3rd Degree the Podcast #330

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Third degree. The third degree. NEP Podcast. Third degree. The third degree Nap podcast. Third degree. The third degree Nap podcast. Third degree. The third degree. Well, hello there, DFW soccer curious person. You welcome to another episode of third degree, the podcast. Today there is no Dan Crook. Don't know why. I'm sure it's important, but we miss him nonetheless. But that means you get me and your hero, my hero, everybody's hero. Editor, Founder, third degree.net and the original soccer influencer himself, Buzz Carrick. Come in, Buzz. [00:00:55] Speaker B: Well, Dan is not here because it's his bir Thursday. Yep. [00:01:00] Speaker A: Wait, is. Is Dan one? See, I never took Dan as a long term birthday celebrator. [00:01:06] Speaker B: Well, I believe it's related to people coming to visit him, coming in town, you know, friends, family. [00:01:13] Speaker A: But Buzz, did you ever think Dan was the kind of guy that people traveled in to celebrate a birthday kind of guy? He's so low key. [00:01:21] Speaker B: Yeah. He's from England though, so. [00:01:22] Speaker A: I mean, is that an English thing? People in England travel? [00:01:26] Speaker B: He doesn't sell people often, I guess. Or maybe it's a special. I know he's like 50, right? So that's could be a big one. [00:01:31] Speaker A: Oh, does he turn 50 this week? [00:01:34] Speaker B: I have. No. He's probably more like 30 than he is 50. Yeah, man, I don't. I don't think he's. [00:01:38] Speaker A: We just aged him. [00:01:39] Speaker B: We're way older than him. [00:01:41] Speaker A: He's. He's English, so he looks older than he really is. [00:01:44] Speaker B: The beard, that makes him look older and less. [00:01:45] Speaker A: That's right. Yeah. We're gonna find out. He's like 34 or something like that. [00:01:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's probably pretty close. [00:01:53] Speaker A: All right, do you want to stop down and sing Dan Happy Birthday before? [00:01:56] Speaker B: No, no, no one wants to hear that. [00:01:58] Speaker A: Come on, Happy. You don't want to do it? We could do it. Like, you can come up with a cool version or genre of Happy Birthday. [00:02:04] Speaker B: No. [00:02:06] Speaker A: Okay, now I want to hear the rest of that. I want to hear Buzz do his Marilyn Monroe sexing up JFK birthday song. That's what I want to hear. [00:02:15] Speaker B: Yep. Good luck with that. [00:02:18] Speaker A: Watch downloads skyrocket through the roof. Suddenly Buzz is number three with a hot bullet right there in the podcast charts. No. [00:02:26] Speaker B: No. [00:02:27] Speaker A: Okay, well, Buzz, look at this. It is a. It's. It is the first back to back home victory pod of the season and only the second back to back victory pod of any kind of 20, 25. Here we are with just five or six games left, the team finally screwed together two back to back home wins. Congratulations to them as they beat up on the Rapids in good fashion over the weekend. And Reggie Cannon too. [00:03:03] Speaker B: Yes. [00:03:04] Speaker A: And so and good standing. The team now, Buzz, as you have noted, is undefeated in their last six. And somehow magically. [00:03:15] Speaker B: It's not just the last six. It's a very specific thing happened. [00:03:18] Speaker A: What is that? [00:03:19] Speaker B: They booted Acosta. Oh, since. Since Quill jettisoned Acosta and not, not the sale but like stopped picking him. Like dumped him onto the the Netherlands of, of training grounds or what? That's right. [00:03:32] Speaker A: Okay. [00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It directly lines up from the. The last game was the game where he got in trouble in California and they came back and then they let him sub in against New York City SC and it crashed it and wrecked it and they lost 4, 3 and he never played again. And since then, since he was banished, basically they're three, zero and three. [00:03:52] Speaker A: That's amazing. Yeah, it is pretty, pretty incredible. And it also just points out this, this. The fact that Dallas currently is sitting in one of the play in game spots just highlights the fact how ridiculous this league is where it's harder to not make the playoffs or the play in than it is to. Than to make it or not make it. Wait. Yeah. Than to make it. And I would say that if you fail to make the play in or playoff games two seasons in a row, embarrassment is not the correct term for that. So we're really rooting. I mean, I think we've had this discussion as to whether or not we think it's the best path for Dallas to qualify for any of this because we're worried about the internal effect or signing off or whatever that gives. [00:04:43] Speaker B: Well, I think, I think we would, we would be more, more worried about that. And by the way, they're getting some help in the getting it because RSL and San Jose both have collapsed and they're 1 and 4 over their last five. Wow. Houston's 2 and 2 and 1. That's the closest that's to a good team right now. Colorado 2 and 3 now in the last five. So they're getting a little help, but they are getting it done. And I think, I think the important thing to acknowledge in terms of like that idea of would missing have been better in the sense that like if they make it, they'll be like, look, see we're a playoff team. Well, the turnaround has begun in the sense of like the. Since they moved out from Acosta, the defense has been clamped down. They've gone from like a 1.5 goals per game allowed, down to, like, 0.5 goals a game allowed. So, like, yes, maybe they will acknowledge, like, oh, we think we're better than you guys, maybe give us credit for, but they actually have turned a corner. So you could say that, like, what we didn't want was reinforcement that what they were doing was working, but now what they're doing is working, so now it's okay that they sneak in. [00:05:42] Speaker A: It is kind of weird that. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm of the impression that first off, three in the back is not the formation Quill wants to play. Like, Eric Quill's dream formation is not three in the back. [00:05:57] Speaker B: No. [00:05:57] Speaker A: And moving to three in the back was actually a change they made to help figure out how to maximize Lucho Acosta, correct? [00:06:07] Speaker B: Well, not quite. No. Actually, the. The three at the back was they basically, he finally recognized they were bleeding goals, and he actually specifically called it a five in the back to reinforce that idea that this is about the defense. What happened was, is it coincided with the moving Acosta out of the lineup, which allowed them to bring on an extra center back and to make it be this five at the back. So, like those. Because when they were. What they were doing with Acosta was forcing this lopsided 4, 3, 1, 2 thing. You remember that discussion all the time where they had three sixes, basically because they were trying to be behind Acosta and free him up. So once they could give up on that idea, which is when they dumped Acosta, then they could actually just bring on a center back and play this back five. And essentially it's a five, four, one, or, you know, depending on however you want to, what game state you're looking at. I mean, I would refer to it as a base 3, 5, 2 at this point, the way Delgado plays it deep. But, you know, it does defend with Delgado and Ferriton going wide. So it does look five, four, one at times. Very defensive shape. [00:07:10] Speaker A: Yeah. I was under the impression that he had changed to this to help get Lucho in a more natural position, because we had been talking all season about how this thing Quill was trying to do didn't really fit Lucho and never did from the beginning. And so those two things never really made sense when the deal was done to sign him in the first place and that Quill was going to have to make some changes. And so I thought moving the three in the back was always about trying to make Lucho work better. I didn't realize it was just to try to get him to stop bleeding goals, but that totally makes sense too. So. [00:07:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:43] Speaker A: Okay, well, very good. Well, I, you know, I, I thought the team continues to look significantly improved. Like this team has gone from one that was really rough to watch and not a lot of fun and barely could move the ball past midf and seemingly focused on one thing and one thing only, which was get the ball to our former MLS MVP any way, shape or form you can. To a team that actually you can kind of look and watch what they do and go, okay, this is, there's a plan, there's an idea, there's a concept of what we want to do as a team. And it's working. [00:08:15] Speaker B: Yeah. If you look at FB ref, you can specifically see that back three shift for the San Jose game, which is after the LAFC beatdown. That is, that game you remember was when Lucho. That San Jose game was when Lucho got benched the first time we got sent back from California. So along those lines, you're right, Peter. Like before that, from Lucho beforeward, there was a lot of standing around and watching Lucho. It's not all Lucho's fault. It's like it's as much his teammates fault in the sense that like there was a lot of times where it was, okay, get the ball to this MVP and what's he going to do? And we're all just sort of waiting for him to do something. And by I mean all of us, I mean the media was, the players were, the, the coaches were, you know, they finally moved beyond from that. And everybody else basically said, okay, well I guess we're all gonna have to play now. And it's working, it's working as a concept, you know, even some of the tweaks he made from the first game towards the middle of this run, you know, putting Bernie at wing back, moving Shaq Moore now to the left side, which allows Bernie to be freer because then you can shift into a 4. Moving Kaik to the outside. Like lots of little things to solidify this defense, you know. And you hate to mention too that he has not had Martin pause. Yeah, this is happening, which is weird. But