Captain Kangaroo

My complaint would be that anyone who ever attended a Zips game knew that Zips tickets were priced too high for the typical family of 4, and that GA tickets were also priced too high to get any sort of a decent walk-up crowd. Several of my friends have young families of 5. $100 bucks to watch the Zips get mauled by Syracuse (plus food, parking, etc) is simply too much. Especially when we suck. YouTube Tom went into this season thinking he could treat Akron fans like they were getting a Big 10 product (I actually have an email to prove this). 1/3rd of the way through the home season, they are realizing what everyone has known for years - they are selling a MAC product. And presently, a bad one. G-Mann - weren't you the one to ridicule my "Buck-a-Roo Night?" How is this promotion any different? I told them 6 months ago they'd need to do something like this to get butts in the seats. Once again, ZipsNation knows more than the AD.

After enduring a week-long sales meeting I am back just in time to pack the truck. The Kangaroos are leaving for Lexington in about 2 hours.

The Captain said Nicely is a solid QB. It's a fact. The Captain said our OL can't pass protect, our WR's suck, our special teams suck, and our coaching, to-date, has sucked. That is truth. Truth and facts always mess with a guy that fawns over Charlie Frye's Iowa game. Where Iowa called off the dogs after being up on Charlie 37-0 after 15 minutes. Yes, that was 37 - 0 after one quarter. Gheezus... do you think everyone on this board was born yesterday? Maybe some of the newbies can be mesmorised by weak hyperbole, but don't pull that garbage with someone who knows facts and history.

The mismanagement of the QB should be a future post. 21 passes? Are you freaking kidding me? He is the best player on offense. Let him throw the freaking ball for crying out loud. If you weren't at a Wake game you'd realize -- Nicely has NO ONE to throw to. LaFrance would be the #4 receiver on any Owens team. None of the other active WR's would even make an Owens practice squad. Cherry, Irvin, Sparks...and MAYBE LaFrance could have beaten out Montgomery for the #4 spot. Quit looking at box scores in the Charlotte Observer and acting like you have a clue about what's going on in Akron. Your a bloated, empty windbag. You credibility is almost negligible anymore. Time for a snack.

You summary makes no sense. Mack left because he had a better job offer. CUSA is a better conference every day of the week. It has nothing to do with the players on the football team. My summary makes complete sense to anyone with 1/2 a brain. Rhoades road the wave of Mike Thomas' work, and parlayed it into a sweet job upgrade in Houston. Rhoades "managed the game" while he was at UA. But he did nothing spectacular on his own. Thomas got the stadium off the ground (that's why it looks like UVA's), and Thomas hired Dambrot. And the search committee that nabed Caleb was formed prior to Rhoades. Mack took credit on his bio for building the Stiles Center, even though it was completed years before he stepped on campus. The Rhoades administration took credit for a big donation to complete the Stiles Center football coach offices...but that was a donation from JD's father in law. Mack saw that JD was not not the answer, and he got the hell out of Akron while he had a spotless record. He's no dummy. He's as saavy a dude as I've ever met. Learn from me, GP1. You'll be a better person for it. You knowledge of UA athletics is pretty weak anymore. Being 400 miles from campus really shows. Your bravado is as big as ever, but you really have no clue what you're talking about. Looking at a box score and ranting about "The Big Dialer" is weak. Alot like ITZ fawning over Charlie Frye's 230 yards passing...after Frye was down 37 - 0 after 15 minutes. Can't wait for your next Charlie Frye post. It'll be your 1,000th. I'm going to have a snack after I read it.

