Z.I.P.

Or maybe he made the mistake of saying exactly what he is planning to do.....It makes absolutely no sense for a non-qualifier attend Akron, then transfer. No one does that in Division 1 college football. Anywhere.That's why the prep schools exist. Or JUCO's.In the history of Zips athletics, no "Mr. Football/Mr. Basketball/"Super-Duper All-Star" has ever made a meaningful contribution. In fact, all have been HUGE busts, often barely seeing the playing field or court.Marcus Sanders, Christian Morgan, Nate Robinson, Ryan Bain, John Carson, Emmanuel Smith, Derrick Tarver, etc etc etc.Dammit Cap'n. You've got to lay off your constant digs at All-World Derrick Tarver, the greatest Zip recruit of ALLTIME! You're just showing the world what a hater U R!!!

The MAC has to beg ESPN to show their games. On the other hand, CUSA makes a smidling revenue to be shown on the Sonic Tatertots TV on cable channel 827. WAC schools actually held out for a long time to get ESPN to contribute a total of a few milllion $ for their rights. A few million more than the lowly MAC, that is.

I hope that shot wasn't aimed at me. I'm just delivering the product of ACC & Big Ten whinemaking arts. Don't get overintoxicated, either on the whine, or on our own artistry at futbol. Championships will taste so much better when served with a healthy serving of humility.

I've resisted posting this thread until now, mostly because I know so little about the distribution of scholarship $$ by institutions, and the NCAA's rules. However, I think it is both an interesting and important issue, especially now that Akron is an elite soccer program, competing with universities who consider themselves just as "elite" academically.What has been discussed on the BigSoccer board recently is that the NCAA limit on scholarships for men's soccer is 9.9/year. Now that is a maximum, and many schools have used fewer than the max -- for example, it was reported that Northwestern only uses 4 scholarships for men's soccer, and of course the Ivy League has no athletic scholarships (theoretically at least). That is an institutional decision, based on the priority given to the sport by the athletic department. BUT, if a Big Ten institution gives that low a consideration to the sport, it says a lot about its program and the overall athletic department. The other factor that has been discussed out the ying yang on BS is the amount of academic scholarship $$ provided to soccer players -- and the controversy has been stoked, with the suggestion that Akron and other schools may be gaining an advantage by their ability to provide academic scholarships in place of athletic scholarships. The academic elitists on the board claim that Akron is able to extend academic scholarships to athletes at a higher rate because its overall admission qualification standards are much lower, and therefore academic scholarships are available to students with lower HS grades and test scores -- allowing athletes to acquire a higher proportion of academic schollys than at the elite Ivy League -- or ACC level of admission.I wonder what people here think about this argument. Does it hold any water? What are the NCAA's rules regarding distribution and limits to scholarships? Is it possible for a school to legally "cheat" the limits by providing academic scholarship to top student athletes, thereby having a higher # of athletes on scholarship than their opponents, or than provided under the official limits? As long as a school that the elitists consider beneath their standing continues to outplay their boys on the pitch, there will be charges that they are expanding the rules to leverage their position.Are we cheats?

ColumnSo, the 50% extra that MVC (and A-10) schools budget to BB over the MAC (someone check my estimate, I think it's pretty close to reality) produces a very sizable dividend. That's a pretty good investment, if you ask me. Is there any chance of MAC schools making that extra investment, and it not coming from football, as it does for the opposition (not that we're that much better than them in FB, but at least a division ahead)?

Well...American college soccer is very much like MAC (American) football. Often crappy, ocassionally entertaining, but allowing players who put up big numbers -- especially against lesser competition -- to sign big (by MLS standards, like Zakuani's 175k signing last year) contracts with Major League Soccer. But the majority of US fans understand the ultimate reality -- college soccer does nothing to develop players into world class footballers. Yes -- real fans could see Akron was the most skilled team, because they had the most skilled players with the most international experience, but on that weekend, defensive tactics and play trumped athleticism and skill. American soccer just doesn't develop offensive players who can easily break down defenders while moving the ball to goal. "Big" players are popular to MLS GMs and some EPL teams, where physical play is more important than athleticism or strategy. That is the reason why neither England or the US will be winning any World Cups anytime soon.