Paz did play behind the three for looks like three games before, you know, he got hurt. But it is a collective team change. The defense has gone, has dropped a goal a game less and the offense has created more shots. I didn't do the math, but like this last game they had 15 shots. That's high for this team, you know, so you have to be pretty happy with the way things are working. You got Farrington and Musa on the same page. Moose is playing like this off strike re wing kind of thing, which is what, by the way, we said he should be doing in the last off season. Which made Jesus Ferreira expendable. Right, was because the way Musa was playing, but then Quail wasn't here for that. So he kind of had to go through that experiment and figure that out for himself, I guess. You know, Delgado has matured as a replacement playmaker, if you will, for Lucho Acosta. Although the numbers aren't quite there, but the overall box to box sort of play from him is pretty solid. So, you know, it's a team effort. It's a team collective. Capis has been an absolutely massive, huge part of the turnaround playing in the midfield. [00:10:33] Speaker A: What was the game that he debuted back in where Quill screwed him by throwing him out on the left wing back? Yeah, and he, and he, he was just sucking July. It was summer wind. What game was that? Was that the St. Louis? No, it was a home. [00:10:52] Speaker B: Yeah, he came out at halftime of the NYCFC game and played basically like 45 minutes, a lot of it, wing back. And he was like, you know, it was here. That's the game that it all fell apart. And part of the reason why, you know, people were like, boy, Cavus wasn't very good. If you remember, he came in at halftime and then they fell apart in the second half after, like Lucio came on. But I talked about it at the time, like, people were like, well, he didn't play very well. But what happened was, is New York City was killing him down that right side, down the right wing back. Remember Josh Torcato? [00:11:19] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:11:20] Speaker B: And Kappa stopped that. He stopped that bleeding down that wing. Now, he didn't do a lot other than that, but he stopped that. And then the next game he subbed in again and then after that he was a starter. So he's made five starts now. [00:11:31] Speaker A: Yeah. So five of the six of this undefeated run has been him starting. [00:11:35] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:11:35] Speaker A: In the middle. And he's been really, really good. I. I've really enjoyed watching him again. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:11:41] Speaker B: You know, box to box player, it plays defense and offense can link play, can get progressive passes and even progressive dribbles. You know, gets the ball into the final third. Does everything a linking box to box eight guys wants to do, you know, is always in the right spot. Doesn't overextend himself. I really would. [00:11:55] Speaker A: Does he Look a little bit more like Dwight Schrute or Napoleon Dynamite. Which one? I can't figure out. [00:12:04] Speaker B: Napoleon Dynamite, I would have said. [00:12:05] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. It probably is leaning. [00:12:08] Speaker B: Not quite. Not quite. [00:12:11] Speaker A: Certainly more athletic than either one of those guys. It's just something about his look that he reminds me of somebody. Maybe it is Napoleon diamond, which would be kind of kick ass. [00:12:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:22] Speaker A: What are the odds he's dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite for Halloween at least once in his life? You might have to find that out. [00:12:28] Speaker B: Yeah, that'd be a great social media bit to give him the vote for Pedro Dance. [00:12:34] Speaker A: Yeah, it is an interesting run because I, I, you know, we've kind of, I think we shot the wheels off this season, weeks ago, months ago, whatever. And because MLS is going to MLS on you. Here they are with a chance to actually. And they, because I was trying to figure this out earlier. Do they own their destiny at this point? [00:12:57] Speaker B: You know, because they have a game in hand, they have a fair amount of control, but if they, you know, if they went out, I don't think they're automatically in. They, they would have, they would have. Let's, let's think about that for a. [00:13:09] Speaker A: Second because Salt Lake is the only team behind them that's even close with this on 30 games. Everybody else has already played a game. [00:13:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:17] Speaker A: Around them. So yeah, maybe they do because they. [00:13:20] Speaker B: Have a game here. But it's not likely that you're going to win four of those. Not when you have to go to Portland, go to la, go to Vancouver. I mean it's three or four on the road. Now granted they're pretty good road team, but Vancouver on the road is going to be really difficult. Portland's hit a rough patch so they really need to rebound. You know, who knows when it's going to happen, but they're going to be wanting to rebound. So that going all the way to the Pacific Northwest at Portland, I bet you that's one of those places where they have no wins or one win. Just like Seattle probably never won there in any capacity or maybe one game in 20 years or whatever. [00:13:53] Speaker A: So, so just think about this though, because I'm going to dream big here. Mr. Carrick. [00:13:58] Speaker B: Okay. [00:13:59] Speaker A: With four games left in their season and sitting in seventh place, which means you're actually in the playoffs. Portland has at Vancouver, Dallas at home at Seattle and closes the season out at with first place San Diego in town. Who will probably be playing for the Shield at that point? [00:14:24] Speaker B: Well, Portland's got a game in hand too and their game is this Wednesday. So like the. Dallas will look at the Saturday game and depending on what Portland does this Wednesday and think like we really could put a nail in Portland's troubles if, if Portland drops their Wednesday game, you know. [00:14:39] Speaker A: Yeah. If Portland was to lose Wednesday and Dallas was to face them, Dallas could actually pass them in the standings. Assuming Colorado doesn't do something miraculous in that same amount of time. By the time Dallas and Portland play each other, if Dallas wins that game, that's a six point swing. [00:14:58] Speaker B: It is. Yeah. I don't think they would pass them if they. Even if they drop both because Dallas doesn't play anybody before then. [00:15:06] Speaker A: Well, Dallas is only five points behind if there's a six point swing. Oh, Dallas would only. That's right. They would only have three points. [00:15:12] Speaker B: Okay, so literally a six point swing. [00:15:14] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. [00:15:15] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. But, but within reason, it's actually, you know, you can look at the schedules and play a lot of what's ifs and you can see, you can figure out scenarios where Dallas can climb actually into the prime playoff spots. They can, they could mathematically get to seventh. But you know, the chances that they're going to win all four games are not. Let's not forget MLS Road is still MLS road. Dallas is a great road team and they're just barely better than.500. They only have four wins on the road all season as much as highs. [00:15:46] Speaker A: Yeah. So Colorado has Minnesota at home at Salt Lake and LAFC to close the season. We know what Dallas's path is. Houston, who is behind them, have at Nashville, San Diego in Houston and then have to go to Kansas City to close the season. Are the Quakes even within shouting distance? Yeah, they are. The Quakes have at San Diego, at Vancouver and then Broccoli. [00:16:13] Speaker B: The game at Hanford. Dallas really helps because Houston could get to 42 quite easily because they, if they go 2 and 1 Grant, they got two road games, but it's at Nashville, not Sporting. And then they got San Diego at home. San Diego may be taking some time off at that point because they've, you know, clinched or whatever. So maybe you can get a, like there's a good chance Houston can put a pretty good number up. So you know, but at the same time, Colorado's dropping, you know, Portland's not having a great run right at the minute. So like, you know, there's, there's still work to be done. You can't assume it's in four games is a lot of games. You got the Galaxy twice. You don't When a team is as bad as the Galaxy, you have no idea what you're going to get. They can play a bunch of kids. The Pu could all of a sudden be back. I mean, who knows? And roaring. You just don't know what you're getting. You know, they. They made a huge run in leagues, cup, you know, now they have nothing to play for. So maybe they could surprise you even though they look terrible. [00:17:04] Speaker A: Well, if we're shooting high, Portland is one win, three losses and two draws in their last six, just FYI. [00:17:14] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, going to Vancouver the last game of the year is not going to be easy. You better have what you need before that. So really you have Portland and to LA twice is when you got to. And one of the LA games is the one that was moved. That was moved because of their league's cup run. That's why Dawson's a game in hand. Do you remember? Yeah. [00:17:34] Speaker A: All right, well, very good. I thought the. I thought a couple of other notes from the game. Obviously Urugide is the great silver lining of no matter how this season goes and ends, we're all just going to look back and think about what a great signing he turned out to be. [00:17:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:50] Speaker A: And hopefully he wants to stay here and doesn't get picked off by some European club for a whole bunch of dough. [00:17:57] Speaker B: That's the problem when you're Dallas is you want guys to be good, but you don't want them to be too good because you're not like lafc. They can afford to spend all his money. So, I mean, he