Captain Kangaroo

The same was said about the MAC East vs. the West in football. And in the end, Buffalo won it the championship.It is still early. I can see a team like WMU picking up the pace as the season goes on. Overall, a very weak start to the season for the MAC. NO ONE is turning any heads.

No MAC school is setting the world on fire thus far in 2008-9. Here's my scientific lunchtime analysis --MAC Basketball Power Rankings#1Buffalo – Reggie Weatherspoon is back. The Bulls are sitting at 5-3, but playing well. Pounded UNC Asehville by 19 points a few nights ago. They have a win over Temple, and a 4-point loss to #2 UConn to their credit. They did lose at home to Zips victim Niagara 65-61.#2K.e.n.t. – Presently 5-5. Playing a brutal schedule, and getting beat like a drum. The win vs. Saint Louis was nice. After that, losses to Illinois, Texas A&M, Kansas, Saint Mary’s and WCU(?!). K.e.n.t. will be ready to play during tourney time, but they are shaky right now. Tyree Evans is now eligible, and making an impact. #3 (tie)Miami – Sitting at 6-4. Played UCLA and Xavier relatively tight…but lost. Got absolutely smoked by Pitt and WVA. Miami looks to be their same-old-same-old “18-12” (record at year’s end) crew.#3 (tie)Akron – Sitting at 6-4, but two of the wins are against lower-Division competition. Against “marquee” competition, the Zips have only a road win vs. Niagara to impress anyone. Losses include Pitt (by 20), EKY (on a neutral floor) and VCU (by 4). The analysis sounds grim, but the Zips aren't in too bad a shape when compared to the remainder of the conference.#5BG – 5-5. Played Minnesota and Ohio State very well in two single-digit losses. Road losses to Central Arkansas and Savannah State. They have the inside beef to give the Zips problems. #6Ohio – 6-6. On a 3-game losing streak, and have lost 6 of their last 8. Not exactly enfuego in Athens. Nice wins vs. Tulsa and William and Mary. Got smoked by Louisville and Xavier. #7Ball State – Leading the MAC West at 5-5. Too bad Nate Davis can’t play hoops like his brother Jose’, because Coach Taylor could use him. Beatdowns at the hands of Evansville (10 pts), Purdue (29 pts) and EKY (14 pts) preceeded a 3-point win vs. mighty Presbyterian. Peyton Stovall’s appeal for a 9th year of eligibility was apparently denied.#8NIU – 5-7. Five of the seven losses have been by double digits. Two of their wins are vs. D-III schools. Overall, a very “cup cake” schedule to be sitting at 5-7. No marquee opponents.. #9CMU – 4-7. A win vs. Princeton…that’s about it. Marquee game resulted in a 14 point loss to Marquette. #10WMU – 4-8. Hardly “Kool Runnings” for the Broncos. Lost by 4 to TCU, 11 to SIU, 17 to VCU, by 8 to IUPUI and 11 to UNLV. They should avoid scheduling “initial-based” schools in the future.#11Toledo – A nice 1-point home win vs. UMass, and a bunch of beatdowns. New Coach Gene Cross has his work cut out.#12EMU – 2-8. Marquee games have resulted in Marquee beatdowns. Lost by 31 to Michigan, 12 to Saint Johns, 29 to Purdue. They do have a 1-point loss to Georgia to crow about. Their only D-1 win is vs. Wayne State.

HS Rating by Local Scribe

He appears to be in good company. All kids on the list are D1 Commits (or will soon be).

If the MAC can adopt a salary structure that prevents us from losing our premiere coaches to San Diego State, I'd be happy. I could see Turner Gill leaving Buffalo for a pay increase at Youngstown State.

The coaching staff says fans will LOVE this kid. He's apparently very engaging.

Wonder if he wore his old burgundy AZ State Rose Bowl jacket around campus this past fall? 20 years ago, you never saw the kid (20 years ago he was a kid) without it.

He's a diamond in the rough..... I disagree. I think, with 2 years of JUCO experience, you'll find Diamond to be a very polished player.

The Zips team shop at the JAR has piles of them.

It is so predictably hilarious that any time OSU gets a mention on the board, insecure "OSU Fan" MUST puff up his chest and support his school. It's like tossing a dough ball to a carp.Jealousy is the most laughable excuse "OSU Fan" has in his weak line of retorts. If anyone wants to be a Buckeye fan, the only thing stopping them is $15.00 to go to Wal Mart and buy a red T shirt (summer attire) and red sweatshirt (winter attire). BAM...your on the bandwagon 24/7!UA Soccer 2 winsOSU Soccer 0 winsOHHH...is that yet another doughball being tossed?

Zips recruits a plenty in The Crab Bowl!Note - I hear the event is BYOB (Bring Your Old Bay).Everything you wanted to know about The Crab Bowl.

Fleming no longer a candidate @ Yale

I gave up a few years ago. I could care less if people call it "Akron U." Hell...Dambrot does it every so often in post game interviews. Life is too short to get all riled up over "Akron U" vs. "The University of Akron." Your precious time on this earth should be spent hating K.e.n.t. State, and occasionally, Ohio State. And the 3-3-5.

Diamond WeaverScout ProfileRivals Profile

I'd pay to see Stephon Curry and Maynor play one-on-one.

