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Detroit City ended up drawing 1-1 and advancing on penalty kicks over the Michigan Bucks. DCFC will play at FC Cincinnati of USL on May 16th in the 2nd round of the US Open Cup

Rafa was subbed out in the 113th minute. Not sure if he'll get an assist, but he had a header off the bar that fell to a teammate who scored to take the lead 1-0 in the 58th min. He was mentioned a bunch on the DCFC twitter account for a few shots on goal and key passes in the attack.
https://twitter.com/DetroitCityFC/status/994386020148961281

Rafael Mentzingen is starting for Detroit City FC against Michigan Bucks in the US Open Cup

https://twitter.com/DetroitCityFC/status/994346314413506560

Match starts at 6:30PM CT, streaming online here: https://www.ussoccer.com/lamar-hunt-us-open-cup/open-cup-tournaments/2018-usoc/2018-us-open-cup-first-round

Quote from: mvandersee on Today at 01:50:48 PM ESPN+ is a completely different subscription service from ESPN3 or any of the ESPN cable channels (linear networks). If you stick with just your TV subscription you will not receive any ESPN+ content (But you will continue to be able to stream content from ESPN's cable channels and ESPN3). If you choose to only get ESPN+ and not have a cable subscription with ESPN included then you will only have access to ESPN+ content and not any of the ESPN channels. So they're trying to get people to pay for both in order to gain access to all of ESPN's (the company, not the channel's) available content If this is true then how do you explain the quote vu72 placed in his post from the "announcement" Quote from: vu72 on Today at 11:11:30 AM I think this line from the announcement indicates that if you get ESPN via a paid tv package that you will still be able to access all the stuff we have had previously,for free.  Who knows? TV Everywhere streaming will continue to provide authenticated access to ESPN's linear networks and ESPN3 for pay TV subscribers.

That's exactly what I tried to explain, I might have made it more complicated and wordy than necessary the first time.


The things that come with the TV subscription (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNNews, ESPN3, ESPNDeportes, SEC Network, LHN, etc) are one package while ESPN+ is a completely different package that is not available through your TV provider. There will be content that was previously a part of ESPN3 that will be moved to ESPN+ when it launches April 12th, but content will not overlap between the two packages.


Hopefully that makes a little more sense, if not here's the press release which includes the TV Everywhere Video vs ESPN+ explanation at the bottom: https://es.pn/2uELiHf

ESPN+ is a completely different subscription service from ESPN3 or any of the ESPN cable channels (linear networks). If you stick with just your TV subscription you will not receive any ESPN+ content (But you will continue to be able to stream content from ESPN's cable channels and ESPN3). If you choose to only get ESPN+ and not have a cable subscription with ESPN included then you will only have access to ESPN+ content and not any of the ESPN channels. So they're trying to get people to pay for both in order to gain access to all of ESPN's (the company, not the channel's) available content

How does this change our ability to view Valpo MBB games live on ESPN3 in season?  I tried reading the announcement and making any sense of it.  To my logic it should remain unchanged.  But for $4.99 subscription you get all sports which means nothing to me at this time.  Anyone know more about these type of programming packages to lend their knowledge on cause and effect?  Will this new subscription service put MBB games behind yet another type of pay wall? Or is it simply added coverage for more $$

This release from the Valley doesn't seem to include any information on MBB moving to ESPN+, so it remains to be seen how they will address that. The Sun Belt recently signed an extension with ESPN which moved all of their ESPN3 content over to ESPN+, while leaving all of their agreements for games on ESPN's regular channels in place, so I would imagine a similar approach will be taken with the MVC.


