RJ returns to the pod to break down US Women's win in the SheBelieves Cup final. Canada put up a fight but it was decided on penalties. We break down the game and look forward to what is to come under Emma Hayes. 

Read more at: www.ajmsportsfc.com

SheBelieves Final! USA Defeats Canada on Penalties

We're back talking women's football with RJ! Emma Hayes has made her first roster selection. We break down the good and bad from what is there and also how important this Olympic competition will be for a fast start. 

Other topics include the NWSL tv confusion and more on Emma Hayes as she takes the new job. 

For more go to:
www.ajmsportsfc.com

USWNT Roster Selection, Emma Hayes and More with RJ

Emma Hayes is in control as US Women play two friendlies against South Korea. The team has a look at it and begin thinking about the upcoming Olympics in Paris. 

For more go to:
www.ajmsportsfc.com

Hayes Takes Over and a look at What's to Come for USWNT

In this week's episode, Ben takes a sneak peek at the WNBA's presence in the 3-on-3 portion of the Olympic games, plus chats with Connecticut Sun Forward Alyssa Thomas as she readies for the Summer games in Paris.

Countdown To Paris Podcast e3

We're back to discuss the Loons not super great week briefly, but hey, they did Make a Wish and get off the losing train, so baby steps. 

More importantly, Bridget and Nubia are joining Dave to help discuss the US Olympic soccer teams. Firstly, a brief discussion of the men's team, followed by a much deeper dive on the women's team.

The Daves Olympic Preview Show with Smart People

We're back to break down the Leagues Cup matches for the Loons and highlight the recent spate of signings.

Then we spent the bulk of the episode discussing the US Women and Men (but let's face it, the Women's tournament has been better) Olympic adventures. Including some interesting substitution patterns for Hayes, A Swanson renaissance, Trinity Rodman with bangers, and a basically average Men's team performance.

The Waiting Game

I can see the fires from my window and I'd had no power for 3 days.
So of course I wanted to conduct an interview.
Wouldn't you know it....just as I started the interview....the power cut off so I scrambled for the lap top and got the cell phone out.
20 years producing a podcast and STILL...nothing goes as planned.
The Audio on this show is not great but what's said is gold.
I dedicate this episode to Los Angeles and all the people in it. We are resilient.
I hope this is the last time we ever see fires destroy so much.

The World Wide Soccer Show Ep- 671  Special Interview with Alexi Lalas   1.9.25

The World Wide Soccer Show Ep- 672

Our special guest was the head coach of the MASL3 indoor Roc City Boom, Jim Hesch, who talked about the 1st place Boom's important 15-2 win over 2nd place Cleveland on Saturday, his emphasis on defense in recent matches and how the team is preparing for the final 3 matches in March, including this Saturday's contest at Sahara Gunners.

Our US Soccer correspondent, Front Row Soccer's Michael Lewis, talked about the passing of former World Cup and NY Arrows play-by-play announcer Al Trautwig, the current condition of USMNT legend Tony Meola after he suffered a heart attack last week, the initial weekend of matches in MLS and the upcoming She Believes Cup final between the USWNT and Japan.

Andrew broke the news that Rochester NY FC Academy will play in the NPSL this season in the same division as Flower City Union, the USLW schedule for Flower City 1872 and the latest news from around the soccer world.

February 24, 2025 Show

We started the show with the announcement that after nearly 31 years on the air, Soccer is a Kick in the Grass will have its final show next Monday, April 14.

Our special guest was our indoor soccer correspondent, Greg Suttie, who talked about the MASL3 playoffs and Roc City Boom losing in the final to RGV 9-6 and the quarter and semi-finals of the MASL playoffs leading to defending champion Chihuahua facing San Diego on the next 2 Sundays in a home and home series.

Our US Soccer correspondent, Front Row Soccer's Michael Lewis, talked about the closing of one of the biggest soccer stores in the US on Long Island, the US being awarded the 2031 Women’s World Cup and the US Women beating Brazil 2-0 on Saturday.  

Andrew and Joe gave the international report discussing the latest matches from Serie A and the Premiership and previewing the 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter finals. 

April 7, 2025 Show

Welcome back to By the Bleachers—your VIP pass to the dynamic intersection of sports and social media! In this episode, we explore how today’s athletes are using social media not just to connect with fans, but to call out injustice, demand equal pay, and challenge harmful narratives—one post at a time. On The Feed unpacks how athletes are flipping the script and using social media platforms as powerful tools of protest & advocacy.

