Adams on spying in soccer, best value per ticket in MLS, and more: Tuesday Freedom Kicks
Happy Tuesday! I bring you this slightly short edition of Freedom Kicks from the conference center where will I will be spending the next two days for work. I am already suffering moderate Olympics withdrawal. Please enjoy The Gold Zone for me.
This time, the USWNT has company at the Olympics: The U.S. men (Washington Post $)
Fun to think of the men’s and women’s teams cheering each other on at the Olympics. Emily Fox is a Kevin Paredes fan!
Olympics 2024: Canada file appeal over spying points penalty (ESPN)
Canada says the six-point deduction “unfairly punishes the athletes for actions they had no part in and goes far beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand.” Given their likelihood of advancing, I think it would be tough to decide on a punishment that would satisfy everyone, but it is rough on New Zealand that they didn’t get any points out of the situation.
Speaking of Canada, when asked about their scandal, Tyler Adams wasn’t exactly surprised by the conduct, saying that every team does it in some fashion. You’ll note the interviewers don’t ask the obvious follow-up question: “Including the USA?”
Which MLS team is giving fans the best value in 2024? (The Post Cincy)
This article looks at a lot of different factors, including goals per game, attendance, and costs, to try to determine which teams’ fans are getting the most bang for their buck. Real Salt Lake is declared the winner.
Croix Bethune created NWSL history. Now she is ready for the Olympics (The Guardian)
Good to see Croix getting some attention, and I’m hoping to see her on the field at the Olympics this week.
There are a couple of mid-week Cup matches this week for the Spirit and D.C. United.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Spirit vs. Chicago Red Stars | Wed., July 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Richmond, VA | Paramount+ |
| D.C. United vs. Santos Laguna | Wed., July 31 at 8 p.m. ET | Chester, PA | Apple TV |
Have a good week, everyone!
While I totally understand that DC had to move the next Leagues Cup game due to the field conditions, I am a bit surprised they decided to go with Philly’s stadium as the replacement. It seems like it would have made a lot more sense to try to go to somewhere else within DC’s area of support, like Baltimore, Richmond, or even Hampton Roads somewhere. I can understand not using Segra or the Soccerplex, as I am sure they’re a bit smaller than they’d like, but surely there were more options than going to Chester?
It might have had to do with VAR accessibility. From what I understand, not all stadiums have the right camera setups.
That’s fair, I hadn’t thought of something like that. The only thing I could really think of was that MLS required them to move it to another MLS venue, but this would make some sense
And this is a LigaMX-MLS event. So the default is to go with MLS or LigaMX stadia. B/c an MLS-owned stadium will make money from hosting the game. Which would exclude Richmond or Baltimore or GMU or Loudoun or the Soccerplex.
It is good that the men and women’s team cheer each other. I know one Olympics the men’s basketball team did that for the women (and would play “Who Let the Dogs Out?” for them).
The Canadian appeal stinks IMHO. Maybe the players didn’t say “hey, let’s get a drone!” But they benefited. They got coaching on how to defend certain corners or restarts, or suggestions about tactics. To claim they didn’t is ignorant. Adams says “everyone spies” but that doesn’t mean everyone has drones and is sneaking people in the stadiums for closed practices. It means that you talk to players who used to be on that roster. Or consult coaches whose teams just played them. Or “open source” (what media are saying about the team). Or you having someone looking at player’s social media to see any hints about who’s taking longer to recover from their injuries. My personal take on Adams’ response is that it’s an effort to head off a follow up to “well, did the US know (yes) and if so, why didn’t you do anything about it?”
Let us never forget Marcelo Bielsa having a press conference where he admits to spying on Lampard’s Derby (and every other Championship opponent), but also breaking down how much he knew about them without even spying.
Nonetheless, when a team has a closed practice, it’s closed and trying to sneak in and observe them is at least unsportsmanlike, and more likely against competitive rules.
The US Women’s Rugby 7s team lost the semifinal match to New Zealand 24-12. They will face Australia in the Bronze Medal match while New Zealand will face Canada in the Gold Medal match. The Bronze Medal Match is at 1PM EDT.
The US WOMEN’S RUGBY 7S TAKE BRONZE! They beat Australia 14-12 with literally the last play of the game they score a try right under the posts and convert it from dead-on. First time the US has medaled in Women’s 7s.
I don’t know much about rugby, but it basically was like a running back trucking a linebacker at the line of scrimmage and taking it 95 yards to the house. Pretty great!
Rugby 7s is to 15s what 9/8/6-man American Football is to 11-man American Football. 7s is played on the same size field as 15s. Some of the rules are different for rucks, line-outs, and other set piece opportunities as well as dramatically shorter halves and games.
Correction its the first Olympic medal in either Men’s or Women’s 7s Rugby for the US.
Kevin Paredes scores for the USA, and Griffin Yow has been getting plaudits for his play. USA up 2-0 over Guinea at halftime.
Paredes with a brace!
There was a thread!
https://usa.rugby/news/usa-rugby-announces-transformative-gift-from-kyniscas-michelle-kang-2024730
Michelle Kang donating $4 mil over the next 4 years to USA Women’s 7s Rugby to help grow the sport. To help prepare for LA 2028.