Ruben and RJ return with maybe the second to last episode of the season. They go over the disappointing performance against Charlotte, including bad performances from the midfield and the lack of good goalscoring chances. In the second half of the show, the boys dicsuss the recent report by friend of the program Alex Calibrese that Djordje Mihailovic may be on his way back to the lakefront. They talk about how he could work tactically on the field and whether or not it's a good idea for the club...
Oct 12, 2023•40 min•Season 5Ep. 25
It's a special postgame Hot Cast! Ruben and RJ are here to break down the Fire's win over Miami. They start with a discussion on the vibes of the game and then quickly discuss some things the Fire could have done better because they're maniacs. After that, they discuss all the good things, and boy were there a lot of good things. After the break, Ruben breaks down the table and what the playoff math looks like for the Fire beyond the win and you're in scenario they find themselves in. (spoiler, ...
Oct 05, 2023•35 min•Season 5Ep. 24
After a week of technical difficulties, the Hot Cast returns. Ruben and RJ discuss the Revs match and contrast that performence with the two lost games from last week. But before that, they talk about the staleness of the club overall, and how much these last couple of weeks are going to stink. however, there was some positives. They discuss the play of the young talented core of players they have including Jonathan Dean and Brian Gutierrez's (before his injury) games. Ruben also pushes back on ...
Sep 26, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 23
Ruben and RJ return to the Hot Cast to discuss everything going wrong with the Chicago Fire. They talk about the seeming lack of effort on display against DC and the disappointment they have in the front office and coaching staff, along with the players. They also have a deep discussion on the role of the designated player and whether or not they should be looked at to be leaders of the team. In the second half of the show, they talk about playing the Fire's kids and what a lineup where they do ...
Sep 06, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 22
On this week's episode of the Hot Cast, recorded just after Wednesday's final; whistle, Ruben is... upset at the approach the coaching staff Fire took in last week's losses in LA and Vancouver, but especally against the Whitecaps. He reads the riot act to the coaching staff while RJ does his best to calm him down while also acknowledging what a poor display the Fire put on. Things get lighter in the second half of the show. They talk about all the clubs around the Fire also slipping up and previ...
Aug 31, 2023•35 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Ruben and RJ return to the Podcast Studio after what was determined to be a sad performance by the Chicago Fire. They discuss the lack of verve and desire at the end of the game. and talk about Georgios Koutsias's poor performence. On the flip side, They talk about how good the Fire's spine was with the addition of Ousmane Doumbia and how despite his bad performence, Koutsias's disallowed goals were more unfortunate bad luck than anything else. In the second half of the show, they talk about the...
Aug 24, 2023•31 min•Season 5Ep. 20
Ruben and RJ return to the microphone to discuss the end of the Fire's run in the Leagues Cup at the hand of Club America. They discuss the Fire's performence in the match and how it was actually pretty good from a certain point of view. They talk about Mauricio Pineda and Osumene Doumbia's growth and the offense's continued struggles to create and score goals. In the show's second half, they step back and look at the Leagues Cup as a whole to try and find some meaning in the tournament. Plus, t...
Aug 09, 2023•35 min•Season 5Ep. 19
The Fire finished P1 in the Central 2 group over Pachuca and Minnesota United and Ruben and RJ needed to discuss it with you! They started by discussing the tournament as a whole and tried to determine it's value to the soccer ecosystem. Then they went on to discuss the Fire's performence and what they did to get on top. In the second half of the show, they look forward to Friday's match against Club America. Ruben gets all football romantic about it and RJ has to bring him crashing down to real...
Aug 03, 2023•40 min•Season 5Ep. 18
Ruben and RJ are back just in time to take a break! They discuss the Fire's recent good run of results, but both of them have questions about the quality of those performances. Then in the second half of the show, they discuss the League's Cup, its worth as a tournament, and how they think the Fire will get on in it. All of that plus a fun idea brewing on this Week's Hot Cast! Thank You to all out patrons over at patreon.com/TheLantern
Jul 20, 2023•28 min
The Fire followed up their 2 road wins with an egg-laying in central Florida, and your hosts try to figure out what went wrong. Ruben and RJ discuss the Fire and Orlando's tactical approach, poor refereeing, and the Fire's lackluster performence, all of which contributed to the loss. They then talk about what it would take for the Fire to still, despite everything, be a playoff contender. Then in the second half of the show, they talk about the Jim Curtin news and what it means for the Fire's co...
