Flashback 2015: Launching a network with Red Bulls past, present, future

I was hoping to do some flashbacks this year to look back 10 years to 2010, when I was in my second year as the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Houston Dynamo. Now with sports shut down and so much of life seemingly on hold, it seems like the right time to aim for a series of retrospectives, looking back at some memorable or quirky moments from my career in sports.
 
April 17, 2015
This flashback also hits a round number, as it was five years ago to the day that I called the first English-language radio broadcast as part of the newly created New York Red Bulls Radio Network, one which is still going strong today!

While I wasn't working full-time for the club as I did in Houston, this was a chance to call MLS games regularly in my home market (I'm from New Jersey, and my wife and I settled in New York in the fall of 2013), and it was so exciting to be part of the inaugural season. I had television commitments that wouldn't let me take on the full schedule, but I was thrilled to take a good slate of games and share play-by-play duties with Ed Cohen and Matt Harmon that year.

Getting ready for @NewYorkRedBulls vs @SJEarthquakes via radio at Red Bull Arena! http://t.co/uQoj5U6n6x pic.twitter.com/Ube847L0du

— Jonathan Yardley (@jtyardley) April 17, 2015

Matt, of course, has taken on the regular role ever since, while Steve Jolley - who I remembered from my 2002 internship with the MetroStars, has continued as analyst. It's a great feeling to see those guys at a game or tune in if I'm in a rental car on an MLS game night and still feel connected to the broadcast based on that first season and the odd fill-in over the years.

Quick Start
But for me, Red Bulls Radio all started with a mid-March phone call to first discuss the possibility, and less than a month later, we were on the air with Game No. 1! Here's how the highlights sounded (if you really want, the full game archive is still available!):



Pretty cool, right? Five years doesn't seem THAT long, and yet a ton has changed since then. This was the fifth game of the Ali Curtis / Jesse Marsch takeover that stunned MLS and Red Bulls fans. While we certainly knew how they were going to play - you hear Steve saying, "The Red Bulls want to pressure high, hard, and often," and I'm already saying, "From a turnover, the Red Bulls do it again." - nobody at this point in time thought New York would go on to win the Supporters' Shield.

Future Captains Everywhere
It's also funny to see different Red Bulls eras colliding. You have Dane Richards, star of the 2008 playoff run, playing with Matt Miazga, with seeming ever-presents like Luis Robles and Bradley Wright-Phillips, and then you get the MLS debut for Sean Davis at the end. That was special for me to see, as someone who has spent so much time tracking Homegrown Players. I had called the Red Bulls U-23s' NPSL championship win the previous summer, so I knew of Davis and knew then that he would be turning pro after his senior campaign at Duke. I can remember Ali Curtis saying Davis could one day be "the face of the franchise," and Wright-Phillips sharing similar thoughts, and now, five years later, he is the Red Bulls captain.

I wasn't rusty, persay, because I had called the Red Bulls twice already for MSG that spring. But I don't think I had done soccer on the radio in two years, not regularly since 2011, so there were a few moments where the game moved fast for me. On the first goal, I gave Sacha Kljestan credit for forcing the turnover when it was clearly Felipe (as Steve pointed out in his analysis), which is embarrassing. They don't exactly look alike or anything!

Some Wondo Love
If you were watching, you saw all-time MLS leading scorer Chris Wondolowski on the Earthquakes bench to start the game, and he did play in the second half, but my favorite Wondo fact of the game didn't have to do with Chris. Steve Wondolowski, who played with Chris in Houston when I was there, went with my audio for at least some of the game and gave me, a life-long Oakland A's fan (long story for another time), quite a post-game compliment! 

@jtyardley Great call tonight! Can't wait to hear you calling our A's games when Korach retires.

— Stephen Wondolowski (@sjwondolowski) April 18, 2015

How Far Kljestan's Come
Lastly, I thought it was appropriate, somehow, that there were a couple faces in these highlights who also showed up in the Houston-Chivas USA game I had called five years prior. Firstly, Dominic Kinnear had moved back home to coach the Earthquakes, and I remember catching up with him before the game.

