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Nos Audietis, Episode 283: Seventh Heaven
62 Plays7 years ago
Mark it seven. This was quite possibly their ugliest result of the seven-game win streak, but either way it counts as three points. More than that, it moved the Sounders into fifth place in the West, knocked the Timbers out of playoff position, ended a four-year winless run in Portland and was also the most significant test the Sounders have faced as of late.
There’s obviously still plenty left to go, but it’s certainly worth asking if the Sounders should now be considered an elite team and a serious cup contender?
This week's music: Sesame Street - "National Association of W Lovers", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"
Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.
Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!
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Transcript
Introduction and Fullpool Wines Launch
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of No Sadietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine seller who recently released their first book, 36 Bottles of Wine. To eat those of the book, a highly curated look at wine categories that provide exceptional value right now should be familiar to Fullpool readers. But there's loads of fresh content, and since it's not trying to sell any wine through the book, there's a bit more of a sass factor.
00:00:21
Speaker
And there's food! Lots of it! Fulpul's unique writing style is applied to recipes like Leftover Thanksgiving, Turkey, Smaltz-a-ball Soup, and Pregnancy Nachos. This book can be purchased through Sasquatch Books.
Language Fun with 'W' Words
00:00:39
Speaker
What is the letter we love? What sound are we extra fond of? It's not any trouble, you know it's a W when you hear woo woo woo woo.
00:00:54
Speaker
Without this fine letter, you couldn't say wash or which wax or wiggle. My gosh. There wouldn't be wet, warm or walrus. Oh, wow. There wouldn't be wood, would there now? Without this great sound, well, wink would be ink and weak would be ink. Don't you see? Of course. A fine word like waffle would turn out just awful. Oh, double use grand as can be. All right, everybody.
00:01:25
Speaker
So what is the letter we love? The sound that we're extra fond of It's not any trouble, you know it's a W When you hear whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop One more time! When you hear whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop You sit down and sound your shut down You're the one who's coming back You're the one who's coming back You're the one who's coming back
Episode Introduction and Sponsorships
00:01:55
Speaker
The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle And the hills the greenest green in Seattle
00:02:10
Speaker
Welcome back to another edition of No Study at This, sponsored by Fullpool Wines, Queen Anne Acupuncture, and her broadcast partner Bootstrapper Studios. This is episode 283, and we're recording on Monday, August 27, 2018. I am your host, Jeremiah O'Shan, and I'm joined as always by my co-host, Aaron Campo, and our engineer, Lickett.
Sounders' Significant Win in Portland
00:02:27
Speaker
Well, we can market seven. This was quite possibly their ugliest result of the seven game win streak, but either way, it counts as three points. More than that, it moved the Sounders into fifth place in the West, knocked the Timbers out of playoff position, ended a four year winless run in Portland, and was also the most significant test the Sounders have faced during this late season run. There's obviously still plenty left to go, but it's certainly worth asking
00:02:53
Speaker
If the centers are now an elite team in the MLS and should we consider them serious cup contenders? We'll see. We'll see how the rest of the season goes. I mean, I think that the defense is and has been on season as good as any defense in the league.
00:03:12
Speaker
And the main difference over this run and over, you know, the past, really the, since the midpoint this season has been the offense actually managing to create anything at all, but they're still not an especially potent offense. And so it's not, you know, I mean, yeah, they beat LA 5-0, but.
00:03:33
Speaker
I mean, that wasn't really the galaxy. That was a pretty hampered team. So I need to see more consistency from the attack before I say that they're really as good as they've looked. But if they can do that, and by consistency, they don't have to go out and go crazy. They just have to keep scoring a couple goals a game and all feel pretty comfortable about it.
00:04:01
Speaker
Um, long-term, you know, I don't necessarily want them to be that kind of team. I would like them to be a very potent attacking team and I don't think they're that far off from it. Um, but right now I just, they're, they're still pretty anemic offensively. Uh, and they don't need to be much more than anemic to be a very, very good team in this league, but, but right now, you know, they're, they've still got some work to do.
Sounders' Performance Overview: 15 Game Review
00:04:24
Speaker
So along those lines, I thought it was interesting, our friend Ethan Swenson, who writes, sometimes it's under her heart, dug up an interesting stat. Now I think all of us would not be surprised to learn that the Sounders have the best record in MLS over the last 10 games. After all, they've collected what, 26 points out of their last possible 30. So they are clearly playing very, very well in their last 10.
00:04:53
Speaker
No surprise there, but you can go all the way back to their last 15 games, which includes a not so great run. They're averaging two points a game for 15 games now, which is nearly half of a season.
00:05:07
Speaker
And that's the best record in MLS over that time. The Red Bulls also have two points a game during those last 15. But Atlanta is slightly worse at 1.93, same as Dallas.
Defense: Key to Sounders' Winning Streak?
00:05:20
Speaker
Certainly over the last 15, the Sounders have been getting results like an elite team.
00:05:25
Speaker
uh they're defending like an elite team during this this seven game win streak they've outscored opponents 16 to 3 uh which is pretty remarkable uh even if you take out the own goals they're outscoring opponents 14 to 3 they're averaging two goals a game without own goals uh again this is not necessarily you know they're not scoring in record numbers they're gonna they still have i think the worst
00:05:55
Speaker
But they at least are capable offensively. They only got six shots in the game against Portland, but they generated some dangerous chances. And that doesn't even technically include, that doesn't really even include the own goal, which was a dangerous chance. I mean, yeah, I'm with you. I think that I would like to see this offense being better, but the defense is probably the best defense this under has ever had.
00:06:24
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's hard for me to even think that those are probably about it anymore. And, you know, they've had some very good defenses the last three years, but this feels like the best version, you know, and I think it's
00:06:37
Speaker
beyond the backline specifically, I just think as a team, they play defense much more effectively than they have in the past. Um, you know, so it, it's, it feels like a historically good MLS defense that I hope they continue to play well enough, you know, down the stretch to kind of get those, uh, those accolades. Um, because, I mean, again, even.
00:07:00
Speaker
when the Sounders were playing really, really poorly, the defense was exceptionally good. The Portland game up here, where the Sounders lost 3-2 on just some really bad set piece plays, I think has kind of stuck in people's memories, but that was really an anomaly of a game. And just in general- That Stephen Fry didn't play in that game.
00:07:26
Speaker
Yes, it is notable that Steph and Fred didn't play in that game. And so I just, yeah, I think that they're exceptional defensively. And, you know, so if we're circling back around to the original question, I think any team with the defense is good as this team has a shot against any team in the league, any venue they're playing in.
