Johnny Utah

Barkley Rocks!! Article written by: Pat McManamon, Senior NBA writer Charles Barkley weighed in Wednesday on a recent Twitter statement by LeBron James. Barkley, a TNT analyst and former NBA All-Star, said he hopes James remembers Barkley's critical comments and called a couple of James' more significant actions this summer "punk" moves. "I heard about LeBron's little tweet today that he's remembering everybody who said anything bad about him," Barkley said Thursday on ESPN Radio 103.3 FM in Dallas/Fort Worth. "And he said 'everybody.' Well, I want him to make sure that he puts my name on that (list). "I thought that his little one-hour special was a punk move. I thought them dancing around on the stage was a punk move, and I thought he should've stayed in Cleveland. Him joining Dwyane Wade's team was very disappointing to me." Barkley spoke on "Galloway and Company," hosted by Randy Galloway, Ian Fitzsimmons and Matt Mosley. Barkley referred to a Twitter post by James -- under the name King James -- in which he said: "Don't think for one min that I haven't been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!" James has been criticized for leaving Cleveland and for announcing it on a national TV special on ESPN set up by him and his handlers. He also was the subject of a story on ESPN.com about a birthday party in a Las Vegas club that sounded more hedonistic than humble. The story was later removed because ESPN said its reporter did not state clearly he was writing a story (the accuracy of the story was never questioned). In addition to the TV special, Barkley also weighed in on a rally at American Airlines Arena where James, Chris Bosh and Wade were treated like rock stars and talked about themselves as arguably the greatest trio ever to play in the NBA and future winners of five, six, seven championships. Galloway and his co-host chuckled at Barkley's remarks, then said they enjoyed the fact Barkley wanted James to include him on his list. "He's got enough people kissing his ass with his family and all the people who work for him," Barkley said. "We don't have to tell him what he wants to hear all the time. That's one of the reasons why ... some of these young guys ... my opinion is he should have stayed in Cleveland. "That one-hour special, them jumping around on stage like punks, that wasn't cool to me. From a basketball standpoint, I wish he had stayed in Cleveland, and if he takes that as criticism, so be it. "He knows where I'll be, I don't run. I'm on TV every week, I'm easy to find."

I received a call from the ticket office this afternoon for renewing my season tickets. There are 3 tiers of pricing - $90, $75 & $60. A couple of goodies are included with season tickets - 1) some type of beverage/food service on the club level of the Info for select games and 2) Scarves - but she didn't know if the scarves were going to be different from last year.

Jay Rohr...You could have said the same thing about him coming out of high school!

Christmas comes early! This is outstanding news!!

Another update...sure doesn't sound like good news.D.C. United Coaching UpdateCaleb Porter told his University of Akron players today that he will speak with D.C. United about its head coaching vacancy, the Insider has learned.Porter, 34, has emerged as United's top choice for the job, which opened when Tom Soehn stepped aside last month after three seasons.(Anyone fluent in reading between the lines?)On Sunday, after the Zips lost to Virginia on penalty kicks in the NCAA championship match in Cary, N.C., Porter told the Insider that United had requested permission from Akron's athletic department for a formal interview. Today, United declined to respond to Porter's statement, saying only that "we are continuing the process" of finding a new coach.Meantime, United General Manager Dave Kasper is "out of town," according to a club spokesman. Ohio or Argentina, your guess is as good as mine. DCU President Kevin Payne is in the United Arab Emirates this week for FIFA meetings in conjunction with the Club World Cup. (He is on FIFA's Committee for Club Football.)So logistically, even if a deal were reached this week, an announcement would probably have to wait until Monday, at the earliest.

Gawd I wish I was there right now! One more game...

Brandon Anderson was added to Tampa's active roster this week.

I'll be there for at least Friday and Saturday.

Saw this last night when hanging out at a Border's...Romeo Article

I was at the South Florida-Cincinnati game last night and at halftime they introduced the USF hoops team. Was surprised when they came to the new director of basketball operations - Andy Hipsher. Following in his father's footsteps?!