But one of the centerpieces in this performance, Kljestan, had a cameo in the 2010 game as the player Lovel Palmer turned past before scoring from distance. Consider Kljestan's five years in between: getting married, moving to Europe and playing 180 games for Anderlecht, including Champions League contests, falling out of favor with the US national team, and then transferring back to MLS with the Red Bulls. He hadn't lived as many places as I had in those five years (4), but he had been busy!

Last MLS goal for @SachaKljestan? April 24, 2010 for Chivas USA against ... wait for it ... San Jose. 4 years, 51 weeks ago.

— Jonathan Yardley (@jtyardley) April 18, 2015

Kljestan has had an eventful five years since, as well, winning the Supporters' Shield, reaching the rare 20-assst milestone, captaining the Red Bulls, being traded to Orlando, and now winding up with the LA Galaxy. Still getting used to that!

But it just goes to show, a lot can happen in five years, and I'm very glad I was able to inaugurate the Red Bulls' English-language radio presence back in 2015.

Calling more New York Red Bulls games while going back to my radio roots

Inside the #MSG2 TV booth at RFK. Jonathan Yardley & Shep Messing have the call at 7 pm #DCvNY

A photo posted by Jason Baum (@baum717) on Apr 11, 2015 at 3:06pm PDT

I had the great chance to fill in as the play-by-play voice of the New York Red Bulls on MSG for their first two broadcasts this year, covering for Steve Cangialosi as he finished out his hockey season with the New Jersey Devils.

I'm going to keep calling Red Bulls games, however, as part of the team's online radio network, which kicks off tonight when the Red Bulls host the San Jose Earthquakes at Red Bull Arena at 7 p.m. ET. I won't be calling every game, but I'll be calling about one-third of them, mostly alongside former MLS defender Steve Jolley.

This is a combination of my first soccer team (I interned for the MetroStars in 2002) and my initial entry into broadcasting: radio! I began my MLS broadcasting career by calling Houston Dynamo games on the radio for three years, calling one game in 2008 and then almost every game of the 2009-11 seasons. It's a very different style of calling games than television (you talk a lot more!), and I enjoy them both, so it's going to be neat to mix in some radio work this year.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to seeing more MLS games in person this year and to continuing my coverage of a team that's been really fun to watch so far. I've called two of the Red Bulls' three road games this year, and those games have had seven goals, including a 30-yard chip and a 90th-minute game-tying goal.

What will my first MLS broadcast at Red Bull Arena since 2011 bring? We'll find out tonight! The game is televised only in Spanish, so try turning down the volume and checking us out at NewYorkRedBulls.com!

Preseason invitees 2013 - Western Conference

The MLS preseason is inevitably a blur of players coming and going as teams try to fill out their rosters. Here is an attempt to keep track of who's under contract, who's in camp with whom, and which teams are keeping spots open for the summer.

Information is unofficial, acquired to the best of my ability via team and media reports.

Western Conference:

Chivas USA (7-18-9, 9th West) -- 'Chelís' Sánchez Solá			Signed: 28 / Open: 2
2013 Newcomers: MF Carlos Alvarez (draft, 1990, UConn), MF Eric Avila (trade, Toronto via Colorado), DF Steve Purdy (1985, Portland), MF Carlos Borja (1988, former Chivas, LA Blues), MF Edgar Mejia (1988, Chivas Guadalajara, Mexico), FW Giovani Casillas (1994, Chivas Guadalajara, Mexico), DF Mario De Luna (1988, Chivas Guadalajara, Mexico), DF Joaquin Velasquez (1975, Puebla 2010, Mexico), DF Walter Vilchez (1982, Sporting Cristal, Peru), MF Josue Soto (1989, Houston / San Antonio Scorpions loan), DF Emilio Orozco (1992, Tigres, Fort Lauderdale Strikers loan), MF Daniel Antunez (1986, Inter Turku), FW Jose Manuel Rivera (1986, Chivas Guadalajara, Mexico), Julio Morales (1993, Chivas Guadalajara)
Draft: Alvarez, DF Jose Diaz (1991, UC Riverside), FW Paul Islas (1991, Fresno Pacific), DF Joe Franco (1990, Cal State Northridge)
Trial: MF Rodrigo Lopez (1987, Orlando City), FW Leopoldo Morales (1990, Fort Lauderdale Strikers)
Rumored via Chivas de Guadalajara: Juan Pablo Ocegueda (1993) Not with Team: Ante Jazic

MLS Cup Playoffs Best 11 (+7) so far

My apologies for the lack of posts - I've doing some mix of working and procrastinating, and I'll leave you to determine which has won out. I've also been watching as much of the MLS Cup playoffs as possible and have enjoyed the ridiculous drama, even though I'm often watching on delay and could simply open a new tab to find out who won.

