Speaker 1: And it is time to go to the busiest man
Speaker 1: in the Northeast and find out what's going on in
Speaker 1: the rest of Major League Soccer and catch up with
Speaker 1: our buddy, Dylan Butler from emlisoccer dot com. Dylan, Alexander
Speaker 1: esach is a requested commodity inside the Newcastle and roster.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he's uh, folks want him? Are there?
Speaker 2: Are there? Are there many better strikers in the EPL
Speaker 2: right now? I don't think so.
Speaker 3: No, I'm I'm right there with you.
Speaker 1: But uh, I didn't know if the if where your
Speaker 1: defcon level was about something in the January window, about
Speaker 1: losing him to say an Arsenal or something.
Speaker 2: I mean, it all depends on where Newcastle are on
Speaker 2: the table, I think at the time, right like Esak,
Speaker 2: others Anthony Gordon late, they all want to play European football,
Speaker 2: right like it's everybody does. So if you're positioned yourself
Speaker 2: in the right way to Europe, even if it's on
Speaker 2: a top four, you know, like get to that second tier,
Speaker 2: I think you can keep some of these guys and
Speaker 2: if not, I think you lose them. I think it's
Speaker 2: just the unfortunate reality of you know, of a of
Speaker 2: a team trying to push their way into that elite
Speaker 2: level and you know, battling teams are already there.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know obviously Champions League, Europa League, all
Speaker 1: those kinds of things going on.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 1: What as the resident Newcastle fan that comes outbound that
Speaker 1: is uh comes and visits every once in a while,
Speaker 1: what is your thought about where things are with Eddie
Speaker 1: Howe and what do you what? What are you staring
Speaker 1: at right now with your beloved Newcastle.
Speaker 2: I feel like we're always staring at uncertainty in some
Speaker 2: way or another. So you know there's that, But you know,
Speaker 2: coming off a quality that he went on the weekends
Speaker 2: that was that was great. Yeah, I mean just have
Speaker 2: to I mean I think an advantage Newcastle have I
Speaker 2: I think I don't. I don't know if the top
Speaker 2: four is necessarily reality this year, but I think they
Speaker 2: can't push themselves in Europe And a big reason why
Speaker 2: is because they don't have Europe this year, right, so
Speaker 2: like they could be rested. They're not going to Prague
Speaker 2: on a Wednesday and and then and then having to
Speaker 2: go down to Liverpool or something, so they you know,
Speaker 2: they'll and that was the issue I think was it
Speaker 2: last year, two years ago? Last year, like you know,
Speaker 2: we beat PSG and and all of a sudden it's like, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, the world is that our is our oyster
Speaker 2: and and then just injuries we weren't. It wasn't there
Speaker 2: wasn't depth. We couldn't get players because of you know,
Speaker 2: all the realities that that are out the fair spending
Speaker 2: and then and then yeah, and then you fall down
Speaker 2: the table as a result, so they won't have that
Speaker 2: crutch if you will, which is ironic. So now I'm
Speaker 2: talking about needing to get back to Europe to keep
Speaker 2: their guys.
Speaker 3: But mh, a guy.
Speaker 2: There's kind of the ying and the yang of it.
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, you are a win because of the current
Speaker 1: jam and the standings. Basically you are a win with
Speaker 1: goal difference basically out of sixth So I mean you're
Speaker 1: eleventh right now at fifteen points even on goal difference
Speaker 1: ten ten score ten allowed you win one. You're at
Speaker 1: eighteen points and you're in that gaggle that's four five, six,
Speaker 1: But then that's goal difference.
Speaker 3: That'll get the part that's also.
Speaker 2: You asked about Eddie, how I love them like I
Speaker 2: wish i'd love them this day, right, But I think
Speaker 2: there's that reality as well, like where our Newcastle come
Speaker 2: the January window, like in the table, right are they fourteenth?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: I think there's a reality of ownership probably looking to
Speaker 2: make a change then, right are they fifth?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: He keeps his job. I think it's you know, the
Speaker 2: unfortunate kind of reality of the of the of that
Speaker 2: business in that league.
Speaker 3: No doubt.
Speaker 1: We've talked a lot nour number one about Atlanta United
Speaker 1: and Messi and friends as they get ready for match
Speaker 1: day three.
Speaker 2: By the way, can I make a point real quick
Speaker 2: about that, so.
Speaker 3: You most certainly can, sir.
