scottditzen

Agreed. I think it has much to do with the perception that not enough people care enough about the MAC or the local teams like Akron.That's why, as fans, we can actually make a differece by working to change that perception.

It is a bizarre fact, but outside of our sports, there are no famous Akron grads. Who wants to be the first? Fortunately only we know that now - I'll bet a few other schools have similar "alumni" on that list - and how proud must WVU be for having Billy Mays selected for inclusion on their list? They should have just gone with the classic for us - Jason Taylor. Even non-football fans should know him from "Dancing with (I just can't finish that ).I'm sure they did some, shall we say, embellishment, with the other schools too.that's OK, we still have Dave Nethers, a UA grad, on Channel 8. :lol:I agree, Jason Taylor would have been a much better selection!

Dr. Z, I have XM radio...they didn't send anyone to cover the MAC tournament.

This, the best week in recent memory for UA and you have to be negative? WKNR covered every single freaking game of the tournament , so I'm sorry but your "5 minutes of coverage" comment is just way off base. And if you're tuning in to only listen to Cleveland sports I feel sorry for you lol. Seriously. The station gave Akron and the MAC a ton of attention, way way way more that the Buckeyes received.As fans we can do very little to influence how the games go for our team. But when it comes to helping to grow the fan base, there IS something you can do. And that is to respond favorably when we do get the media attention we deserve. To adopt the "The media hates us" routine is just defeatest, classic northeast Ohio defeatism that I will not be a part of.Anyhow, I'm not hating on ya ZipsWin, hope to see ya at the party tomorrow.

Hi everyone. Please take the time to drop WKNR a short email to say "Thanks" and let them know we appreciate all the attention given to the Zips and the MAC Tournament. I know the new owner, Craig Karmazin, he is taking a very pro-active approach to running things and he takes listener comments very seriously. It only takes 10 seconds, but showing that people out there care about Akron Basketball truly makes a difference in getting more and more coverage for the Zips.WKNR Email List:President/CEOCraig Karmazin ckarmazin@espncleveland.comGeneral ManagerKeith Williams kwilliams@espncleveland.comStation Manager/Sales InformationSam Pines spines@gkbradio.comAssistant Program DirectorAaron Goldhammer agoldhammer@gkbradio.comPromotions DirectorJason Gibbs jgibbs@espncleveland.comProduction DirectorSteve Dole sdole@espncleveland.comOn-Air TalentMark "Munch" Bishop munch@espncleveland.comGreg Brinda gbrinda@espncleveland.comMichael Reghi - KNR Overtime Show wineandgold@espncleveland.comTony Rizzo rizzo@espncleveland.comKenny Roda roadman@espncleveland.comDaryl Ruiter druiter@espncleveland.comJordan Sherwood jsherwood@gkbradio.com

I'll be there with all my good luck items...lol, I think we'll need them!!Should be fun.

4:25p PST Probably the perfect time for you folks in the mid-eastern states!I know SWZag. I was afraid we would be playing past midnight eastern time. p.s. Ohio is considered in the Midwest!!

BIE, like many other other Bulls Fans I've encountered, a class act.

Just wanna say, thanks for the blog!! What a great idea...and sure HOPE THE ZIPPERS CAN HOLD ON WITH 45 SECONDS TO GO!!!!!

Humpty GREAT interview with Kenny Roda on WKNR 850 am.

I never doubted them. Ha ha RIght......

Tony Rizzo and WKNR talking up the MAC Tourney in a BIG way.Of course they've been mentioning the dreaded Miami time clock game of course, calling it the most bizarre and amazing game ever. Rizzo "I don't care if you went to K e n t, Akron or Ohio State, the MAC is where it's at this week. Every team in the show has a chance to win, and that team will get a chance to participate in the biggest event in sports."