Offensive Consistency: A Necessity for Sounders?
00:07:46
Speaker
And, you know, if the offense can keep chugging along and doing what they've been doing over the past few games, I think that
00:07:54
Speaker
you know, that they have a shot at that. I just, I know that they've scored goals and that they've scored enough goals to win, and that if at times even they've been explosive, I just, from an eye test perspective, from watching them and seeing the kind of chances they're creating, with a few exceptions, obviously the LA game, and then the NYC FC game, I thought actually the attack looked pretty good in that one.
00:08:21
Speaker
Um, they just, it seems like they get a couple of good chances a game and can, and convert them rather than consistently creating really good chances and consistently playing really well in the attack.
Stephen Fry's Impact on Sounders' Success
00:08:33
Speaker
I would, yeah, I think that's totally fair. I actually was digging into their XG numbers a bit just to kind of see what XG thinks of their performance. And it should be said that even during the seven game win streak, it's not exceptional. Like their XG, they have been positive XG.
00:08:53
Speaker
during that time. If you don't know XG, that's expected goals. It's basically a statistical look at the quality, it looks at the quality of each chance, each the probability of each shot that a team takes going in the net and uses a lot of factors. We've talked oftentimes on the show about how there's an inexact science to that, that it doesn't necessarily account for all the variables that
00:09:19
Speaker
your eye tells you that should be accounted for. But if you look at it on the aggregate, it's usually pretty fair depiction of what you're seeing. And the sounders are definitely outperforming what XG would be telling us they should be doing. But there's one of the big reasons for that is Stephen Fry is playing absolutely out of his mind. There's a site called American Soccer Analysis that I definitely suggest that you check out if you're interested in this kind of statistical analysis.
00:09:49
Speaker
But one of the stats that they keep is how far
00:09:55
Speaker
of essentially of goalkeeper XG. And so what it tells you is how based on the kind of shots that a goalkeeper is facing, how many goals should he be expected to give up? And right now, Stephen Fry is the best goalkeeper in the league by that metric. He's actually the best goalkeeper in the league by just about any metric, whether it be traditional or advanced statistics. And
00:10:20
Speaker
But what's really amazing is that even before this last game, he was something like he was at negative 10, which is a very good number and I'll put this into context in the history of American soccer analysis keeping the stat which goes all the way back to 2011.
00:10:36
Speaker
only three goalkeepers or only two goalkeepers ever have been above 10 negative 10 or been better than negative 10 and one of them is Bill Hamid who was just a barely over 10 back in 2013 I want to say 2014 maybe and then last year Tim Malia was that like negative 13
00:11:00
Speaker
So he's in very rare company in terms of how good he's playing. And that's really allowing the Sounders to outperform their XG. That accounts for most of their overperformance. It's just Stephen Fry being a very good goalkeeper. And like I said, he didn't play the last time the Sounders looked bad defensively. That was the Portland game.
00:11:21
Speaker
You have to go all the way back to like the middle of last year to find the last time that he gave up as many as three goals in the game. And as long as you're only giving up one or two goals, you're going to be in a lot of games and the Sounders are showing themselves to be capable of generating enough offense that if they only give up one or two goals, that they should be like able to compete with anyone in this league.
Defense vs. Offense: Playoff Strategies
00:11:46
Speaker
Yeah. And that's, I mean, I know that everyone wants to watch an offensive juggernaut like the Sounders were in 2014, like Atlanta is this year, like Toronto was last year. And I do too. And I totally get that. Sure. It's more fun. I mean, yeah, it is more fun. And I think everybody wants to watch a team with this defense and that kind of attack. You know, that's the dream.
00:12:08
Speaker
But, I mean, especially when you get into the playoffs and you get an MLS Cup, those are the teams that get knocked off more often than you would expect, you know, that 20, what was it, 2012 that San Jose won the, won the shield and they, you know, they had this really high scoring offense and they, you know, they weren't great defensively, but they were good enough that because they scored a ton of goals and they got knocked out in the first round playoffs. So, I mean, I think that if you,
00:12:38
Speaker
your long-term chances are going to be better of putting up good numbers. I mean, if the Sounders didn't have this defense, even this run wouldn't really have made much of a difference in terms of their playoff chances. This defense earned enough points. It wasn't a ton of points, but they helped the team earn enough points.
00:13:00
Speaker
early in the season to keep the playoff hopes alive. And so if you're going to build from somewhere, building from the back, you know, in the actual roster construction sense is not a terrible idea.
Winning vs. Entertaining: Fan Perspectives
00:13:11
Speaker
You know, I've thought about this a lot recently, because there's, I think, a pretty common saying among soccer fans that they say, I would rather watch a team play bad, play good soccer and lose than play kind of boring soccer and win. And
00:13:30
Speaker
I get where those people are coming from. I understand what they're saying, but I sometimes wonder if it's not a realistic position. And in, by that, I mean how many teams that you know that are consistently playing good soccer on a week to week basis and aren't winning.
00:13:49
Speaker
And I think it's kind of in what I mean by that is I think it's a little bit of a false choice to say, like, would you rather watch a good team lose or a bad team win? And my argument is like, well, good teams don't lose on a regular basis teams. Like you'll see teams that score a bunch.
00:14:07
Speaker
maybe but for the most part if you're scoring two or three goals a game you're gonna win a lot of games no matter how bad you're like to some degree like there's just not a lot of teams that are losing a bunch of games for three like that's just not a thing that happens on a regular basis anywhere in the world and certainly not an MLS and and so
00:14:26
Speaker
I guess I like to get to the point of what I'm trying to say is like, I'd rather watch a team win. Like I would like ultimately like, yeah, I mean, I want to see fun, entertaining soccer. And ideally, I'd like to see the Sounders scoring more goals than they're scoring and generating more chances than they're generating. But at the end of the day, like, I want to see this team win games.
00:14:47
Speaker
Yeah, and I think the team that people tend to point to in MLS right now, at least when they're talking about that, is Atlanta United. And Atlanta does score a ton of goals, obviously, but they've only given up 30 goals in the MLS atmosphere. It's not like they're an awful defensive team.