Speaker 2: I was in the midst. I don't even know what
Speaker 2: number it was at the time, but I was in
Speaker 2: the midst of twelve high school soccer games in a
Speaker 2: nine day.
Speaker 1: Span, correct, because you told me it was eight and
Speaker 1: five at one point, And so now that he ended up.
Speaker 2: In twelve and nine, I also added in a football game,
Speaker 2: so it was I ended up being thirteen broadcast in
Speaker 2: nine days. Wow, but twelve soccer progusts. So whatever number
Speaker 2: I was at at the time, I was leaving that
Speaker 2: game Saturday night, and you know, jump in jump in
Speaker 2: my nice uh uh Grand Cherokee, and and and had
Speaker 2: the heated seats going a little bit chilly, got the
Speaker 2: heated steering wheel going. And then I popped on serious.
Speaker 2: Uh and my boys or or on the on the broadcast.
Speaker 2: Loved it. I heard the Atlanta radio broadcast of that
Speaker 2: massive way.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: The sad thing is I had I received a call,
Speaker 2: so I missed. I missed the final.
Speaker 3: Because it interrupt Oh no.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, uh, but I did here. I did hear
Speaker 2: the first Atlanta goal and uh, it was great to
Speaker 2: hear here. Uh hear those guys.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Mike, Mike and Jason. Uh, Mike invoking Larry munt
Speaker 1: uh look, invoking Larry Munson, the legendary voice of the
Speaker 1: University of Georgia with his first with his first goal.
Speaker 3: Call.
Speaker 1: Yeah, since it was the anniversary of Georgia, Florida, where
Speaker 1: Mike was. You know, this place is worse than bonkers
Speaker 1: from the Oh yeah, yeah, the run Lindsay, the run
Speaker 1: Lindsay call from Georgia, Florida from nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2: See, it's funny.
Speaker 3: I didn't know.
Speaker 2: I didn't know that. I didn't know there was a
Speaker 2: background today. I just thought he was. It was funny
Speaker 2: because I could even I could tell you exactly I was.
Speaker 2: I was pulling into Starbucks as like a drive through,
Speaker 2: and I heard the call and I was laughing, but
Speaker 2: I didn't know the background to it. That's good.
Speaker 1: Yeahs legendary play by play voice to the University of
Speaker 1: George Larry Munson when Buck blow to Lindsay Scott nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty on Georgia, Florida today that game winning score monson
Speaker 1: goes and this place is worse than bonkers, and so
Speaker 1: that that was an homage to Georgia, Florida.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 1: The the historian Mike Conty created a hell of a
Speaker 1: moment on the Derek Williams goal and then the skip
Speaker 1: carry esque sid slid call with score score score score
Speaker 1: four scores and the ninety seconds to go instead of
Speaker 1: seven years. But yeah, so Mike and Jason had a
Speaker 1: couple of gyms.
Speaker 3: I will say this full disclosure.
Speaker 1: Atlanta United on their two hundred and eighty character app
Speaker 1: has a booth camp and they have that call as
Speaker 1: released on their two hundred and eighty character app, and
Speaker 1: I will and I will recommend watching it more than
Speaker 1: once because there's a lot going on. They have the
Speaker 1: MLS video above and it's the double stack, the.
Speaker 3: High low split screen.
Speaker 1: Up high is Apple TV's video, and then down low
Speaker 1: it's Mike and Jason. Watch it once to see Mike,
Speaker 1: then watch it again to look at Jason, because Jason
Speaker 1: sees things in three dimensions better than anybody that I know,
Speaker 1: and a lot of folks out there in the industry today.
Speaker 1: And so as the play is the developing, and they
Speaker 1: do that rapid fire bing bing bing bing, and you
Speaker 1: see shanday and the.
Speaker 3: World opens up.
Speaker 1: You see Jason start to stand as it gets to
Speaker 1: Shonda Silva and I'm literally zuppruderring.
Speaker 3: Okay, when does he stand.
Speaker 2: As opposed to?
Speaker 1: Yeah, So literally, Jason sees the play develop and he's
Speaker 1: anticipating what's going on with Shandy, so he's up and
Speaker 1: Mike calls it as Shande puts it in. Jason saw
Speaker 1: it coming, so watch it. Landy United on their two
Speaker 1: hundred and eighty character app for Mike and his reaction.
Speaker 2: And then he sits during games.
