CCIW

[Jim Matson]

I thought we'd see a tighter match than 2-0.  I think North Park's season-long bout of inconsistency reappeared, perhaps?  I saw both teams this season, and I thought both had some strengths - maybe Oshkosh a bot stronger, but not overly so. 

It has been a good season for the Vikes.  They keep building on their tradition, and that certainly can help with recruiting.

[pad3fan]

Greg, in respect to you and the other NPU fans here, I wanted to wait until after the weekend games to respond to your last post about the NPU /Wheaton broadcast. It was my desire to allow you guys to enjoy the success of your team and hopefully enjoy the NCAA's. Congratulations on your run this year.

That being said, with the season over for both teams now....

I have no recollection of the broadcasters saying anything about the Vikings as a team. They did mention the fans in passing at one point, saying that a Wheaton player did not want to have to throw in around the NPU fans -- but if you didn't hear the cheering in the background, you'd never know that the Vikings enjoyed such a huge following at Joe Bean Stadium that night. Their commentary about Sehten Hills was not complimentary about him other than in a backhanded fashion; i.e., Dan Pavlak had him completely marked and had turned him into a non-factor. I do remember them calling Grahn's first goal a "laser shot," and (as I said earlier) they did call him "dangerous" at one point. But that's pretty slim pickings if that's all that you can point out in the entire two-hour broadcast that was complimentary of Wheaton's opponent.

Greg, I respect that you have no recollection of the Viking fans but in listening during the "heat of the battle" it may have slipped past you. There were at least three mentions during the contest. And your comment about if you didn't hear the Viking fans cheering, you wouldn't have known there was such a large following is not true. The beginning of the broadcast started out with the large number of NPU fans and that NPU even had more students present than Wheaton.

As for the Hills comment, Hills didn't have a good game that evening. I happen to think he is a very nice player, can score some goals and can be dangerous, but he wasn't a factor in that game. I suggest that it was an accurate statement and to give Pavlak credit for that non-factor would seem appropriate given the season Hills had.

Please know that while I mentioned a few examples on my last post, they were not the only ones. I could continue, as could you, to go back and forth on a line by line account, yet I don't know what purpose it would serve either of us or the programs. You wanted to hear more about your team, that I get. Yet your statements are just not true when you say that the broadcast didn't even let a listener know there was another team present. I feel it is important for those readers out there that were not part of the events and the broadcast that evening, to understand your account of the broadcast and to be given a balance to that view.

Looking at this thread, it seems to me that you suggest that the Wheaton crew was just not being honest in the broadcast. If it wasn't your intent to rattle the cage of the Wheaton fans,suggesting that the crew wasn't being honest and it wasn't honest "reporting", does rattle my cage!

As Wheaton does provide alot of broadcasts, has them open for anyone to listen to and watch for free  in almost every case, it would be my hope that all the soccer fans out there could appreciate and be thankful for the access to these services rather than feel the need to "rip them."

[Gregory Sager]

I thought we'd see a tighter match than 2-0.  I think North Park's season-long bout of inconsistency reappeared, perhaps?

I don't really think it was inconsistency. Greg Domanico made a tackle in the box -- it's questionable whether or not the UWO player had a good enough angle or enough of a step on Domanico to get off a decent shot, but that's 20-20 hindsight -- and the Vikings paid for it by getting scored upon on a penalty kick. And the goal off the corner kick a couple of minutes later was just a great play by UWO. Those were just two tough-situation set pieces, not really a case of NPU being up-and-down in the game itself (although the Vikings have played better over the course of 90 minutes than they did on Saturday night; albeit UWO had something to do with that).

I simply give UWO credit. The Titans are a very good team, and they played better than did the Vikings. I never had the sense that the Vikings were shooting themselves in the foot the way that they did in the first Wheaton match, though.

Greg, in respect to you and the other NPU fans here, I wanted to wait until after the weekend games to respond to your last post about the NPU /Wheaton broadcast. It was my desire to allow you guys to enjoy the success of your team and hopefully enjoy the NCAA's. Congratulations on your run this year.

That being said, with the season over for both teams now....

I have no recollection of the broadcasters saying anything about the Vikings as a team. They did mention the fans in passing at one point, saying that a Wheaton player did not want to have to throw in around the NPU fans -- but if you didn't hear the cheering in the background, you'd never know that the Vikings enjoyed such a huge following at Joe Bean Stadium that night. Their commentary about Sehten Hills was not complimentary about him other than in a backhanded fashion; i.e., Dan Pavlak had him completely marked and had turned him into a non-factor. I do remember them calling Grahn's first goal a "laser shot," and (as I said earlier) they did call him "dangerous" at one point. But that's pretty slim pickings if that's all that you can point out in the entire two-hour broadcast that was complimentary of Wheaton's opponent.

