The Blazing Musket Podcast

The roundtable has assembled for a World Cup special! We got together to chart the US's path to the quarterfinals, figure out who the real contenders are, who's in trouble and what individually have impressed the most so far.We’ve got the usual crew here to talk about all of it…Our guests join from:United in Green podcast covering the Vermont GreenThe Friggin Soccer Show podcast covering Portland Hearts of PineRaising Anchor a podcast covering Rhode Island FCThe Average Fan Podcast that covers Hartford AthleticYou can find all these podcasts on The Blazing Musket as part of our podcast network along with Revolution Recap and The Swan Dive.We hope you like this episode and be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review if you do wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Cup is here! We’re ready to dive into the local connections, teams to watch, players to watch and our best guesses as to how this whole thing shakes out.We're joined by none other than the leader of The Blazing Musket, Sam Lattof, and one of New England's best soccer journalists, Hayden Bird, from Boston.com, to get you ready for the biggest World Cup in the tournament's history.You can follow Hayden on BlueSky and check out his soccer coverage on Boston.com.You can follow Thomas on BlueSky and Sam as well.Let us know what you think about the show, send us your suggestions and anything else at thebentmusketig@gmail.com.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jackie covers the Boston Legacy here at The Blazing Musket and has been keeping up with them during their five game unbeaten streak. We talked about their slow start, the recent run of results and what to expect headed into the summer.We also talked about the switch in their home venue as they will now transition from Gillette Stadium to Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island.You can keep up with the Legacy here on The Blazing Musket and follow Jackie on BlueSky.You can follow Thomas on BlueSky.Let us know what you think about the show, send us your suggestions and anything else at thebentmusketig@gmail.com.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jules Boykoff is the author of Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the FIFA Greed Machine and Kicking, a memoir about his former life as a professional footballer and his current life as a critical academic of sport. He has also written six books on the politics of the Olympics, most recently, What Are the Olympics For?. He teaches political science at Pacific University.Joining all the way from Helsinki, Finland, Jules talked all about how the World Cup is and has been used by authoritarian leaders for sportwashing and by FIFA, a supposed non-profit, for greed. We take a close look at everything going on around the 2026 World Cup and its parallels to previous editions as well as the Olympic Games.Jules also spoke about his career as a professional soccer player in the US and how he transitioned to becoming a professor of political science.If you're interested in Jules' work please consider picking up a copy of one of his upcoming books at the links below:Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the FIFA Greed MachineKickingYou find all of Jules' work here and follow him on BlueSky.You can follow Thomas on BlueSky.Let us know what you think about the show, send us your suggestions and anything else at thebentmusketig@gmail.com.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Valair Shabilla of 615 Soccer is back with us to tell a story that's forty years in the making, Iraq is headed to the World Cup for the first time since Mexico 1986. The moment qualification was secured was witnessed by Valair down in Monterey, Mexico a few weeks back. He's here to tell us how it happened, why they were away for so long, what to expect from Iraq this summer and who the heroes of the campaign were.You can follow all of Valair's work by following him on BlueSky and at 615 Soccer.You can follow Thomas on BlueSky.Let us know what you think about the show, send us your suggestions and anything else at thebentmusketig@gmail.com.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our podcast network covers all of New England's most popular soccer teams, you've heard a lot of their hosts right here on The Blazing Musket Podcast. This week we're giving you highlight segments from these great podcasts, have a listen and be sure to check a few of them out after if you haven't already!Heard a great segment from one of our shows? Download some full episodes below:United in Green podcast covering the Vermont GreenThe Friggin Soccer Show podcast covering Portland Hearts of PineRaising Anchor a podcast covering Rhode Island FCThe Average Fan Podcast that covers Hartford AthleticThe Swan Dive covering the Boston LegacyYou can follow Thomas on BlueSky.Let us know what you think about the show, send us your suggestions and anything else at thebentmusketig@gmail.com.