GoSlu

>GoSLU, I am not getting involved in going back and forth >with you negatively on this one as this was originally your >beef with Rich and vice versa. I only did last time because >of your comments about basketball. Question though, since I >do not know, will the soccer team have a home game if they >beat Maryland or any point moving forward? Tonka if SLU beats MD they will make the final four, at that point there are no more home games since the rest of the games are at a site chosen each year by the NCAA. This year they will be played in Columbus OH.

>Is a wonderfully conditioned athlete that would win a foot >race with Ross Varner but loss an arm wrestling contest with >him. I'd rather have Ross as my hero than some >pencil-necked, marathon running, soccer playing goof. Most soccer players including myself could kick Varner's *ss and your's at the same time. I would like to have a 50/50 ball with your scumbag *ss...I'd smoke you. And as far as locking this thread is this not a free board? I was willing to let this thread die until there have been several out of line comments from BRich. GS

>I do not believe the use of vulgarity is needed or helpful >in denigrating the pox on the international community that >is soccer. It's perfectly reasonable expect a higher level >of discourse on the board. Who are we Billikens or >Bearcats? Why don't you crawl back into the hole you came from.

I agree and well said.

I apologize if your intent wasn't what I thought it was but if you are in as good a shape as you imply then you should have the respect for soccer players as some of the best conditioned athletes in the world. When was the last time you saw an overweight professional soccer player...And if they are they aren't starting or are a bench warmer. And if you have never played soccer at any type of competitive level how do you know? I've played both sports and soccer far outweighs bball on all levels. And I'm not taking anything away from Bball players as athletes it's just compared to soccer players they just simply are not on the same level.

Sure...I'd knock you out before you hit the ground.

>that's the hardest I've laughed in years I would bet you go about 300 lbs with high blood pressure and cholestorol...hope you didn't have a heart attack laughing so hard.

>Did somebody say Varner wasn't taking us to the promised >land? Damn it! Anybody want to buy my season tickets?? I >had really thought Ross was going to do just that! I have >lost all optimism now! > >You're right, Ross won't! IMO he is weak, not physical >enough, looks lost - oh wait a minute, he'd be a hell of a >soccer player! > >Give me a break, GoSlu! Steve is right, let the thread die. Basketball players couldn't hold a soccer players jock strap!!! Soccer players are some of the best conditioned athletes in the world and the majority of basketball players couldn't last one game on the soccer field. GS

>GoSlu started it off with a personal attack and it went down >hill from there. I wish MU cared about its soccer program. >Then the motley soccer crew would have an outlet for its >seething oversensitive blather. As it is we're arguing the >merits of high level success at a low interest sport vs high >middle level success at a sport with a high interest level. There was no personal attack just the facts Jack. And since talking about soccer is "seething oversensitive blather" when the basketball team plays somebody worth talking about let me know. Oh wait they will be soon and believe me Varner is not taking SLU to the promised land. Soderberg is a great coach but he is fighting an uphill battle for talent with MU,IL,KS etc. SLU has some VERY tough games coming up and I wish them luck but in my opinion a .500 season would be considered very good. And you call 2 NCAA bids(one of which was via winning the tourney) in how many years "high middle level success"?...I don't think so. And if it wasn't for Larry Hughes and Spoon we wouldn't have even seen that. GS

What a great game. I really don't have anything additional to say but just congratulations to a great young team...they are maturing before our eyes. They beat a very tough Washington team, even though they missed several 1st half opportunities and came out flat in the second half...they still perserved to win yet again in OT. Vedad is improving with each game, Mo Benne is a stud and heir apparant for Gannon, I could go on and on but most of what needed to be said about the game was said by our informed posters. Bills Good Luck against a tough Maryland squad!!! GS P.S. How pathetic is the tourney committee who gave the ACC 3 #1 seeds look now!

Twist your logic anyway you want melonhead but your "comparison" stands as an insult to the entire Billiken soccer team and all its fans. GS

What does caring have to do with it? And now soccer is a sin? You truly are delusional. GS

A rarity for the PD but VERY well said: SLU soccer will excel no matter where it ends up By TOM TIMMERMANN Post-Dispatch 11/10/2003 Changing conferences won't affect the Billikens prominence or success in collegiate soccer. Basketball may be where the money is as St. Louis University considers a move from Conference USA to the Atlantic 10, but soccer is where the success is. Soccer may not pay the bills, but it's the sport that gives SLU its highest profile. The men's soccer team is the only SLU program to win an NCAA title. It is the only program regularly ranked in the top 20 nationally, and is the only sport where fans can talk not just of making the NCAA Tournament, but of winning it. See www.stltoday.com for remainder of article.

