Z.I.P.

There are those, including the ESPN II guys who think he should be a candidate for POY. Considering how other favorites have fallen either as individuals or with weak teams, I have to think Romeo is a strong candidate still. If Akron wins it, he becomes favorite.

Got a "no longer available" message. What did the article say?BTW -- that NY Times piece was the best one I've seen on UA basketball yet. Hope it got national play.Z.I.P.

Gentlemen,Here's the bottom line: Seven wins! Without that magic number we're sitting home in December. You have to sacrifice early on if you want to achieve your goals overall. And, since they're having trouble finding a decent 1-AA team, it could be a Howard or Liberty type opponent. Sorry -- but this is the new reality in college football. Personally I think the 12-game schedule sucks and only helps the rich get richer, but I don't make the rules.

All I can say to comments about how much better Nevada is than Akron is: This reminds me of the comments about the football team after the Army game this year, or after the start in 04. Things can change in a hurry!Believe me, I've seen Nevada play plenty of times. I've seen Akron play. Nevada shot lights out last night, and took advantage of their home court, but on another night, with Akron being better prepared to play far from home and at altitude the result would likely be very different. Nevada -- and the rest of the WAC -- are very much a Mid-Major group of teams. I see them play over a dozen times a year in person and they shouldn't scare the MAC. When Nevada comes to the JAR next season -- provided they don't chicken out -- the Zips should be ready for PAYBACK, baby! This is a team that couldn't beat a mediocre Hawai'i team on the road this year. Geev'em, as we say in da islan's.Meanwhile, NU looks to have the inside track on an at-large. How many more are left for other mid-majors depends in part on whether they win their tournament on the Lawler Center floor. I don't see the WAC getting two teams in this year unless Nevada loses.See Ya

Since they're not showing any curling right now, I decided to surf the channel finder, and low and behold...Foz Sports Atlantic is showing the exciting matchup from Rhodes Arena between the Zips and flushes. This is my first chance to see a Kelly kennedy-coached team. And amazingly...Akron scores the first ten points of the game. But then Can't woke up and Akron has now scored just two points in the past ten minutes plus -- no FGs in over 11 mins now. Can't however has not played well either, and leads just 15-12.I am not impressed by Akron's offense at all. They are unable to get the ball to anyone in scoring position. Their passes are not crisp. They show the defense where the ball is going beforehand. Frankly, at this point in the season, this is an indication of a poorly coached team of players. Jessie Crooks looks like a good player to me (she's scored fourteen of Akron's first 16 pts!) and the freshmen are OK. After that I see little talent on the floor in white.FINALLY -- Akron scores their first basket after 16 straight misses! It's now 23-16 Kant State. (23-5 run) Now Akron has made one of their last 19 FG attempts. Senior DeMarco just went down with a rolled ankle -- as if Kant needed more help.I see they're going to interview JD at halftime. Anybody else out there in the hinterlands able to watch this game?Good luck ladies. I hope you create some of your own.

Hey Packer, Howzit? This is Zip in Paradise in honolulu. I've seen your team play the Bows (my #2 team) this year, and realize Akron is going to have no fun time trying to match up against your size across the court. When Mo Charlo (6-7) goes to the 2-guard or even the wing NU (UN?) is huge. Fazekus could be a lottery pick -- though the Hawaii media poo-poos -- pupus?? his abilities, and there's no way UA has anyone who can compete the way Millsapp does for LaTech (having led the country in rebounding for three years, no one does). The one possible hope for Akron will be if our big guy, Rob Preston is able to get free on the outside and hit a couple early threes (he was the leading scorer I think vs Cal), that could draw Nick Fazekus away from the basket, opening up some things inside for Romeo and possibly some drives to the basket. Nevada is a team that pops the three a lot (like UA), and when they shoot cold (as vs LaTech Monday) they can definitely be had. Not sure if that's what happened vs Utah St., but the Aggies are as wide as the pack is high inside. There's talk in HI that Nevada isn't all that athletic, but the guards certainly are.My early prediction: Nevada 76 Akron 71 We're something like #66 RPI and Nevada is 36? That wouldn't be a bad or unlikely outcome, even though we HAVE to win to have any at-large chance IMHO. Do you think there's any chance of a WAC team besides NU getting an at-large?? I can't see it -- I don't care if the Commish IS on the committee. Have a good one there in Snow Country, Wolf. Look forward to your FB team returning for a beating next year. You're WAC Champs? Well Akron's :macc: It's high time for a WAC-MAC Challenge!

