Category: Sports

Dodger Fans vs. the Dodgers

Everyone by now knows the story: dozens/hundreds/thousands of Dodger fans are disillusioned/upset/angry with the team for not saying anything during the continued federal siege of Los Angeles by Homeland Security enforcement departments (ICE mainly, but CPB and HSI are in the mix as well along with the Marines and National Guard).

Last month, I was one of the first to break that story and I did so in L.A. Public Press.

You can read the full story at this link: https://lapublicpress.org/2025/06/dodgers-ice-raids-fans-boycott/

The timeline from when the story came to be and was published is an interesting one. I began work on it on a Tuesday. That morning, news outlets announced the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Warner & Guggenheim Partners. Warner and Guggenheim are also the majority owners of the Dodgers.

My article above went live the next afternoon. That same night, the L.A. Times revealed a PR scoop that the Dodgers were going to announce something regarding the fans demand for a statement.

Thursday morning, federal vehicles and agents were discovered just outside one of the parking lots at Dodger stadium. This was the same morning that the Dodgers were set to make an announcement. Now they were stuck doing damage control…and they did so as well as they did damage control over their non-statement. Too little, too late.

Hype vs History: How Two Cup Tournaments Highlight the Battle Between the Past, Present & Future of the Sport in the USA

The schism that divides Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber’s vision for the league (and the sport in general) and the sport’s too-often-forgotten-by-design history was on full display on September 25, 2024 thanks to a cup trophy double-header in the USA.

The day began with Club América of Liga MX lifting the Campeones Cup trophy after defeating the Columbus Crew of MLS. Hours later, Los Angeles FC lifted the US Open Cup title at home in an overtime thriller against Sporting Kansas City.

The former is one of the tournaments invented by long-running MLS commissioner Don Garber. The Campeones Cup pits the winner of Liga MX’s Copa de Campeones Cup and the MLS league winner. This one-off game spawned the separate, month-long Leagues Cup, which is an all MLS vs all Liga MX affair and the latest in big ideas of Garber’s lifelong escapades in US and CONCACAF (and soon-to-be global?!) soccer.

The antithesis to these ideas is the US Open Cup. Founded in 1913, the tournament has hosted US teams from every division and continues to do so today…and that’s in spite of Garber’s attempted meddling in all facets of US soccer.

It was around this time last year that MLS announced that it would not field any teams in the US Open Cup and would instead send in the MLS reserve sides to the tournament. The pushback was swift, but only eight of 29 MLS teams decided to continue competing as normal. The others were replaced by their MLS Next Pro counterparts.

Continue reading “Hype vs History: How Two Cup Tournaments Highlight the Battle Between the Past, Present & Future of the Sport in the USA” →

Three Days A Volunteer At SoFi Stadium for Copa América 2024

I almost missed out on the Copa América this year. I attempted to sign up for a press pass as I normally do for a balompié tournament in the US. I say attempted because, unfortunately, the application page for credentials via CONMEBOL left me with more questions than answers I could provide to the ones listed on the request form.

As a friend of mine at ESPN noted: “dude it’s a mess lol – there’s gonna be mistakes and some angry people this summer haha.”

I’m not sure how many mistakes were made via the application…but there were plenty of questionable choices and decisions that the higher-ups at CONMEBOL made before and during the tournament, which resulted in the many ridiculous and/or terrible stories you may have already seen by now: from the insanely priced food served in the media press room at SoFi stadium to the horrifying scenes at the final in Miami.

I witnessed the result of CONMEBOL’s questionable leadership first-hand, early-on in the tournament during my brief stint as an official volunteer for the Copa América 2024. A journalist friend of mine at the L.A. Times shared information on how to enroll as a volunteer at the tournament. It was my best chance to at least attend the two group stage games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

View from VIP entrance 10 of SoFi Stadium adjacent to the YouTube Theater venue; a passenger plane flies in the sky.
View near VIP entrance 10 at SoFi Stadium, adjacent to the YouTube Theater.

The application for volunteers was mercifully easier to complete than the one for journalists. There were numerous categories listed for applicants to choose from depending on their skills and preferences. These were: Training Site, Competitions Support, Team Services, Antidoping, Security, International Relations, Commercial Operations, and Media Operations. The Media Operations option was divided into additional subcategories: mixed zone, conference analyst, press conference analyst, photo analyst, press conference support, and press tribune analyst.

Continue reading “Three Days A Volunteer At SoFi Stadium for Copa América 2024” →

Two L.A. Debuts: the L.A. Times and LAist!

Within a one-week period, I debuted in two L.A. news outlets: the L.A. Times and LAist.

