Disrespect of weaker Football nations.

[Rollo]

Not exactly. I remember a bunch of college kids knocking off the so called Russian amatures at Lake Placid that all just happened to be Military Officers, that were paid to practice, and tour playing hockey and beating NHL teams. What's that Semi pro?

It's also 1980... 8 years after 1972.

[Tazio]

It's also 1980... 8 years after 1972.

However Hockey was a different beast

the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22. The United States team, made up of amateur and collegiate players and led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet team, who had won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament since 1954

•1972:
•Canada refuses to send a team, having withdrawn from international hockey to protest the definition of amateur athletes. International hockey is restricted to amateur athletes, but the Canadians argue that the Soviets and other eastern bloc teams are amateur in name only.
•After winning the gold medal, the Soviets play a team of Canadian NHL stars in an exhibition series several months later. Shocked by the excellence of the Soviet players, the Canadians win the series by the margin of a single goal in the final game.
•1976:
•Sweden joins the Canadian boycott, also protesting the use of sham "amateurs' by eastern bloc countries.
•1980:
•The Miracle on Ice becomes one of the defining moments in American sports history. An unheralded Team USA closes the tournament by beating the Soviets 4-3 and Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal.
•1988:
•As the amateur era draws to a close in most international sports, the Olympics are opened to professional hockey players. But the top professionals remain unavailable due to a conflict with the NHL schedule.
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/oly...ictimeline.htm

What they really did was allow athletes to accept commercial endorsements. Pro teams didn't send their players. You need to get your facts straight. Team sports had more involved rules:

Back in 1989, FIBA decided to allow professional basketball players to compete in the Olympic Games, and that decision ended up changing the game of basketball forever.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/top-5-nba-olympic-teams/
I was there I lived it! Nice try though

[Tazio]

The San Diego State women's soccer team beat New Mexico State 2-0 to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 at SDSU




Totally Kicks Ass Dude

[Tazio]

The long awaited NCAA Championship brackets are set. My money is on Stanford but someone out of the ACC could surprise.

2012 Division I Women's Soccer Tournament - NCAA.com

[Tazio]

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's soccer team moved up to No. 4 in the final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. The ranking is now the highest ever achieved by an Aztec women's soccer squad, bettering the previous high of No. 6 accomplished on Oct. 16.

The Aztecs return to action on Saturday as they play host to Cal State Northridge in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. PT start at SDSU Sports Deck.
SDSU Women's Soccer Ranked No. 4 in NSCAA Poll - San Diego State University Official Athletic Site

"The Sports Deck" is a rather unique pitch. Due to the constant expansion of the College, academic as well as athletic (I can hardly recognize it from my days in attendance) It is placed on the top of a large parking structure.

[Tazio]

- SDSU is now 19-1-1, which marks the best win percentage (.929) in the NCAA this season. The 19 wins also tie for the most in program history, matching the 1998 NCAA Tournament squad.

- In the most recent Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), San Diego State leads the Mountain West with an RPI of 2. The only other MW teams in the top 100 are UNLV (71) and New Mexico (77). In the national rankings, the Aztecs moved up two spots to No. 4 in the final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

- The Aztecs carry a season-long 13-game unbeaten streak into their first round NCAA Tournament contest, which is just three games shy of the program's longest in a single season (2009). Even more impressive is SDSU's current unblemished 12-0-0 mark at SDSU Sports Deck. At home, the Aztecs have tallied 10 shutouts and allowed just three goals.

- On the season, Megan Jurado leads SDSU with 14 goals and nine assists for a team-high 37 points. The senior's 14 goals and 37 points each rank second most in school history for a single season. In the NCAA rankings, Jurado is tied for fourth with seven game-winning goals this season. She is also tied for 11th in total points (37), T-14th in total goals (14), T-17th in points-per-game (1.76), T-24 in total assists (nine) and T-30 in goals-per-game (0.67).

- On Monday, Jurado was named a 2012 first-team All-American by CollegeSportsMadness.com. The senior forward is just the second Aztec women's soccer player to garner All-America honors since Catherine McGuire earned similar accolades during the 1998 season.

- The San Diego State defense has allowed just 11 goals in 2012, with just one coming in the second half or in overtime. A big part of that success is the stellar play of goalkeeper Rachel Boaz. The redshirt sophomore has a miniscule goals-against average of 0.49, which ranks sixth in the nation. The Murrieta, Calif., native has also tallied 10 shutouts this season and is just two away from setting the single-season record.

- Boaz sits atop the league's leaderboard due to, in part, the cohesiveness and steady play of the Aztecs' starting backline of Haley Palmer, Kory Spotts, Carli Johnson and Rachael McGlinchy. Johnson has played 1906 of the total 1925 minutes this season. In the last 630 minutes of action, meanwhile, McGlinchy (609), Spotts (603) and Palmer (578) have all logged consistent minutes.

Against the NCAA Field
San Diego State has played against five teams that advanced to this season's NCAA Tournament. In those contests, SDSU posted a record of 3-1-1 with its wins coming at nationally ranked Portland, vs. then-No.5 Pepperdine and Arizona State. The tie occurred at Santa Clara, while the lone loss coming at the hands of current No. 1 Stanford in a game played at a neutral site.

A Win Would...
- ... Give San Diego State its first NCAA Tournament win since 2009.
- ... Even the Aztecs' all-time NCAA Tournament record to 3-3.
- ... Give San Diego State its 20th win of the season, the most in program history.
- ... Extend the Aztecs' winning streak to 12.
- ... Set up a matchup with either No. 22 Pepperdine (14-6) or No. 23/17 California (15-5).

[Tazio]

First round romp:

SAN DIEGO -- The second-seeded and fourth-ranked San Diego State women's soccer team defeated Cal State Northridge, 3-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night at SDSU Sports Deck. The win propels the Aztecs to a 20-1-1 record, while the Matadors complete their season with a mark of 11-5-6.

Round of 32
2012 Division I Women's Soccer Tournament - NCAA.com

[yodasarmpit]

San Marino, huh. Try being a Scotland supporter, now that's painful.