Z.I.P.

I picked up a new shirt at the mall yesterday. It reads, "kd Komplete Domination". How much does Keith Dambrot get for each T-shirt sold? Whatever it is, he deserves it!

WOW!!! Those are awesome. Anyone know if they're still available? Guess I missed the boat!

Thanks Yaz. I learned how CP got his desire for new challenges after hearing his mom Mindy tell about taking over as principal of a Navajo middle school in Sanders, Arizona. I don't think there's a ceiling on Caleb's career. He'll succeed at whatever he wants to. Go Timbers!

According to the map only sections 3B and 1A have tics available. That looks like a near sellout to me.

Thanks for the SpellCheck LZip. You saved my reputation! I wonder if this MAC East preview from Kalamazoo has been posted by anyone? I have to agree with much of it. Especially the part about Nick: "We saw Harney make some pretty big strides last year filling in for the suspended Quincy Diggs. Diggs will be back this year, however the load will still largely be on Harney's shoulders to replace lost production from Zeke Marshall, Brian Walsh, and Alex Abreu." Harney is one of those guys who needs to develop a consistent 3-point ball. He looks good at times, but frankly, we need more of that, not the same. Otherwise he gets replaced by a sophomore, whether Jake or Reggie for long stretches, and that doesn't spell "All-MAC".

Okay, I googled the guy's name. My biggest question is, when did Vermont join the MAC? I'm sure the team would love the road trip to Burlington. Maybe catch a Phish concert

Well, I thought sure it must be a typo. But on second look, I think the NSCAA has some explainin' to do!

Damn! A guy like that needs a really good nickname to go with his super powers. I suggest, "Iron" Big Dog Johnson. Or just "Big Johnson" Big Dog Johnson. Anyone else?

Hey -- I was 12, and it was 41+ yrs ago! Not to mention my oldtimers disease catching up. Well, for those who guessed Leonard "Truck" Robinson, you win the second-place trophy (provided you pay for it yourself). Truck, the NBA bad boy for many years was a sophomore on that team, according to various reports. The player I best remember spent seven seasons with the Trailblazers, and was the first player from the franchise to have his number retired. Lloyd Neal was a senior on the 1972 TSU team, and at just 6'7" was an undersized NBA big man. He played on the Blazers 1977 NBA championship team with Bill Walton, Mo Lucas and Larry Steele. I was thinking maybe Steele was the guy I was thinking of before putting my finger on Neal. Hopefully I can find a TSU fan or two on Friday who remembers those guys. I remember once I ended up sitting with a guy at a Tennessee Tech game, who I found out had hired Coleman Crawford to his first coaching job as a high school coach in Georgia. No comments now (ahem CK) saying he should have stayed there! lol P.S.: Bonus points to anyone who remembers Tennessee State's all-time greatest player, who spent nine seasons with the NY Knicks.

Thanks Crew8! It works for all sports too. Look for it at the Diamond Head Classic!

Aloha Akron fans! This week marks the start of college basketball season, and that's true here in the 50th state as well. On Friday, the home Rainbow Warriors play Tennessee State. Which immediately started me thinking about the biggest road trip of my young life. When I was 12 my uncle took me with him to see the Zips play in the 1972 NCAA Division II Finals tournament in Evansville, IN. Now there should be A FEW members of this board who remember that Akron team, which played Roanoke in the national championship game, but finished as runner-up. Now what stood out about Akron's performance in the tournament was the national semi-final game vs Tennessee State. I believe TSU came into the game undefeated, and was referred to as the best small-college basketball team of all time. Akron scored the final hoop of the first half, but was still down 12 at the start of the second half. The star of the game for Akron was Massillon product, center Bryan Westover, who scored on a put-back at the buzzer to force overtime. I believe the Zips took over and won going away in OT -- though I can't find the score. The question that's digging my brain is this: Who was the Tennessee State star -- I think the D-II Player of the Year, who went on to a fairly long NBA career. I believe he played for the Portland Trailblazers. Can anybody out there figure out who he was -- I think a post player with good size, probably a PF in the NBA.

An so it goes...

All I know is the games been over for nearly two hours, and nothing yet on Gozips.com. Thank heavens for ESPN.com

Z.I.P. made an off-the-cuff remark without thinking how stupid it might end up sounding. Z.I.P. wishes the very best to Sina King, especially considering that Z.I.P.'s father died from complications of blood clots following heart surgery. Z.I.P. also thanks mods for thinking in his place and editing.

