No better way to ring in the start of spooky season than with the possibility of watching Anthony Precourt lift the US Open Cup trophy

West Ham might never win on the pitch but at least they’ve twice this transfer window forced Fabrizio Romano to delete incorrect “here we go” posts in shame. Would be avoiding relegation if they got points for that

Perfect for Walmart, zero locations in NYC, to sponsor a Men In Blazers event ostensibly about “celebrating New York soccer” with a slate of Red Bull players/staff, a Knick from NJ, another Knick known for being a Villanova Guy. Bridge and Tunnel Night and at NYC’s worst venue, Terminal 5, too

Revisiting this interview with Maxime Chanot I conducted not too long after he left NYCFC. Will be watching to see how his coaching career progresses now that he’s hung up the boots, natural leader who wears it all on his sleeve www.hudsonriverblue.com/maxime-chano...

Meanwhile the handful of bitter Astoria business owners suing to stop the bike lane try to argue that installing said bike lane will make the road, currently too sketchy for the next mayor to bike on, more dangerous for cyclists. Make it make sense (it doesn't/they simply love illegal parking)

Drivers kill pedestrians + cyclists in Astoria on the regular, children included, but an aggrieved group of businesses is suing to block NYC Dept of Transportation from making street safety improvements b/c they don’t want a bike lane installed to disrupt some of their free parking

I chose wisely in our @hudsonriverblue.com Leagues Cup preview when picking a non-NYCFC must-watch match from Phase One, this was pure cinema (minus some terrible fan behavior) www.hudsonriverblue.com/hrb-roundtab...

Does he know? Applies for both really

9,384 the announced crowd at Sports Illustrated Stadium for Puebla 3-0 NYCFC. 1 hour, 54 minute return trip door to door via PATH and a local N train, Harrison to Astoria. All valuable Leagues Cup statistics I think

Bring back Gawker (again)

Cole Palmer showing off the newfound powers he gained from riding a scooter through Times Square

Those used to trying to get off Staten Island know that if you miss a ferry it’s a 30 minute wait for the next one, now the balloon bird has learned

The lads love the tournament, maybe FIFA should try floating a 700 pound 5-story tall replica of the Club World Cup trophy down the Gowanus Canal to help raise the excitement level around the semis and final, hear that’s the marketing move these days

I’m sorry, the guy on the DAZN call of Dortmund-Monterrey just earnestly linked Sebastian Berhalter with a move to Bayern Munich based on a fake “made to look real” transfer post by a USMNT account that got a bunch of attention/1k likes on X

The marketing is expanding to the side streets of Astoria. A fun and useless fact is that this is feet away from Tony Bennett’s childhood home and from one of the best Italian delis in NYC (Sal, Kris, and Charlie’s)

For Primary Day, my personal “vote for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social” story: I’ve witnessed his effectiveness in office first-hand In 2021, I wrote & mailed out a stack of these postcards to neighbors in Astoria in a Zohran-led effort to rally local opposition to a new gas-powered plant in the area

Kid opted for the lollipop while I opted for Mamdani, Lander, Myrie, Blake, and A. Adams 🗳️🍭

Recency bias but just yesterday I threw a soccer ball repeatedly up at some tree branches to, eventually, dislodge a frisbee my daughter had gotten stuck in there. Happy Father’s Day everybody

Fun new @hrbpod.bsky.social episode out today www.hudsonriverblue.com/episode-42-r...

Working Families Party played itself adding her to their endorsed candidate slate. Not aligned on the principles, bitter toward progressive leaders like Mamdani & AOC for seemingly petty reasons, just wants a job in the next administration. Won’t rank her or the sex pest she’s endorsing

Associated Press pulling a Don Garber and once again changing Nashville SC’s conference on them apnews.com/new-york-cit...

Only way out for DC United admin after posting image 2 is to bring back image 1

Had managed to avoid it and most mention of it for years but today I had to finally figure out “DAZN”

Following 2-0 win over the Red Bulls I asked Matt Freese if he’s confident he’ll be on the #USMNT Gold Cup roster when it comes out next week + if impressing the national team has been on his mind lately “I’m hopeful that I’ll be included, I’m really confident I can play at that level…”

27 years ago today I went to Yankee Stadium for beanie baby day but also watched a man pitch a perfect game while still drunk. My David Wells bobblehead currently looks like how he presumably felt out there on the mound that day

