The United States is unequivocally the best place in the world to watch football. With all 10 of the final Premier League matches available on television or online, even England couldn't hold a candle to the coverage of The Sport of the Future here in America. Look out, competitive camel jumping — soccer is on the move.
And what a day it was. By beating 10-man Queens Park Rangers in a frantic finale, Manchester City won its first league title since 1968, shed their long tradition of self-harm, and validated the business savvy of sheikhs with money to burn getting involved in football. In this week's pod, Michael Davies and Roger Bennett attempt to make sense of it all, while taking stock of the rest of the league — everything from Arsenal maintaining third position to Bolton vanishing through the trapdoor. But the football doesn't stop here. It never does. Just days before the Champions League final, the Blazered Men preview Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea — a day of delight for Davo but a Sophie's Choice for Rog.
Entering the final weekend, Manchester City's Roberto Mancini is poised to win both the battle of the minds with Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson and the Premier League title, even though he's loath to admit it. A storybook ending for "The Little Train That (received a multibillion-dollar overhaul and) Could." The crosstown rivals both eked out wins Sunday, but one of the victories wasn't like the other. In this week's pod, the Men in Blazers recap both the wins in the penultimate weekend, take stock of the battle for third and fourth place, and then bid Blackburn and their fowl farewell as the second team to cement relegation to the Championship next season.
Lastly, if these weekly musings have provided even the slightest inclination of entertainment, we at Men in Blazers would be honored if GFOPs would take a few moments to vote for MiB as soccer podcast of the year. We're up against all the big boys in England, and finishing last is something we simply can't stomach. Please don't make us Wolverhampton.
It was simply not meant to be. Andy Carroll picked the worst time imaginable to step out of his fat suit and "pony-tail" home the winner against doomed Everton. Instead of an All-Men in Blazers dream FA Cup Final featuring Chelsea and America's team, Liverpool will play Roberto Di Matteo's side on Cinco De Mayo. On the bright side, John Terry and Luis Suarez will finally have found a soulmate eager to shake the others hand before kickoff. In this week's midnight pod special, Roger and Michael bemoan the FA Cup Final that could have been and breakdown why things went so terribly wrong for Rog's beloved Toffees.
Plus, the Men in Blazers recap the return of golf's Carlos Tevez, explore mighty Ray Hudson's bizarre sexual predilections, celebrate the state bird of Massachusetts and answer a GFOP's hard-hitting telegram regarding the Premier League's sexiest manager. 'Arry can rest easy.
In a smashing weekend of topflight football drama, both Questionable Penalty and Clear Offside Goal took their turns in the spotlight. Elsewhere, Manchester United delivered more of the same: the ruthless pragmatism that has seen them win 11 out of their last 12 matches, effectively locking up the Premier League title in the process. While neighboring Manchester City continued to implode against Arsenal, as Mario Balotelli made fans wonder what would come first — a red card or institutionalization. In this week's podcast, the Men in Blazers tackle both houses of Manchester and then turn their attention to the breathless race for third and fourth place.
Plus, Michael and Roger look ahead to an FA Cup semifinal weekend that could produce a Clash of the Blazers Chelsea v. Everton final. This may very well be the beginning of the end.
The current Premier League season continues to be predictably erratic. Manchester United resume their traditional script, winning late against Blackburn on Monday, while the rest of the league fails to decide on any discernible, consistent plotlines. In this week's podcast, Michael and Roger contemplate the weekend's action featuring all of the favorite Men in Blazers' characters — Mario Balotelli's self-destructive ways, Andy Carroll's inexplicable dive, and Joey Barton's disdain for statistics.
But it's not all about the glamorous teams at the top of the table. The blazered men analyze the battle against relegation at the bottom. While they can decide on one of the teams set to move down at the season's end (so long, Wolverhampton!), the other two teams leave Michael and Roger at odds.
Of course, none of this football really matters in the wake of Giorgio Chinaglia's death on Sunday. The Cosmos legend was the Greatest Friend of the Pod and a dear colleague at SiriusXM. He forever changed the landscape of America's Sport of the Future and we're eternally indebted to him.
Giorgio Chinaglia, the former Italian soccer star and goal-scoring legend for the New York Cosmos, passed away Sunday at his home in Florida, according to reports. Chinaglia, who spent several seasons with the Cosmos in the North American Soccer League, also played for Lazio, which won an Italian title in 1974.
Mind games? What mind games? With the Premier League's finish line now vaguely visible on the horizon, Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United emerge, as predictably as a footballing groundhog, to separate themselves from the rest of the table. In this week's podcast, Michael Davies and Roger Bennett examine United's pragmatic path to glory and what that means for their aspirational cross-town rivals, City.
Plus, Roger chats with refereeing legend Abraham Klein, the Holocaust survivor who became one of the world's best during the World Cup's heyday in the 1970s. The 5-foot-tall disciplinarian sheds light on how he'd handle today's Premier League prima donnas.
It's March and it's madness. The FA Cup continued its slow but steady return to football's radar of relevance over the weekend, with storylines abounding across England. And while the goal-scoring return of Chelsea's Fernando Torres and vaudeville villainy of Liverpool's Luis Suarez are subjects that warrant considerable attention in this week's podcast, all of it pales in significance compared to the condition of Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba after his collapse during the quarterfinal clash at White Hart Lane.
