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The Athletic is reporting that the New England Revolution is finalizing a deal to secure the services of Caleb Porter - an MLS Cup-winning manager with both the Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew - to take the helm of the club.

According to the United States Soccer Federation Professional League Standards... II. Division 1 Men's Outdoor League: a. Composition; Play i. League must have a minimum of twelve teams to apply. By year three, the league must have a minimum of 14 teams. ii. U.S.-based teams must participate in all representative U.S. soccer and Concacaf competitions for which they are eligible. To the best of my knowledge, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a representative U.S. Soccer competition. As such, unless granted a waiver from the USSF to sit out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, all U.S.-based Major League Soccer teams must participate in said competition. If MLS unilaterally pulls its teams from the competition, it will be in violation of the USSF's standards for a Division 1 Men's Outdoor League and subject to having its sanctioning stripped. Without said sanctioning, MLS would become an outlaw league. Which begs the question, will the United States Soccer Federation stand its ground and insist that Major League Soccer comply with the standard in question? While I think it's obvious that the USSF won't call Major League Soccer's bluff, I have to say that it would be interesting to see what the response - from Garber, CONCACAF, FIFA - would be if they did. Further, one wonders how an attorney for any of the plaintiffs who have alleged over the years that too cozy a relationship exists between the United States Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer would paint the federation electing to not enforce its sanctioning standards in this case?

New England Chowdahheads was moronic, but New England Knockouts sounds like promotional copy for a strip club. "Coming to the Boardroom Cabaret's Platinum Stage... gentlemen, make some noise for your New England Knockouts!!!" Frankly, I was shocked that Knockouts wasn't just selected by team ownership from the get-go. The summer collegiate wood bat team that they operate out of the same ballpark in Brockton is dubbed the Rox, a nod to both local boxer Rocco "Rocky Marciano" Marchegiano and the MLB team that plays just under 20 miles away. There's already signage at Campanelli Stadium bearing a Rox logo that features a boxing gloves hanging by their laces from the team's former, stylized word mark. I wouldn't be at all surprised if, in the name of saving a few bucks, the owner doesn't just brand the Knockouts with a similar logo. They should have named the team the Brockton Shoemakers. The notion that this ball club is going to draw the interest of baseball fans from throughout New England is ridiculous, so why pretend that's the case with its place name? Hell, if you want to play that game, New England Shoemakers makes just as much sense. The entire New England region was home to shoemaking factories in cities and towns including Brockton, Brookfield, Haverhill, Lynn, Marblehead, Marlborough, Natick, Randolph, and Newburyport in Massachusetts; Barrington, Dover, Farmington, and Rochester in New Hampshire; Berwick, Brunswick, Lewiston, and Wilton in Maine.

Giorgio Chiellini Announces Retirement From Professional Football We're going to miss this guy in Los Angeles. One of the most wonderful experiences of my life was getting to introduce my son to him after a Los Angeles Football Club match last year. Giorgio couldn't have been kinder and my son was absolutely thrilled. We were blessed to have him suit up for the Black and Gold. Molte grazie, Giorgio. Non puoi essere sostituito, né in campo né nei nostri cuori. Ti vogliamo bene!

The Columbus Crew are the MLS Cup Champions for 2023! Can their "Hell Is Real" derby rivals FC Cincinnati shake off a gutting loss in the 2023 MLS Eastern Conference Final and add a Cup win of their own to the 2023 Supporters Shield? Will 2024 see Luis Suarez join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami? Have LAFC stars Carlos Vela and Giorgio Chiellini played their last games in Major League Soccer? Can Robert and Jonathan Kraft convince the Massachusetts Legislature to approve construction of a soccer-specific stadium for the New England Revolution? Does Commissioner Don Garber's solution for addressing schedule congestion involve decreasing MLS participation in the U.S. Open Cup? How successful will USL Championship side Rhode Island FC be in its inaugural season? What will the arrival of Bay FC and the return of the Utah Royals mean for the National Women's Soccer League? Will the launch of the USL Super League as a second Division 1 women's circuit be a boon for the sport? The New Year will hold the answers to those questions and more.

