Morning Kickaround

It’s a Friday on Morning Kickaround and there’s a lot to discuss. We open with high ratings for the U.S. Men’s National Team loss to Belgium. Was this a missed opportunity for our national team to further grow the game in this country? Was that stinker of a performance a missed opportunity for soccer in this country? We then tackle an age-old question in American soccer: How do we fix that pay-to-...

And just like that, it was over. Today is MK’s postmortem of the U.S. Men’s National Team in the World Cup. The USA went out with a mighty whimper after all the hype leading up to the Round of 16 match against Belgium. Robert Kerr and Jason Davis look back on the defeat and try to avoid the standard American discussion about all the systemic reasons the United States can’t get over the Round of 16...

It’s U.S. Men’s National Team matchday and we… have a bit of a sour taste in our mouths. Sure, we are happy that Folarin Balogun can play in tonight’s match against Belgium. We just don’t like the optics of FIFA appearing to make up rules to suspend his red card, seemingly at the behest of the current tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Does anyone come across looking good here? How is Belgium tak...

Happy 4th of July to all those who celebrate American independence! Morning Kickaround uses its independence to get you into a thrilling weekend of World Cup action. The United States won a knockout round game on Wednesday over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it came at a cost. A fine performance was sort of marred by a Folarin Balogun red card in the middle of the second half. The Americans hung on t...

Monday is here and so are the World Cup knockout rounds! After Canada’s win yesterday there’s a ton to look forward to. Off the field, the U.S. Men’s National Team is looking to keep Mauricio Pochettino around after the World Cup. They’ve offered him a contract extension that would keep him here through the 2030 tournament despite popular opinion saying he’s heading back to club football after the...

Friday is here, but with the World Cup blending all the days together, what difference does it make? Anyway, the U.S. Men's National Team fell to Turkiye last night on a last second goal. Does it really matter considering they had already won the group and were playing the backups? Nothing may change materially for their World Cup standing, but did we get a negative vibes shift from the defeat? Al...

Are England and other big sides getting beneficial treatment from referees? Between questionable no-calls, Jude Bellingham remaining on the pitch after covering his mouth, and a possible missed red card against Lionel Messi, there have been a lot of reasons to think there is a slant in favor of big nations at the World Cup. Today is also the start of the final round of group stage games. The next...

The U.S. Men’s National Team are group winners with a match to spare, just like we all predicted before the tournament. All that stress about Christian Pulisic’s health, the Australian defense clogging up what was a free-flowing side against Paraguay, and general USMNT pessimism proved ultimately irrelevant in the 2-0 win over the Socceroos.  The guys deliver their thoughts on not only the win, bu...

It’s USMNT Matchday! The Socceroos of Australia are in Seattle to do battle with the Americans and there’s apparently beef coming from the Land Down Under. There are so many questions surrounding the match that we don’t know where to begin. Is the Aussie beef legit? Will Christian Pulisic play? What happens if he doesn’t? We then get into the highlights and lowlights of the tournament so far. We’v...

Morning Kickaround is here to help get your head around a thrilling first weekend of the World Cup. From the U.S. Men’s National Team and their dream start to Tunisia getting smoked by Sweden, the first weekend seemingly had everything we needed from it. There was surely a lot to like from the USMNT. Folarin Balogun was stellar, Gio Reyna got a much needed goal, and hopefully Christian Pulisic is...

The World Cup is here! After years of waiting and sifting through corruption, late-stage capitalism, and other cringey details, the actual soccer and global unity of the World Cup is upon us. With that in mind, we have our MK Ultra’s reports on the first few groups of the tournament. Today, we dig into the soccer, culinary, political, and cultural backgrounds of the nations playing in groups A, B,...

World Cup Week is upon us! The USMNT had their final tune-up match this weekend in Chicago. The 2-1 loss to Germany was filled with both positives and negatives. The atmosphere was festive, Jedi Robinson scored a banger, but they ultimately fell to the Germans. Also, the USL Super League is abandoning its fall-spring calendar to better align with the NWSL. What does this mean for the league as a w...

