Blue & Gold

Unless we become a Boise State type of program in the MAC, I think averaging 15,000 a game would be near topping out. I invited a few friends to the Akron -v- Ke.n.t basketball game and they didn't know K.e.n.t was even a D-1 school and thought that was "funny." I think they only realize Akron is D-1 because I talk about them all the time. People around here are just really ignorant (and I mean that literally, not derogatorily) about MAC sports.

I like having the K.e.n.t game moved up to take advantage of the increased likelihood for good weather. I also like having the OU game as the last game of the season - Rivalry Week. I think I dislike OU more than I dislike K.e.n.t and I think OU fans dislike us more than they dislike MU. We should ditto this scheduling with both K.e.n.t and OU every year. (With the exception of playing OU on a Tuesday. Lame.)

"Dawgs Done In by Dunn-Martin" http://www.dailyindependent.com/sports/dawgs-done-in-by-dunn-martin/article_ad04edde-c7d2-11e5-84fa-e7562cb87ed0.html

K.e.n.t deserved to win that game. They out hustled us all night long. And it wasn't even close. Disappointing effort. (Except for Big Dog. He was beast.)

http://www.cantonrep.com/article/20160218/SPORTS/302189972/16946/SPORTS Ohio State is "only" averaging 12,600 at games this year. Maybe averaging 1/4 that isn't too bad nowadays?

This is going to be a war. As always. The game being at K.e.n.t, I'm going to say we get behind by 10, but pull to within 1 or 2 at the half. The second half is tight with the good guys pulling away over the last 8 minutes for a 10-point win.

Game story from GT. http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/university-of-akron-men-s-basketball-zips-overcome-adversity-to-register-80-70-victory-over-buffalo-1.662616# This is a little concerning: "The Bulls never recovered despite a dominant 50-29 rebounding edge, including 15-11 on the offensive glass, and a lopsided 42-18 scoring advantage in the paint."

It is both frustrating and embarrassing.

Great game last night. MAC basketball has been extremely entertaining & competitive this year! Can't wait for Friday night! (Hope Pat's ready to go.)

Small crowd here tonight.

Kretzer's warming up and looks fine to me.

I had group outings planned for both the Pitt and Ohio games and cancelled both due to weather.

http://www.ohio.com/news/local/despite-winning-football-team-university-of-akron-still-struggled-to-fill-stadium-last-season-1.662353

He's strong as an ox!

Blog post by GT. http://www.ohio.com/blogs/ua-zips/university-of-akron-zips-blog-1.277207/akron-zips-football-source-osu-rb-to-enroll-play-at-ua-after-graduation-1.661590

Another good article by GT. http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/george-m-thomas-university-of-akron-basketball-team-peaking-at-the-right-time-1.661471

I'm at the K.e.n.t - NIU game. There MAY be 1000 people here.

Sounds nearly impossible to actually officiate without slow-motion replay.

From the ABJ: "University of Akron men's soccer: Zips' 2016 recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the country according to TopDrawerSoccer." http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/university-of-akron-men-s-soccer-zips-2016-recruiting-class-ranked-no-2-in-country-according-to-topdrawersoccer-com-includes-area-players-alex-mapp-jackson-crawford-1.660565

From the ABJ: "What Does a No-Confidence Vote Mean in Higher Education?" http://www.ohio.com/news/local/what-does-a-no-confidence-vote-mean-in-higher-education-1.660606 Ugh. What a mess.

I've been tremendously excited about Josh since he gave a verbal to the Zips before his junior year of high school. After Josh received 2nd Team All-Ohio D-1 as a freshman at Barberton I was crossing my fingers he'd end up a Zip. It took a bit longer for him to adjust to the speed of the D-1 college game than I thought it would, but man, the way he's played the past two games has surpassed even my highest expectations! Go Zips!

For threeeeee!!! http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/university-of-akron-men-s-basketball-freshman-josh-williams-making-himself-at-home-with-zips-1.660589

Those were two NCAA Tournament quality teams last night. Great game.

Here's a good article from GoZips.com on the football/track dual-sport athletes on the team. Bowden mention he wanted to make this a recruiting niche for UA. http://www.gozips.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20160205i5s179

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/university-of-akron-basketball-cheatham-leads-improving-zips-defense-into-rematch-with-central-michigan-1.659698?cache=18961415304345%252525252fnews%252525252fohio%252525252fcss%252525252fresults%2525252525%25 Great game day story from GT. Focusses on Kwan & his new mindset of focussing on D and playing down low.