I was very worried about tonight's MLS matchup between the New England Revolution and St. Louis City SC (8:30 EST, Apple TV) because of what I assumed was a tremendous pending conflict on the sporting calendar.
Because only the NCAA could figure out a way to play a double header on Thursday night in Buffalo at 7:30 and 10:00 pm and then have the winners (Michigan and Saint Louis) play the 12 noon game on Saturday.
Seth Macomber
But that's good news because we don't need to move the soccer game so everyone can watch 2026 March Madness heroes the Saint Louis Billikins (yes that's a real thing) and star center Robbie "Larry Nerd" Avila who should have also been a 2025 tournament star if the committee hadn't hosed Indiana State last year like they almost hosed the Miami (OH) Redhawks this year.
Speaking of Miami, the state of Tennessee really has it out for them...first Nashville eliminates Inter Messi in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, then the Volunteers knockout the Redhawks...hopefully we'll get rematches soon.
Scheduling in sports has been a hot topic in recent years. Leagues are expanding, tournaments are being added, more games are being played on different continents, and not just in North America but around the world. The NHL accommodated the Olympics this year, baseball just had the World Baseball Classic during spring training but might make it a summer event, and FIFA is hosting the World Cup in North America in a few months.
Sam Lattof
But college basketball is plagued by another scourge known as the power/super conferences. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC have all swelled their ranks by adding , killing the Pac-12 entirely a few years ago and forcing Big East football to breakaway into the American Athletic Conference about two decades ago. Yes, this is a sore subject in Connecticut but we keep winning basketball titles and everyone knows it, even Mass Governor Maura Healey knows who runs this region and it's Husky Basketball.
Two mid-major coaches came out after NCAA wins and complained that they couldn't get games against top teams this year - High Point's Flynn Clayman delivered an all-timer postgame after upsetting Wisconsin. College scheduling is largely done many years ahead of time so it can be hard for some teams to find games on short notice and Purdue's Matt Painter offered an excellent rebuke but his Boilermakers are the exception to the rule and usually schedule more reputable and decent teams than true buy games against 5 or 10-win low-major teams like Rider and Bryant.
I talk about this because what makes March Madness great is not putting a middling SEC team like Georgia with a 325th (out of 365 on KenPom) non-conference schedule into the NCAA tournament. It's teams like the Billikens and Redhawks, Panthers, Macclesfield, and Grimsby Town, 2022 Sacramento Republic and the 1999 Rochester Raging Rhinos that make March Madness, the FA Cup, and the U.S. Open Cup so memorable.
We are not going to remember an okay-to-solid, up-and-down Texas Longhorn team beating BYU and top NBA prospect AJ Dybantsa in a 6/11 game, handing my bracket and Elite Eight loss on Day 1. We are always going to remember the time that the Siena Saints, champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, almost beat Duke as 16 seed. Also shoutout to Clint Dempsey's Furman Paladins, that dude Alex Wilkins is a stud.
The NCAA has allowed after COVID a true wild wild west to play out in the NIL era, something that should have been curtailed years ago by allowing athletes to make money on ad deals has turned into exactly what the NCAA never wanted and schools effectively paying players under the table legally. MLS and the USSF have a similar problem by bloating their schedule with the Leagues Cup and taking teams out of the Open Cup. These are self-inflicted problems cause by bad leadership chasing dollars and forgetting how their sports actually generate memorable and significant history. Just ask Syracuse, BC, or Pitt how things are going for them in the ACC currently.
Sam Lattof and Oliver Scholes talked about this on their recent podcast episode (go to the 15:00 or so), but the U.S. Open Cup would benefit greatly from USSF going to true national draw, opening up their wallet, and paying for a lot of travel so we don't have to see Hartford-Rhode Island in the USOC, and the Not Jager Cup, and multiple times in the USL regular season. Or do what Spain does and force top division teams to play on the road in the third round.
Thomas Pinzone
What makes special moments in tournaments is the unfamiliarity and uniqueness between teams, not the same cookie-cutter regions the Open Cup says they're not doing as strictly anymore but we all know what's going on. The USSF is cooking the books just like the NCAA is cooking theirs when they make tournament schedules and constantly not putting mid-majors as at large teams into the field, whether they publicly say it or not. We need more Vermont Green and Miami OH Redhawks nationwide, not less, and they should be getting the resources to do it.
