MDZip

Another bit of luck, over the past few days, Southern California has been hit by a once every 10-15 year torrential downpour. Glad the College Cup was the weekend of the 10th and not the 17th.

There are only two sports "in the barn", cross country and soccer, but in the Capital One Cup standings (for all sports) the Zips are the current leaders. Don't think it's likely we'll pick up any more points this year but it sure looks nice right now, doesn't it?

I didn't see anyone reference this from the Plain Dealer. Scuttlebutt II: Word is, the league's interest in UMass for football is a big leverage stick aimed at the Temple Owls. Temple must decide by the first of the year if it wants to extend its allegiance to the MAC for football, or end it after the 2012 season. If the decision is to stay, then UMass will be welcomed to partner with the Owls, and (hopefully) the MAC will see fit to (a) get both to sign a long-term deal and (B ) have a seven-figure buyout clause for both if they leave early. The fallout would be another team added to a small MAC post-season bowl pool (three guaranteed) and Bowling Green once again becomes the pawn, moving from the MAC East Division back to the MAC West, where it began when the league first went to divisional play in 1997. If Temple opts to end its association with the MAC, UMass would be put on the back burner until the league found another team, preferably one interested in all-sports status, which would then put some pressure on the Minutemen to join the league in all sports as well.

Stayed a few extra days in California (should have stayed more) but thought I'd give my impressions of the weekend. The only issues of UCSB hosting the cup (odd seating arrangements and parking have been covered and they were minor) but they did a great job otherwise of hosting the cup. Had a terrific festival behind the stadium, there was plenty or room, the atmosphere was fantastic and of course the weather cooperated nicely. Got to meet Z.I.P which was good, always fun to meet ZN.O members. Did see him (and us) on TV when we got back. Actually, Z.I.P. was on a lot. Michigan: Sat in with the Rowdies at the beginning. Love those guys, they are a great student section, and they were joined by a number of UCSB students which was also cool (loved when the UCSB students flung tortillas on the field when we scored) Much as I liked them, eventually had to move because we could neither see nor hear what was going on . In a way it was good, because we never saw Michigan score because of it. Crowd was a bit deflated, but it was great because there was no one who felf that the Zips wouldn't still win it. Still a lot of confidence. When Kofi scored the second goal, the place went nuts and the only time I ever felt a clock going slower was in the last few minutes of the championship game. The best the Michiganders could come up with was a sign that read "LeBron hates you Akron" and little else. The one time I heard them attempt a chant it was something pretty lame like "You're from Ak-ron" to which the Rowdies responded "You have De-troit". The Rowdies were also admonished by either an NCAA or UCSB official after using the words "swallow" and "Douchebag" in separate cheers. After that they had had several cheers of "We're not swear-ing". Saturday night there was a little bit of a Zips rally at the Santa Barbara Brewing Company. Became a little strange when a Santa Claus pub crawl group came in (most have been 50 or more of them) but that added to the fun. Have to give George Van Horne and Tom Wistrcill credit because they went out of their way to say hello and talk to everyone that was there. Doc Nash (one of Akron's original soccer coaches) was also there and is a really good guy. Louisville: The next morning there was a "tailgate" pep rally at the Elephant Bar near the stadium. Lots of fans there and they had a nice spread for us to eat. Dr. P adressed the crowd and there was a lot of excitement and nobody seemed the least bit concerned about Louisville. Then on to the game. Lots of entertaining Rowdy banter again, and of course an outstanding game. No need to recap any of that. Did like the guy who shouted out "Ken, you made the wrong choice". After the game, the guys just were showing unbridled joy, so much fun to see how much they were enjoying themselves. I even got to touch the National Championship trophy while Darlington Nagbe was holding it. Afterward the team went back to the hotel where lots of folks were there to congratulate them. Never saw the Ocean dip but I did see them all head for the pool where they acted like a bunch of 18-22 year olds. Again, really fun to see. Louisville's "celebration" on the front porch was a bit more subdued. As I heard them celebrate, I thought about how unlikely it would have been say five years ago to ever conceive of a Zips National Team Championship in anything. What a great way to enjoy the sunset into the Pacific Ocean on an absolutely beautiful night. I do have some pictures and videos, which I'll try to post as soon as I can. Birmingham is not my favorite city, but I'd be happy to go there next year again.

Zeke out with 4 fouls (2 in about 2 minutes). I didn't see the game from the start, did the soccer National Championship get mentioned?

Akron Leaves with More than National Title. Nice article from College Soccer News.

Z.I.P. already mentioned me, but I am heading out Wednesday evening. A tour of the vineyards, a visit to Channel Islands National Park and a Zips Championship would top off the weekend nicely. By the way Top Drawer Soccer has a poll on their site for who will win the National Championship. Zips seem to be a prohibitive favorite.

RootforRoos blog has been noticed on the Big Soccer Board.

So four MAC teams got bowl bids, each of them is winnable, thought the NIU-Fresno St is probably the toughest. The three others are SunBelt foes. Time to start raising the league profile a little. A little surprised that Temple got left out.

PK's are best of five unless you are still tied, then it's 1-1 from then on. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go!

Overtime. Sh*t!

GD IT!!!! 1:30 left and Cal scores and the camera operator was so far away you couldn't tell what happened.

SOG Cal. 3:00. Could this clock move any slower?

Zips doing an excellent job of playing keep-away. Ten minutes left.

Zips up 3-2! Couldn't tell who scored. 15 minutes left.

Caldwell puts the Zips up 2-1 shortly before halftime! Footing looks treacherous.

Gotta feel bad for NIU - good team against a team they were expected to beat and lost on a last second touchdown. Sounds really familiar somehow.

Champions - What the Zips will be in another week and a day.

If you look at the Championship website on NCAA.com, an autograph session is listed after semifinal #1. Speaking of autographs, here is latest addition to our Akron Zips nursery. A signed soccer ball from this years team. Jealous! Me too! Where did you get it?

Of course that is a little skewed by the 7-1 win over Michigan which I'm betting is what you intended.

Not that he deserved it, but Almondo Sewell made at least HM All-MAC his first three years and then nothing his senior year.

Geez, man, just how many colleges did you attend? I thought I had seen somewhere that we have a home and home with FIU starting next year? Terrific timing again for us, FIU has been a doormat like us for years. This year they won the Sun Belt.

And, the Zips are indeed off the list. In Schlabach's words: "Akron, which was No. 1 in the Bottom 10 rankings after entering its final game with a 0-11 record, defeated Buffalo 22-14 last week to earn a 10-month reprieve from the Bottom 10". I'm guessing you'll see us return next fall.

I believe the final four will be The Zips, UCLA, Maryland and SMU. Would have been a lot more impressive if I had made those picks two weeks ago. Go Zips!

HL is 10-4 vs. MAC Cleveland State over Can't State Youngstown State over Buffalo UIC over Toledo Butler over Ball State Loyola over Western Michigan Green Bay over Miami (Ohio) Akron over Youngstown State Ohio over Valparaiso Western Michigan over Milwaukee Cleveland State over Akron Youngstown State over Toledo Central Michigan over UIC Detroit over Bowling Green UIC over Toledo I was going to ding you for listing UIC over Toledo twice, but it appears they played a home and home. Kind of strange for an OOC opponent. I will, however, ding you for counting any wins over Toledo at all. The MAC doesn't.