NIC(K)O SQUARED!!!

Niko Moreno Sees the Future!

Steve & Tim welcome back Niko Moreno (@ELROLONW [https://twitter.com/elrolonw]) of @SportsPulso [https://twitter.com/sportspulso] and @Sounderatheart [https://twitter.com/sounderatheart]! We can’t stop talking about the Seattle Sounders’ CCL win, so we spend some time on Niko’s experience in D.F. travelling with the media team, the general atmosphere of the stadium, the locker room, and the courting rituals of stadium-goers in the biggest city in the Western Hemisphere. Then we talk about the impact of that win on the choices Garth Lagerwey and Brian Schmetzer will have to make before the window closes, whether we’re back in form, and what the Sounders’ greatest needs will be for the remainder of the season. Regular featured cast: @muffintopmodel [https://twitter.com/muffintopmodel] Tim Hamilton @podfish [https://twitter.com/podfish] Steve Ketelsen Please tell your friends and SUBSCRIBE! on iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flounders-b-team/id1217621572?mt=2], Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/flounders-bteam-podcast], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1mUIbkxhoGKalAcJHkZ4We], or touch the RSS feed link below to add us to your favorite podcast app. This production of the Flounders B-Team is released under the Creative Commons 3.0 International Share-Alike Attribution License. Please use our stuff! Just tell folks where you got it! Opening/closing theme is a parody of the opening theme from the A-Team (c)1984 Silva America. Check out Channel 253’s other amazing podcasts at https://channel253.com/https://channel253.com/membership [https://channel253.com/membership] and BECOME A MEMBER for only $4/month to get access to special member benefits & events! (Support local new media.) Thanks for listening, and see you in the terraces! @jm_murf [https://twitter.com/JM_Murf] John Murphy

RUSS-NACK

Don’t call it a comeback! Steve, Tim, & John are watch the second half of the USOC entry round for the Sounders, while we talk about the CCL & Challenge Cup results, the tragedy of J. Paulo’s injury and the outlook for the Sounders’ men’s season. Regular featured cast: @muffintopmodel [https://twitter.com/muffintopmodel] Tim Hamilton @podfish [https://twitter.com/podfish] Steve Ketelsen Please tell your friends and SUBSCRIBE! on iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flounders-b-team/id1217621572?mt=2], Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/flounders-bteam-podcast], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1mUIbkxhoGKalAcJHkZ4We], or touch the RSS feed link below to add us to your favorite podcast app. This production of the Flounders B-Team is released under the Creative Commons 3.0 International Share-Alike Attribution License. Please use our stuff! Just tell folks where you got it! Opening/closing theme is a parody of the opening theme from the A-Team (c)1984 Silva America. Check out Channel 253’s other amazing podcasts at https://channel253.com/https://channel253.com/membership [https://channel253.com/membership] and BECOME A MEMBER for only $4/month to get access to special member benefits & events! (Support local new media.) Thanks for listening, and see you in the terraces! @jm_murf [https://twitter.com/JM_Murf] John Murphy

Is Clint Dempsey Still Suspended?

We are back! Steve, Tim, & John are joined by local legend Dave Clark for a casual chat about MLS/CONCACAF & Sounders, plus the Academy & US Open Cup. We give initial impressions on Defiance in MLS Next, and dig into the preseason NWSL tournament featuring the very high quality OL Reign side. We’re so excited to be back and sharing our love and passion for this community. Regular featured cast: @muffintopmodel Tim Hamilton @podfish Steve Ketelsen @jm_murf John Murphy Please tell your friends and SUBSCRIBE! on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or touch the RSS feed link below to add us to your favorite podcast app. This production of the Flounders B-Team is released under the Creative Commons 3.0 International Share-Alike Attribution License. Please use our stuff! Just tell folks where you got it! Opening/closing theme is a parody of the opening theme from the A-Team (c)1984 Silva America. Check out Channel 253’s other amazing podcasts at https://channel253.com/membership and BECOME A MEMBER for only $4/month to get access to special member benefits & events! (Support local new media.) Thanks for listening, and see you in the terraces!

NIC(K)O SQUARED!!!

