Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Lobbing Scorchers: God Hates The Portland Timbers
176 Plays22 days ago
It’s not every day your arch-rival has one of the most catastrophic meltdowns in MLS history, but the Portland Timbies did exactly that in the Wild Card round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. We break down the fine points of their 5-0 defeat to the Vancouver Whitecaps, Evander’s postgame tweets and Phil Neville and Ned Grabavoy’s blazing hot press conference.
After that we go through our playoff brackets and make our picks on who we think will make it to MLS Cup.
SPONSORS
- This podcast was made possible through the support of Full Pull Wines.
- Become a subscriber to Sounder at Heart.
Follow Lobbing Scorchers:
Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Portland Timbers stink!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Focus on Portland Timbers
00:00:02
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome to episode 71 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lilianwall. I got producer Noah here with me. And we're going to be covering a club tonight that we don't normally cover super in-depth. A club by the name of the Portland Timbers.
00:00:23
Speaker
We don't usually cover the Portland Timbers, but based on recent events that took place in the wildcard round of the MLS Cup playoffs, we're going to be doing a show tonight that's per predominantly devoted to covering the Portland Timbers. Noah, how are you feeling about that? Well, Ari, today we act as journalists. We act as we we we take all our Seattle Sounders' punditry hat off.
00:00:45
Speaker
And I'm wearing a suit. So if you're if you're watching on YouTube, you can see I am. I'm a journalist.
Analysis of Portland Timbers' Playoff Performance
00:00:50
Speaker
And today I take no pleasure, but also all of the pleasure in documenting the downfall of the Portland Timbers. That's right. We're going to review the wildcard round of the MLS Cup playoffs. The playoffs are here and they have started.
00:01:05
Speaker
ah So the Portland Timbers started their ah playoff campaign at Providence Park against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday, and it did not go well. no It did not go very well at all. Someone's a disaster. They're not in the playoffs anymore, needless to say. And ah I think it's fair to say, Noah, that we watched the absolute implosion of a soccer club live on MLS season pass. yeah And not only did they implode during the game on the field and watch their season crash and burn on their home field but
00:01:42
Speaker
They're now roiled in chaos, controversy, turmoil. um The national pundits are lighting them up. ah There's all kinds of reports coming out about discord between the star players and the GM. there was ah We have a Blazing Hot press conference for you, one of the most Blazing Hot press conferences.
00:02:03
Speaker
of the year. I think this just wins it. Well, it wins it been not necessarily because of like their demeanor, but because of I think the just the situation, the situation and kind of how hot their takes at the press conference were considering the circumstances. You know, some would say that they could have and should have handled that differently. We're going to talk about that. um But there's just a lot to get to with the Portland Timbers. And, you know, I think, Noah, this show it's It's not even really just about just gloating and like, haha, the timbers, they lost really bad in the playoffs. Their season's over. They're kind of a mid club in general right now. Like this is, this is about their downfall. I think on a deeper level than yeah this is about a club that is Seattle's biggest rival. Um, most heated rival hated enemies that are now in a place where, um,
00:02:57
Speaker
they are so not only far from relevance but far from being like a functional organization that it's worth talking about the implications that that has I think both on the rivalry with Seattle ah but with Portland standing in the league right now and also I think by proxy like the Cascadia standing in the league which you know we're always partial to but ah with the Timbers just down this bad on this many levels I don't know. I mean, we're going to get into it. But there's just a lot to chew on with this, and much more than I expected. um I did not think that this game would leave us with the type of discourse that we've been talking about. But yes it's it's crazy to be here where we sit. I mean, I know the playoffs were going to deliver some of the best content for us possible this year. But I didn't expect it to be this spicy this soon and this sweet.
Support for Sounder at Heart Network
00:03:50
Speaker
Yeah. And this sweet. All right. So let's ah let's jump into it. But before we do all that,
00:03:54
Speaker
um We do have a couple of Seattle items that we're going to get to before we dive into the Timbers coverage. One of them is us, because we're here in Seattle. Yeah, that is true. But I do have to let you know before we get to that, that Lobbing Scorchers is a part of the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. Located in Seattle. If you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounderatheart.com slash LS. That's sounderatheart.com slash LS.
00:04:19
Speaker
scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our link helps support and grow this show. Noah, we are still sitting on 39 subs as I understand it. Folks, I said that once we hit 40, we'll stop reading the list. i've Some of you out there are talking, i I don't like it when you guys read the list. you must like it You must like it because we need one sub and then we won't read it anymore and we haven't got it yet. So until we hit that 40, Noah, please thank the subs.
00:04:49
Speaker
Ladies and gentlemen, MBs, welcome to the Lobbings Gorges supporters list brought to you by you, the fans. Lobbings Gorges, soundredheart.com slash LS, get your name, the last name on the list.
Brian Schmetzer's Contract and Legacy
00:05:00
Speaker
Here we go. Kenneth Wade, Joey Pascanelli, David McCoy, Owen Mason, Daniel Pavato, Samuel Fout, Ian Mitchell, Christopher Smith, Norm Batnier, Thomas Martin, Greg Hoker, Chris Mayley, Andy Hill, Mike Lentini, Nate Batnier, David Rodriguez, CJ and Miles Maranakis. My nephew.
00:05:12
Speaker
Mark Ottinger, Zach Heckman, David Pope, Brian Morton, Clara Berger, Robert Singh, Tyler Nakatsu, Steve Hudson, Choska, Patrick Sexton, John Hamaker, Amam Ebach, Justin Walker, Jay Anders, Ryan Shane, Nathan Jones, Benjamin Dubichard, Isaac Johnson, Matthew Burns, Ryan Boone, Brian Schow, and Bill Breitenbach. Bill, thank you for subscribing. Thank you, Bill. God, that's a great list. Help us on the drive to 40 subs. We only need one more. I know there's one person out there that will be our 40th sub. And also,
00:05:42
Speaker
If you have not done so yet, please subscribe to the Lobbing Scorchers YouTube. ah We're on the drive to 650 right now. We're at like 626. We had a bit of an uptick. I put a tweet out when we got to 599 to get us over 600. You were juicing. I juiced it and ah we're now we're up in the 620s. So please help us on the drive to 650 subs on YouTube.
00:06:00
Speaker
Alright, let's get into this show, Noah. Like I said, before we get into the Timbies, which is going to be the majority of the content this evening, we do have a couple of Sounders news items that we that we got a hit before this playoff game coming up on Monday. um Number one, Brian Schmetzer signed a contract extension, a multi-year deal as I understand it. I have not seen specifics on length, but it's a multi-year contract.
00:06:22
Speaker
extension um So Schmetz isn't going anywhere. You know, there was times where this season was at a point where the ah Schmetzer's future discourse was out there, and I think we were pretty consistent that we were not on that train, but needless to say, the train, ah you people might still be on it, but it's like derailed as far as the the idea, the concept of Schmetz out. Schmetz has signed an extension. um So I think real quick, ah we should just touch on Are we surprised at this? Is this a good move? And has the way that we view Brian Schmetzer as a coach changed this year? I'll start with that first one. And I think we've talked about it a lot in recent weeks, especially with us kind of sizing up his coach of the year ah candidacy. But the way I view Schmetz as a coach has changed a lot. I think before this year, I bought into a lot more the idea of Schmetz as
00:07:14
Speaker
an elite man and manager that's not necessarily like his strength is not the X's and O's. It's more about man management and um putting players in the best position to succeed, to get the most out of them more than it is about um how he like understands the nuances or the tactics behind the game, which I never have considered him like bad at tactics. It's just not what you think of when you think of the strengths of Brian Schmetzer.
00:07:39
Speaker
I think he put on his coaching hat more than he ever had to this year given the situation with Raul and I think stuff like the Paul Rothrock breakout and ah just in general getting the team to a place where they they got 57 points this season even without Raul Rui Diaz and Pedro de la Vega for most of the year um I think I think it's the best coaching job that he's done since he took over in 2016 and twenty sixteen and ah I think I definitely think that when you have stability like that and a coach that's one as much as he has as consistently as he has on top of the local Seattle connection where you know that
00:08:24
Speaker
There's there's literally not a person on earth who cares more about the seattle sounders being good and winning then specifically a guy in schmetzer And so played there when he was what? 17 yeah, and I think like in his tenure with the team you've seen the effect ah That it has when the person at the helm has organic like investment in the success of the club and the team like he Any fan that's mad when they lose, he cares more than anyone. you know And ah I think if's that's kind of a unique thing in pro sports, that someone who has such deep roots can come up and have such a long run with one team. And I think the the result of that speaks for itself as far as the trophy hall since he's been the coach.
Jackson Reagan's Defender of the Year Candidacy
00:09:10
Speaker
um and house a lot of the the young players have developed. We started to see that a lot more with ah Obed Vargas and RBW and Josh Atencio really contributing more in these last couple years. So yeah, I think it's a good move. I think and unless things go really off the rails, Schmetz has earned the equity to coach this team as long as he wants, I think. um And so I'm not surprised. And I think it's a good move.
00:09:36
Speaker
No, I agree. I was super excited when they announced the contract extension. I wasn't even surprised. I think there were some people out there who were wondering if Brian wanted to come back, if this was really like how how much longer he has in the tank, really, just because he's getting older. ah He's been at it for a while, too. it's yeah It's a lifestyle that not everyone wants to live forever. Yeah and I think that it's totally valid for him to at some point want to step away and that's what he said at his press conference is there will be a day that comes when I'm ready to move on and ready to move into the next phase of my life but I think he said something funny he's like ah people are working on into their older ages every single year and I don't know he felt kind of like that but
00:10:21
Speaker
This year specifically, I don't know if it's changed my perspective on him as much as it's broadened it. I was in agreeance with you. I definitely saw him as a man manager. I thought he was a pretty good tactical manager as well, especially from some of the things that he was able to do and change in previous seasons, special like specifically last season and the season before that, where He was able to man manage great, but the tactic shift, or at least listening to his assistant coaches that were advising him on tactical shifts was saved seasons. And again, it did it this season. So I'm super stoked. And he's just like, this it put this is what the question posed to me. Like when I saw him resign, I i thought to myself, he is technically the most successful manager currently ah in MLS.
