Mia Bieniemy, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, was hospitalized after authorities say she was shot multiple times by their son Sunday night in their Virginia home.
The 57-year-old is in stable condition after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and arm, according to ESPN’s Chiefs reporter Nate Taylor.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office <a href="https://sheriff.loudoun.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/10789" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> deputies responded to reports of a shooting at the family&#8217;s Ashburn home before arresting the couple&#8217;s 27-year-old son, Elijah Zion Bieniemy.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1144329" style="width: 250px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1144329" class="wp-image-1144329 size-medium" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/ElijiahBieniemyMugshot-240x300.jpeg" alt="" width="240" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/ElijiahBieniemyMugshot-240x300.jpeg 240w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/ElijiahBieniemyMugshot-461x576.jpeg 461w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/ElijiahBieniemyMugshot.jpeg 480w" sizes=" (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" />Elijah Zion Bieniemy (LCSO)</div>
He was charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm inside a dwelling. Authorities said he is being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center while the investigation continues.
Authorities have not released a possible motive for the shooting.
Eric Bieniemy was with the Chiefs at training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, when the shooting occurred.
He left training camp to be with his wife and did not attend Monday’s practice. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said there is no timetable for his return.
“Our hearts go out to Eric Bieniemy … Mia is stable, which is a plus. We all love EB, and you hate seeing those things happen,” Reid told the media Monday. “She’s a saint &#8230; one of God’s great blessings. But things happen.”
Bieniemy previously served as the Chiefs&#8217; offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022 before leaving for stints with the Washington Commanders, UCLA, and the Chicago Bears. He returned to Kansas City this offseason. 
In college, he was one of the greatest running backs in Colorado Buffaloes&#8217; history. He helped lead the team to its 1990 national championship victory and remains the program&#8217;s all-time leader in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and all-purpose yards.

Kansas City Chiefs v Denver Broncos

NFL Coach’s Wife Shot At Home

Crime

Eric Bieniemy

Kansas City Chiefs

Loudoun County

Shooting

Sports

U.S.

Virginia

President Donald Trump advocated for a 35-year Atlanta Braves tradition during a rally in Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday afternoon.
While introducing former Braves manager Brian Snitker and current president and CEO Mike Plant at the event, fans immediately began to do the “tomahawk chop” — a move that has been criticized as culturally insensitive — but Trump quickly voiced his support for the gesture, and the crowd continued, even louder than before.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Donald Trump in Georgia, introducing former Braves Manger Brian Snitker and the tomahawk chop chant breaks out&#8230;
&#8220;Ohhh listen&#8230; they say you are not allowed to do that.. do it&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EzSDdKOOOF">pic.twitter.com/EzSDdKOOOF</a>
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) <a href="https://x.com/ZachKleinWSB/status/2080032996896178428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
After thanking the president, Snitker expressed his gratitude for how passionate “Braves country” truly is and how there was a “room full of Braves country right here.” Snitker ended his speech telling the rally about gifts President Trump received, as well as possibly receiving in a few months.
“Mike and I presented President Trump with one of our 4th of July 250th anniversary jerseys the team wore over the weekend,” Snitker said. “I just wanted to tell President Trump we are going to be back in Washington a year from now and we are going to give him another world championship jersey.&#8221;
For years, the chant has received pushback from the Left with claims saying the chant is “racist” and “offensive.” Petitions were drawn up calling for a ban on the chant in stadiums across the country. The chop originated at Florida State University — and is still a common occurrence at that school. The Native American tribe reflected in the Seminoles logo has not expressed pushback over the chant.
The “tomahawk chop” is one of the most notorious chants across sports, but it only came to Atlanta 35 years ago. The Braves started chopping in 1991 when former Florida State University defensive back turned outfielder Deion Sanders joined the roster, bringing the tradition from college to MLB.