Jul 06, 2023•36 min•Season 5Ep. 16
On today's episode of the Hot Cast, Ruben and RJ discuss the 6-point week on the road for the Chicago Fire. They start with the 2-1 win in Portland and use that game as a framework to discuss the emerging greatness that is Brian Gutierrez. They also talk about Jairo Torres and his improvements, as well as the return to the back 4 and how that's helped them. They then talk about the win against Kansas City and dicsuss whether or not this was the best win of the year. In the show's second half, th...
Jun 28, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 23
On this week's episode of the Hot Cast, Ruben and RJ are sad. Sad and Disappointed. They discuss the match against Columbus and what went right in the first 30 minutes and what went wrong after that. Then they praise Miguel NAvarro's effort and talk about why the game wasn't the worst (A low bar, they know). The second half of the show is all about Messi and whether or not Joe Mansueto should accelerate the timeline for hiring new staff so they can make their own summer window splash. All of tha...
Jun 15, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 14
The Chicago Fire have been eliminated in the US Open Cup and we're here to talk about it. Ruben and RJ discuss the penalty decision and how it was game over afterward, the questionable tactics from Head Coach Frank Klopas, and how the roster was not prepared for the schedule congestion. Then they spend some time on where the Fire go from here and we stake our early claim on who the new manager should be of all the known candidates. All of that plus some rage and sadness on this week's Hot Cast. ...
Jun 07, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Ruben and RJ return in another Postgame edition of The Hot Cast. They discuss the win in Austin and how they did it-- alongside the redemption of Xherdan Shaqiri and why he's playing well all of a sudden. They talk about innovative ways Frank Klopas has this team playing and how his substitution decisions have helped improve the way the Fire games have played out. Then they talk about what the next week is like with games in Foxboro and Toronto coming up in the next week. All of that plus ACEN v...
May 25, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 12
The Hot cast is back and so is the Frank Klopas era! Ruben and RJ discuss his two first league games and the highs and lows their in. They talk about how on the road, his conservative approach led to Charlotte having too much time on the ball, whereas RJ talks about how the players let themselves down. Then they talk about the St. Louis match and how Frank got the personnel and the tactics 100% right. They go on to discuss how he can try to find some sort of middle ground. After thanking our pat...
May 18, 2023•37 min
Ruben and RJ are back to discuss an action-packed week in Fire soccer, and it's not even over yet. They start with the game against Nashville and talk about how much it stunk to lay down in service of the Open Cup midweek. Then they discuss Ezra Hendrickson firing what it means for the club, and how Frank Klopas would change the team. They transition nicely into the Open Cup game from Tuesday. They discuss how the team played well and how they dealt well with St. Louis's press at times. Then the...
May 10, 2023•32 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Ruben and RJ are back after a disappointing draw with the New York Red Bulls. They discuss some big-picture themes on what's going on before getting on to the game proper. There, they discuss the pleasant surprise of Meran Halie-Selassie and what he means for the team. Then they talk about the goal at the end of the game, and discuss what is actually the real problem. After that and the Patreon thank yous, they look forward to the game against Nashville. All of that plus RJ reviews a Jack & ...
May 03, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Ruben and RJ are back post US Open Cup to discuss the last week of Fire soccer. They start, inevitably, with Xherdan Shaqiri and the Fire's loss against Atlanta United. They discuss the wasted good performances and worry about things other than performence deciding lineups. Then they discuss the first-ever Chicago Derby as the Fire took on Chicago House for the very first time. They talk about how impressed they were with the amateur squad and what the game meant to them. Finally they talk about...
Apr 27, 2023•32 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Welcome back to the Hot Cast. On today's show, Ruben and RJ go over another collapse against the Philidelphia Union. They start by discussing Gastoin Gimenez's value while Ruben asks if he's either the only sane man or the actual crazy one when mentioning how valuable the former DP is to the team this year. Then they spend some time talking about Xherdan Shaqiri and Georgios Koutsias, who made their return from injury and team debuts respectfully. Then, after taking a break to thank our Patrons ...
Apr 20, 2023•34 min•Season 5Ep. 7
The Chicago Fire have won two in a row, but more importantly, they have an opponent for their Third Round Open Cup match, and It's Chicago House! Ruben and RJ start this week's show by talking about the cupset and giving some Open Cup trivia about the last time the Fire played another team from the Chicagoland tournament in the oldest of American Soccer traditions. After that, they then transition to talking about the Fire's relatively easy win over Minnesota United and the looming specter of Xh...
