It’s PawedCast time again, and yes, we went over an hour (by 16-ish minutes), we had a big story to cover and a guest!

Since there was apparently only one news story in the entire world this week, we’ve spent actual minutes of our show discussing the as-yet-unsigned Lionel Messi. What does his addition mean for MLS, for Miami, and for Orlando if and when that signature happens? As with any signing, we’ll have to wait and see, but it will at least solve Inter Miami’s attendance issues. As with most things involving MLS, there are positives and negatives, and we’re here to discuss both.

Matt Pollard has been busy repositioning former SBNation Colorado Rapids blog Burgundy Wave into a Patreon-funded site and he joins us to help us preview Saturday’s opponents from the Western Conference. Big thanks to Matt for giving us the inside scoop.

Our mailbagbox allowed us to steal a player from any rival team, which is kind of a neat idea, and MLS should just let us do it. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Finally, we dove into our key matchups and score predictions for the Colorado Rapids’ visit to Central Florida this weekend.

Here’s how No. 351 went down:

0:15 – Inter Miami plans to sign yet another DP.

31:35 – Matt Pollard joins us to tell us what’s up with the Rapids this season.

52:04 – The mailbagbox and what we think will happen on Saturday vs. Colorado.

The Orlando Pride were shut out for the second straight match when they faced the Dash in Houston on Saturday night and this time it wasn’t a case of wiping the floor with the opponents except for failing to score. This time the Dash were clearly better on the night and the Pride slipped back into some of their poor habits from last year. But hey, rebuilding is a process and the mentality of the team seems to be strong. It will need to be in order to deal with the two matches coming up this week.

We discussed the 2-0 loss to Houston and selected our Player of the Match, which was not easy. We also discussed Kylie Strom being honored with a selection on the NWSL Team of the Month for May.

After that, we looked deep into our mailbagbox and found…nothing. No questions to answer this week, but get yours in for our next show. You can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form.

Finally, we gave our key matchups and score predictions for a difficult, two-game week. The Pride face Gotham FC tonight at Red Bull Arena in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and we’re expecting a lot of squad rotation. Orlando will then come home to face the Death Star (a.k.a. the Portland Thorns) on Sunday evening at Exploria Stadium.

Here’s how Episode 9 went down:

0:15 – Our breakdown of the loss to the Houston Dash and a monthly NWSL honor for Kylie Strom.

19:37 – The mailbagbox was empty but we’ve got our key matchups and score predictions for both upcoming games this week.

It’s early June, so technically it’s still time to do some spring cleaning. Speaking of which, the Lions got their brooms out and swept the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night in Harrison, NJ. Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, Wilder Cartagena, and Robin Jansson starred on a night when Orlando City’s strategy was to stay organized against New York’s chaotic press and wait for opportunities to punish the Red Bulls on the counter. That’s pretty much what the Lions did on Saturday and it resulted in a 3-0 win against a team that hadn’t given up more than two in a match all season.

We broke down Orlando’s win in the Garden State and selected our Man of the Match. We also touched on several Lions who were honored for their performances in that game. Oh, and Mikey Halliday is coming home, which is good, but it’s because the U-20 USMNT lost in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinals, which is bad.

After our review of Saturday’s match, we opened up the mailbagbox. Among this week’s topics were Targeted Allocation Money and buying down Designated Players, along with home form vs. road form. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Finally, we discussed a disjointed Orlando City B performance north of the border against Toronto FC II. The Young Lions never seemed in this game and the warning bells were chiming loudly just 17 seconds into the match. It was not a fun night for OCB.

Here’s how No. 350 went down:

0:15 – The Lions didn’t have their sharpest passing night, but they put the ball in the net three times, which is always a welcome sight.

33:42 – OCB had a very bad night in Canada.

42:31 – The mailbagbox beckons and we don’t claim to be experts on the weird player-signing mechanisms in MLS.