dominated Navarro. I mean, it was, it was. You know, that guy ended up with like 25 touches in one shot. Like, it's just a tremendous job by your gide and the whole team feeds off of it, you know, and he's in the middle and he can help everybody too. So. You know, Iaga and Shagmore look better when that guy's in between them. You know, it's like, stop, stop moving guys around. Just play your best dudes in their best spot. That works. Yeah, right? Yeah, just a phenomenal game by him and the whole defense, really collectively defense. It's not just the limited number of shots. I think they had a lot of helm to nine and only two on target, but all but two of them were outside the box, you know what I mean? And like, so these zone 14 blasts are low percentage shots, particularly when you're going against a team that's bunkering 5, 4, 1. Right. They're not breaking Dallas down right now. Defense is playing phenomenal. [00:18:51] Speaker A: So I want you to answer me this weird thing observation I had and help me understand this. My observation is that Romero is wildly better at right wing back for this team than he was as a six. And I don't understand that. Is that because he has less to do? [00:19:11] Speaker B: Yes, I think he also, you know, really knows how to play it. He's also. No one's dribbling at him really with pace, you know. And if he does, he can use the sideline and the inline to help himself, you know. Also the temperatures are dropping, it's not as hot. So if you're an old guy who can't really run, that really helps. Like he's able to go 90 minutes more. You know, they're not asking him to play progression soccer. Like he's not having to receive outlets, relieve pressure, turn and beat a guy and get a progressive pass. He's just over there on the outside and he's, you know, and he doesn't, he doesn't have to turn. He can just accept and go. You know what I mean? This is different body positions. You know, I, I think he mostly played from what I had googled, he mostly had played wide in his career and wasn't really a central guy. It's just that he was super experienced and, and a veteran and could six. I remember like if you look at his salary, you can always read a lot about what the team thinks a guy's supposed to be by what they pay him. Like he gets paid like a backup. He's only on like 300 something, right? He's not paid like he's supposed to be a 34 game starter. So the idea that he was going to be in the starting in the middle I think only happened because people didn't do their jobs and were show got sick and all that crap, right? Cappas got here, you know, and Kaik was a baby and it was just run all over. So like they just sort of had to stick him in there, you know. I think this is more likely what his career with Dallas will be is a fill in starter on the right side in the back, fill in in the middle. That's kind of what you really want him to be, you know. I don't think the idea will be him to play wing back or outside back next year. [00:20:49] Speaker A: Well with the shift, the other thing that is noticeable is just how much more mobile and rangy the midfield is between Capus and Kaik. [00:20:58] Speaker B: Yeah, Cap is going to need a lot of ground. You know, he doesn't he doesn't look like he's running fast, but his legs are long and he's reads the game really well. So he's super rangy. Probably if you ran them head to head you would find that Kaik is faster and that Capus doesn't really have a high top end speed, you know, so, so like in a, in a straight sprint Kaik would cover more ground, but Kappas is reacting earlier and faster because of his experience. Like Kaik right at this point is all reactive. His defense is all just like oh crap and then he runs. So it's like that's, you know, that's not an ideal way to play in terms of like are you going to win? ML Scuba that so, you know, I, I, let's not get too carried away, you know, like I, I think if they had a really great six that Kai wouldn't be starting, you know, it's like it's him. They need Romero at right wing back because they're out of right wing backs because they're using Shaq Moore because they're out of center backs using Shaq Moore. They're not out of center backs but they're out of center backs that are quality. Shaq Moore as a fill in center back is outplaying both Abubakar and, and Iaga, you know. So like at this point you're locking in Shaq Moore. [00:22:05] Speaker A: I know. [00:22:05] Speaker B: I'm really surprised that he is, which I think probably says more about those other two guys, honestly in my opinion than it does Shaq Moore. [00:22:12] Speaker A: Well, especially since Shaq Moore is what, like five, nine? [00:22:15] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:22:16] Speaker A: He's not a, he's not your typical center back height range idea range. [00:22:21] Speaker B: Well, you know when you got, you got Ibiaga and Abubakar. Ibiaga's pretty decent in the air and Abubakar is not a booba car. Excuse me or Gide are both really, really good in the air. Boubacar is pretty good in the airway if he's in there. So whatever two other guys are in there with Shaq Moore do a pretty good job. And Collode for sure is pretty good at crosses even though he's only 6ft tall. And Jackson looks like he's decent at it as well. We have a small sample on him but he looks like he's decent at it too. They're both better than Martin. Paul's across this, which is amazing. [00:22:49] Speaker A: And then moving forward in the team in terms of performances, Delgado with the really awful turnover and then just standing there watching the team Melt was not a good look. [00:23:04] Speaker B: He's so inconsistent because he had a great cross on the cap assist. He had like five or six progressive passes, like just, you know, or shot creating actions. Like a really good game, except that like his brain turned off like six or seven times and the one pass that led to their goal was particularly horrible. That's one of the worst dumb passes I've seen. And then he just stood there, as you say, you know, and then he had like four or five other passes or turnovers that went to nobody or did nothing. And I'm like, if you could get that kid locked in, in the games. He is locked in. He's looks terrific. And he makes you wonder like, maybe we don't need a DP10. But then he has games that are just absolutely awful top to bottom. And this one, it was about 70, 30 good to huffle. So, you know, just a young player still. Hopefully eventually he'll completely lock in mentally and be good. But, you know, sometimes it never happens. [00:23:53] Speaker A: He is a perfect example of the type of player that this club ends up with, where they're stuck between, all right, this is a guy that we are growing and we're trying to sell on, make a lot of money on, and is good and probably better than a lot of other U22s out there, but he's clearly not a guy for that position that is ever going to write. You're going to ride to an MLS cup, right? [00:24:17] Speaker B: Yeah. I think you put him in the same class with like, I mean, honestly, Castillo, Juan Toja, Roberto Mena, these South American guys that are, you know, 80, even 90% good, but they're not 100% good and they can't carry you. They're not going to do a Ferrera, you know, they're not going to do even A Diaz. You know, I mean, like, they just. There's just this not 100% lock in where they can, they can focus and be there and deliver game after game after game. [00:24:52] Speaker A: Yeah, I, I do wonder with him. At what point do you start taking an accounting of the, the balance on pros versus cons and where the team is at with him? Because I, I've yet to see him play this position and really grab the game by the scruff of the neck and really run the show like a Ferrera did or Mark Diaz did. Other list of guys that this team has had play that position. I just. He has weird little moments where you're like, wow, okay, there's something there. But then the pass and the Stand there kind of thing happens and you're just like, yeah, he's. He. There's. I. Sometimes I feel like the cons outweigh the pros, but it's getting tighter. [00:25:29] Speaker B: You absolutely have to think about that because the position he's playing is the quarterback. It's the point guard. It's the guy who's going to run the ship. And right now he's not running the ship. He's. Yeah, he's. He's filling in. You know, hey, he's the young guy here. Come take the wheel for a minute. You know, he's. He's delivering somewhat consistently, not putting together the kind of assist numbers. Like, really Logan Farrington right now is the one who's actually doing all the assisting and creating more than Delgado, you know, so you don't, you don't look at Delgado and go, man, it's been so good. We're not getting a DP. But remember, he's only getting paid $230,000 because of U22 signing. All the money was in the salary, not the salary cap. Excuse me, was in the buy, not the salary. So like, you, you want to, you want to keep, you know, from a business standpoint, you want to keep show showcasing him enough, getting him enough games that people are noticing him, watch him, and maybe somebody take a flyer on him. But, like, I don't think yet you're looking at a kid who's ready to be handed the keys to the, to the castle, be told, like, anointed, like, you're the guy. I think you have to look at him as like, he's a great five to 10 game starter, you know, 15 to 20 games off the bench kind of guy. Probably like you still, I would think you'd still want, like, if, if you're thinking in terms of next season, you still have to look at that spot as like, that's where like a DP money could really just take us to the whole next level at that spot. [00:26:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Speaking of Logan Farrington, he's playing so well. I will not make fun of him for his pencil thin porn mustache, which I really want to, but I won't because he's playing well and he deserves to wear whatever facial hair he chooses. [00:27:04] Speaker B: Right. [00:27:05] Speaker A: I also enjoyed the fact that he looked really pissed about getting subbed out. [00:27:09] Speaker B: He did. And I noticed that