Captain Kangaroo

Baltimore decided to give it a go with another MAC product after Sunday's draft ended, signing 6-foot-7, 256-pound Western Michigan basketball forward Joe Reitz to a free agent contract.

Here's a feature on Reggie from BuffaloBills.com

Thanks for the info and update, Mrs. M. We all really appreciate it!

Everyone is so judgmental, yet no one has any clue what's gone on inside the women's locker room. Until now. I was sent this audio file of a Coach Kest halftime speech. It was obviously from a Zips/Purdue scrimmage. You judge for yourself if you cold play for her.

It is interesting to see the teams with incumbent Zips drafting Zips or signing them as free agents.KC signs Jabari, and they had given Kiki a good look last seasonGiants have Hixson and Blackburn, and are giving Robinson a look.Dolphins have Taylor, and are giving Kasparek a look.The Jets recently had Ryan Myers and Vic Greene, and have now signed both Tate AND Dwight Lowery.

Just to add a few notes and confirmations regarding the banquet:Yes, the food was pretty embarrassing. Cold wings, cold meat balls, tragic pizza, nice salad...but no salad dressing. Even considering the low, low $15.00 price of admission, it was really bad. I'll bring a roast beef sandwich in my pocket next year just in case the caterer somehow inexplicably gets their contract renewed.The event itself was very nice. Frenchy did an OUTSTANDING job as emcee. Very entertaining. Ced pretty much stole the show with his heartfelt overview of how he was recruited. He got a scholarship when Allen Hanson backed-out late. Ced didn't know anything about UA before stepping on campus shortly prior to his scholarship offer...but it was a free ride to play hoops, so he took a flier. 4 years and 1,000 points later, there he was on the podium saying his goodbyes. Very moving speech.My son couldn't make the event, but Ced was his favorite player, so after the event ended I asked Ced if he'd say "hi" to my son on the cell phone. He talked to him for probably 3-4 minutes. Just a 1st class guy.I don't want to short change the other guys. They all made nice speeches and all seemed to be extremely happy with what they'd accomplished at UA. It was good to see guys graduating, and taking pride in Akron. It wasn't all that long ago that players were begging for the season to end, and couldn't wait to get the hell out of Summit County.The fact that the Zips are the only team in the MAC with 2 post-season wins in the last 5 years was mentioned. I never thought about that, but it is pretty impressive.There will be a "marquee" game at The Q this upcoming season. And, the Zips will be playing in a Mississippi Stae-sponsored Tourney this winter. Mississippi State will be an interesting opponent. They made it to the 2nd round of the NCAA's this year, losing by 3 to Memphis. But, the seem to have a lot of turnover in their program. And, despite going 12-4 in the SEC, they lost to Miami OH and Southern Illinois last year. They lost to the Zips three years ago, so it is safe to say we should be competitive.KD mentioned his high expectations for next year. He seems pretty confident we'll be in the mix for a championship despite the heavy graduation losses.Jimmy Conyers was present, alto he spent most of the night wrestling with is young daughter (she must not have liked the wings either). Dambrot praised Conyers as the "best defender on our team." I saw no indicators that Conyers was transferring.Chris Mc Knight, Ronnie Steward and Rydell Brooks didn't attend. Steward is fully recovered from his injuries, and the coach spoke of how well Ronnie performed in the recent vertical leap evaluations.KD and Mack spoke of getting the Zips season ticket sales up from 1,000 to 2,000. I think that'll be tough, because there aren't 2,000 quality seats in the JAR. If Mack can devise a plan to pull that off, he's "The Man."The 2008-9 schedule, per KD, "will be the 2nd toughest in team history." Behind the Clemson/Cal/Louisville/Mississippi State schedule of 4 years ago. It will be very interesting to see who's the competition at The Q.The Rowdies gave the seniors some of their game-night signs (i.e. Ced got a framed "C-Note" sign). That was a nice touch!Overall Banquet Experience -- Bad food. Otherwise, great night.!

Congrats to Dwight!! I never once saw him get burnt at UA!!

