The famed Magic City adult entertainment club won’t be featured at next week’s Atlanta Hawks promotional night, the NBA announced on Monday.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged concerns from others in the league on Monday, saying that his decision to cancel the collaboration is in the best interests of the “broader NBA community.”
“While we appreciate the team’s perspective and their desire to move forward,” he said in a statement, “we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners and employees.”
The Hawks announced its “Magic City Monday” promotion in late February, featuring a halftime performance by Atlanta-based artist T.I., a collaborative hoodie and the offering of some of the club’s popular wings, including the lemon-pepper variety named after former Hawks player Lou Williams.
Hawks principal owner Jami Gertz was a producer on “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” a docuseries that aired on Starz. Still, the team’s decision to collaborate with the Atlanta strip club ruffled some feathers in the NBA.
San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet asked the Hawks to cancel the promotional night in a post on Medium last week, saying that it would “reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society.”
Others had argued that Magic City is a big part of Atlanta culture and should be celebrated as such.
The Hawks wrote in a statement on Monday that it was disappointed with the NBA’s decision but would respect it.
Rapper T.I. will still perform at halftime, but the live recording of the Hawks AF Podcast featuring Gertz, T.I. and Magic City founder Michael Barney was canceled. Fans who pre-ordered the collaboration hoodie will still receive one, but the sweatshirts won’t be available for purchase at the game, the Hawks wrote on X.
“As a franchise, we remain committed to celebrating the best of Atlanta — with authenticity — in ways that continue to unite and bring us all together,” the Hawks wrote.
Times staff writer Chuck Schilken contributed to this report
Technical director Colin Calderwood has been put in charge on an interim basis, assisted by Ian Sampson, both ex-Northampton managers.
“We will always be grateful to Kevin for his hard work here, he helped keep us up last season and we enjoyed a strong first half of this season,” chairman Kelvin Thomas said in a statement., external
“But since Christmas the sequence of performances and results have led us to believe a change is in the best interests of all concerned.
“We are fortunate to have someone of Colin’s experience, supported by Ian Sampson and the rest of the staff to look after matters on an interim basis.”
Nolan’s departure came on the 129th anniversary of Northampton’s formation and they are the 10th League One club out of 24 to part company with their boss this season.
LAFC kicked off the MLS season with a 3-0 statement win over reigning champion Inter Miami at a packed Coliseum on Saturday night, giving new coach Marc Dos Santos his first win.
The matchup featured Miami star Lionel Messi and attracted an announced crowd of 75,673, the second-largest for a regular season game in MLS history and the largest for a season opener.
It was LAFC’s ninth win in season-opening games, another record for the club.
Miami tried to impose its game plan early, with several attacks down the right side of the field, and focused on making Messi the focal point of its attack. However, LAFC controlled possession and by the 12th minute already had generated two clear scoring opportunities through Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga.
Son had a great chance during a one-on-one matchup against Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who managed to alter the LAFC winger‘s shooting angle and prevent a goal.
After a poor clearance by Miami, Stephen Eustáquio stole the ball and quickly passed to Son, who saw David Martínez running and sent a deep pass for him. Martínez crossed the ball past Clair, with the Venezuelan opening the scoring in the 37th minute to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.
Martínez had a chance to score again during first-half stoppage time when he took advantage of a defensive error on the right side of the field, but this time his shot grazed the visiting goalkeeper’s right post.
Miami responded with an attack, during which Messi had the perfect angle for a shot from the left, but it sailed close to LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ top right post and did not reach the back of the net.
In the second half, Miami came out determined to push LAFC back into its own territory by advancing its lines and looking to support Germán Berterame.
Dos Santos’ team played a waiting game, and its patience paid off when it scored its second goal in the 72nd minute. Son was at midfield when he passed back to Mathieu Choinière, who fed Timothy Tillman, who sent a long pass to Bouanga. The French striker took advantage of Clair’s poor clearance by chipping the ball over the goalkeeper’s head to take a 2-0 lead.
When it looked like that would be the final score, Bouanga slipped away down the left wing and, despite defensive pressure, managed to send in a cross that new substitute Nathan Ordaz tapped in to give LAFC a 3-0 lead during second-half stoppage time.
For LAFC, the match marked the beginning of a new era following the departure of coach Steve Cherundolo, who led some of the most successful chapters in the club’s history, including its first MLS Cup title in 2022.
