Culture
Dominik Hašek vs. the NHL: Why a legendary goalie shunned the Global Series spotlight
PRAGUE — The NHL opened its regular season in Prague last week with two Global Series games between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils. Czech hockey legends were prominently featured. Jaromir Jagr dropped the ceremonial first puck ahead of the game on Friday. Patrik Eliáš, the Devils’ all-time leading scorer, was around the team all week and dropped the puck for the second game of the series.
But one Czech hockey great was notably absent. Dominik Hašek, the Hall of Fame goalie who helped lead the Czechs to an Olympic gold medal in 1998 and one of the greatest players in Sabres franchise history, did not attend the games or participate in any promotional materials in the lead-up to the games. Last Thursday, Hašek released a statement on his X account condemning the NHL for allowing Russian players to play in the league while Vladimir Putin continues Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Friday afternoon, hours before Jagr dropped that ceremonial first puck, Hašek met with The Athletic to discuss his ongoing issue with the NHL.
Dear citizens, dear hockey fans,
The new season of the NHL will start tomorrow in Prague.
Which, as a person for whom human lives are the first place on the imaginary scale of values, I cannot remain indifferent. Unfortunately, I have to state that this will be the third…
— Dominik Hasek (@hasek_dominik) October 3, 2024
“My motivation is huge,” Hašek said. “I consider everything I do on this topic to be vitally important. What is happening now in Russia, that is, the Russian imperialist war in Ukraine and other crimes connected with it, is very similar to what Hitler did in the 1930s. And we all know how that turned out. This must not happen again. And that is why I am trying to publicly explain to people all over the world what is important and how to act so that the Russian war of aggression does not spread and ends as soon as possible. And of course, the main motivation is saving human lives. For me, human life always comes first.”
Russia escalated the war between the two nations in February 2022 when it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That month, the NHL released a statement condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and announcing it had suspended relationships with partners in Russia. Hašek has made his feelings clear since the day Russia invaded. He wrote an email to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and said he got only a brief response. In the years since, Hašek said the league has made no effort to have a dialogue with him. The NHL declined to comment for this story.
During that time, Hašek has called for the NHL to pay billions of dollars to Ukraine as compensation and was outspoken about Russian athletes being allowed to participate in the Olympics. Russians participating in the NHL serves as an advertisement for what the country is doing and improves morale in Russia, he says.
Hašek also ran for senator in Czechia this year. In September, Hašek failed to advance past the first round of voting. He’s taking the downtime to determine his next step, but he wants to stay involved in politics.
It wasn’t until 1989, when Hašek was 24, that the Czech Republic became separate from the Soviet Union. Hašek is intimately familiar with life under authoritarian rule. He doesn’t want his children to know what that’s like. Hašek has a soon-to-be 3-year-old son, Honza, with his current partner, and two adult children, Michael and Dominika, with his ex-wife. Hašek returned to the Czech Republic after retiring from the Detroit Red Wings to raise his children in his home country.
Hašek also played the final year of his career in the KHL back in 2010-11. Putin has been either the prime minister or president of Russia since 1999, making him the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin.
But while Hašek majored in history in college, he didn’t become interested in politics until after his playing career ended. He has since become more outspoken on certain issues, including this one.
Many in Czechia share Hašek’s fears and views, and for hockey fans, it extends beyond the NHL. In 2023, Rytíři Kladno, the Czech Extraliga team owned by Jaromir Jagr, signed goalie Julius Hudacek, who was born in Slovakia but had spent the previous season playing for a Kazakhstan-based team in the KHL. Fans threatened to protest games, and Kladno released Hudacek days later.
This is the second time the NHL has come to Prague since Russia invaded Ukraine. The San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators played here in 2022, and each team had a Russian player on its roster. While neither the Devils nor the Sabres brought a Russian to the Global Series, Hašek still didn’t want to be part of it. He thinks the NHL needs to speak publicly on the issue and not “bury its head in the sand.”
The NHL’s initial statement after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 said, “We also remain concerned about the well-being of the players from Russia, who play in the NHL on behalf of their NHL Clubs, and not on behalf of Russia. We understand they and their families are being placed in an extremely difficult position.”
The fact the NHL has not changed its position since that statement is disappointing to Hašek.
Russia’s war in Ukraine will likely become a more prominent NHL storyline as Alex Ovechkin chases Wayne Gretzky’s goal record. Ovechkin still has a photo with Putin as his Instagram profile picture and has not made any strong statements against the war. He hasn’t spoken about the war since 2022.
