With the World Cup now in the books and Spain crowned champions, attention shifted back to Major League Soccer for a few weeks of regular-season play. Tucked into that brief return to league action is the Leagues Cup, which is now underway.

The Leagues Cup is a midsummer soccer tournament featuring every club from Mexico's Liga MX and top-performing teams from Major League Soccer.

Liga MX (LMX) is Mexico's top professional soccer division. The league consists of 18 clubs and is widely regarded as the highest level of soccer in Mexico, as well as the most-watched league in North America.

Round I of Leagues Cup competition kicked off Wednesday, August 5, across the United States and Mexico.

One of those opening-round matches featured FC Dallas hosting Querétaro F.C. at the newly built Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas. Dallas opened its Leagues Cup campaign with a 2–0 victory, earning three valuable points.

Forward Santi Moreno scored FC Dallas' first goal of the 2026 Leagues Cup in the 47th minute.

Attacking midfielder Joaquín Valiente added the second goal in the 81st minute, recording his first career goal for FC Dallas. Valiente also leads the club in regular-season assists (5) and key passes (21).

Dallas continued Phase One with a 1-0 win against C.D. Guadalajara on Aug. 8 and will face Toluca FC on Aug. 12.

Covering FC Dallas versus Querétaro was a welcome return to the pitch after intentionally laying low for a bit. I had stepped away from covering the World Cup because of a pending family matter, so it felt good to be back on the pitch perimeter with cameras in hand.

Earlier in the day, I tried to build my game rosters using the available resources, but the time I invested ultimately proved futile. Once I arrived at the stadium, noticeable lineup changes had already been made, forcing me to begin the process again.

That effort was equally unsuccessful, and I finally conceded that I would have to revert to a more primitive method of captioning my photographs after the match.

With kickoff quickly approaching, I headed to the field and immediately noticed a different photographer setup than the one used only a few weeks earlier.

The boards normally positioned along the northwest corner of the field were gone. Instead, photographers were left sitting on collapsible stools, kneeling, or standing several yards from the goal line. Expecting the usual setup, I had brought a chair and left my kneepads at home. As a result, my Gatorade towel became my makeshift cushion for the evening.

By then, the stadium shadows had reached the northwest corner and slowly crept across the pitch, providing photographers with welcome relief from the blistering Texas sun.

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to dial up on Bandcamp for a little musical reward.

I settled on an album with deep Texas roots that has occupied a great deal of my listening time lately, whether at home or on the road: Jukebox Fury by Dale Watson.

Watson is an iconic Texas singer-songwriter known for his distinctive blend of traditional honky-tonk, outlaw country, western swing, and rockabilly—a style he proudly calls Ameripolitan.

An award-winning musician and producer, and one of the hardest-working performers in country music, Watson has spent more than four decades touring and recording. Along the way, he has shared stages with legendary artists including Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson.

On Jukebox Fury, Watson cuts loose with 12 jukebox-worthy classics.

He delivers outstanding interpretations of songs such as "Turn the Page," "Sundown," "Always on My Mind," "Polk Salad Annie," "For What It's Worth," "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," "The Gambler," and "Horse with No Name."

Track nine, "Bluer Than Blue," unlocked a memory of a song that had been tucked away deep within my musical consciousness.

While "Polk Salad Annie" and Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind" remain favorites, it was Watson's version of Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" that completely floored me the first time I heard it. Simply stunning.

For me, Jukebox Fury is one of those rare albums that can stay on repeat for hours without losing its appeal.

With Division I college football just around the corner, I suspect it will become one of my regular soundtrack selections while I camp out in the end zones or roam the sidelines searching for that expressive head coach photograph.

The album carried me through the 40th minute of a scoreless first half.

I'm especially looking forward to seeing Watson perform at the historic Kessler Theater in Dallas on a Friday night in September. The art deco venue boasts a rich history and was once owned by Gene Autry during the 1940s. The theater practically begs to be photographed in black and white.

For readers in Ohio, Dale Watson will perform at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on Wednesday, September 30. If you've never experienced Ameripolitan music live, this would be an outstanding opportunity.

As the second half began, I switched to two albums that had become staples of my summer listening but were now beginning to taper off: Vol. I and Vol. II by Angine de Poitrine. Those two albums were major companions during my May road trip.

By now, I'm very familiar with both releases and am patiently waiting for the announcement of tour dates that will bring the unique Canadian duo through Texas.

Together, the albums carried me through the entire second half. Even after I turned in my Leagues Cup photographer's vest and made my way to the press box for my postgame workflow, they continued playing while I settled in at my laptop.

As always, once the editing process begins, I return to one familiar companion: Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

I can honestly say that this album has become my traditional soundtrack for postgame editing sessions.

Since I was unable to obtain reliable FC Dallas and Querétaro rosters for captioning purposes, I kept my initial photo ratings fairly conservative, resulting in a smaller group of selects once everything was uploaded.

On the drive home, Sounds of Nature in my new ride helped me decompress after the evening. Because the match was in Mansfield rather than Frisco, the trip home was cut nearly in half—from about an hour to roughly 30 minutes.

My next sports photography assignment will be a small-town Texas high school football scrimmage one week from today. The school may be small, but the level of competition certainly won't be. In Texas, high school football is serious business regardless of the size of the school or the town.