Gerard Farek

@DougRobersonAJC At least cheap tickets should be available for it.

June 27 Uzbekistan vs. playoff winner, 7:30 p.m. is Atlanta's final group stage match. Very odd scheduling #WorldCup2026

@RGIII I will preface this by saying I’m a Longhorn. Texas doesn’t belong in. But they belong in wwwaaaayyyy before BYU does. BYU lost to the only really good team they played. Twice.

BYU lost twice to the #4 team in the country. Texas Tech is a GREAT team. BYU should still be in the College Football Playoff at 11-2 with the 2 best losses of any team in the country. 11 win teams shouldn’t be punished for the result of the Conference Championship game. Period.

The Adoration of the Maga. A few thoughts. It all felt a step too far by Gianni Infantino. The award of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize felt more to do with its president’s desire to please powerful politicians as much as Donald Trump’s love of such glitzy, expensive offerings of loyalty last seen in medieval courts. It felt more about politics than sport, a risky game for Fifa to play whenever it wants to bring a national association into line for perceived interference by government in the future. The Trump trophy weakens Fifa statutes. It also distracted from the real trophy, the World Cup, and the group-stage draw, traditionally a celebration about bringing countries together. Infantino took his eye off the balls. A football draw designed to work out who plays who and (eventually) where and when is not the time or place for such politics. Infantino wasn’t speaking for the world in bestowing the Peace Prize, as he claimed. So presumptuous. So out of touch. Many probably agree that Trump has been a force for good in geopolitics, some might disagree. Most would probably feel such decisions should be left to experienced experts like the Nobel Committee and, please, can we get on with a football draw. It’s spectacularly naïve or simply arrogant for Fifa to enter such non-football areas. It feels more and more that this was as much an Infantino initiative as Fifa’s. Infantino was supposed to drain the swamp when he arrived at Fifa in 2016 in the wake of assorted corruption scandals bedevilling the governing body of world football. How fitting that the nadir of Infantino’s propensity for self-aggrandisement as leader of what’s supposed to be a team game came in Washington. It was there that Trump promised to transform politics with his “drain the swamp” rhetoric, also in 2016. The selfie moment was particularly cringe-worthy. Infantino forgets that football is the star of the show, not a 55-year lawyer. A senior football executive, who’s been at the heart of the English and European game for more than 20 years, messaged me during the drawn-out draw with his verdict on Infantino. “I feel revulsion, anger, shame, disgust – how has our sport been taken over by a Swiss ***** and turned into a total travesty???” He also pointed out that ensuring the leaders of USA, Mexico and Canada each somehow pulled out their own country’s name was not a good look for a draw based on chance. Great for the cameras, though. Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture of Infantino's priorities. And who gets the next FIFA Peace Prize? And wouldn't Infantino have gained more respect had he used the money for the Trump trophy to subsidise excessive ticket costs? He's lost sight of what should be the real priorities for the leader of football. The game. It's sad, really. Many sensible people work at Fifa, passionate about the game not their own ego, but it's alarming what happens to the leadership when they take power there. Even the great football manager Arsene Wenger has changed since becoming Chief of Global Football Development at Fifa. He now campaigns for more games, backing the expanded World Cup, which he would have railed against as a widely-admired, free-thinking club manager, fiercely protective of his players' well-being. "I believe that 48 teams is the right number." Arsene, just listen to yourself. Many fans probably won’t lose much sleep that Wenger dances to Fifa's tune or that Infantino cosies up to Trump, Aramco and co. Some probably think Fifa’s a video game. Most just can’t wait for the football. The game’s about Mbappe and Messi, Haaland and Salah, Kane and Dembele, not Infantino and Trump. The game’s about the Tartan Army, the brilliant Mexican following, the ever-hopeful English, the mobile carnival of Brazilians and the millions of other fans flocking to venue cities next summer, only a third with tickets. The USA is prepared for the party. I covered USA 94 and you couldn’t really tell there was a tournament on, certainly where I was in Detroit, Chicago and DC. You will this time, also in Canada. Mexico's total immersion was never in doubt given their passion for the game. Infantino should remember this. He runs a great football organisation, not a political organisation. He needs to re-focus. Fifa is undeniably a force for good in many countries. The Fifa Foundation runs a new community programme that supports 154,924 people in 54 nations. Its new Digital Education Programme works on computer literacy amongst disadvantaged groups, helping them into the workplace. It’s easy to say it’s all about Infantino (Foundation board president), soft power and ensuring he keeps countries onside, voting for him, but the Foundation undeniably changes lives. Infantino needs to look at his Adoration of the Maga and remember what he should be doing for football: serving it, not himself. #FIFAWorldCup.

@MattMcCarthy985 The style of play is why I gave up on NBA years ago. NBA to basketball is like WWE to wrestling. Entertainment, not sport. College basketball, women’s basketball. Those I watch.

