Russell Varner
@whyalwaysrv.bsky.social
I used to know sports stats for a living. Now I know them for no good reason.
2x Elon University alum. Dad. Ex-Opta stat guy. Animal lover. Overall nerd, but you’ll catch onto that quickly enough.
2x Elon University alum. Dad. Ex-Opta stat guy. Animal lover. Overall nerd, but you’ll catch onto that quickly enough.
Me, who spent years defending MLS players getting USMNT call-ups when Berhalter was manager, after a team of most MLS call-ups beat Uruguay 5-1:
Drink Big Cup GIF
ALT: Drink Big Cup GIF
media.tenor.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Me, who spent years defending MLS players getting USMNT call-ups when Berhalter was manager, after a team of most MLS call-ups beat Uruguay 5-1:
Reposted by Russell Varner
I want Jack Brannigan to succeed so badly
November 18, 2025 at 10:10 PM
I want Jack Brannigan to succeed so badly
Remember when Obama bowed to the then-Saudi king and a certain conservative news network lost their minds?
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Remember when Obama bowed to the then-Saudi king and a certain conservative news network lost their minds?
Has anyone made sure @grahamruthven.bsky.social is still alive and breathing?
November 18, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Has anyone made sure @grahamruthven.bsky.social is still alive and breathing?
Oh great. Because ESPN treated MLB rights so well before.
November 18, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Oh great. Because ESPN treated MLB rights so well before.
Thank you for your service, podcast I had never heard of before they retired.
November 17, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Thank you for your service, podcast I had never heard of before they retired.
Crazier stat:
After only throwing for 200+ yards in a game once entering today, Bryce Young sets a franchise record with 448 passing yards.
OR
Bijan Robinson had 93 rushing yards in the first half. He had a 11 rushing yards combined in the second half and overtime. #KeepPounding
After only throwing for 200+ yards in a game once entering today, Bryce Young sets a franchise record with 448 passing yards.
OR
Bijan Robinson had 93 rushing yards in the first half. He had a 11 rushing yards combined in the second half and overtime. #KeepPounding
November 16, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Crazier stat:
After only throwing for 200+ yards in a game once entering today, Bryce Young sets a franchise record with 448 passing yards.
OR
Bijan Robinson had 93 rushing yards in the first half. He had a 11 rushing yards combined in the second half and overtime. #KeepPounding
After only throwing for 200+ yards in a game once entering today, Bryce Young sets a franchise record with 448 passing yards.
OR
Bijan Robinson had 93 rushing yards in the first half. He had a 11 rushing yards combined in the second half and overtime. #KeepPounding
Reposted by Russell Varner
I’m not gonna say the referees have money on the Falcons today, but I’m not not gonna say it.
November 16, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I’m not gonna say the referees have money on the Falcons today, but I’m not not gonna say it.
Also whenever the Panthers want to start trying again, I would appreciate it.
November 16, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Also whenever the Panthers want to start trying again, I would appreciate it.
I’m not gonna say the referees have money on the Falcons today, but I’m not not gonna say it.
November 16, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I’m not gonna say the referees have money on the Falcons today, but I’m not not gonna say it.
Reposted by Russell Varner
A sign of MLS quality growth is the type of UEFA call ups it gets. Here's a comparison of 2019 vs this window by Nations League tier:
2019
League A: 0
League B: 2
League C: 9
League D: 4
Nov 2025
League A: 4
League B: 9
League C: 2
League D: 1*
Croatia started two MLS players!
2019
League A: 0
League B: 2
League C: 9
League D: 4
Nov 2025
League A: 4
League B: 9
League C: 2
League D: 1*
Croatia started two MLS players!
November 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
A sign of MLS quality growth is the type of UEFA call ups it gets. Here's a comparison of 2019 vs this window by Nations League tier:
2019
League A: 0
League B: 2
League C: 9
League D: 4
Nov 2025
League A: 4
League B: 9
League C: 2
League D: 1*
Croatia started two MLS players!
2019
League A: 0
League B: 2
League C: 9
League D: 4
Nov 2025
League A: 4
League B: 9
League C: 2
League D: 1*
Croatia started two MLS players!
Reposted by Russell Varner
Operations were no longer about safety, but about fear, fear that reached families, workers, business owners, and even those with the legal right to be here. And in the quiet between sirens, the city wondered what it was becoming.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Operations were no longer about safety, but about fear, fear that reached families, workers, business owners, and even those with the legal right to be here. And in the quiet between sirens, the city wondered what it was becoming.
Reposted by Russell Varner
The city that once celebrated diversity through food trucks, cultural parades, and church festivals found itself breathing differently doors locked, windows dark, conversations hushed. Neighbors said it didn’t feel like protection; it felt like punishment. Not order, but intimidation.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The city that once celebrated diversity through food trucks, cultural parades, and church festivals found itself breathing differently doors locked, windows dark, conversations hushed. Neighbors said it didn’t feel like protection; it felt like punishment. Not order, but intimidation.
Reposted by Russell Varner
Parents kept children inside. Workers who normally clocked in before dawn called their bosses in fear. City bus drivers said they saw makeshift checkpoints near major intersections, where people waited in silence, shoulders tense, eyes fixed on the ground.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Parents kept children inside. Workers who normally clocked in before dawn called their bosses in fear. City bus drivers said they saw makeshift checkpoints near major intersections, where people waited in silence, shoulders tense, eyes fixed on the ground.