President Trump Delivers Remarks At A Georgia High School

WATCH: Trump Gives Braves Fans Permission To Infuriate The Woke Left

Atlanta

Baseball

Donald Trump

Georgia

President Trump

Oakland Athletics rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer underwent emergency surgery after rupturing a testicle by fouling a pitch into his groin during Monday night&#8217;s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 
Kuroda-Grauer, 23, suffered the injury in the fifth inning but remained in the game long enough to finish the plate appearance, lining a nearly 100 mph fastball into right-center field for his second hit of the night. Earlier in the game, he had hit his first major league home run.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;No balls and one strike&#8221;
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer fouled a ball directly off his nuts, then recovered and got a base knock <a href="https://t.co/wtFcxBXjKd">pic.twitter.com/wtFcxBXjKd</a>
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) <a href="https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/2079423377463267769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
Kuroda-Grauer stayed in the game as a baserunner and even returned to the field for the bottom of the fifth inning before being replaced in the sixth with what the A&#8217;s initially described as a “testicular contusion.”
The A&#8217;s later announced that Kuroda-Grauer underwent emergency surgery Monday night at St. Joseph&#8217;s Hospital in Phoenix after doctors determined he had suffered a ruptured testicle.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
From the A’s : 
Kuroda-Grauer was injured last night after fouling off a pitch in the fifth inning. He underwent emergency surgery to repair a ruptured testicle last night at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix and is resting comfortably.
— Jody Jackson (@Jody_Jackson) <a href="https://x.com/Jody_Jackson/status/2079686675790488051?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
“I think he might be the only player in Major League history to [rupture] a testicle, get a hit, then play a half of [an] inning of defense,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters. “It shows you the fight that this kid has. His desire to be on the field and just the will and want is pretty remarkable.”
Following an ultrasound, doctors determined immediate surgery was necessary. Kuroda-Grauer was placed on the 10-day injured list, and the team has not announced a timetable for his return.
Kotsay said the rookie remained in good spirits after the procedure. 
“He was joking about it. His personality is amazing,” he stated. “But we’re thankful the surgery went well and he’s recovering well. We’re thankful that he’s going to be fine and that it doesn’t impact his life.”
One of the A&#8217;s top prospects, Kuroda-Grauer has made an immediate impact since making his major league debut on June 29. Through his first 60 at-bats, he is hitting .417 with seven doubles, one home run, and four RBIs.

Athletics v Arizona Diamondbacks

The Hardest-Hit Ball Of The Night Wasn’t Put In Play

Arizona

hospital

Injury

Oakland Athletics

Phoenix

Former NFL player and ESPN on-air analyst and personality Ryan Clark was laid off by the sports news mogul in the middle of the broadcast Monday.
After 11 years with the company, Clark was fired during his appearance on “NFL Live” and did not finish the show, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7459503/2026/07/20/ryan-clark-espn-layoff/">reported by The Athletic</a>. He had been discussing the New York Giants just minutes prior, but did not return to the panel after a commercial break.
Clark, 46, was a safety in the league for 13 years, earning one Pro Bowl selection and winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers. Following his time in the league, Clark joined ESPN as an analyst in 2015, just a month after his retirement.
Sources told The Athletic that the company’s plan had originally been to fire him as a part of a mass layoff on Tuesday that would occur across ESPN and NFL Network, which was expected when ESPN purchased NFL Network and its assets in a $3 billion acquisition. However, “after receiving calls on the matter,” ESPN opted to cut Clark during the broadcast in order to prevent news leaking of his firing before the following day.
The Athletic was informed following the Super Bowl this past February that Clark’s job was in jeopardy. They also reported that the company was influenced by his “perceived poor verbal conduct,” specifically towards former colleague Peter Schrager on a segment of “Get Up.&#8221;
In the interaction, Clark prefaced his future comment by saying, “We shouldn’t do this on TV,” then following it up with, “That’s the non-player in you,” when discussing Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s performance in their opening game last September.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Wow: Ryan Clark was reportedly fired from ESPN due to his “poor verbal conduct” with fellow colleague Peter Schrager.
Specifically this exchange between the two last September on live television.
Clark: &#8220;That’s the non-player in you&#8221;
Schrager: &#8220;Don’t belittle me like that, I… <a href="https://t.co/M6bfGdjfpN">https://t.co/M6bfGdjfpN</a> <a href="https://t.co/UaCHX6WFH7">pic.twitter.com/UaCHX6WFH7</a>
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) <a href="https://x.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/2079575675321631096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
Following the interaction that day, Clark took to X to apologize for his comment toward Schrager.
Even after his firing, ESPN continued to post clips of Clark’s takes on social media after the airing of his appearances Monday, sparking backlash from fans in the comments of both the <a href="https://x.com/SportsCenter/status/2079284778122064032">NFL on ESPN</a> and <a href="https://x.com/SportsCenter/status/2079284778122064032">SportsCenter’s</a> X posts.
Clark recently signed a contract with ESPN in February 2024, where he was earning more than $2 million a year.
Clark was not the only major media personality let go by ESPN and NFL Network over the last 36 hours. Karl Ravech, Tom Pelissero, Cam Newton, Charles Davis, David Lloyd, and Stephania Bell are some of the notable names that will no longer be a part of the networks.
He took to Instagram to provide a &#8220;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DbDl22DnNeY/?igsh=ZHl2cjBoaTlmMDR3">proof of life</a>&#8220; and then to X to express his feelings on everyone hit by the major layoff that took place.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN. So many of you have poured your life into that company, &amp; I know how you’re feeling right now.
My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) <a href="https://x.com/Realrclark25/status/2079567916731691065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
In a memo sent to ESPN employees this morning, which was obtained by The Daily Wire, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro wrote to his staff about the recent layoffs.
“Over the past several months, we&#8217;ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN. Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.”
“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition.”

