Captain Kangaroo

The Era of The Process Record prediction: Ianello should have won 3 games last season, and he was a complete idiot. Bowden is smart, so he's guaranteed 3 wins. Plus one extra that the opposing MAC coach will simply give to the Zips. 4-8 K.e.n.t always sucks, so with the better of the two coaching staffs the Zips have a great chance to beat them.

Who knew? How would you compare them to Bolivia or the Netherlands?

Weren't we in the same situation when Butchie graduated, with completely unknown's Frye and Sparks? That worked out pretty good. I think someone will rise to the top. Bowden seems confident we're in ok shape at QB, so I'm confident too. And yes, it will be an interesting year. I'll take "interesting" over tragic...pathetic...sad...maddening...nauseating...and whatever other adjectives you want to use to describe what we've witnessed since the InfoCision gates opened.

Jokes about the quality of Penn State recruits slipping from 4.5 stars... to 0.25 moon rocks?

It was refreshing to read a Pluto article that was informative, and chock full of quotes. Not his cookie-cutter, Little Engine the Could re-write. Lots of thought-provoking insight: So we can add another fan- and player-friendly program to the list of events (golf outing, Meet the Team, etc.) that Ianello killed in his Sherman-esque march through the UA campus. How the F was this clown ever hired? Too bad it wasn't Brian Wagner stating that line. But I am happy for all the survivors who've swapped the Ianello Interment Camp for "Camp Zippy." Seems like going from Dachau to Disney. That's a great way to look at the returning players. If that isn't proof of the guy's positive point of view, I don't know what is. I see a huge parallel between Fleming's situation, and that of the 2010-11 Lot 9'ers, and ZN.o for that matter. We stayed because UA is our school, and the brotherhood, and sisterhood, of the diehards couldn't be broken no matter how hard Ianello tried. Walking out on the Zips wasn't an option. I expect tailgating in the Disney Lot will be much more fun than it was outside Dachau.

When we travel to Athens, can we keep The Diff closer than -25? OU deserves to be the favorite. They've accomplished things multiple times over the past three seasons that I've only dreamed about for 28 seasons...and counting.

From what I understand, Bowden told Joe -- "I'll go on your show under one condition - that you can't say the phrase 'No doubt about it.'" Deal-breaker.

His chances of making the team are probably as good as him making the San Francisco Baseball Giants.

And around Keener's vehicle will be The Brew Swarm!

My son gets off the school bus at 3:15pm, so I expect to be in Lot 9 by 3:48pm...give or take 3 minutes. That's about 3 hours later than ZipsWin!, but it is the best I can do!

Since that encompasses two recruiting classes, it makes sense. It will be nice when we have sufficient depth that that number increases to 40+.

#1: Louie's on Tallmadge Avenue #2: Me

I wonder how much time EA has spent at Zips camp over the past few weeks? I'll guess "0."

Correct. This issue was discussed a week or two ago. Bowden put the kibosh on it. It won't happen again. At the time, fans were wearing brown paper bags on their heads too. Can't blame anyone for not wanting to be associated with Ianello's regime, can you?

In direct response to my post you fabricated some stupid unrelated statement regarding Bowden to me, and then told me the statment...the one I never made...was wrong. What am I supposed to do, pat you on the back? Jesus... You don't need to go back more than two days to find a post from me in direct resonse to you, thanking you for your hard work. And that post is not unique from me. There are others similar, and even more complementary. Yet you come in here with some chip on your shoulder? I don't get it.

Where'd you get the Bowden reference? There was nothing about Bowden in my post. You're wrong. My comment was - The event and the Kids Club are not shrewd. The are old ideas. They have been done at UA in the recent past. If you think re-hashing Meet the Team, and Zippy Kids Club are "shrewd" marking moves, you probably thought Rob Ianello had a shrewd offensive mind too?

I do not agree with you often...but you are correct here. The Athletic Director carousel we've witnessed over the past 12 years is also a prime contributor. Every new guy has his own people, his own plan....and everything starts from zero every 4-or-so years. Our only tradition is rebuilding.

Shrewd? These are ideas from past administrations that were killed. "Re-hashed marketing moves" is more apropos. The recent "Meet the Team" event was not publicized very well. Hence the bad turnout (even by Zips standards). The Zips Administration needs to work hard if this event is going to be successful. The Kid's Club was a great idea, and very successful 10 years ago. Over the next several years it eroded, until it was finally killed. If UA actually pays attention to the program and sticks with it, it will be successful again.

"I don't know whether there was a morale problem or a talent problem. The statistics are so bad I've got to believe the kids are better than the record indicated." Great quote. If he needs a clue where to point a finger...I'd start by looking at the guy who kicked off twice in one game. Or maybe the guy who kicked a field goal to cut a 20 point deficit to a 17 point deficit late in the 3rd quarter. If not those two guys...then maybe the guy that went for two, down 20-6 with a full half of football remaining. Somewhere amongst those 3 guys is the reason the Zips statistics defied belief.

For Clayton's sake, I personally still hope he matures.

On a related note, I received my season tickets yesterday. All tickets were included, as well as vouchers and parking passes. They got the stuff done on-time, and correct. First time ever. I'm still in shock.

I'm digging the halftime possibilities!

The Akron Zipmeisters

I'd held up a sliver of hope that Wagner might have a change of heart and re-join the Zips. But it looks like it ain't gonna happen. Too bad...while the win total wouldn't be too high for this season, I think the new staff and positive team vibe would have allowed him to leave UA on a better, more positive note.

A fan question that George might be able to follow up on: What's the scoop with Nick Rossi? FB last year. LB this year. But I haven't heard his name mentioned anywhere? He was one of our more heralded recruits from 2011.