Z.I.P.

I'M LMAO here in 80-something degree Honolulu. Everyone was crying earlier this week, when it went down to 65 overnight! Wear your long johns and enjoy the trip, Rowdies! And, Go Zips!

Now THAT is a weird sort of photo! Someone explain how both goalkeepers got in the play! The IU keeper is laying in the net -- hoping that he can knock the ball back out before the ref and AR see it cross the line. Then there's an Akron field player standing along the goal line (blocking the AR's view?), and finally, what I assume is Akron's Fenlason running in toward the goal. Was this at the halftime whistle -- or what in the heck was our keeper doing in the opposite penalty area?

Phewwwww! For a while there I was afraid the Tree Giant Head would go unused for the holidays!

Meanwhile, in other games across the nation...Denver and Louisville appear headed to penalty kicks. Good luck (or not?) to Coach Ken.

WOW!!!! You mean the Yeagley Dynasty is OVER -- after just one year??? Now let's bring on the, uh... Second star? Well, at least the quarterfinals (for now)!

I understand they offered to play the game in Honolulu, and Keith chose to play the game in Columbia SC -- for more $$. Comments from insiders welcome?

OR, we could do as the Big West schools did, and foresake American football altogether -- and turn the white elephant stadium into a football pitch -- just knock out the first few rows of seats, how hard can that be? If we are gong to change conferences, the first place to look should be the MVC. Top flight basketball and good futbol competition.

Let me just expand a bit on my opinion on Jorge Salcedo's ballclub. For several years, but especially for the current cadre of Bruins, the team must be considered the top team in the nation -- on paper. On the field, Salcedo's charges have consistently under-performed. This season is the best example of the Jeckyl and Hyde aspect of the team. Of the two teams closest to them in the PAC-12 standings, they beat then #1-ranked UC-Berkeley on the road, and drew with Washington in Seattle, while losing at home to Cal - a game that frankly should have cost them at least the #1 seed. But, if that's not enough, they were badly beaten by two Big West teams, Cal Poly 3-0 and UC-Irvine 4-2. But, more generally, when you have the type of internationally experienced players that UCLA recruits every year, this team should at least be in the College Cup every season. I have actually been a bit surprised that the heat on Salcedo hasn't been stronger. Even with the #1 seed -- perhaps because of it, if they fail to make it to the Final Four, this season has to be a disappointment in Westwood. No one should confuse Jorge Salcedo for Sigi Schmid.

fknbuflobo's first sentence above is correct. The Pac-12 has had an historically strong season, though I believe UCLA is overrated -- #1 overall?? I would put them #4 or 5! For those who haven't seen it, here is the NCAA bracket. It appears that after IU, we will potentially play @Marquette, then possibly vs UVa. Is that right? Honestly, if we had to "get screwed", there's no better way than to face off against our arch-rival in the first round! I'm pretty sure we've never played them in the opening round before, but when did we even play IU in the tournament? I suspect one of Caleb's teams did face-off with his old club. Also, it is really hard to schedule in this sport with the anticipation of who will be strong, in advance. Anyone think UMBC would be up where they are? And FYI -- San Diego State plays in the Pac-12, though they're fifth of six teams. The top five are all pretty good!

Here's how the new interpretation impacts the most: Total free throws attempted is probably up by at least 50% over last season (consider this a challenge DiG). Besides making the game less appetizing to spectators, this puts a priority on shooting from the line, and Akron has not been a very good FT shooting team in recent seasons. I bet every team is practicing FTs more. I sure hope ours is!

Fortunate? "lucky" does not necessarily mean undeserving. That's our point, OK?

Vote in the poll. We're only getting three percent in the favorite's race! Barely ahead of the home team.

Here's what I got: The page you requested cannot be displayed right now. It may be temporarily unavailable, the link you clicked on may have expired, or you may not have permission to view this page. edit: Whoops, it helps to log in! lol IAC -- you can let me know if you plan to attend, as it doesn't look like much of a throng. I'm still hoping to have some giant heads available to wave. Does anyone have experience with those devices?

Do the couple of VB fans on the list think coach Arenz can survive another season -- what's his contract status? I thought for a while he had the background to succeed here, but things haven't seemed to work out.

So the team that wins the tournament isn't the best team, just the last team? Brilliant! I've been saying that for years.

Ummmm...score two goals? I believe that we shall win.

Here's the most amazing part to me: 31 assists on 41 field goals! I've never heard of a college team getting over 30 assists in a game -- male or female. Ten different players had an assist. That's team basketball! The MAC looks to have two teams with possible national-ranking potential, Akron and CMU. The Chipps started their seeason with a 105-61 win over UMass of the Atlantic 10. CMU plays #7 Kentucky next, while Akron plays @ #23 Dayton Friday. #BigGame. It appears our women's basketball program may have surpassed the men's.