00:15:06
Speaker
um and and i think too the other thing that gets overlooked is that um you know for one good soccer is subjective and so and and that's that's always you know the the biggest thing for me is because i i like watching teams that um you know that play really good defense that they keep possession and things like that so you know that's that's one thing the second thing is i think that people did say that they would rather
00:15:34
Speaker
their team play good soccer and lose their line. I don't believe them. Maybe they're not consciously lying, but I don't believe them. The third thing is that, you know, kind of like you said, teams that
00:15:47
Speaker
play, you know, soccer where they have a lot of the ball, where they're putting a lot of pressure on other defenses, they don't tend to lose, because, you know, they don't tend to give up a lot of goals. Right? Like, that's, it's kind of like a all symbiotic relationship, like, being able to hold the ball defensively, is part of playing, like, it's part of defense, but it's also part of helping generate offense.
00:16:13
Speaker
Right, and I think too that there's this misconception that a lot of people have that teams that aren't scoring a ton of goals are not, it's because they're not trying to. And there are teams that definitely are very happy to play for a 1-0 and are good enough to pull it off.
00:16:32
Speaker
But that's not the sounders. I don't think that's at all the sounders. They play very fluid soccer. They have some nice-looking attacking moves. They have good, skillful players on the ball. They're just not finishing chances, and they're not creating enough chances. It's not a tactical decision. And so if the sounders were one of those vintage Jose Mourinho Chelsea teams that are happy to round out results,
00:17:00
Speaker
or a lot of the stereotypical Italian teams that don't really exist anymore but certainly did in the 90s that played very negative soccer, I would be a little more willing to accept that.
Balancing Offense and Defense for Sounders
00:17:14
Speaker
But I think that sounders want to be and are pretty 90% of the way to being a very dynamic attacking team. It's just the final third that the production hasn't been there and the chance creation hasn't been there.
00:17:29
Speaker
But I think that, you know, stylistically, they're doing what people want to see. They're just, you know, they're not quite scoring enough goals. And I think you can look at the Portland game and you can see kind of how that manifested itself. Like, I think the Sounders were trying to get Rui Diaz into dangerous spaces and I think that they were trying to put him in behind and I think that they were
00:17:51
Speaker
you know, it wasn't like they were just sitting on the ball and waiting for Portland to come attack at them. I think there were times that Portland did a good job of pinning the Sounders back, but I just think the Sounders just didn't pull off a lot of what they were trying to do. And I think that's been a pretty consistent, that's been something consistent with how they've been playing during this, during the streak especially, is that even when they're not generating a ton of chances, it's not for lack of trying to create chances.
00:18:21
Speaker
I think that they've got players who can keep opponents honest. I think that, you know, I watched that game yesterday. I can't sit here and say that it was the most beautiful soccer but I thought it was an entertaining match. I think that, I don't think that the Sounders are gonna be able to win an MLS Cup if that's the way they were to play every match from here on out. But I think we know that they're not gonna play like that at home especially.
00:18:50
Speaker
And I think that they did what they had to do yesterday. I think that they gave up a lot of low probability shots. You look at the XG map from that game, and the Sounders actually had the two best chances in the game, which doesn't even include Kim's cross. So I thought it was a good professional performance.
Ozzy Alonso's Influence on Sounders
00:19:16
Speaker
And the guy who I thought put in the best performance
00:19:20
Speaker
at least for me, was Ozzie Alonso. And this is a player who I've been pretty critical of, who I was very skeptical of being able to turn in this sort of performance. This is now the second performance that he's had in the last four, where I think he looked very much like his old self.
00:19:37
Speaker
He had 89 touches in this one. Uh, he was 56 to 63 passing. He was eight to 12 on long bolts. He had 11 recovery, seven tackles, six interceptions, uh, two clearances, two blocks. He won 10 of his 12 duels. I mean, he was everything you would want Aussie Alonso to be. And, uh, and then we'll, you know, we'll probably talk about this later, but then he also is the one guy on this team who.
00:20:01
Speaker
I think you can say is going to be smart enough to send a free kick into the opposing corner instead of just kind of tapping the ball back. I mean, and I think that's the kind of player you need if this is going to, if this team is going to win an MLS Cup.
00:20:16
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree. And I think Aussie has been good for the last three or four games, maybe even very good. Last night was definitely the first vintage Aussie performance we've had this year, maybe even the last two years. I mean, this was as good as he's looked in a very long time. And I think to
00:20:37
Speaker
that one of the things, you know, there have been a fair number of arguments in the Sounder at Heart Slack Room about this. There have been, and they've, you know, the same arguments have been had on Twitter and in the comment sections, I'm sure, about, you know, Ozzy's numbers. Last night, I don't think anybody's going to argue that the performance he put in from both an eye test perspective and the actual data that we have, I think everyone's going to agree that that was an exceptional performance. But
00:21:06
Speaker
One of the things that I think Ozzy is exceptionally good at, and it's just not something that data captures, and I know that's kind of a cliche, but I think soccer especially, it's just hard to capture everything because of the way the game flows.
00:21:24
Speaker
Ozzy is so good at understanding what tempo the game needs to be played at and setting that tempo and making sure that that tempo is maintained. And I think he's the best player at it on the team. Svensson's very good at it as well, but I think Ozzy is even better than he is. And right after the switch to the 5-2-3, when the Sounders midfield was being overrun and they were just pinned deep and couldn't even sniff the ball,
00:21:52
Speaker
Ozzy got possession, slowed things down.
00:21:55
Speaker
you know, took a lot of the pressure off. Things didn't immediately get better. Things didn't really get better until Smithson moved back up in the midfield, but it was the first time I think the team had had a chance to breathe for five minutes. And there were times like that in the first half as well, you know, where Ozzy just understood that the Sounders needed the game to slow down a little bit. They needed to be patient. They needed to hold onto it, kind of pick their spots and play their game, which, you know, is not an especially fast developing game.
00:22:25
Speaker
when it's, you know, when it's going its best. And he's just, he's very good at that. I think he understands that. And I think it's really important and I think it does kind of get overlooked. And so, you know, if he's performing at a very good level statistically and doing things like that and having the kind of veteran savvy and sort of game awareness, like you, you know, that would lead him to pen the timbers in the corner, like you said,
00:22:50
Speaker
Uh, it's, you know, it makes it very hard to take him out of the lineup, especially when they're winning games. And I think there's also a locker room component to keeping him on the team, uh, or in the lineup. You know, it's, it's, it's a tough, I think anytime you've got, you know, 15 players, I think that probably are all making realistic.
00:23:14
Speaker
shouts for being in the starting lineup, that's always going to be a delicate balance. It's especially delicate when you are starting a World Cup, a guy who came out who essentially lost his starting job because he went to the World Cup in Roman Torres. And you're asking him to come off the bench basically every game right now.
