And we got a handful of games to talk about.
And when you look back at what happened last week across the board, what sticks in your mind before we get into the previews for this weekend? And I know that's where I want to spend the bulk of the time with you, specifically Western Conference. What sticks with you from the last weekend as we're getting ready for a conference finals?
Look that regular she said, It means absolutely nothing that as long as you have a game plan, you have a way to win a game.
It doesn't have to be brilliant. He just has to be effective.
And the Seattle Sounders were example number one that that game was designed by Brian Spencer, and I applaud him on the fact that he moved things around in every single show that I was in the special here with the guys from Fox thirteen, I had mentioned the fact that satur needed to do something friend to be the LAC that I thought that maybe going to a line of three in the back would help that out, having an extra guy to prevent those long balls from Chaneau.
Maybe playing with the line of confrontation way deeper in a mid block, maybe even a lower block that could frustrate LAFC and and not get allow them to just get into the game very freely, and that's what they did, and it was a brilliant It's pretty interesting and the way they at points of the game did outpus us LAFC, even with those adjustments made, so they get it done.
I understand that sometimes it's not the way you want it, because this team, I think would have rather tied that game with a run to play goal or a set piece goal.
And it was a run to play goal. It was an own goal by Chanel.
Uh.
They created that luck, that ability to and then in the overtime thanks to Stephan Frying heroic, absolutely heroic performance by him.
I thought it was nine shots saved in that game. I mean, he was just unreal. Every single save was better than the next, the kick safe, the reaction safe of deflection from hollandsted shot, then there was the one that he crashes against the post. I mean, there were so many epic and transcendent saves by all you could do was a plot the heart by Ovid bargains that was all over that field. There was just a lot
of things that Shadow did differently that game. Uh, And they just held on and stayed in the game.
So that's what I mean by it doesn't matter how you do it, is you getting that win. Jordan Morris against his moment of brilliance, he gets a goal to one Lac you get through right when he comes to Red Bulls. It was it was similar. It was it was a more dominant performance. We said it here. You know, it was a lot of the of the day. They did not need the ball. I think it was thirty seven percent of the possession that they had in that game.
But they were just better finishing than New Yer City. See, they were able to get it done. So those are the things that I mean. Oscar Pereja, he has one way to win. He has one former win. Organized Realy, you go push Atlanta United. Was very unfortunate that Jamal Tierray gets hurt or gets hurt by Wilder card Deahena.
She'd have been a yellow by the way.
Then seconds after in the second half, Rios goes down ball to the face. That depth gets really damaged, and I think it hinders what Atlanta wanted to do. But again is what Orlando did. What they had in their bench, everything's put together. So that's what I mean by religious and mean nothing. Playoffs are all about just getting it done in the playoffs, and that's kind of what has this four teams in the finals of each conference.
All Right, I'm going to spend time in the East because I want to spend more time in the West. I want to get the East out of the way. Well. Red Bulls Purple team. We mentioned early in the show about next season, the possibility of Eric maximsubomoting, possibly making his way to Red Bulls. Red Bulls are different when Forrestburg is healthy, and it's easy to see that when you look at the Purple team and Red Bulls.
What do you say, I see a game that's gonna come down to the details, and it's a game that will be determined by the playoff that midfield edelmanana Arajo got by you.
I mean, how those duels are kind of.
Flewing throughout the game, how they're determined, how they're written, how they're articulated. That was really going to define this game. On the other side, I mean, can Tolkien and tourist, what's that going to be?
Like?
I think Opereja is very aware of Red bull Ball. They're gonna they're gonna press them. They're gonna push, They're gonna have to be very direct. They cannot make mistakes in the back. They got to keep the ball out of their own third. I didn't have the weapons to do it. It's not their style of play necessarily, but maybe just getting that ball over the first line of confrontation all the way up top to Angulu on one side to Torres on the other. Maybe you just try
to win more of the secondary balls. That's where you're gonna have to do to get it done against the Red Bulls. That, as you said, uh, Fordsburg is what puts it off together. He is the one that runs the orchestra. And you see the difference when he's on the ball, and it makes Vin Zero better and he makes Morgan better, and he makes everybody around him better.
And he's so smart and he has that quality and that pride because you know he's Every interview they see from him is like, look people, oh it's an apology.
Man.
We already knew who were going to be here.
So they got they got the right character, they got the right component. Loves Carpere, love the Purple tape as well. They're doing it in the o Way. I think ultimately though, it will come out to those guys that define the games and just on paper, and the edge between Orlando City and the Red Bulls is very minimal. But the thing he will come down to the talent, and regardless of not being the best moreal of all times and
being a moreal is pretty diminished. You still got Duncan MacGuire, you still got Ramiro Drincue, you still got Torris Oheeda. You got so many options up top that I think that's gonna end up being the big difference maker in Orlando will make it through to the final.
I know there's gonna be a lot of pressure at the back with Red Bulls wanting to force Forhoulson and Robin Johnson into bad decisions to create those short fields that we're used to seeing with Red Bulls. Right now, Purple teams the minus one twenty two ninety minute draws a plus two sixty seven. Red Bulls are a plus three seventeen to win it in ninety minutes.
