Phil West

They could have told us that

Showing Jay-Z at the Super Bowl without mentioning, you know, Beyonce, who.was also right there in frame

I’ve heard Harvey Danger and Sleigh Bells so far this Super Bowl which is not what I’d planned for

'Still a lot of work to do': Assessing Austin FC, two weeks out from the 2026 season opener Nico Estévez provided some welcome news about the lineup ahead of Wednesday's match. He also admitted that there's much work to do between now and the season opener on Feb. 21

Two players Austin FC have been eager to see should debut on Wednesday ... though it won't be streaming:

verdeallday.com/still-a-lot-...

At the Whistle: Austin FC 0, St. Louis City SC 1 Simon Becher scored a 16th-minute goal to provide the difference between the two teams. Offense, in the absence of key attackers, continues to be a concern.

So, it wasn't great cinema ... but here's what we were able to report about Austin FC's match with St. Louis City SC. (Also, new Emergency Podcast about the match dropping in mere minutes!)

verdeallday.com/match-recap-...

Heliocentric No. 10 who might be difficult in the locker room? First time for everything, I guess 😉

Midway through #AustinFC preseason, can confirm the following members of the press corps appear healthy & put in a full 90 Sunday:

@eric-oaktreetimes.bsky.social
@colbygordon.bsky.social
@waatvofficial.bsky.social
@alexwaatv.bsky.social
@philwest.bsky.social
@moiseschiu.bsky.social
Laura Gallo

Welcome to the mascot family

Interesting tidbit from Nico Estévez’s press conference: Rosales has been playing as a winger the whole preseason and inky got deployed as a fullback today because of Djordevic being a late scratch for illness

At the Whistle: Austin FC 0, NYCFC 2; Preseason means nothing If you like watching Austin FC take shots and score goals, this was not the game for you. But it's still preseason, and key offensive players are still missing.

Soccer was played. Perhaps things were learned? In the press conference room about to find out:

verdeallday.com/match-recap-...

No nameplates until they beat an actual MLS team!

We got just a half of him; Seymour Reid's in there now

Austin’s made him look pretty solid today

2-0, NYCFC over Austin FC, at halftime. Goals by Nicolás Fernández Mercau and Agustín Ojeda making it a little more somber in the stadium ... not the best half of defense I've seen this team play.

Gate with a sponsor? Get to work, Ethan Finlay!

It’s preseason for everyone at Austin FC

A penguin-shaped piñata full of band-aids/
Hit it with a stick, better than can-day/
Give it away, give it away now

I totally hear it

Saying all the right things: Facundo Torres meets the Austin media Facundo Torres says he's joined a good team he wants to make better and will play whenever his coach tells him to. Yes, that ticks a lot of Boy Scout boxes.

Facundo Torres is Verde, and said all the right things on Thursday (the only negative was that he wore sunglasses indoors, but I fear that's his thing):

verdeallday.com/facundo-torr...

That was a classic Howler article; I later wrote for Howler about that team’s championship-winning match that also hosted a whoopie pie eating contest at halftime

Austin FC exercises contract buyout on Jader Obrian 2024's co-leader in goals had a much less productive 2025. But rather than move him to a new team, Austin FC had to use a roster mechanism allowing the club to release him.

Jáder Obrian is no longer Verde

More on Austin FC's contract buyout:

verdeallday.com/austin-fc-co...

A tale of two Diegos: A thought exercise regarding chance creation Some Austin FC fans have been clamoring for a true heliocentric chance creator. There's an argument to be made that the club already has one.

Diego Luna is an emergent wishcasting pick among Austin FC fans. Diego Fagúndez could be a prodigal son narrative. We compared the two for a thought exercise on chance creation:

verdeallday.com/diego-luna-d...

Stay strong

Doable

0-0, followed by 'Oh! Oh!': Austin FC draws San Antonio FC in preseason opener, then announces Facundo Torres signing Austin FC started the 2026 preseason with a scoreless draw against San Antonio. But then it announced one of its most consequential player signings ever.

So, maybe a 0-0 draw against a USL side isn't something to get excited about ...

... but a Facundo Torres signing sure is.

More on Austin FC's eventful Friday:

verdeallday.com/austin-fc-0-...

That's cute

The window for MLS Cup is closing ... for every team

Counting the sprint season, yes:

'26, '27, '27-'28*, '28-'29, '29-30 with an option year in '30-'31

For perspective, the cute kid who says "swear word" whenever we bleep out a swear word on Emergency Podcast will be a TEENAGER by the option year

* pending CBA approval

Includes the sprint season, but with the option year through 2031, I believe he's the first Verde player with a contract extending into that year

(My kid will be a teenager by then!)

Is Facundo Torres bound for Austin FC? And do the charts think that's a good idea? Is Facundo Torres coming to Austin FC? And does that make sense given who got brought in during the offseason so far?

Six days ago, we asked if Facundo Torres is coming to Austin FC

Dear Reader, he is

✅ 5+1 deal
✅ Still has his green card
✅ Quality quote crafted for him in the press release

verdeallday.com/austin-fc-fa...

'I want more goals also': Preparing a more positionally flexible and attacking Austin FC On Thursday, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez touted new arrival Joseph Rosales as being positionally flexible. Which is good, given the current injury-riddled Verde attack.

Joseph Rosales as a winger? At yesterday's Austin FC press conference, Nico Estévez praised the recent arrival's positional flexibility ...

... which is needed, given everyone currently out of preseason training:

verdeallday.com/i-want-more-...

Furkan Korkmaz sounds like something I'd yell at a driver who cut me off