No divisions, balanced schedule, top 4 teams are in the playoffs, seeded accordingly. Read more

Importance of formations is to a large extent overblown. Just like in any sport, you want to find a way to get all of your best players on the field at the same time. In (american) football, that could mean playing a 3-4 instead of a 4-3 defense. Read more

First of all, I guess that 90% of fans do not know or do not care about the nitty-gritty details. You can still enjoy the game if you don't get it. Read more

Except the advice given is EXACTLY how I got into Soccer. Being of German descent I started getting into Soccer around 2002, and loved the German National team. I for many years claimed I only watched the World Cup...soon ESPN started marketing the UEFA Euro Cup, and started to support Germany in that competition as… Read more

Quick Background: I'm from the US. In my mid-30s. Played soccer till I was 10 and then had to choose hoops or soccer (in CA they're both winter sports). Chose hoops for many of the same familial/regional reasons that people my age relate to. In my 20s fell in love with watching soccer. I watch a lot of it. A LOT. Like… Read more

My heart weeps for the person in Havre, Montana who is not allowed to support any club. There are no clubs in Havre, Montana. You're only allowed to like clubs from your city. Ergo, tough shit, people from Havre, you are not allowed to like soccer. And then when you say that soccer fans are arrogant dickheads who… Read more

I recently read a book (several, actually) about Scottish football. One of the features of Scottish football is that there are a lot of people complaining that people should support their local clubs instead of the big clubs (mostly Celtic and Rangers) that most Scots support. Read more

The United States will cultivate far more soccer fans watching high quality soccer than by watching MLS players play at a level equivalent of the 3rd or 4th divisions of England, Spain or Italy. Read more

You just described the NFL in America. The American attitude towards soccer is different than other countries, but not towards sports as a whole. Soccer is an emerging game in our country, much like American football is in European countries. I'd venture a guess that the good people of Scotland are rooting for the… Read more

It's something that the working class uses as an escape from their shitty every day lives. It means a lot to them. Read more

The sad irony of this, of course, is that Taylor's death had at least as much to do with him being a millionaire who lived in a big house as it had to do with him being a young black man. That is to say, the guys were robbing the house because it was big and they figured there'd be lots of valuable shit in it. … Read more

One could argue that Pete King and MMQB, the de facto media arm of the NFL, failed as badly as Goodell on this issue. Maybe Pete should resign. Read more

I thought it was kind of crazy that Derek Jeter's "Goodbye Letter/Full Page Ad" to NYC was also branded with the Gatorade G.

Definitely less consequential, but in the older version, the paragraph starting with "On the first Sunday of the NFL season" included A.Q. Shipley as one of the people Rice had invited over to his house to watch the game. Read more

Interesting, this article differs in some pretty significant ways from the passages from the story that Bob Ley read on Outside The Lines prior to the story being officially published. Among other things, the report Ley read on air appeared to confirm the AP report of the NFL having received a copy. There's also… Read more

At first you're infuriated by his attitude and the way he dresses, then you notice time after time he comes through with winning pieces (both long and short). You may find him worthless, but a closer look reveals he's surrounded by tone-deaf cohorts who weaken the overall experience. I am not all that familiar with… Read more

Crap - the one night I opt out of watching the Yankees game. Read more