LAFC opted to maintain continuity under Dos Santos, who was promoted from the assistant coaching ranks following Cherundolo’s exit at the end of last season.
Miami arrived in Los Angeles as the team to beat, with high morale and ambition to defend its title.
The club has had historic seasons, including combined scoring records in the regular season and playoffs, and has consolidated its project with world-renowned figures who have transformed its impact on and off the field.
Under the leadership of coach Javier Mascherano, Miami faces a new season with a mix of experience and youth.
The presence of Messi — who won most valuable player awards and the Golden Boot last year — remains the focus of media and competitive attention for the club.
No one should be surprised that Leicester have appealed against their points deduction.
At no point have the Foxes admitted any wrongdoing, even with the evidence of their financial losses.
But this is a risky option as the appeal board can vary the penalty in any way. This includes increasing it, though that is believed to be unlikely.
Leicester’s position fluctuated over the course of the original hearing.
At one stage the club said a points deduction should be held back until they returned to the Premier League.
Then they shifted and claimed the independent commission did not have power to impose any sporting sanction. Then they said a fine should be levied… which should be zero.
Leicester are likely to again say that as a Championship club they cannot be punished for a Premier League rule break.
The Premier League, meanwhile, feels there was a mistake in failing to deduct one point for the late filing of accounts.
Leicester were found guilty on this count. But the independent commission chose not to apply any kind of penalty.
The Premier League disagrees and argues there is a principle at stake. If rules are broken there should be consequences.
If a club are allowed to file their accounts late and effectively get away without any sanction it offers no precedent or deterrent.
The Premier League has appealed on the basis that a sanction should be applied, in effect that one-point deduction.
The outcome of the two appeals could decide Leicester’s Championship status.
Tudor has been out of work since being sacked by Juventus in October 2025 and is set for his first spell in England, after previously taking charge of clubs in Italy, France, Turkey, Croatia and Greece.
He is tasked, first and foremost, with easing Tottenham‘s relegation fears, after a 2-1 loss to Newcastle in Thomas Frank’s final match on Tuesday left them five points above the bottom three.
Having earned a reputation as a no-nonsense defender during a playing career in which he won 55 caps for Croatia and made more than 150 appearances for Italian giants Juventus, there is one certain non-negotiable for Tudor as a manager.
“He asks his players to run a lot. In a previous interview he said ‘If you don’t run, you don’t play’,” says L’Equipe journalist Pierre-Etienne Minonzio.
“In his one season in Marseille it was always the same way of playing – 3-5-2 – and it was great to watch.
“It was not easy because Marseille’s best player was Dimitri Payet, a very gifted player but not well-known for running, and he didn’t play.
“It was a joke in L’Equipe – if Igor Tudor had Lionel Messi in his squad, Messi would not play!”
Tudor’s sole season in France saw Marseille finish third behind Paris St-Germain and Lens, despite surpassing the club’s points total from the previous campaign when they finished second.
“He did pretty well in Ligue 1. What I liked is that he doesn’t try to be liked. He is very direct, says what he thinks and doesn’t try to be attractive. There is no seduction,” says Minonzio.
“It is the same with the players. He keeps his distance and his obsession is to make training intense with a lot of running so they can be physically fit for the game.”
Thundering drums and shredding guitar solos cut through the crowd as pyrotechnics and streamer cannons blast. The energy and production feel like a show at the Hollywood Palladium or the Forum, but we’re at Knott’s Berry Farm, on the rooftop of a big red doghouse — that is if we can suspend our disbelief for an evening. The educational rock band Jelly of the Month Club along with guest musicians Charlie Brown, Lucy, Schroeder and Linus set up the show’s finale with a question: “Where’s that crazy dog?” Hundreds of fans scream as “All aboard!” resonates through the park, watching in anticipation as a spotlight searches for its fuzzy rock ‘n’ roll star to emerge.
Chances are you’ve seen Snoopy dressed as Doggy Pawsbourne on your Instagram or TikTok feed, complete with Ozzy’s signature round sunglasses, long hair and trench coat, punctuating the Prince of Barkness’ “Crazy Train” entrance. Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert became an instant hit with park patrons and with fans internationally thanks to a viral video posted on opening night. Sharon Osbourne shared the “Peanuts” tribute to her late husband with the all caps message “I LOVE IT” to her social media from the floor of the 68th Grammy Awards. But it’s more than witty puns and costumes that make Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert special.