It appears baseball is firmly the number two sport in America. The World Series has demolished the NBA Finals over the last two years. The pitch clock has changed everything and is bringing fans back. Conversely, I think fans are rejecting the style of play in the NBA.

@ClayTravis The NBA is to basketball what WWE is to wrestling. Entertainment, not sport.

26 million people watched MLB game 7 between the Dodgers and Blue Jays, a Canadian team that typically drives down American viewership. Last year 16 million viewers watched game 7 of the NBA Finals. So 10 million more people watched MLB’s game 7 than the NBA’s game 7. Why?

@BradleyGloves Okay with interleague play. Since regular season is meaningless now. 40 percent of the teams make the postseason. Awful.

Now that baseball has gained back the nation’s affection I say eliminate inter league play. I don’t need to see the Red Sox playing the Rockies in August. Bring back the AL/NL mystique.

@RustyMansell_ I was in left field stands. Right behind bonds.

33 years ago today.. Where were you watching it?

@nut_history I attended the last game at Atlanta Fulton county stadium (game 5 of the 96 series) and the last game at Turner field.

What is the last ballpark that you attended a game at that no longer exist

@nut_history Jim Northrup.

Name a random player that played for the Detroit Tigers No, Al Kaline or Miguel Cabrera are not random

@680TheFan Absolutely. Besides the Smoltz point, I miss the variety of pitchers I watched in the past. Knuckleballs, changeups, change of speed. It was fun to watch all the ways pitchers got hitters out. I love the guys who pitch on guile.

John Smoltz says baseball has an addiction to velocity — and it’s costing pitchers their careers. Do you agree the game’s obsession with throwing harder is hurting the sport?

@OrtizKicks Yep. DODGERS players, including Kershaw, have admitted over the years that they also cheated in 2017. Clearly, to me, Casparius was tipping pitches. Nothing more sinister. For Orel to throw that out, he’s just being a you know what.

3/3 Orel, who famously was believed to use foreign substance from his hair on his pitches, was merely playing to his audience for cheap humor. I bet he meant no harm. I bet he knows very well that Astros hitters weren’t the only ones cheating before MLB punished the Astros.

1/3 Dodgers great Orel Hershiser is a good dude. As I’ve told him many times, I’ll always be grateful for the class he showed me when I was a clueless intern trying to interview Chris Gwynn after a Dodgers game long ago.

@AlexiLalas I’m expecting, not hoping, but expecting the USMNT without its so called stars to play better than they have and win the gold cup. Which I don’t give one sh$# about. I also expect that Pulisic and McKennie will both be injured ahead of World Cup. Same old story.

I can't even...

@AlexiLalas Panama is officially our bogey team. Doesn’t matter the coach.

Jump back, what’s that sound? It’s the sound of another uninspired, rudderless, and embarrassing loss to Panama.

@MikeBellATL @AtlantaFalcons That would require someone with an IQ above plant life and any sort of guts in the Falcons front office. Zero for two.

If you believe Penix Jr. is your QB, trust your scouting and just draft him. Move up if you have to (you wouldn't have had to)... But you never ever should've done both and signed Cousins. That money could have gone to @AtlantaFalcons defense for 2024. And I'll die on that hill.

@MattBraeuer @SFA_MBB Congrats!!!!! Your dad would be so proud!

Humbled and honored to be the next head coach of @SFA_MBB! Ready to embrace the challenge and bring championship basketball back to Nacogdoches. But first - We have unfinished business here in the 806 before we head to the Piney Woods! #AxeEm

@BillLikesSports God help us. He wasn’t worth the initial offer. Love the guy. But we have to move on after all these moves. If you want to throw away money, find somebody else.

Imagine how long Bregman’s typical slow start lasts if he misses Spring Training. Dude might not hit until the All-Star break.

@BNightengale Remove Vizquel and it’s on point.

My 2025 Hall of Fame ballot

@steakshapiro The wife is from NJ and I’ve learned well. After much exploration, I’ve found there are only two places in dekalb county that make a very good bagel. The general Muir near Emory university and the Bronx bagel buggy in chamblee.

Brooklyn Bagels Inman Park

@SeanTPendergast Never thought he was worth 6/156. And I love the guy. We have moved on. It’s done. It’s like Braves and freeman. Would’ve been nice but didn’t work out.

Can't wait to see the reaction, across all fronts, if Bregman signs for around or less than the Astros 6/$156M offer

@steakshapiro I’m with dillingham. I got no idea what targeting is. Sort of like what a catch is in nfl. But I will also say that after watching tons of cfb this season, that’s not been called targeting this season.

If Texas wins this game that non-targeting call will be one of the most talked about in college playoff history. How are they gonna explain how that was legal hit? If I was in Arizona State fan I don’t think I could process what just happened.