US women's GK- from Twitter Not sure if this should've just gone in the Olympics thread (please merge if necc) Not that I'm a big fan of Chastain, but I think it's kind of sad when athletes can't take criticism. And maybe have some respect for people who paved the way for you. Because previous US women's teams went through less popular and worse times. Without them maybe even less people care about the team and sport.
She was defending a teammate. The criticism wasn't aimed at her but rather one of the defenders from what I've read. Still a huge overreaction though.
What would be interesting: Putting Brandi and Hope in the studio together as pundits. First opportunity I can think: Barcelona vs Real Madrid on October 6 on beIN SPORT 1 USA. (I am not joking: I understand that the executive producer of beIN SPORT LLC is interested in Brandi's services after Kasey Keller turned him down.) Those two can be like Lalas vs Ballack all over again, as long as they are willing to do the preparation prior to going on camera. I know that Brandi likes to watch a lot of men's international club soccer (particularly EPL, but she watches el Clasico as well), but I don't believe Hope does.
Please, this has nothing to do with defending a team mate. Chastains comments were as mild as can be. This is 100% about Solo doing what she can to create as much attention on herself as possible as she is releasing a book two days after the Olympics is over. For the record, this is the comment that caused Solo to act like an idiot
Yes, Hope does have an ego and a big mouth that will get her noticed by the media. During my days as a poker agent, I had a opportunity to evaluate Hope for a spot in the NBC Sports National Heads-Up Poker Championship. A sponsor was ready to pick up her entire tab if she knew anything at all about Texas Hold'em. I had received explicit instructions from the executive producer before my meeting with her. Unfortunately for Hope, I had to make the decision to pull the plug on the entire idea in less than 10 minutes. One thing we do know: Hope Solo's services as a pundit, for both men's and women's soccer, will be in demand if and when she decides to retire from competitive soccer.
"Immature" would be a better one-word description. The back line of defenders have always been a weakness for the USWNT, going back to 1999. The USWNT got away with having a weak back line for a while before the rest of the world caught up. Best example: Brazil smoked the U.S. 4-0 during the 2007 World Cup. The women's tournament doesn't become interesting until the knockout stage. Japan gives its opponents fits because it has adopted the "Ajax/Barcelona" style of play. U.S. has athleticism up front but has a very suspect back line. Same issues with defenders since 1999. Brazil just can't close the deal when the stakes are the highest.
Do you have any suggestions on what they should wear in the studio?? They will probably check on here for what to wear if they go into studio together.
Bingo. Solo's act has long since become tiresome. And Bueller does look slow and cumbersome out there. We have had some problems defensively at the back, Chastains comments are on the mark IMO. I favor Sauerbrunn (sp?) And re: people who don't like Chastain's commentary, well, every single commentator is skewered from time to time from color to PBP, nobody will ever please everybody. Doesn't Chastain have like 200 caps? and she was a defender, don't think the game has changed that much in 10 years.
Hehe, cut Oliver some slack....this thread has some actual soccer insight by him outside of the television realm. That's a first in my book.
Frankly, my soccer insight isn't my strength, not even close. I don't pretend to be an expert on what happens on the field. -- Back to Hope vs Brandi: At this point in time, Brandi has shown me more than enough (knowledge of int'l soccer, spending time and effort in preparation, putting the viewers first ahead of all others, etc.) for me to recommend her to the executive producer of beIN SPORT 1 USA to cast her as a studio pundit for the weekend of October 6 with two massive heavyweight bouts: Barcelona vs Real Madrid on October 6 at 2pm or 4pm ET, and AC Milan vs Inter Milan on October 7 at 2:45pm ET. This particular assignment will be a major professional challenge for Brandi if she were to accept it, as she knows that the audience for big time international club soccer is generally much more demanding than the audience for women's international soccer. (Julie Foudy is NOT available as she is under contract with ESPN, Inc. The consensus first choice, Kasey Keller, turned down the opportunity several weeks ago.) Right now, I do NOT trust Hope Solo enough to recommend her to a studio pundit role even though she has the raw skills that are required to succeed. I have serious doubts whether Hope will be willing to put in the necessary hours to prepare properly for such an assignment. (For the record: I recommended the young Canadian female talent who has come to terms for the studio host role of beIN SPORT 1 USA to the executive producer and the talent coordinator. They are waiting for her O-1B visa to be approved and they can't wait for her to start. If you have watched soccer news in the U.S. and Canada in the not-to-distant past, you know her and her husband. Tracking them down was not difficult.)
Nobody said Brandi Chastain was good enough to be a studio pundit for the Milan derby or El Classico. Is she good enough for the Olympics? Yes.
Why does Hope feel the need to defend a teammate? Is that teammate not able to take criticism. It seems the rest of the team didn't feel the need to defend their teammate. Does that make the rest of the team poor teammates? Don't think so.
That's for the executive producer and the talent coordinator to decide after a thorough interview and audition. All I know for now is that the EP of beIN SPORT 1 USA is interested in Brandi's services as a studio pundit for Barcelona vs Real Madrid and AC Milan vs Inter Milan. I also know enough about Brandi's work to recommend that she interview and audition if she wants to take on such as challenging professional assignment. (There are plenty of skeptics out there, but that has never stopped Brandi in the past.) We don't make the hiring decisions. The EP does.
So now Oliver wants to ruin bein before they even start? Having Chastain on the coverage for any big men's game would be a disaster. She's barely good enough for the women's game which she actually has some knowledge. I guess he's just trying to make them look bad because they won't talk to him because he's just some guy on the internet.
Quite the contrary. I referred 3 female studio host candidates for beIN SPORT 1 USA (and Canada) to the executive producer: 2 Canadians (both from Manitoba) and 1 British who has lived in the U.S. for 17 years. Both Canadians were interviewed and one was hired. The EP and the Talent Coordinator/Coordinating Producer can't wait for her to get her O-1B visa so that she can start working. -- The consensus first choice of almost everyone associated with beIN SPORT 1 USA for studio pundit who wasn't under contract with ESPN or FOX was Kasey Keller. Unfortunately, Keller is under a personal services contract with one of the owners of Seattle Sounders FC and he indicated to the EP several weeks ago that he would NOT be available on October 6-7. Keep in mind that there will be a full slate of MLS matches on October 6 so none of the local MLS analysts will be available either. None of the guys associated with ESPN International (Caribbean, Australia/New Zealand) in Bristol will be available either as they will have either Bundesliga or Brasilian matches to call. The "big names" who are based in Europe won't be available either, as they all have Europe-based gigs that weekend. After you eliminate all of the above, you aren't left with much to choose from if you are looking for a studio pundit/analyst with both experience and enough name recognition to draw viewers to a startup youth-oriented U.S. soccer-centric sports TV network who would be willing to spend a weekend working from a TV studio in Miami, for a nominal amount of money (I am guessing around $1200-1600.) Brandi Chastain is the best available name I can think of for the executive producer of beIN SPORT 1 USA given the above constraints. If you can come up with better names (that young U.S. viewers will recognize) who are NOT already tied up with other gigs, by all means post them here. (Some of you may suggest Bobby McMahon, who does not have an O-1B visa so there is a cost issue with having to spend the money in legal fees to apply for a visa for a short 1-weekend assignment. McMahon may be willing to work cheap, but the cost of getting him U.S. work authorization for just 1 weekend may be cost-prohibitive. Remember that Imagina U.S. is a low-cost TV production company with roots in the Spanish-language market so running an English-language sports TV network is a new experience for everyone associated with beIN SPORT LLC USA.)
Oh boy. Oliver takes another thread (ironically enough, one about alleged attention whoring) and makes it about himself.