The show at Knott’s tells the story of Snoopy learning to be a rock star at Jelly of the Month Club’s Music Academy and touring the world with the band. Snoopy takes on fursonas like Dog Lennon, Paw Prince, Fido Mercury, Flying Ace Freely and even a lost member of Devo wearing the signature Energy Dome hat. Jelly of the Month Club hits every beat and chord with precision, with arrangements of songs and medleys that bring together the power of rock’s past with the whimsy of “Peanuts.” Woodstock gets a solo moment too, whistling on Dog Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” set to a perfect one drop beat as Charlie Brown spirals out in a chicken suit while rubber chickens sway.
“We got rows of kids bringing their own rubber chickens,” show director Rob Perez tells me. “Its almost like watching ‘Rocky Horror’; kind of bizarre, really funny, and charming.” When Charles Schulz’s daughter Jill came to see the show, she told Perez that her dad used to say “there’s nothing funnier than a rubber chicken.”
Snoopy as Doggy Pawsbourne at Knott’s Berry Farm
(Dick Slaughter)
It makes sense that rock ‘n’ roll appeals to Snoopy; he’s a bit of an outsider with an internal life seen by almost none of his friends. It makes more sense that the feeling of family promised by rock touring life would appeal to Charlie Brown; it often calls to creative dreamers and outcasts with a subconscious need to belong. Schulz explored why all humans have the feeling people don’t like us in his cartoons and admitted that Charlie Brown was loosely based on himself. “People who win are the minority,” he told BBC in 1977, “most of us lose a lot.” The solution he provided to overcoming life’s most difficult conditions was simply to never give up.
Nobody cheers on Charlie Brown in Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert more than Jelly of the Month Club guitarist and vocalist Michael De La Torre, a.k.a. Mic Dangerously, who has become accustomed to encouragement working with youth. Active since 2013, Jelly of the Month Club is a family-friendly band who use music to inspire, educate and entertain kids and adults. It has played countless elementary schools, children’s hospitals, civic events and theme parks with interactive songs that teach musical concepts and life lessons. The band also offers free online lessons called the Jelly of the Month Club Music Academy, which turned live gigs into cartoon-based educational games. The band members have partnered with nonprofits including UNICEF’s Kid Power initiative to provide concerts to schools across Southern California, often donating their time.
“Studies say music helps with math, English and science, but it also helps you as a person,” Dangerously says. “It helps you understand feelings better. Look at how adults use music therapeutically. Kids are doing just the same.”
Dangerously first recognized the power of music education as a young boy at St. Pius elementary school in Buena Park, when a man with a bushy mustache and a Hawaiian shirt quieted the boisterous students in seconds with only an acoustic guitar. But hearing Louis Prima’s voice in “The Jungle Book” solidified his desire to become a singer.
Playing at Knott’s has forged meaningful connections to the community in ways Dangerously never foresaw in his early rock ‘n’ roll days. He’s become close to a father and his usually nonverbal son who can’t keep quiet at shows, asking questions and singing along. Last year an older woman who he’s built a friendship with for years suddenly disappeared. Dangerously learned from her daughter and granddaughter that she suffered a stroke. She credits singing and dancing to his music at Knott’s as instrumental in recovering her speech and movement. “She told me that she loved me like a son,” Dangerously says. “I’ve never had anything like that happen with my rock band. It makes you really want to show up.”
On the night The Times experienced Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert, Dangerously’s biggest fan, Abbey, stood in the front row playing a light up tambourine above her head to “The Blooz Beagles,” wearing a head-to-toe matching outfit to him. In her sequin blazer, red pants, black boots, bow tie and wide-brim hat, the 11-year-old mirrored his musical gestures, never missing a beat. Abbey loves “everything” about the music and dancing she tells me, excited to share that Mic personally gave her the tambourine and a few other instruments too.
Crowd at Jelly of the Month Club show at Knott’s
“They’ve known her since she was 3,” says April Guerrero, Abbey’s supportive mom who has helped her daughter make replicas of Jelly of the Month Club’s looks since 2017. Abbey learned to play music because of the band’s online resources.
“Many of us have a background in education,” Dangerously said. Matt Kalin is a teacher and pro saxophonist who has shared the stage with legends like Social Distortion and Louis Bellson. Dr. Todd Forman is a practicing physician who went to Harvard, taught at USC, and played sax with Sublime. Bassist James Kee is an educator who has taught kindergarten through fourth grade for the last 15 years. Dangerously’s own mom was an art teacher who encouraged him to teach after he finished his audio engineering degree at Musicians Institute, something he’s used in a junior producer’s course he created for an after-school program in Long Beach.