So far the content for ESPN+ is looking like it will start with:

   
• College sports content that was on ESPN3 previously
• One game per day of both MLB and NHL
• All out of market, non-national TV games for Major League Soccer (MLS) and United Soccer League (USL)
• UEFA Nations League and English Football League matches
• Access to all 30 for 30 films
• Top Rank Boxing events
• Coverage of 20+ PGA Tour events
• Tennis Grand Slam coverage of matches not on regular TV
• International Rugby and Cricket matches

Here's the full press release from when they announced the launch of ESPN+
https://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2018/04/espn-to-launch-april-12-bringing-sports-fans-more-live-sports-exclusive-originals-and-on-demand-library-all-for-4-99-per-month/

Reports seem to be building that Niko Medved will leave Drake to take the HC position at Colorado State
https://twitter.com/EvanDaniels/status/976880257553850370

Evansville hires Walter McCarty, originally from Evansville and has been an assistant with the Boston Celtics

https://twitter.com/UEAthletics/status/976836526146539521

Kyle Zobeck is on the bench as the backup keeper to Maurer for a 2nd straight match as Jesse Gonzalez recovers from an injury
https://twitter.com/FCDallas/status/975462043967991810

Looks like Whitney Young will play Evanston in the semifinals on Fri. 3/16 at 7:15pm on NBC Sports-Chicago

Any movement off of the ball would be greatly appreciated

The Valley on ESPN3 coverage is very similar to what the HL partnership with ESPN3 includes. If you look at the link below, all of the baseball and softball games are listed as being shown on ESPN3 (with the exception of baseball games at DBU, which is only an affiliate member) along with the Track and Field Conference Championships. Since spring events that have already happened have been removed, it is difficult to tell if there was ESPN3 coverage of the MVC Tennis Championships. Within that site there is also a link for the pdf schedule for fall 2016, which shows that there is full coverage of volleyball along with men's and women's soccer.

http://www.mvc-sports.com/multimedia/thevalleyonespn3/#.WRM1HJU2zX4

It really comes down to the end-of-the-season conference tournament for the right to be called the conference champion.  In Tennis, there are few (If any) what we would call dual matches vs. conference opponents.  A quick check of the VU MT 2016-2017 shows a vast majority of non-conference tournaments involving schools from all over.  The spring trip also is all OOC.  Bottom line, VU could be an associate member of any conference and then show up for the conference championships at the end of the season either in the Dakotas (Summit), Detroit (HL) or Tennessee (OVC) or even join the Big Ten (that's pushing it though) or the A-10.

The HL along with most other conferences I know of (Big Ten, MVC, etc.) do play dual matches against conference opponents during the season before the end of season conference championships. They are mixed in with other duals throughout the season so there is not a "conference" and "non-con" season like basketball but they do exist (2/24, 3/25, 3/26, 4/8, 4/9, 4/23 are some of the dates on this year's schedule). This does lead to having both regular season and conference tournament champions.

SVP opened the 11PM CT SportsCenter talking about Oakland and their participation in this tournament. One of the great lines he had went something like "This game is part of the Vegas 16 Tournament, with the 16 representing how many teams were supposed to play in it, but they could only find 8. Instead the 16 has become representative of the number of fans in attendance. Why go see Carrot Top in Vegas when you can watch Oakland-Towson" 

Another 200+ RPI season - that Chicago potential paying off for the MVC!

Not sure how much it's worth, but it got the Arch Madness quarterfinals onto CSN Chicago... (And blacked out on ESPN3 in Valpo/Chicago.)

Well they've had that for years with the MVC TV network that broadcasts games on FSN Midwest, CSN Chicago, and a few other RSN's. In fairness to Loyola they did go 24-13 last year and win the CBI despite having their leading scorer out over 10 games with injuries. I think they can get a competitive program going in the MVC in the next few years. I like Moser's scheduling strategy of playing MAC, HL, and nearby big schools like ND a lot more than some of the other HL and MVC coaches who are either all in on scheduling tons of unwinnable power 5 teams or paying terrible teams to come give them wins. This is also an area where Bryce has excelled during his time at Valpo with getting games against UNM, SLU, RI, and others. It really helps to have meaningful and also winnable games during the non-conf season to help with recruiting, building a winning culture, and building/maintaining a fan base.