THE ONLY TIME RUMPLEMINTZ EVER REPLIES TO ONE OF YOUR JACKASS POSTS IS WHEN THE IGNORANT PIECES OF CRAP THAT YOU ARE NEED TO BE SET FREE WITH THE TRUTH............FLEMING IS NOT THE GUY THAT BROUGHT THE 3-3 IN....IF YOU HAD THE SLIGHTEST CLUE YOU WOULD KNOW THAT FLEMING NEVER RAN THE STACK IN HIS PREVIOUS YEARS AS A DC OR A HEAD COACH.....MY ONLY PRAYER IS THAT THE POOR PEOPLE OF ZIPS NATION LEARN TO SEEK THE TRUTH AND AVOID ASSUMPTIONS, IT WOULD TRULY LEAD TO A BETTER NATION!!!!!! HOW SOON WE FORGET HOW IT WAS THE DEFENSE IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS THAT KEPT THE AKRON ZIPS FOOTBALL TEAM A HALF WAY RESPECTABLE OPPONENT IN THE PAST WHEN THERE WAS NO OFFENSIVE OUTPUT!!!!!!!HAPPY HOLIDAYS ZIPS NATION AND HAVE A RUMPLEMINTZ ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!! We are seeing history here. I think this is the first time a person has ever been called a jackass for posting a link to a newspaper article on a web board.He must have something against Arial font? Maybe I should go with Times New Roman for future links?

"The next big thing""Do you think you'll visit EMU? Yeah, when Akron plays them."

He's allegedly awesome. Hopefully we can fend off the poachers for the next 6 weeks!

Per The Rasor Blog Jermaine Robinson, a highly rated recruit from Milford Academy, is rumored to have committed to UA. I can confirm - it is true.

Fleming on the move?

I think we're saying that recruiting is like a 401k. No, you don't want to tie your retirement to 100% high-risk stocks. But a balanced portfolio may include one or two aggressive funds. We're talking about one recruit. One scholarship. Not a paradigm shift in the philosophy of the program. And this scholarship COULD be earmarked for an outstanding athlete that MAY be a JUCO. Or a kid that did something semi-stupid when he was 18. Or didn't take his studies seriously enough when he was 14-17. Taking an "educated risk" on a single student athlete is a smart move if you've done your homework (as a coach) and that kid can elevate your program's level of play.Question - Is there a single Browns fan who refuses to cheer for Josh Cribbs because he was convicted of "possession of drugs with intent to distribute" 5 years ago? Or rejected renewal of their season tickets once he was signed? I guarantee you The University of Akron will never be known as "a bunch of ring-stealing pirates" (is there an ounce of hyperbole there?). East Carolina, maybe. But not Akron. It won't happen. Your attendance and board participation are ensured for the foreseeable future.

Captain, captain, captain. Now you and I both loved these players, and we know that it was not any lack of character, talent or desire that prevented them from winning the MAC. It was the lack of proper teaching and coaching strategy. I think Keith Dambrot would love to have players of this caliber on his roster. Well, Hollingsworth, I barely remember the name and never saw play, but hey, hey, hey Tarver, Bosley and Ball -- those guys could play on any MAC team and make it better.Hollingsworth was awesome in year #1, and a cancer in year #2. Hence he was kicked off the team and drew my ire.Tarver was a ball hog who couldn't play defense to save his life. Since I'm getting older and mellower, maybe I can attribute some of his shortcomings to being strapped to the anchor of the SS Hipsher. Maybe if he played for Dambrot he would have been a different career. Bosley had 2 great years. Then, after The Thrilla in Manilla - Hipsher vs. Andrick, he quit. I'm still waiting for a check from the University with a full refund for my season tickets that year. They stole my money.Ball - I've never listed him negatively. He was a class act.

CSU is winning without Zeke. I want to win too.I'm as into "Zeke Mania" as the next guy, but the MAC is there for the taking in 2008-9. Our talent is as good as anyone. It would be heartening for Nate Linhart to come out and say "I look forward to coming to games as an alumni next season and watching Zeke, but I want a ring on my finger when I do it. Zeke ain't gonna help me get that ring. It's up to me and the McKnights to get our act together and start hitting our stride.""Wait til next season" rings hollow for us older Zips fans. I wanna win now! Help me Nate!! Stop it with the 1-8 shooting and put us on your back! Beat VCU and get on a roll!

I don't think the Beacon has much effect of recruiting. Maybe if we were a Division 3 school that only recruited locally (I'm sure Terry Pluto's bust will one day appear in the Mount Union Hall of Fame). Relationships, facilities, curriculum, etc dwarf the impact of the local paper in D1 recruiting.The Beacon's biggest impact, IMO, is the image it conveys the general public. If the Beacon ignores UA, and beats the drum for OSU, like it or not that has a huge effect on people showing up on Zips game days. If the paper ignores you, and there's no local television coverage, and no local sports talk (except for Frenchy's 1 hour Monday extravaganza) no one knows what the hell's going on. Out of sight out of mind.And I'm not saying the Beacon needs to be a shill for UA. Having a local media that cares keeps people honest and on their toes.As far as TV coverage -- Akron people are Cleveland and Columbus wannabees. I think if the Columbus local news were broadcast in Akron it would get HUGE ratings. Unfortunately I don't think there's much interest in Akron news. You bring up an interesting idea in "stealing" a major network from Cleveland. If we got a "real" local TV station that was run like a first-class organization (not running infomercials and Gabby Hayes flics 24/7), MAYBE it could generate a following.