CVS display case with a bunch of inflated soccer balls and decorations

Sorry moms, but at CVS in Astoria, the next holiday is officially World Cup

Introducing the New York Soccer Journal Welcome to your new source for independent, in-depth coverage of soccer in New York.

I'm a media founder now. I was a writer for Hudson River Blue when Vox cut it loose, then was executive editor when HRB got shuttered. Now, I go again with @nysoccerjournal.com, an independent, nonprofit outlet with one mission: To provide the coverage valued by our local NY soccer community

Screenshot from Hell Gate Mamdani interview: “Q: …What is your Park Slope Y? A: I think anxiety over how Arsenal are doing is a ritual still a part of my life [laughs]. Somehow it doesn't even feel better to be at the top of the Premier League and in the Champions League semifinal. It feels just as bad as it has. Q: How are you keeping up? Are you watching clips? Do you tape games? A: I'm reading minute-by-minute reports because I can't watch a lot of the games. Then I watch extended highlights on YouTube. This weekend is a huge game.”

They say people won’t read about sports anymore, but they overlook a key demographic: Local elected officials who are too busy to watch their English soccer team play in real time hellgatenyc.com/mayor-mamdan...

Train tickets to MetLife Stadium from NYC set to cost more than $100 during World Cup (Gift Article) A return ticket via NJ Transit for the 18-mile journey from New York Pennsylvania Station ordinarily costs $12.90.

The price gouging will continue until World Cup morale improves

Jorginho retracts and completely exonerates Chappell Roan as Italy takes another humbling loss on the international stage

Moussa Sylla went all 90 minutes and scored the winner for Schalke today, penny for that City Football Group doctor’s thoughts on that

Possibility of no Thiago Martins (questionable) at BC Place tomorrow night: Less than ideal for NYCFC while facing one of the league’s best attacks www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-pla...

Upgrade of the season: Taty Castellanos, 4 Premier League goals in 12 career appearances for West Ham

Niclas Füllkrug: 3 Premier League goals in 26 career appearances for West Ham

So New Jersey canceled the cash grab $10-plus-fees-per-ticket World Cup Fan Fest in Liberty State Park, but replaced it with a…Fan Hub at Red Bull Arena with tickets that cost “$10 plus fees, with free entry for youth ages 12 and under.” Consider the deck chairs sufficiently shuffled on the Titanic

HRB Podcast: A disappointing draw before NYCFC face Whitecaps, US Open Cup tests How New York City FC let a win over St. Louis City SC slip at Citi Field, and what’s in store for the team as it prepares for a jam-packed week featuring a very challenging away match in Vancouver and...

Personally my favorite part of this episode was slipping in an aside about Pulisic getting dumped hurting his goal-scoring form and @thepigeonsnycfc.bsky.social hitting us with the “we don’t have enough time in the show to get into all *that*”

The total 4-hour shutdown seems to only be for NJ-bound NJ Transit commuters, with other riders (LIRR, Amtrak) still able to access Penn and trains via specific entrances. Still feels like a huge logistical mess waiting to happen, though

Exclusive: NY Penn Station to close for hours during World Cup matches New York Penn Station will close to commuters for four-hour windows on 2026 FIFA World Cup match days.

Sounds like a disaster in so many different ways. 4 matches midweek near and around commuter hours, and most insanely, “…public transit ticket prices are not yet known for those taking NJ Transit to World Cup matches in East Rutherford…” They quadrupled the train fares in Boston, so uh, good luck?

The Complete Book of Soccer Trivia: Test Your Knowledge with 750 Questions Test Your Knowledge with 750 Questions

🚨⚽️ Now exactly 1 month until my first book publishes: The Complete Book of Soccer Trivia, featuring 750 questions about all aspects of the men’s and women’s game

Preorder your copy and I guarantee you’ll outperform your xA (expected answers) in any soccer trivia contests or challenges you encounter

Funny that Awful Announcing figured out niche MLS media drama translates to traffic. Sure, covering the sport here is absolute shit with bad actors around every corner making it nearly impossible to do it in a healthy manner, but hey at least we’re good for a headline or two

The pope should get to publish an uncensored review of JD’s new book on his Goodreads

Fluminense: Loiola encaminha empréstimo para o New York City | Ge Fluminense encaminha o empréstimo do zagueiro Loiola ao New York City; o jovem de 20 anos disputará a Liga Next Pro após perder espaço no elenco profissional.

