Perhaps those that have followed the USWNT more closely can chime in on this (homer?) article which criticizes 28yo striker Hatch being left out from the team in favor of 38yo Rapinoe and 18yo Alyssa Thompson:

https://www.deseret.com/2023/8/6/23822290/opinion-u-s-soccer-snubbed-ashley-hatch-in-hindsight-it-didnt-deserve-the-former-byu-star

Went nearly four hours of game time without a goal, while leaving at home one of the country’s best goal scorers.

Took a 38-year old forward who didn’t play well, and an 18-year old forward who hardly played, while leaving at home a 28-year old forward in her prime and in form.… https://t.co/aueoojFm2I

— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) August 6, 2023

“What we (@USWNT) had in the last several years was not a good culture, and the mentality changed, and it became toxic.” - @CarliLloyd talks about how the US team changed after the 2015 WC win. 🇺🇸⚽️ pic.twitter.com/oZdFcNBo50

— Alexi Lalas (@AlexiLalas) March 1, 2022

MinotStateBeav said:

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sycasey said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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sycasey said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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I don't care what she chooses to call herself.

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Because to you, she is less than human?

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No, because I don't play that game. You live in your feelings. Case in point.

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Buddy, the one who has most been living his feelings in this thread is you.

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"I know you are but what am I?"

- Sycasey

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Hey deplorable, you're not allowed to call blue hair soccer Karen bad names.

Rent free… pic.twitter.com/pyZfgNBZoF h/t @MichelleWhitzel

— @amuse (@amuse) August 9, 2023

hey-oh!

^^^ and tens of millions of Americans still think this man should be President of the United States. SMH... ^^^

Mean truths?

BearHunter said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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sycasey said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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sycasey said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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I don't care what she chooses to call herself.

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Because to you, she is less than human?

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No, because I don't play that game. You live in your feelings. Case in point.

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Buddy, the one who has most been living his feelings in this thread is you.

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"I know you are but what am I?"

- Sycasey

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Hey deplorable, you're not allowed to call blue hair soccer Karen bad names.

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For the record, I'm not offended if people want to call Megan Rapinoe names. I don't share the sentiment and mostly find these jokes childish and dumb, but public figures are going to get some of that no matter what.

Calling a person "it" does seem to cross the line, though.

After watching a lot of highlights from previous game, the increase in the quality of the women's game vs a decade ago (when I last followed women's soccer) is quite noticeable, and very encouraging as to the future of the game. You now have many players with solid technique and poise, as shown in the highlights of the Spain-Switzerland game, that featured nice goals from Spain:

https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/player/e834239c-d66b-487d-9639-92ac0b1b9ec0?catalogId=057caf68-e262-4f32-b9c5-bd70a15258ef&entryPoint=Slider

In years past, you had many instances of very poor defending combined with lackluster finishing, you saw a lot of players commit mistakes, lack fundamentals, teams that my pub side Sunday league team from the 90s would have beaten. generally speaking, this was a result of the game having a relatively small talent pool and lower level of league play. This is a good example of that, the Australia-Canada game, where the goals resulted from poor defensive play:

https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/player/423bb538-2a13-47d2-9adc-54433cc2d0eb?catalogId=ae675b69-b9e9-467a-8370-7fce8aa4fb20&entryPoint=Slider

When you watch the Spanish goals, or those of Colombian star Linda Caicedo, you realize that as girls they must have had a lot of playground time vs their brothers and boys from their neighborhood, that's how their technique was sharpened.

Spain looked really good, but Japan exposed their lack of speed iat the back, which appeared to be their main weakness, scoring several clinical goals on counters:

https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/player/cb747834-78c4-463f-b4a8-b7eb07668f61?catalogId=ec4e17eb-af8a-4a28-8970-55637755ef54&entryPoint=Slider

Japan looks like the class of the tournament, they have good finishers, speed up front, and their trademark team play. Spain will probably beat Holland to meet Japan in the semis. I like the Nadeshiko (pink carnations, the Japan ladies' pretty awesome nickname) over Sweden, which is a good team but one that lacks imagination, and they won't outhustle the Nadeshiko. Should there be a rematch of Japan-Spain in the semis, look for that game to be a lot tighter as Spain will likely use tactics that minimize their lack of speed at the back.

On the other side of the bracket, France looked good, a bit better on paper than Australia, but the Bleuettes play the Matildas in front of a loud packed home crowd, they will have to step up mentally to advance and likely face England, though Colombia has some quality players that could pull the upset.

BearHunter said:

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Mean truths?