I'm pulling for Colorado School of Mines in the NCAA Division II tournament. Why? Because you have to love a team dubbed the Orediggers that sports a logo in which a a burro named Blaster grips a lit stick of dynamite between his teeth. Classic.

Thus far, there's nothing to indicate that the United Soccer League's new multi-year rights agreement with CBS Sports calls for coverage of any matches but those of USL Championship and USL League One sides. The USL Championship and USL League One are the only United Soccer League competitions mentioned in the press release and their respective emblems - the Championship's and League One's - are the only individual USL league marks that accompany the story announcing the agreement. In addition to the main United Soccer League website, said story only appears on the USL Championship and USL League One home pages. It could come to pass that match coverage of the United Soccer League's women's competitions - USL Super League and USL W League - are added to the deal. However, that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment. Might the current rights agreement between CBS and the National Women's Soccer League preclude the media company from airing the games of another women's domestic soccer league?

Branding a Rockford, Illinois-based sports franchise with Chicago as its place name is the equivalent of branding a Springfield, Massachusetts-based team with Boston as its place name. Which is to say, equally asinine. Glomming on to the place name of a higher profile, more populous city located 70 to 80 miles away from your actual home market isn't likely to convince anyone living in the larger municipality to take a rooting interest in your team. What's more, locals in the actual host community could regard the decision to brand as a franchise from the larger city as being dismissively disrespectful. It makes absolutely no sense to risk alienating the potential fans in your own backyard by attempting to "be more attractive to advertisers" who, quite frankly, would have to be brain dead not to realize that your team isn't operating in the locale you're claiming it does. The Chicago Rush (of Rockford) is the minor-pro sports equivalent of cosplay.

Minnesota Wild = St. Paul Saints

The Frontier League's Brockton, Massachusetts-based New England expansion franchise has revealed the five finalist identities for team name. They are... New England Nor'easters New England Grinders New England Chowdahheads New England Knockouts New England Chowdah Monstahs If you're so inclined, you can vote in the New England Professional Baseball "Name Your Team" contest HERE.

So many questions about these branding choices... * Will it be possible for Boston to have a mediocre game, or will they always play either Wicked good or Wicked bad hockey? * With Minnesota reported to be playing home games in Saint Paul, will the team's mascot be Mother Superior? * Will the Echo have an answer for every team they play, or just the Sound? * If New York turns in a terrible performance on the ice, will it still be appropriate to say they played Sound hockey? * Does it seem ironic that a team dubbed Alert appears unaware that its namesake's moniker was plural? * Is Torch meant to commemorate the burning of the Legislative Assembly and Government House during the War of 1812? A nod to the Great Toronto Fire of 1849? A tip of the toque to the Great Toronto Fire of 1904? Or was it simply chosen to keep Montreal from using it?

Extremely clever!

"Fiber manufactured in San Diego County is the thread that binds our communities together. Shop local and look for the San Diego Fiber Council seal."

I've been meaning to comment about how much I've enjoyed the series since you posted the first concept. Each successive design has been a unique and well-crafted take. Then you unveiled this Gold Coast brand treatment and I found it absolutely breathtaking. It completely captured my attention in a way that the Titans' existing mark never had. Again, kudos!

Phenomenal... absolutely PHENOMENAL! One of the finest marks I've ever seen. A truly outstanding piece of work, Frasier.

As a supporter and season ticket-holder since Day 1, I have to say that I'm just not feeling this. While I welcome the return of the club's badge to where it ought to be - positioned over a player or supporter's heart - the rest is leaving me cold. I've always wondered what pinstripes might look like on an LAFC kit. Now that I know, I'm not a fan. I much prefer the subtlety of the black-on-black sublimated patterns that marked our inaugural and current jersey designs. The art deco motif on the present version is my particular favorite (though the positioning of the crest isn't optimal).

