Opinion

Should Russia Be Banned From The World Cup? There’s Historical Precedent

This week, Russia initiated an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the largest attack on a European nation since World War II. Amid global condemnation of the needless aggression and as Vladimir Putin turns his country into an international pariah, sports organizations have quickly moved to strip Russia of major events. While soccer isn’t the primary concern in Eastern Europe right now, many in the footballing world are wondering: Will FIFA ban Russia from the World Cup? Can UEFA kick Russian clubs out of its competitions?

Hope Solo Attacks Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe Over USWNT Settlement

Hope Solo had some choice words for Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday. The former U.S. goalkeeper used a Twitter thread to blast the USWNT players for Tuesday’s landmark settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation, saying it was “an easy out of a fight they were never really in.” It highlighted the divide in opinion over whether the settlement was good or bad for women’s soccer in the U.S.

Blackouts — Who Needs Them? The Blight Of TV Bureaucracy And Major League Money-Makers

Being a sports fan in the modern age is, at best, a chore and, at worst, almost like having a second job.

Fans must keep track of which leagues are offered on which streaming services as they balance cost with the value of the product being offered.

If an American soccer fan wants to watch the Premier League, Bundesliga and Champions League, they will need three separate streaming services costing a total of $170 per year.

Locally, viewers have to deal with a different type of headache: blackouts, which prevent people from watching their local sports teams.

MLS Opening Weekend Is Here: The Standout Storylines And Matches To Follow

Following the addition of expansion side Charlotte FC, Major League Soccer's opening weekend features all 28 teams in action with nine matches on Saturday, Feb. 26, and five on Sunday, Feb. 27.

MLS opening day 2022 has one match on FOX (Portland vs. New England) and one streamed on Twitter (LAFC vs. Colorado — also on Univision and TUDN), and play also takes center stage across the nation Sunday with one game on FS1 (Atlanta vs. Kansas City) and one on ESPN (LA Galaxy vs. NYCFC). 

Antonio Conte Continues To Roast Spurs At A Level No Twitter Troll Has Ever Reached

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte said the club's current focus was on signing younger players who still needed to gain experience.

"If you want to grow faster, you want to try to be more competitive faster, you also need players with a lot of experience because then they increase the experience in your team," he told Italian Sky Sport in an interview.

Conte, who helped Serie A's Inter Milan to win the title last year and break Juventus's nine-year win streak, said Spurs came out of the January transfer window numerically weakened.

Alex Morgan And Michelob ULTRA’s Star-Studded Cast Absolutely Won Best Super Bowl Commercial

The commercials for Super Bowl 56 were the high quality, humorous advertisements everyone hoped for. Michelob’s “Superior Bowl” was a fan-favorite with its superstar cast. While some call it the Michelob commercial or the Big Lebowski commercial, we here at The18 are legally required to call it the Alex Morgan Super Bowl commercial.

Alex Morgan Super Bowl Commercial

The18's Champions League Round Of 16 Predictions

Hello and welcome to one of the most difficult exercises of the year — the Champions League Round of 16 predictions. 

It's always a fool's exercise since this stage of the competition is guaranteed to throw one shock at us (like Porto knocking out Juventus last year) while also delivering some matchups (Real Madrid vs. PSG, Man United vs. Atlético) that require very little imagination to see going either way. But all we do at The18 is watch an entirely unhealthy amount of this game, so we should be able to earn you a pretty penny* with these predictions.

USMNT’s 'Dominant' Performance Vs. Canada Wins No Bonus Points, FIFA Ranks Mexico Above U.S.

Despite USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter claiming that his team was “dominant” in its 2-0 defeat vs. Canada, FIFA didn’t see it that way. This was evident in the latest FIFA Rankings where Mexico leapfrogged the U.S. 

The teams around the U.S. in the world rankings now look like this.

Latest USMNT FIFA Rankings

11. Germany

12. Mexico

13. U.S.

14. Switzerland

The18’s Super Bowl Preview: Which Kicker Is Going To Disappoint Everyone?

In a turn of events that no one could've predicted, Super Bowl LVI is the closest we'll ever get to an NFL championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions (it's Matthew Stafford's Los Angeles Rams, but you can pretend it's Detroit if you want). 

Michael Antonio Questions Swift Response To Zouma Cat Video When Nothing's Ever Done About Racism

West Ham United's Michail Antonio questioned the logic of people asking for teammate Kurt Zouma to be "sacked" after a video emerged of Zouma abusing his cats, with the striker asking if what the Frenchman did was worse than those guilty of racism.

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