3rd Degree the Podcast #374

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Third Degree. The Third Degree Nerd podcast. Third degree. The Third degree N Podcast. Third degree. The Third degree Nap podcast. Third degree. [00:00:23] Speaker B: Yeah, I just got all my jackets out of the garage. [00:00:28] Speaker A: Well, hello there, soccer curious. DFT W citizens. Welcome to another episode of Third Degree the podcast. And oh, my gosh, look at this. It's yet another episode filled with victories. So many victories. But I have been told that one victory that was achieved over the weekend does not count because it was a shootout victory. And shootout victories are not the same thing. Is that correct, Buzz? [00:00:59] Speaker B: That is correct. When you're kissing your sister, there's no winning. [00:01:04] Speaker A: So it's myself. It's Dennis. Howdy, Dennis. [00:01:07] Speaker C: Howdy, howdy. [00:01:08] Speaker A: And the good old Buzz once again. Look, he's in a cabled sweater today. [00:01:14] Speaker B: You're. [00:01:15] Speaker A: Now you're just trolling me. [00:01:17] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like 54 here. [00:01:19] Speaker A: All right. I hate your guts. [00:01:21] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:22] Speaker A: All right, guys, let's start off. Before we get going, I would like to read an email that I received yesterday. [00:01:30] Speaker C: Angry emails. [00:01:32] Speaker A: I got an email. You can tell me if you consider this angry. Dear Peter, please do not crap all over this win and the team in your typical negative, bullshit way. Thank you, Jack. [00:01:47] Speaker B: Good job, Jack. [00:01:49] Speaker C: All right, Jack, this one's for you. [00:01:52] Speaker A: All right, Jack. I am going to be positive Pedro, all episode today because you know what? For the first time in a generation or whatever an actual stat is, FC Dallas has screwed together. Back to back to back wins, find themselves way up the Western Conference table, have put together two home wins in this homestand, and you know, don't worry about how they're getting it done. They're getting it done and that is. Is all that matters. Buzzard. [00:02:24] Speaker B: Well, yes and no, but yeah, you [00:02:27] Speaker A: know, no, Buzz, Buzz, there is no. No. [00:02:29] Speaker C: This is all POS power positivity. [00:02:32] Speaker B: That email was to you, Peter, not me. [00:02:34] Speaker C: Me. [00:02:35] Speaker B: Oh, okay. Yeah, listen, it's. It's amazing what this team is doing. It's incredible. It's fun that they're winning. They score goals. Immense credit to Eric Quill, the coach, that he's winning above his talent level. They're. They're playing around. He's coaching around their deficiencies. That's what a good coach is supposed to do. You know, the best teams don't have deficiencies, but that's fine. They're in third place, though. Like, this is. That's ahead of where we. We thought they would be. I came in on season saying four to six, right. We wanted to take a step forward, get to the top middle section of the standings. And they're. They've done that. They're in a great position. They're super dangerous on any game. If you like the hunt model of just get in the playoffs and then get a little luck, but also be capable of winning any game on any day, particularly on the road, then this is it. This is the. The maturation of that idea that. Get enough talents to get in, be tough on the road, be able to beat people. That's what you're looking at. So, like, is it the same as looking at Nashville? No. That doesn't mean you're a legit year after year cup contender, but it means that right now, this team is awesome. And they win games, even though sometimes it hurts watching them actually play because it's not pretty. But whatever the win, what matters in the end, right? The score. You have more goals than the other team you won. That's all that matters. [00:04:02] Speaker A: All right, Dennis, you go to the games, you cheer for the boys. What's your attitude about all this? [00:04:08] Speaker C: And this is fun to watch this. I mean, this whole league, this season has just been sort of weird and wonky. You know, we had the long, extended break and Dallas had this extended road trip, and nothing about this league makes sense this year. And I'm just. I'm fine with where we're headed and fine with where we're at. And this is quill ball, right? It's not sexy. It's. It's fun to watch. It's goofy, it's weird. And, you know, they don't possess the ball. They sit at the damn near last place in possession, 29th out of 30. I think 42% is there. 42% is their average possession. But, you know, it's a lot of fun to watch. And. And they're winning games and winning three in a row and collecting points and moving up the table. So really, what more can you ask for right now? [00:04:50] Speaker B: I would. I'll remind you really quickly that in 2022, Nico Estevez finished third in the West. How'd that work out? I'm just saying be excited, but be real. [00:05:03] Speaker A: Know what? [00:05:03] Speaker B: The deficiency, man. [00:05:04] Speaker A: Buzz, what are you doing? [00:05:06] Speaker B: I'm keeping it real. So I'm doing, like, buzz kill on everything. I'm just saying, like, oh, you're kind [00:05:11] Speaker A: of on my buzz. You're harsh in my buzz perspective. [00:05:14] Speaker B: I know, I know. [00:05:15] Speaker A: They're in third place. [00:05:16] Speaker B: I'm gonna keep it real, guy. [00:05:18] Speaker A: They're in third place. They are a mere three points behind first place. Vancouver, Although Vancouver has a game at hand and they're right up there. I mean, look, I mean they've even gotten so good, they've actually now have a winning record at home, which seems improbable this time a few months ago. Yeah, this team was crap at home. [00:05:46] Speaker C: They're doing so well, national media is starting to pay attention, which is insane. [00:05:51] Speaker A: Al Doyle wrote a whole, I think lead. [00:05:53] Speaker B: One of the, one of the great lessons of the last, you know, five to 10 years maybe, depending on where you are in the world, is that modern soccer doesn't necessarily have to be pretty to win. You know, the factors that lead to winning aren't high. Possession, it's not beautiful. Passing it, you don't. Nobody looks like Brazil in 70 anymore. You know what I mean? [00:06:13] Speaker A: Okay, so. And we can get into the details of both of the games here in a minute, but my general question, and I'm going to ask this question in the most positive minded and intentional way possible, which is taking into all the consideration all of the foibles or issues or problems or ugliness that you have previously mentioned. Buzz is, is that something that is sustainable for a deep MLS cup run? [00:06:43] Speaker B: It can be in the sense because, you know, unless I've lost my mind, there's not a lot of like two legged, three legged playoffs anymore. You know, it's kind of tight and short, right. You get a couple of you like one round where you have to play more than one game, but then it's basically like a knockout after that unless I'm completely delusional. So, you know, this is a team that can win any game. What it, what it not is capable of is sustained, you know, year after year, you know, quality high level getting like Seattle did for a decade where they were in first to third place year after year and they were always competing and running deep in the playoffs. What we're. If all you want to talk about is right now, right here this season. Yeah, you can. This team can beat anybody and could make a run. You know, they're not going to be favorites, but no one's going to want to play this team because this team with this team can beat even a really, really good team on a good day. You know, they can also lose to a shit team on a bad day as we've seen. [00:07:44] Speaker A: When was the last time we saw that? [00:07:45] Speaker B: I don't know when the last time they lost their team is. Maybe been a while because they keep doing a lot of winning but came damn near close. [00:07:51] Speaker C: KC matches a couple weeks ago, they [00:07:54] Speaker B: played down in that game. Toluca is really good, so that's not a shit team. You'd have to go back a ways. San Diego's not too hot this year. They lost San Diego, but that was before the World Cup. So post world seems a little different. Right? I mean, the mentality is there. They're no longer losing to crap teams, but you can look at the way they played down to Kansas City and be a little bit concerned. Not ideal, but hey, they're in third place for a reason, man, this team's good. They can beat anybody. It's just I don't think they're a favorite, that's all. [00:08:24] Speaker A: Well, nine points in three games in seven days, no matter who it's against in this league, is very impressive. And it starts with the win on Wednesday night against Minnesota. Now, what makes all of this even more amazing is the fact that in over the course of these three games, in two of them, they didn't have Peter Musa starting in either one of them and they didn't have Uruguide play at all in one of them because he was suspended. And so despite the fact that we continuously talk about roster construction and lack of depth and missing pieces and all that stuff, Buzz, they continue to pull this off. And we'll start in Minnesota with how in the world Eric Quill managed to get a 21 win up in the Great White North. [00:09:08] Speaker B: Well, the answer on in both of these games is Joaquin Valiente. That guy has become a real playmaker