Apr 12, 2023•49 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Ruben and RJ are back this week for a quick episode of the Hot Cast. In today's show, they discuss the 0-0 draw against a DC United side trying to figure themselves out. They talk about the improvements at full-back for the Fire and how that will help them move forward. After that, they talk a bit about up front and what the club needs to do to get back to the way they were playing and scoring in the last two weeks. Then they go on to discuss the upcoming game against MNUFC. All of that plus Rub...
Apr 05, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Welcome back to the Hot Cast! Ruben and RJ return to discuss the Fire's first win of the year. Unfortunately, it's not the happy discussion that one would think. The Fire blew a 2-0 lead and the hosts are feeling some type of way about it. They also discuss Ezra Hendrickson's stubbornness about the number 10 situation. Then they go on to talk about next week's game against DC United and what to expect from Wayne Rooney's side. All that plus RJ's pizza adventures on this week's Hot Cast....
Mar 29, 2023•46 min•Season 5Ep. 4
The Chicago Fire blew another 2 goal lead and Ruben and RJ have things to say! On this week's episode of the Hot Cast, your hosts discuss the collapse against Cincinnati while also being positive about the things they should be positive about like the play of Maren Haile-Selassie and Brian Gutierrez. Ruben then breaks down where the Fire went wrong on the goals. Then they discuss why they play better with Gaston Gimenez and without Xherdan Shaqiri. All of that plus them desperately trying not to...
Mar 22, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Welcome back to they return of the HotCast. On Today's show, Ruben and RJ talk about the two opening games of the season, and how much trouble they think the Fire are actually in. They break down what worked and didn't work against NYCFC and Philly; including a breakdown of the how the Fire stopped the Union from finding many dangerous chances. Then they discuss the news of the new left-back, the new training facility, and more. It's all that and the World Baseball Classic on this week's HotCast...
Mar 15, 2023•51 min
The Chicago Fire are back and so is the Hot Cast! For the 5th year, Ruben and RJ Preview the season just days before the first match against NYCFC. They review all the outgoing and incoming players before talking about each position group and their key players, including what they think about Kacper Przybylko, Xherdan Shaqiri, and new face Arnoud Souquet (and hear Ruben struggle with basic French pronunciation) After that and a time out to thank our Patreon subscribers, we then move on to discus...
Mar 02, 2023•51 min•Season 5Ep. 1
The 2023 schedule is out and that means the return of the Hot Cast! Ruben and RJ return to talk first about the last month or so of soccer. From the World Cup and Xherdan Shaqiri's performances to the tragedy surrounding Grant Whal's passing. Then they talk bout Jhan Duran's situation. What clubs are coming for him, and where the best place for him to end up would be. After that, they transition into talking about the Fire's schedule. What are the most interesting games? What's the toughest stre...
Dec 21, 2022•42 min•Season 5Ep. 1
It's been an absolutely crazy couple of days in Qatar and Ruben and Alex are here to talk about it. Group E and Group H finished off with some crazy results and some surprise additions to the knockout stage. Ghana get revenge of a sort against Uruguay for the actions of 12 years ago and South Korea continue the country's year of miracles by beating Portugal and qualifying themselves into the last 16. Their reward? A match against Brazil. Meanwhile, the hosts look forward to the first knockout ro...
Dec 03, 2022•37 min
Welcome to episode 2 of the World Cast, Hot Time's World Cup podcast. Today on the show, Ruben and Alex start by talking about their feelings on the tournament as a whole, from the lack of quality games and the crackdown on protesters of all sorts to the amazing upsets and teams underperforming. Then they go over all the groups and scenarios on who will make the knockout stage. They talk about what went wrong for Mexico, which team is going to play spoiler, and which Cinderella teams are going t...
Nov 29, 2022•59 min
Welcome to the World Cast! Hot Time in Old Town's World Cup podcast. In this episode, Ruben and Alex preview the group stage and get you ready for the month-long journey in West Asia. They start by going over the USMNT roster and attempt to figure out who's going to start up top and on the wings, as well as what their ideal XI is. They then go group by group talking about the teams and who will survive to the knockout stage. There are some spicy hot takes here, and you don't want to miss out on ...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 26 min
On the final episode of the HotCast for the 2022 season, Ruben and RJ take stock of the Fire in a free-flowing conversation that takes you all over the place. They start with the question of whether or not the campaign was a disappointment (it was) and from there, they discuss what part randomness had to play in the fate of the 2022 Men in Red. From there, they discuss what the club needs to do in the offseason to improve, and little room for error there is. Plus, Ruben has a bad take about the ...
Oct 17, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 4Ep. 27
