Mike Pendleton
@phat7deuce.bsky.social
2.3K followers 1.1K following 4.2K posts
St. Pete, Florida. Broken by watching and yapping about soccer. Too much time on my hands. Design Nerd. Unhealthy Vices: Tampa Bay Rowdies, Tampa Bay Sun, AS Roma, Liverpool FC. (And also Boston Celtics, NBA/WNBA at large.)
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phat7deuce.bsky.social
Back in 2018, my new drug was putting that sexy saxophone crescendo from "Baker Street" over highlights. Time to bring my favorites here. 🎷 Sound ON. 🔊

Exhibit A: Wayne Rooney to Acosta (2018)
Reposted by Mike Pendleton
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Playoffs in a lot of sports is a war of attrition, but man these W playoffs really have been a rolling injury ward. Now AT out on top of Satou.
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Don’t know if that included Rowdies full-time employees for not.
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Absolutely a class thing to do.

“Sternberg awarded cash bonuses to every full-time member of the organization, more than 500 employees in all.”

“The total payout by Sternberg was in the tens of millions, sources said. The lowest bonuses were believed to be in the $25,000 to $50,000 range.”
Stu Sternberg awarded Rays employees with significant bonuses after selling the team: Sources
Sternberg sold the Rays in late September and issued significant bonuses to all full-time employees of the team.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Mike Pendleton
jeffrueter.bsky.social
Some personal news: today is my final day at The Athletic, ending a 6+ year tenure on its staff.

Immensely fortunate to have covered this sport alongside some of the finest writers and editors in the industry. Will keep you posted as I figure out what’s next for my work!
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Jeff. You’ve done amazing work over those 6 years. The quality of your reporting and deep knowledge and care of what your reporting about will be so missed and has few peers. Hope the next chapter is an even better one.
Reposted by Mike Pendleton
rodger.bsky.social
All-time social media graphic from ESPN
An image of a Giants player back flipping with the text

He’s genuinely an idiot.
GUNNER OLSZEWSKI
on Cam Skattebo
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Leo Fernandes and Seba Guenzatti both on that list too
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Surge in colonoscopies after the King misses time following prep day
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Old LeBron going for relatable vibes in his late career with us geriatrics
phat7deuce.bsky.social
I made this joke in a group chat earlier and I wish it had been fully appreciated
Reposted by Mike Pendleton
Reposted by Mike Pendleton
jdnalton.bsky.social
Hopefully Nashville SC get to defend their US Open Cup title next year and MLS isn't allowed to continue withdrawing its teams from the country's domestic cup competition.
phat7deuce.bsky.social
This is (part of) how you make the Open Cup a big deal. By treating it...like a big deal. Lots of respect to Nashville SC for this.
sixonefivesoccer.com
On Sunday, Nashville SC presented the first championship trophy in the city's history to a crowd of nearly 4,000 fans, a milestone moment for the club and the sport of soccer in Tennessee.
www.sixonefivesoccer.com/gallery-nash...
phat7deuce.bsky.social
This is (part of) how you make the Open Cup a big deal. By treating it...like a big deal. Lots of respect to Nashville SC for this.
sixonefivesoccer.com
On Sunday, Nashville SC presented the first championship trophy in the city's history to a crowd of nearly 4,000 fans, a milestone moment for the club and the sport of soccer in Tennessee.
www.sixonefivesoccer.com/gallery-nash...
Gallery: Nashville SC's Open Cup celebration
The Boys In Gold brought the US Open Cup trophy to Geodis Park to celebrate with the fans
www.sixonefivesoccer.com
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Yeah, that would be sensible.
phat7deuce.bsky.social
I'm just not sure how much he even "invests" here. Some of these are essentially gifted AFAIK or given to them for a nominal fee for way less than valuation.

Caleb Williams will do zero to move Legacy's relevance in or outside of Boston. Tom Brady on the other hand, David Ortiz, Jayson Tatum? Sure.
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Yeah, totally. If you’re engaged, or put some real bank behind it, it can be a thing. But those are definitely the minority.

I think it’s just a dumb thing sports teams are doing these days because they see other sports teams doing it, but don’t put in the real work to make it work.
phat7deuce.bsky.social
It’s almost the equivalent of dropping a graphic that says:

“CALEB WILLIAMS. BOUGHT 5 SHARES OF APPLE STOCK.”
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Hahaha. Exactly.

(Although in his case he’s such a sicko that there’s a non-zero chance.)
phat7deuce.bsky.social
Don’t get me wrong, it’s harmless, but it’s also meaningless, too. At one point you could say it’s some symbol of “supporting women’s sports”, but unless he’s at Legacy games with some relevant frequency waving a scarf, I think it’s probably best as a sport that we move past these things.