Local Hour: I Believe That We Will Lose
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Today's episode is sponsored by DraftKings. Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings, the crown is yours. Amin, I really wanted to start today's show crushing Greg Berhalter. Oh, we gotta crush the entire U.S. Men's National Team program. We have to. I want to. I wanted to send a message and come out the gates with it. But then something happened as we were getting into position here. I got a mobile alert and it was a woge bomb and it was that Donovan Mitchell has extended his

with the Cleveland Cavaliers leaving Jeremy Tashae so little time to come up with spin.

So, Jeremy, I hate to do this to you. I know you're not a fan of these positions, but people are coming right now to drink your tears. This nukes the plan right now. Pat's got to come up with something unforeseen because Donovan Mitchell has extended. He has decided to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the talent pool is drying up once again for Miami.

We spoke about it yesterday that Pat Riley and the Heat do feel confident about the team that they have. I'm just telling you what the Heat think. I saw those reports yesterday and I was like, wow, we're already succumbing. Yeah, I mean, look, those have been the reports all offseason long. They were the reports at the end of the season where it was Miami looking at their team, looking at their health throughout the year, looking at what the Eastern Conference standings looked like.

And believing they can improve on the youth that they have and not to overpay to go get another star. So they're writing it back. I don't know. There's still plenty of time in this offseason to make other moves. All of the flurry of moves that happened yesterday, those are often with the teams that have cap space to move into. You often see trades happen later on.

But the reality is, yeah, it looks like this team is going to be similar to the roster construction you saw last year, at least at the given moment, unless somebody else becomes unhappy and wants to be either down here or somewhere else. Miami's in a position now where they look at their young core and they say, OK, this is what we have to support Bam and his extension. You have Jimmy Butler now in what is a contract year. Yeah.

and you operate from there. I mean, I'm intrigued to know what you think about the position that Miami is in, because I'm sort of... I'm not necessarily saying what my views on this are as much as what I know the Heat believe about the team. I came to you for Heat spin. You gave me the Heat spin, and they had already started laying that foundation with some writers that had covered, I guess, maybe...

they had started getting an inkling that Donovan Mitchell was going to be extending. And that's where the momentum was heading, by the way, with Mitchell extending. And there were a lot of Heat fans that just didn't want to believe it. I mean, it seems as though we can, if we were to hand out a grade for the Miami Heats offseason to this point,

I mean, they got a top 15 draft pick. Okay. He's got some. And they really like him for what it's worth. They got a draft pick they really like. I'm waiting for the team to come out and say like, you know what? This guy kind of sucks. Three days later, we fucked up. I think in that, all I'm trying to say is he was a guy who was on their board from the beginning. They didn't take connect despite the fact that he felt them.

Incomplete for the Heat, but I want to talk about the Donovan Mitchell extension because like words have power. Words have power, right? So you hear the story, Donovan Mitchell signs an extension. Like, oh God, he's gone forever now. He's locked in. How long of an extension? Three years? Oh, he had two years left and he signed a three-year extension?

Uh-uh-uh. Because he has 24-25 coming up, right? And then 25-26 was a player option. So what they did was they tore up that player option and they said, we start the extension there. So 24-25 was already there. 25-26, you're one of the extension. 26-27, you're two of the extension. 27-28, you're three player option.

So in essence, he's just there an extra two years from where we thought he would be. It's what Jimmy was asking for. Okay, but I understand for Donovan Mitchell, this is not as long-term a commitment as it would seem, even though Cavs fans have every right to be excited because they talked a superstar into actually saying. It does shift Miami's timeline because when you were thinking about the talent acquisition front, talent...

Donovan Mitchell was at the top of the list. He was. He was the guy because, you know, he and Bam are friends. You look at a guy who seemingly was unhappy. Heard this for three years now. And a whole bunch of superstars want to play with Bam because they know the deal. They can come right in here and be the guy. Why do the Heat always feel like they're on year two of a five-year plan?

Billy, I am welcome of your perspective. I'm just curious. These teams are rebuilding in like two years. Every team has activity except they get bad and then get good most of the time. Would you rather get bad and then good or be a play-in team every good? They've been good. I mean, it's insane to say that this build hasn't been good. They had a bad year. They were bad last year.

They also had a miracle run the year before where they were playing team again. Feels like a good year, though, right? That's a good year. Any year you beat the Boston Celtics in the playoffs is a good year. So we'll take that. But this is a team that has had a few breaks and found good form in the playoffs. Look, if...

If they lose in the first round last year, everyone is saying, what are we doing here? You got to blow up the entire team. Pat Riley should resign. But they didn't. They made it to the finals. And that's just another chip on the... That's another chip when you're playing poker and you're trying to get talent to come here to Miami. You got the rings. You got the heat culture thing. And that was just another thing to put under that heat culture banner. But I...

The Heat fans are getting pretty restless. Certainly. From what I... I'm shocked that they haven't done something major. Now, that's not to say they're not working on major things. But the impression that I got from talking to people in and around that franchise was that they got a solid sampling of humble pie and they knew that things had to change.

And for the spin cycle to already be turning about running this thing back and practicing patience, that is not aligned with what I was hearing over the last few weeks. Here's the flip side of that. It's July 2nd.

