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The SBI Show: Episode 156 (Talking Donovan’s retirement, Yedlin’s looming Tottenham move, and more)

Landon Donovan

 By IVES GALARCEP

Landon Donovan reminded everybody on Wednesday night that he is still capable of making magical things happen on a soccer field. On Thursday he reminded us all that nothing lasts forever.

Episode 156 of The SBI Show takes a look at the major news of Donovan’s decision to retire at the end of the 2014 season. A day after winning MVP honors at the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, Donovan delivered the stunning news that this would be his farewell campaign as a player.

Co-host Garrett Cleverly and I also discuss DeAndre Yedlin’s pending move to Tottenham, we break down the upcoming weekend’s matches in MLS, and more.

Give Episode 156 of The SBI Show a listen after the jump:

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What did you think of the show?

Share your thoughts below.

 

Comments

  1. So disappointed I didn’t get to meet Ives & Garrett while they were here in PDX. Cosmos on me next time, guys 😉

    Reply
    • In the 2010 ESPN coverage of the World Cup they had Michael Ballack on as a pundit.

      Someone forgot to tell him that he was NOT auditioning to replace Arnold in yet another Terminator sequel or auditioning for the lead Zombie in some movie.

      Fast forward to Brazil 2014 and now Ballack is lively, Alexi’s comedic foil, doing the Jason Bourne look alike thing, making Lalas look like a clown by comparison.

      If that stiff can make himself over, so can Landon.

      Reply
    • Exactly! He was horrible in the WC spots. Although to be fair he was in a difficult mental state and in a remote studio. But still, he does not strike me as a dynamic TV personality.

      Reply
      • Ya, it’s unfortunate that all these pundits think that just because someone was great on the field, that their input is valid and they have a good camera relationship. Landon is absolutely terrible and I will mute my TV if he gets a color commentator or halftime job.

        My friends and I (all having either MLS, USL, PDL and NCAA experience) also cannot stand Alexi Lalas’ irrational opinions on MLS and USMNT soccer. His arrogance and his outdated soccer mentality is ridiculous and we all hate it. At least he has a presence and energy on camera.

        Jaime Moreno however is priceless, get him more games! He’s…”filthy.”

      • I didn’t mention Donovan’s potential TV future because he was “great on the field.” I mentioned TV as being part of Donovan’s future because he is smart, articulate, knowledgeable and never been one to shy away from speaking his mind. Has that translated to TV work just yet? Maybe not, but saying he’s terrible and incapable of getting better because you thought he was raw at this summer’s World Cup is a bit much. Practice will make him better and being a World Cup analyst after being left off the World Cup team had to be a tough thing for him to deal with. I’d bet he’d be a bit looser without that hanging over his head.

        I’m not saying Donovan’s a can’t-miss TV star, but I think he has a better chance of developing into a good analyst than you seem to think.

      • I appreciate the response and can see I may have taken your words out of context.

        Personally, I still don’t feel he has much business in front of the camera. I can see your point on his bitterness and lack of enthusiasm for the WC due to his ousting. However, I’ve never seen an interview with Landon that has had any passion or camera presence.

        I think the public is better served listening to the likes of Jaime Moreno, Kyle Martino and even Stuart Holden who IMO has much more potential. Even Casey Keller has showed vast improvement but was still decent at the start.

        I guess only time will tell, but based on ESPN’s current selections, I have no doubt they will give him a shot, I just hope it works out. I’m growing tired of the former USMNT players roasting Jurgen for his lack of change/progress in the National team…Which I completely disagree with.

  2. The fact that Pep is a competitor is exactly why he needed to shake Porter’s hand. That’s the whole purpose of the post match hand shake. Pep showed bad sportsmanship. Period. And it is not an okay example to set. Stop making excuses for him. It doesn’t matter that they shook hands in the locker room; they need to shake hands after the game in public for the kids to see. It is a joke that the players parade out holding little kids hands to emphasize the role model aspect of sports and then people make excuses when a guy behaves like a baby.

    Reply
    • Guess Caleb Porter “made excuses” for Pep as well since he said pretty much the same thing in the post-game. You can criticize Guardiola all you want, and call it terrible, but explaining WHY he might act that way isn’t “making excuses.” These guys aren’t robots, and people who jump on folks for making mistakes or showing emotion don’t really understand the competitive side of the game. Guardiola was wrong, but you can see why he’d react that way.

