MDZip

What in the world are these?

Only 39 days, man that doesn't make it sound so far away now, does it?

I think that those of us that attended during all of the Hilltop High years are especially proud of what's going on right now and to have been around to help start some of it.

Stadium cams have something green going down on the hill right now - I can only guess from the cams but it looks like sod. In any case, it's going on now - that should end the debate.

Bombs away!

I ran into a kid who was a boat driver in a underground lake in a cave called The Lost Sea in Nowhere, Tennessee this summer who not only knew that Akron was the Zips but that we were finishing up a new stadium. Also, saw two Zips shirts in Niagara Falls earlier this year. It's coming.

And at least our announcers sounded enthusiastic and educated. The clip where Appalachian St. beat Michigan is also on the site http://www.entertonement.com/clips/mzhvstk...ate-University-where the announcer delivered the classic "The Mountaineers have done beat the Michigan Wolverines". Ah, if only it was the West Virginia Mountaineers.

I don't understand all of the love for Buffalo in these pre-season picks. They won a lot of their games by very close margins last year (Hail Mary against Temple, 4OT against us, 2OT vs. BGSU, OT vs. Army, lost to Can't), including getting an absolute bomb of a performance by Ball St. in the MACC last year, and they lost a very talented 4 year QB with no one proven to back him up this year. I think too many of these publications just look at who won the MACC the previous year and pick them. I think it is going to be a dog fight in the East again with the winner once again going 5-3. I just don't see the luck coming in two straight years (look at all of the luck we had in 2005, it certainly didn't hold the next year either). You really have to be a dominant or lucky team in the absence of a dominant team to win a division. I just don't see that happening for the Bulls again this year.

VanDelay not quite so high on us - we're picked third in their preview and are the only one so far to have gotten a writeup.http://www.vandelaysports.com/football/mac-preview-2009/

That was an all-time Zips classic game. You can still find highlights of it on YouTube too. Andre Jones was the one who returned it (after Alphonso Owen tossed him a lateral).

As much as you hate to see quality players move on, this truly is a sign of just how talented and deep Zips soccer is. Most likely he saw that playing time was going to be reduced this season and opted for the path where he could play. While not a good event, it probably is a very good sign for the soccer team. The Indiana soccer/football double dip on Sep. 18th and 19th should be awesome. Go Caleb and crew!

I appreciate al of the effort that went into writing this, but set to that song? Might as well have just picked Shania Twain's "Feel Like a Woman".

I'm more worried about aliens tracking our recruiting.

Certainly glad to see another good recruit but I can't say I see what maybe some of you see. Both profiles listed that he had interest in BCS type schools but I didn't see any interest the other way. Akron appeared to be his only offer. Did we just get in so fast and good that we beat everyone to it?

Though apparently they renamed the arena after Mack (Rhoads Arena) instead of Rhodes Arena.I also noticed that many of the sponsoring organizations begin with the word "Young". That leaves me out.

If this one turns out anywhere near as well as the first, I'm all for that policy.

If you're in a potential one-bid league and you believe you have the talent to compete you owe it to your team to at least let them take a shot at it. I'm not sure about the down-side, maybe if you lose all your OOC games, perhaps your team loses heart and takes their league shot down with it, but hopefully you're a good enough coach to overcome that (or maybe your team really isn't good enough). But the upside and notoriety (and possible confidence boost) of knocking off even one of the big boys might be worth it. As an example, look at Coppin State's, a tiny MEAC school (which is definitely a one bid league), OOC schedule from last year:at No. 10 Purdue L 66-46 1-1 at No. 23 Kansas L 85-53 1-2 at Richmond L 78-67 1-3 at Dayton L 73-56 1-6 at Wisconsin L 57-46 1-7 at No. 14 Syracuse L 82-71 1-8 vs. Colorado* L 80-63 1-9 vs. Pepperdine* L 58-56 1-10 vs. George Washington* W 59-53 2-10 at No. 4 Oklahoma L 93-62 2-11 at Missouri L 88-55 2-12 I took out a few of their lesser opponents and they lost every one of these games but one, but you know what? When it came to the conference race they were right in the thick of it (and you may remember them as one of the 15 seeds that knocked out a #2 - Iowa State - several years ago). They didn't win it this year but they are always competitive in conference and they schedule this way every year. They truly are an anyone, anywhere type of a team. Now I am not suggesting that the Zips adopt this particular model or schedule but a few more high profile teams wouldn't be a bad thing (even if we have to go there). I trust Keith and his philosophies on scheduling but I also think we might have an at-large shot over the next few years but not without a challenging schedule. Even with the MAC bringing down the SOS you can get an at-large with the right OOC schedule (and wins). Ask Butler, the Horizon isn't much different than the MAC and the more notoriety Butler gets, the more better players get interested and enroll. I thin Akron has a golden opportunity to build on last year here. I'd hate to see it go to waste.

