Wally B

Syracuse isn't the New York flagship university, Buffalo is. I thought it was Army. Since Syracuse and Army are private they can't be a state flagship university. Hey, Hilary Clinton isn't from New york, but she's one of their Senators. Therefore, Syracuse can be the state's flagship university. So can Arkansas apparently

He's got South Bend street cred!

I'll add one for the older (refined) crowd! Try the LOCKVIEW on Main St. across from Lock3 park.... Incredible GORMET cheese sandwiches, and i do mean GORMET! Incedible beer selection (best in Akron) and i urge everyone to splurge and get a Lindeman's Fambroise, a rasberry infused lambic beer from Belgium.

link I dobt at this stage of the game that it's a tactic to keep Syracuse guessing! But is it at the point where a non-decision effects team cohesion?

While i do enjoy the conference realignment banter (within reason) I don't see Akron getting pulled into it anytime soon. That is not to say it wouldn't happen, it's just unlikely. To that end i think we can pull a lot of information out of what we've seen go down in the MWC/WAC. 1) The MAC will not p/u any teams to make us "BCS" or even more respectable. 2) The only way for us to position ourselves is to start dominating in fb (a single championship season wont cut it) 3) No league beyond the MWC is even remotely close to "BCS" status inclding Cusa! 4) the Big East is in trouble and has a bullseye on its back, mbb doesn't drive the train 5) We (Akron have 2 viable options) a] join a reformed Big East football conference b] join a new MWC esq conferece of eastern "bcs" aspiring teams. ** I'm just not sure we're positioned to take adavantage of these opportunities if they arise..... A lot is riding on iCoach's shoulders!

I'm just glad to hear he was able to return a short time later

Pure speculation! I could see the MTWest plucking UTEP and Hawai'i to reach 12! Why go to or stay in WAC if their best move is TX St ot UTSA??? Why not grab the few remaining "somewhat developed teams" in the West and have a lucrative championship game?

On the same vien, Can't can suc in fb but they are still our rival. I'm surprised no one sees CSU that way with their proximity. Talk about an opposing team having home field advantage! The Rowdies would rule Krenzler Un-dome

Question on my mind..... While it's obvious in other sports It occurs to me that with the demise of the Can't and Ohio teams our main rival is a bit more vauge! While every game is a rivalry game .... WHEN YOU ARE #1 (god i love saying that) Who is the team we love to hate in soccer? A conference rival? Niu has been improving lately, Hartwick seems full of arrogant snobs who cant take losing to us....... repeatedly.... Or is it a regional game and a chance to stick it to Cleveland State??? thoughts?

Maybe you should pull your head out..! (just kidding, hehe) Read any of my posts and make that your poll. 2010 On another pole note, I know several lovely Cant cheerleader lasses moonlighting as Pole-dancers if anybody has an upcoming birthday/bachelor party. After last year, I just don't have faith! Now I was there in the time of Danny Ruff and Jack Beidelman. And the Grantland Rice Bowl and some guy named Bradshaw. Glory is possible, but fleeting. akzips71, You bring up a fascinating truism. Forty-plus-years have passed since those days, and Akron would like to believe it has moved up to "Big-Time College Football", but the truth is, we are at basically the same relative spot in the pecking order that we were in during the College Division, and later Division I-AA days. How much energy and $$$ have we spent to keep running in place on this rat trap? And what effect could that $$$ have had, if it had been spent to better the academic standing of the university? Are you suggesting that the University hasn't grown in the last 40 years, academically or otherwise?? Are you suggesting that the football program continually reaped the benefits of major cash donations and constant facility upgrades since we moved up in 86' ? God i didn't know how good we actually had it during my tenure in the early 90's.......... oh wait that's right.....

UPDATE: Found an alternate version. It now lists Ohio State, Cleveland State, Ohio College sports...... (sigh) and just in time for the big CSU football season to ramp up too http://www.cleveland.com/sports/

Aaahhhhhhh......Bye, err.. wait, what were we talking about again? Elton is a smug unhappy little man who treats people like they were idiots I think we need to push for more Zips coverage in the PD as well! I'm tired of looking for Akron info under the "College" link right next to "Ohio State" We deserve more than articles that say "OBTW the Zips play tomorrow, or Saturdays score was blah bla blah blah blah...." To all the naysayers I ask you how many Alumni live in the metro area? Add in Can't, BG, and Ohio and the basis for coverage is there. So MAKE some noise! We should have a Can't State WEEK! (Perfect chance to cross promote for mutual benefit) Hell send some Rowdies up to the Channel3 studios and stop waiting for someone else to make this into something!!

