Blue & Gold

Probably not final. I know Tulloch and Mattocks were very late adds to this year's class. That could of course happen again. To answer your other question, we will definitely be losing some underclassmen early to the MLS which will free up a couple more spots. But also, soccer scholarships aren't like football or basketball in the sense that you have x number to give away and they are all full scholarships. Soccer players are often given partial (half, quarter, etc.) scholarships to play. It's hard to know exactly how many "full" scholarships we are gaining back from the graduating seniors and the players that might be leaving early. Thanks clearing that up for me!

Our Long Snapper is quite good.

Thanks, Zach. So is this a finalized list? And, if so, how do we have so many roster spots available, there being only 3 seniors on this year's squad?

Can't complain about TV coverage. The more the better. But, not counting the MAC Tourney games and the 21-Day Advance games, only 2 of the games are away games. Those are the only games I'm interested in watching from my couch.

Great game. Lots of fun. Great atmosphere. Was proud to be an Akron fan (haven't had that feeling in a while.) Took a couple of middle school soccer players that I know. They had a blast & want to return (can't say that for the NIU football experience a couple weeks ago.) I remember reading that the atmosphere behind the east (Rowdies) goal is worlds apart from the atmosphere behind the western goal. Couldn't be more true. But both locations were a lot of fun. The AK-Rowdies are truly great! Not only rowdy, but knowledgeable of the game as well! Even when the Zips didn't score, The Rowdies could all see when plays were developing, or good passes & moves were made & their excitement was tangible for all of these developments & not only for scores or shots-on-goal. GOOD STUFF! The AK-Rowdies are America's soccer hooligans!!!

We can't fire iCoach after one season. Any coach, even a coach that some may consider the single worst coach ever hired in D-1 football, deserves, IMHO, at least 3 years. This is simply because UofA would look very bad if we fired iCoach after only one season. A move like that would probably scare off many qualified candidates in our subsequent HC search - other coaches knowing that they've got to turn things around immediately, or face being fired after a single season & before they had a chance to bring in their own recruits & make the program theirs.

+1. Lazy minds think alike.

Now that is an interesting comparison, considering we've both just recently made considerable investments in new stadiums. I wish our athletics department was as flush is cash as I'm assuming Minnesota's is.

We were beat down 38-10 by a team that was beat down 43-7 by Columbus.

I agree. Alleman's comments were very insightful. I like how he noted that "Coaches often fall in love with potential as opposed to production." I had never heard that before, but it makes a lot of sense. I also liked hearing his opinion on Rogers, "I think Matt Rogers can be a successful MAC quarterback." He doesn't think Rogers is the next coming of Joe Montana, but he believes Rogers can offer consistency, and that is really what the team needs right now. He was also very gracious with Nicely, reminding listeners that in a stronger program, Nicely would merely be a redshirt freshman QB still learning from the sideline. I really like the job he's doing. You can tell he can't be as blunt as he would probably like, but he's still honest and you can tell he has a passion for the Zips. Good stuff.

Thanks for your contribution, RUMPLEMINTZ! Subtle, as always. In case anyone cares about the Browns & Colt McCoy (sp?), Sam likes Colt alot ("He's a winner."). He predicts good things out of Colt. Today is probably not, to say the least, the best scenario Colt could be facing for a first NFL start. But, if you're interested (unlike myself), you can see how Sam's prediction w/ Colt works out. I just hope his prediction about the Zips is accurate!

Good call, Scott! Unfortunately we weren't able to keep it close for even your modest, tongue-in-cheek prediction of 5-minutes. 1st 4 OU Possessions: 1 - TD 2 - TD 3 - FG 4 - TD Can anyone begin to fathom the travesty that we have to play The University of Columbus next year?! O, the humiliation.

Your name is Rob. Lol. Yup. I should have just copied and pasted my post on Ohio.com!

Sadly, to answer Question #2, Giorgio Bowers really stood out to me, and well, we know what happend to him. Anthony Holmes really passes the eyeball test. And I suppose my pleasant surprise of the class thus far would be ShelDon Miller.

