All threads are temporary. This one's about soccer.

[Nonlinear FC]

Any guesses who the 3 overaged American players will be?

Obviously total guesses, but you have to filter out guys that are 100 percent going to play in the Copa and then kind of think about where you get the most bang for your buck.

So, IMO, you get the most reward with solid, veteran type guys along the backline, or maybe someone playing a holding, defensive midfielder type and you get a similar pop with a striker that can threaten and press younger backlines. The roster, coincidentally, is light in both of these positions.

So, depending on how you rank our Centerbacks... I would say Walker Zimmerman isn't going to be in big boy camp and... McKenzie who is now playing for Genk. There's also Trusty, who partnered with McKenzie in Philly. Miles Robinson, maybe?

Up top, if you use the last full team camp, it looks like Pepi is 3rd in line behind Wright (who is having a career year at Coventry) and Balogun (who isn't in great form, so I could see this being controversial). I can also see Sargent getting the nod here... All depends on what GGG does for the CA.

Some teams like to put a veteran GK in this tournament, but with Slolina in form, just seems like a real waste of a great learning experience for a guy that is going to be in the mix in 2028.

[Shirley]

I didn't realize the USA was in the group with France. I like that, because I have tickets to a France game in Nice. Maybe it'll be the US game!

I'm pretty sure the schedule is out.

ETA - Yephttps://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/football

Oh, that's right. I forgot that I saw that before. I just didn't know what "ICP Winner" was. I still don't really know.

[Nonlinear FC]

Given degen's posts, I think it's something like Inter-Confederation Playoff winner or something like that.

[degenerasian]

Given degen's posts, I think it's something like Inter-Confederation Playoff winner or something like that.

yes exactly that. Indonesia versus Guinea on Tuesday. The winner will be playing in front of Shirley in Nice!

[wlu_lax6]

Paris Hilton's brother is 45 years old. He is an investor in Lank Vilaverdense (Liga Portugal 2). They put him on the field in a game yesterday. They lost 1-0. They are 18th in the table...out of 18. Guess he will be an investor in a Liga 3 team next year.

[DaveInSeattle]

From Josh Gondelman's newsletter....this guy was on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" this past weekend. He makes tiny sculptures out of gum wrappers. This one is of World Cup moments.

[degenerasian]

Guinea win the playoff 1-0. They had much of the better chances.

The Olympic groups are set

Group A: France, USA, Guinea, New Zealand
Group B: Argentina, Morocco, Iraq, Ukraine
Group C: Uzbekistan, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic
Group D: Japan, Paraguay, Mali, Israel

[tennbengal]

[Baloney]

[Shirley]

Oh please do force a DNA test to confirm that it's the wrong twin.

[degenerasian]

They have the same DNA.

[The Sybian]

They have the same DNA.

There are differences in DNA in identical twins. There are mutations in genes after they split. They also have different finger prints and teeth prints.

[Shirley]

They have the same DNA.

That's why I want them to use that test. It would just make the story funnier.

[degenerasian]

They have the same DNA.

There are differences in DNA if identical twins. There are mutations in genes after they split. They also have different finger prints and teeth prints.

Darn, I was totally planning for one girl to take all the exams for the other.

[wlu_lax6]

Israel's SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv have set a world record for the longest ever penalty shootout with 56 kicks.

[degenerasian]

"Honey, we'll leave after this penalty shootout".

[degenerasian]

Leverkusen are down 2-0 to Atalanta at halftime of the Europa League Final. They have not lost any game all season.

[mister d]

Look man, it was a good run.

[Rex]

I always liked Ademola Lookman, thought Everton gave up on him way too soon.

[DaveInSeattle]

Look man, it was a good run.

The third Atalanta goal was a banger...

We leave for Italy on Saturday, and just realized that Fiorentina (Florence, IT) is in the Europa Conference League final next week against Olympiacos. Unfortunately, we are leaving Florence on Wednesday and will be in Bologna that night.

And I'm going to need to find a place in Parma to watch the Champions League final.

[sancarlos]

Surprising!

[wlu_lax6]

Wayne Rooney can be described like my feet ...in Argyle.

[wlu_lax6]

It would be Man U winning an upset FA Cup final after an 8th place epl finish so TH getting replaced talk is more debatable.

[Shirley]

It would be Man U winning an upset FA Cup final after an 8th place epl finish so TH getting replaced talk is more debatable.

Knocked Chelsea to the Europa Conference League. Thanks for nothing, City.

[wlu_lax6]

Two interesting items..at least to me
1.) ESPN Has one on Manchester winning the Fenix cup (not City or United)
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/ ... red-europe

2.) Greenland has applied for membership to Concacaf....Looking forward to the MiB take on this one.

[Nonlinear FC]

I'm way too lazy to figure this out... is CONCACAF the region with the most non-independent country teams? I feel like with the Caribbean countries and then if we get Greenland, we have a shitload of non-country members.

I'm all about letting them in, btw. Fuck yes. I want that jersey. (Still pissed I couldn't procure a Bonaire jersey back in the day.)

[wlu_lax6]

I'm way too lazy to figure this out... is CONCACAF the region with the most non-independent country teams? I feel like with the Caribbean countries and then if we get Greenland, we have a shitload of non-country members.

I'm all about letting them in, btw. Fuck yes. I want that jersey. (Still pissed I couldn't procure a Bonaire jersey back in the day.)