In response to your earlier "don't they have to prove they can beat somebody?" question about WSU, they did beat the #8 RPI team by 17 points, which is a far better win than any that Valpo has. When you look at all of the other analytics besides RPI (KenPom 10 vs 31, Non-Con SOS 23 vs 57, Total SOS 120 vs 160) there are typically large gaps between WSU and Valpo, which is why the projected seeds are where they are currently at. It's a lot more than an eye test difference in my opinion.

Missouri St. lost by 13 @ Illinois St. yesterday, MSU is now 4-9 (0-1 MVC)

Lindy's had both teams in the middle of the pack pre-season (ISU 6th of 10 and MSU 7th of 10) DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell from ISU was picked first team all conference. He is a 6'5" 200# senior.

Akoon-Purcell was picked preseason First Team All-MVC, but he plays for Illinois St, not Indiana St. The Sycamores had one guy, Brown, on the honorable mention list. I'm pretty sure he's a senior, but they also have last year's MVC Freshman of the Year (Scott), so it is a mix of veterans and talented young players who are picked to finish middle of the pack in the MVC.

That said, a MVC matchup might be easier and some flexibility for substitution might need to be introduced to minimize travel.   

This upcoming season the MVC is restarting their conference challenge with the MWC (previously held 2009-2012). Unlike other challenges, it is being held over multiple weeks instead of just one week/weekend to better accommodate already scheduled games.


http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketball/news/2014-15/8021/mvc-and-mountain-west-renew-challenge-series/#.VXY74M_BzGe

As someone who has attended both the MVC tournament and HL Tournament (in Valpo) multiple times, I think that they were both fine in the formats they used this past year. It would be a completely unfair comparison to say that having a neutral site tournament in St. Louis is like having a tournament in a city which houses 2 of the 9/10 member schools. With the tournament being in Detroit I think they'll have to tweak the format somewhat, whether by adding another team, eliminating double byes, or moving it to the weekend (I can't imagine too many UWM, UWGB, UIC, or Valpo fans making the trip to Detroit for Fri/Sat and then coming back for a Tuesday night). Messing with any of those features would pretty much eliminate the top seed advantage that has been in the HL for awhile (which I don't think is a bad thing), while also giving a clear home court/city advantage to OU and UDM.

One of the best features of Arch Madness is that it's in a convenient location and weekend timeslot that allows fans (especially families) to make it there and back while only missing school/work on Friday and I don't think they'd get nearly the attendance they currently draw by playing on a Tuesday. I know that the MVC requires each school to purchase a minimum of 225 all session passes with many schools selling more, like Wichita State's roughly 2300 this season. I'm not sure what the requirements for tickets sold per school in a HL tourney would be, but I would have to assume that a Detroit tournament would lose a lot of the attendance that has been at the school-hosted tournament games in the past. There would need to be a solid base of fans, students, and other attendees to not only make the HL look attractive to TV viewers and recruits, but also to try and keep the tournament there past the 5 years they're starting with.

Sorry for rambling, but as a whole I think it's a bad decision for the conference, excluding OU and UDM, but I'm willing to wait and see the results from the first couple of years to really condemn the idea.

Just as a side note here is how the MVC presold ticketing was divided between schools, sponsors, and students this past season: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9nbIqxCcAA0aGT.jpg

If this guy is this good, why hasn't our team won a Horizon tourney title??  Just sayin...

It takes more than a good defensive midfielder to build a great team. While he was at Valpo we beat a couple ranked teams which is more than a lot of the sports programs can say, but honestly the conference tournament is kinda a crapshoot just like most mid-major conferences in most sports.

Also he's playing in the 3rd tier of soccer in the US (roughly an equivalent to AA in baseball) so it's not like he's a star, but still a great guy and representative of VU

Zev starting tonight for the Republic against Vancouver Whitecaps 2


https://twitter.com/SacRepublicFC/status/588514822003642368

Game available on their YouTube live streaming channel at 9:30CT here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1XWNvFsrg0

[Also think of the Big East and how much more money they bring in from TV/NCAA revenue. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison.]

