Seattle

ESPN The Body Issue 2018
This year’s body issue features Seattle Super Sports Couple Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe hangin’ out in their birthday suits. Also check out the Zlatan and Crystal Dunn shoots while you’re over there.

Meet Seattle sports’ newest power couple: Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe | The Seattle Times
Speaking of Rapinoe and Bird, the Seattle Times would like to tell you more.

The Club Partnerships program intends to provide a clear pathway to MLS for young talent, and it's proven to be successful | Seattle Sounders FC
The Sounders now have six official youth club partners, and they are encouraged by the program so far.

Emerald City Supporters - Pride 2018 - Sounders Belong Here
A short statement on the Pride Week tifo.

Donovan and Dempsey are co-leading goal scorers - Stars and Stripes FC
Dempsey just wants to score goals and go fishing.

Black Queens Captain Elizabeth Addo Named Seattle Reign's MVP In Defeat To NC Courage
Outlets in Ghana are paying attention to Elizabeth Addo’s success in NWSL.

Reign Academy U-15 win opening match in U.S. Soccer DA playoffs
The young Reign are a step close to glory.

Scouting Arlington’s Haller Stadium as a possible home for the Steelheads – Snohomish County Football Club
Snohomish County FC continue their search for a home stadium.

Major League Soccer

Precourt Sports Venture may begin looking at other cities for Crew SC - Massive Report
Not great news for #SaveTheCrew

United States

OFFSIDE REMARKS: Birth of a sportswriting career many years ago - Front Row Soccer
The story of a long career in American soccer writing.

Eric Lichaj signs for Hull City - Stars and Stripes FC
The fullback leaves Nottingham Forest for English Championship rival.

World Cup

2018 World Cup: TV viewership down 44 percent from 2014 in US
Drop appears to be due mostly to the lack of U.S. presence.

World Cup Ratings: Mexico Big Again on Telemundo - Sports Media Watch
Mexico continues to drive World Cup ratings, with El Tri’s win over South Korea one of the ten most-watched World Cup matches ever on Spanish-language TV.

2026 World Cup Venues (Part 1): Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton - Waking The Red
2026 World Cup Venues (Part 2): Olympic Stadium, Montreal - Waking The Red
Looking ahead to 2026, Waking the Red consider the logistics.

Reign Academy U-15 win opening match in U.S. Soccer DA playoffs

Diego Costa doesn't fit Spain style, but sometimes they need a battering ram
Diego Costa has always seemed an odd fit with Spain, a blunt instrument in a team full of scalpels, but he is very important in Russia.

Politics Ensnare Mohamed Salah and Switzerland at the World Cup - The New York Times
Salah was said to be considering retiring from Egypt over interactions with a Chechen politician, and two Swiss players caused a firestorm by displaying an Albanian symbol.

FIFA knew about the cover-up of Russia player’s positive drug test 18 months ago | Daily Mail Online
FIFA and World Cup hosts Russia are plunged into fresh doping turmoil, as The Mail on Sunday reveal new evidence of state-sponsored doping and cover-ups.

Colombia vs. Poland result: Final score 3-0, James Rodriguez keeps his team’s World Cup hopes alive - SBNation.com
James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado and Radamel Falcao were on the top of their game.

Harry Kane is England’s World Cup superstar, and also a massive normie - SBNation.com
England’s captain and two-goal hero against Tunisia just wants to walk his dogs and play golf.

World Cup 2018: Argentina player revolt was inevitable - SBNation.com
There was always going to be a mutiny.

England World Cup Group stage tiebreaker scenarios may come down to fair play - SBNation.com
Losing on purpose is bad. But kicking people on purpose? Hey, at least it’s not match fixing.

More

American Rocco Commisso reportedly interested in buying AC Milan - The AC Milan Offside
Ownership is up in the air after Yonghong Li missed a payment & Elliott Management is set to take over.

Zsa Zsa, the English bulldog, wins World’s Ugliest Dog title - The Boston Globe
A 9-year-old English bulldog was named the winner of the 2018 World’s Ugliest Dog contest in the San Francisco Bay Area. Wide load coming through!

Club Statement
Sheffield Ladies Team Withdrawn From FA Women's Championship

Football In Polish Art After 1989: From Zbigniew Libera To Marcin Dudek | Article | Culture.pl
The theme of football has been present in art in independent Poland as early as 1921 – from the very start of the country’s national football league. But how did art about football transform as the years progressed?

Thousands Of Bourbon Barrels Crash To Ground In Distillery Collapse – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

* single tear *

Iranian women must taste freedom in football
Open Stadiums has worked for 13 years to force a change in Iran's policy toward women in football stadiums, yet the gates remain closed to Iranian women.

The Starostin brothers: After 75 years, Russia has finally declassified a case against four soccer legends accused of plotting to assassinate Stalin — Meduza
The Soviet authorities tried to convict these brothers — now legends of Russian soccer — of plotting to assassinate Joseph Stalin at the 1937 May Day Parade in a series of terrorist attacks.