ten years ago today, I was eating lunch in Chinatown when my phone lit up w/ news. From there mostly a fuzz. I paid, walked north towards a meeting, stopped at a random corner and realized where I was. Glad I took this pic, because it is how I like to remember the day.

Exclusive | A Rare I.M. Pei-Designed Home in Texas Hits the Market for $22 Million The roughly 19,000-square-foot house, designed for an oil-and-banking heiress and her husband, is the most expensive for sale in Fort Worth.

was 100% unaware the same IM Pei, of Dallas City Hall/Omni Consumer Productions (OCP) HQ fame, also designed a Ft Worth home - which is now on the market. www.wsj.com/real-estate/...

Revisiting the US/Beguim kit controversy: w/ the u19 women wearing white shorts/socks w/ the same “stripes” shirt, it does beg the question if that will be how the USMNT rolls in the WC. Ex: I think it passes as a proper contrast to Belgium’s primary kit.

w/ the previous concerns over the USMNT kit situation, here's a reasonable solution that pushes the Stripes shirt into a proper, more FIFA approvable, "Light Kit" option. as worn by the U19WNT in win over ARG. (captain'd by dallastrinityfc's Sealy Strawn)

VAR
5 subs
water breaks (quarters)

it's a new dawn, Jason.

suppose the question is: what is it he thought he saw that would not have justified giving the DOGSO, or alternatively, in a VAR age does a ref make a particular decision knowing he's got buffer?

i thank the generational lotto overlords everyday my birth timed out for a pre-dating app existence.

update: @AlexiLalas posted these two pics that clearly show the dramatic change after covering the ground suites, widening/raising the surface so much closer to the lowest seats. The new height improves sight lines to the corners & dare I say adds a drop of charm?

Genuinely curious for the source that states any host (aka: LOCs) made any such pricing promises and/or actually had any control over resulting pricing - which is 100% under FIFA's domain.

Not my kid. But I love him.

i find the suggestion of this seems to always get batted back into my face as "old man thinking". It's so clear the deeper, more talented, more experienced pool of players (however shallow it remains), simply have a different attitude more align w/ other mid-tier football nations.

this was Andy's moment.

the Italians missing three straight World Cups, finished off by a PK, via a 19yr old MLS academy product from Wisconsin, feels like a throw-away joke from Idiocracy 😶

they're all saving it on the off chance he hits the winner.

he addressed it today

Sebastian Berhalter on the quality of the grass, but indoor pitch last Saturday. #usmnt

"I think [the field] was honestly better than what we've had in the past. I feel like that was a pretty good pitch and maybe a little slippy here and there, but I think in general, I think they did a good job."

the reality is, in an official game vs a side with a red home and a light color'd away, the US is almost always going to be required to wear their dark Stars kit, even as the home side. It's just the byproduct of chosing the red/white stripes. 🤷‍♂️

red/white stripe was always going to cause probs, but w/ the white back panel, this would be far easier to wear vs a BEL primary (for example) if the USSF/Nike would just pair it with white shorts and socks. (crudely modified stripes kit, but you get the idea) - hilarious this occured on debut.

oh, they were (lord, those missed chances) - but his reaction to the goal was just weird and ominous.

that shot made me legit believe he'd already seen enough warning signs to know that it was going to turn sour sooner than later.

USMNT’s Good Vibes Meet Reality Belgium’s 5-2 win exposed Pochettino’s changes.

🫤Me no likey Pochettino's odd decision to change the shape. (and other nerdy notes, including, yes, the jerseys)
Free to read, over at
@SportsSturm's Stack.
tinyurl.com/sturmstack

Episode 36 of TMTP dives into fandom: why people need it, why they attach to it, and how sports, bands, and even politics now all seem to trigger the same kind of tribal devotion.

And the uncensored version of Pete Incaviglia story.

Out Now. Link in Bio.

ah, not that I am aware of.

I’ve seen a lot of weird games in 30yrs of MLS, but this one will be hard to ever forget or figure out. Glad I was there to witness it.

It is remarkable that Afroman is the first and only news story I can think of that has ever seen a matching and unified response of celebration on my timelines of both Bluesky and Twitter.

Finishing it off are the grow lights. Suspended & lowered from the rafters. At night it creates this great pink glowing effect from the outside of The Death Star.
keep you posted as work progresses
-fin

Now, the grass. A hybrid of artificial fibers woven into natural grass grown on a plastic base (like EPL). These pics are from the '24 Copa install, but was a test run of the grass, permavoid, plumbing & grow lights. The surface was a big hit.
10/11

here's a closer look - on top of all of that gravel/dirt will be a Permavoid layer, then lots of sand and then grass. Plus, irrigation (yes, full sprinklers!), ventilation and drainage systems. Pumps & plumbing installed in '24 & left for World Cup.
9/11

Once all of that base is in place the rest happens, as seen in this timelapse from the 2024 Copa America grass install. via AT&T Stadium.
8/11