Captain Kangaroo

Center Josh Kiner is the only Zip participating. Regardless, it is always a fun game to watch.

I saw in the PD that Tarver was 1-4 from the field in the summer league. Four shots...hmmm....I would assume he played...oh...maybe 38 seconds? With the Zips he shot four by the time the national anthem was at "...by the dawn's early light!"

2006 9/2 @ Penn State 9/9 @ North Carolina State Tough road trip call. Penn State is a blast the night before a game...and we'll be in much better shape to compete with them, and their new coach, in 2006 than we were in 1999 or 2004. NC State is allegedly a great time, and early September should be great weather too. Such decisions....

I read this and I harkened back to the old Katheryn Place and May Day parties. These were turned into "riots" by the media, with all sorts of reports of student violence. Since attended these things "back in the day" with some frequency...as did thousands of other students...I can say the following ALWAYS happend: Party is cool until later in the evening...band of young, non U of A student kids walks through the crowd and begins causing trouble. Fights begin. Once word of the party spread amongst the non-student, thug crowd, the problems worsened. See below: ************************************************************************ Youth arrests mar Akron celebration Firecracker thrown into police group, injuring 3 By Marilyn Miller Beacon Journal staff writer Akron police said although this year's annual Akron Family Barbeque downtown was successful and without incident, several rowdy youths outside the festival gates were arrested for fighting and throwing firecrackers. Police arrested about 15 youths for disorderly behavior and fireworks violations Monday. An M100 firecracker was thrown in the middle of several police on bicycles, causing minor injuries to three officers. Capt. Daniel Zampelli said a crowd of 100 to 200 youths were gathered near the north end of the festival at East Mill and Main streets after being dispersed from the south end. He said every year teens end up fighting, but this year was worse because of the large number involved. ``Every year a bunch of thugs come down to create problems,'' Zampelli said. ``They were just a group of teens who either couldn't get into the festival or didn't want to get in and just hung around the periphery causing trouble. They weren't there to watch the fireworks.'' He said the trouble was contained outside the festival. Inside, only one person was arrested for intoxication during the four-day event. ``We did more dispersing of the crowd than anything else,'' he said. ``We had to use pepper spray... '' Zampelli said the fights, involving boys and girls, broke out after the fireworks. The officers injured by the firecracker were treated by paramedics at the scene. One officer was cut on the hand and two others experienced some temporary hearing loss. Zampelli said it is illegal for individuals to detonate fireworks in the state of Ohio and one can only be in possession of them if they are being transported out of the state. Staffing more officers outside the festival is something the department is looking into for next year. Zampelli said staffing the festival leaves only a skeleton staff for the periphery. He said 15 or more officers staff the festival and that number can reach 50 to 60 during peak times. On July 4, there were 20 to 25 officers who worked the Innerbelt, outside the main gates of the festival and Cascade Plaza. Akron police and city officials met Tuesday to plan a new strategy for handling rowdy youths next year. Zampelli said the event will be handled similarly to May Day's zero tolerance policy. During the 1990s in the University of Akron area, setting fires, throwing bottles, drinking and loud music became a tradition in celebrating the end of the school year. Police began cracking down on the disturbances in 2000 after the incidents became more serious. ``If you are fighting or taunting, you will not get a summons,'' Zampelli said. ``You are going to jail.''

If he couldn't beat out Ferguson for the #2 spot this year...he'll struggle to make Cinci's roster. I see him playing intramurals unless he transfers to D2 or D3.

If Robinson and Hight live up to their potential...holy hell will we have a defensive line! Thanks for the confirmation, HighZip. BTW: Did you ever meet "Highfl@sh?" He a FA WR with the Browns now.

