SB Nation New York: All Posts by Howard Megdal

EXCLUSIVE: A Philadelphia Union Playoff Preview with @FakeWIPCaller

2011-10-25T17:49:16Z

With the Philadelphia Union set to host their inaugural playoff match this Sunday, much of Philadelphia is gripped with Doop fever. Another symbol of the team's success at reaching hearts and minds came last week, when the Union announced a deal with sports radio station WIP to broadcast 17 matches, beginning in 2012.

The move was more than just an impressive marker of Union soccer moving into the media landscape. WIP has a reputation as a bastion of old-school Philly thinking. Think every sports radio talk show you've heard, only more so.

During an interview on the station about the Union/WIP deal, Union executive Dave Rowan actually had to reassure host Glen Macnow that he didn't have to like soccer if he didn't want to. Macnow clearly was speaking for some undefined portion of the listeners that appears to believe they will be forced to accept soccer into their lives while giving up Cheez Whiz.

Few have captured that irascible mood better than the Twitter feed, @FakeWIPCaller. Though he is a composite, @FakeWIPCaller was happy to provide an irrefutable take on how Philadelphia's yet-to-be converted are responding to the popular success in town, the Philadelphia Union. Below is the transcript of SB Nation Soccer's exclusive interview.

SB Nation Soccer: @FakeWIPCaller, thanks for joining me today. As you know, the Philadelphia Union are set to host their playoff opener at 4 PM on Sunday. Talk a little bit about how you intend to prepare for the game.

@FakeWIPCaller: Come on Howard- the Union? It's Eagles-Cowboys week and you want to talk about SOCCER?

SBN: Well, I assume you know that this is the first playoff game in Union history- doesn't that make it more important than a regular season football game?

@FakeWIPCaller: Hell no. When the Union kick off I'll be in the parking lot at the Linc, in hour 5 of my 10-hour tailgate.

SBN: Well, I'm sorry to hear that. The Union may not have your allegiance yet, but they repeatedly sold out PPL Park. Have you given any thought to hitting the soccer match at 4, then heading over to the Eagles game at 8:20?

@FakeWIPCaller: Howard- If I wanted a sport where there's no tackling and no one can get their hand on the ball, I'd just watch the Eagles try to play defense. But if you're asking me the Union's playoff chances, here's what I want to know- Are the Union's players Philly guys? Do they hustle? Do they "get it"? Do they have anyone who played at Penn State?

SBN: Sebastian Le Toux is a great example of just the kind of player you'd love. He had some difficulty catching on in the French leagues, but impressed in second division US soccer, and has become one of MLS' most dangerous scorers. How's that for grit?

@FakeWIPCaller: French leagues? You think I want to watch a sport with French guys in it? I got my hopes up when I heard the Union had a guy named Carlos Ruiz- but then they got rid of him? What's up with that?

SBN: That was a different Carlos Ruiz. Not the catcher for the Phillies. And as a player went, he was more Bobby Abreu.

@FakeWIPCaller: I have no interest in a sport where no one runs into walls.

SBN: WIP itself feels otherwise, signing a deal with the Union to broadcast 17 matches next season. Talk a little bit about how you think the Union will change WIP culture.

@FakeWIPCaller: Oh, that's just ridiculous. Soccer on the radio? What's next, the WNBA? Every minute WIP is broadcasting soccer is a minute that the fans aren't holding the Eagles and Phillies accountable.

SBN: How is soccer on the radio any different than other sports on the radio? The 76ers are on the radio, and the Union outdrew them this year. At least, the 76ers would be on the radio, if the NBA had a season.

@FakeWIPCaller: If we're going to talk about soccer, I need to know the important things- can you bring hoagies into the stadium? At what point do they cut off beer sales? Is ownership committed to spending enough money to win?

