Congratulations Men's Soccer

As the first post of the week, I would be positively remiss not to talk about the University of Maryland men's soccer team, which won the national championship for the second time in four seasons. Graham Zusi scored both of the team's goals in their 1-0 defeats of St. John's and the University of North Carolina in the semifinal and national championship game, respectively. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the College Cup.

I know a lot of you watched the game because it was on ESPN2, but I didn't get a chance to (I was at the Ravens-Steelers game). Because of that, I can't provide any analysis of the matter, but if you want to read all about it, go to http://www.blogger.com/www.umterps.com. On the first page, it also provides a link so that you can send messages to congratulate the team.

Congratulations men. You made University of Maryland students proud.

Edit: Just to add on, head coach Sasho Cirovski called this team one of the best in Maryland history last week (when they beat Creighton). The Terps were one of the best teams in the nation and deserved this title. Congrats to them. -Tyler

Things You Should Know

In place of Looking Back, since I never can seem to get that done on Mondays. Out o Here's what you need to remember from last weekend, which was chock-full of sports. 

1. The Big East is really good at basketball. Oh, let's see. You have Connecticut at number 2, Pittsburgh at number 3, Notre Dame at number 7, Louisville at number 11, Syracuse at number 16, Villanova at number 17, Georgetown at number 20 and Marquette at number 25 in the latest AP Rankings.  That means, if you're keeping score at home, that the Big East has 8 teams that are better than the Pac-10's third best. Good Lord. 

2. Texas has every right to be terribly upset about what happened with the BCS. Why, you ask? Out of the three important games between the three important Big 12 teams (Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech), Texas had the closest loss (by 6 at Texas Tech). Texas also played through a stretch of playing four top 11 teams in a row. I'm not sure any other team in the country could have done that and been as successful as the Longhorns. And, oh, by the way, they beat Oklahoma. 

3. But ... You can't make an argument that Texas should definitely be in over Oklahoma. Oklahoma had by far the most convincing win of the three games. It is many people's opinions, as well, that teams should be rewarded for what they do out of conference. Oklahoma played Orange Bowl-bound Cincinnati and top 25 TCU - two opponents far superior to any that Texas had in their non-conference schedule - and beat them both convincingly. Both teams have star power, and both teams have a devoted fan base. Someone had to be left out. (But not if you had a playoff!)

4. The football team and basketball team may have had a terrible weekend, but two other Maryland sports deserve their recognition. First of all, congratulations to the field hockey team for their national championship, their third in four years. I know absolutely nothing about the field hockey team, so it would be disrespectful of me to just list stuff that you can find online yourself if you're really interested in them. They do deserve all the credit in the world, though. Second, congratulations goes to the men's soccer team for getting past the cursed third round and into the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. They beat number Cal 2-1, and will host Creighton on Saturday. Be there. 

5. NFL division races! Take your pick:

Jets or Patriots or Dolphins or Bills?

Steelers or Ravens?

Vikings or Bears or Packers?

Panthers or Buccaneers or Falcons?

It's exciting times to be an AFC East, AFC North, NFC North or NFC South fan. 

(Photo Credits: AP)

Props Go To ...

I realize I haven't updated this since Monday, which is inexcusably large amount of time. I had a really busy week. So, to summarize what I haven't talked about all week, instead of giving news, I'm giving props.

Props go to the Maryland women's field hockey team, who got to the NCAA Final Four on Friday. Sophomore Katie O'Donnell put in the game-winning goal in the second overtime period. Maryland will play on Sunday against Wake Forest, who beat Syracuse in OT to get to the finals themselves.

Props go to Obi Egekeze. He missed his first five field goals of the season and everyone was calling for his head. Since then, he has made 12 of 14, including two game-winners. 

Props go to the entire Maryland guy's soccer team, who won the ACC championship. The NCAA tournament will start next week, and the Terps will be one of the favorites to win.

Props go to Dave Neal. Yea, Dave Neal. Without Dave Neal, Maryland doesn't win the game against a feisty Vermont team. Neal hit two huge 3-pointers in the last couple minutes of regulation. He also played the entire overtime as Maryland's center and did a nice job on the boards.

Props to go Greivis Vasquez. As a friend of mine pointed out, the coaching staff must absolutely hate this guy. He does a number of astonishingly bone-headed and arrogant plays. He takes shots he shouldn't. However, if you don't know that Vasquez is twice as good as anyone else Maryland puts on the floor, you don't know basketball. He's not the best three point shooter on the team, but I guarantee you he is the only one who wanted to shoot that final shot. He is the leader of their team, and he already saved their season. 