Michael Davies and Roger Bennett review the remarkable storylines and salivate with anticipation at the week of scintillating football that lies ahead, including the seismic Manchester City-Chelsea matchup. The Blazered Men wrap up the pod by discussing the usual: How to fix the Champions League away goals rule, and whether "Ginger Ninja" is officially the greatest nickname in soccer.
Fears of a double-dip recession in Britain may be over, thanks to the sudden wealth of job openings in England’s managerial ranks. Joining the post that nobody wants — manager of England’s national team — is the toxic task that only the clinically insane would consider with a straight face — manager of Chelsea Football Club. And it’s all fodder for analysis in this week’s pod from the Men in Blazers.
After offering a tearful goodbye to Andre Villas-Boas as he sets out for other prepubescent adventures, Michael and Roger work their way down the Premier League table and dissect the biggest storylines from the weekend. The blazered men consider matrimony for Mario Balotelli, Liverpool’s penalty woes, and the magisterial form of part-time American bassmaster/full-time Fulham’s leading goal scorer Clint Dempsey. What will it take for America to care? Someone please get him on Dancing With the Stars.
With their beloved Downton Abbey gone but not forgotten, and the Oscars a plodding replacement, only a peerless feast of football could save the Men in Blazers from the mid-winter blues. Luckily for this week's pod, their cup runneth over.
Michael and Roger kick things off with the United States' victory over Italy in Genoa on Wednesday. A gritty, collective effort that was sure to put a smile on former national team coach Bob Bradley's face (if such a things is possible). Rubbernecking at the wreckage of England's 3-2 loss to the Netherlands, the Blazered Boys move from country to club. In the Carling Cup that nobody — yet secretly everyone — wanted to win, Liverpool emerged triumphant thanks to one of the most pitiful penalty shootouts in recent memory. But their story wasn't the only one of deliverance over the weekend. Arsenal hoped to salvage the season with a comeback for the ages against crosstown rival Tottenham.
Scintillating stuff, indeed. But just as the pod ends, the Black Dog returns. Oh, Mrs. Patmore, where art thou?
It's the time of the season when the competitions start to bleed together. In the span of only a week, connoisseurs of association football can dabble in the eclectic delights of the FA Cup, take in the seductive Champions League, slum it with Europa, obediently return to the Premiership, and then cap it all with Sunday's critically important/slightly meaningless Carling Cup final.
Somehow, the Men in Blazers manage to cover it all in this week's pod, even making time to analyze the latest big stories emerging from the Puerto Rican and Malagasy leagues for good measure. Their paramount concerns surround the London clubs in crisis — Arsenal and Chelsea. Michael and Roger delve deep into EPL management psychology as they consider the fates of Arsenal's bewildered wizard, Arsene Wenger, and Chelsea's very own Doogie Howser, Andre Villas-Boas.
Love is in the air in the crap part of Soho as Roger and Michael celebrate their union with a Valentine's Day Special. Luckily, it's a mix of business and pleasure. The blazered men cover last weekend's Handshakegate between Liverpool's Luis Suarez and Manchester United's Patrice Evra, reconcile after Roger's lionhearted Everton dispose of Michael's woebegone Chelsea, and uncover some inspiring tabloid journalism involving Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey. We advise romantic partners to relish these suboptimal sounds before the FA Cup makes its underwhelming return Saturday.
England remains engulfed in drama, and not the good kind on PBS. Everyone's favorite illiterate, 'Arry Redknapp, appears poised to take over from the recently resigned Fabio Capello as England manager, Wayne Rooney and Manchester United recovered from a three-goal hole to draw Chelsea, and U.S. judicial scholar Kenny Dalglish opted to "plead the Fifth Amendment" to reporters following Liverpool's drab 0-0 match against Tottenham. BUT DID YOU SEE THE ANFIELD CAT? It's really all just white noise in comparison.
The Premier League race is blown wide open thanks to the defeat of Manchester City at the hands of America's Team, and Michael Davies and Roger Bennett couldn't be happier. This latest turn in the EPL's made-for-TV script features An MLS's St. Landon of Donovan. A month into his second loan spell, Donovan has dished out one miracle after another, turning assists into the new goals.
But after examining the rest of the midweek action and deciphering the cryptic meaning behind the latest round of FA Cup, the Men in Blazers turn their attention to matters of graver import. Michael and Roger are joined by American footballing legend Gerry Baker. The New Rochelle, N.Y., native scored hat tricks in the English top-flight long before Clint Dempsey was a twinkle in his mother's eye. Now a forgotten figure in U.S. soccer lore, Gerry even remains ineligible for the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. To help right such an injustice, MiB launch their newest campaign, encouraging listeners to e-mail halloffame@ussoccer.org and lobby on Baker's behalf. Let's all do our part to make sure soccer remains America's Sport of the Future.
It was an amazing weekend for America's Sport of the Future. One featuring the first-ever live Premier League match on broadcast television (enter Piers Morgan), the upstart U.S. women overcoming traditional powerhouse Dominican Republic 14-0 in Olympic qualifying, and "Deuce" becoming "Thrice" as Clint Dempsey became the first American to net a hat-trick in the Premiership. And we've barely scratched the surface.
In this week's pod, Michael Davies and Roger Bennett discuss the clashes between the House of Manchester and the House of London and are joined by world champion and 30 Rock star Judah Friedlander. Plus, listeners' telegrams take a turn for the x-rated this week. Hide your children, it's the Men in Blazers.
