The Mane Land PawedCast SB Nation

This week’s show again started out with some personalized thank you shout-outs to some of the founding members of our new, independent website, which is under construction. We’ll keep the GoFundMe open until April 1, so if you’re still waiting for payday or on the fence about contributing, you’ve still got time to get yourself immortalized on the new site.
Now, on to why you’re here...
Orlando City is getting you a tie for Father’s Day. That’s pretty obvious after the Lions drew for the third consecutive match, splitting the points in a 1-1 draw at D.C. United on Saturday. Getting a point against Wayne Rooney on the road almost (but not quite) feels like a win, especially when it was achieved with a heavily rotated side. That side included the first Orlando City starts for Rafael Santos and Duncan McGuire.
As fate would have it, McGuire turned out to be the player who finally ended Orlando City’s long, national nightmare of going scoreless in the run of play. The rookie’s first professional goal wasn’t exactly a highlight-reel strike, but he won’t care and neither do we. His back flip, however, was quite gorgeous. The setup by Kyle Smith and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson that led to the goal was also nice to watch.
Unfortunately, Chris Durkin spoiled things by scoring an unstoppable goal that even the stunning form of Pedro Gallese was powerless to prevent. Durkin might not ever score a goal that precise ever again, and it kind of sucks that it came against Orlando City, but a road point in the midst of heavy rotation due to fixture congestion isn’t all bad.
After breaking down the match, we submit our picks for Man of the Match against United. It was not as unanimous as you might expect, despite Gallese’s heroics in the first half. We also talked a little about tonight’s showdown with Tigres, Orlando City’s Leagues Cup bracket, and an honor for El Pulpo.
The Orlando Pride are quickly closing in on both their final preseason match — this Friday against the Washington Spirit — and their first game of the 2023 NWSL season. The team got a jump on its postseason to-do list, however, by signing midfielder Mikayla Cluff to a new three-year deal. Cluff was already under contract for 2023, but the new agreement extends her stay in Orlando through 2025.
We also discussed the announcement of OCB’s 2023 schedule (finally) and some of the quirky new rules in MLS NEXT Pro this season. If nothing else, MLS NEXT Pro is going to get weird. We talk about some of those rule changes and compare them to stuff from another sport going through some twists and turns.
This week’s mailbagbox was small, but mighty. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.
Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday night’s home game against Charlotte FC, complete with our key match-ups and predictions.
Stay safe and enjoy the show!
Here’s how No. 330 went down:
0:15 - The Lions kept not losing this week but also kept not winning. We talk about the trip to D.C.
46:29 - Pride and OCB news! The Pride locked down a midfielder and the Young Lions are going to have some strange new rules to play by in 2023.
1:07:09 - Our mailbagbox asks us to rate our excitement for the Tigres match and the return of Ted Lasso. Plus, prediction time!
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Before this week’s show gets underway, we’ve got some announcements to make and we are pretty pumped up about them all. There is our fundraiser to launch our independence, obviously, which has us all extremely emotional and thankful. To that end, we began the long process of giving out our shout-outs to our brand new Founders. It’s going to take a few shows to get them all in! If you were part of this week’s, it means we don’t have any way to contact you to get your benefits to you, so please email us.
Then there are some podcast-specific announcements that we feel will make everyone’s experience more enjoyable. We hope you like what’s coming!
Now, on to why you’re here...
Orlando City has played to two consecutive scoreless draws and the two results felt quite different from each other. The Lions survived squad rotation against a good FC Cincinnati side last weekend in league play and survived Tigres in Concacaf Champions League play on Tuesday night in Mexico. We analyze the two matches and make our Man of the Match selections for both games.
After our conversation about two straight 0-0 draws, Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter jumps on with us to talk about the job she’s been hired to do. Among the things she shared with us is a huge tease about the summer transfer window, but alas...no specifics yet. Carter obviously has a lot of belief in Pride Head Coach Seb Hines and in strengthening the club through development at every level.
After our discussion with Carter, there was news from the Pride side about the team’s latest preseason win, the signing of draft picks Messiah Bright and Summer Yates, and a minor schedule change.
We dipped into a full mailbag this week to discuss Ercan Kara, the AFC Richmond players we’d want to suit up for Orlando City, and more. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.
Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday night’s showdown at D.C. United, with key match-ups and predictions, and we’re extremely amped about next Wednesday’s rematch with Tigres.
Stay safe and enjoy the show!
Here’s how No. 329 went down:
0:15 - Celebrating a shutout win for the second straight year and yet another opening day result for the Lions. Also celebrating a potential new deal for Torres.
36:09 - Haley Carter joins us to talk about her task of turning the Pride around, her thoughts on the current roster, and maybe a surprise is coming?
57:15 - The Pride won another preseason game and signed two more draft picks ahead of the 2023 season.
1:04:46 - Things we love: the mailbagbox, 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts, and making predictions that will probably turn out to be horribly wrong.
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Orlando City opened the season with a victory and although it was a frustrating match at times, a good team sometimes has to deal with a frustrating opponent. The Lions were able to do that and secure three points and whether it was luck or skill is irrelevant in Week 1. We break down the match, including the banner raising and excellent pregame tifo display, and make our picks for Man of the Match.
Some potential good news about a new contract for Facundo Torres dropped shortly before we recorded and we talked about what that would mean for the Lions and for El Cuervo should it come to pass.
The Orlando Pride has also been in the habit of handing out new contracts before old ones expire and so it came to pass within the last week that the club locked down Kerry Abello for an additional year. We chatted about that and of course the two 2-0 wins the NWSL side posted since our last show against the Kansas City Current and local college side UCF. On top of that, we gave props to the Pride for the updates to their La Luna kits. Not only are they now more practical (for multiple reasons) but they also look even nicer.
In this week’s mailbag, we were asked about an ambient stadium noise option for broadcasts, the EPL title race, and nicknames on the backs of our kits. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.
Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday night’s showdown against FC Cincinnati at Exploria Stadium. The upstarts from southwest Ohio have a bit of a streak going against the Lions and we opine on our key match-ups and score predictions for the match.
Stay safe and enjoy the show!
Here’s how No. 328 went down:
0:15 - Celebrating a shutout win for the second straight year and yet another opening day result for the Lions. Also celebrating a potential new deal for Torres.
28:03 - The Pride remain perfect on the preseaon and are threatening to make #DosACero their own. Can they keep it up? Florida State awaits this weekend.
37:23 - The mailbag beckons with some fun questions and we flip flop on our predictions for Saturday’s game.
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Orlando City was nearly perfect in the preseason but a couple of late goals against the New England Revolution on Saturday night at Exploria Stadium gave the Lions their only loss in the buildup to the 2023 MLS season. In this week’s show, we discussed that loss and the win over Stetson University in the final two friendly contests before things get real. We also talked about the update on rookie Duncan McGuire, putting all three of the Lions’ first-round picks from the 2023 MLS SuperDraft under contract for 2023 and potentially well beyond.
The club also unveiled some stuff in the last week, including the sharp new home “The Wall” kit on Saturday and a plethora of new (local) food offerings within the stadium on Tuesday evening. We also touched on Major League Soccer’s new playoff format and how weird it is (and why).
Orlando City SC President of Business Operations Jarrod Dillon returned to the PawedCast this week to discuss the lessons he’s learned in his first year on the job, some of the adjustments that have been made, some more that could soon be made, and we grilled him on the topics of how to maximize the acquired land adjacent to the stadium and a potential throwback third kit. Big thanks to Mr. Dillon for speaking with us in the middle of his evening job as taxi driver for his kids.
After the chat with our guest, we dropped some news of our own as to the future of this show and our coverage of the Orlando Pride. We feel like we can do a better job and give the club the respect it deserves with our decision and we can’t wait to turn that into a reality as soon as possible.
The Orlando Pride got their preseason friendlies underway with a 2-0 win over Gotham, which is still a club with a name that works best when abbreviated. Other topics included Seb Hines officially naming a couple of new staff members, Haley Bugeja leading Malta to victory, Adriana and Marta playing a competitive match at Exploria Stadium with Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup, and the U.S. Women’s National Team winning the event.
Finally, we looked in our mailbag, in which our listeners asked us about what road stadiums we want to visit (and why), which Eastern Conference teams will give Orlando City trouble, and more. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.
Stay safe and enjoy the show!
