Z.I.P.

Thanks -- my bad typo.

Well, FWIW -- basketball team won 54-42. Trailed virtually the entire game, found a way to win...

UNBELIEVABLE!!! 1:31 to go Fitzy scores from long pass from Demit! Game's tied 3-3!

"Attendance is 3,442. 10:01 to go in the second half, still 3-2 Akron." Per the Bears' Tweet. Score is oh, so, sweet! Hold that line!

PERRY-PERRY-KITCHEN-KITCHEN!!! Kitchen scored for Akron, which leads 3-2. He shot from 19 yards, and it bounced off the post and in with 14:19 left int he second half.

Still 2-2 in 75th minute. C'mon Zips!

And... just so you don't have to switch over...Akron trails UIC 32-27 with 18:40 to play in Chicago. Cal ties it at 2. Game on! Goal, Cal! 2-2. Third goal from Salciccia. Omphroy took a 30-yard shot that the gk saved but couldn't hang onto. Salciccia scored from 6

And... just so you don't have to switch over...Akron trails UIC 32-27 with 18:40 to play in Chicago.

In case you didn't hear: Michigan upset Maryland 3-2 in overtime, and will play the winner of Akron-Cal in the NCAA Semifinals. In...Santa Barbara, California. Wow! UofM? Again?

??? AR? I noticed a delay, what was that all about? Here's what Cal wrote: "Akron's shot was taken from the corner of Cal's penalty area. Hmm, something going on with the officials." I dunno...

Hope Twitter doesn't sue me. Akron outshooting Cal 9-6 and corners tied at 4 at halftime. Bingham has 3 saves to Meves' 1.

And our frozen buttocks. Are we having any luck with the video stream on ZipsZone? it doesn't have sound and 1350 am has a lessor priority game on.http://www.gozips.com/newMediaPlayer/conso...0&id=409352 That would seem to me to cover 100% of the known universe. TWO to ONE AKRON. Caldwell! Nice one, rookie! Caldwell scores for Akron 27 seconds after the Zips' first goal. Assists by 10 and 6? 2-1 Akron at 4:00 left in the first half.

And our frozen buttocks. Are we having any luck with the video stream on ZipsZone? it doesn't have sound and 1350 am has a lessor priority game on.http://www.gozips.com/newMediaPlayer/conso...0&id=409352 That would seem to me to cover 100% of the known universe.

Unfortunately, Cal has drawn first blood in 31st minute. We will see how this team responds to being down for the first time this season! Avalos scores for Cal! Assist by Jones! with 14:47 left in the first half from about 15 yards, inside the corner of the penalty area (from Cal Twitter) THE RESPONSE! From Georgie's li'l boy! Akron scores equalizer with 4:27 left in the half. 1-1 after goal by Nanchoff; assists by Mattocks and Nagbe

Unfortunately, Cal has drawn first blood in 31st minute. We will see how this team responds to being down for the first time this season! Avalos scores for Cal! Assist by Jones! with 14:47 left in the first half from about 15 yards, inside the corner of the penalty area (from Cal Twitter)

BTW -- if you weren't watching -- Andrew Souders took a ball off the goal line in each of the two games for the USA, to preserve the 2-1 win over S. Korea and the scoreless draw with Brazil. His defensive efforts against Brazil were worthy of Player of the Game for the Yanks. Unfortunately the USA, despite having a two man advantage for 20 minutes, could not sustain an offensive attack vs the South Americans, and are tied with Turkey at topof the tourney table. They play Turkey on Sunday 7 PM EST on Fox Soccer Channel.

My fave: Nutmeg -- Putting the ball through the five hole. Not just the keeper's though, any opponent. I remember the crowds at the Coliseum would shout when the Force did it.

Wow! I gotta tell ya, I've been betting against UNC since last year's quarterfinals! They sure find a way to move on.

Right. But take a look at the link again. It says 5:30 and 8 PM. I can only assume that is local (i.e., PST) time, not EST. I will check what UCSB says, but repeating, the second semifinal would be 11 PM in Akron/NY. That is typical NCAA stupidity.