and he's making the offensive set tick over now at a really high rate. He's getting lots of assists. We hate the secondary, MLS assists. But he's got 12 on the MLS stats, only eight on the real stats. But whatever, he's second in the league, I think it is behind Messi. So he's playing really, really well, pulling the strings, line breaking. He's doing the hard work too. He's coming back to midfield, picking up the ball and dribbling through people. He's line breaking. He's doing everything he needed to do. So like when Moussa was out. Joaquin Valente has been fantastic, is, you know, making it all still go on the offensive end and the other people, Farrington's been great. Farrington's form is back. The third position has been rotating with Musa gone sort of, and none of it really is working, but those two other guys, Farrington and Joaquin and Valente, are really getting it done. [00:10:02] Speaker A: So what finally clicked with Valiente was it just getting used to the League and figuring things out because, you know, for. Just to be honest, for a very long period of time. Up until recently, I thought he was kind of in the Herman Johansson level of quality signing that he just wasn't terrible. But he also wasn't really making a big difference. And now suddenly something's changed. What is it? [00:10:25] Speaker B: Well, what's the thing that most people would say about how long it takes to get used to a league? Six months. Right. So August was. Since they didn't play in June, August was the six month of play. So here he is. Right. I mean, I really think that's it getting used to. [00:10:39] Speaker A: I didn't know if it was the league changed his position or asked him to do something different. [00:10:43] Speaker B: No. [00:10:45] Speaker A: Got a girlfriend up in Collin county or something? [00:10:47] Speaker B: Maybe several. [00:10:49] Speaker C: Have you seen the guy? [00:10:50] Speaker B: Maybe, yeah. Who knows? You know, they played that stretch where they played that 4, 4, 2 for a bit and he was asked to be the right sort of mid and was doing that flex thing where he was flexing from right mid to 10. Well, they sort of have taken that when they went back to the 3, 5, 2, you know, or 3, 4, 3, depending on whether Moose is available or not. You know, they sort of eliminated that Must get back all the time. I think he probably was like, you know what? I kind of like this where I can go back when I want to, have them go back when I have to. So he really has come alive post World cup on that road trip and since then. And I don't think he was bad before. We talked a lot about the final thing like take the good things you're doing and turn it into results. Well, that's what's happened now. He's now turning it into assists and doing good stuff and people are recognizing that he's now the front, the fulcrum of the front end of the team and they're playing through him and it's just going, going really well. You know, he was a TAM player, so this is the level that they were obviously expecting him to get to. That's the level that you're a guide or TAM player. Right. He's not a dp, but that's because he's a little bit younger and came from a place you weren't quite as sure of. And. And he's just, he's become that. We got a 10 at home kind of budget 10 and it's working like gangbusters. So that's. It's just time. Six month in the league. Right? Perfect. [00:12:04] Speaker A: Has anybody ever confirmed that he's not, in fact, Romero's little brother. [00:12:08] Speaker B: Well, they're from different countries, so, well, they look off. [00:12:11] Speaker A: It's hard to tell them apart on the field. [00:12:14] Speaker B: I can't say how many times a game, like, I'll be like, wow, Romero, that was really nice. Oh, wait, that was Valiant. Because he's come back and I have to wait and look at the number now to see which one it is. [00:12:23] Speaker A: No, that's. [00:12:24] Speaker B: I know I usually make an assumption and then every once in a while it really is Romero. And I'm like, oh, nice switch, Romero. But most of the time it's usually Valiant. [00:12:32] Speaker C: One of them moves very quickly, the other one not so much. [00:12:34] Speaker B: The burst is the indicator. Usually that tells you which one is one's moving at all. [00:12:39] Speaker A: Yeah, very good. What else about the Minnesota game, Dennis? You have any observations or thoughts about that that you wanted to talk about [00:12:47] Speaker B: before we move on? [00:12:48] Speaker C: The K goal was impressive. I, you know, they had three guys marking in the box and nobody picked up Kaik, and he just kind of slid in and finished really nicely there. And that was, that was a good one for him. And I think he's another one that's really starting to come into his own. I think he's got. He's improved significantly over the past few months. [00:13:06] Speaker B: My last thought about that game was that after the Sporting Kansas City game, when Romero was complete garbage and played the worst game of his entire career, he didn't get dropped. And after that I was convinced that he's never, ever going to get to get dropped. And so I'm not going to talk about anymore after this because he's not getting dropped even when he's the worst player in the league. So to his credit, he's been. [00:13:25] Speaker A: Buzz, he's not the worst player in the league. [00:13:28] Speaker B: Well, he wasn't in that game against Sporting. [00:13:31] Speaker A: Oh. [00:13:31] Speaker B: But now he's put up two average for him, good games for him, which are average games for anybody else. So now he's fine. It's like it's still. The deficiency of the team is still the midfield. But, you know, when you, when you're the worst player of your game, of your career and you don't get dropped, you're never getting dropped. So I'm just going to stick with him from here on out, no matter what, and I won't talk about him anymore. [00:13:52] Speaker C: And Moreno with the late winner, that was a good touch in the box, coming off the bench and just making it happen. [00:13:58] Speaker A: Yeah, it's. I mean, going on the road, this is Such a weird season because they've been so good on the road and getting results. And then the question was always, can they get it done at home? And so to come home and play against Portland, who had. Am I correct in saying that the last time Portland had lost a game was the last time they played Dallas? Am I thinking about that correctly? Let me go back and look a [00:14:25] Speaker B: long stretch without winning. [00:14:29] Speaker A: No, no, hold on. Ty. Win. Oh, they had lost against Austin, so. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. So since they tied Dallas in Portland, they had 1, 2, 3, 4. They were 4, 2 and 2 since then. Okay, so do with that what you want. [00:14:48] Speaker B: Anyway, yeah, they were a team that has been playing pretty well and Dallas handled them, you know, but they're not very good on the road, if you remember, they were team. So brutal. [00:14:56] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And in fact, I mean, the, the Portland game was not a good soccer game. It just was not a very good play. Well played because it was a very stere. Stereotypical. For those of us have been around forever, this was probably the quintessential Late August, early September, 100° MLS Summer Night Game where the heat clearly just zaps all energy out of both the fans and the feel and the, and the game on the field that. [00:15:27] Speaker B: Yeah, I struggled to pay attention to that game. It was so hard to watch. I mean, obviously I paid attention, but it was like I was sitting there on the sofa watching it, just kind of staring at it, thinking, this is just boring. You know, nobody was moving. Hard to tell Ramiro wasn't moving because nobody else was moving either. It's hard to complain about it. So I think the, the, the, the one takeaway, not takeaway. The one thing I really want to talk about from these two games, and this is true of both of them, was Ben Yamin at wing back was a little bit interesting. After the first one, I looked at his numbers and I thought, you know, they're about the same as Johansson. I wonder if he'll keep this spot. And he did. And it's probably likely that he'll keep it from going forward. If you just look at the pure stats, they're about the same. But I, I think the difference is that Binyamin's range here, which is amazing because it's not like Herman Johansson can't move, but Benjamin is like an Energizer Bunny, like, like Kaik, where he just runs. [00:16:27] Speaker A: I agree he looks faster and quicker in range here, but I can't figure out if he has the benefit. Tiny versus Johansson being tall. [00:16:35] Speaker B: Yeah, Johansson looks Slow because he's so big. But, you know, a lot of people that measure that crap talk about him being one of the fastest players in the league. And I don't think he's slower than Ben Yamin. I just think that Benyamin goes and goes and goes and goes because Johansson, we, we look, we talk about how he looks like he's struggling in the heat all the time. It's hard to say, like, that he's on that he's working his tail off, that he's got that quill, like, battle, battle, battle, battle that Benjamin kind of has. So it may just be like that feeling when you're watching them play that Benjamin means working his tail off versus Johansson is what is going to keep him in there. You know, pure stats wise. They're the same, basically. So hard to really know. [00:17:15] Speaker A: Again, Dennis, you were in the stadium. Was it as hard to watch a game