a little treat

Television has been poppin’ off recently. Severance is an absolute head trip, but I love it. The White Lotus is back with a brand new cast of truly hateable characters, and that’s delightful. And even though Sterling K. Brown is blinking a lot and playing essentially the same character he was in This Is Us, his new show, Paradise, has produced one of the most intense and frightening episodes I’ve seen in a while. Also, Reacher is back and while it’s super formulaic and the actor from manchester trying to do a Boston accent is awful, it’s also fun to say ‘big guy real big’ at the screen several times an episode (also big guy seems to be a good guy, and that’s fun).

I consider this a gift, because as much as so much stuff in this country sucks and is going to get worse, it’s not healthy to dwell on that every second of every day. I, for one, very much welcome these tv-related distractions. The key is to remember to not remain distracted of course, and to also counter the foolishness with tangible action (might have a little something you can do below).

I don’t have the answers for how to dig the country out of this, all I know is that right now the best thing to do is take care of one another. To do that, we need to have enough distance from dread to empathize, anticipate and act. That’s the true underlying reason why I’m loving my little shows right now. They may feel like pure indulgence in this moment of calamity, but they’re also helping to settle the brain. No matter what laws they try to change, we’re all human, and now more than ever we deserve a little treat for still being here.

Now, onto the woso…

upcoming matches for your eyeballs

sunday, march 2

Not a ton to see here, unless one or more of Manchester City, Chelsea or Arsenal are upset. They’ll each be in that vulnerable post-international break spot that top of the table teams face. Several of their players will have traversed the globe and racked up minutes in international competition while players on lower table teams largely stayed home and trained for two weeks. It shouldn’t matter, but sometimes it does.

Oh, also Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor said that Naomi Girma is recovered and will be available to start against Brighton (/cackles at sky).

friday, march 7

Ummmmmmm this snuck up on me but I’m so glad it’s (almost) here. I’m one of the nerds who wants a domestic cup competition, so I don’t love this single game iteration of the Challenge Cup. But this year it’s a bit spicy because it’s a rematch of last year’s NWSL Championship game. The Spirit have an opportunity for instant(ish) revenge, or the Pride could show they’re ready to terrify everyone yet again and win their third trophy in five months.

stuff to read…

new nwsl shirts: the dope, the meh, and the ugh

No season of soccer can officially begin without a kit drop. Thankfully the NWSL’s—whose regular season starts in just over two weeks—new crop of shirts is finally here. It’s a half kit drop thanks to Nike’s approach to solving ‘unprecedented demand’ being ‘guess we’ll just do even less then'. Ugh, whatever.

So here are my opinions on every shirt, which are 100% correct and that no one will disagree with primarily because it is illegal to do so.

emma hayes’ arm around the shoulder didn’t work, now what

New USWNT coach Emma Hayes elected to put a proverbial arm around Korbin Albert, and has continued calling her up to every camp in which she’s available. Albert has heard boos across the country (and world) when subbing into matches, and Hayes has stated that she’s sat down with her “to make sure that self-development piece is there." However, nearly a year-in, receipts are either misplaced or nonexistent.

things to know…

I agree with and understand the point that it shouldn’t take appearances from an exposed bigot to donate to causes you’re passionate about, but this is a good way to redirect whatever energy is spent being frustrated and annoyed about it. If we’re going to be left with no choice while watching the USWNT, those of us who are able should consider doing something productive to counter the anti-LGBTQ+ views she represents.

more #content you might be into

Hey Spirits: Motherhood, athlete autonomy, and winning gold (w/ Casey Krueger)
🍎Apple | 🟢Spotify

We were delighted to speak with the legend that is Casey Krueger! We chat about motherhood in the NWSL, winning Olympic gold, funniest teammates, Frederick, candy corn, and a lot more.

Diaspora United: SheBelieved, but what was learned
🍎Apple | 🟢Spotify

Courtney & I recap an interesting SheBelieves Cup. We discuss Japan’s generation of hoopers, Colombia plateauing, Australia in reverse, and what was learned about the #USWNT. Oh and we also talked NWSL kits.

until next time, your gif

Damn right.