Good college football coming your way in the five o'clock hour tonight, not an hour from now. The latest on the situation with UNLB losing their starting quarterback. We'll get you ready for BYU Baylor will get you ready for Utah here or sona Kyle bonagerro from Espno stop by. But it is fall at least, that's kind of the time of year. It's about eighty degrees in Sunday today. That does mean football, but it also means playoff soccer, and it looks like RSL has a real legitimate chance
to host a home playoff match. Our next guest, one of our favorites, to talk the beautiful game, Max bred Us Sunday Thursday afternoon.
Max. Happy Thursday, sir.
How are you happy? Thursday undercover? One of maybe my favorite day of the week. Not every week, but most weeks.
Thursday's an underrated day.
Max.
I'm with you there.
There's a good event. There's good event going sorry interrupted, but there's good events going on. If you want to go out, go out to dinner without the crowd, I always.
Like it for sure.
And also, if you're young enough or excuse me, if you can remember when you were young enough to start weekends on a Thursday. That was kind of like the college thing, right, like we can start on Thursday.
Yeah, oh yeah, drinking in yeah.
No doubt, no doubt. All right, buddy, I appreciate the time today. And we find ourselves in an interesting spot with RSL, who elected to move on from some really good players, namely Andres Gomez is now in France. They bring in five players and so far, I think it's fair to say the results have been mixed.
You know.
I asked Jason, Kurt, and Pablo all the same thing when they joined the show after the window closed, and I said, do you feel like he sacrificed short term potential to do something special for the long game?
Like was that the deal?
And they all said no, they still still confident they can get something special done this year. So where are you at now with kind of this recalibrated RSL group.
Well, I think one thing that's pretty evident is you know Andres Gomez, and I'm still blown away with the business they did with that price tag where you had to sell them. And I mean he's had a rough start in Europe, He's been injured. I think he's played
one game so he's that's neither here nor there. But you know, if he's successful, that's only going to benefit Rail salt Lake if in fact he gets sold here the idea, you know, sometimes you have to explain it to people about being a reliable club that develops talent, so that teams like Scott Rene or n Is, you know, is world famous for developing young players. They have a great academy. So many top top players Jeremy Doku, Eduardo Kama being payter Check have come through there because they
have a great scouting system. So they fought enough about Andres Gomaz and they've faught enough about to pay a big price tag and now Rail salt Lake in the world football stage is going to benefit greatly. I know people probably go, wait a minute, well we had this great player, but now clubs know that Rayal salt Lake is legit when it comes to identifying, developing and then selling players. So this is going to be big long term.
As for the short term, yes, his void is really evident, not just because they haven't been able to duplicate what he does out wide. And I talked to Pablo about this. It's affecting Chi Cho on Angle. Chi Cholevanngo and him were great foils, great tag team. Chicho became a better player clearly because Andras Gomez was stretching out the field and chi Cho on Angle was finding space that's not
there yet. So that's a big one. I mean, that could be railed the chances for RSL to hit their targets whatever that is making an MLS Cup final, winning an MLS Cup final, and winning a playoff series. So there's I think in theory was what the good news is. They really were active and ambitious with the players they brought in. They could have sold the player like Atlanta. Did you know Atlanta cleared them all out. Granted Atlanta is not in a good position, but they haven't replaced
those players yet. They went out and you know, they have to hope that they get Diogo something out of Diogo. They've been lucky with Mark Chuk who I mean, I had my first look at him, really impressed. He's no Andrea's gomed, but he couldn't contribute something on that side, and it's it's tricky. Look if I look at the West with Andres Gomezrael felt late to me or one of the two or three best teams there without him, maybe fourth or fifth, and it's so tightly packed you
need game breakers. So hopefully Mark Chuk or more specifically Diogo or Gonsalves is the guy that can provide it. They have talent, but the problem is so do the Galaxy Rapids, LAFC, Houston and Portland Seattle.
So Max, you know we really can and will debates you know whether or not the attack is where it needs to be. But I'll tell you what if they don't figure out the situation. And I always hesitate to just simply blame the keeper, just blame Gavin or blame Zach. There have been a tremendous amount of very soft goals allowed in my opinion, Max, all year. It's not good enough.
So I do think they've got enough firepower. And I do want to talk about cheat you in a moment, But tell me your thoughts on where we're.
At with either Zach or Gavin.
And is it a back line issue like you defend as a team, it's an eleven player deal and Pablo asked that of his group. So I don't want to hone I don't want to hone in and pin this on just one person or one thing. But I think, in my opinion it's it's safe to say it's been too soft back there for too long.
