The Ryan Martin Show: 9/23/13

Yesterday's show is now online. The hot topics of the day were the Manchester Derby, Paolo Di Canio's sacking, Borussia Dortmund's struggles, MLS playoff races, and more. Enjoy!

NASL Fall Season: Week Eight Preview

On the strength of how the NASL's fall season has unfolded so far, we should hardly be surprised that, once again, we've had a change at the top of the table, as the New York Cosmos now find themselves in the ascendency after last week's results.

Whether they stay there for consecutive weeks might be another story entirely, as this week's slate features a rash of games that will have every impact on the top spot by the time the weekend's business ends on Sunday.

Reflecting On Day One From The Groups

With the respective groups stages of Europe's two continental competitions commencing this week, so too came varying degrees of expectations and anticipation for the teams involved, whether the usual suspects of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League or European new boys Swansea and Wigan in the Europa League.

Indeed, all of the anticipation ultimately gave way to a myriad of talking points by the time Thursday night ended across Europe, with some of the main favorite looking to be well on their way after ninety minutes, while others stumbled heavily at the first hurdle.

NASL Fall Season: Week Seven Preview

Thanks to Tampa Bay's late dramatics against Carolina and Ft. Lauderdale's inability to keep their winning streak alive against an ailing San Antonio side, the top of the NASL table is adorned in green and yellow--if only on goal difference.

As one would predict at this stage, the race for the second spot in this season's Soccer Bowl hardly became any clearer, and indeed, four teams could conceivably find themselves at the top of the table at the close of this weekend by way of wins and favorable results elsewhere.

It's all poised for another fantastic weekend in the American second division, with seemingly every game offering its share of talking points.

United States 2, Mexico 0: Tickets Booked To Brazil

One would be very hard pressed to recall another clash between the United States and Mexico that was so defined by the unknown and marked uncertainty. After all, Mexico came into Columbus having just fired, perhaps inevitably and mercifully, Chepo de la Torre following yet another poor performance, this time losing at home against Honduras, while the United States entered the perpetually pivotal game on the heels of a disappointing 3-1 loss in Costa Rica that was only made that much worse through the pregame injury suffered by Michael Bradley and subsequent yellow card suspensions accrued by the likes of Jozy Altidore and Matt Besler.

Indeed, despite the turmoil permeating the Mexico camp at the moment, there were at least some pieces put into place for Mexico to come away with an unprecedented win against the United States at their Columbus stronghold. Yet, despite finding themselves a bit shorthanded at kickoff, Klinsmann's side showed that, yes, history does have a way of repeating itself.

The Ryan Martin Show: 9/9/13

Yesterday's show, featuring new co-host Carl Gelal, is now online. Amongst the topics discussed were the USA's loss to Costa Rica, the firings of Robert Warzycha and Kevin Payne, the latest from MLS and the NASL, and more. Enjoy!

One note: Cari's microphone, however appropriately for her first show, was having some problems. I've boosted the volume in portions where the microphone was being especially problematic, so you may notice a bit of static as a result here and there.