ZippyTuba11

A lot has to be said about "growing as a team" and "fighting for each and every win". Id put this Akron team up against anyone believing that they had a shot at the victory.This team is all heart, and who knows...sometimes that's what's more important.WOOOOOOOOOO GO ZIPPPPPSS!!!!As a famous man once said, winning is 50% talent, 50% luck.

I always feel obligated to say that this is not the best team I have seen at Akron. It is not better than that team that made 26 wins and was left out of it all. This year's team was able to accomplish something that we have not seen before, but that does not make them better. The better team does not always win.Good luck in the Big Dance

I still think the logo is a bit of a joke, with it being inside and all. At least the person that wears it will get to see it.

Aren't there four post season tournaments now?

No, when we lose the refs suck; when we win the refs still suck. That is MAC officiating.

I think it started right on time!

Fortunately Akron will be well rested for the next game with the amount of foul outs.

That, and it means a lot more people have to get pulled out of class, which by rule, Deans hate to see.

GP1, Nate is a blue collar worker, not an enforcer. The big plays he makes do not always end up on the stat sheet, but they are a big part of Akron wins.

To me it's just another frustrating end to the season. This team had several good opportunities to lock up the tournament and close out the season on top, and to me they blew it. I give them a lot of credit for being such a young team, but Dambrot's teams have always had a problem closing out. I think it's an Akron curse as it carries over to the other sports.I hope Zeke can add that "killer" instinct to the team next year, because I don't think they are going to find it anywhere else. This team is good enough to dominate the MAC as they are this year, but they just can't keep the intensity late in games and throughout the season. Is it conditioning? Coaching? Player Personality? Leadership or lack of it?Good luck in the Tournament. I really look forward to going to the Q. My hope though is with next season.

The MAC sucks all around. We do not dominate the MAC except in one sport, therefore....I think we fit in the MAC nicely, and unless we start thumping the conference in the other major sports (football, basketball) and do so every year, we shouldn't talk about going to another conference.

Plain Dealer article Is this author full of crap or is the rest of the conference less experienced than Akron is with 7 freshmen?

It is also Scottish.

With eight games left, Akron only needs 5 more wins to finish the regular season with 20 wins. Of those last 8 games, 2 are against the West, one is against a down Valpo. The rest are must needed wins against the East. From where we're sitting, I think we're looking good for another 20 win season *knocks on wood*For laughs:K.e.n.t needs to win out to continue their tradition Also, anyone remember our NIT win last year against FSU? Looks like they're having a pretty good season this year. I'd love to see a rematch in the NCAA Tourny.

We really had Ed Hightower? As far as refs go, he's a celebrity anymore...

I remember several big plays to the TE in the MACC in '05

How to overcome the disrespect:Show up at Northwestern with more fans than they have.Win the National Championship.Dominate next year.Whether they like it or not, if Akron has the talent and coaching to win, they will win. I hope this only lights a huge fire under the Soccer program and they absolutely crush Northwestern.What greater way to 'rub the NCAA's noses in it' than by winning the National Championship and dominating their poster boys while doing it?

I hope the athletic staff are raising hell about this.

As the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day. JD is not the one out there dropping passes, throwing bad passes, fumbling the ball on key plays, or missing tackles.He is however, trying to coach these players to get them to improve. We have all seen this team grow before our eyes. Those first couple games were just horrible for the team. Jaq was bad, the RBs got injured, and the WRs were dropping passes like it was their job. Yet, we had a couple games where those mistakes were limited and the Zips flourished.One thing that gives me a lot of hope for next season is the Toledo game. The Zips were well prepared for that game. JD experimented with the defense and the were a few great plays for the defense in that game. The offense was in sync and Jaq actually looked like a quarterback.Another thing is special teams. Win, lose, or draw, the special teams have been keeping us in there this year. This is primarily pointing out the kick return team. I rarely recall a drive that didn't start out on the 30 or beyond. This is a real boon for the Offense when they can get 10-20 extra yards before they even get on the field. Igor was also pretty good too. Sure he missed a couple clutch ones, but I never had to worry about missed PATs with him this year. He also hit a few big ones too. If he can work on his consistency, next year he will be great.Who isn't ready to see that run game next year? Most of the defense-eating O-line is coming back and we are still going to have a great core of running backs.The above three points all belong to JD. He was able to get the team motivated and well prepared for Toledo after that ridiculously long break. Special Teams is his baby and they have performed well most of the time and kept us in games. The O-line and the running backs are his recruits and are doing great.If next year, JD either improves the defense and/or switches to a better scheme, gets Jaq to consistently throw good passes, and gets the WRs to catch them, I bet we will be looking at the same success that Central/Western are enjoying. The run is there. The Special Teams are there. Go Zips!

Sorry, but I disagree. Compare our current loser coach to all the loser coaches before him and all you have is more losing. Don't blame it on the MAC. CMU, WMU, Ball State all find ways to rise to the top of the MAC. Miami has done so, Ohio has done so. Bowling Green has done so. At Akron, people are so used to losing that they just accept it. That is not the way to ever become a winner. A good coach would have motivated his players to perform better than that against the dregs of this Conference.So lets go replace him. And if the new guy doesn't work out soon enough, lets replace him. And if the new guy doesn't do what we want, replace him. Same goes for the quarterback. Oh wait...this is not the Browns.I'm with you on not accepting failure. But lets not replace everyone who makes a mistake. This team is close to being that perennial MAC powerhouse. And JD is the one that has gotten them there. Now he needs to make the proper adjustments and get the proper recruits to push us over the edge.We have already see a look at the 4-3. The defense is obviously going to be the focus in the off season this year. I bet we'll see a number of other adjustments next year and I will be excited to come out and watch this team next season to see if they can get over the hump.

Actually I think you did miss the point a bit. I for one believe that removing those places is a huge boon for the city. However, I could get into a large argument with you on the ethical issues of eminent domain, as there are many sides to this issue. This, however is not the place for it. My point was I can see why some people are spurned by it. You can take just about anything away from somebody and they will get over it, but take away their land and they will never forgive you. Ironically it is something I am studying right now in my ethics class. Their land is their home and a person's home is a person's home no matter how much of a dump it is. Sometimes though, people need a good push to see what is good for themselves and their fellow man. Who is flaming whom?

Rivals spawn from close competition. I think between football and hoops, OU and Akron have been very close in the last couple of years. They are also the second most involved student second I have seen in the MAC (Rowdies #1 of course).

It's the principle that you can take almost anything from somebody and still get them on your side. However, the one universal thing you cannot take away from somebody is their land.

Wow, 'Mission Possible' was accomplished in the first game? Nice to seem them win. Hopefully they can keep it up.

I think the biggest reason that we don't care more about soccer is that not everyone can just go play soccer. You look at the big three sports in the US, football, baseball, and soccer, and they all have a very big thing in common that is a little overlooked. They are easy to play and it almost doesn't matter what shape you are in, you can still go pick up a game with friends and half fun.Soccer is all about running, or being the lone guy that stands in front of the goal. Fat asses that are the iconic Joe 6-pack can't play it. But give them a football and they will run you over.And naturally, if they can play it, no matter how removed they are from it, they can criticize the people they see on TV when they mess up or live through the team that succeeds. I think a lot of people feel a little awkward about soccer because they can't play it and know nothing about it.