Sam's Army

Sam and Tommy are joined by Mitch Goulet of Overtime FC to discuss the sudden rise and ridiculous fall of the Fuck Soccer Get Money European Super League [4:50], including winners/losers, villains/heroes, best/worst apologies, discord about Bayern/PSG's involvement, and most importantly where things go from here. Jozay Mourinho's [28:30] sacking and who will replace him. Weekly recap [37:20] ft FA Cup, Premier League, Championship check and takeaways from MLS [46:25] opening weekend. Power Rankings [53:00]. Weekend preview [1:00:45] ft picks for Make-Belieague Cup final and massive West Ham vs Chelsea local daerby plus BEST BETS and new segment: Greatest Of All Week (GOAW). Next up, San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Staley [1:19:00] discusses why he hated soccer as a kid but also why becoming a futbol guy later in life was the best decision he ever made, how Tottenham won his heart (and why Leeds stole a little bit of it), some of the incredible "matches" he has finagled his way into and finally Joe's very different levels of respect for Jozay and Frank Gore's testicular fortitude .

Dumbest red cards we ever got plus an uncomfortable realization we are all choirboys. Newcastle fans fed up, Club World Cup, US men and women updates. Weekly review [17:15] ft Hammers spanking Lester, Spurs capitulating to United and City shocker vs 10-man Leeds. Champions League high/lowlights [39:30]. Power Rankings that Sam disavows as soon as it escapes his lips [48:30]. Weekend preview [58:00] ft City/Chelsea in FA Cup semis plus Everton/Tottenham. Finally, 2021 MLS Preview [1:10:45] with Eli Lesser of "This Week in MLS" ft sexy new stadiums, best and worst new signings, favorites to win the league and darkhorse contenders plus preview for all the big individual awards.

Most punchable faces in the world of soccer. USMNT cracks the top 20. Listener Q&A [6:40] ft who wins Euros, will Haaland/Mbappe move and where, best hair in soccer and if Larry is still bitter about 2018 dunk contest robbery. Weekly recap [32:35] ft more London struggles (West Ham excepted) and premature top 4 predictions [37:00], Champions League takeaways and Concacaf Concacafing [44:25] so hard. Power Rankings [47;25]. Weekend preview [50:40] ft Hammies vs Lester and Spurs vs United, as well as El Clásico and NWSL kickoff, plus of course Best Bets.

Tommy, Mikey and Sam pick best friends from the soccer world. Headlines: Champions League changes and Sergio Aguero [5:40] leaving City f/t where he plays next and the top 5 strikers in Premier League history. Positives from USMNT games [13:50] and who is to blame for U23s failure, plus Altidore vs Twellman [27:50]. UEFA qualifying [31:10] highlights and lowlights f/t Ronny being Ronny and big bad North Macedonia. Power Rankings [33:50]. Weekend preview [37:00] f/t Lester vs City and Arsenal vs Liverpool plus what else to watch AND *Best Bets*. Next up KC NWSL's Lo LaBonta [43:00] eviscerates my pronunciation skills and dishes on Stanford vs UNC, her glamorous draft story, what happens when a gaggle of women's soccer players hit the bars in New Jersey, she anoints the league's best shit-talker and offers an inside preview of what teams and players to watch in the 2021 NWSL season (kicks off on April 9).

Bad Boy Blatter, Ives Galarcep shoutout and MLS schedule drop. Weekend roundup: Spurs bounce back, Arsenal/West Ham thriller & Lester's big FA Cup performance. USMNT ft preferred XI and what to watch for Jamaica and Northern Ireland games, plus where things stand for U23s in Olympic qualifying. Then Sam sits down with (Sir) Ian Darke to discuss Taylor Twellman's dad jokes, how commentating to an American audience has evolved over the years, which fellow announcer drank him under the table and I try to get him to recreate THAT magical WC10 call vs Algeria but with future WC22/WC26 winners.