Greg, I respect that you have no recollection of the Viking fans but in listening during the "heat of the battle" it may have slipped past you. There were at least three mentions during the contest. And your comment about if you didn't hear the Viking fans cheering, you wouldn't have known there was such a large following is not true. The beginning of the broadcast started out with the large number of NPU fans and that NPU even had more students present than Wheaton.

As for the Hills comment, Hills didn't have a good game that evening. I happen to think he is a very nice player, can score some goals and can be dangerous, but he wasn't a factor in that game. I suggest that it was an accurate statement and to give Pavlak credit for that non-factor would seem appropriate given the season Hills had.

Please know that while I mentioned a few examples on my last post, they were not the only ones. I could continue, as could you, to go back and forth on a line by line account, yet I don't know what purpose it would serve either of us or the programs. You wanted to hear more about your team, that I get. Yet your statements are just not true when you say that the broadcast didn't even let a listener know there was another team present. I feel it is important for those readers out there that were not part of the events and the broadcast that evening, to understand your account of the broadcast and to be given a balance to that view.

Looking at this thread, it seems to me that you suggest that the Wheaton crew was just not being honest in the broadcast. If it wasn't your intent to rattle the cage of the Wheaton fans,suggesting that the crew wasn't being honest and it wasn't honest "reporting", does rattle my cage!

As Wheaton does provide alot of broadcasts, has them open for anyone to listen to and watch for free  in almost every case, it would be my hope that all the soccer fans out there could appreciate and be thankful for the access to these services rather than feel the need to "rip them."

I did not hear the opening minutes of the broadcast, so if the Wheaton broadcasters mentioned the size of the NPU crowd, then kudos to them. That and the throw-in comment makes two mentions, not three. And I did not say that they were inaccurate when they cited Pavlak's excellent marking of Hills; I said that they did not give any context at all to the statement by giving Hills credit for being a great player, which is true.

Look, I do appreciate the fact that Wheaton broadcasts its games for free on the Internet, just as I appreciate it whenever any school does so. It's a great service for fans, not just the fans of that particular team ... and as someone who is involved with D3 sports webcasting himself, I think it's great when people who do not follow my team click on the link and watch the games I call. But just because a service is free does not make it immune to criticism. The fact of the matter is that the Wheaton guys just did not do a good job in the CCIW tourney championship game, and they did neglect mentioning the NPU team to the degree that it adversely impacted their coverage. Sorry that you take such umbrage at that, but it's nevertheless true.

The UWO broadcasters did a much better job than did the Wheaton guys, incidentally, in terms of describing the play of both teams and being even-handed with their compliments and criticisms this past weekend. Where they were lacking, though, was their pre-game prep. They obviously didn't check with anyone from NPU before either the match vs. Hope or the match vs. UWO, because they continually referred to Filip Lindmark as "Peter Gauss." Now, if you look at the online roster for North Park you'd figure that the player wearing #21 is Pyotr Gwozdz and that Lindmark is #20, so it's easy to understand how they made that mistake when they saw #21 on the field. But that's why, if you're going to be working behind a microphone, you ask a coach or a trainer before a game how to pronounce the names of players; the UWO guys were obviously winging it with the pronunciation of #21's presumed name (you can't tell me that you'd know how to pronounce Pyotr Gwozdz's name without having to ask first ), and they didn't pronounce Sehten Hills' first name correctly, either.

It's important for P.A. announcers and for broadcasters to check with the staff of an opposing team to make sure that: a) the roster as printed is correct; and b) any possibly dicey pronunciation problems with regard to player names are cleared up.

[thePietist]

Lots of commentary on the commentators here.  I can't say that I have much experience listening or watching games online but did so for the NP-Wheaton match and I appreciate the fact that Wheaton provides this service.  Though I'm certainly no neutral party, I agree with Greg's assessment.  Case in point: as a listener (I couldn't get the video the whole time) I couldn't even tell when NP scored.  The WETN guys didn't announce it for quite some time after the fact; they simply got quieter and markedly less excited (which was my best indication that something good had happened for the Vikings).  I understand that it was a Wheaton broadcast.  Be biased--that's fine.  But at the very least report the game and acknowledge the opposition. 