00:11:14
Speaker
Speaking just of MLS trophies. I know Tata Martino exists, but ah Is he the best coach ever in MLS history? Yeah, I think it's worth ah touching on that real quick because um It is worth talking about where he ranks in the pantheon I think all the time of all-time head coaches in this league in you know I think the thing you're gonna always hear people bring up with that at least from the outside is that um he's a little bit harder to judge than your average coach or ah just because of his surroundings yeah in terms of the fact that he's
00:11:50
Speaker
stayed with one organization all the way dating back to his playing days but ah from an assistant coach to an MLS coach he's only ever been with one club and that happens to be a club that is known as a club that is one of the most kind of stable and consistent winning organizations So how much do you attribute that to coaching? How much do you attribute that to ownership support and like culture around the club and things like that? Could any coach have had the type of success that Schmetz has had here? Would he have the same success if he went somewhere else?
00:12:22
Speaker
we We would never really know the answer to that question unless he went and coached another team, which he actually almost did at one point. People forget, but he interviewed with CF Montreal and I think FC Dallas at different junctures when Sigi was the coach. um But he never ended ended up taking those jobs and ended up seeing it all the way through with Seattle.
00:12:40
Speaker
um best coach ever I don't know if you're ever gonna get anyone who's not from Seattle to to say that but he certainly has the most decorated trophy case of any coach ever that's not until someone else wins Champions League like you can't even debate that he's been to four MLS cups and won a couple of those too ah and he was an instrumental assistant in the early days Well, the U.S.L. days when the team was really good and won a lot, and the early M.O.S. days when they rattled off those four open cups in the supporters' shield. so um the pundit The national pundits are probably never going to give him that moniker, but ah hes certainly he's certainly up there.
00:13:20
Speaker
Yeah, i I don't think anyone will give him his flowers until he's retired, like, anyway. I just don't think that that's generally how people talk about coaches. They're so focused on, you know, the nostalgia of it. But I really do truly think that at the end of his career, when he retires, when he walks away from the Sounders, that he will be remembered as, if not the greatest coach in the history of the league, the greatest coach in the history of the league.
00:13:48
Speaker
can't deny ccc two mls cups and more i mean speak to myself i think yeah um other news item that since we last recorded jackson reagan has been named one of the three finalists for the defender of the year we talked about the other two extensively on our year-end awards show Steven Marrera and Jordi Alba are the other two finalists. So really, I think what's interesting about this is, A, that he ah he was voted a finalist at all. I didn't really see that coming. I feel like he i felt like he and Yeymar were kind of splitting splitting the adulation to a point where like it's hard to pick one over the other. So who do you pick? He ends up in there. And I think he actually has a decently good chance
00:14:34
Speaker
to win that because that tells me that there's a lot of people who feel like it should go to a center back or you know a player who's defense first like Jordy Alba like he is listed as a defender but what makes him such a great player I mean he's a very good two-way player but what makes him the best love back ever is what he brings in attack which is I think the best the best attacking fullback I've ever watched yeah play but like he's not like defender of the year i think the connotation should be their elite at specifically defense you know not the best two-way threat not the highest assists total not the most goal dangerous cb so i think under that criteria
00:15:16
Speaker
Uh, Jackson Reagan actually has the most merit, even though I think on our previous discussions of this, I think I undersold how good Stephen Maria is at defense. And that is a big, that is a big part of his value to the crew. But.
00:15:33
Speaker
i Still think primarily like Columbus fullbacks. They're they're kind of Columbus's whole back line like you never know when they're gonna make a run and either their fullbacks are gonna have you on there on your heels and send in dangerous service or The CB is gonna be like right on the the doorstep. So that's sort of like What makes him valuable? I think more than? Than his defensive qualities, but I don't know I haven't watched all that much Steven Morea to say that fuck him, but you know he might get it But Jackson Reagan has a chance. Yeah, no, I don't think I don't know actually I i did hear quite a bit of rumblings National pundit wise about Jackson Reagan and people were pretty stoked on him over a mark which I was like I mean okay like
00:16:21
Speaker
That's cool. I like them both, but I would have picked Yemar over Jackson Reagan, but I think Yemar compliments Jackson Reagan and makes Jackson Reagan look like a Defender of the Year candidate more than if you just standalone put Jackson Reagan out there or standalone put Yemar out there.
Portland Timbers' Season Summary
00:16:39
Speaker
Regardless, shout out to the Michigan boy, Go Blue. Their football team's terrible, but at least maybe they'll win a Defender of the Year. They might have the MLS Defender of the Year, so they can hang their hat on that.
00:16:50
Speaker
Let's get to the Timbies because thank god this is going to be the best part of the show. There is so much to get you to with this game. And I think before we get into everything that took place in the last couple of days, because it really is wild, I think it's worth taking a brief moment to just kind of set the stage ah both for just our perceptions from the outside of the Timbies this season and then also heading into this game in particular and I'll just say, you know, the Timbies finished in ninth ah in ninth place this year. So that by definition, Phil Neville even admitted this. by That by definition is a middling year. If not actively bad. I can't say that I spent all that much time even really thinking about the the Portland Timbies, aside from when they played Seattle. And I think Seattle people have a skewed perception of where things stand with them because they have specifically owned the Seattle rivalry.
00:17:46
Speaker
Every time that Portland plays Seattle, they look like Real Madrid. But I can tell you guys, watching they are more Timbers games than just when they play Seattle, they are not that good. VR Real Mid. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Real Mid. Exactly. did you get You guys got it. Yeah.
00:18:03
Speaker
so like not that good of a year not that good of a team but i can't say i i considered them like a meltdown candidate you know like a catastrophic disaster like they're going to go to the playoffs and look like they have no dignity out on their home field That is not really in the range of outcomes that I thought was going to happen. My perception of the Timbies going into this game was a team that has actually had a very good offense this year. They were one of the highest scoring teams in the league. And if you actually if you look at just their attackers and the output that they had this year, they had one of the most, like, ah
00:18:39
Speaker
like most production from different sources like I think of any team that I looked at like when you put a vendor put up a MVP numbers he was at like 15 and 19 by the time I was all said and done so he was he was the guy but like Felipe Mora Santo Moreno I think even Gloria, I want to say like Anthony was, Anthony four and six. Yeah. Like all these guys, uh, had pretty good years in attack. And in general, like when they got rolling on offense, they could score with just about anybody, but but a pretty big train wreck on d defense. They were just conceding multiple goals. Every single game they played a lot of like kind of crazy shootout type games.
Controversies Surrounding the Portland Timbers
00:19:20
Speaker
ah and really like their their defensive performance kneecapped them from being a true contender um but like they were a very productive and dynamic offense and I didn't think they were gonna make a playoff run but like I figured i I thought they would have gotten by the white caps and You know when you have an offense like that you can hang with anybody in an individual game So I this was not like an expected Thing at all. Yeah Here's what here's what I'll do to set the stage, right? I agree with you timbers to Sounders fans are like this boogeyman But I think to the rest of the league for the last few years. They've been
00:20:02
Speaker
Quite irrelevant. Mid at best. Yeah. Not only that, I think Portland fans, too, understand that and like actively despise their club a little bit. Well, there's all been all kinds of other stuff with the fan base and ownership, which I think plays into the chaos that we're witnessing now, like that whole dynamic and the culture of the team. It like feel what it feels like it hit this this boiling point. Yeah. Yeah. like You had the simmer, obviously, ownership being God awful. I don't wish that upon any fan and then at the beginning of this season Signing a new jersey sponsor and then like a week after doing that some incredibly horrific things come out about that company and they're like, uh Shit, we got to change it like just the start of the season through the play you have a an MVP caliber season from from a player and yet you're still incredibly middling that's like
00:21:01
Speaker
woof like you're already woof and they weren't uh i don't think phil neville was really happy with finishing in ninth i don't think the fan their fan base was particularly happy about finishing in ninth and yeah this is all in the first year that phil neville was the coach of the team which I think pretty clearly proved to be a downgrade from Gio Savarese. Gio Savarese era i I think had run its course by the end but it was it was pretty successful in the times that they have been relevant in the last few years I think he showed that he was a pretty like solid floor coach if like like a solid floor but maybe not like a high ceiling coach yeah um but either way
00:21:40
Speaker
middling but not like terrible team going into the playoffs this year, but ah the sequence of events that took place once the playoffs started for them was really a sight to behold. I have i have never seen a meltdown like this, and I'm just goingnna i'm gonna do the whole recap, Noah, front to back. run it through Tell me if I missed anything, but then we're gonna talk about what we make of all this, okay? I think it's important to point out at first that ah this game was played at Providence Park when it was not supposed to be.
00:22:08
Speaker
Portland got awarded this home game on a technicality, which was ah one of of the is very MLS occurrence here. But Portland only had the hosting rights for this game because BC plays where the Whitecaps play their home games, had a motocross event scheduled for when the Whitecaps were supposed to host the game as the 8C. They finished as the higher C, yeah but they had a motocross event.
