Z.I.P.

They actually make the Philly team look good by contrast -- a feat I thought was impossible. They've gone to far in response to the haters of the last unis. I loved 'em myself. Sure beats the boring blue and beige of some teams.

This is funny: Take a look at the MAC East poll. See what's missing. I suspect the oversight was unintentional. Like, are they still trying to compete in the MAC???

I believe it was Soccer America that reported on Perry Kitchen coming to Akron. If I'm not mistaken, I believe he's another center back. Anyone know for sure?

Yes, but think about the Zips in Paradise. The 12 noon games start at 6 a.m. here. So, we just stay up drinking all night, then start in with bloody Marys at dawn.

Thought he was g-o-n-e. How many Athletic Directors do we currently have, anyway?

Kristen has the perfect attitude for a student-athlete. She's the "Counter Michelle Wie".

Baylor is considered an improving program. But, they managed to get beaten at Buffalo last year. That sort of puts the argument to rest based on recent history.

Sorry, Cap'n but with regard to the football situation I see it differently. Rhoades was quoted in an interview, I think last summer saying that coach Brookhart was in no danger of losing his job, and I believe he said words to the effect of, "this year or next". Now the next is here, and I don't believe things have changed that much -- except that JD cannot have another losing team. When I look at the schedule, I see seven wins being a really good result. My honest prediction is 6-6. I don't see a new guy coming in and canning the football coach of a .500 team considering how few .500 teams the school has had in the MAC. As bad as the East is, a half way decent effort should put them in the top two.

Well, I guess I have to chime in, seeing as how I'm the scarfmeister of Zipsnation. It's pretty basic -- first time I've actually seen the design, but it will have to suffice for a future national championship program. I'd say, if you can buy one of these -- get 'em early, cause they may not last long. Go Soccazips! Oh! They appointed a guy who lives in Hawaii as the scarfmeister! Who's in charge here? Is there a big scarf-wearing community there? At least it helps explain how I got appointed the Leimeister.HEY! I just got an idea for a new tourist T-shirt: I GOT SCARFED IN HAWAII.Whata ya think? Will it sell?

Where's Buffalo?

Just what we need around here, a Board of Trustees groupee.

I want George to stay at the University for the rest of his career and I think he might be a good candidate. Athletics doesn't lend itself to long careers.I guess the knock would be the change in Athletics over the past few years. I think the AD job has changed into one that is more fundraiser than marketing/selling (maybe it is not a knock afterall). Because of the general stupidity of the average person working in college athletics, the marketing job has needed to be sub contracted to companies such as ISP. Managing the sales/marketing producers (by managing, I mean hands off and let the pros do it) seems to be more important that actually generating the money yourself. Being a good paper pusher seems to be the key.Like I said, we need someone who shares Dr. Proenza's vision for the future.For the out-of-towners on here -- what is George doing these days? When did he leave the UA? You never know who might just come from out of the shadows to be a serious candidate.

Did you leave out an '0'?

As I asked on the other thread: Has anyone heard Rodriguez' name bandied about yet? Just asking.

If the poll question were, "What's your favorite Big-11 School", and some one picked Tosu, would you ask that question? Same diff.

KD is also an example of someone hired with little or no search. DHip released one day, KD was hired within the next 3-4 days, if I remember correctly. That's because the two went hand-in-hand. Dambrot was hired as an assistant to eventually take Hip's place. BTW -- anyone heard if Rodriguez is a serious candidate himself? Understand he's very well liked by all. He's served his time, and may be ready.

It seems to me that the UofA's marketing, like its overall development and alumni outreach is not concerned with speaking to average members of the community, or prospective students. It's speaking to multimillionnaires and CEOs, and saying, "We want what you've got, come show us some love, Mama".

Does Brookhart get a release from the hot seat because of the change? I suspect under Rhoades that a 6-6 season would have bought him another year. The same is probably true with the new person (don't wanna say "guy" necessarily). Only possible difference is if Yuracheck moves up, and has higher goals. Not sure how Waddell would play it. He was here with JD from the start, and may actually feel more investment than Hunter would.What do others think about how this effects JD?

