After the near-miss against ranked Florida this past week, UCF continued its winning ways with a weekend sweep of Siena.

********

UCF beat Siena 8-3 on Friday night.

All nine batters got at least one hit. SS Darnell Sweeney led the way, going 3-for-5. DH Chris Taladay was 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI. Starting pitcher Owen Dew spotted them 3 runs in the first inning, but hung tough the rest of his 5 IP to pick up the win. Brennan Dobbins got an old-fashioned save, going 4 IP, striking out 5 and giving up just 2 hits.

********

In the comeback special of the series, UCF beat Siena 6-5 in 12 innings on Saturday night.

Down a run in the bottom of the ninth, 3B Austin Johnston and Chris Taladay (playing C that day) hit back-to-back doubles to get back even. Then Darnell Sweeney, who went 2-for-5, scored from second on a single in the bottom of the 12th to put the game in the books. 1B Jonathan Griffin hit a home run.

Chase Bradford and Joe Rogers combined for 6 2/3 IP scoreless relief, striking out 7 between them.

********

UCF completed the sweep with a hard-fought 10-8 win over Siena this afternoon.

UCF scored the first 4 runs, but Siena scored 4 in the 4th inning. UCF answered back in the bottom of the 4th, and kept answering back, eventually going ahead for good.

C Beau Taylor went 3-for-5 with a home run. CF Ronnie Richardson was 2-for-5 with 4 RBI. Bryan Brown got the win, and Matt Manning got the old-fashioned save.

********

UCF hosts Duquesne on Tuesday at 4pm, then North Florida on Wednesday at 6:30pm, before opening a three-game series with Central Michigan on Friday.

I tweeted this last night while I was at the second night of the Pro Soccer Classic at Disney: #Orlando needs MLS #soccer not #MLB

I honestly believe that is the case.

A few months ago, I posted about Armando Gutierrez and his attempt to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando. But thinking more deeply on the idea, I’ve come to the conclusion that MLB in Orlando just will not work.

The reason: Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay relies on Orlando to help get more attendance for the Rays. Orlando would need to rely on Tampa Bay even more. The problem is, that just isn’t possible.

If we stole the Rays, who have made no secret of their desire for a new stadium, away from Tampa Bay, it would undoubtedly alienate the market. Back in 1991, they boycotted Blockbuster Video when CEO and then-Marlins owner H. Wayne Huizenga vetoed the already-agreed-upon move of the San Francisco Giants to St. Petersburg.

Don’t think for one moment they won’t act in anger against the Rays and Orlando if the Rays moved here.

And if we moved a different team, like the Oakland Athletics, to Orlando, we still would not have the support of Tampa Bay. Only then, the Rays will lose the necessary support of Orlando, and both teams would suffer economically.

We need to support the Rays in Tampa Bay if we want baseball in Orlando. The only scenario where I see MLB baseball becoming viable in Orlando is if the Rays move out-of-state.

But as foolhardy as MLB may seem in the current conditions, there is another interesting possibility: Major League Soccer.

I have already expressed my opinions and ideas to Mr. Gutierrez, but I wanted to share them here as well. First, quite simply, is cost.

An expansion slot in Major League Soccer–which is currently available for as early as 2012–costs $40 million. That’s far and away less than the cost to get the Rays out of their lease at Tropicana Field. And there are a couple MLS teams that are currently in bad stadium situations.

In addition, a stadium tailor-made for soccer, such as Toyota Park in Chicago, The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, or even Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver, costs one-third to one-half how much an MLB-class stadium would cost.

In fact, it may even cost less than the $175 million they have earmarked to (someday) remodel the Citrus Bowl. Toyota Park, a standalone stadium with a capacity of 27,000, only cost $100 million to build in 2006. In Chicago. Dick’s (capacity 18,000) cost $131 million in 2007, but that included the 24-field soccer practice complex built around it. I can’t imagine a similar facility here in Orlando would cost much more, especially considering our real estate market these days.

The market is better suited for soccer than baseball. Orlando can support putting 25,000 people at a soccer match 15-20 times a year a lot better than 35,000 at a baseball game 81+ times a year.

