Sam's Army

The MLSisBack tourney is just getting underway so Sam sat down with another group of embedded bubble spies to find out what the anxiety level is among players, the lowdown on the "MLS is Back Insider" twitter account that has been taking potshots at Don Garber, whether comfort sex dolls have been considered and comparisons with the NBA bubble. Big thanks to Chicago's Brandt Bronico [00:01:40], FCC's Spencer Richey [00:17:41], Portland's Steve Clark and Colorado's Keegan Rosenberry [00:40:24]. ALSO, free of charge, we are throwing in a quick and dirty weekend preview [01:09:30] wherein Sam and Mikey Fowler discuss the North London Dangly Dærby -- aka Arsenal and Tottenham's Super Bowl -- as well as the other games to watch around Europe, and a breakdown of the Champions League draw.

On the eve of the start of the MLSisBack tournament, Sam sat down one-by-one with a bunch of players -- this episode features RBNY's Tim Parker, SJ's JT Marcinkowski, DC's Julian Gressel and NE's Matt Turner -- to find out what life is like in the bubble, and get a better sense of anxiety levels, if the Fyre Fest sandwiches are really that bad and what the plan is for when horniness levels surpass critical. They also gave an assessment of lessons learned about their respective teams' in the first two (pre-corona) games, plus an inside preview of how they see the groups shaping up.

Larry Nance Jr. and Mikey Fowler drop by to discuss this week's headlines, notably Liverpool's long-awaited title and the rebirth of The Babyjesus, as well as to break down the notable results and what's what in the battle for Top 5 and relegation pillow fight. We also look forward to the big games this weekend, including two with massive Champions League implications (Wolves/Arsenal and Lester/Palace), and close out with a rapid rundown on what's going on in La Liga, Serie A, MLS and NWSL.

Max Bretos & Mikey Fowler join to delve into this week's biggest storylines, including the Premier League's battle for top 5 and relegation, VAR controversy in La Liga, the must-watch game of the week in Serie A, and what's up for grabs in the Bundesliga's final matchday. In addition, Sarah Gorden of the Chicago Red Stars [31:00] discusses life in the NWSL, misconceptions and the most annoying thing people say to female athletes [note: do NOT do this], creepiest DMs and an inside preview of the Challenge Cup that kicks off in Utah this weekend.

Folks, we made it. The Premier League kicks back off this week so Mikey Fowler (Arsenal) and the Cavs' Larry Nance Jr. (Chelsea) joined Sam (completely neutral and totally unbiased) to give everyone a quick refresher on the biggest storylines so far this season, who benefited most/least from the pandemic, teams/games to watch going forward plus plenty of predictions you can laugh at us about later. Also, quick shoutouts for Sam's Soccer 'Stablishment of the week, Serie A (back this week) and QPR (keep an eye on Geoff Cameron and QPR... just sayin).

In preparation for this week's return of La Liga, Max Bretos and Mikey Fowler join Sam to help get everybody up to speed on what has happened so far this season and what to watch for in the coming weeks. Everything you need to know about the two-horse title race, the five/six-way battle for Top 4 (including what's at stake for Atletico and which clubs bring the sexy) and relegation dogfight. Come for the soccer talk, stay for someone saying "spot of bother" and getting mocked relentlessly [not naming names].

Michael Nsien explainshow soccer took him around the world then brought him right back to his hometown in Oklahoma where he is now the head coach of FC Tulsa in the USL Championship. He offers a unique perspective on the last few weeks, including the poignancy of marching through Black Wall Street (scene of a terrible but little known race-based massacre a century ago), and whether black squares on Instagram will have any impact. We also discuss his path as a player from Tulsa to Dayton to Nigeria to the Middle East to LA to Portland and how coaching brought him back to Tulsa, then finish up with his thoughts on how we can make sure there are a lot more Michael Nsien's in soccer's future.