Philadelphia Eagles v Green Bay Packers

ESPN Analyst Canned During Live Broadcast

ESPN

Football

Media

Think of the great accomplishments of civilization: skyscrapers reaching toward heaven, bridges joining divided peoples, dams powering ambitious societies. How many have been built by human beings using only their feet?
Not many, right?
So, as we bring the mind-numbing boredom of another World Cup to an end, please explain our nation’s new fascination with soccer.
Civilization took off when our ancestors stood upright, developed opposable thumbs, and learned to use tools. The hand fashioned the spear, raised the cathedral, laid the railroad, split the atom, and put a man on the moon. Human beings stopped merely living in the world and began shaping it to their intentions.
Soccer responded to our magnificent evolutionary ascent by prohibiting the use of the hand.
After millions of years of progress, soccer asks humanity to put its most useful equipment in its pants pocket.
Here is a game in which modern human beings voluntarily surrender their principal biological advantage and spend 90 minutes trying to maneuver a ball with the precision of a bear opening a refrigerator.
In American sports, effort usually produces some identifiable result. Football measures achievement yard by yard. Baseball records every pitch, hit, run, and error. Basketball rewards successful action so reliably that the scoreboard routinely reaches three digits, unless we count the WNBA as basketball. American sport operates on a simple assumption: If extraordinary athletes exert themselves for several hours, something should be accomplished.
Soccer makes no such rash promise. And it frequently delivers.
A soccer match can conclude 0–0, a score traditionally associated with a game that has not been played. A 2–0 result is considered an exciting blowout. Fans can watch nearly two hours of strenuous activity only to discover that neither side has achieved anything. Soccer remains stubbornly unwilling to happen.
Except, of course, for the penalties. There is true drama only when a player is brushed by a passing breeze. Down he goes as if plugged by Dirty Harry. He grabs his leg, rolls across the grass, and pleads to the referee. Thirty seconds later, the performance is over. He’s back on his feet, running as if nothing happened.
This theatrical suffering is not incidental to soccer. It is part of the strategy. Because goals are so scarce, an official’s ruling can matter more than ages of athletic effort. The referee reviews the collision. Video officials review the referee. Television analysts review the video officials. Millions of spectators then wait for a ruling from soccer’s administrative state.
In an elimination match, a tie may finally be settled by a penalty shootout, a ceremony only loosely related to the original contest. It is as if the Super Bowl ended in a tie and the championship was decided by a game of beer pong. The soccer authorities award a victory; the players do not earn it.
This explains why soccer doesn’t fit comfortably within the American imagination.
Historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the frontier helped shape the American character: individualism, practical ingenuity, restless energy, and a determination to overcome obstacles rather than be their victim. Turner’s theory describes something recognizably American.
The frontier did not reward elegant suffering. It rewarded people who crossed the river, raised the barn, harvested the crop, and made it over the mountain.
American games reflect that inheritance. They divide territory, measure advances, record individual contributions, and produce winners. Their statistics are not just decorations. They express a national conviction that performance should be measured, excellence recognized, and achievement rewarded. A scoreboard is America’s incentive system celebrated in lights.
Soccer comes from a different world. Its admirers praise its accessibility, and they have a point. A child does not need pads, helmets, bats, baskets, or a manicured diamond. All he needs is a ball and a patch of ground.
That simplicity helped make soccer the world’s game. But scarcity is not an American virtue. Our nation did not escape poverty by romanticizing it. We triumphed by inventing tools, increasing productivity, rewarding accomplishment, and refusing to accept a scoreless afternoon as adequate.
“The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton,” goes the famous observation credited to the Duke of Wellington. The historical attribution is a little shaky, but the larger idea is sound: The games a culture plays help form the habits it carries into the future.
If that is true, give me the playing field where progress is visible, achievement is rewarded, and somebody wins.
Give me the game played with hands.
***
Alex Castellanos is a co-founder of Purple Strategies, a bipartisan public affairs firm, and appears regularly on Fox News.

