UAZipster0305

A la Dumb and Dumber, "Let's put another shrimp on the barbie!"

So we finish #15 in all of D-1A for the Men's Directors' Cup Standings on the back of a soccer national championship and no one comments? I am disappointed. Amazing accomplishment considering the schools we finished ahead of. And only 5 spots back from the behemoth and our rival, OSU. Where was Can't in those standings? I figure we got points from soccer, basketball, and track but GoZips.com doesn't specify the breakdown. No story from the ABJ either. Great effort though, guys!...Just think...in a year or two, we could be squeezing more points out of basketball if we can manage to advance in the tournament.

http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page4873.htm "The house that Porter built. Akron soccer continue to move on up with a national championship the most recent accomplishment. The old adage is build it and they will come. The program has advanced to a higher level and the Akron nation has responded making Cub Cadet Field one of the most energized stadiums in the country in which to witness a college soccer match. A ton of fun for the fan base and a huge plus for the team. Go Zips." #12 - St. John's #11 - Saint Louis #10 - Portland #9 - Cal Poly #8 - Wake Forest #7 - New Mexico #6 - Indiana #5 - UConn #4 - AKRON #3 - Maryland #2 - UCSB #1 - Creighton Very cool...only Maryland, UCSB, and Creighton ahead of us. No mention of the Rowdies or the European atmosphere, but you have to figure those things were a huge factor. Also, no mention of the First Energy stadium naming. We can pass Maryland, but topping UCSB will be hard purely because of their tremendous attendance and Creighton's stadium makes some MLS clubs (cough San Jose) jealous. Nice to see the Zips visiting some of the other best stadiums with recent schedules (New Mexico, Cal Poly, Saint Louis, UCSB, Creighton, am I missing any?). I am a bit surprised to not see UNC, UVA, or Penn State on the list.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizar...LFKH_story.html [“We’re a different place,” says Keith Dambrot, an Akron native who won two high school state titles at St. Vincent-St. Mary High with James and is now the head coach at the University of Akron. “It’s not like Akron is a suburb. It’s separate, and I think it is different in a lot of ways. I don’t think anyone from Akron says, ‘I’m from outside of Cleveland.’ We’re from Akron.”] I couldn't agree more, Coach.

I think #1 is my favorite. Good form, GP1!

True. If the other team isn't winning anything, it ain't much of a "rivalry." It's a ton of fun to beating Ohio State, don't get me wrong. But they haven't stepped up to the plate and made it a "rivalry." I think next year's CSU match could be equally as intriguing/heated/crazy as Ohio State. Only because CSU manned-up and beat the Zips. Ohio State wants to be our rival. But they aren't. They're Robin. We're Batman. Yes, CSU beat us, but I wouldn't say they "manned-up". More like they played better than normal and we over looked the game and played down to them. It was a total fluke. A single game does not justify a rivalry. CSU is not our strongest rival, OSU is!

