Movies/Shows

On Friday night, I was out of my element. 

Usually when the USMNT is playing a big match, I’m in front of a TV with a laptop and maybe a third screen for other matches, watching every possible second of pregame and checking lineups and the latest from social media. For USA-Mexico on Friday, I was out of town for a wedding, completely unfettered from requirements of covering the match for my job. I wound up at a sports bar in Austin (the Black Sheep Lodge) that promised to show the big game, but I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. 

Santos defeated Red Bull Bragantino 2-0 in Brazil’s top flight on Wednesday for an upset victory. Santos scored its second goal in the final minute of the game from the penalty spot. The call for the penalty came after an immaculate Marinho flop.

Marinho Flop Vs. Bragantino

The U.S. Premier League TV rights bidding war just took a turn that is likely to benefit individual EPL clubs. The English Premier League is sending the bidding to a second round, a sign the league thinks it can squeeze even more money out of American broadcasters desperate for one of the hottest commodities in sports. It now appears the new U.S. Premier League TV rights owner (or potentially owners) will be decided next week.

Toward the end of quarantine I watched two Netflix anime shows at a breakneck speed — Blood of Zeus and Castlevania — and throughly enjoyed the characters, beautiful visuals and over-the-top violence. They were wonderful companions while being stuck inside.

NBC’s eight-year grip on the U.S., English-language TV rights to the Premier League may be at an end. Who ends up with the next big rights package remains to be seen, but one of the biggest players in American sports broadcasting has entered the fray.

ESPN confirmed it has placed a bid for the rights to broadcast the English Premier League in the U.S. on Tuesday, saying soccer is very much a part of its plans for ESPN+ moving forward.

To no one’s surprise, Ted Lasso costumes were some of the most popular outfits for Halloween this year. One of the best shows on TV (or whatever you call Apple TV+), “Ted Lasso” inspired everyone from little kids to celebrities and politicians to dress up as characters from the beloved series. 

Who wore it best? Who wore it worst? Here are our favorite — and one least favorite — Ted Lasso costumes from Halloween this weekend.

Ryan Reynolds is fairly new to this soccer thing. The Canadian movie star recently bought one of the world’s oldest clubs, Wrexham AFC, with fellow funnyman Rob McElhenney. The two attended their first Wrexham game on Tuesday, an away match against Maidenhead United at York Road. Though still a novice, Reynolds showed an uncanny and deep understanding of what British soccer is all about after attending just one match.

Juventus’ 2020-21 season, Andrea Pirlo’s first and only in charge, was a failure by the club’s own lofty standards. Pirlo delivered the Coppa and Supercoppa, but Juve’s nine-year grip on the Scudetto was ended by Inter Milan while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League dream was humiliatingly crushed by Porto in the Round of 16.

The fallout was immense with Pirlo sacked and Ronaldo sold, making the campaign one of Juve’s most dramatic — thankfully, Amazon Prime Video Sport was there filming it all.

Now that Season 2 of “Ted Lasso” has come to a close, fans of the series may be dismayed to learn Apple TV+ only plans to produce one more season of the beloved series. This time next year we could be mourning the end of Ted Lasso’s story at AFC Richmond. Given the success of the series — and the dearth of other programming on Apple TV+ — I wouldn’t be surprised if the series produces a Ted Lasso spinoff or two.