00:23:36
Speaker
You're asking, you know, will Bruin, who was the center's best offensive player for the first half of the season to be coming off the bench every game. You're asking, you know, potentially a Victor Rodriguez to be coming off the bench or Harry ship. One of those two, you're asking, you know, you're asking potentially new who, who I think you and I would probably agree has, has holes in his game, but he is probably the center's best, a one-on-one wide defender.
00:24:04
Speaker
And, you know, you're asking a lot of these players to accept roles that are maybe, are probably not what they want. And I think you have to play some games. And I think one of the games that Brian Schmetzer is having to do is walk that line between motivated Ozzy and angry Ozzy. And, you know, we can say, well, he needs to be a professional. He needs to just suck up whatever role he's given.
00:24:32
Speaker
I think you can only ask so many players to kind of do that before you risk losing, creating a little bit more of a problem. And yeah, they're in a seven game win streak. It's easy to tell people to just do what we're asking of you when you're in the middle of a long win streak. But as soon as you lose that first game,
00:24:52
Speaker
That it starts, that's when you're really tested. And at some point, at least I suspect the center is going to lose a game and you know what, how you deal with the Ozzie Alonzo situation is going to be a big part of it.
Future Speculations: Alonso's Role in Sounders
00:25:04
Speaker
Um, but especially when he's playing this way, there's just no way to take him off the field. I don't think.
00:25:09
Speaker
No, no. I mean, it's, I think that if you were going to make the decision that Ozzy wasn't an automatic starter, you had to have made that decision when he was actually playing really poorly. It's way too late. It's way too late now. And maybe that would have been the right decision. I don't know. Um, because I, if I recall correctly, he was still playing pretty poorly, even at the beginning of this winning streak, but I mean, he started the San Jose game and I don't think he was that good in the San Jose game, but then he started the game on the following weekend.
00:25:37
Speaker
Yeah, and I think too that it's easy to forget that this has kind of been a trend with Ozzy over the past few years where he
00:25:46
Speaker
he gets hurt and he comes back very slowly. And I mean, we've been asking, I feel like since 2015, maybe after he comes back from these injuries, like, is this guy cooked now? Right. He always eventually rounds back into form. And I feel like I've talked about this before, but it keeps taking a little bit longer than it did before. Um, and it took, you know, it took like a month this time of regular playing time, but, um,
00:26:12
Speaker
It's not crazy to think that this is legit, maybe not as good as he was last time in Portland, but that he's back to an elite level for his position.
00:26:24
Speaker
The other two players I wanted to talk about a little bit before we go to the break are two more defensive players, but Kim Kihei and Chad Marshall, I just continue to be amazed at how good they are together. And I think that individually they've both had very good seasons, but they just seem to compliment each other so perfectly. You know, last week in a column I wrote,
00:26:51
Speaker
I talked about how Chad Marshall suddenly looks like a dangerous offensive player again. And I don't know if there's anything to this, but my working theory is that because Kim Ki is the one that is chasing guys up to midfield and doing all the running, we saw him make this run into the box yesterday, that Chad Marshall is actually able to save his legs and he's got something in him to go up for these set pieces.
00:27:16
Speaker
And that's a huge weapon, especially when the centers are starting or struggling to score, that they're suddenly getting set pieces, that they're drawing penalties, that they're scoring own goals. These are all the kinds of things that happen when you are kind of creating your own luck. And Chet Marshall is a big part of that.
00:27:33
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, and I think that when the Sounders have looked shaky defensively over the past couple years, it's been because teams are getting it behind them because neither Chad Marshall or Roman Torres are going to win a whole lot of races. Kim Ki-hee, you can't convince me that he's not the fastest
00:27:51
Speaker
straight line player on this team right now he's he's extremely fast he covers a ton of ground you know he's now that he's fully fit he looks like he can run for days and days and days and you know i just think he complements marshall so well he's he's a really good passer
00:28:12
Speaker
in ways that maybe Marshall isn't, he can actually kind of take some risks at times that Marshall isn't going to be willing to take. I think that they're the perfect complement for each other. And, you know, I know you started off kind of talking about Roman Torres and losing his spot because of going to the World Cup.
00:28:31
Speaker
Roman wasn't playing great before he went to the World Cup and Kim Ki-hee has played, I think, exceptionally well. You could probably talk me into believing that he's actually a better center back than Chad Marshall at this point, but they really are, I mean, the sum of the parts
00:28:48
Speaker
you know, there is just, it's better than, uh, what's that cliche? I'm better than the sum of your parts, which is when you're talking about two players who are, you're talking about a group of players who are overperforming, like a bunch of average players that turn into a great team when they're all combined. But in this case, you have potentially two elite defenders who are even better
00:29:11
Speaker
then there's some other parts, which is saying something because it's two guys who are individually very good, who are seemingly unstoppable. At least they're playing that way when you put them together.
00:29:24
Speaker
Yeah. And I think, I think too, you know, I talked about, uh, Kim speed, I think just athletically in general, he might be the most athletic player on this team. Um, and I don't think Chad Marshall is, but you know, he's, but he's exceptionally good at reading the game. He's, he's great in the air. He has great instincts. He's, he's great, you know, one-on-one defender. Um, and, and I know it's gotta be tough for Roman Torres cause he's, you know, he's a great defender in this league, but.
00:29:51
Speaker
If Chad Marshall feels like he's got another year or two left in him, that's the center back parent I want going into next season.
00:29:59
Speaker
Yeah, and it should be said, Roman Torres, I thought, played a solid 15 minutes.
Sounders as MLS Cup Contenders
00:30:05
Speaker
He was a big part of how the Sounders were able to close out that game. I tweeted out an image yesterday of the defensive action map during just the last 15 minutes. And it was remarkable. I think the Sounders had something like 15 clearances in the final 15 minutes, which is a lot. You'll have games where teams don't have 15 clearances.
00:30:29
Speaker
But yeah, after the Sounders took the lead, they really clamped it down defensively. Timbers only had three shots after the Sounders took the lead. None of those shots were particularly dangerous. It was just a very, very impressive defensive performance. And if the Sounders can figure out some consistency on the offensive end,
00:30:52
Speaker
I do think that you have to consider them one of the favorites to get to an MLS Cup. What happens in MLS Cup is obviously going to depend a lot on who that opponent is. But I think they match up really good with anyone other than Atlanta United, maybe New York Red Bulls. And the Senators lost 2-1 to New York. In New York, they tied Atlanta 1-1 in Atlanta. Neither one of those games were they playing their fully full-strength squads.