SBN: I think you're missing the point here- Freddy Adu and the Union play an exciting brand of soccer. As far as ownership goes, it really isn't about spending enough money- there's a salary cap. But I feel like we're getting off topic here- I'm not sure holding the Phillies accountable has anything to do with the Union's chances. How do you think they measure up to their opponent on Sunday, the Houston Dynamo?

@FakeWIPCaller: As long as it's like baseball and the Houston franchise is run by an incompetent former general manager of the Philly franchise who frequently trades Philly his best players, I like our chances.

SBN: In an interview on WIP this week, Philadelphia Union executive Dave Rowan repeatedly had to reassure a WIP host that no one would force him to listen to soccer if he didn't want to. Talk about why to many, other sports merely exist, but soccer is somehow considered a menace on par with the disease in Outbreak.

@FakeWIPCaller: Hey, soccer's far from the biggest disease in Philly sports. Andy Reid continuing to have a job is much more of a blight. Man, WIP's going downhill. First they bring in Barkann, now this.

SBN: Looks like we're finding some common ground. You've repeatedly taken issue with the fact that the Phillies have conducted interviews, left their own houses, and lived normal lives despite losing in the first round. Talk a little bit about the intangibles the Union need to bring to avoid a similar fate.

@FakeWIPCaller: If the Union lose in the first round, it's important they engage in a monastic existence throughout the offseason, occasionally pausing for periods of self-flagellation (both figurative and literal). And any Union player that tweets about MLS games involving other teams after they are eliminated should be subject to both a $1 million fine and his immediate unconditional release.

SBN: I'm not sure that's fair, given the MLS payscale.

@FakeWIPCaller: screw it. They're paid to play a kids' game

SBN: Let's get to the critical questions about where the Union finds itself in the Philadelphia sports landscape. Better song: Doop? Or Fly, Eagles Fly?

@FakeWIPCaller: What's doop?

SBN: It's a song the Sons of Ben sing when the Union score a goal.

@FakeWIPCaller: It must be exhausting, getting up to sing that song once, or possibly even twice per game.

SBN: You know, "Doop doop da da doop doop doop, da doop doop doop da da doop doop doop."

Ring a bell?

SBN: Nothing? Guess it can't compete with "flying on the road to victory."

@FakeWIPCaller: It's a mixed metaphor that's stood the test of time You know who hasn't stood the test of time? Donovan McNabb!

SBN: The atmosphere at PPL Park has been favorably compared to Big Five basketball at the Palestra. Which one is more quintessential Philly at this point?

@FakeWIPCaller: The Eagles. I don't mind the Palestra as long as Villanova's not playing.

SBN: Prediction: who goes furthest this year, Phillies, Eagles or Union?

@FakeWIPCaller: Well, the Phillies' year is already over, and the Eagles- yeah right. So I guess it's the Union by default. Of course, I've joined many of my fellow callers and hosts in vowing to root against the Eagles until Reid is fired.

SBN: So the Phillies are gone, and they've betrayed you anyway by eating meals and not throwing themselves on a funeral pyre in Rittenhouse Square. The Eagles are now the team you root against. Sounds like you are ready to embrace the Union. How will we know Philadelphia has officially taken the Union to heart?

@FakeWIPCaller: When they sign Lionel Messi. That way ownership will have proven they care about winning.

SBN: FakeWIPCaller, thank you for your informed take on the subject.

@FakeWIPCaller: You're welcome. Fire Andy!

Zac MacMath: The Goalkeeper Rorschach Test

2011-10-21T18:06:10Z

Zac MacMath's 2011 has been an unusual combination of present and future, with ramifications for both the Philadelphia Union and the U.S. Men's National Team.

The fifth overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft was expected to serve as apprentice to the accomplished Faryd Mondragon for the Union this season. Instead, Mondragon's broken finger on Sept. 3 pressed MacMath, 20, into a critical match away at Real Salt Lake, then into a starting role for seven key matches down the stretch.

