Congratulations to the NIU men's soccer team on earning their second MAC title since 2006.  The #2 seed Huskies defeated the #4 seed Broncos 1-0 in regulation with their lone goal coming at the 83:20 mark in the 2nd period on a header by NIU's Sean Totsch.  NIU will now advance to the NCAA tournament.  The last time the Huskies made the tournament was in 2006 when they defeated Loyola (Chi) 1-0 in OT.  The Huskies would lose in the second round at Indiana 1-0 that season.

via mac-sports.com

The #2 NIU men's soccer team will look for its second MAC Title since 2006 when they play #4 WMU in Akron, Ohio today at 4pm ET.  NIU defeated WMU in the regular season with a final 3-0 tally.  NIU advanced to the title game by defeating #3 Buffalo 1-0 in regulation.  WMU advanced to the title game after defeating defending national champion #1 Akron 4-3 on penalty kicks.  NIU won its last soccer title in 2006 when they defeated Akron 1-0.

Live coverage should be available here: http://mac-sports.com/Championships/SoccerM.aspx

The following NIU sports teams are having a good fall season thus far and are being recognized in the top 25 polls.

NIU Football:

Record: 1-0

Wins: Army

Current Ranking:  44th in the AP Top 25 and 38th in the USA Today Poll

NIU Men's Soccer:

Record: (3-0)

Wins: Saint Louis, Michigan, and Oakland

Current Ranking: 20th in the NSCAA Coaches Poll and 4th in the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional Rankings

NIU Women's Volleyball:

Record: 6-2

Wins: IUPUI, Cincinnati UW-Green Bay, Creighton, Marquette, South Dakota, and UW-Milwaukee

Losses: #15 Northern Iowa and #17 Iowa State

Current Ranking: 37th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll

Congrats to those Huskie teams on a job well done!

I'm excited about this mostly for the commenting system. SOOOOO much more easier now for live game threads and such. Should be a fun time this season. Plus you can follow all your other favorite teams on blogs like Windy City Gridiron or Second City Hockey.

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RABAttack@gmail.com

Please! I am bored this offseason. Ask me anything! Do you need personal or relationship advice? E-MAIL ME! Do you want to know something personal about me? E-MAIL ME! Do you want to send a joke question that I can provide an intricate answer to? E-MAIL ME! Please, I have no life.*

*actually I do have a life outside of here believe it or not**

**E-MAIL ME

PS: Use this and this for examples if you are drawing a blank of what I want to see happen.

Considering how long its been since I've written on RABA I debated even writing that I would be departing the NIU blogosphere/message board. After considering where I'm going from here, it's probably good to give a heads up. 

This August I'll be returning to Northern Illinois to begin my new adventure in graduate school, majoring in communications with a focus in public relations and hopefully will be gaining some experience in sports communication as well. As with many recent grads (journalism or not) the economy threw us all a curveball of Stephen Strasburg proportions.

That's why after working part-time for over a year now it's time to move on. So why am I leaving RABA and the boards? For at least one semester I'll be working back at the Northern Star to make some cash and hone some skills, while hopefully broadening and rekindling some connections with the people at NIU athletics and beyond.

I would like to thank the RABA readers for your time and thoughtful opinions of my writing while I was here. I hope I was able to show most of you that I am capable of a fair and balanced opinion on NIU sports.

I also hope whatever reputation I have now, good or bad, does not follow me. I know I have written some things that have not come down lightly on NIU (my Bleacher Report, Mike Korcek column) or have pushed the limits of ethical journalism which many major media outlets do by the day (Me'co Brown rumor mill story). (For the record: Breese heard the same Brown rumors I did and gave his consent to run it, so please nobody think that one was personal bias coming out).

At the same time I've written things that touched the general opinion (Fire Ricardo Patton), highlighted the people doing good things at NIU (Wolfe and English), while keeping things pertaining NIU athletics in perspective (staying humble after Purdue column) and giving knowledgeable analysis (sticking with the run game).

Anyways, I'm hoping for a fresh start this fall at NIU with everyone from my Star colleagues, to the students, the alumni, the Star readers, the Star haters, RABA, the message boards, and just as important, NIU Media Relations. Good reputation or bad, I'm giving NIU a fresh start and can only hope for the same.

Nothing was ever personal to any of the parties and I plan to continue to call things how I see them (there's the news side of my journalistic background). With that said, however, I'm also looking forward to further exploring what NIU athletics brings to NIU and the student body; a note I think has often been lost in wins, losses, money and student fees.

In the past year-plus I have grown and matured as a journalist, a writer, an interviewer and much more. I am beyond excited at the chance to put my growth on display for the NIU fan base. I hope you all keep reading and I am always open to your opinions on my writing, which I'm happy to accept via e-mail (jerry.burnes@gmail.com). If you're interested in any other writing, you can find various links on my website (sorry, had to self-promote).

In the meantime I thank you guys again. Best of luck to you all and a special thanks to Mike Breese for allowing me to come on and write for Red and Black Attack. I appreciate the opportunity and again, I appreciate all the feedback.

You'll be seeing my name again soon.

JB