Jazz eyeing Green; Loyer to join staff July 5, 2005 Green and John Loyer already are feeling a domino effect in their respective professions in the NBA. Green, the 76ers' restricted free-agent guard, has drawn interest from the, which is seeking a replacement for, the former Sixer who has an agreement in principle to join the Noah Croom, Green's agent, confirmed that he has fielded a phone call from Jazz senior vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor and said they could have another conversation as soon as today to gauge the level of interest. Green was listed with a salary of $620,046 this season. Sixers president/general manager Billy King has said repeatedly that he fully intended to match any offers for Green, and. The Sixers can match offers for Green and Korver up to the average league salary, which is expected to be about $5 million. There are no limitations on their ability to match offers for Dalembert. King confirmed that Loyer, who spent the last five seasons with the organization, would be joining the Sixers as an assistant coach. New coach Maurice Cheeks already has brought along Bernie Smith from his Blazers staff, welcomed back former Sixers assistant John Kuester and has been awaiting a decision from former Sixers star Andrew Toney. That would indicate that when Jim O'Brien was fired as Sixers coach after the season, it was equally the end of his staff: Dick Harter, Lester Conner, Joe Gallagher and Frank Vogel. Loyer spent two seasons as an advance scout, one season as a video coordinator and two seasons as an assistant coach with the Blazers. He spent 12 seasons on the collegiate level at Wabash Valley (Mount Carmel, Ill.), Akron and Cincinnati.

Trip to MTSU in late September is too tempting to pass up. Hope the Purdue game is on local TV! Sorry the board is so slow...mid-July swoon, I guess.

Leftwitch.... Our B-I-T-C-H! F The Turds. In the skull.

I find it amazing that Youngstown can support 3...maybe 4 major local TV stations, even when Pittsburgh and Cleveland TV is readily accessible and Akron can't support one. Then again, if Akron ever got a "real" TV station, instead of a bush league piece of crap...maybe people would support it.

That wins the Adjective-of-the-Day award!

Again...I have no idea if Nate Robinson is the Rutgers transfer or not (I'm working on it)...but it would make sense that Nate is the guy. From a Big East football web site: ****************************************************************** RUTGERS sophomore defensive tackle NATE ROBINSON, who was one of the nation's top high school prospects just a few years ago, and transferred back home to New Jersey after originally signing with the University of Miami, was released from the program for violating un-specified team rules... there has been no formal reason or explanation for his release, but it was clear last fall that he was not nearly the player that was seen on tape during his high school days... he seemed overweight, under-conditioned and hardly ever dominated at the point of attack... still there is a lot of un-tapped potential here, but his work ethic and level of responsibility for his actions must come around before he will ever be able to take advantage of his vast potential. ******************************************************************** BTW: I'm sure there's a major at U of A that an 800SAT kid can be successful at? I think that's double what Katzenmoyer's SAT was entering OSU?

I think you're right about the Buchtel kid, but I don't think that's the Rutgers guy. From what I understand, the mystery Rutgers DL will have only 2-3 years of eligibility remaining. I looked around on the Rutgers site and a DL by the last name of Robinson had left the team. My guess is he's the one...but I don't know for certain.

