Coming back in to return to the Hour of Chaos for the first time in far too long. We start Hour number two with Kendri d Saint Auburn and we welcome to back Chaos. Good morning, Welcome back to the Morning Show.
Good morning.
I appreciate that I'm joining the Hour of Chaos because you know, when I'm home for like twenty four hours and I go straight back into mom mode and you're trying to like prep for the next game and enjoy the beautiful day and do the school drop off and everything else.
So I appreciate you having me on for the Hour of Chaos. It makes perfect sense.
So how chaotic is it for you? Mom? Comma announcer Comma getting ready for road trip Colon right now?
Well, I will say this, like, I love my job more than anything. I'm incredibly blessed to be able to do what I get to do. But I still will always say that the number one job is being a mom because there's nothing more enjoyable. But I'm lucky that it allows me to do both things. But I tell you what, when I get to also get to up for another team, Red Bulls, I haven't done this year.
So whenever we get thrown like a new team, not that you're not following the league, not that you're not paying attention to what teams are doing on a on a weekly daily basis, but to really try to deep dive into another team, where I've had the honor of having Atlanta already a couple times this year, it makes a difference. So you want to do both teams justice. You're trying to make sure that you've got all your
boxes checked. You know, your i's dotted, your te's crossed, and you're trying to deep dive into everything and just make sure that you've got it all straight. And so it's it's a blessing and occurs at the same time to be able to get to do what we do and try travel all over the place and.
Get to see new all right, So what has study hall been like getting ready for it? Land United and Red Bull specifically from United standpoint and the chaos that has happened with Atlanta United over the last handful of mansions.
Yeah, I mean, and I honestly like, when I think about this Atlanta United team in particular, the expectations are incredibly high, and I know I'm not, you know, making some genius point right that everybody in Atlanta especially doesn't already know and think about when it comes to this team and the money that was spent and bringing Ronnie dla in, and everybody's just been waiting for this team to really click. You've got such an incredible striker and
Latte a lot. You've got to try to figure out how to use El Moron and Miranchuck at the same time in the center of midfield, if that's even a thing. Can you get low of den It's say on there at the same time as El Moron, If they're going to.
Both play on the right side, do you put you Saba on the left?
Like all these things that Ronnie dilin And we've talked to him so many times, and you've probably heard him in the media say this might be one of the most difficult situations that he's been in. And you think about the places he's coached, in the clubs he's coached, and not because of lack of talent, but just trying to get everybody on the same page and the best system at the right time, and everybody understanding their roles and buying into.
What he's doing.
And sometimes it's hard to get a team to buy in when you're not getting the results and you're not getting the goals more specific because I don't think people thought this team was going to struggle to score. So, yes, they have two fantastic results in which, in my opinion, they won in two very different ways. But the fact that they showed that resiliency, the fact that they played against a tough top Eastern Conference Cincinnati side and came away.
Then you've got Orlando City, who Oscar Pereha is like a well oiled machine just kind of flies under the radar on the Eastern Conference every year and gets the job done. And at Landing United pulls off a win in that one as well, sort of a never say die attitude, which I think is what Atlanta United fans love and want to feel good about. So I think
it's Atlanta United team. If they can string together some more of these positive results, good results, winning in different ways, it's going to get this team on the right track, maybe just in time, because May was crazy, June doesn't slow down a whole lot. But you've got international breaks in there, guys going to win international duty, and then you've got Leagues Cup just around the corner. So maybe this is the right time and for this night you
get on the right side of things. So hopefully two wins.
Is I have a a an update, a travel update from one of our other A listers who is known with the initials Tyler Terrence, and he said, I just got I just got to the airport. I'm in my own chaos.
That sounds about right, but he kind of creates his own so that's different.
Oh, We're going to have to talk to him about that. A couple of A couple of other topics were Atlanta United's concerned. I wanted to discuss really quickly the younger players that are making their mark that have come through the academy, specifically Matthew Edwards and Jay Fortune. In all of your analysis and seeing them earlier in the year and seeing how things have evolved, what have you thought
about the younger players that have made their mark? Farani Dial of this season for Atlanta United, Well, I.
Think anytime you give a younger player an opportunity that is earned and you know, I've learned that a while ago from I think it was Wilford Nanci who said that first is that you have to earn the opportunities just because you came through the academy and you're a good player, if you're gonna bump, Oh did I lose you?