We’re joined this week by Niko Moreno (@ELROLONW [https://twitter.com/elrolonw?lang=en] on Twitter) editor at Pulso Sports Network and Sounder at Heart contributor. Niko’s connections to the scouting side of the soccer landscape as well as his relationships with players from all over the league lend an interesting perspective to the current off season of Major League Soccer.  We start off by talking about the move of Sporting Director and VP of Soccer Chris Henderson to Inter Miami where he will take over a similar role for the second year expansion side. The Sounders will have a big hole to fill in their scouting department and we discuss the successes that Henderson had with player acquisitions over the years and who will be filling the void left by Henderson’s departure for the Sounders. Will there be a gap in talent coming to the Sounders as players divert to Miami? We speculate a bit on what the future holds. But will we even have a MLS season this year? Thursday night saw the 30 day negotiating window set by the league expire after invoking the force majeure clause that was put into the CBA last summer before play returned last July. MLSPA sent their own offer to league [https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4300933/mlspa-submits-revised-cba-to-mls-as-lockout-looms] that was rejected despite the concessions that players presented. The league has since extended the bargaining window by another week and has threatened a lock out of players [https://www.sounderatheart.com/2021/1/29/22256261/mls-extends-force-majeure-deadline-one-week-threatens-lockout-if-no-deal-reached] if no agreement is reached. Despite the uncertainty, the Sounders have re-signed a couple of familiar faces from last season in Jimmy Medranda and Stef Cleveland [https://www.sounderatheart.com/sounders-trades-transfers-rumors/2021/1/27/22252682/sounders-bolster-depth-with-pair-of-re-signings]. Federal Way native Kelyn Rowe was also announced as a new signing by the team, joining the Sounders [https://www.sounderatheart.com/2021/1/29/22238196/kelyn-rowe-signs-seattle-sounders-free-agent] as a free agent from the New England Revolution. How will these players affect the formations that the Sounders roll out in 2021? Are we going to see a return to a 4-4-2 or even a 3-5-2?  Niko Moreno was able to get a candid interview with Nico Lodeiro, current captain and midfielder for the Sounders. The two discussed Lodeiro’s concerns about the state of the Sounders, Chris Henderson’s department, Jordin Morris’ move to the English Championship where he joined Swansea, [https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/jordan-morris-at-swansea-city-usmnt-attacker-dreams-of-permanent-move-and-premier-league-promotion/]and what 2021 looks like for the Sounders without the young winger. The conversation can be found on Sounder At Heart here: https://www.sounderatheart.com/2021/2/1/22259777/nicolas-lodeiro-reflects-on-jordan-morris-departure [https://www.sounderatheart.com/2021/2/1/22259777/nicolas-lodeiro-reflects-on-jordan-morris-departure]. We mix in a little roster speculation and where there might be some untapped areas for some prospective talent. We finish the show with some listener questions collected from the Channel 253 member Slack and Twitter. Pool Presser with Garth Lagerwey here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upANxZMkn7Y [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upANxZMkn7Y] Regular featured cast: @muffintopmodel [https://twitter.com/muffintopmodel] Tim Hamilton @podfish [https://twitter.com/podfish] Steve Ketelsen @jm_murf [https://twitter.com/JM_Murf] John Murphy @nate_bowling [http://twitter.com/nate_bowling] Nathan Bowling (emeritus & occasional) @cm_peterson [https://twitter.com/cm_peterson] Cat Peterson (hiatus) Please tell your friends and SUBSCRIBE! on iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flounders-b-team/id1217621572?mt=2], Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/flounders-bteam-podcast], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1mUIbkxhoGKalAcJHkZ4We], or touch the RSS feed link below to add us to your favorite podcast app. This production of the Flounders B-Team is released under the Creative Commons 3.0 International Share-Alike Attribution License. Please use our stuff! Just tell folks where you got it! Channel 253 read background music: Sro — Self Driving [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sro/Sro_Alive/Self_Driving], provided by a CC-BY-SA [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/] license. Opening/closing theme is a parody of the opening theme from the A-Team (c)1984 Silva America. Check out Channel 253’s other amazing podcasts at https://channel253.com [https://channel253.com/] and BECOME A MEMBER for only $4/month to get access to special member benefits & events! (Support local new media.) Thanks for listening, and see you in the terraces! (Wash your hands and wear a mask!)

It's Reigning in Tacoma...

