PawedCast Episode 196: How MLS Might Return, Morgan’s a Mom, eSports, and More

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Strange things are afoot as Orlando could soon become the center of the Major League Soccer world. We discuss the hottest rumor of the week that MLS is planning to put all 26 teams in the City Beautiful for soccer matches at Disney without fans. This thing could start happening in a matter of weeks, depending on how things go, so there’s lots to talk about and many pros and cons of such a setup.

We welcome back Paul Tenorio from The Athletic to discuss what this might look like when put into practice and some of the pitfalls that the league must negotiate before even attempting it. Paul also gives us his views on going to five substitutes for this season, the toll that games might take on players in this climate without much preparation time, and more.

Alex Morgan became a mom right before Mother’s Day and we’re hoping that Charlie Carrasco grows up and becomes an Orlando Pride star alongside Sydney Leroux’ daughter. Pride goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris has a boo boo and new keeper Erin McLeod has arrived in Orlando. We also discuss Orlando City’s struggles in eMLS competitions and whether it means a change in personnel is necessary or if FIFA Abe is handicapped by his team. Honestly, we know so little about eSports (and care even less) but that doesn’t mean we won’t talk about it.

We answer our listeners’ questions and they range from this MLS-to-Orlando rumor and whether that will negate a summer swoon by the Lions, to eMLS. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything —you want us to address on our next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Finally, we wrapped things up with our continued discussion of our Marvel Cinematic Universe rewatch (so far). Dave and I are rewatching all of the MCU movies in order of release date, so we’re sharing our thoughts on Iron Man 2 and Thor this week. We liked both of them, although they were far from perfect, and we added them into our rankings so far.

Stay safe and enjoy the show.

Here’s how show No. 196 went down:

0:16 – Way too much info about our return to work and then we dive into our main topic of how, when, where, and why all of the MLS teams coming to Orlando to restart soccer in 2020.

42:16 – Paul Tenorio jumps on with us to discuss what he’s been hearing in regards to the proposed restart of MLS in Orlando, what that might mean for TV rights holders, how the entire thing will certainly be difficult (at best) to get going, and much more.

106:20 – Alex Morgan is a mom! We offer our congrats, try to talk about how the female body recovers from childbirth — something neither of us know much about — and then dive into our dissatisfaction with Orlando City in eMLS (although we both still think it’s dumb).

1:51:45 – Our MCU rewatch continues as we discuss Iron Man 2 and Thor.