On the bottom is my email to the editor of College Soccer News regarding their list of 14 top collegiate soccer rivalries. On the top is CSN’s same day reply to my email. Thank you for taking the time to write us and for the opportunity to respond. Thank you also for the ticket offer. That would be a great match-up to attend but we are already committed to be elsewhere that week. We plead guilty to never having seen in-person the Akron - Ohio State contest but we did do a lot of research including direct communication with a lot of people including folks from Akron before making the selections we made. It was on our short list (at least give us that) but was left off in large part as you have pointed out because Akron has so dominated the series. Your description and the information you provided makes a good case for it being included so maybe we missed one by not including it. Sounds like we might have gotten a different response if we had talked to the people from Ohio State. Akron is a great program with so many good things happening that are also great for college soccer. Thanks again for the information you provided and the opportunity to respond. Bob Bradner, Editor, College Soccer News -----Original Message----- Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 1:21 PM To: editor@collegesoccernews.com Subject: The Top 14 Rivalries In College Soccer Importance: High Time permitting in my life; I would like to attend each of the rivalries listed in your entertaining article. However, it is profoundly inexcusable that you would entirely omit Akron/Ohio State from you arbitrary 14 top collegiate soccer rivalries. I do not know what your criteria for this list are, but it would be difficult to believe that you have personally witnessed the Ohio Derby before, and yet excluded it from your list. Akron has commanded the series all-time for 50+ years. Still, the series has tightened considerably during the last decade, with many draws and a few OSU victories. The Buckeyes rightly believe they should reign preeminent within the state of Ohio, regardless of the sport. It galls them that a MAC school like Akron routinely beats them. Recent highlight is the 2008 rematch tilt during the NCAA tourney, won by Akron 2-1 in double OT. See 2010 draw in Columbus before record setting crowd of 8,000 fans. Match ended Zips consecutive streak of not surrendering a goal. These are all hotly contested, if not downright dirty, matches, with enough cardings to fill the book. On the line is future recruitment of exact same high school prospects within the state of Ohio. OSU coach Bluem earned his Master's degree @ Akron in 1984. There are innumerable ties. Hence, the Ohio State match is arguably the most important on Akron's schedule each year. As a Zips season ticket holder, I have your ticket should you choose to attend W/9/28/2011 for the latest installment of the Ohio Derby. Newly anointed Cub Cadet Field will be hopping! Please advise soon. Kudos for taking this on, fknbuflobo. I have wanted to do so, but just don't have time. I'd add that outside the soccer realm, we are the red-headed step-child compared to OSU. They are the flagship university and we compete with them for academic programs and state resources as well. The soccer rivalry is one of the few situations where we clearly have the upper-hand. Also, the 2008 NCAA Tournament double OT victory over OSU and the game being played at St.V was a huge factor in one of the biggest injustices in NCAA history when our following "home" game against Northwestern was moved to their field. Overall dominance or not, these things justify a major rivalry, especially of late with both programs on the national stage.

I love the budding rivalry with UM. Facing #10 Michigan means that the committee ranked us 54/64 teams to make the tournament. Impressive considering we didn't finish the season ranked in the top 75 and not much lower than Boston University who whooped us good 7-0 early in the season. Our other bad loss opponents (Brown and Tulane) did not make the Tournament. Now that the program is good, I would love to see the all-time records presented in the match previews next season as has been done for soccer, basketball, and football. Shows that we have a tradition. Some impressive wins over big name schools over the last couple years...Xavier, Cincy, Michigan State, Penn State, and Louisville....OSWho and perhaps Dayton are the only programs in Ohio better than ours...we beat YSU and CSU soundly in the OOC as well. Best of luck ladies! Wonder if UA will bring back men's tennis anytime soon? Would love to see that along with some on-campus indoor and outdoor facilities.

http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page1719.htm I think we got ripped off here. If anything, we are too dominant in the all-time series. However, in the last decade, both programs have been at the top nationally and the matches are very well attended and are meaningful. Afterall, OSU did spoil our consecutive win streak this past season. I'd love to see South Carolina or Clemson on our schedule in the future.

Way to go ladies! http://emueagles.com/custompages/wten/live...;DB_OEM_ID=9400 I thought our golf team had the best shot, but this is certainly impressive. So much for taking a step back after a new coaching hire. Now if only the baseball and softball programs could get competitive for championships...

Wow, did I call that one!

Very sad... http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog...rn=ncaaf-wp1027

To me, the most appalling parts of the tackle was that it was near midfield, on the sideline, at the start of the game, and during the regular season. All of those factors demonstrate how wreckless and unnecessary the tackle was. And the move Stevie put on Mullan that lead to the challenge was totally legit in the flow of the game. That is, Stevie was not trying to show Mullan up. I could only watch the replay once because as a forward who has been tackled like that before, it was terrifying. Fortunately, I have only ever fractured my ankles. The reaction by some of the Colorado players in showing sportsmanship and outwardly disassociating themselves from Mullan by leaving the bench was encouraging. Peer pressure and professionalism can go along way in discouraging this kind of behavior in the future. I loved the Seattle fans chanting Stevie's name as he was being carted off especially considering it was an away game. The best fan base in MLS by far! Awesome. In the end, this is a potentially career ending injury and the MLS should show no tolerance by throwing Mullan out of the league permanently. Will this happen? I highly doubt it. However, a burgeoning league in a highly competitive sports culture cannot allow its most promising young stars to be wrecklessly and unnecessarily injured. Get well Steve, and I look forward to seeing you back on the field in the fall.