in person as it was on television? [00:17:21] Speaker C: It was unbearably hot this week, even worse than last week. [00:17:25] Speaker B: The. [00:17:25] Speaker C: The new cover just kind of traps all that heat in. And I know we talked about this a little bit last week, but it's only going to make worse once they finally put that wrap all the way around. It's. It's like Austin, where the, the air just does not move in there whatsoever. It's just. It's so sticky and humid and miserable and, and. And hot. [00:17:42] Speaker A: Yeah. It's interesting because on television, the energy in the stadium seemed very low. And in fact, when, again, I'm going to raise something I brought up last week, Farington scores a goal, and it appears like when Musa scores or somebody else scores, everybody runs over and celebrates. When Farington scores, he runs off into a corner by himself, and eventually a few people kind of stroll and jaunt over and give him a high five. And it didn't sound like anybody in the stadium even celebrated. [00:18:12] Speaker C: It felt like everybody in the stadium was waiting for the offside flag to come up there. And I think some of the team was as well. I think, I think a good chunk of that building thought that was going to come out as offside. [00:18:23] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:18:24] Speaker C: If, if I actually went back, because I, I knew we talked about this last week, and I went back and watched the replay today. Farrington walks over the corner flag, kind of celebrates by himself for a minute, and then guys start trickling over one, two at a time once they sort of realize that the goal was actually going to count. But I think everybody in the stadium just kind of looked up and were like, no, Way. That's going to count. He was way. He was way downfield. [00:18:44] Speaker B: Hmm. [00:18:45] Speaker A: Interesting. Well, it was another. I think the. Excuse me, I got to turn this back up. The. The. The notice about the note I had about Farrington playing up top is if you get the ball out in front of him and where he can run onto it and run into the box with it, he's deadly. But if he's got to play with his back to goal, he's brutal. Like, his first touch on collecting the ball as a target forward is not very good, but that's not his strength, and that's why he shouldn't be playing that position. [00:19:09] Speaker B: Yeah, he actually works better as, like, an off striker from Noosa playing off of his shoulders. I mean, I'm not talking like a 10. I'm talking like a Jason Kreiss style. Got you on his shoulder. [00:19:20] Speaker A: He reminds me of Jesus Ferreira. Remember how bad Ferreira was at collecting long balls? And, like, I'm not sure he's even as good as Ferreira. Was it at, you know, first touch at that stuff, but Logan just isn't good at that. But in that particular moment, Shaq plays a beautiful ball into empty space and he just runs onto it. And when he gets in that position, he's so good at finishing those. And I wish they'd figure out ways it to do that more with the Beaver. [00:19:49] Speaker B: His. His touch is so weird because there are some games where it's just clunky and the ball's bouncing all over the place, and then it'll have these immaculate touches where it comes right down into his shooting path and he just rips it right into the corner. He's had a couple of goals where the first gorgeous touches set him up. So it's just a weird dichotomy in that. I don't know what the difference is, like, whether he's just a focus in the moment or something, or maybe you're right, it's which way he's facing, because there have been some moments where his touch has been amazing. [00:20:17] Speaker A: Well, I was funny. I. I had seen the note that Doyle had asked about Farrington getting a national team call up, and I thought he. He's not at that level. Like, his first touch is not national team level. He's got a lot of work on that to do. [00:20:29] Speaker B: That's what everybody talks about with the. The players when they go to the national team for the first time. They talk about that. The time. It's. You got about half as much time as you have in MLS before you get closed down and the touch has to be you know, within like a half a foot touch. It can't be like two feet bouncing away. You're just not going to get it. I think that's one reason why Bernie got like that one camp and then like we've never seen him again because we watched Bernie play and the ball bounces a couple yards away and you're screwed at the national team level. [00:20:58] Speaker A: Has Farrington ever gotten youth team call offs with the U.S. no. Huh. Interesting. [00:21:05] Speaker B: All right. I mean not that it would happen, but he's technically England eligible too. But I, you know, that's even more unlikely than the United States is. If he were to get a January camp, I would clap for him. I just don't think it would go very well for the same reason that you're talking about Peter. You know, it's not quite touched. [00:21:23] Speaker A: Is, is this a good and appropriate time for us to properly give Mr. Ibiaga a little bit more credit than I think we've given him over the course of the last time he's been here? [00:21:37] Speaker B: Well, you know he, he's getting up there in age and as obviously I [00:21:41] Speaker A: love the fact that he's got gray hair. [00:21:43] Speaker B: Like I've been saying all along, it wasn't him, it was how the club saw him that was the issue, you know. And this year because Norris has come through some. He and Norris are playing about the same amount of starts and minutes. So I was not playing 34 games, 90 minutes a game. So he's looking better, looking fitter, holding together better, playing really well. He is one of the faster players on the team. He has the. We've talked about this. He has the fastest recorded speed in an MLS game for FC Dallas this year. That doesn't mean he's the quickest reacting. Those things are different, you know. So he's doing a really nice job. You know, he gives them with more in Oz and Nolan they get it gives them four starters for three spots. They actually need one more. But four for three is not bad, you know. So he's this kind of in and out role is the perfect role for him. Not a 34 game starter. That's irrigating and more that it's. This is good, good play, good player, good, good squad player, keeps himself fit. [00:22:38] Speaker A: You know, Dennis, I off. Am I off base if I, if this continues to go the way it's going that I would nominate Shaq Moore as team mvp? [00:22:53] Speaker C: I think so. I think he's right up there. Definitely contender and maybe A couple other. You know, Valiente may show up on that list at some point if he keeps performing the way he does. But Shaq has really been just kind of been the. The. The metronome through there. He's distributing, he's defending. He's. He's played every position across that back line so far this season. So he has showed out. And, you know, I think he's really come a long way from where he started when he got here. Right. When he got here, he was a cast off from the national team. He was kind of looking to find his footing again, and he's really settling into a place where he's been fun to watch, and he's really been doing the work. [00:23:31] Speaker A: And I love that he carries the ball forward, too. [00:23:34] Speaker B: You guys are. I'm glad that you guys like those dudes, but y' all are bonkers. You got a guy about to break the goal scoring record for the club. He has 18 goals, man. If you don't have Dennis. [00:23:46] Speaker A: I threw the line out. [00:23:47] Speaker B: I know. I totally know what you're doing. If you don't have him. This is one of those seasons where, like, when Coleman led the club with seven goals because Farrington has nine, and he would not have nine if he wasn't playing with Peter Musa. So stop it with the MVP stuff. Shaq Moore has had a great season, and you can put him in the conversation for this Defender of the year. Get out of here with the MVP stuff. That's ridiculous. [00:24:10] Speaker C: It's Musa and it's everybody else on the squad, right? [00:24:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:15] Speaker C: You know, when you look. When you look up and down this roster, there's. There's the one guy at the top, and then there's, you know, 20 some odd other guys. [00:24:23] Speaker A: Yeah, come here, Buzz. Let me get that out of your mouth. [00:24:25] Speaker B: I knew what you were doing, but I just couldn't let it go. I was like, just stop. [00:24:30] Speaker A: Sorry. [00:24:30] Speaker B: I thought you were gonna say defensive mvp. And I thought we were gonna have a nice conversation about it. [00:24:34] Speaker A: No. [00:24:34] Speaker B: Versus irrigate. And then I wish. Get out of here. [00:24:39] Speaker A: I need to go back and take a screen grab of the look on Buzz's face as Dennis is answering that stupid question. [00:24:46] Speaker B: You guys both were like, oh, yeah, that's a legitimate conversation. No, get out of here. Y' all are ridiculous. [00:24:55] Speaker A: So what you're saying, Buzz, is that you think Peter Musa is this team's mvp? [00:24:59] Speaker B: No, no. I went with Ali and Taylor, like Dennis. [00:25:02] Speaker A: Okay. [00:25:02] Speaker B: Yes, of course. It's better, Moussa. [00:25:04] Speaker C: All right. [00:25:06] Speaker B: There are other Guys that have had great years. There are other guys that you can love and appreciate. You could talk about Shaq as, as a nominee for defender of the year for the team. There's only one mvp, and it's