Props go to Vermont. They're not a big-time program, but Vermont played incredible against Maryland. This is their second overtime loss; they're two plays from being 3-0 with quality wins against George Mason and Maryland, along with a 30-point defeat of Yale. They have some really quality players, including Marqus Blakely and Mike Tromboli, who had 23 and 17 points, respectively. Blakely blew by Landon Milbourne the entire game, and Tromboli was throwing in threes from all over the court. 

Props go to UMD fans. I've been disappointed all year by the fact there have been student section tickets remaining on game day for the home football games. No more. I wanted to get a guest ticket yesterday, and they were sold out. I'm disappointed it's only happened the one time this year, but Byrd should be rocking tonight. 

Ok, time to watch the Wake-BC game and then you-know-what tonight ... GO TERPS

(Photo Credits: AP)

Looking Back

With so many sports going on at once, how can you keep track of them all? You don't have to, but I will. Every Monday I will look back and hit briefly upon the 5 story lines that stuck out from the previous weekend.

1. It stunk to be a University of Maryland fan this weekend. After being annihilated against an inferior opponent, all Maryland players had to say for themselves was pretty much exactly what they had to say after losing to Middle Tennessee State, along the liens of: "Oops. We weren't ready to play. Trust us, we're still really good, though." 

Combine that with men's soccer giving up 3 goals in 1:23, completing a collapse to Clemson in what coach Sasho Cirovski called one of the most embarrassing moments of his career, and the school's athletics really did us proud.

At least field hockey won.

2. That being said, it might be even worse to be a Cubs fan. Your team absolutely destroys for 162 games this season. You're playing the worst team to make the playoffs this year. 

And then you get outscored 20-6 and get swept.

I mean, I suppose they're used to it. But still, don't you feel for them a little bit? Just a little?

3. Meanwhile, the Phillies continue to be the most overlooked team in baseball after take the series 3-1 against the Brewers. They will have home field advantage in their next series against the Dodgers, and they have to be considered the favorites to win, even after what LA did to the Cubs. I understand Manny is elevating his team's hitting to a whole new level, but Manny doesn't pitch, and the Dodgers won't have enough firepower to overcome the Phillies bats.

4. Hockey begins! The 2008-09 NHL season is officially underway with a couple games in the Czech Republic and Sweden. With the Capitals last year becoming relevant in the NHL, there has been a renewed interest in the sport around the D.C. area. Of course, having the best player in the game certainly helps matters. Listen Wednesday for a hockey preview on the broadcast.

5. Do upsets even exist any more in the NFL? SI.com's Don Banks examines the question in this article. I recommend the read. If you don't have time, a quick look at the standings will tell you all you need to know.

Big Weekend

On a weekend in college park that is officially signaling the arrival of autumn - it's supposed to rain all three days - you couldn't ask for too much more from the sporting community to entertain you as you're stuck indoors. Aforementioned playoff races are heating up in baseball, both in the AL Central and NL East/Wild Card, so look for that all weekend long.

If you're in College Park tonight, suck it up and get to Ludwig Field. The game between Number 1 Wake Forest and Number 2 Maryland Terrapins starts at 8 tonight. I know a few friends and I are getting there at 6:30 and are still concerned we might not get prime seating. Tyler will be in the press box for this one; look for his blog later tonight about it.

Saturday marks Maryland's first marquee matchup of the year: a dreaded trip to Death Valley to take on Clemson. Heather Dinich, who I had the pleasure of meeting last year for a pre-game broadcast about Terrapins football, is the full-time ACC football blogger for ESPN.com. She is predicting a Maryland upset. Let's hope. Kickoff is scheduled for noon. Around the rest of the country, you have three prime time match-ups of ranked teams playing each other. All four of Maryland's other ACC Atlantic opponents have non-conference games. 

Outside of the big game of the day in Washington at Dallas, Sunday looks pretty dull by comparison to how it has been the past few weeks. When SI.com's most watchable games of the weekend features a Gus Frerotte vs. Kerry Collins showdown at number 3, you know it's time to start looking forward to MNF.

And what a game it will be. But more on that later. I will be doing some live game commentary during the Clemson game tomorrow, so if you have any questions or anything of the sort during the game, leave a comment. Have a good weekend guys.