Z.I.P.

Waaaaay too early to make plans. However, no one else has mentioned this -- the UCSB game is now scheduled for Wednesday, rather than Friday. That means it will probably not be televised. All FSC's games last year (and year be4) were Friday nite games. That's sad. Interesting to see Cal Poly on schedule. Maybe in 2012 "we" could do a Central Coast tour with games @Poly and UCSB. Oh, okay, it might be time for the Gauchos to head to Akron. Can you guys supply tortillas for Big Mike and the Locos. (assuming that they will throw them despite the UA clean sheet!) BTW -- Zip_ME87 -- Chivas is now at their lowest point in team history. Their game on Sat vs TFC is the first home game in years to not be televised by Fox Sports West. Pre-empted by World Poker Tour! That's pretty bad.

I think I just found out how this trip came about! Was trying to find out what a "DSG" was and came across this description of the Generation Adidas trip to Espana. Guess which two club's reserve squads they played at Soccer City? The MLS group must be pretty good -- they scored two more goals than the Zips! But they had Bunbury.

Ha, ha, ha. I love this thread! You know what? Woody had to punch that kid from Clemson in the gut to get handed his papers. What will it take for JT? Moammar Qadaffi wishes he had Tosu's PR firm.

And don't ya love his mullet, eh?

You know -- this story says the score vs Real reserves was 1-2. The previous story says we lost 0-1 on a penalty kick. I presume someone didn't do their homework for the second story, as they also say the first match was vs "Rayo Vallencia", a non-existent club (sic...Rayo Vallecano). They could at least spell Valencia properly, couldn't they? No oranges for you!

You can't have it both ways. How is it disrespectful to emulate an official UA marketing program by referring to AU? Seriously, what would you consider a respectful way to refer in casual conversation to "The University Of Akron" in an abbreviated manner that everyone you're talking to will understand? I've tried using "UA" and get mostly blank looks. I've tried using "U Akron" and get mostly puzzled looks. Everyone gets "Akron U" and knows exactly what you mean. Here we go again! Frankly I love this "controversy".

Ummmmmmm...I don't think the MAC West has anywhere to go but up. It's been about as low as you can go. Hopefully the bottom-feeders will jump up, into the top200. Can we hope that much?

I don't mind the first part (Go Gunners!), but the second part of your post is just TOO true! However, if you could get the idea to Caleb, he could short-circuit the screw-ups.

Doubleheader?

We gotta bring Shaka back home to Hawaii! This IS where he was born isn't it? Shaka brah!!

Go 'spos! This is our year!!

I can't find the thread for our women's recruiting class, but on Top Drawer at least three of our recruits, Lexi Green and Megan Brascia of Las Vegas and Janese Atkinson of Cincinnati are in their Top-20 regional rankings. The Vegas ladies receive 4 stars and are #9/10 in the Rockie Mountain Region. I also happen to see a LOT of change from the pre-signing day rankings -- a local girl signed by my Hawaii Rainbow Wahine went from top-5 to unranked upon signing!! They must be taking lessons from the American football recruiting services.

Doesn't it seem kinda strange that Top Drawer waited till now for this "Signing-Day Evaluation"? I could swear they published something about Akron's class previously. In any case, I don't know why Andy Chiu was left out -- he was listed in their Top-100 just prior to the original "signing day".

Thanks for reading my post.

This is surprising, and disappointing. "Injuries were a problem for Nanchoff in college, and they’ve continued, as he’s still recovering from a knock picked up prior to the MLS combine. According to reports, he could miss the first couple months of the season." Get back at it Junior. We're waiting to see you succeed North of the border!

I just don't like this a bit. For one thing I don't like the way Gaffney just drops it in the middle of a long commentary, without any mention of the background -- like whose decision is that "departure" Tom? This is almost like "tattle-tale journalism". But besides that I don't like the prospects IF the team loses both Dakotah AND Nik. That would be a HUGE hole to fill -- and would require Gamechanger to play 30 minutes + on a consistent basis. That's more than enough pressure to put on his young body. And, it seems to make us a less versatile team in the post. Euton has inside-outside skills that are hard to come by in the MAC. But, on the other hand, perhaps he was never going to be the player Billy Gillespie saw after all. I do have a lot of respect for Keith's ability to judge potential and bring young players along (compare it to his predecessor, who's players almost never improved during their careers). I just hope he also realizes how this constant revolving door handicaps his team at the start of each year.

Varsity Letters? Thanks -- I never heard of it before. And probably won't again.

