ASA Podcast XXXV: The Return of The Cast

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We're back with the podcast!We return to review the snooze-fest that was the US Mens game last weekend. Stepping our big toe into a bit of the pre-season waters and turn the talk to some of the major moves around MLS and some of the clubs we've seen improve the most over the last few months. Lastly we give you a bit of insight to what's going on with the site and perhaps something to watch for in the coming months. Enjoy!

[audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/asa-podcast-xxxv.mp3]

ASA Podcast XXXIV: The one where we talk 2013 Defenses: Eastern Conference

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Okay, so today we start our review of 2013 and look back at Eastern Conference defenses. We call Chicago, DC and Toronto terrible; I name New England the best defensive team---alongside Sporting Kansas City---and then add Columbus Crew as a dark horse for potential lowest goal against tally in 2014. We were privileged to have with us Bill Vegas, aka @letskillrobots,on the podcast tonight so please go out and give him a follow and check out his work over at 'Everybody Soccer'. We sadly didn't get to talk about his children's soccer book review, Five Iron Frenzy, their amazing trumpet player Leanor Ortega aka Jeff the Girl, or Andrew Schaub...maybe we need a not American Soccer Analysis podcast where we talk about the other things outside the soccer pitch that connect us as fans. If so, I'm pretty sure he'd be one of the best guests for me to talk to.

Anyway, there were some moments in which Drew and I both messed up during today's podcast, and here follow the obligatory corrections.

A) I said that this is podcast 33... that's wrong. 33 was last year, this is Season 2, Episode 1 or 34... I'm not sure which I'm going to call it yet. Taking notes and general opinions.

B) Drew stated that Chad Marshall was traded for Steve Clark. That's not true, but it was all really close together, and considering that Seattle really got nothing for Clarke---kind of like Columbus gave nothing up for Marshall---it kind of is the same thing.

C) I said it was Ted Knuterson that ran StatBombs. It is Ted Knutson. I'm a goober.

D) I made 14 other mistakes... if you can find them all and list each one in the comments, you can have a $1 gift card to Amazon.com. REALLY!

[audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/asa-podcast-xxxiiii-the-one-where-we-talk-2013-eastern-conference-defense.mp3]

ASA Podcast XXXIII: The one where we talk Re-Entry Draft

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First and foremost, I want to pre-apologize for you having to tolerate terrible audio on the podcast. We've generally had good quality with just a few quirks in the system. This time around my microphone had an issue, and we couldn't figure it out with the limited time that we had to record. Second, because we had limited time to record the podcast feels a bit rushed, and I'm sorry for that. I really wanted to get something together since it'd been a couple weeks since we last recorded, and I felt there were some good topics for us to touch on. Today, we talk Portland, DC United, Seattle, while touching a bit on the Columbus and Sporting KC keeper trades. We roll into the SKC-versus-RSL MLS Cup and just give a few spare thoughts. It's only 30 minutes and I think, despite the short time, we stay on topic and hit a lot of good highlights.

We'll be back after the start of the new year and we'll have our act together then. I still think today's has some pretty good stuff, though!

[audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/asa-podcast-xxxiii-re-entry-draft-talk.mp3]

ASA Podcast - XXXI: The One Where We Talk MLS Cup

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MLS Cup, if you hadn't heard, is this weekend and the World Cup draw today (11:30 EST, ESPN) there is a bit to talk about this week on the podcast. We go over the probabilities of the draw and how that works and then we break down both RSL and Sporting KC in this weekends Cup Finale. Have a listen, I'm sure you'll enjoy. [audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/asa-podcast-e28093-xxxi_-the-one-where-we.mp3]

ASA Podcast XXX: The One Where We Talk Conference Finals

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Happy Thanksgiving, all! We have a Conference Finals-centric podcast concerning the outcomes this past weekend's matches. Also, there was a little discussion that came out of it concerning formations vs. personnel. It's just us talking and coming up some random thoughts. It's not that long, but it's us and we're having a good chat... I think Matty at one point insults Sebastián Velásquez's hair cut, so there is that. [audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/asa-podcast-xxx_-the-one-where-we-ta.mp3]

ASA Podcast XXIX: The International Break And All That Garbage

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Hey, guys... we're back with better audio quality this week. A big thanks to Drew who put things together last week in my place, and despite technology failing apart around them, Drew and Matty were able to put together a great podcast. This week on the show we tackle MLS playoffs, CONCACAF and USMNT dealings and then some Transfers/Loan rumors that are out there. It's a longer podcast, but it'd been a few weeks since we all got together, and things just rolled. I hope you enjoy it.

[audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/29-asa-podcast-xxix_-the-internation.mp3]

ASA Podcast XXIX: Of flip phones, semifinals, USMNT, pass completions, and burrito folding.

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This week we talked about how cool and hip we are, followed by a discussion of the first legs of the MLS Cup semifinals. We continued with potential changes to MLS' CONCACAF Champions League births, Klinsmann's 23 man roster for the upcoming friendlies versus Scotland and Austria, and the top 50 players in MLS by pass completion percentage. We concluded with a discussion of burritos and proper burrito folding practices. [audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/episode-xxix.mp3]

ASA Podcast XXVIII: The One where we talk MLS Conference Semi-finals

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Last night we talked about the eight teams still in the playoffs in a round-robin-style discussion, and then followed up the playoff talk with a general discussion about numbers. Specifically we talked about often-quoted and used statistics that don't really hold any value. I also pretty much alienate all lawyers who listen to the podcast. Enjoy! [audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/asa-episode-xxviii.mp3]

ASA Podcast XXVI: The one where we talk the last week of the Season

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Okay, a crazy lot happened this weekend, and we are here for a bit of a rewind. We give you our take and how we enjoyed the last week of the MLS season. Also, some thoughts on various things that happened and some added talk about MLS expansion. I give a bit of a dissertation on the state of the Sounders, Matty (of course) mentions shot ratios and Drew has some excellent commentary on coaches. We conclude with some discussion on how goalkeepers may better be valued, and how we are going to try to tackle that project. This was the last week of the regular season, enjoy. [audio http://americansocceranalysis.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/asa-episode-xxvi.mp3]