LOL! I can't be the only one who called into that service that fed the radio audio into your phone -- for like $1/minute! Got addicted during Coleman Crawford's 1991-92 season. What a waste. I finally ended up calling up WHLO shortly after, and they put me on hold, where I could listen to the broadcast for the cost of the call! Then Gerry Faust wrote to me to find out who the Hell would do such a thing!

From what you guys have seen in practice, on and off-court and in "game" one, do you have a feeling that Nick Harney is ready to take the step up to being an impact player, each and every night he takes the floor? I have to tell you, in my mind (as small as it is, and there's plenty of room for the rocks to rattle around) Nick's development to that point would do more than any other player's in terms of making Akron a top-25 team when the 2014 regular season ends, and Akron makes their NCAA tournament debut as a 7 or 8 seed. And you can tell Nick Z.I.P. said so!

Arigato gozaimashita, Dave! Damn, you should definitely come to the Diamond Head Classic. You could help GoZips order sushi properly!

Allow me to add my sentiment to how wrong fknbuflobo was! Jared and this team have the opposition right where they want them. Next Wednesday we play for another BiG title! How many will that make? Also, I see that Top Drawer Soccer has chosen its next class of Caleb Porters. And it includes the Caleb Porter before Caleb Porter. Now, I apologize to Caleb Porter for that comparison!

A lot of cities have a Rubber Duck Race to support United Cerebral Palsy. Akron better have one now!

Okay, I thought I knew all of GoZips designations and determinations of acceptable roster assignments. Now he throws me for a loop. Who is this newest member of the team, this "Isaiah Johnson" character? Will he squeeze Big Dog out of his position? What's do they say about enquiring minds...?

I was not aware until reading this that Akron has had a new GK coach since last year -- Stuart Dobson, formerly under coach Vom Steeg at UC-Santa Barbara. Well, apparently Stuart and Jared are sales-worthy enough to have beaten out Louisville, Marquette and who knows who else for the services of Elliot Rubio, Goalkeeper for the Chicago Magic. I imagine he will redshirt in 14.

Zach, I watch 20-30 NCAA D-1 and D-2 women's games a season (for like 25 years) and I have never seen a team do what you say, except when they have the final shot, under 30 seconds remaining. I just don't see the rule change making much difference -- unless some teams decide to press full-court now. And unfortunately, I suspect it will bring about even more blowouts than in the past -- and the women's game is a lot more troubled with blowouts than the mens game.

He looked great in the first quarter -- throwing into the wind he looked very polished. His biggest problem clearly is standing up to pressure in the pocket and eluding the pressure. When Akron brought the heat, he tended to wilt. Other teams will see this tendency and increase up-the-middle blitz when appropriate. Announcers said scouts see him as about a 3rd-round NFL pick. BTW -- ex-MAC coach Doug Graber was pretty good -- but Reghi should stick to basketball.

Mahalo for the update. Watched UCLA outplay Washington's Huskies at home Drake Field today(Pac-12 Net). Best game I've seen the Bruins play this year -- probably their best overall. For once, the forwards played a coordinated effort, creating many scoring opportunities. Washington played about as well as they are able. I suspect UCLA will jump up to around #10-12 nationally, despite their inability to beat Oregon State earlier in the week. That puts more pressure on Akron to ensure a result on the trip to Ann Arbor.

I've seen Cal, Washington and UCLA play several times this year on Pac-12 Network. On paper UCLA should be easily #1 of the three, but like our team, they have trouble putting the ball in the net -- and lowly Oregon State took three out of four points against them with home and road comebacks last week and this week. On the other hand, Cal plays the most joga bonita in the country this year. I believe they have the former Charlotte coach there, and I'd be surprised if the Bears don't go a long way in the post-season. Washington is a similar team to Cal on paper, and plays fine team ball, but doesn't quite put runs and balls together like Cal does. Still, I think they're better than the Bruins. Haven't seen USD, but SDSU (which lost @Akron last month) has some skilled people, just not as many as the rest. Overall, it's very nice for me to see the West Coast rising. I hope it can continue. Big West teams like Northridge, Irvine and Cal Poly are going to rise up to where UCSB is before long.