Trey from the Thing

"They wanted the clowns! They wanted the clowns!"

[vince @vincestaples]

We have returned to the era of The White Laker.

[Zito @_Zeets]

I feel like Americans always think in excess. The tension of the World Cup comes from the fact that it is every four years and cycles through generations of players. It’s something to wait for and build up to.

[Silly Point @FarziCricketer]

Farewell Ben Stokes. This game will forever be etched in our memory.

[England Cricket @englandcricket]

One of England's all-time greatest captains, Ben Stokes, has decided to retire from international cricket at the end of this Test match.

Ben, you have been the most inspirational captain, leader and legend this team could have ever hoped for.

We love you so much and wish you all the best in your retirement ❤️

England will never be the same again.

[Roberto Parrottino @rparrottino]

Marcelo Bielsa: “Jugar cuatro tiempos en lugar de dos altera la concepción que culturalmente se había construido para interpretar el fútbol. No le agrega nada y le quita mucho. Cuando se dividió en cuatro no se pensó en el efecto que puede tener sobre lo que hizo que el fútbol sea un deporte que enamora, sino que se pensó en otro tipo de repercusiones que no las discuto ni las analizo. Antes de esta decisión el fútbol tenía una característica; ahora tiene otra. La gente se enamora del juego por sus características”.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

This is the year when the game of two halves became the game of four quarters. And the greatest sport and event was damaged for fistfuls of dollars. Hydration breaks ruin the game’s flow and frustrates fans and viewers. If hydration breaks were solely about player welfare then they would be linked to the temperature in the stadia. It’s a nonsense having a three-minute break in an air-conditioned arena.

Fifa should long ago have established a working party of coaches, sports scientists, national team doctors and Fifpro to agree a set temperature at kickoff, say 25C, which triggers the breaks. That would prove the breaks were for player welfare. At the moment, and to nobody’s surprise, it is widely accepted that these breaks are for US TV to accommodate commercials. Big bucks for the small screen.

Fifa should have thought more about the effect on games and to fan (and viewer) experience when negotiating. Coaches’ desire for a mid-half tactical time-out masquerading as a drinks stop should be resisted anyway. Games have been played for 150 years without needing such intervention. Coaches can shout instructions. And who says that 22 mins and 67 mins is when a coach needs to intervene anyway. It’s nonsense. It’s about money.

Respected and sane footballing voices from Virgil van Dijk to Mauricio Pochettino have spoken out against the breaks. Fifa should listen to them not appear only to listen to the rustle of dollar bills. It’s important that there is resistance to this from all over. Because if we tolerate this, our TV games could be next. BBC can’t do ads, ITV says it won’t follow its US counterparts. But it has been discussed by TV people. It’ll come one day. #FIFAWorldCup.

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

Spike Lee was paraded through Fort Greene in Brooklyn like he was the pope.

[Trey from the Thing @3xJackson]

@MiguelDelaney Telemundo is the only way to maintain sanity when watching the World Cup in the U.S.

[NCAA Track & Field @NCAATrackField]

JA'KOBE THARP ARE YOU KIDDING ME 🤯 12.75

✅ NCAA RECORD
✅ WORLD RECORD

#NCAATF x 🎥 ESPN / @AuburnTFXC

[Nahuel Lanzón @nahuelzn]

🇸🇴 Nunca vi algo así. En Somalia hoy se llenó un estadio para recibir como héroe nacional a Omar Artan, el árbitro al que Estados Unidos le negó la entrada al Mundial. Increíble.

[Tanay Jaipuria @tanayj]

A Spanish La Liga club (likely Osasuna) facing potential relegation placed a bet against itself on Kalshi, hedging the financial hit of dropping down a tier.

They survived on the final day. Susquehanna was on the other side of that bet and pocketed over $1M.

[Mohammed Ali @mohammedali_93]

This really is gonna be the worst World Cup of the modern era

[ًًً @Xabiholic]

I’ve not seen Palmer run this much for a while loool he saw Joao Pedro miss out on the World Cup and panicked

[Actu Foot @ActuFoot_]

Manuel Neuer 🇩🇪 qui sort de sa retraite internationale pour la Coupe du monde...

Ça nous rappelle forcément ce match MONUMENTAL qu'il avait réalisé contre l'Algérie 🇩🇿 en 2014. 🤩

Il a littéralement RÉVOLUTIONNÉ le poste de gardien de but ce jour-là.

[Memphis Grizzlies @memgrizz]

Your legacy will carry on in the hearts of Grizz Nation, always and forever. In loving memory of BC 💙

[Trey from the Thing @3xJackson]

@TheMarcJohnNFL https://t.co/xNi7KdTKq0

[Memphis Redbirds @memphisredbirds]

Sending love and support to Brandon Clarke and the entire Grizzlies family

Tonight, AutoZone Park paused for a moment of silence in honor of one of Memphis’ own.

[Damichael Cole @DamichaelC]

Really sad news out of Memphis. Brandon Clarke has died. He was 29.
He was great with kids. He had just established his own foundation and was committed to pouring into the Memphis community. I went to two of those events. Keep his family in prayers.
https://t.co/AY8OFy7srB

[Aston Villa Updates @avfcbreaking]

There was a time when a European final belonged to the supporters who dragged their club there.

Not anymore.

When Aston Villa were handed roughly 11,000 tickets for a Europa League final in a 70,000-plus stadium, the number itself told the story. UEFA can package the event however it likes — “festival of football”, “European showpiece”, “global celebration” — but the modern European final is no longer built around supporters. It is built around clients.

The supporters fund the journey. The corporates inherit the destination.

Villa fans will have spent thousands following the club across Europe. Flights, hotels, time off work, loyalty schemes built over years. Yet when the final arrives, huge sections of the stadium are reserved for sponsors, hospitality guests, executives, delegates and “neutral” allocations that often end up on resale sites within hours.

And supporters are expected to accept it.

UEFA’s defence is familiar. Sponsors fund competitions. Broadcasters need space. Hospitality drives revenue. All true. But football crossed a line when the event surrounding the final became more important than the supporters inside it.

The optics are awful because fans can see it themselves.

A finalist gets 11,000 tickets while corporate packages costing thousands remain available. Genuine supporters scramble through ballots with lottery-like odds, while neutral areas fill with tourists taking photos during the warm-up.

And UEFA wonders why resentment grows.

Supporters are constantly called “the lifeblood of the game” until ticket allocations are discussed. Then they become an inconvenience to work around premium inventory.

Football did not become Europe’s dominant sport because sponsors created atmosphere. The noise, colour and emotion UEFA sells globally every season is generated by match-going supporters — the same people increasingly pushed aside at the biggest games.

The “neutral fan” concept is perhaps the biggest fiction of all. In theory it promotes access. In reality it fuels resale markets, inflated prices and thousands travelling ticketless out of desperation.

UEFA could change it tomorrow. Finalists could receive 70 per cent of the stadium combined. Corporate sections could shrink. Hospitality would still exist.

But that would mean sacrificing revenue.

And modern football has shown repeatedly which side wins that argument.
#AVFC #scfreiburg

[Eric Bischoff @EBischoff]

RIP Ted. And thank you for everything.