Subscribe to By the Bleachers for more exciting conversations from the world of sports.
Until next time, keep enjoying the game!

Connect with me:
Instagram: @lipikarajashekhar
BlueSky: @lipikarajashekhar.bsky.social
Wordpress: lipikarajashekhar0.wordpress.com

Sources
Abeza, G., & Sanderson, J. (Eds.). (2024). Social media in sport: Evidence-based perspectives. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Armstrong, C. G., & Butryn, T. (2022). Educated activism: A focus group study of high school athletes’ perceptions of athlete activism. In R. Magrath (Ed.), Athlete activism: Contemporary perspectives (pp. 20–31). Routledge.
Bech, D. (25 April 2025). Eilish McColgan will continue to call out social media abuse to help youngsters. Express & Star.
https://www.expressandstar.com/uk-sports/2025/04/24/eilish-mccolgan-will-continue-to-call-out-social-media-abuse-to-help-youngsters/
Black, W. L., Ofoegbu, E., & Foster, S. L. (2022). #TheyareUnited and #TheyWantToPlay: A critical discourse analysis of college football player social media activism. Sociology of Sport Journal, 39(4), 352–361. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2021-0045
Gibbs, L. (9 April 2021). “It’s in Our DNA”: WNBA Players’ Record of Activism. Global Sport Matters.
https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2021/04/09/its-in-our-dna-wnba-players-record-of-activism/
Hruby, E. (22 February 2022). USWNT, US Soccer Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit for $24 Million. Just Women’s Sports.
https://justwomenssports.com/reads/uswnt-us-soccer-equal-pay-lawsuit-settlement/
Ingle, S. (25 April 2025). Eilish McColgan calls for passport ID to combat ‘faceless’ social media bullies. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/24/eilish-mccolgan-calls-for-passport-id-to-combat-faceless-social-media-bullies
Kruse, L. M., Norris, D. R., & Flinchum, J. R. (2017). Social media as a public sphere? Politics on social media. The Sociological Quarterly, 59(1), 62–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380253.2017.1383143
Mansoor, S. (27 July 2020). WNBA Players Walk Off Court Before the National Anthem and Dedicate Delayed Season to Breonna Taylor. Time Magazine.
https://time.com/5871954/wnba-national-anthem-breonna-taylor/
Martin, E. M., Scheadler, T. R., Kluch, Y., Mac Intosh, A., Calow, E. H., & Jolly, S. (2024). The role of challenges and supports in engaging white athletes in activism for racial justice. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 17(5), 817–828. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000447
Oliver, B. (3 September 2020). The Women of the WNBA are Leading the Way for Activism in Sports – And Have Been for Years. Glamour.
https://www.glamour.com/story/the-women-of-the-wnba-are-leading-the-way-for-activism-in-sports-and-have-been-for-years
Rahimainita, A. (22 February 2022). USWNT Equal Pay Settlement: Fans Celebrate on Social. Zoomph.
https://zoomph.com/blog/uswnt-equal-pay-settlement-listening-to-the-conversation-on-social/
Scheadler, T. R. (2022). Psychological benefits for athlete activists. In R. Magrath (Ed.), Athlete activism: Contemporary perspectives (pp. 193–204). Routledge.
Wang, W., & Sant, S.-L. (2023). A big data analysis of social media coverage of athlete protests. Sport Management Review, 26(2), 224–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2022.2051393

Media Credits
Music Credits: "Energetic Bigbeat Drum Loop" by AlexProst is marked with CC0 1.0.(openverse.org/search/audio?q=spo…cc0,by,by-sa,by-nd)
All “By The Bleachers” podcast related graphics created by me on Canva using and inspired by a Canva Creative Studio’s template (April 2025)

On the Feed-By the Bleachers

AJM Sports podcast is a show discussing analysis, interviews, news and notes for New York Red Bulls, New York Red Bulls II, NYCFC and Major League Soccer.

North America's Longest Running Soccer Radio show, heard Mondays live at 6:30 pm ET on WYSL Radio in Rochester, NY and at www.soccerisakickinthegrass.com

We are the Daves You Know, or maybe not. We are a podcast focused on Minnesota United FC, but not afraid to take the piss out of you and your dumb football club.

The Dalai Lama of Soccer. Your soccer podcast, every week, since 2005!

Stay up to date on all things Minnesota Lynx with the Lynx Radio Network.  From practice & shoot-around audio to postgame highlights & interviews we've got you covered.

New tracks tagged #USWNT