Right. And the pieces and the bodies that have moved are the free agents, which you were never going to factor into. Donovan Mitchell is the first like, oh, that was a guy we wanted. He's off the board. That's the first one that's happened. So there's still – We don't have a superstar malcontent right now. Brandon Ingram is going to be on the – is he a superstar? Maybe not a superstar. There you go, Mike. That's the name you wanted to hear right off the bat. Oh.

Mike. Kevin Durant. Hold on. A ton. Exactly, Juju. I'm not saying Brandon Ingram wouldn't help, and I'm not saying he's not a good player in his own right. It's just quite the fall. Is it? I think so. Is it? Yeah, from what... Depending on the package. What hopes and expectations were, is Brandon Ingram... Donovan Mitchell versus Brandon Ingram is quite the fall? Yeah, man. I'm not...

I got to talk myself into Brandon Ingram. Like, for... To be trudging through this...

These last few seasons. And for the reward at the end of it to be Brandon Ingram is just like, ah. But Brandon Ingram can give you what you need every single night. The most. He can be the go-to guy of the night. He can let Jimmy cook. He could be a facilitator. Bruh, I think you might need to watch more Pelicans games because Brandon Ingram is that guy. I don't want to watch more Pelicans games. That's only you. You want to watch more?

I'm familiar with Brandon Ingram. I don't think you are. I know who Brandon Ingram is. I know you know who he is. I've watched his game. Yeah, he's a nice little player. Yeah, is he a superstar to help win the title? Lotto is so condescending to little. He's not a nice little player, bro. He's good. Okay, he's a lanky player. And he's also one of the highest people I've ever seen play the sport. I'm out. So the last two years, right, including this is the finals run year, the Heat have been

bottom third in offense in the league, and in the half court, bottom five two years ago, bottom nine last year.

This is a team that is suffocating from its lack of offense. The people around it, if you look around the heat in that range of like— You need buckets. Brandon Ingram gets buckets. We're talking about Orlando as a neighbor down there. Think about how bad Orlando is offensively. That's where Miami is. Except Orlando, as bad as it is, still has the, Palo Banco, just go get me one. At absolute worst, right?

Miami, Jimmy Butler, you could look through his career. He's not a 25, 28-point-per-game scorer. He's a timely scorer, but he's not a guy that said, hey, man, just carry me for this whole game. No, Brandon Ingram would walk in as the go-to scorer, and it's just such a harsh recalibration of expectation. But when you say that, you act like it was, okay, are we going to get Paul George? Are we going to get...

Michael Jordan? Are we going to get Anthony Edwards? No, I was thinking Donovan Mitchell. I was thinking... I was already... I was talking myself into Paul George. I still have the pie-in-the-sky scenario of Phoenix realizing that this isn't the path to go down. And he can get someone like Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant excites me more, even at this stage in his career, than a Brandon Ingram. He just does. Because I think that with important games on the line, I know what I can get from Kevin Durant. And I just trust him. I have a hard time trusting Brandon Ingram. But he's not...

So you can say, oh, Kevin Durant, he's not available. When he becomes available, then we can have that conversation. But you can't be like, you guys promised me Kevin Durant level. And so when you say, so really realistically, your Miami Heat offseason has been ruined, air quotes, by one thing, the thing that just happened today, Donovan Mitchell. And I'm here to tell you, Donovan Mitchell's a very good player. He's a superstar. He's charismatic. He sells tickets. He sells shoes. He sells all that stuff.

But the gap between Donovan Mitchell and Brandon Ingram is not like this chasm. It's not great. It's also to consider Brandon Ingram with the leadership of the Heat culture. That's the part. He's had the Lakers, the circus. He's had New Orleans where he had to be the guy despite Zion's absence. So imagine him in Spolstra's locker room. I feel like that would make Brandon Ingram so much better, and he's already good. It's a great point. It's just hearing Brandon Ingram –

When, once again, everyone outside of, let's just put the Celtics aside because they're just running back a championship side. But everyone else. Yeah. Aren't they? Like running back as in bringing back the same guys. Yeah, they're bringing back the same guys. And it seems the news yesterday, they're locking in all their guys and letting some other ownership group worry about the tab. That's genius. I love that. That is a Jeffrey Loria school of ownership right there. Minus the success.

Wait to see. Hey, they're tied in championships. Celtics ownership group and Jeffrey Loria. One title each. Two. This Celtics ownership group won? 0-8. Oh, this was around in 0-8? Yes. Because I knew that they took on those Vegas guys around.

around that time. Paliuka and Grousbeck. They came in. Because they have a larger group. Yeah, but those two guys, those are the two main guys. I stand corrected. So actually, that's quite a bit of success for that ownership. Suck it, Samson. Since 08. 2-1. But I'm

Here's my frustration and why I just came at you two-suck with Brandon Ingram. Real quick, real quick. 2-1, which is one off of the 3-1 Panama score yesterday. Continue. We'll get there. That's called a tease. We will definitely get there. Trust me. I've been waiting for this moment for all my life.

to get at the U.S. Soccer Federation and Greg Berhalter. And I think you and I were enjoying that game the same amount. Oh, man. And you know that I love my U.S. Men's National Program. But again, we'll get to it. Here's why Brandon Ingram just slices me in half.