Like the members of Jelly of the Month Club, director Rob Perez is a multi-instrumentalist and producer with a deep reverence for classic rock and Charles Schulz cartoons. Perez is the man responsible for turning Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert from a dream into a reality. The concert grew out of a 2017 show called Woodstock’s Music Festival. When Snoopy walked out as Jimmy Hendrix, the crowd went wild, and Perez’s boss and Knott’s fans wanted more.
“The Rooftop Concert is a little bit of a nod to the Beatles, but it’s much more about Snoopy’s rooftop,” Perez tells me. “When you see Snoopy as the great writer, or the World War I Flying Ace, it’s always on the roof of his doghouse. So why wouldn’t he be a rock star on his rooftop?”
Knott’s rebrand of the show let Perez incorporate more storytelling, a task he shared with Jelly of the Month Club. The show opens with Snoopy traveling from his fictional cartoon town to a rehearsal where Dangerously gifts him a tambourine to join their jam. He sends Snoopy home with a pile of records which he listens to obsessively in his doghouse, a relatable experience for fans who have found solace and inspiration in old LPs, hiding out like Snoopy with pizza, root beer, and the complicated dream of leaving the only place you’ve ever called home to follow music’s call. Snoopy dons a leather vest, proclaims he’s a “Golden Dog,” and runs away from home to take lessons at Jelly of the Month Club‘s Music Academy and tour the world. After receiving criticism in the recording studio about his howl, Snoopy finds himself missing his best friend Charlie Brown. He asks the Peanuts Gang to team up with Jelly of the Month Club for one final performance on top of his doghouse, legendary enough to land them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Perez’s writing and producing shares the attention to detail present in Jelly of the Month Club’s approach to the music. Perez had the honor of voice acting for Snoopy. He digitally re-created a technique he learned from researching Bill Melendez’s 1960s approach in which he recorded barks and grumbles directly to reel-to-reel tape, sped it up, then cut and pasted it randomly to create Snoopy’s signature pentameter-less cadence. Perez worked closely with costume designer Tim Barham, creating every wig, accessory, and costume with exacting detail. The storyline and graphics pay close attention to “Peanuts” lore and rock ‘n’ roll film history, with Easter eggs from “La Bamba,” “Rocketman,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Almost Famous” and many others hidden throughout the 30-minute show.
“We don’t try to change the Peanuts from who they are,” Perez says. “We have to bring Charlie Brown along as he constantly fails at being a rock star. We have to give him a shot and prop him up, because he’s usually on the ledge. We bring him back. That’s been the premise of many Peanuts TV specials and movies.”
Mic Dangerously with Snoopy at Knott’s
(Dick Slaughter)
Jelly of the Month Club’s original song “The Magic Is in the Music” meets Charlie Brown where he’s at, encouraging him to take on the challenge of becoming a guitarist. As he fumbles with his out-of-tune Flying V, looking ready to shred in a thrash band, the crowd cheers for his success despite his self-doubt. When Charlie withdraws during the Elton John number, Dangerously responds by saying that that music can be a safe place when you’re feeling lost, saying “Charlie Brown, you are home.”
“We’re out there singing we ‘want to bark and howl all night’ but we’re teaching Charlie Brown and Snoopy is that it’s not just about your clothes, it’s about what’s in here,” Dangerously says, touching his heart. “It’s important not to take yourself too seriously. We’re showing that it’s OK to have fun. And that silliness is a big, important component of rock and roll.”
This spirit is the core of Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert on stage and on the floor. At the show I see a sea of grandmas shaking babies’ fists in the air, a little boy in a Woodstock hoodie headbanging, rockers in studded vests with huge smiles on their faces, and teenagers momentarily dropping their defenses against cringe in exchange for a moment of sheer joy.
Hanna and Ellie, teens from South Gate and Silver Lake, respectively, can’t contain themselves, pogoing, screaming and singing along. “I’m at a loss for words,” Hanna says, giggling. The girls agree that the show was better than they expected.
On Snoopy’s rooftop everyone is a rock star: Abbey, a rubber chicken and even Charlie Brown.
“Hey” is what he responds to, and he says he can be best described as a “travel agent,” a designation said with a sly smile to clearly indicate it’s code for something more illicit.