I cannot BEGIN to express the depression I felt at the late hour of midnight when this game ended -- OK, that might seem early to some. I know that we managed to sneak up on Florida State, Temple and someone else once (Creighton before McDermott? Come on!), but we have been incapable of winning the pressure game like last night or an NCAA game, and I am frustrated beyond belief! Arrrrrrrgh, matey! Folks, there is no way you can blame the Akron shooters for the team's inability to make 3-pointers vs SMC. Indeed, as Zipgrad says, there is NO ball rotation, no motion, and NO Rhythm! Shooters must have open looks in the rhythm of the offensive set, and that is impossible when the offense is as one-dimensional as it was in Moraga las'night. No matter HOW good Tree and BD look (and as the announcer(s) said, Treadwell had to have multiple O boards of his own misses to score as much as he did), if your only intent is to throw it down low and dominate the post, then you have less than a complete offense. What happened to the type of quick pass plays we had most of the games I saw on TV last year, and remember how Steve McNees used to look in the day when he was such a 3-point threat? Akron has no outside threat, as long as they're only interested in dumping it down low. The coaches have to accept responsibility, and nobody should put it on a couple of sophomore wings. Now let's get ready to rumble in Tennessee, as our next opponent is another NCAA tournament team! A quick mention: Quincy looked better than I've ever seen him in my limited viewership -- he's clearly the on-court leader of this team -- he is focused like no one else in blue and beige.

It is NOW!

His "little" brother Sanveer played like two minutes, I think. Sim, the Big Brother bricked his first four free throws, then made three of his last four for 3/8 -- that's probably his ceiling.

La Tech followed by Akron? Is DiG spending the entire weekend in Moraga, CA? Yes -- the quest begins on Monday night: Where's Waldo? Brad scored 28 last night versus the Techsters. I would expect the spread to be about 8 or 9 points in favor of the Gaels. This should be the toughest game we play till the team arrives in Hawaii -- could we get a rematch? Could they? Meanwhile, talking about Hawaii (what else?) I was wondering if Western Michigan hired Akron's former compliance manager. The Broncos played virtually flawless ball in the Rainbow Classic, defeating the Aggies of New Mexico State in a game that ended after 4 am EST. I think the final was about 70-63 (I can't find it on scoreboards), though it was a one-possession game with under 10 seconds to play before the Aggies coach turned genius (or pulled a Chris Webber) and called a timeout he didn't have. I mention the compliance manager because WMU was missing their best player, center Shayne Whittington, who was sitting out an NCAA-directed one game suspension for playing in an unsanctioned game two years ago. At least that was the word from the father of coach Steve Hawkins -- who I suspect gets questions about whether he's the coach's (younger) brother. lol WMU is clearly NOT an athleticly gifted team -- BUT they pass the ball until they find an open shooter and they really shot the rock last night -- better than 50% on three-pointers I'm pretty sure. They're great at setting high screens -- which they needed as they were smaller at every position -- nearly a foot so in the post, where NMSU played their 7-5 giant Sim Bullar aka Manos de Piedra II. Will be interesting to see how Hawkins' kids do against the home team tonight. Hawaii is improved from their CBI team of last year. I think Whittington will likely be the difference. I apologize to MAC fans for rooting for the Big West Conference team.

Yeah...well...not bad for a 20 year old...!!! How much better do you think Akron would be if we hadn't lost him?

Spot on!: "Students are left to pile up more debt while colleges indulge in their Edifice Complex -- building luxury dorms and gyms and stadiums (all “sustainable,” of course) at the expense of poorer students."

What a night for Portland soccer last night as Caleb's Timbers made it to the MLS Conference Finals with the 5-3 cumulative victory over the Sounders downtown at Jeldwen Field on NBC, while the Portland Pilots women defeated Santa Clara uptown at Merlo Field to win the WCC (co-champs) on ESPNU. Wish I were back in PDX!

One interesting comment by EA is this: "Buffalo -- Probably preseason No. 1, if not for the surprise ouster of former coach Reggie Witherspoon." I doubt they would be the #1 (because McRae doesn't have the support Tree does), but I do think they set themselves back by cutting Reggie, one of the top 3 coaches in the MAC. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how Bobby Hurley does in his effort to make himself an ACC HC. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to this evening, when coach Steve Hawkins (one of those other top three, IMO -- don't bother asking who's #1 ) brings his WMU Bronco team to the Stan Sheriff Center to play New Mexico State, a returning NCAA tournament team which features 7-5 and 7-3 brothers Sim and Tanveer Bullar. Should toughen up Shayne Whittington to take on Big Dog.