00:31:21
Speaker
I like their chances. There's a long way to go, and I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I will say that I'm feeling good about where this team is heading right now.
00:31:34
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's kind of what we talked about when things were really shitty and people kept asking, well, I guess we're not going to make it back to another LMS Cup. And it's like, if we get to the playoffs, we might, because it is like, you have to make up so much ground. Right. I think what I said at the time was like, if I'm living in a world where the Sounders played well enough to get into the playoffs, yeah, I think they'd have a decent chance. And here they are. Yeah.
00:31:58
Speaker
All right, well, we're going to call this a segment. We're going to come back, take a bunch of your questions. You're listening to NOS Adiates.
00:32:10
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:33:17
Speaker
Acupuncher also happens to be one of the best treatments for stress. Located in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, you can conveniently book an appointment online today at QueenAnneAcupuncher.com. Welcome back to NOS Adiettis. We have a bunch of questions. They're, of course, fun as always. Lick it. Why don't you get us started?
00:33:46
Speaker
Sure. Tim the Bear Drew asks, has there ever been a team more deserving of a lost by own goal at home than the wood guys? Is asking that question a jinx?
00:33:59
Speaker
I don't think that's a jinx. You can't jinx a game that already happened. So I think you're in the clear there. But yeah, I mean, that was a pretty fitting way for that game to go. I will say that for all the talk and all the Giovanni Savarese after the game was talking about how they kind of dominated the game. And I think he was actually, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he wasn't saying that they actually deserved to win the game.
00:34:28
Speaker
Because he actually seemed to suggest that he thought a tie there was a fair result. But yeah, I mean, for all the statistical dominance they had at a quick glance, once you dug into the numbers, they didn't really generate quality chances at all. And so yeah, it was that they lost on an own goal that works.
00:34:52
Speaker
Yeah, especially that they've lost on a normal goal that was just largely the result of them kind of not paying attention to, uh, you know, what was going on on the field because they were so, uh, so focused on taking their 23rd garbage shot of the game, but it just let us center back, wander 80 yards up the pitch. Pretty fitting. Speaking of their coach, doesn't he remind you, doesn't he look like Kurt Angle to you or is it just me?
00:35:22
Speaker
He kind of does. Yeah, he kind of does. He's got that goofy look on his face, you know? Giant head and neck. Giant head and neck, yeah. Same. Scuba Ninja asks, actually, these are two Ozzy questions. I'm going to read them back to back. Scuba Ninja asks, how many thousands of pounds of salt did Ozzy's kick to the corner create in Portland?
00:35:50
Speaker
SP the Ghost asks, is Ozzy Alonzo putting it out for a throw in the single greatest moment in Sounders history? And if not, why do you hate things that are fun and excellent?
00:36:01
Speaker
I thought winning the MLS Cup was a pretty good moment, so I don't know about the greatest moment, but it's funny because the reaction on the broadcast was basically Holden just kind of chuckling, which I think is the correct reaction. It's obviously kind of a dick move, but the fact that it's become a thing that we're still talking about is pretty hilarious to me.
00:36:25
Speaker
I will agree with you there partly because in live action when I saw this happen at the game I didn't even it didn't even like
00:36:36
Speaker
register is the thing that was like it clearly is some level of bad form but I was like honestly kind of shocked to learn that people were upset about it uh presumably the referee accounted for it in the stoppage time it did go to the 95th minute 96 minute I guess technically
00:36:58
Speaker
Uh, so I don't think that it actually, it thought it was a fine, you know, it's like, yeah, it's gamesmanship, but it's well within the bounds of like the kind of gamesmanship I expect in a rivalry game. Um, and let's be honest, uh, it's not like, it's not like the timbers deserved a particular, like a significantly easier, like they didn't deserve the ball at midfield or something. I mean, I guess the polite thing to do there would be to kick it out across the end line. Um,
00:37:27
Speaker
But yeah, it definitely did not bother me. I don't think that I, and I kind of, I guess I kind of appreciate it now more in hindsight because I realize it annoyed people, but definitely was not a thing that I thought was remotely like.
00:37:42
Speaker
beyond the pale. Especially too, given that like, I'm sure the beef was, Hey, we had the ball in your, you know, in the attacking third and you do that, but they had the ball facing away from goal. Uh, and it looked like they were about to recycle possession. Like the only reason that you can get upset is that it's just kind of a dick thing to do. And like, well, what do you expect from us in our Portland game?
00:38:07
Speaker
And I'll add that they started the sequence by, it was an offside, the sequence where Cascante got hurt was an offside play. So that required Antonella to put the ball down and restart. It's not like he was completely unaware that his player was hurt. He was sitting right in front of him. So it was like, probably what he should have done is put it out of bounds to begin with.
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah, most likely, especially, especially given that from those labels, I saw Rita, really, I wasn't offside and it should have been a corner. So, uh, it's just hard for me to feel like that's actually any sort of injustice. Yeah.
00:38:48
Speaker
All right. While plants asks is the first time sounders, is this the first time the sounders have played player had a player from, oh geez, I can't talk today. This is the first time sounders have had a player from all continents except Antarctica. Is this the secret sauce in winning? A lot of W's in winning. So I would imagine that this is probably the first time because I believe, and I could be wrong, but I think
00:39:16
Speaker
Kim Ki-hee is the first Asian player they've had. I guess you could maybe count James Riley, since his mother is Korean. But in terms of players born on all six continents, I would imagine that this is the first time. And yeah, it might be a secret to winning. It might be.
00:39:39
Speaker
Yeah. And, uh, did Andy Rose and James Riley ever play on the same team? Cause he's Andy Rose's Australian. He's not, he's not actually Australian, but he was born in Australia. He was born there. Right. And, uh, yeah. So, um, Riley and Andy Rose may have had a year of overlap, but maybe they never even had a year of overlap. I don't think they did. Cause 2012 was Rose's first year. Oh, then that was Adam Johansson. So yeah. Yep.
00:40:09
Speaker
Next question, Graham Condon asks, the only other team to have a seven game winning streak is KC in the post shootout era. Is it fitting that we have a chance to beat that record by playing them this weekend? I think it is. It's kind of weird. And it seems like there have been some fun coincidences like that during this, during this run. But yeah, I mean, I would imagine they're aware of it. I don't know if they care, but maybe that's bulletin board material for them. I don't know.
