I'll share the highlights from my recent games, but quickly: There are many changes occurring throughout sports broadcasting at the moment. One of these has seen my role at ESPN drastically reduced. Having called multiple college soccer games every year since 2014, I was told I would be hired on a free-lance basis (if at all) this fall, rather than on a set contract, which had been the setup since the ACC Network launched in 2019.
This was not welcome, by any means. It feels very strange not to be prepping 50+ college soccer rosters and trying to track lineups as the season gets underway. But we are used to going where the work is, and I am excited about the broadcasts I do have and will have this fall.
Since MLS returned to action, I have called three games in three cities with three partners, and each has offered its own unique high points. Lata drama and controversy in D.C. while working with a football legend, Phil Neville. My first trip to wonderful soccer-specific stadia in St. Louis and Montreal. A wonderful chance to see family and bring them out to a game, albeit a wet one! A reunion game with my man Jalil Anibaba. A first chance to work with a player I covered for years, Lloyd Sam, who I somehow convinced that I thought he was left-footed!
Here are the on-field highlights:
D.C. United 2, Toronto FC 1
St. Louis City 1, Real Salt Lake 1
CF Montreal 1, D.C. United 1
More trips and more games to come! I'm excited to see what the fall brings.