Wycombe Wanderers FC v Bolton Wanderers FC – Sky Bet League One

Soccer: The World’s Least American Game

American culture

American Exceptionalism

DW Opinion

Soccer

World Cup

Fresh off winning the ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete, Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu is once again making headlines. But this time, it&#8217;s because of her younger brother, who has been competing in girls&#8217; high school sports in California.
Joshua Liu, who now goes by &#8220;Jaylin,&#8221; has competed in girls&#8217; track, basketball, and ultimate frisbee while identifying as a woman.
The teenage boy most recently won the women’s 400-meter race at the Tri-County Athletic League Finals on May 8, according to <a href="https://reduxx.info/exclusive-olympic-figure-skaters-brother-quietly-racking-up-wins-in-girls-sports/">Reddux,</a> and has won every girls&#8217; 200- and 400-meter race he’s participated in for Albany High School.
He also played on Albany High School&#8217;s girls&#8217; basketball team, where the 5-foot-8 junior was among the team&#8217;s top contributors.
For Jaylin’s other sport, girls&#8217; ultimate frisbee, he’s described as “dominant” this summer for his team coming off the Ultimate High School National Invite last month in Oregon.
&#8220;Jaylin Liu was one of the fastest players on the field and extremely dominant during the Garfield game,&#8221; <a href="https://ultiworld.com/2026/06/13/high-school-national-invite-2026-day-1-recap-girls-div/">Ultiworld</a> reported.
Kim Jones, co-founder of Independent Council on Women&#8217;s Sports (ICONS) told The Daily Wire that his sister, Alysa, represents the “pinnacle of female athletic achievement,” a strong contrast to what her brother is doing.
&#8220;It is a crime that girls in California are still being forced to compete against boys,&#8221; Jones said. &#8220;Her success was possible because a category existed that recognized and celebrated female athletes on their own merits. Without a clear category for female athletes, we would not know Alysa, and a male standard becomes the default in a backward society that devalues women for being female. A healthy society recognizes the unique merit of both male and female athletes.&#8221;
Jones said if Alysa, who won over the hearts of Americans during her Olympic run, stood up for women’s sports, it would be &#8220;inspirational,&#8221; but added the real responsibility falls on California’s leadership from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to the elected officials in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;When we reach a point where we demand that middle school girls take a public stance or a female Olympian speak out against her own family, leadership has failed to do the easiest thing in the world,&#8221; she said. &#8220;No girl should lose her place, recognition, or future because people in positions of authority refuse to protect female competition. This injustice must end.&#8221;
Under the <a href="https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/international-olympic-committee-announces-new-policy-on-the-protection-of-the-female-women-s-category-in-olympic-sport">International Olympic Committee&#8217;s</a> policy announced earlier this year, athletes eligible for the female category must meet the organization&#8217;s biological sex criteria, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said the new policy is a protection for the female category.
&#8220;I understand this is a very sensitive topic, as a former athlete I passionately believe in all Olympians to take part in fair competition,&#8221; Coventry said. &#8220;The policy that we have announced is based on science. The scientific evidence is very clear. Male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength, power and endurance.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological male to compete in the female category.&#8221;

