Steven Bank

The trustees of Rocco Commisso's estate must consider NASL's lawsuit against US Soccer to be an asset that justifies them continuing to spend legal fees pursuing its appeal b/c the parties are still submitting filings with the 2nd Cir. about scheduling it for oral argument

There have been other instances when World Cup qualifiers withdrew - for example, India withdrew in 1950 after qualifying by default because the other teams in its group had already dropped out - but this situation, especially given the involvement of a co-host, is unprecedented

Maybe his kids go to Wonderland Elementary in Laurel Canyon. I'm picturing a cafeteria worker named Alice who makes a mean cheesy pillow.

You know that Infantino's actions have become brazenly close to or over the line when the IOC is the one to investigate him for violating the organization's political neutrality requirement.

Question is whether this would backfire by putting pressure on Republican Senators in swing states who try to slow things down until after the midterms.

True, but I was just saying the money was too tempting for someone else not to try given that the ruling is supposed to provide some runway for them to do so. In other words, Real Madrid ending the fight doesn't mean someone else won't try it.

We're talking about different things. Those all reasons to bet on UEFA, for now, on the politics and public opinion against a parallel system, but not on the law. On those matters, however, there's love for UEFA's function, but not UEFA. Another org could compete to do it better.

My point is that a settlement is not because the court rulings have gone UEFA's way. Quite the contrary. Indeed, UEFA's status as both regulator and competitor makes them more susceptible than the NFL, although, like the NFL, UEFA could adapt, acquire, outlast or suppress competitors in other ways

The legal rulings in this case ensure that someone will try again to create a version of the Super League. There's simply too much money at stake for no one one to contest UEFA's right to capture all of it and the courts offered hope and a possible pathway for success.

The "settlement" part of this would be Atlanta United agreeing to drop its complaint against Botafogo with FIFA, which is presumably necessary to get FIFA to remove its transfer ban

On a quick read, I thought your were referring to Gianni Infantino and wondered what he's done now to go rogue after the made-up FIFA Peace Prize debacle

This has basically been the swimming/US version of soccer's European Super League case

You're probably right, but at best you're talking about someone buying a small multi-family low-rise building to collect rental income while living in one of the units

Does he mean over their lifetimes they have bought and sold multiple homes? Even then, even five over a lifetime would be a lot and I'm not sure how it supports any point he could be making here.

I'm shocked. He was a passionate soccer supporter and a thorn in U.S. Soccer's side at a time when it probably needed it

I'm kind of wondering whether the UCLA ROTC students he was training with had to change their kettle bell swing form to match Hegseth's so he wouldn't look out of place.

This only makes FIFA look worse ironically as the public wonders about the connection between the Administration’s move to dismiss the cases and FIFA and Infantino’s moves to placate Trump

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is going to give Venezuela a spot in the World Cup now that it is a host country "protectorate," isn't he?

That is a very D3 men's soccer goal

These are the kinds of rates that inspired what is now known as the "Augusta Rule" in the U.S. Tax Code - just in case any enterprising individual is thinking about renting out their home as an alternative to a hotel

Kind of an own goal when you're co-hosting the World Cup this summer

This reminds me of FIFA's use of direct grant + development program aid to silence dissent, buy votes from poor nations, and entrench corruption that hurt poor nations. The analogy would be complete if the money actually goes to corrupt local leaders, rather than farmers who are affected the most.

High Rates and Low Taxes: Tax Dodging in Mid-Century America

Coming out digitally in February and hard copy soon after. Request your libraries order it!

www.cambridge.org/core/books/h...

The NASL lawsuit is dead; long live the NASL lawsuit

NASL's appeal in its antitrust lawsuit against US Soccer and MLS, which was filed on May 9 after a jury verdict was rendered against NASL in Feb, is still on the 2d Cir. docket and MLS' brief is due today.

Big change, but probably beneficial in terms of increasing the value of their player buy and sell windows and moving the playoffs to a period that doesn't compete with football. Question is whether it will hurt ticket sales to trade games in June-July for games in Nov-Dec

"Season-ticket holders across the league, who have previously received a complimentary subscription to MLS Season Pass, will now receive an annual Apple TV subscription at no additional cost.”

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/202...

Do you think they are worried about reliance interests for season tickets already sold/renewed or are there logistical issues associated with union/CBA sign-off, stadium availability, streaming/TV windows, etc. that they need time to address?

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the tariff was probably one of the most frequent topics for political cartoons. Even in an era of high tech, talk shows, and podcasts, a picture is still worth a thousand words when it comes to describing how many ways people dislike tariff policy

Even if it costs FIFA a solid gold trophy (and it will), it's pretty cheap insurance against the US deciding on a whim to move the World Cup games out of Los Angeles or New York. This is one area where Infantino has experience.

That's why the measure of success of WC '26 isn't about convincing a generation of kids to play soccer, but convincing wealthy individuals/sponsors to bet on domestic soccer leagues by investing/promoting them w/ the goal of elevating them to the status of of the top leagues 8/8