Hey no problema (howzit goin' out on Hametown Road, pardner?) -- except that the soccer thread never seems to be on the board when I want to post to it! What's up with that?Not to become too Texascentric, but here are some more Texans' alumni soccer people are familiar with: Mr Mohawk himself, Clint Dempsey and fellow MLS players Nick Garcia and Jose Burciaga. And looking at 05 College Cup semi-finalists SMU, they reportedly have a total of fourteen (14!) members of the club on their roster -- including 11 2005 recruits. Holy smokes! Would be nice to see Roderick Scott back on campus. He was a legend in blue and gold.And regarding the 2005 recruiting class, I wouldn't be that concerned. We have enough returning to be contenders for the grand salame next year without a single one of them. That's not to put them down, as there are some good players there, but if they want to be part of The Big Time they know where to come. It's possible one or two might not be invited by Caleb anyhow though, as his sights are a little bigger in the recruiting world than were Ken Lolla's, with all due respect. Wait till soccer fans see the 2006-07 class. It will blow you away, I'm sure -- similar to the difference between Lee Owens and JD's recruits. Go Zip booters (BOTH squads)!

A Division II school in my town (a private institution) has found an effective way to entice students to games: They give away partial scholarships or tuition credits to members of the student "Booster Team". Any student can receive credit for a part of tuition if they attend a certain number of games throughout the school year.Would that be legal in D-1 -- and would it be financially feasible at Akron? It may be worth some consideration.

Thank you Wooster Red Steve! I read in Sports Illustrated that the Hawkskins have reached the pinnacle of collegiate hockey. That duplicates what the Zips were able to do earlier this year in the world's most popular sport. Ohhhh -- you probably forgot that real men play SOCCER -- that's one of those sports Miami had to cut out because of BUDGET difficulties! I realize that budgets are getting squeazed in the Old School parts of the MAC, like Toledo and Oxford. Meanwhile, in Akron we have spent over $200M for a little campus "sprucing up", and in what should be just a few more months, we'll be discussing the start of construction for our new on-campus football stadium -- allowing us to blow away the rest of the MAC in facilities. Steve, things are looking so bright in Akron, I hear they're wearing in the JAR.BTW Roos -- think VOLLEYBALL -- as in MEN's VOLLEYBALL. If we start a team next fall we could still enjoy the play of Capt Kangaroo's favorite ex-Zip [AGAIN!]. Of course I'm referring to the former Hoban HS all-stater, who once played for his very popular father on the hardwood. And maybe we could scare up his girlfriend again. What ever happened to her, anyway? Is she hogging the Stetson Hatters' board? Question:When Miami had a golf team, were they called the ForeSkins?

I'm not a skier! I wouldn't go near The Biggest Little City in the World between October and April. The 50 degree weather in Oakland was too Brrrr!-ee for me.BTW -- Do you know if there's any UA Alumni group in S Cal.? If you're interested, you may be able to get a printout of alumni for the area -- they sent me one for the 58 Zips in Paradise back in 1990 (pre-Coleman Crawford bb trip). I don't know though -- they seem even less reactive now than back then. And I didn't think that was possible.

The Akron Alumni Ofice arrange something??? Pardon me, but LAZ, where were you when the dozen or so of us were in Berkeley last month? I sent an invite to all alumni. Hopefully with a new Western-oriented AD, we wil see more UA games West of the Rockies.Zp in Paradise,Honolulu

Don't lose any sleep over the future of the Zip soccer program Rifler. If this were a program on the decline, Porter and Agoos wouldn't have put their hats in the ring. We're the Gonzaga of soccer, only better then that basketball team.

That's a very interesting prospect, as it looks like the MAC and WAC are both destined to be one-berth leagues. Perhaps Nevada would have a 50-50 shot if they loose the WAC tourney @home.Stu Morrill's Aggies are a big, tough, but not real athletic squad. You can watch them beat up on my Rainbows on Big Monday tonight. I think our defense might be able to cause them problems. Would be a long, hard road trip for any team outside the West region. Logan is no one's idea of a holiday spot.If ESPN wants to provide a real tight contest, they can send the Zips direct to the Stan Sheriff Center Arena in Manoa (Honolulu). Please God! . UW-Milwaukee was fortunate to eak out a win here, and help themselves out last year. I think they (UW-M) won their tourney, but had a shot at an at-large.

I think Chichester is considered a bigger recruit for basketball than he is in football. Perhaps Matta's mammoth class mitigated against him as much as anything. Yes -- he can play for Pitino -- but he'll ride the pine a while most likely. On the other hand, had he signed with JD & KD, Wood's future status may have become irrelevant. This thread may belong in another category!