It's because when you consider all the names over the last 10 years, and this is like attempt three on Donovan Mitchell that you haven't seriously been in the game on. But there's just superstar after superstar after superstar that you get excited for and to be left with surveying the land. And at this point in time, the superstar malcontent that you have to trade all these young players for that you've developed is Brandon Ingram. And at that point, I understand the spin of like,

F it. Let's just run it back and see what's available in the midseason. It's a second straight year of everyone in the East seemingly getting better. And you're standing pat. I find it really hard to get excited about bringing him back and talking about the huge chances because as of right now,

forget playing. This doesn't look like a playoff team. This does not look like a team that can compete inside its own division right now. It's got a lot of ground to make up. And I understand the point. If they're healthy, if they're healthy, they're probably the second seed. Okay. And then the seventh seed is going to take them out because they're going to be resting their guys and they're going to be more talented come, come playoff time. I,

I don't see a path here. You can project all you want that if all those guys played, they're a two-seed. They're a fraud of a two-seed. And you also have to take into account that they're a year older. This is as bad a position as a Miami Heat have been since the Waiters and James Johnson era. Since

since the Hassan Whiteside era, where their hands were totally tied behind their back because they dished out bad contracts that were very difficult to move. At least they have pieces on their roster that they can move. Now, I'm not saying change things just for the sake of changing them because you're desperate.

But you've got to be – Sounds like it. Yeah, that's 100%. You've got to be insane to say running it back is what we should do. Mike, it's not. They need to have Jimmy Butler in the playoff run, and they still got to win in Boston. This team is gritty. Bro, I don't see what you see. I see the Miami team still as one of the scariest teams in the league as long as they're healthy, especially if you add a player like B.I. Come on. I understand the perspective, especially from a Boston supporter, because that's a boogeyman. Oh, I'm not a Boston supporter. I'm a –

I love the NBA, brother. I'm not just a Boston supporter scared of no damn body. I'm saying this as a person who watches every single game, WNBA and NBA. I'm saying that Brandon Ingram brings something that you guys could 100% benefit from. I think the other thing, Mike, that you have to keep in mind is

is this isn't like, well, boys, back up the cement truck. This is us for life, life, life, life. That's not what's happening here. Like, July 2nd,

A lot can happen just in the next couple of days. Damian Lillard got traded a day before training camp. Yep. Like things. Although we were like a year ago, like I got all the social media memories. Like we were already on the, on the Lord path here. Yes. Yes. But like, my point is shit happens continuously from now up until February, whatever shit happens continuously. People get upset. People get disenchanted. People run out of patience. Hey, and LeBron's still out there.

And LeBron. LeBron, I guess, is my pivot, my irrational pivot. The trade packages always end up mattering too, right? So you would have been giving up, likely, your whole young core and your bevy of picks, whatever you have left to go get Donovan Mitchell and building around Mitchell, Bam, and

and jimmy butler and hoping that jimmy butler didn't then walk in the offseason um you're still in that position with jimmy the question becomes we're hoping that he doesn't if you were to be in if you were to make a move for for brennan ingram for example what does that trade package look like for that matter a guy who's been floated out there and this is certainly not the name that you you want to hear if you're going from donovan mitchell but zach levine they're talking about attaching a pick

to him so then it puts you in a position of hey if you can acquire an asset on top of a guy who can go get his own bucket then you're back in position to either at the deadline or in the following offseason make the type of moves that you're looking for look this is a negative no matter what look today's a sad like today Heat fans are allowed to be upset about Donovan Mitchell not being here but it doesn't have to be the end of the world it is the beginning of the summer Jeremy I want to ask Mike a question other than 2010 what was your franchise

You act like every year y'all got the best of it. Talent acquisition. Talent acquisition. Name names. Shaquille O'Neal. Brian Grant before him. Brian Grant. Alonzo Mourning before him. Brian Grant. Tim Hardaway. Tim Hardaway had no knees. Tim Hardaway had no knees. The more autumn is rich. Okay, hold on. Here we go. Watch this. Watch this. Tim Hardaway had no knees.

And everyone thought his career was over when they got him. Like, Alonzo Mourning, cool. All right, so... Is this your counter to me rattling off, like, 17 examples? The Heat's identity is always talent acquisition. I'm going to go do every f***ing name you just named. Because you act like every summer they walked in with, the best free agent, guys. Look who I'm with now. Like...

That's not what they do. No, no, no. What they do is the best trade available, they're always in that conversation. Count them. Three big off seasons. One, Alonzo Mourning. Absolutely. That was the big one. But that wasn't an off season. That was mid-season. No, it wasn't. It was the summertime. It was? Glenn Rice for Alonzo Mourning. Okay. Right? Number two was Shaquille O'Neal. Yeah. Jamal Mashburn was also a pretty aggressive move.