      Reply
      • I can see why someone would kill someone in the heat of passion or a rage too. It doesn’t mean you don’t hold them accountable. Did Pep apologize for being so disrespectful (finger waving, come on)? If so then I’m fine with it. Yes, he is competitive, but he has been in the game for a long long time and should have learned to deal.

      • The whole “hold them accountable” thing is a bit much for me. Some folks will choose to rip him, others, like myself will save the soap box and consider how that happened. Neither is wrong, just two different ways to look at things. If everybody just screamed in outrage how much fun would that be?

      • you admitted yourself that it wasn’t the correct thing to do, that pep made a mistake. certainly people who are trying to crucify the man are overzealous and incorrect, pep may have felt he had to stand up for his players there, but you did try to excuse his actions due to his competitiveness.
        i’m also competitive, and may have done the same thing as pep in his shoes, but i’d rebuke myself moments later, and wish that i could take it back, or get a second chance.
        why else would porter be so stunned, if what pep did was acceptable?
        in the end, both men found the higher road to take, so the argument’s already getting a little stale.
        there really isn’t a conclusion to debates like these.

      • Mr. Zip,

        So the hyperbole machine is now in official overdrive.

        Pep throwing a hissy fit and displaying bad sportsmanship is now compared to homicide?

      • I did not compare it to homicide. I was pointing out that I (and most people) can understand situations and emotions that cause people to do the wrong thing (Ives implied I didn’t). And in far more extreme cases than a soccer match where no one got hurt. It doesn’t mean you make excuses and let them off the hook.

      • Wood,

        Porter was the “Aggrieved party” in this case..

        What I took from his statement on the matter was he himself has been in Pep’s shoes and understood his action.

        Apparently Pep apologized to the leader of the failed USMNT Under 23 Olympic qualification effort later on behind closed doors.

        You can take that as making excuses for Pep. Porter is no fool and knows there is no benefit to alienating a guy like Pep for no good reason.

        Or you can interpret it as Porter saying it really was no big deal.

        Pep, by most accounts, has been pretty classy for the majority of his time in the public eye; no small thing when you consider his jobs, and to call for his head on a pike because he reacts badly to some MLS hatchet men tackles seems out of proportion.

        Especially when you consider how frequently everyone on SBI whines and complains about how “physical” MLS is. Yeah I get it; we can criticize our own but stand together when threatened by evil outsiders. It’s still hypocritical.

        Of course since there are no “private moments” in sports anymore, Jozy can’t get away with not singing the national anthem anymore, and everyone is a certified body language expert, so the reality is Pep did not just offend Porter.

        He offended you and everyone on SBI and the entire American soccer community who feels that the big Euro teams look down on their lower American red headed step children.

        So of course this community seizes every opportunity to remind the big boys that we, their alleged inferiors, are nobler and have more class than they do.

        I tend to agree with the idea that Porter did not think it was a big deal; mostly because it wasn’t.

      • “And in far more extreme cases than a soccer match where no one got hurt”

        So it makes it okay if the tackler gets away with a dangerous tackle because he failed to hurt someone?.

        Interesting rationale but very corporate.i.e. “lets not worry about it until someone gets killed”.

      • i think you misunderstood him on that point.

        i want to say i disagree with how offended some people were by this, chip zip included.
        yes, pep was wrong, or why else would he apologize and return to shake hands? but, pep was right that he saw the slight error of his ways and corrected himself. nobody should think that his actions there were unforgivable.

        my point, in this whole nonsense, is that pep needs no excuses. anyone who has the capability to be honest with themselves, know they have made and will continue to make mistakes similar to this, bested by their emotions. we don’t need to make excuses for ourselves when that happens, pointing the blame at factors out of our control.

        pep accused porter, disrespected him, and jogged away. wouldn’t the bigger thing to do be to walk up to porter and explain why he felt so disrespected and angry and ask for an explanation/apology? they talk for 20 seconds and could shake hands there.

  3. Yeah good point Ives. When he was successful at everton in both loans it just angered people cause now we know his good enough to be in EPL. Landon is without a doubt the best American player ever. 32 is too young but his heart hasn’t been in soccer in 3 years.

    Reply

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