at the end of the game, Quill went over and put an arm around him and was like talking and pointing and farting was like nodding. Okay, okay, okay, I get it. I think I I 100 think that. That that sub is only about forcing Anderson Julio into the game. Because I said this is my three things. Anderson Julio is not on the same page as everybody else. [00:27:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I was asking you about this. [00:27:34] Speaker B: Yeah. He was hurt when they transitioned to the new team, and he's been hurt. He's trying to come back the new shape, the new tactics like he does. He's not on board with everybody else because he wasn't there when they worked it out and evolved it. So, like, he's now trying to come in and play in a shape that doesn't fit his game. And there's. But they need him. They need a guy because he's dangerous. They need to get him on the same page. And you could. You saw the last 30 minutes, the guy has struggled to not to link up with anybody. It was a mess. And Julio's pissed. He's throwing his arms around. He's not mad at somebody else. He's clearly frustrated. [00:28:04] Speaker A: Oh, I think he was pretty pissed at Peter Moussa for not squaring that ball. [00:28:07] Speaker B: Oh, well, that one particular play. But he was also very. [00:28:09] Speaker A: Because I was mad at Peter Musa for not squaring the ball. To be fair, Mr. Musa, if you're not. If you are going to be, oh, so bold, is to not pass the ball to the guy literally wide open with nothing but open net, and you're gonna try to squeeze it in past the. You better effing score, sir. [00:28:26] Speaker B: Yes. Well, Musa played a spectacularly good game, though it's hard to knock him for not passing that. But at the same time, like, we're trying to get Anderson Julio integrated. Let's pass that ball to him. You know, just. He was on. Julio was just completely disconnected from everybody and couldn't link up, couldn't find the game, you know, So I. I'm very confident that that's what Quill's doing as he's forcing that action to try and get. Because he needs all the scoring threats. It can't just be Moose and Ferrington. You gotta be able to go somewhere. You gotta have a guy. If nothing else, you gotta have a guy off the bench who can help you. So I. I think that's what he was explaining to him like, you know, hey, man, I just. I gotta get Anderson involved, you know, you played amazing. Don't worry about it. You know? [00:29:04] Speaker A: And lastly, I think we should spend a few minutes just kind of revisiting the crazy rebirth of Bernie Camungo, who I will raise my hand and admit I Had written that poor kid off a while ago. I just thought, you know, great story, but maybe not MLS quality. And I'm still not 100 sold on Bernie, but man, Quill has gotten so much more out of him. And the shocking part of it is, is that he's playing a position I didn't, didn't Nico try to get him to play essentially this same position on the right hand side at the beginning of last season? And he was awful at it. [00:29:39] Speaker B: He tried. I don't remember what side it was on. If it was on the right, that might explain a lot because Bernie can't handle the right in any capacity for some reason. He can only play on the left left. But the kid's been phenomenal. You know, he's, he's defending one on one really well. Team defense needs some work, but one on one defense is still really good. In this game he had seven shot creating actions and 10 progressive passes, five progressive carries and he's three for four in take ons. That is a spectacular line. Sixteen progressive receptions. I mean he's doing everything wing back should do, getting up and down the field. I, I think that why he's excelling so in that position, so, so well, it's something that quilts hold him about. Don't think of this playing defense. Think of it as playing wing from deeper on the field. And so he basically is using the same mentality where he's like, he relishes running at people and playing from deep like that lets him run at people with a great amount of freedom. And it's really working, you know, like right now, like, is that the long term answer for Bernie? Man, I don't know because I, I'm pretty sure that a back three isn't the long term plan from Quill. So, you know, I, I think it's, this is a short term plan and it's working right now. So you, you go with it. And if you can build Bernie's confidence by playing in this way, because from further deep you can see the game in front of you more, you can read it more in advance, you can see what's in front of you and you can set it up, you can attack it easier. So, you know, eventually he's got to move back up to the field to a wing position and it'll be harder, but maybe you can get him confident and play well by the time you do that next year. [00:31:01] Speaker A: So, Buzz, here we sit. And I'm pretty sure several weeks ago the three of us all made predictions as to whether or not. This team was going to make the playoffs. And I feel pretty confident we all universally agreed that the odds of them doing it were. I don't even think it was the odds. I think we all just said, no, they're not. They're not going to do it four games out. They're actually sitting in a play in spot. Whether you want to call that play or for not is up to you. Now, the one thing is, part of the reason why I'm starting to think that there's something going on here is the fact that Peter Musa is playing so well and they're getting the ball to him and he's creating opportunities and he's converting opportunities. But we also saw that he has been put on the standby list for his national team during the international window, which means he would miss one game. That one. One of the two LA games. [00:31:51] Speaker B: I believe that's correct. If he gets called up. [00:31:53] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that's right. And it's probably that reschedule game, isn't it? [00:31:59] Speaker B: Probably. I didn't dig into the numbers because I don't. I think it's likely that he'll get called. [00:32:04] Speaker A: But yeah, I think if he misses it, it's the reschedule game that's at LA probably is what it is. So we all just need to keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't because they're going to need him for these final four games. Almost certainly. Because I can't imagine them having to go on the road or play any game without his goal scoring talents. [00:32:26] Speaker B: So, I mean, he's got 16 and the next best person has five. So it's like, you know, it's a big. It's a big drop off if he's out. Yeah. [00:32:34] Speaker A: If I told you before the season started, Buzz, that Peter Musa would lead this club with 16 goals, you would have predicted they finish where in the standings. [00:32:45] Speaker B: Basically right where they are. Actually that. Because that was kind of my expectation was that Lucho would feed him and he would have 16 goals. The defense has been the problem, not the. [00:32:53] Speaker A: See, I was going to say if I had asked you, if I just told you Peter Musa was going to end with 16. 16, where would you predict? And then I was going to throw in. Now throw in second place is five. [00:33:03] Speaker B: Yeah. And then tell me that's often how it goes. I mean, you know, you usually have three or four guys that are five, six, seven. And then the good seasons are when one guy has 15, 16, 18. [00:33:13] Speaker A: Yeah, all right, that's better. [00:33:15] Speaker B: Moose is better. Musa you know that finding someone that can score more than 10 goals. There have been multiple seasons in this club's history where the leading scorer had seven goals. [00:33:24] Speaker A: So with four games left to go, a game in hand over many of the people around them. And since Dan doesn't like to make predictions anyway, it's probably a blessing he's not here. Buzz, is Dallas going to make the playoffs? [00:33:37] Speaker B: Here's the thing, like, if you looked at the greater picture of the whole season, you would say this team is trash and there's no business that it belongs in the playoffs. [00:33:46] Speaker A: Right. [00:33:47] Speaker B: But if you only look at the last six games, you'd say this team is great and it deserves a spot in the playoffs. So I, I think based on the current form, like when, when, when we first talked about this idea, will they make the playoffs? We were like, it is a long, long, long shot. Because they needed to get 42 and they only had like 21 and they had a third of the season left. They, we were like, I was like, they have to get more points than they have now in a third of the games left in the season. That's going to be an impossible task. And sure enough, they've pretty much done it. So they, with four games to play, they only need like six more points basically to get. I still think that number is 42. If you get 42 or more, I think you're going to be in. So they only need six, basically, you know, maybe a seven. But they need two wins out of four. I think they're in for sure. And some of those other teams are playing really bad. So, yeah, I think if you're counting as eight and nine as the playoffs, which I do for the purposes of this discussion, I think they're gonna now, I now think they're gonna make it based on the way they're playing. [00:34:50] Speaker A: Are we going to debate over whether playing as playoffs? [00:34:53] Speaker B: No, because it doesn't matter. For this discussion, like what do you, what are you asking? Is like, are they in or not? Do they keep playing or not? Right. I'm like, we're discussing the 8, 9 position. If you mean are they going to make seventh, then am I going to say no? But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the eight, nine. Right. Unless you mean seventh. You tell me if you. That's what you mean. [00:35:10] Speaker A: And at this point that means they have to go to Colorado and we know what happens with Dallas plays Colorado in the playoffs. [00:35:16] Speaker B: Yeah, but I don't think Colorado is going to finish. Like, I think they made this. [00:35:21] Speaker A: What if it's Dallas and Houston in the playing game? [00:35:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's