, could it also be a shrewd attempt by the governor to get the Red Bulls in a biding war for Sky Blue?
I really feel it's between SkyBlue & Orlando. It would be odd for an MLS-owned team to give up their team, but Orlando just hasn't lived up to the hype and have been a big let down so far. Does Lyon move the team (to Miami)? Any outside chance they get an expansion team instead? There's been cases (in other leagues) where they grant new ownership to a team, that team moves, and then a new expansion team is granted (this would be for Orlando). Slim chance, but it's an interesting scenario.
If Lyon was to buy the Pride, I highly doubt a new team repopulates Orlando any time soon - if there isn't a potential owner there right now to take the Pride off of OCSC's hands, why would one appear? And where would the new team play? I doubt a new team playing at OCSC's stadium would draw much better than the current iteration of the Pride. Interesting thought about moving the Pride to Miami, though. It would kinda step on the toes of any NWSL interest from the Inter Miami group, but then again Aulas seems to me like the type of person to try buttering up to a superstar like Beckham. X-D
Houston does make more sense than Orlando now that I think about it. The Dash have been a bigger bust than Orlando and the Dynamo aren't doing much to support them. Maybe the Dash get bought by Lyon and moved to Miami? Would create a nice Florida rivalry with Orlando.
Why do you say that the Dynamo aren't doing much to support the Dash. From what I've seen, that is a ridiculous statement.
Men in Blazers podcast just started a weekly Women in Blazers segment to coincide with the NWSL playoffs (not sure if it'll continue outside of NWSL season). It starts out with a chat with Sam Kerr and Kelley O'Hara: https://soundcloud.com/meninblazers/women-in-blazers-101419-with-sam-kerr-and-kelley-ohara
Portland Thorns Become the first NWSL Club to Partner with a CBD Brand: https://maryjaneexperience.com/first-ever-partnership-between-cbd-brand-and-womens-pro-soccer-team/
Even further off topic, but I wanted to share some WNY Flash developments. When the team was moved to North Carolina, I said I hoped that the Flash would still have a team in the top levels of amateur soccer (W-League or equivalent) and maybe after the cash bleedout had subsided, they would even build a suitably sized soccer specific stadium in Buffalo. Well, they had a team in the UWS for a couple of years, but let that go this past season. And, while not a stadium per se, this season they have made massive improvements to their Academy facilities, constructing Flash Fields. Also, WNY Flash Academy player Chloe DeLyser has set the NYS HS record for career goals: 317 goals for Marion High School (she started playing varsity as a 7th grader). She's going to Ohio State. Now, officially introducing our new outdoor home, Flash Fields. ⚡️ 🏠 ⚽️#ChangingTheLandscape #FlashFields #FlashFamily pic.twitter.com/vkwukFuAeR— WNY Flash Academy (@WNYFlashAcademy) October 18, 2019