00:40:39
Speaker
Yeah, it's funny because it's not really an official record. But I would imagine that Casey is aware that they had this record, especially Beezler. Beezler may not realize that it's a record of sorts, but he certainly is aware that they had a seven game winning streak at some point.
00:40:59
Speaker
but it is very fitting. I thought it was also fitting that the sounders had a chance to win their seventh against the timbers who had previously won six this year, six in a row. And yeah, it is kind of an amazing little statistic. I actually started researching this last week and it was interesting because no one seemed to really know if this was actually the record.
00:41:35
Speaker
you guys are? Yes. Okay, cool. I just was I my computer was acting very funny. Now this is makes for great radio. But yeah, it was it was kind of a funny thing to be researching it. And no one seemed to really know for sure if this was actually the post shootout error record because in the record books, all the records are during the shootout era when they had no ties. And so you know, you have 1415 game winning streaks that no MLS team has come close to reaching since then. But anyway,
00:42:07
Speaker
Emily, our coming follows up. What if we win eight in a row, nine, 10? It'd be pretty good. It's a good amount of wins in a row. Yeah. I mean, and I think if we get past KC, I think you would almost have to expect that. I mean, if we get past KC, you almost have to expect the sounders to just win out, right? Yeah. Well, I think there's another question about that, Jeremiah. Oh, okay.
00:42:36
Speaker
It'd be mind-blowing to get 30 points in our last 10 games. Gritty City Sounder asks, what's the highest we could go in the West, conservatively? The highest we could go in the West, conservatively? Well, I mean, I think
00:42:58
Speaker
getting a first round buy is still vaguely within the realm of possibility. I was saying before this game that if the Sounders wanted a first round buy, they almost had to win the Timbers game. Partly because they just can't afford to drop that many points the rest of the year, frankly. I think there's still five points behind KC. Although I guess if they win this week, suddenly there are two points behind with
00:43:27
Speaker
with, I think, a game in hand still. So maybe finishing second is not that far out of the realm of possibility. Well, they're actually seven behind Casey right now. There you go. They're seven out of nine.
00:43:41
Speaker
Yeah. And the same number of games. Yeah. I mean, I would say second is probably the very highest that they can even aspire to. Um, but that seems pretty, it's, it's tough though, because sporting KC is one point behind Dallas. So I think if they can get to second, it's not crazy to think that they could get the first. It just seems like it's just a lot of, yeah, I mean, you're right. But I think it's, I think you're right. I mean, I think that it's.
00:44:09
Speaker
plausible, but it very much on the border of implausibility. But third doesn't seem far fetched at all. I mean, if they think third has to be kind of the conservative goal. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's easy. I mean, it's they've got to make up.
00:44:26
Speaker
five points on LA with a game in hand. That's not, you know, I don't think that's a, that's a Herculean task, especially with the schedule that's left. So if we're being conservative, yeah, you know, but if they win the rest of their games, they'll probably finish first. So that'd be cool. That would be cool. That'd be very cool. Definitely.
00:44:49
Speaker
Uh, Stefan Hoggins asks, should we be expecting more from Brad Smith's deliveries, or is that too harsh? He had some really nicely weighted balls, but there were times where I thought his service was just as good as Newhoo's.
00:45:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's I think it's fair to hope for more there. I think that where he's clearly above know who in the attacking game is in terms of, you know, his passing. I think his vision is better. He's definitely had some passes I thought his past to set up ship for a pretty good scoring chance, I think wait in the first half.
00:45:26
Speaker
Um, was, you know, a really good pass just the pass. I have a hard time seeing new who making at this point, but, um, you know, I think it's fair to think that Brad Smith is probably a better crosser than new who, but especially in this game. I don't think we saw that. No, I would say that this was as good as Smith looked in the first game. I was a little disappointed with his performance in this game.
00:45:54
Speaker
In part because I just felt like he had more. I think I would have to go back and check the numbers for sure, but it felt like he had more turnovers. It felt like he had more like loose passes and I'm not necessarily talking about crosses, but he also had a couple stinkers across like he had. He had one cross that was as bad as anything new who is ever hit that I think was in that was in the first half. I think the the past.
00:46:18
Speaker
to ship that you're talking about, I think was actually shortly before the goal where ship hit it from 16 yards and actually had a really clean look. No, this was like a through ball. Yeah, but doesn't matter that much.
00:46:35
Speaker
Um, but yeah, I mean, I think, I think Smith looked a little rough in this one. Like he certainly did not look like he did not bill. I don't think he built on the first game performance. I guess he was also a little, uh, he was less than a hundred percent. Uh, he also seemed to be dragging a little bit at the end, but I thought it was still a positive performance. I think I'm looking forward to seeing more of them.
00:46:59
Speaker
He also didn't train all week, right? So that's got to be a factor too. He didn't train him. Yeah. He didn't train him full all week. At least. I mean, he trained him like, yeah. Plus it's second game down in Portland, you know, second game ever down in Portland.
00:47:16
Speaker
You know, it's funny he kind of I asked him like people were asking him after the game like what he thought of the atmosphere and he's like, yeah, you could tell it like he was trying to play it kind of cool like hey guys I've been in the Premier League, but I just can't imagine that like
00:47:31
Speaker
Sure, you played in the Premier League. I'm sure that you have experienced in some fashion atmospheres quite like that. But man, I think it's I have a hard time imagining that he's ever started a match that can match that atmosphere. I mean, it's so loud there is so loud. And I just don't feel like there's that many English stadiums that get like that, frankly, like from minute one to 90.
00:48:01
Speaker
Maybe you just spent a lot of time trying to figure out what that Tivo was about. Next question, John Brave. John Brave and Nick asked, will Dempsey play again? Man, I think this is, you know, I would have, a few weeks ago I was kind of scoffing at the possibility that he was never going to play again for the Sounders, but
00:48:22
Speaker
with each passing week and with each weird answer that we get from the sounders about what's going on with them. They've said it's a lower back issue and I think there's probably truth to the
00:48:36
Speaker
vague description of him having a lower back issue. What I'm starting to wonder though is if the injury is just more significant than they're letting on. And if it is one of these things where he's just not really in a place to force himself to come back. And if it's all right, like I've gotten very strong indications that this was all along believed to be his final year.
00:49:02
Speaker
If that's his mindset right now, it probably makes coming back that much harder. He wasn't playing that great. He's watching his teammates reel off seven, you know, seven straight wins, mostly without him. I can just see how there's just not maybe a ton of motivation to get back on the field if it doesn't seem like your teammates really need you. And if he's not a hundred percent fit,
00:49:23
Speaker
Maybe this is, maybe this is just the way it ends. I would be really sad, I will say this. It would be extremely sad if the way he goes out from the US national team is losing the biggest failure in national team history through no fault of his own, I should say. And then for his final game as a sounder to be a vaguely nondescript substitute performance at San Jose where he hits a open net shot off of the post.
