Cleared Off The Line

This week on Cleared off the Line... Welp... here we are again. The USMNT has dropped out of the World Cup in the Round of 16 for the fourth time in a row. Another disappointment that we thought this team was over by now, but yet again we are let down by the same issues. Now, we examine everything and ask the question "Where do we go from here?" Riley James, the host of United Soccer Lou...

This week on Cleared off the Line... One of the biggest stories of the World Cup so far is not the action on the pitch, but what is happening what it stops. Hydration breaks with commercials are happening twice during every match and some fans are not happy with the breakaway from tradition and inserting of advertisements. I ask the question, if these breaks are here to stay then how do we walk th...

This week on Cleared off the Line... Native San Diegoan Aodhan Quinn has dotted the USL Championship map far and wide from Southern California. Wherever he's landed, consistency has been his key to success. He has several career milestones that make him a midfielder you must mention when you speak about American soccer's Iron Men. The Indy Eleven player joins us to speak about how he's...

This week on Cleared off the Line... The 26 USMNT players that will hopefully take our nation to new World Cup heights are here. A solid team with a measured dose of hype and potential, but not without controversial choices or heated press conference moments. Larry Henry Jr of SBI Soccer helps breaks down the team from snubs and surprises to Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino's stance on sending r...

This week on Cleared off the Line... A story of struggle, coming to terms and coming back. Tyler Ingle played college soccer like thousands of other skilled youth players. He started over fresh at the next level, but took some personal mental health challenges with him. During his time in the NCAA ranks, he became the first male athlete to publish an article about his mental health on "The Hi...

This week on Cleared off the Line... We dive into something American soccer has not seen before and it's for all the people who love to think that they could manage a professional team. This also is a tool to grow Major League Soccer specifically and has my interest 100 percent. Favian Renkel is a veteran soccer journalist in the US, but is now using his past experiences to market a fantasy so...

This week on Cleared off the Line... How an experienced MLS front office member is educating the next generation of soccer fans by giving their parents the best tool to do so. Author Carlos Mojica joins the show to talk about how his own childhood and relationship with his soccer loving father spurred him onto write a soccer children's book thats out now. Plus, the new World Cup kits for the U...

This week on Cleared off the Line... Why the United States is way ahead of the rest of the world, especially England, in one aspect of professional soccer. Hear how a small university in Alabama is trailblazing into Europe to show its students how to be the next generation of soccer and sports business professionals to grow our game. I speak to Professor Darin White of Samford University about how...

This week on Cleared off the Line... One USL Championship player teaches us why trusting yourself and being patient can lead to a full circle moment that makes all the struggle worth it. When that moment is winning a league title for your hometown team it's a perfect way to show that everything happens for a reason. Pittsburgh Riverhounds midfielder Robbie Mertz joins the show to talk about ho...

This week on Cleared off the Line... How a former MLS player is helping literally construct teams and leagues with risk management. He's using his experience as a player during a period of extreme growth for the American top flight to ensure young players have a secure pathway to the pros. Former Rev and Sounder Kelyn Rowe is ready to tell us about that, what he saw in a young Obed Vargas and...

This week on Cleared off the Line... How does the business side of a professional football club market itself to existing and potential fans on a tight budget by building lasting community partnerships? Tanner Clay-- the Charleston Battery's business guru-- joins me to tell you how he fills the seats of a stadium and the wallets of the club to win championships. That's ahead in our intervi...

This week on Cleared off the Line... The day has finally come! Did you hear the spectacular news? Soccer has surpassed baseball in popularity across the United States not a moment too late as the World Cup comes to America in months. I'll tell you why this is obviously important and how soccer could have to overcome some of baseball's "boring" issues in Tuck's Takes. Plus, wh...

This week on Cleared off the Line... Where do things stand with one of America's biggest professional soccer leagues and its CBA negotiations as the clock ticks down to the current agreement expiring on December 31st? The United Soccer League Championship's players are in slow moving talks with the league on a new agreement that's been negotiated over the past year. Connor Tobin-- the...