Thanks to all who've posted on the tourney! I couldn't make it last night, and 14 yards of mulch later...well...today wasn't happenin' either. If there is a Zeke/Storm game tomorrow, it would be appreciated if someone could post the time and place.

Everyone in college sports steals from everyone else. Fear the Roo? Ripped off from Maryland. But depending upon who you listen to, Maryland ripped "Fear the Turtle" off from Disney's "Fear the Mouse" campaign from a few years earlier.Marshall fans have their "WE ARE....MARSHALL"...which is absolutely NOTHING like "WE ARE...PENN STATE"...or WE ARE...*insert any school here* Some people say "Z-I....P-S" is a rip off of OSU's O-H...I-O. Big fat hairy deal...there's 546 other four-letter schools that did did the same thing before OSU.Which leads me to -Wisconsin does a super cool version of House of Pain's that would be great for UA. It fits perfectly with the Kangaroo. It would be a slam-dunk success if the Zips leased this tradition from the Badgers.It's either that, or glom on to the old standby, "Hang on Zippy." IMO - OSU ruined that one when they stole it from the Zips back in the early 70's. Go with "Jump Around."

I don't think that's entirely accurate. Acme was a force in the area from the early 1900's through the late 80's. Then competition rolled into town (Giant Eagle, Finast, etc) and Acme struggled. They're at least half the overall size they were 2 decades ago...probably a lot less.Acme cut their game sponsorship dollars heavily because they were watching their bottom line at the time. Giant Eagle out-bid them for the game sponsorship (which didn't take a whole heck of a lot).Other contributing factors (to the once-festive day's decay):Lazy UA promotions people who figured putting a schedule on a grocery bag was enough to sell out the Rubber Bowl Many bad teamsNo doors on the Rubber Bowl stalls

I called UA a few minutes ago and there is still time to reserve a seat at the Basketball Awards Banquet being held tomorrow (Friday) night at 6pm. If there's just one of you, you can even pay at the door.$15.00 for a buffet dinner and chat with the players and coaches is a pretty sweet deal.

First OSU...then Michigan...then Akron....then Orange Valley CC...then ???

Clyde Ohio product no gangsta.

The MAC needs to get a 4th place team that merits a bowl game before accepting a bowl.2008:WMU played competitive vs. Purdue, but lost.Ball State was thoroughly outclassed by RutgersBG was flat-out embarrassed by TulsaMiami was the MAC East champ and didn't have a .500 recordIt is a shame that all those great MAC teams of 5 years ago got the shaft in our, then, 1-bid conference. While today, comparatively weak MAC schools are "bowling."All MAC schools, including the Zips, need to start pulling their weight if we want the MAC to gain any national respect. Sending BG to the Congressional Bowl just to get waxed by Navy 65-21 ain't no good.

Mixed messages in her departure comments

They should be even more careful with the dust from the Odd Corner's demolition. I hear it could go for as much as $245/oz on the street?

If Florida Atlantic is looking for a little "April Madness," they've come to the right place. My advice -- Just be prepared for the accompanying anger management courses when formulating any contracts.

The first recruit to take advantage of K.e.n.t.'s newfound "Odd Corner Endowment" windfall is Lexanne "Lexy" Kowalski, a 6' 4", 268lb DL from San Francisco:

Mollaut - You crack me up...one of my favorite posts in recent memory!

Believe it or not, Akron got some solid street cred in the Carolinas with the NC State win. It could be the writer's way of identifying the MAC...they don't know Ball State down there, but they remember the Zips.

Akron singled-out as pursuing this big QB

The several hundred gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual students at UA will miss a few guest speakers over the next few decades....but our stadium won't have a head shop next to the main entrance. I'm ok with that. "Anchored?" I would have used the term "blighted," but...whatever... So he agreed to it...and now he's throwing a fit? Nice.I refuse to buy any new bongs from him when his new store opens. I'm traveling to K.e.n.t. for all my Head Shop needs. Will anyone else join me in the boycott?

That's akin to saying "Chuck Nevitt was a member of one of the best front courts in Laker history."

Speaking of Brian Wood, I found his nemesis' memoir.

Click for Coach with Phone-y Resume'