And that those seven matches down the stretch were key for Philadelphia is perhaps as unexpected, with the second-year franchise cruising into the playoffs, despite a 1-0 loss to New York on Thursday night. MacMath's 3-0-4 record as a starter reflects the success enjoyed by both the Union and MacMath.

For this USMNT fan, whose fever dreams usually involve a Tim Howard Allstate ad gone horribly wrong, the stakes were significant as well.

MacMath appears to be a manifestation of Philadelphia's good fortune in many ways- supremely confident, despite his relatively brief time in the spotlight. When speaking to MacMath, he comes across as unflappable- an attribute that will serve him well in his position.

"It was obviously unexpected for Mondi to go down," MacMath said in the Philadelphia locker room following Thursday night's match. "I had a decent game, and it built confidence to put up a shutout half. Obviously, the next one was a bit of a rough one, I had four goals on me in the first half- ever since then, it's been about building confidence in the games, in practice."

MacMath talked about that nightmare first half against New England in passing, but it is worth lingering on for a moment. Consider that the rookie keeper was starting his first match. While anyone watching would tell you the avalanche of goals had far more to do with Philadelphia's defense than MacMath, it is easy to imagine even a veteran goalkeeper getting rattled by trailing 4-1 at the break. MacMath, however, not only kept his team in the game with a scoreless second half, allowing Philadelphia to fight back to a 4-4 draw and earn a vital point, he was magnificent in the matches that followed.

His showing over this key stretch went a long way toward earning the trust of the fans, who have reason to expect that once the Faryd Mondragon era ends, Philadelphia will be in good hands in goal. It was an opportunity that even MacMath didn't have reason to expect in his rookie season. But consider what it must feel like to get the chance to compete at the highest level for more than a month- only to return to the bench. Not that MacMath doesn't understand why, of course- but for any fierce competitor, getting the engine running, only to idle it again, is perhaps a more difficult transition than being thrust into the competition.

"I honestly didn't really know how much playing time I was going to get," MacMath said. "Obviously, Mondi was the No. 1 all year. Preparation was a little bit different, though I tried to prepare the same way no matter who is starting. But knowing you're going to be the starter for a good six, seven games helped me, my routine, getting used to things being the way I hope they will be for the rest of my career."

From my perspective, the puzzle remains why MacMath has yet to receive even a call from Jurgen Klinsmann about national team duty. MacMath's success in both MLS, and his track record with the U-20 USA side (the starting keeper for the 2010 Milk Cup champions) would seem to recommend him. Are there other keepers with more success in MLS to date? Sure there are. But few have the upside of MacMath- and as Klinsmann himself has made clear with his selections so far, MLS track record doesn't mean much to him.

Yet while Klinsmann has encouraged varied lineups and providing opportunities throughout his rosters so far, only DC United's Bill Hamid (same age as MacMath, by the way) and the veteran Nick Rimando have gotten the chance to back up the incredible Howard.

It would seem that now, when Klinsmann is evaluating exactly what he has, would be a perfect time to give MacMath and Hamid opportunities to start, before World Cup qualifiers begin in earnest next year. After all, Howard is the known quantity. MacMath certainly has a spot with Klinsmann as a long-term goal.

"It's always been my dream to play for the national team," MacMath said. "I think the Olympics next summer are a more realistic goal for me right now, and that's something I look forward to. But right now, there's nothing of it."

There are those who would have said MacMath playing a key role in Philadelphia's 2011 playoff push was equally unrealistic, of course. So to hear MacMath discuss how he sees his career developing in five years, it is worth remembering that to date, everything has happened ahead of schedule.

"Five years ahead, I hope that I'm an established goalkeeper, number one, and carrying my team to the playoffs every year. Hopefully, if I don't have a championship by then, I'm hoping for a championship in five years."

In the meantime, it sure would be nice to get a glimpse of what 2016 could look like at the national team level, too.

