I have to say that I haven’t been feeling my confident self during the past week. This situation has hit me pretty hard and at the same I have been thinking about how much we are going to miss his thoughts on both EPL Talk & MLS Talk. I have also been thinking about his family as his wife and two children will be missing him so much.

Since the untimely death of Eric Altshule, I have to admit this has hit me pretty hard even though I have only known him for the last four to five months. Because ever since I have added him on my list of guests on my podcast show, you can sense and hear his passion for the game of football every single time he came on. During our chats off the air, his knowledge was very superior and it was a joy to hear what he had to say.

The two times I had Eric along with Dave Denholm discussing the US Men’s National Team after their World Cup group match against England and previewing the August Friendly against Brazil at the new Meadowlands Stadium, you can hear the magic when these two came together and all I could do is let them go and enjoy the conversation. I never dared to jump in and break up the flow.

When Eric called in to review the match against Brazil I never knew that he was in Napa Valley calling in. He was up there for a family reunion or a family getaway and I was grateful he could spend the time to chat. But what I didn’t know was that he broke away from the party with his cellphone in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. That’s what his wife told me when I called her to give my condolences to the family.

It’s not so hard to find the right words when you talk about a man like Eric. All he did was lived, breathed, thought and loved the game of football. Like all of us who spend the time to write about the good, the bad and the downright ugliness of the game. He has found a way to make sense of the moment or the subject when most of us (and yes I admit that I am yelling before I can start to think about the situation) are already screaming bloody murder.

When you are a blogger in this new media era for this wonderful game, you are informing millions of people with your thoughts and opinions whether the readers think you are right or wrong. The one thing I can say is that Eric Altshule knew how to captivate the readers on both sites and that is what we will miss about him. I will miss his knowledge, his wit and the way he can breakdown any and every situation.

On Tuesday, September 14th, I will dedicate that show to Eric Altshule and his family. This has been a terrible and tragic loss for all of us and I hope his spirit will hover over the Home Depot Center and enjoy the Galaxy games, but I hope he will wear his Claret red Arsenal jersey when Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls are the visiting side.