Episode 253 - It's Time to Take the Fight to USSF

We're back!  After a couple of months of not podcasting, we have returned.

Since last we published a podcast, the following has happened in US soccer:

• A federal appeals court denied the NASL an injunction against the USSF's (less than warranted) decision to deny the league D2 sanctioning (in favor of the historically inept USL), effectively killing the league.  However, the league's case against the federation continues.
• The USSF has a new President, but sadly it is not Eric Wynalda.  It is instead Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs executive (some of you may recall another Goldman Sachs exec, Eric Grubman, playing a hand in the NFL's LA disaster) and vice president of USSF.  So, there is no chance of any meaningful reform for at least 4 years.
• It gets worse: Cordeiro publicly referred to the sick joke that is USL as "the world's best second division" - discounting every open second division in the world, including the arguably superior EFL Championship - and said the USSF's primary responsibility is to secure hosting for the 2026 World Cup (along with Mexico and Canada).  This.  Is.  Bulls@#$!
• The CAS case brought about by the owners of Miami FC and Kingston Stockade FC to force USSF to play by FIFA statutes and institute promotion and relegation (which was read on this podcast) will be heard soon.
• Two phrases you need to be aware of: Alt(ernative) Fed(eration) and Division Zero.

Watch this space.

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Congrats to Philly on winning the Super Bowl!

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles on winning Super Bowl 52, 41-33 over New England.

And they did it on the backs of former St. Louis players, namely quarterback Nick Foles and D-lineman Chris Long.  Which gives further credence that Mike's former team were intentionally tanking games from 2011-2015 to justify the nonsense claim that St. Louisans don't care about football.

Philly's victory also makes the NFC East the only division in the current 8-division setup to have every team win at least 1 Super Bowl.  Dallas has 5, the New York Football Giants have 4, and Washington has 3.  The Eagles' first makes it 13 out of 52 (exactly 25% of all Super Bowls) going to NFC East teams, which leads all divisions.  Observe:

NFC East: 13 (Dallas 5, NY Giants 4, Washington 3, Philadelphia 1)
AFC North: 8 (Pittsburgh 6, Baltimore 2)
AFC East: 8 (New England 5, Miami 2, NY Jets 1)
NFC West: 7 (San Francisco 5, Seattle 1, Professional Liars 1 [that was won in St. Louis])
AFC West: 7 (Denver 3, Raiders 3, Kansas City 1)
NFC North: 5 (Green Bay 4, Chicago 1)
NFC South: 2 (Tampa Bay 1, New Orleans 1)
AFC South: 2 (Colts 2)

The Craziest Election In America Is In U.S. Soccer

The Year That Broke U.S. Soccer - MUST WATCH!

Saints Done, Keith Gets First Batsu Game

Keith's pick to win the Super Bowl, the New Orleans Saints, have been knocked out of the playoffs.

Keith therefore will be issued his first batsu game!

The conference finals are as follows:

AFC: New England and Jacksonville
NFC: Philadelphia and Minnesota

When Villa & Forest Ruled the World (And Where It Went Wrong)

In the interest of providing some content until our next podcasting session, here is a great documentary on the only two past European Cup (now UEFA Champions League) winners who are currently not in their country's top flight: Aston Villa (1 European Cup, in 1981-82) and Nottingham Forest (2 European Cups, won back-to-back in 1978-79 and 1979-80).



Presently, Villa are in 5th place in the Football League Championship (in the promotion playoff spots) and were knocked out of the FA Cup by League One side Peterborough United, while Forest are 14th and knocked out defending FA Cup champions Arsenal (cue the new version of Senor Stan).

How did the football picks go?

Before the NFL season started, Mike and Keith made their picks.  How did they do?

Division	Mike's Picks	Keith's Picks	Actual Results
NFC North	Green Bay	Green Bay	Minnesota
NFC South	New Orleans	New Orleans	New Orleans
NFC East	NY Giants	Philadelphia	Philadelphia
NFC West	Arizona	Seattle	Professional Liars
NFC Wild Cards	Philadelphia Seattle	Carolina NY Giants	Carolina Atlanta
AFC North	Pittsburgh	Baltimore	Pittsburgh
AFC South	Houston	Houston	Jacksonville
AFC East	New England	New England	New England
AFC West	Raiders	Raiders	Kansas City
AFC Wild Cards	Denver Indianapolis	Kansas City Miami	Tennessee Buffalo
NFC Champions	Green Bay	New Orleans	TBA
AFC Champions	New England	Raiders	TBA
SB52 Champions	Green Bay	New Orleans	TBA

Mike's picks: 4/12
Keith's picks: 5/12

Mike, BATSU GAME!!!

That's 2 pending batsu games for Mike.