Wilpon's Comments: Long-Term, It Doesn't Matter

2011-05-24T01:07:05Z

What Fred Wilpon told The New Yorker doesn't matter. It matters like a team that is 20 games out needs to set a postseason rotation. It matters like a guy on The Titanic needed to figure out how to survive The Great Depression. It mattered like calling the right play for the Washington Generals matters.

This will be a relic of Fred Wilpon's very late career as owner of the New York Mets. There's no realistic financial path forward for him.

Let's stipulate the following: no one can predict the future. But when the Mets were in fourth place on September 1 of last year, 13 games out, no one treated it like a coin flip whether they'd make the playoffs or not. It wasn't going to happen, in all likelihood. And it didn't.

Anyone who tries to tell you the Wilpons don't face the same kind of odds to hold onto this team, be it Fred Wilpon or anyone else, shouldn't be taken seriously. Let's be clear: if the long-discussed minority owner is found to give the Wilpons (or more accurately, Sterling Equities), that is reported to be, best-case, $200 million. With losses expected to be $70 million this year, a $22 million debt balloon payment due on Citi Field in June, and $25 million due back to Major League Baseball by the end of the season, that leaves around $85 million over, assuming no other expenses, planning for 2012 losses, or the next debt balloon payment on Citi Field.

But let's say the Wilpons hold onto that entire $85 million, and apply it toward the lawsuit they face from the Trustee for the Bernie Madoff victims, Irving Picard.

Picard wants $1 billion. That's a lot more than $85 million.

And let's paint the rosiest scenario- somehow, though Picard has been settling with people for 99 cents on the dollar, the Wilpons convince the bankruptcy judge to see things their way regarding Picard's allegations that they should have known Madoff was a fraud. (Remember, every time you hear the Wilpons or allies declare publicly that they didn't know, it doesn't matter. That's not the standard here.)

Even then, the Wilpons owe $300 million in the cash in minus cash out formulation Picard has created for net winners. That's been litigated by Picard, regarding Madoff, before this bankruptcy judge.

So where are they getting that money in an absolute best-case scenario? And remember: they can't sell 49 percent of the team twice and still hold ownership.

I suppose the absolute best-case scenario calls for all that, plus the judge ruling against himself, or Irving Picard having a change of heart, or the Sterling partners winning Powerball. And then again. And then again.

But every time you read a story about the financials of the New York Mets, if the Wilpons don't look like they are in fourth place, 13 games out, with a month to go, that reporter isn't paying attention, either.

So take Fred Wilpon's comments accordingly. They are shockingly stupid in terms of the effect on team morale and attendance. But financially, it is impossible to see how the Mets can afford Jose Reyes either way, and around the league, other teams already knew this. Carlos Beltran was a goner anyway. And David Wright, one hopes, will be more accurately evaluated by the new owner.

Who is coming. And soon.

Sell High On Beltran? Never

2011-05-10T15:24:35Z

In the abstract, it makes perfect sense. An outfielder, one year removed from a .915 OPS, is available in the late rounds of a fantasy draft. You draft him, he gets off to a strong start. There are multiple fans of his team in your league. And he has a chronic knee condition likely to flare up any day.

Sell high and move on, right?

Well, I can't. I just can't.

Soon enough, Beltran is likely to be an ex-Met. One of the finest players in team history- easily, the best center fielder the Mets have ever employed- is in the final year of a contract that doesn't permit them to offer him arbitration. Translation: after this year, he's heading elswhwere, and the Mets don't even have a chance to get a draft pick when it happens.

So the team, too, is likely to sell high, unless the Mets find themselves in the race come July. Even then, if Sandy Alderson determines that this is more of a 2004 pennant race than a 1999 one, he could deal Beltran regardless.

And he'd be right.

But in the meantime, with Beltran and possibly Jose Reyes heading out the door, I'm going to live vicariously through my fantasy teams- after all, that's the reason fantasy baseball exists. Into my lineup goes Beltran, and yes, I'll play him every day. For now, I'll see that NYM in his profile and smile.