Miles. [00:25:17] Speaker A: You know what, Buzz? It's positive. Pete podcast day. I think all of the players are deserving. [00:25:23] Speaker B: Has had a great season. He's been so much better than I thought he was. Yeah, phenomenal. Quill was right about him. So great. Amazing. [00:25:32] Speaker C: Definitely a resurgence for him as far as his career is going. [00:25:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to be crazy and start talking about the national team, but, like, you know, last year he did not look anywhere near this good when they played him on the outside. You know, it wasn't when he was in the middle. That makes it, you know, look good. When they got him from the Nashville, I thought that was a really dumb signing. And two years later I'm like, no, that was a really good signing because it turns out he can play center back even though he's not six feet tall. So. Great addition. [00:25:59] Speaker A: Yep. Good stuff. Okay, what else, anything else about the wins at Port at Minnesota or home against Portland, we would like to discuss. [00:26:09] Speaker C: You want to talk about that, Kai? Yellow? Oh, yeah. Some strong opinions on that? [00:26:18] Speaker A: Well, I guess the way I would, if anybody is looking at it fairly if that, if that same exact tackle had gone in on Peter Musa, I would suspect, I would suspect you would be wanting that to be deemed a red. [00:26:34] Speaker B: I, my, my feeling about it is, goes back to the idea that, like, just because you miss doesn't mean you, you didn't try and punch the guy. You know what I mean? Like, and I know he doesn't actually get him high, he gets him kind of low, but, well, he rolls. [00:26:47] Speaker A: The dude's ankle, the guy's ankle inverts. I mean, I mean, he's lucky he didn't, you know, he was able to finish the game. [00:26:54] Speaker B: There wasn't there some comment about, like, he wasn't like, the, the guy. The ref didn't think he was high with intent. I was like, dude, if you go into the guy's leg, it doesn't matter how high whether you hit him or not. You know, cleats first. It's like, I thought it was nasty. I mean, real time, I thought, oh, that's a red. He's done. [00:27:09] Speaker A: I did too. Yeah, I did too. And my, I, I, ultimately it comes to me is how does the, that particular referee adjudicate it if that ref thinks it's a Yellow or not a foul or a red or whatever. And then var looks at it and whatever you think it is, we don't see anything different. So it stands. So it is what it is. [00:27:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:28] Speaker A: But if I had been calling it I like to you Buzz, when I saw it, I was like, oh, crap, Kaik's out. Kayak's getting thrown out of this. [00:27:35] Speaker B: Maybe it's a different angle than the live angle that we were looking at the refs in a different angle or something. Because I thought, I'm damn, that's a red. He's gonna be gone. And then it wasn't. And then at that point I understood Var not overruling it. Like, I'm not trying to get Kaik in trouble. I was just surprised. I was like, I was sitting at home with my eyes raised like, he's not off. Hey, great. Good for now. Yeah. [00:27:53] Speaker C: I think the one saving grace for him is that they, they both really went into each other with some, some force. It wasn't just Guy coming in hot and fast. I think they were both really rushing into that, that 50, 50 ball there. [00:28:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Fair maybe. And from the ref being on the inside of the play, maybe it doesn't look the same from us in the stands where the cameras are. You know, I just, in that moment, I was just really shocked. He wasn't off. [00:28:15] Speaker A: Yeah, right. [00:28:16] Speaker B: I would not have had any complaint if he'd have been off. It's not like he would have been like, oh, that was the first. No, dude, he hit. [00:28:23] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:25] Speaker A: Very good. Well, I, I guess at this point [00:28:29] Speaker B: I got one more thing about this game I want to ask you guys about. [00:28:32] Speaker C: Yeah, please. [00:28:32] Speaker B: What'd you think of Daniel? And goal over. [00:28:34] Speaker A: Oh, yes, that was the other. [00:28:36] Speaker B: In the second game. I mean, I, it was obvious that it was. I was about 50, 50. Whether this was the game he was going to come in or not. I thought his. He looked more comfortable with the ball, his feet, but the stats don't back that up. Daniel actually passed really poorly out of the back. [00:28:49] Speaker A: Well, I was going to say, Buzz, if you, I, I, as the game, I eventually at one point made a note to myself. Has Daniel played a long ball out of the box as a restart that he's been happy with? Because every time he kicked a ball long, the camera would turn to him and he was, he had his hands in his, his head in his hands, or he was covering his face, he was cussing or he was punching the air because he was mad at how badly he had hit the ball. [00:29:15] Speaker B: He only passed the long, long ball. I looked it up. Long balls. He only was 11% out of the back on long balls. Now there's a big difference because Portland pressed and Minnesota sat back and tried to out do FC Dallas, FC Dallas and sat back. So those are very different games. So you can't look at them head to head, you know, and like I was saying, like, Daniel looks more comfortable with the ball, but the, the, it wasn't reflected in the numbers because of the way Portland plays. Like, also like, I didn't watch any of the saves he made. He only had three saves. Not that that's his fault that there's only three shots he had to save. Yeah, but there wasn't a particularly like, great, like, oh, that's a save sir's not making. You know what I mean? So it was kind of like at this point, there's nothing I can look at or point at and say that's why he's in there, other than maybe the coach's confidence is what's going to be the thing. And they paid a million bucks for him, so I'm sure he's going to go forward. But you know, it was not a scintillating return by any means. [00:30:09] Speaker A: Yeah, it's probably not. Yeah, it's not the right game to probably judge his. And plus, it's his first game back in a while. I did get worried when he went down and was stretching out his hamstring again. I thought, oh boy. [00:30:21] Speaker C: I think there was something there. I think that was a little bit. And I was actually going to say, I think that's the one place where I think Daniel's a little bit better than zero hours in the shithousery game. And I think that's what that was. I think that was a heads up play by a keeper. Just kind of going to ground and trying to shave a few minutes off the clock there. [00:30:37] Speaker A: Okay. [00:30:37] Speaker B: Shades of Jesse Gonzalez. All right. [00:30:41] Speaker A: Jesse would take naps out on the field [00:30:45] Speaker C: because Tim Ford goes over to him right after that and kind of pulls him up and is like, all right, let's go. Get going. [00:30:50] Speaker B: I'll tell you a funny story about keepers and injuries. Like they all times they have signals to their trainers about whether I'm actually hurt or not. And I'll tell you, Dario Salas, because he told me what it was. If he's. When he was. He said when he's lying on the ground, if he kind of bangs his hand on the ground, that means I'm fine. That's how it Goes. [00:31:10] Speaker A: We all kind of knew Dario was always fine. [00:31:12] Speaker B: It was never mostly fine. Yeah. [00:31:17] Speaker A: All right, so moving Dallas, moving forward. Dallas has an interesting finish to the season. A lot of home games, obviously home against Austin, who are kind of on a heater themselves of late. Then they've got that international break game against lafc and I read somewhere that sun has also gotten a call up. So we'll have a game against at home against LAFC without their star player, their most starry player and also Dallas's own star player. Then they go on the road to Charlotte, home against Jesus Ferreira and Seattle at Houston, then San Jose at home, Columbus at home, Kansas City on the road and finish the season at home against Colorado. [00:32:08] Speaker C: Kansas City's the furthest trip they have pretty much at this point, right? [00:32:13] Speaker A: Yeah, it might hold on a second. Has. Has Jesus played for Seattle back in Dallas since. [00:32:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:32:23] Speaker A: God, I thought I. Yeah, maybe I was at one of those games. Okay. I, I was trying to remember if he'd actually played in a game here, but I'm sure it's probably happened more times than I remember. But anyway, yeah, that's a, that's an interesting lineup. [00:32:35] Speaker B: The missing CFLA loses. Bianca too. [00:32:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:38] Speaker C: Bongo might be out. Shafelberg might be out. That's going to be a pretty depleted LA roster. [00:32:42] Speaker B: I like Shaflberg. He's a good player. I took him. [00:32:45] Speaker A: Yeah. So you know, Dallas lines its up itself up pretty strongly if they can keep up this kind of form they've been on since the return from the World Cup. I mean, if you really think about it guys, they've what, lost twice. The 1 oh game against Santa San Diego app on the road and then the, the blowout against Vancouver where they started a, you know, scrub lineup. [00:33:05] Speaker B: Well, you remember we were talking about, was it a week or two ago. We're talking about how they were, they were winning but they were giving up these