Spirit Defeat Vancouver Youth Team, Hot Sauce in England Issues, and More: Thursday Freedom Kicks
Instead of greeting the day, I’d just like to say to the person who apparently caused trouble at the Spirit game last night in section 127 during the Free DC chant, and was quickly removed by security: We’re gonna win this fight.
On to the news!
Washington Spirit prevailed in what has to be viewed as a respectable result for the Vancouver based youth side.
WAPO decided to cover it, too, here’s what they said
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/09/03/washington-spirit-vancouver-rise-w-champions-cup
Loudoun United’s Arquímides Ordóñez called up by Guatemala– USL Championship
No doubt about it, he’s a talent.
Ugh. As much as I’d like to find a way to entice more commitment and more disciplined performances from the likes of McKennie, I don’t think adding Roldan as competition is it.
USMNT transfer grades: Turner, Reyna, Weah and all moves– ESPN
ESPN has thoughts on how individual player transfers should be perceived in the context of the USMNT
How USWNT stars adapt to life in England: Roundabouts, sheepherding, hot sauce– ESPN
Girma is very grateful to Cat Macario for the roundabout instructions, but that doesn’t mean she’s sharing her imported personal hot sauce supply. No-sir-ee.
World Cup’s dynamic pricing model lays bare Fifa’s singular motive: profit, at all costs-The Guardian
I mean, they did ticket offerings based off shady NFTs, no one is surprised by this. That said, FIFA still sucks.
The Bundesliga’s deal with Mark Goldbridge is odd, and exactly what MLS is missing with Apple– The Guardian
This author argues that the Bundesliga’s alliance with a youtuber is better for viewership numbers than what MLS has with Apple. But that’s silly. Anything is better for viewership numbers than what MLS has with Apple. I did chortle at Garber’s “The media and pundits just don’t get it yet” quote. Yes, I guess everyone else is myopically deluded, and that’s why we think it stinks. Right.
What the MLS CBA says about suspensions after Luis Suarez’s spitting incident in Seattle– CBS
CBS muses on MLS rules, and ponders a world where there might be consequences for Miami players and staff behaving badly. It should be noted, no punishment has been announced for the Sunday atrocities. It’s Thursday.
Alex Morgan opens up about modern motherhood, life after soccer and baby No. 2– ABC
Alex Morgan can’t stop, won’t stop being a positive advocate for what she feels are iniquities, and she often does it by making herself accessible to the press.
That’s all I’ve got! One up me in the comments, and have a great sporting day!
I took a closer look at the ESPN author’s take on Cardoso, and his incredulous response to the player not being ahead of some MLS options.
Sorry, dude, that’s how bad he’s been for the national team when given opportunities. He’s dreadful in a US shirt, and it’s a mystery why there’s that big of a drop off, but it’s undeniable.
Fans of his own (former) team seemed to suggest he was more of a cog in a good midfield than an important piece. My favorite part of his take was “Athletico has been poor, and Cardoso has played every game”, followed by questioning his exclusion from the national team.
I actually believe Roldan will be more reliable for the team than any of the other options behind Adams. They’ve all been pretty bad, so it might not be saying much. McKennie should not be counted on as a DM either… he’s just not disciplined enough to act as a screen for our backline.
You know, I was gonna counter with a DM behind Adams who outclasses Roldan, and you know what, gotta say, you have a point. That is, however, an incredible indictment of our DM depth rather than an endorsement of Roldan, who I’ve never rated remotely as good enough.
This is an interesting quote from the USWNT article:
Not sure how my own soccer team would fare with this task haha
Not sure if you were referring to United or the Spirit here (or both), but I feel like out of everyone else on the team, Schnegg would be good at doing this.
This thought experiment led me to think of Russell Canouse, and now I’m sad
Take me back to 2017/2018 and let me see a video of Russ, Paul, and Zoltan teaming up to herd sheep. Maybe throw Fred Brillant on that team too.
Arriola is basically a human sheep dog. Great shout
If the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs started today – Matchday 32
If the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs started today, a lot of people would be surprised, and a lot of fans would be realy pissed off because their teams best players have been called up to national teams for the international break. But, leave it to MLS to ignore all that and play on.
If they didn’t we’d be playing well into December and potentially into January with the current playoff format.