“I’m Russian, right?” Ovechkin said in 2022. “Something I can’t control. It’s not in my hands. I hope (the war)’s going to end soon. I hope it’s going to be peace in both countries. I don’t control this one.”
Hašek said he believes only Russians who condemn the war should be allowed to play in the NHL. However, he understands the difficult position Russian players are in. Hašek lives in a free country and is not an employee of the NHL, which he says gives him the freedom to speak his mind. It is more difficult for those who fear for their safety or their family’s safety, Hašek added. Or even those who could face job loss or other economic repercussions based on their words.
Hašek does not place the blame on the individual Russian players for not speaking out.
“Rules need to be set so that Russian players have an incentive to come out publicly,” Hašek said. “Some players could make the best peace ambassadors. Unfortunately, the NHL does not help the Russian hockey players one bit.”
The New York Rangers’ Russian star Artemi Panarin has been outspoken against Putin in the past. Hašek also cited Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov, a Russian who spoke out against the war when he was a member of the Calgary Flames in 2023. He posted “No War” on his Instagram account with the caption “Stop it!!!” He also did a two-hour interview with Russian journalist Yury Dud on YouTube in which he explained his opposition to the war. Hašek felt the NHL didn’t offer him enough support.
“It must be said that this is a topic that people are very afraid to talk about publicly,” Hašek said. “In the Czech Republic, there is great fear of Russia, which our parliament has designated as a terrorist state. With Russia, we have experience in this direction and, unfortunately, also victims. People don’t know how the situation will develop and if Ukraine falls, we are one of the other possible victims.”
Hašek said he would like to hear more ex-players speak out on the topic, because they are no longer dependent on the NHL for work. He knows these aren’t easy situations to navigate. He admitted to what he now views as a mistake of his own last year.
Last season, Hašek came to Buffalo as part of an annual visit to do charity work with his foundation, Hašek’s Heroes. While in town, he went to a Sabres game and participated in the start of the game by banging the drum to excite the crowd. He still loves Buffalo and considers it one of the best hockey towns in the United States. But he realized that even participating in that way went against what he had spoken about. Days later, he apologized on X.
Statement on my participation in the event 01/18/2024 and to the public and the media inquiries: On my annual visit (business, charity) to Buffalo USA, I accepted an invitation from my friends to the @NHL game (1/18/2024). At the same time, (continue)
— Dominik Hasek (@hasek_dominik) January 23, 2024
“I consider my participation in the match and its opening as my huge mistake,” Hašek wrote. “Hereby, I want to apologize to all Ukrainian soldiers and all Ukrainian people who are heroically defending not only their homeland, but also the whole of Europe against the imperialist enemy. And further to the fans who supported me and continue to support me and to everyone whom I disappointed with my act. I find this personal failure of mine very difficult to excuse. I will try even harder to fix it. At this moment, I can promise you that a similar situation will not happen again. And that I will fight to the maximum and help defend everything that the Russian state-controlled terrorist regime attacks. And criticize all those who support it with their actions.”
Last week, Hašek did meet with Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and a few others he knows from his time in Buffalo. He also met with the video team for the Sabres’ website to help them with a project they are doing on his upbringing.
“I have no interest in breaking ties,” Hašek said. “I am interested in helping the NHL as much as possible with my behavior, and nothing is changing about that. Otherwise, of course, I will not participate in any of the two matches, nor anything related to the start of this year’s NHL. The reason is clear. I don’t want to be part of an event that is an advertisement for the Russian war.”
(Photo: Petr David Josek / AP Photo)
Culture
Court Vision: 11 things to know about 2024-25 NCAA men’s college basketball season before tipoff
It’s a long wait from the first weekend in April until the first week of November, but at last, the men’s college basketball season is upon us.
We’ve already shared The Athletic’s preseason conference rankings, full of stats and analysis. We’ve rolled out our preseason All-America teams and Top 25. And there’s plenty more to come. Consider this my first national column, which will regularly cover the week that was and preview the weekend that will be.
So, before the games actually tip off, let’s get you caught up on everything you need to know.
1. UConn’s quest for a three-peat is historic — but not impossible
Last season, Connecticut became just the third program in the modern era to win back-to-back national titles, joining Florida (2006 and 2007) and Duke (1991 and 1992).
