Sports
Why did the USWNT-Canada match continue? Explaining the rules around postponing games
American soccer has dealt with two high-profile instances of extreme weather disrupting professional games in the last week. In both cases, despite conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal, the games went on.
The most recent of the two happened on Wednesday, when steady and heavy rains flooded the field at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Caif. before the U.S. women’s national team’s Gold Cup semifinal match against Canada. Conditions meant the ball could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet in most parts of the field, which played a direct role in the United States’ opening goal.
JAEDYN SHAW RIDING THE STORMMMM 🔥🤩 pic.twitter.com/0gq2tkR2sa
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) March 7, 2024
“It was honestly insane,” Shaw said. “We had such a good warmup … the ball was moving really fast, and we were excited to just play and have a really intense game, and then we came back out and we were like, ‘What’s happening?’”
Asked if the game should have been played, USWNT interim head coach Twila Kilgore said, “Probably not.”
The previous Saturday, an MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC was similarly affected, but by a different form of precipitation. That game, which was held at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, was delayed first by high winds and then again shortly after kickoff by lightning. Once the game began in earnest, snow had started to fall, resulting in accumulation of up to four inches and whiteout conditions by the end of Salt Lake’s 3-0 win.
“It was one of the worst professional sporting events I’ve ever seen in my life,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said after the match, comments for which he was fined $10,000 by the league this week for violating the league’s public criticism policy. “I feel terrible for the players that we put them through this. The game could have and should have been called (off). In my opinion, it was an absolute disgrace we had to play today.”
Why were these games allowed to play on?
In North America, soccer games are usually only called off or delayed when there is lightning within a certain radius of the field or any sort of weather that would impact the structural integrity of the stadium. While baseball and tennis (which saw a recent competition postponed due to rain) are at the more delicate end of the cancellation, soccer is generally about as likely to play through bad weather as American football.
There are numerous examples of professional and international soccer games played through bad conditions, with perhaps the most prominent example being the U.S. men’s national team’s World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica in Commerce City, Colo., just outside of Denver (dubbed by many U.S. fans as the “SnowClásico”). In the 2022 World Cup qualifying cycle, the U.S. hosted Honduras in St. Paul in February, with the temperature at kickoff hovering around 2 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius). That game, too, was played as planned.
The fact that Saturday’s game continued to be played came as a surprise to new RSL signing Matty Crooks, who has spent his whole professional career in the United Kingdom.
“Back in England, I’d probably say after about 10 minutes it would’ve been called off,” Crooks said. “But to be fair, no one in the changing room even mentioned it being called off, so it was like, ‘Alright, we’re going to play through it.’”
USWNT forward Alex Morgan pointed out how the conditions on Wednesday turned a game that is largely played on the ground into something else entirely.
“It’s just hard to even call it a game of soccer tonight, especially the first half,” she told the media afterward. “Your instincts are to dribble, and then you can’t dribble, you’ll lose the ball. Your instincts are not to hit it long when you have shorter options but we saw from the goal that Jae scored … that it’s anyone’s game and just to put instincts aside and just really grind this win out.”
What are the rules for W Gold Cup matches? Is that different from NWSL?
Many professional games throughout the world are generally overseen by a person whose job it is to make sure that all the logistical things required to play are in place. This includes but is not limited to ensuring on-time arrival of both teams and the officiating crew, inspecting the field of play, ensuring security arrangements are met, and acting as the organizers’ representative on the ground. In CONCACAF, that person is called the match commissioner and is usually stationed on the sideline between the benches.
CONCACAF rules for the W Gold Cup state that the decision on whether or not to play a game in case of inclement weather is up to the match referee (except in cases of lightning), but in practice it is the match commissioner who has the final say.
“Technically and practically by law it is always in the ultimate decision of the referee to make that decision,” professional referee and CBS rule analyst Christina Unkel said during the halftime broadcast. “That being said, practically speaking, there is a match commissioner at each of these CONCACAF matches. As we saw within the first minutes of this game, the referee went and demonstrated that the ball was not in fact rolling when she went over to near the fourth official station, which is where the match commissioner stands. It was very clear from her demonstrative showing that she does not necessarily think this is a safe condition, but is being told to continue this match by that match commissioner.”
CONCACAF did not respond to questions from The Athletic about the decision-making process that led to Wednesday’s game playing on.
In the NWSL, weather delay decisions are made by a weather delay committee, according to the league’s 2023 rules and regulations. The committee is comprised of the referee, representatives from each team (usually the head coaches), and stadium staff.
What are the rules for MLS matches?
According to MLS policy, “Matches may be delayed or postponed when circumstances exist such that the start or continuation of play would pose a threat to the safety and well-being of participants or spectators.”
“The determination of whether a match is considered ‘delayed’ or ‘postponed’ shall be made by the League Office in its sole and absolute discretion,” the policy reads. The league generally makes that determination with input from meteorologists, staff at the venue and both competing teams.
MLS says it considers safety for players, officials, staff and fans first, followed by competition-related factors like the playability of the field. The league also takes logistical factors into consideration, like availability of the venue and match officials if the game is played the following day. Broadcast implications and other commercial aspects are considered after the aforementioned factors.