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

An Olympic Champion’s Brother Is Dominating Girls’ Sports

California

News

Olympics

Images of a young Lionel Messi giving Spain’s young phenom Lamine Yamal a bath — taken nearly two decades ago for a charity calendar — are resurfacing ahead of their clash in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final.
When Lamine Yamal first burst onto the soccer scene in 2024, his father, Mounir Nasraoui, took to Instagram to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C9AwXuKtlgB/?igsh=bjAyeW1nY2g1OWkx">post a baby picture</a> of his son — who, at the time, was playing with Spain’s national team during the UEFA European Championship.
“The beginning of two legends,” the caption read. The image was one of a handful taken during a 2007 photoshoot, and featured Messi holding an infant Yamal. Other photos from the same shoot were released to the public after Nasraoui’s post went viral.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨🇪🇸🇦🇷 Lionel Messi with Lamine Yamal as a baby back in December 2007, from Spanish newspaper <a href="https://x.com/sport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sport</a>.
It was a photoshoot organised for a charity calendar. <a href="https://t.co/C7jCKbYnp7">pic.twitter.com/C7jCKbYnp7</a>
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) <a href="https://x.com/eurofootcom/status/1809215170155053300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
In December of 2007, a charity raffle was created between Spanish local newspaper Diario Sport and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Winners of the raffle would earn a slot with a professional soccer player from FC Barcelona for a photo that would appear in a promotional calendar.
Yamal’s family won the raffle, and they opted to pair their infant son with a 20-year-old Messi — before the fame and illustrious career. The photoshoot also features images that include Yamal&#8217;s mother, all taken at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s stadium. The same stadium is now home to Yamal, who has been in the program since he was seven years old — and is the very stadium where Messi blossomed into one of the greatest players of all time.
Freelance photographer Joan Monfort was responsible for the now-viral photos. In 2024, he was interviewed by The Athletic when the photoshoot originally blew up, and he said that he was just as shocked as the rest of the world.
“It’s something incredible,” Monfort said in 2024. “Back then, nobody could imagine that this baby would be who he is now – and you could have not known that Messi would become who he became, either. We are talking about 2007. Messi was only beginning at [Barcelona] then. Destiny plays an important role in these things.”
The World Cup final was set after Spain took down France 2-0 in the first semifinal game, making Yamal undefeated against the French in his young career through three matches. Messi and Argentina had to work a little harder, scoring two goals in seven minutes to come back and beat England 2-1 late in the match.
Yamal and Messi will soon compete on the biggest stage in their sport, fulfilling a storybook face-off 19 years in the making.

MessiYamal

Viral Photo Sparks Full-Circle Moment Ahead Of Spain-Argentina Final

FIFA

Lionel Messi

The face of the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT), Christian Pulisic, received serious criticism over comments he made after his disappointing 2026 World Cup performance.
During a post-game interview after the 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16, the star player often dubbed &#8220;Captain America&#8221; made a comment to <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2074341334861639898">Fox Sports</a> that set many off: “I sprained my ankle. It’s frustrating to end like that of course, but now I can get time to rest, so hopefully it’ll be okay.&#8221;
Pulisic was injured at the end of the first half in the opening game against Paraguay, leaving him to sit out the ensuing match against Australia. He suited up for the following three games but failed to score any goals.
Critics were unimpressed that Pulisic highlighted the U.S. team&#8217;s final-game loss as a positive, spinning it as more time to &#8220;rest.&#8221; Paired with his own lackluster performance, the remark sent shockwaves across social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You rest when your playing career is over. Period.
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) <a href="https://x.com/CarliLloyd/status/2074684312738468299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
He rested the entire World Cup. <a href="https://t.co/FwBr3Oy7zp">https://t.co/FwBr3Oy7zp</a>
— Sydney Leroux (@sydneyleroux) <a href="https://x.com/sydneyleroux/status/2074539612467298562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The two women’s thoughts on Pulisic were shared by many across the country, including former USMNT members Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, who appear on the “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast together.
Donovan, who admitted to playing poorly himself in the 2006 World Cup, jabbed at Pulisic, saying he had failed to give it his all in the moment it counted most.
“The reality is, he came out of a World Cup knockout game at home, with his leg still intact. Because you would have had to f*cking drag me off the field,” he said to Howard and viewers. “And I would have punched the doctor in the face and said ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Put whatever you need to put in me, and I’m staying on the field.’”
“I hope for his sake he isn’t on social media for the foreseeable future,” Howard added.
The criticism Pulisic is facing was not an opinion that formed overnight. His post-game comment was just the tipping point that set former players off after several lackluster performances of late.
In the first half of their final game, Pulisic lost possession 11 separate times — the most of any player in the first 45 minutes of the game. He injured his ankle before Belgium’s third goal, at which point he exited the match. From the beginning of 2026 up until the World Cup training started, he had zero goal contributions in league play.
He also sat out of the Gold Cup tournament and infamously called this World Cup &#8220;just another big tournament.&#8221;
It is hard to pinpoint the exact moment it began to all fall apart for Pulisic, but the U.S. soccer fanbase appears to have turned on the man they once called &#8220;Captain America.&#8221;

