Heitz Out

Rubena nd RJ are back for the season finale of the Hot Cast. They start by talking about Greg Berhalter wasting no time on the roster decisions of players with 2025 club options; dropping all but Jeff Gal and Jonathan Dean. Then they review the season starting with the winter transfer window. They try to find the flashpoint of when it became a year to forget for the club after it started out relatively well and what could have been done to change it. They end the show by discussing the stadium news and Joe Mansueto owning White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. All that and more on the season 6 finale of the Hot Cast!.

The Chicago Fire have a new Top Man. And it is who we thought it was. Ruben and RJ examine the hiring of Gregg Berhalter from every conceivable angle. They start with the big picture stuff about what his responsibilities are going to it. In the second half of the show, the hosts go to Magical Christmas Land to discuss who Berhalter could potentially recruit to his project and take a look at the most important area they need to improve, center back. All that and more on this week's Hot Cast.

The Chacago Fire are all but done with 2024 and Ruben and RJ are here to start the three-week mourning period. They discuss the losses against Nashville and Montreal and lament the fact that the Fire look like they'd rather be anywhere else. In the second half of the show, they take a look at the rest of the league and look at what the MLS playoffs will look like, including Fraud Watch 2024!! All that and more on this week's Hot Cast.

Ruben and RJ are back to discuss all things Chicago Fire. They start with the loss against DC and as promised, Ruben takes a deep dive into the Fire's tactics and tries to identify the difference between the first and second halves. A hint: It revolves around playing players where they're most comfortable. In the second half of the show, they discuss the Fire players on the Free Agent list released by the MLSPA, Mauricio Pouchitino to the USMNT and Gregg to the Fire. All that and bruised eyes on this week's episode of the podcast.

Better late than Never, it's this week's Hot Cast! Ruben and RJ are back to discuss what went wrong against Inter Miami and if the problems can be fixed or is it too little to late in 2024. In the second half of the show, your hosts go back and forth on what there is to look forward to for the rest of the season. And Ruben has a warning for the Chicago Fire Game Ops department. All that plus Video Games!! on this week's Hot Cast.

Ruben and RJ return to the podcast airwaves to break down how the fire stole a point against NYCFC at the weekend despite some poor play. They discuss their major preparedness issues the team has and why it's not going to change anytime soon. In the second half of the show, they talk about the MLS playoff picture, where the Fire stands in it, and what's it going to take for a team to finish above the line. All that plus a preview of Inter Miami this weekend on this episode of the Hot Cast

Ruben and RJ return just in time to talk about Georg Heitz's pending departure from the club. They discuss what he did for the club, what he didn't do for the club, and what he leaves in his wake. In the second half of the show, they discuss what the club can do going forward into next season and whether or not the Fire GM job is even a good one. All that plus Gaga Slonina's Chelsea mistake on this week's Hot Cast.

With RJ on assignment, Ruben called in Fire expert and good dude Tim Hotze on to entertain his Tin Foil theories about the Chicago Fire- including his thoughts about Frank Klopas losing the locker room. But before that, they discuss the matches vs NYCFC and FC Cincinnati, the Fire's situation regarding overspending, the difficulties in the summer transfer window, and what to do about Xherdan Shaqiri. All that and more in this supersized edition of The Hot Cast. You can support the show at patreon.com/TheLantern

On this week's episode of the Hot Cast, Ruben and RKJ dissect an up-and-down week for the Chicago men's soccer outfit. They discuss how the comeback win against Philidelphia was directly responsible for the loss in San Jose. They talk about injuries and the seeming lack of depth and what it means for the club going into their three-game week against Eastern Conference playoff opposition. The second half of the show is spent talking about Brian Gutierrez not being called up to the US Olympic squad and the implications for his career, Gaston Gimenez's departure and RJ lets Ruben rant about FOX's horrible soccer coverage. All that and more on this week's hotcast.

The Fire lose their second game in a row where they outperform the other team for a large portion of the match! Ruben and RJ break down the game and point fingers at who is responsible for the lack of responsibility. They also talk about how good the team played at times and break down the first half when things looked so good. In the second half of the show, they talk about the impending sale of Gaston Gimenez and what the Fire will have to do to replace him once he goes. Then they talk a bit about tonight's tilt with the Philadelphia Union. All that plus NASCAR and avacados? On this week's Hot Cast You can support the show over at patreon.com/TheLantern