In addition, a soccer-specific stadium will bring far greater economic benefit than an MLB stadium. Especially with the changes at the Citrus Bowl. As you recall, the Citrus Bowl was cut out of the U.S. bid for the 2018/2022 World Cups. This, despite our successes hosting the 1994 World Cup.

We need to face facts: The Citrus Bowl sucks. It is way too old, and the prospects for the overhaul originally planned in 2007 are growing dimmer. And now that they are laying artificial turf, our chances of ever hosting world-class soccer again will be extinguished.

At best, an MLB-class stadium can host a team and maybe the World Baseball Classic every four years–assuming we aren’t looked over in favor of the Marlins’ new ballpark or any of the other baseball shrines erected or remodeled in the last 20 years.

A soccer-specific stadium will not only host 15-20 team games, but a litany of other matches and tournaments: The men’s and women’s national soccer teams in both friendly and World Cup qualifying matches, expositions featuring international teams, continental tournaments, you name it.

And with Orlando being a premier foreign tourist destination already, it would become instantly attractive to the big leagues of Europe: the Premier League in England, La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, 1.Bundesliga in Germany, and many more.

A soccer-specific stadium can also host a lot more than soccer. A soccer pitch can also accommodate American football. It would never be a replacement for the Citrus Bowl itself, but it just might be able to steal away the Florida Tuskers, who would be better suited for the intimate nature of a soccer-specific stadium.

It could also attract the annual FHSAA state high school football championships. On top of that, the growing (in America, anyway, already popular worldwide) sport of rugby would be put in exhibition at a soccer stadium.

Finally, unlike a baseball team, it would not make it economically prohibitive to also drop an MLS team in Tampa Bay. And any new branch of the War on I-4 is a good thing for both of us.

I think we have an interesting opportunity here, if we are willing to take advantage of it.

The UCF men’s basketball team underwent a furious comeback at Marshall last night. A last-second three by Isaac Sosa tied the game, 79-79, at the end of regulation. From there, it got long and ugly.

The first overtime went 8-8.

The second overtime went 16-16.

In the third overtime, we finally ran out of gas. Marshal won, 121-115 in triple-overtime. It was the third 3OT game in UCF men’s history.

In the battle to stay alive, six Knights players fouled out: Rompza, Tyler, Young, Clanton, Gaynor and Diakite. Taylor Young finished with 23 points, and Keith Clanton and Isaac Sosa finished with 20 each.

The regular season finale will be played Tuesday night, March 2, against East Carolina. It will be the Senior Night celebration. Fortunately for the team in the coming seasons, we only have one Senior to say farewell to: Drew Speraw.

********

Meanwhile, back in Orlando, the last-second heroics went the way of UCF’s women’s basketball team. After holding the game scoreless for nearly 3 minutes, Chelsea Wiley sunk a one-handed 17-footer at the buzzer to beat Tulsa, 50-49.

Marshay White and D’Nay Daniels each had 11 points.

The women will end their regular season Wednesday night at Southern Miss. The women also have only one departing senior: Jessica Hall.

The Orlando Titans got back on the winning track after the heartbreaking loss last week, dispatching the Toronto Rock, 16-12.

After being blanked 2-0 in the first quarter, the Titans bounced back and blasted Toronto for 8 goals in the second, going into halftime up 8-5. Casey Powell scored a hat trick in the second quarter alone. After holding them off in the third, the Titans put the Rock away in the fourth.

Casey Powell finished with 4 goals and 4 assists. Matt Alrich had 3 goals. Pat Maddalena had 2 goals and 6 assists. Matt Vinc was the hardest-working goalie in the league, facing 63 shots and saving 52 of them.

The Titans are at Buffalo next Wednesday.

UCF has announced the schedule of events for its Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend this year. The festivities will take place April 16-18, 2010.

The actual Hall of Fame Dinner will take place on April 16. The UCF Football FanFest will be Saturday, and the annual Spring Game will be Sunday, opponent TBD. In addition, that weekend the baseball team will be hosting Rice for a three-game series, and the tennis team will be hosting East Carolina, both in-conference matches.