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US Open Cup is delivering early season ups, downs and rivalries for the New England teams taking part. We discuss the first round and what to expect from the second. There's also Drumgate up in Portland and the upcoming last chance saloon to get to the World Cup later on this week.Our guests join from:United in Green podcast covering the Vermont GreenThe Friggin Soccer Show podcast covering Portland Hearts of PineRaising Anchor a podcast covering Rhode Island FCThe Average Fan Podcast that covers Hartford AthleticYou can find all these podcasts on The Blazing Musket as part of our podcast network along with Revolution Recap and The Swan Dive.We hope you like this episode and be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review if you do wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The USL Championship and League One seasons have just begun, which means it time to get John back on the show and get us ready. He's with us this week to get us caught up on what to expect across both leagues, contenders, upstarts, expansion sides, all of it. John also touched on the ongoing labor situation and give his outside perspective on how New England's pro USL stable of teams will do in 2026.John brings the knowledge like few others, be sure to check this one out!You can follow the USL along with John at USL Tactics, Backheeled and BlueSky.You can follow Thomas on BlueSky.Let us know what you think about the show, send us your suggestions and anything else at thebentmusketig@gmail.com.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The MLS Next Pro season kicks off this weekend and a revamped Revs II is back in action for 2026. They had a lot of turnover this past off-season and with a youth minded coach with the first team, Revs II are worth keeping an eye on this season. Literally no one follows this team like Josh Nye does for The Blazing Musket, he's here to get us all caught up and ready for the new season!Thomas opened the show with some words on Merrimack New Hampshire, South Georgia Tormenta, the blizzard of 2026 and the USLPA before Josh joined as well.The best way to follow Revs II is with Josh's coverage at The Blazing Musket and on BlueSky.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's almost time! The NWSL's return to New England with the Boston Legacy is drawing ever closer. Jackie is back to get you caught up on who the Legacy have got, where they're playing, when they're playing and everything to expect this season.The best way to follow the Legacy is with Jackie's coverage at The Blazing Musket and on BlueSky.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With all the excitement around New England's growing USL presence in recent years, the strong presence of the UPSL may have been overlooked. The founders of one of the UPSL's newest teams, Boston Emeralds, are in this week to tell you all about their Club and why we should check them out in 2026.What goes into founding a Club, deciding on a league, name, badge and building a following, Kevin and Keegan let us know all about it!You can follow the Boston Emeralds on Instagram and checkout the UPSL at their site.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from!To keep up with all the soccer in New England, head over to The Blazing Musket! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back for the January 2026 Roundtable! The USL has an ongoing labor dispute, women's soccer is back in New England, new teams are joining the party in Maine, Vermont and Connecticut and the USL is going to play right through the World Cup.It's a lot discuss and we tackled all of it!Our guests join from:United in Green podcast covering the Vermont GreenFrom the Forest to the Tide podcast covering Portland Hearts of PineRaising Anchor a podcast covering Rhode Island FCAnd contributing writers for The Blazing MusketYou can find all these podcasts on The Blazing Musket as part of our podcast network along with Revolution RecapWe hope you like this episode and be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review if you do wherever you get your podcasts from! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a prolonged procession and giving out of totally made up prizes to suck up to the President, FIFA managed to place all 42 qualified teams into their groups for next year's World Cup. They also determined where the remaining countries still trying to qualify will end up should they get in. The schedule came out shortly thereafter, finally letting people know who they can see next summer if they're prepared to sell vital organs to buy tickets.We're joined by Valair Shabilla from SixOneFive Soccer to talk about the draw itself, how the groups are looking and discussed if the group of death is dead, how happy should the US be with their group, does 48 teams take away from the group stage drama and more.You can checkout Valair's work at SixOneFive Soccer for their continuing coverage of the World Cup and on BlueSky.If you're enjoying the show be sure to like, subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts from!To keep up with MLS, as well as all the soccer in New England, head over to The Blazing Musket! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.