Oh this thread is about basketball. D.

> >>So now you even debate whether soccer is a sport? Wow...how >>close do you live Arsenal street...oh wait that's your >>address? Well that explains a few things... > > >The fact that you cannot write a coherent sentance, much >less do any research on your adversary says much about you >as well. There are many defenders of soccer on this board >who would not lose a battle of wits with a balloon animal. >Sadly you are not among them. Perhaps the less subtle >insults I've spouted about soccer are the ones that bother >you because they are the only ones you can comprehend. Have >a nice day. IT'S BASKETBALL SEASON!!!! WOOOOOOWHOOOOOOH! >Soccer is ending. Not taking the time to write a perfect grammatical post and inadvertantly leaving out a word does consitute an indication of someone's intelligence. It seems you have a lot of time on your hands to post meaningless crap...awful lonely are we? And boy that game against Eastern Kentucky was riveting...thankfully Sloan stepped up or they might have lost! I'm a Billiken basketball fan as much as a soccer fan but this team is in a building stage and some games are going to be ugly but in comparison, although 17 of 23 spots on the soccer were held by freshman and sophomore's, the soccer team still won the conference, was ranked in the top 10 and they have a good chance in the tournament. In addition, the future is even brighter. Hmmmmmm...which sport would I be most excited about? I will support Billiken sports no matter what but your emotional stability is in question if you are this psyched up about the basketball season at SLU. If my post shows my intelligence than your infatuation with Billken basketball and the weak sport itself pretty much shows yours.

>I don't think I ever did a simple "soccer sucks" post. I >tried to be a little more clever than that. I also did not >post my musings on every soccer thread. I let a few go here >and there. I am prepared as always to defend my rampant >hate of soccer as a sport and therefor am not spineless as >you alleged earlier. Fortunatly the Billiken soccer season >is ending soon (hopefully with a national championship) >Soon most of us can go on ignoring that sad, not quite as >bouncy, round ball for a few short months till the soccer >season starts again. So now you even debate whether soccer is a sport? Wow...how close do you live Arsenal street...oh wait that's your address? Well that explains a few things...

>Courtside, For all you do this "f"s for you. My apologies >for the gutter language. Yours is the superior intellect. I'm sure glad we have you as the "resident expert" here in the forum on everything and everyone and your such a great representative of Saint Louis University...what an upstanding citizen you are...in case the sarcasm wasn't noted I point it out for you. Then again I'm speaking to a spineless individual. D.

>Please allow me to retort. If you don't like my anti-soccer >posts don't read them. If you think I'm an ass, thats fine >too. The list of those who think I'm an ass is long and >distinguished. You don't like me cluttering up the soccer >posts with lines like "Relax it's not basketball season yet" >once again, to each his own. I don't particularly like >wading through soccer threads to get to the only thing that >matters (to me) which is Billiken hoops. When your responses are imbedded within the threads it is difficult to ignore them vs. just ignoring an entire thread. And maybe I don't particularly like to wade through Billken hoops threads to get to the soccer threads...but fortunately this is a free forum and not the "BillikenRich" forum and the members are free to post about any SLU news and events. And if your proud of the fact you are an a** with a "long and distinguished" list of people who think that and the only thing that matters in your life is Billiken hoops you have much bigger problems than I thought. Keep your comments regarding soccer to yourself. D.

SluSignGuy I apologize and have edited my thread accordingly. D.

First let me say I am an alumni of SLU and a fan of all SLU sports. I found this board about 6 months ago and really enjoy many of the threads here and in particular being able to discuss SLU soccer with those alumni and/or fans that enjoy following and watching the sport. And I have kept my mouth shut regarding BillikenRich's comments on soccer but enough is enough. If you can't understand how successful SLU's program has been and the local and global popularity of soccer that is not our problem. And the biggest complaint I have is that fact that you have taken it upon yourself to knock any soccer threads as you feel like it. I see nowhere on this website that says discussions have to be restricted to SLU basketball. This is not the www.billikenbasketballboard.com . In fact it's not even your website! You are a visitor here like the rest of us. Thus, if you don't like the soccer threads THAN DON'T READ THEM AND DON'T POST IN THEM YOU A**! D.