The only headline that matters this week is Yunus Musah choosing America over her majesty, a move that has the haters down bad and critics questioning whether the USMNT will ever lose another game. Weekend recap [11:10] features a Kieran Tierney reach-around, stern words about Jozay and Erik Lamela plus a heated debate about the Lacazette "penalty"... also a discussion on whether Kelly Nacho [25:40] can take the torch from Jamie Vardy at Lester. Champions League preview [33:45]. Power Rankings [36:50]. Weekend preview [41:00] featuring Sam's BOLD & SPICY prediction for West Ham vs Arsenal and some FA Cup action. Also, after a tough first week, we had a big bounceback week on BEST BETS [50:25] last week so time to keep the mo-mo rolling.

Headlines featuring latest iteration of Champions League rich-get-richer "reforms", implications from Laporta's election as Barcelona president, IFAB tweaking handball rule yet again, Inter Miami proving they want it enough & where the Jamaican one-time switches [10:28] put the Reggae Boyz in CONCACAF's top 5. UCL results/picks with an unexpected lovefest for (Non-Nicolas) Pepe and discussion of best CB duo in history [14:20]. Weekly roundup breaking down massive results for United and Chelsea [21:30], plus a disagreement about whether Tommy Tuchel has been a disastrous hire. Power Rankings [39:50] ft debate about United vs Chelsea. Weekend preview plus predictions featuring North London Daerby [46:00] and sneaky big United vs West Ham [51:20], plus several other callouts from inside and outside England. Also, Larry and Mikey (basically) agree to pay for Sam's drinks all summer [54:00]. Finally we pretend last week's *Best Bets* never happened and try again to make a good first impression.

Full house this week to discuss Charlotte MLS ticket price blowback, Barcelona's Bartomeu getting tossed in jail and controversy surrounding Seth Jahn's removal from the US Soccer Athletes' Council. Weekly recap [16:20] where we assign blame for Chelsea/United yawner, guess Lee Mason's BAC during West Brom/Brighton and opine on whether Dele Alli [29:15] did peyote on his successful vision quest. Power Rankings [33:10] with a LOT of Hammy love. Weekend preview [42:00] with some sneaky midweek games ft Larry's ballsy call on Liverpool vs Chelsea followed by a big weekend of action highlighted by Manchester daerby and Sam going out on a limb about Chelsea vs Everton. Also *new segment alert* we finish up with BEST BETS [1:05:40] on gun-to-head picks for the weekend. Finally, Sam sits down with Andy Williams [1:11:30] to discuss winning MLS Cup, playing for the Jamaican Reggae Boyz at the 1998 World Cup and an inside look from Real Salt Lake's former head scout at what led to the downfall of owner Dell Loy Hansen [1:37:00] and the fallout that has resulted.

Sam and Mikey offer praise and words of warnings for USWNT and discuss the sad Jordan Morris news. Tommy joins to run down last week's Champions League results [8:45] -- including debates on Messi/Ronny vs Mbappe/Haaland plus Mbappe vs Haaland -- along with previews/predictions for this week's games. Weekly recap [25:15] runs through the good, bad and ugly of the Merseyside Daerby and some love for West Ham and what they have done so right this season. Power Rankings [53:50]. Weekend preview [57:15] ft Chelsea/United, Lester/Arsenal and City/Hammies plus huge games throughout the rest of Europe (notably Spain and France) as well as a quick final matchday shoutout for the wild and wacky Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.

Sam, Mikey, Tommy McCabe (Orange County SC) and Alex Bono (Toronto FC) discuss Sam's biggest pet peeve about the Bundesliga and especially Bayern, and where Messi will be playing next season. Preview of this week's Champions League [13:45] knockouts ft Leipzig/Liverpool and Barcelona/PSG. We circle back with a weekly recap [28:30], with Bones giving Liverpool's last rites and everybody having a good laugh at Tottenham. Remarkably amicable Power Rankings [47:40] wherein Sam and Mikey actually agree on something. Weekend preview [56:30] ft Merseyside Daerby and Arsenal/City (plus best bets). Next, Huge Scheckter [1:13:30] discusses life as a "player care specialist" for Indy Eleven, Southampton and West Ham, including sticky situations he's been in booking flights for players' wives and girlfriends, horse-trading with journalists to get stories spiked, getting phone numbers for players and whether he knows where any literal bodies have been buried. We also get to the bottom of who the nicest athlete and biggest diva he's worked with, and what the plans are for The Player Care Group consultancy he just founded.