Travel, in today's college athletic scene, is just part of the deal.  Think of Butler traveling to Georgetown, in all sports.  Closer to home, think of Valpo in the Mid-Con, traveling to Utah, Louisiana and Tulsa. It has to be more than travel.  Belmont would be a great fit and the upward move in conferences and potential NCAA pay days will make the difference I would think.

Also think of the Big East and how much more money they bring in from TV/NCAA revenue. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

One of the reasons we got OUT of the Mid-Con was to eliminate a whole bunch of travel. It was a huge deal - we were spending a fortune on plane tickets and kids were missing far too many classes. Belmont would be a great fit...if they were 500 miles north of where they are. I do believe that one day we will look at them, but if the HL is adding just one school at present, Belmont shouldn't be the one. They should be looked at only if they can be paired with another school that sits to the south of the current HL footprint.

Wait a minute.  Are you telling me schools like Butler and Creighton care more about the big pay day then their student athletes and all those missed classes?  Say it isn't so!   

Well in theory that extra income could be used to charter flights to those conference schools that are further away, which should reduce the amount of class time missed per road trip. However, I'm not sure if there's any way of knowing if this money actually gets used like that

I dunno, guys, but how many of you, if offered at least twice your salary to go do what you do elsewhere, would turn it down?

Marshall is already making $1.75 million in base salary with over $750,000 available in bonuses and performance incentives ($2.5 mil possible), so the $3-4 million range that Alabama is discussing isn't that large of a jump because (a) he's got a lot more job security and an established track record at WSU than Bama, (b) WSU would surely get an opportunity to match a salary increase if that's what he's after (which I think he values other things like winning a lot more). He would certainly have to decide between competing for Final Fours and potential National Championships in the next couple of years at WSU or taking on a rebuilding project which many others have taken on but has not seen much progress in the past couple decades. I think a lot of the media seems to ignore that he turned down a similar big money offer at Mizzou last year (a program that has been in a similar state to Alabama's over the last few seasons) along with staying at WSU after having talks with NC State and UCLA in recent years.

Also, here's a recent CBS article that goes pretty in depth about his situation at WSU and how he perceives other jobs: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/feature/25110905/marshalls-plan

I agree with others that have said they don't think Bryce will leave for Depaul. The Chicago recruiting connection certainly has to be intriguing from Depaul's end, but I don't see him leaving this current group of Crusaders for any of the jobs that have opened up.

Saw this on Twitter, full seed listing. Valpo #51
http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2015/3/15/8220261/ncaa-tournament-2015-full-seed-list-dayton

That is, let's say Wichita State loses, which fine, they'll at-large anyway, but to a team that's (say) 53.  In effect, that pushes us down a spot rather than (say) a team at 135 winning it.

Last I checked WSU and UNI were both top 15 for RPI and the next MVC team was Ill St. in the mid 70's, so not likely they could jump Valpo even with the Arch Madness Championship (I know you were talking more about the concept, not only that particular example, just thought I'd clear up one I know)

I think most people agree the ideal schedule for HL teams would consist of a lot of games against solid mid-majors, with one or two guarantee games, and a very good three game tournament (i.e. Nashville). Then you need to win those toss up games. This year was pretty much ideal for Valpo. However, the weakness of teams such as Ball State, Maine, Drake and Pine Bluff really hurt the OOC SOS.

I agree that that formula you listed would be ideal but what about this season's OOC schedule would lead you to believe that "This year was pretty much ideal for Valpo" in comparison to what you listed? IMO the preseason ranked #9 MVC team (Drake), preseason ranked #8 America East team (Maine), #4 preseason ranked SWAC team (Arkansas PB), and preseason ranked dead last team in the MAC (Ball St) cannot be considered "solid mid-majors". They were games against teams who were widely acknowledged as having very little shot at doing much of anything this season. If we had teams like SFA, VCU, UNI, Harvard, Toledo, or Belmont to go along with our games against New Mexico and Murray St then I'd agree, but pairing lower tier mid-major conference teams with 3 non-D1 games doesn't make for an "ideal" scheduling year in my opinion.