No great surprise when the name was finally released -- which might say more than anything I ever could about just how high the program has risen these last couple years. Any school in the country would have coveted Caleb had they had an opening. Yes -- even the turtles. I look for Akron to be a top-5 team and College Cup contender into the forseeable future.I do wonder about what type of contract he got. It must be very similar to what Keith Dambrot gets in a much more visible sport. And I know Keith doesn't mind sharing the university's largesse.Go get 'em (meaning national team members), Coach Porter

Hmmmmm! I'm hearing there's a chance we could play @Northern Iowa. That would be quite a challenge, but a win would give us a chance of an at-large berth. Think positive, and

:blink: OKAY, MR. ROO, THIS IS GOING STRAIGHT TO THE SPCA -- AND MAYBE PETA!!!

Hang on Sloopy! You said it. We can get a young coach recommended by a Jerry Yeagley or Bruce Arena with experience coaching and recruiting for a Final-4 program, or we can get a succesful mid-major head coach who's a UA alum. This is a no-brainer. Where the guy went to college is irrelevant -- unless he was a Hermann Trophy runner-up like Porter or a three-time national champ, like Agoos.I am willing to put my trust in the committee and coach recruiting process put together by Mike Thomas and UAM. They are proven winners!

Transfer?? According to the link he is a prep schooler at Fork Union. Does that qualify as a transfer? He would be eligible in '06 if he shows -- but what's his status w/UNC, did they take back their offer from a year ago?

Folks,With regard to the soccer coach search, consider where the past and current (interim) Athletic Directors came from. The University of Virginia. That should be enuf said. Who was coach of UVA men's soccer during their years in Charlottesville? Who is coach of the United States National senior (World Cup) soccer program? Bruce Arena chose UA's Ken Lolla to coach his national youth (15>) team program. The U of A has connections to the highest reaches of soccer coaching circles. Look for a coach with national name recognition. Possibly a former national or World Cup team member. Definitely someone with national and international recruiting contacts.Rest easy Zip fans. We are going to be a force in futbal for a long time. Let's look forward to the 2006 season when we could be ranked first or second in the preseason poll.

NO! I may have made a mistake by concentrating on the Wolstein Group's facility at the expense of our Zips' Colosseum (Ziposseum?), but I just wanted to show that it IS possible to market a Major League sports facility in the Akron area. I don't have any direct dialog with the soccer developers, but I have a fair amount of trust in my source, and the source says the soccer stadium will include a retractable dome. I would not expect Summit County to contribute a dime to the construction. With full revenue stream going into the team owners' pockets, and a fantastic game site, I would expect the new team to draw very well -- better than the Crew, which has been one of the top draws since construction of Crew Stadium. Therefore, the team should be profitable from the outset. LA Zip -- ever been to Home Depot Center? I'll be watching the MLS Cup Champion LA Galaxy as they train and play an exhibition on O'ahu next month. You can go see our two Zips work out for MLS coaches at HDC next month.It is important to look at the new UA football stadium as an at least sometime home for the soccer team. So I hope it has sideline space and a natural grass surface. I doubt we have to worry about the field getting torn up, as there shouldn't be too much play on it besides Akron football.

LA Zip,It's nice to have another Westerner on the board. Aloha from the Pacific Basin.Here is the reason why there could be NO cooperation between the MLS and the University of Akron, or anyone else: Major League Soccer has a rule that all new stadiums must have clear scheduling rights -- in other words, the MLS must have the field exclusively during the MLS season. The MLS franchise must also have exclusive control over all concession and parking dollars. UA could not co-exist under the second rule alone. These are the reasons why the UA will probably never use the coming soccer palace in Richfield.And, hey, I don't understand why Cap'n didn't drop the other shoe: The 30k seat palace will have a RETRACTABLE DOME, because it gets VERY cold in NE Ohio in the fall, and you don't want to let those big spenders' tootsies get frozen. I can't tell you how excited I am about Summit County getting a bigtime football franchise. I'm in el cielo de futbal!

I'm a bit puzzled. I'm told the 12-game schedule will include 5 OOC games. Is that true?And BTW -- though it won't be official for a few more weeks, Akron's MAC West crossover road opponent this season will be @Toledo. The game will be later in the year -- possibly in November. The MAC office is hoping to brew up a MACC rematch, and the teams haven't played in years. That should mean we get them at home in 07.Roo under a palm tree.

September 12th, 2010. Circle that date!

Hey ITZ,You know what I love?That shot of yours from the T'Giving game-------------------- And the part I really love is: The stocking cap. It goes to show, even a Can't man CAN be a Zip fan! Thanks for that.And while I'm at it, let me send out a shout to the Can't State women's bb team and their SID, who I met last week. I liked your attitude. Just don't let #23 bring that attitude into the JAR cause there'll be no for her. More like And you can tell her that wasn't Spanish that Hawaii's #15 was speaking to her in (she asked the ref: "Do you speak Spanish?") -- it was Samoan!Go MAC!