And quite possibly, even after the Mets deal him, I'll keep him around, letting myself think of what might have been if the Mets had surrounded Beltran and Reyes with strong secondary talent.

The Knicks: No Longer A Worrying Thing?

2011-04-29T15:47:51Z

A strange feeling appears to be emerging about the New York Knicks: confidence about the team's future.

There are no guarantees about a championship, and even real worries that there will be a league for the Knicks to win next season, given the uncertainties of the collective bargaining agreement. But the Knicks, for the first time in a long time, appear to be putting themselves in the best possible position to win.

The pickup of Chauncey Billups' option for next year made sense for a host of reasons. For one thing, Billups represents the best they are likely to do at the critical point guard position. The free agent class is notably poor at point guard this summer-no Ray Feltons- and even if the Knicks add a strong point guard with the 17th pick in the draft, that means they enter next season with an uncertain rookie at the position. That also means they didn't use that pick to address other needs, such as a sharpshooting wing or size up front.

Billups also doesn't stand in the way should Chris Paul or Deron Williams become available. Should the Knicks deal for Paul, Billups' expiring contract is actually an asset to deal. And post-Carmelo, the team has precious few tradeable assets.

Billups also gives the team a strong pilot for one of the three seasons New York is certain to have Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire under contract. No Billups would have meant punting one of those precious seasons.

Now, if the reports are true, and Donnie Walsh is about to be retained, the future may be brighter than it's been in decades. Already, though, it has been wonderful to experience the Knicks as something other than a worrying thing.

Knicks So Far: Dayenu!

2011-04-20T18:55:35Z

There will come a time, I'm sure, when seeing the Knicks lose two perfectly winnable playoff games in succession will infuriate. Someday, and perhaps soon, late-game mistakes and opponent heroics will lead to despair. And seeing the Knicks merely compete against the hated Celtics will not feel like any kind of victory.

But for me, right now, this has been enough. So far, I have enjoyed the hell out of these NBA Playoffs.

I've enjoyed a pair of star performances by Knicks players, one Patrick Ewing-like from Amare Stoudemire, the other Bernard King-like from Carmelo Anthony.

And there is solace in knowing that unlike King and Ewing, whose eras were strictly segregated by some down years, these two are going to play together. If Amare's MRI comes back clean, it should be Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Would victories have been sweet? Undoubtedly. But no one gave the Knicks much of a chance when it was assumed Carmelo would show up for Game 1, Amare would stay healthy for Game 2, Chauncey Billups would dress for both games, and Roger Mason wouldn't play meaningful minutes in a must-win game. The Knicks are the underdogs, and all Boston has done is hold serve at home with a two-man roster going at less than full strength throughout the series.

Having Stoudemire for one more play- the end of Game 2-and it isn't Jared Jeffries benefiting from the Carmelo double-team, but one of the league's top scorers.

But leave all that aside for a moment, the Xs and Os that seem to give a distinct advantage to the team trailing 2-0. Wasn't it wonderful to have a whole day of anticipating the Knicks in the playoffs? To see a Knicks player cause an entire building to tremble in fear, then to see another one do it in Game 2?

Simply finding the Knicks in the arena served as a thrill for me, anyway. Seeing the Knicks with a team that we all knew needed work compete with the defending Eastern Conference champions feels like a fantasy, so soon after a decade of futility and and a few months after a trade that gutted today's roster for a player to draw better teammates for tomorrow.

When tomorrow comes, and the Knicks have a center with the ability to catch an entry pass, a rotation absent players who would go unclaimed on waivers, and both superstars on the court at once, perhaps it will feel different.
But for now, I'm just looking forward to Friday night at Madison Square Garden, even if New York's season ends by Sunday. For now, it is enough.

21 Years Of Waiting Is Over

2011-04-16T23:51:22Z

It seems impossible to believe now, but it has been 21 years since the New York Knicks faced the Boston Celtics in the NBA playoffs. Seems so, but a closer examination reveals that time didn't stand still for me, either.

