Blue & Gold

I, as well as most others in the Nation, like to vent about the pathetic Zips coverage given us by our very own Akron Beacon Journal. Quite frankly, I find the almost complete lack of quality coverage highly insulting. But the question is often posed as to what we, as Zips fans can do to encourage increased Zips coverage by our local paper. Well, here's a little something we can do (the least we can do?) Today Patrick McManamon wrote one of his first pieces as the BJ's new lead sports columnist and his topic was... the UA Zips!!! I scrolled down the page (I had read the article in the paper already this morning) and left a comment to his story. I figure we complain about the lack of coverage enough that I'd show Patrick that people do in fact care enough about Zips coverage to leave a comment on his piece. Unfortunately, as of 2:15 this afternoon, I was the only person to have left a reply. Think about that, the only person in the entire greater Akron area to leave a freaking comment about a Zips front page story!!! What are the BJ editors and writers to think? I write a piece on the Zips and get ONE reply; I write a piece on the Browns and get 60 replies; I write a piece on the Buckeyes and get 80 replies. Perhaps it doesn't take a rocket scientist afterall to figure out this mystifying lack of coverage?So let's make a rule: no one is allowed to EVER AGAIN gripe about the BJ's lack of coverage UNLESS you go to Ohio.com and leave replies and comments regarding the various Zips stories that they do publish. So take 3 minutes, and go over to Ohio.com and read McManamon's insightful article AND LEAVE A RESPONSE!!! Don't just bitch about a lack of coverage, but do a little something about it! Get over there and show our new lead sports columnist that there is a substantial audience to be had in the greater Akron area that is indeed interested in any Zips knowledge they can drop!

David Lee Morgan has since updated his blog a bit. He's got an entry concerning the QB rotation, an entry concerning the potential of Matt Rodgers, and an entry dealing with possible week 1 MAC upsets.But I agree about the BJ. I subscribe because I keep hoping against hope that they, as our hometown paper, will begin religiously covering Zips athletics. But I'm growing disheartened. I may just cancel my subscription and drink in Rasor's daily blog for free! Heck, that'd even save some trees! Rasor's blog is the best thing the BJ sports section has going for it. The BJ could be a tool in shaping Akron's identity. Instead, their writers seem to believe that their community is named Clevelumbus.

Could you imagine if Rasor wasn't around?! We would be receiving absolutely no coverage or inside info on our hometown D-1 football program. How frustrating! To add insult to injury, on the front page of today's BJ sports section is a color picture of George Thomas, introducing him as the new OSU beat writer. Wow.Ironically, included in today's Local section's Editor's Commentary is mention of how important UA is for Akron's future. However, these same editors, just two weeks ago, chided UA President Proenza for aiming high and comparing UA to OSU! Additionally, whoever makes the sporting editorial decisions obviously doesn't think UA is important at all. How hypocritical. Oh, well, at least I can find vengeful solace in the fact that no one reads the BJ anymore.

In case you guys missed it yesterday, the Akron Beacon Journal got the scoop on Chris Jacquemain beating out Carlton Jackson for the starting QB job on our HOMETOWN DIVISION 1-A COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM!!! Gotta give props to the ABJ Sports department; their coverage has truly been excellent.

I left a comment questioning the new development. I hope the reporter (forget his name) can look into that for us!

Btw, in the article on InfoCision Stadium, there was good news regarding alcohol sales in the new venue. Ted Curtis said that approval of alcohol sales must be approved by a vote of the trustees, but that if were solely up to him he would, "do it tomorrow." Sounds promising!I don't drink, but I'm not dumb enough to think that most of the football market wouldn't mind at least having the option of sipping down a beer or two during a Zips game!

FYI, the new Buchtelite came out today. You can read it at www.buchtelite.com. It's got quite a few good stories: 1) InfoCision Stadium, 2) Quaker Square, 3) Spicertown and 4) a good article on the football team. Check it out. There's probably more but I've gotta get back to work!

Absolutely. A D-1 football program should NOT have kicking problems. D-1 level competition is an inter-galactic quantum leap from high school talent/competition. But I saw a couple high school kickers last year I would have taken over our guys. That is completely unacceptable.

Excellent! If the majority of the Rowdies present were freshmen that most definitely bodes well for the future! If this keeps up, in 2 years we'll be filling the JAR and rocking InfoCision Stadium! We've gotta turn UA athletic events into THE PLACE TO BE and the Rowdies are a MAJOR key to doing that. Screw being Cleveland's ugly little sister! Akron a bonafide college town? I LOVE THAT!!!

Kickers... horriblepunters... shakyreturn specialists... lost our top return manSpecial teams don't look good.

Have Steven Swiech and Bardo shown anything?

Here's a Rivals article on Will Flemming posted July 31:Akron (Ohio) Hoban safety Will Fleming is leaning toward making a decision.Will Fleming is close to committing to Akron.He does still have aspirations to land a Big Ten, Big East or ACC scholarship offer, but with his father on the staff at Akron he has so many ties to the Zip coaching staff. And it's those ties that have him leaning toward officially ending the process. It's also those ties that have probably kept other schools from offering."I was up at Akron actually over the weekend, and I've been thinking about Akron a lot," Fleming, the No. 50 player in Ohio, said. "Sunday they had a senior camp, and they had like 400 kids up there. I actually went up there and worked at linebacker and receiver, and I hung out with the coaches more. I already know them, but I never took a real visit through the campus. My mom and I went with J.D. Brookhart around campus."It's awesome. I never really had looked at the campus like that until he took us around in a golf cart."Fleming, who also has an offer from Hawaii, said there are a few other schools like Illinois, Wake Forest and Michigan State that have talked to him about an offer. But he's to the point where he thinks if they are really interested they should step up with an offer."I've been to Illinois twice, and I really liked it," he said. "I like Michigan State a lot, too. Wake Forest is the other I've been waiting to hear from, but again Akron is an amazing place and just as good as those schools. I told coach Brookhart I'm going to talk to those recruiters from the schools, and I'm going to make my decision on Aug. 23. That's when my first game is, and then my plan is to commit to Akron."I would be thrilled to go there, but I just want to see what those other schools are going to do. I really want to go to a school where I'm wanted. Akron wants me, and that's something that's important."