Are you high right now? Jamal Mashburn was an aggressive move. I'm just saying, like, this team... So you want anything? You just want anything? Just do something. Do something, guys. Move things around. Oh, now I feel better. We did something. I now realize how annoying it is when someone just gets louder when you're trying to have a conversation. You are irrational. Let me finish my point. I'm being rational. The Miami Heat's identity is always being in on the talent. Is always being in on the talent. And succeeding. And now they're failing. Alonzo Mourning. Shaquille O'Neal.

Chris Bosh and LeBron James. Yeah. Other than that, and I guess Jimmy Butler.

That's a lot of examples. That's four in 40 years. To his point, you didn't want Jimmy Butler either. And you didn't want Jimmy Butler. You didn't want him. I had to talk y'all into it. Hold on. Yes. I had to talk y'all into it. I wasn't the biggest Jimmy Butler fan, but getting Jimmy Butler with zero cap room is an example of what this franchise used to be. Aggressive all-in moves to get superstars. Whether I rated Jimmy Butler as much as his superstar tag allowed for, that's...

That doesn't really matter. He was a superstar. He was an all-star player. He wasn't a superstar. He wasn't. They fought against him. He became a superstar here. But Juju, finish the line for me. So you got four times. Two of them were good. One of them was, eh. And the other was Jimmy Butler over 10 years. What's that?

10-year-old. That's a one hot thing over 10-year average. Right. Stop acting like you guys are doing this thing every damn year. You sound like a Laker fan. We're like, everybody wants to play for the Lakers. Like, yeah, in like 1987. But the reality is the history of this franchise, the history of this franchise is not wheeling and dealing all the time.

It's just they've had high-profile ones that have gotten brainwashing to thinking, we've got the whale hunter. We've got Captain Ahab out here on the— Arr, she blows! A hump like a snowmill! It's his superstar dick! Why would I think that when after every season, Pat Riley gets in front of a microphone to once again ramp up expectations? He didn't do that this year. Joe Biden got in front of a microphone. It doesn't matter. What I'm saying is, at the end of the day—

These teams, y'all's mantra is the toughest. I don't know the toughest. That doesn't stand for superstars. That means we work hard. And I feel like he's a hard, Brandon Ingram is a hard worker that could benefit y'all is all I'm saying. Okay. And Brandon Ingram, by the way. Show me. Jimmy Butler shows you and you didn't like Kyle Lowry. No, I hated it. He went to the finals with

Kyle Lowry and he benefited and he contributed. I think they went to the finals in spite of Kyle Lowry. By the way, Lowry is, when they got Lowry, he was at a higher position than Tim Hardaway when he was acquired. Like, at that point in their careers... Why are you seizing on the Tim Hardaway thing? Like, the Zoe was moved. I'll seize on it because

You know why? Because season on Jamal Mashburn doesn't do numbers. Okay. That's why. No, no, no. But Jamal Mashburn was one of the top names available in the midseason trade deadline. They got him. Go ahead. Lamar Odom. You can have your opinions on Lamar Odom. It changed the trajectory of the franchise. Goran Dragic was the biggest name available at that trade deadline. You hated him too.

You thought Tyler Johnson was better than him? We celebrated when we got Draugich, didn't we? Yeah, I had a very popular vine. Lamar Odom and Brandon Ingram are, you can't say Lamar Odom is a bigger draw than Brandon Ingram. Hey, Juju, you're a basketball aficionado. How many times an all-star has Lamar Odom been? I don't, I can't.

zero all right yeah okay right how many times had the gordon rock has been an all-star at that point well lamar lamar odom changed the trajectory of where they were going and it was an aggressive splashy move so and he then ended up being a key piece in the shaquille o'neal acquisition dude i don't know what to tell you if you don't think that the miami heat's whole dna is built as much on superstar acquisition as it is on the

culture BS, then I don't know what to tell you. This has always been a team that has been aggressive in the trade market. And let me tell you something. While I keep hearing about how Daryl Morey, how does he have draft capital? He's in the conversation every goddamn year and he finds a way to make it happen. He found a way to make it happen again with Paul George. He keeps stealing your lunch money, Daryl Morey. Daryl Morey is what people think and wish and hope Pat Riley can be today.

Darryl Morey won conference finals appearance in his career. Yep. In his career. Houston and Philadelphia. Okay, he's had... No, congratulations. That's the guy. Ooh, yes. Save me. Save me, Darryl Morey. We took a promised land on the second goddamn round. How many conference finals do you think he gets to? How many do you think he wins if Eric Spolstra is his head coach?

Get out of here, man. What? Get out of here? No, no, no. This is a big piece of it. Yes. Yes. He has a lot more success. So what I'm saying, reward the head coach with aggressive moves as a GM. It's July 2nd. Okay. It is July 2nd. No. In my mind, it's two and a half years.

Two and a half years of whiffs. In the middle of that, they were in the NBA Finals. Got it. Got it. Yeah, and that's always going to be the rebuttal. And the Conference Finals. It's always going to be the rebuttal. Two and a half years. Game seven Conference Finals and NBA Finals. It slaps way harder than me telling you they've been in the play in two consecutive years. It slaps way harder than Jamal Mashburn and Brian Grant and Tim Hardaway. That's where it slaps harder than. These were aggressive moves. These are aggressive moves that are just aggressive for the sake of aggression and not because they're actually like –

things that you take home and put on a fridge and say, look at what I did today. They got Ray Allen. They got Goran Dragic. I literally rattled off 25 names. And you go to Tim Hardaway's knees. Just unreal. I went through every name. Just unreal. I went through every name you gave me.