USA v Belgium: Round of 16 – FIFA World Cup 2026

Team USA’s ‘Captain America’ Sparks Backlash After Disappointing World Cup

The history of the United States is one filled with founders — visionaries who created businesses, even whole industries, and helped this amazing country continue towards its goal of becoming a more perfect union. We’ve been so good at this that we’re almost victims of our own success. There are still innovators out there, but the world we’ve helped create is a different place. Coding AI into existence isn’t the same as scrapping and saving for years based on the improbable belief that one is building something durable.
But before the complete technological overhaul of society and the dominance of a few mega corporations, there was still some room for idiot degenerates who were too cocky to understand that their analog ideas were idiotic and degenerate, particularly for a world that was going digital. This is the space that Dave Portnoy, El Presidente of “Barstool Sports,” worked to his benefit, taking a printed newspaper about sports, gambling, and Boston from a local publication that needed $3,400 a week to stay afloat to a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
And now he’s written a book about his journey, at least his journey so far, for if there is one thing that founders rarely do, it’s retire. “Cancel Me If You Can” hit stores — or for those of us who pre-ordered from Amazon, doorsteps — June 30th. None of it is shocking. It’s not even particularly new information, especially if you’ve paid attention to Portnoy. It is a testament to the American spirit, though, and one that is welcome, given certain attitudes about the American dream in 2026.
After college, Portnoy went into a white-collar sales job earning $80,000 a year, not exactly a shabby salary for a recent grad. He couldn’t stand the work, though, and after five years, he started Barstool Sports in 2003, a Boston newspaper he published twice per month. His sales experience helped him sell advertising space. His hustle helped him get it into people’s hands. His degeneracy pushed people to actually read it and look forward to the next edition, for he initially hired models to hand out copies before landing on the novel idea that sex sells. Thus, Barstool’s “Smokeshow of the Week” was born.
Fun fact from the book: Portnoy coined the term “smokeshow.” He loved how the Miami Hurricanes entered the field through a cloud of smoke and imagined hot girls doing the same thing, ergo “smokeshow.” In terms of those early papers, they were just girls who consented to have their social media photos used on the cover. In terms of differentiating the paper from other things that crazy people handed out, having hot girls on the cover was a way to attract eyeballs.
Dumb luck combined with hard work describes much of Portnoy’s ascent from fat guy living with his parents to multimillionaire media mogul. There was the fan who built and maintained barstoolsports.com for years, pushing Portnoy into the blogging space when blogging was in its infancy. There were writers who worked for free.
Dan Katz, aka Big Kat, worked for peanuts for years. So did Kevin “KFC” Clancy. Both would become owners in the company when finance came calling, though it wasn’t pure magnanimity on Portnoy’s part. He was already making seven figures, and they wanted in on the action, considering their foundational roles.
Given his brash and confrontational approach to social media and public fights, including with his employees, it would seem that he truly is a giant megalomaniacal narcissist who only cares about himself — and his current lady friends and rescue dogs — but the sections when he laments on those who should have gotten a stake in the company or how he should’ve made people wealthy earlier paint a different picture of El Pres. 
Sure, it’s his book, but his genuine concern for his people is evident in how he describes them. And he puts up with quite a lot, despite public excoriation. Without giving away details, because the book is worth a read, suffice it to say that the Barstool pirate ship operates exactly as one imagines it would; think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi28GN50iB4">Pirate King Archer</a>, but with actual remuneration for the crew.
He’s sold the ship twice and bought it back both times. He helped countless small businesses with the Barstool Fund during COVID, preventing them from going under. He had a line of frozen pizza, One Bite, that sold in Walmart, and he now admits was completely terrible. (For starters, it had Parmesan on it, and the R&amp;D person who decided to put Parm on a Barstool pizza is a moron.)
Now, he spends most of his time hanging out in his luxury estates in Florida and on Martha’s Vineyard with his dogs, Peaches and Pete. He’s still running the ship, though, making sure content keeps coming out and people get paid. There are always expansions into other areas and ideas, despite the fact that Portnoy is extremely polarizing, something I’ve avoided until this point.
Because, yes, the book is titled “Cancel Me If You Can” for a reason. Business Insider, The New York Times, protestors, and randos have gone after Portnoy for his antics. He emerges from the fights victorious every time, mostly because he’s good at documenting events and preventing misinformation from overtaking the story. But also, it’s a fight for everyone around him, because if he goes down with the ship, so do they.
That’s something he cannot let happen because, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo7zkd0kRS4">contra the Godfather</a>, for El Presidente, business is personal and the nuts who work at Barstool aren’t just the crew, they’re his family. And Barstool is more than just a Boston paper now. It’s an enterprise, a way of life, a fundraising machine, a place where it’s basically impossible to get fired, even if you get blackout drunk and try to put cocaine in your eyes. And with “Cancel Me If You Can,” we get not just stories about how it came to be that way, but a look behind the hat and eyepatch and into the mind of the man named Dave who made being a degenerate gambler into an empire that makes the world a better place. Viva! 
***
Rich Cromwell is a writer living in Northwest Arkansas. He produces the Cookin&#8217; Up a Story podcast, which you can listen to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cookin-up-a-story/id1624969096">here</a>. You can also follow him on X: @rcromwell4