According to this report from ge globo, NYCFC signed 20-year-old Brazilian center-back João Loiola on loan from Fluminense with intent that he plays for NYCFC II in MLS Next Pro. No official announcement yet pending visas and medicals (according to this report, anyway)

Already up to “1” on the counter of times Vasgersian mistakes him for Brandon Webb, confident it could still go up if the baseball game ever begins

Photo of the Mo Salah halal cart in Queens, NY

Only one MLS team is about to permanently move into the borough home to the Mo Salah halal cart, easy answer as to where he signs next

A controversial NYCFC loss to Miami, news about HRB's future Podcast Episode · Hudson River Blue Podcast · March 25 · 1h 8m

Said what could be said about the end of Hudson River Blue in the first few minutes of this podcast, urge you to give it a listen if you’d like to hear it straight from those impacted by its death. The pod will continue, as will our previous coverage, more details on all that coming soon

Polymarket and its ilk are so easily exploited and manipulated by those with insider knowledge, cannot wait to read about the first major “is this insider trading?” scandal that rocks MLB and/or MLS, now both official Polymarket partners!

They started to rip up the Citi parking lots to build Cohen's casino. Tennis center area inside the park also has active construction going on, plus on the other side of the Citi Field-adjacent street known as "Seaver Way" is where all the new housing+soccer stadium is getting built. Funtown USA

CNBC and Kalshi Strike Exclusive Partnership

Nothing untoward about the publication they've chosen to screenshot in order to gas themselves up... www.cnbc.com/2025/12/04/c...

Mayor Mamdani and FIFA president Infantino posing at City Hall

Is this the most somber Mamdani has ever looked while doing something soccer-related? He seemed happier to be hanging out with Gianni’s other friend at the White House

Major League Soccer official X.com page posting “Retweet if you're team is still unbeaten. @LAFC | @NashvilleSC | @newyorkcityfc | @sandiegofc | @SJEarthquakes | @WhitecapsFC”

The your/you’re mix-up at least gives me some hope that this post wasn’t written by AI

New York City FC 5-0 Orlando: 4 Thoughts New York City FC rolled over a dysfunctional Orlando City to win their home opener by a 5-0 margin, extending their unbeaten start to the 2026 season.

This was the 10th NYCFC home opener I’ve attended, somehow not the first one to end in a 5-0 win for the home team, but this definitely was the first to include a 39-year-old running the midfield show and a pigeon mascot making their MLS debut

Ian Joy on first New York City FC broadcast for Apple: 'A special moment' The longtime YES Network announcer discusses calling his first NYCFC match on Apple this weekend and gives his take on the current state of the New York City squad.

A familiar voice is back on NYCFC broadcasts for the first time since 2022 for the home opener, with Ian Joy on the Apple TV call

Spoke to Ian about returning to NYCFC commentary, the state of the current squad, and watching James Sands play at his former FC St. Pauli club

Have to stick to my MLS roots and say “exact terms of the transfer remain undisclosed and unconfirmed by either side”

My wife has been busy making a major change in her impressive media career, meanwhile, I’ve spent all that time patiently waiting for the moment I could turn it into fake Soccer Transfer Content

How Nico Fernández Mercau plays striker While he's currently Pascal Jansen's preferred option to fill in for the injured Alonso Martínez, Nico takes a very different approach to playing as New York City FC's center-forward.

Tried to dive into how NYCFC operates when Nico Fernández Mercau, very much not a striker, lines up at striker

Heat maps, dribbling maps, some comps to the player he’s replacing: All in here as I attempt to make sense of the team’s striker-free approach to start this season

Free but with caveats like in-game upcharges & subscription tiers is not how free works for me. I wish you luck with it, but I firmly believe MLS is wrong for going this direction and will be playing @fantasyutd.bsky.social and Sofascore’s free games instead while mourning the death of MLS Fantasy