So give me your thoughts on.
That dynamic well, and I think earlier the season, because you know Zak, it's got to be frustrating. He has a great game and then he has the one, you know, the howler, which could many times have cost ourselves. Gavin Beavers, you're a little more forgiving because he's a teenager, but he's getting an opportunity because Zach hasn't been clean. I would imagine that's a fair affessment. So Gavin's been fast
tracked a bit. I like Gavin Beaver's a lot. You're gonna have to take the inexperience, the good and the bad here with him. And if you're a team of these playoff positions, that's probably going to bite you at some point because he's going to enter this form. And very rarely you see young players there's not my, me and you miles all over the place that there just are wise beyond their years. You know, I would have loved to seeing Rayal salt Lake pursue and get a
top keeper. Imagine. I mean, I don't know if it was feasibly possible. Imagine they made a push for Zach Stephan like the Rapids did. I mean that Rayal Salt Lake team all a sudden looks a lot lot better. But they feel confident with Zach. But the one thing I see more for Gavin than Zach. And they played Portland and they didn't do it, but once they did it a couple of times when you press them. The playing out of the back is not very desirable. I mean,
and they don't play exclusively. They do, but that's kind of part of what Pablo does, but he almost wish they could just dump it in the meantime. But you would like to see them getting a top top keeper here at some point because even with Zach, there's like mistakes from playing out of the back when teams press you and pressure, which they're going to do, even teams that generally don't press a lot, because I think they
can get an advantage out of that. And that's that's a bit of an achilles for RSL and they they've got to just hope that these guys can put together quality game after quality game and a mistake, which we have seen a fair bitness season doesn't rise at the worst possible time, so Max.
At one point, when RSL went fifteen matches without an l if Chico had one goal, it felt like he had an off game.
And he's had one goal in nine games now.
You know.
When the news came.
Down about the suspension, I talked about it on air and disgusted with people off air about the very type of thing that, if not handled appropriately or correctly, can derail a player and a team. I've seen it countless of times in my two decades doing this. I'm not
blaming it at all on that. Okay, I'm not laying it all on that, but something has changed in him where he has not been as dangerous in the attack as he was when RSL felt like they were playing as well as anyone in all of MLS for a while. Give me your thoughts on Chicho's incredible season suddenly going cold and you think he can turn it around.
Yeah, I could. Answered. Part of that drop is Onris Goma is no longer there. You need to see it. You can see it's affecting him. The other part is this was a pretty traumatic stretch and he was so I mean he I don't think he was so good earlier in the season, he had a couple of hat tricks. He was just scoring, scoring, scoring, And I don't think anyone's gonna say he's going to keep playing that way. I mean, he is second in the Golden Boot and
he's basically been gone for two months. So I mean, if he played, if he's if he was playing regularly and at that clip from earlier the season, he would have like twenty seven to twenty eight goals, which is approaching the single season record. So you know that's neither here nor there either. But you can't have the early season Chicho, but you need to have better than what
you have right now. I get the feeling that he needs a goal to kind of take the lid off a little bit, and he has to create new partnerships. He has to play it a little differently because they don't have on this Gomaz and Diego Gonsales isn't a direct replacement for Gomaz, So a lot of teams do it, and I'm here at LAFC and last suffered from this as well. I think they suffered for it this year. They suffered in twenty twenty two when they brought in
Georgia Celeen and Gareth Bale. You're bringing players at the tail end of the season and you have to incorporate them and it's never clean. So I think that's part of what Chicho is dealing with. But this is a big distraction and he's gonna have to He's gonna have to do more than anyone to overcome it because he is. They expect so much of him. And it's been weird for Rail Salt Lake because you said that fifteen game
Winles Street they can. I mean them getting two wins in a row is rare late summer through September, so, I mean, it's just so inconsistent and it's a different team. But there's a lot of things that play. There's a lot of things that Rail Salt Lake have to take ownership off, but there's some things that are out of their control. If you sell a player like Andreskomas and
you're active in the summer market, which RSL were. You hope that it clicks into place like a Jigsaalt puzzle by October, but we'll see.
You know, we're accustomed to mercurial strikers around here with Alvaro Savario and you're a mouth SISI and I could keep going, and maybe that's just the deal with that position of number nine, who you know, suddenly can have a rapid change in production or change in mood.
I don't know, chie Jo Max.
I think that you do because he was in LA when you know and you're you're there, So help help me understand. Is he prone to these incredible peaks and valleys? Is that something that he's known for, because I honestly don't know. I'm asking just to ask.