We keep rolling along with our 2020 roundup and focus in on OL Reign and the NWSL. Joining us this week are Susie Rantz (@susierants [https://twitter.com/SusieRants]), Sounder at Heart contributor and co-host of the Coffee & Valkyries Podcast [https://www.sounderatheart.com/reign-podcast], and Andrew Harvey (@soccervox) [https://twitter.com/soccervox], communications manager for OL Reign and broadcast voice for the Tacoma Defiance, Tacoma Stars, Seattle Pacific University Men’s Team, Seattle University Men’s Soccer, and University of Washington’s Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams.  We start off by speculating on the now official loan of Jordan Morris [https://www.swanseacity.com/news/swansea-city-seal-loan-move-jordan-morris] to Swansea City A.F.C. of the English Championship (currently 2nd) and what that might mean not only for Jordan’s career and USMNT exposure, but also for the Sounders are they are set to begin the 2021 MLS campaign in the near future and will have to address Morris’ short term (or perhaps long term) absence from the team. We also discuss the departure of Sounders sporting director Chris Henderson to Inter Miami CF [https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/sounders/chris-henderson-leaves-sounders-to-join-inter-miami/] where he will assume the mantle of Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director for the second-year MLS club. In addition to the loan fee for Jordan Morris, the Sounders may be seeing a decent cash influx due to Henry Wingo’s continued career progression [https://www.sounderatheart.com/thefuture/2021/1/18/22237599/henry-wingo-joins-hungarian-club-on-nearly-1m-transfer-fee] as he makes a move from Swedish side Molde to Hungarian side Ferencvaros TC. MLS continues to engage in discussions with the MLSPA through the media in an attempt to negotiate an updated CBA, much to the collective frustration of everyone.  After taking last season off due to Covid-19 concerns and to recover from some lingering injuries, Megan Rapinoe has returned to the USWNT in their January camp and ideally OL Reign once the NWSL season starts later this spring. The USWNT played two fixtures against a scrappy and young Colombian side this week winning the first 4-0 [https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/uswnt-vs-colombia-score-usa-defeats-colombia-4-0-crystal-dunn-dominates-pitch-while-mewis-sisters-score/live/] and the second 6-0 [https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/usa-vs-colombia-score-megan-rapinoe-scores-twice-as-uswnt-collects-shutout-win/live/]. The USWNT head coach is former OL Reign coach, Vlatko Andonovski. While there is no official start date for OL Reign and the rest of the NWSL, plans seem to be to replicate the Challenge Cup format to kick the season off, which logistically may be difficult to do in the same fashion with the Utah Royals returning to Kansas City [https://www.cbssports.com/nwsl/news/nwsl-news-utah-royals-to-relocate-to-kansas-city-ahead-of-2021-season/] under new ownership.  What does the roster look like for OL Reign heading into the 2021 season? While it may be a little early for full roster analysis, the team looks to be strong at all positions as they look to head into training camp in the coming weeks. We discuss the recent trade of Darian Jenkins to Kansas City [https://www.sounderatheart.com/2021/1/4/22213500/ol-reign-trade-kc-tziarra-king-darian-jenkins] for Tziarra King, who had a very strong rookie season in Utah for the Royals not only on the field but also in taking a lead on speaking out on social and racial justice issues. We also discuss FCKC coming back into the NWSL fold and how Jenkins can make an impact under a new ownership group. Potential expansion back into the Utah market in the future could happen again though that prospect is complicated due to the current infrastructure of Utah’s professional soccer teams is still controlled by a horrible person [https://kslsports.com/446282/dell-loy-hansen-has-until-january-8th-to-sell-real-salt-lake-before-league-intervenes/]. We keep on that topic and discuss upcoming league expansion and the possibility of other European ownership groups entering into the league in the same fashion as Olympique Lyonnais.  Will we still have a soccer specific stadium in Tacoma? Pre Covid-19 pandemic support for the stadium was high across the board. Should more funding come from the teams that will be playing in a future stadium to take more pressure off of the city? Does the continued existence of OL Reign in Tacoma hinge on the stadium being built in the same time frame? We talk about the fall out of Tony Parker’s off the cuff comments about wanting to move the team to Miami [https://www.sounderatheart.com/seattle-reign/2020/12/18/22188838/tony-parker-ol-reign-miami] and OL’s commitment to having two players come play for OL Reign for the 2021 season (Wendie Renard anyone?). OL Reign are set to begin training camp on February 1st here in the Tacoma area to prepare for the Challenge Cup. We talk about their training environment and available facilities to them.  We close it out with some listener questions.  Regular featured cast: @muffintopmodel [https://twitter.com/muffintopmodel] Tim Hamilton @podfish [https://twitter.com/podfish] Steve Ketelsen @jm_murf [https://twitter.com/JM_Murf] John Murphy @nate_bowling [http://twitter.com/nate_bowling] Nathan Bowling (emeritus & occasional) @cm_peterson [https://twitter.com/cm_peterson] Cat Peterson (hiatus) Please tell your friends and SUBSCRIBE! on iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flounders-b-team/id1217621572?mt=2], Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/flounders-bteam-podcast], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1mUIbkxhoGKalAcJHkZ4We], or touch the RSS feed link below to add us to your favorite podcast app. This production of the Flounders B-Team is released under the Creative Commons 3.0 International Share-Alike Attribution License. Please use our stuff! Just tell folks where you got it! Opening/closing theme is a parody of the opening theme from the A-Team (c)1984 Silva America. Check out Channel 253’s other amazing podcasts at https://channel253.com [https://channel253.com/] and BECOME A MEMBER for only $4/month to get access to special member benefits & events! (Support local new media.) Thanks for listening, and see you in the terraces! (Wash your hands and wear a mask!)