Z.I.P.

An amazing indication of the long-term futility of Akron's program (pre-today!) is that the team recently won the program's 400th game ever -- and the program began in 1974. We've averaged just ten wins a year!

LOL. Yes, my monitor zoom WAS set on 100%, but it still showed the type for the entire site as 8 rather than the apparent default 14 (see Hilltopper's font above). It is fine now, so not sure what went wrong yesterday.

The team has been very inconsistent -- but clearly improving in regards to passing to the open man and getting assisted field goals. I noticed that a lot of games I've seen this year have had fewer assists than normal -- and one thing came to mind: this damned "new" hand-check rule. Not only has it created a lot more of a free throw shooting contest on the floor, but I believe it has turned the game into more of a one-on-one game. Ball-handlers without any contact allowed by defenders are much more likely to drive deeper and take the ball to the hoop sooner. Whether you like that or not is up to you (same question as "Do you like the NBA?"), but there's a clear change in the game. Next question: What's wrong with the font size today? The default font is so tiny you can't read it, so I had to increase to 24.

Balsy, were you in Nashville while the football team was in Knoxville? Hope you enjoyed yourself!

"Intriguing" ain't the half of it! This certainly dispels all those stories that Kehres could never jump from D-III to D1.

"Xavier is expected to commit there soon." Does that mean https://rivals.yahoo.com/alabama/football/recruiting/player-Xavier-Braithwaite-151818 ?? Also from Erasmus Hall.

I think you meant "2014". Personally, I have my doubts whether DeA will be treated any better in North London than Jozy Altidore has at Wearside. Haven't seen Spurs play much this year -- who's holding down the RB spot?

Pretty amazing how Teal Bunbury has put himself back on the plate by scoring a couple of playoff goals! Comeback player of 2015?

Oh, I forgot to mention -- watch out for J Love and the Special Sauce!

This team seems to have one big thing that last year's team lacked, and that is resilience. They do not let a bad stretch of basketball get them down -- they fight through it -- and that is a sign of a potentially very good basketball team.

Watched UAPB play three games in Hawaii to start the season. This is the best Pine Bluff team I have ever seen. Akron by 15.

Looking at their schedule, I fully expect the team to go into MAC competition undefeated this season. How long, and how many wins will it take to jump into the top 25 poll?

I was absolutely shocked by what happened in the NCAA Women's tournament over the weekend. I watched UCLA play twice this year, and they were the best women's team since at least the early 90's North Carolina outfits that featured Mia Hamm and several other future USWNT players. UCLA got knocked out of the tournament by Virginia 2-1. I would call that an historic upset -- and evidence of just how difficult it is to go undefeated and/or win an NCAA title. Tip my cap to the 2010 Zips!!

The rule book (and I have specifically asked the SID and official scorer of Hawaii women's soccer about this -- I have to assume it applies to both men and women) states that the home team has the option of running the clock either up from 0:00 to 90:00 or down from 90:00 to 00:00. In my travels I have noticed that many schools that used to run their scoreboard clocks up have switched to running them down -- why I have no idea, I'm with Zip_ME87 on this issue. BUT -- if you want the clock run the opposite direction you should direct your opinion to coach Embick, as he would seem to control the clock operation. This season I watched men's and women's games at Cal State Northridge and UC-Irvine, and the clock at Northridge ran up, while I seem to recall the one at Irvine ran down. In Hawaii, for several years our clock ran up, but a few years ago they switched it. I think it's just playing to the less knowledgeable spectators, who might be confused by the "backwards" (to American thinking) timekeeping. Let's get in the swing of the international (FIFA) system.

How's THAT for an answer to a 16 point run? 7-1 Akron run.

Thanks for your note of optimism!

And again, I catch myself looking (no -- staring) at the box score, asking how we can have a 13 point lead with just 4 assists at halftime, and 6 turnovers?!?. I guess this is going to be a on-on-one "beat-em" team in 14-15. Go Zips!!!