When rain flooded the Los Angeles area last February around the start of the MLS season, the league rescheduled its highly touted El Trafico between LA Galaxy and LAFC due to “safety considerations resulting from inclement weather” – factors that included flooded parking lots around the stadium. The game was rescheduled to take place months later, on July 4. LA had recorded its fourth-highest average rain total (6 inches). This February, LA saw 12.6 inches of rainfall — an inch less than the 1988 record.
What’s the reaction been like?
After the Real Salt Lake vs. LAFC game, LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said that the MLS Players’ Association would be notified of the players’ complaints.
“My lower back is killing me,” he said.. “It’s just like trying to run on an ice rink. You’re sliding and slipping the whole time. The whole goal is just to not fall over and hurt yourself. It will absolutely be taken to the players association. I know our rep will be having that conversation immediately.”
Reached on Thursday, an MLSPA spokesperson told The Athletic: “We’re continuing to discuss things that need to be done better with the players and the league. At this time, we have no further statement.”
Reaction on social media to the playing conditions was universally negative. Former USWNT player Julie Foudy posted, “This is so insane. STOP THE MATCH.” San Diego Wave head coach Casey Stoney, whose NWSL team plays at Snapdragon Stadium, was concerned for the players on the field — including multiple representatives from the Wave — writing, “So dangerous!! Make the right call for player safety!”
“Why are the players being put in this situation? No chance these are safe playing conditions,” former USWNT player Sam Mewis posted.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
Sports
Lions rookie underscores competitive fire while talking about mom: 'I would jam her into the dirt'
Detroit Lions draft pick Terrion Arnold spoke about his mother on Saturday during the second day of rookie minicamp and underscored how she lit the competitive fire in him.
He said Tamala Arnold and him would continually go back-and-forth against each other when he was younger and that the nature of the competitiveness would get intense at times.
“When I was a kid, when I used to beat my mom at racing, I had to continually beat her,” he said, via AL.com. “We used to fight when I was younger, just wrestling with her or playing around. Like, man, I’ll never forget one time my mom kicked my tooth out because we were just going at it so hard.”
“If my mom was out here right now, and she lined up across from me as a receiver, I would jam her into the dirt. That’s my mindset. And my mom knows that. I just mean in the simple aspect of football-wise, that’s just the way that I think and the way that I was brought up.”
CHIEFS, RAVENS TO KICK OFF 2024 NFL SEASON AS KANSAS CITY LOOKS TO 3-PEAT
Arnold later explained that he meant to convey that he was not “one not to be played with” even as he started his rookie season.
Before the Lions selected him with the No. 24 pick of the NFL Draft in April, he paid tribute to Tamala at the NFL Scouting Combine.
He praised her for all the adversity she overcame to raise him.
Arnold was a First-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC in his final year at Alabama in 2023. He had five interceptions and 63 total tackles.
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Sports
Bronny James medically cleared for combine, paving way for possible NBA draft entry
Bronny James has been cleared by NBA doctors to participate in the league’s draft combine, sources not authorized to speak publicly about the matter confirmed to The Times.
James, who played at USC last season, suffered sudden cardiac arrest prior to his freshman year.
A former McDonald’s All-American who starred at Sierra Canyon, James returned to play on Dec. 10 after suffering the heart issue during a workout on USC’s campus on July 24. He was eventually diagnosed with a congenital heart defect
In 25 games with USC, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
The Athletic reported James intends to stay in the draft.
Despite the modest statistics, James could get selected in the second round of the draft because some scouts like his defense and IQ.
His father, the Lakers’ LeBron James, can become an unrestricted free agent. And while he spoke in the past about a desire to play with his son in the NBA, LeBron James has walked that back publicly, saying he wants his son to land in the best possible situation.
“That’s a young man who will decide what he wants to do and I ain’t going to say … where to go,” LeBron James said after the Lakers’ final game. “I just think the fact that we are even having the conversation is pretty cool in the sense of that. But we’ll see what happens.”
Sports
Hawks get No 1 pick in 2024 NBA Draft despite 3% chance to win lottery
The NBA Draft Lottery saw a shocker as the Atlanta Hawks were awarded the No. 1 overall pick despite having just a 3% chance of winning it.
This is the Hawks’ first time getting the No. 1 pick since 1975, when they ended up drafting David Thompson, a five-time All-Star and NBA Hall of Famer. However, the Draft Lottery was not established yet, so it is the first time they won it.
Hawks general manager Landry Fields was all smiles when he heard his team’s name called and was likely in disbelief because his team had a very small chance of getting the selection.
The Detroit Pistons, who owned a league-worst 14-68 record, and Washington Wizards could not believe it as they had the best odds at 14% to get the No. 1 pick.
Instead, Washington was given the No. 2 pick, and the Pistons got the No. 5 pick for the third straight season despite owning the worst record in the league in back-to-back seasons.
Now, Atlanta has the opportunity to choose whoever they deem the best overall prospect.
BRONNY JAMES, SON OF BASKETBALL GREAT LEBRON JAMES, DECLARES FOR NBA DRAFT, ENTERS TRANSFER PORTAL
French small forward Zaccharie Risacher and center Alexandre Sarr are up there, as is UConn standout center Donovan Clingan.
However, there is not a Victor Wembanyama like last year’s Draft that makes having the No. 1 pick easy.
Here is the entire top 10 draft order.
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
- Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn Nets)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Detroit Pistons
- Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto Raptors)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Utah Jazz
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