It looks like 6 of 41 are non-independent. Bonaire, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Sint Maarten are Concacaf but not FIFA. Greenland is prospective member. Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Jersey are all aspiring members. Quebec once announced they were going to try to join. Saba and Sin Eustatius are like Bonaire but have not shown interest.
4 of 13 in Oceania are non-independent American Samoa, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Tahiti

[degenerasian]

That was as crap a final today as you'll ever see. This competition sucks for 3 years now.

Bring back the Cup Winners Cup!

[wlu_lax6]

Lyon Women's reserves are training with my local club this week and playing a few friendlies.

[sancarlos]

I was at the periodontist this morning for surgery (bone graft, etc., in prep for a needed dental implant.) I know the doctor slightly and asked about his weekend (He’s Swedish). “I got to play soccer and watch soccer, so it was a good weekend.” I told him I’ve become a fan, and said I was sad Real Madrid beat Dortmund in the final. Hoo boy, that got him going! (He agreed). For an hour, with my face half numb, while he poked and gouged in my mouth, he kept up a running monologue about soccer. When I came up for air, I told him about the upcoming local friendly between Chelsea and Wrexham. He hadn’t heard, and I think he was going to go buy tickets as soon as he finished with me.

So I’ve got a new soccer friend, which will make conversation easy over the next couple sessions.

[HaulCitgo]

Say Word FC greensboro NC got two back after being down 0-3 but lost today and out. TST 7v7 soccer tournament, NC.

I dont know what you have to do to get an invite to the womens tournament but only 8 teams and the winner gets $1M. Has to be better than what most all womens soccer players get in a year for light work on a long weekend

[wlu_lax6]

His wife got a new job in Baltimore and he said "it was my turn to take one for the team career-wise."

But, yes, it's wild that a guy that built a national contender had to step away from the program. Goes to show how little (relatively speaking) those folks get paid.

Think there is a little bit more about the story (probably no different than others). One of the volunteer assistants is a classmate/friend. My buddy says the applicant pool has been pretty strong for the gig.

And yes Lexington may not be the best place to raise kids (public school system forces lots of faculty to send kids to boarding options), but you are not getting run out for wins and losses. You get good budget and facilities for a d3 school. The best thing is the faculty benefit of tuition coverage for your kids at W&L and other places.

Not the word I'd use.

Fair point...

So W&L hires coach from Kalamazoo. My buddy is not impressed. Hiring from a less than competitive conference, different academic standards, not national/international recruiting, and really not many >.500 seasons. I have no clue if he is a good hire but the resume is not what I expected. Was wondering if the they would have gone with the kid of the coach when I was there (played at Va Tech, coached at W&L, Carnegie Melon, and head coach now at Wilkes).

More importantly swamp derby opener as JHU visits W&L to kick off the season this year.

[Nonlinear FC]

Hopkins' out of conference schedule is brutal this fall. Not to get too deep in the weeds, but they are changing how they do rankings and this is likely the last year a team like Hopkins will load up like this on their non-conference games. Right now, strength of schedule is probably overweighted, going forward it's going to be more like the Pairwise, which brings in other factors and levels things out a bit more.

[HaulCitgo]

https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/sergio ... 8211e6cdb7

Fun stuff and jj watt. Free stream no TV think.

[wlu_lax6]

https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/sergio ... 8211e6cdb7

Fun stuff and jj watt. Free stream no TV think.

ESPN+ is also covering.

[Baloney]

Preliminary rounds of Champions League & Europa Leagues have begun.

[wlu_lax6]

This is a crazy story
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/564081 ... ed-article

[The Sybian]

This is a crazy story
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/564081 ... ed-article

Fucking Failing NY Times lets me read long enough to get interested than pay walls me. I have a NYT subscription, but not Athletic.

[wlu_lax6]

This is a crazy story
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/564081 ... ed-article

Fucking Failing NY Times lets me read long enough to get interested than pay walls me. I have a NYT subscription, but not Athletic.

Check you PM. Sent you a 30 day guest pass

[DaveInSeattle]

Another wild soccer story...with gift links.

A double life: The cocaine kingpin who hid as a professional soccer player

Over the next two years, the reasons would become clear. Sebastián Marset, it turned out, was among the most important drug traffickers in South America, and one of the key figures behind a surge of cocaine arriving in Western Europe, according to Latin American, U.S. and European investigators.

Instead of hiding from authorities, he had used his fortune to purchase and sponsor soccer teams across Latin America and in Europe. U.S. and South American investigators would learn that he was using those teams to help launder millions in drug proceeds.

Along the way, Marset, now 33, deployed his power and wealth to fulfill a boyhood dream: He inserted himself into the starting lineups.

And part two:

As a trafficker pursued dreams of soccer glory, investigators closed in

As they watched the passengers, one of the men in line stood out. His tattoos matched the ones they had heard about on wiretaps of cartel members. When he was asked for his identification, the man took out a Bolivian passport. The agents were immediately sure the document was false. They searched his biometric data, and the name of an Uruguayan national popped up. Sebastián Marset.

“When we heard the name ‘Marset,’ we wondered: ‘Who is this guy?’” recalled a senior Paraguayan official. “The first thing we did was Google him and the first hit was this soccer player.”

The agents saw that their target had until recently been a midfielder on Deportivo Capiatá, a team that played not far from their rented office. Marset had used his wealth and power to fulfill a boyhood dream of playing professional soccer, even though his skills fell far short of the level required.