Speaker 3: Who doesn't Mike? I know, I know, I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't sit because I'm I'm too busy wandering back
Speaker 1: and forth and being all that. But yeah, Mike sits,
Speaker 1: Jason sits because they have the monitors right there with them,
Speaker 1: the TV monitors, and so they can use those ash
Speaker 1: and so yeah, so watch it more than once because
Speaker 1: you see Mike's reaction in the front and then you
Speaker 1: see Jason developing reaction in the back. So it is
Speaker 1: it's like twenty two seconds, but still you watch it
Speaker 1: more than once and get all those different aspects of it.
Speaker 2: My goal calls are generally me just screaming out the
Speaker 2: guy's name who scored. That's like I don't I don't
Speaker 2: do necessarily, I guess an homage to anybody, but it's
Speaker 2: more just like you know, filled me just screaming at
Speaker 2: the guy's name.
Speaker 1: Well, and for me, it when when I call Matches
Speaker 1: I and people have circled me over to Dave Johnson
Speaker 1: with DC United, where I go and it's in Okay,
Speaker 1: I go, It's in you know, one of those and
Speaker 1: then I lay out and then I'll go back and
Speaker 1: either recap it myself or you know, if it's a
Speaker 1: two person booth, I'll have color go back through it all.
Speaker 1: But you know, for me is an in or and
Speaker 1: it's in something like that. It's more of a Dave
Speaker 1: Johnson d C United kind of a call is opposed
Speaker 1: to a name, because then that also if if I'm
Speaker 1: as blind as a bat and I'm wearing my progressive lenses,
Speaker 1: just go ahead and say they're buy vocals, mister optometrist,
Speaker 1: and get it over with.
Speaker 3: Uh, I can buy some.
Speaker 1: Time and sit there and figure out who's scored if
Speaker 1: I don't see it initially.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's the that's my other Like I'll
Speaker 2: say something like, you know, I think I might have
Speaker 2: said it's in the NAT or it's a goal or whatever,
Speaker 2: just if I don't see the guy for sure.
Speaker 1: Uh So, now what do you think about said series
Speaker 1: of one v nine in the Eastern Conference, now that
Speaker 1: we are at a match day three? Yeah, going back
Speaker 1: to the erector set.
Speaker 2: For sure, the East is wild and uh full rest,
Speaker 2: full confidence, no pressure? Why not us?
Speaker 3: Right? Like?
Speaker 2: Why not? Why not?
Speaker 3: Atlanta f e a baby? That's the rallying crod.
Speaker 2: Well. I won't tell you what the rallying crowd the
Speaker 2: Mets was, but but you guys know it.
Speaker 3: Yes, that's yeah, yea, that is true.
Speaker 2: But yeah, no why not right like and and and
Speaker 2: people forget or if they don't if they remember, they
Speaker 2: don't they discount it because it's like a different season.
Speaker 2: But let's not forget the regular season success as well. Right,
Speaker 2: nobody's had more success against Miami than Atlanta. So I
Speaker 2: think they can go in there and just play, play
Speaker 2: with confidence, play with some swagger, like, you know, not
Speaker 2: be too concerned that they lose they were supposed to lose,
Speaker 2: and the shock the world.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're staring over you know, you're Ali's you know,
Speaker 1: hovering over Sunny liston at that point, and considering that
Speaker 1: that was in Miami, then that makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 1: In the East, in and of itself, Uh, you've got
Speaker 1: Orlando and Charlotte, the four five Purple team and Sermonty
Speaker 1: a lot they're going into a match day three. You've
Speaker 1: got Cincinnati and Dylan Butler of State's future residents n
Speaker 1: y c Uh. I think that third one might end
Speaker 1: up getting played at Red Bull Arena. I think if
Speaker 1: there was talk about that because of availabilities and things.
Speaker 3: Uh, it is it is chaos.
Speaker 1: It is chaos in the East, sir, where three of
Speaker 1: the four are heading to a match day three and
Speaker 1: the one that's not is the shocker. Of the bunch
Speaker 1: because my bracket's now officially busted for sure, and you know.
Speaker 2: Who, you know who's like sort of sitting there on
Speaker 2: the other side of it, like being like, come on,
Speaker 2: keep only chaos, keep on the chaos. La.
Speaker 3: Yeah, man is like bring it, it's all good.
Speaker 2: Like we've hosted MLS Cup before. It's great out.
Speaker 3: Here, come on out.