No, he was prolific with LAFC. I mean, he had two seasons there and he hit the ground running and there was rarely a stretch where he didn't score. So this is a little bit. I mean, this is the first real dry spell he has had in his MLS career. I mean, his time in Mexico didn't go great, but you know, at LAFC, and he scored fourteen goals in seventeen games in the first year, which is phenomenal. And
then in twenty twenty two he had sixteen goals. He played every game and he was part of a championship season where there was a little more rotation. So he's been good. I mean, that's part of it, and that's I think part of the reason Pablo Mustroni identified him as the guy he wanted say is I know he can be a consistent goal scoring MLS. He has proven that, and he proved it last year when he arrived at the tail end, and he's proved it most of the
season here. It'd be hard to imagine he continues in this run. I get the feeling that there's at least a goal, maybe not four or five in a three game stretch, but a goal or two that will help this team. He is really good, and he's good. He's really good in this league, and he's adapted many times because he dealt with those LAC teams that brought in so many different players, So he's everything is there to
suggest a spence that he is going to get. There's going to be an upward trend here again, but that's not guaranteed. But we've seen him do it in the past, and I've never seen him have a really bad spell. I get the feeling that he's going to get out of it.
I know we already talked about the keeper, but I want to follow up here. Pablo hopped on the show about three weeks ago and announced that the starting keeper was now Gavin and Zach is going to be benched four games last night it's playoff time?
Who would you roll with?
Match get Do you go with the young kid who everybody thinks is going to be a beast when he's fully baked, or do you go with the vet who's been there before you know? Or do you take the next four games and try to figure it out? Who do you think should be between the pipes?
When I asked Pablo that because I said, is this being Gavin's the starter? Because he's started these last four or five games, and he was like reluctant. So I think Zach's going to get another sniff at it. I think, deep down because some of the Zach you say, hopefully he just figures it out. This is a guy, a real veteran, and he's played a ton of games in MLS all over the place that he could figure it out.
I think it's a little riskier for Gavin because you know that you're going to have to deal with some rookie or some being green mistakes. They're going they're almost guaranteed to happen. You can with Zak, you can say they are they're probably going to happen, but there's a better chance they don't happen, and he has a good stretch,
So I think Zach's still very much into it. I would imagine, depending on these last four games go that you know Zach is when the playoffs roll around, has a chance to be the number one guy for the duration of the postseason.
All right.
I had Gartha on the program, Garth log Away on the program after Atlanta was in town.
I asked him a very direct question. I'm gonna ask you the same.
Do you believe RSL has a legitimate chance to hoist MLS Cup this year for the first time since two thousand and nine?
They do have a chance. There's not a team. I mean, the Galaxy look like they're gonna finish first and you're gonna have to go beat them at their place, which are us all almost good earlier this season a long time ago, so I don't think there's a big gap from anywhere else. LAFC are struggling and certainly in league play. But if I had to pick a list, I mean, I would say Galaxy would be number one, and then I like Houston a lot. Houston looks like a team
that they've won eight away games. I put Houston too, and then I'd put LAFC RSL maybe and Vancouver right behind them. It's it's so tight. I mean, if the Galaxy don't, if the Galaxy have any issues, it's it's wide open, and I think you would be you'd like your chances against the Galaxy better than either Columbus or Inner Miami. Those are the two best teams in the league right now. So the West will provide some opportunity.
I tend to think there will be a surprise or two, which we haven't had the last couple of years in the West. I mean Saint Louis getting knocked out, but they were you know, it's hard to see them as a number one seed in any other year because it was a magical regular season. But I think RSL have a shot. They have to be they have to be stout defensively, and they need some magic from chi Cho Luna and some of the new guys. But I just say they don't have a chance. I think would be unfair.
They've had a really good season. They it also comes down to the matchups. We'll see what they get, but I think they it has things have to fall in place, but it's possible.
Well, all you can ask for is a shot going to the playoffs, right, Like, that's all you can ask for, is a shot, especially if you're not among the league lead leaders and spend. Do you like the playoff format? Does it feel like it's too saturated? Does it feel like too many teams get in? Do you like the current MLS playoff format?
Actually, the West I always have people criticized because you know, people love to criticize the MLF even though things that are happening in MLS other leagues are imitating now, and I think what they did, like with Leagues Cup is a real avant garde move that I think other leagues will imitate as well. But it's everyone in the West right now has a five hundred record or better. An eight of the nine teams are well above five hundred.