more likely it'll be Dallas versus Houston, which brings, if you're into this kind of thing, that brings El Capitan back into play and Dallas could actually win it. If they win that, we're winning that game. [00:35:34] Speaker A: That thing is still in one piece, so. [00:35:37] Speaker B: Well, only barely. Like it's duct taped together. Yeah. [00:35:40] Speaker A: Good Lord. Do you really. [00:35:41] Speaker B: How fun would that be? Right. If you got a nine. Houston, Dallas. [00:35:44] Speaker A: That'd be a great game. That would be a ton of fun. Yeah, it would. That would be, that would, that would be a good way. [00:35:50] Speaker B: Because you definitely don't want Colorado in the playoffs. [00:35:52] Speaker A: No. Colorado, that's the kiss of death. [00:35:55] Speaker B: Yeah. It's always beats thousand players. [00:35:56] Speaker A: Yes. [00:35:57] Speaker B: That's their playoff bogey team. Regular season, Dallas wins playoffs, Dallas loses, gets Colorado every time. [00:36:02] Speaker A: Yeah, that would be interesting. All right. Well, very good. Well, it was fun. It was a fun game, I thought. You know, it's fascinating how this season has kind of turned. And credit to Eric Quill. I mean, you know, if anybody's wondering if Quill's gonna be the manager of this club next season, I think there's no question that he's. [00:36:17] Speaker B: Oh, no. No question now. [00:36:19] Speaker A: Yeah. I, I, you know, I think that he, once they kind of got rid of his problem, he. [00:36:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:36:25] Speaker A: Figured out how to fix things. [00:36:26] Speaker B: Remember we were tracking like worst team ever. [00:36:28] Speaker A: Yes. [00:36:29] Speaker B: Right. For like two thirds of the season. And now for him to be like, if you get rid of this guy, then I will turn around. He has. [00:36:36] Speaker A: Look, I think I still feel like I've been saying this for a while, that this has been one of the more godforsaken seasons in this club's history. [00:36:46] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:36:47] Speaker A: And I, and I still am. I got a thousand questions about playing in this weird stadium project and the long term impact it is having on the level of attention anybody is paying to going. I mean, the team is in this really good run. They're fighting back for a playoff spot. And other than the 7 or 8,000, 10,000 people that are showing up on a game day. But does. Does anybody beyond that really care? [00:37:14] Speaker B: No. [00:37:15] Speaker A: You know what I'm saying? [00:37:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:16] Speaker A: Like, like, like the local media isn't paying attention at all to this club. And, and I think the. I think local soccer fans are more distracted by other things than what's going on. And I do think there's a certain small core of die hards that are really into it. Many of them are in your discord. Some of them are not. I don't want to discount them. But you know, they may go into the playoffs and the vast majority of the sports audience in this marketplace will have no idea that it happened. Because this season has just gone under the radar so much. [00:37:50] Speaker B: I mean, when you think about it, Quill has done this turnaround. I wrote about this the other day. He's got one dp. [00:37:56] Speaker A: Yes. [00:37:56] Speaker B: And his other DP was such a. Was one of the great cataclysmic DP disasters of all time. Here he's got One of his U22 initiatives is doing anything at all. Right. Half of his TAM players are mediocre nothings. Like he's literally none of the homegrowns are doing anything yet. The best one is Norris. He's literally winning with a bunch of dudes. Remember that old discussion? [00:38:18] Speaker A: Yes. In fact, it was funny because when the league did that graphic that, that PDF this week that kind of graphically showed how every team was constructed, it was interesting to me that Dallas is the only club in the. In. In the league other than Toronto with only one dp. [00:38:37] Speaker B: It's amazing. [00:38:37] Speaker A: And they're the only one that only has one DP and kind of two functioning U22s, with the exception being Toronto, which awfully only has one in one. Like it's so bad and so much money has been spent for so nothing. [00:38:55] Speaker B: And add in that you got a million dollar players like Paxton and Legit who are basically harder than anything. [00:39:01] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, it's. It's the, it's full credit to Quill because you've made a really good point. If you have not read Buzz's article, I forgot what you called it. Playing with an empty deck or something like that. Hand half a deck or whatever. Go read it. Because you really do a good job of clarifying and spelling out how just ridiculous this run has been considering the parts. It actually kind of goes back to the days we used to talk about how Steve Davis was the one that was really into this. This whole premise that Poppy was really good at making lemonade out of lemons. [00:39:34] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:39:35] Speaker A: And this really feels as close to a Poppy like kind of situation. I'm not saying the teams or the styles are the same or anything like that, but just this last kind of seven, eight game run, even with the one loss, is that, you know, getting his hands in control of this team, meaning getting Lucho out of the way and letting him actually be the manager and not having to subserve the, the angry Argentinian has made a big difference in this thing and I wish more people knew about it. [00:40:07] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, you can. I remember Quilt telling me that two of the bigger influences when he was here at North Texas, on him as a coach where Colin Clark, who he played for, and then Oscar, who he played with and then was a coach too, you know, so though Clark too was a guy like, like Oscar who got, you know, bunch of dudes to perform. Colin Clark didn't have big old huge fancy crazy name DPS either. He had Simo Valkaris, you know, and guys like that that he was gluing together and making a first place wire to wire team Oscar, same thing. Like, you know. So again though players too, like the players have done it. The players that are not getting paid crazy amounts of money, most of whom are just, you know, a couple of Tams and obviously Petter Moose is a huge part of it. But, you know, guys are performing for Quill and they've put together this team and they figured out how to, how to make it. Took Quill two thirds of the season, but finally getting rid of Acosta allowed him to figure out, gave him the ability to figure out how in the world does this team stop allowing so many damn goals and yet still be able to attack at all. So, you know, he's done that and you know, is it, is it ideal? No. Is it the way that he wants to play? [00:41:16] Speaker A: No. [00:41:16] Speaker B: Is it the way fans want to play? I mean, it can be really boring watching a 5 4, 1. But the goal is to make the playoffs. He's given himself every chance possible with a bunch of guys he didn't pick. You know, so once they let him started picking the, the ingredients, getting Capis in here, putting guys where he wanted to put him, getting rid of a couple guys he didn't want. I mean, it's not just Acosta they got rid of. They got rid of about four or five guys, but Costa is the one that you really have to pay attention to, you know. [00:41:42] Speaker A: So Dallas goes to Portland next. Now, as you said, Portland's got a game on Wednesday. I just want to throw out there that I'm looking through the records. Dallas's recent run at Portland most recently was the nil nil draw last October. Prior to that, it was losing to Portland 1 nothing. And in Oregon, prior to that was another draw. And prior to that, dating back to 2021 is a 10 loss. So Dallas has not won in Portland since Dallas ever. [00:42:18] Speaker B: I mean, is it ever I think it may be never. [00:42:19] Speaker A: Hold on. [00:42:20] Speaker B: I know they have one win in Seattle and it was a playoff game. [00:42:25] Speaker A: I'm rolling way back. [00:42:28] Speaker B: Well, the. The Internet says they have one win. [00:42:32] Speaker A: Stick with me here. Let me look. [00:42:33] Speaker B: Portland. [00:42:34] Speaker A: Oh, that is correct. February 20, 2023. There it is. Now that says it's a club friendly, though. That's. That's not a league game. [00:42:43] Speaker B: Okay, well, obviously the Google AI could be very confused by friendly. [00:42:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I think. I think in league games, buzz. Let's see. 3 2, Portland win one one. The friendly where they won that game. One nothing. Portland two one. Portland two two, three one. Three one. Here it is. Three one at Portland on April 13, 2016. There it is. [00:43:10] Speaker B: There you go. [00:43:10] Speaker A: There's your one win. [00:43:12] Speaker B: Funny side note, as I typed in, has Dallas ever won? It auto filled to the MLS cup and I was like, I could tell you this. [00:43:22] Speaker A: No. [00:43:26] Speaker B: That'S a big Ned. Tory. 10:4. [00:43:28] Speaker A: All right, before we go. So who do you think starting in Portland next weekend? [00:43:33] Speaker B: The exact same team. I mean, you would know you would not change it when you're on a roll like this. I mean, Quill admitted that he tossed and turned and was up all night thinking about Clody versus Jackson. But man, Jackson's performing and the team's performing, so don't touch it. Leave it alone. Let it roll. Just keep going. [00:43:51] Speaker A: All right. Do you force Anderson Julio in? Do you think Quill does? No, not to start as a sub in the same way you did here. [00:44:02] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:44:02] Speaker A: Even if Logan is having a good. Another good game. [00:44:05] Speaker B: Yes. Because who else on this team can score Other than Logan and Musa? Yeah, other than those two guys. [00:44:11] Speaker A: Well, why don't you sub somebody else out and let Logan, Musa and