astronomical number of goals. It was crazy. Three, four goals a game they were giving up but also scoring. And then the last two, they've reduced that obviously now they've allowed one each and they've scored two each. So the numbers have come back into still winning of course, but they've stopped the crazy amounts of goals in the back and they did it before, you know, irrigate with irrigating, getting missing a game and with both keepers the same. So it's obviously just more of adjustment of play, you know, with the guys defensively coming together and you know, Norris in and out of the lineup too. So like there's no defining like oh, here's the thing they did different. They just sort of galvanized a little bit and stopped losing focus quite so much. You know, still an issue occasionally starting slow but overall holding it together pretty well. [00:33:55] Speaker A: All right, well, as I said, Austin comes to town next. And this is the thing. This was the, the, this is where I picked up on it. The last time Austin lost a was when they lost to Dallas 2 1. Since then they have gone three wins, three draws, no losses and an impressive 21 win last at Vancouver. So Austin comes in with the broccoli a little bit on the boil. [00:34:21] Speaker B: Yeah, Dallas will be back in their home whites, so that'll be, you know, make everybody happy. I, I would, I would run Musa out as a starter after he came off the bench. I'd put him back in with Logan and walking Valley Entei because you want to get a game, I think together before he leaves to join his national team. Ramiro Kaik, that's not changing the back line. I think at this point Iaga probably is going to get, you know, the bulk of the games over Norris. You know, Norris has leads the team in a lot of defensive categories but for whatever reason they just seem to play a little bit better with Ibiaga. I think people have been targeting Norris with the pace and that's a problem and Dallas hasn't figured out how to solve that problem because Kamugo does not help him enough on the outside and you know, the Camingo starting. So really I think maybe I'll get the nod. And then I. Since Benjamin did not go back to the bench, I'm gonna get think that Benjamin means won that job at right wing back. I know they like him and want to have him in games and then Daniel probably keeps going the defense. So there's not a ton of Wednesday games going forward. So we kind of might be looking at that. That kind of is the lineup basically going from here on in. [00:35:33] Speaker A: You said the word job and that's going to lead me to ask you about Mr. Job, the new signing, Daniel Job. Does anybody have any word as to when he is available to play? [00:35:45] Speaker C: I can tell you he posted on Instagram yesterday that he was at some point lower league European game in the stands this week. So he's not in country, I'll tell you that much. [00:35:55] Speaker B: Yeah, he can't come in country until at this point until he gets the visa. If he had come before he had signed on a tourist visa, he could have showed up and done Some pictures and that kind of crap. But, like, since he's actually put the pen to contract, he can't come into the country until they get the visa. So he'll have to wait until he gets it. And that usually takes about two weeks. So maybe at the end of this week we will hear something that he's on his way. That'd be cool. You know, I doubt he would play before the little mini break. And that's really an ideal time. Like if he gets the. The visa around the time of the LAFC game, then you can come in and you could have him in camp for basically two weeks and before the Charlotte game. Now, the question would be, where's he going to get into the lineup? Like I just said, this line is pretty set, you know, probably have to compete with Santi Moreno for the. I'm not Logan Farrington's spot. If Logan's, for whatever reason, not starting. [00:36:49] Speaker A: You don't think there's any chance he takes Bernie's spot, wing back? [00:36:53] Speaker B: I don't think so. Not now. Not with like, you know, eight games left. I don't think maybe if you were determined to play this way, then maybe you'd come into camp and let him compete with Bernie. But I actually think his signing and the fact that Quill asked for a wing says that he still. We talk about this all the time. He doesn't want to play this way. He wants to play with more possession. He wants to play a 4, 2, 31 or a 4, 3, 3. One of those two variations. [00:37:21] Speaker A: Right. [00:37:22] Speaker B: His six isn't good enough to do that. So, you know, that's what he wants to do. Otherwise, there's no point in this signing because for this season, because you already have Santi Marino. What are you gonna do? Get rid of that guy with eight games left. He's a dp. He's going to play over Job. Job just got here, so. And you don't have a wing. I mean, maybe he'll spell Bernie, but you already have Josh Torcado to do that if you really need somebody. I don't. I don't know that he would walk in and be a better than Bernie at that spot. Not cool. Loves Bernie, man. [00:37:50] Speaker C: Did Bernie get called up for Tanzania? [00:37:52] Speaker B: Tanzania, yeah. [00:37:54] Speaker C: Is it possible that he misses that. That game and that's where Job slots in? [00:37:59] Speaker B: I think it's very possible. He's on the. Bernie's on the roster, which is the preliminary roster, which is like more names than they need, but he's probably better than almost anyone Else they got at Tanzania, I would imagine. So there's a good chance Bernie misses the LAFC game. But that would just be. I mean if Job had his visa by then you could stick him on the bench and start Torcado. I would assume you're not gonna put Norris at wing back. That wouldn't make any sense. You know the other option would be they've they flip flop Benjamin and Bernie twice now. Clearly they like Benjamin on the left as well and that might actually be the solution is to put Benjamin at left wing back and then more at right wing back or. Or Johansson more likely called up right. No, not that I have seen. It's possibly he might the last minute but like that would make a lot more sense when Bernie's missing. Just put Benjamin at left wing back and put Johansson at white ring back and then you can leave more Ibiaga and, and Oz or, or Norris if you like against LAFC in the middle and all their depleted people. [00:39:00] Speaker A: Well, congratulations to above the Mendoza line, third place FC Dallas. [00:39:07] Speaker B: Man. Could be an exciting run in. I'll tell you that. If they can hold this position, they get a good advantage. [00:39:11] Speaker A: It's going to be incredibly exciting. [00:39:13] Speaker B: Well, if they collapse, it won't be but if they keep going, it's great. [00:39:17] Speaker A: They're not going to collapse, man. They're on a roll. Dude. [00:39:20] Speaker B: Man, shit happens. You don't know. [00:39:22] Speaker C: Hey, FC Dallas can actually clinch Copa Tejas this weekend with a win or a draw. So hardware might be showing up early. [00:39:31] Speaker B: Now is that the MLS Copa task or the overall Copa Taos? Because Dallas Trinity are actually the current holders of the Dallas that is the [00:39:38] Speaker C: MLS Copa Tejas Trinity actually no longer holds the Copa Tejas shield. That is down in. I think that's down with Austin right now. [00:39:47] Speaker A: My head hurts so bad. I didn't realize there were two different. [00:39:50] Speaker B: Well, they, they, they. [00:39:51] Speaker C: There's. There's three. There's a us. [00:39:53] Speaker A: I don't. I don't want to hear them. I don't want to. [00:39:55] Speaker B: I don't want to. [00:39:55] Speaker A: No, no, no. I don't care. I just do not care. [00:39:58] Speaker B: I love the Trinity one. Last year I was like, that is awesome. Go Trinity. [00:40:02] Speaker A: Dumbest thing ever. [00:40:03] Speaker C: It's a sterling silver cowboy hat. [00:40:04] Speaker A: Come on. [00:40:05] Speaker C: How could you be mad at that? The one rule is you can't eat cheese out of it. [00:40:10] Speaker A: Dallas Trinity, speaking of which, got a 21 win over D.C. and I saw the highlight of one of the nicest splitting passes I have seen in the sport of soccer in a Very long time. What a ball and what a finish. Really, really nice stuff from there. Dennis. [00:40:30] Speaker C: Yeah, they came in with a little bit of a change in the look here. Mila Brewer was just brought in from Kansas City Current. She was released by the current squad. They reached mutual agreement about six days ago. And she came in here and picked up the number four shirt and started at right center back over Sid Cheeseman. And she slotted right in and looked really well along the defensive line there. And she's been moved to the bench. And then we had Felicia Knox start in the midfield over Buzz's favorite, Jamie Shepherd. But yeah, Dallas was able to get it done. They had three big chances and they, they let the game come to them. They settled in, they played their possession game that Lee Win's been playing all season. They sat in and, you know, absorbed a little bit and when they got the got ball, got the ball, they, they passed it around the back. They played their game, but they were able to get up the channels a little bit more out wide. And that's where both goals came from, pretty much where one was right up the middle channel. Quick moving past Buzz. [00:41:36] Speaker A: Please describe in detail that beautiful pass and goal, please. [00:41:39] Speaker B: Yeah, honestly, Peter, you're right. That's one of the most