MDZip

And look at Darren, I think I know why he might not have hung around any longer considering he already had an NCAA championship under his belt. Strikers are apparently the quarterbacks of the MLS pay scales.

Can Caleb run both?

Ah I knew what he meant, but in case everyone hated the idea, I was fine with letting you take the blame. By the way, my idea would not eliminate multiple overtimes, just the PK finish. I'm also fine with regular season games ending in a tie. And finally, what kind of bizarre softball leagues do you play in ... ?

I have long advocated a system where you remove players from the field (therefore opening more space) for each successive overtime, including removing the goalies at say, the third overtime. First overtime, nine players, second, seven, and the third five (goalies are gone). Keep going with five until it is decided (addtional overtimes past three would allow substitutions at the beginning of the overtime but not during). Penalty kicks can be dramatic, but they really shouldn't be the way to decide a well played match.

Pete Milich, would have loved to have seen him play, but his glory days were the very early sixties. Any guy that scores a goal in sixteen consecutive games has got to be worth watching. He also still holds the Zips record for goals in a career (85). This was in the very early days of Akron soccer and got the Zips off on the right foot (pun intended).

Especially when they list Reggie McAdams as a football recruit.

This was the winner. While I think it is clever, it took me while to really grasp it which I don't think is good for a T-shirt. At first I thought it might be a chemical symbol with the subscripts like F2O2 (fluorine dixoide? - chemistry was my weakest subject), but I realized it is supposed to stand for 20/20 vision. Unfortunately, I think it may have another more prophetic message, as the year 2020 could be the time the vision finally comes into focus. C'mon, Coach Bowden I hope you're "near sighted".

Word was he started shortly after Ianello was fired, and they just noticed this weekend.

They might have added a little additional seating but they didn't need it. It wasn't anywhere close to sold out. Terrible weather may have had something to do with that.

I'm pretty sure that the flash change was already made. Edit: Now I'm sure of it.

Not too hard. Here you go. Football Golf Outing as posted by GP1.

I've been to over half of the FBS stadiums in the country (yeah, I'm a geek), and there is not a chance that Infocision (as a stadium) is even in the bottom half. Dix Stdium (#87) is one of the best in the MAC? Terrible. I thought this comment was interesting "One unique aspect of the stadium is the grassy area in the north end zone where fans can enjoy the game from a different perspective". Of course that was a "unique" feature of WKU's stadium which helped boost them up on the list.

email - I got it as well.

That may be one of the most honest, best written articles I have ever seen on Akron football. Brutally honest about the past but with a bit of hope for the future. This exchange between Terry Bowden and an executive search firm recruiter summed it all up for me. "So the guy says, 'I'm calling on behalf of the University of Akron. Would you be interested in the job?'" Bowden leans back in his chair. He told me he'd had his eye on the Akron job for several years, though it is an odd job for anyone to covet: Before the school chased Bowden, they went after a former Zips player and assistant coach named Paul Winters, who led Wayne State to the Division II national championship game last season. And Winters chose to stay at Wayne State instead. Only then, Bowden says, did he get the phone call from the search firm. "So I tell him, 'Yes, I'm interested,'" he says. "And the guy goes, 'Really?'" The fact that the Zips are getting so much notice after two consecutive 1-11 seasons in the MAC continues to astound me. God bless the Bowdens.

Why don't Barberton residents wear brown? They don't want to be mistaken for UPS trucks.

Link to the article.

Could have just added this to some of the other discussions, but I admit I really wanted to use that title. Anyway, now that Groce has moved on, what does it mean for the Zips for next year? I think Groce was a very good coach and even thought they have a lot of talent returning, I think the timing could not have been much better for the Zips. With our loaded roster returning, I can't see how a coaching change will benefit the Bobkittens at all. I can see it potentially causing some problems. Other than Cooper I think we match up better at every position for next year. Lets hope their new coach can wreak a little havoc for us.

I actually like this. Gives a little more validity to the conference.

Didn't Ray Mernagh used to contribute to the macreportonline? I seem to remember him writing some very good articles on the Zips before they went on their current streak. Isn't he also the author of "One Chance to Dance?". Makes the article even more curious if this is the same guy.

Pat Forde visited the 7 Sweet Sixteen schools within a two hour drive of Cincinnati. Here is one of the things he had to say when he got to Athens. Like VCU and Butler before them, the Bobcats believe their presence this deep in the tournament proves that the quality of play in their league is badly underrated. Ohio has taken down teams from the Big Ten (Michigan) and Big East (USF) but only finished third in its division and had to beat regular-season champ Akron by a point in the MAC tourney final just to make the NCAAs.

What? No more "Rasor" sharp wit?

Looks like your wish has been granted. On another note: Bowden is trying three players out in different spots. Those most notable: Akron native and Firestone grad Cody Grice, who started as a fullback, will move the the D-line. FB Nick Rossi will also move to defense as a linebacker. Safety L.T. Smith will move to offense as a wide receiver.

As I scrolled through comments from them and others, I found it interesting that Akron was more disliked than I realized. Generally that happens when teams are successful, so I would take it as a compliment. You know, when you get right down to it, all of the MAC schools and their fans are basically pretty similar, a little insecure, passionate about their teams, and play with a bit of a chip on their shoulders. It's symbolic of the "not quite good enough" club. Glad to see a MAC school enjoying a little success on the National Stage. Just wish it was us.

Michigan tied for the lead in the Big Ten. The Big Ten is currently 8-1 in the tournament with the lone loss obviously the OU upset. That's impressive no matter who did it.

Level. The Zips sort of finished where it was expected that they would, at the top of the MAC. There was definitely no backsliding, but there also wasn't any great leap forward. The team is still in a very good place.