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SHOCKING VIDEO: UK Police Arrest Autistic Teen on 'Suspicion of Homophobic Public Order Offence' for Saying Cop Looked Like Lesbian https://t.co/ZrqS5mW9bR

— Cassandra MacDonald (@CassandraRules) August 10, 2023

sycasey said:

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BearHunter said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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sycasey said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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sycasey said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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I don't care what she chooses to call herself.

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Because to you, she is less than human?

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No, because I don't play that game. You live in your feelings. Case in point.

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Buddy, the one who has most been living his feelings in this thread is you.

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"I know you are but what am I?"

- Sycasey

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Hey deplorable, you're not allowed to call blue hair soccer Karen bad names.

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For the record, I'm not offended if people want to call Megan Rapinoe names. I don't share the sentiment and mostly find these jokes childish and dumb, but public figures are going to get some of that no matter what.

Calling a person "it" does seem to cross the line, though.

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Clutch those pearls a little harder

Pretty entertaining first half, Spain largely dominated Holland, had one goal called back on a tight offside, they're showing the pedigree that comes from a great football nation. While Holland also is a great football nation, their team lacks flair. The Spanish style is well-suited for the women's game.

Spain rolling into the final, thanks to a classy late goal, they will face the winner of England-Australia in the final Sunday. Like I said, they are the class of the tournament in terms of skills and technique, which counts a lot in the women's game. I think they will win, which will be the first time a "southern" team wins the world cup.

The Limies are better on paper than the Matildas, but the latter have momentum and a loud home crowd, if it gets to PKs, OZ will advance, so that would be the plan, defend and play the counter. The time slot is the worst possible for the West coast, 3am PST, but those on the East coast will be able to catch the 2nd half and potential ET/PKs with breakfast.

Spain once again showing class and raising the bar in the women's game, completely dominating possession and looking confident throughout even though the 1-0 margin after their early goal was very thin, winning with style.

~ Elvis knew, . . . "If they ever invent a time machine , first thing I'm doing is, buying an Elvis ticket", from comments

^good luck to the men from Edinburgh vs Aston Villa on Wednesday.

I watched England over Australia in Bristol at a great pub on King Street. Great atmosphere with all the goals.

Then saw the home team lose from a weaker pub in Kentish Town London. Spain's high press won turnover after turnover. England couldn't play out of the back and we're embarrassed.

London is fantastic, by the way. I never knew there was so much street activity. When I had come 30 years ago it went to bed at 8pm.
I walked 13 miles Saturday checking it all out and it was a moveable feast!

concordtom said:

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I watched England over Australia in Bristol at a great pub on King Street. Great atmosphere with all the goals.

Then saw the home team lose from a weaker pub in Kentish Town London. Spain's high press won turnover after turnover. England couldn't play out of the back and we're embarrassed.

London is fantastic, by the way. I never knew there was so much street activity. When I had come 30 years ago it went to bed at 8pm.
I walked 13 miles Saturday checking it all out and it was a moveable feast!

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13 miles. Nice.

Final words on the movie Barbie by film legend Werner Herzog:

i’m so glad there’s video of this i absolutely needed to hear him say it https://t.co/Z8WVVAzCfa pic.twitter.com/g0sorz68cT

— laura 🦠 (@ecto_fun) February 23, 2024

I thought Barbie's first film was more compelling. Some say her performance was stilted and wooden.

I saw genius. By seemingly embracing the cliches of the West, the filmmaker is underscoring its excruciating banality.

Cal88 said:

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Final words on the movie Barbie by film legend Werner Herzog:

i’m so glad there’s video of this i absolutely needed to hear him say it https://t.co/Z8WVVAzCfa pic.twitter.com/g0sorz68cT

— laura 🦠 (@ecto_fun) February 23, 2024

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Excerpts from the complete interview :

Werner Herzog:

"I would have preferred if Ms. Robbie had played the role of Barbie completey covered in sores.

At certain points in the film I felt emotionally obliterated.

I often felt the movie pulled down my pants and taunted me.

Ken's agony was gorgeous. I need to be slapped.

Greta Gerwig, your presence intimidates me to the point of humiliation. Would you care to strike me?

Greta is a master of, of exposing tedium

In the final analysis, the film disturbed me almost to the point of insanity. There, I am insane now."

Wow. Barbie was a fun, clever film. This Werner Herzog guy is the definition of triggered. What an idiot.

Like Wes Anderson's Asteroid City, I thought Barbie was a graphic arts masterpiece. As far as performance art: comedy, drama and acting, to me , it fell flat like Asteroid City. I enjoyed Greta's other movies much more, especially Lady Bird.

bearister said:

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I thought Barbie's first film was more compelling. Some say her performance was stilted and wooden.