So, what's your reaction to the World Cup decision? Well sounds like some rich Qatar businessmen "donated" some money. I'm a bit surprised though, I mean both of our countries' leaders are Muslim, should be a tossup. Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh are muslims? Wow! As for reaction, yes, FIFA needs a back-up plan alright. And Sepp Blatter won't be getting any Nobel Peace Prize votes from the USA (I think that like the Heisman, laureates get a vote, no?) Qatar is a country of 800,000 full-time citizens, and a like # of foreign worker servants, built (Doha, the capital, where most of the population sits) on land reclaimed from the sea. It's a floating oil derrick, for Pete's sake. And one which will not understand or acknowledge democracy in our lifetimes. Similar to the Beijing Olympics, only without established infrastructure. I just hope they don't expect non-Arabs to fill their air conditioned stadiums (i.e., before they disassemble them for gift to Egypt and Libya). Russia? Bit of a surprise for those who were paying attention to many unknowing US "experts", but Russia/Qatar were considered favorites leading up to the vote by many European and British media. Still, a shocking outcome. FIFA deserves international investigation, not any prizes. Hope the Panorama (BBC) expose' shows up on US telly.

If you look at the Championship website on NCAA.com, an autograph session is listed after semifinal #1. Wow! I just noticed this. Do you mean to tell me that the games are being played at 8:30 and 11:00 PM EST?? That sounds like a MAJOR screw up by the NCAA, if it's true! Have they ever heard of PUBLICITY? Would they schedule the NCAA basketball semis at that hour? On the other hand, it gives me i.e., us almost a total additional day of wine appreciation on Friday. Now I may have to readjust my schedule.

The Bottom Line - Akron is unbeaten in their last thirty-eight home games at Lee R. Jackson Field. The partisan Akron fans will create an electric atmosphere which will make this match an event. California will not be intimidated but the bottom line is that they have a huge mountain to climb to come out of this one a winner. All things considered, it is hard to fathom that Akron will take their eyes off the prize at this point in the season. Look for a hungry Akron side to take care of business on the pitch and to earn the right to travel to Santa Barbara to compete in their second consecutive Final Four. Baby, how can you not like that? In general I agree with the obvious psychological motivation that the Akron team has. However, we should realize that this Cal team is a better one than Akron faced in the quarterfinals last year. Of course the team defeated Stanford rather easily. I would take a one goal Akron blowout, believe me.

I agree that the leadership of the tea party was/is socially conservative. However, a good amount of the followers and hangers-on were of a more libertarian direction. I'm sure more and more of them (and independents in general) will abandon that train as time wears on.

FSC will be televising the Nike International Friendlies tournament from Phoenix today through Sunday. The US team, featuring fullback Andrew Sounders (Amherst OH, Columbus Crew Academy and US U17 Residency), our 2012 rock steady recruit will be playing tonight at 7:00 (may actually be a 7:30 start) vs South Korea and then on Friday vs Brasil and Sunday against Turkey. All these games will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel. Another chance to see the future of American futbol, before it hits Lee Jackson Field. I was disappointed to see our 2011 Akron recruit from New York RedBulls is not on the roster for this tournament. (edit, I mistakenly wrote Juan Agudelo previously, forget the recruit's name) I thought he was in residency. Anyone know (calling Zach) what his status is? http://www.soccernation.com/u-s-u17-vs-korea-cms-776

I think I'll still start a new thread, but Bisbee will have a chance to see not only his Seattle Sounders Academy prospect, but also -- if time allows, 2012 Akron recruit Andrew Souders at the Phoenix Showcase. Souders will be playing for the US U17s this week and weekend vs Korea, Brasil and Turkey. Good luck to all. BTW -- does anyone know about the youth showcase at Santa Barbara next week? Will there be any international level players or elite (e.g., Development Academy) teams participating. I think there are two separate youth tournaments aligned with the NCAA College Cup, one in Santa Barbara and one in Camarillo, in Ventura County.