For the former, I interviewed Rafa Marquez, one of Mexico’s greatest soccer players, to discuss the Netflix documentary that bears his name.

LINK: https://www.latimes.com/delos/story/2024-06-18/rafa-marquez-netflix-documentary-el-capitan-mexico

And it’s available in Spanish!

Enlace para la versión en español: https://www.latimes.com/espanol/deportes/articulo/2024-06-19/rafa-marquez-netflix-documentary-el-capitan-mexico

For the latter, I wrote a list of establishments where one can eat and/or watch games in L.A. during the Copa América this summer. The list is based on each competing national team!

LINK: https://laist.com/news/food/eat-your-way-through-copa-america-where-to-watch-the-south-american-soccer-tournament-in-la

The fact that I debuted in both these outlets by writing about soccer is incredibly on point!

Messi League Soccer

Have y’all heard about this guy named Messi? He’s pretty good at this soccer thing.

Messi and Inter Miami came to Los Angeles over the Labor Day weekend and I got to witness it first-hand for LA Taco.

EXCERPT:

Although Messi had already been presented to the Inter Miami faithful during a tropical storm more than a month ago and made his sporting debut in the Leagues Cup against historic Mexican club Cruz Azul, it wasn’t until this game in Los Angeles that the full-weight of the moment came to fruition.

The new iteration of Major League Soccer, with an assist from tech and media giant Apple, as the beacon leading the world into the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the main competition with Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Pro League for players, fans, and soft power, was officially here and shepherding the new age of modern football.

Read it all here: https://lataco.com/messi-mls-history

LA Taco’s LAFC Hat-Trick

The Leagues Cup has finally come and gone after what felt like an eternity. I have plenty of thoughts about the Super League style tournament (and they’re not positive ones either) but I’ll save that for another day. For now, my hat-trick of articles (sponsored content, actually!) of coverage of three of LAFC’s four Leagues Cup games will suffice.

First story: It’s a Must-Win for LAFC, Facing Mexico’s FC Juárez On Wednesday to Advance Their ‘Leagues Cup’ Dreams

Second story: LAFC Face Real Salt Lake After Demolishing FC Juárez, Advance One Step Closer to New Trophy

Third and final story: It’s Los Angeles vs. Monterrey as LAFC Get Ready For Their Toughest ‘Leagues Cup’ Match Yet

50 Years of Coras USA

My latest article for KCET is available to read and enjoy. It’s a deep dive into Coras USA, aka Coras de Los Angeles, a local soccer team that existed for 50 years in southern California. The team was a cultural umbilical cord for Mexicans in Mexico and the US and later became a gateway for young players hoping to become professionals.

What began as a fun ritual for the weekend grew into a family legacy of community-building that lasted half a century. During its existence, Coras USA united working-class, immigrant families from Nayarit and other regions of Mexico in Los Angeles and provided youth players a pathway towards a professional career during its final years in the city of Riverside.

“Its original name is Deportivo Coras USA,” explained Lopez of the team founded by his father and uncles. “The first name that it had was Coras de Los Angeles. Along the years, it had a couple of name changes like Deportivo Nayarit [and] Deportivo Coras Nayarit. It’s always been Coras but it’s been known for Coras de Los Angeles because it branched out of Coras de Tepic.”

Read the story in full here: https://www.kcet.org/arts-culture/50-years-of-coras-usa-how-two-generations-built-community-with-soccer

Canelo Tells TACO: “I Plan To Knock Out GGG In The First Round”

La tercera es la vencida. The third time’s the charm. 

As all the paisas know, this Saturday, September 17th will mark the third and final time Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez will face Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin, aka GGG, in the ring. For Canelo, la tercera needs to be a statement win: either by knockout or a clear victory through 12 rounds, as he clearly put it during a media day at the House of Boxing in San Diego two weeks ago.

“My objective is to win by knockout starting in the first round,” he told L.A. TACO. “My goal is to end the fight before the third round. It’s going to be a difficult and complicated fight, but that’s my goal and what I intend to do from the first round.”

Read the rest at L.A. Taco!

Howler Magazine Returned in Time to Welcome Gareth Bale to Los Angeles

And that’s thanks to your truly! Yes, Howler has returned from the ashes in a web-only format for the time being and I was invited to write up a fun story about the most famous Welshman’s arrival to California.

For example:

[Imagine] Bale behind the steering wheel, his family in tow, checking his options on Google Maps as to whether he should take the 405 south to the 10 to the 5 or head further south on the 405 to the 91 to the 5.

Read the rest here: https://www.whatahowler.com/gareth-bale-in-los-angeles/