Are we talking about American football, or Marine Corp boot camp? Or is there any difference? I think this is a cultural problem -- and that in the US at least, some people have to use violence to express their machismo. In other countries, if you blow a play (like the Iraq soccer team) Saddam's son shoots you.BTW -- I read now that the USF player's father retracted most of the story, and said the coach only grabbed his son by the shoulder pads. See you in court.

Steve's a favorite of Sounders fans already. He should have a calendar out ala JT for Fishfans. See the story appearing at Soundersfc.comhttp://www.soundersfc.com/News/Articles/20...-Down-Time.aspx

Great One,I always expect an interesting read, and often am not disappointed by your analyses of collegiate sports -- American football in particular. But I always end up asking myself: ("Self...") why does GP-1 continuously refer to the Mid American Conference, and those leagues near it in ability, as essentially second, or third-rate crap -- and yet he continues to watch and extemporaneously opine on the continuing crappiness of these less-than-mediocre schools and teams? I wonder if the Great GP-1 has some sort of self-hatred complex that requires him watch that which is truly excruciating for him to observe. Concur?

The Zips lost to a very good team -- which they outplayed for about 35 minutes. AGAIN!!! When will this stop? I think for once, that the cheerleaders should take a hard look at this team's warts, and that Keith Dambrot and the guys in blue and gold need to have some pressure applied. Tear apart the MAC schedule -- and get your 13 or 14 seed in the Spokane Regional. I'm starting to get fed up. I'm starting to be guided by the standards of Caleb Porter's team. Time to step it up!

36-29 Akron at the half!Rhodys scored on a lay-up with 13 seconds, then Ronnie Steward made a layup at the buzzer to make it seven again. Great half. Just gotta keep that momentum the next five minutes. Baron will be screaming at his team in the JAR locker room.

OKay 22-19 Akron. 3 minute + drought for URI. 6-pt Akron run.-- ESPN's gamecast finally came up:http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/gamecast?gameId=3000520066-Pt run became an 11-pt run! 27-19 GO Zips!!!!

OKay 22-19 Akron. 3 minute + drought for URI. 6-pt Akron run.-- ESPN's gamecast finally came up:http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/gamecast?gameId=300052006

Shouldn't this game be underway? No scores up yet -- UA Gametracker inoperational (as usual!). What's happening to my Zippers?

Saw it. They are LONG and ATHLETIC. I think they will be a true contender in the A-10. They're probably as good as Dayton, and a W on Tue would be huge, not just "at the end of the season", but in putting us in the mood to potentially win the # of games ourselves to be considered for the old "at large" -- and getting us one of the 'elite Bracketbuster' games. Could it possibly be with our friends from Richmond? Is Akron scheduled to play @ home or away? I forget.

Well if Akron continues winning the MAC that would be fine. The MAC is terrible this year, but I don't think it'll be that bad in the future. I actually don't think Keith Dambrot wants any part of VCU now after the 2 game bracketbuster series. At Coach Shaka Smart's Hiring Press Conference, Dambrot came on by phone after Florida's Billy Donovan to congratulate Shaka and compliment the hire for our program. He was asked if he would consider a home and home with VCU and he hung up. I'm pretty sure the coaching etiquette is that coaches don't like to play their former assistants. So as long as Shaka is at VCU, I doubt you'll see VCU and Akron matchup. Luckily we have had a good schedule and have been lucky to start off pretty well. Our only bad loss was at Western Michigan out of the MAC ironically in our second game. We played completely horrible basketball. Since then we've done a good job as that was our only OOC loss. We've beaten #17 (at the time) Oklahoma, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Richmond so far and have set ourselves up for an elite bracketbuster matchup so far with a 8-2 record and the #13 RPI in the nation. We did sign a local Ohio kid for next year that Akron and most of the MAC was heavily recruiting in 6'2 guard Rob Brandenberg out of Gahanna Lincoln. If Dambrot is up for it, perhaps Brandenberg will get a chance to come home to Ohio to play a game before his career is out. Either way, Dambrot will continue to build the Zips into a MAC power and I'm sure you guys will continue with your success and hopefully garner a 3rd NCAA appearance this year.I'm pretty sure the team from Rob's hometown (Columbus) won't mind playing your team at their place. Just don't ask for a return trip. Kudos to the man from Kenyon. He has his new team in good position for CAA play. Also looks like he wasn't jokin when he said our 04 or 05 recruit Jimmy Conyers would end up in The League. At least we like his prognostication. Happy New Year!