00:49:54
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're probably right about what the actual situation is. And I think, I guess maybe one other possibility is they're like, he's like, hey, I don't have, you know, that the back injury is a problem. He doesn't have a ton in the tank. And he kind of knows that and is saying, you know, like, if we can get into the playoffs and I can just kind of make my focus getting healthy in time for that, maybe that's, you know, maybe that's something too, I don't know.
00:50:24
Speaker
I have a hard time believing that it's a situation where he's just pouting over his role being reduced. I don't see that as being very likely. He strikes me as way too self-aware for that to be the case. And you've been able to see this here in his body language that I just think he kind of knows he's lost it. But I think they don't want to
00:50:48
Speaker
commit one way or the other, which is understandable. But it is really, it's one of the very few dim spots, I think, of this run is, you know, how it's been completely without Dempsey and it's just kind of this cloud hanging over in the background that he's not around and nobody really seems to know what's going on.
00:51:14
Speaker
Uh, do you think you'll get a testimonial? If this is the last year, I think they'll throw them one. It would be, you know, it's, it's funny because, you know, the only testimonial in sounder's history is as far as I understand it, effectively an unofficial one that Zach Scott got. Like I don't, I guess the sounders participated in that, but I don't know how actively they.
00:51:36
Speaker
really organized it. And it would be interesting if he had more of like a big, and either way, whether the centers organized it or not, it was that memorial. It was not like this big pomp and circumstance type of event. And it would be interesting because if you would think that if Dempsey was going to have a testimonial, it would be like one of these big kind of events. I could see them trying to get Fulham to come over in the off season, maybe, you know?
00:52:06
Speaker
It makes sense. Pretty awesome. All right. Staying with players, Zagoid asks, what do you expect to happen with Ozzy this offseason? I mean, the obvious answer is that it's going to depend on what happens the rest of the season. And it is. I mean, if he keeps up this level of play,
00:52:27
Speaker
that he's shown over the last, I'd say three or four games, it makes the decision a lot tougher. I mean, I think it's pretty easy if he had continued to struggle. It makes it much, much easier to...
00:52:39
Speaker
just kind of rip the band-aid off and say hey man you know like we we have to have a certain level of production and we're not getting that out of you if he's playing really well uh you know and and you have to have that discussion and say you know we think we can we think we need to move on without you i can see a lot of hurt feelings there and
00:52:59
Speaker
You know, I can see a lot of fans being upset about it, you know, if he's if he's allowed to his contract is allowed to expire and I'm assuming his contract is up after this year, it is I've actually I'm almost 100% positive but I'm reasonably
00:53:16
Speaker
Sure that his contract is up for this year. Yeah, and I think to it. I mean, it has obviously the dependent part on what happens with Gustav Svensson. If he's not coming back, then I think it makes the case to sign him a little better. Personally, removing any locker room impacts, removing any
00:53:37
Speaker
um sentimentality from it I think it's it's better to move on too soon than too late and I think we saw that in large part with Clint Dempsey and I think that you know the argument was hey man he was great down the stretch and um if we keep him around this year we're not in a situation where we have two open dp spots and um
00:53:58
Speaker
You know, we can we can kind of huge or long term plan a little bit more closely. And that's just turned out really badly. I mean, if Clint Dempsey was a productive player earlier in the season, I don't think the Sounders would have had nearly as big of a hole to dig out of. And if you're bringing Ozzy Alonzo back.
00:54:17
Speaker
you know, Ozzy does not strike me as the kind of guy that's going to accept $350k, you know, to be a rotational player. So you kind of have to plan on him being a regular player, making a pretty decent amount of money. And I just, I don't know if it's worth it, man. And I hate to say that. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Ozzy kind of understands that, you know, the time is coming in his career that he has to become more of a role player. But
00:54:41
Speaker
I think no matter what happens, if he ends up leaving, it's not going to be a pleasant experience. I'll put it that way. But that shouldn't preclude the Sounders for doing what they think is best. Yeah, I'll second all of that. I'll add that I'm hopeful that he's willing to come back at a reduced salary, but I think it's
00:55:03
Speaker
it would be beyond stupid for them to bring him back at anything close to what he's making now, which I think is almost, it's like $1.5 million. Like he would have to take probably less than half than what he's currently being paid if I'm making those decisions. I would suspect that the centers have probably already had these conversations with him. But that said, he's been very good. For the last four games, I would say in three of those, he's been,
00:55:33
Speaker
good to exceptionally good. Like I think he was exceptionally good against Portland. I think he was exceptionally good against Minnesota. And it's hard for me to imagine the Sounders winning either one of those games without his performance. I think that there's a valid argument to be made that he's maybe not in the Sounders best 11, but with the way that they're playing and with how important he is to that locker room, I think this is kind of one of those things where the coach kind of has to
00:56:03
Speaker
Like I do think that a lot of what's keeping him on the field is a sense of loyalty from, from Brian Schmetzer, but there's just no, like, I don't see any way you can take him off the field right now, the way he's playing. And just knowing that he's capable of playing like this, I think it's hard to take him off the field. And, you know, once the off season comes, I think you need to.
00:56:24
Speaker
re kind of reshuffle your act. Like it's a whole new thing. Like you start over French. Like, is this a player that we want to build around? I don't think he's that player right now. But, you know, I'm glad that he's making it a tough decision. I'll say that because I would much rather the sounders have a really hard decision to make on Aussie than a really easy decision to make, which, you know, like just cutting loose. Even if it ends up being emotionally more difficult.
00:56:54
Speaker
Okay, next question. This feels like a setup. Must be something you said before, a different episode. Bien Vaughn asks, is the Galaxy game on 923 still the one we're most likely to lose? I did say that. I have said that. I maintain that. I think it probably, you know, if you look at the schedule, it seems like the one that they could
00:57:23
Speaker
Most that it seems like a decent shout to be losing. I mean, it's going to be a different galaxy team that the centers face and the one that they beat five zero. I think that's probably an important thing to remember. You know, I, I think, but that's, I mean, I think the toughest opponent they're going to play from here on out is this weekend against sporting Kansas city.