Well, even without trying, Mack Rhoades has received credit for building half the UA campus. I would say he is responsible for overseeing CONSTRUCTION of a new football stadium; a softball stadium, and improvements to the track and field facility. Rhoades stay in Akron shows that the job is more of a stepping stone than ever before, to bigger and better things. And when I write that, I say it in a good way, OK? The AD's job for the past decade is to lay out the athletic vision of Dr Luis Proenza. Hopefully the Prez will stay in place for another decade -- or at least until our 5000 seat soccer stadium is dedicated and ready for our national champs to play in. I don't care if you call it Proenza Place, or the House That Caleb Built, so long as it gets built. Good luck Mack, and don't pay attention to all the talk about doors hitting you on the way out. Not that you would.

Athletics and Alumni working together toward a common goal? Holy #%@*! Is this a new beginning? Jeremy, I welcome you to the Nation, and believe me, we welcome any move to see the UA Alumni Relations Dept begin an outreach to ordinary alums. Maybe you could consider alumni athletic trips as once occurred.Best Wishes from Hawaii!

We whooped their women's basketball LAST year. And the only soccer team in town is Brian Ching's Dynamo. Clyde Drexler, COME HOME, we need you, Phi Slamma Jamma. :(Did anyone read the comments -- including the one about "structural problems" in Infocision, and how the Rubber Bowl will last forever, rofl? Where do these people come from??

Green chemistry and biomimicry science making gains at The University of Akron? Looks like the school is joining the Green transformation -- and hopefully leading the way. Are they teaching undergrads these principals, I hope? They will be the basic fabric of the engineer's toolkit in the not very distant future. Any engineers wondering about this should start with the work of Michael Braungard and McDonough Design Chemistry. Required reading is Braungart and Will McDonough's "Cradle to Cradle" if you haven't already read it. Cheers.

Hope you like this offer:I'm about to order tickets to the Seattle Sounders FC game versus Champions League titlists FC Barcelona at Qwest Field in Seattle, and wanted to check and see if anyone on the list was interested in joining me. The tickets I'm looking at buying are in the upper Club Deck, parallel with the goal box area (Sec. 204 if you go to the Sounders or Qwest websites) and are priced at $60 ea., which is $10 cheaper than public sale prices (which start next Monday and should sell out in a couple days). I can get a lower price since registering as a member of the Sounders Club group. The game is Wednesday, August 5th, I think 8PM PDT.If anyone is interested, please contact me by this Friday via message to my box. I can buy up to 20 tickets, and I'm sure I can sell at a premium, but would like to join with any Zips fans interested in seeing how our own Stevie-Zee matches up versus the world's greatest footballers. Seeing Leo Messi in person, even from 200 ft :blink: is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Yeah! THE osu has been such a success. That gives them the right to express their moral superiority over the rest of the world.Ummmm, then again, given the difference in opportunity that the "THE" boys have, any time they fail to win at least a Big Ten title, and especially in football a national title, it cannot really be called a "success". Tosu winning a national FB title is akin to Akron making it to a bowl game -- and losing to Memphis. Call it class envy if you wish. It's the spirit that is necessary to move up in class. I see the Akron spirit improving -- yes there's still negativity, but it's Football Championship Series negativity now, rather than Div I-AA or College Division negativity. You have to go through phases to move to the big time, and no one can deny that Akron is setting up the pieces to make their move.

Hope you like your seats. However, one thing I must say that hopefully won't throw a damper on the elation is: There's no scarf that goes with the tix. For that you gotta go to the soccer ticket office. For the record, I suggested to the AD throwing in a generic Zips scarf with FB tix. As slow as the Info seems to be filling up, they might end up throwing in something like a Rubber Bowl urinal for every hunredth buyer. :blink: