Charlotte FC's Kristijan Kahlina was named the 2024 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Croatian led the league in save percentage (75.63) and was tied for first in shutouts (12), third in goals-against average (1.09) and tied for third in saves (121).
Kahlina played every minute of the 2024 season and helped Charlotte concede the second-fewest goals in the league (37) en route to a playoff berth. The No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, Charlotte set franchise records for wins (14) and points (51).
Kahlina is the first Charlotte player to win an individual MLS year-end award. He is the fourth European to capture Goalkeeper of the Year, joining Switzerland's Roman Burki (2023), Italy's Vito Mannone (2019) and Denmark's Jimmy Nielsen (2012).
Kahlina received 34.9 percent of the votes from players, media and club technical staff. Hugo Lloris of LAFC was second at 10.7 percent and Patrick Schulte of the Columbus Crew was third at 9.7 percent.
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Three games up, three games down, three straight wins. After a rough stretch in which the U.S. Men's National Team lost to Turkey and Switzerland, the Americans are back on track. They have qualified for the knockout rounds of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup following nerve-settling wins over Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti. Up next for the USMNT in the quarterfinals, though, is a dangerous foe: the Ticos of Costa Rica. The teams have played each other dozens of times and established a fierce rivalry. But where did that rivalry start? And how will it inform this Gold Cup quarterfinal? Here’s the story of the USMNT-Ticos rivalry, told through a few key games: March 22, 2013: The Snow Clasico The USMNT and Costa Rica have been battling each other since the 1970s, but their modern rivalry began in Commerce City, Colorado on the qualification trail for the 2014 World Cup. Both teams entered this match hungry for a victory: They had failed to win their opening games and viewed this fixture as their best way to get their World Cup qualification back on track. It was set to be a classic before it even started. Enter the fickle Colorado weather. As the start drew nearer, the clouds over Commerce City grew thicker, and before long Dick’s Sporting Goods Park was engulfed in a late spring blizzard. The game began as scheduled in a near-opaque cloud of snow. Costa Rica battled admirably, especially for a team without much snow experience, but the USMNT won 1-0 on a Clint Dempsey goal in the first half. In the United States, this "Snow Clasico” is remembered fondly as one of the USMNT’s grittiest and most lovable performances. In Costa Rica, though, it’s remembered as an outrage. Furious with the unsafe playing conditions and unfavorable outcome, the Ticos swore they’d take their revenge. Sept. 6, 2013: The Payback Six months passed by the time they hosted the USMNT in San Jose, but the Ticos' feelings about the "Snow Clasico" remained fresh. The Costa Rican faithful gave the USMNT a heated, raucous reception, and that, coupled with a spirited performance by the Ticos on the field, bullied the USMNT into its worst performance in years. Frustrated by the Costa Rican crowd’s gamesmanship, the USMNT collapsed. “That was not my fault,” USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann said of the "Snow Clasico" that fueled Costa Rica’s ire. “I didn’t call God to give us some snow.” Costa Rica, full of righteous indignation, beat the USMNT 3-1. June 7, 2016: The Copa Clash The USMNT and Costa Rica met again in the 2016 Copa America, a centenario competition pitting North and South America’s best teams. They faced off in the second game of the group stage with plenty on the line. The USMNT, humbled in its opening match by Colombia and still scarred from its Costa Rican beatdown two years earlier, needed a statement win to get its confidence back — and a statement win is what it got. The USMNT beat Costa Rica 4-0 at Chicago’s Soldier Field in grand style. Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Bobby Wood and Graham Zusi scored as the global soccer media swooned over the USMNT’s reinvention. The USMNT went on to make the semifinals of that Copa America; Costa Rica went home in the group stage with its tail between its legs. Nov. 15, 2016 and Sept. 1, 2017: The World Cup drama The Copa America loss stung for the Ticos, but its revenge was swift and devastating. In two near-unbelievable matches a short months later, Costa Rica beat the USMNT by a combined score of 6-0 in World Cup qualifying. “We didn’t make any plays that mattered and we probably were outplayed at most positions on the field and made critical errors,” USMNT coach Bruce Arena said after his team’s second loss (2-0) to the Ticos. “They outplayed us and outcoached us tonight.” It was a near-unprecedented low for the USMNT. The losses to Costa Rica made the difference in the Americans' failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup a few months later. The USMNT will face Costa Rica in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup on Sunday in Minneapolis.
