Second opening day match postponed! El Trafico at the Rosebowl. That sucks, I was looking forward to that one.

Damn you Al Gore!

Apple TV wanted more games, especially "highly rated" playoff games.
Owners wanted guaranteed home games in the playoffs as a bonus game for extra revenue.
Ouila...... round robin in the first round. Now every playoff team gets a home game.
* 8v9 play-in is not really a playoff game unless you're a player that gets a bonus from qualifying for the playoffs.

Got access through the free T mobile offer and poked around a few games for a bit. Production quality is top notch.

Waiting on the Austin FC broadcast but have the MLS 360 show on for a bit and its pretty good, they went live to a penalty kick and then to another game as a goal was scored. pretty cool

I'm liking the 360 show.

Also St Louis scores their franchise first.

Not sure how I feel about MLS 360. I like having a whip around show, but they kick it back to the studio after every clip. I'd rather they just show a competitive game. I'm sure they'll keep improving it.

Ya I think they need a 360.1 channel that is only the game feed and switches to key moments or something

But damn! Some of these games are wild. Thiago Almada scores 2 in stoppage time to win it for ATL. DC score 2 past 90 to beat Toronto.

Both were absolute bangers as well. Gonna be a wild season in the ATL.

Are alot of the games getting huge stoppage time amounts like the WC this year? Dynamo game went +9.

St Louis

Sad start for Texas

Crap game from Kipp Keller. Should never see the field again.

But more importantly the Apple TV is wonderful. We are finally getting MLS matches in true HD. In fact, the feeds looked clearer than some of the EPL feeds.

The feeds are great. Can finally follow dynamo even if they suck. Been without cable for about 6 years.

There were no draws yesterday. Pretty wild

The little videos about teams rituals is pretty interesting. Production quality was top notch. Love it especially cus I got it for free.

Almada's equalizer.

Needs a NSFW bangers only tag

THIAGO.
EZEQUIEL.
ALMADA. pic.twitter.com/zbxbdCzHRq

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) February 26, 2023

For whatever reason I couldn't easily find the highlights show on the app. But if you search "MLS Wrap-Up," it'll show up then

Let’s be clear - what Stroud does (you can clearly see him signal his former teammate and “close friend” to give him the ball) - is considered one of the dirtiest, BS moves in the game. He really should be ashamed of himself. I dislike ATX as much as anyone, but that’s crap. https://t.co/IUz5QnPRwR

— peter (@peet2) February 27, 2023

Feel like someone on Austin needs to lay that dude out very soon after, thats a scumbag move

Oooof. Yeah, you can see from the expression on his face as his teammates come to celebrate with him that he knows he just crossed a big line.

I think "dirtiest" and "scumbag" moves is a little much. He's right in front of the defender, wearing a different jersey. Idk how much of what he did influenced the pass vs just a massive brain fart.

Out in Left Field said:

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I think "dirtiest" and "scumbag" moves is a little much. He's right in front of the defender, wearing a different jersey. Idk how much of what he did influenced the pass vs just a massive brain fart.

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I remember a similar thing happened 40 years ago. Georgetown(Ewing and co) vs NC (Jordan was a freshman). Last minute of the game, Georgetown has a ball in the front court and i think it was Worthy who broke for mid court. The Georgetown guard saw him out of the corner of his eye and passed it. Didn't expect a defender to be there. Sealed the championship for NC.

I don't know if Stroud felt like Austin gave up on him or what, but he was playing like an AHole most of the match. When he was subbed off, he walked the long way along the sidelines back to the bench and was taunting the crowd on his way.

Out in Left Field said:

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I think "dirtiest" and "scumbag" moves is a little much. He's right in front of the defender, wearing a different jersey. Idk how much of what he did influenced the pass vs just a massive brain fart.

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There are definitely more dirty and scumbaggy things you can do on a soccer field. And it was definitely a brain fart, but you can see Stroud square himself to the defender and gesture with his arms that he wants a pass. Might have said something audibly (like call for a drop) to his former teammate too, but I doubt we'll ever know that. It wasn't sporting for sure.

I'm more shocked by the number of players and fans appealing for offside, and that the commentator felt the need to explain.

I think Keller's reaction shows this isn't close to being the dirtiest thing ever. This was his screwup. Maybe something was said, but if it was that egregious, there would've been a brawl - or at the very least there would've been negative comments after the game.

Out in Left Field said:

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I think "dirtiest" and "scumbag" moves is a little much. He's right in front of the defender, wearing a different jersey. Idk how much of what he did influenced the pass vs just a massive brain fart.

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The ball is played to you as a defender, you hear a voice calling for the ball that you are used to hearing and your mind/body makes the decision to pass it back to them on auto-pilot.

He knows what he is doing by calling for it.
You don't turn, then verify the color jersey, then decide to pass. It all happens at once, and you can see the Austin player reacting as the ball is on the way

It's still a big mistake to make the pass, of course, but it is for sure a sleazy thing to do

Almost as if he was shocked it worked.

I would think this tactic is pretty common. I mean, these players are okay with diving, time wasting, and general sh*thousery, but draw the line at an opponent tricking you by calling for the ball? If you fall for it, that's your own fault.

It is kinda humourous what is seen as foul play and what's seen as "the dark arts of the game" and just accepted.

The line is certainly blurry.

RealTalk said:

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I would think this tactic is pretty common. I mean, these players are okay with diving, time wasting, and general sh*thousery, but draw the line at an opponent tricking you by calling for the ball? If you fall for it, that's your own fault.

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The thing that makes it different, imo, is he played with Austin last year.

Pahdz said:

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It is kinda humourous what is seen as foul play and what's seen as "the dark arts of the game" and just accepted.

The line is certainly blurry.

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The thing about most "dark arts" is that they're actually against the laws of the game, but they're so subtle that refs don't notice.

And yeah I'll gladly accept (and in some cases celebrate) someone mindgaming someone else, fully within the laws of the game, over a blatant flop or dirty foul. Those latter things start scrums on the field. This did not. That speaks volumes to its level of dirtyness.

Ultimately the Austin player only has himself to blame.

Stroud may have lost himself some friends in the opposing locker room, but I don't think anything he did crosses the line here purely in terms of on field conduct. This discussion is almost as pointless as the "unwritten rules" in baseball.

Kampfers said:

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Ultimately the Austin player only has himself to blame.

Stroud may have lost himself some friends in the opposing locker room, but I don't think anything he did crosses the line here purely in terms of on field conduct. This discussion is almost as pointless as the "unwritten rules" in baseball.

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Calling out to an opponent to distract or deceive them is technically cautionable as unsporting behavior, but no ref is giving that card at the professional level.

Good to know. I stand corrected.

Match day 1 features no draws