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<p>Leander Schaerlaeckens is a long-time soccer writer, currently contributing to <i>The Guardian </i>and elsewhere. He is the author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130/the-long-game-by-leander-schaerlaeckens/"><i>The Long Game: U.S. Men&#8217;s Soccer and its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts</i></a>. He teaches journalism and sports communication at Marist University. He will cover his fourth World Cup in 2026.</p>


A photo of the author Leander Schaerlaeckens taken by Asha Fuller.

Leander Schaerlaeckens

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts next to FIFA President Gianni Infantino after presenting the FIFA World Cup Winner's Trophy to Spain in the World Cup Final. Trump's kind of leaning like there's a very heavy wind.

Soccer

FIFA Got What It Came For

Ray Ratto

Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions claps during the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium on October 11, 2025 in State College, Pennsylvania.

College Football

When In Doubt, Fire The Coach

David Roth

Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates jokes with Oneil Cruz #15 during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees in 2024.

Podcasts

The Hazards Of Bob Nutting Mindset, With Justin Halpern

<p>Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in <i data-stringify-type="italic">The Normal School</i>, <i data-stringify-type="italic">New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review</i>, and elsewhere.</p>


Jae Towle Vieira

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

The Champagne Socialist And The Espresso Martini Capitalist

<p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">Marc Normandin currently writes on baseball’s labor issues and more at </span><a style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif" href="http://marcnormandin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://marcnormandin.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1758998321491000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZpjG5RUFwdpapWqR1u4bd">marcnormandin.com</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">, which you can read for free but support </span><a style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif" href="https://www.patreon.com/marcnormandin">through his Patreon</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">. His baseball writing has appeared at FOX Sports, SB Nation, Defector, Global Sport Matters, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Sports on Earth, The Guardian, The Nation, FAIR, and TalkPoverty, and you can read his takes on video games at Retro XP and Endless Mode.</span></p>
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Marc Normandin

Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting speaks during the 2024 Pirates Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony before the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on August 24, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is kind of shrugging and looks like he is wearing a disguise somehow.

Are The Pittsburgh Pirates Really In Dire Straits?

Elon Musk chats with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as they walk with White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and White House deputy chief of staff for policy and US homeland security advisor Stephen Miller on the south lawn of the White House. Everyone absolutely looks like shit.

Politics

Kingdom Of The Biters

A master swordsman named Bernard Ganter uses a saber to open an enormous bottle of Moet & Chandon at a celebration in Denver, Co.

The Fellowship Of The Champagne Saber

Woody Johnson (center) and his sons attend the Super Bowl LVIII Pregame at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.

Report: New York Jets Plagued By Woody Johnson’s Meddlesome Teen Sons

Las Vegas Raiders owner and managing general partner and Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis (L) and Tom Brady attend Game One of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs finals between the Aces and the New York Liberty. Brady looks kind of gaunt and pointy; Davis looks like Mark Davis.

As Owner Or Broadcaster, All Tom Brady Has To Do Is Show Up

Gourmet specialty donuts are being displayed at a shop in Unionville, Ontario, Canada, on June 03, 2023.

100 Foods To Throw In The Garbage, With Megan Greenwell

A guest wears new Apple Vision Pro outside Bora Aksu during London Fashion Week February 2024 on February 16, 2024 in London, England.

The Future Doesn’t Work, With Ed Zitron

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, seen doing a kind of triumphant here-I-am gesture at the opening of The Sphere in September of 2023.

Las Vegas Mayor To John Fisher: Maybe Try Staying In Oakland

Investor Bill Ackman, wearing one of those goofy headsets you can rent that play the radio broadcast, watches Emma Radacanu play at the 2021 U.S. Open in Queens, NY.

Hiding And Seeking With The New York Times

<p>Rob Mains is a writer at Baseball Prospectus.</p>


Rob Mains

Baltimore Orioles co-owner John Angelos seen looking into space at the press conference introducing Mike Elias as the team's GM back in 2018.

John Angelos Speaks, Or Count The Number Of Things Wrong With This Paragraph

Patrick Redford

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, attends the Los Angeles premiere of Warner Bros. "The Flash" at Ovation Hollywood on June 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

Media Meltdowns

GQ Rolled Over And Showed Its Belly To David Zaslav

Reliever Jeff Brigham leaves the mound after hitting two straight batters to plate the winning run in a Mets loss against the Phillies.

Good Teams Make Their Players Better

Cincinnati Reds CEO Bob Castellini and disgraced Reds legend Pete Rose yuk it up at an event honoring Rose's hit record, in 2010.

What The 2023 Forbes Data Tell Us About The Business Of Baseball

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Marc Andreessen onstage at the TechCrunch Disrupt festival in 2016.

The Limits Of The Billionaire Imagination Are Everyone’s Problem

Kelsey McKinney

Zillowing Out

An $18 Million Home Where We Can Hear Every Sound

Hugh Freeze runs off the field, accompanied by Mississippi State Troopers, after a home win against Georgia Southern in 2016.

Hugh Freeze Never Really Left

Twitter CEO Elon Musk carries a sink into Twitter headquarters as part of a typically epic jape.

Capital

Everything Is Silicon Valley Now

Arts And Culture

Is Everything Really Grayer Than It Used To Be?

Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals, seen here pointing up.

What Sort Of Person Wants To Own A Baseball Team Without Juan Soto On It?

A $32 Million Home Where We Can Befriend Some Rays

Michigan quarterback John Navarre, seen here getting ready to do something dull.