The Indianapolis Colts must have zero belief that Anthony Richardson is capable of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. That is the only logical conclusion one can draw from their decision to go with Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season, while also giving him a lengthy leash to play through. It's not only nonsensical, but it sets the stage for what could be a completely wasted season of football where they do not get anything from it. Whether the Colts decided to go with Jones or Richardson, their ceiling was unlikely to change. They're not a Super Bowl-contending team, and they may not even be a playoff team. The Colts have a very flawed roster that is probably more than just one quarterback away. But that's part of the reason why it would have at least made sense to give Richardson one more run at it. While the early part of his career has been filled with injuries and inconsistency, he is still a player they used a No. 4 overall pick on. He is also a player who is still full of talent, a big arm and — in theory — a lot of potential. He is in a lot of ways still a mystery and something of an unknown as an NFL player. He's played only 15 games, thrown just 348 passes and is still 23 years old. There is still something there that a team can dream on. It would make sense to try to see if he can figure it out given that unknown potential and upside. Jones, on the other hand, is the complete opposite in every way. He is a mostly known commodity in the NFL. He has appeared in 70 regular-season games and thrown 2,241 passes, and he is going to be 28 years old when the season begins. There are no secrets here. Everybody knows what he is: veteran mediocrity. Sure, there is a chance he could follow the path of Geno Smith and finally put things together and become an above-average starter after washing out with the New York Giants. But those types of success stories are the exception and not the rule. After six years and nearly 2,500 passes in the NFL you start to get a sense for what a quarterback is and what they can do. Jones has shown everybody who and what he is as an NFL starting quarterback: not good enough. What are the Colts hoping to accomplish here? Maybe Jones is a marginal upgrade over Richardson right now. But is he enough of an upgrade to take them from a mid-level, average team to a playoff team or a contender? Not likely. Not in a stacked AFC. Due to Richardson's upside, if he can reach it, he might actually have the ability to do that. That alone should have been the incentive to give him one more run at it. If he washes out, then you might know for sure that he is not your answer and that you need to seriously look at the position again in 2026. The season might not go well, but it at least wouldn't be a waste. Right now, the Colts just seem to be hoping that Jones can get them to another eight- or nine-win season that keeps them squarely in the middle of the NFL standings. Nobody wants to see that. Nobody wants to watch that. They should have at least given Richardson one more swing at it. Now they have pretty much already written him off as a potential option without ever really knowing for sure if he could do the job or reach his potential.
The Chicago Bears don’t appear satisfied with their running back room with one week left to decide the 53-man roster. The Bears have until Aug. 26 to make their final cuts before preparing for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. The Bears entered training camp with questions at running back. Veteran D’Andre Swift had a down year in 2024. Roschon Johnson isn’t a long-term solution, and seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai will have a steep learning curve when the regular season begins. The Chicago Bears worked out a former running back Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC, the Bears worked out running backs Royce Freeman, undrafted rookie Kylin James and former Carolina Panthers practice-squad player Dillon Johnson. Royce Freeman played with the Bears in 2024 Of the three, Freeman is the only running back with stats at the NFL level. Freeman, a third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2018, has appeared in 79 games and started nine games. He’s rushed 471 times for 1,472 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Bears signed Freeman to the practice squad in December. He was then signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad in January. He last played a regular-season game in 2023, when he added 319 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games for the Rams. The Bears are signaling their need for a running back this summer. There are other options available in the trade market, as the Washington Commanders are shopping Brian Robinson Jr. during the preseason. More running backs will be available after other teams trim their rosters to 53 players, but they might not be the type of athletes to make a significant boost for the offense early in the regular season.
Days after Ian Rapoport reported that the Green Bay Packers would make total sense as Micah Parsons' landing spot if the Dallas Cowboys decide to trade the All-Pro edge defender, Packers fans have gained another reason to believe that a deal is actually possible. On ESPN Radio, NFL insider Adam Schefter mentioned that the Cowboys parting ways to Parsons truly is a realistic scenario. "It sounds like at some point in time—whether that's now, after the season, after two seasons—it sounds like the two sides are headed to a divorce at some time," Schefter said. On the Pat McAfee Show, Schefter said something similar. "These things always can change, and situations often change at the end of August and September. It changed for CeeDee Lamb last year. It changed for Dak Prescott last year. This one doesn't feel that way. It doesn't feel that way today. That doesn't mean it can't change, but the way that it's tracking, it feels more likely that these sides are headed for a divorce today than they would be for a new deal. Now, I don't know that it'll play out that way, but that is what I see when I look at the market, first of all. Now, I don't know whether that means there will be a trade. I think the most likely scenario would be that he's there this year, his contract expires, they franchise tag him, and then after they franchise tag him, then they have the ability to go and try and trade him." Micah Parsons is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal with the Cowboys, and he will make $24.007 million in 2025. Even though he's slated to hit the free agent market next offseason, Dallas could utilize the franchise tag to keep him around—which would be 120% of his current salary, $28.8 million. Parsons wants a long-term deal with the idea of becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in football, surpassing $40 million in yearly salary. To make that happen, the Packers would have to be willing to spend the combination of high draft picks and the big extension. But at 26 and with his extremely productive profile, Parsons is the type of player worthy of that effort. For now, though, the Cowboys control the cards.
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