beautiful passes I've seen in quite a while. [00:41:44] Speaker A: I mean, it's legitimate. It is legitimately. And I'm not being hyperbolic. It is a world class pass and assist. [00:41:51] Speaker B: Henson's, you know, a winger playing outside back. I actually yelled at my television. What a pass. Before, like, before Hamid even like started running and I was like. And then I was like, me is actually going to get to that because the weight was perfect. Just sublime. [00:42:05] Speaker A: I watched it like 16 times on Twitter. [00:42:08] Speaker B: So good. Over and over. It's a 40 yard pass through the gap. Not over the top, through the gap. On the ground. [00:42:15] Speaker A: On the ground. [00:42:15] Speaker B: Driven with the perfect weight that it starts to lose momentum like just as it gets past the defense so the keeper can't come out and get it and like Hamid beats her to it. It's just a phenomenal play. I mean, you not see better at any level of play. I mean, I don't care what level you're talking about, you will not see a better pass than that. Just absolutely stunning. And Hamid playing off the right wing. Dennis is really making all the difference like we talked about. [00:42:41] Speaker C: Complete game changer. Yeah, yeah, massive game changer. And she was able to, you know, she got one touch on that and shook the keeper and she finished that into an Empty net, basically at that point too. So that was a, that was a gorgeous goal. But the earlier goal was great too. This, this new sort of setup with Gumro up the middle and Hamid on the wing and, and I mean, Castane up the middle and, and Guerrero and Hamid on the wings. It's, it's improved the game a little bit. And Hamid has really returned to her Fort Lauderdale farm before she got here to Dallas. [00:43:10] Speaker B: Yeah, On Yeka Cherry pick. Gumro got a second goal. [00:43:14] Speaker C: Poacher playstyle. [00:43:16] Speaker B: Okay. [00:43:16] Speaker C: Poacher. [00:43:18] Speaker B: She keeps bug on everybody's goals, but okay, she scored us good. Did you mention that Brewer's 17? That's amazing. [00:43:25] Speaker C: Yeah, Brewer, 17 years old. Not the youngest starter for this club that would go to. I, I forget her name. She was the academy player last year that scored the youngest goal at 16. But yeah, 17 year old, makes her first professional start, making her debut for Dallas Trinity. Uh, she's also called up for the, uh, U17 World cup next month. [00:43:45] Speaker B: Yeah, Leon wins. Actually got a problem now because Cheeseman's a pretty good player. He needs to figure out how to get her in the game. I thought Knox was better than shepherd, but I can see a case where you, you might think, oh, I'll put Cheeseman at right back and put Beckman in midfield. And I'm all team Beckman, so I'm okay with that. But I also quite like Knox. I mean, to me, like a Knox, Beckman double pivot is a more ideal double pivot. They're using Sedano in a double pivot, who's really more of a 10, but they have a couple of good players. They have more good players in those spots than they have positions on the field. So they're playing a very offensive set and it's actually going to be a tough problem to have to figure out how to get Cheeseman in the game. You know, you could move Cheeseman into the left center back and put Braun back in midfield. That gives you the same problem. Braun's a better six than anybody else on the team, but that still raises the issue of how you get all these players on there. So it'll actually be fun to see them rotate through and figure all that out. And it was just a really fun game, highlighted, of course, as Peter says, by one of the best passes you'll ever see. [00:44:47] Speaker C: Yeah, Cheeseman could also play the midfield. She was, you know, she played six last year alongside Wisner too. So there is a ton of. Yeah, there's a ton of options where you can slot around I think Cheeseman even played left back at some point if you want to move Hinson up there. But yeah, Hinson is nominated for player of the week as well. So get out and vote if that's the thing. You're interested in. [00:45:06] Speaker B: Flynn too. We've seen Flynn play left back and right back both as well as center back. And she'll be back hopefully soon. So Lean wins. Got some fun questions to ask of himself in terms of who's gonna play. [00:45:17] Speaker C: And then there's Heather McNabb, who. Who we haven't even seen anything out of yet, who's working her way back from injury as well. [00:45:23] Speaker B: Yeah, her lack of playing time at NWSL makes me not really think of her as like an option right now. I would really want to see her come in a bunch before I would say. But then Brewer just walked right in. But Brewer was obviously much. There were bigger questions as Brewer came right out of, you know, U17 national team and stuff. [00:45:40] Speaker C: She is tall for 17 years old too. She's listed as 5 9. I think she might be maybe an inch or even 2 taller than that. She stands next to Purcell, who I think is 5 10, and if you look at them in the team photo, [00:45:51] Speaker B: they're 5 8, not 5 10. [00:45:54] Speaker C: She's. She's a little bit taller than Purcell. [00:45:57] Speaker A: I was thinking. Oh, what were you gonna say? Sorry. [00:45:59] Speaker B: I was gonna say you. You'd be impressed by a Brewer. She graduated high early just so she could go to UCLA at like 15 and a half or something and nobody [00:46:09] Speaker A: came out fast enough. Yeah, I was just wondering about this Buzz. That pass is so nice. And then it made me think, in 32 years of watching the Burn, have we ever seen a pass that good of that similar kind of. There have been some amazing assists and pass in Burn history and it'd be fun to kind of go through those. But I was trying to think that particular splitting pass at that distance, at that pace on the ground, that ends up in a goal. I don't know if I ever remember one like that. With the Burn. [00:46:47] Speaker B: It's the part that. Where it's on the ground and threads the whole thing. It really is so impressive. I mean, there are some elite passers that have played for this FC Dallas. Ronnie o'. Brien. [00:46:56] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:46:57] Speaker B: With some of his switches or, you know, Tanner's. Was. Was only with the first team for a very short, short period of time, but he was an exceptional pass. [00:47:05] Speaker A: Or I just don't remember a password that a singularly evaporates half of a Team's lineup. [00:47:12] Speaker B: Well, the jumps to mind is the, the Chicago Fire game where There was like 13 seconds left and they went back to front. Yeah, I don't think that was nearly as sublime. A beautiful single pass. That was more of a back to front kind of thing. Yeah, like, my brain's not bringing up like a pass of that level, but it is definitely, you know, one of the best passes I've seen in a couple of years in the Metroplex, for sure. [00:47:38] Speaker A: Yeah. Buzz, you should retweet or share that on social media again and, and make a big deal out of it because it's a really, really nice pass. They got Fort Lauderdale next on Friday at 6:30. Dennis, you got a, an 11. You want to promote? [00:47:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, I think we go back to exactly what we've seen here. I think Lee Win continues to roll with what works and he made the change, brought Brewer on here and she performed really well. I don't see any reason to take her out. Like Buzz said, I would like to find a way to work Cheeseman in here and whether that's at 6 or, or potentially let her slot into left center back and move Braun up to the six. I think you've got a couple of options. If it were me though, I would like to see Cheeseman back in the midfield. I think, think she's done a. She did a great job last season playing in that sixth position alongside Amber Wisner. And I think if you, you know, if Flynn's back, you can play her. You can play Flynn at center back, you can play Cheeseman at right back. I think these defenders are all very, very flexible in their positioning, in their skill set and the way this game is played. So you got a lot of put and take options here, but I, I definitely want Cheeseman in this lineup. I think there's, there's no reason to leave her off the squad here. [00:48:44] Speaker A: There. Okay. [00:48:46] Speaker B: I have one more thing I want to talk about with Trinity. Dennis Purcell is not building confidence in me and she's on a loan. We both know that Hope Heisel is not playing for, not starting for her current team. I believe it's Carolina. [00:49:02] Speaker C: Yep. [00:49:02] Speaker B: And has been one of the best keepers in this league the last two years. She and Braun, by the way, are best buddies, best friends. So if I'm running this team, I'm calling Carolina to see what it takes to get Hope Heysel out of there and over to Dallas. Because if Matty Anderson is not doing enough to get in, in front of Purcell because I don't think Purcell's inspiring me with any confidence at all. Then obviously keeper's gonna be a problem for the rest of this season and then going forward, even so, that would be a call I'd be making to see what's going on with Hope. [00:49:32] Speaker C: I mean, Carolina has an embarrassment of riches at goalkeeper. [00:49:35] Speaker B: Yeah, they do. [00:49:35] Speaker C: Yeah, they've got Hope is he's the, the. The last year's best keeper in the league. Sitting on the bench. Hasn't started at all. And she's playing behind Sid Martinez, who is. Who's having an incredible season in her own