“Three finalists emerge as MLS plans to replace Don Garber as commissioner” (TheAthletic.com - Friday, 7/17/26) (Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Well shoot - we move away from Cali partly to avoid the smoke and now we've got air that's every bit as bad as the bad old days in NorCal from about 2017-2022.
How come? Among other things, that the three finalists to replace Don Garber (whose contract runs until the end of 2027) are LAFC co-owner Larry Berg, former Fox executive David Nathanson and San Francisco 49ers and Leeds United executive Paraag Marathe, although two sources later confirmed that Marathe had removed himself from consideration (in any case, whoever wins the job would undoubtedly need to relinquish his current job, no doubt). The final vote among the owners should come in early August. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
A couple of my high school buddies and I were texting about this today. One, an ad designer who was okay with the alternate kits, correctly noted that I still haven’t gotten over relinquishing the standing bison logo in 1974.
I wasn’t really a big fan of when the 49ers went with changed helmets & uniforms from 1996 to 2008 and was so glad when they went back to the classic previous (and still current) look in 2009. But perhaps the biggest “dodged bullet” was the helmet redesign 49ers ownership introduced during a 1991 press conference… and then reversed course a week later after hitting some massive backlash from fans and media alike. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
I have been here long enough to remember the Niners helmet fiasco. Hoping for a reprise reconsideration, here; but Bills have alternate mini helmets to sell to new age types. Niners fans are fortunate the funky text version helmet came before the alternate era or you would see it once a year for eternity.
FIFA plans to sell a stake in the World Cup: How much for and why is Gianni Infantino doing it? - The Athletic "FIFA has announced plans to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, as part of a plan to triple the amount of development money it dishes out to its 211 member associations. Under the proposals — which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA’s 37-member council — a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game’s global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.... Given during and before this summer’s World Cup, the involvement of someone with a family connection to President Trump, such as Joshua Kushner, will raise eyebrows throughout the global game. European football’s governing body UEFA has already expressed its opposition to the idea of selling the sport’s most valuable assets to private investors and sovereign wealth funds." Nothing fishy about that, eh? CONCACAF, AFC, and UEFA are so far on record saying: "Fvck you, Infantino - you corrupt weasel!" It's the grift that keeps on taking...