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This is the Don Levitard Show with the Stugats.

All right, let's talk about something that we both agree on. I believe that we will lose. I believe that we will lose. I believe that we got an ass beat. I believe that Panama is better. I believe that this girl's a la-la-la-la-la. U.S. sucks. U.S. sucks. I thought you were still making fun of Heat fans. U.S. sucks.

I don't think that's how the chant goes. I think it's how it goes. I think how it goes. Look, I watched a game from the Goodyear Blimp, ladies and gentlemen. Bird's eye view. So I could see all of the little ants running around on the field. And let me tell you something about U.S. soccer that has not changed over the 150,000 years they've been playing. I don't care who the names are. I don't care the bloodlines, whatever you want to talk about. It's undeniable that this country is

plays like a pickup game every damn time. Sometimes they win, sometimes, a lot of times they lose, excuse me. But they play like a pickup game. What I mean by is so many times, first of all, complete lack of accuracy in the short game. Passes going far, short, out of bounds. Guys making passes that are panic passes. They don't know what the next play is. It's like, oh, let me get this to get rid of it. You pass it to nobody, right?

Blinders on in the scoring area, in the scoring third, right? Last night, Haji Wright, you got a man right here. I gotta shoot the ball because I'm a strike. I think more knockout goals in international competition than Cristiano Ronaldo, Haji Wright.

Congratulations. Now take your ass home. More World Cup elimination goals than Cristiano Ronaldo. Take your ass home and put that on your plate. What you're saying is not wrong. And I think last night, it doesn't often happen where I'm just actively rooting against my team, especially when it comes to the national teams.

A handful of times I can—there was one USF game against Randy Shannon where I wanted Randy Shannon out in the worst way, and I was just cheering for USF at that point. Last night was one of those nights.

And I got a big up to Bielsa for actually going for it, even though he was suspended putting out there an aggressive starting 11 for Udawai to show you. This U.S. men's national team program has lost to Panama on home soil twice in the last 12 months. And there's been a lot of golden generation talk, and there's been a lot of talent talk. And I will concede that this is probably, when you look at the clubs that these guys are playing with,

When you look at the actual talent on the field, this is worthy of people saying this is one of the more talented U.S. soccer generations ever. So if you want to take swipes at the talent, that's... Isn't this supposed to be the best team ever? Isn't this supposed to be the team that's supposed to win the World Cup America is hosting? It's been dubbed the golden generation, and they've lost to Panama twice in the last 12 months. Everything that glitters in gold, Billy.

Who could have seen this coming outside of everyone who has followed U.S. soccer passionately over the last five years? I follow it very passionately. Yeah, and you knew one day this day would come. Now, I don't know if the Federation is actually going to do the right thing. I'm so over this Federation and the nepotism that exists within it that I don't expect them to actually do the right thing. So this is an appeal to Greg Berhalter. Resign with two Gs.

You step aside. You got brought back. And I feel like he got brought back. New t-shirt. Resign. I feel like he got brought back because the U.S. Soccer Federation wanted him to avoid a lawsuit.

A lawsuit, by the way, a mess that was entirely constructed by Greg Berhalter because he couldn't shut his trap around reporters. And he made an ugly situation even uglier with Gio Reyna. He couldn't keep that behind the locker room doors. He couldn't do that. That had to play out in the public sphere. Okay, fine. He's brought back.

What did you think was going to happen with Greg Berhalter out there? This guy wants to come in and play like Barcelona and boss teams that he's more talented than. Play what? Boss Panama. You can't boss Panama. Play what? Play like Barca football. Play possession football. You just mentioned it. There's no possession here.

I don't trust this team if they travel to El Salvador to play them off the pitch. Dude, saying they want to play like Barcelona is like saying the Detroit Pistons want to play like the 2017 Warriors. I understand. Look, take swipes at the talent all you want. I will say for U.S. soccer history, there's plenty of great examples of them showing up

with a gritty 11 and playing a defensive style, a counterattacking style, and getting the results needed. They did it against literally the greatest soccer team I have ever seen with Spain in the Confederations Cup. I've seen this country, when it adopts that mentality, actually get success. Lean on the athleticism. Long ball it to a speedster over the top. Get a goal. Because in the international game, it's not how you do it. It's...

Doing it. Amen. Okay. That's fair. It's not how you do it. It's doing it. But it's also how you do it. Ask Greece if they liked how they did it in 06. No, I get it. There's always going to be an example of someone who just, like Italy is the example most of the time, right? Where they just shitted their way to a championship. But my point is this. You keep talking about the talent. But the talent doesn't play like it's talented.

It plays like it plays hard. I think they play hard. I don't think so. I don't think they play hard enough. I think they play dumb. They play dumb. Yes. And that's the part where you can have as many players as you want playing in the EPL and in Germany and all these places. But if they come back and they still play dumb like they're from New Jersey, I'm sorry. New Jersey catching us straight. New Jersey is one of the great soccer states. Well, yeah. A lot of great talent came out of New Jersey. He's right. One of the great soccer what? State.