right. [00:49:45] Speaker B: Okay. [00:49:46] Speaker A: And then the team that effed up the total victory pod episode was North Texas. [00:49:53] Speaker B: Well, they actually lost on Wednesday too. So it's not like it was just the shootout when. Okay, so it wasn't a universal North Texas win anyway. They got skunked pretty hard by Houston on, On. On that Wednesday they were winning and then get allowed a big comeback. And then this, the Sunday game going up against the Cowboys. I don't understand. There were like 10 people in the stands for that game. 0, 0. [00:50:18] Speaker A: But they all wish they had gone to the North Texas game instead after. [00:50:21] Speaker B: Yeah, they might. Dak might as well have, you know, zero, zero game. So I, I haven't watched it yet, but I've heard actually it was better than the 00 score line. They're pretty locked into their lineup at this point because Quill has shortened his bench so much that there's a selection of guys that are all down there basically to finish out the season. So Houston has put themselves into eighth place. The league invented a playing game like two weeks ago. So all of a sudden there's an 8, 9 game. [00:50:50] Speaker C: Wait, it's called the North Texas Invitational, right? [00:50:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:50:54] Speaker A: They magically made up a playing game in the middle of the season. [00:50:58] Speaker B: They just all of a sudden announced that there's a playing game, which I don't remember there being one before. Oh, if there was one, it's totally slipped my mind because they just announced like, oh, it's going to play again. [00:51:07] Speaker A: Now are they still doing. The top seeds get to select the. Their opponent? [00:51:12] Speaker B: Yeah, they select after the 8, 9 play in game. So then they'll pick. So that could. So you'll know who you're picking of the eight, nine teams. Right. Does that make sense? [00:51:21] Speaker A: I have this theory that if MLS had introduced that new Australian football rules playoff structure, that everybody's all concerned is too complicated and if they had simply thrown in the element of top four seeds or whatever, get to select their opponents. Everybody would be raving about it. [00:51:42] Speaker B: The pick your opponent thing is so awesome because so kick ass for fans. It's like you immediately can start talking all the trash in the world. You know, the. The underdog team will be like poster boarding, like, oh, you picked us, did you? Okay, you know, yeah, it's. I remember a couple years ago, North Texas was in a position to pick a team and they did not pick the 8th place team. They picked somebody else. And I thought. And people were like, why did you not pick the Apostle team? I was like, dude, the team that finished like seventh or the eighth place team had won like 10 games straight to make the eighth seed. And the team in seventh had lost like 10 of 12. I was like, of course they picked the seven place team. It was just so weird that everyone's like, oh my gosh, they didn't pick the worst team. It's really so. It's fun. Fun mechanic. But anyway, If Dallas has one game left against Colorado at 2 o' clock on Sunday, I think it's at 2 o'. [00:52:29] Speaker C: Clock. [00:52:29] Speaker B: It's in the afternoon. The worst team in the West. They have three wins on the year. So Dallas is a. North Texas has a chance to actually hold on to the eighth spot and host the playing game. So that'll be one little playoff game for them before they proceed to get raffle stomped by whoever they actually play in the real playoffs, as you guys like to call it. [00:52:48] Speaker C: Can you say waffle stomped on this podcast? [00:52:50] Speaker B: Sure. Raffles stomp. Look at you say raffles. Okay, I didn't say curb stomp. I said rafflestom. [00:52:55] Speaker C: I thought just waffle stomp, which is something completely different. [00:52:58] Speaker A: I really love a waffle. I'm hungry now. [00:53:01] Speaker B: Waffles would be good right now. Not on my diet, though. So anyway, I think, you know, North Texas will be eliminated within the next, you know, couple of weeks. And then you might see a Simmons or a Swan or somebody pop up on a bench for Revsy Dallas, you know, possibly down the stretch, so their season is soon to be over. And then we'll do our dumper keep or whatever, and some of those guys will be moving on. [00:53:23] Speaker A: And then if anybody was a total freak, they read the lengthy report that was published a few days ago. Who was the outlet that published that buzz? [00:53:38] Speaker B: It's that Fort Worth. Gosh, what do they call it? [00:53:41] Speaker A: I just sent it to somebody. [00:53:43] Speaker B: Is the fourth Fort Worth report. [00:53:45] Speaker A: Yes. I don't know what Fort Worth report is, but it is an insanely long researched and reported story about the story behind Farrington Field in Fort Worth Fort Worth ISD and the background on on this thing that we've talked about on this podcast. I feel like now for the last two years which is a USL men and women's team, an entire club being put together by a rich tech guys Nathan Hanks I think his name is and then putting this team together and the men's team would debut in USL premiere but it appears to have become unglue. [00:54:27] Speaker B: Well, I'll give you the shortest version I can. By the way, that that Fort Worth reporter thing has done a really nice job. When I've read it above of City Politics, Council, all that stuff, they're good at that. So that's what, that's not what we do. So you just go read their stuff. The short version is they were working with the ISD owns Farrington Field and this club was. This owner was working with the isd. They had a whole thing signed up, done, ready to go. And then if you remember enough about Texas politics, the Texas whatever school board, the state took over the Fort Worth [00:55:00] Speaker A: school board and school district because they had a bunch of failing schools continue. [00:55:05] Speaker B: So all that stuff is not important to us. So important to us is the highest. The Texas state took over the isd. Well that meant that they had to start over the process of this whole thing that they had already basically all agreed to. So they've restarted that process. The thing is, is that the school district doesn't have the money to do anything. This is the summation of the article. The school district doesn't have the money to do anything with that stadium that can serve their constituents. Yeah, the place has got a ton of value for developers and for because of where it is and its views and that kinds of things. [00:55:39] Speaker A: Right. [00:55:39] Speaker B: In the core of the west side Arts District. Right. So they're back starting over with this process. People I've talked to say that really this guy and his group are the only people that have the money on the table to put this thing together and develop this thing because the school board can't do it by itself, doesn't have the money. So probably this thing will track back to approval again. [00:56:02] Speaker A: Probably. [00:56:02] Speaker B: And then again we will see these teams come to action. They were trying to get it all done in time to launch the teams by this season and it didn't happen. So they're back at the school board. So now you're probably looking at, you know, not. Probably not 27, it's probably too late for that. So you're probably looking at 20, 28 for them to get going now, but it's still on track. But that's why even though we've been talking about it for two years, it all started over, you know, so we're back to where we were two years ago of this thing possibly still happening. So stay tuned. [00:56:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, my read on from the article is that there's so much political minutiae and inner, you know, tangling going on with the ISD and everything. It's just, it makes it hard for a private investor to pull these things off because they begin asking all these kinds of questions about long term viability and what happens if you guys go bankrupt and all that kind of stuff. And it's just, it's just really complicated. Complicates matters. [00:56:57] Speaker B: Yeah, like, like with Athletico, with, with Garland, there's a lot of people that once this stuff comes to the final stages, a lot of Karens all of a sudden want to know about REI and what's in it for them and all this stuff. So these people are going to have to prove that they have the most viable setup to make the most money at the least amount of cost for the ISD and for the city. So if they can do that, and it seems like from the last version that they can, that nobody else really is a player for the most part. So fingers crossed, it's actually going to happen. But that's the thing, like, if it doesn't happen, those teams are not going to happen. Those teams are. Yeah, you know, gun only going to happen if this deal happens. So that's why they haven't start. They're not doing the Athletico where they're launching in the Cotton Bowl. They're not going to launch it. Tcu, Carter Stadium or whatever. They're not doing that. They're going to wait until they get a stadium deal and then they're going to do it. So different mentality, different strategy. [00:57:48] Speaker A: Apologies to any DFW curious Karen who are listening to this episode. Yeah, all right, very good. Covered a lot of ground today. Anything else we'd like to get through now? [00:58:01] Speaker C: We left off during Trinity talk that they announced their Classico opponent this week. [00:58:06] Speaker