But neither the Gators nor the Blue Devils were able to run things back a third time. Which means the only team that’s ever won three straight is still John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty, which won seven consecutive championships from 1967 to ’73 (and 10 over a 12-year span). But Dan Hurley wouldn’t have turned down the Los Angeles Lakers’ head-coaching job this summer if his team didn’t have a realistic shot at cutting down the nets (again) in 2025.
Beyond the difficulty of winning a single-elimination tournament three years running is that Hurley, 51, keeps losing his best players. After his first title, three starters left for the NBA. After UConn won it all again, Hurley lost four more starters. At least Hurley convinced redshirt junior Alex Karaban to come back … but now he needs the 6-foot-9 forward to go from highly efficient role player to a true All-American.
Karaban will get help from guard Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s) and center Tarris Reed Jr. (Michigan), both top-50 transfers according to The Athletic’s list of best available players, and five-star wing Liam McNeeley was the No. 17 recruit in the nation. Hurley also needs his role players from the past two seasons to take the leap. There’s enough talent here to make another run. And if UConn does? It would cement Hurley not just as the best coach of the modern era, but one of the best the sport has ever seen.
2. The coaching carousel
Who knew that SMU firing Rob Lanier would be so consequential?
But that became the first domino in a wild offseason. SMU, ahead of its move to the ACC, quickly hired Andy Enfield away from USC, which paved the way for Eric Musselman to leave Arkansas for Los Angeles. The Razorbacks responded with a home run swing: luring Hall of Famer John Calipari away from his lifetime contract at Kentucky as his act appeared to be wearing thin in Lexington. (A blue-blood coaching change, for the fourth straight offseason.)
Kentucky settled on BYU coach Mark Pope — a captain on UK’s 1996 championship team — as Calipari’s successor, after its pursuit of Baylor coach Scott Drew came up short. BYU hired former Phoenix Suns assistant Kevin Young, who has seemingly unlocked the Cougars’ name, image and likeness vault.
POV: You are in section 224 during @CoachMarkPope‘s introduction during #BBM24. pic.twitter.com/Vchb6UQ1a5
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 14, 2024
Those interconnected dominoes don’t even factor in Michigan winning the sweepstakes for Dusty May, who took Florida Atlantic to its lone Final Four. Louisville, which ended its disastrous two-year Kenny Payne experiment, pivoted to Charleston’s Pat Kelsey.
Tony Bennett’s recent abrupt retirement from Virginia, where he hung the program’s only national championship banner in 2019, left the ACC without a championship-winning coach for the first time since 1981-82. Ron Sanchez (former head coach at Charlotte) was named interim coach and will have every opportunity to win the full-time job. And lastly, tragically, South Florida coach Amir Abdur-Rahim — who led Kennesaw State to its first NCAA Tournament appearance and was a rising star — died last week at age 43 due to complications from a medical procedure. Assistant Ben Fletcher will be the interim.
3. Zach Edey is gone, but there’s still returning star power
Edey — the first two-time Wooden Award winner since Ralph Sampson in the 1980s — is gone to the NBA, but The Athletic’s preseason All-America teams include several accomplished players.
North Carolina guard RJ Davis is the only first-team All-American back from last season, but two second-team honorees also return: Alabama guard Mark Sears and Kansas center Hunter Dickinson. (Thank the extra COVID-19 year of eligibility for guys sticking in school long enough to become household names.) Karaban is the face of UConn’s bid for a three-peat, Arizona guard Caleb Love is two seasons removed from ending Mike Krzyzewski’s Hall of Fame career, and Purdue guard Braden Smith is set to step out of Edey’s enormous shadow.
That’s just a snippet of the talent back. But there’s also …
4. Cooper Flagg, the most hyped high school prospect since …?
Welcome to the year of Flagg. The 6-foot-9 Maine native was the top-ranked recruit in this year’s freshman class, and he’s long been the front-runner to go No. 1 in the 2025 NBA Draft. It’s not hyperbolic to call him the most-anticipated high school recruit since Anthony Davis at Kentucky in 2011-12. And the nine months “The Brow” was on campus turned out pretty well for the Wildcats, no? Duke and third-year coach Jon Scheyer are hoping Flagg leads the Blue Devils to similar national championship heights — and talent-starved NBA fans in Washington, Brooklyn and Detroit are watching just as eagerly.
Flagg’s hype train hit a new gear after his performance this summer at Team USA camp. Despite being the lone college representative on the Select Team — which featured rising NBAers like Brandon Miller and Jalen Suggs — Flagg was, at times, the best player on the court.
