I remember when a particularly stylish Shatil Khoury goal at Holmgren eight or nine years ago was clipped and posted by NPU on what was then called Twitter, and it went viral and got a quarter of a million views. It was quite an ego rush to think that that many people had heard me call a goal (although the number probably reflected some people giving it multiple views; it was a pretty impressive strike by Khoury).

Then two days later I called a women's volleyball match that was watched online by about two dozen people, and that brought me back down to Earth.

Big Saturday in the 'CAC.

Trinity- Midd. I'm sure the parties in Hartford have been sweet this year but even that won't be enough to overcome the Panthers this weekend. 2-0 Midd

Amherst- Colby. This might be the one to finally break Serpone. Mules are due for a breakthrough and Amherst is as bad as their record suggests. Let's just hope Amherst EMT are ready to respond to any antics from the Mammoths. 1-0 Colby.

Williams- Wes. A battle in the little 3. This will be the start of a classic backslide for the EPHS as they enter the most challenging part of their schedule. 8 on Wes is the best player in the conference. With the goals starting to flow; Wes are ready to go on a run. 1-0 Wes.

Bates- Tufts. Bates is awful. Next. 3-0 Natty Champs.

Hamilton- Bowdoin. Tough one to call. Hamilton can't score and has looked horrific in the back at times. However, I don't rate Bowdoin whatsoever and you would assume Hamilton will play its best game with their backs against the wall. Look for the Conts to scrap a result up in the tundra this weekend. 1-0 Hamilton.

Colby- Bowdoin. That being said, Bowdoin is too well coached to not bounce back on Sunday. 2-1 Bowdoin.

Amherst- Bates. The bottom of the Cac is a rock fight. Don't be suprised if this game devolves into something that doesn't resemble soccer at all. They're both so bad I can't pick. 2-2 draw.

Been there, done that.

A fair number of North Park College alumni were in a tizzy when our alma mater swapped out "College" for "University" thirty years ago. I was not one of them, because there were a couple of very valid reasons that led to the name change, and also because they kept it simple and didn't add an extra geographic qualifier, as some people on the Board of Trustees whom I felt were misguided were speculating that the new name would be "North Park University Chicago" (with a preposition such as "of" or "in" possibly preceding "Chicago" as well).

(I understand that North Central is in a different position, since there already is a school called North Central University, and, even  worse, it's a fellow D3 school. At least, that's my guess as to why the new name includes the word "Naperville".)

Thirty years ago, in an attempt to help some of my fellow NPC alums get used to our school becoming NPU, I told them to hang on to their North Park College sweatshirts and paraphernalia, and to buy up whatever was left of it in the bookstore, because it might be worth some good money someday. Well, I've never checked eBay to see if that's come to pass, but every now and then I'll see a current student walk around campus in a North Park College t-shirt or sweatshirt, and I smile at the thought of a legacy student stealing mom's or dad's old "College" clothing while packing to head off to NPU.

Hope the LL squads enjoy their bye week. We get to pay attention to some real bangers this weekend. The D3 folks just love Montclair against Christopher Newport. Montclair lost to friggin Merchant Marine. LOL. CNU by 30. Mediocre Salisbury is still in the ranks and their loss even pulled Rowan into the Top 25. Such a heavyweight. Salisbury gets to show off their prowess against Castleton State this week. They'll move up to Top 15 after that gorgeous win. Same for Rowan. After they beat the Kean beast this week, they'll keep moving up the ranks. Until they play a half decent team. Not sure why stubbornness isn't recognized in the polls. 'Oh, we had Salisbury at 12. They can't drop out so we look bad!' LL gets nothing as usual. Hail to the NJAC! 3 teams in the Top 25. Total joke.

Happy Friday!

Pat, if she can put up with your rendition of The Final Countdown, hold onto her. 

Saw this Substack on Wittenberg and it relates to D3

https://stevedittmore.substack.com/p/is-wittenberg-university-a-cautionary

Hey Bleed & Co and Andrew, where are your picks.
You're messing with my Friday ritual.

If 9-1 Spartans got a bid,it would be outmatched against a low seed. I'd rather they play in one of the opendorse bowls in Canton.

Wesleyan is the clear 1 to me although it's not by a lot, I think they just have the least question marks. I would go Tufts 2 Trinity 3 and Amherst 4.

Quote from: Kira & Jaxon's Dad on Today at 01:18:33 PMHeidelberg is currently ranked higher than NCC in the NPI (34 and 35).

https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/53089

You mean NCUN, right?