A: That's right. [00:58:07] Speaker C: Chivas Femineal will be coming to town to play at Fairport during the final weekend of the fair on the 17th. [00:58:14] Speaker A: All right, and when do tickets go on sale? Have they announced that they're. [00:58:17] Speaker C: They're available? They've actually been available to Chiva's supporters for like a month, apparently. [00:58:22] Speaker A: Oh wow. [00:58:23] Speaker C: And they've, they've been on sale to Trinity fans all year but we haven't known the opponent yet. So that just came out this week. So if you're interested, go pick up tickets for that. And that does include a ticket to the fair as well, I believe. [00:58:37] Speaker B: Couple of youth call ups. A kid named Diego Ross who has joined the SEL Academy. He's a, I don't know, 14 years old. He's already playing with the U18 teams. There's rumors that he's actually signed a pro contract. You just won't hear about it until. [00:58:51] Speaker A: With Dallas. [00:58:52] Speaker B: Yes. [00:58:53] Speaker A: Oh wow. [00:58:53] Speaker B: That he'll be on a hybrid deal so he'll start with North Texas. This is the rumor. But that you won't hear about it until January because right now he's just an academy player but he's playing with the 18s even though he's like 14. So this is a Benji Flowers level talent that we're talking about. Diego Ross is his name. So he got called up to the U15 or the U16 national team and a kid named Lincoln Clark is with the U15 national team. And then Ian Charles who's with North Texas has been called up to the senior Puerto Rican national team for the Concave Nations League. They're in the B league. Puerto Rico is. So he's a six or a defender. So congrats to him because that'll be fun. He gets to go to some cool Caribbean trips to play some soccer this summer. [00:59:34] Speaker A: What position does the Diego Ross could play? [00:59:37] Speaker B: He's a midfielder, creative midfielder. He came from Barca USA which is where, you know, guys like Messi came from. No, not messy but these are, these are kids that come out of that Barca USA academy. Like if they're jumping to another academy it's because they're getting contracts, pro deals like some of their very top talent, most talented players. And this is not the first one that's happened with. There's been a couple that have come here before but this guy is highly, highly regarded enough so that like, you know, people are. When he landed, people were like holy crap, he's going to Dallas. That's huge. [01:00:08] Speaker A: So question. So a kid like that, he's 14 years old, he's out in Arizona at the Barca school thing. He gets this opportunity to play for Dallas. Does he and his family move to Frisco and he's, they're all now relocated here or is he living with a host family or something? [01:00:25] Speaker B: I don't know. You know, he's a domestic American player. So the rules are different when you're signing him to a pro contract. The rules are different than if you are dealing with a kid who's joining an academy overseas. Right, right. That's like, that's, that's why kids like Benji Flowers have to wait here till they're 18 before they can sign with Chelsea. So here in this country, because he's, he can sign it. He's probably actually 15 and not 14. I don't know 100% for sure. So because they, they do these pre contracts and put pen to paper and like you know, I don't know exactly how old he is and exactly when he's signing. But no, he doesn't need to have his family come here. Dallas will use host families like Tanner lived with some another player's family. It's a common kind of thing. They have some apartments if you're a bit older that you can live in as well. FC Dallas does. So they have options if the family does not move here. So I don't know where the kids from. He may not even be from Arizona that he was going to Barca usa. Like for example Lennon Lucine, Pedro Lucines younger son. He just left the FCS Academy. He's 15 or 16 and he was moving to San Diego to join their academy. Well, his parents live here. His dad coaches Athletico. So you know, the clubs have situations and setups to handle all those kinds of things. [01:01:46] Speaker A: All right. Interesting stuff. Love a prospect speaking and that you talk about 14, 15 year olds and then you think about Kevin Sullivan hitting a brace last night. That kid is lighting up the league. He is legit. [01:02:00] Speaker C: Unbelievable. Philly. Philly might be the, the best academy in the league right now. [01:02:05] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't think there's any question. [01:02:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:02:07] Speaker B: About that. [01:02:09] Speaker A: Very good. Okay, well, excellent. Good time. Well, hopefully Jack is satisfied with my positive attitude over this episode. [01:02:17] Speaker B: You were a ray of sunshine, man. [01:02:21] Speaker A: Go burn. We're gonna win MLS cup this year, guys. Our first. We're going to do it. [01:02:27] Speaker B: I will say that like this is the first. [01:02:30] Speaker A: We might do it ass backwards but we're doing it. [01:02:32] Speaker B: This is the first time in a long time where I actually felt that they have a legitimate shot at it. Like Nico Sev as his team that was in third place. I didn't feel like had a legit shot. It's been since Oscar was here that I actually thought they've. [01:02:43] Speaker A: It's only taken them beating us into submission to believe this. [01:02:46] Speaker B: But no, it's a team that can win any game. Like before, like you had teams that were good records but you didn't feel like they could win any game anywhere. Where this team, you feel like they can win any game anywhere. [01:02:58] Speaker A: You know, it is funny, we were talking about that pick your opponent setup. If Dallas was in the playoffs, nobody would pick them. [01:03:04] Speaker B: Nobody would pick them. No, nobody would want to pick Dallas. [01:03:07] Speaker A: Nobody would want. [01:03:07] Speaker B: Especially because after the they have the playing game, then that first round is a home and away and then it's single elimination. And you don't want sc. Dallas, single elimination. Even in a home and away, you don't want it. They. Dallas is just as good on the road as they are at home. Nobody wants that smoke. [01:03:21] Speaker A: And you know what? You know, it's kind of stupid about all that. But Dallas is playing so well. They're so high up in the standings. They would be one of the teams getting to pick their opponent. [01:03:29] Speaker B: They would be wild. [01:03:31] Speaker A: Can you believe that shit? [01:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, who would they pick? [01:03:37] Speaker A: Yeah, who would they pick? That's a great question. I'm looking at the standings right now. So [01:03:44] Speaker C: their recent form, I'd say their recent form not withstanding, I would pick Austin. [01:03:50] Speaker A: I don't know. I think I would take the playoffs. [01:03:52] Speaker C: Dude, I thought they. Yeah, I thought they, I thought they got themselves in this. [01:03:57] Speaker B: Colorado 7, Portland 8, San Diego 9. [01:04:00] Speaker A: Man, you're getting a home game. I'm taking one of these teams that have really crappy road records. Colorado, Portland, San Diego, all three have two wins. [01:04:08] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, I haven't had to look that far down the table in a while. That's what it is. [01:04:12] Speaker A: Okay, Dennis, there's beer garden. Dennis right there, He poked out. [01:04:23] Speaker C: Enjoy it while you can, right? You got to take it while you can. [01:04:26] Speaker A: Very good. [01:04:27] Speaker B: I mean, you know, if, if Dallas, if you go on the current things, Dallas would be picking third. So like they're not going to get the, the winner of the eight, nine game or the seven game. So you would be picking either St. Louis or LAFC. Basically those are your two choices. So like, which one of those do you like better? I probably would take St. Louis. Those two. Actually. [01:04:48] Speaker C: St. Louis is good. [01:04:49] Speaker B: They are and they're, they're playing better than LA is playing. But la, man, Son and Bonga, I mean, just, there's a lot of, lot [01:04:56] Speaker A: of veteran savvy on that team that suddenly come, the value of which becomes very clear in a playoff game. [01:05:04] Speaker B: They feel like one of those Seattle teams where Seattle was good for like, like 10 years and then like they would have, like, a year where they finished, like, third and the players would show up and they go, oh, we're still Seattle. They beat everybody. They feel like that. [01:05:15] Speaker A: All right, very good, Dennis. Thank you. Good stuff. [01:05:18] Speaker C: Thank you. [01:05:18] Speaker A: Yep. Buzz, good to see you again. Hope you don't freeze to death. [01:05:22] Speaker B: Man, I'm cold up here. [01:05:23] Speaker A: Put another log on the fire. [01:05:25] Speaker B: Yeah, I had to close all the windows today. [01:05:27] Speaker A: Go get one of those little hot packs to put in your. Your pocket. [01:05:30] Speaker B: Got myself some cocoa I'm having on for this. This. [01:05:34] Speaker A: All right. [01:05:34] Speaker C: I. I hope you burn your mouth. [01:05:41] Speaker A: All right, Buzz. You stay warm up there in the, in the tundra up there. Thank you. DFW Soccer Curious. We will speak to you next week with more wins as we're just marching towards victory on another episode of 3rd Degree, the podcast 3rd Degree, the 3rd Degree Nepal. Sam.