Scott Uziel (TE) played a lot. I didn't see any passes thrown his way...his blocking was pretty rough, as was the entire East teams...but builing an OL for one of these games, with only a week's preparation, is impossible. My gut feeling: He has the body to be a solid TE, but he definitely needs to redshirt. Merce Poindexter played defense (DL). He's a big dude, height-wise. He looked pretty good. Wonder which side of the ball he'll be on @ Akron? With Cruz & Kasparek in the fold, the TE position is locked up for the next several years. Kevin Garner looked the best of the bunch. A very strong kid and a solid tackler. I found an article on him with some interesting tidbits (see below). Also, Can't's Eugene Jarvis looked very good. Can't fans are going to like him. Since the words describing Alex Allen @ the golf outing were "stallion" and "stud", and Kennedy's made great progress, losing Jarvis to Can't isn't a big deal. We're solid at RB. ********************************************************************** Titans' Garner will play as fooball all-star All-Star games are sometimes forgettable contests. After all, they are exhibition games played by makeshift teams. But Kevin Garner, a West Mifflin Area grad on his way to the University of Akron, is looking forward to Saturday's Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game at Altoona's Mansion Park. "I'm real excited. Since I'm redshirted this year I won't otherwise get a chance to play," he said. Few doubt Garner's athletic ability. In addition to collecting 14 sacks from his left defensive end position last year to lead the Titans to the WPIAL Class AAA final, he also averaged 16.4 points a game as a power forward-center on the section-champion basketball team. He also ran the second leg on the 400-meter relay team that qualified for the PIAA Class AAA track finals, registering a low time of 42.5 seconds during the season. He has been timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Garner is 6 feet 21/2 and 230 pounds and is ranked among the top 50 players in the state by Rivals.com. "I'm not the biggest player, but I can use my speed to get past the linemen," he said. "I was talking to one coach and he said I wasn't recruited heavily because of my size." Garner received the most attention from Mid-American Conference schools, although West Virginia and Indiana also offered him scholarships. He chose Akron because of its coaching staff and facilities. The Zips will play in a new stadium by the time he's an upperclassman. Garner was a four-year starter on the West Mifflin defensive line and by his junior season he was registering double-digit sack totals. "He was our defensive leader," said West Mifflin coach Ray Braszo. "He was very tenacious and always going full speed." In addition to his athletic ability, Garner credited his success to "my aggression; my hunger to get to the ball. I want every tackle I can get on the field." That desire displayed itself in a 20-7 WPIAL quarterfinal playoff win against Canon-McMillan, where he sacked quarterback Doug Rheam twice. The play that stands out came in the closing seconds of West Mifflin's 10-6 win at Peters Township Oct. 8. With the Indians deep in Titans territory in the closing seconds of the game, Garner broke through the offensive line and hit quarterback Tyler Porko as he released the ball. The football went straight up into the air and into Garner's hands for the clinching interception that evened West Mifflin's record at 4-4 and kept the Titans alive in the playoff hunt.

Cal Pa. is a good test for an exhibition. Jake Schifino's little brother finished up there last year. They're always a top team in that division. What happened to Xavier? Overall, I give the schedule a B-. Certainly an improvement over last year. FINALLY some games against marquee teams. But, the home non-conf schedule blows goats.

Quick notes: Balaam may/may not be a Zip. Iowa out-of-state tuition is $22,000, and Balaam probably doesn't have that much cash lying around...unless some Iowa booster "helps" him out. Odds of him being a Zip are better than 50/50...but not yet near 100%. A Pitt recruit from this year's class didn't make grades, so Pitt dropped their offer. He'll prop 48 at Akron this year an be eligible next year. A big DL, but I didn't get a name. A DL has transferred from Rutgers. He'll sit this year and be eligible in 2006. Again, no name. Getsey #1, Jabari at WR. Done deal. Ferg. #2 QB. Two Fr. QB's will hopefully redshirt. Height will prop 48. Tuzze expected to be the starting FB, but most of this year's class is expected to redshirt. Alex Allen looks great, per the RB coach. Kennedy looks good too, and will likely get carries on every 3rd series. (Biggs gets the first two). Expect the Zips to be "ok" this year, good next year, and champs in 2007. OL's were described as "more physical" than last year's group, but short on experience (obviously). Lots of work has been done over the spring to get them as game-ready as possible. Coaching staff could not be any more esctatic about this year's recruiting class.

Tygers' Avery headed to prep school By Larry Phillips News JournalMANSFIELD -- Colleges will have to wait a year to acquire the talents of Mansfield Senior basketball standout Jonathon Avery. The 6-foot-5 third-team All-Ohioan is headed to Harmony Community Prep School in Cincinnati. Av- ery hopes to raise his college entrance test scores while honing his basketball skills. "It's like a family-type environment and not a military-type school," Avery said. "I don't think I'll get homesick there, either." Avery averaged 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds as Mansfield Senior won the Ohio Cardinal Conference and reached the Division I Final Four. The willowy leaper with fine timing was the OCC and District 6 Player of the Year. "I think (prep school) is great for him," Mansfield Senior coach Gregg Collins said. "He'll have a chance to mature physically and advance with his academics. "He's got a number of MAC schools keeping their eye on him." The Tygers ripped off a 24-game winning streak while compiling a 24-2 record this season. Avery shot 70 percent from the floor and was the hub of that charge. His presence in the lane at both ends of the floor carried Mansfield Senior into the state tournament. Senior High was finally stopped by eventual state champion Canton McKinley. Avery made the all-tournament team. He completed his career with 984 points, 676 rebounds and 144 blocked shots. Avery hopes to carry that momentum through Harmony and into college. "I graduated from high school and I'll graduate from prep school. I'm just trying to improve my test score," Avery said. "This gives me the opportunity to get better." Among the colleges expressing an interest in Avery are Bowling Green, Akron, Toledo, Morehead State and Stephen F. Austin. "I don't have a favorite," Avery said.