The National Football League holds the trademark for Canton Bulldogs through its properties division.

There aren't many professional soccer clubs that eschew incorporating their name - or, at the very least, their initials - into their crest. Wracking my brain, I can think of Atlético Madrid, Botafogo, Cheltenham Town, Derby County FC, Fiorentina, Genoa, JEF United Chiba, Norwich City FC, Pumas UNAM, Salernitana, and Wolverhampton. I'm sure there are more, but clearly such clubs are in the minority. I'll give Seattle Sounders FC credit for joining them and going so minimalist. It's nice to see a club "roll the dice" and buck tradition.

I agree that the kits will be Burgundy, as that's undoubtedly going to be the club's official color. As for the team's name, I've heard that they're going with Fuẞballverein Walvagina. The Fuẞballverein Walvagina badge is reportedly centered on a quartered shield and breaks down as follows: Above the shield - filling the space normally given over to the crest, torse, mantling, and helmet in a coat of arms - is a full, luxurious head of hair. Upper Left Quarter of the shield - a whale receiving oral pleasure from a panther Upper Right Quarter of the shield - a flute Lower Left Quarter of the shield - a bottle of Scotch... Scotchy, Scotch, Scotch Lower Right Quarter of the shield - the KWVN-TV 4 news bug Beneath the shield - a scroll shaped like a bold, thick mustache that contains the club's motto, Mantente con Clase, San Diego. We can hope, right?

Brockton Shoemakers Baseball... the Heart and Sole of the game.

While I'd concede that Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is 4 to 4.5 miles "as the crow flies" across Boston from White Stadium, I can understand the impulse on the part of the club's ownership group to utilize a depiction of The Zakim in the NWSL Boston visual identity package. After all, Boston Unity Soccer Partners leadership has been steadfast in communicating that the club is committed to inclusion and empowering communities that historically have been marginalized. Mr. Zakim was a civil rights activist who fought tirelessly against antisemitism, racism, and other forms of discrimination. There's a connection there. Now, that said, I don't think the depiction of The Zakim in the "NWSL Boston 2026" shield and "NWSL Boston - Coming 2026" roundel comes close to capturing how striking the actual structure truly happens to be. If the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is truly going to be the centerpiece of the organization's visual identity, I'm hoping that the graphic design professional hired to create the club's crest makes another attempt at depicting the span. As for the club's color palette featuring multiple shades of green, there are several reasons the Boston Unity leadership team has likely opted to go this route: First, the dark green/mint green/green-yellow combination is unique in NWSL right now and likely will be in three seasons. If Boston were to lean into the darkest shade - it looks to me to be somewhere between Kaitoke (Pantone Hex #004830) and British Racing Green (Pantone Hex #004225) - as the primary color, with the lighter shade - it strikes me as a melding of Mint (Pantone Hex # ) and Screamin' Green (Pantone Hex #76FF7A) - as the secondary hue, that would make for a terrific palette. As for the green-yellow shade, I'd use it as sparingly as possible... if at all. Second, a palette comprised of shades of green could be seen as alluding to the site of the team's home stadium in Franklin Park, the largest "jewel" in Frederick Law Olmstead's "Emerald Necklace" park system within Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. Why not pay homage to the abundant scenic greenery in the urban oasis the team will call home? Finally, the controlling partner of Boston Unity is Jennifer Epstein - her father just happens to be Boston Celtics co-owner Robert Epstein. A passion for pro sports and green uniforms may just run in the family.

The club’s name appears to echo the moniker that’s been applied to an economic development region of central North Carolina that stretches 120-plus miles from just west of Winston-Salem to Fayetteville. https://nccarolinacore.com/why-the-core/location-infrastructure/

Bruce Arena is officially out as head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/bruce-arena-resigns-from-new-england-revolution