The MAC Tourney is getting all kinds of publicity up here in Cleveland, and deservedly so. I can't wait to hit the Q this week and see some games. I don't care if the MAC is down this year, these MAC championships are going to be fun. And I have to ask, why would we want to leave a conference that is headquartered practically in our own front yard? Any game at the Quicken Loans arena is basically a home game for us. In what other conference will Akron have that kind of advantage?If we can't get a big crowd supporting the Zips, just 35 miles north, then the problem isn't the MAC conference. The problem would be squarely on the shoulders of the University and the Zips fans who stay home.

Amazing shot.I can't help but think the area along the Stile Fieldhouse can be so much more than just that bland row of trees.It's almost the focal point of the stadium. I say transplant those trees some place else while they're still small and create Akron'sversion of Monument Park: http://z.about.com/d/gonyc/1/0/Q/S/nyc080106_150.jpghttp://twoguysandamap.com/art/yankee_7.jpg

Buckzip, I mostly agree with your post....but...I do distinctly remember a player named Jason Taylor or somthing similar who went to Akron lol. SO you think the defense was good last year with Mackey and Stokes??It sucked with them too. Just not as bad. There are mulitple levels of sucktitude.To make this defense work you would need playmakers like Ray Lewis, Jason Taylor, Dre Bly, Troy Polomaua(sp) Ed Reed, Shawm Merriman and Brian Urlacher....Sorry, but those guys don't come to Akron for college.

The "pick your own seating" is only for reserve season ticket holders....It wouldn't make sense for general admission season ticket holders, since there's no assigned seating in general.

Great story to remind everyone why we support the Zips.Props to Elton Alexander and the Plain Dealer.http://www.cleveland.com/collegesports/pla....xml&coll=2Odofin returns from crash that killed friendThursday, November 27, 2008Elton AlexanderPlain Dealer ReporterAfter seeing the face of death, Akron Zips defensive lineman Deni Odofin has realized that life must go on.It was just over a year ago, Nov. 24, 2007, the day after the Zips had ended their season with a loss to Central Michigan. Odofin was riding on a winding road with two childhood friends near their Endicott, N.Y., home, including Army PFC Philip Diaferio, who was on leave from the Iraq war.When the car unexpectedly hit a patch of gravel and swerved hard into a guard rail, a lot of lives changed. Diaferio, the driver, died at the scene. James Bronson suffered facial injuries and was treated and released. Odofin had a left femur snapped in half that required a pin to heal, two pins in his left knee, one pin in his left hip, ripped ligaments on his right knee bone, broken ribs and back problems.Nobody expected to see Odofin on the football field this season, if ever."For a long time, we felt he would never play this game again," Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said.But as the Zips head into Friday's game against Temple in Philadelphia, Odofin has not just returned to practice, but has played in seven games, making seven tackles.Quick recoveryIn the big picture, it's amazing Odofin is even walking. Doctors and trainers expected the 6-3, 230-pound defensive end to take 18 months or more to heal. But he started seeing dividends on his rehabilitation within seven months after the accident."I could finally start walking regular in June," the sophomore said. "I could walk straight." Still, when preseason camp began, Odofin was an afterthought. Even if his bones were healed, the atrophy in his muscles would take time to recover. The muscles in his left leg had balled into knots from little or no exercise.Yet the more he worked out, the more his bones and muscles responded."Based on how long they said it would take, and the injuries I had when I got hurt, I thought it would take longer," Odofin said. "I didn't even have one good leg to stand on when I started. I thought I would not be back until spring ball." In preseason, Brookhart said this team featured the deepest collection of defensive linemen the Zips had going into the season, even without Odofin. But after camp and the first few games, Akron's defensive linemen seemed to be sidelined with injuries by twos and threes."We were down to our fifth nose guard by Ball State [game three]," Brookhart said. "In a lot of ways this was unfair to [Odofin]. He's not where he's going to be. But he was just getting back to practicing, so we asked him to play. He didn't hesitate.""I didn't know if I wanted to risk it," Odofin said. "I'm still kind of confused what made up my mind. But I kept thinking of [former Akron safety] John Mackey from last year, how he played with his entire knee -- torn ACL, torn MCL -- his entire knee was gone and he came back to play in two weeks. I can only play so long, so why not go out and see how it goes?"So far, so good, as he has averaged about 15 snaps per game, but still has hip pain and said he will have surgery on it after the season."He's not where he needs to be, but he provides us a quick-twitch body," Brookhart said. "He is playing on pure athleticism and whatever percent his body can give."RemembranceYet one year after the accident, Odofin has found emotional healing from the accident is as much of a process as physical healing. "Not a day goes by, it's always in the back of my mind," Odofin said of the accident.For Greg Diaferio, Phil's father, the reflections about his son's death are soothed some by the fact nobody else perished, and that Odofin has found his way back onto the football field."As a family, we're still reeling from the fact that Phil died," Greg said. "It's still a roller-coaster for us. But he was the type of person, if he had lived, and either Jimmy or Deni had passed away, he wouldn't have been able to live with himself. You know what I'm saying." The entire Diaferio family has tried to keep Phil's spirit alive.They started a scholarship fund in Diaferio's name for Endicott Union High School, where the three friends went to school. Diaferio's cousin, Andy Wahila, 24, and two of his friends spent February through May running across the country -- from Savannah, Ga., to San Diego -- and getting donations sent to the scholarship fund."We felt we could keep my cousin's name going," Wahila said. "Across the country, people got to hear his story."Greg Diaferio said he was encouraged to see that Odofin is not only healing fast, but has returned to playing."I was surprised he was able to go back," Greg said. "He's a strong-willed kid. Tell Deni we're thinking about him, and we're proud of his accomplishments and his willpower."Odofin said getting back onto the field was about more than football -- it was about trying to live life and move on."I can't change what happened," he said. "What's done is done. I know there is worse pain than this."To donate: PFC Philip J. Diaferio Memorial Fund, c/o M&T Bank, 540 Hooper Road, Endwell, N.Y., 13760.To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: ealexander@plaind.com, 216-999-4253

