clients
The Guardian • FourFourTwo • ESPN
Bleacher Report • SoccerWire • OZY • USA TODAY
Fox Soccer • Huffington Post • Popdose • Bloody Elbow

topics
general soccer • women’s soccer • youth soccer
Olympics • MMA • entertainment / social issues

books

lrg

Long-Range Goals

 spirit

Enduring Spirit

 sds

Single-Digit Soccer

history
B.A.: Duke (philosophy, music) • The Chronicle
M.A.: Duke (liberal studies) • thesis
Work: USA TODAY • KRT • News & Record • Star-News
resume • work history • portfolio

contact
duresport at gmail

Ranting Soccer Dad blog and podcast

  • The official Athletes(‘) Council arrivals and departures list, and more
    I got clarification on one thing from the past post on the Athletes Council (or Athletes’ or Athlete’s, though the last seems incorrect unless you’re talking about one athlete). Elected/re-elected in 2016 to 2017-21 term (not up for election this time) Gavin Sibayan (Paralympic) Brian Ching (MNT) Brad Guzan (MNT, playing for team as I… Read More
  • Should the Athletes(‘) Council include non-national teamers?
    Start with the Ted Stevens Act, the law (Congressional — Sunil Gulati did not write this) that gives organizations such as U.S. Soccer their authority. From that Act (U.S. Code › Title 36 › Subtitle II › Part B › Chapter 2205 › Subchapter I › § 220501): (1) “amateur athlete” means an athlete who meets the… Read More
  • Re-organizing Northern Virginia leagues
    First, a quick announcement — because I’m writing for Soccer America now and have a book in the works, I won’t have many posts and podcasts over the winter. But I wanted to take care of something I’ve been trying to do for a while, and it’s a case study of what can be done with a… Read More
  • My rebuttal to the dudes claiming Katie Nolan used “alternative facts” about WNBA
    ESPN’s Katie Nolan recently argued that WNBA players are underpaid. Now, you could argue that they aren’t, given the WNBA’s inability to bring in a lot of revenue. That’s a discussion worth having. This rebuttal video claiming Nolan used “alternative facts,” on the other hand, is full of ad hominem arguments and alternative facts of… Read More
  • Exciting news and a meditation on the mercy rule
    I’ve been lucky in recent years to write for a publication I’ve long loved, The Guardian. Now I’m lucky again to write for a second publication that sustained the small U.S. soccer community in the pre-Internet era and continues to be a vital source of news and perspective … Soccer America. My debut piece is… Read More
  • RSD podcast: How the ref shortage makes things a little amusing
    If I sound out of breath, it’s because I reffed six games this weekend.  
  • NPSL turnover and why we need youth clubs to build up, not vice versa
    Stop what you’re doing and read the excellent SocTakes analysis of turnover in the NPSL. … Are you back? OK. If you’ve followed lower division soccer over the years, you know this isn’t a recent phenomenon. Go back and look up the names in the old A-League on Wikipedia, where some kind soul listed each… Read More
  • NSR (Non-Soccer Rant): Why the Caps’ Cup means so much
    You don’t know what this means. How could you? Unless you’ve lived in metro D.C. for a while, you can’t know. You might think you know about basic sports ineptitude. Cleveland gets that, as do a few other cities. Atlanta has only that lone World Series win from the decade of great Braves teams. But… Read More
  • A Recreational/Most Travel Soccer Manifesto (updated)
    A couple of years ago, I wrote a Recreational Soccer Manifesto for SoccerWire. At the time, I was focused more on the younger age groups, having just written Single-Digit Soccer, and I was pushing the idea of having no full-time travel soccer (just All-Star tournaments and other interclub matchups) for kids under age 12. But I did… Read More
  • U.S. Open Cup qualifiers: Which leagues fared the best?
    The U.S. adult (not pro, but maybe not amateur) league system is in flux, with tons of teams joining the suddenly sprawling UPSL and other leagues taking steps toward greater recognition. So with that in mind, it was interesting to see U.S. Soccer release the list of teams contesting the Open Cup in 2018-19 broken… Read More
Advertisements