We are  at T-minus six days until the World Cup and T-minus seven days until the USMNT kicks off their run against Paraguay. The signs are there that the United States is ramping up for the hoopla. Where does the hype level stand for the MK Ultras and the country and world at large? What about the expectations for the USMNT? Also, Greenville Triumph opened their new stadium to a sell out crowd and...

Happy Monday! Holy cow there’s only ten days until the World Cup. With that in mind, we have another World Cup heavy show today. The U.S. Men’s National Team started their pre-tournament friendlies with a 3-2 win over Senegal, complete with a fantastic performance from Christian Pulisic. How do we feel after this match and are we any more confident in Mauricio Pochettino's squad? Also, with hydrat...

Happy Friday from Morning Kickaround! We bring you a World Cup heavy show to launch you into the weekend. World Cup officials in Foxborough are telling people without tickets not to show up to the stadium. Kraft Sports Group CEO Jim Nolan has a blunt message for anyone thinking about coming to the stadium without a ticket. There’s some soccer under construction news to go in there as well. Sacrame...

Welcome back from the holiday weekend! Morning Kickaround is here for the final countdown to the World Cup! We open the show with the USMNT roster. What do we think of this 26 player squad that will take on the world? What about the details behind how the roster was revealed and media “leaking” the roster? Lots to discuss over there.  Also, FIFA quietly moved FIFA+ content over to DAZN. Is there a...

Friday comes and with it, a ton of soccer to discuss. We open with some sour news out of the USL Super League. Spokane Zephyr is shutting down after two seasons of action in the winter women’s league. Was it worth it for them to try this project if it shut down after only two seasons? What does this mean for the future of the Super League? Also, the Tampa Bay Sun don’t seem to have the stadium pla...

Wednesday is here and there’s a lot to get to. Robert Kerr and Jason Davis open with the most MLS proposal ever: clock stoppages during play. Will this most American of inventions come to the global game? Also, will the USL be able to make any gains because of the World Cup or should they follow MLS and take an extended break during the world’s soccer party? We then bring on a potential USL expans...

It’s another Monday Morning and we are here to talk about Miami and the MLS Media. Are Messi and his men snubbing their fans as well as the media? Despite their first win at their new stadium, their fans had a few things to say about their lack of connection to the players. They’ve also been a bit evasive of the media. Is this a Miami thing or does this say something about the league and its media...

Morning Kickaround returns after a Wednesday off with a Friday Free-For-All to kickstart the weekend. The Chicago Fire have a super-sized name for their new stadium and it’s going to make you want some fries. The Fire will play at McDonald’s Park when the new stadium opens and the reactions are a bit mixed. American soccer continues to be weird as Cristo Fernandez, better known as Dani Rojas in Te...

It’s recovery Monday for the Morning Kickaround crew as they are back from Rhode Island and more or less ready to resume normal operations. At least as normal as they can be with FIFA introducing unique kits for each host city priced at a cool $375. What’s the point of these besides making money? Are the designs even that great? Who would pay that price for a kit that no team will ever wear? Next...

Robert Kerr and Jason Davis are live from Rhode Island FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies courtesy of the ⁠Blackstone Valley Tourism Council⁠ to celebrate all things Rhode Island soccer. Check out the show live Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 AM ET on YouTube where you can join the channel and become an MK Ultra. Perks include access to our community Discord, early access to bonus video, priority comme...

It’s MK on the road! Robert Kerr and Jason Davis are in Rhode Island as they get ready for tomorrow's MK Soccer Matchday Live show from The Ocean State. We open with some new structural developments from across the league spectrum. MLS opened their new headquarters in New York City. The league is, of course, very proud of their new location in the heart of Manhattan. Notable stadium designer HOK i...

It’s a Wednesday where we are working towards maybe dotting the map in the near future with investment money from potentially shady sources… if that makes any sense. Robert Kerr and Jason Davis open the show with soccer under construction all over the state of New York. Suyre, New York City FC opening their new stadium next year, but Staten Island, Albany, and even Buffalo all have active stadium...

Morning Kickaround is getting off to a strong start this week with some details on the long awaited USL collective bargaining agreement. The USL Championship and Premier leagues will be getting a minimum salary hike, health insurance, and more benefits in an agreement that will last until 2030. Robert and Jason break it all down. We also have a badge explainer for Cleveland’s first professional wo...