Well, that was fun. Ohio State won the Big Ten men's soccer tournament title with a last-minute, 1-0 win over Penn State in Sunday's final. The Buckeyes get an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, while Penn State, Indiana, Northwestern and potentially Michigan State can also stake claims to spots in the field of 48 (which will be announced at 5:30pm today on ESPNEWS).

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Once again, I live in state where no switching of the clocks is required, so - voila! - we woke up this morning in Mountain Time. This means that the Big Ten Network match from Friday night - which I called with Kyndra de St. Aubin - airs today at 10am Mountain, Noon Eastern.

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What a great trip I had to Chicago this weekend. I got to see lots of old friends (like Steve Pastorino, Nico and Coz), see some team handball, work a terrific soccer game with people I like and eat food I can't get here in the desert. Oh, and I met Willie the Northwestern Wildcat (above).

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I just thought the sun coming through the beams at Sky Harbor this morning looked cool. Don't think this photo does it justice, but, whatever.

So, I just flew in from Indianapolis, and boy are my arms tired. Got to see some old friends and called Michigan State's 1-0, double-overtime victory over Indiana on the Big Ten Network Sunday afternoon.

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At last — multitasking is going out of style. At least that is the conclusion of a University of Michigan professor who studied the subject and concluded that multitasking was counter-productive in math class.
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A cloudy morning in Phoenix is a godsend, don't ever let anyone tell you differently. Some things I have noticed or thought about in the last few hours include:

• TNT's Chip Caray is just getting crushed for his performance in last night's one game playoff between the Tigers and Twins.

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Nah, it doesn't have to be that bad. Here are some things to start the week:

• The top division of the United Soccer Leagues is a mess. Carolina, Minnesota and Miami are apparently out of the loop's good graces, having not renewed their contractual obligations to the league. Those teams are no longer linked on USL's list of teams and all of those teams' players were told on Friday that they're free agents (Carolina doesn't necessarily agree with that characterization).

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My man Richard Broad and I are reunited Sunday afternoon for the start of another season broadcasting college soccer on the Big Ten Network. We'll be calling the men's game between the last two conference champs, Ohio State (4-3-0) and Michigan State (4-1-1), which starts at 2:30pm ET but won't air until 4pm ET (so you can bag all those plans you had to watch the NFL).

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Thanks to Brian Mason at the University of Wisconsin for asking me to answer a few questions about the upcoming men's soccer season in the Big Ten Conference.

My man Richard Broad and I are scheduled to work five or six games together for the Big Ten Network, including a game in Madison in mid-October.

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Adebayor has had his work permit in Manchester approved as his £25 million pound move edges ever closer. I am still left biting my nails until this goes through because £25 million is such a great amount of money that we could acquire some good good players with. The deal was due to be finished today but now should be concluded by tomorrow, hopefully so we don't have to wait until Man City's pre-season tour to South Africa is over.

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I've lost track of the days. I'm in a Diet Coke-induced haze that's exacerbated by my unwillingness to venture outside when it's 107 degrees*. My daughter sometimes tells me, "You drink too much Diet Coke." I tell my daughter, "Yes, but Daddy doesn't drink alcohol, Daddy doesn't smoke, Daddy doesn't do drugs, Daddy doesn't hit women, and Daddy doesn't have a 20-year-old Dave & Busters waitress for a mistress who will put four bullets in him while he's snoozing on the sofa, either, so back off.

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I'm finally back from a long (and cold) weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, where Michigan State beat Indiana 1-0 Sunday to win the Big 10 Men's Soccer Tournament championship and claim the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament (the pairings will be announced today between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. Click to continue reading...

Greetings from Madison, Wisconsin, where Indiana and Michigan State meet tomorrow (in what should be 32 degree weather) for the Big 10 Men's Soccer Tournament championship (1pm ET, Big Ten Network, check your local listings). Indiana beat Michigan, 1-0 in the second semifinal yesterday. They'll meet top-seeded Michigan State, who ousted Northwestern, also 1-0, in the [. Click to continue reading...

The Big Ten men's soccer tournament kicked off this morning. Chris Doran and I will call the semifinals and finals this weekend on the Big Ten Network (semis Friday at Noon and 2:30 pm ET, final Sunday at 1pm ET). Penn State leads Northwestern 1-0 late in the first quarterfinal. I'd call that an upset if [. Click to continue reading...