Reposted by Russell Varner
A café known for empanadas and music stayed shuttered, its metal grate pulled tight. A handwritten note hung on the door: Closed for the safety of our community. Just down the street, a weekend lunch spot told customers online: Too dangerous today. Please stay home.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
A café known for empanadas and music stayed shuttered, its metal grate pulled tight. A handwritten note hung on the door: Closed for the safety of our community. Just down the street, a weekend lunch spot told customers online: Too dangerous today. Please stay home.
Reposted by Russell Varner
Residents described officers sprinting through parking lots, jumping fences behind small bakeries and mercados. Some said they watched people shoved to the ground, grocery bags splitting apart, oranges rolling into traffic, voices shaking as shouts ricocheted between brick storefronts.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Residents described officers sprinting through parking lots, jumping fences behind small bakeries and mercados. Some said they watched people shoved to the ground, grocery bags splitting apart, oranges rolling into traffic, voices shaking as shouts ricocheted between brick storefronts.
Reposted by Russell Varner
By this weekend, that rhythm collapsed.
Before sunrise, unmarked SUVs slid through quiet neighborhoods, and ICE agents moved in like a storm front.
Before sunrise, unmarked SUVs slid through quiet neighborhoods, and ICE agents moved in like a storm front.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
By this weekend, that rhythm collapsed.
Before sunrise, unmarked SUVs slid through quiet neighborhoods, and ICE agents moved in like a storm front.
Before sunrise, unmarked SUVs slid through quiet neighborhoods, and ICE agents moved in like a storm front.
Reposted by Russell Varner
A city defined by banking towers and craft breweries, where weekends were measured by Panthers touchdowns, farmers’ markets, and late-night debates about who served the best barbecue in town.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
A city defined by banking towers and craft breweries, where weekends were measured by Panthers touchdowns, farmers’ markets, and late-night debates about who served the best barbecue in town.
Reposted by Russell Varner
We wrote this to help you imagine how quickly a city can change under Trump…
Charlotte was once a place of slow, easy mornings, coffee cups clinking in cozy cafés, jazz drifting through open doors on Tryon Street, families stepping onto the light rail with strollers and soccer bags.
Charlotte was once a place of slow, easy mornings, coffee cups clinking in cozy cafés, jazz drifting through open doors on Tryon Street, families stepping onto the light rail with strollers and soccer bags.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
We wrote this to help you imagine how quickly a city can change under Trump…
Charlotte was once a place of slow, easy mornings, coffee cups clinking in cozy cafés, jazz drifting through open doors on Tryon Street, families stepping onto the light rail with strollers and soccer bags.
Charlotte was once a place of slow, easy mornings, coffee cups clinking in cozy cafés, jazz drifting through open doors on Tryon Street, families stepping onto the light rail with strollers and soccer bags.
Hello, my name is Russell, and I take back every bad thing I have ever said or thought about Kon Knueppel.
November 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Hello, my name is Russell, and I take back every bad thing I have ever said or thought about Kon Knueppel.
Reposted by Russell Varner
So let me get this straight: The President’s plan to lower prices is to roll back some of his own tariffs?
November 14, 2025 at 10:33 PM
So let me get this straight: The President’s plan to lower prices is to roll back some of his own tariffs?
Reposted by Russell Varner
NEW: MLS will become a summer-to-spring circuit beginning in 2027. It's the latest change as it aims to regularly "double" its fanbase...although the latest switch risks polarizing the league's longtime diehard supporters.
Free to read:
jeffrueter.substack.com/p/mls-has-en...
Free to read:
jeffrueter.substack.com/p/mls-has-en...
MLS has enacted its "far, far, far" futuristic vision
What a "competition calendar change" says about where MLS sees value, and who might bridle at the implications
jeffrueter.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:03 PM
NEW: MLS will become a summer-to-spring circuit beginning in 2027. It's the latest change as it aims to regularly "double" its fanbase...although the latest switch risks polarizing the league's longtime diehard supporters.
Free to read:
jeffrueter.substack.com/p/mls-has-en...
Free to read:
jeffrueter.substack.com/p/mls-has-en...
Reposted by Russell Varner
I hate that AI has made me approach cute animal videos with an air of suspicion. I resent having to harden my heart to the possibility of an unlikely friendship between a very large dog and a very small one
November 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I hate that AI has made me approach cute animal videos with an air of suspicion. I resent having to harden my heart to the possibility of an unlikely friendship between a very large dog and a very small one
Morbo congratulates four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. May death come quickly to his enemies.
(If you get that reference, we are already friends.)
(If you get that reference, we are already friends.)
November 14, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Morbo congratulates four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. May death come quickly to his enemies.
(If you get that reference, we are already friends.)
(If you get that reference, we are already friends.)
Reposted by Russell Varner
Forget MLS. This is most incredible soccer thing to happen today.
Best yet, we got video of Luis Rubiales getting hit with eggs by his uncle, Luis Rubiales
📹 by 3cat
www.3cat.cat/esport3/ataq...
📹 by 3cat
www.3cat.cat/esport3/ataq...
November 13, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Forget MLS. This is most incredible soccer thing to happen today.