Could NYCFC finally have a solution for NOT playing on baseball fields? Looks like Rumor might be coming true. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/sports/soccer/nycfc-stadium-bronx-mls.html
Meanwhile down south, Nashville is having issues with their stadium. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mo...ct-mayor-cooper-in-stadium-dispute/ar-BBZRKE0
Suspended 6 mos for over gullying 🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/DvAk8KDvgs— The Cooligans (@SoccerCooligans) February 23, 2020
First thing that went through my head when reading Gamera celebrating: Apparently I watch too many kaiju movies.
good for that next round of expansion fees... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ets-record-setting-700-million-plus-valuation
I was at the game and saw him go down without contact. Right away it seemed like it was serious, but he went to the sideline for treatment and came back on. He went down again a few minutes later and was stretchered off. I have no idea why they sent him back on... Good crowd at the inaugural game, though my random unscientific sample counted Atlanta fans at around 30% of the crowd of 59k. Nashville's song is complete crap, but that could just be my revulsion at all "singer songwriter" douchebros (or it could be the Memphis - Nashville rivalry seeping into my blood).
Watched the game on TV. It did look bad. And the song just confused me. So slow and boring. No country roads for them!
A clip they showed at halftime of one of the many MLS matches I skimmed showed some probably minor contact from the side -- I just did the H.S. rules online and ACL injuries are an area of emphasis this year. Many are non-contact but some are minor contact but from a direction that the knee doesn't flex well (like I saw in the clip they showed). Interesting take home from the training was that knee braces of various designs do not really move the needle for protection -- training & stretching with specific exercises can help with the non contact injuries. And soccer's H.S. ACL statistics are bad compared to many/most other sports.
Thanks for the note on the replay, I'll have to check that out later. It baffles me why they sent him back on the pitch after that...
Thoughts on the protests in the Bundesliga? I'm a bit confused about the timing, since it seems to have started regarding the Hoffenheim owner. Did he only get the > 50% share this season? It bugged me a little that the Bayern Munich fans made such a stink, since a rich owner dominating a club is the main threat to the big financial advantage they have over all the other Bundesliga clubs. It's a lot easier for Bayern if there's no bundesliga version of a PSG, Chelsea, ManCity, etc. But the protests seem to make sense across the bundesliga as a whole.
I hadn't heard about them, but it feels like Hoffeheim is a weak platform to build a protest on. Dietmar Hopp isn't an oil shiek looking for a new toy to play with. He's a Hoffenheim native who played for the team back when it was an 8th division armature club. He then went on to found SAP and become fabulously wealthy, and for 20+ years he was putting money back into his boyhood club. Then he had time, and resources, to really pump money into the club (they were 3rd division at this point) and he got them to the Champions League. I understand the commercialization of football, I'm concerned about it too, but there are a lot better targets for wrath than somebody supporting the club he's supported for 70+ years. (I am a biased Hoffenheim fan though)
I agree about Hoffeheim plus that league needs competition for Bayern Munich. That's why I don't mind the Leipzig thing either.
I wondered how Sounders' attendance would be affected, especially after the news that a vendor at CLink field that worked the XFL game ended up with the virus. Box score shows 33,000. A WaPo article said that's the lowest announced attendance there since 2009 and 7,000 fewer than the season opener last week. They must have a huge season ticket base so that could understate the attendance drop.
To me the best part was the 'spirit of the game' in the players just passing the ball around for the balance of the match after the restart. Which was probably a lot easier to do in an already decided 6 - 1 match than it would be in a 1 - 1 or 2 - 2 scenario.
Hats off to the Gladbach players, coaches and executives. The #Borussia players have volunteered to forgo part of their wages to help the club and its employees get through this difficult period. The Foals' coaches, directors and CEOs have also followed suit 🐎💚#DieFohlen pic.twitter.com/bQWLg1hwsc— Gladbach (@borussia_en) March 19, 2020
Major League Baseball has opened all 2018 and 2019 games for free viewing on mlb.tv. There are also dozens of full classic MLB games on YouTube.
1918: Toronto Arena Hockey Club wins the Stanley Cup. 1919: Spanish Flu epidemic cancels the Stanley Cup. 1993: Toronto Blue Jays win the World Series. 1994: World Series canceled due to baseball strike. 2019: Toronto Raptors win the NBA Championship (Larry O'Brien Trophy) 2020: Hmmmmmmm . . . 2019: Just be thankful Toronto FC didn't win the MLS Cup!
Maven just fired me from Sports Illustrated. No severance. Nothing.— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) April 10, 2020
Yeah, read this about Maven https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/11/...maven-james-heckman-ross-levinsohn-code-media