The Crewcible

S1 E32 Neil Sika, the Costas of Columbus, rejoins host Michael Arace of thedisrespected.com for another spirited conversation. The Columbus Crew, winners of six of their previous seven league games, have climbed from last place in the Eastern Conference into a post-season play-in spot. What's working now? Can they keep this heater going over the last two games of the regular season? Is Saturday's match against lowly D.C. United a classic trap game? Sika is always knowledgable, opinionated and game. Tune in and join us. #crew96 #mls #mlsplayoffs #decisionday #disrespectedmedia

S1 E31 As Columbus Crew historian Steve Sirk says: Only a loss due to food poisoning is worse than a loss on penalty kicks. The Crew lost on kicks to visiting St. Louis City in the U.S. Open Cup final Wednesday night. They've got to turn right around and face Toronto in CBus on Saturday afternoon, and a victory is critical to the Black & Gold's hopes of a playoff berth. Morgan Hughes of SupporterSupply.co returns to talk about the stretch run, and much more, with host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com. #crew96 #stlouiscitysc #torontofc #usopencup #mls

S1 E30 The Armchair Analyst, Matthew Doyle -- formerly of mlssoccer.com, now of TacticsFreeZone.com and the Soccerwise podcast network -- returns to The Crewcible and swathes himself in further glory. He and host Michael Arace of thedisrespected.com wind through the most recent USMNT camp, wonder aloud about the future of 20-year-old Crew midfielder Taha Habroune, and look ahead to the U.S. Open Cup final -- Crew vs. St. Louis City in Columbus on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Among other things. A stroke ambulance drives by. Good stuff here. #crew96 #stlouiscity #mls #usopencup #disrespectedmedia.

A Crewcible extra: Columbus Crew attacking midfielder Santi Rodriguez sits for a conversation with Michael Arace of thedisrespected.com. In the Crew's Sept. 27 game vs. Inter Miami, Rodriguez was repeatedly fouled by Lionel Messi, the two had words -- and a bit later, Messi stomped his cleat on the top of Rodriguez's foot. Rodriguez talks about this series of events. He also holds forth on building chemistry with the Crew, the desperate push for a playoff they face and the passion for soccer in his native Uruguay.

S1 E29: Apple TV MLS play-by-play voice Neil Sika, who will be calling the Crew-at-Orlando game this weekend, returns to join host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com in the latest episode of The Crewcible. Is this team, after months of upheaval, ready to fire? Is a playoff spot out of the question by now? Is Lionel Messi above the law? Warm up for the stretch run with the dulcitous tones of the Costas of Columbus. #crew96 #orlandocitysc #messi #mls #disrespectedmedia

S1 E28: Morgan Hughes, erstwhile frontman for Save the Crew and co-proprietor of SupporterSupply.co -- where you can find some epic Disrespected merch -- joins host Michael Arace of The Disrespected.com for a spirited conversation on the soccer topics of the moment. Is Manchester City too big to fail? Did Federico Higuain get his just desserts? What was Lionel Messi thinking as he led a brigade of Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami thugs onto Fertilizer Field in Columbus? All of that and more on the latest episode of The Crewcible. #Crew96 #intermiami #manchestercity #epl #fifa #mls #usopencup #thedisrespected

S1 E27: Morgan Hughes, the face of Save the Crew and co-owner of Supporter Supply Co., joins host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com to discuss the misery that is 2026. Is the U.S. Open Cup semifinal -- vs. Orlando City in Columbus on Wednesday night -- the biggest game the Crew will play this year? Should GM Issa Tall and coach Laurent Courtois be fired? Don't they deserve some slack? Are Crew fans spoiled? We get right into it.

S1 E26: Apple TV MLS voice Neil Sika rejoins host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com to assess a crazy summer for the Columbus Crew. We discuss outgoing and incoming (Santi Rodriguez?) transfers, the months of roster turnover and transition, and the upcoming schedule -- into the Nashville buzzsaw on Saturday and on to the Leagues Cup quarterfinal vs. Club America in LA on Wednesday. Somehow, the Crew are still alive in three competitions. #crew96 #mls #nashvillesc #leaguescup #clubamerica

S1 E25: Mike Cornell, who has been battling a rare form of cancer for nearly a decade, doesn't know how much more time he has left. He has been a fan of the Crew and the Blue Jackets since the formation of both franchises. With host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com, he reflects on devoting some of his passion for life to sports. He uses "fan" as a verb, and says, "You've got to fan HARD." We need more Mike Cornells in our lives. What a delightful human being. #Crew96 #CBJ #cancersucks #cancer

S! E24: Tom Reed, the sportswriter's sportswriter -- and a looooong-suffering England fan -- and Disrespected Media First Team Video Coach Analyst Tim Arace join host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com for one of the best breakdowns of the World Cup semifinals you're going to hear. No kidding. The lads are well informed and in fine form. With predictions on the World Cup final (they like Spain) and some Columbus Crew transfer talk. #crew96 #worldcup #worldcup2026 #fifa #VamosColumbus

