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Le Bron Speas

Fine job, Bobby. With that analysis, it would be insanity to enter the MLS draft without either a graduated degree or a Generation Adidas contract.

Having literally grown up with it, the Akron U moniker does not bother me at all. I rank our recent forwards: 1. Zakuani - speed 2. Nagbe - strength 3. Bunbury - size 4. Mattocks – grace Mattocks is not yet physically strong enough to step into a professional side and score consistently. Recall how future pro Charles Rodriguez of Charlotte manhandled Darren. It would benefit him greatly to stay another year at Akron, to drill more and hit the weights. But all indications are that he will bolt for the pros. I hope Mattocks goes to the MLS so that we can watch him develop. If he signs with a smaller European club, we may never hear from him again.

Agreed. Perhaps Ben Speas needed a change of scenery. I too remain supremely confident in Caleb Porter. Do not misunderstand me. Like any other executive officer, Coach Porter is subject to retrospective scrutiny. It comes with the position. I challenge interested journalists out there: Ask Coach Porter about the circumstances surrounding Speas' departure.

Props to Charlotte 49ers!

We will not count this as our own! UNC won the championship; Akron won nothing. If we are to count it at all, we will count it the result of an egregious personnel blunder by Coach Porter. It is abundantly evident that Ben Speas should have been convinced to stay, no matter what it took. Porter is my first choice to coach any team on any level, but that does not mean he is infallible. We will never know the entire truth, but rumors swirl that the two simply did not like each other. It also has been said that Coach Porter refused to guarantee a starting position to Speas during spring 2011. If Speas truly desires to someday play professionally, as he has publicly professed since early in high school, as a junior he must start. We congratulate local son Ben Speas in winning another championship. Boy, was he stellar throughout the tournament! ESPN announcers note that he is 11-0-4 in NCAA tournament competition. (Is that true?) But it is bittersweet that he has enjoyed this success away from his hometown program, especially considering he was once here.

49ers are brutally physical. This is one tough team.

Yes. Akron will get mentioned several times either way. Good PR. I am willing to bet that some analyst theorizes that Akron would be in the final had Speas not transferred to UNC. It is a natural journalistic angle. Just watch. I am rooting for 49ers. I actually think there are some future pros on that squad.

I agree with all your points, Zach. That being said, UNC looks the best side of all the final four. Tarheels will beat 49ers.

Gorgeous assist!

Papa Dons E. Market Street 44305 Go East, past Goodyear, past Britain Road, on North side of street

Games are 6:00 and 8:30. I am not so sure the Barley House is the right call for a Friday night.

I will go see Alex Morgan.... do anything she wants to do.

I saw him play vs. St. Ed's in the (I think) state quarterfinals. He played F, but I see him at MF on Zips. He will press to start.

Are we certain Souders plays centrally? I realize he plays CB right now. -----------------------------------------AK (How natural is that?)---------------- --------Caldwell ------------------------------------------------- Quinn----------- ----------------Trapp-------------------------------------Serna-------------------- --------------------------------------Gallego---------------------------------------- Souders-----------------------------------------------------------------------Yedlin -------------------------Barson-------------------Brenes--------------------------- ---------------------------------------Meves-----------------------------------------

Or Ben Speas somehow manages to lose 2 NCAA finals in the span of 3 years. Seriously, that matchup is what I have on my bracket, but I have Creighton winning.

Exactly. QUOTE(AkronZip54321 @ Nov 28 2011, 08:03 PM) Souders will step in next to Barson at centerback, and being behind Trapp and Gallego and it front of Meves gives us a good core to start with. Need to find a goalscorer more then a left back IMO. Well, there you have it.

Holmes' lefty roofer vs. OSU stands out.

Wow, that sure was a short struggle.

For Arsenal the match meant nothing to them as they already finished on top of the group. Right. Still hate getting manhandled.

AAAaaaaaaaaahhh!

I agree with you that Ben could have been the difference between sitting home and going to Alabama next weekend. But, I also understand his decision to leave given that he came in with high expectations of starting and mainly being a sub for 2 years. I believe he's very interested in playing in the MLS. It's tough to get noticed by the pros without being a starter. Yeah, but he is currently the first guy off the bench for UNC. Correct? He is essentially in the same role.

You don't have to. I try to talk to as many of our players as I can each season, and Ben was always very friendly to me. He's no longer a Zip, but was for 2 years and had one great header save vs UNC in the 2009 semi-final game to help the Zips get to the final. I don't hold it against him. It does suck to say, "it sucks we lost him," after every NC game I read about. He's had a great year at NC. He could be the difference between us sitting at home this weekend vs going to Alabama Agreed. I tried to pry the real story out of Korb; I could tell he was biting his tongue.

As a Zip Soccer fanatic, I'm surprised I've never thought about my obscure favorite team... After some brief research, I'd have to choose FK Partizan from the Serbian Superleague. Nice choice! They've performed relatively well in Champions League. Rooting for a team like this in CL is akin to rooting for a MAC (American) football team against a BCS team. Haha, yeah... that's a similarity I observed as well. But, about the Champions League.. Anyone going to catch the matches today? This may not be the best thread to have this discussion, but I was just curious. If you move this to separate thread, you will surely get a response.

I completely agree with you! I never miss a Tottenham match... "Ohhh when the spurs.... Go marching in...." ALSO, a huge supporter of Celtic FC, wearing my Hooper shirt today. They've been mediocre at best lately, also the SPL can be lackluster at best. This year has been extremely exciting in the EPL though. Check out this site for the Match of the Day Highlight show of all the major leagues. Anyone go to a specific place to watch EPL matches on the weekend? Also, anyone watching the Champions Leagues today? I'm looking to see how the dram unfolds with Chelsea. I follow Celtic FC a bit as well. I once played locally for Cuyahoga Celtic, founded by two Dublin dudes and one guy from Glasgow. We were as much drinking buddies as a futbol club Success on the pitch was sporadic, but we sure did put away the Guinness afterword. Go Gunners! Down Spurs!