I saw genius. By seemingly embracing the cliches of the West, the filmmaker is underscoring its excruciating banality.

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Jay-Z coming back next year to correct himself: "40 years too late!!! The Grammys STILL haven't awarded them Album of the Year!!



I stayed for 12 minutes. Good one, Bear!

bearister said:

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Like Wes Anderson's Asteroid City, I thought Barbie was a graphic arts masterpiece. As far as performance art: comedy, drama and acting, to me , it fell flat like Asteroid City. I enjoyed Greta's other movies much more, especially Lady Bird.

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That's a fine review but I can't imagine you being so triggered that you'd say Barbie disturbed you to the point of insanity. Only a complete idiot would say something like that.

dajo9 said:

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bearister said:

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Like Wes Anderson's Asteroid City, I thought Barbie was a graphic arts masterpiece. As far as performance art: comedy, drama and acting, to me , it fell flat like Asteroid City. I enjoyed Greta's other movies much more, especially Lady Bird.

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That's a fine review but I can't imagine you being so triggered that you'd say Barbie disturbed you to the point of insanity. Only a complete idiot would say something like that.

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No, Dieter of Sprockets said that and I pretended Herzog said it.

Barbie was showing on HBO (or somewhere) last week and so I tuned in for 20 minutes or so (in the middle).

I will admit that that's not a fair way to judge a movie, so I can't say this is my definitive opinion, but I hated it. I had the impression that Hollywood was trying to beat me over the head with some message. Don't even remember what the message was supposed to be... probably something I would agree with, but please don't force feed it to me under the guise of a movie that's supposed to be entertaining.. It reminded me of 2 or 3 of the worst Pixar movies. Just based on the short part I saw, it was a horrible movie.

Big C said:

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Barbie was showing on HBO (or somewhere) last week and so I tuned in for 20 minutes or so (in the middle).

I will admit that that's not a fair way to judge a movie, so I can't say this is my definitive opinion, but I hated it. I had the impression that Hollywood was trying to beat me over the head with some message. Don't even remember what the message was supposed to be... probably something I would agree with, but please don't force feed it to me under the guise of a movie that's supposed to be entertaining.. It reminded me of 2 or 3 of the worst Pixar movies. Just based on the short part I saw, it was a horrible movie.

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The message was pure capitalism. A product reboot wrapped in a feminist package for a toy for girls in order to sell more product. You aren't the target audience but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy. Too bad you missed the most fun parts when Ken goes off the rails.

Big C said:

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Barbie was showing on HBO (or somewhere) last week and so I tuned in for 20 minutes or so (in the middle).

I will admit that that's not a fair way to judge a movie, so I can't say this is my definitive opinion, but I hated it. I had the impression that Hollywood was trying to beat me over the head with some message. Don't even remember what the message was supposed to be... probably something I would agree with, but please don't force feed it to me under the guise of a movie that's supposed to be entertaining.. It reminded me of 2 or 3 of the worst Pixar movies. Just based on the short part I saw, it was a horrible movie.

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Oh, gee, you think???

I had the thought that the film started out as a fairly simple, fun, movie. They got a couple/few known names on board, and then there's like 80% of the female audience going on both a nostalgia trip while also voicing their outrage at the expectations put upon them by society, and Boom: "it's a masterpiece, the most significant film ever!"

Oh my god! What over reaction!

I have 5 daughters.
One of them is, in particular, very pretty… blond, blue, athletic, and got lots of attention from the boys growing up, which she hated. She texted me a rave about the film and how "everyone could get something out of the film, if they tried to have an open mind".
Okay, I agree. I agree that the way society is to women is all F'd up. But then stop wearing revealing clothing, women, taking glam shots, and devoting time and money to the makeup industry!

The bra burning crowd of yesteryear… where did they go?

This film changes little.
Men pick women for looks. We are hard wired that way.
Women want to be picked.
Bad combo for the liberation people.

On the presentation front, I'll say, Nikki and Hillary and Cheney IN. Trump fairness OUT.

By the way, I'll digress some more… has anyone picked up on Lara Trump's new fake puffy appearance? That's downright scary looking! Those lips freaking scare me!!!!

What does Lara Trump
fill her lips with? pic.twitter.com/zq0i676NTx

— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) July 14, 2020

It is very humorous what types of movies the critics fawn over. The Shape of Water? Are you f@ucking kidding me? Complete garbage.
No Country for Old Men and The Departed. Now those are two masterpieces right there.