United States. United States of suck. Right? New Jersey is not like Rio. It's not like... I think we're in agreement in terms of how they play. You and I can have their disagreements about the level of talent. That's fine. If someone wants to tell me, how can you say they're talented when they're losing to the likes of Panama? I concede. Fine. I think this team does play stupid. Dumb. And I think...

It just goes back to the general approach and the ego. What I don't like about Greg Berhalter, what I've told him to his face on Chelsea Mic'd Up, I think this style is really, really dumb to play on the international level. I think you see, I will concede that when you get to the knockout stages, this team is not going to be as talented as some of their opponents. And I will also concede that that does not matter.

That does not matter, especially when you're hosting a World Cup in 2026. We've seen it time and time again in this sport. You don't have these guys in your camp for a very long time. So while you're trying to institute this really sophisticated attacking scheme where you have all this possession, you have these guys in your camp for like four days at a time. What are you doing? Just be organized with defense. Get guys that play smart. Get guys that can adopt your mentality as a manager, can carry that message out to

and not beat themselves. What the U.S. Soccer Federation did, which is, I theorize, avoid a lawsuit by bringing Greg Berhalter back, but what they did in doing so is they gave the players exactly what they wanted.

If you look at camp, everybody's so loose. We're having so much fun. Everyone loves Greg. Kumbaya. There are a lot of championship teams that hated their manager. Carly Lloyd spoke to it. We won titles. We hated our manager. You need a manager that holds people personally responsible because, oh, how can you blame Greg Berhalter for Tim Weah punching a guy? I can't.

I can. That comes with a mentality. It all starts with that leader there, and you let a bunch of kids handpick their guy and look at the results. Now no more...

No more making you happy? You don't have a say in this. You're going to have a manager that should come in there, run you ragged, and make you hate the sport of soccer. That's what you deserve. So you want Jose Mourinho? Oh, you know me. You know me. And Mourinho, like, look, I don't want to make this a Mourinho thing because that's a headline grabber and people will turn that into something. I just want an adult. Let me tell you, and Jose Mourinho fits his profile, which is why...

We'll go with Jose Mourinho as the avatar for this. I want an adult that has succeeded at the highest level. What has Greg Berhalter done to be worthy of five years on the job? What has he done? He's a loser. He's a loser. He is a career loser. Don't talk to me about times that he had in Columbus. Get real.

Columbus. I want someone that has had success on the club level, the international level, success at the highest level. Because when he tells your ass to be running laps with a tracker on your back, you at least know it's coming from someone that you should respect. Greg Berhalter doesn't command a room. I don't respect Greg Berhalter. How's Tim Weh is supposed to respect Greg Berhalter? I told Greg Berhalter to his face his tactics were wrong. That guy's a loser. He's a chump. Mike, let me ask you a question, man.

How much of this is the Soccer Federation's overconfidence in the MLS as a source of anything? I think what this is is the Soccer Federation doesn't actually answer to anyone. And we don't exist in a country where they actually feel the heat, which is why they brought Greg Berhalter back in the first place while his brother's there in the Federation and just totally ignoring the passionate fan base that there is, such that it is. Look,

I wish that I lived in a country where the lower third is not Clay Thompson agrees to three or $50 million. Big deal. Where it's plastered from television to television. Greg Berhalter has to go. I don't live in that country. I don't think I ever will live in that country. It's a different place. That's why you fail. Not you, this country. When it comes to this, that's why. You get a coddled federation. You get a.

a subpar product, right? Given the resources that this country has, right? The Federation is pulling in dough. It's the resources, the infrastructure, all that stuff. It staggers me. Like when I watch...

U.S. games and I see these people in the crowd, I'm like, who are actually, you guys actually think that the result is going to be something different? It staggers me. When you said yesterday that the 1998 team was supposed to do things, I'm like, do what?

Do what, man? Dude, you see some of their matches against Brazil and Argentina in the lead-up to that World Cup. You're talking about exhibition friendlies, man. No, no, no. I'm not talking about exhibitions. I'm talking about Gold Cups and Copa America. It's like, what are you talking about, dude? Like, it's all right. You don't have to have amazing recall of the 1995 U.S. men's soccer team. It's cool. I'm just going to be there to check you on it. We're talking about 98. We're not talking about 95. We're talking about 98. But, like, 95, 96, 97, there are other competitions that exist. If you want to, like...

Cast those aside and say that they're not – like, look at the Brazil roster that that U.S. men's national team hung with in the mid-'90s. Look at it. Look at the Argentinian roster. I ain't got to look at it. I'm rocking the shit right now. What are you talking about, man? It's a different game. It's not about – it's not always about talent. Do you need talented players? Yes. But you need cohesion. You need a different approach. Sure. But you also need talent.

Like, yes, you're right. I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying. And I'm not even disagreeing with, like, I'm a person, I'm an aesthetic snob. I like to see it played right. You actually would like Greg Berhalter's style if he ever actually could implement it. If they knew how to play it, right. If they had the talent and the discipline to play it. Or if it wasn't soaked in ego to even try to attempt that when you're playing on a choppy pitch with rocks on it in El Salvador. Right.