My softball team and my son's tee-ball team are undefeated this year. I think I may apply. Please: No one tell Mike Rodriguez that ALL tee-ball teams are "undefeated." I hope the Zips schedule is full of church league teams. We kill'em!

I wonder if the format change of 1350 will affect the Zips broadcasting? I would think the Zips got some nice exposure due to 1350's all-sports format? I haven't listed to 1350am in over a month....I used to listen to it all the time. I wonder how many cartwheels Mike Thomas did when learning that Hipsher took the job @ Arkansas? That moved saved the Zips about 300K in salary, I think? Enough to get that new fund-raising assistant AD hired within the budget, I bet. Non-conf hoops schedule soon to be released? Louisville, Xavier and the San Juan shootout are a welcome change from Sisters of the Poor. Woods rehab progressing well...or poorly? As seen by his freshman "caboose," he has the potential to put on weight if not motivated. I hope he's been dedicated to a strong comeback. How much weight has Quade put on? Hope a solid 25 lbs. Which frosh are already on campus working out? I hope the OL's are. Is Balaam in or out? I've heard a million different things regarding his status. Diontre Earl's vacant spot seems to be well-suited for him...IF he remains in the fold. How is Jabari progressing at WR? Who will be the #2 QB? Who will be the first Zips football commit for 2006? Last year it was Tuzze, some time in July?

PG West: Freedom graduate Kaufman 'zips' to seventh in NCAA javelin Thursday, June 16, 2005 By Rich Emert, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Timing is everything in track and field, even when the event isn't decided by a stop watch. Ashley Kaufman, Freedom Area High School graduate and University of Akron junior, is the first to admit there are probably 20 better female javelin throwers at NCAA Division I colleges than herself. But most of them didn't make it to the finals of the NCAA championships, and only six finished ahead of Kaufman. "You look at my ranking and I'm around 20th in the nation," she said. "There is something to be said for peaking at the right time." She knows all about that from her high school days. Kaufman won the WPIAL Class AA championship in the javelin in 2002, but was second at the PIAA meet. In 2001, she was second in the WPIAL and fourth in the PIAA. Kaufman set the Akron record in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 159 feet, 3 inches in the qualifying round at the NCAA championships last week in Sacramento, Calif. She then had a throw of 155-8 in the championship round, which was good enough for seventh place. That earned Kaufman All-American honors. Dana Pounds of Air Force won the event with a toss of 185-4. "The way they work it is that the top 12 from the qualifying round make it to the final, but none of the marks carry over. They wipe the slate clean and you get six more throws," Kaufman said. "I don't think anybody threw as well in the finals as they did in qualifying." The qualifying was held last Wednesday with the finals Friday. By this time of the track season, most javelin throwers are battered, which explains the dropoff in distance. "We're all used to throwing just once a week at this point, so it's tough to compete one day and then come back a day later and go again. Everybody has back braces, knee braces, elbow braces or something." Kaufman wears a back brace when she throws. Her back was injured when she was a freshman working out with a medicine ball. The injury hindered her training. While the back pain is still there, Kaufman has learned to deal with it when she throws. Her journey to the NCAA championships was an interesting one. To earn the trip, she had to compete in the Mideast regional qualifier in Bloomington, Ind. The top-five finishers there moved on to Sacramento. After her last throw at the Mideast Regional, Kaufman thought she had missed out. "I didn't think I had made it [for the championships] until an official came up and told me I did," she said. "What happened was I was in sixth place going into the final there and I threw better than the girl ahead of me in fifth, and then she threw better than I did. "We were both locked into beating each other for that fifth spot that we didn't realize that we both passed the girl who had been in fourth place." Before the NCAA meet, Kaufman sat down with her coaches at Akron and studied video of her throwing technique. They even looked at some video of when Kaufman was competing for Freedom. Some minor flaws were discovered in Kaufman's form and adjustments were made. "The javelin is such a technical event that a minor thing here or there can add distance," she said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised that I got seventh place. My coaches did a great job of getting me to peak at just the right time." One of Kaufman's goals this season was to break the Akron record of 158-3. With that and the All-American honor tucked away, she looks forward to bigger and better things next year. She plans to stay at Akron this summer and continue to train. There is a USA meet in two weeks in Los Angeles that Akron coaches are trying to get Kaufman to attend. The B standard for the competition is 157 feet. The A standard, or automatic qualifying distance, is 164 feet. "They have a field of 25, and if you've thrown the B standard, that just means you are on a waiting list," Kaufman said. "I want compete there because most of the top throwers in the country, people who have graduated from college but have continued to train for the Olympics, will be there. The competition should be great." This was Kaufman's first time at the NCAA championships and she soaked in as much of the atmosphere as possible. When she wasn't competing, she was at the stadium cheering for Akron teammates. "Just being there was a great experience," she said. "There are just so many talented athletes. The whole thing was awesome." Kaufman received a plaque for achieving All-American honors. She had it in her carry-on bag on the flight home and, unfortunately, it was broken in transit. "But that was OK," Kaufman said. "I'll just go out and earn another one next year."

