Good for him. Every time Lalas speaks he makes American soccer look atupider

Evergreen thought other than for Christmas (even then still applicable in moments)

The IOC's stance has been reminiscent of the old NCAA — reinforced by its leader, President Kirsty Coventry. If you take her recent comments and change the clock back a few years, it would sound like the NCAA president was speaking at a podium with his organization’s logo.

Having changed its format, its disciplines and having sealed a tie-up with the company behind America Ninja Warrior, the head of modern pentathlon says the IOC’s ‘Fit for the Future’ is a fit for the sport.

Much has been made of the April survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association that said room bookings have been lighter than expected in most of the 11 FIFA World Cup U.S. host cities. So with that in mind, it was worth checking in with Collin Abrahamson of Podium Sports Travel.

Huh, can’t imagine why Tuchel didn’t want this drama around the team

A. This is gotta be putting the host committee in a rock and hard place. B. I love New Jersey's capacity for petty.

As USA Cricket continues bankruptcy proceedings, its former CEO tells me he still feels positive about the sport's potential in the U.S.: "It really doesn’t have a problem with participation; it doesn’t have a commercial problem. It has an exposure problem and a coordination problem."

Not just a conversation with a smart person today, but a person whose work goes beyond sports and into philanthropy in the name of his Angel son.

New: More than two dozen cities are working on submissions due at the end of August as part of the race to host games for the 2031 Rugby World Cup. Organizers will whittle the list down to an unspecified number for the candidate stage with an eye toward having the final lineup in the Q3 of 2027.

Been told by a variety of training sites that there is a clause that one day must be open to public — and only one, some sites wanted to do more and were told not to.

Terry Hasseltine led the Maryland Sports Commission for more than 17 years, spearheading the state’s efforts to attract major events before he left the position in December. As the Preakness approaches, we talked about his leaving the Commission and a variety of other topics.

There will be an expanded NCAA Tournament next season but one thing that will remain the same is the spotlight shining on Dayton, Ohio, in the opening round.

The IOC keeps presenting and talking about being “Fit for the Future” but what the future holds for the actual sports program is undecided and may not be until next year when it comes to the 2032 Summer Games in Australia.

Part two of my new series on insiders in sports journalism examines how this is, in large part, a technology story. How Twitter made insiders the stars of sports journalism. open.substack.com/pub/sportsme...

I always enjoy chatting with Travis Murphy of Jetr Global about sports and the broader political spectrum in which it operates, and this was no exception. On the World Military Games, World Cup, NCAA sports and the future of sports diplomacy.

For those of us of a certain age, what it was like going to a minor league baseball game is dead. That doesn't mean it's worse. Just different. Featuring my dog.

My latest: Alongside Oklahoma City and Omaha sits Gulf Shores, Alabama, as an NCAA championship site that each year, athletes strive to reach.

Oh, somebody's trying to get millions of dollars for their tickets to the World Cup Final? Laughable but also where we are at this stage in large part because of FIFA. From me, before that news came out:

I said it over a year ago at an event in Houston and the feeling remains: If the 2026 FIFA World Cup is a success, it’s because of the local host committees. If the tournament is a failure, it’s because of FIFA.

A Tottenham friend of mine told me when I sent him this link "Cheers mate! To dare is to do." (... I can only hope this independent venture fares better than Spurs have this season.)

In the last three years, PSG has lost 4-1 at Newcastle and only managed a pair of 1-1 ties at home to the Toon. Not it's not all Premier League sides ...

I’ve never written anything using AI, I never will, and I have zero respect for any professional who does.

Sorry, @brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social, but I've been a Jets fan since I was four years old and there's *absolutely* still a chance they could screw this up

“Do you want ice cream with your brownie?” “Hubert Davis just got fired, yes I want ice cream for dessert.” Life engaged to a college sports editor now pubbing stories on her phone.

And then when they showed the game winner …

A photo of a guy in an Aaronson jersey while at a basketball game in Philly last night is the most @jtannenwald.bsky.social post I’ll ever make (unless I get back into soccer writing, TBD)

Not sure if it's a hot take but it's my take: No automatic bids should have to be in First Four. Only at-larges.

Finally, something Bruce Pearl and the ayatollah can bond over

Terrific legacy for the FIFA Peace Prize

Everything about the Real Madrid-Benfica postgame coverage with Thierry Henry and all that Golazo has done is extraordinary and rises to the moment.

Whether you agree or not with this decision, it was fait accompli -- the executive committee members owe Wasserman their spots on the board, they weren't going to leave his side

I would like to emphasize that while I hit a *lot* of crazy shots in my Division I tennis career, I never did this.

I actually rank him much higher than Pickford. Undisputed No. 1 in the world.

And on first Villa corner and resulting recycled cross, it went right for Watkins against Trippier

A better headline would be “Federal Agents Murder Nurse For No Reason”

lol I felt it this morning and thought it was the heavy truck machinery across the street I sometimes hear during the day … now have gone through quakes in LA and SLC

One of best performances of season. Efforts such as this one, if replicable rest of the year, should give big hope for top five in PL and a nice run in Europe.

RIPz

A year ago I was moderating a soccer panel in a 2026 host city with a prominent hotelier who told me off stage it opted out of hosting FIFA because “we can make five times as much if not more selling to fans.”

When you will have to listen to Alexi Lalas and Landon Donovan as analysts to have Rebecca Lowe as the host …

From a story I wrote in 2021 …

In the coming months, the Salt Lake and Park City regions will host both the International Skating Union and International Luge Federation — part of a buildup of international events and federations putting ever-deepening roots in the home of the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

News and notes looking to the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games; • How bobsled and skeleton athletes feel about the track in Cortina • The spread-out nature of the Games logistically for athletes and NGBs. • The attention on U.S. Ski & Snowboard after Lindsey Vonn's return to competition.

When the Pacific Nations Cup came to Salt Lake City on Saturday, one team was absent: The United States, after a 29-13 victory over Samoa in Denver earlier in the tournament clinched a berth in the 2027 Rugby World Cup, a crucial step ahead of when the tournament comes to the U.S. in 2031.

Carlos Ezpeleta and Dan Rossomondo of Moto GP and Dorna Sports discuss Guenther Steiner taking ownership of a Moto GP team, the series since Liberty Motor Group took a new majority role, the intersection of travel and sports and how they look to elevate spectator experiences and much more.

LIV Golf will return to Hong Kong Golf Club in March 2026 for the third edition of its Hong Kong event, now elevated by a title partnership with HSBC. The Hong Kong announcement is the latest as LIV continues to roll out its 2026 schedule.

Podium34, an initiative by the organizing committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, has raised in excess of $200 million toward its $300 million goal, more than eight years before the Games return to Utah.

It’s one of those questions that seems wild to ask: Why hasn’t TED done a sports show before? Well, the inaugural TEDSports will be staged at the Old National Centre in downtown Indianapolis starting September 9.