Three American soccer legends -- John Harkes, Tab Ramos and Tony Meola -- join Sam and EG to discuss the new documentary "Soccertown USA" outlining their incredible journey from playing together for a club in a small New Jersey town to carrying the USMNT to not one but two World Cups, culminating with a win over tournament favorites Colombia and pushing eventual champion Brazil to the brink in 1994 on home soil. Behind the scenes stories of Tab nearly signing ill-fated contract with NY Cosmos, Meola's ridiculous coming out party with the NT, Harkes' motivation from watching US fall short in WC86 qualifying, *that* game/goal versus T&T, and basically what it was like -- the highs and lows -- laying the foundation for soccer in the US for generations to come.

Sam sits down with Geoff Cameron and Bobby Boswell to discuss Bobby's success in DC, Houston and DC (again); the time he left Turkey with a rash on his balls and a rearranged face; what life was like after being named Mr Virginia by Cosmo magazine; who wore the pants in Geoff/Bobby's CB marriage; and whether Bobby would prefer to be known as Patrick Ewing or Charles Barkley of MLS.

Sam and Richie discuss his insanely rapid ascent from Sunday league in Arizona to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. We touch on what life is like for a 19yo living and playing abroad, his experience at last summer's U20 World Cup and what Tab Ramos told the team before they beat France, what playing for Ruud van Nistelrooy is like, who the best Fortnite/Call of Duty player is on USYNT, whether he's prefer a move to La Liga or Premiership, where he thinks Sergino Dest will end up playing next and (of course) Richie's latest thoughts on the all-important choice between representing the USA vs Mexico.

Bundesliga is BACK so it's time to prepare your body, mind and soul with a quick and dirty guide to the league and all 18 clubs (plus some 2nd division stragglers) via a discussion involving two bona fide German soccer experts in EG and DC United winger Julian Gressel plus resident numpty Sam. Who's good? Who's bad? Which clubs have the most rabid fans? Which owners suck? What clubs are hated most? Who has the best jerseys? Sit back, relax and let us answer these questions and several more.

USMNT legend Frankie Hejduk joins Sam and EG to discuss why he finally (begrudgingly) chose soccer over surfing, his UCLA and Mutiny days, Bayer Leverkusen adding an extra zero, the [shmershmortion-y] 1998 and [epic] 2002 World Cups, and his mutual romance with Columbus (among others). Incredible career, absolute animal, great guy, fun episode.

Sam and EG are joined by MLS vets Tim Parker and Spencer Richey to chat about their time in Vancouver (aka "Canadian Amsterdam" -- if only in Sam's mind), where they were drafted together and won silverware, and all roads apparently lead to Pierre's. Tim discusses his move back east to Red Bulls, which somehow began with an epic birthday/goodbye cake and ended with him being forced into an SUV by (armed?) dudes in Tijuana. Finally we discuss Tim's (luscious) hair, (crazy) eyes and (gargantuan) calves, Spencer's love of literal dumpster diving, and their relationship with the #DaddyGang. Oh, also, a very illuminating conversation about whether MLS players will be taking that 50% pay cut...

Sam and EG are joined by long-time contributors Mikey and Zah to offer some takes on listener voicemails. We start with the big questions of how the season(s) will play out and what clubs benefited most/least, touch on financial fallout and the impact of Saudi Arabia buying Newcastle, and finish up with some Coutinho talk and repurcussions from US Soccer's decision to kill the Development Academy.

Sam and recurring guest Matt Turner lure Kelyn Rowe onto the program to discuss his time at UCLA (lordy!), why a quick job interview in France/Germany led him to hate Canada, the highs and lows of his initial relationship with New England, sleeping around (*professionally*) last year, and a shockingly civil reconciliation for 2020. While giving him the old what-for, we also discuss Matt's obsession with Game of Thrones, Kelyn's unfortunate opinions on Pixar films, thoughts on a soccer-specific stadium in Boston, whether Robert Kraft knows them from Adam (or Sam) and we finally get to the bottom of Kelyn's LOVE for leathery wines. Also, used couches and possible crabs may have come up (maybe).