Just a couple of after the fact notes from the "beside the point" folder: I can't tell you how much I enjoy listening to Dino Gaudio call the games on ESPNU. He's the only ex-coach I can think of who doesn't put his resume in your face -- he does his homework (unlike even the non-ex-coach-commentators) and provides you with interesting facts (like e.g., I didn't know BJ is the nephew of Xavier Hall-of-Famer Jamie Gladden, and Deji has a relative in the WNBA!) on top of being able to communicate the intricacies of the game in a fashion friendly to the ear of those who don't like tech-talk and play draw-ups in time-outs. I had a brief chat with Dino before one of our games of the Diamond Head Classic last year, and he's very friendly in person too. I have to place a considerable amount of blame on Frank martin for his team's loss. He just was unable to adapt to Akron's ball drive and place perimeter pressure on the point position before NoRo and Deji (and Ant -- or is it "Tino"?) got down low. AND -- considering how horribly we were able to bring the ball upcourt under pressure -- why in the world didn't he put more press on the Zips?!?! you can bet our next opponents saw that and are going to pressure in the backcourt! How come there wre apparently no South Carolina fans at the game IN South Caroliina -- sounded like more Zips fans at the game? But this is as I said -- "beside thte point". the point is we beat the team that beat us by nearly 40 a year ago in the same state.

I think you will now be able to watch both WBB AND men's football. Thanks to the MAC for rescheduling the Wagon Wheel game to Friday!

Um, well, because he has 12 freshmen on his squad, and they still won 12 games and made the NCAA tournament (only losing on an insulting road pairing in PKs)... This was about as good a result as anyone could have hoped for, in our first real rebuilding year since the Lolla era. Next year will be better, with much higher ceiling. edit -- thanks for the clarification Zach. 17 freshmen! Sheesh.

Well...it finally ended!!! I have no idea how many innings the PKs lasted. Twenty...thirty? At that point you get as numb just watching as the people outdoors in that crazy weather.

I'm guessing this was BEFORE Tino exploded, and the Trojans keeled.

Congratulations to the Zips, and their manic-depressive fan base! You guys are more volatile than energy stocks have been lately. Anyway...having watched the ("marquee name", but not game) Trojans in their last two times on the court on P-12Net -- losing to middle-of-the-Big Sky Portland St. and beating with difficulty a lower OVC Tenn Tech team, I would have been surprised and way past disappointed if Akron had not beaten this group. How good...okay, "bad" is SC? I think they would finish right near Bowling Green in the MAC East. I missed the live video action today (but followed most of it on a gametracker), but from the two games SC I watched, I was expecting a game similar to the last Akron outing versus a PAC-12 team, the game in my back yard last December in the opening round of the Diamond Head Classic against Obama, er, um, excuse me, Oregon State. Like SoCal (okay -- I'm guessing), OSU allowed Akron to get off open jumpers in rhythm (by Reggie and Jake last yr) and Pat had little trouble cleaning up on the boards (very similar numbers to today's near-double-double). I fear an opponent that is less lazy defensively and comes out to defend the perimeter will give Akron fits -- just like their second round opponent in the DHC -- Iowa State did (after Akron took a 20-12 lead 12 minutes into the 1st half). When Quincy went out to lunch -- which was most of the tournament last year -- they had no one except the occasional Deji Ibitayo able or willing to drive the lane, and that fact was eaten up by the Cyclones AND Gamecocks following the solitary victory. Also like last year, the second round opponent is a monster -- did you see the Canes beating Florida a few days ago? They're big, long and talented -- like Akron hopes our team can become with the current personnel. I happen to share the belief that this team can be as good as most of our recent 23-26 win teams. And a lot of that hope rests on the shoulders of the freshmen PGs! Tino (is that now the accepted appellation?) basically put this one away with his make-steal-make from beyond the arc after the Trojans put on their short-lived comeback mid way thru half #2. From a defensive standpoint -- which is the optimal view of the game for Zips coaches and fans -- the big part of victory was the ability to shut down McLaughlin, who was averaging 20 pts and +7 APG coming in. Either we took him off his game, or he just stunk -- either way that is a big part of the 20 pt difference. That heckler -- I hope he took some time to get on the M&M poser for the Troj's -- did you like that white guy -- Reinhart -- with the tats? Thank him for going 2 for 10 according to the stats. I know that tomorrow's game is on TV, but why can't they play an afternoon game? 9:30 in the islands is just too difficult -- in between start of work and lunch break. Now, I have to figure out who these guys on the bottom of the score sheet are -- Walters, Hill and Noble? Welcome to the MACtion, gentlemen!

This week ESPN debuted the new program "Becoming", produced by Bron and Maverick. I thought it was very well done. Anyone else see it?