00:57:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. I would tend to agree that it's probably the single most likely that they're going to lose, but Orlando and Houston are going to be tough. Those aren't good teams by any stretch of the imagination. Orlando's is hot garbage, but that's a long road trip. It's going to be hot in both places. Sounders, they still, in the regular season, don't think they've ever won in Houston. Houston actually has a winning record at home.
00:58:17
Speaker
So I could see one of those being just the circumstances, make it tough. But going into any game, I think that the LA game is the one that's the most likely. Could have a lot on the line, too.
00:58:37
Speaker
Benjamin McMull one asks what do you guys think is our best starting 11 and you know blah blah Formation what's your what do you see from that? I guess this is like an update since the last time we talked about it
00:58:50
Speaker
So I mean, assuming that everyone, aside from, you know, players that are out for, for the long-term, like Dempsey and Morris, assuming everyone's healthy, I think, I think that it's probably the 4-2-3-1, which Ladero Central and Victor on the left. The rest of how it looks, I'm not
00:59:14
Speaker
I go back and forth on. I like Roldan in the middle a lot more than on the wing. So I'm inclined to say Roldan and Svensson in the middle with ship on the right. But I think you can make a case for just in terms of kind of the stuff we talked about in the Ozzy discussion for Roldan staying on the right and Ozzy in the middle. But the 442, I mean, it's looked good when they've played it.
00:59:44
Speaker
I think, though, that the element of tactical change over the course of a game and putting that into play late
00:59:56
Speaker
I think it kind of gets overlooked when talking about it. I don't know if it's going to be as effective if you play it from minute one. As much as I love our three center backs and wish that we could get them on the field at the same time, I don't love the 5-3-2. I think we really struggled with it last night until Svensson got moved back to the midfield and it was more of a traditional formation.
01:00:19
Speaker
Um, yeah, I'm not, I'm not a huge fan of it. Um, I think it could be a great solution if you kind of built a roster planning on playing that, but, um, yeah, I'm not, I'm not a huge fan of it right now. So I'm going to say the 4, 2, 3, 1, but, uh, I think there, there's definitely a case to be made for the 4, 4, 2.
01:00:39
Speaker
I'll kind of, I'll echo a lot of that, unfortunately. I do, I will really, like, I don't think there's a case to be made that the sounder's best starting formation is a five, three, two, or a, or a three.
01:00:56
Speaker
Like, or like, I don't think three center backs, a three center back formation. I don't think there's a strong case to be made for that being their best formation. I think you can make a very good case that it's a great tool to have in your bag of tricks. I think it's really, it was nice to see the sounders be able to move into that and, and.
01:01:16
Speaker
actually score from it and I think we saw one of the benefits of a three center back formation when Kihei was kind of had the freedom to press forward into the attack that's not something that he would normally be able I mean he has done it but it's not something that he would necessarily be able to do in a traditional four back
01:01:35
Speaker
defense. So that's there are some positives to that. But yeah, the centers really struggled to hold possession. I think that that's probably due in part to just losing that midfielder. Going with a two attackers in a in a three back or two forwards in a in a three center back formation is also pretty tough, I think.
01:01:58
Speaker
So I don't think that that's the answer. The four four two certainly worth considering, but you are, I mean, you, you do lose a midfielder to bring on that, to bring on that, uh, that second forward. That's probably going to be Harry ship, I guess, or a Victor. You're going to lose the, the, the Harry ship Victor Rodriguez kind of player one way or the other. Um,
01:02:23
Speaker
And I don't know how well you're going to be able to hold possession when you don't really have a purely attack-minded player that's running in the center of the field like that. I think the 4-2-3-1 is probably our best formation, at least for starts. I think it's great, like I said, to be able to move into these other formations as the game dictates. And I think right now,
01:02:53
Speaker
As much as it pains me to say this, because I really do think that long term, the best formation the sounders have is with Roland and Svensson as the central midfielders in a 4-2-3-1. But I'll tell you, if MLS Cup is tomorrow,
01:03:14
Speaker
sounders have to pick their starting lineup. I think I'd be inclined to have Ozzy Alonzo in that lineup. I think it would, for me, I think that lineup is probably, I think we all agree on the four backs. Maybe we don't, but I would put Smith as my left back. And then I'd have Alonzo and Svensson in my, as the two defensive mids. And then I guess I would probably go with Chip and Lidero.
01:03:43
Speaker
ship Lidero and rolled on as the other as the other midfielders only because I think that right now ship is a more reliable option than Victor Rodriguez. I think in an ideal world maybe you swap out Rodriguez for ship but until we see Rodriguez be able to finish 90 minutes and be reliable that it's it's hard to place him ahead of place him ahead of ship right now
01:04:09
Speaker
Um, so yeah, I mean, it's crazy, but I do kind of think that Alonzo has won that spot, at least for now. Uh, not really related to this, but it just came up in my head. Uh, if Kim Ki-hee had been given like, if Rudy has had scored that, do you think Kim Ki-hee would have gotten an assist on that?
01:04:34
Speaker
No, because it hit a defender either way. I mean, as long as as long as it hits the defender, you're not going to get an assist. It just would have been mind blowing to have back to back seasons where a center back got an assist on a goal. It would have been a Portland. It would have been pretty cool. All right, let's end it on this. The real James F.B. asks, when the Sanders get too many W's, will Twitter increase the character limit? I hope not. My man, I hope not. It's already way too long.
01:05:03
Speaker
I'm assuming this is referencing the tweet that the Sounders put out that they were starting to run out of space for their profile, which they're just adding Ws each time that they win one in their profile. Yeah, that was pretty clever. I gotta say, Sounders' social media team is kind of on fire right now. Yeah, the truck video was exceptionally good.
01:05:31
Speaker
The truck video. And so it was the Portland sign. It was at the pro and Simon. Yeah. They were both very good. I just thought the video was very cute. It was very cute. Apparently it's a, it's an artist that is the same artist that did the, uh, the Drew Carey kind of voting thing that, uh, that we saw, but was that's it? Is that it? That's all the questions. That's it.
01:05:55
Speaker
All right. Well, uh, thanks again to our sponsors, uh, queen and acupuncture and full pool wines and her broadcast partner bootstrapper studios. Thanks to, uh, everyone that sent in questions. I am Jeremiah Shan signing off on behalf of Likit and Aaron. This is no study at this. Remember you'll never get alone.
01:06:18
Speaker
Green Douglas fir where the water's cut through. Down to wild mountains and tangents you flew. Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue. It's Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Your power is turning our darkness to dawn. Roll On, Columbia Roll On.
01:06:59
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!