Jon Belskis

Madison, Wisc.

Email: Jbelskis@students.wisc.edu

The final four was a great experience. I fully enjoyed the entire weekend, including the events on Saturday. I know that some of the other teams didn’t attend all of the functions. I’m glad that we were able to experience it all. It’s a weekend that I’ll never forget.

(Editor’s note: Jon Belskis was the starting goalie for Wisconsin at the final four.)

Michael Rice

Portsmouth, Va.

Email: 73652.123@compuserve.com

Thought the Wisconsin-Portland game was a yawner. The Duke-UVA game was the most exciting game of the tournament. Both teams played very aggressively and it was super enjoyable to watch. This is the way soccer should be played!

In the final game, where was Jay Heaps? He was invisible, hardly touched the ball. Duke played right into Wisconsin’s hands. Wisconsin was definitely the taller team, and Duke played the ball much too much in the air. They should have kept in on the ground. I don’t know if the cold affected them but no one really handled the ball well and they made dumb passes.

After the victory over UVA, I thought Duke would wipe the field with Wisconsin. I would have liked to see UVA play in the final. I think they got some bad breaks in the game with Duke, and I thought UVA was the better team. Damian Silvera is an awesome ball handler and Brandon Pollard was awesome on defense.

The final four MVP should be the goalkeeper for Wisconsin [Jon Belskis]… He did a great job for the injured regular keeper.

Richmond did well. It’s too bad that the final was so cold and getting out from parking after the games was a disaster. Had a good time at the FanZone. I wish that my kids had had the chance to go… the activities were great!

I still think that a UVA-Wisconsin final should have happened.

Jim Froehlich

Winter Park, Fla.

Email: heelfans@aol.com

Has college soccer taken a giant step backward with the Wisconsin win? A return to the big defensive mules over the fast, skilled teams. Come back Bruce Arena!

Justin S. Smith

Fort Worth, Texas

Email: jssmith@delta.is.tcu.edu

Who was the color commentator for the NCAA Men’s final four? Considering how much he liked to glorify the crunching “professional fouls,” I assume he’s one of America’s many British football fans.

David Copus

Washington, D.C.

Email: yumast@aol.com

The FanZone in Richmond at the NCAA Championships was great. My kids and I both loved it.

Please put the youth soccer calendar on-line.

Mark Kinzie

Portland, Ore.

Email: kinziem@ohsu.edu

I just wanted to thank you for putting NCAA tournament results on the Net so quickly. It’s hard to follow soccer; you’re making it easier.

Bill Church

Unionville, Conn.

Email: Conndoc@aol.com

Just a comment for Paul Gardner– I just watched the Duke/UVa game and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Please don’t write anything negative about it.

I agree with your overall interpretation regarding the style and lack of creativity in the college game. However, the Duke-UVa game was great and it is probably as good as the college game can get.

I really enjoy your essays and the magazine as a whole. Keep up the good work.

A James Madison soccer fan.

Sam McDonald

Danville, Ky.

Email: glzrmcd@mis.net

First, I will gripe about the television coverage in my area. I returned home from school eager to see the Wisconsin-Portland game only to see the Travel Channel.

Because SportsChannel and Travel share a channel, I was unable to watch any action until 6 p.m. when the UVa-Duke game came on. The game however was well into the second half, and to this day I have not seen the goals that did in my beloved Cavs.

The games I did see were very exciting. Exhibit A is the UVa-Duke semifinal. While Virginia may have lost, it was clear to see that they are the best team in college soccer. They play attractive, attacking and that was evident in the second half. They dominated Duke. Brandon Pollard’s assist sums up the superior skill level that UVa has. Sadly, sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce the right way.