Okay, I'm ready to go out on a limb, and predict Li'l Rhodey leaves Akron with a 10-3 record, and on the ropes.

there's this.... barely better than nothinghttp://www.wyomingathletics.com/gametracke...artschool=&It's strange, but I found myself staring at my computer screen, watching this gamecast for the entire first half. It may not be "like being there", but the CBS Sports gamecast is the best I've seen yet. Liked the "Zoom" effect and passes! Even though it -- and the way the ball bounced on the rim before falling in or off -- bore no semblance to what was really happening. But I give it Two Thumbs Up. Guess I'm easily entertained. Ya think?

Hey, it's been well over an hour since this was posted. I guess The Great GP-1 is trying to regain his strength after reading the title before blasting the entire idea! #3 is an interesting idea. Everyone else in the MAC has been obsessed with recruiting Florida for years -- to little effect in most cases. Now you say try Texas. Why Texas? Are you from there? I would suggest, if you wish to dip your recruiting toes into a warm weather clime with lots of HS talent, then go a ways West of Texas, and head for Cali-fornia. Why California? Because it has 1/8 of the nation's population for one. AND, it has more HS football stars than any state. Now, odds are that few if any HS players are going to be interested in a school in the rust belt (like say, Akron, or Toledo, or Miami) -- BUT, you will be tilling fertile yet virgin soil. You never know until you go there -- and you're no less likely to be well received than in Texas.Now, #6. Why give up on recruiting Junior College athletes? Given what I have written in the previous paragraph, I would say, go deeper yet into this population -- not for players who have already developed for two years -- but to engage a specific geographic base. California dominates Jr College football, and digging deeper into that as a secondary or tertiary recruiting base will help loosen up JC players, because they might be more familiar with the coaches when they get the phone call. There are not that many JC players who are D-1 quality, and the MAC generally again gets left with what's left after the BCS drops in. Looking at Cali as a geographic base, rather than just a spot to drop in on JCs once a year will have a potential dual pay-off -- you get your occasional HS athlete, and you increase your odds of catching the higher level of JC players when those you are contacting out of HS end up having to go the JC route. I'm not saying this will necessarily pay off -- but to me it seems like as high if not a higher potential than going to Texas, or the mid-South in general. And it gets the Zips that much closer to recruiting more of the talent from the 50th State!

People were saying on the ESPN Convo that the Idaho pass into the EZ hit the ground. I didn't see it on my PC. What happened at the end, anyway -- other than the obvious, UI going for 2 and making it, per the refs?

This may be the toughest road trip in college basketball. You have to fly into Denver and bus about three hours through the mountains to Cheyenne and Laramie. Get a good driver, as I recall Hawaii's bus sliding into a ditch in one WAC excursion. Fortunately, it looks like no new snow to arrive till Wednesday, but temp's are below 0 in the mornings. Did I mention there's still one vacancy for the Diamond Head Classic here next year? Huh, coach?Hula Z.I.P., I asked coach Dambrot at last week's Zips Live radio show about a returntrip to hula land. No dice. As much as coach D loves Ono's on Kapahulu blvd (you know the place),he would much prefer to stay in the Eastern time zone. So look for trips to Puerto Rico and/or the VirginIslands.Well...I think Keith is trying his best to be extremely um, "frugal" with his basketball budget. Just the other day, I was looking for a cheap air fare, and the travel agent asked me, "are you Chinese, or what?". I said, 'not Yiddish, dat OK wit' you?' Let's see if we can't loosen up his wallet with some macadamia bribes. You grease the slide from your end, and I'll do my part. We got Butler, Baylor, Miss St, and some other teams that wouldn't um, hurt the RPI...ahem. Pardon my

Congratulations to Illinois State's future opponents, whose DLs will become sackmasters!And, you failed to mention JD is interviewing in Cinci. Thanks Mr. Thomas!

George Mason board says his offers are Hawaii and San Jose St. Think we can end this thread.

Jimmy had a postgame quote a couple weeks back saying how he realized that "this is it" and this is his last chance. Perhaps it took that for him to stop being so tentative and gain the confidence he needs. He's always had the skills...he was just too nervous to use them in a game situation. From what I've heard, the guy has been unstoppable in practice since he got here, but until now hasn't shown it on the court. Glad to see it, Jimmy. You're fun to watch.My father used to say I had the prettyest golf swing he ever saw. "So how come you can't hit the ball worth a @%*$ ?"