Well, I mean, you can play that way on a choppy pitch and also have the rocks on it if you have players who grew up playing on choppy pitches with rocks on them. But the problem is you got guys that came up to these academies with these manicured lawns and everything. Oh, there's a $750 fee to enter. No problem. We've got it. Like, that's your talent base. So you can't take them to them weird-ass places.

It's not like Brazil or Argentina or many of these other places or even France where these kids grew up playing in shitty environments, right? But I digress. What I'm trying to say is this. You're right. You're right in that cohesion matters. You're right in that having a scheme and being able to execute it matters. You're even right. I'll even allow you that, hey, man, sometimes it's just –

A 30-yard bomb in a cloud of dust, and then we fall back. That's this nation's identity. For the men's team, that's how they win. That's when they have their success and great goalkeeping to bail you out. Yes, but there's a cap to that if you don't have talent. There's a cap. That's good enough for a round of 32.

in the World Cup. That's good enough maybe for a round of 16. In 0-2, they got to the quarterfinals in 0-2. Torsten Frings had a handball. That's the best American team I've ever seen. Well, in terms of results, hard to argue. And they played a style that was conducive to what they had talent-wise. Yeah, a giant killing style. Yes. There are good moments in this national team's program. 1950. Yeah.

There is an identity there. And yes, what you're saying is right. The soccer culture in this country, you can't expect to have dogs on your team when you're going against guys that have been playing barefoot in favelas and it's literally their way out. You're not going to meet that mentality, that intensity. But you can beat them in other ways.

Structure, organization, a commitment to a common goal. And it starts from the top. It starts from that U.S. Soccer Federation. If I ask you, who's the director of the U.S. Soccer Federation? Who's in charge here? People don't know. And that allows for this whole attitude of people that don't have to be held accountable for their actions. So, Greg, I have zero faith in them, even though they made a good hire with Emma Hayes. Greg Cody?

Greg Berhalter, 2G's. What has he done? I am asking you, dude. You need to realize that this is a sham, an embarrassment, and they in all likelihood brought you back to avoid a lawsuit. So do the right thing. Walk away because you are not that guy. 2026 is around the corner. This team doesn't have qualifiers to actually find their form. What are you going to do that you haven't done in the last five years? We've seen enough.

We've seen enough. Red card, Tim Weah, oh, hard luck. You lost to them twice in 12 months, pal. Get out of here. You stink. You were given a job that you shouldn't have had in the first place, and against all odds, they brought you back in spite of every U.S. soccer fan telling you this was going to happen. They didn't get out of a group with Bolivia and Panama in it.

Bielsa was reveling at the opportunity. He was licking his chops as he was suspended to try and attempt to put a nail in your coffin. Bielsa, who the U.S. Soccer Federation didn't want to hire whatsoever because they know what they're doing. They brought in the sporting director from Southampton, everybody. Clear a lane. It's a joke of a federation. And he got 2026 Serenac at like the barrel of a gun. So wake the f*** up.

and make an aggressive move. There are big names available out there. Mourinho, fine. Klopp, fine. Give me a professional. Brandon Ingram. Give me a professional with something on his resume and a dude that can walk into a room and command respect because these children out there are not respecting the manager and it's playing out on the field.

It's playing out on the field. You have a golden opportunity. You're going to ruin it. U.S. soccer, you're standing in your own way, and you don't see it. You don't see it. Take this seriously. It's happened twice in my adult life, a World Cup here on – a men's World Cup here on U.S. soil, and you piss it away. We spent 18 months with the result – knowing the result of the World Cup and the mess that was left in our wake in Qatar. You spent several months in this –

asinine job search just to bring the guy back and what does he do to reward your faith in him he loses to panama a huge national embarrassment i wonder why was there you want to talk to me about offsides i wish company ball and conca calf came out with a joint statement said fine he was offside panama still goes through panama scored three goals you want to talk about the u.s talent panama look talented where is the u.s talent and christian pulisic i love you i think you are generally pronounce your name right

I think you are genuinely, I meant to say, the most talented attacking player this country has maybe ever seen. I think you're worthy of that praise. I think you're a Champions League winner. You showed in Serie A that it's not a fluke. You're one of the best players in Serie A for AC Milan. You finally showed that you can stay healthy. And I think you've got the proper mindset. But this moment right here, where he tries to go and shake the official's hand, I think he allegedly said, go celebrate with Uruguay. Okay, dude, that's fine.

You got away with acting like such a petulant child on the pitch. You should have been given a yellow card. The official kind of acted like a child here in this video. If you would have seen what Pulisic did that didn't get carded during the actual run of play...

Where he was just, he made contact with the official. He was acting like a child. Chris, he walked up and he talked, he said. Go celebrate with him. I saw the clip. I wouldn't shake your hand. But I'm just saying, I feel like the official can be the bigger person there and give like a. No, to hell with that. Go take your losing ass home. That's your captain and it's just not. I used to give him my fines. Hey. That guy was, Christian Pulisic was insulting that official up and down. Was he officiating great last night? No. So what?