I agree Courtside. The seedings and the fact that Louisville lost did not go in SLU's favor. Would much rather be playing Louisville who, although played SLU well(I was at the game), should not have beat us at home. But if SLU is going to advance in the NCAA tournament these are the games they have to win.

I was at the game and the billikens played HORRIBLE last night. They should have easily handled Memphis but instead let them stay in the game and were forced to win in overtime. Comments: John D. just never quits working. He is always hustling to the ball and making plays and his serves on dead balls are lethal...great pace, away from the keeper and on target. David Peplinski had a great game. Hustled his *ss off and actually created some offense(unlike Vedad and Will who I will address later). Andy Pusateri. This guy is just solid. Metcalfe(#14) their quickest and most dangerous player(and who ate Gannon up twice) was a marked man in the second half once Andy was on him. His goal was on a mistake by Hutton coming off his line when he should have stayed in the goal, other than that he was a non-factor after Andy was assigned to him. It was great to see Wick back. He started really slow in the first 20 mins of his shift making several bad serves but then really turned it on, shutting them down defensively and making some great serves across field. Brian Grazier had a good game and so did Ryan Wileman and Kyle Hopson. All three worked very hard. Vedad...all I can say is this kid has REALLY disappointed me. His individual skills are incredible but he NEVER comes to the ball or hustles(unless it's in a meaningless situation like running after the goalie). He never works for a ball, hardly ever looks to pass, takes on too many guys and is simply not a team player. Will is not as bad but he is VERY soft and only sporadically will take on a guy. Those 2 up top were ineffective and really killed their transition as a team. When those guys were in there the ball was constantly sent back to the defense because no one was moving or open. The midfield play was horrible when those guys were in there. After Hopson and Peplinski were inserted the team came alive. Then with 20 mins left in the game(after Vedad and Will sat out part of the first half and the first half of the second half) Don inserted them back in and the same sh*t happened. Other guys then decided to start playing with some intensity(why they didn't do that all game is beyond me) and put some pressure on but didn't score. In OT Vedad and John were pulled and Hopson and Peplinski went back in and they played the 6 best mins of the game...hustling to every ball...making plays...Hopson dug the ball out and crossed it and John D. was there to hammer it home(and Memphis had nothing to complain about on the goal, their guy ran into the keeper). Slu did NOT dominate at all. Memphis had lots of chances and played the typical counter game on the road and actually going into OT had as many shots as the Bills did(7) for the game. SLU could have easily lost this game and unless Vedad and Will want to actually work hard this team is going nowhere in the post-season. And based on Vedad's and Will's play last night I would bench them for the Bradley game. Other guys deserve the mins much more than they do. At some point in time they will learn or they won't play. This has great potential and there are lots of guys working very hard but as a team they are not playing well at all. Somehow, someway these guys have to step up or it will be wait for next year. D.

I saw the Louisville game and the Marquette game and agree with much of what has been discussed here. The struggles a young team go through are finally appearing. I was surprised by their strong start but this bunch was on the road with really no pressure expectations. They will come together though and be a force for the next years to come. Some random thoughts: Will John:Obviously his small size and great speed dictate a certain type of game but he has to challenge some 50/50 balls and play harder. The competition is much tougher now and he needs to grow some thicker skin and get his nose dirty. Vedad:Disappointed. He has tremendous talent but he is a lazy player that is constantly running away from the ball(typical Euro player) and he takes on too many players. He must play harder and more as a team player. I have faith Donigan will mold him into a great player as long as Vedad has the desire but he has a long way to go. He also needs to control that temper, which he did against Marquette although he was benched for half the game. Pusateri:Nails on the back flank. Gannon:Absolutely solid in the backfield, SLU really missed him against Louisville and that also forced Pusateri to play sweeper which he cannot do as effectively as Gannon. Wickert:He didn't play well against Louisville but I didn't think he should have been benched against Marquette although that's based on one game. He was solid last year but must have regressed this year. Hope he gets a chance at least to redeem himself. I've also heard rumors some of the guys don't like him. Hutton: Outside of the weak second goal against Lousiville he is a guy you can ride in tough times. John D.: Needs to play midfield. He doesn't distribute well on the flanks except for dead ball serves which he is deadly on. Against Marquette the subs played hard but our team speed dropped dramatically. Overall SLU has to stop trying to make the perfect pass and make the game simple again especially with so many frosh starting. But I am really excited about this group and it will be a joy to watch them mature. By the way I was on the end by the handball and the reason the ref let it go was because it was totally inadverant. There needs to be intent and there was none. Also refs and linesman were horrible in both games...but what's new! Dave