Rather than a whole, long, drawn-out, "I told you so," I'll just point out that one team will have a huge competitive advantage in the MLS Cup final (home field) based on a difference of five points or fewer over its opponent, one which may have played a more difficult regular-season schedule. As long as that schedule is unbalanced and the final is a single game, I believe it must be played at a neutral site, purely for competitive reasons.

But I digress.

Today, just for fun, I'm picking a Best 11 from the first 10 playoff games of 2012. Why? Because I want to inspire an official all-tournament team for the MLS Cup Playoffs. It's gotta start somewhere, right? Unlike most Best 11s, I will use the Arabic numeral 11, rather than the Roman numeral XI. And unlike most Best 11s, I will choose a starting lineup with players in their actual positions. Groundbreaking, I know. OK, here we go:

MLS Cup Playoffs Best 11 (+7) (conference semifinals and knockout round games only)
GK - Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake - I'm actually not a huge Rimando fan, because I prefer a 6-foot-plus goalkeeper who can control the penalty area, but a shutout with a broken nose and that exceptional save on Brad Evans early in the second half Thursday night make him a must-choose. Honorable mention to Michael Gspurning and Tally Hall.
RB - Robbie Russell, D.C. United - I know he only played one game, but it was a great game, and all the other right backs who played both games did very little. Seriously, count them. Sarkodie, Myers, Franklin, Beitashour, Lade, Johansson, Beltran. I really like some of those players, but Russell's 90 minutes stood out more than their 180.
CB - Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy - This guy is a giant. Not only that, he's really good. If LA wins the title, people will complain about how low a seed they were, but LA was 7-2-3 during the regular season when Gonzalez started, and he was excellent against Wondo and Lenhart. How many center backs were secretly pleased when he elbowed Lenhart in the face?
CB - Jeff Parke, Seattle Sounders - The Sounders didn't allow a goal in 180 minutes against a very good team, and while some of that is on RSL's pathetic execution in the final third (they finished the year being shut out in their last five games), Seattle's defense has to get credit, and Parke's the man for that. Honorable, honorable mention to Bobby Boswell.
LB - Seth Sinovic, Sporting KC - I know, I know, you think I'm picking a defender just because he scored a goal, but really I'm going with Sinovic because Boniek Garcia was relatively quiet in both legs for Houston, none of the Dynamo goals came on Sinovic's side, AND he was the only KC player to find the net. With a diving header. Hard to beat. Honorable mention to Corey Ashe, who was outstanding in the knockout round against Chicago.
RM - Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy - This is tricky, because he did play forward in this series, but I thought this was the best spot for him. He silenced a lot of doubts with a two-assist performance on Wednesday, and I never pick against Landon in the playoffs.
CM - Osvaldo Alonso, Seattle Sounders - This guy works his butt off, and even though it seemed like he was fouling Javier Morales every five minutes in last night's game, the Sounders rarely got pulled out of position against RSL's very tough midfield, and he deserves a lot of the credit. Honorable mention to his partner in crime, Brad Evans.
CM - Ricardo Clark, Houston Dynamo - He has been everywhere in the Dynamo's three playoff games, sliding to break up a play and set up the game-winning goal against Chicago before frustrating Roger Espinoza in Houston last week. His range has reminded everybody of why Dom Kinnear's 4-4-2 was so successful from 2005-09.
LM - Mike Magee, LA Galaxy - All he does is score big playoff goals. And occasionally play goalkeeper really well. But really, it's the clinical playoff goals that put him here. Honorable mention to Nick DeLeon.
FW - Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy - Duh. I enjoy disagreeing with statements made by Bruce Arena (he wants you to disagree with most of them), but when he praises Keane as the best player in the league this year, you can't really argue. Especially when Thierry Henry won't take a last-minute free kick with his team down a goal in a playoff series.
FW - Will Bruin, Houston Dynamo - Clinical, clinical finishes. Three of them. Two of which are not the type usually scored by Houston forward. Easy choice here. Honorable mention to his wingman, Calen Carr.

