Captain Kangaroo

I think Mike Waddell hired Caleb. Someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. according to Mack's profile that goes in the media guides, they list Caleb's hiring as the first thing in the "time line of success". So I think Mack is given credit for it. I dunno...Why does he get so much grief out here? I've never understood that.I believe Waddell recruited and interviewed Caleb. The actual hire may have occurred within the first week or two that Mack came on board, but I don't believe he had much to do with the hire. Again, I will confirm this and officially put the matter to rest. Mack wouldn't want credit for something he didn't do. And likewise, if he made a great hire in Caleb, he should get his due.I don't think Mack gets all that much grief here. If you do, take a look at other message boards and check out commentary on various AD's. ZipsNation is Fluffy Bunny Central by comparison.

I think Mike Waddell hired Caleb. Someone can correct me if I'm mistaken.

It works for me? Try a cut-n-paste of this link:http://www.the-review.com/news/article/3881571

This is a better write up than 90% of what I've seen from Beacon writers covering Zips games.

The move of Wiliams to DB is a great one. He's going to be a mid-round NFL draft pick after the 2008 season is over. And between Kennedy, Johnson, Allen and Pride we're going to find someone to fill his shoes at RB.Jones is arguably the best athlete on the team. It makes sense to get the ball in his hands as much as possible. If you liked him running back kicks, imagine what he can do if the ball is thrown his way 9 or 10 times per game. He'll be a deep threat like David Harvey, and unlike David Harvey, a threat to take a 10 yarder and bust it for 80. I think his affect on the Zips offense will be eerily similar to Hixson's after his move. Bowser, Jones and Bruce are a tremendous upgrade over Arthur, Arthur and Arthur from 2007. And who knows...maybe Alphonso Owen decides to join the pass-catching fray in 2008?Look for Jalil Carter to assume Jones' role in the secondary. I hear a lot of really good things about him.If our QB can go through his progressions in 2008, one of our top 3 WR's is going to be open.

Zip Watcher wanted me to let you know he'll offer up his old prom tux (below) for a very reasonable price. Zeke'll probably want to let the hem out in the pants, but otherwise he'd be set? Please PM ZW if you're interested.

I agree with you 100%. I remember a couple years ago Tyrell Sutton complained in the ABJ that "My hometown team didn't even recruit me!" I was shocked that no Zips coach bothered to pick up the phone and at least offer a recruiting visit. Reading further down the article, I saw that Tyrell was talking about the Buckeyes, not the Zips.The Zips need to find a place in the local people's minds and hearts. For the better part of two and a half decades the football program has been invisible. The teams have been bad, the facilities terrible and the marketing 4th-rate. That all needs to change. Making the team competitive is tough. And overcoming 25 years of futility doesn't happen overnight. Is JD the answer? I don't know. I'll have a better idea after this season is complete. He's won a championship and beaten NC State. But stumbling out of the gate with some overall bad recruiting classes, highlighted by the the inability to recruit a stud QB, makes his 5th season a highly critical one. He needs to take a step forward after two successive "down years."The facilities are now unreal. UA couldn't physically do a better job of setting the table for success. The campus takes quantum leaps forward in beauty seemingly weekly...the football practice facility is top-notch and the new stadium will be state-of-the-art.The Marketing? I'll accept an improvement from 4th-rate to 3rd-rate. The stuff I've seen lately is "ok." But having a new stadium to pimp means even the worst Marketing Department can't screw it up."Roo Town -- This is Your Team" is a decent first step. The "Roo" thing seems to be a winner, so why not ride it? The fact that Akron is a Buckeye's town...can that change? Yes. It won't ever change 100%, but UA can gain a place in local folks hearts by following the three things mentioned above. Look at the Zips hoops team. There are a lot of little kids growing up right now who are Zips fans first and foremost. 10 years ago they would have been die-hard Buckeye fans.Youngstown people are just as big a fans of OSU as Akronites. Yet if you go to Youngstown, you feel and see a lot of "Youngstown Pride" (not the old WBL team either). Akron people are Cleveland wannabees...Columbus wannabees...and who can blame them? Their home town, and their home town University really haven't done all that much to merit any "love" since rubber ruled the town. That's changing, and at a breakneck pace."There are those who look at things that are, and ask 'why?' I prefer to look at the things that aren't and ask 'why not?"'God Bless Proenza, and God Bless the new stadium!! The face of Akron is forever changed.

How tough is it to rent a tux when you're a 7-footer? :blink:

Seems like a pretty special athlete?

Steele picked K.e.n.t. State to win the MAC last year...and they went 3-9.There's no way we finish at the bottom of the MAC East. However, I agree that our proximity to the bottom is heavily dependent upon our QB's performance.

Do all these University types just copy each other? Does anyone have an original idea anymore?I can't wait until the Indiana opener in 2009. Maybe someone will come up with something clever like giving everyone white shirts to "white out" the Hoosiers? Be a Part, "Ventura Style"Be a Part, "Happy Valley" Style

Sounds like something Rydell Brooks probably considered at some point?

Zips battle Cavaliers for one state side, while Al Groh beats us for a DL in The Great White North.

You know me...I LOVE soccer, and I LOVE a parade!

Given a choice of the two, I'd have taken Quaintance.

From what I heard that's incorrect. We dropped Kentucky because it was our path of least resistance. Kentucky wasn't tickled to drop the game, but had a fallback game available. AND, more importantly, Wisconsin, unlike Ohio State, make a significant increase in their original contracted payout as an enticement for the Zips to honor their original commitment and come to Madison.I can't reveal my source, but I can say his name rhymes with "Snack Toads."

Cincinnati was a gift from Mike Thomas. Indiana was also a game from the previous administration, and at the time the contract was signed the new stadium was not a slam-dunk. Wasn't the Indiana game date originally a Rubber Bowl one?By no means am I a Big 10 shill, but getting a Big 10 team to come to your stadium, when you have no ties to that school (Miami, for example, got many of it's marquee games from Hoeppner, Walker and others) is pretty damn good.

That's a sweet video...I'm ready to lace 'em up right now!!

Indiana is a Big 10 team that played in a bowl game in 2007. They're the biggest "name" team to come to Akron since Virgina Tech in 1995. Anyone complaining about that game needs to redirect their angst. On a scale of 1-10 on the "complainability index," it rates a 1.5.

Unless someone were really really really lazy, I'd expect to have at least one "marquee" home opponent every season at the new stadium. We can afford it.

C'mon Browns, pick him up! I can safely say (albeit still unbelievable to me) that the Cleveland Browns will be a title contender next year, and nothing would be better than being able to wear a brown-and-orange jersey of the most successful Zip alum in the NFL.Order a replica 99 Browns jersey with Taylor on the back. If you want it, do it.If you go to the stadium you will see Willie Green, Couch, Courtney Brown, etc...What's the difference if you make your own or wear some losers jersey?In todays f'ed up nfl system, I would respect you more for that, than blindly buying the next first round pick's jersey just because they have it at Dick's and the some clown on WKNR tells Browns fans that "Quincy Morgan is a steal at the top of round two" so Brown fan runs out and buys his jersey.I was at Champs in Macedonia yesterday. They have a ton of really nice, stitched Charlie Frye Browns jerseys if you're interested. $9.99.

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Heritage-Conyers TE Considering ZipsAnd yes I do think Jimmy Conyers would make a great TE too. Maybe this kid at 6' 8", and Jimmy could swap sports?

Depends on the beer.For example -- The Leinenkugle's Summer Shandy that I tried for the first time at Canal Park last week...which tasted like 1/2 Mike's Hard Lemonade and 1/2 Pabst...would not be a suitable payment.