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Not to brag, but that was me. You're all welcome.

Met and saw this kid workout in Colorado. Looks like Zips are in early on this 2020 QB.

Amazing how different a game can be when you make your shots.

Nice to see E-man and Sayles, even if in street clothes.

How is it possible that any healthy Division 1 men's basketball team is an underdog to this Zips team?

Niko interview begins around the 5:00 minute mark. Question: "Niko, how would you describe your style of play..." Niko DeVera: "I would say I'm more of a football player than a soccer player" [big grin] "You can see I'm not the biggest guy ... but my strengths are probably my mentality, more of a psychological game..." Question: "you surprised at how many players from Akron have been drafted in MLS?" Niko DeVera: "... That's what Akron does. Akron produces a lot of pros. I'm just glad to be on the list."

What was his final year at Akron? 2004? Too bad he wasn't around for 2005. Talk about a guy who made himself a solid NFL player. Lasted a long time on the field. Wonder if he has any head coaching aspirations? Ummm.

I'd love to see more Federal League recruits on the Zips roster

Hosting the mighty 9-10 George Mason patriots today.

ESPN http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/19/blog/post/3353403/clubs-who-helped-themselves-in-a-frantic-first-day-of-the-mls-superdraft

Buffalo started it. One year, the Rowdies traveled to Buffalo and the Buffalo students had started an "Akron's in Ohio" chant. Somebody yelled back "Yeah, well Buffalo's in Canada!" and it stuck.

For whatever it is worth, I spoke to an NCAA insider who said that this rule change is happening one way or the other. And by that, he meant that if the change doesn't happen by an NCAA vote, it will happen by court orders. According to the same source, most NCAA members are not big fans of the change but can no longer handle the pressure from the lawyers. Very sad state of affairs.

Dukes lose by 13 to the 9-10 Billikens.

They had such bad talent they only beat Pitt by 9 last season. Lost by 12 this season.

I don't think there is any denying the fact Duquesne has improved. Last year they were the cupcake. This year they are beating the cupcakes. That being said it's not some miraculous turnaround. When you're at the bottom, there is only 1 direction that you can go.

It is not the same conference or "cupcake" teams. Last year, the A10 finished 8th in conference RPI. They had 8 teams finish in the top 137, 3 of which finished in the top 31. They currently have 4 teams in the top 150, 2 of which are in the top 50, with a conference RPI of 10. For comparison, the MAC had a conference RPI of 14 last year, which has improved to 11 this year, with 5 teams in the top 150; the MAC also has a better winning percentage than the A10, albeit against a weaker SOS. I didn't think Duquesne would be towards the top of the A10 standings, but I also didn't expect the A10 to be so down this year. They have a sophomore stud in Mike Lewis II that is helping carry the team, and they have an atrociously low SOS (333) which they've taken advantage of. I still contend that part of why Dambrot left was he somehow knew that the A10 would be down. He also left the cupboard more bare in Akron than what he left for at Duquesne. It's no secret I have been and am very critical of Dambrot. I don't necessarily know if those who support him quite understand the side of those who are critical of him. In my opinion, Dambrot was a good/great coach to take Akron from a bottom-of-the-cellar MAC and mid-major program, to a top of the MAC and mid-major contender. The honeymoon period of that level of success ended in 2013 with the embarrassing loss to VCU in the NCAA Tournament, and continued to down-spiral from there with no return to the Big Dance in his final 4 seasons at Akron and continued disappointment in big games. I'm not surprised Dambrot has won more than 10 games at Duquesne this year, and I wouldn't be surprised (after seeing the level of the A10 this year) if he approaches 20 wins. That's his method of operation - schedule weaker competition, pray on a weaker conference, and build a "winning" reputation. As previously mentioned, a TAMU or Texas Tech coach used this strategy. It is yet to be seen if Dambrot can turn his regular season "success" into NCAA Tournament success, which is where his fallout occurred at Akron.