00:22:34
Speaker
Apparently there was no field that was up to code for them to be able to host the game elsewhere Which it would have been funny if they played at like UBC or something, you know, but ah they instead it they just had the lower seed host I don't know if there's a rule on that or what but they just said i just decided that the timbers were hosting even though they were the lower seed because of motocross and So ah the fact that they were hosting the game at all was kind of just ah they they they shouldn't have been, but they got this home game. And then Phil Neville gave a quote, which I think is important that he, I think probably came to regret, which is that he said um when he was asked about the fact that they got awarded hosting rights on this technicality, he said, oh, well, it seems like ah God might be a Timbers fan or something to that effect.
00:23:21
Speaker
And I know he was I know he was probably saying that in jest and it's the type of quote that when it's written out it it reads It reads differently than like if he's just kind of saying it i mean and Literally said God is a timber said God is a timbers fan because they got ah They got this like and we're gonna get to the Vanny Sartini response to that because that is I think my favorite part of this whole thing But but we got a hold there for a minute God, that's like that is the most I don't I don't even think the context makes it better. He literally God is a timbers fan. You are literally setting yourself up for bulletin board Twitter troll material. You are the ninth seed. I understand it's a joke, but it's like, sir, have some tact. Well, yeah, it's just like you said, you set yourself up for if you have an outcome like this. Yeah, you're you're you're even more cooked than you already were. Yeah.
00:24:15
Speaker
So yeah, he he shouldn't have said that but the fact that he did was good content. incredible um Anyway, needless to say, give him the whitecaps go down to Portland for the wildcard game and during the game ah the timbers go out there and get absolutely blasted off the field. I don't even really think like the specifics of the game, there's that much to it other than that. ah The whitecaps Absolutely destroyed them Scottish messy was going crazy. He scored a hat trick ah the other Scottish guy They score got scored like the entire country of Scotland took over Providence Park um By the time it was all said and done the Vancouver Whitecaps had five goals five They hung five on him in the playoffs in their own building. What's the highest zero? um i'm I'm fact-checking with the with the highest ah Most goals in a playoff game
00:25:04
Speaker
I mean, ah it's definitely the Whitecaps have actually won one five zero. oh I know that was their second five goal game. So I think there's been some big odds of white guys. They I mean it was just a it was a non-competitive game which for a home playoff game. I mean I ah I saw pi Phil Neville's press conference before this game and he was saying there's this buzz in the building that's probable the city you can feel it you can feel it in the city and then they go out and they get they get five oh five ode and and brian gaud looks like jesus if if the timbers are god he was jesus and he struck them down they they but like i think what was striking about the game itself was the extent to which it looked like they kind of they they checked out they didn't care they didn't they didn't care there's a couple of them that cared
00:25:50
Speaker
ah Phil Neville mentioned David Ayala seemed like he cared and I think it's clear that Evander cares yeah based on events that we'll talk about but like a lot of them a lot of their guys it didn't it didn't seem like they cared no which is that's just wild to me because I mean like You might know that you're a mid-team, but you got the game at home. like yeah you got to I don't know. Anyway, ah we've got there's a lot of like blazing hot presser implications to get to from this. Neville gave his post-game presser after the game where he he called out his team basically. He said that there were guys on the field that gave up. He said there's going to be a lot of changes. He said that a lot of the players on the team don't realize how lucky they are to play for a club like that. so
00:26:33
Speaker
There was there was a that was a pretty good presser, but the better one was today which we're gonna get to that Vandy Sartini's presser was blazing hot as well This is where he responded to Phil Neville saying that God was a timbers fan for scheduling a motocross That's another thing about this is like God's actually a motocross Like the logical extension of God being a timbers fan in this exact scenario is that God, you know planning for the MLS playoffs and Realizing that he wants the timbers to win is like how do I get them to host even though they're the lower seat? I'm gonna schedule a motocross event at BC place and Then they'll have to play in Portland Portland. I have a better chance at winning God was really a timbers fan. I think
00:27:15
Speaker
God would have just made Portland win, regardless of the venue that yeah it was getting played at. you know um And frankly, I would hope that God has better things to do. you know i don't want to yeah I don't want to get too bogged down in the theology of it. But ah anyway, um Vanny Sartini at his post-game press conference, they asked him about, I don't know if they was asked specifically or if he mentioned himself, but he said, God can be a Timbers fan, but God doesn't exist for me.
00:27:44
Speaker
That is the coldest quote I've ever heard. That is my favorite MLS quote, coach quote I've ever heard. Put that shit on a t-shirt. Even the teams involved in the circumstances, that is my favorite MLS coach quote of all time. He's so good. That is the number one. He's the man. Sign him to an extension. No, like Vanny Sartini, I would pay an extra $100 a year for an Apple TV show where they just like, like, a um, what's hard knocks, but it's just Vanny Sartini mic'd up throughout the day. Like I would pay a billion dollars. He, all he ever does at Pressers is draw bangers like this. Yeah, but this this is the best. ba Yeah. God can be a timbers fan, but God doesn't exist for me. I want to get that tattooed on myself. Like that is, uh, it's the best and MLS coach
Evander's Criticism of Management
00:28:32
Speaker
quote of all time. I can't believe he said that. Um, anyway, uh, so Vanny Sartini is saying that at his press press conference. Meanwhile, as far as I can tell, Evander went straight from the field to the locker room and just went directly to his phone. straight to Twitter. He pulled out his phone. He had Twitter up before before Phil Neville even got back in there to give the post game pep talk. He's on the toilet taking a shit post. He was posting just just absolutely typing. And so Evander put out ah it was like he threaded it up. It was like five or six. He was he ever posted. du He was on there like seven. He was like
00:29:09
Speaker
thread of why i hate this team one out of one out of it yeah out of say it's like he didn't even know how many is gonna post it was just like one out of x you know they'd be doing that oh my god so evander uh unleashed all of his grievances with the club all at once on twitter immediately immediately following the game i think he did it from the locker room like i don't had they were because i saw those tweets like very soon after final whistle he was apologizing to the fan base but like i think You know, we see athletes take to Twitter a lot to say sorry to the fans. Thanks for coming out this year. Not the result we wanted. it was Thank you. This was not that. This was ah the fans deserve better than the people who run this club. That's that's essentially what he said. Like there is no.
00:29:54
Speaker
more charitable reading of it than that. There's no like way that he could have been misinterpreted. He essentially said the fans who follow and support this club deserve better than the people who run it. And what does he mean by that? Well, I'm sure I, I mean, we can be pretty sure that he's talking about the owner, Merritt Paulson, uh, and, uh, a report from Tom Bogues.
00:30:20
Speaker
Tommy Scoops, Tommy Scoops got the scoop and apparently in the locker room after the game per Tom Bogues, Evander specifically called out Ned Grabavoy in front of the team. Like it was like ah that everyone was sitting there and he calls out Grabavoy. He says, this is your fault. This is your fault. You did this.
00:30:43
Speaker
So, anyway, that's not good. That's your star player. That's your MVP candidate. Should I read some of these tweets? Read the tweets. Evander Ferreira at official Evander. First, I want to apologize to all the fans who, on a Wednesday night, dropped everything to support us. It's really hard to lose the way we did. The truth is, losing is not our plans, but we have to deal with it.
00:31:08
Speaker
I want to say that we, the players, and the entire staff did everything we could to take Portland as far as possible. However, sometimes we have no control over what happens and what happens off the field reflects on the field. Portland fans do not deserve the people who have power over this club.
00:31:26
Speaker
People who say that they are men, but they do not keep their word. People who are only there when the team wins. Unfortunately, these are the things we have no control over. I have always fought and will continue to fight to put this team on top. To the fans, you deserve so much more. Thank you for your unconditional support and we'll see you next season. Yeah, so ah after your season ends,
00:31:51
Speaker
Ideally, you don't want your highest paid best player MVP candidate face of the club player tweeting that that's not that's that's less than Good, that's bad. Actually, I think suboptimal. Yeah is the term correct that I was looking for um So needless to say the national pundits lit up the Timbies about as bad as I've ever seen a team get lit up Like we don't even really need to Pile on in that respect. I mean we're going to but like It's not just us gloating and ah and talking shit is what I'm saying. I heard one pundit call it the worst playoff performance in MLS history, which I don't have as much of a frame of reference for that. But certainly, since I have psychotically followed the league, which is ah since about 2013, 2014, I've never seen a meltdown like that on the field in in a playoff game. ive seen I feel like I've seen some bad ones, but
00:32:49
Speaker
Even irrespective of the score line, just the vibe out there. Oh, it was awful. I mean, it was awesome for us. It was like I was soaking that in. I enjoyed it. But if we enjoyed it, that's not good. Yeah. No, that's not good. As we are the journalists right now. Objectively bad. Yeah. I saw it called the worst performance in MLS playoff history. I saw it. I saw it called a lot of things embarrassing.
00:33:17
Speaker
ah Terrible fold the club and what fold the club whatever whatever Whatever you want to say they were saying it the fan base Had already been talking about how they wanted to fire Phil Neville pretty much from the moment. He was hired but correct They were really talking about it last night net grab a boy is under the gun way more I think than I've ever seen since he took over that job um They scheduled another presser immediately after the postgame presser they had a release at. That was like, we're having another presser. like Maybe give it a couple days, guys. But now they were like, we want to get right back up on the podium. So they're like they did that today. But needless to say, ah the future of their entire organization is in flux, I think it's fair to say. The players are revolting. The star player DP, is yeah he's averaging 26 tweets per hour. He might still be posting. GM under siege. And while all this is going on,
00:34:09
Speaker
Phil Neves and Ned Grabavoy had another press conference today, which like I said, I did not think that was a good idea, but I was glad that we we were thinking about recording yesterday, but then it turned out that the presser was today. We waited till after the presser, which turned out to be a good idea because this was Very blazing hot presser and this is our segments blazing hot coach presser of the week and it's gonna be featuring Timbers general manager Ned Grabavoy But was there there was a lot to this presser I watched the whole thing but I thought the craziest part of this presser was that they were asked about the Evander thing and not only did they Not that not only did they simmer the few down they ratcheted it up. Yeah, they ratcheted it up they
00:34:52
Speaker
They lit a firework and threw it. The Ned Grabavoy started it off, called him selfish, went from there. We're going to actually play the audio right now. um We have a couple clips from this. Just just listen to Ned Grabavoy and Phil Neville's responses to this controversy surrounding their star player, Evander. I found it to be incredibly selfish. I'm being honest. He's a brilliant player. He's not a bad person. But I think it was poor judgment.