Interesting Note from the NBA summer league:http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-42-9...mer-League.htmlThe Death of the Back-to-the-Basket Game"Name one guy here who can hit a jump hook over their left shoulder," an NBA assistant general manager asked. "I can't think of one." Whether it's the trickle-down effect of the European game, the rule changes implemented by the league a few years ago, or college teams appropriating Mike D'Antoni-style basketball, the vast majority of the young bigs who were in Las Vegas are face-up players who work either along the perimeter or out of the pinch post: Anthony Randolph, Earl Clark, James Johnson, Taj Gibson, Dante Cunningham, DaJuan Summers, Austin Daye, and even Blake Griffin. Is this a momentary trend, or will the pendulum eventually swing back? "If I were a big man about to enter college, I would develop that back-to-the-basket game," the executive said. The implication: At some point, those skills will be at a premium, and that kid will be impossible to defend. Forward-looking teams are all about buying low and, right now, traditional post players are undervalued because they don't conform to the current climate of the NBA game.Hmm, I'm just saying if I was a 7 foot player entering college with an already pretty polished defensive game (not that anyone immediately comes to mind), this would catch my eye. Maybe working on the back to the basket offensive game being perfected around 2014 might be a really good move.

Terrific article. A couple of things stood out to me - first the line about the Zips having been eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year (as though getting beat in that round has been our biggest issue recently, that sounded really good, although they did clarify it later). Second, there were several mentions of how much Zeke liked the campus and what a great campus feel there is to it. For a campus right downtown in a good sized city that is pretty amazing, especially for those of us that remember when it just looked like a bunch of concrete blocks dropped in the middle of the city. Props to Proenza for making the school a true destination. Also, props to the board moderators who evidently have fixed the direct links to GoZips that have been a problem for a while. Of course, then I discovered that the link to Zeke's story from GoZips is wrong. At least we got the correct link here.But how great is it that Zeke is joining a tournament team that loses just one player? I echo the comment that I have never looked forward to a season quite as much.

Kara Murphy is an interesting and good choice as the student-athlete rep. Fine athlete, good student, fairly high profile and will around for a couple more years. Hey, couldn't we have asked Zeke too? Gary Taylor was a good choice, keep him involved as much as possible.

Buy single game tickets for the ones you like best, send the rest of the money to the Z-fund.

This is getting a little ugly. I think it would have been better just to allow the tape to have been released.

Thanks for stopping by. Sorry to hear you think you'll end at 5-7 again this year. We know it feels.

Alex Allen - 1 yard plunge up the middle.

Also in the Quad Countdown at #69 - Wake Forest - is this missive -Nickname: Demon Deacons. Say what you will about Blue Devils, but Demon Deacons has to be the scariest nickname in the F.B.S. Also frightening? Aztecs, Fighting Irish, Golden Hurricane, Horned Frogs, Razorbacks and Vandals. Least intimidating? Zips, Volunteers, Terrapins, Hokies, Ducks and Beavers. Most delicious? Boilermakers. At least we have some good company. Fear the Roo!