This week on Cleared off the Line... Major League Soccer has made a change many thought would never happen and it is literally going to change everything. The leagues owners have voted to move the calendar of the season to align with world football. I'll tell you what that means, why it is not set in stone yet and how I view the change in Tuck's Takes. Take a trip down memory lane with me...

This week on the Cleared off the Line Podcast… How a Twitter exchange between two soccer journalists turned into a podcast segment on the status of soccer literacy in the U.S. Jose Nunez, who covers the current Supporter’s Shield Champions Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer, joins me to talk about why we are both upset with two ESPN talents… the issues surrounding Americans learning about s...

This week on Cleared off the Line... I tell you about a soccer league in the States that you've never heard of before, introducing you to some of its most well known players and coaches, all while giving you insight into why this competition is making a difference. The MLS Cup Playoffs are ongoing and we are right in the middle of the first round after the wild card games. I'll break down...

This week on the Cleared off the Line Podcast… The USMNT is unbeaten in three matches under Mauricio Pochettino and it's their most recent good run of form. The Yanks beat Japan and Australia along with a draw to Ecuador in September and October.  Those results have shown that this team is taking great steps forward to become a World Cup winning contender.  I’ll explain why that is and how the...

Tesho Akindele's journey around the world as a footballer gave him the chance to see places he never would've dreamed of going, literally and figuratively. The former Canadian international raised in Colorado thought he'd be an engineer before MLS came calling as he neared the end of his college career. Then, he didn't know what he'd do after playing until a lightbulb went off...

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds once were a team that wanted to get fans to attend at a handful of games per season. That was success in their minds. Not anymore. The fanbase is thriving and the club is expanding. That's why the Hounds are expanding their stadium capacity by thousands of seats to become a hub for Pittsburghers, a beacon of USL expansion and a model for modern American soccer. Club...

David Gerson has spent countless hours on a soccer pitch with a flag or whistle in his hand refereeing matches. One day, a funny TikTok became an overnight sensation and Refs Need Love Too was born. Gerson's page highlights controversial calls in the professional game, gives referees tips on how to improve and explains the laws of the game while promoting respect for refs. His thousands of fol...

If you've ever wondered how professional football clubs use data to scout players who could be the next big signing for the team, then this is your lucky day. Charlotte FC's Lead Data Analyst, Daniel Wicker, joins the pod to discuss how his role and those of his fellow analysts and scouts brings ideas on paper to ink dried on a contract. (1:30-27:45) Join us as we begin the pod with his in...

We start today's episode by breaking down two huge pieces of news from MLS. First is the Leo Messi All Star Game snub to one-game suspension drama in Tuck's Takes, where Forrest tells you why the GOAT should've been held accountable and how he exposed a major MLS flaw. It's not the one you're thinking of though. (1:15-7:30) Then it's onto the pros and cons of the MLS schedule change to an August t...

The USMNT flipped what we thought would be the script during the Gold Cup. Skeptics believed the blunder of two friendly losses to the Swiss and Turks was just the top of the slippery slope. But, no avalanche of despair this summer for US fans after the team made the finals of the Gold Cup losing to Mexico 2-1. We had questions then. We seem to have more now. Who helped or hurt their case with a B...

Simon Evans of the Soccer Business Podcast makes a claim on this weeks episode that's neither hot or cold, but is everything we know and love about football. The fans were the best part of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. They saved the tournament. From what? The litany of detractors from hours long weather delays to load management of players to Saudi sponsored sports-washing. Boca Juniors, Flam...

The 2025 Club World Cup has more than its fair share of disappointments. Tickets too expensive, mostly empty stadiums, heat too hot (for Europeans), no offseason for the likes of Real, Bayern and Chelsea too, issues with Saudi Arabian funding and so on. In Philadelphia know for "Brotherly Love" (ok maybe sometimes not so much) the goals have been coming fast just as the fans have been th...