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• Galt residents may pay for loud parties

• Bell-ringing ceremony held for Lodi CHP officer killed in crash

• Man suspected of hitting Lodi fire captain makes first court appearance

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

February 2nd, 2010

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Jumpers across California

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

• Patients can expect faster, better service when Lodi Memorial Hospital's new emergency room opens

• Man killed by Amtrak train in Lodi

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• President Obama's first year (67)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (60)
• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future (58)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (49)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (39)
• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen (32)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Beautiful outcome

Lodi's Ianni basks in aftermath of MLS championship

Soccer is sometimes called "The Beautiful Game."

It sure looked good to Lodi native Patrick Ianni and his Houston Dynamo teammates on Sunday afternoon — twice as nice as last year.

The Dynamo captured back-to-back Major League Soccer championships when they rallied to defeat the New England Revolution 2-1 in the MLS Cup on Sunday at Washington's RFK Stadium.

In a rematch of last year's final, Houston became the first team to repeat in a decade.

Ianni, who flew to Los Angeles on Monday morning to spend time with his girlfriend before leaving for Spain on Friday, was in a reflective mood late Monday evening.

"It's not the championships that make it worthwhile, but the relationships, the community involvement," said Ianni, a second-year defender who played in about one-third of the team's minutes this year. "It's about sacrificing for each other. When people sacrifice for each other, it's one of the most beautiful things in life. The joy of watching your teammates succeed.

Patrick Ianni

"I don't think I'll really appreciate it until I don't make it to a final or lose one. But that's not something I want to do."

Ianni was much less philosophical on Sunday, when the team partied late into the night.

Several hundred fans made the trip from Houston to Washington and the orange-clad throng hailed their team from the stands while the players and coaches celebrated with family and friends on the field.

Ianni, who didn't see any playing time in the final, said his parents, cousin and girlfriend were in attendance.

"To have them there, I couldn't ask for anything more," Ianni said. "Everyone was happy and hugging each other and posing with the trophy. It was awesome."

Ianni said the party carried over into the locker room, where corks popped, cameras clicked and champagne-drenched men sang songs and played boyish pranks.

"Everyone was soaked by the end of it," said Ianni, who returned to his hotel room around midnight.

Ianni says this year's title is more special because he was able to contribute more after a knee injury slowed him most of his rookie season.

He broke into the starting lineup for a few games earlier this season and also registered his first career goal, which was a game-winner.

Ianni admitted coming off the bench was tough, but it never became a distraction.

"The attitude you show when you're not playing shows a lot about yourself as a person. It's a big test of character," Ianni said. "More important than scoring goals is how people view me. It wasn't that frustrating to sit. I enjoyed the challenge of playing the role I did and being supportive of my teammates."

Ianni has a few days off before leaving for Spain as part of an Adidas-sponsored developmental tour. Top young players from the United State will train with European teams and play exhibition matches during the trip.

After returning to Los Angeles, Ianni will train with the U.S. Olympic team for a week before traveling to China to compete in exhibition games.

Ianni, 22, is vying for a spot on the 2008 Olympic team.

"Everyone's a legitimate candidate to make the team," said Ianni, who hopes to make it back to Lodi for Christmas.

As for the next few days, Ianni plans to bask in the delight of a second straight championship.

"I just want to spend some time with my girlfriend and spend some time in sunny Southern California," Ianni said.

It's a beautiful plan.