Mackey is a football player. Another thread discussed Carlin Isles speed, and that's great. But there is so much more to being a football player than statistics. I don't think any of Mackey's tangibles would impress anyone. Everytime I stand near him, I'm struck at how physically underwhelming he appears. But man, his mama must be proud, 'cause he is just one natural, fearless, hard-hitting football player with all the football IQ and football-related intangibles it one could ever hope for!

Sad to say it, but I'd go with the above mentioned roster than the one we're fielding this year.

I found this to be a good Zips article from Pluto, but, sadly, that is most definitely an exception and not the norm. I think it's good for Pluto to move along. I was hoping against hope that the BJ could somehow get a new mindset and different voice than Pluto's the day his article about UA's new stadium was published. His attitude towards the paradigm-shifting stadium was that it shouldn't be viewed as a tool for better recruiting classes or a more successful UA football program, but should be viewed as merely a general community asset. That was one of the more bizarre points of view I've ever seen, and to have it published in YOUR daily paper?! It's healthy for all of the city of Akron that Pluto gets out of town and goes to write for the city his heart truly belongs to.

I'm a bit surprised that the U doesn't have any plans to use the Quaker facility for their hospitality management program. I thought they might consider keeping one of the restaurants, run by students, open to the public.

In signing another sub-6' guard, I'm assuming Darryl Roberts didn't make the grades? If he did, next year that would give us 4 guards under 6' in Roberts, Steward, Humpty and now Sullivan. Even if they all have great game, that seems like a lot of smallish guards for a D-1 b-ball squad. I'm pretty stoked about all of them though!

I was just over on Rivals and saw that we apparently have another verbal from a PG named Alex Sullivan. I think I remember someone on here mentioning him, but I wasn't able to locate the thread when I did a search for it. Does anyone know anything about him?

Terry Pluto leaving the ABJ could help us solidify our own identity as a bonafide college town. We need a featue sports writer who's primary passion is for Akron and The UA. Not the Cleveland Browns. Not the Cleveland Indians. Not the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hopefully this move will help solidify more coverage of OUR team!

As a person I love Terry Pluto. As a sportswriter I think he is very insightful and most definitely respect his work. But he seems to care so little about Akron that I don't think this will hurt Zips coverage at all. On the contrary, we now have the opportunity to replace Terry with a home-grown Akron writer who's passion is for Akron, not Cleveland. Terry adored the Browns, Cavs and Indians; he wrote about the Zips when either he had to, or merely had nothing else to write about. He also was generally quite condescending in his tone towards UA athletics. I actually view this as a positive development. Here's to the Beacon hiring Rasor, or some other Akron writer with blue & gold in his veins!

Do the Rockets plan to play any of their games at the downtown arena?

Absolutely, UA Fan! We need as many high school football games in that new stadium as possible! We've got to take advantage of any opportuntiy to show off our beautiful new campus and revitalizing downtown! Maybe the Stark Countians will come early, hit up one of our many downtown restaurants (even more are surely on the way now that the stadium has been announced), stroll through our breathtaking new campus, be awestruck by our gorgeous new football "palace," and then decide to come back for some exciting D-1 college football!P.s. IMO, in one of the concourses, we should have life size cardboard cut outs of some of the players along with their 40 times and bench press max. I think the vast majority of the public is utterly ignorant as to how HUGE D-1 college football players are. I think the typical Stark Countian has the idea that to play at Akron you just have to walk on, or something; like any kid who plays at McKinley could play at Akron. They are, through no fault of their own, just uneducated as to how amazing & elite an athlete one must be to play at the D-1 level. If you grow accustomed to watching Zips football, when you go see a high school game (even when it's Massillon/McKinley) it is laughable how small, awkward and slow the high school athletes are in comparison. D-1 college ball relegates high school ball to the level of "cute." I just don't think most folks get it. I was a good high school player, but I know that if I got hit squarely by one of Akron's linebackers I'd be in a wheelchair the rest of my life!!!

Urbanpreppie05 is exactly correct. For some sad reason some in Canton like to think that Akron stole "their" team. When in reality everyone knows that the Canton-Akron Indians were surely gone to the greener pastures of the east coast if it wasn't for Akron stepping up and building our downtown Canal Park. Thurman Munson Stadium is an embarassment. Even most Canton hillbillies realize this. We stepped up and kept the team in the area. This poor old man, as well as anyone else with misinformed bitterness, needs to get over it. IMO, ever since the AA team moved downtown, the Canton Suppository has been spitting serious sour grapes over anything Akron. Of course, this could have been going on earlier than the move to Akron, but that is when I started noticing the Suppository anti-Akron bias. Jealously is an ugly and tragic state. Speaking of the Supp's sour grapes attitude, does anyone know if the Rep even ran an article covering UA's new stadium announcement?

Romeo is more of a power forward than a small forward. He can hit the three, but he has to have time to measure it up before he lets it go. Romeo is athletic and a good rebounder. Not a real pretty shot though.

I did notice that. Why the change?