Z.I.P.

Well, the thing that concerns me most is not that we will lose very good players, that has happened every year recently. The bigger concern is that I see no newcomers coming to replace them. Do we have a single commitment for the class of 2013?

I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere on this thread, but what seems to me the most amazing eventuality (well, San Diego St. in the Big East...? ) was announced yesterday: Grand Canyon University has been welcomed into the WAC! Not only is this the first time a university has moved directly from D-2 to Bowl Championship Subdivision (though, frankly, I don't know if they even have a football team), Grand Canyon becomes the first for-profit university to compete in major college sports. The majority of Grand Canyon's student body exists in cyberspace, and completes coursework on-line. That's amazing! CGU moves up from the Pac West Conference, which includes Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii-Hilo, Chaminade, BYU-Hawaii and even more nondescript institutions like Cal Baptist and Academy of Arts University. Maybe they'll be in the 2016 Orange Bowl.

Alright, I can vouch from personal experience that MDZip is a valuable travelling companion on road trips. I do hope that his boss didn't call to remind him of missed deadlines on this occasion. I don't suppose you managed to find any wine tasting rooms in the Caribbean -- I imagine that rum tasting could be at least as lucrative and enjoyable on such an excursion for both the entrepreneur and the connoisseur. In just slightly more serious mode, it appears that it has fallen on George and each sports program to put such trips together, as no other entity on campus (Hello -- Alumni Office??) any longer shows interest. My trip a few years ago to watch the team in Berkeley was made much more enjoyable due to the actions of the basketball office then, who were more than happy to provide me front row seats. I hope I can be there the next time the Zips are on the West Coast, or even in the middle of the Pacific. Hello, Keith? There are like six slots open for the 2013 Diamond Head Classic!

I hate to be drawn into responding to relatively irrelevent facts..but I just wanted to point out, Chaminade STILL plays in a high school gymnasium. CUH shares their campus with St Louis High School and they share all their facilities. The school is barely able to maintain an athletic program, and until an angel charity recently fell into their lap, they received the majority of their athletic budget from that basketball tournament on Maui.

When Hawaii qualified for the Sugar Bowl in 2007 (IIRC), the WAC reportedly received around $20 Mil. Of that, UH kept about 1/2, which allowed them to balance the books for a couple years. Too bad its all gone now, considering their last two FB games at Aloha Stadium drew 5-6k (Boise) and about 10-12k (UNLV).

Would Akron like a part of $28.2 Million? That's how much the MAC stands to gain, if the Golden F.lashes go to a BCS bowl! This article says it'll be the Orange Bowl, but others are saying the Sugar Bowl, possibly vs the Gators. edit: Woops, didn't see DiG already linked this.

Damn! I can't believe not one of you has mentioned the PREMIER college basketball pre-season tournament. This year's Diamond Head Classic features Arizona, San Diego State, Mississippi, Miami (FL), East Tennessee, Indiana State, San Francisco and the host Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. From my research, the only school shown for the 2013 tournament is George Mason University. (I look forward to meeting Steven Goff, who may be the top soccer blogger in the nation) This is a tournament that has gotten a better field in each year of its existence. Come on Keith. Say aloha one more time. I know you wanna wake up on Waikiki Beach.

The NE Ohio soccer community has been awarded an incredible gift these past seven years. Has it really been that long? It's not easy looking back and knowing what the future may hold, but no one can say that we're not far advanced because of where we've been placed by this leader. He has hardly left any cupboards bare. Best wishes to Jared Embick and those who stay to carry on the new tradition of a team that plays for championships, every year, every game. Two stars in '13.

Quinn made his shot in 5th rubber. Then Creighton made their kick. Bluejays win shootout 5-4, bringing to an end this season, and an incredible era in Zips soccer. Good luck coach Porter.

Trapp misses. Creighton converts. Creighton now must miss. 4-3.

3-3 after three. Stevenson scoores for Akron.

2-2 after second inning. Brenes scoored for UA.

Castro scores PK. 1-1.

Caldwell makes first PK 1-0.

Anything, anybody? My gametracker hasn't updated since end of regulation.

End of regulation. Akron 1 Creighton 1.

88:02 Caldwell hits Creighton's crossbar. Stevenson follows it up, high... Let's get this done, Akron.

Creighton goal 83rd minute, Timo Pitter. 1-1. Come on Zips!

Maryland leads Coastal Carolina 2-1 35th minute. Fairleigh Dickinson, UNC scoreless 38 minutes in.

Forty-five minutes played. Akron 1 Creighton 0. 9-5 Akron in Shots. Each team has one shot on goal. One save for Meves.

Twenty-fifth minute, still 1-0 per NCAA's so-called gametracker. Is there a full CBS type available? If anyone has one, plz send a link. Mahalo from HI. Edit: 36th minute. 1-0 Akron. Shots are 7-2 for Akron.

In about 45 minutes the Nobody Silverswords play the North Carolina Tar Heels for third place. Good luck to Mike Green and his teammates. I'm lookiing for DeAndre Haskins to be on the All-Tournament Team in any case. He can flat out play.

Only one (1) thing wrong with your theory Z5. The Soviet players may have been AS GOOD as Western professional hockey players, but they were paid like mere pawn/subjects of the Soviet state. That was the case with amateur athletes in Communist bloc nations for decades. So, while you may argue their amateur status was nominal or technical at best, it did in fact meet the standards of international amateur competition. I remember the times very well. The criticism from within the USA was mostly from people who wanted US amateur athletes to be able to compete with foreign (including Western European and other) amateurs who were subsidized by their governments, but were mostly opposed to the USA subsidizing our athletes in the same manner. Then along came the defiler of amateurism and international competition, Juan Antonio Samaranch to install a for-profit Olympic movement and an end to true amateurism in international athletics. He and that movement are the reason why I haven't paid attention to most Olympic competitions since the 1970s. There are a few events in teh Winter Olympics I still enjoy, but they too have been professionalized/bastardized for the most part.

Thanks to GoZips for the update. I'm afraid this will dampen coach Bovaird's day on Maui, as he will be cc'd. I have yet to make it to Maui for this event. At least they have been able to put in AC to make it a more breathable three days at Lahaina Civic. I did however view the Silverswords knock off an ACC team on their home gym court in the early 90s. I believe it was Maryland, however I also recall Vinny Del Negro being on the floor, and he played for NC State. Did Md have a tall Italian guard? -- and don't say Marc Iavarroni! That was 15 yrs earlier.

Akron's secret weapon: We own the Hawaiian Standard Time zone!