Waiting until 20 hours after the game to post an observation is kind of unfair. Everyone has already writtn some good observations, and I don't want to repeat anything. So here's my attempt to avoid beating dead horses, and repeating what's already been said. And, attempting to give credit to those who've touched on the point elsewhere -- 1.) I can't help but highlight what Zipsrifle touched upon -- G-W was better than the Zips in every phase of the game. They actually out-sized us. They has better offense, defense, special teams, coaching... I have no idea why, but this pedestrian 1-AA program is absolutely better than the Akron Zips?! Is this Ianello's fault? If you are an Ianello's guy, you can easily state the following: "Look at our O-line...Thanks for leaving me with absolutley nothing, JD Brookhart." "Look at our wide receivers - Thanks for leaving me with absolutely nothing JD Brookhart." "Look at our secondary -- Thanks for leaving be absolutely nothing, JD Brookhart." "Look at my kickers - Thanks for leaving me with absolutely nothing, JD Brookhart." Stepping back and taking a realistic look at our team... we are aggregiously bereft of D-1 A talent. We haver a decent QB, decent LB's and decent RB's (Bailey looks like a winner at FB). The key work being "Decent." We have noo studs (Wagner is on of 11 guys on defense, he can only do so much). Other than Wagner, no All-MAC selections, even a 3rd teamer (Carter would need to see the field in order to get post-season recognition). Our talent is 30% decent, and 70% bottom-of-the-barrel. What other team would a guy like Gary Pride ever see the field? Ashland? He's our #2 wide out? Summary - Mack Rhoades is a crafty bugger... the guy knew when to buy, and he knew when to sell. I give him all the credit in the world. 2.) Does lack of talent give Ianello a free pass? Absolutely not. The guy is unbelievably conservative. Our playcalling on both sides of the ball shows very little feel for the flow of the game. We play soft cover-2 when we need to stop a short pass. We elect to switch to passing mode when we're running the ball down the opponent's throat. Stupid penalties abound, and mistakes like kicking off in both halves, which typically only happen to K.e.n.t. State, are now happening to the Zips. I have seen almost nothing from this staff that gives me any sense of urgency that they want to win. The vibe in the stands is -- This is a learning season for all of us, so let's just get the games over and hope no one gets hurt. What are the odds that Ianello tries a reverse...a fake punt/kick... a hook and ladder...that he goes for a "4th and anything risky"? Seemingly - Zero. If Ianello were ice cream, vanilla would make fun of him. Summary - Two games into the season, the coaching staff has given no one any hope for a turnaround. 3.) What is Wistercill's answer when Proenza asks him "What is my beautiful new stadium 70% empty?" "Why is the student section 80% empty?" "Why are the loges empty?" "Why are we losing to a 1-AA program?" Summary - I'm guessing Wistercill's resume highlights are tilted heavily towards basketball and soccer, with fingers crossed that his future employers simply don't know Akron has a football team. 4.) I was disappointed to see Mike Rasor's post game notes are so passive. He states he's "...disappointed, but not heartbroken." I guess that is the benefit of being 26, rather than 44. To me, yesterday's loss was profoundly heartbreaking. I graduated 21 years ago, and if you'd have told me that 21 years later, the Zips would still be one of the bottom 10 football programs in the nation, losing to 1-AA programs at home, I'd have never believed it. Having that beautiful new stadium, and fielding the embarassment that we saw yesterday, is heartbreaking. I'm sick of walking out of the home stadium as a loser for 60%+ of the games I attend. I'm sick of rebuilding. I want to win. Now. Ianello may have been left with some suspect talent. But he's playing a MAC schedule, with a 1-AA team included. There's NO excuse for an 0-12...or even a 3-9 season. Many of the other programs we play are equally as inept as ourselves. Thus it will come down to our staff motivating the players that we have, and creating winning game plans for us to execute. After 2 weeks, I see that 0 - 12 is looking a lot more realistic than 4-8. And, to me, that's heartbreaking.

Maybe for football.

You are an IDIOT! EVERYONE who agrees are IDIOTS as well! You all are the type of fans that will only be satisfied . First you called for JD’s head and you IDIOTS got your wish. Now 2 games in your calling for Coach I’s head?? You’re a joke, and a complete IDIOT, as a fan you are worthless and the University of Akron would be better off if you never came back to another sporting event! 90% of the people on the board know absolutely nothing about football or the inter-workings of a division 1 program. Yes that includes Captain K I am sick of reading all of the bs on this board. I am going to sit down tonight and school you idiots! So what is your point?

A buddy of mine and I both think he's physically similar to Anthony Buford (minus the 80's short-shorts). Be nice if it played-out that way...

OK... then who would replace Peters?

Wonder who will replace him?

I'd like to see McNees at SG , since it would mean Abreu is a great PG. We would field a better team. If McNees needs to play the point because Abreu can't, Abreu sits on the bench. And we are weaker at SG.

I like how it gives you the option of "Permanently Skip this Page," but when you click on that option...it simply refreshes the splash page. Best site ever.

I can't understand being worried about a Chicago-area recruit, a 6' 3" guard who can jump out of the gym, who led his team in scoring, rebounds and assists as a Junior. Zips basketball fans worry about too much. You should be celebrating and popping champagne corks, and instead you're consumed with fear of shooting someone in the eye.

That's akin to saying -- "I don't want to build a team that's solely designed to beat UCLA, and struggles with a lot of other programs." If your team consistently beats K.e.n.t, who's been a premier basketball program in the MAC for over a decade, you will not struggle with a lot of other programs. You'll beat a lot of them. And win a lot of championships.

