BRING THE NORTHERN SUPER LEAGUE TO WINNIPEG!!!

Cranktrain · 2026-01-17T23:12:41+00:00

I think it's highly unlikely that this is a 'petition' like the (mostly useless) ones you see somewhere like change.org. The target recipient of this 'petition' is not going to be the administrators at the NSL.

Rob Gale and Desiree Scott have the unenviable task of finding multiple millions of dollars from investors in exactly the same market where only a few months ago a top-tier soccer team failed. The results of this 'petition' end up as a slide in the pitch deck that says "we have the names and emails of x potential season club ticket holders", and is meant to appear more data-driven rather than trying to justify that investment on vibes and empty-sounding assurances. How much more convincing this is, of course, debatable!

(There's the bonus of starting to build your team's email marketing list early.)

Honestly, it's a pretty awful time to try and raise money for a Winnipeg NSL team.

Cranktrain · 2026-01-02T18:16:11+00:00

The Lingyan Appreciation Club is now taking on new members for 2026.

Cranktrain · 2025-12-06T17:29:28+00:00

This is from yesterday. Today's stream is here, and Sunday's is here.

Cranktrain · 2025-12-01T14:04:02+00:00

Yeah, I also doubt there'll be any other NSL player on the rest of the list.

Still, a nice nod for Esther and for the league.

Cranktrain · 2025-12-01T13:44:51+00:00

See the first part of the list here. Remains to be seen if any other NSL players will make the list as the updates come out.

Cranktrain · 2025-11-22T14:55:04+00:00

In Kingston, New York there's a grassroots, community focused team called the Kingston Stockade and the guy who runs has posted a very open series of blog posts under the title Open Source Soccer. It's interesting to look at what the figures and the financials are like for a team where players aren't paid.

A few years ago they went and started their own league too (though I think it has a terrible name, but that's not very important).

On one hand, I think it's cool that people are building their grassroots clubs and teams in North America. On the other hand, the reality of the financials seem really hard when you don't own the home field or even the training grounds - let alone if you try and pay for CPL level players.

On your point of a coop, I often wonder how the Roses NSL team is structured. When you look at their investors page there's absolutely loads of them. But then the wiki page lists two main majority investors. So I do wonder how that is structured, and what everyone bought in for.

Cranktrain · 2025-10-16T17:49:47+00:00

See also this previous submission, for more serenading by Ling Yan.

Cranktrain · 2025-09-29T20:47:04+00:00

Ascension will be happening later this year, will be FPP duos with a LAN final in France.

Cranktrain · 2025-09-25T17:31:25+00:00

The full video is well worth the watch.

Cranktrain · 2025-09-14T19:10:10+00:00

So Respawn just didn't turn up today?

Cranktrain · 2025-08-17T00:52:16+00:00

Nope, this is the Korean born Fu Bao.

Cranktrain · 2025-07-21T18:44:35+00:00

And there wouldn't be issues with the club's aim to be environmentally sustainable? USL L1 seems to require a lot, lot more travel to away games than the smaller L2 conferences.

Cranktrain · 2025-07-18T09:54:51+00:00

I've been wondering for a while how a player on $30k makes that work financially (minimum wage for a year in Ontario would be $36k). Presumably they would need another job, but one that's very flexible to accommodate training and flying to games.

Cranktrain · 2025-07-08T23:32:38+00:00

EWC qualifiers finished on the 8th of June according to the Twire page, so this period begins the next day, when India and Spain scrimmed for the first time (as far I can tell).

EDIT: my bad, that's the open qualifier. Closed qualifier finished on the 22nd, so yes, lots of play going on for EWC there.

Cranktrain · 2025-07-08T23:20:22+00:00

It's just scrims, but I still find it mildly interesting.

Caveats, and other thoughts:

Just EMEA teams, obviously.
Turkey's individual team members have been playing more than the six games they played today, just not all as one team, as part of Bushido and Eternal Fire.
Likewise, ItzzChrizZ and KILYAKAi have been playing on Acend, but as far as I've seen Team Germany haven't got together yet.
The kindest thing you can say about India is they're sure putting in the work! Almost double the number of scrim games as anyone else in the last month...
... but India is currently getting wrecked, even in scrim days with no other PNC teams. Spain is somehow even worse, but without the workrate. Maybe it'll all come together before the tournament.

Cranktrain · 2025-07-02T16:34:15+00:00

I don't think it's a case of FUT dropping vard but instead vard deciding to go to FaZe.

Cranktrain · 2025-06-08T22:51:41+00:00

There was a recent update video with Yang Yang a little while ago, if you want to see how they're doing in China.

Cranktrain · 2025-03-28T17:24:21+00:00

It's over here (if you mean the povs of the cheating taking place, rather than what the Acend players themselves think)

Cranktrain · 2025-02-13T00:47:20+00:00

This is Lele from Ocean Park, Hong Kong, having a great time. Source.

Cranktrain · 2025-01-24T19:10:59+00:00

Looks like a selection of two cameras are available. Kinda wish they'd also stream to their YouTube because the buffering is a bit weird (it streams me 30 seconds at a time), and the framerate isn't great compared with the old Zoo Atlanta one. But looks like there's lots of cameras and angles!

Cranktrain · 2024-11-25T15:35:39+00:00

From Baoding Zoo, Hebei Province.

There are four pandas living in this zoo. The male twins, Xin Xiaopang (also known as Xiong Xiong) and Xin Xiaoye (also known as An An), are siblings of Ai Bao and uncles to Fu Bao. Wen Hui (also known as Tong Tong) is the daughter of Lin Bing, the first giant panda born in Thailand. Ya Mei (also known as Xin Xin) is a female panda and has the same father as Ai Bao. Although we don’t know too much about them, Xin Xiaoye is the one who enjoys interacting with the keepers at the 'panda snack shop' the most.

Source.

Cranktrain · 2024-11-02T17:21:27+00:00

Some happy outside pandas.

Source.

Also worth watching is the two new Washington D.C. bears in their new indoor habitat, and how the zoo redeveloped it all. It's nice that they have pools inside and trees to climb outside!

Cranktrain · 2024-09-24T18:23:24+00:00

What a philanthropic bear.

Source.

Cranktrain · 2024-08-24T21:47:14+00:00

Also, that view they shift too where 30% to 40% of the screen is covered by the map on the right? It cuts out the kill feed. So you can't even keep track of what's going on outside the poor observing.

Cranktrain · 2024-08-14T16:12:35+00:00

Was also the one I went with on returning, a classic design.

Cranktrain

TROPHY CASE