The only appropriate appetizer for NYCFC today: Luis Barraza’s DC United vs Sean Johnson’s Toronto FC in The Rob Vartughian Derby

Sources: Cardinals finalizing a deal to bring in new manager, all documents signed for the highly-rated new pontiff New Pope is said to be excited about the project. Big talent, lots of other European interest in the role, but the Cardinals get their man. Announcement expected soon

Not a flattering read for Dithering Dave Lee. He’ll get you 4 different backup center backs including possibly the biggest liability in team history (Strahinja) but don’t ask him to sign timely/adequate replacements for top talent

So many jokes and metaphors at the ready and just pending how these horse named “Journalism” and “Publisher” fare in this race. Most logical outcome that will best mirror real life: Publisher causes problems for Journalism and they both lose

Can’t wait to see that certain portion of the USMNT commentariat come to grips with Gregg Berhalter’s son and Brian White playing their way into the national team frame

💨 🇮🇹 🤌 thank you yes this is the kind of hard-hitting blogging I do for almost every single game NYCFC plays www.hudsonriverblue.com/toronto-fc-v...

I’m frequently mistaken online for an Australian politician with my exact same name so it’s good I finally get to write about an Australian soccer player at NYCFC, allows me to make a deeper connection with my fake homeland

Just yesterday NYC Sanitation Dept was publicly celebrating hitting record-setting compost collection levels so naturally the corrupt powers that be had to sit down and ask “How can we immediately undo this modest bit of progress?”

Taty used up all his clutch PK magic beans on December 11, 2021

Hearing it’s national pet day?

When you’re out here covering NYCFC on the anniversary of the first-ever Major League Soccer match you have to dress for the occasion, they say

Woman + 2 kids dead while crossing street b/c there are never consequences for drivers like this even when they cause deadly crashes. Where I’m from on Staten Island the DA let a famous repeat offender break speed cameras & commiserated with him rather than punish him www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/n...

The AI-generated knockoff Miyazaki illustrations reached critical mass in the soccer content creation salt mines in record time

This guy a) has never taken the subway, b) won’t acknowledge transit crime’s dropping in NYC, c) proposes no real improvements to the system, but rattling off empty “tough on crime” talk still earns him his headlines (while Congestion Pricing Crybaby-in-Chief Phil Murphy watches silently, of course)

“Luigi Mangione’s cousin captains FC Cincinnati 2 against Astoria’s NY Pancyprian Freedoms” is an incredible statement only made possible by the Magic of the US Open Cup

Really flew under the radar but congrats to NYCFC for signing Vanya from Anora as their new eMLS player. Have to imagine their negotiations over his signature with Toros were spirited/possibly violent

Still have never surpassed the St. Patrick’s Day of 2011 when I celebrated in the most traditional of Catholic fashions: watching Godspeed You! Black Emperor perform for 2+ hours at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle on the Upper West Side

Early reviews are in and they’re calling it “possibly the worst thing you could choose to subject yourself to on the soccer internet”

Last night was my 9th NYCFC home opener and the 3rd straight I’ve covered for @hudsonriverblue.com (DNPs in 2020/no fans, 2017/vacation) Also an odd treat talking to one of NYCFC’s oldest-ever players and one of NYCFC’s youngest-ever players on the same night + on the 10th anniversary of Match 1

PSA you won’t see @hudsonriverblue.com pass along/promote reports originating from this account (save for this I guess, sorry?). A pretty blatant firehose of made-up shit from a user paying for “X verification” who tags any relevant account with a following in hopes of spreading their fake rumors

Supposedly principled choices to leave social media platforms don't last when you don't see the engagement metrics going up on the new platform, huh

Happy 1 year adoption anniversary to my cats TEA and BISCUIT 🫖 🍪 ⚪️⚫️🐈🐈‍⬛

My dad grew up with the Johansens & remains good friends with one of David’s brothers (Staten Island things). Among my dad’s records from his collecting peak: This demo of David’s from 1981 he inscribed to his brother “To Chris, drop dead, David.” RIP to one of the Island’s/city’s greatest artists

Need Alonso Martínez to use this as his Christmas card. A man and his first love, the balls he kicks into a net for a living www.hudsonriverblue.com/alonso-marti...

What I found interesting about the state of NYCFC's club roster profile -Light at the top-end (DP, U22 vacancies) -International slot intrigue (open slots+4 internationals no longer require them) -Lotsa new GAM on hand -12 in final guaranteed year of contract www.hudsonriverblue.com/mls-club-ros...