Oh you're good?
Are you there?
Yeah? Okay, it's my thing.
It says, okay, I just.
Wanted to make sure because it says reconnecting on my thing here, So I just want to make sure I wasn't like talking and not you weren't hearing me.
But that happens. Well, I feel like that with my daughter all the time.
But when you think about the young players earning their opportunity and Ronnie Dila giving them the opportunity and then them just taking hold of it and running with it. I think every time I've seen j Fortune play, in particular, he has this confidence on the ball that you would
not know he's a young player. And that's what I love about these academy kids, these homegrown kids, these kids that have been in these systems, and you think about where they started at twelve thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, two years past, where they have already been in sort of these professional environments as far as the training scenarios and what they've had to kind of.
Endure with pressure.
So then when they get these first team opportunities, they don't look uncomfortable in any way, shape or form. Yes, they're gonna make mistakes, but we've seen veterans center backs, you know, make mistakes like you see it happened.
Mistakes happen, But I think it's.
More about how they recover from that mistake, how they make the next opportunity count, how the next pass, the next movement, the next the ball, all those types of things.
And Atlanta has been good at bringing up guys, even though they have this money and these big name guys that they bring in, incorporating those young guys, and so I've been super impressed with what they've been able to do in those different positions under pressure, pressure, and so yeah, I mean I I kudos in the environments and the opportunityanies that they've been given. And that's only going to bull well going forward for the club and for them as a player wherever.
They end up.
The other player specifically I wanted to get your thoughts on is Alexi Midanchuk and what we have seen from him as asny Maestro. The running gag is is that he's dropped enough dimes to give you a dollar the last couple of matches. Each time out you see his artistry, You see how his brain is starting to work in three dimensions. He's been he's been given space on the
right hand side Saba creating problems and positional gravity. So we're getting to see I think what a lot of folks were anticipating with Midanchuk now in the last handful of matches.
Yeah, and I you know, I don't want to say I felt bad for him, but I felt a little I could feel for him in the sense that once el Moron came back in the picture and just him trying to find where he with el Moron with all the fanfare and all the you know, return to Atlane United and what he did for the club the first time around, I just felt like there was this weird sort of pressure in him having to try to fit around al Moron rather than them just trying to find
a way to fit together. And that doesn't mean that they both have to play as dual tends. They can't occupy the same space. I think we've all learned that there's sometimes early on we're making runs into the same space because they both want to sort of be on the ball and creative, yet they're very different. So I think from moran, Chuck has had an incredible run at the beginning of the season of trying to navigate where he fits, how he fits, how he can best play play for this team.
Should he be driving forward, shouldn't around the box?
Should he be staying home a little bit more centrally and allowing Latte a lot and al Moron and others to kind of do their thing up top. So I think, you know, credit to him because every interview I've also heard of his he seems to just.
Be even keeled.
He's taking some of the pressure, he's taking some of the responsibility. And even postgame the other night, he said, you know, you guys are all asking me, oh, is his team on the right track now?
Or we have you know, this team it.
Really looks like the relationship, the identity, and he's like kind of like, WHOA, Well, it's only two wins, you know, so yes, I don't want to get too caught up in the fact that we've won two games, because we've not been good enough up to this point.
So let's see what we can do going forward.
So he seems like a very even keeled head on his shoulders kind of guy, and I think he's getting more and more confident and comfortable on the ball and where he wants to play and how they need him to play to drive his team forward.
So credit to him. And he is a really fun player to watch.
I mean, and each one of those guys is so different in how they play and even their personalities that I think it's just taking a little bit of time. And fans don't like time. They want immediacly we all understand that.
Yeah, and when he wears a bone Thugs and Harmony t shirt for post match interviews, he gets bonus points from a lot of us for doing that kind of stuff as well.
I mean, it's almost the first of the month. We're almost there.
Yes, absolutely, Uh a bunch of the Mommy Katy.
Chaos.