00:35:20
Speaker
um That was a difficult night on Wednesday. There's a lot of emotion and it was a low point for the club. I'm thinking about the supporters that were in the crowd that came to support. I'm thinking about a lot of players in that locker room, given they're all for the entire season and some in question even be back with our club. I'm thinking about our staff and our coaching staff and our support staff.
00:35:45
Speaker
that show up to this building every day and grind you know for the team. um I thought there was not a need in that moment to make it about an individual. um So I do think it was a lapse in judgment. Can I just say something? I was incredibly disappointed with that with that pulse that got put out. And and that's coming from someone that Evander is like my second child.
00:36:08
Speaker
I wanted to sign him in Miami. When I came here, I think i think I've given him a platform to perform. I think he's delivered on the pitch. I think he his performance this year has been incredible. ah And then when you have a defeat like we had on on Wednesday night, the last thing that this club needed was from our DP player to come out and say something publicly like that.
00:36:32
Speaker
It's not right. It affects the culture of the club. It affects everything that we're doing. It undermines everything that we're doing. And a I spoke to Evander about that. And there's no bigger fan of that boy than me. But I felt incredibly let down because what we said at the start of the season is we're building a culture here of togetherness and spirit. and And you do not air your dirty laundry in public. That's an English saying. But that for me went against everything that we are trying to build at this football club. We've offered him the biggest contract in the club's history.
00:37:01
Speaker
Well, we didn't need to. is He's under contract. But we believe in him. We trusted him. That's why that's why the business people at the club, the front office, NED and and the ownership offered him that contract. and and two And to wake up to that, because I went to bed early, to wake up to that, I felt incredibly i let down. I think that's really important because because we're all together at this football club. We're one, the supporters, the players and the team. And when we lose, we lose together.
00:37:26
Speaker
And that's why I felt incredibly let down. and And I'd say that from a point of view is that Evander is like my second child. Okay, so here's what I don't understand about this. And I'll just tell you, if I was in this situation, how I would have handled it and kind of compare that to how they handled it right there.
00:37:48
Speaker
OK, if I am the GM or the coach in that situation and we just got five owed in the playoffs in our own building, our star player
Failures and Future of Timbers' Management
00:37:59
Speaker
is heated. He fires off some tweets that don't necessarily portray the organization in the great light in a contract talks with him. Yeah. And like there's a contract dispute that's kind of underscoring all of this and how the relations have deteriorated between the player and the organization. But my My approach to that would be, look, both of our jobs
00:38:21
Speaker
in a lot of ways ride on this guy being happy and being a star player for our team. If he gets disgruntled then we have to transfer him after the year that he just had. Carrying our team and our team was still bad even though he had 30 plus goal contributions. We have to keep him happy. If we don't and we still him on we miss on the replacement or it takes a while for whoever we replace to get acclimated. We will get fired. How do we do this? How do we manage this?
00:38:48
Speaker
I would have gone up to that podium if I had the presser at all. I would have gone up to the podium and I would have been like, yeah. So with the Evander thing, obviously, ah the tweets were suboptimal. ah Probably wish he wouldn't have said that, but you know he's an emotional guy. He wears his heart on his sleeve. ah He's been a model citizen, a great player for this organization. And ah we're in contract talks with him right now. We're looking forward to getting that signed.
00:39:15
Speaker
m We had a talk with him about the tweets, but we understand emotions were running high in the moment. He probably said some stuff in the heat of it that maybe he didn't necessarily mean, but we love Evander. We're looking forward to having him on the team and ah we're going to push forward from there. yeah That's it. That's like, or just, you know, maybe not exactly that, but something to that effect. I would have just said like, you know what?
00:39:39
Speaker
Yeah, there is no defending how terribly we played out there and we need to take a long hard look. He's mad for a reason. yeah be like it be like You got to make it like is anger can make it like in a I'm taking accountability thing even if you're not. that yeah You just have to say that stuff. yeah what What you don't say.
00:39:56
Speaker
is why are you lighting a match in a room full of gasoline what are you doing you can you like even if you think that he's being selfish why would you say that to the media he is but it doesn't matter because he is 10 million dollar record transfer fee superstar that you your entire job is hinging on you're just being like You're being selfish self sabotaging is what you're doing. Yeah, like I just don't understand that response at all. They literally like it like watch the clips again. They are clearly trying to
00:40:28
Speaker
to incite, like they're trying to escalate. Yeah. They're trying to escalate the. it' potential end So I think Evander's future with the club right now is very much in flux. yeah would Would you want to come back to this team if you were him? I wouldn't know. Not if those two were there. Hell no. Like, and that is, I guess, where we can start getting into some of the ah future implications of this meltdown because, um,
00:40:54
Speaker
They I don't think there's any guarantee at all that this contract dispute that they were already in before all this happened with Evander is gonna get resolved in a way where he's back with the club. What do they what do they even do after that? This is a player who's in the prime of his career, ah a signing that they actually hit on, who, for everything else that went wrong for them this year, looked like a building block, looked like a player to their that could be a week in, week out, carry the load type player. Also, by all accounts, like an awesome guy, like everyone at their at their club loves to him, great teammate, ah fantastic player. I got to say, some of the bangers that he scored, I can't even hate. like he's a He's an elite player in the league.
00:41:38
Speaker
Why are you publicly feuding with him? I cannot figure out. stupid I cannot figure out for the life of me. But then again, it does fit the, it's so perfectly fits the culture of the Portland timbers in a way, because like, I don't know if you remember this, but I don't know if Mara Paulson is still on Twitter, but that was one of my favorite, like.
00:41:56
Speaker
si follower i miss his tweet He would feud with his own fans and call them fucking stupid and like be like, yeah Shut the fuck up. I own the club. I'm gonna do whatever I want. He would do that on main He would do that shit on main and I can imagine yeah just stop tweeting he literally They literally had it to legally get him to stop tweeting that the club the club like oh i totally forgot about the merit they locked it phone away but I'm saying if that's how he was online I cannot imagine how he's gonna take this situation like there is a hundred percent chance where they went to him or not a hundred percent but you know there's a large chance that they went to him with this situation and he was like man fuck that guy fuck that guy go talk your shit go chirp back
00:42:39
Speaker
That's 100% the way that the timbers have always been. So I i know that like this situation is just gonna get worse because you have a petulant owner who is like a total baby. And I think Portland fans would agree with me. They hate their owner.
00:42:54
Speaker
that's like I think the biggest thing under the undertone of all of it is this kind of long long simmering feud between the owner and the fan base, which like I said, it really feels like ah this was a boiling point that got reached. I think it's worth talking about to the just the higher Phil Neville to begin with. I mean, I can tell you when they made this higher, like all joking aside of like, oh, yeah, extend them, you know, like I didn't really understand it because i Can understand looking for candidates who have MLS experience and using that as a criteria ah For when you're hiring a coach, but I think I would want it to be good MLS Experience if you look at Phil Neville's track record before he got to Portland He was the coach of inner Miami before Messi and the Barca boys got there. They were not a good team. They committed fraud and The only way I just can't I don't really I don't understand the process behind landing on him as an upgrade Supposedly over geo Savarese because his run at inner Miami
00:43:59
Speaker
The way that ah that run could have gone, where I would be like, Phil Neville would be a good MLS hire for another club, would be if, with there with the roster, what it was when Phil Neville was the coach, without Messi, without all the stars yet, if he had had them punching above their weight and like being a solid playoff team and looking much better than the sum of their parts,
00:44:22
Speaker
I think that would be like, okay, this is an intriguing candidate. This is a guy who he didn't have much to work with. He had them ah he had them playing pretty decent ball like with less resources than we'll have here. like Let's see what he can do with our team, which has more put pieces in place than that Miami team had at the time. and ah This higher has upside. There was I there's what is the element of that based on how that Miami tenure went they were basically as bad as you would think right like given the Sanctions and the roster that I mean they were cheating and they still couldn't win This was at a time when remember they that whole team was built around Rodolfo Pizarro Yeah, which is one of the worst DP signings of all time
00:45:05
Speaker
So, but like, there what ah my point is there's just nothing about Phil Neville at Inner Miami where I was like, oh yeah, put him on like, put him on Portland and that's gonna be electric. not like what yeah So, ah like, I never thought that it made that much, like it's going pretty much how,
00:45:23
Speaker
I would think it would based on his track record, which you would think would have been taken into account when they were evaluating who to hire. Yeah, and it's it's hilarious too, because it's like if you look at the head coaches, right, like.