Speaker 2: You won't have weather concerns.
Speaker 1: Nope, but I mean Columbus out by Red Bulls and
Speaker 1: the other three match Day three. No, I did not
Speaker 1: see it coming, Like I said, my brains in the toilet,
Speaker 1: although like you know me, like.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm I'm more og right like and I love
Speaker 2: sort of like the new g's coming in, Like is
Speaker 2: it the greatest playoff upset ever? Like I don't even
Speaker 2: think it's the greatest playoff up set in Red Bulls history.
Speaker 3: Like I was there.
Speaker 2: The year they made their run to the Cup and
Speaker 2: they played the Crew and they beat a Houston Dynamo
Speaker 2: team that I believe had just won back to back
Speaker 2: MLS Cups And they went to Robertson Stadium and and
Speaker 2: John Wallniak had the thriller dance after just scoring scoring
Speaker 2: a decisive goal there, so you know, and that was
Speaker 2: that was when it was a little bit MLS weird,
Speaker 2: right where like the Red Bulls were on the western
Speaker 2: side of the bracket, so they had to beat Houston
Speaker 2: beat salt Lake. I think Salt Lake was a one off.
Speaker 2: I think the Houston was a was a was an
Speaker 2: aggregate giant stadium first leg, Robertson Stadium the second leg,
Speaker 2: then at Salt Lake and then they're, uh, They're in
Speaker 2: the Cup and they they hope they hoisted like a
Speaker 2: little tea cup of a Western Conference championship in Sandy, Utah.
Speaker 2: And then uh and then a few and then a
Speaker 2: week later they were they were taken on Siggi Schmidt
Speaker 2: and uh uh Scilotto and and the Columbus crew and
Speaker 2: and they lost in their only ever tripped out of
Speaker 2: the MLS Cup final.
Speaker 1: Man, that is uh that wow. That that's that's definite
Speaker 1: wayback machine material. When you look at uh the four
Speaker 1: five and in NYC and Cincinnati. I've always thought that uh,
Speaker 1: Cincinnati for me has been kind of been on the
Speaker 1: ropes for a while and they would be one of
Speaker 1: those teams of the higher seeds that could have been
Speaker 1: knocked out not Columbus to me, but I would have
Speaker 1: thought maybe Cincinnati because of their downward trend. But you know,
Speaker 1: NYC goes from one nil down to winning match Day
Speaker 1: two three to one. What was the difference was it?
Speaker 1: Was it just something as simple as getting back home
Speaker 1: or what was the difference do you think for NYC
Speaker 1: and match Day two?
Speaker 2: I think there are some tactical tweaks, like they they
Speaker 2: flooded the midfield and made it difficult for Cincinnati. Santhia
Speaker 2: Rodriguez kind of pinched in more centrally, little nuances like that.
Speaker 2: But for sure, listen, it is sometimes it just boils
Speaker 2: down to being homer away, and especially for NYCFC, Like
Speaker 2: they're really good at home whatever home they play in,
Speaker 2: which is a lot of credit to them, right Like
Speaker 2: I was thinking that like Atlanta, you know, you always
Speaker 2: know you're at the Benz, right like, and you cultivate
Speaker 2: a great home field there. They've wanted home in three
Speaker 2: different venues around here, which is super impressive. But yeah,
Speaker 2: now they have to go to Cincinnati and like, not
Speaker 2: gonna be easy. You know, I was thinking after Columbus
Speaker 2: lost and with Miami, you know, are they on the ropes?
Speaker 2: I mean they're certainly in a pressure packed, winner take
Speaker 2: all game. Now that if I'm Pat noon in Cincinnati,
Speaker 2: I'm like, this door just opened up for us. You know,
Speaker 2: like we win this game, you know, we've have confidence,
Speaker 2: and you know they would have Geez in the East
Speaker 2: at least, right Like you would argue, certainly, I Miami loses,
Speaker 2: you would argue that they've then got the best player
Speaker 2: on the field whenever they play with Lucco, Right, So
Speaker 2: best player a team that's made these runs. Obviously there's
Speaker 2: still there's still issues there, but they would, as the
Speaker 2: highest seed, have home field.