New associate athletics director joins Zips from the University of Miami. June 15, 2005 AKRON, Ohio - Pat Kreger has been hired as the Associate Athletics Director for Development at The University of Akron, Athletics Director Mike Thomas announced Wednesday. Kreger comes to Akron from the University of Miami (Fla.) where he served as the Director of the Hurricane Club for the past two years. At Akron, he will be responsible for annual, planned, capital and special gifts for Intercollegiate Athletics, as well as managing the direct mail program. "We're thrilled to have Pat aboard," Thomas said. "He has experience in a number of different fund-raising capacities and should fit in well within an important area of our department. Pat will play a key role in the high aspirations we have for the future growth of all our athletics programs." His responsibilities at Miami included overseeing and coordinating the Hurricane Club annual giving program, the annual fund drive, regional Hurricane Club events and activities throughout Florida and Atlanta, as well as the courtesy car program. During his time at UM, Kreger oversaw growth of Hurricane Club giving from $4.24 million to more than $5 million for the first time. A native of Green Isle, Minn., Kreger arrived in Coral Gables, Fla., after spending the previous six years (1997-2003) at San Diego State University, most recently serving as Assistant Athletics Director - Aztec Athletic Foundation (AAF), overseeing all aspects of annual giving and special events for SDSU Athletics. Kreger, 34, will begin his duties with the Zips on July 11. "I'm really excited about coming to the University of Akron and becoming a part of the Zips Athletics family," Kreger said. "It's a great opportunity for me, both personally and professionally, and I'm looking forward to meeting all the great people who support Akron Athletics." A 1993 graduate of Mankato State (Minn.) University, Kreger spent three years working in the private sector at Omega Management in Minnetonka, Minn., before entering collegiate athletics in 1996 at Fresno State where he was the assistant accounting manager.

The fact that he championed the JAR isn't one of the most impressive things on his resume either. In general, seemed like an ok guy. I loved his "Far Side" comic strip.

Former Akron football coach Gordon Larson dies 6/13/2005, 5:50 p.m. ET The Associated Press AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Former University of Akron football coach Gordon Larson, who led the school to its first bowl game, died Sunday in Florida. He was 80. In 12 seasons (1961-72) as the Zips football coach, Larson had a 74-33-5 record and just one losing season. His .683 winning percentage is the best of any coach in program history, while the 74 wins are six fewer than Jim Dennison (1973-85). Larson led Akron to the Grantland Rice Bowl in 1968, a first for the school. He coached at Twinsburg High School before serving as an assistant to Woody Hayes at Ohio State. As Akron's athletic director for 15 years (1970-85), Larson helped establish the women's intercollegiate program, pushed for buying and refurbishing the Rubber Bowl and created a $20 million initiative to construct what is now James A. Rhodes Arena.