It'll be just like old times tonight at 6:30pm ET when Chris Doran and I call the Indiana/Northwestern men's soccer game on the Big Ten Network (check your local listings). The match won't be for the regular-season conference title (Michigan State wrapped that up last weekend), but it should still be a terrific game. Click to continue reading...

Richard Broad and I will have the call of the Wisconsin/Michigan men's soccer match Saturday at 4:30pm ET on the Big Ten Network. Check your local listings. Click to continue reading...

More on this later (when I get time), but I just thought you might enjoy the high-tech broadcast facilities we were using for Sunday's Big Ten Network broadcast of the Indiana/Akron men's soccer match. The platform and scaffolding weren't much, but the crew was great and the folks at IU couldn't have been nicer. Click to continue reading...

Well, I certainly didn't see this coming. I'll be back on the Big Ten Network this fall, calling men's college soccer. My man Richard Broad and I will have the season opener on August 31 when Akron plays at Indiana, as well as a few other matches. As they say, check your local listings. Click to continue reading...

Perhaps fittingly, my season on the Major Indoor Soccer League Game of the Week comes to a close (I believe) where it began: Baltimore, where I'll call the Blast/Philadelphia KiXX game tomorrow night on Fox Soccer Channel (8 pm ET, check your local listings). The Blast look like a playoff lock (though, to be fair, they [. Click to continue reading...

It's been fun. Nothing endures, and this is no exception. Over the last seven months or so, it has become obvious that my priorities and goals and those of the club are incongruent. So this is best for all concerned. I've had the great fortune to work with some wonderful people and to call some great games. Click to continue reading...

I'm going to be on Fox Soccer Channel tonight - a lot. First up at 8pm ET is the tape-delayed broadcast of the Major Indoor Soccer League game between the Chicago Storm and New Jersey Ironmen (I won't spoil the result for you). Then at 11pm ET, it's live MISL action between the Storm and [...] Click to continue reading...

Happy end-of-the-work-week to you all. I must say it is definitely a TGIF kind of Friday for this guy here, its been a hectic week of work in my normal job and the MLS thankfully has kept me on my toes enough to say the least as well. Let's get down to it though for the [...] Click to continue reading...

Hello Tuesday to ya. Many of you going back to work after the long weekend. The Hooligan didn't rest however as Monday was a fairly busy day for me here (and I did have to go into the office and work). A few things to get into this morning. Chivas USA keeper Brad Guzan, hot off a [...] Click to continue reading...

The New York/New Jersey area was dreary, overcast and wet, but the Major Indoor Soccer League game Friday night in Newark was a bright spot. The New Jersey Ironmen used a goal by Kevin Sloan with just :54 left to beat a determined Baltimore Blast squad, 13-12. It was everything indoor soccer is supposed to [. Click to continue reading...

It's back to New Jersey for me this week, as my man Sal Rosamilia and I will be calling the New Jersey Ironmen-Baltimore Blast MISL game on Fox Soccer Channel on Friday night at 8pm ET. Even though three of their eight wins so far have come against woeful Orlando, New Jersey is off to a [...] Click to continue reading...

I'm indebted to the Wave for putting highlights of last Friday night's game on YouTube. Cheers, guys. Click to continue reading...

They'll be in Milwaukee Friday night, as will I, for the first Major Indoor Soccer League Game of the week for calendar 2008. The Milwaukee Wave hosts the Philadelphia KiXX in a game you can see live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8pm ET. Check your local listings. Matt Engel and I will have the [...] Click to continue reading...

Sometimes you have to leave the country to look for work when you are a member of Real Salt Lake. Alecko Eskandarian is having to do just that, mainly because he will more than likely have trouble staying at Real next season and he probably wants yet another change of scenery. Esky has popped up [.. Click to continue reading...

I get the honor of calling the first home game in the history of the New Jersey Ironmen of the Major Indoor Soccer League Saturday night on Sportsnet New York. Sal Rosamila and I will broadcast this historic game (which will feature an appearance by and a halftime interview with, I'm told Pele [. Click to continue reading...

Li'l Ol' Me ended up calling Major League Soccer's Goal of the Year. How about that? Click to continue reading...

So, the first MISL Game of the Week broadcast was....interesting, to say the least. Click to continue reading...

Sorry I didn't mention this last week, but I didn't want to toot my own horn too loudly and I wasn't 100% sure it was going to happen even after it was announced. Anyway, the league asked me for a headshot to use (I presumed) with the announcement, but they didn't use it, so I'm putting [...] Click to continue reading...