Now, Man, those times are interesting just because the betting man in me is like, man, maybe I'll just throw fifty bucks out of the rebels, because, like I said, that the Red li The lines are so thin. I mean it's a really small margin. I think it's way closer than the LA Galaxy and Sounders game. But I ultimately do believe that Orlando wins this game, and I actually do think that it's going to be a couple of goals.
So what's the over under?
Because I do believe I have a three to two possibly this one.
Okay, all right, So man, you're running out of room. Over under four and a half is a plus four fifty seven ooh ooh, or fifty seven for a four and a half over if you want to dial it back a little bit more.
Three and a half is still plus one ninety five.
Give me three and a half, play it safe, three and a half. Orlando takes it. I'm comfort were.
With that, Okay, all right, Now let's get to the Western Conference, because I know this is the bread and butter here with LAG. We'll start with juice boxes. Then you can hang on to this information as we analyze. LAG's only a minus one point fifteen, so they are less of a favorite at home than the Purple team against Red Bulls ninety minute draw plus two seventy one, Seattle is a plus two ninety two and they're going to have to do it. Paul Rothrock out for the.
Year, yep.
And I think those numbers have shifted compared to a couple of days ago that it was a little bit higher. I thought it was in the plus three hundreds at one point for the Sounders, I thought. But yes, Nopul roth Rock definitely a big blow to this team. You saw how much they needed him in the last game. They had to be resourceful obviously, a different information, a different way of doing things with Rebaker Whiten as that
left wing back. Good job by him, by the way, Actually, for a player that did not get many starts this season, that three min back line did okay.
I thought Jbell struggled at times.
You could tell that he hasn't got many starts either, less than five hundred minutes this season. But ultimately John France of SDH, this is gonna come down to the Seattle Saunders perhaps not having enough in this game. Yamerica Sentraa went out in the sixty six minute against laoc As far as I believe he's in a doctor strain. I don't know how familiar you guys are with that injury, but six day turnaround after the swallowing goes down just seems way too short. Ys not a robot, He's not
an android. He's you know, he's the man. Man, He's a man. There's no way that he plays his game to me, there's just absolutely no way. Brand Smetterer said there's a sixty percent Chancy place. I don't think that's there. Then he said, Rebecca Whiton is a fifty to fifty. If Yemar is a sixty and Rebecca White's a fifty to fifty, he's not playing this game. I still don't know what's gonna happen with Knew who who was. We'll
see what they say today. Because new who was supposed to be back on Wednesday, ended up being back on Thursday. There's an illness that he caught while with Cameroon. The medical team from the Sounders needs to evaluate him and needs to clear him. So if he doesn't play, that is four guys that are key components to the defense the offense that are not going to be there. So even if Knew Who plays, I think Seattle's going to be at a big disadvantage.
Nathan look great to him. He came in.
He was serviceable. He had a big game because of the moments of that. You're playing Denis Bwanga, you're playing Bogots, you were coming in lating to a game.
But you could tell when Yemar left that game and it was easier for LAFC to get forward. Now, LAFC did change it up a little bit.
They should have gone to a four three three hour earlier, and I think that was part of the reason why they did jump on the Sounders after the sixty six. Well they changed that in the extra time and that's when they really came up on top of the seat of Sounders. But it's just gonna be difficult. It's gonna be really, really hard for Seattle to maintain that game style of the best defensive team in MLS because they are the best difenit in MLS.
Do not about it. They have hearts of lines.
They just showed you that the DNA of the SATA sounder is the real thing, and they told you know, jerks like me that they can do it all right, but ultimately and without.
The sentiment behind it.
And look, Brian Smester will continue to be your uh, your villain and you know you want to use me as motivation, that's totally fine, but I just don't think that they'll get it done against the La Galaxy Eli Galax. It was fantastic. They have fifteen goals in the playoffs. They seem unstoppable. You saw Gabriel Peck. No one can seem to hold him down. He was the road runner
baby on the right side. I mean, it was unbelievable what he could do that that goal that he is I don't know, sixty yards of a run and then go ahead and puts it away. Three players with braces, three players with braces. I mean, come on, that that is out of this world. Joevilych paincil pack all with braces, Ricky doing his thing to moving the strings.
I just think it's too much.
Now, that doesn't mean that Seattle cannot pull that miracle, because this could be a catch game for Seattle. I don't know if you guys have seen my Twitter and the quote by Ovid bargains that Atha was fantastic. I spoke to Ovid about dealing with a midfield like La Galaxies, and it's talented with guys like Rails and Royce and Ricky Pooch, and he said, look, those guys are talented, absolutely, but you got to be physical with them. You gotta
be behind them. You got to picture that you're bothering them.
Right. He's telling me all these things, and he says, I plan.
To be a plague, A plan to be a loose on them that does not let them be free or play free. I mean, man, that that is freaking golden. That's the attitude, that's the way you do it. So the team's gonna have the right attitude, they're gonna have all of the belief they're gonna.
Want to get over in this game.
