The Blazing Musket Podcast

After a prolonged procession and giving out of totally made up prizes to suck up to the President, FIFA managed to place all 42 qualified teams into their groups for next year's World Cup. They also determined where the remaining countries still trying to qualify will end up should they get in. The schedule came out shortly thereafter, finally letting people know who they can see next summer if th...

MLS will be shifting to a fall-spring calendar in line with most of the world's soccer seasons starting in 2027. To make this happen, they will play a mini season in the spring of 2027, implement a winter break and stop playing regular season games in May and June. What's more, they're also bringing in a new league format, a single table of sorts with five divisions of six teams. There's also a ch...

Join host Sam Lattof from the Blazing Musket as he dives into the intricate world of USL and USLPA negotiations with special guests Matt Entriken from Raising Anchor and Oliver Scholes beat writer for Hartford Athletic. In this episode, they explore the history and future of the CBA and the challenges players face. If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherev...

The World Cup draw is on the horizon next month and this just completed round of qualifiers has the field nearly entirely settled. Who's joining the US, Canada and Mexico? Our in-house international competition reporter, Jake Catanese, is in this week to get us caught up with the entire field. Who's on their way, who's slipped up, who are the shock entrants, will Italy ever qualify again? Jake's h...

We're back for the November Roundtable! The USL playoffs for both the Championship and League One are rolling on with heavy involvement from New England's USL contingent. There's all that and then off the field, North Carolina FC has stopped operating as a USL Championship team for now, with a plan to come back. Texoma FC has self regulated to USL League 2 and Tony Scholes is coming to help the US...

The MLS playoffs are in full swing and providing some great games and drama, while those eliminated going into the dark winter of the off season. It's an interesting time for MLS, as it almost always seems like it is. The playoff format is loved by some, hated by other, the Apple TV deal continues to divide opinion, teams are spending more than ever before but is it enough? There's always so many...

The New England Revolution's second team just completed a successful 2025 season, rebounding from a disappointing 2024 season. That was the ultimately failed goal of the first team in 2025, what led Revs II to a playoff appearance? Josh covers Revs II in more depth than anyone else on earth and he's here to give us the lowdown on the team's success, key players, who could help the first team in 20...

After just one phase of four rounds of ticket sales for the World Cup has been completed, affordability has gone out the window for most soccer fans. Getting tickets is just the start, securing travel, hotels and parking present tall hurdles all on their own. And there's many questions over just how welcoming the US will be to the rest of the world, will US fans themselves even be willing and able...

It's hard to believe how far Hartford Athletic have come since July, when we last devoted an entire episode to the club. Since then they've invested in their squad, got healthy and got on with winning a Cup, locking in a playoff spot and going 13 straight unbeaten on the road. It's an incredible turnaround for a Club normally associated with being USL bottom dwellers. Chris Behlke, President of Th...

There are millions of youth soccer families across the US but only a handful have had the experience of not one but two members of the family becoming professional players. The Buck family is one of those families, with Noel Buck out in San Jose after breaking through with the Revolution, while his brother, Joe, is gearing up for the playoffs with Revs II. What was this journey like, when did Step...

Each month or so, several members of The Blazing Musket and our podcast network get together to talk all the biggest topics affecting soccer in New England. This month we talk about the racism row in Hartford, a big private equity investment in the USL and a general discussion on the fate of coaches. Our guests join from: United in Green  podcast covering the Vermont Green From the Forest to...

Sam Lattof pops into the show this week as the playoffs are on the horizon for three of New England's five pro teams. What's in store for RIFC, Portland and Hartford as they wrap up their regular seasons with playoffs expected to follow. And what of the New England Revs, who are officially out of the playoffs for the third year in the last four, what's left for them in 2025? And finally, the Bosto...

The New England Revolution finally parted ways with head coach, Caleb Porter, after nearly two full seasons of little to no success. It's a momentous occasion that has us breaking new ground once again! Listen in to a special Revolution Recap/Blazing Musket Podcast crossover episode as we discuss Porter's tenure, the fallout and the future of the New England Revolution. You can keep up with Revolu...

