Seattle soccer

Postseason Preview: Seattle Sounders FC — American Soccer Analysis

Find all the hidden meanings in the Seattle Sounders' 2018 team illustration | Seattle Sounders FC
The Sounders break down all the references in that wonderful poster.

Puget Sound culture & news

From little kid to president of the company, Wizards of the Coast leader stays in the ever-evolving game – GeekWire
RENTON, Wash. — There’s something special about a workplace where you meet with the president of the company, ask to take his photograph and then watch as he voluntarily positions his head beneath the claws of a giant dragon.

Solaris to Publish New Suns, an Anthology Edited by Nisi Shawl | Tor.com

Exclusive: The Athletic raises $40 million in new funding round - Axios
The digital sports franchise has raised a total of $70 million

Seattle appears in print for the first time on October 30, 1852. - HistoryLink.org

MLS

Playoff Previews

Postseason Preview: Philadelphia Union — American Soccer Analysis
Is this the year that the Philadelphia Union break through? That is the big question on the minds of the Union faithful. In their nine seasons the team has reached the MLS Cup playoffs three times and matched that with three US Open Cup Final appearances, but they’ve collected a record of 0 wins and 6 losses in those pivotal moments.

Postseason Preview: FC Dallas — American Soccer Analysis
Dallas have stabilized from last season’s epic collapse, enough to challenge for the top of the Western Conference and position themselves well in a wide open landscape. They would have been in in pole position for first-place had they not lost 3-0 to Sporting KC in Week 33.

Postseason Preview: LAFC — American Soccer Analysis
In one year of existence, Los Angeles Football Club have earned my respect, not my disdain. From the very beginning this club has seemed to do everything right, from their ownership group, to their colors, to their stadium, to their manager and then their roster construction — everything has come together very well to this point.

Postseason Preview: NYCFC — American Soccer Analysis
Domènec Torrent is a fraud. Just four months ago, when he took over New York City Football Club midseason from Patrick Vieira, the Catalan coach was hailed as some kind of tactical savant, fresh off a decade seated at the right hand of Pep the Father Almighty and come down to MLS to save us all.

Yankee Stadium Entry and Carry-In Policy | New York Yankees
This means they won’t allow costumes or masks on Halloween

Postseason Preview: Real Salt Lake — American Soccer Analysis
After an encouraging 2017 featuring the emergence of a handful of exciting young talent, Real Salt Lake seemed poised to take a step forward in 2018. Technically they did, by making the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, courtesy of an epic collapse from the LA Galaxy. RSL found themselves in that precarious position thanks to a lot of inconsistency.

Postseason Preview: Atlanta United FC — American Soccer Analysis
We joke about it. Atlanta has become the Marcia Brady of Major League Soccer and while that’s annoying to most all of us, it’s also not undeserved. This talented team has not only assembled a rare grouping of talent but they’ve been able to build upon their first season and grow to become a giant in this league.

Postseason Preview: Sporting Kansas City — American Soccer Analysis
Spoiler alert: Over the course of the last eight seasons, from 2011 to 2018, we’ve collected shot data. We have a lot of spreadsheets. And if you asked me for one specific thing, one stat that stood out among those very large “csv” files, pertaining to Sporting Kansas City, I’d tell you this; Peter Vermes and his teams have a +88 expected goal differential dating back to 2011, not only the highest in Major League Soccer during that span but also the highest by almost 30 goals.

Postseason Preview: Portland Timbers — American Soccer Analysis
It would not be inaccurate to describe Gio Saverse’s first season in Portland as a roller coaster. After going winless in their first 5 games, Portland went on a 15 game unbeaten streak in which they got good results but weren’t actually playing great soccer. Playing in a 4-3-2-1, the product was effective but not pretty.

Home teams have an advantage in MLS knockout round games. Can the Portland Timbers beat the odds? | OregonLive.com
Analytics website FiveThirtyEight predicts that the Timbers only have a 35 percent chance of winning Wednesday in their knockout round road game against Dallas. Home teams have won in 15 of 20 knockout round games since MLS instituted the knockout round format in 2011. Can the Timbers beat the odds?

Postseason Preview: Columbus Crew SC — American Soccer Analysis
We saved the Crew! In a way I don’t even care about the playoffs, we saved the Crew! For the last year, the team and the fanbase have been in an existential fight to save the Crew from being ripped ripped from Columbus and moved to Austin. This fact hung over everything in the Columbus Crew universe.

Postseason Preview: DC United — American Soccer Analysis
D.C. United are one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer. In one of the most incredible turnarounds in MLS history, D.C. have gone from Eastern Conference cellar dwellers to clinching a playoff spot. You have to go all the way back to August 26th (two months ago!) to find their last loss.

Postseason Preview: RBNY — American Soccer Analysis
The New York Red Bulls have enjoyed an excellent season. They are second in the league and have grabbed the highest number of points in the club history. They surely have an eye on the biggest prize. The Red Bulls are famous for their high pressing approach and frenetic pace.

General news

Vancouver Whitecaps End 2018 Season with a Flame War at Final Media Presser - Eighty Six Forever
The Vancouver Whitecaps held their year-end presser this afternoon, and it was…interesting.

Whitecaps season officially concludes with more drama, finger-pointing and questions about future – The Province
Season officially concluded in spectacular conflagration of accusations, tears, revelations and trade demands.

Whitecaps captain Kendall Waston reiterates desire to leave club - Sportsnet.ca
The Whitecaps captain lobbed some grenades in his end-of-season press conference.

Maple Leaf Forever! » Alphonso Davies, Little Fish, Big Ponds

How Eliminating Homegrown Territories Will Change Atlanta United and MLS Forever - Dirty South Soccer
A game changer for young talented players across the city and the US

Brandon Vincent Is Retiring From Soccer - Hot Time In Old Town
The announcement took Chicago Fire fans by surprise.

Expansion/relocation

Nashville MLS Appoints First General Manager

NWSL and women’s leagues

She was rejected from a USSF coaching course. Now, she’s a rare American woman with a UEFA ‘A’ license – Equalizer Soccer

Grainey’s W-League Review for Week 1 – Equalizer Soccer

Next gen won't need to worry about this... - The Women's Game - For the love of the game
Women's players, including Seattle Reign FC's Jasmyne Spencer, discuss the difficulty of playing in two different leagues each year.

United States National Teams

Best Young American Players FIFA 19: The Top 20 List
Looking for some talent in Career Mode? Here's a list of the top 20 best young American players FIFA 19, including their ratings and potential growth.

Former USWNT callup Chioma Ubogagu named to England roster - Stars and Stripes FC
Dual national Ubogagu didn’t appear to be much on Jill Ellis’ radar, and is now headed to England.

World soccer

Home | FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Bid
Australia want you to #GetOnside for their 2023 Women's World Cup bid.

The Get-Rich-Quick Scheme That Almost Killed a German Soccer Team - Bloomberg

Julen Lopetegui’s tenure at Real Madrid was doomed as quickly as it began - SBNation.com
Julen Lopetegui getting fired from Spain and Real Madrid in four and a half months is shocking. Why it happened is very simple. Lopetegui getting fired from Spain and Real Madrid in four and a half months is shocking. Why it happened is very simple.

FIFA braced for release of private info after cyberattack, hacking | SI.com
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is braced for a release of private information gained by hackers.

Leicester City, and the strange relationship of football and grief - SBNation.com
Tactically Naive looks back at a tragic weekend in the Premier League.