00:45:37
Speaker
They they they could I mean they didn't but let's say they would have let Savaree say go in some kind of other world They literally could have signed the one the only coach of the year candidate Wilfred Nazi like you could I'm just saying there's like a billion other coaches that were at other clubs that you could have like Phil Neville or bust like you can yeah you can you hire anyone yes You could literally hire anyone like it did and they were like hmm Let's take the guy who wouldn't spooned with like a roster that was objectively bad, but also Had more DPS than they were like allowed and he didn't like even with the state of that roster like I said They did not like punch about above their weight in a way that made it look like this great coaching job and that this was like ah Just any yeah MLS team who gets this guy's going to the moon Phil Neville like I don't know. I just never saw that but ah
00:46:31
Speaker
So I think the question though is should they fire Phil Neville because that's getting talked about a lot in Portland and like Look man from where I sit it seems like they would be served to Get rid of Phil Neville and the way the way that Ned grabs I don't know that much about Ned grabs but like this whole situation and then just looking at his ah His track record since he's he's been the GM which I think is mid at best like I mean they hit on Evander I'll give him credit for that, but like look at ah Look at their defense which was the thing that totally derailed their team. They have spent money there they went and ah And dropped a bag on Kamal Miller Claudio Bravo
00:47:14
Speaker
uh, was not like a very cheap player. There's, you could go down the list of a couple other guys that they've, they've spent in that area of the field. The one thing that they, the one bit of news that they announced at their presser was that they extended Diego Chara, which honestly was like 58 years old. That is an example to me, a very clear example of, uh, like the type of move that you shouldn't make. yeah like this is something that Garth Loggerway was good at and every good GM is good at this is like knowing when to part ways and not letting the sentimentality cloud your judgment or what's a good use of resources. So it's like as much as I hate to say it, like parting ways with Ozzy Alonzo when Garth Loggerway did, that was good GMing like strategically. yeah Purely
00:48:01
Speaker
strategically and resource management wise, you have to be able to do that. Now, Chara has still been a good player for them, but my argument for why like this latest extension for him at age 38 is just not the move, is just like you need you need to like turn a lot of stuff over with with their team. and like It's time for like new blood and new era. It's time for young guys to like step up Chara is symbolic of like the 2011 members and I know he'll he'll play there until the wheels fall off and I think he's still got a Little bit at least in the tank like i I don't think he had a bad year, but it's it's more the principle of it you see what I'm saying like you need to move on from that era and like
00:48:47
Speaker
Kickstart a new thing and when you're extending a guy that has been at your club for literally like 15 years He's played 450 games 450 games for you um You are It's there Oz. It's very obvious right but like so imagine if like Aussie was still on the sounders That's what it's the equivalent of like yeah so ah I just think that is ah that's an example of like a GM that is making decisions based on sentimentality and like optics, what he perceives as optics more than what's actually like a smart roster move and allocation of their resources.
00:49:28
Speaker
like the upside of Diego Chara being a week in week out starter for them next year. What even is that? You think you're going to get back to MLS cup like ah with him as a linchpin again, maybe, but I don't know. I just, that's like the, that's like the bit of news.
00:49:46
Speaker
that you come out with, I don't know. I don't know. It's so wild to me. One, do I think they should fire Phil Neville? No, because I want this content. We don't get this content without literally the dumbest coaching hire ever. Should they fire him if I was actually being, I'm putting on my journalist suit again. Yeah, his ass should, he should be chased out of town. Portland Tibbers fans should be outside of his house right now with pitchforks demanding that he resign.
00:50:15
Speaker
objectively a terrible coach objectively a terrible gm who has done nothing but he hit on avander absolutely but then ever since then has just been like how do i make this team So weird and just Objectively bad, huh? Okay. I mean it's weird because they scored 65 goals, you know That's what I'm saying. How do you that's what I don't really ah that's what I don't really get about Where things stand is it's just like it it doesn't ah I feel like it doesn't need to be like
Impact on Cascadia Rivalry and Seattle Fans
00:50:51
Speaker
this. No, you know, um but I guess they need new blood. You're right. Like, that's where I feel like you're, you're right. Exactly. It has to be a new identity. There's a couple other things that I wanted to to talk about with this. We're just going to keep vibing on the downfall of the Timbies. I don't care. You know, people might think that we're going too long. We did a whole damn episode on the, on the, on other teams before. We're easily petty enough to go another, like at least 15 to 20 on the downfall of the Timbies.
00:51:16
Speaker
um One thing I wanted to talk about was, is this the worst meltdown we have ever seen in MLS? The two examples I came up with in recent times, if I'm missing anything, you can drop it in the comments. But the examples that I came up with were a comparison where the Toronto FC meltdown of like 2021 or whenever that was, 2022, when it came out that Bernadeshi was vaping on the plane, and then Ian and Signe were feuding,
00:51:44
Speaker
and And then they got fired and they're somehow both still on the team. Well, they came together because because they were like, you know what? I fucking were stronger together than Bob Bradley's dog shit. And they like went to the president's office and was like, we're going to go smoke chain, smoke cigarettes all the way back to Italy if you don't fire this guy. And he was like, OK, sure.
00:52:07
Speaker
right so but that was that was like a full-on meltdown where chaos and turmoil were getting reported like every day about we did a long bit on the po I think we did a long bit on the pot about that like that was that was a good meltdown yeah that was a good meltdown um it Like their entire their entire season was derailed already at that point, but they certainly delivered the content before it went down in flames So that was a pretty good one and the other one was the Joseph Martinez Atlanta United a Chicken and rice incident where this was when Joseph was disgruntled and disillusioned towards the end of his Atlanta United tenure um He was getting fed up because the team wasn't up to standards and so he had been feuding with gonzo pineda. I think ah before
00:52:51
Speaker
ah This even happened. But after a game, he famously flipped over a table with the pregame spread or the postgame spread that had chicken and rice and chicken and rice went all all over the locker room. And so the chicken and rice was part of it. But really, it was a Joseph meltdown that took place as Atlanta United was getting derailed. Those are I think are the two best meltdowns of recent modern times. This is better, in my opinion. yeah This was the greatest meltdown I've ever seen like when you combine the ineptitude on the field with the blazing hot press conference in the aftermath and Evander tweeting. yeah Unreal. Because you have to think about it. like A lot of these things happened over many months.
00:53:33
Speaker
for the timbers it's like yes this has been boiling but they were in a playoff spot they were ready to go they were ready to cook and seemingly what happened was half the players were like fuck this i don't care and then that tilts your your best player and instead of backing him as a coach and a GM you go oh no i'm gonna feud with you now too just pure like incompetence on like all fronts and just hilarious. Like I wish I was in that locker room because I know he said some shit. I am so curious what Evander said to grab a boy. First of all, but also like I said, if Evander is even back on this team. There's no way, right? I don't see any way how he comes back to this team. If Ned Grabavoy and Phil Neville are both there and like, let's just say, just, let's just say for the sake of argument that he leaves, like Evander is like, I'm done with this. I can't like, I love the city. I love the club. I love my boys, but this organization is a joke, get me out of here. What do they do? How do you replace one of the best players in the league and honestly sell to your fan base that they're getting better? I don't think you can.
00:54:46
Speaker
do that there is There is no scenario if Andrew leaves where they can really feasibly improve their team unless they get insanely lucky, but the thing is, all this controversy and turmoil, you gotta imagine that's gonna make recruiting any theoretical replacement much more difficult, right? yeah So ah that's another variable on top of it. Here's what you do. They better get this resolved, man. Here's what you do. You call up Seattle and you say, hey,
00:55:15
Speaker
I know you got that ah that guy who you're negotiating contracts with, his name's Albert Rusnak. What if we just like did a little thing where like he goes here and you guys take a vander? Oh, Roosnack on the timbers though. That would be so devastating. But that's not i agree but like what But like, but I would take a vander in a one for one swap. Yeah, exactly. There's only a few number 10s in the league that I would do the one for one swap, uh, for Roosnack right now. You know, like I, I mean, again, as always messing is not, does not count, but you know, like I would swap them for Kucho and Lucio. And like, honestly, vander is that good where like, yeah, putting him on Seattle. be like that perfect bite to bring those timber game, timbers game rivalry back. Cause you know, he'd be like, fuck you just like, Oh my God. Can you imagine that? If he was actually playing against them, whatever MLS team, other MLS team does get Evander eventually, whether it's after this or later on in his career, he is going to be going
Q&A: Timbers' Meltdown and Management Changes
00:56:13
Speaker
that's hard. way television He is he's pissed. And I, you know, I, I agree with, uh, with what you said like that. Does that make a bid for Like I'm not even joking. Like they should be approaching him right now. Yeah. Oh my God. That would be so funny. Like I'm so serious. Like that is like, I, if this, I mean, and I'm sure that they, you know, they've, they're competent, but like, if I'm them, I'm going and I'm needling that too. I'm needling, you know, it would piss them off even more. You know, what would show them is that you come win a cup in Seattle is that you come play in the club world cup in Seattle and you do all this stuff. You just needle them on that. I'm just saying,
00:56:51
Speaker
That's what I would do. You're making a little bit of sense. I'm just saying. All right, I got some ah questions and observations from you, the people, to get to. Thank you to everyone, as always, who submitted. you know I love you guys because I put out ah a tweet about a ah Portland Timbers-centric episode, and I still have you all in there getting the discourse flown. yeah so We've selected a few out of here. I don't think all of these are questions. i think I think mostly I just wanted a platform for us to all vibe together on the downfall of the Portland Timbers and mostly just like the comedic fashion in which it occurred. you know um So anyway, Noah, what do we got? What do the people have to say? Well, the people, specifically this people, Dean, asks, I didn't watch the match, but Neville's comments on players, quote, giving up would be nice to hear examples of. Okay. Yeah. So examples of them giving up in the game itself. I mean, if you just look at the goals that the white cab scored,
00:57:45
Speaker
Scottish messy got the first way okay the first two the first two were not pretty well No, the third one was the best. I think which one was the third of the like half volley. Oh, yeah That was that was a sick goal. I was gonna say the first two were like It wasn't like the timbers melting down like it was just a jumble and it was just like yeah exactly like scrambles in the box and Scottish messy is gonna burn you on those sometimes um but then the one that Brian white scored There's just no one marking Brian White. Yeah, he was wide wide open on like in open net and then the last goal that ah That Scottish Messi scored for the hat trick Multiple guys defenders on their back line. Yeah, just they literally just like stopped running. Yeah, they just did they gave up They were like good they they said Scottish Messi. I see you want to score this goal.
