Times could not be better for former University of Maryland and D.C. United soccer star Judah Cooks, as he is part of XM Radio?s exclusive World Cup coverage.
He is in the Washington studio, and splits his time working with Bill McDermott on World Cup This Morning, heard every morning from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., and with World Cup Tonight and host Dave Ungrady every evening from 8 p.m. till midnight.
The World Cup is in full swing and XM is the radio epicenter for all the English ? and Spanish ?language coverage for the United States and Canada.
Since the first day of World Cup 2006, XM has provided live coverage of the games as well as soccer talk 24/7 till the CupFinal on July 9th.
So now Cooks, who was a soccer star at Maryland (1996 ACC Championship) and D.C. United, is a soccer broadcaster with XM.
I talked to Cooks about the World Cup (the U.S. plays Ghana today at 10 a.m. in Groupe E), and where soccer in America is headed.
Examiner: How have you enjoyed being part of the XM coverage team?
Cooks: It has been a blast! I have to tell you that each morning we get far more calls than we can ever get to, and each caller knows their soccer. I must say the intelligence of the callers has been a real pleasant surprise. We are getting callers from all over the country, starting each day at 6 a.m. Eastern Time. We are having great fun talking soccer, and the callers can?t seem to get enough.
Examiner: What do you see as the biggest challenge to soccer in the U.S?
Cooks: Soccer in this country has never been more popular, and we have a strong national team. The U.S. team is technically very precise, but I really think we have it in us to produce some great scorers. We can produce stars like David Beckham, Ronaldinho, and Raul, but we must have top athletes committed to playing soccer, and a national organization and league willing to develop them into personalities. Freddy Adu, Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson are all guys who have potential, and we could start there.
Cooks is working with D.C. United in community development, helping to start after-school programs in Washington area-schools. He is also the head soccer coach at DeMatha High in Hyattsville.
Where to see the “Battle of the Beltway Part two”
The big weekend series between the Orioles and Nationals will be at Camden Yards with Friday night?s game at 7 p.m. on CSN, then Saturday at 4:30 p.m. MASN/WB 54/WDCA 20, and Sunday?s game at 1:30 p.m. on CSN/MASN/WDCA 20.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Email Jim at [email protected]. Also, checkout his World Cup reports on www.examiner.com.