FAU v Loyola

The Dread Pirate Portnoy Isn’t So Dreadful After All

Barstool Sports

Boston

Dave Portnoy

Members of the U.S. Men&#8217;s National Team were quick to celebrate the news that star striker Folarin Balogun would be available for Monday&#8217;s match against Belgium — once they realized the story wasn&#8217;t a fake-out created using Artificial Intelligence.
As The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/05/sports/how-usmnt-players-reacted-to-folarin-balogun-news-on-bus-to-practice/">reported</a>, defender Chris Richards said that the team was heading to Husky Soccer Stadium on the bus when they got the news — and that at first, they were not at all sure what to make of it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Chris Richards tells <a href="https://x.com/JennyTaft?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JennyTaft</a> the vibes are up for the USMNT after hearing about Flo Balogun&#8217;s suspension being lifted <a href="https://t.co/WeCcD1wATY">pic.twitter.com/WeCcD1wATY</a>
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2073884412228649218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;To be fair, we were lit on the bus regardless. We had our speaker in the back listening to music,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Then one person said something, another person said the same thing and nobody wanted to confirm it. It was pretty much right when we got here that we found out it was true &#8230; a lot of us thought it was AI at first.&#8221;
But then Balogun boarded the bus — all smiles because he&#8217;d already been told that his one-match suspension had been suspended in favor of a probationary period — and it became apparent that he was going to be allowed to play.
Midfield and forward Christian Pulisic also reacted to the good news, saying, &#8220;I just saw a big smile on his face. I got to see him and dap him up after that. Knowing we’re gonna have him around tomorrow, it helps so much. It’s a big boost.&#8221;
Pulisic also noted that the lineup for Monday&#8217;s game against Belgium had not yet been adjusted to accommodate Balogun&#8217;s expected absence, explaining that the team would not be scrambling to rearrange things now that he could play.
&#8220;Of course you have other guys filling in and trying to figure out what the lineup could look like, but we didn’t have anything set. It’s not like some crazy adjustment we need to make,&#8221; he said.
The United States is set to play Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday, July 6.