Speaker 1: I mean it's with Cincinnati's issues have been at the
Speaker 1: back consistently, and so if you can, you know, if
Speaker 1: you can keep possession and keep Cincinnati pinned in and
Speaker 1: work it past that back line with all the injuries
Speaker 1: and stuff, and how Pat Noonan has had to kind
Speaker 1: of sit there and uh look at the whole cloth
Speaker 1: and the pantry and try to figure out what to
Speaker 1: do with the back. Uh for me, it's it's gonna
Speaker 1: be an interesting dynamic with that particular matchup. Red Bulls
Speaker 1: get to sit and wait that I don't. It's so
Speaker 1: then when it came to to Red Bulls and Crew?
Speaker 1: Was it more what Red Bulls did or less what
Speaker 1: Crew did?
Speaker 3: I if that makes any.
Speaker 2: Sense, No, it doesn't make sense. And it's I think,
Speaker 2: I think what we all tend to do, right, if
Speaker 2: there's a big upset is our first thought is, well,
Speaker 2: what happened to that team that was a fever?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: If Atlanta go down and they and they they advance
Speaker 2: over Miami, what's a what's the national storyline? It's not
Speaker 2: Miami failed, right, It's not that Atlanta won.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that Miami.
Speaker 2: You know, this team built for you know, the super club,
Speaker 2: you know, got knocked down. So in this case, yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean I think it's both. I think it's Columbus.
Speaker 2: I mean how many I wanted to add it up
Speaker 2: before we got on the show. I didn't get a
Speaker 2: chance to. But god, how many matches did they play
Speaker 2: this year? Right?
Speaker 3: Eleven bazillion?
Speaker 2: So many competitions that eventually will will tax you, right,
Speaker 2: especially when you play a team like Red bull where
Speaker 2: it's gonna be prenetic and all over the place. And
Speaker 2: the Red Bulls were in a similar situation to Atlanta,
Speaker 2: but the difference being they got the first win on
Speaker 2: the road, so now they can go to Red Bull
Speaker 2: Arena be confident, and even in a that's so metro
Speaker 2: kind of moment when you can see deep deep in
Speaker 2: second half stoppage time, they still managed to pull it
Speaker 2: out with Carlos Carnell doing you know what he did
Speaker 2: in the shootouts. So but listen, they're a different team
Speaker 2: with Emial Forsburg healthy, Like that's a big deal to
Speaker 2: this team. I didn't again do the stats on that,
Speaker 2: but you look at Red Bull with Forsburg in the
Speaker 2: lineup and without it will be like Miami without MESSI
Speaker 2: was like negligible differences correct, significant with Fordsburg in or
Speaker 2: out of the lineup.
Speaker 3: Eight, nine, ten, eleven, I'm adding twelve.
Speaker 2: Are you counting the cruise matches we might be here
Speaker 2: for a while. Thirteen we have smart coffee.
Speaker 3: So thirteen.
Speaker 1: So forty seven matches total for crew in all competitions.
Speaker 2: That's a lot, and a lot of those were like
Speaker 2: how many you didn't really rotate and maybe five matches?
Speaker 1: Yeah right, yeah, Wilford Nanci is the kind of guy
Speaker 1: that's gonna sit there and go dance with a girl
Speaker 1: that brung you. And the next question then for me
Speaker 1: is Wilford Nanci, does he max out or does he
Speaker 1: stay because he's pissed and want to to go back
Speaker 1: and chase MLS cup again? I mean because I'm sure.
Speaker 1: I mean if if John Texter say, and Eagle Holdings,
Speaker 1: they sit there and they look at Leon, and Leon
Speaker 1: is not what John Texter wants them to be. If
Speaker 1: I'm John Texter, one of my first phone calls is
Speaker 1: to Wilford Nanci's agent, Hey, you know you want to
Speaker 1: go home? You want to coach Leon? Name your price?
Speaker 1: I mean Wilford Nanci. For me, I could see him
Speaker 1: maxing out and I could.
Speaker 2: Go honestly to that point, John, I think now is
Speaker 2: the time. Yeah, No, Like he's not going to be
Speaker 2: a hotter commodity than now, like if he if he
Speaker 2: if he comes back with the crew. Also, who knows
Speaker 2: if you'll have kuco right, Like, who knows what that
Speaker 2: team will look like. So I think you've got to
Speaker 2: read the tea leaves. If you're NANSI, you know you're
Speaker 2: you're you're the hot commodity right now, like you got
Speaker 2: to cash out.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 2: Look, and he's super competitive, like he always wants the
Speaker 2: next challenge, So.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, all right, So twenty twenty four Columbus crew, this
Speaker 1: is courtesy of our friends at spot track. Uh, looking
Speaker 1: at salaries and things. Where was No, it's not the
Speaker 1: rundown that I was looking for the rundown that had
Speaker 1: uh seven our.