Mr. Anderson, Julio. [00:44:17] Speaker B: Well, because theners Julio can't replace Delgado or Kamungo. [00:44:21] Speaker A: Okay. [00:44:21] Speaker B: You have to change the whole team to do that. [00:44:23] Speaker A: All right. All right. So there you go. You can watch that thing on the Apple tv. Go burn. [00:44:29] Speaker B: Don't miss the question at the top. [00:44:32] Speaker A: Question at the. Oh, Discord question. Yes, sorry. From the discord. Who is it? From who? Do you know who asked the question? [00:44:40] Speaker B: Enough time ahead. No. [00:44:41] Speaker A: Okay, the question is, is Quill signing Chris Cap. Oh, excuse me. Christian Capus similar to Shellis Hyman signing Daniel Hernandez? [00:44:52] Speaker B: Well, in some ways it's very, very similar. Probably about 70 similar in the sense that coaches like to have in the locker room. For sure. Their guy who 100 believes in them and is on board with them. Well, you know, trumpet their messages on what they want the team to talk about and do they want that guy on the field, particularly in the middle of the field, which Capus is. Understands how the guy wants to play, understands the directions, is a. Is a leader. Capus is a leader. But however, Christian Capus and Daniel Hernandez are very, very different people. [00:45:25] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. [00:45:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Daniel Hernandez, if you don't know, is Roy Kent. He is the guy that will smash the other team and smash his own team. He. We. We just a joke about. Daniel would grab the game by the scruff of the neck. He would grab his own players by the scuff of the neck and shake him like a. What are you doing? You know, he was. He is incredibly hard and demonstrative and literally like Roy Kent is the closest person I've ever seen to Daniel Hernandez. Dan has. Was a pure six smashed people could play a little bit like center back played in Mexico, you know, could play nasty. Christian Capitan is not nasty. Christian Davis is not that kind of player. Christian Capis is a really good player and I think he's got good leadership qualities in terms of like, leading by example, good talking leadership qualities. But it is not a get in your face and point my finger at you. [00:46:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:22] Speaker B: It's not a Dan ornament would get in the coach's face and point his finger and be like, what are you doing? You know, Chris. So very, very similar in the sense of like, he's Quill's guy and he's going to help galvanize the team and get it going the way Quill wants him to go, but very different. You've never met or seen anyone that is. That is a different cat man. Yeah. [00:46:42] Speaker A: The only player that I think this club has ever had that I was. That you'd be more frightened by was Lionel Alvarez. [00:46:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Those are the most similar two guys in the history of those two guys. [00:46:54] Speaker A: And ironically, they play the same position. Lino Alvarez was just a frightening human being, period, whether he was on the field or off of it. And Danny was similar in that way. [00:47:06] Speaker B: Nobody's in the locker room. Yeah. [00:47:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Nobody's afraid of Chris Kappis. Christian campus, super delightful guy. Apparently does a really good Napoleon dymite. [00:47:15] Speaker B: Impersonation this way here. Yeah. [00:47:19] Speaker A: But, yeah, that's an interesting question. So thank you for the question from the Discord. If you want to join Buzz's Discord for whatever meager amount of money he requests for such entry, we'll read your questions here on Third Degree, the podcast. All right, so as I said, Dallas at Portland this weekend. Go burn. Let's turn our focus to ye olde Dallas Trinity, who are on their lengthy, lengthy road trip, this time at Tampa Bay. And they get the 11 draw and remain in first place. [00:47:50] Speaker B: Yeah, two points clear. This game should have been like four to one. It reminded me very much of the beginning of last season when they were struggling to get the ball in the net. They had two players miss, literally like point blank shots from two feet out, like, goalie's gone. They're standing in front of the net two feet away, and they managed to somehow kick the ball past the goal or had the ball past the goal. Like just ridiculously egregious misses that. Like, if he was an erectly, you'd laugh at that guy for years over that miss. They did two of those and they just really struggled to get the ball in the back of the net. So, you know, there you can see in the formations and the choices they're making. Petrocelli is looking for answers, looking for what works minus Lexi Misimo. He's still missing his Tasmanic playmaker, so he's trying people in the middle. This game. He rested some of his pace on the outside, which I think is a mistake. Like Abubago on the left is great, but Bolt on the right can run past everybody in the league and he rested her or didn't start her. And I think that makes them lopsided because they really need to be able to sit people back on their heels to get, you know, some freedom underneath to try and set up Allie Thornton. So I don't love that choice. But, you know, he's, he's moving pieces around, trying to figure it out. And while he's doing that, they keep getting results, wins and ties. They one loss still. So in first place, things are going really well. I still no timeline. We think it maybe is going to be the end of October before Missimo comes back. [00:49:18] Speaker A: I was going to ask, I seem to ask this question every week. I was wondering if there had been any more communication about what's going on with him. [00:49:24] Speaker B: They, they don't like to really talk about that so much. So I, I'm, I don't know whether they're worried or whether they just. Petrocelli's got a bit of this, you know, coat like coaches are where they don't want to tell anybody anything ever. You know, I'm like, it's ridiculous. Pro game, you got some people stuff. So like, they like, they're not putting numbers on jerseys in preseason. It's like, come on, you know, do you want to get publicity or not? But that's a whole different. We. We be at the death in preseason. So now it's just a case of. I guess they want to protect MSMO in case it doesn't go well. But last I heard was, you know, I. I sort of got some hints that maybe end of October is their current soft expectations. So. But, you know, look, they're in first place without her. They got a good team. They got some good talent. I think it's a shame that Cameron Lancaster is not getting as many starts because she's the one other person I think consistently can score other than Thornton. So I think I'd like to see her out there. But Chris is trying to find some other things, I guess. [00:50:20] Speaker A: So they've got the game at Lexington coming up on Friday, which is the fourth of their fifth game road set. And then the other thing I did I see Dan in our group chat mention that they've not done a very good job of promoting this, but if you buy a ticket to their Classico Friendly, that actually acts as your cost of entry into the state fair as well. [00:50:42] Speaker B: Yeah, we. We just found that out this week. [00:50:44] Speaker A: That's a great deal, by the way. [00:50:46] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a. That's a really nice perk that they should be trumpeting a lot more that your tickets of that game comes with tickets. Admission to the state fair. Because that's a. Not. That's a. You know, what's that, like 20 bucks now to get into the fair? It's not nothing. Who knows? You know, it's. I mean, it's. You know, parking still is the thing. But, you know, maybe there's a parking option too for Trinity. I haven't looked into that part. [00:51:06] Speaker A: Take the train. It stops right there. [00:51:08] Speaker B: Yeah, it does. But like, you know, it. What a fun game that'll be down there with that atmosphere. And hopefully they'll get a good turnout and get people from the fair itself, like come in here, sell tickets. I mean, you know, so they should be out there for five bucks for my opinion out there in the midway, just giving out like candy. Got 80,000 seat stadium. Just hand them out to everybody. [00:51:25] Speaker A: I'm sorry, Buzz. It's 92, 500. [00:51:28] Speaker B: My bad. Sorry. Renault, Renault, Renault numbers. [00:51:30] Speaker A: Yeah, actually, I was gonna remind me to mention the cotton ball thing with all the other stuff that's happened with the cotton ball in the last few days. I wanna. I want to reflect on a. I want to correct something I've Been saying for a while. [00:51:42] Speaker B: Okay, cool. Don't forget to mention that. [00:51:43] Speaker A: All right, well, let me forget to mention that. All right, so go. Oh, by the way, that was the other one. I saw somebody refer to them as the Golden Girls, and I kind of dig that. [00:51:56] Speaker B: That's a great name. Yeah, I think somebody, maybe the president of their supporters club came up with that. I don't. I don't want to say the wrong name, so. But I have it written down somewhere. [00:52:05] Speaker A: Okay. [00:52:05] Speaker B: Obviously it's a reference to, of course, the great show, but the fact that they wear gold jerseys on the road, so the Golden Girls is a great nickname. And so it was in our piece, the guy that wrote, Dennis, who writes for us on the Trinity, put that in there. And I told him, I said, oh, that's a great nickname. And, yeah, that's terrific. [00:52:21] Speaker A: And. And not a reference to being postmenopausal, you know. [00:52:26] Speaker B: No, it's. I mean, you know, obviously the show is a. Is the marquee, but, like, you know, it's. It's. It's a great name for the. With the gold uniforms and, you know, when you're looking for nicknames of fun stuff for the team and things, be organic. That one's developed organically and some fans were saying it, so, like, yeah, I thought it was fantastic. [00:52:44] Speaker A: Baby Burn got a big road win against Minnesota United. Dose. [00:52:49] Speaker