Flagg is a better defensive player than offensive one at this point, but he can still pour it in as a scorer. Regardless, Duke’s do-everything centerpiece will have a spotlight trained on him for good reason: He’s the rare talent, even at 17, who can lead a team to a national championship.
COOP &1 @Cooper_Flagg pic.twitter.com/P9pCUnbjuf
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 28, 2024
5. Experience rules
When the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, the NCAA granted every player that season an additional year of eligibility. In the final season with those players still active, what is the legacy of that decision? The most experienced era in the recent history of the sport.
According to NCAA data, in 2018-19 — the final full season before the pandemic — the average experience level for DI men’s players was 2.41 years; for this season, it’s up to 2.62. But that data isn’t totally representative because it counts fifth-year players like normal seniors. If it accounted for the additional year, the average is pushed even higher. Take Xavier, the most experienced high-major team in the country this season. The Musketeers’ average experience is 3.35 years, per NCAA data. But if you account for the team’s eight fifth-year players, that figure rises to 3.53.
As for how experience correlates to winning? There have been only two freshman starters in the past two Final Fours combined, both for UConn: Karaban (2023) and Stephon Castle (2024). Duke, or another freshman-heavy team, may reverse that narrative this season. But recent history suggests experience is more valuable than ever.
6. Rutgers has 2 of the nation’s top 3 recruits
The only school in the past decade to land two of the nation’s top three recruits was Duke, until this summer. But by signing forward Ace Bailey (No. 2 nationally, per the 247Sports Composite) and point guard Dylan Harper (No. 3), Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell has accomplished the seemingly impossible in New Jersey. (The wonders that a family legacy — Harper’s older brother, Ron Harper Jr., also played at Rutgers — and a robust NIL pitch can do.)
Both Bailey and Harper are projected top-five picks in next summer’s NBA Draft — and they could even challenge Flagg to go first if they lead the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Tournament.
At 6 feet 6 and 215 pounds, Harper has ideal size for a lead guard, and he offers polished three-level scoring ability. Bailey is more raw, but there aren’t many prospects with his athleticism at 6 feet 10. They’ll be asked to carry a heavy load in a Big Ten predicated on physicality and post play.
7. Another transfer portal cycle sees top names find new homes
Where did some of the top names wind up? Former Final Four participants — point guard Jeremy Roach (Duke) and forward Norchad Omier (Miami) — will team up at Baylor this season. The remaining cornerstones from Florida Atlantic’s 2023 Final Four team scattered, as well; center Vlad Goldin followed May to Michigan, guard Johnell Davis went to Arkansas, while guard Alijah Martin stayed in Florida and joined the Gators.
Tucker DeVries — the two-time Missouri Valley Player of the Year and the No. 1 transfer in The Athletic’s rankings — went with his father, Darian, to West Virginia. New Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz brought his best player, the goggle-wearing Robbie Avila, with him from Indiana State. Forward Great Osobor moved from Utah State to Washington to stay with coach Danny Sprinkle.
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois) picked Kansas State. Rylan Griffen left one Final Four team (Alabama) for another potential one (Kansas). Louisville brought in an entire new roster, headlined by Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), Terrence Edwards Jr. (James Madison) and Kasean Pryor (USF). We could go on.
8. Can the Big Ten end its 25-year national title drought? It looks unlikely
No Big Ten team has won it all since Tom Izzo captured his first (and only) title with Michigan State in 2000.
Since then, eight Big Ten teams — Indiana (2002), Illinois (2005), Ohio State (2007), Michigan State (2009), Michigan (2013), Wisconsin (2015), Michigan (2018) and Purdue (2024) — have made it to the championship game, but none have finished the job. Eleven coaches surveyed by The Athletic largely agreed that probably speaks more to the randomness of March Madness than any overarching condemnation of one conference but also spoke to style of play.
It seems unlikely the Big Ten snaps its dry spell this season. Purdue is the top-ranked preseason team in the league at No. 14, followed by Indiana (No. 17), UCLA (No. 22) and Rutgers (No. 25). There just doesn’t appear to be one or two clear front-runners. However …
9. Could we see a record for NCAA Tournament teams from one league?
The Big East holds the single-season record for NCAA Tournament bids by one league, when 11 of its 16 teams qualified in 2011. But with conference realignment leading to larger high-major leagues, will the record be broken this season?