00:58:36
Speaker
go for it have it take the goal and ninety nine it was it was about as like checked as i think you'll ever see a team i think after the first goal it was like man they just they just turned it off like you could see there was like a switch that was flicked and most of the players were there were like I um don't care. I don't care. I get to go home and like not play soccer for a little bit and not be around this. Apparently now, you know, toxic ass environment. Yeah, that's that's really what it felt like to me visually. Yeah, you could feel that. Yeah, you could really feel that. All right. What do we got? That's a great question. Next question from Monroe. Are the Timbies the inverse sounders? They have great talent, but a bad team. We have a good team without much super high talent.
00:59:27
Speaker
The great talent they have is vendor correct. They've got solid talent on offense outside of that But the issue with their roster right now is they have one of the best players in the league ah with ah top Like a top-heavy offense that is very productive, but i I mean Jonathan Rodriguez is pretty damn good Oh, Jonathan Rodriguez is really good. Sante Moreno is nasty. more more Felipe Mora has been a pretty good forward. um But like, I mean, there was a point at one point this season that they were so they were scoring so many goals that I was put in their front four with Jonathan Rodriguez and Evander and Sante Moreno up with
01:00:06
Speaker
You know the Joey paints and Gabriel pecs yeah Ricky pooshes Like front lines of the world, you know, they were there I wouldn't say they were that consistently that good all season, but there was at least at least one stretch um Probably more given that they ended up scoring 65 goals where where they looked really good on offense, but I think you know defensively you've got this was Diego Char's age 37 season I guess he played at a high enough level where they're bringing him back but on a year where you concede 56 goals like is that really a good idea I don't know and then all the money they spent on the back line between Kamal Miller and you know Claudio Bravo before that I mean they ended up in a situation
01:00:48
Speaker
where they had Finn Sermon out there and I you know i sermon was cooked I can't really say shit because he owns the Sounders but yeah like that's you still would not expect him to be on the field is my only point with that so um I think ah Monroe it's a it's a interesting observation but ah I think that kind of oversells like how good their roster really is. I think that, I think their roster has one elite player and I guess Jonathan Rodry is, but they can't play defense. So I would disagree. I do think they have a really talented roster. I think if you put Brian Spencer in charge of this team, I think they are a genuine cup contender. If not winning the West outright, that's my take. You think that their defense would be that much better?
01:01:32
Speaker
I think that you would be able to find and plug holes in a better way, or at least manage a game better to where you can defend, or be like, hey, maybe my 500-year-old defensive mid is not the call. You know what I mean? like I just think that, one, Phil Neville has made this team, I i agree with, a event I literally agree with Evander on what he's saying. They have Jonathan Rodriguez, who is objectively, could be a superstar in this league,
01:02:01
Speaker
And then there is a superstar in this league. They have two nines that are pretty fucking good. You have like you were saying what we thought was kind of a dynamic L.A. Galaxy esque attacking front, which was the same problem L.A. Galaxy had.
01:02:17
Speaker
with but just conceding constantly. Well, and it's the same identity identity that Portland have had for years, which is a team that has a really good counter attack. Correct. And it's like a lot of absorbing pressure, maybe not caring as much about possession, but when they get out and running, they will slice you apart. like the Think of the Diego Valerio Sebastian Blanco years. like They did that and like at the at the peak of the GEO era and even a bit during the Caleb Porter era when they won MLS Cup. They were one of the best counter-attacking teams in the league, and they were kind of one of the most just high-octane transition type of teams. And they maintain they maintained that identity this year, but I think just at the expense of the ability to stop other teams from scoring pretty much at all. like they yeah which is ah yeah That was their true downfall. You have to point that to the coach too though. Like I feel like more than anything and that will tie into the coach and the GM, the coach and the GM. And this next question here, tuba asks Neville constantly crying about it, about players and refs has to be the only consistent thing he does. Who does Paulson look at now?
01:03:29
Speaker
Yeah, I mean it's a good question about Paulson. I got a one-year sovereign see yeah merit Paulson has not historically been the most most ah rational art I was gonna say rational, but yeah, I mean like he ah he's the type of owner that like when he feels like things aren't going well or the team is losing he will he will like ah He'll heat check. he will like So I'm going to be keeping tabs on his behavior, whether Neville still has this job going into next year, which I think, my okay, here's my guess on that. I think Merritt
01:04:07
Speaker
Is too proud you know to admit that they might have bungled that higher and they could have gotten someone better Uh, and I think based on that I think they're gonna give neville another they're gonna be like, all right That was a bad really bad ending. Uh, but it was neville's first year. We scored 65 goals. Let's uh, let's just ah Do some roster movement, see if we can't shore up the defense. We'll give Neville one more go, and it'll probably go better next year, and we can kind of save face on this whole situation. That's what they're going to try to do. Will that work? Do you trust Ned Grabavoy and Phil Neville to like come up with the necessary changes they need to like make that a reality? yeah I wouldn't. I don't know what evidence there is that you should or would. I think up until literally that game, I think that was a good game plan.
01:04:54
Speaker
I think that's a good game plan, right? Even if they had lost like 2-0. Yeah, even if you lose 2-0, even if Evander you know fires off those tweets, they they they they they hold themselves. They're fucked now because he's you chirp him back. Now he's like why should like, you've got to be imagining you're already contract negotiating, which was contentious to the point where they had to stop Contract negotiations mid-season be like let's just pick this up in the offseason to try and like let him cool off Well guess what she did you made the wrong decision. I I mean, I think that they'll keep him as the coach but like I
01:05:33
Speaker
You're you're cooked you're cooked this team is you you put yourself in a position where now this team is cooked I don't see any positive potential which like as a sounder to them. Hell. Yeah, that's awesome Objectively like this is a unique situation. I don't think I have ever seen in this league before It's a wild one, for
MLS Playoff Predictions and Analysis
01:05:52
Speaker
sure. All right. I think that actually segues into this last one. Yeah. Jack asks, what is the funniest possible outcome of all of this? He says, was this the funniest outcome possible? Oh, was this? Oh, I can't even reach. Which is the funniest? To answer that question, I mean, yes. Correct. The entire range of outcomes that I would have predicted, prognosticated going into this game,
01:06:15
Speaker
them having the most catastrophic meltdown in MLS playoff history was not on the ah proverbial bingo card. ah But I think ah what i where I want to take that question is sort of like how how Seattle should think of this or like what what is this? What is the takeaway from a Seattle perspective? Because I think it's worth worth asking. Like, um obviously,
01:06:39
Speaker
see Seattle fans are going to root against Portland all the time, and and especially when the two clubs play each other. But for me, outside of like the when they're playing each other, I don't really like care how they're doing all that much, to be honest. But like I think you could argue that it's better for the the dynamic of the rivalry for both teams to be ah to be at least somewhat relevant and in the mix, and not like not in turmoil, not ah Not feuding with their own fan base, not feuding with their own players. right like I want these games to be good. you know right If they're just a mess the entire time, first of all, it doesn't matter because they're going to play like Real Madrid against Seattle anyway. So that's worth taking into account. no like You might think no matter how bad they get that ah like seattle like if they get really bad, Seattle will be able to beat them easily. I'll tell you right now. That's not the case like this whole this whole chaos and turmoil could get way worse They'll still at least draw the founders every time they play and probably win cuz God is a timbers That's just how it works because God is a timbers fan specifically when they play Seattle apparently um but also, I don't know like I just ah I Just don't know if
01:07:57
Speaker
There's nothing wrong with reveling in it and gloating. But like, I don't know if long term Seattle fans should even want them to be this emerged in in chaos and basically becoming like a joke of a team, because like you want there, you do want there to be like a lure to this rivalry. You want these games to be spectacles. They're melting down like this. It's just like it undermines that. you know it It undermines that but it also pushes our agenda of l LA FC are a bigger rival in the Portland Timbers So just saying vindicated as always we're always right yada yada yada. Thank you for your questions It is true um real quick before we ah we're gonna do some picks right? Yeah yeah on the playoff bracket. We'll try and keep that pretty short um but we we are recording this as Atlanta United who won the ah Eastern Conference wildcard game and uh we're playing inner miami we have it up off screen here so we were keeping tabs of the score and uh inner miami won as uh as you might have guessed but uh only two to one so not as lopsided a score line i mean i thought inner miami was going to probably hang five or six on atlanta
01:09:05
Speaker
They should have. They should have, for sure. like If you see that 2-1 and you think Atlanta had a chance in that game, um I will tell you, even from only half watching it, every time I looked up, Inner Miami had a like huge XG chance that they were flubbing. Brad Guzzan master class is what I'm hearing. Brad Guzzan was going crazy. yeah like So, Inner Miami, I think, looked pretty much like Inner Miami. They should have had a lot more than two goals in that game.
01:09:30
Speaker
but ah Atlanta United, they're out, which I think ah their fans were actively campaigning for as well. So ah we got a couple of big market or like, you know, high profile clubs whose fan bases actively hate their own teams right now, which I think is pretty funny. Yeah. I'm interested to see how this next this series goes, because like if Atlanta ends up pulling it back or, you know, scoring a goal and it goes like that trolling a third game against Miami.
01:09:57
Speaker
I'm just saying the more games Miami has to play the higher chance that there's some kind of injury concern and that just makes everyone else's chances go up. But I'll get into why I think.