USA v Paraguay: Group D – FIFA World Cup 2026

U.S. Team ‘Lit’ After Red Card Reversal News: ‘Thought It Was AI At First’

U.S. Team 'Lit' After Red Card Reversal News: 'Thought It Was AI At First'

A red card ban suspension freed star forward Folarin Balogun to play in the U.S. Men&#8217;s National Team&#8217;s next World Cup match against Belgium.
Balogun, 25, was initially supposed to sit out the 16th-round match due to a red card he received in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic. FIFA&#8217;s tournament rules (Article 10.5) state that a one-game suspension would automatically come with the red card — and the team was not allowed to appeal that decision.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7423410/2026/07/05/usmnt-folarin-balogun-red-card-available/?eafs_enabled=false">The Athletic</a> reported on Sunday that Balogun may yet be allowed to play due to a provision in Article 27 of FIFA&#8217;s disciplinary code — a provision that states &#8220;the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.&#8221;
The one-game suspension that should have accompanied Balogun&#8217;s red card has been suspended — with one caveat: he risks not only the original suspension but also any sanctions that might be added onto that if he commits another similar infraction during the next match.
&#8220;If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement,&#8221; the regulation states.
U.S. Soccer released a statement reacting to the news, saying, &#8220;We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow. Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.&#8221;
Up to the current match, Balogun has started in all but one and has scored at least one goal in each match. He scored twice in the opening game against Paraguay.
Balogun is not the only World Cup star facing disciplinary issues, however. Portugal&#8217;s captain Cristiano Ronaldo was handed a three-match ban, but FIFA suspended the final two games of his suspension.

USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina: Round Of 32 – FIFA World Cup 2026

FIFA Overturns Ban On U.S. Soccer Star In Massive World Cup Boost For America

Conservative NFL kicker Harrison Butker was reportedly the only Kansas City Chiefs teammate denied an invitation to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift&#8217;s massive New York City wedding.
Despite being teammates with Kelce since 2017, Butker did not make the guest list of approximately 1,000 people, an NFL source told the Daily Mail. It&#8217;s believed that every other player on the team received an invite, the report noted.
Butker made journalists&#8217; heads spin two years ago when he praised stay-at-home mothers during a commencement speech at Kansas City&#8217;s Benedictine College, a Catholic school.
&#8220;How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career?&#8221; Butker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chiefs-star-chris-jones-defends-harrison-butker-amid-backlash-and-hes-not-alone">said</a> during the commencement speech. &#8220;Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
“It cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker,” he added.
It&#8217;s unclear, however, if Butker&#8217;s remarks had anything to do with the apparent wedding invitation snub. Following the controversy, Kelce actually spoke highly of his kicker, though he said he disagrees with Butker&#8217;s views.
&#8220;I cherish him as a teammate,&#8221; Kelce said. &#8220;He&#8217;s treated friends and family that I&#8217;ve introduced to him with nothing but respect and kindness.&#8221;
&#8220;When it comes down to his views &#8230; those are his,&#8221; the three-time Super Bowl champ added. &#8220;I can&#8217;t say I agree with the majority of it, or just about any of it, outside of just him loving his family and his kids.&#8221;
Kelce and Swift tied the knot on Friday at Madison Square Garden. As noted by The Daily Wire, comedian Adam Sandler served as the officiant at the wedding. Kelce bonded with Sandler while filming “Happy Gilmore 2.”
“The bride and groom’s wedding ceremony looks have been created by Christian Dior Haute Couture,” Swift’s team said in a statement. “Their shoes were custom made by Christian Louboutin and the bride wore Cartier jewelry.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-renewal-starts-at-the-altar?author=Lois+McLatchie+Miller&amp;category=Upstream&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=8&amp;rowHeadline=New+on+Upstream&amp;rowType=Article+Carousel&amp;title=American+Renewal+Starts+At+The+Altar">American Renewal Starts At The Altar</a>

GettyImages-2277904608

Conservative Chiefs Kicker Reportedly Snubbed From Travis And Taylor’s Wedding

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