I was 10 years old on the glorious spring day when the Knicks defeated the Celtics, 121-114. Still not in charge of my own social schedule, I attended Cindy Greenberg's tenth birthday party. I believe mini-golf was involved. Now, of course, I would figure out a way to avoid any social interaction on the day of a deciding playoff game. Whether this is maturity or the opposite, I will leave to you.

For the first ten years of my life, the Knicks had been fleetingly good, and often terrible. Bernard King came before my consciousness. My first year of awareness, a rookie Patrick Ewing and the Knicks finished 24-58. And a few years later, I remember a late-game comeback to sink the Sixers. But it was only the Sixers. It mattered in my South Jersey school the next day, but meant little in the grand scheme of the NBA.

But the Celtics! The Knicks were decidedly a regional affair. I remember my dad taping a game in which Dallas beat New York, 113-93, and devouring it the next day, because the Knicks were on television. The Celtics were everywhere. A version of Larry Bird played on the Apple Jordan vs. Bird at my friend Jonathan Prober's house. Bird sold things, shoes, burgers. Come playoff time, Bird was everywhere. Kevin McHale was on Cheers. And the Knicks, especially at Boston Garden, were their Washington Generals.

I still remember how my father told me that the Knicks won, explained about Mo Cheeks' flawless performance and Patrick Ewing's unlikely three to seal the game. He was incredulous. Everybody was. Maybe I was most of all, since I didn't live through Walt Frazier and Willis Reed. I knew Brian Quinett and Eddie Lee Wilkins. (That's right- to my Knicks-centric eight-year-old mind, Gerald Wilkins was the good Wilkins!)

And everything changed with that win, though not precisely as I imagined. That was the last time I remembered the Knicks exceeding expectations, unfairly or not. The Knicks became a fixture in the playoffs, and not just at the start. Boston faded, as expected, but New York never made it to the summit.

Is it strange that the win over Boston still feels like the high point? Ahead of beating Indiana and making the finals, beating Pippen and the Bulls, Allan Houston toppling the Heat? Somehow, it does.

So maybe I am just projecting my life experience again. I never knew the Celtics could lose before, so now, with the Knicks on the edge of national relevance again- one can only imagine how they will explode with a win over Boston, but it figures to be on par with how it unfolded in 1990.

It feels like something huge is about to unfold.

So let me be clear. If the series extends to a full seven games, even though I haven't been invited, nor do I know that Cindy Greenberg will be playing mini-golf on her birthday... I am sending my regrets.

Dwayne De Rosario Is My Router

2011-04-08T15:57:33Z

And now, a metaphor for our tech-savvy crowd.

For years, I had faulty wireless routers. Perhaps the fault was mine; I would purchase them directly from Fisher-Price. So I had a strong cable modem, new computers, but my home network sputtered and made noises one associates with Jack Benny's car.

But last year, I bought one that works great. Files shared all over the house followed, printer printed documents without a wired connection, Roku ablaze with programming-all thanks to my new router.

That's what Dwayne De Rosario is for this Red Bulls attack.

It was apparent the moment he stepped into the game last week. His ability to find the enviable attacking options for New York will provide connections that, to put it mildly, will exceed those found by Mehdi Ballouchy.

It should make any soccer fan eagerly anticipate New York's match with Philadelphia Saturday night, which you can find at 7 PM on ESPN2. This is nothing less than the potential realization of the league's best attack ever.

Notice the word potential. Thierry Henry needs to get healthy and in-form. Juan Agudelo needs to show his meteoric rise isn't just a hot streak. Dane Richards needs to solidify his gains made in the late stages of last season. And De Rosario needs to learn how they all move while adjusting from his recent role with Toronto of primarily doing the scoring himself.

But the components are compelling. The 21st century, high speed attack is in place. Only one question remains.
Will the Red Bulls be as powerful as my router?