Going from bench pressing 135 lbs. 7 times to 225 lbs. 5 times is an incredible jump. But, perhaps, what I like most is that Zeke claims, "I don't feel any stronger." That means his gains in weight and strength are coming naturally and he's not bulking up more than his frame would naturally dictate - i.e., he's still going to be a very fluid athlete.

He beat around the bush a little bit when that question was posed. He thinks Mangini should stick to coaching the defense & not meddle with the offense much, if at all.

I was at a luncheon yesterday and sat with Sam Rutigliano. I didn't let on that I was a Zips fan because I wanted to get his honest opinion on things, so he spoke with me as if I didn't have much knowledge of the Zips' program at all. The conversation centered mostly around the Browns, but occassionally turned to the Zips (and Columbus). I asked him if he thought Coach Ianello, having been part of a staff that failed to win at Notre Dame, could possilby win at Akron? Sam thinks iCoach can turn the Zips around. His reply was basically in 3 parts: 1) "Have you seen Akron's facilities?! Wow. They're not just good, they're fantastic! As good as any in the country." He then went on to denigrate the Rubber Bowl. 2) iCoach has to use those facilities to bring in more talent and keep local talent here. He likes the idea of MAC schools recruiting in Ohio and eastward, as most of the Big Ten schools dominate the midwest. 3) iCoach has to change the losing culture of the program, which Sam stressed is very difficult to do and will probably take time. Mainly I just thought you guys would like to know Sam Rutigliano was so animated that he almost choked on his food as he described how he thought our facilities were among the very finest in the nation. I was proud of that.

We're 17-point dogs to a team that got beat 43-7 by Columbus.

If we can't sign him we can at least use that music during team warm-ups!!

I was over on Grand Valley State University's athletics website and noticed that Chuck Martin is no longer their HC. Did he get hired away by a bigger school? According to their website, GVSU's HC is now Matt Mitchell.

As a season ticket holder I agree that we are in essence being punished for supporting a bad team. I could buy GA tickets on the east side for individual games and have a comparable view of the game. And I am only paying for the games I want to go to. I sent an e-mail to the AD about season ticket prices,the performance of the team etc. His response,give it time. He said nothing specifically about season ticket prices. A shout out to the Band. They are now the best part of going to the games. I've got el-cheap-o GA season tickets. I sit on the 50-yard line every game.

Check out this interview from Rasor's blog with freshmen futbolers Darren Mattocks & McKauly Tulloch. I'm sure you'll find it as entertaining as I did. Michael Beavens w/ Darren Mattocks & McKauly Tulloch

Oops. Wrong button. Anyway, I might add, I don't think KSPU will draw 1/2 that many people for any single game the rest of the year, even with $5 tickets. In fact, I'd bet they don't draw 1/3 that many. The attendance, IMHO, shows how big the Akron-Can't rivalry actually is. It's pretty amazing, really. The community honestly gets excited about these games - even after all these years of two absolutely atrocious football programs. The Akron-Can't basketball games speak for themselves - the atmosphere couldn't possibly be much more electric at even a Duke-North Carolina game. Great rivalry.

Edit: With $5 tickets AND GREAT WEATHER, a family may come on out to just, Idk, suffer and moan for a few hours. Lol. Weather probably has a lot to do with attendance.

With how bad our team is, I don't think $5 tickets would draw too many more people than are going to come as-is. Btw, I do know that KSPU was giving away handfuls of free tickets to last Saturday's game. I've got a few friends that attend KSPU-Stark (Community College - yeah, the Can't State branch a mere 10-minutes south of UA - ticks me off) and they were giving away free tickets down there like parade clowns give away candy. I got two free tickets myself! Anyone could have gotten a handful of them. So, idk how KSPU actually counts attendance or tracks revenue @ their games. KSPU administrators must simply consider fielding a football team to be a 100% advertising write-off.