First exhibition game is August 13th. 24 days to go. 3 1/2 weeks. In town this weekend, will have to walk campus w/ the Border Collies and check it out!! Then down to the lockview for some lambic Framboise

+1 Absolutely

tick tock tick tock...... we've got what five weeks to go???

Definitely liked the late rb look! Glad i was able to get my replica #33 Taylor from athletic-tech before they discontinued!

You know i've been reading this thread with great interest and ultimately dissapointment as it spiraled down into the traditional "are there any fans, or why don't we have an MLS team" all of which are strikingly familiar to we can't compete with OSU or Pro teams draw away fan interest in football and basketball... blah blah blah................. THe point i started to make in the parallel thread about a PDL team is that soccer is a different beast. You don'y have to start at the top. NEOhio doesn't have to build a huge stadium in hopes of attracting (and filling for) an MLS team. Teams reglarly switch leagues. Start with a PDL team that only needs a hundred or so fans and let the organization develop. Then petition to move up when the team/organization/fan base/facilities are ready. Can't hack it move back down for a bit and re-group. If you do it right you become engrained in the community at large. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver are perfect examples. They rode the wave of the original NASL up, then down to regional leagues then up to USL and now they are moving up to MLS with a dedicated fan base that has been around for decades!!! The Force represents that history. I read somewhere they played a few outdoor games including at the R.Bowl. More than any other moniker they represent soccer in NEOhio and fans would build off that energy. It would start slowly, but develop passionately like the core fans of the CityStars. That said, i will repeat myself... Why not Akron? Why not a PDL team of our own? It wouldn't take or require much. Those in doubt have never seen a PDL stadium before! check this Wikipedia link for the Carolina Dynamo (Greensboro/High Point) and check out their less than straight line development including a stint on the indoor circut! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Dynamo and for pictures of their current stadium which you'll find no bigger than L.Jackson http://www.carolinadynamo.com/stadium.php

I've been gone for so long i keep forgetting about the odd relationship between Akron and Cleveland. During the 10 or so years i spent in NCarolina i enjoyed watching the Dynamo play no less than 40 or so miles from the railhawks in Cary. I don't see the difference between Akron and Cleveland except for the old Cleveland should have it mentality left over from the Richfield Colliseum days. IMHO we're talking about pdl teams here. Rivalries produce competition and generate fan interest, and the USL has how many leagues?? If Cleveland can support multiple teams i certainly see room for something in Akron. We're not talking MLS or English premier here.... Then again how many teams are in Manchester? for that matter how many teams are in England? New ? W/ the upgrades at Jackson could or would the U host a summer team?

Simple question! While there has been talk of establishing an MLS team in NEOhio that has mostly died out in the last 5 years. Cleveland hasn't been able to maintain a USL or PDL team to that end either. So why not Akron? Why not establish something and let it grow? Wouldn't Akron be the ideal place to establish a PDL teams and get professional soccer in NEOhio started? If Greensboro NC and Rhochester NY can do it why can't we?

As much as akron is a part of metropolitain Cleveland it has always maintained its own scene and vibe. LeBron attests to this when he talks about the "330". If he choses to leave the Cavs, Cleveland will be irrate, but i suspect Akron will continue to cherish him as one of our own!

I'm guessing like Brad Daugherty he's #43

If memory serves me correctly, i believe this was the team that knocked off App St. after they took out #5Michigan... Let's not take them lightly!

Froze my a** off in the Bowl when the Zips clinched the MAC EAST by demolishing Can't in a blizzard! Wouldn't trade it for the world. For all her misgivings the ol' lady looked good when i saw her packed (Acme Zip, Massilon/McKinley and McKinley/St.Ign state playoffs), much better than the pics i've seen of Penden (OU) post renovations... Ponit is, give me a good Akron team and i'll take the peeling paint and crumbling concrete anyday! Championship in the Info just as good!

Entertaining and as accurate a guess as any! like your pairing/comparisson of UA/UT....... Big ? is how is soccer in CUSA? As i see a gradual improvement in MAC soccer in the past few years i fear that will be lost in realignment! If it is CUSA lets hope it's one more geographically favorable to both UA/UT!