Speaker 2: Wars ask you said, They're like, these are not the rundowns.
Speaker 1: You know, these are not the rundowns. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: looking at rosters and things. Okay, so twenty five. Fine,
Speaker 1: I'll look at the twenty five roster. Give me the
Speaker 1: damn filter and sort for that. Okay, Uh twenty five
Speaker 1: Uh in a stroke was alone until June. Keegan Hughes
Speaker 1: for twenty five is a club option. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of guaranteed here. Christian Ramirez a club option for twenty five.
Speaker 1: Yah Yuboa a club option for twenty five.
Speaker 2: They did lock up a lot of their guys during
Speaker 2: the year, for sure.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Camacho's got one more year, Farsi has three more, Kucho
Speaker 1: has twenty five and a club option for twenty six.
Speaker 1: But once again, it's an asset. You are in control
Speaker 1: of the asset here for one more year before a
Speaker 1: club option. So if somebody knocks on your door, hey,
Speaker 1: here's eight figures to the left of the decimal place.
Speaker 1: Does the front office sit there and go, yeah, sure, okay, great,
Speaker 1: uh nagba, let's see. Nagby's got one more year with
Speaker 1: a club option. Christian Ramirez, okay. Rossi has two more
Speaker 1: years and a club option after that. Supplemental Max Arston
Speaker 1: has three more years guaranteed. Azy Jackson a club option
Speaker 1: for twenty five, Russell Roe club option for twenty five,
Speaker 1: Shelty a club option for twenty five.
Speaker 3: Zawatski. Zawatski has three more years gear.
Speaker 1: So there's some stuff there. Non actives Amensen, Chamboise, Shaberko
Speaker 1: Habrun all guaranteed, hogging backup Keeper is a club option.
Speaker 1: Herrera's alone. Cole Moroca guarantee, but we see him at
Speaker 1: Crew two. Isaiah Parente is a club option for the
Speaker 1: next two years. Yeah, so all three guarantee, all three
Speaker 1: dps for Crew one more guaranteed year before club options
Speaker 1: kick in, and Heino Strosa is a loan until June
Speaker 1: and then guaranteed. So one more guaranteed year for Kuco, Nagby,
Speaker 1: and Rossi, and then you've got to figure out what
Speaker 1: you're looking for. I do not see a Maton, So
Speaker 1: I'm guessing Maton is being he's out after twenty four,
Speaker 1: so he did not appear on this salary list.
Speaker 3: So there you go.
Speaker 1: Some questions for crew coming into twenty five, but the
Speaker 1: core looks like for the most part that it's still.
Speaker 2: There and the biggest obviously being at the very top
Speaker 2: Maton's twelve well in terms of your manager and also
Speaker 2: you're you're superstar mm hmm.
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Uh so you're staring at that with Crewe Western Conference.
Speaker 1: I know you mentioned Lag Sittinger going, come on, dial
Speaker 1: it up, brother, you just y'all keep going.
Speaker 3: We're good.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: We haven't even gotten into the postseason awards yet, where
Speaker 1: Gabriel Peck was named Newcomer the Year over Luis Suarez.
Speaker 3: I figured that.
Speaker 1: That the conventional wisdom, or the black helicopter theory would
Speaker 1: be that Suarez would get Newcomer and Messi would get MVP. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but it ended up going to Gabriel Peck la won
Speaker 1: and done outscoring Colorado, who didn't have Georgia Mihilovich in
Speaker 1: match Day one, lose five nil, lose four to one.
Speaker 1: They're out the door. Minnesota advances as a six. Seattle
Speaker 1: in the chaos of a four or five with Houston.
Speaker 1: They advanced seven to six in that shootout in match
Speaker 1: day two, and now LAFC is going to a match
Speaker 1: day three because Vanni Sartini, who needs to be protected
Speaker 1: and secured at all costs, you know. I mean, he
Speaker 1: ain't taken no fools from nobody, but everybody's looking at
Speaker 1: LAFC and Vancouver.
Speaker 3: Everything else in the West is settled after two.