About eight of us are crammed with him into a tiny area tucked in the corner of a nightclub. Normally, perhaps, this is a make-up room, but tonight it’s a hideaway where he’ll feed us psychedelics (they’re just mints) to escape the brutalities of the world. It’s also loud, as the sounds of a rambunctious funk band next door work to penetrate the space.
Celeste Butler Clayton as Ursa Major and Ari Herstand as Copper Jones lead a group of theater attendees in a pre-show ritual.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
”Close your eyes,” I’m told. I let the mint begin to melt while trying to pretend it’s a gateway to a dream state. The more that mint peddler talks, the more it becomes clear he’s suffering from PTSD from his days in Vietnam. But the mood isn’t somber. We don’t need any make-believe substances to catch his drift, particularly his belief that, even if music may not change the world, at least it can provide some much-needed comfort from it.
“Brassroots District: LA ’74” is part concert, part participatory theater and part experiment, attempting to intermix an evening of dancing and jubilation with high-stakes drama. How it plays out is up to each audience member. Follow the cast, and uncover war tales and visions of how the underground music scene became a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community. Watch the band, and witness a concert almost torn apart as a group on the verge of releasing its debut album weighs community versus cold commerce. Or ignore it all to play dress-up and get a groove on to the music that never stops.
Audience members are encouraged to partake in a “Soul Train”-style dance exhibition.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
Now running at Catch One, “Brassroots District” aims to concoct a fantasy vision of 1974, but creators Ari Herstand and Andrew Leib aren’t after pure nostalgia. The fictional band at the heart of the show, for instance, is clearly a nod to Sly and the Family Stone, a group whose musical vision of unity and perseverance through social upheaval still feels ahead of its time. “Brassroots District” also directly taps into the history of Catch One, with a character modeled after the club’s pioneering founder Jewel Thais-Williams, a vital figure on the L.A. music scene who envisioned a sanctuary for Black queer women and men as well as trans, gay and musically adventurous revelers.
“This is the era of Watergate and Nixon and a corrupt president,” Herstand says, noting that the year of 1974 was chosen intentionally. “There’s very clear political parallels from the early ‘70s to 2026. We don’t want to smack anyone in the face over it, but we want to ask the questions about where we’ve come from.”
This isn’t the first time a version of “Brassroots District” has been staged. Herstand, a musician and author, and Leib, an artist manager, have been honing the concept for a decade. It began as an idea that came to Herstand while he spent time staying with extended family in New Orleans to work on his book, “How to Make it in the New Music Business.” And it initially started as just a band, and perhaps a way to create an excitement around a new group.
Ari Herstand as musician Copper Jones in an intimate moment with the audience.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
Celeste Butler Clayton (Ursa Major), from left, Ari Herstand (Copper Jones), Bryan Daniel Porter (Donny) and Marqell Edward Clayton (Gil) in a tense moment.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones/For The Times)
Yet as the pair became smitten with immersive theater — a term that typically implies some form of active involvement on the part of the audience, most often via interacting and improvising with actors — Brassroots District the band gradually became “Brassroots District” the show. Like many in the space, Herstand credits the long-running New York production “Sleep No More” with hipping him to the scene.
“It’s really about an alternative experience to a traditional proscenium show, giving the audience autonomy to explore,” Herstand says.
Eleven actors perform in the show, directed by DeMone Seraphin and written with input from L.A. immersive veterans Chris Porter (the Speakeasy Society) and Lauren Ludwig (Capital W). I interacted with only a handful of them, but “Brassroots District” builds to a participatory finale that aims to get the whole audience moving when the band jumps into the crowd for a group dance. The night is one of wish fulfillment for music fans, offering the promise of behind-the-stage action as well as an idealized vision of funk’s communal power.
Working in the favor of “Brassroots District” is that, ultimately, it is a concert. Brassroots District, the group, released its debut “Welcome to the Brassroots District” at the top of this year, and audience members who may not want to hunt down or chase actors can lean back and watch the show, likely still picking up on its broad storyline of a band weighing a new recording contract with a potentially sleazy record executive. Yet Herstand and Leib estimate that about half of those in attendance want to dig a little deeper.
At the show’s opening weekend this past Saturday, I may even wager it was higher than that. When a mid-concert split happens that forces the band’s two co-leaders — Herstand as Copper Jones and Celeste Butler Clayton as Ursa Major — to bolt from the stage, the audience immediately knew to follow them into the other room, even as the backing band played on. Leib, borrowing a term from the video game world, describes these as “side quests,” moments in which the audience can better get to know the performers, the club owner and the act’s manager.
