coys25

I occasionally have to read & critique manuscripts for work and I find it much easier to do with a printed page. But the computer paper that we have in the office is not ideal for fountain pens - tons of bleeding and feathering.

Does anybody have experience with computer printer paper that is relatively FP friendly?

I thought I might keep a ream or two at my desk and swap out some sheets when I'm about to print something that I'll be writing on. (Something relatively budget friendly would be great too... Not planning on putting Tomoe River through the office printer!)

That 2023 line does not look ideal...

Source: The Economist

Each point represents a five day moving average. The x-axis is in terms of historical standard deviations, i.e each day is compared to the standard deviation of historical values for that year. So we are at -6 SD from the historical average for this point in time.

Other excellent visualizations are in the article!

TD;DR (Oshan's predictions)

• Lodeiro probably leaves
• Rusnak probably gets renegotiated to a max-TAM level player
• Ruidíaz may get bought out or traded; he wants an extension but that would be hard to imagine
• JP probably back
• Heber probably gone unless he scores a boatload of goals in the rest of the season
• Xavi probably leaves, either by having his option declined or by having it picked up and Sounders trading him
• Hopefully Frei stays on a team friendly contract with a small pay cut
• Cleveland may be headed elsewhere to let the other keepers in the pipeline get more time at lower cost
• Rowe and Fredy probably won't be back
• Sounders will probably listen to offers for Vargas, RBW, and Leyva.
• AB is probably gone given his age and so he can get playing time elsewhere, to free up minutes for some of the Defiance CBs
• CR7 will have a bounce back year after the injuries; JMo will be back to his excellent form, Atencio needs more minutes, and Chu will be in the last year of his contract and out to prove that he deserves a big new contract.
• biggest off-season priorities: new DP 10, new number 9 (maybe somebody younger to develop while Jordan starts up top for now)

What are your thoughts?

Love these little quirky things when walking around neighborhoods in Seattle. Also Reservation Dogs is excellent.

On Aug. 21, we are officially returning to our roots as an independent soccer news site. At the same time, we’ll be formally combining forces with Nos Audietis — which has always technically been a separate and independent venture since its founding in 2011 — as well as maintaining our OL Reign coverage through Ride of the Valkyries. We’ll all operate under the banner of PNW Soccer Media, a name you might start seeing from time to time but will mostly remain in the background.

Taking after such world-class local independent media outlets as KEXP, our new model is mostly reader-supported. Our membership plans will allow us to keep the vast majority of our content in front of the paywall, while also offering various types of perks to our supporters.

Details in the link - almost all the content will continue to be free and in front of a paywall, but they're asking for people to subscribe to make this a sustainable long-term venture.

There are different subscription tiers, which get you access to some additional merch, tickets to live events, etc. If you want to go beyond the free tier, access to all content, newsletters, etc. will be $2/mo or $19/year. They're hoping that most people will support at their $74/year level, if in their budget.

I immediately signed up for the $74/year tier. (Disclaimer: I have no relationship at all to SaH and am just a fan). I think that we are extraordinarily lucky to have this resource, as there's almost nothing like this for any other MLS team or most sports teams in general. The depth of the journalism, the insight of the commentary, and the quality of the writing are outstanding and have contributed in a major way to my love for the Sounders over the last decade.

Nice introductory article overall about Ballard FC. Perhaps the most interesting new tidbit is that the Sounders are apparently tracking Stas:

The unquestioned star of the team is a 22-year-old forward named Stas Korzeniowski, who is going to be a senior at Penn this year and is coming off an 11-goal, seven-assist campaign for the Quakers in 2022. He scored 19 goals during the entire USL2 campaign, including six in the playoffs. He didn’t win the Golden Boot, which is awarded on regular-season goals, but he did lead the league in goals across all competitions. Among his playoff goals were a hat trick in the Western Conference final and a goal in the National Final, a game he played much of with a bandaged head before being ejected late. He’s listed at 6-foot-4 and 194 pounds, so he has some attractive physical attributes. The Sounders have definitely been watching him, even if there are still some questions about how his skillset will translate to the pro level.

The big man is coming back to the PNW!

Press release

Article in La Prensa (Panamá, in Spanish; translation below)

Panamanian defender Román Torres remains active in soccer, as he has been presented by the Tacoma Stars of the National Soccer Premier Soccer League in the United States.

"I am very happy to sign with the Tacoma Stars and be part of this beautiful family. See you soon," said Torres, who was part of the Panamanian national team in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Torres joins Tacoma from the Dallas Sidekicks, where he played seven games last season.

"We are talking about a player who has achieved a lot in his career, representing his country at the highest levels," said Nick Perera, who is the organization's manager.

"I am very excited to see the impact that Román will have on this Stars family, both on the field and in the locker room," added Perera.

The experienced player is known for playing six seasons in the MLS (Major League Soccer), with the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami. Career

Torres won the title in the 2016 season when the Sounders defeated Toronto FC 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in regulation time. He also played for Chepo (Panama), San Francisco (Panama), Cortuluá (Colombia), La Equidad (Colombia), Atlético Junior (Colombia), Atlético Nacional (Colombia), Millonarios (Colombia), Cartaginés (Costa Rica), and Universitario (Panama).

Jayda Evans (Seattle Times)

Peter Kingston blasted into the history books with a shot off a set piece near the touchline to give Ballard a 2-1 victory against Virginia’s Lionsbridge FC on a rainy Saturday night. Ballard, which is in its second season, topped a fourth-division men’s league that has 122 teams for its first championship.

Video of game winning goal in stoppage time (cross post from [email protected])