I want to talk about the five? Uh you end up with? Uh? A back line of five is a bit of a formation change for Ronnie. He's used to the four two three one with the two sixes and everything that's attached there. But going to this back line of five where you have either Pedro Amador or Ronald Hernandez and then you have uh Luisa Brahm, Derek Williams and Derek Williams has turned into a solid figure first time ever. He had a goal and an assist last time out. Then you had Matt Edwards, who we got
into the discussion in Saba. The back line of five seems to have at least been one of the triggers for this part of success, because last time I checked, if you ain't scoring, then you know, at least you're going to do is come out of there with a point. When you look at this back five that Ronnie has come up with, what have been your your takeaways in the short term with this new formation at the back anyway, Well.
When I looked at that, I actually felt like that he may have found the solution, right because that allows you to put all the players that you want to put on the field at the same time. And I
know he kind of had Saba. I believe it was sort of almost as a wing back if I'm remembering on the right hand side to start the game against Orlando, and for me, that allows all your players here he's been trying to find the solution and yes, you were, you know, you're you're at home, so you're thinking, how we going with a back five? With these attacking players at home, we should be on the front foot because anybody, anytime people here are back five, they sort of think
defensive minded. But I think for without Brooks Lennon in there, and I think for Ronnie Daila, it was really about how do I get all these guys in the field. We cannot have Saba coming off the bench. We have to have him in the starting eleven because he brings such a spark, So I think sliding edwards inside a little bit more, giving him a little bit more defensive cover, having Williams alongside of him, Saba on the right being
able to bust down the line and create opportunities. Ranchuk sitting a little bit centrally, Slee shall stay home as more of your holding midfielder. I just think that he finally found maybe a right combination for them to be the best attacking and not give up too many goals defensively, not have too many gaps defensively, where you have some cover in the center of the back line, that's a goal, that's the hope, right. But I liked it. I liked the way it looked, I liked the way they came out.
I liked getting all the guys on the field that he wanted to get on the field. So I think it was a good opportunity and al Maron may be pushing a little bit higher and so they're not getting in each other's way. I mean, I thought it was it was a good solution, and at least for the time being, we'll see how it looks in the third game in a row, or at least against the Red Bulls.
On the road.
Okay, So we have someone who is identifying themselves as CBG's finest in the green room, and I'm going to bring this individual into the discussion here ttyl.
Lord, he just couldn't handle me. He just couldn't handle me taking the opportunity here to rain on his chaos parade.
You know something, Kindra, John texted me and encouraged me to come on.
So I'm not intentionally trying.
To blow up your spot here, okay, because you and I spend way too much time together as it is, But I just I had to pop on here and say what's up.
True. John's one of my favorites.
And I and you know, he was slandering CVG, which I just simply will not have got the security in less than three minutes.
Oh yeah, well, I mean I couldn't resist when you sit there. Literally, here's here's what Tyler texts me. He goes, just got to airport in my own chaos. So I'm thinking, you know, maybe he's gonna dial in and he's gonna be like at the back of the security checkout line and he's gonna turn the camera around. It's just gonna be like a wall of people and he's gonna have to call the game from Saborro at CBG or something. I didn't know what's going.
I'm then the next one. Last night, I didn't.
See, yes you did. Don't don't do that. You you saw it. Don't do that. Don't do that.
I mean, you know, I.
Don't have a leg to stand on with the win out, so I can't do you a stress tacking around here.
No, you cannot, especially since we turned our we turned around. Check the score of the game at halftime in the middle of the Columbus National game on Wednesday and the Tea Wolves have scored thirty six points in in the middle of the third quarter and Kindren just looks at me with their jaw on the floor. But hey, listen, you know, only the good teams are still playing at this point in the year, so don't worry about it.
It's fine. Wow yeah, yeah.
In the NBA smack on a soccer morning show? I like that, are we here to.
Talk about soccer? I didn't even I didn't even know.
I did not really know when do we ever? Like I said, it's it's it's this a freaking morning show. I mean whatever.
It is.
Family show, family show, family show. Absolutely true. Because Kindra is juggling both mom duties and talking uh to me this morning. So yeah, she's she's.
I'm gonna I'm gonna butt out. This is her time.
I just wanted to say hi and I love you, John, I'll see you soon, Kendra and uh and have a great show.
There we go. So there goes CBG's finest. There goes Tyler. So yeah, so t t decide.
I noticed when you when you said I noticed when you said he was reaching out, you had to make sure to say you were going to use his initials. But then he gets t ted for Taylor twelve min a lot, So we got to make sure to say Tyler Terrence because you know, one of the odds we have, you know, to TT's in the soccer world on Apple MLS, So we we got to make sure we clarify there.