Bench (these players were actually used as replacements in the postseason)
GK - Joe Willis, D.C. United - If he can come off the bench and save a PK, it's good enough for me. Might be better than Bill Hamid right now anyway. He's definitely more composed.
CB - Andre Hainault, Houston Dynamo - He had really struggled in the second half of the year (and he was on the field for Honduras 8-1 Canada), but he looked confident and competent when called upon against KC.
CB - Tommy Meyer, LA Galaxy - I'm cheating a bit here, but the guy had only started 4 MLS games since May, so I don't consider him a full-time starter.
DF/MF - Lewis Neal, D.C. United - Surprise under-the-radar pick-up who helped Orlando City to USL title last year. Makes you want to promote them straight to MLS, doesn't it?
MF - Oriol Rosell, Sporting KC - He got to play with lower-than-usual pressure because of the situation, but I was impressed with his composure and ability to keep things simple from that deep-lying midfield slot.
MF - Mario Martinez, Seattle Sounders - Yes, I'm picking him just because of his one, series-winning shot. It was that good.
FW - Alan Gordon, San Jose Earthquakes - Goonies never say die. Even when they sprain an ankle.

Catching up from Saturday's blackout

While visiting Maryland for the weekend, I got caught in Saturday's blackout and spent the afternoon and evening sweating bullets in a powerless, wireless house, trying to take care of a couple of rambunctious canines. When reconnected to the world this morning, it seems I missed a stirring soccer Saturday in MLS.

Folks on Twitter kindly informed me that the Galaxy-San Jose game was mandatory viewing, so I had time to watch significant parts of that game and the Houston-Philadelphia game (old hometown vs. current city) before kicking back for Euro 2012 coverage. Here are five thoughts from those two games:

1. The atmosphere and emotion in the Galaxy-Earthquakes game was, as everybody else has already said, exceptional. It was a great night to showcase the league with a game that had intrigue well beyond the 4-3 scoreline, and it in some ways validated the MLS decision to go to an unbalanced schedule: More rivalry games means more potential for emotional encounters like this one. I now want to watch the October 21 game between these teams way more than I want to see the Galaxy or Quakes play another game against Columbus or Toronto.
2. Geoff Cameron, who has been sloppy at best sometimes this year, turned in one of his best performances Saturday against Philadelphia. Moved into midfield in Dominic Kinnear's surprise (and effective) switch to match the Union's 4-3-3, Cameron showed off flashy dribbling moves, inventive passes, and hard tackling. He made mistakes, but certainly showed well for a potential move to Europe. I've always thought Cameron was best in midfield, where his height and size make him an outlier, and particularly at D-mid, where he excelled in the 2008 SuperLiga semifinal.
3. Boniek Garcia appears to be a keeper. The Honduran right wing, who should simply be called 'Garcia' on second reference, both in print and on air, was thrown right into the starting lineup after two training sessions and was everything Houston wanted. He's technical on the ball, but what stood out to me was how he used his body to throw defenders off balance even when making simple passes. He played a big part in both of Houston's goals, defended honestly, and is exactly the additional offensive weapon the Dynamo needed in midfield.
4. I hope MLS finally punishes David Beckham for his immature petulance. Hopefully you've seen it by now: Beckham, feeling aggrieved from a night of physical play and close decisions, intentionally kicked a ball at a prone opponent during a stoppage in play. Brek Shea got three games for kicking a ball at an official (an act that was far less pre-meditated than Beckham's); I think Beckham's suspension should exceed that one.
5. An end-zone camera should be a non-negotiable component for every MLS broadcast. The LA-San Jose broadcast, by ESPN, showed us some of the potential of having cameras throughout the stadium, with great angles used to illustrate key calls. The Houston-Philly game, with an understandably smaller production, missed its chance to show the game by choosing not to use an end-zone camera. All three goals could have been better understood by fans with use of an end-zone angle, especially Keon Daniel's goal (which I believe took a wicked deflection other cameras could not detect) and Brian Ching's penalty kick. Adding a camera for every production is a significant cost, but one worth paying.

There's plenty more I still need to see, but those two games were great preparation for the Euro 2012 final.