Better late than never, right? After the craziness of my weekend, when real life concerns kept Jared and I from getting together to record the next installment of the American Soccer Show, the work week has been relatively free of stress. That meant that we could convene on Wednesday night to do the show. That's a good thing, both because we enjoy it and because I was getting tired of people bitching about the lack of a new episode (My routine is thrown off! What will I listen to? I can't live without the podcast! Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a touch with that last one).
Seriously, those of you who did express your sadness over us missing a week definitely encouraged me to get it done. You're appreciated. Now send us email. Or buy a t-shirt.
Jared and I go right into the disappointment at Rio Tinto last week and the hangover suffered from in Portland. There's a parity discussion in there, because the question is now raised: did we overestimate the separation between the top two or three teams and the rest of the league? Was RSL's loss just a blip from a emotionally drained team or does it tells us something more?
There's some general MLS chatter to follow, including thoughts on the buildup for LA hosting New York, as well as Jared's shot at Brek "Spicoli" Shea (I'll explain it later) for claiming that his goal was a shot. Jared's just bitter.
In segment two, we take aim at the referees, the physical style of play in MLS, and whether Brian Mullan's monumental suspension will make any difference in the long run. Is the next guy going to think twice because of how the league came down on the Colorado midfielder? The way to make the league less physical and protect creative players (and no Jared, David Beckham doesn't count) isn't necessarily to hand out more cards, it's to call more fouls in general. Jared and I come to the conclusion that moving the scale for what is and isn't a foul would go a long way in alleviating some of the problems. The question is, are our referees capable?
We give a few moments to the news about "Soccer Night in America." We're not quite sure what it means for Fox Soccer's coverage of the league, but it certainly can't hurt that they're investing the product. I just worry about the possible demise of the humongous wedge table where Wynalda and Sullivan sit. That thing is great. Some guy named Glenn calls in at this point "just to listen." This stops the show dead, but we soldier on nonetheless.
After a quick word on whether or not Clint Dempsey is underrated, we move into emails. There are several, on topics ranging from Jared's love for Mexico to the issue of soccer announcing in America. If you have something to say for episode 72 (which will record on Sunday, come hell or high water), shoot it to show@americansoccershow.com.
We close things out talking a bit about Charlie Davies' Gold Cup chances before rolling into Jared's Hashtag Brownies. This week's tag was the epic #MLSTopGunCallSigns. See the Break Shea reference above for an example.
Thanks for listening. Make sure you like and comment at the Facebook page and hit us up on Twitter via the AmSoc account and the much improved CSRN account.
Please to be sharing this with everyone you know. Tweet the link. Share it on Facebook. Start a dedicated fan blog where all you do is extol the virtues of the show. Okay, that last one may be asking too much. But a man can dream.
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