Matt Miazga suspended, Sam Mewis departs KC Current, and more: Thursday Freedom Kicks
Happy Thursday to everyone, and it’s the best day of the year. 41 years ago today, on November 30, 1982, the greatest album ever made was released to the world: Michael Jackson’s Thriller. So, get your day started by playing the whole album, all 42 minutes of it. It’s worth it.
Thriller wasn’t the only thing born on November 30, 1982, today also marks my 41st trip around the sun. So, let’s make it a good day!
MLS Suspends FC Cincinnati Defender Matt Miazga (MLS)
MLS suspended Matt Miazga for 3 games and he will have to undergo a behavorial assessment for his outburst in the referee’s locker room a few weeks back. The suspension will see him sit out the conference finals, a potential MLS Cup final, and/or the start of next season.
Sam Mewis sat out all of this past season due to injury setbacks, and she will be moving on from the Kansas City Current.
SSFC Spotlight: Korbin Albert gets her shot at the USWNT (SSFC)
Korbin Albert is about to introduce herself to the international stage, and this article breaks down her rise to stardom and her game.
IFAB is allowing the trial of sin bins for dissent yellow cards, and MLS could be the first league to try it out next season.
In the college ranks, the MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists were released on the women’s side.
Pepi nets PSV winner to clinch knockout spot, knockout Sevilla (ESPN)
Sergiño Dest assisted on PSV’s first goal and Ricardo Pepi scored the game winner as PSV came from 0-2 down to defeat Sevilla in UEFA Champions League. In the match, Sergio Ramos scored the 10,000 UEFA Champions League goal.
The Utah Royals continue to build their roster, signing Imani Dorsey to a deal for the next 2 seasons.
This was an interesting list that I found on Twitter. Despite it being a full decade since D.C. United’s last trophy, they still have the most of any MLS club. The LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders are right on their heels though, and Toronto FC keeps creeping up due to their 8 Canadian Championships.
I can’t wait for this to come out. Featuring the late, great Grant Wahl, a new documentary called The Billion Dollar Goal will premier on December 11th on Paramount+. Couple that with the Netflix documentary on the USWNT at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, that week will be full of soccer drama to watch.
Enjoy the day everyone. Happy birthday, Thriller. And happy birthday to me.
What a wealthy of diverse information–thank you Donald and DP. I wonder if the KC Current have concluded that Sam Mewis’ career is over. Or she asked to move on. Or they just want to free up cap space.
It’s gotta be the cap space. Her salary is not one of those things you can just ignore in NWSL with literally no play from the star in question,
She and Lynn Williams also recently announced the end of their podcast, Snacks, to allow them to “pursue other opportunities.” Speculation is that Mewis may have gotten a soccer media job somewhere.
I wonder if Lynn Williams is exploring a chance to go overseas? There is a lot of competition on the frontline for the USWNT. And Lynn Williams (despite being good at everything) has usually gotten lost in the shuffle. And she’s probably heard Hayes talk about how more Americans need to play in Europe.
I’m definitely looking forward to both the Netflix show and the documentary on Paramount+.
That clip certainly made the PP show seem fun. Thanks for sharing, Donald!
So bringing Rugby sin bins to soccer…that could be interesting. In Rugby, it essentially turns into a 10 min power play/penalty kill from hockey. It really hurts your team and ensures players do their best to avoid yellow cards.
I’m assuming we’re going to see how it works in MLS Next Pro which hosted a couple of rule changes to reduce time wasting last year that worked really well. Seems like the league is willing to experiment there.
Ricardo Pepi’s goal was epic, highly recommend watching the highlights. I don’t believe they had found him in several minutes after subbing him in, this was pretty much his first chance to contribute, and it was glorious
The first goal though was better. The service from Dest was brilliant, but man the technique on the shot from Saibari was exquisite.
So, I’ve seen the player in question play enough that I think the first is both eye-popping and pretty fluky. It’s not that he didn’t intend a shot, but that one struck me as a “swing your leg at it in the box, and hope.” I’m not saying he’s a bad player, but I’d need further evidence that he’s that good, and I haven’t seen it yet
Oh I admit it definitely felt like get a foot to it in the box and hope shot, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t crazy.
DW2,
Happy Birthday!
Also, yeah, it was my sophomore year in college when I heard, on this anniversary day, the killer opening to Thriller. The riff for Billie Jean rocked my room, and the hits kept coming.
So, while you were screaming (for US Soccer?) your first luxurious scream, I was beer swilling and dancing like an idiot. Age has it’s privileges…..like remembering RFK in 1996 as well….
And on a completely separate subject, what happened to Matt Doyle? I often disagreed with him, felt that he sometimes “mailed it in” when analyzing DCU. But his focus on analytics and data always made it worthwhile to read him. Yet he appeared to take a 2 month hiatus mid-season, came back and was generating content and then….disappeared again? What’s with that?
I think he’s still around. His Twitter has been pretty active, and he’s been doing year end wrap ups for eliminated teams.
He also just posted a Conference Final Mailbag.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/lucho-or-cucho-can-houston-stop-lafc-conference-final-mailbag
League schedule’s been super weird. While I’m not sure if he’s got other stuff happening, I bet he’d be writing more consistently if there were matches more consistently.
Nashville announced their roster decisions. Since Ally Mackay is pretty familiar with those players, I wouldn’t be too surprised if one or two of them made their way to DC. Here’s who’s available.
Nashville SC declined contract options on:
The following players are out of contract:
Fafa Picault stands out to me as the pick of the bunch, although he’ll be 33 next season and made $650,000 last year. He had 5 goals and 1 assist last year. Since he’ll be a free agent, other teams could be in on him too, and I don’t know how much money I’d want to spend on him, but getting some speed and production out wide is something United needs.
As soon as I saw this list from Nashvlle, my immediate thought was Picault could be an interesting get for DC. But I had no idea he was 33 already. I do think it would probably be smarter to go a bit younger, though I have no doubt he could contribute
Btw, the u-17’s might have lost in the round of 16 in Indonesia, but it looks like the two teams they lost to are now in the final. Again, sometimes you get rotten luck in tournament draws and brackets.
My goodness, your news makes me feel old, Donald. I was 42(!!!) when you were born. My youngest child was 15!
Andy Najar has said goodbye to DC on his Instagram, so it seems as though he will not be with the team next year. I’m sad to see him go, but hopefully he can continue to stay healthy and be productive somewhere else
I’m sorry to see this happen. There will always be a special place in my heart for Andy Najar.
I am flicking his bobblehead on my desk for auld lang syne….