01:10:08
Speaker
Inter Miami where they'll finish in this next segment. Okay. Yeah. We, you've got the bracket pulled up right there. Inter Miami have one game one. So they're on the precipice of advancing. And so I think that makes that one pretty easy to pick. Uh, but other than that, we have a full, a full clean slate of, uh, of playoff match-ups to pick from. So let's, uh, let's go through this and see who we got.
01:10:30
Speaker
Yeah, so starting it off here, let's just start on the east coast because that's where all the magic is. We'll start with inner Miami versus Atlanta. Me personally, Ari, I'm picking inner Miami. I know that's a controversial take. I know that everyone's going to be like, wow, you're so brave for picking that. But Messi, Suarez, Jordi Abba, all that, you know, this keep it moving. We all know what's going to happen in that series. They may as well not even play game. today Exactly. Next up, we have Orlando and Charlotte.
01:10:57
Speaker
this is actually a I like this matchup because you have an Orlando team that got really hot late in the season had a bad decision day but they were one they were one of the hottest teams in the league down the stretch shoutout Nico Ledero I don't know how much he had to do with that but he had a pretty good use there so does matter but you have a Charlotte team that They are under the radar. None of the pundits are talking about them. We we don't really talk about them that much, but they have the guy who's going to win goalkeeper of the year, Christian Kalina, who has really saved a lot of points for them this year. And ah they have a, they have a team that can scrap with you. They're kind of like the Nashville SC of like a couple years ago. That's like what the vibe Charlotte have going on right now.
01:11:37
Speaker
i do I think over three games, Orlando has a lot more firepower. So I'll take Orlando, but I think Charlotte could make that more competitive than people probably think. Yeah. That's honestly, I had this down as my most anticipated series because it's it's too, it's too not. really It is a clash. It's two not super talked about nationally teams. I think that we've both been ignoring both of these clubs, mainly because they're on the East coast and like who gives a shit. But like the, this is legitimately the second hottest team in the league behind Seattle and Orlando and the in the back stretch. And then Charlotte, who has the best goalkeeper and also has been like this quiet little kind of dark horse, talented team that I hope Charlotte wins it. Yeah.
01:12:20
Speaker
That's, you know, and and I was back and forth. I picked Orlando, but talking through it now, I could totally see a Charlotte coming up with, you know, a little dark horse wind and then having to face the big bad Miami team. So let's say but I mean, let's let's continue. Sorry. ah Cincinnati, New York City FC. This is another good one. And ah I think I'm going to ah I'm going to pick the upset here i'm goingnna take and ny cfc bradley wright phillips shout out bwp posted his pickics the other day and he made a case for why ah he was picking ny cfc that was mostly vibes space but I also I think so what I think about this one is that FC Cincinnati is they have not been playing like to the level of where they are on the table for a while now because they've had so many injuries this year and they've did done a good job of staying afloat considering how many injuries they've had especially on defense they signed reinforcements and stuff but they they just have not looked like the shield-winning FC Cincinnati of last year for a while
01:13:27
Speaker
And then this NYC FC team, they had a pretty inconsistent year, but they're one of the youngest teams in the league and they're one of the hungriest teams in the league. Like they have a lot of ah a lot of young guys coming up on their squad that are trying to prove there's like status in the league and kind of live up to the and NYCFC reputation, which is one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference of the last 10 years or so. They they've won an MLS Cup in really recent history in 2021, I think. So it's like their new guard trying to prove themselves. I think that kind of lines up for them to give FC Cincinnati a handful in this series. And I like and NYCFC. I think they're going to do it.
01:14:13
Speaker
Yeah, I'm right there bad pig. I know I that's what I had picked as well I picture New York City FC one because also Cincinnati's been so injured They've really kind of they do have the baller and that can go a long way in the playoffs It's I mean they don't have the best player because Bessie isn't on their team But well, I mean out of these two teams Luciano Acosta, that's very true ah But yeah, I think that New York City FC is a team that's more playoff built though. Like they are young scrappy moment like a momentum team, right? Like when you're young, that's how you do it. And that is my pick, New York City FC, over FC CNC, I'm sorry, my friends in Cincinnati. This next one here, not even a competition, Columbus Crew, New York Red Bulls.
01:14:57
Speaker
Where are you at with this one, Ari? I mean, yeah, I think ah the ah the crew in inner Miami are are going to be steamrolling through this eastern conference field, I think. So, yeah, I don't see the Red Bulls giving Columbus much trouble at all. There's a vast, vast gulf in firepower between these two teams. The Red Bulls have ah Forsberg, and that's pretty much it. As far as I can tell, Columbus have an absolute buzz song.
01:15:24
Speaker
Yeah, I'm right there with you, Columbus, all the way. Let's go over to the West, starting off at the top here. L A F C, the big bad. What are they? Hawks, Eagles, something like that, whatever. Hawks versus Vancouver.
01:15:40
Speaker
Fanny Sartini yeah, I mean God's team Just ah based on recent history and the seasons that these two teams have I think l LAFC probably unfortunately it takes this one pretty easily um The Whitecaps have been getting destroyed by LAFC every time they've played for the last like two years haven't really shown much of an Inkling of being competitive with this team, and I think that When you have multiple game series like this where there's a lot longer of A sample where the two teams are playing each other when there's this much of a talent differential usually the team that's Got the more stacked roster Tends to win out. So I think that's that's an easy pick even though I'm rooting for the Whitecaps
01:16:28
Speaker
My pick, and I'll shock you all. I picked the Vancouver Whitecaps to upset LAFC. Here's my justification. ah I don't know if you're you're gonna be ready for it, but uh vibes. Okay, that's fine, that's fine. a vibes Hear me out. with a vibes pig hear me out Riding high off of demolishing one of your rivals is the biggest crack for a team to start out the playoffs that anyone could have. Here's here's my here's my take on this. There is precedent. There is precedent. Sporting Kansas City coming out hot and absolutely nuclearly destroying
01:17:09
Speaker
since it or st. Louis That is like case in point if anyone can get it done. It's Vancouver. They're riding high And I also just like I'm praying that that is the case because that would be just a fun good bit So that is my pick Vancouver vibes are high this next one involves a team We are all very familiar with the Seattle Sounders versus the Houston Dynamo and Yeah, I mean I got I got Seattle in this series We talked about it on the preview show But I see Seattle as a slightly better more advanced version of the dynamo in some ways. I think they're pretty similar teams um But with Seattle having the home field advantage and what I see is a slightly better roster. I think they have the edge Yeah, I'm right there with you. I think Seattle will... I think this was... The Dynamo are good and they're ascending, but they they they're not there yet. they They need a little more juice to be like a real contender. Yeah, I could see this one going to three games though.
01:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, definitely, especially because Houston's usually pretty good at home against Seattle. Yeah. So next up we have ah RSL versus Minnesota. Minnesota a team, we've both been wanting to see more of an RSL, the sort of semi fallen giants. Yeah. No, I see this as pretty even, but like, I think when you look at their form of late and really dating back a while now, Minnesota has been in much better form and Minnesota kind of have the vibe of a, you know, we all remember when, uh, like Seattle turned around in 2016 with Nico Ledero. Like, Calvin Yaboa has not been doing that for Minnesota, but like they have a like a game-changing goal scorer now. um And Robin Laud is low-key really underrated. And ah I got Minnesota here. I think, ah I think RSL like outside of all that RSL has been fading. um They're very Chicho Arango reliant. Like if you can
01:19:02
Speaker
Get him out of the game then you can beat them in any game They're there they' really they rely their whole team on Diego Luna who's 20 years old. Yeah, so ah I think the Lunes get it done here. Yeah, I agree. I had the Lunes as well. I think this one's going to go to three games as well, though. I think it'll be a... I could see that. This one should be a competitive. This one is my Western Conference matchup to watch. like I'm actually stoked to see these two teams perform and see like what what really is Minnesota all about. And here are final of the first round. LA Galaxy versus the Colorado Rapids.
01:19:39
Speaker
Yeah. Shout out to the rapids. Shout out to Chris Armas, but, uh, yeah, I think the gal, I think the galaxy take this series pretty easily. Uh, again, this, there's a firepower differential here, uh, where the rapids, uh, they're, they're improved. They've had a lot better of a year this year than they did last year when they finished in last, but I don't think they're quite ready to hang with a team that's as got as much firepower as the galaxy over a full series.
01:20:07
Speaker
I agree with you galaxy or this is a galaxy podcast first and foremost so obviously we are i'm not picking against Joey pants in the first year yeah like come on let's let's be real i'm I'm right there with you let's go back jump back over to the east let's just bring her down to the MLS Cup see where you're feeling You think, are you willing to make those picks or are you a little scared to to put your opinions out there? Are we not going through like the semi-finals? Well, that's what I was going to say. We'll go through semis, but you know we both have a couple different picks. But let's let's yeah let's just do that. Oh, I see what you're saying. No, you're smarter than me. This is the pundit, folks. This is why he's in charge.
