MLS

Three Thoughts: Chugging along - Stumptown Footy
On finding "the guys", apologies, and margins of error.

Midseason grades: Progress report for Western Conference teams so far | MLSSoccer.com
We’re officially past the midway point of the season in terms of total games played in the 2022 regular season, and 27 of the 28 teams in MLS have played at least half their schedule (c’mon, D.C., please keep up), which means it's time to hand out some midseason grades

Toronto FC is maximizing its Lorenzo Insigne marketing opportunity - Waking The Red
As they should be.

Alejandro Pozuelo traded to Inter Miami - Waking The Red
The Spaniard leaves Toronto FC with 100 appearances in all competitions to his name.

Power Ranking Averages - Week 17&18 (7/7/22) - RSL Soapbox
Double week for MLS. Loons up, Dynamo down.

other men’s club soccer

Premier League pushes ahead with plans to launch its first NFT collection despite collapse in market | iNews
An insider with knowledge of the situation says the collection is likely to be released later in the year if all 20 clubs agree to a launch.

New rules bolster ALM clubs’ firepower in hunt to sign top talent - KEEPUP
That's good money for a fringe starter from MLS

Quarterly Report – How does your team rate at the midway point of the season?
The USL Championship leaders include classic powers Lou City and Tampa Bay, joined by Sounders San Antonio

League One Player of the Month Nominees – June
Irvin Parra, former S2 player, is up for League One recognition.

Women’s club soccer

Birmingham City FC Women’s Marcus Bignot receives seven match touchline ban | The FA
The coach was charged by The FA with misconduct in relation to a comment he made during a FA WSL fixture against Tottenham Hotspur Women FC.

United States national teams

2022 Concacaf W Championship: USA 5-0 Jamaica - a solid performance seals win number two in Group A - Stars and Stripes FC
Nothing could stop the Americans in this one

USMNT midfielder Luca de la Torre set to sign for LaLiga's Celta Vigo - sources
U.S. midfielder Luca de la Torre is on the brink of a transfer to La Liga side Celta de Vigo for a fee of around $2m, sources have told ESPN.

U.S. Soccer suspends former Toledo coach's license following sexual misconduct allegations - The Athletic
Following a report from The Guardian concerning alleged sexual misconduct from former University of Toledo head coach Brad Evans, USSF confirmed they have taken a number of immediate actions.

other international soccer

WAFCON 2022: Zambian Barbra Banda ruled out over 'gender eligibility' issues - BBC Sport
Zambia captain Barbra Banda has been ruled out of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations after failing gender eligibility tests.

England 1-0 Austria: Lionesses get off to winning Euro 2022 start - BBC Sport
A record crowd witnessed Beth Mead lead England over Austria to start Euro 2022.

England women discuss ditching white shorts due to period concerns
Exclusive: Players have spoken to Nike about switching because 'white is not practical when it’s the time of the month,' says Beth Mead

2022 Concacaf W Championship match recap: Haïti 3, México 0 - FMF State Of Mind
A second straight shutout all but ends México’s hope to play in the 2023 World Cup.

On VAR’s rough start at Concacaf qualifying, and the need to stop dangerous plays – Equalizer Soccer
The Concacaf W Championship has not disappointed in its competition and action... however, that’s not the case for VAR.

Puget Sound soccer

Megan Rapinoe Pays Tribute to Brittney Griner With White House Outfit - Sports Illustrated
Rapinoe showed support for Brittney Griner as she was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Wenatchee boys soccer teams create GoFundMes to attend national tournaments | Local News | wenatcheeworld.com
WENATCHEE — Three Wenatchee boys soccer teams have qualified for national tournaments. Now, the teams are raising funds to attend them.

Puget Sound stuff Dave likes

The Hottest New Restaurants in the Seattle Area, July 2022
Some of the best new restaurants in the Seattle area

Release: Hatback Bar & Grille and Steelheads Alley 7/7/22

The Social and Emotional Benefits of Playing Online Games - Take This
Written prior to the pandemic, it is more true now

Narrative Character Creation in 5th edition | Full Moon Storytelling
Changeup character creation to follow the way they lived their life before, and the story comes naturally.

What to Watch

There’s a massive amount of women’s international soccer to watch this weekend.

Women’s Euros are on ESPN platforms. Concacaf W Championship is on Paramount+/ViX/Facebook Live. Africa Women Cup of Nations is on FuboTV. Copa América Femenina is on FOX platforms.

Friday

5:00 PM PT — Racing Louisville FC vs NJ/NY Gotham FC on Paramount+. This mid-table matchup is is the better of the two NWSL matches on the day, but both teams will be missing a number of key players.

7:00 PM PT — LAFC vs LA Galaxy on ESPN/ESPN Deportes. El Traffico is a 1 v 4 faceoff.

7:00 PM PT — Panama WNT vs Canada WNT on Paramount+/ViX. Two more OL Reign players could help secure their country a spot for Australia/New Zealand 2023.

Saturday

10:00 AM PT — New York City FC vs New England Revolution on UniMas/TUDN/Twitter. Someone has to win the East, even if one these teams had a coach quit already.

1:30 PM PT — Seattle Sounders FC vs Portland Timbers on FOX and FOX Deportes, if you cannot be in the stadium. Go us and #BeatPortland.

6:30 PM PT — El Paso Locomotive vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks on ESPN+. Massive match between teams that need wins to get homefield in the playoffs.

7:00 PM PT — FC Tucson vs Northern Colorado Hailstorm on ESPN+. With Kinzner moving to Tucson and Danny Robles starting for Hailstorm you’ll be familiar with a few players.

7:30 PM PT — Angel City vs San Diego Wave on Paramount+. This should be a solid atmosphere for two teams targeting the playoffs in their expansion seasons.

Sunday

3:00 PM PT — OL Reign vs Portland Thorns at Lumen Field or on Twitch. Go us and #BeatPortland.

7:00 PM PT — Portland Timbers II vs Tacoma Defiance on MLSNextPro.com. This Game of the Week is at Hillsboro Stadium (that means they have more than the 1 bad camera). It’s hard to put T2’s failures into perspective — they earn 0.54 PPM with a -22 goal differential.