S1 E23: Neil Sika, longtime voice of the Columbus Crew who now calls MLS games for Apple TV (among other gigs), and host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com get their cleats up as the World Cup hits the quarterfinal round and MLS prepares to reopen. What happened to the #usmnt when the Yanks ran into the Red Devils? Has America been capitvated? Plus, Crew coach Laurent Courtois has a new DP and some weeks of a mini-camp behind him. Will the Crew surge on the other side of the break? And so much more. #crew9 #fifa #fifaworldcup #mls #usopencup

S1 E22: Columbus Crew legends Frankie Hejduk, a former U.S. international, and Duncan Oughton, a former New Zealand international, join host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com for a special episode of The Crewcible. We recorded live at Budd Dairy Food Hall prior to a watch party for the #usmnt vs. #socceroos World Cup game on June 19. Man, you never know what's going to come out of these guys' mouths. #worldcup #crew96

Gregg Berhalter, former coach of the United States Men's National Team (and the Columbus Crew), joins host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com as the World Cup hits its second week. We break down the Yanks' 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the first game of the group stage, look ahead to USA-Australia (and The Disrespected's live event at Budd Dairy) and talk about Triple-G's memories of playing in the 2002 World Cup (THAT WAS A HAND BALL!) and his son Sebastian's World Cup experience, unfolding now. #USMNT #WorldCup #socceroos #crew96

S1 20: Tom Reed covered everything -- NBA, NHL, MLS, Olympics, NFL, to name just a few -- during his many decades as a sportswriter/columnist. Now a part-time cigar-store clerk (among other things), Condor remains a punditry presence at his desk in the Dirty Garage. He joins host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com to talk about the Crew coaching change, the Crew's bent at the break, the curious case of Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT roster. #crew96 #usmnt

Columbus Crew MF/W Max Arfsten sits down with Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com for a brief interview that covers a world of ground, from the transition to new coach Laurent Courtois, to the instant impact of the change, to his World Cup dreams and his aspirations to play in Europe. #crew96

S1 E19: Apple TV MLS play-by-play voice Neil Sika, who has called every sporting event except the Bikini Bottom Great Snail Race, returns to The Crewcible with host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com. We record three days after Henrik Rydström's brief tenure as #crew96 coach ended in a sacking and Laurent Courtois was named (interim) successor. Did Rydström get a fair shake? What was going on behind the scenes? Is Courtois the answer? Is GM Issa Tall's roster deficient? Let's get into it.Award-winning columnist Michael Arace, founder of Disrespected Media, covers pro sports in flyover country. Welcome to Columbus, the Blue Jackets and the Crew. Visit TheDisrespected.com to view all of his work. Find him: @michaelarace1.bsky.social@disrespected614 on XThe Disrespected on Facebookthedisrespected614 on Instagram.TheDisrespected614@gmail.com

S1 E18: The Rooster (rooster.info) has sent waves through the Ohio Statehouse and Columbus City Hall with his aggressive reporting, in-your-face tactics and his reverence for gossip. And his scoops. The Rooster is D.J. Byrnes, and he joins Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com to talk about his background, the evolving new media landscape, and the ugly bit of backroom dealing that helped bring an NWSL franchise to Columbus. #crew96 #cbj

S1 E17: The famed Armchair Analyst, Matthew Doyle, joins host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com for a far-ranging conversation. They even talk some #crew96. Doyle was a longtime must-read at mlssoccer.com before he got thrown out of the house, for only stupid reasons, in February. He has hung out his own shingle at TacticsFreeZone.com and continue to dissect MLS -- rosters, tactics, brilliant moves, stupid stuff and everything in-beween. Here, he takes a trip down memory lane, admits he once idolized the founder of Disrespected Media LLC, gives a searing take on #SaveTheCaps and assesses Crew coach Henrik Rydström's work-in-progress. Good stuff here.

S1 E16: Tom Reed, the Condor, rejoins host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com to talk all things #crew96. As the schedule congests, the Black & Gold's depth will get tested. Coach Henrik Rydström finally scored his first home victory (after a thunderstorm). Daniel Gazdag found the back of the net! Taha Habroune. NWSL and the Haslams ... off we go.

S1 E15: After being diverted by the collapse of the Blue Jackets and the eruption of Rick Bowness, The Crewcible is back, and it's coming in hot. Columbus Crew radio voice Chris Doran joins host Michael Arace of TheDisrespected.com, and they go box-to-box on a range of topics -- from the USOC game in Richmond to a peek ahead to New England to the rise of a new generation of Black & Gold. They also leave the field to talk about Doran's career, #SaveTheCrew, the impossibility of pro-rel in the U.S. and more. Doran even has a hot take on Lionel Messi, Wilfried Nancy and Inter Miami. Tune in and join us.