Athleticism seems to be a new focus for Dambrot and Co. on the recruiting trail, which I think is a welcome sign for most folks around here. We've gone about as far as we are going to go recruiting under-sized and not particularly athletic guys who have high basketball IQ's. It was time for a change. We've gotten a lot of guys now over these last two classes that are much more athletic (Egner, Gilliam, Diggs, Treadwell, Harney, Ibitayo). But at the same time I think we need to recognize that this approach is not without its risks. Highly athletic guys don't always make very good basketball players. The best athlete in the world isn't going to help much on the floor if he has no grasp on the fundamentals of the game. The first example that comes to mind for me is always Quade Milum. Athleticism to spare, but could never put it all together. Just didn't have that good grasp of the game that was needed to be a consistent performer on the floor. Now hopefully we are getting guys who are not simply athletes but also have the necessary understanding of the game that they need to succeed. From the sounds of it, guys like Gilliam, Treadwell and Harney all fit that bill. Ibitayo appears to have some work to do when it comes to fundamentals. Egner and Diggs look to fall somewhere in between. If it all works out, I think this approach can get us to the point where we can make some deep tournament runs. If a lot of these guys don't pan out, the potential is there for us to take a big step back. KD is taking a big risk here. I think it needed to be done, but I'm certainly interested in how it pans out. I see absolutely no risk. If KD wants to elevate the program, he's had 6 years to see what 5'11" guards can do for him. He's hit the ceiling with his "Plan A" recruits. Now it is time for Plan B. He's not recruiting any thugs. No kids with checkered pasts. The Prop 48 kids he's recruited in 2010 all come from good families and are, character-wise, good kids. But both did not take their HS studies seriously. Hence why both are so ridiculously talented, yet only played 1 yr of HS ball each. I fear absolutely nothing with the Zips new recruiting philosophy. It has worked for K.e.n.t. State for 12 years, through 3 different coaches. K.e.n.t. has been kicking our ass in hoops. If we want to compete with K.e.n.t., we needed to change something. Might our graduation rates dip a bit? Yes. But they might not. Might the Zips have a greater upside now? Yes. With Plan A, they would not. I look forward to matching up with the size and athleticism of the better A-10 schools. It will be fun. So will beating K.e.n.t.

Akron 38 - 13 6 TD's, with 4 missed PAT's.

See ya Dylan Ennis.

I'm OK with deducting a point from the football team for the 4th-and-2 field goal attempt. GIVE THE PEOPLE THEIR $20 WORTH COACH I! Ouch. Just the fact that we are even talking about our soccer team outscoring our football team really hurts. I sure hope this amounts to nothing more than a one-week joke. If not, only the diehards will be at the Info by mid-season. It should hurt the football team when the soccer team scores out-scores them. It's like the old Henny Youngman line: Patient: "I hurts when I do this." Doctor: "Then don't do that."

Week #1 saw the soccer team outscore the football team 5-2. With the football team going up against a 1-AA opponent, and the soccer team playing only one game this weekend, I say the football team pulls it out in Week #2. Football Zips in a blowout: 38-6 (Soccer Zips beat BG 6-0) Week #3 looks to favor the soccer Zips. But we must take this week-by-week. No jumping ahead.

Problem solved...you can now pay $15 for the next five home games. Limited time special Limited...until they drop to $10?

Type-o, not a math error. Thanks for the heads up. This will be our schedule for the foreseeable future.

Reminds me of a Butch Davis quote from a few years back after Jamal Lewis had bludgeoned the Browns for a whopping 295 yards. Davis was quick to spin: "Hey -- on 25 of his 30 carries we held him to a 2.5 yard average."

By that time we will probably be looking for a new AD as they roll over every 3 years. The whole athletic dept will change and we will be in transition for the next 6 months. This is why the AD should not be allowed to schedule more than two years out...2013 and beyond should be off limits for TW as far as scheduling goes... Have fun recruiting kids when you can't tell them where you'll be playing. 8 Games -- Miami, Ke.nt State, Bowling Green, Ball State, Toledo, a couple directional Michigans, OU, etc. 1 Game -- A 1-AA school. 1 Game -- A BCS school. 2 Games -- Some combination of a lower BCS school and a non BCS, 1-A program. Both, or 1 & 1. There's your 12-game schedule for the next 8 - 10 years. Now iCoach can recruit like the wind.

Boise has a good shot at a #1 regular season ranking in 2010.