Zip_ME87

Sorry Yaz. I haven't been on here since Saturday. I was in Xenia on Sunday. I thought the team defense and passing looked better, but still sloppy compared to the play to which we're accustomed. There were numerous scoring opportunities in the Wright State game of which the Zips were unable to take advantage. Scottie's PK in the Cincinnati game was sweet, and he looked comfortable taking it. As far as who played: Meves Balogun Barson Dagilis Stevenson Brenes Ontiveros Caldwell Speas Mattocks Holmes Schmitt Afsarifard Culbertson Navarrete Murrow Sorry, but I don't remember who played in each game. If I remember correctly though, the first 11 I listed got the most minutes. Meves was in goal for all 135 minutes.

From MLSSoccer.com: Versatile Kitchen integral for US Under-20 crew

Tulloch was in street clothes; he must have been injured, but I don't know what the injury is or the extent. He seemed ok walking across the field.

And Bunbury scored two goals to the chants of "traitor" from the Vancouver fans. However, Sporting KC gave up 3 goals, 2 of them in the 92nd and 93rd minutes (within about 90 seconds of each other) to turn a win into a tie. That was a heck of a comeback by Vancouver. The place went bonkers! KC Fail, but a great match to watch as a neutral though I don't disagree that it was a great comeback by Vancouver and a great match to watch. But, I hated seeing Teal's awesome goals neutralized, especially with the Canadians chanting "traitor". Any Teal goals in KC vs the Whitecaps should be accompanied by "U-S-A! U-S-A!" Rude Reception Doesn't Faze Bunbury

And Bunbury scored two goals to the chants of "traitor" from the Vancouver fans. However, Sporting KC gave up 3 goals, 2 of them in the 92nd and 93rd minutes (within about 90 seconds of each other) to turn a win into a tie.

Just wondered if you were considering the UCSB or Northridge tournament at all. Thanks for the information on Chivas. That's too bad because they are fun to watch...from what I've seen, they seem to do fine at getting the ball near and into the box, but just don't seem to have the touch or combination to put it in the net. They then seem to either get frustrated or sloppy (due to pushing too hard to score) and leave themselves vulnerable.

I saw a few times on Fox Soccer Channel tonight while watching the Columbus Crew defeat FC Dallas.

My only disappointment is that the games in SoCal don't line up better with Chivas schedule. September 1 & 3 at Cal St Northridge provides an opportunity to see Chivas on August 27th (but I would miss the Aug 27th game at home vs Cleveland State). I guess I will aim for the UCSB game on October 5th which means Chivas USA v Phila Union on Oct 2nd. Z.I.P. - are you considering either of these time frames?

Are you crazy...you want to give him more money? I know, buy out his contract. I really hate the idea of throwing good money after bad rather that rewarding those who deserve it...basketball, for example (Men's and Women's).

Former Zips Assistant in Final Four (title of print version today)

Congratulations to the Lady Toledo Rockets who were dominating in their WNIT semifinal game last night at Savage Arena. They host the University of Southern California in the WNIT Championship game Saturday, April 2nd at 3 pm ET. (MAC vs PAC-10) Rockets win Semifinal

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! I agree, Z.I.P. ... sloppy reporting, especially given that all one would have to do to confirm it is go here and read (from Coach Porter): Tomorrow, I will send an account of our second match. This was a tough one. We lost 1-0 on a PK but we played a very good Real Madrid Reserve team .

Five Zips? That's good to hear! Who are we talking about and how did you get this info? This is only a guess on my part, but the Cleveland Internationals roster from last summer may be an indicator of which Zips. I believe that Nanchoff and Ponikvar played for the Internationals last summer. Of course, Nanchoff wouldn't be there this year, but I've forgotten the others...I think there were about 5 or 6 then. I thought I read somewhere that the Internationals sold out to the Akron Summit Assault.

Thanks for posting this. I'm sorry to see Geno leave Can't. I hate to admit my age, but I know his father Gene who was a coach at my high school, Tuscarawas Valley, before moving on to Cambridge [and also taught the driver's education class (back when driver's ed was taught in high schools]. I thought it was great when Geno became an assistant in the MAC and then became Can't's HC. Best wishes to Geno. end of trip down memory lane

That was a great watch on Friday, especially Kofi (Right Back) going head-to-head with Steve Zakuani (attacking/left midfield). Zakuani scored his first goal of the season in the 1-1 tie. It was also great to see Chris Korb get his first start for DC United on Saturday (with Perry and 2 others on "international duty"). Unfortunately, Blair Gavin re-injured his hamstring. Game notes (March 25th) - Chivas USA suffered an early loss in the first half, when midfielder Blair Gavin suffered a recurrence of his left hamstring injury and was forced to leave the game. While the Red-and-White were down a man, Rapids midfielder Jamie Smith threaded a ball through the defense to Amarikwa, who dribbled past goalkeeper Zach Thornton and scored into the empty net. - Midfielder Mariano Trujillo came in for Gavin, who will undergo tests in the coming days to determine the severity of his injury. MLS Direct Kick is great

Sure wish I could believe GP1 that KD wouldn't be seriously considered by a successful program like Dayton's. But since I disagree with GP1's opinion of KD, the Dayton possibility does concern me. I'm surprised Jeff Boals name isn't on Dayton's list. Perhaps his name will come up in the MAC.

Thanks Yaznasty...those are great.

I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing. What are the chances that a defending National Champion has to play a ROAD GAME at Akron at the start of the following season? Could you imagine the ticket demand from just the casual college basketball fans in the area? And what an opportunity for us. The last time something like this happened, we had to play #2 Pitt at the Richfield Coliseum in 1987. But, we don't have that option anymore. Playing the National Champions at the JAR next year would be awesome! Not to mention how much I want to see Shaka win this thing. Go Rams!

Good summary by Yaznasty. The Rowdies/students who were there were AWESOME (as always)...thanks. Darren had a PK opportunity in the Michigan game which the UM keeper easily handled. Not sure who's going to replace Nanchoff taking the PK's this year. Of all the new guys, Murrow looked the most "raw". Culbertson, Navarette, and Afsarifard looked to be fitting into the system. I agree that the team looked sloppy, but no moreso than I would have expected given their youth and limited time playing as a team. Also, I overheard a Michigan fan tell one of the Michigan players "not as bad as last time, huh?"

Thanks for posting that.

A friend and I are planning to be in Pontiac, MI this Saturday. Is anyone else planning to be there?

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. Z.I.P....I saw the first SKC goal, and I believe that Ben just didn't clear the ball properly. He kicked it too easy on the ground away from the goal, and it went right to the SKC rookie who kicked it into the goal. As far as Blair Gavin, he seemed to adopt that unkempt hairstyle last season. I don't know how many folks here found it, but Time Warner Cable had a free MLS Direct Kick preview on Saturday. Most of the MLS games were on digital cable channels around 760. I saw much of the Chivas game, as well as the start of the Quakes game and all of the Crew/DC United game. For some reason, the "freeview" cut off part way through some of the games. I had the DVR set for the Quakes, but only got about 10 minutes of the match...that was crap, given that Ampai was subbed into the match in the 81st minute according to the game recap. BTW...Kitchen and Valentin are both with the US U20 team now in Dallas. We won't be seeing them with Chivas and DC United this weekend.

Kitchen Lives up to hype in MLS Debut

Definitely VCU (Shaka), Butler, Richmond, San Diego State

NCAA Tourney. Always preferable to have an opportunity in the dance.