“Brassroots District: LA ‘74” is wish fulfillment for music fans, providing, for instance, backstage-like access to artists. Here, Celeste Butler Clayton performs as musician Ursa Major and is surrounded by ticket-goers.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
An audience member’s costume.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
Yet those who stay in the main stage will still get some show moments, as here is where a journalist will confront a record executive. Both will linger around the floor and chat with willing guests, perhaps even offering them a business card with a number to call after the show to further the storyline beyond the confines of the club. If all goes according to plan, the audience will start to feel like performers. In fact, the central drama of “Brassroots District” is often kicked off by an attendee finding some purposely left-behind props that allude to the group’s record label drama. Actors, say Herstand, will “loosely guide” players to the right spot, if need be.
“The point is,” says Leib, “that you as an audience member are also kind of putting on a character. You can stir the spot.” And with much of the crowd in their ‘70s best and smartphones strictly forbidden — they are placed in bags prior to the show beginning — you may need a moment to figure out who the actors are, but a microphone usually gives it a way.
“They’re a heightened version of themselves,” Herstand says of the audience’s penchant to come in costumes to “Brassroots District,” although it is not necessary.
“Brassroots District,” which is about two hours in length, is currently slated to run through the end of March, but Herstand and Leib hope it becomes a long-running performance. Previous iterations with different storylines ran outdoors, as it was first staged in the months following the worst days of the pandemic. Inside, at places such as Catch One, was always the goal, the pair say, and the two leaned into the venue’s history.
“Brassroots District: LA ’74”
“It’s in the bones of the building that this was a respite for queer men and the Black community,” Leib says. “There’s a bit of like, this is a safe space to be yourself. We’re baking in some of these themes in the show. It’s resistance through art and music.”
Such a message comes through in song. One of the band’s central tunes is “Together,” an allusion to Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.” It’s a light-stepping number built around finger snaps and the vision of a better world.
“We are stronger when we unite,” Herstand says. “That is the hook of the song, and what we’re really trying to do is bring people together. That is how we feel we actually can change society.”
And on this night, that’s exactly what progress looks like — an exuberant party that extends a hand for everyone to dance with a neighbor.
Nottingham Forest have sacked Sean Dyche as head coach after less than four months in charge and are looking for their fourth boss of the season.
Forest were held to a goalless draw at home by bottom club Wolves on Wednesday and are just three points above the Premier League relegation zone with 12 games remaining.
Dyche, 54, succeeded Ange Postecoglou in October and had signed a contract until the summer of 2027.
“Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach,” a statement read.
“We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the Club and we wish them the best of luck for the future. We will be making no further comment at this time.”
When LAFC promoted Marc Dos Santos from assistant coach to manager two months ago, there were some perks that came with the new job. A raise, certainly. A better seat on the team charter.
But not as many as you might think.
“The office is a little bit bigger,” he said. “My parking space is exactly the same.”
The biggest perk, however, could also prove the more difficult. After five seasons working under Bob Bradley and Steve Cherundolo, Dos Santos is now the guy calling the shots. And if he misfires, it will be clear who deserves the blame.
Dos Santos welcomes the scrutiny.
“I never coach with the intention of what people think or what people are going to say,” he said. “I’m focused on the group and my job; the validation that is the most important for me is from my owners, from the people in the club that believe in me.
“I’m blessed with the pressure of coaching LAFC, It’s a privilege to be under pressure. But at the same time, I want to start well.”
He’ll get that chance Tuesday, when LAFC faces Honduran club Real España in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup in San Pedro Sula. The MLS season will start four days later against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, the reigning league champion, at the Coliseum.
Dos Santos, who speaks four languages, has already started putting his stamp on the team by tweaking LAFC’s playing style. Under Cherundolo, who spent his whole playing career in Germany, the team ran a German-influenced, high-press system that combined fast-paced attacking with defensive discipline, emphasizing quick transitions and a compact defensive organization.
But Cherundolo’s teams were also content to concede the ball as much as they controlled it. Dos Santos, conversely, spent the preseason implementing an aggressive possession-based attacking game.