Hixon HUGE for the Giants. I was really proud when nbc went to the highlights and there it was "DOMENIK HIXON" spelled out on the screen!!! I'm sure every N Illinois fan who was watching had a relapse there for a second. I'd want both Hixon and Cribbs on my team.

If our team ends up going to a bowl this year, I'm sorry, but that means there is something very wrong about the whole system.

This is the week I stop sticking up for this team and coaching staff.Our defense is a disaster and it feels like they're getting worse each season.

if i was a WINKING LIZARD big shot i'd be buying some space along Exchange...BW3 is crazy if they don't expand...that location is a gold mine on game days...Ohh yes....a LOT of change will be happening on Exchange with the addition of the INFO. Can't wait to see what bars start to pop up. and the best part is.....ITS RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM MY DORM! hooray for underage drinking!I, for one, pray that Exchange gets a complete overhaul asap. Was just there for the first time in a few years and yeesh, the place looks way slummier than I can remember. Many houses about to cave in, outlaw biker looking types at Plasma Center, nowhere to go other than BW-3's. The dazed chick walking aimlessly at Speedway with the house arrest ankle bracelet was interesting....

Great great news, welcome to the team Zeke and family. This is going to be fun!!!

Roger that, now I remember. The softball team used to play back there, and the soccer team had practice there too. My wife lived in a house there on Brown that's since been torn down. I am guessing that the other houses will be demolished also. Anyhow, I can actually see that area being a nice tailgate lot with a little fixing up. It's the old baseball field on the other side of Exchange street.

I hope your people are right about the drinking issue. Just don't let your kids get near the actual Shrank structure, as I remember it was always crumbling apart back in the 90's. I think they built it out of some kind of cheap, porous sandstone like material.

Parking at Buchtel Field???Man, now I am confused or senile....what exactly are the parameters of Buchtel Field? Is it defined in the photo and I just missed it???