UCF will make available a “Hall of Fame Pass”. For $60, you can attend the Hall of Fame Dinner, FanFest, the Spring Game, various other weekend events AND the entire weekend series with Rice.

********

UCF Athletics also has a piece on Jackie Robinson, whose memorabilia will appear March 5-April 15 at the UCF Main Library. It will discuss the negro-league baseball history of Orlando, and Jackie’s early days in spring training and the Dodgers’ moves to find a home field that would accept an integrated team.

Visiting the newly-reimaged ESPN Wide World of Sports was an interesting experience. Much of the site signage is now in the black, red and silver livery of ESPN.

This is an example of one of the info boards. Some like this one just outside the main gates, have four HD LCD screens. Some have two.

In this one the upper-right is general venue info for the complex. The lower left is a schedule. The lower right has a random ESPN channel–in this case, ESPNU. The upper left is the WWOS internal channel, which I suspect will eventually show live sporting events filmed inside the park. It has its own BottomLine, which is currently broken.

Not much was changed in Champion Stadium. The only difference besides the rebranding is the HD big screen on the right side of the scoreboard.

At a central station, surrounded by the Milk House, Grill and Champion Stadium, has a huge TV screen and ticket info for WWOS events and the Disney Theme Parks.

Some of the practice before the first Pro Soccer Classic game by the Houston Dynamo. The closeness of access is surprising. You can stand along the field fence literally a couple yards from the sideline. That close, you could easily get a soccer ball to your face.

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear watching over his players. After seven years in the U.S. minors in the late 80s-early 90s (and a brief stint in Mexico in 1995), he moved to Major League Soccer as a player when it opened shop in 1996. He was actually one of four “marquee players” claimed by the Colorado Rapids in an agreement signed by the first ten MLS teams prior to the Inaugural Draft. Each team picked four “marquee players” to start their team before the draft.

He spent a year each with the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Clash (now the Earthquakes…technically should be the Houston Dynamo, but that’s a long story) before spending his last three playing years with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. His playing position was defender, but he did manage 4 goals with the Mutiny. He became an assistant coach for the San Jose Earthquakes in 2001, and has been head coach of the Earthquakes/Dynamo since 2004. He has won two MLS Cups (2006-07) and a Supporters’ Shield (2005) as a head coach, and won two more MLS Cups as an assistant coach (2001, 2003).

Kinnear is Scottish-born, but moved to America at an early age and is a naturalized citizen. In fact, he got 54 caps with the U.S. men’s national team from 1990 through 1993, and scored 9 goals in that time.

At the Pro Soccer Classic last night, Houston Dynamo lost to Red Bull New York 6-5 on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie in regulation, and Toronto F.C. beat F.C. Dallas 1-0. On Saturday night, Houston will play F.C. Dallas in an exhibition version of the Texas Derby at 6pm, then Toronto F.C. and Red Bull New York will play for the title immediately thereafter (probably at 8:15pm). Tickets are $13.50, and get you into both games.

All images are mine, and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

The men’s basketball team couldn’t get started last night, losing to UAB, 53-49 in a blow to their possible conference seeding.

Keith Clanton had 13 points and 15 rebounds. Isaac Sosa had 15 points off the bench. A.J. Rompza was forced to sit by Conference USA after an ejection against Southern Miss for a flagrant foul.

Head coach Kirk Speraw is hoping to get better finishing out of his boys, and that the team will begin to live up to clutch situations.

The men’s team travels to Marshall on Saturday night.

********

UCF baseball had a one-off game with nationally-ranked Florida last night, and gave the #5 team in the nation a scare before losing, 7-6.

Florida dominated early, scoring four runs in the second and third innings, and three more in the sixth. UCF attempted to mount a rally with three runs each in the seventh and eighth innings.

LF Chris Duffy and CF Ronnie Richardson each had three hits, and three other players had two hits. Chris Duffy also hit his third home run of the year.

UCF comes home and begins a 13-game home stand with a three-game series against Siena. First game is Friday night at 6:30pm.

