Category: Sports

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!