The USL Championship and League 1 are headed towards the playoffs, Hartford Athletic are in a Cup final, RIFC and Portland Hearts of Pine are chasing the playoffs and USL expansion is set to continue in 2026. It's all happening and John Morissey of The USL Show and Backheeled.com is here to give us the lowdown on all of it. You can follow John on BlueSky , checkout Backheeled.com and get The USL S...

With John Morissey, co-host of The USL Show and writer for Backheeled.com, having one of the busiest schedules of anyone covering the USL, we're putting the main show out on Friday morning this week. And recording it live on YouTube on Thursday night! Today's show is a quick one from Thomas, taking some time to share appreciation to all of you loyal listeners and our great guests, highlight some s...

The Summer of 2025 may just be ending but the USMNT only has a handful of games remaining between now and next summer's World Cup. Only friendlies await the team between now and then and everyone following the team seems to have a different opinion on how everything should be going. Donald stops by to give us his takes on the importance of the fall friendlies, a review of 2025's results so far and...

It's the August roundtable and there's a lot to talk about! Vermont Green are USL League 2 National champions, Hartford are in a playoff position, RIFC and Hartford are in Cup semi-finals and the Portland Hearts of Pine are in search of a playoff berth. How is it all going to shake out for these teams a summer turns to fall? We also talked about how teams must deal with the reality of being a sell...

Both the Boston Legacy and New England Revolution's stadium plans are impacting the Boston Mayor's race between Mayor Wu and challenger, Josh Kraft. It's made for an interesting summer in Boston as the 2026 World Cup is on the City's horizon. Hayden Bird is working and living in the center of it all and he stopped by to share his thoughts on how both stadiums are developing, the political theater...

Ben Clements has spent his summer covering USL League 2 for us here at The Blazing Musket while also doing play by play in the same league for the Boston Bolts. Before he heads off to Syracuse this fall, he joined the show to talk all about his experience, how he started down this path and why he's so excited about soccer in New England (Revs aside). You can keep up with Ben's work on his Instagra...

Jackie covers the Boston Legacy for us here at The Blazing Musket and has had an incredible busy summer keeping up with all their moves for 2026. The Legacy has put a GM, coach and players in place, added an owner, changed playing venues for 2026 and more in recent months. If you haven't been keeping up with all, we've got you covered! You can follow Jackie on BlueSky and check out her coverage of...

We're back for July's roundtable to catch up on how RIFC, Vermont Green, Hartford Athletic and Portland Hearts of Pine's seasons are going so far. We also talked about El Clamico heating up, supporters groups role in bringing the atmosphere to games but also keeping the peace, welcoming our Canadian brethren to the US for soccer tournaments and how the USL could show MLS how an All Star Game shoul...

Jason Davis is back! He checked in to talk about what he's been covering on his US soccer focused show, Morning Kickaround. We talked about overwhelming amount of soccer to watch this summer, continued expansion in the USL, the return of the New York Cosmos, NISA's revival and much more. Jason brought his unique perspective and insight from decades following soccer in this country and what's it li...

It's been an often challenging experience to support Hartford Athletic, a team that has rarely found success on the field in its history. Chris Behlke is the President of The Bonanza, one of Hartford's supporters groups. It's a group that's been through a lot, has voiced and protested their displeasure in recent weeks but through it all has found ways to enjoy soccer together. We talked about the...

Victor Matheson is the sports and gambling economics professor at The College of the Holy Cross and an avid soccer fan. He's also a soccer referee who's called games at the pro and international level. He brought his wealth of knowledge and passion on the shifting landscape of college sports, the effect of gambling in sports, what's it like reffing the beautiful game and more! It was an engaging c...

Our crew of writers and podcasters got together to talk about how New England soccer is doing as summer arrives. We focused this month on discussing the role of the teams, leagues, their sponsors and supporters groups in the current challenging situation in our country. Should teams and leagues do more to speak out against the actions of ICE? What enables the Vermont Green to openly support climat...