Isn't Wake still looking for a coach? I would think Shaka would be better fitted for that job than the pressure cooker of Knoxville. And he could be neighbors with the Great GP-1. Hmmmmmm

Was Zip_Me87 the only other boarder to see the Chivas game? While Zemanski did score his first MLS goal -- on a terrible attempt at an offsides trap by the KC defense that backfired -- he was also blamed in part for the first goal of the game. While I did not see it clearly, I think Ben either A) failed to clear a through ball he should have taken, or perhaps passed the ball back to his keeper which was intercepted by the SKC rookie who put it easily in the net. Valentin (who was repeatedly called "Valentine" by the announcer, made some good passes, and also made some errors that the announcers called out and could have cost his team. Also, while I missed a lot of this contest, Blair Gavin was subbed on in the second half, and it looked like he has not had a haircut since his injury last July. Not that there's anything wrong with that -- it was just a bit startling to see his shoulder-length locks after his always being closely shorn in the past. Interesting contrast between the two LA teams at Home (Depot Center): Chivas played in dry conditions before under 10k, while the Galaxy last night drew about 20k in a constant downpour -- by the second half it was like being in a wading pool. The ball just would not roll, especially near the New England goal, which benefitted the road team in the 1-1 draw.

Well, as usual, DiGger (not to confuse him with the blowhard of the same name on ESPN) has come up with the crux of the question. The problem not mentioned -- and the reason why I hate the NCAA tournament is that it is set up to advantage the Enormous State Universities (and their rich private brothers) at the expense of the so-called mid-majors. Yes, of course there are always the Butlers, VCUs and George Masons (though look at what happened to THEM at the hands of THE Enormous State University yesterday) which serve the interests of the bullies -- who can then say "look, the little guy has just as much chance to triumph as the Big Guy" (just as having one Dennis Kucinich in Congress benefits the ideological interests of the corporate-controlled state). This is the same argument that we have in American football with the question of whether UA benefits from being in the same division (Bowl Subdivision) as the schools that get all the attention (frankly, playing one game as a 15 seed is equivalent to being the underdog in the International/Motor City/Papa Johns's Pizza -- you choose, Bowl to Indiana or Northwestern). Well, if you are interested in standing in their reflected sunlight and thinking the world is looking at you, then the answer is "Yes", we're better off there. But, if you think we're better off competing on a more level playing field, be it the Football Championship Subdivision or the NIT, and having a serious chance to compete and advance in the tournament, then that is the better place to be. I personally have no interest in being part of "Big Time College Athletics", because that is an institution that makes a farce of REAL college athletics and amateurism in general. And I happen to like this thread. no matter how it is.

Star date 18/3/11. Part Dos of Caleb's Jornal de Madrid. Great stuff here from Coach. He just needs to work on his Castillian. It's Mis Amigos. And what, no post-game critique of Athletic Club's road failure @Getafe? Did you get to shake hands with Llorente, at least?

Gotta agree with DocZ. My word is "transition". I was quite honestly not surprised by the team's start, having predicted them to finish fourth in the East in the preseason. But, I was also not surprised by their strong finish. The new players took a while to gel, but once that happened they "evolved" into a top-100 team nationally. That, hopefully, is where they will start 2011-2012, but depending on Nik's future, and the evolution of the youngsters, this "transition" could have the team playing in the 2012 tourney as something like a 13 or even 12 seed. That could put them on the bubble for an at-large berth -- not that we'll need that. Thanks Keith for another year of excitement.

Skip, that IS a humorous story, however I can't help feeling a bit of irony at your response. Cowlumbus State athletics after all is Soooooooo much bigger and more popular than little Akron's attempt at competing in the Big Dance. Try thinking of it like the sport of football or basketball compared to oh say, soccer. Or does that put the shoe on the other foot?

Zarek was called up to the US U-20 national team. Looking at the Chivas roster (especially the addition of Alejandro Moreno on top), you can see that they could be the most improved team in the West this year. Worst to first? Well, frankly, I'm taking San Jose to win the conference this year. Here's the preview heading into the opener vs Sporting Club.

Is Darlington healthy/going to play tonite vs Colo.? In any case, I look for a blowout. Timbers are very shorthanded (footed). Second game -- televised on West Coast/Hawaii, Sporting KC playing the US Goats @Chivas. I forgot over basketball season -- did CDCUSA pick up another Akron player? I guess yesterday's loss to those damn Irish affected my memory.