I tried to find some info. One site has him signing a LOI with New Hampshire, but nothing about him and Iowa?

Heath names Hipsher as an assistant By NATE ALLEN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FAYETTEVILLE — For the second time, Dan Hipsher replaces the replacement as he becomes the new assistant coach on Stan Heath's Razorback staff. Hipsher, a former head coach at Wittenberg (Ohio) and Stetson (Fla.) and most recently the University of Akron, was named Friday by Heath to replace Bill Herrion. Herrion, also a former head coach, was hired April 18 to replace Rob Flaska, now the head coach at Centenary. By May 26, Herrion became the new head coach at New Hampshire. "Things like that just happen," Hipsher said in a joint Friday teleconference with Heath. "One of my first head coaching jobs another guy took the job and then bailed out and I got the job that way. And we were ultra-successful at Wittenberg with that." Last December Hipsher got detoured from an assistant coaching job at Southern California because a head coach bailed. Rick Majerus, the retired Utah coach hired last December to coach Southern California effective the 2005-06 season, hired Hipsher then decided to stay with ESPN as a basketball analyst. "In December I thought we were headed to Southern California," Hipsher said, "but I think we are in a little better basketball hotbed at Arkansas to be honest. The facility (Walton Arena) is unbelievable. The closest thing I've been involved with like that was at Dayton (as an assistant coach for 10 years) with 13,000 or 14,000 every night. But what Arkansas has, not many can rival that." Hipsher, 238-182 in 15 years as a head coach (97-18 in four years at Wittenberg, 29-27, two years at Stetson and 112-137, nine years at Akron before being reassigned in 2004 to Akron's office of public affairs and development) obviously has the head coaching experience Heath sought when he hired Herrion. Was Hipsher considered Heath hired Herrion? "Yeah," Heath acknowledged. "I brought Bill in right away (for an interview). It's kind of like recruiting. If you've got a really good player that comes to your campus and you've got a scholarship for him, you almost give him the scholarship so you don't lose him. So kind of the buck stopped with Bill, but Dan is certainly a guy I have a lot of respect for and considered. That was the decision I made at that time, but I think this is a great fit to have Dan come in and join our staff. I don't have any doubt in my mind he'll come in and complement our staff very well and have an effective impact with our players." Heath knows Hipsher's coaching firsthand. He coached Can't State for a year in the Mid-American Conference vs. Hipsher's Akron Zips. "We had more talent on that team than he did," Heath said. "Can't State went to the Elite Eight, but he gave us some scary games. I remember he almost blew Senior Night for us." Heath interviewed Hipsher last Sunday and Monday in Fayetteville. "He has a great basketball mind," Heath said. "He'll be able to help us offensively and defensively. I've been impressed with preparations and how his teams force other teams to play toward their weaknesses rather than their strengths." In Arkansas' press release, Heath also cited Hipsher's "tough-love mentality which our players will respond to (OH THEY'LL RESPOND ALRIGHT!) " and his expertise in "strong offensive techniques" and how he has "utilized zone defenses." During the teleconference, Heath said, "His teams have been good man to man wise and he's got a zone that gives people fits. As far as zone offense, we'll bounce some things around there. Our zone offense was fine until we hit a snag late in the season. Sometimes it was just more of a mental thing. But if we can do some things to help our team in that area, I know Dan will be a great asset for us." Since his immediate two predecessors left to be head coaches, Hipsher was asked about head coach aspirations. "I think we've all got a goal to run our program at some time," Hipsher said. "But I've got a goal to do the best job I can do for this university. I've never been a job hunter. I worked at Dayton 10 years and applied for two jobs. I look for things to fit me, and I think this is a great place for me to work at, I'm proud to be there." Hipsher said his batteries are "recharged" after being out of basketball. According to the UA's press release, Hipsher got a testimonial from Texas Tech coach Bob Knight, the former Indiana coach knowing Hipsher from his Dayton days. "He has developed," Knight is quoted, "a superb understanding of the game at both ends of the floor. He is an extremely good teacher as a practice coach and a very good tactician as a coach. Dan will be a tremendous addition to basketball at Arkansas."