The Weeky Dis
Hell is Real is here. The Blue Jackets embark on a new television-delivery system. And a wonderful week in Discasting.
It is one of the dates to circle in bold on the Columbus sports calendar: Hell is Real, the derby-darby pitting Ohio's MLS teams, is tonight.
For Crew fans, it's one of the biggest days of the year. Arguably, and depending on whether any high-stakes games are in the offing over the next four months, it is the biggest.
FC Cincinnati (6-5-5, 23 points, fifth place in the East) is in town to play the Crew (4-8-4, 16 points, 11th in the East) at Fertilizer Field. Kickoff is expected at 7:15, although this isn't the World Cup and games never start on time. What is more, it's not expected that there will be any hydration breaks, but we shall see.
Attacking mid/right wing Brais Mendez, 29, who came from Sociedad of La Liga on a reported transfer fee of $6.8 million, was formally introduced Friday afternoon. Mendez's plane landed in CBus on Wednesday, in time for him to wave to the crowd and then watch the Crew's shaggy performance in a 2-1 loss to NYCFC. It was the first game back for the Crew after a two-month World Cup break.
Crew coach Laurent Courtois said Méndez will not be available for selection today.
Outside back Andrés Herrera, whose loan from River Plate ended in a purchase, and attacker Lautaro Giaccone, 24, an incoming transfer from Argentinos Juniors, are not quite through the visa process and have yet to land on the shores of the Olentangy. (Courtois said he expects news "in the next few days.")
So, Courtois doesn't have his full complement, which seemed problematic against the Pigeons here Wednesday. Courtois went with a heavy rotation. The rust showed. Even Max Arfsten – the one guy you'd expect to be sharp coming off World Cup duty – looked lost.
Méndez watched.
"Yeah, I think Wednesday's game was complicated after a long break for the World Cup," he said, "but there needs to be a sense of calmness. There are many games left, and I trust the team and we have to move forward from it. I'm sure that what I saw on Wednesday, we're just gonna continue to grow from it."
(Does he sounds a bit like Diego Rossi?)
Courtois didn't hate the game his team played against NYCFC, but he rued the lack of aggression in the attack.
"Well, personally, I feel it's a blessing to have to straight up jump into an event like this," Courtois said. "You don't need to talk about motivation. You don't need to talk about importance (to make) adjustments that we want to make, and by the way, this is a rivalry, a big rivalry.
"So I'm not disappointed with the mistakes in the past game. I'm just disappointed we didn't score four goals. That's what I told the guys. And so hopefully, we make the adjustments."
As one reader pointed out:
On Nov. 2, 2025 in Columbus, the Crew defeated Cincinnati 4-0 in the middle leg of their best-of-three playoff series. Only three players in the Crew starting lineup for that Game 2 – Darlington Nagbe (since retired), Rossi (sold to Monterrey earlier this month) and Herrera – are unavailable for today's game.
Yes, Nagbe and Rossi left two huge holes in the lineup. But the point that the reader wanted to make was that, given the gravity of the rivalry game and the fact that there is some continuity of Crew personnel, there's no reason why the Crew shouldn't be jacked up and, absent a victory, at least make a good showing in front of their home crowd. Show some fire.
If they don't, that would say something in and of itself.
Méndez is formally introduced
Columbus Crew GM Issa Tall introduces new Designated Player Brais Mendez Friday afternoon. "We're going to enjoy," Méndez said. "It's going to be some beautiful years."
Part of the wave of the future in sports broadcasting
Regional sports networks – RSNs, such as the late FanDuel Sports Network – have been buried beneath the weight of their debt, their increasingly flawed business model and a failure to adapt to the evolution in the way live sports are delivered. May they rest in peace.
Where does that leave local fans?
The Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds, among other MLB teams, are streaming their games. Fans pay $50-$120 (thumbnail figures) depending on how much in-market and out-of-market access they desire. If the team is available on cable (such as Spectrum) or on other streaming services (such as Fubo), fans have access there, too, if they're paying for the cable/streaming service.
I offer this as a general description; check your local listings.
I bring it up because the Jackets, like many NHL teams, were left homeless after FanDuel went kaput after last season, and they've had to figure out what comes next.
To that end, they dropped this tidbit the other day:
So, the Jackets are "very excited" about this.
Fans may or may not be "very excited" about this.
It depends.
How much will it cost? How much access will be provided, in- and out-of-market? How many games? How much shoulder programming – studio shows with Brian Giesenschlag and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, sideline reporting and features from Dave Maetzlold – will carry over? Is color analyst Jody Shelley still aboard?
How much is getting cut? Put another way: What will be the bang for the buck?
Will any games be airing for free on local networks?
Etc.
To quote the Vice President of Business Intelligence, "We are continuing to work on our distribution platforms and look forward to announcing those details in the near future."
We're about six weeks from training camp. They'll have everything figured out by then.
Here, from Sports Video Group, is some background on the evolving industry and the way the NHL is adjusting.
Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Starting with the 2026-27 NHL regular season, NHL Productions will provide centralized production services for the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues. Additional clubs may be added prior to the start of the 2026-27 season. The move comes following the closure of the Main Street Sports Group–operated FanDuel Sports Network RSNs that previously carried their games. The Anaheim Ducks, who are without a local streaming partner after cutting ties with Victory+, are also a candidate to come aboard.
Former MLB Network President Rob McGlarry is joining the league as general manager of local media to oversee the new Centralized Production Group, which will also provide strategic support for distribution and monetization of club regional game broadcasts. In addition to bringing on McGlarry, NHL President, Events and Content, Steve Mayer and Chief Media Officer David Proper have spearheaded the build-out of the operation.
The centralized-production model resembles MLB Local Media, which launched in 2023 with the Padres and now manages broadcasts for 14 clubs. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said he expects his league to launch a centralized streaming hub for local broadcasts by the 2027-28 season.
This week in Discasting
I've had some great guests on my podcasts, from stalwart Aaron Portzline to Hall-of-Famer Daryl Reaugh to Shelley on Cannon Balls, and from stalwart Neil Sika to Gregg Berhalter to Frankie Hejduk and Duncan Oughton on The Crewcible. And so on, through more than 50 episodes over six-plus months.
This week, the guest was Mike Cornell, whose bona fides as an intelligent and passionate fan of Jackets and Crew are longstanding and indisputable. Never before have I had such a life force present on one of my pods. I want to plug this again. Check it out.
You can find my podcasts at Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other pod platforms, including my YouTube page. Subscribe, like, share, rate and review. Thank You.
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Michael Arace