B: Yeah, Minnesota is a pretty solid team, but to win on the road and, like, they have like 10 farm players signed, some more veteran kind of players. None of them are playing, so I'm assuming they're all hurt because they're not on the bench either, and they don't do injury reports, so we're just left guessing. But they basically started almost entire kids. All kids or maybe a draft pick. One draft pick and otherwise was all academy guys, so. And Sarver, I mean, Sarver is not an academy guy, but he's a draft pick, so it was awesome. Great goal by Kevin Swan. A scrappy goal. Jordan Jaden Contras had an absolute banger of a goal from like 30 yards out. Just spectacular to win it. So they. That jumped them. The west is so tight. They jumped from ninth to sixth, so they have two games left versus RSL this weekend and at lafc, so they're in a good spot. They should be able to get some of those. Both those teams, I think, are below them, so they can close it out and get in the playoffs. [00:53:38] Speaker A: It just dawned on me you mentioned Swans scoring in this game. [00:53:43] Speaker B: Yep, Yep. [00:53:44] Speaker A: And his sister now is playing for Trinity Carolina are Caroline and Caleb, our very first DFW siblings, both playing pro soccer at the same time. Don't even, don't even mention the fact they're both playing for Dallas clubs or DFW area clubs, which is really cool. But I don't think I can think of another brother sister duo both playing pro. At least not unless there's a. Unless there's a duo that we're playing. Like one of them playing in Iceland and the other one playing in, you know, Andorra or something like that. [00:54:19] Speaker B: I can't think of any professional men's players in the from the DFW area whose sisters have played at a high level. I don't remember any. Off top of my head. I'm not thinking of any. I think you might be right. [00:54:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:54:33] Speaker B: You know, perhaps there's a silly technicality that Caroline Swan's an academy player, so she's an academy free player. She's not, not under pro contract, but she's already made her debut, so. Yeah, I mean that counts. [00:54:43] Speaker A: Interesting. [00:54:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's probably the case. [00:54:45] Speaker A: That's kind of cool, actually. [00:54:47] Speaker B: It's very cool. [00:54:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:54:48] Speaker B: We'll have to let people data mine that one for us. I'm seeing people let us know if we're wrong about that, but I don't remember anybody else having a, having a sister that played at even a close to a high level. Well, currently I'll tell you who's close. The closest is Antonio and Nico Carrera. Their sister was a first team all state high school soccer player. So I don't remember first name. I apologize, but that was probably the closest. But that's not pro. She wasn't pro. [00:55:14] Speaker A: Okay. So the only one that I would think is close and I don't know how this would qualify is Hannah Waish, who was captain at Texas. She started at Auburn, transferred to Texas and played at Texas her last two seasons. She was their cap captain. She is now playing in the League of Ireland and they just lost out in the Europa League. And her younger brother Hagen was at North Carolina but now is playing at Oral Roberts and but was playing at Tulsa for that Tulsa semi pro team. I don't think that fully counts. Doesn't count. But Hagan's good enough. He may find his way to a USL1 team or something like. Like that. [00:55:58] Speaker B: Yeah, that would count. [00:56:00] Speaker A: So that would be another brother sister duo both playing pro at the same. [00:56:03] Speaker B: We'll give the N. Carolina and K. Swan. [00:56:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:56:05] Speaker B: Right now. [00:56:06] Speaker A: Interesting. Cool stuff. All right. Texoma boy. [00:56:12] Speaker B: Yeah. They lost 2 to 1 to the worst team in the league, Westchester. Yeah, granted it's on the road, but not good. They have five games left and only two of them are at home, you know, and they're sitting pretty deep. They missed a pk, which is unfortunate. Reed Valentine scored their goal, who's the son of the 80s owner Matt Valentine. But basically what's happened is their defense has gone to pieces. They've let in 13 goals in the last four games. That is a staggering amount of goals. That's three goals a game, every game or more. Three point something. So that's basically what's happened with them. They're falling apart and it's going the wrong way and they're now way out of the playoff picture and you know, they would have to go on a really remarkable run that I don't see in the cards for them to. I mean, I haven't done the math, but they probably would have to win out in order to get in at this point, which is not very optimistic. You know, certainly for a first year team, they started really poorly. If they'd have had their full contingent from the get go. They had a lot of visa problems, as everybody did. [00:57:16] Speaker A: Right. [00:57:17] Speaker B: But that really hurt them. Starting on the gate. They clearly turned it around a third of the way through the year and had a great middle third of the season. But then the pieces have started falling apart and you know, I think there'll be a relatively heavy amount of turnover there and players maybe, you know, half the players perhaps, certainly some. Some stuff in the front office and coaching levels I would imagine too. So Adrian Forbes will be back, I'm sure, but he might make some changes on the whole organization. [00:57:43] Speaker A: All right, well, we're wishing the bird the best. [00:57:46] Speaker B: Red birds. [00:57:47] Speaker A: Red birds do we have. Is there any more word about the mysterious Mystery Team? [00:57:52] Speaker B: No, I mean, since I talked to the owner that. That's it. I mean that whole thing is kind of cooled off. All the elements of the Salina USL thing that were posted are all gone. It's all been deleted. The whole. It's all gone. So they, whatever it was has closed shop, so. Well, we'll find out this offseason. [00:58:09] Speaker A: I guess that's the fastest flame out of a new team in the history of soccer. [00:58:13] Speaker B: And dfw, Phoenix Rising Texas branch. It came from nowhere and went to nowhere in a hurry. Yeah. [00:58:21] Speaker A: Oh, we don't have anything new about Atletico Dallas. Nothing happening with them. [00:58:25] Speaker B: I mean, they're taking deposits on their season tickets for 2027, so get in on that, if you want, I guess. Yeah. [00:58:32] Speaker A: You know. Okay, so this is going to lead me into the conversation about the Cotton bowl that I asked you about earlier. [00:58:37] Speaker B: Right. [00:58:38] Speaker A: And if you've been paying attention or live in the Dallas Fort Worth area, you know that in the last week, they have finally unveiled all of the improvements that they've. That the city of Dallas has made, and the $120 million or 40 million, whatever the number is. It's an insane number of amount of what they've done to try to modify and make the Cotton bowl an actual living thing that they can use on a regular basis. And a lot of it is dealing with no more ramps. They've got escalators and way more bathrooms than they used to have, and concessions and wider concourses and some suites that they didn't have previously with cushy seats and stuff like that in it. But I was always talking about the fact that it's, you know, as two new professional teams move into this and make it their home, you and I and other people that were there back in the 90s when the burn were trying to do this, and we were thinking about, man, we were lucky if we had 15,000 people in that joint on any given game night or game day. [00:59:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:59:44] Speaker A: And it was 75,000 seats, and now here it is at 92,500. Well, Buzz, I stand corrected. Because the man that knows it all from back at that time, Andy Swift, corrected me. The Cotton bowl back in 96 was not 75,000 seats. It was 65,000 seats. [01:00:06] Speaker B: Wow. [01:00:07] Speaker A: It was. So if you were a longtime Burn fan going to the Cotton bowl back in 96, 97, 98, and you thought, wow, this place was a cavern for when. Even when you had more than 15,000 people. Now it's almost 30,000 seats more and that much bigger for USL teams trying to apply their trade in that place. [01:00:34] Speaker B: Yeah. If you. If you've gone to a Trinity game or if you've gone to a North Texas game at Choctaw, you know, you're sitting in these gigantic, humongous, cavernous stadiums with hardly any other people. It's really weird. [01:00:47] Speaker A: Like Choctaws, what, 47, 000? [01:00:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Maybe 50 standing room. Like since they. They had chamber, they changed the layout for xfl. Yeah, I don't, you know, certainly the XFL stands they put in for football block where a bunch of old seats were. I have no idea what it is now. It's a gigantic, huge baseball stadium. That's what it is. You know, it Fits a soccer field better. But it's still, you know, it's not appropriate, you know, so it's, it is weird. But, you know, at some point you just have to understand that there, you know, what is available is. What is available. Is that better than like a high school field? Well, yeah, absolutely, it is. Oh, you know, but, yeah, yeah, but you're right. They're going to have a tall task creating great game day atmosphere there. You know, when, when Trinity gets 5,000 in there, which is not every game, but when they have, you know, it's raucous enough, it's kind of weird because at the up, up until now, everybody's been on the north side and not the south side and I think that that may be going to flip or maybe they'll be on both. You know, it actually helps when everybody's on one side together because then you can kind of feel people around you a little bit. So I don't know what's going to be like for Trinity, you know, and. But even AD, like if you've been there with 10, 12, 15, 17,000 people in there, it still