But yes, I I thoroughly enjoy working with Tyler. It's been a great, a great run the last I guess we just started last year together, so we always have a lot of fun.
Yeah, all right, So Red Bulls, what has study?
He well?
Man? I mean you look at their results, right and if it's similar to a lot of m molest teams where you're trying to make it out, you're trying to make sense of it. All the ups and the downs, the smackdowns that they put on some teams, the struggles that they've had against others. Also another new coach, but so fun to watch. And I am excited for this game because I think the Red Bulls are going to be fired up. I think Atlanta is on a little bit of a run here if they can keep it going.
So for me, when you look at this Red Bulls team, more guys just stepping up. I mean, look at the game they just had. They rotated the squad a bit. Everybody's may has been crazy. I just think this isn't the same Red Bulls team that everybody is used to. They have more possession than we're used to. They want
the ball a little bit more. They're still the high pressing, kind of high octane velocity, energetic type, but yet at the same time a little bit more composed on the ball, a little bit more possession, a little bit working their way through the opposition, and maybe conserving their energy a little more rest on the ball, not so much just pure transition, direct play. So I think this was gonna be a great game. I'm excited to see the Red
Bulls in person. And yeah, it's it's it's another like game three of a three game week, so you never know exactly how we see, who's gonna look and how they're gonna fare.
Okay, So broadcasting question before you leave, when you're in the chaos of a three match match week, how you know? How do you prepare? Do you do it electronically? Do you still do paper and legal pad? How do you prep when you have a chaos week like this? For those that are wanting to be like you, when they, you know, get into the business, how do you prepare in a chaotic week like this?
So I don't change the way I prep in any way, shape or form, I still do. Everything is handwritten for me. I have to handwrite everything otherwise it will not go into this brain, which already doesn't have a huge capacity.
Like here's my Atlanta and Nighted board. So everything is handwritten on every single player, and I have a notebook that every call we've ever done, I go back and I rewrite every word verbatim for every player and every coach that we've ever done, because if I'm going to quote them on a broadcast, I want to make sure to get it right first of all, and second of all, it just has to go into my brain that way. So, yes, it is a crazy week. I'm fortunate then I've already
done Atlanta a couple times. But even if every team was new, like when I've done World Cups and you're doing new countries and new teams and new players, I have to do everything handwritten. Yes, obviously, the game notes are online, the you know, the interviews are online, which is so helpful. We have all this footage that we can access. I can be sitting and watching a game on Apple I can rethrow the replay of the match
up on my screen while I'm doing my work. So yeah, it's everything is handwritten for mey, I just cannot bring myself to do it any other way. I've got a bucket full of sharpies. So yeah, it's it's everybody's got to find their own way of doing it. But that's my way of doing it, and it's the same. It's kind of like who said it the other day to us. It was bj Callahan, he said to us before we did Nashville. He said, it's a short week. We may
we prepped the same way for every team. We use the same amount of detail, and we have the same discipline for every team we play, but we disseminate the information to the players differently. It's less on the field work. It's more in the film room work. So I kind of view myself the same way. I prepped the same way. It just may be the way we have to go
about it may be slightly different. But I prepped the same way I would if I had a week to prey prepare for a team, as if I had two days to prepare for a Team's kind of how I tonight some fifty five pm Central time. So it try, you know, especially on these flights or these trips, try to get in the night before for sure gives me the full day of match day kind of get organized.
And a couple years ago, in twenty twenty three, I brought my daughter to New York City with me for a game and another mom and her friend, and so then we flew in a little bit earlier, but we like did everything you can do in New York City in thirty hours. And I said to her the other day, I said, hey, do you want to come back with me? I've got a game in New York and New Jersey
for Red Bulls. And She's like, I don't know. We kind of saw everything, and I'm like, well, she's not wrong, but I'm just very blessed to be able to go to these cool cities, of course, Atlanta being one of them. Ben there many times and kind of scope out the landscape and take a walk or go for a run or be outside. But yeah, flight tonight at seven fifty five, Well.
Safe travels. May you get through everything at MSP in one piece, and may you get into New York without any kind of a delay and have a fantastic call with our buddy Tyler. Terren's coming up this weekend.
SA.
Since you now have the garage door, opener. You know you can crash anytime