I'm heading to the game...can one Zips fan be louder than the FAU home crowd?

The announcers talked about Steve-O being designated a "foreign" player even though he attended the U of A. He had a couple of great opportunities to score tonight. Sounders were impressive in 1st half, just couldn't find the back of the net. Big win for the Sounders!

Received my season tickets and scarf in the mail today (I live in Tampa Bay area, so assume they mailed scarf because of that). The scarf is SWEET!! Can't wait for season to start!

Did anyone notice that Egner's frontcourt mate at Jackson has committed to Can't?!

The son of one of my buddies plays for Bloomingdale (I live in St. Pete area). Found out last week that Brett was going to be his position coach. They're having some kind of event this Friday evening and hoping to make it over there to watch the scrimmage and say hello to Brett.

Jay Rohr!!!!!!!!!!

Z.I.P. - Too cool! Thanks for coordinating...I can't wait to see the design and proudly wear it.

I've seen people with Adidas Zips soccer scarves at games...started seeing them 4 or 5 years ago, about the time that we signed with Adidas. Pretty cool and would definitely be a good seller.

Shaka must have gotten a ringing endorsement from Billy Donovan and/or Anthony Grant. Grant coached on Donovan's staff for several years before getting the VCU job. The last two VCU HC's have gone on to bigger jobs after only a few successful seasons: Jeff Capel took the job at Oklahoma and has done great with a program that was on probation and now Grant is moving on to Alabama. It would suck to be a VCU alum/fan and have two HC's leave in the span of six (I think) years to move on to bigger programs. Not intentionally hijacking the thread - but the Siegel Center at the Alltel Pavilion (VCU's home) is an AWESOME place to watch hoops. It seats somewhere around 7,000 and there isn't a bad seat in the house.

From Pat McManamon's Blog in the BJ:Why did Chris Singletary get thrown out of the Akron-Can't State game?Posted March 9th, 2009 by Pat McManamon Can't State's Chris Singletary was ejected early from Can't State's win over Akron for throwing a punch into the gut of UA's Nate Linhart. The video — and the strong reaction of broadcasters Michael Reghi and Steve Mix — is below.I talked to Can't State AD Laing Kennedy about an hour ago, and he said he and basketball coach Geno Ford would discuss whether to take further action against Singletary (who has had other problems off the court). Kennedy said the officials made the right call, and added that a suspension was on the table. As Dave Carducci wrote in the Record-Courier: "Chris Singletary's punch to the sternum of Akron's Nate Linhart set an ugly tone to Can't State's regular season-ending rivalry game at the M.A.C. Center."Carducci also opined that Singletary should be suspended for one game — an opinion I agree with completely. The question to me isn't should he be suspended, it's for how long. I might even consider the entire MAC Tournament. A decision should be announced this afternoon.

The Cleveland City Stars have signed goalkeeper Evan Bush from the University of Akron. The native of Concord, OH played his high school ball at Lake Catholic High School in Mentor.A four-year starter for the nationally ranked Zips, Bush is the all-time leader in the Mid American Conference in career wins (62), shutouts (48), and goals against average (.60)."Evan played a significant amount of minutes in goal in high-pressure situations while at Akron," said Cleveland City Stars General Manager Mark Geissbauer. "He helped lead the team deep into the tournament as a freshman and Akron was nationally ranked throughout his career. We're thrilled to bring such a promising young keeper to our club and we look forward to Evan's contributions in 2009."In 2008, Bush started all 23 matches for Akron and posted a 17-2-4 record, including 13 shutouts, 60 saves and a conference-best .41 GAA. At the conclusion of his senior season, Bush was named all-Mid American Conference First Team and NSCAA all-Great Lakes Region.The lifelong native of Northeast Ohio looks forward to continuing his career in front of his hometown friends and family."I am excited to begin my pro soccer career in my home city of Cleveland in front of what I consider to be the best fan base in the league," said Bush.While at Akron, Bush was a three-time all-Mid American Conference first team selection. As a freshman in 2005, Bush was named the MAC newcomer of the year while also being recognized as a Freshman all-American when he was third in the nation with a GAA of .51.Bush helped guide the Zips to a 9th place national ranking in the final poll of 2008 and was invited along with top MLS draft pick Steve Zakuani to represent Akron at the MLS combine in January.The City Stars are coming into their 1st year in the USL 1st Division after winning the USL 2nd Division title last season. Cameron Knowles plays for the Portland Timbers; who are in the same league. The Fox Soccer Channel will be televising matches throughout the season on Thursday/Friday nights. Should be cool to see both of our alums on tv! Portland comes to Cleveland on May 9th.