Speaking of strength of schedule rants, the Revs opponent today certainly has one. Do not be fooled by St. Louis CITY SC's meager single point in the West standings; they are coming off a wicked and brutal stretch of games and have been largely competitive in all of them. Just taking a quick look at the MLS dot com xG numbers, City should probably have another draw or two in there, but have been let down by some poor finishing. Unlike the Revs prior to last week, SLC does not a chance creation problem, though I'm sure they'd like to generate more and higher quality looks. Hopefully, the Revs counter attack stays working because I do think St. Louis is a fairly organized team.
For more we are joined by new friend Justin Horneker of St. Louis Magazine and his own Talkin' Soccer (now on Ghost as well) for his take what has plagued St. Louis City since their debut season and what the team is doing this year to hopefully turn things around. Be sure to follow him on Bluesky and head over to his sites for more game coverage.
Sam Lattof
TBM: How stoked is St. Louis right now for SLU (Up the Billikins) after that absolute pasting of Georgia on Thursday and what is your favorite Robbie Avila nickname?
JH: St. Louis has been overcome by Steph Blurry pandemonium. It was incredible, SLU stumbled down the homestretch after a dominant first 3/4ths of the season. They were just cold for a month straight; to break out of that by running Georgia into the ground was a sight to see. Unfortunately, don't see them moving past Michigan, but who knows!
TBM: After a fantastic expansion year in 2023 and being the top seed in the West, it's been downhill since SKC swept that first round playoff series...what hasn't gone right the last two years and how is City trying to get that momentum back?
JH: That is the inflection point. Former Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel wanted to evolve out of the Energy Drink soccer model after experiencing how limited CITY SC were with the ball. What followed was a sequence of muddied roster moves, firing Bradley Carnell, hiring and firing Olof Mellberg, and, ultimately, Pfanenstiel was the next out the door. Former Columbus Crew AGM Corey Wray was hired in the offseason to take on the role of rebuilding - and in the case of the club's analytic department, building - the club into a contender. Wray hired former Wilfried Nancy assistant, Yoann Damet as they attempt to play a more ball-dominant squad that can both press from the front and build patiently from the back. So far, St. Louis has looked more structured and had some moments, but three straight against San Diego, Seattle, and LAFC have them without a win through four matches. At this point, it's winning the winnable matches and staying in touch until the Summer window opens.
TBM: I know a three game losing streak is concerning though Seattle/LAFC/SD are very good and that is a brutal run of games to start the year, and not scoring since the opener is ominous, but what's the optimistic take of St. Louis' start to 2026?
JH: It's tough, but optimistically, it's been better than expected. St. Louis weren't completely outplayed in any of the four matches and were mainly let down by their finishing in key moments. They've allowed the 5th fewest expected goals in MLS, and have a positive expected goals differential, but have been let down by underperforming those numbers. That says, at the very least, that the structure is working. Yoann Damet talked about it at training this week, saying, “I thought it would be most spending time and speaking about, like, the build up, or the middle third, or about creating those opportunities. [...] Right now, we do create those opportunities, and it's a matter of, again, finishing them off, being more efficient, being more clinical.”
TBM: Who are some new or younger faces you're excited to see play this year? Is there a position group Eastern Conference fans should be paying attention too that keys City's success?
JH: St. Louis have started life under Damet in a back 3, but have yet to field the two most important players to that formation in Fallou Fall and Mamadou Mbacke Fall. Both have been in training and seem to be inching closer to the starting XI. Mbacke was great at LAFC as a teenager before moving to Barçelona in 2024, but wanted to come back to MLS to make a case for himself with the Senegalese National Team. Fallou Fall arrived last summer as a U22 but was injured in preseason. Both have the ability with the ball at their feet that can kick-start the attack. CITY supporters are also clamoring for more playing time for 20 year old Mykhi Joyner, who has been among the best in MLS NEXT Pro over the past two seasons. He finally made his debut last week. The team needs to score goals, and Joyner has been a prolific goalscorer at every level. There's also the recent acquisition of former RSL man Sergio Córdova, he could make his first start this weekend after coming on at the half vs LAFC.
Projected Lineup/Injuries/Scoreline/Etc.
Cedric Teuchert is out injured after a knock in LA last week, and I'm still unsure if Mbacke or Fall will be in the starting lineup. Barring those changes the lineup will most likely be:
Córdova; Hartel-Becher; Santos-Durkin-Edelman-Wallem; Palvara-Baumgartl-Orozco; Burki* (Wanted to make sure we gave STL a GK)
I could also see McSorely, Sangbin, or Joyner instead of Becher playing underneath. St. Louis needs a win, and as much as the Revs looked good last weekend, I think the defensive structure under Damet has been very good. Predicting a 1-0 win.
