The WithOnions Soccer Podcast: Recent Episodes
Michael White
Soccer talk with a straight jacket: Michael White (@MichaelLWhite), Ryan Brown (@RyanMB30) & friends riff on Women's & Men's Soccer, incl. Portland Thorns FC, the NWSL, English football, and things beyond.
Show notes & more at http://www.withonions.com
Karin rejoins Mike to talk Thorns, the Week that Was in NWSL, WNBA Protests and USWNT "Protests," why Twitter is Bad, & gene splice their way to the perfect Thorns non-NT lineup.
Track Breakdown:
1': Intro, around the NWSL, the Flash Beane'ing their way to contention, & the effectiveness of NWSL trade requests 10': Thorns: is everything awful? & Wins Above Replacement Level, but for WoSo 19': WNBA Protests & All Quiet on the USWNT Front 31': Athlete/WoSo Twitter is Bad, Pt. 3,162 40': Thorns-Reign: is there a prayer & Gene-splicing your way to the perfect non-NT roster
Karin, Gwyn, & Rach join Mike to discuss the aftermath of the Thorns curb-stomping at Houston, muse around the rest of the league, talk about marketing women's sports & get depressed talking about women and the ills of social media. And Stan Van Gundy for some (good) reason.
Track Breakdown:
1': Intro & The Proper AP Style for Dumpster Fires 5': Thorns-Dash post-mortem & other NWSL musings 34': FS1, NWSL TV airing possibilities & "throw a bone at the league" 43': Bud Light Lime Breaker-Rita & what is sports marketing in the women's sphere 50': It's hard out there for women in social media 57': Minnesota Lynx police violence protest & Stand Van Gundy is the best athlete host family option ever
Back from the brink and without Ryan, @Gwynniepeg joins Mike in a stream of consciousness conversation on the current state of the NWSL after Meg Linehan's two-part welfare check, discuss Hope Solo's..."open letter?" on her league grievances, and of course random thoughts on how to unfuck the NWSL marketing march to nowhere.
Track Breakdown:
1': Intro, how bonfires ruin relationships, and Mike forgets how to spell Gwyn's Twitter handle 7': NWSL 2.0, attendance, is MLS ownership stakes integral? 19': Fanbases, facilities, draw, and investment 27': Unbalanced schedules & how to marry the European soccer emulation and American sports culture 34': Laura Harvey as a future NWSL commissioner? & Jeff Plush gripes 39': Hope Solo, our "dearest least favoritest" 47': Branding & logos 62': US Soccer, NCAA, and the development issue 72': #DrawCityUSA & other Timbers musings 80': "Diego Costa is a shithead"
EPL near-ish end of season #analysis, Thorns road trips post-mortems and previews of @ Spirit and @ Reign, shit-talking of PRO Referees and Mark Clattenburg disappoints.
Carla (@PDX44), everybody's favorite Thorns ex-pat in Red Stars territory, joins Mike for a Thorns, NWSL opening weekend post-mortem to (dumpster) dive into the various NWSL marketing/PR fuckups as well as revel in the early screwups by Bacon & the Reign.
Track Breakdown:
1': Intro, No Ryan, finalizing how to pronounce Dagny's surname, and Thorns-Pride thoughts
10': Reign-Sky Blue wonderment
14': "NWSL 'Blur-o-Vision' Game of the Week"
15': "I do love Paul Riley but..." and general worry over FCKC's depth in 2016
19': Dash-Red Stars, NWSL title game site announced
23': NSWL (sic), Furt-gate, delayed kit releases and other NWSL blunders
36': Micro-preview of upcoming Thorns matches and hopeful ticket sales growth in Houston, Orlando, & Wrap-up
We talk live during a mid-week Timbers meltdown, talk Bacon, go deep on refereeing on a whole and lose it on several other topics.
Track Breakdown:
1': Intro, Timbers losing hard and fast
2': "Glass Cannon" marketability, and leadership
6': NWSL, the Thorns and finding a real rival
14': "This is probably why I'm going to die young" ... NWSL Playoff "Predictions"
18': NWSL "state of the league" conference call breakdown-ish
22': Hopeful future NWSL expansion cities, and sponsorship talk, for some reason
28': Microsoft-Reign Clippie jokes
30': "Chappie" bad refereeing, and "allowing" physical play in MLS.
(Mike references/badly summarizes Aaron Gordon's excellent "Behind the Scenes of MLS's Efforts to Improve Officiating")
44': "Don't trust an aging attacker to care enough to play holding midfielder."
Ryan & Mike (attempt to) talk about pre-season Portland Thorns expectations, the general lunacy of WoSo social media, the EPL title race, and gawk at the latest kit releases.
Track Breakdown:
1': Intro, Thorns (kinda), Jodie Taylor, FA WSL (I mean the Women's Soccer United Twitter, not podcast. Worth a follow.)
8': The sad remembrance to roster turnover's past
13': Thorns-Pride home opener
19': The UK 2012 soccer kit was kinda cra, yo.
20': Thorns season hopes ("bag 'o' dreams")
24': EPL title race ("plug those gaps")
38': "We should research more."
45': We gawk at Euro 2016 kits