Speaker 2: And listen, I've loved him from the moment that he's
Speaker 2: that he joined the league and I and I shouted
Speaker 2: from the rooftops that he was so severely underrated. But
Speaker 2: I think now finally the MLS world is getting to
Speaker 2: experience the greatness of Ryan Gold. So he's the leading
Speaker 2: scorer right now in the playoffs. What are the five
Speaker 2: and five goals and assist I think, and let's not
Speaker 2: even count what he's what he did to kind of
Speaker 2: lead even to some of those own goals right as well.
Speaker 2: So I think if you looked at that series and
Speaker 2: you said, all right, well, who's going to be the
Speaker 2: player to dictate things? I think conventional wisdom would have
Speaker 2: told you Dennis Bowonga would have been the guy. H
Speaker 2: But it is not it is it is Ryan Gold,
Speaker 2: so they too in uh in Atlanta asque kind of
Speaker 2: a way you know, can can go and uh and
Speaker 2: be confident and bold and you know, I would love
Speaker 2: to hear Sartini's uh the game speech to the guys.
Speaker 1: Oh well, let's I believe that the metaphors will be colorful.
Speaker 1: I would imagine, uh, so it would not what it
Speaker 1: would it surprised you? I guess how much would it
Speaker 1: surprise you if if the if the Caps went into
Speaker 1: a match Day three and took care of things in
Speaker 1: front of the thirty two fifty two, Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think it would. Uh, I don't know. I guess
Speaker 2: the bigger question is what is well that you know
Speaker 2: what I'm gonna answer my own question. I was gonna say,
Speaker 2: the big question is what's the bigger upset? H And
Speaker 2: I actually do think it well, vanc over for l
Speaker 2: AFC versus Atlanta against Miami again because of Atlanta's success
Speaker 2: over Miami during the course of the season. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean of the two upset specials, Yeah, it's it's
Speaker 2: Vancouver That's would definitely be the bigger one.
Speaker 1: Okay, uh, when you look what else what else is
Speaker 1: on your radar these days. I mean, you've got some
Speaker 1: clubs that are making their their their end of season moves.
Speaker 1: You've got as we kind of wait for things happening
Speaker 1: in December, and news is kind of trickling out, no
Speaker 1: real surprises in a couple of places. But what else
Speaker 1: is on your radar as you are juggling the the
Speaker 1: activity at varsity media all of the postseason involving both
Speaker 1: football and football and with soccer dot Com. What else
Speaker 1: is on your radar that you're keeping an eye on these.
Speaker 2: Days for MLS? Well, yes, yes, yeah, I mean it's
Speaker 2: it's hard to like. I don't get I don't get
Speaker 2: all bogged down in the post season awards, although I
Speaker 2: did find it funny that Dean Smith in his post
Speaker 2: game presser basically let a giant cat out of the
Speaker 2: bag in terms of Goalkeeper of the Year.
Speaker 1: Oh well, I mean if Kalna didn't get it, or
Speaker 1: was or isn't going to get it, I would have
Speaker 1: thought that something would have been funky with the voting,
Speaker 1: because I mean, what nine thousand clean sheets for Kalina
Speaker 1: this year to keep Charlotte in their season?
Speaker 3: For sure?
Speaker 2: But yeah, no, I mean it's just it's just, uh,
Speaker 2: you know on on these game threes really like you
Speaker 2: and I are both you know, big hockey fans, right
Speaker 2: and and and there's nothing like I don't care who
Speaker 2: the teams are. I don't care if I don't I
Speaker 2: mean I I don't care if I don't even know
Speaker 2: two players in a team. If it's a Game seven
Speaker 2: and the Stanley Cup playoffs, yeah it's must watch. And
Speaker 2: I think the same will be true here, right, Like
Speaker 2: these are knockout games and they should be treated differently.
Speaker 2: And and you know, I've always been a big aggregate fan.
Speaker 2: I think we've had this conversation in times I get
Speaker 2: to you know, you can massage certain things and inside
Speaker 2: of an aggregate. And but these best of three series
Speaker 2: got you, you know, the MLS version of a Game seven,
Speaker 2: which again you know, will be must watch TV.
Speaker 1: And you end up with two teams in Atlanta United
Speaker 1: and Vancouver white Caps that could be could be they
Speaker 1: could be that La King's eight seed.
Speaker 2: Who hosts that MLS Cup final. I think Vancouver not
Speaker 2: because there's a girl Scout convention or something.
Speaker 3: That could very well be the case.