01:20:42
Speaker
ah Inter Miami versus Orlando rivalry matchup in the semifinals at the top of the East Who do you who do you see coming out on top there Miami? And why would that be Ari um ah Because they're the best team in MLS history and have literally the best player who's ever played the game who also brought over 700 more of the top like 15 players that have ever played the game ah so yeah yeah that's why i'm taking my Yeah, I'm right there with you enter Miami all the way they are going to absolutely demolish Orlando in this game I feel kind of bad that Orlando has to
01:21:23
Speaker
play them in this game that's a tough rivalry matchup to have but alas that's what happens semi-final number two in the east new york city fc versus the columbus crew hopefully they'll have a goalkeeper what do you think yeah hopefully they have a backup goalkeeper um i'll i'll take columbus there although uh when they've played nycfc like the last time they played nycfc was messing with them a little bit yeah That's a dark horse like, uh, and why CFC could win that. But like, if I'm, if I'm guessing, I'm taking Columbus. Yeah. And it's like that Columbus will be home. they They'll have home advantage. and like I kind of like and once you see there, man, yeah I'm not going to do pick it. No, do it, do it because you already know who's going to be in the final. You already know who's your pick. on the i see I don't really believe in it. I got to go with what I actually think. And I think the crew win that. See he's, you're really not pundit brain. It's kind of, it's cowardly, but
01:22:13
Speaker
ah New York City of C Columbus me personally I have Columbus simply because they're playing at home and I mean it's yeah They're gonna be they're gonna be the best team in the league. They're the second best team in the league back over to The West, the first semi-final. I had Vancouver Seattle, but let's play it out LA FC versus Seattle. Who do you have Ari? I'm sorry. There's just no, like people might not like this, but there's no way that I would ever pick you Seattle over LA FC until I see them beat them. Yeah. That's just how I feel about it. And like that might sound cynical and fatalistic, but um we all saw what happened this year. I don't, there's no reason that any Seattle fan should feel any differently.
01:22:55
Speaker
So you don't take any stock. Prove me wrong. Prove me wrong. that is all would'll say i'm here I hear that. You don't put any stock in what some of the national pundits are saying that, well, it's a lot of averages. Like this is the time I've said the last like three times they've played. So no, I don't put stock in that. I dish that take myself yeah multiple times and it backfired every time. The pundits just aren't ready to hear it. um I had Vancouver versus Seattle.
01:23:22
Speaker
I say Seattle wins that if it is against Vancouver, I'll give my take on the LA FCC Seattle series because I think that that's way more likely to happen. ah I'm going to go LA FC. I'm going to go LA FC. I think it's going to be a close game. That's a penalty shootout. I think Seattle can win that game, but ah until I see them beat this team, which they have not done for a while, then I, i why would I like yeah say that they're going to, well and instant the way there is no recent evidence to suggest that. And it's an away game. Yeah, like we have to go down to LA which um i find i this In and they won it so I'm definitely not saying that they can't win it I just would not pick them too. Well if they play Vancouver I say they go forward so on my bracket they go forward but on yours they're cooked in the semi-finals next up Minnesota l LA this is a fun matchup
01:24:13
Speaker
Yeah, and I'll take I'll take the galaxy there everyone knows my affinity for the galaxy so um I don't think I need to explain it too much, but ah I could see the loons messing with them in that game though, too Because I do think the galaxies downfall will come sooner or later because they love to they still love to concede really dumb and bad goals So that I mean that could pop up this early, but I'll take them to go one more round Yeah, I'm right there with you. I think the galaxy this is this is where the whole everyone's brackets I think could fall apart is this game right here ah The galaxy are good, but they do not know how to defend they've gotten better, but they still love to ship a good goal I did pick the galaxy over Minnesota though and That's that so back over to the east
01:25:00
Speaker
we So this is at this point, you're picking the top four from the whole league, right? you're You've got Inter Miami, you've got Columbus, you've got LA FC and LA Galaxy. we're not We're not going any dark horses here. I guess, yeah, I'm just taking all like the top seats. You're just seating it up. But I mean, I think that's fair. I think that's fair. The talent gap is pretty high. Miami, Columbus, a matchup made in heaven. The two most insufferable fan bases of all time. The two fan bases and teams that think they run the league Who's going to run it? Ari Miami or Columbus? Yeah. I mean, this would be a great game. Um, but I've been pretty consistent all year that I think inner Miami's level is higher at their peak than anyone else in the league, including Columbus. And, um, I think as long as messy in the bar, as long as messy in the bar, some boys are healthy. I don't think anyone stops in her Miami. I don't even Columbus. Here's what I'll say. I genuinely think Atlanta might be able to do the most freaky thing and take them to three games. And that's danger mode. But this is simple elimination at this point. No, I understand. But I'm saying at this point, you will have played four matches. Oh, I see what you're saying. In short succession. And I just I fear for the knees, ankles, legs, and everything of inner Miami, because Atlanta is going to be coming at you hard calculation. I'm kind of thinking of it with relative full health. Yeah, and just the way that I look at their path, like Atlanta has nothing to lose. Next game is going to be chippy. It's gonna be super chippy. You have to play your rival away. That's gonna be crazy chippy. I don't see how you get out of that on unscathed in some kind of way. Even this and this ah this Atlanta game, there was like two people who went off with injury. Miami, Columbus, I think Miami goes down. I think we get a Columbus crew.
01:26:52
Speaker
in the MLS Cup Final again. That's my take. I like that. So back over. Your bracket's much more exciting than mine. I just like to, I like to add a little flair. Yeah, you can add some flair. Mine's boring. Conference Final, Western Conference, LAFC versus LA Galaxy, the Battle of, what is it, the El Trafico? Yeah. Are they going to play this at the Rose Bowl? OK, you know what? Probably. That'd be sick. You know what? ah This is where I'm going to pull my first upset here. Let's go.
01:27:22
Speaker
I'm going to take the galaxy. Let's go. here I think LAFC are still a better team than the galaxy. They certainly have a much better and more consistent defense. um But like the El Travico games, that's not relevant. No, it's really not like the galaxy compete in those games and win those games, even even when their team was way worse than it was. And ah Here's what I think the x-factor is man Ricky pooj No one fucking hates LA of yeah more than Ricky pooja. Yeah, he like I think like when you watch Ricky pooj play LA FC It's the most you can see like true true Hatred and disgust in the eyes of an opposing player towards another team. He's not gonna let them lose that game Yeah, they're gonna beat him
01:28:12
Speaker
No, I Ricky pooge is gonna. Just have like the game of his life. Yeah, I could see a Ricky pooge MLS Cup playoff MVP like arc arc happening for sure I I love him. I love him. I do i love him i love joy this no galaxy podcast what are you goingnna do but LA Galaxy versus LA FC not not the pics that I had but if I was to pick out of those I would also go galaxy it will be That would be nice. It would be so sick. That would be a great matchup. I had Seattle galaxy in this one. I think the galaxy BAM on Seattle. I think this is where the the Seattle. So we both have the galaxy coming out of the West. That's going to be a guaranteed bad day. That's a hundred percent, but I like it though. I like it. I'm going to stick with it. yeah We're cooking on that. Alright, so here is our MLS Cup finals each Ari has l LA Galaxy versus inner Miami I have LA Galaxy versus the Columbus Crew Galaxy podcast Homer's over here Ari who's take who's lifting the Philip and Schultz That's what it's called right MLS Cup trophy Is it the galaxy or is it messy in the bar? So boys oh my god this galaxy defense trying to stop messy in the bar. So boys I mean look I
01:29:23
Speaker
i Hope I hope this LA Galaxy pick coming out of the West hits like I will be will be happy if that happens yeah if they actually have to go to Miami for MLS Cup, I mean I Think Miami probably destroys this galaxy team just because I mean, you know, they're kind of similar They are similar. They're kind of similar. It's looking in a mirror. Yeah, like, Inner Miami is essentially the same profile as this Galaxy team if you injected four of the top 12 best players of all time onto the Galaxy, as opposed to just Ricky Poosh, Gabriel Peck, and Joey Paints, who are all very good to elite. It's their ragtag, their bargain bin versions. The Galaxy are bargain bin versions, so I'm going to take the Maserati over the Corolla. But but the Corolla Corolla has gonna last longer like you get better gas mileage. I'm just saying yeah But man, that would be a pretty electric game and you're picking who's lifting enter Miami enter Miami and the Barca boys alright my final was LA Galaxy versus the Columbus Crew and
01:30:31
Speaker
Would you be shocked that I picked the LA Galaxy to win the MLS Cup this year? I love it. I think it's a bad take, but I love it. I think that i like your bracket a little lot more than mine. I just think that the way the chips fall, because every year there's some weird shit that happens in the playoffs, I think the way the chips fall, the Galaxy get a little bit lucky, they get an easy bat to victory, and I think the Columbus crew shit the bed again in another final, and we will have Dub pod it will be a dub pod cuz this is an LA Galaxy. I know some people aren't gonna like that, but that would be a dub pod All right. We got our we got our picks in I feel like I feel like you know talking it out again kind of always like sort of ah Fine tunes how I'm sizing up the matchup. So ah thank you to everyone who joined our bracket group That's actually i actually got quite a bit of people here. So nice good stuff.
Monitoring the Decline of Portland Timbers
01:31:20
Speaker
Everybody appreciate that um
01:31:22
Speaker
We're going to call it right there for episode 71. Thank you, as always, to everyone for tuning in and thank you all for joining us for this vibe sesh on the downfall of the Portland Timbers. It's really like I said, it was partially about gloating and making fun of them, but it's really a ah felt like an inflection points for their status among like a historic moment. It was a historic moment and we had to cover it.
01:31:48
Speaker
and it's really we're gonna i don't think we're gonna do like a timbers dominated episode again unless it calls for it but like we're gonna be tracking their downfall we're gonna be tracking the vander situation that's a big story right now so uh we'll stay on the timbies beat keep you all uh apprised of what's going on with them because it does it We're paying attention to it because it affects Seattle at the end of the day and it affects the whole league. So, appreciate you all joining us for that. um Like, comment, subscribe, tweet 5 stars, retweet Evander's thread because that was fire. Watch the Blazing Hot Presser on YouTube to pump up its views. ah Subscribe to our YouTube. Am I missing anything else? I don't think so. I think that's it. Until until next time, we out. Peace.