feels empty. [01:02:05] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [01:02:06] Speaker B: I remember going, I remember going to a Chiefs, not a Chiefs game, a sporty Kansas City game back when they were, they were playing in Arrowhead and I was like, I was at a game, I was like, this crowd sucks. There's nobody here. And they announced like 25,000. But the stadium is so huge, you're like, there's nobody here. You know, that's gonna be a battle. [01:02:22] Speaker A: Well, I mean, any of the Dallas cup opening weekend games that got played there, you know, there's, yeah, there's a good 15, 16, 17. And what is the number of those games? It's about 15, 16,000 people that show up for those games, isn't it? [01:02:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I think they've even had more than that. When they bring in all the teams they might have gotten over 20s. [01:02:40] Speaker A: Yeah. But it still feels really empty. You know, it just is what it is and that's why I'm fascinated. I think all of both, you know, it feels like both of these teams have an opportunity to try to maximize that facility. I know the city's trying to do it and I hope between them and the city they figure out a way to make, you know, make it an entertaining place to go for a day out. Yeah, I was thinking about this. You know, it almost feels like it would make sense for Dallas, Trinity and Atletico to work out a deal where they play on the same day, back to back, you Know, one weekend Trinity plays first and Athletico's the follow up game and the next time it's flipped and they make it a place, a destination for people to go spend the day and watch professional soccer and at the fair, at the Fair park grounds. [01:03:28] Speaker B: I just, yeah, I see the complications in that about revenue split. But sure, at the end of the day it's. What's going to come down to is like what does it cost those teams to play there? Like, do they work out a good deal? Because probably not much. Yeah. For those two teams to survive, just like in the early days of mls, the business model really matters. Revenue control, cost control, like both of those teams are going to need that. So like if they're getting a great deal, the deal's got to be better than all the other options, which it probably will be because the city wants people to use that place, use that facility. And the other side of the coin is like a stadium that would work for those teams that are different prices. But if Athletico is going the USL1 and Super League probably needs something like. No, they are starting uslc. If they're going a USL one eventually. Oh, the numbers change, right? USLC is like, is 10,000 seats. USL1 is 15, right. [01:04:25] Speaker A: USL1 is the league down. You're thinking of USLP. [01:04:28] Speaker B: I'm sorry. Yes, yes. I'm meaning Premier and I'm saying one. [01:04:31] Speaker A: Right, yeah, I know what you meant. Yeah, yeah. [01:04:34] Speaker B: If they're going to the higher level, they need more seats. Right? You're talking about a stadium that probably costs $200 million. So like, you know, Valentine and Matt and Sam are not that rich. Hunt rich. Yeah, they don't have that kind of money. So you know, at the end of the day, at least I don't think they are at the end of the day, like they got to work with the city, whether it's Dallas or Garland or whoever it is, because remember they were, what they were going to do was the thing in Garland, 70 million dollar statement held like 10,000 people. Well, that's out of the picture now. You know that could, that could have worked for Trinity, still could work for Trinity. But like how is Trinity going to find that money or find the city to work with them when the Athletic is now taking some of the steam and Athleto needs that money. Like they're going to have to work together and it may be that the city is just going to be like, you got to sustain it and prove you can do it before we're going to drop 200 $250 million on a stadium for you guys. You know, one or the other or both. You know, they're going to have to prove some points, earn some points with the city before they give them a sweetheart deal for a while. But you got to get some bodies in there, get some attention or you're not going to get that kind of stadium. [01:05:35] Speaker A: We shall see local team draw for Open cup qualifying. Weren't there games this past weekend? [01:05:40] Speaker B: Yeah, so we did the, we did the results on the podcast before. [01:05:44] Speaker A: Okay. [01:05:45] Speaker B: Denton beat. [01:05:47] Speaker A: Oh, that's right. There's a couple teams that have got. Got a buy. [01:05:50] Speaker B: So the draws 6 to 1, 3 to 1. Anyway, so Denton has been drawn at Tulsa Athletics. So they got to go up to Tulsa. That game's October 11th. A team that had a buy called Master Yoga or Yoga. I don't know what it is. They're on the road in San Antonio against a team called 210 FC. That's on October 12th. And then two other teams were drawn together. Strikers DFW faces the confusing Dallas Athletico. That that game has not been determined yet because the problem for all four of these teams was venue. Because Open cup has venue rules. You got to meet certain standards. So like that game is not yet scheduled while they try and work out where it's going to be. I'm not even sure which team is the home team, but those two teams are playing each other and they're probably trying to figure out what in the world's fame it's going to be in. So maybe old Panther Field will be back in the mix. [01:06:43] Speaker A: Gee, that seems like a really good opportunity for Dan Hunt to show his good natured side and pro soccer business acumen and willing to do good for the community and say, why don't you come play at the Dr. Pink Field or inside our soccer stadium or. Yeah, it just seems like that would make a lot of sense. [01:07:01] Speaker B: Well, next year put Mansfield be perfect. [01:07:04] Speaker A: Yeah, playing man, let him let them borrow that field. I mean, I don't, I don't know what, I don't know what U.S. open cups rules are like. I don't know if pink Dr. Pink qualifies. Maybe it doesn't. Or would one of those, one of those fields at Toyota Soccer center qualify? [01:07:18] Speaker B: Richland. Richland's soccer field does. [01:07:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I've watched a game there. [01:07:23] Speaker B: Yeah, that kind of stadium, it doesn't have to be monumental, but it has to be of a certain standard. So. Yeah, interesting. None of those teams own their own complex, so they gotta Find one and it's got to be available and they got to be able to rent it and get, you know, control of it, you know, that kind of thing, so. [01:07:39] Speaker A: All right, very good. Awesome. Anything else, sir? Oh, the burn kits looked kick ass again this weekend. [01:07:45] Speaker B: Oh, my God, they're so good. Can we just make that the primary kit next year? Just forget. [01:07:49] Speaker A: Is that a pairing of the best and the worst kit kit currently in Major League Soccer? That Colorado game close. [01:07:55] Speaker B: Oh, it's close. Yeah. [01:07:56] Speaker A: That Colorado kit is bad. That is just unattractive in so many ways. So kind of bland and like, just try not hard at all. [01:08:08] Speaker B: The burn kit is so good that it underlines how mediocre the burn secondary is currently. [01:08:13] Speaker A: Yes. [01:08:14] Speaker B: And even their primary is kind of mid compared to how great this burn kid is. [01:08:18] Speaker A: I was listening. I was watching the game and I was listening to Ryan and Steve Common do commentary. And Ryan, I think Ryan deserves a big prop here because Ryan pointed out that because Steve was like, man, I just don't like seeing a Dallas goalkeeper wear orange, which is something that annoys all of us. Like, it's stupid that anybody in Dallas is wearing anything orange. Ryan points out that that's what everybody's third kit goalkeeper kit is, is the orange. [01:08:48] Speaker B: Oh, is it? [01:08:49] Speaker A: He says that's universal across the league, and so nobody escapes, I would assume, other than. Well, no. Houston hasn't gotten theirs yet, have they? [01:08:59] Speaker B: That makes sense because everybody has uniform keeper kits across the league and every, you know, on all the versions of the keeper kit, that's always true. So that's a good point. Yeah, that makes completely sense. I just had in third to me. [01:09:11] Speaker A: So thank you, Ryan, for educating us on that. [01:09:13] Speaker B: Yeah. We're not too old not to be educated. [01:09:15] Speaker A: Dicky point. Yeah, we're. We're not. I mean, we're old dogs. [01:09:19] Speaker B: Yeah. But we're educatable. [01:09:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:09:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Send us a note. We learn. [01:09:24] Speaker A: Or say it on the broadcast. [01:09:25] Speaker B: Say it on the broadcast. Yeah, we listen. Yeah, sometimes. [01:09:29] Speaker A: Very good. [01:09:30] Speaker B: I have to get a note now and then. That'd be nice. [01:09:33] Speaker A: All right. I got nothing else. You got anything else else, Buzz? [01:09:35] Speaker B: No, I'm not sitting. [01:09:36] Speaker A: All right. Happy birthday to our very own Dan Crook. I don't know how old he's turning. I don't think it's 50. And I apologize for Buzz right off the bat for insinuating that maybe he's almost as old as we are, because it's not even close. I hope he has a wonderful and spectacular and fruitful birthday later this week. Buzz. Thank you, sir. [01:09:59] Speaker B: Hey, man, thanks for being here and doing this podcast with me. [01:10:01] Speaker A: My pleasure. Always. Big fun. All right. And thank you. DFW area soccer curious people. You. We will speak to you next week on another episode of 3rd Degree the Podcast. [01:10:13] Speaker B: Dan, Happy birthday. [01:10:15] Speaker A: Happy birthday, Dan, to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Dan. Happy birthday to you. The Third Degree n Podcast Third degree the third degree n podcast Third Degree the third degree n podcast Third Degree the third Degree n podcast. Sam.