It is a Tuesday, which means there is another Filibuster to delight and amaze your ears. We start off with a news roundup (Adam’s fun time news roundup time), in which we talk about the departure of Davy Arnaud, the seemingly confirmed departure of Alvaro Saborio, and the rumors about the status of Luciano Acosta’s negotiations. We then move into our player review series, and put Julian Buescher, Nick DeLeon, Andrew Dykstra, Sean Franklin, Bill Hamid, and Charlie Horton under the microscope. Finally, we gripe about the fact that there are no MLS Cup Playoffs this weekend (curse you, Toronto Argonauts!) and then talk about the disaster that is the US Men’s national team. We also find some good things to talk about, such as the partnership of Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood, before ending with our suggestions for Jurgen Klinsmann on how to gameplan Costa Rica tonight. Give it a listen!

This is the first week that we really don’t have any D.C. United games to talk about, but the Filibuster crew would never let you down, especially not on Election Day! We start out by talking about Steve Birnbaum’s call-up to the USMNT, and talk about whether or not he will start come Friday evening against Mexico. We also talk about the reported departure of assistant coach Amos Magee, before moving on to the Goat or Fox/Cake or Death series: Luciano Acosta, Miguel Aguilar, Steve Birnbaum, and Bobby Boswell are up this week. We were also going to talk about Julian Buescher, but we went on a long tangent about a D.C. United USL team in the middle that we ran out of time. In the second segment, we talk about the MLS Cup Playoffs (yes, they’re still happening!). We talk about each of the second legs, laughing especially at the LA Galaxy and both of the teams from New York. Give it a listen!

It is the end of D.C. United’s season, and the Filibuster crew have some grief to process. We talk about going through the five stages of grief through the course of D.C. United’s loss to the Montreal Impact, and how we felt more generally watching the game. We propose that Montreal created the game that they wanted, which was abetted by Jair Maruffo and his allowing of a Concacaf’ing of the game. Finally, we talk about United’s mental breakdown, and ask whether or not the team is better at this point this year than it was at this point last year. Then we preview what is going to happen on the site in the offseason, with the offseason schedule and our offseason player review, before going off the cuff and talking generally about what United’s priorities should be for the offseason. Finally, we talk about the rest of the MLS playoffs, now in the conference semi-finals, and discuss which of the higher seeds has the best chance to come back and win. Give it a listen!

D.C. United is hosting a game at RFK Stadium in the MLS Cup playoffs, and Filibuster is here to talk about it! First, though, Adam, Jason, and Ben talk about the D.C. United stadium and the potential problem that seems to have been avoided with their Zoning Commission hearing. After that, we move on to United’s 4-2 loss to Orlando City SC in the last game of the season and start by talking about the players that Ben Olsen chose to run out for this game. We talk about Travis Worra’s performance and whether or not D.C. United could have actually found a victory at any point during that game. Finally, we have some praise for Julian Buescher and wonder whether or not Kennedy Igboananike will be back next season. We then talk about D.C. United’s home playoff game this Thursday against the Montreal Impact. we talk about how they will be likely without Didier Drogba and how that affects their team, as well is their multiple bouts of streakiness this season. Finally, we mention Nacho Piatti, Dom Odoro, and how Montreal will attack United and how United can beat the Impact. Give it a listen!

D.C. United is a team and a fanbase that respects its history, and so today is a very special day: It is the 20th Anniversary of the very first MLS Cup, which D.C. United won in dramatic fashion 3-2 over the LA Galaxy. Almost four years ago, the Filibuster crew got together to do a live un-commentary of the very first MLS Cup because Kick TV was kind enough to post the entire match on YouTube. Tonight, in honor of that anniversary, D.C. United will be broadcasting this match live on Facebook, starting at 7PM. Therefore, we decided to bring back our live un-commentary as well, so that you can match it up with the game and listen to our ramblings rather than listening to Phil Schoen, Ty Keough, and (especially) Bill McDermott. If you can’t make it to their stream as it is going on, you can still watch the game on Kick TV at your leisure; if you do that, you should also listen to our commentary! To match up our un-commentary with either broadcast, here are some timestamps (H:MM:SS) to help you out. Kickoff: 0:05:44 End of the first half: 0:51:30 Beginning of the second half: 0:53:24 Give it a listen, happy anniversary D.C. United and MLS, and thanks Eddie Pope! Thank you for taking the time to listen. If you have any responses, questions, criticisms, etc., please leave them in the comments or send them to [email protected]. You can also reach us on Twitter, @FilibusterDCU.