From todays Beacon Journal:Although it has not been officially announced, the University of Akron men's soccer team's 2009 recruiting class is ranked No. 1 in the country by espnrise.com, an ESPN Web site focusing on high school sports.Sheldon Shealer, of espnrise.com, wrote: ''It's almost unanimous among college coaches polled: Akron has the strongest incoming class.''The Zips' recruiting class, which will be partially announced on national signing day on Wednesday, is projected to include Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy standouts Ben Speas and Matt Mason. Speas, a Stow resident, is a midfielder and Mason, an Akron resident, is a forward.The group is also expected to include, but is not limited to, defenders Zarek Valentin and Chad Barson, midfielders Scott Caldwell and Eric Stevenson, goal keeper David Meves and forward Yoram Mwila.Valentin, Barson, Caldwell and Speas each have experience on the United States youth national teams.''Akron wins the top-class argument on two levels: the quality of players and the fact that the Zips appear to have strength at every position on the field,'' Shealer wrote.Zips coach Caleb Porter can not comment on the recruiting class until national signing day on Wednesday.Departed standouts Steve Zakuani and Evan Bush led UA to a 17-2-4 record in 2008 and the highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history with a No. 5 designation.The Zips concluded the best four-year run in program history with a record of 63-12-11 from 2005-2008 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd time.UA also advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time and won its sixth Mid-American Conference tournament title.

Isn't "compartment syndrome" the same thing that Jason Taylor suffered when he got kicked in the shin/calf this season? I don't think he ever fully recovered from the injury/surgery and wasn't the same the rest of the season.

CK - I saw that this morning and thought exactly the same thing. You beat me to the punch...

