Might be--last time I ran into Mike (not in the stadium) was at the New Albany post office as we were oth dropping off mail (no, I don't live in NA, but the post office is rather close to where my wife's folks are buried)... Edit: More research shows that he likely is, though the link is old. https://capitaloh.prestosports.com/sports/msoc/coaches/lapper?view=bio
I swear Bill started a thread about the FIFA World Cup 2022 corruption, but oh well. Sepp is finally having second thoughts about this whole thing. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/08/1135102137/sepp-blatter-qatar-world-cup-mistake-fifa-sarkozy
Sepp is just mad he didn't get paid like Infantino did by the Qataris. If he got what Infantino got, he would be keeping his mouth shut, which is sad.
It's completely true that Sepp didn't want Qatar to win the bid. He wanted the US to hold 2022, because of the money it would bring in. I think that 1994 is still, or was until recently, the highest grossing WC ever and 2022 figured to be the biggest cash bonanza ever conceived by his tiny little heart. In fact, a lot of people believed, then and now, that Sepp was blindsided by the vote. He, like everyone else, could count and everybody knew that Platini and the Euros had promised their votes to Sunil Gulati. Platini looked him in the eye, crossed his heart. But then the President of France leaned on him bigly, since Qatar was offering huge commercial contracts for France in return for Platini's support. Then they promised Platini that they would start a TV network, (BeIN) and pay big money for UEFA and French games, and also promised to buy PSG and turn it into a world power, boosting French football out of the dump. And they also probably directly bribed hell out of him personally. If they didn't, he would have been the only one. Jack Warner - President of CONCACAF, the confederation that was bidding against Qatar - got a reported $2 million, which is chump change compared to the $10 million he pocketed from South Africa. Anyway, Platini changed his vote and got the other UEFA ExCo members to do the same, but apparently, they kept it secret from Blatter. He was as surprised as anybody. The shock on his face when he opened the envelope was unmistakable. The US delegation was stunned as well. Bill Clinton, who was the honorary chairman and was at the announcement, was so angry that, reportedly, he went back to the hotel and threw something at a huge mirror, shattering it into a million pieces. A little while later, Qatar made a huge donation to the Clinton Foundation, and he never said another word about it. Nott even Chuck Blazer threatening to eat Sepp could change the vote.
I totally forgot about the BeIN angle. Of course, in related news, Oliver Tse was absolutely ********ing convinced that BeIN would take Big East contract. No, not the *current* Big East, but the previous one that imploded a few years back. The rest of us? We're still laughing at that "prediction" along with everything else he predicted. How's that televised poker business going, Ollie?
As for the rest of us, we're still laughing at Oliver Tse. What a maroon. He left the "annoying people with asinine opinions" business, moved to Las Vegas and was going to make his fortune as a tournament poker player. Somebody once claimed that over a two year period he won a total of $1100. I'd pay good money to see him sit down at a table with @puttputtfc . He'd be lucky to leave owning the clothes on his back.
Freelance writing probably pays better than that over two years. Maybe not by much. but still better...and you aren't staking any money you already have.
The MAC is no longer sponsoring Men's soccer. Akron is in discussions with an elite conference. Akron plays Western Michigan today at 1 at First Energy, for the MAC championship. https://gozips.com/news/2022/11/11/...rie-on-macs-change-to-mens-soccer-sponsorship OHSAA girls soccer plays at the LDC this weekend.
They could join the Big 10. There is precedence for that--ND in ice hockey and Johns Hopkins in lacrosse. They would be a solid addition and have a good geographic fit.
This is also what I have heard. The Big Ten as a conference may not want the boat anchor that UA is as an institution, even as an associate member. Plus, their men's soccer conference is quite strong as it is. Wouldn't mind the Horizon League, just to make CSU v UA a bigger deal.
Other three true MAC schools with men's soccer are going to the MVC. Chicago State hasn't said anything.
Update from today: St. Ignatius beat New Albany 2-0 in the state final. In D-III, Grandview Heights defeated Ottawa Hills 3-0. (The OHSAA scorebug used the same awful font the team uses.)
Tkey used tkat skitty font?? Tkat suchs for tke OKSAA. And tke kigk sckool hids. So, Grandview Keigkts beat Ottawa Kills. Loohs lihe Bexley is ckallenging Lima Skawnee in the D-II nigktcap.
I wonder how many CHS each team had. Copperplate Gothic was better. Hell, Wingdings might be better. (I kid on the second one, but I'll always associate Copperplate Gothic with the team.)
Big East it is https://gozips.com/news/2022/11/16/big-east-adds-akron-for-mens-soccer Speaking of college soccer, I'm watching the San Diego-Denver game on ESPN+ and started thinking "How bad is the NCAA Tournament gonna get overshadowed by the Christmastime World Cup?". Also, my grad school alma mater (CSU) open their tourney at Pitt tonight,.