Sam's Army Barstool Sports

USMNT legend Frankie Hejduk joins Sam and EG to discuss why he finally (begrudgingly) chose soccer over surfing, his UCLA and Mutiny days, Bayer Leverkusen adding an extra zero, the [shmershmortion-y] 1998 and [epic] 2002 World Cups, and his mutual romance with Columbus (among others). Incredible career, absolute animal, great guy, fun episode.

Sam and EG are joined by MLS vets Tim Parker and Spencer Richey to chat about their time in Vancouver (aka "Canadian Amsterdam" -- if only in Sam's mind), where they were drafted together and won silverware, and all roads apparently lead to Pierre's. Tim discusses his move back east to Red Bulls, which somehow began with an epic birthday/goodbye cake and ended with him being forced into an SUV by (armed?) dudes in Tijuana. Finally we discuss Tim's (luscious) hair, (crazy) eyes and (gargantuan) calves, Spencer's love of literal dumpster diving, and their relationship with the #DaddyGang. Oh, also, a very illuminating conversation about whether MLS players will be taking that 50% pay cut...

Sam and EG are joined by long-time contributors Mikey and Zah to offer some takes on listener voicemails. We start with the big questions of how the season(s) will play out and what clubs benefited most/least, touch on financial fallout and the impact of Saudi Arabia buying Newcastle, and finish up with some Coutinho talk and repurcussions from US Soccer's decision to kill the Development Academy.

Sam and recurring guest Matt Turner lure Kelyn Rowe onto the program to discuss his time at UCLA (lordy!), why a quick job interview in France/Germany led him to hate Canada, the highs and lows of his initial relationship with New England, sleeping around (*professionally*) last year, and a shockingly civil reconciliation for 2020. While giving him the old what-for, we also discuss Matt's obsession with Game of Thrones, Kelyn's unfortunate opinions on Pixar films, thoughts on a soccer-specific stadium in Boston, whether Robert Kraft knows them from Adam (or Sam) and we finally get to the bottom of Kelyn's LOVE for leathery wines. Also, used couches and possible crabs may have come up (maybe).

Sam and EG sit down with CJ Sapong to discuss his James Madison experience and the uncertainty/ecstasy of draft day; winning both ROY and MLS Cup with SKC, highs and lows of Philly, and shouldering the load during a tough season for the Fire. Amidst the soccer talk we dig into the first thing CJ is gonna do when we finally kill The Rona, his search for Xanadu and first pick for starting a new franchise, googling the meaning of life, plus everybody's favorite game: "Did you or an Instagram model post this caption?" (tbf CJ put on a damn clinic).

Sam and EG sit down with good friend of the pod Dax McCarty who joins in a slightly different capacity as we take a deep dive into the career of a living legend. (Call it a mini-roast if you must.) We start by discussing his Florida Man roots, rebellious HS years, IMG experience and tenure at North Carolina. Next we wind through his MLS journey beginning with wild child years in Dallas, a pit stop in DC, his incredible RBNY era, highs and lows of Chicago and finally thoughts on Nashvegas SC so far. In addition to the soccer talk we get to the bottom of his nickname ("Five guys Dax"), discuss Rafa Marquez's drug kingpin allegations, boozy brunches-cum-dance parties at Thierry Henry's favorite NYC spot, life as an honorary Leprechaun, the time someone (literally?) scared the shit out of Bastian Schweinsteiger and finally solve the mystery of which Wood memes -- if you know you know -- is Dax's favorite. Honestly, this is just a small snippet of what is packed into this episode. The smallish ginger man knows everybody, has done everything and has stories about it for days.