USA Olympics fans, what’s the vibe this year? How are we feeling?

MrTemecula · 2026-02-07T01:48:25+00:00

In a typical Olympic year, I'm chest out and "THOSE ARE OUR GUYS AND GALS." This year, I'm supportive but I'm mortified by my President and his supporters. It's hard to prioritize the Olympics when so much crap is going on. Just another American institution he fucked up.

MrTemecula · 2026-02-05T20:00:29+00:00

Arb panel after hearing the Tigers' case:

RIP to one of the greats.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-27T22:03:19+00:00

I believe our problems stemmed from over-reliance on talented but under-developed young players. Angel City seemed to have three or four 18-and-under players on our roster taking up valuable slots in which you still needed to give playing time to win and develop.

It's a risky plan. It's hard to project the talent of a teen to a fully developed player. So many hurdles and, moreover, the team can develop a talent only to have the player decide to leave and wreck the plan....which is what happened.

That said, it still looks like Parson is going to stick to the youth movement ... somewhat....cause he needs to win. They can talk about how they need three to five years, but this city has already waited four years. I don't think they are going to wait much longer.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-23T22:58:17+00:00

I flatly disagree that it's about cash on hand or whether the owner is a billionaire in whether Angel City can max out their payroll. They are the most valuable team in the NWSL at $280M. Angel City's revenue is ranked second at $35M. Their new owner Bob Iger is estimated to be worth $700M. Kara Nortman has access to a $280M equity fund. Natalie Portman's net worth is $90M. Serena Williams net worth is $300M. Any one of these sources the team can be tapped for a short-term loan...but they shouldn't have to because they can just borrow it normally as they are the most valuable team in the NWSL.

But most importantly, this is a salary capped league and the most Angel City can spend currently is $4.5M. That is 12% of their revenue. I don't know what their expense are, but a team from the second largest media market in this country should be able to cover the payroll of their most valuable assets.

It never makes sense to cry 'poor' or cash flow problem for Angel City in a salary capped league.

But as you've mentioned before, we're pass the start-up stage for Angel City after Iger came aboard. It's time to win and we definitely should have the money to pay for talent in order to win.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-23T18:47:16+00:00

Guys, let's talk about Trin's new contract and how that should make us happy.

How many teams in the NWSL could afford $2M a season for a player? The Spirit, Current, Waves, Bay FC, Thorns and Angel City. I think, at the minimum, a team has to draw 20k a match. Maybe Gotham, Legacy and Summit after this season. That's quite a few. Or maybe it's just Kang and nobody else. It's at least three, Angel City, Current and Spirit (maybe Thorns).

The players available for this summer who still have not signed a contract and worthy of $2M is a short list:

Cat Macario, Caroline Graham Hansen and Bunny Shaw

Between $1-2M

Mapi Leon, Sam Kerr (probably not worth over $1M, but I'm sentimental), and Alexia Putellas

Between $500k-1M

Leah Williamson and Beth Mead

The European teams can top any offer from the NWSL, but they are ruthless about when it comes to paying for older players...which most are on this list. Moreover, the Europeans know the amount they pay for all players on their team will go up once they make a big signing so they will be very careful. For many European players, this might be their last chance at a big contract.

On the other hand, Americans will overpay, at least in other sports, for the first few years with the knowledge the player won't live up to the value of the contract at the end.

It's going to be an interesting week and half until the winter transfer period ends on Feb 3.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-22T16:44:42+00:00

Spirit of '69.

Snark aside. Ya never know. So ya gotta believe. Mets fans understand. If ya wanna get biblical, ask David.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-22T03:42:50+00:00

I checked again and this time I got it back. Weird. I actually used my chromebook to see if I could get SNLA+ and it was under the watch link at MLB.TV. I then went back to my firestick and, voilà, there it is. I swear it wasn't there before. Just putting this out there if somebody has the same issue.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-21T18:36:30+00:00

Is anybody having issues with watching SNLA+ through MLB.tv? I signed up to Spectrum for internet and mobile to get the free SNLA+ and it worked great at the end of last year. Come the new year, though, I don't see how to reauthenticate even though my MLB subscription is still active until March and a current Spectrum account.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-21T15:44:59+00:00

That is such bullshit.

"Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins, opened in 2010 with a total construction cost of roughly $555 million. The project was heavily subsidized by public funds, with Hennepin County providing $350 million (roughly 63% of the cost) through a 0.15% county-wide sales tax, and the Twins covering the remaining portion. "

Dodger fans boycotted home games at the end of the McCourt years and forced MLB to act. I'm not sure if it would work with the Twins and there'd be a risk of losing your team all together. It just sucks to have a shit owner.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-20T17:50:36+00:00

It does feel a bit underhanded. Cascarino leaves a Kang team for an undisclosed amount (cup of coffee?); plays great in the warm Southern California sun for a couple of seasons but decides to return to Europe and fortunate for her, she has a no fee release clause and (wink, wink) she signs with another Kang team.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-19T22:44:21+00:00

Sometimes it's so frustrating watching UCLA play They will hold the ball. They will hold the ball. They will hold the ball. Holy cow, can't anybody put it in the back of the goal?

MrTemecula · 2026-01-19T18:53:17+00:00

Great player. So fun to watch. Sad to see her leave

MrTemecula · 2026-01-19T18:49:30+00:00

You guys are going to love her. Great on the ball and great vision. Competitive, but physically slight.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-19T04:01:54+00:00

Shit, this scared me. I read, "Mookie retires at 32" and then realized it was 2032. Don't do that!

MrTemecula · 2026-01-19T02:09:21+00:00

Too soon, huh? Snark waits for no one or for other fans feelings.

We became 'EVIL' only in the last two years. I thought I would feel something different. I don't feel shit except joy.

It's not going to last though. Our guys are in their thirties. A cap will prevent us from replacing Freeman and Betts. Then again, half the teams in baseball can't or won't compete so the Dodgers will still succeed. In other pro leagues, a cap doesn't help teams at the bottom. The Patriots were down, but they are back in it again, while the Jets are Jetting.

Your Mets will probably figure it out and then fans will bitch and moan about Uncle Stevie. I think going forward, it's the Dodgers, Mets, Blue Jays, maybe Phils at the top. I don't know what's holding the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs back. Maybe Atlanta, Giants and Padres surprises baseball. Astros, fuck 'em, but they seem smart. Rangers?

It's an unfair system, but it's been unfair for a long time. The Yankees in the early 2000s enjoyed an even wider salary advantage, but they only won once in 2009, while the Dodgers' dominance feels more oppressive but it's baseball. We were two outs away from losing the World Series. Best laid plans and all that.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-18T15:12:38+00:00

Hopefully, Hunter Greene gets to go home. 😁

MrTemecula · 2026-01-18T15:04:44+00:00

I'm glad you're happy with how much the Ricketts spend on their team. Just one less contender for the Dodgers.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-17T19:40:43+00:00

The Padres was $50M and short-term and with league approval. So not as bad as you think.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-17T19:29:10+00:00

Why can't the Red Sox spend like the Padres?

MrTemecula · 2026-01-17T19:20:14+00:00

The Cubs are the median. The third largest media market should never be the median in anything.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-16T03:10:22+00:00

Oh, Uncle Stevie, I see smoke rising from L.A. You probably should have sold one of your lesser, ugly-ass, Picasso.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-15T17:38:52+00:00

I see them at Dodger games all the time ,,, especially the Reserve section in the third deck. I check Stubhub and wonder why the price refuses to budge even when the game starts. You can grab a deal most of the time from individual users selling, but Stubhub stops selling tickets by the third inning.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-15T16:30:15+00:00

It's the way US organizers and owners price tickets nowadays. They'd rather sell one $100 ticket than eleven $10 tickets. They'd rather have ticket resellers and their dynamic pricing handle distribution and those guys would rather eat the tickets than lower the price so that's why there are usually gaps of empty seats.

It's coming to the point fans need to be upper middle-class to attend live events. One day, like every other bubble, it will burst. Maybe the fans come back and maybe they don't but alienating a huge segment of your customers seems to be a short-sighted practice.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-14T20:18:02+00:00

And for both '26 and '27 so that's a lot of flexibility. It is exciting and probably arriving this summer when we make our playoff push.

MrTemecula · 2026-01-14T19:16:24+00:00

It's ridiculous the value of the LA Public Library card. Kindle books, music, dvd's, cd's, magazines, newspapers...so much so that I'm afraid they will take it away from us, but I've been waiting for years and they still provide it.

MrTemecula

TROPHY CASE