Possible, but still improbable. Three leagues seem best-positioned: the SEC, Big Ten or Big 12. The SEC has nine teams ranked in the preseason Top 25 and a 10th (Mississippi State) that received votes in the poll. The Big Ten has seven others who received preseason votes in addition to the four ranked. The Big 12 is top-heavy; six of its teams are ranked, with the potential for more to emerge from its meaty middle class.
Even if it doesn’t happen this season, we expect that 11-bid mark to eventually be topped. It could also fall soon if there is moderate NCAA Tournament expansion, which could be implemented as soon as the 2026 bracket. Over the summer, The Athletic reported that the NCAA had presented proposals for both a 72- and 76-team field to DI conference commissioners. Under both proposals, the First Four would be expanded to include at least four more at-large teams.
How much of an appetite is there to expand the 68-team field? Enough, although not to a major extent. But multiple high-major conference commissioners — including the SEC’s Greg Sankey and the ACC’s Jim Phillips — have previously expressed an interest in exploring tournament expansion. Talks remain ongoing.
10. Final Four predictions
In our staff survey, 11 teams earned Final Four votes: Gonzaga (8), Alabama (6), UConn (5), Houston (5), Kansas (5), Iowa State (4), Duke (2), Baylor (2), Arizona, Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Of those schools, five were picked as the preseason national champion at least once — but none more than Gonzaga, whom three of our experts picked to deliver Mark Few’s long-awaited first title. (The others? Alabama, Kansas, UConn and Houston.) That group makes up the clear top cluster of teams expected to compete to win it all.
11. Cheers to the schedule-makers for great opening-week games
Here are 10 of the opening-week matchups circled on our calendar, featuring 10 different ranked teams (times ET):
Monday
No. 13 Texas A&M at UCF, 7 p.m.
Missouri at Memphis, 8 p.m.
No. 19 Texas vs. Ohio State, 10 p.m.
No. 8 Baylor at No. 6 Gonzaga, 11:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 8
No. 9 North Carolina at No. 1 Kansas, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 9
No. 12 Tennessee at Louisville, noon
No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 16 Arkansas, 7:30 p.m.
Northwestern at Dayton, 7:30 p.m.
No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 4 Houston, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 10
Michigan vs. Wake Forest, 1 p.m.
(Photo of UConn’s Alex Karaban: Brett Wilhelm / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Culture
A Poem About Waiting, and Wishing You Had a Drink
If you ever see me at a party, I’ll most likely be standing off to the side, looking slightly lost, staring down into my glass. Perhaps you’re that way too — introverted, awkward, thirsty. Nice to meet you. And since we’re here, may I introduce you to my friend Philip? Or perhaps you’ve already met.
The posthumous publication of Larkin’s letters revealed him to be something uglier than a garden-variety curmudgeon. The private expressions of misogyny, antisemitism and xenophobia he shared with friends have dented his reputation in the years since his death.
If he hasn’t been fully canceled, it may be because his gift for self-cancellation makes such censure redundant. Larkin writes from the standpoint of someone who is out of touch, out of step and out of sorts, with himself and everyone around him. He’ll never be the life of the party, and you may wonder why anyone invited him in the first place.
Nonetheless, it’s good to see him there. For one thing, it’s nice to know that someone might be having a worse time than you are. He even has a theory about why some people have a better time than others; in fact, he’s an expert on the subject.
Misery loves company, and this miserable chap turns out to be just the companion you’re looking for, at least until you can find another drink.
Culture
Emma Hayes struck balance between USWNT celebration and evaluation, winning the October window
Center back Naomi Girma stole the show in Louisville as the U.S. women’s national team wrapped up the international window with its third win. But the real story of that October camp is the sheer amount of evaluation head coach Emma Hayes managed in addition to the celebratory nature of the team’s Olympics gold medal victory tour.
“I got out of it what I wanted to get out of it,” Hayes said Wednesday. “A ton of debutants, managed minutes for everyone that’s still in NWSL play, (and) a chance to develop some things that, for us, we set as targets for ourselves on the training pitch.”
Hayes has backed up everything she has said since taking over the job in May, going back to her first media appearances in New York City this spring — specifically: club form matters. While her hands were tied slightly in this window as Olympics celebrations meant she had to call up every healthy member of the squad that went to the Games in France in the summer, she used her remaining roster spots to the fullest. She also maximized rotation, not just in the starting line-ups and her substitute choices, but the 23-player game-day rosters.
All seven uncapped players on the roster, including a mid-camp addition, earned their first USWNT minutes.
Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams and Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt were in France as alternates but did not see the field. Racing Louisville forward Emma Sears immediately impressed in her debut as only the fourth player in program history to record a goal and assist in her first cap. Bay FC defender Alyssa Malonson nabbed her first assist in her debut Wednesday against Argentina, playing provider to Girma. Paris Saint-Germain’s Eva Gaetino, Utah Royals’ Mandy Haught and Gotham FC’s Yazmeen Ryan rounded out the new kids.
3 – Three different #USWNT players (Eva Gaetino, Mandy Haught & Alyssa Malonson) will be starting in their national team debut in the same game for the first time since four did so on March 7, 2001 against Italy. Newcomers. pic.twitter.com/mzv4oVFFUL
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) October 30, 2024
There were important returns too. Alyssa Thompson finally scored her first international goal in her return to the national team after missing out on the Olympic roster, and Ashley Sanchez and Hailie Mace picked up minutes against Argentina.
It’s hard to disagree with Hayes’ approach to club form after a successful window because she achieved all of her objectives and captured three multi-goal wins. As a bonus, she also finally saw the team down a goal, forced into mounting a comeback against Iceland in Nashville on Sunday. It was the first time the USWNT had fallen behind in a game managed by Hayes.
The challenge now is figuring out how much these matches actually matter in the long run. While the friendlies were fun to watch — no one will complain about a Girma brace either — with so much focus on rotation and evaluation, it feels more like one of the first pieces to the larger puzzle. One that won’t be completed for a few more years.
The back half of 2024 has generally felt like a period for recovery and big-picture thinking at the senior team level.
While the next and final window of the year in late November and early December involves two high-profile European opponents on the road, the friendlies against England and the Netherlands will likely be an outlier from this period. Higher-profile opponents mean higher stakes, but it’s fair to expect Hayes to again use the full depth of her roster with an eye on evaluation and development.
Our last home game of the year did not disappoint! ⚡
A sold-out stadium, three international debuts and two goals by center back extraordinaire Naomi Girma! #USWNT x @JimBeam pic.twitter.com/ab7bcLUX8u
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 31, 2024
Hayes has already shown she’s not afraid of big moments and prioritized using the depth of her roster to bring Jaedyn Shaw, Croix Bethune and others to their first major tournament this summer. While the starting XI against England on November 30 is sure to be the strongest possible, Hayes has another chance to ensure that players who will be crucial to the team’s success two or three years down the line experience an environment like Wembley Stadium as well.
The true sign of things to come will be January’s Futures Camp, which Hayes promised to run concurrently with the full senior team camp in Los Angeles. The USWNT hasn’t run a talent and identification camp since 2019, shortly after Vlatko Andonovski took over the team, but it was the only one to occur during his four-year tenure.
Hayes has promised to cast a wide net, especially following semifinal appearances from the under-20 and under-17 teams in their respective World Cups this year. But for all the angst over the past few years about generational change, the runway has finally been fully cleared.
The Olympics were the most obvious symbolic gesture of the end of one USWNT era, with Alex Morgan not named to the roster. It was a surprise sunsetting of a generational player but was also a testament to the team she helped build.
GO DEEPER
Alex Morgan has designed her own USWNT exit by setting the next generation up for success
There are more options than ever before in every position. Making the U.S. roster seems harder than it’s been in the past, but doing so is also more clearly tied to form and thus more transparent than ever. Hayes has finally truly buried that “emergency surgery” line she came in with and led the team to Olympic gold, and as promised, the larger work is now underway.
These three games provided a good start, but were just a start nonetheless.
The first 270 minutes of the cycle leading to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and home-turf Los Angeles-hosted Olympics a year later are in the bag. There’s still so much more to come.
(Top photo: Scott Wachter / Imagn Images)
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Alien Country (2024) – Movie Review
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI plans to release its next big AI model by December
-
Health1 week ago
New cervical cancer treatment approach could reduce risk of death by 40%, trial results show
-
Culture1 week ago
Top 45 MLB free agents for 2024-25 with contract predictions, team fits: Will Soto get $600M+?
-
Sports1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam gives Dodgers Game 1 World Series win vs. Yankees
-
News6 days ago
Sikh separatist, targeted once for assassination, says India still trying to kill him
-
Culture6 days ago
Freddie Freeman wallops his way into World Series history with walk-off slam that’ll float forever
-
Technology6 days ago
When a Facebook friend request turns into a hacker’s trap