NCAA robs Zips of hometown edge Soccer game shouldn't have been moved to Chicago By Patrick McManamonBeacon Journal sports columnistPublished on Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008 Did the University of Akron men's soccer team get shafted over the weekend? It sure seems that way. The NCAA sent its fifth seed in the men's tournament on the road, depriving a team that lost once during the season of the home-field edge it had rightly earned. Yes, UA could have won at Northwestern. Zips coach Caleb Porter would not blame the loss on the site. ''No excuses,'' he said Monday, even though UA dominated second-half play with 12 shots compared to Northwestern's two. But the NCAA did rob the Zips of one of its strengths — the home-field, or hometown, edge. The NCAA played weatherman and safety regulator and deemed the Northwestern field safer, even though the teams wound up playing in deplorable conditions. But, hey . . . the NCAA said the field was ''playable,'' never mind the white-cap waves on Lake Michigan in the background and the snow and sleet that fell sideways. The NCAA has rules, and sometimes they are applied in Byzantine ways. For the men's soccer tournament, the NCAA rule states that if a home field is unplayable because of weather, a game will be moved to the visiting team's site. This makes sense. Player safety, after all, is of the highest priority. But it did not make sense as applied to UA in this instance. Lee Jackson Field was not used for the Zips' second-round game last Tuesday because of miserable weather conditions that hampered the most strenuous efforts of the grounds crew to ready the field. Instead, the game was played at St. Vincent-St. Mary the next day, and UA won. Shortly after, the NCAA decreed UA's third-round game the following Sunday against Northwestern should be moved to Northwestern. It discussed this decision four-five days before the game was to be played, and announced it four days before game time. The first Porter heard of it was 30 minutes after the Zips beat Ohio State, with 2,500 in attendance at St. V-M. Never mind that everyone at UA was ready, willing and able to prepare the field, even if it meant working around the clock. And that meant everyone — from the coach to the athletic director. But D'Ann Keller, the NCAA's associate director of championships, said she had been told by two members of the UA administration that the field could not be made playable by Sunday. ''In a perfect world, we would have loved to have Akron host,'' Keller said. Zips folks want to know who made those statements to Keller, because they can't be found. Too, it does not sound difficult to wait until Friday to make a decision. Northwestern was not planning to leave for Akron until Friday afternoon. But the decision was made midweek. If the admirable concern was player safety, how does it add up that the game was moved to the Windy City of Chicago to play on a field located right next to Lake Michigan? Conditions Sunday were miserable. Kids played in shorts in a gale, with sleet and snow and ice that blew sideways, pelting the face so that skin tingled. That was judged ''safe'' — yet four days before the actual game, UA's field was judged ''unsafe.'' No sense putting our heads in the sand on this one. Clearly, someone lobbied the NCAA to move the game, whether out of concern for safety or out of a big-school haughtiness that theirs was the better venue. UA lost an edge, which matters when a team chases a national title. Since 2005, UA has lost just twice in 47 games at Lee Jackson. In those games, the Zips outscored opponents 117-19 and gave up just 0.40 goal per game. In the tournament games Sunday, all eight winners played on their home field. And one of those teams was allowed to move its ''home'' game to another local venue. North Carolina's field turned out to be unplayable, so the game was moved to a suburb of Raleigh and played five hours later than scheduled. Keller said that happened because North Carolina's opponent was already in Chapel Hill, much like Ohio State was in Akron when that game was moved. But Sunday, Wake Forest played in standing water, and in the first round Notre Dame hosted a game in muck and Dartmouth was allowed to shift to a different field. Bottom line: UA earned the right to play at home in the tournament with the way it played during the season. ''That's why we worked as hard as we did in every single game,'' Porter said. Instead of moving a mile away to play — the extreme possibility — the Zips bused for seven hours, and Northwestern gained an advantage. UA Athletic Director Mack Rhoades said he was ''incredibly disappointed in the way the NCAA handled this and the way this decision was made.'' ''I think we deserved the opportunity to respond and do the best we could to get our field ready to play,'' Rhoades said. ''I don't think we were given that opportunity. ''I don't think one or two members of the Men's Soccer Committee should make that decision on their own, as well.'' Said Keller, who insisted it was not a UA vs. NCAA issue: ''I had two different sources at the university saying it would not be ready. I have pictures of the field.'' Rhoades said the Zips were not given the option of finding another venue — such as St. V-M or even the Rubber Bowl. Instead, the NCAA decreed the work could not be done, the game would be moved — per its rules. ''I don't think the NCAA should dictate who wins championships,'' Rhoades said. ''I think student-athletes and coaches should.'' Rhoades will ask the NCAA to reconsider how these decisions are made, but he knows as well as anyone that the shame of the situation is that it ends a stellar season for UA soccer on a very down note. ''A great, great year,'' Rhoades said of the season and the effort put forth by Porter, Steve Zakuani and his teammates. ''That is the best soccer team in the nation in my mind,'' UA basketball coach Keith Dambrot said on WARF. ''We should have a parade for those guys.'' Complaining about the site does have its pitfalls. Nobody kept UA from winning in Northwestern, and nobody could guarantee Northwestern would not win in Akron. But the way things were handled and the way it played out . . . well, it pretty much stunk. If the NCAA really is all that interested in player safety, why not move the season earlier in the year so tournament games aren't affected by wintry conditions? Failing that, maintain the integrity of the season and the seedings by allowing home teams the flexibility of finding an alternate ''home'' site. Teams earn that seeding with their work during the season, when they beat good teams and do not let up against not-so-good teams. If North Carolina can shift its game and it works, then the same works for UA. UA's team gave its best to its school and its community all season long. It's a shame the rule makers running things couldn't do the same.