GMU on a collision course with Maryland
POSTED November 17, 2008 | 6:45 PM
Thanks to yet another goal from Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe - his eighth in the seven matches (all wins, by the way) and his team-leading ninth of the season -- George Mason (13-6-2) earned its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association title and a first-round home game in the NCAA Tournament. The Patriots will host Penn (11-2-4) on Friday night, with the winner slated to visit another tournament-winning squad, Maryland (18-3-0), next Tuesday.
The Terps beat Virginia (11-8-1), 1-0, in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Sunday. I caught the second half on television -- a half in which the Cavs mounted exactly nothing resembling an attack after falling behind early. Maryland grabbed the title with a wicked first half -- which was glaringly apparent even from the brief highlights. The margin should've been two goals, eh?
In any case, the Cavaliers will host the Fairfield/UConn winner in the second round. Georgetown, not surprisingly, was left out of the field...
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Fred goes back Down Under and other housecleaning
POSTED November 14, 2008 | 9:28 AM
With the winter move to the hardwood, my already sparse posting might happen even more infrequently -- not that I'm happy about it, just sayin'...
Nevertheless:
Former Howard head coach Joseph Okoh convicted.
Fred heads back Down Under on loan.
Zach Wells sliced and diced successfully. When this injury sidelined Wells the season, he told me that the injury was an overuse-kind of thing. Perhaps Jose Carvallo deserves some blame? This is late, but did you know that Jaime Moreno was also sliced and diced, too?
Maryland faces Boston College in tonight's ACC semifinals.
George Mason faces Williams & Mary in tonight's CAA semifinals.
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College soccer roundup
POSTED November 10, 2008 | 4:04 PM
Former Howard men's coach Joseph Okoh's trial in Louisa County, Va., is set to start Nov. 12. Okoh is charged with using the internet to solicit sex from a minor. He was arrested in January, and has been held without bond since. If convicted, Okoh faces 5 to 30 years in prison.
Back on the pitch, George Mason hosts Hofstra tomorrow night at 7 in the first round of the CAA Tournament. The Patriots (10-6-2) have won four straight.
American finished the regular season tied atop the Patriot League standings with Colgate. But due to a 1-0 loss to the Raiders (10-5-3), the Eagles (9-7-2) will have to travel to Hamilton, N.Y., for this weekend's conference tourney. They face Holy Cross in Friday's semifinals.
George Washington (8-6-3) is done after a 2-1 loss to St. Bonaventure, and Georgetown (11-5-3) is squarely on the NCAA bubble after a Big East quarterfinal loss at South Florida.
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The message is clear
POSTED November 7, 2008 | 10:26 PM
When I did my five-part evaluation of D.C. United last week, there was much discussion about the roster -- players who left early, players who nearly came, players who did arrive, players who should've been shown the door earlier, players who came later, players with upside and those who may be overrated -- decisions that all fall under the purview of the front office.
However, I intentionally stayed away from coming to conclusions about team president Kevin Payne and general manager Dave Kasper -- except, of course, for asking Payne directly about Kasper's performance. Even then, I tried to keep it in line with an evaluation of head coach Tom Soehn.
Here's why: We hadn't heard from the team owners, Will Chang and Victor MacFarlane. The loyal few of you who have stuck with the fits and starts of this blog know well what MacFarlane told me exclusively following the Chivas USA debacle Oct. 4, so we knew the owners we're going to take a look at everything about the club, and I felt strongly at the time that this meant more than just Soehn, instead extending to include the front office.
Now we know that my hunch was indeed true, along with the fact that most United observers' overemphasis throughout the season on Soehn's future missed the point almost entirely.
MacFarlane and Chang said their piece Friday afternoon. While nobody got fired, everybody is on notice, Chang and MacFarlane expect to be heavily involved from now on, and another bad season won't be tolerated.
The writing is on the wall for Kasper, who now reports directly to the two newly-termed co-executive chairmen.
But more importantly -- and this will resonate throughout the franchise, and perhaps even Major League Soccer -- D.C. United is no longer Kevin Payne's team.
This paragraph sets out the front office reorganization clearly: "Kevin Payne remains president and is directly responsible for the business operations of D.C. United and as stated above will report directly to us. Kevin will also assist in the oversight of the team operations, provide his advice and be part of the decision-making process on player selection and other aspects of that area of our business. However, the primary responsibility and accountability will be with General Manager Dave Kasper, who will also report directly to us. Tommy remains the coach of the team."
In my post following United's final game of the season, I said the following: "There still doesn't seem to be a fall guy, and considering the depth and breadth of D.C.'s failures, it will be difficult to put this whole campaign to bed without one."
It appears time to turn the light out.
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DCU awards
POSTED October 31, 2008 | 9:21 AM
Because I heard what I needed to hear from Kevin Payne and Dave Kasper earlier in the week, I bailed on D.C. United's awards reception last night -- honestly, no one really expected any kind of firings or moves to be announced, intentionally or otherwise, at that kind of gathering, did they? -- in favor of watching the New England/Chicago playoff game. MISTAKE!!! What a yawner, I could barely keep my eyes open. Yes, there were one or two nervous/exciting moments in the match, but can we please kill off the two-game/total goals thing already? The first round desperately needs to be one game or have away goals. Period.
As for United, here were the awards: Jaime Moreno (Most Valuable Player), Luciano Emilio (Budweiser Golden Boot), Clyde Simms (Defender of the Year), Devon McTavish (U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year), Marcelo Gallardo (Goal of the Year), and Santino Quaranta (Volkswagen Fans’ Choice, Coaches Award). No surprises here.
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