But I just think the LA Galaxy are a little bit too much for them. I think it'll be a close game all the way to a certain point where maybe the LA Galaxy goes up two, goes to one midway through the second half, and the Seattle has to push numbers to get that game done. And when you give space to a team like LA Galaxy, you might
suffer another one. I have a three to one win for the LA Galaxy against the Seattle Sounders, but you know, all the wrong by a team that has a lot of pride and that has identity to win in the plows and look, hopefully they will shut me up and they will prove me wrong. But with all those absences, and even if you knew who is available, I mean, he hasn't practiced with the group all week? Who wasn't practice with the group a week? So how do you get him in there? How do you put him in there?
I think it's gonna be a tough game for the Seattle Sounders.
All right before you get out of here.
And I know that you've got other coverage with other places, and you've got to save your pipes and have your get through your a cup of coffee number one, and get you a cup of coffee number two. If these three or four absences are as you anticipate, then what would you think the starting eleven is going to look
like for Seattle? And why would it not be one of those situations where Brian Schmitzer just turns it into a staring contest for ninety minutes, and it's just like, now, I'm gonna let you have the ball, we're gonna defend, We're going to do our thing for ninety minutes, and we're going to force you to make mistakes.
So with new who's a lot easier with new Who's a back line of four and it's new Who on the On the left side, you got Jackson Reagan and I think it'll be Jay Bell at center back with Alex Rogan on the right.
The rest is almost the same.
You get O bet, you get Christian and the wholeding Mint on the left side, I think you get better than La Vega at cam Albert Rusnak. On the right side you get Georgie, a guy that's young but that has done it over and over again. I think he's your guy. And then you go Jordan Morris up top. Now where he gets tricky is that without new Who, there isn't really a wing left back or a left back for that matter.
So the reason.
Why I don't think that he wants to just give the ball to La Galaxy and just drop in is because LAFC had proven that they'd rather not have the ball. They want to play against the run to play La g they do it both ways. They got two masters with the ball and Ricky and Michael Royce, so Marcus Marco Royce, so giving him the ball might play to their strength as well. So I just don't think he wants to do that. I think he wants to make la g defend. He's gonna want to have Ricky running around.
It's gonna want to have Roy's running around. He's gonna want to make Gabriel peck a little bit farther back. You cannot allow your mona to get forward as much as he can, So how do you stop that by giving him something to think about?
On that side? So I think he's gonna want to play a little bit higher.
Uh.
He kind of mentioned the fact that he doesn't want to just go to Carson and just said he wants to attack. So because of that, I think that he does want to do that, but without new it's difficult. So that Eleven, I don't. I don't really have it for you, man, I really don't. Because let's say you go with the back line of three that that's possibly what I would do if I don't have my best players it's j Bell, Jackson, Reagan and Nathan.
Then on the left side, you gotta make a choice.
What I would do is that I would put Jordan Morris to play left wing back and go Saba time type of situation where I'm having a guy just run around, do a whole lot and give me with but preventing us from some defending because he has that that motor Jordan Morris does.
Usually Paul Rothrock would be a guy like that, but you don't have that.
You don't got to Baker White, and you're not going to put a young guy uh in that position like Cody Baker, so it has to be it has to be Jordan's. Then up top, Uh, Well, let's go midfield, you go Albert Christian Obed.
And maybe on the well, actually you know, you go JP and you go.
Oh bet, and then on the on that say, you could also add Christian Rodan.
Then you got on the right wing back you go Alice Rodan, and then on top of you go Raoul Ridiez. I think that's the way you might be able to set it up if you need to. But know who's going to be a huge component there because this team does not have another player is gonna come in on that left side to be a left wing back or a left back. So it's gonna be very difficult for Shadow if he cannot go all right.
Hit the promo for me and let me know where you're gonna be and what you're doing, and if you're going to be back on Q thirteen this weekend too.
We hope to definitely so followupus to sports. We're going to be back on on Monday. No show today because we did the show yesterday, So Monday we're going to be doing the recap of how everything broke down. Either we look like geniuses or we look like big guys with a you know, donkey hat on top.
We'll see how that plays out.
And we do have a planned show with ninety three point three KJR local stations, So go ahead and check that out. That's ran by Jackson Pelts. That's gonna be interesting. Uh So, go ahead and check that out. Hopefully we're back on Fox thirteen if possible, depending on how things plays out. I would think that if they win, there's a higher percentage than if they lose. Uh but yeah, definitely just follow me at El Rollo andw go ahead and keep you posted on everything that happens within that time.
And now, even if the set of Thunders do lose, I'm gonna go ahead and be their final en season conference. All of that I'll provide you and I'll start getting on the phone when it comes to moves and where I was gonna go.
That's gonna be a big one.
What's gonna happen to JP who's still out of contract for right now. So there's gonna be a lot of news walking and flying by in the Pacific Northwest. I do appreciate as always being on with John Nelson, man Is. I'm thankful for your trust in you know, our information, and me on. I'm thankful for your audience and those two.
Three people that do like me on here. So I really appreciate it. Man.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Man, it's been a good year.
Love your brother will catch up with you next week.
Yes, sir, have a good one, all right
There goes Nigo Moreno.