I have as big of a chip on my shoulder about us getting no respect as anyone, but this is really a stretch. I doubt any City Series coaches go out of their way to discourage interest in UA. If we were worth our weight in feathers on the gridiron right now, we'd have a fair number of local three stars interested in us.

Very exciting to hear about. Could this be our third ranked athletic program of the 2010-2011 year? Does the men's golf program have what it takes to win the MACC and be our third men's NCAA qualifying team of the year? Where could that put us in the overall NCAA Championship standings for the men? Where do we stand currently? Anyone have a link?

It looks as if Can't's pool of good coaches is shrinking. While I enjoy seeing us beat Can't twice in a season and for an NCAA bid while they are on top of the conference and these things are great for the rivalry, I wouldn't complain about Can't having a down season or five.

Our OOC schedule last season was fine...we just lost all the games that mattered. BTW - Any talk of a Zips' at-large NCAA bid is valid with Zeke in his Junior and Senior seasons. If anyone says an at-large is not possible, they're a low-aimer. +1. However, we can't lose to the MAC West teams or any weak OOC opponents, and we must win a game or two against a reputable OOC program. Based on this year's schedule, that puts us at roughly 23-10, no losses to EMU or NIU, and a win or two against CSU, Dayton, Minnesota, or Miami-FL going into the MAC Tournament.

I can tell you we didn't recruit him. So there's really no reason to follow the kid. You might want to try an Akron High School web site. Losers blow games. Winners win them. YSU basketball is a perennial loser. Ricky Johnson Jr. ain't gonna change it. To paraphrase the great ZipsWin!, YSU bringing in new basketball recruits each season is pretty much akin to rearranging chairs on the Titanic. My advice -- Cut your basketball program and use the money to move up to D1-A football. All the same things could be said for UA football. And if it weren't for the new stadium and President Proenza's commitment to D-IA football at UA, I'd say we should move down to I-AA.

If the Tournament is expanded to 96 teams, you had best believe that nearly all the at-large bids would still go to the BCS conferences. Why dilute it for the sake of the BCS? I like the idea of the NIT, CBI, and .com tournaments as they match teams with similar talent while still making the NCAA prestigious.

At least we beat them in the MACC game a couple weeks back. Seriously though, it is very scary that such thugs gained access to a university building without anyone noticing. I hope this is an isolated incident and that the University is able to put measures in place that guarantee it won't happen in the future.

Bravo!

A good idea in theory but it actually hurts individual conferences if the same team would win both the regular season and tournament championships. If you think referees are biased now... I like 64 teams with the regular season champion given the automatic bid because it rewards the consistently good team as opposed to the one that is hot at the end of the season (even though we have benefited from the current format). I don't think there is any way to get rid of the BCS bias in the at-large selection unless it would be solely based on RPI ranking.

Sweet schedule! Lots of quality OOC opponents. Wonder how many have the potential for national TV exposure via FSN? I particularly like the matches against UCSB, UNM, St. Louis, and Wake. We will once again have the opportunity to crown ourselves champions of the Big Ten. Since we trail so distantly in the all-time series, I was hoping we'd have scheduled IU. There is always the revenge factor in playing NW again, and I wouldn't complain about seeing a few Big East opponents sprinkled in either. I would love to see UCLA or Portland and their soccer rich traditions too. Perhaps on future schedules. Kudos to Coach Porter and the rest of the staff.

Did Tressel try to pimp him here to Akron? Yes. And I believe we made a mistake not accepting his generous bribe. On top of having a better coach, we could have had a nice donation to help pay off the stadium. I don't see anything here about Tressel making a generous donation to UA. Am I missing something? Care to fill me in?

Thought he grew up in Kenya? 30% of Republicans would probably believe it. And if it's reported on Fox Noise, that number jumps to 80% of Republicans believing it.