Last week, I felt privileged to attend the first-ever MLS game on Thanksgiving. It was an odd event I couldn’t not attend. Turns out, a lot of people tuned in to watch on FOX — just not the massive MLS TV ratings being reported elsewhere.
Andre Blake stopped the first two shots of a penalty kick shootout and the No. 2 seed Philadelphia Union advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the first time with a 1-1 (2-0) result over third-seeded Nashville SC on Sunday at Chester, Pa.
MLS needs more David Ochoas. It needs more players that “enjoy being the villain” and who aren’t — in a league that prides itself on providing the joyful unpredictably of parity — afraid of taking the spotlight and shining it firmly on themselves.
It makes the atmosphere in stadiums better. It makes matchups more intriguing. It creates headlines.
On Thursday, the Colorado Rapids hosted the Portland Timbers in a Western Conference semifinal at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. It was the first-ever MLS Thanksgiving game — I really hope it’s not the last.
In the U.S., Thanksgiving is a time for American football. It’s the Lions and Cowboys; it’s a college football game or two. But let’s be honest, the Lions suck, everyone hates the Cowboys and college football has been garbage on Thanksgiving since Texas refused to continue its rivalry with Texas A&M.
TORONTO — Toronto FC named Bob Bradley as head coach and sporting director on Wednesday in hopes one of the most successful coaches in the history of North American soccer can help turnaround the struggling Major League Soccer club.
Bradley, the father of Toronto captain Michael Bradley, mutually agreed to part ways with Los Angeles FC last week after having served as the only coach in the expansion club's four-year history.
You can’t win without scoring. I heard that a few times from Fox announcers on Tuesday night, both in the early match in which Nashville remained unbeaten at home by topping Orlando City and in the later match in which one of the favorites to win the MLS Cup, the Seattle Sounders, hosted Real Salt Lake.
The adage is certainly true in normal contexts, but this is playoff soccer now. Real Salt Lake showed you can survive and advance without even bothering to attempt a shot all game.
Major League Soccer Golden Boot winner Valentín Castellanos scored his first MLS Cup playoff goal in the 49th minute to lead NYCFC to a 2-0 home victory in Sunday's first-round clash against Atlanta United at Yankee Stadium.
The 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs began this weekend, rendering all other sports and leagues entirely meaningless over the next two weeks. If the snob in you says “no, I want to watch Liverpool stick four past Arsenal” or the masochist points you in the general direction of the Detroit Lions, let Saturday’s opening two games serve as a lesson.
One of the great Thanksgiving traditions — other than your annual Turkey Derby — is watching American football teams you don’t care about. Typically, you couldn’t pay someone to watch a Detroit Lions game, but on Turkey Day it just hits different. This year the Lions are so horrendous that we at The18 recommend these soccer games on Thanksgiving instead.
As Major League Soccer prepares for the 2021 playoffs and an international break approaches, it’s worth looking back at some of the great international stars who have played in the league. David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Carlos Valderrama and Didier Drogba have all been huge names but have one thing in common: they never won a World Cup. Has an MLS player won the World Cup?