On another note, anyone get in on the D3sports.com Pick'em Contest?  I entered my picks before everything got going but apparently they didn't go though because my bracket is blank and I'm not scoring any points.  As best I can tell, I should have 38 points and be tied for 8th.  Anyone else have this problem?

[DRC]

Hey Sager - For one so adamant about completing your advance research and getting the facts & names correct during your broadcasts, I recommend that you set a good example and correct the error in your message posted on 11/15 at 2:12 PM.  Unfortunately, you misidentified the NPU player who was whistled for the foul in the box.  If you must ID the player by name (which is really unnecessary), take your own advice and get the facts straight.  And please don't blame your mistake on what you might have heard during the UWO broadcast; you shouldn't try to be a sideline reporter from > 100 miles away.   

[Gregory Sager]

I don't agree that it's unnecessary to identify the player in question. And I don't see anything wrong with trying to analyze a game seen via video, as long as you make it clear that that's what you're doing. And the UWO announcers did identify Greg as the NPU player who committed the foul in question. (The player's number was obscured during the play.)

Nevertheless, since Greg was not the one who committed the foul and I incorrectly attributed it to him, I apologize to him.

[Gregory Sager]

Great news for the NPU soccer team, announced on the air of the North Park basketball broadcast last night during my halftime interview with John Born. Kris Grahn, reigning CCIW Player of the Year, has elected to return to NPU to finish out his career. He is graduating early in May, but he has decided to return in the fall to start the MBA program at NPU, so he'll play his senior season as a grad student. Great to hear if you're a Vikings fan!

[Gotberg]

Great news for the NPU soccer team, announced on the air of the North Park basketball broadcast last night during my halftime interview with John Born. Kris Grahn, reigning CCIW Player of the Year, has elected to return to NPU to finish out his career. He is graduating early in May, but he has decided to return in the fall to start the MBA program at NPU, so he'll play his senior season as a grad student. Great to hear if you're a Vikings fan!

Thanks for the update.  I hope the other new Swedish players return as well.

[augie77]

Is there reason to think they won't?

As the father of a Wheaton player, the most fun we had all year was the two North Park games.  I just wish the second game had turned out differently.

[Gotberg]

Is there reason to think they won't?

As the father of a Wheaton player, the most fun we had all year was the two North Park games.  I just wish the second game had turned out differently.

Living abroad isn't for everyone - or perhaps they just wanted a 1 year experience. 

Just possibilities.

[Gregory Sager]

Is there reason to think they won't?

As the father of a Wheaton player, the most fun we had all year was the two North Park games.  I just wish the second game had turned out differently.

Living abroad isn't for everyone - or perhaps they just wanted a 1 year experience. 

Just possibilities.

John Born also said in the interview that in the locker room after the loss to UW-Oshkosh in the second round of the D3 tourney, one of the key Swedes for NPU, freshman forward Filip Lindmark said, "We can't be satisfied. Next year we'll go farther." That leads me to believe that he, at least, is coming back. I haven't heard anything about any other member of the team who still has eligibility not coming back.

[matblake]

Wheaton coach back for Uganda:
http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2011/6/23/MSOC_0623111806.aspx

[augie77]

The Wheaton men's soccer team is leaving today for a 13 day trip to Kenya where they will play top Kenyan teams, build soccer fields as a service project, and lead soccer camps for many of Nairobi's poorest youth.  More information will be contained on a blog to be found on Wheaton's athletic website at www.wheaton.edu

[Gregory Sager]

The CCIW preseason poll is out, and there's a dead heat for first place. Both 2010 tournament champion North Park and 2010 regular-season champion Wheaton received 45 points and four first-place votes in the poll.

Circle Saturday, October 8 on your calendar. That's the date that the next iteration of the rivalry will take place, as NPU and Wheaton will mix it up at Joe Bean Stadium that evening.

[augie77]

There were rumors last year about some of the Swedish-born North Park players possibly transferring out.  For the sake of competitiveness, I hope this isn't the case.  Can you provide an update?

Wheaton's men's team will be scrimmaging at Northwestern this Friday evening at 7:00.  It will be an interesting test for this young Wheaton team that graduated just one regular starter from last season.  The Thunder are winding down their trip to Kenya, and will land at O'Hare on Wednesday, with official training to start on Thursday.  Then on to Evanston for the scrimmage.

The Wheaton trip to Kenya is reported in a blog on the Wheaton athletic website.