Speaker 1: I think that that would be the the element there
Speaker 1: in the in the room. But Vancouver is an eight
Speaker 1: and Atlanta is a nine. So so in theory it
Speaker 1: would be it would be Vancouver unless they'd have to
Speaker 1: go outdoors and play it where Pacific FC is out
Speaker 1: in the suburbs or something, oh in December. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: you'd end up with something like that orange ball and
Speaker 1: all these kinds of things. But you know, at parlaying
Speaker 1: the hockey analogy, you got a hot keeper or you know,
Speaker 1: you gotta you got a hot goalie as an eight seed,
Speaker 1: that was how my Kings ended up winning the Stanley
Speaker 1: Cup first time out of the block. So as you
Speaker 1: were an eight, you steamrolled everybody because Jonathan Quick was
Speaker 1: the man.
Speaker 2: He's the man now for my guys.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, so, uh so it's it's it's odd
Speaker 1: seeing him in a bunch of different uniforms and things
Speaker 1: like that. But that you get a you get a
Speaker 1: hot goalie or a hot defense. Is an eight seed
Speaker 1: or a nine. You see where we are with match
Speaker 1: day threes? All right, lay it out for us, what's
Speaker 1: your what's your weekend? Like varsity media playoffs, all the sports,
Speaker 1: nineteen teams in four days.
Speaker 2: And thankfully that's a little bit of a break there however,
Speaker 2: as power as part of that break. And you'll appreciate
Speaker 2: this because you've done a bunch of these. Tonight out
Speaker 2: at Mount Saint Michael in the Bronx right there on
Speaker 2: Murdoch Avenue off of bay Chester Avenue. Uh, we will
Speaker 2: be doing a c HSA A Boys Basketball media day. Oh,
Speaker 2: we will be broadcasting from there. So probably not too
Speaker 2: dissimilar from that Big ten media day that was just
Speaker 2: like on the U I think it was last week
Speaker 2: or so. So we have interviews with all thirty one
Speaker 2: head coaches.
Speaker 3: Wow, wow, are you having more than one on it once?
Speaker 3: Or oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we were. We were going over this.
Speaker 2: Originally it was going to be every head coach and
Speaker 2: two players and they said, you know, yeah, you could
Speaker 2: probably do it within in two hours. I said, so
Speaker 2: we're gonna yeah, we're gonna have like, depending on the
Speaker 2: numbers of the league, you know, three to four coaches
Speaker 2: together on set. So that'll be six o'clock tonight on
Speaker 2: the Varsity Media YouTube channel. Yeah, doing a little I
Speaker 2: just did some doing some work with Hofstra Universities, like
Speaker 2: some of the broadcasts, So I did graphics for for
Speaker 2: one of their from their brand new UH control room.
Speaker 2: Uh So that was fun produce.
Speaker 3: They're no longer the Flying Dutchman, right.
Speaker 2: They are the Pride. They have a lot of pride
Speaker 2: in themselves.
Speaker 3: Okay, pride, okay, correct.
Speaker 2: And uh I am producing their women's volleyball broadcast on
Speaker 2: Saturday afternoon for the MLS festivities.
Speaker 1: Okay, and then then you get to go to MS
Speaker 1: Soccer dot com and uh SDH will be in Fort
Speaker 1: Lauderdale the erector set for Atlanta United and Messy and friends,
Speaker 1: and so we'll be down there for that. Apparently it's
Speaker 1: going to be in the eighties in mid November in
Speaker 1: Fort Lauderdale.
Speaker 2: I dropped off my daughter at the bus stop today
Speaker 2: with the short sleep shirt out. I don't seventy two,
Speaker 2: I think today.
Speaker 1: Wow, And the mug says that you are blessed. If
Speaker 1: I remember correctly, I am blessed. And so which cup
Speaker 1: of coffee?
Speaker 3: Two?
Speaker 2: I usually only go too?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 1: Well, as always, my friend, it's great to see you
Speaker 1: because we know that you are the busy, the busiest
Speaker 1: man in the Northeast. And when we can pin you down,
Speaker 1: you can come in and catch up with us and
Speaker 1: let you know what's let us know what's going on
Speaker 1: in your brain when it comes to everything Major League
Speaker 1: Soccer and everything else going around in the National Hockey
Speaker 1: League and all that stuff.
Speaker 3: It's old. Yeah.
Speaker 2: For Atlanta fans, enjoy it. It could it could be. It
Speaker 2: could be another magical moment in your club's history.