The Filibuster podcast, just like D.C. United, is on a rocket ride of success as we blast into the playoffs! We open with United’s 3-1 win over New York City FC, and ponder whether or not the first half was the best 45 minutes of the year for the team. We talk about the delicious ridiculousness of Bobby Boswell crossing the ball to Steve Birnbaum and break down the pressure that United applied on the Pigeons that led to the third goal. We also wax rhapsodic about the team-wide beauty that was the first goal, talk about the United players on the team of the week, and try to ask whether or not this is a new version of Bennyball. We then talk about United’s last game of the season, the rematch against Orlando City SC. We ponder whether they will be more threatening with nothing for which to play, and discuss the young players who have spots on next year’s team in mind. We discuss why Kevin Molino has become the odd man out, whether or not this game will look more like the win against Columbus Crew SC, and then look wide to talk about the Colorado Rapids’ style of play and how that compares to D.C. United. Give it a listen!

Even though there wasn’t a D.C. United game this weekend, there is still a Filibuster for you to enjoy on Tuesday. Jason, Adam, and Ben talk about the change in ownership of D.C. United, with Jason Levien and Erick Thohir buying out long-time investor Will Chang. We then shift gears to talk about the national team, talking specifically about Steve Birnbaum and Bill Hamid and tearing our hair out at the comments Jurgen Klinsmann made about Hamid’s standing. We then shift to the NYCFC game this weekend, with D.C. United able to clinch a playoff spot with a win and controlling their own destiny for fourth place (and a home playoff game). We talk about what United need to do, how they should attack the Pigeons, and how important that fourth playoff spot is. We end by talking about what D.C. United has to do to stop New York, and who New York will target when they attack United. Give it a listen!

Jason Anderson welcomes on Steph Yang of The Bent Musket to talk about the Washington Spirit, the Western New York Flash, and all things NWSL Final in advance of the game on Sunday afternoon. The Spirit won a wild game over the Chicago Red Stars to get her (2-1 in extra time) and the Flash won and even wilder game over the Portland Thorns (4-3 in extra time) to set this matchup. A Washington area women’s team is back in the finals for the first time since 2003, when Jim Gabarra (current Spirit coach) led the Washington Freedom to the last WUSA championship. It is a big deal, so give it a listen!

The whole crew is back together again, as Jason, Adam, and Ben are all here to talk about D.C. United’s 2-1 victory over Toronto FC, their third win in seven days! We talk about the luxurious amount of wing depth that D.C. United has right now, and how there was less rotation than we thought there would be in this game. We talk specifically about Luke Mishu and his resurgence in this game, and then zoom out to talk about Ben Olsen’s coaching performance writ large. Finally, we talk about how underrated Lloyd Sam has been since coming to D.C. United, and spend some time dismissing Toronto’s complaints about the refereeing. In the second segment, we talk about the playoff run-in in the Eastern Conference, with four and a half teams competing for three spots in the playoffs. Columbus Crew SC are basically out, and the New England Revolution don’t control their own destiny, so we talk about the three teams who are battling desperately for fourth: the Montreal Impact, D.C. United, and the Philadelphia Union. We break down the last two games of each of those teams, take a moment to discuss what happened with Orlando City SC and whether or not they can play spoiler for any of the playoff teams now that they are eliminated, and estimate that United has a pretty good chance to make the playoffs at this point. Give it a listen!

Earlier in the week, you got Jason and Adam, and for your Friday episode of Filibuster you get Jason and Ben! The two first talk about D.C. United’s 3-0 victory over the Columbus Crew SC, and we first talk about the excellent play of D.C. United’s two center backs. We also talk about how the first half wasn’t as bad as people thought, how Bill Hamid’s game was just as impressive even though it wasn’t flashy, and the way D.C. United scored their various goals. We then spend a long time talking about who from this game will get rested for the Toronto FC game, before taking a break to properly talk about Saturday’s game. We invite on Duncan Fletcher from The Vocal Minority to talk about Toronto FC. We talk about their three straight draws, and how, despite their stars, they are a defense first team this year. We ask Duncan about the non-American view of Jozy Altidore and try and figure out which goalkeeper will start against United this weekend. We finish by talking about Jonathan Osorio and a #10, trying to puzzle out what formation TFC will deploy, and ask why TFC are so bad when they are playing up a man. Give it a listen!