Medina Invitational Soccer Tournament – Blue Fish Crisis to play the MIST

Blue Fish Crisis is a US based acoustic rock band composed of John Faust, Chris Jackson, Ashley Shelton, and Chris Allen. They formed in 2003 in Medina, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. BFC has a reputation as an entertaining live band, and are particularly well-known for improvising friendly banter during their shows.

Their music reflects influences from Jimmy Hendrix, Santana, John Mellencamp, Sugar Hill Gang, Sublime, 311, Snoop dog, David Grey, Sister Hazel, INXS, Bare Naked Ladies, and Jimmy Buffett. The band enjoys covering songs that are made famous by an artist that has placed a unique twist on a popular tune. A live experience with BFC will introduce you to a mixer of classic rock, modern rock, rap grass, hip hop, reggae and original writings.

Join BFC for an “Acoustic Rock Experience” in Huffman Park Saturday June 12 from 7:15 – 9:00 pm.

Click here for the flyer and sample video

This news was posted to Medina Invitational Soccer Tournament.

Soccer Tournaments, Soccer Tournament Software, Soccer Tournaments 2010

What would Armando do?

Ask any parent, coach or league organizer about why youth soccer is good for the kids and the community and they will invariably cite that it builds character, a strong sense of personal responsibility, leadership and teamwork. Then go to a game and what you most likely will see is a pack of babies, arguing over a referee’s call. And that’s just from the parent’s touchline.

Before you start hating on me, I’ve been there as well. I’d like to think that most of the time I exhibited behavior I would like my two kids to display. But I can remember some times where I displayed less than perfect sportsmanship. Whatever you think going forward, let’s at least be honest with ourselves.

When the kids are young, it is easy to say things like, “The score doesn’t matter” and “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you played the game.” And as they get older, this gets lost somewhere along the line and the only things that really matters are who won and who scored. If a team lost, it wasn’t that they were outplayed, but that the referee blew the call.

And sometimes it happens. It probably happens a lot, but the human element is all part of the game. Soccer, baseball, football, etc are all human sports participated in by human beings for human beings. When they step on the field, each player, referee, umpire accepts that each may make a mistake. If we require perfect, we would all be playing video games instead where the referees/umpires have pixel-perfect vision.

Some fans say, “It’s just a game” whereas others will say “It’s a business” as if being a business somehow makes the element of human error inexcusable. They argue on that we need instant replay to overrule the referee/umpire to set the record straight and tell what really happened. The player was robbed and that isn’t fair, they argue.

Life isn’t fair. Sometimes people make mistakes. Sometimes, those mistakes cost people money or recognition. But isn’t teaching kids how to deal with frustration with grace and dignity part of why we all promote sport?

Instant reply can tell whether someone called the play correctly, but it can’t see right or wrong. It can’t judge sportsmanship or grace under pressure. It can’t recall an infantile temper-tantrum over a play that was called incorrectly. It can’t establish character and human dignity. It can only prove somebody right and someone else wrong.

Instead of lamenting the lack of instant reply in soccer, Armando Galarraga gave every coach and every parent a greater tool than the high-speed camera ever could to judge whether a play was good or bad. Quite simply ask, “what would Armando do?”

And then do that.

Get ready to pig out on BBQ and soccer this weekend

The adidas Warrior Soccer Classic soccer tournament, one of the largest youth soccer tournaments in the United States, will see a new food vendor in 2010.

Oink-A-Doodle-Moo, a bar-b-que restaurant in Englewood is testing the waters so to speak, and will be at Thomas Cloud Park in Huber Heights, near Dayton, Ohio, for the event on Memorial Day Weekend.

“This is another avenue to get exposure,” said Mark Peebles, Oink-A-Doodle-Moo’s president and founder. “We like being part of the community and supporting youth sports teams.”

This is the second youth soccer tournament that Oink-A-Doodle-Moo will be at tempting tourney attendees with items from is savory menu. And if Peebles has his way, the passion emanating from Carol Maas, Director of the adidas Warrior Soccer Classic, and Gerard McLean of TourneyCentral will lead to other forays at youth soccer tournaments in the Dayton, Ohio area.

“I didn’t grow up playing soccer, but when I see Gerard and Carol and see their passion, it gets you excited to be associated with something like this,” Peebles said.

Plus, being at an event where participants and attendees come from literally all over the USA is beneficial for business.

“We are gaining exposure in the local area, but because we have a franchise plan set up we are able to possibly recruit people from other cities as well,” Peebles said.

Oink-A-Doodle-Moo conservatively estimates it will sell in excess of 200 pounds of meat, and go through a dozen or more gallons of sauce.

Photo at the Strawberry Invitational

Today’s photo was taken by G Chandler during the game between the STAR 92/93 (0) vs. Skyhawks 92 (7) Sat at 6:30PM on field PITZ31

See all thirteen photos of this game. Click here.

Cool soccer tournament photos of the day

All of these were taken at the 2010 Club X Xenia Tornado Memorial on Saturday, May 1. Check out the scores and other photos as they are uploaded. The Club X Tornado is also on Twitter.

Cool soccer tournament photo of the day

I was a little torn over which photo was the coolest, so I posted all three. They were taken at the MidAmerica Cup College Showcase going on in Peoria, IL this weekend and they were taken by Todd Taylor. If you want to buy some, visit here. I think he will be posting up more from the other games, so check them out as well.