There’s nothing more fun than watching soccer in the rain. Just like American football, soccer does not have rain delays. Or snow delays for that matter. Especially this year, there have been a lot of frozen tundras and snow-bordered turfs in Europe.

Today was no exception. I got to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for the international friendly between the men’s national teams of the United States and El Salvador at 6:30 this evening. By the time I had gotten through the stadium to my seating area, the skies opened up. For most of the game there was a steady dribble, just barely soft enough to be tolerated by people without ponchos.

The U.S. team dominated on the pitch in most aspects of the game, but for the first 2/3′s they could not get the ball in the net. The teams were scoreless at the half.

In the 59th minute, American goalie Nick Rimando (MLS-Real Salt Lake) came off his line at a foolhardy time, permitting Rudis Corrales (PDES-Aguila) to fire an unassisted goal past him. The Americans continued to battle, and finally brought the crowd to its feet with a 75th-minute goal by Brian Ching (MLS-Houston Dynamo) to pull the teams level.

The U.S. continued to take the initiative, and in the second minute of second-half stoppage time (90+2′), Ching assisted on a goal by Sacha Kljestan (MLS-C.D. Chivas USA) to take the lead. They hung in from there, not allong another shot-on-goal by El Salvador. The U.S. won the match, 2-1.

In preliminary action, the under-17 U.S. national team faced the team from Mexico. In an uncharacteristicly weak performance by their opponent, the U.S. cruised to a 4-1 victory.

Remember, Disney’s Pro Soccer Classic begins tomorrow at 6pm with two matches. Two more matches will be held Saturday night.

UCF lent its men’s soccer team for a series of scrimmages with the Major League Soccer teams that are in town for Disney’s Pro Soccer Classic.

The first one was at IMG Academy in Bradenton, home of U.S. Soccer’s primary youth academies, against Toronto F.C. The Knights actually managed a 1-1 tie against Canada’s champions. Junior Yaron Bacher scored UCF’s only goal on a penalty kick at 57′.

The second one was this past Monday at Wide World of Sports, where they lost, 4-0, to F.C. Dallas. Then, last night, they lost 4-1 to Houston Dynamo. Kevin George scored UCF’s goal at 36′.

The only one of the PSC participants UCF will not face is Red Bull New York. UCF would beat them, anyway.

The Disney Pro Soccer Classic will take place tomorrow night and Saturday night. Each night will feature two games between the four squads in attendance, and $13.50 gets you admission for both games. As usual, parking is free.

The men’s soccer team next plays next Wednesday, March 3, against Saint Leo. The game will be at the UCF Track and Soccer Complex, between UCF Arena and Bright House Networks Stadium. Game admission is free, parking is $5.

And don’t forget, the U.S. men’s national soccer team is in Tampa tonight at 7pm, taking on El Salvador. It will be on television on ESPN Classic (208 DirecTV, 110 BH, not available on Comcast, 603 U-verse, 71 FiOS Polk) and Galavision (404 DirecTV, 95 BH, 38 Comcast, 3003 on U-verse, 274 FiOS Polk). If you want to head down there, tickets start at $18, with $68 club seats and $150 field-level seats.

In an interesting twist, the Orlando Predators have announced that they have signed Thomas Vann to a one-game contract. Thomas Vann is known as “Drunky the Bear”, one of the personalities on the Monsters in the Morning show on WTKS Real Radio 104.1 (and worldwide on Extreme XM 152).

Apparently Drunky won a bet with Predators president Brett Bouchy. I can’t see any details on the bet from the Monsters homepage, Drunky’s blog or Drunky’s twitter, but he will take part in training camp in March, and will play at the first Predators home game on April 30 against the Iowa Barnstormers.

This is the same guy who won $300 blocking shots from college lacrosse players during halftime at the Titans-KnightHawks game last month, then got checked into the boards after he failed to shoot a goal on them.

Oh well, the Predators will undoubtedly be promoted on one of the area’s biggest radio stations. And all it cost the team was $1,000. (Yeah, right.)

Also, the Predators have selected the dancers who will make up the Prowlers dance team.