My Salt Lake trip in photos

My trip to Salt Lake City to call Saturday's RSL-Houston game felt like a bit of a whirlwind -- mostly because I flew out on a red-eye the night after the game. But I managed to find time to snap a few photos of the Salt Lake City scenery and the pre-broadcast preparation. Here's a look:

View from the plane of the Great Salt Lake.

I walked by the Salt Lake City and County Building on Saturday morning.

I also happened by the Matheson Courthouse.

My first time entering Rio Tinto Stadium through the main entrance.

One of the league's most dramatic backdrops ...

... and the broadcast truck preparing to highlight those Wasatch Mountains.

With Sebastian and Eddie ... can't wear an orange tie EVERY game!

Almost ready for real kickoff ...

... but the show is already off and running.

RSL-Houston thoughts: More late drama or another scoreless draw?

Jason Kreis is hoping to avoid a third consecutive
stoppage-time defeat against Houston.

I’m back on the MLS airwaves this weekend with a chance to step in for Glenn Davis and call Saturday’s Real Salt Lake-Houston game on Comcast Sportsnet Plus in Houston. I’m really excited for just about every aspect of this broadcast: working with Eddie Robinson and the Comcast crew, calling a game with the dramatic backdrop provided by Rio Tinto Stadium, and of course the matchup itself.

It’s not a rivalry game in the traditional sense (no geographic ties or playoff matchups), but I’ve been at nine of the last 10 games between these teams, and they’ve all been intense. The reason, to me, is a simple one: Even among MLS head coaches, who have to be competitive by nature, head coaches Dominic Kinnear and Jason Kreis stand out as two of the most intensely competitive personalities in American soccer. Their teams are skilled, but physical, and games between these two have always been closely contested – out of 16 head-to-head contests, 14 have been decided by one goal or less.

Here are some early thoughts on the game:

Despite Houston’s dominance in the all-time series (8-3-5 all-time, 6-1-4 since August 2007), Salt Lake has to be considered the favorite on Saturday. RSL is tied for the Supporters’ Shield lead (38 points from 23 games), leads the league in goals per game (1.65), and has the league’s goals against average leader in Nick Rimando (0.89). More importantly, the game is in Utah, where RSL has a 3-1-4 all-time edge. Three of the last four games between the teams in Utah have finished 0-0 (2008, 2009, 2011), and the other was a resounding RSL win. For an idea of Houston’s perspective, the 2009 game was the very rare instance I can recall of Kinnear playing for a draw almost from the start (started in a 4-5-1 formation with Kei Kamara at right midfield).

On the other hand, Salt Lake might be vulnerable at the moment. It will be RSL’s third game in eight days, and if media quotes are to be believed, Wednesday’s Open Cup semifinal against Portland is considered a higher priority. Salt Lake's last two home games have seen them collect just one point, with a player ejected each time. And after an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions, RSL is winless in its last three games, including two gutting stoppage-time losses.

Hmm, stoppage-time losses. Sounds familiar. Houston has beaten Salt Lake in their last two head-to-head meetings on goals in the 93rd and 94th minutes, respectively. After last year's Colin Clark PK, Jason Kreis had that classic, stone-faced, I-can't-believe-that-just-happened look, and we saw it again when RSL lost to New York on Saturday. But both teams actually have a flair for the dramatic. In the final 15 minutes of games this year, RSL leads MLS with 15 goals scored, but has allowed 9 goals (+6 goal differential). Houston is second-best in MLS with only 3 goals allowed and has scored 10 of its own (+7 goal differential). So we could see some dramatics on Saturday night. After all, the last time I called a Houston-Real Salt Lake game, this happened:

Catching up ... and relocating!

I've been too preoccupied to post for the last month or so, so my apologies on that front. We've been in the middle of a move from Philadelphia to Shreveport, Louisiana, and that has taken up most of my time. Things are relatively settled in Shreveport now, so I can get back to the sports business at hand.

In the last 6 weeks, I've called the beginning of the FC Dallas resurgence (its first road win, 2-1 over Colorado - check out the highlights with the TXA 21 commentary, which are unavailable on the MLS website) and part of the Houston Dynamo's five-game win streak (its first win outside the United States, 2-0 over Toronto - check out the highlights). In the process, I got to work with two great color analysts: Ian Joy for the FC Dallas game and Eddie Robinson for the Dynamo game.

Ian has been my most frequent partner in crime in Big D this year, and we enjoyed celebrating his birthday after the July 14 game. Unfortunately for our FCD broadcast team, Ian has accepted a position as analyst for BeIN Sports USA, where he will be an analyst for mostly European matches. I'm disappointed that we won't be working together again in the near future, but excited for him because I think he's a terrific analyst and friend.

Eddie is a long-time colleague and friend from my days working for the Dynamo, of course, and I'm actually going to take some of the credit for starting his broadcast career! He had knee surgery early in the 2009 season and was watching training from the stands near me one morning. He had a litany of comments on a recent national broadcast we had both watched and clearly felt strongly about broadcasting, so I invited him to join me on the radio broadcast for a game when our normal analyst was out of town. He accepted, and though unfortunately no recording of the game exists (I'm pretty sure it was the 0-0 tie against New York), he did very well in his first outing.

Fast forward three years, and Eddie has transitioned to coaching in the Dynamo Academy and regularly working as a color analyst on television broadcasts. He was a rough, physical player, but anybody who covered the Dynamo knows that Eddie Robinson has always been an honest, articulate quote, win or lose. He is the same way as a broadcaster, candidly pointing out both Xs and Os and more subtle nuances with straightforward, easy-to-understand terminology that I believe help fans understand the action. It was great to work with him on a Dynamo game again and catch up off the air.

College football coming your way
Since then, my focus has broadened to include the college football season. I am excited to say that I am scheduled to call four Division I college football games in the next month for ESPN3, all involving Sun Belt Conference teams. Working on a college football television broadcast was one of my main goals at the beginning of the year (while I have called football before and worked on television before, it's my first foray into televised football), so I am proud (and a little bit nervous) to get the chance. Check out my updated broadcast schedule for a list of games, outlets, and partners as they are confirmed.

I'll be posting about those college football games on this site - both about the games themselves and about my experience traveling to and calling them - but I am still a total MLS junkie, and I still have three soccer broadcasts scheduled this fall, so I won't back off the soccer commentary either. That should mean increased blog content all fall, so stay tuned ...

No holds barred: Retiring Houston defender Eddie Robinson is one of a kind

MLSsoccer.com

The lasting image of Eddie Robinson as a player will surely be one of him yelling at a referee or an opponent with unrestrained anger, believing he had somehow been wronged. (Heck, that’s his MLSsoccer.com player bio picture on the right.) But there’s so much more to Eddie Robinson than fury and emotion and physicality. They’re all there, of course, but they don’t tell the whole story.

If you brave Eddie Robinson’s initial, intimidating scowl to ask a question, you’ll get a thoughtful, candid, well-spoken answer. This fall, I asked Eddie for his five favorite playoff memories, hoping to use the answers as part of a retrospective for the gameday magazine for the Dynamo’s Nov. 3 playoff game. He stopped, thought, and said, “That’s hard. I’m going to have to think about that. Can I call you later and give them to you? I can’t just do that on the spot.” And true to form, he provided them later that day.