You have a game for your lives in Copa America. You didn't... This is the first time, I think, since they actually had regular hosts in Copa America that the hosts didn't get out of the group stage. I believe so. I think they started this format in 1987. Maybe I read that tweet wrong. But it...

They gifted a path to the knockout stages to the U.S., and Greg Berhalter biffed it. Not only that, Jesse Marsh, who's American, who Greg Berhalter openly feuds with because anytime anyone says anything about Greg Berhalter, his antennas go up and he feels like he has to address it because that's the mentality we have in that position. Jesse Marsh makes it to the knockout stages with Canada in a tougher group.

Bad looks all around. You could have had Jesse Marsh. He at least has some credentials. He at least has done some things over in Europe.

But you didn't go Jesse Marsh. You went with Greg Berhalter. You went with now his mortal enemy. And Jesse Marsh has dragged Canada to the knockout stages. It's a joke of a federation. It's not all on Greg Berhalter. Greg Berhalter has been who he has always been. There is zero surprise with Greg Berhalter laying an egg here. What has he done? You are right, Mike, that this is the first ever group stage exit for a host in Copa America. He's got age. No!

I don't know if that's true. Mike, let me ask you another question, man. And this one, this one is sincere. I'm not trying to be churlish here. Right. When you think about where this is all headed,

First of all, we expect him to get let go, right? I don't know. These are the results that people find. I'm begging him to resign because I have so little faith in the U.S. soccer players. You don't think they'll fire him after this shit? They put out a statement saying this morning, I read, that they're going to evaluate what happened in Copa America. I don't know why that takes so long to evaluate. I think it's pretty clear what happened in Copa America. But they're going to evaluate what happened and make a decision that's best for the program going forward. So let me ask you a question through that. So...

Do you feel like you represent what a lot of U.S. soccer fans feel? Yes or no? Or do you think you're an educated minority? I don't know. Okay. The reason why I say that is because watching the broadcasts, I usually don't watch the broadcasts in English. What a broadcast, by the way. It sickles the light. Let's show that camera angle that we started off with. Oh, my God. Oh, that was amazing. I needed binoculars, right? That's what you meant earlier with the reference to that.

I was like, were you actually in a... What is this, a game for ants? Dude, CONCACAF has so many funny moments, especially throughout qualifying.

Company Ball is actually hosting this tournament. They are the governing authority. But this is as CONCACAF as I've ever seen a non-CONCACAF region be. This aerial shot here. I'm sorry to interrupt your train of thought. It starts with obviously that, but then I don't typically listen to the commentating because I just find it to be...

Sickening, most of the time. Yeah, propagandist. But yesterday was like, I was relishing this because I'm like, oh yeah, let me hear it. I need the tears directly into my veins. And I'm listening to them and it's like they're in a dream state. They have...

Isn't I guess my where I'm going with this is isn't this part of the problem is that you have a media that seems to be very very roses as opposed to being critical. I mean, Alexi Lalas is still like representing the US on on these grand stages. But I will say that, yeah, the media is somewhat to blame, I think, especially with Greg Berhalter. But it's it's a difficult position because.

I'm certainly an outlier in just being super negative around Greg Berhalter. You want to rally around him. In my defense, come the World Cup, look, let's get to the knockout stages with our one goal on the run of play. Let's do it, whatever. And I actually think he was leaning into some of the things that worked for the U.S. in the past in that I have no plan. We're not going to boss these teams off the pitch. Let's just be gritty. But...

I do think that there is a real issue with media in this country covering U.S. soccer. And the main issue is that they don't allow traditional media to cover it, maybe because many people in traditional media, your Stephen A. Smiths of the world, Mike Greenbergs of the world, can't actually speak on it with any sort of authority because they're rewarded for only having to follow three sports.

But I do think that there was a massive opportunity here. And if you want to say, what's your pie in the sky scenario to pie in the sky references? Lots of pie. What's your pie in the sky scenario for 2026?

It was always about hosting the World Cup as I grew to love this game and appreciate it in my teams and to where I am now, to where I'll be 40 when the World Cup actually rolls around. It was always around that World Cup that we're hosting. Can we compete? Can we make a run to the semis? Can we give this country something to rally around? And yet the talent was lining up. This is as talented as a team as we've seen really

And they're wasting a golden opportunity. And I don't think it's too late, especially if they get the right man in charge to manage the team. But they have wasted something that does not come around often. I was a child the last time. I'm going to be a middle-aged man the next time this rolls around. And to not have the progress over the years, the mile markers along the way outside of 0-2...

It's really disheartening. It's really disheartening because this country has a wide talent base to choose from. This country can change its approach and be about the winning. You know what I would do if I were head of the federation? I'd start handing out passports left and right, man. I'd just go down there to Rio. We do. No, I'm aggressively. You don't even understand. Half the team didn't speak English when Klinsman was a manager. There you go. I just want...

I want a real, real manager. I want them to do what they did with the women's team in Emma Hayes. A serial winner, someone that has bravado, someone that has cachet, someone that demands your respect. And I want that for the U.S. men's national team. I want Emma Hayes. Bring Emma Hayes. Have her walk across the hall. What happened to the Messi of Medford, New Jersey?

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