So that's the rule of thumb, right, if you're above five hundred, you should make the playoffs, and mostly not all of them in American leagues, we should say, but it's maybe you have those teams, but you find a way to protect the higher seeds a little better, like you give them a buy or a double buy, and
you can have those teams. I'm fine with it. My big issue with the playoffs we had it last year and we had it this year is you have that international window and it just really takes the wind out of the sales when you're going through and all of a sudden you have to stop before the conference semis and then onwards. This is a big gap, which but you can't really do much about and you don't want
to play on that weekend. That's the only issue. But then on the clip side, I don't want I don't know if the ending the season in mid October makes sense either. You might as well go. It's just that one gap which you just learned to deal with. But I think in a perfect world, maybe six, maybe you lose two four teams from the playoffs set up, but that's not going to happen everyone. The reality it might get bigger at some point, but I've warmed up to it.
But I think maybe it would make me irregular season a little more interesting if say six teams make it, or teams that finished seventh and eighth have to win twice just to get a shot at one of the higher seeds.
I like that. I like that max Before I say you lose.
Since you and I last spoke, we had a really really fun, cool event here in the market. Kyle Beckerman was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame, and then we had a dinner the next night of the stadium to honor that two thousand and nine MLS Cup championship team with a bunch of the former players.
I've never heard the max bread us Kyle Beckerman take.
You know, he changed everything here instantly after the trade went down.
I mean it was instantaneous.
And I remember his first training thinking like that, dude is different than anyone we have had.
Now.
It was a very young franchise, and you know, Jason christ himself said that if Kyle embraced Kyle want this is Kyle's own these are his own words. He always wanted to be a striker because he wanted to score goals, or like a central attacking mid, and you know, he scored a lot of goals.
He could really bomb it. You know, we used to call him Becker Bombs around here.
But Jason asked him to embrace the central holding mid role and said to me on air, if Kyle plays this position, he will play in a World Cup which he did. So i' you know, like it's weird to say as a radio host, super out of him or everything that he's done here since he landed way back in two thousand and seven. But he's a Hall of Famer now, Max, what's the Kyle Beckerman take.
It's still unexpected to see the benchmarks that he reads. And I talked to Donny and he tells me he skills me in now that he's a coach at what Utah Valley. That's amazing. I mean, what a great opportunity for those young players to get someone like that who has played, you know, more MLS games than everyone except for what Nick Romondo. I mean, we're talking about almost six hundred or we are talking about six hundred games when you include everything, and I mean he hit his targets.
You mentioned winning MLS Cup and being part of RSL when they were a bad team, to being a playoff, a perennial playoff team and an MLS Cup contender. But I think with Kyle Beckerman, what comes to mind is and I heard Tavaramo say this, He called the twenty fourteen World Cup the team the best US team he has seen. And Kyle Beckerman was a part of that
and part of that era. He was so underappreciated and for what he did on the national team, you know, like sixty caps and played alongside some of our best players ever, never was out of place, great teammate, a guy who did the dirty work so that these others could excel on that national team. And he didn't get enough credit for that. And you know, like in twenty twenty four, where the people ridicule MLS players, they don't ridicule, but they don't they equate MLS on the national team
as a weakness. I mean, imagine Kyle Beckerman didn't get that chance. And what a great servant he is for this league for not only being as good as he was, but you know, spending his entire career here with RFL in Colorado and briefly with the Miami Fusion. Those are the kind of guys that, you know, Penn, twenty thirty years, when this league is growing, you point out and say,
you know that is he's the founda. This is why we were successful because you can have players that commit themselves to the league and still achieve everything they want in a professional career. I don't know if that opportunity for Europe May I'm sure he thinks about it, but it's just perfect. You know how he was able to do that and still be a part of some great national teams. And I thought he was a great national
team player. And I mean the hair, I mean the hair is amazing and just to see it and I've mis seeing him galloping around and a durability, just a tremendous talent and asset and wonderful guy for our league. I'm a big mless guy. I'm glad we have Kyle Beckerman.
Max. Thanks for the time, buddy, I appreciate it. Have a great weekendial chat soon.
You have a great Thursday spent. Yes, a great weekend.
Yes sir, Yes, sir. Our weekend starts tonight. Max, I said it out loud. That's the deal. That's the deal, all right. Our good friend Max bred Us. He announces RSL games at times, does other MLS matches depending on his assignment. He works with Donny. They're the look there biased. They're the best duo on Apple TV by far. Max is on social media at max breadas Sports is where you find them.