“Marc had a lot to do with what we thought was really good about LAFC. But he had some ideas on how to tweak things,” said general manager John Thorrington, whose team is unbeaten in four preseason games, outscoring opponents 7-3. “What is really impressive is Marc and the staff have begun implementing these tweaks. Everybody is really buying in.”
Which is good since Dos Santos won’t have much of a chance to do any teaching once the season begins. LAFC will start the year with four games in 12 days; if it advances to the second round of the Champions Cup, the team will play nine times in 33 days.
Then in late May, after 16 MLS match days, the season will pause for more than seven weeks for the World Cup.
The vagaries of that schedule will require flexibility and depth and will likely force Dos Santos to rotate players in and out of the lineup. And though LAFC’s roster, led by South Korean captain Son Heung-min and former MLS Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga, appears top heavy, the coach lauds the depth, with offseason additions including wingers Jacob Shaffelburg and Tyler Boyd and midfielder Amin Boudri.
“People could look very superficially,” he said. “But it’s also a league with a salary cap and there’s so many players that support what are called the more known or star players. That’s important.
“The focus is to surround these players with a system and a way of playing that is going to maximize everybody.”
Dos Santos, 48, has won everywhere he’s managed with one exception: his only other MLS head coaching stint in Vancouver, where he spent parts of three seasons, two of which were impacted heavily by the coronavirus pandemic.
He got his coaching start in his native Canada, then moved to Brazil, where he coached in the youth programs of two clubs and worked as a technical director for another. He returned to North America to manage three lower-division clubs and worked as an assistant with Sporting Kansas City of MLS before Bradley named him to the first LAFC staff in 2018.
After Bradley moved on, Dos Santos returned to LAFC as part of Cherundolo’s first staff. And now, as manager, he’s brought in his own lieutenants, replacing original LAFC assistant Ante Razov with former Seattle assistant Andy Rose — who played for Dos Santos in Vancouver — and adding Spanish coach Xavi Tamarit.
“When you go from assistant coach to head coach, you have to take a few steps back. But you need to make sure you delegate to competent people,” he said. “The people that have joined are really competent and do a really good job.”
The proof of that will come on the field and Dos Santos knows he has big shoes to fill. Under Bradley and Cherundolo, LAFC was the best club team in U.S. soccer over the past eight years, winning more games, earning more points and scoring more goals than any team in MLS. It made the playoffs seven times, played in two MLS Cup finals and two CONCACAF Champions League finals, won two Supporters’ Shields and a U.S. Open Cup.
Thorrington expects the winning to continue under Dos Santos.
“I am confident that we made this decision for the right reasons,” he said. “And those who are not convinced yet will be convinced very soon.”
If they aren’t, LAFC’s famously demanding fans will be calling for the coach’s head. So even though MLS is heavily promoting the regular-season opener with Messi and Inter Miami, Dos Santos isn’t looking past his real first game in charge, which is the Champions Cup game with Real España.
“For me, the only game that counts in my head right now is the game of Feb. 17 in Honduras,” he said. “That’s where I put my energy. And then we’ll deal with the Miami game.”
At the end of the 2021 season, Carlson capped off a resurgent year by leading Glamorgan to One-Day Cup victory, a first trophy for the club since 2004.
In 2026 – with Sam Northeast having rejoined Kent – he will be hoping to draw on those experiences as he takes the reins in first class matches for the club’s long-awaited return to division one of the County Championship
“We played some really good cricket last year, and our team is full of match winners,” said Carlson.
“We have a solid squad with some great players and human beings in there. It’s always a challenge being the underdog but it’s something I think we can use in our favour, there will be times when we will need to scrap but that’s fine.”
Staying in Division One as a newly promoted side is a tough task for any team, let alone one led by a new club captain.
However, Wallace believes Carlson and his team-mates will relish the challenge.
“We’ve got a new-ish captain in Kieran. It was quite obvious early on that he’s a bright lad,” said Glamorgan’s director of cricket.
“He understands the game. He’s he’s very much a people person, somebody who wants to build relationships. I think he’s certainly got the tactical nous and the tactical acumen to lead us well.
“We will have to prove a few doubters wrong. We’re not underestimating the challenge that we’ll have in front of us having not played Division One cricket for so long.”
With all of the challenges the top flight will bring to the County’s shores this summer, Glamorgan believe they have the right man to navigate them to safety.
Carlson has shown throughout his career that he is not afraid of resetting after faliure and asking questions of himself.
But what answers the Welshman comes up with this season may just end up defining Glamorgan’s year.