Here’s how No. 327 went down:
0:15 - Preseason Orlando City results, all rookies are signed, a new kit, new food, and a dumb playoff format.
33:14 - Jarrod Dillon entertains and informs us (and possibly you, too!).
56:32 - A plethora of Pride news, our mailbagbox responses, and our key match-ups and score predictions for the Lions vs. the Red Bulls.
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Orlando City remained unbeaten in preseason with a comeback draw against the Colorado Rapids this week. We didn’t get to see the match or get many details, but if you think that’s going to stop us from talking about it, you grossly underestimate our ability to talk about things. The Lions also welcomed one of their missing pieces, as Rafael Santos has arrived in the City Beautiful, so that’s good. The Lions and Pride are still without a key player each as of this writing, but they’ll be along at some point. We think.
In the meantime, Orlando City signed one of the two rookies in camp who weren’t already signed. Abdi Salim has earned his first professional contract and he signed that on Tuesday. We await the expected signing of forward Duncan McGuire. If you’re wondering about Shak Mohammed, he’s already signed by being a Generation Adidas player.
The U.S. Men’s National Team is returning to Exploria Stadium, looking to stay perfect in the Purple Palace. We discuss the Yanks coming to town in March to face El Salvador in Concacaf Nations League play and why it’s important for USMNT fans to get their tickets as early as possible.
The Orlando Pride sustained a major injury blow during preseason camp in Port St. Lucie, as defender Carrie Lawrence suffered a torn ACL and is out indefinitely. While we don’t know how long indefinitely means — exactly — we do know that torn ACLs right before the season are not a great thing. The Pride also got their regular-season and NWSL Challenge Cup schedule for 2023. We welcome the schedule makers back from whatever pocket dimension they visit during that way-too-long process, even if they did stick the Pride on the road against the defending league champs on opening day. Again.
Finally, we looked in our mailbag, in which our listeners asked us about what player’s name they should get on their new kit, the new Flash movie, pregame/postgame/goal music in the stadium, and more. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.
Stay safe and enjoy the show!
Here’s how No. 326 went down:
0:15 - The Lions keep racking up preseason results — this time with more Beefy Swede in the lineup.
20:43 - The Pride can’t seem to go into the season without a knee getting torn up.
41:11 - The mailbagbox is full again and we’re having way too much fun, even if it means we’re being way too silly.
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Orlando City has begun playing matches — well, preseason matches, anyway. The Lions have two scrimmages under their belts so far and have won both by a combined score of 5-1. While it’s true that one of those opponents so far was a college side, the Lions have not leaned on some of their best players thus far and have even participated with both starting center backs not seeing the field.
We start off this week’s show with a discussion of the results against Minnesota United and Florida International University and some of the quirks of the formation we’ve seen thus far. Does it mean a shape change? Are Antonio Carlos and Robin Jansson even necessary with Wilder Cartagena and rookie Abdi Salim back there? Well, the latter question is dumb, but we at least have some talking points from the first two scrimmages.
The Orlando Pride now have a preseason schedule. Like the Lions, the club’s NWSL side will only open one preseason match to the public. We’ll talk about the entire preseason slate, the match folks can attend, and an open training session and chalk talk for Pride season ticket members. Orlando waved goodbye to a pair of defenders this week, trading the rights to Courtney Petersen to the Houston Dash for even more Allocation Money, while sending off free agent Toni Pressley to whatever is next for the last of the players from the inaugural 2016 Orlando Pride roster.
The Central Florida Crusaders kicked off their inaugural season this weekend, with a loss on the women’s side and a win for the men’s team.
Finally, we looked in our mailbag, in which our listeners asked us about soccer’s numbering system, which awards show we’d most like to attend, and whether we are all in on Jesse Marsch for the USMNT. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.
Stay safe and enjoy the show!
Here’s how No. 325 went down:
0:15 - The Lions’ preseason is underway for real now with the arrival of scrimmages. We’ve got position changes and results to talk about.
17:45 - The Pride are in Port St. Lucie for training and team bonding but soon they’ll be back in the City Beautiful and we now know their entire preseason slate. We also say goodbye to a couple of former Orlando defenders.
31:46 - The mailbagbox is full again and we always like that. Plus, the Central Florida Crusaders have kicked off their first season.
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