w00t

He's been offered scholarships by Kansas State (Huggins), Pitt (Dixon), Louisville (Pitino), and Memphis (Calipari), among others. I'll go out on a limb and bet that you'll never see him put on a Can't State uniform.

This would be quite unfortunate to say the least, however, I doubt that it's true.

Pitt at the JAR this year?!?!?!?! Bring it on! This could be that "marquee win" that you see the ESPN talking heads blabbering about in late February/early March when discussing a team's at-large chances.

And so the of albatross of high expectations rears its ugly head... when we're still 0-0!The Zips did not look all that impressive last night, but it was a preseason game and they were playing a very good Creighton side (ranked ahead of us in the Adidas/NSCAA poll by the way). Losing a game 1-0 where there were three golden scoring opportunities does not mean that we're "missing" our old coach or have ego problems. (If we were "missing" anyone last night, I would have to go with it being last year's do-everything midfielder, Yohann Mauger). Give 'em a break and let's hope they're ready to go next Friday in VA when it counts!

Take a look at gozips.com... Odoch is missing again and a new Freshman from Arizona (who supposedly notched a goal in the intersquad game this weekend) has appeared.

Thank you, mrelegazna... there is a hint of sanity in this thread after all. As one example, if there were no OSU, Chris Wells would be at Michigan or USC this year by the way.http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=1339455

I follow high school basketball recruiting. And I meant "considered" in the loosest way possible, he didn't really consider anything but the NBA. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=9&cfg=bb&c=4&yr=2003(btw, saying he would have won CSU a national title is laughable.)

I'm actually pretty sure LeBron would have gone to Duke. The only other two that he even considered were UNC and Ohio State.

Haha, I remember that, it was my favorite ESPN article ever.

*heaves sigh of relief*

Great, then the MAC is "evenly matched"... but don't try and tell me that The Big Ten isn't at a higher level of competition.I promise to only spend your $50 on Zips apparel.

Whatever chief, he may not have used the words "the MAC has as much talent as the Big Ten", but what exactly do you make of this? I loved George Mason's basketball team... I don't think I was more into a college hoops game all season that the UConn/GM game... I really hate UConn. But the smart money does not have another MM in the Final Four for a long, long time... 22 more years maybe? And even then, two more wins to go against teams that are obviously pretty good. I'll give you those same odds on a five-year bet. No, I didn't, I said "#1" (read: champion)... Read twice, post once.

That's what worried me.

CK, I think you're a great guy and I don't mean any disrespect, but if you think that the MAC and The Big Ten are on the same level talent-wise, then I would have to ask how much you've had to drink at this early hour. The money doesn't lie... how many MAC alumni are there in the NFL? How many from The Big Ten? Are you joking?It's great that you like the MAC and prefer it to The Big Ten... you're in the minority (check the TV ratings), and The Big Ten has better teams and better athletes. I suppose it means nothing to you that the champions from the MAC (Akron) had their score doubled by a team firmly entrenched in the bottom third of the Big Ten (Purdue) last year. How much more evidence do you need as to the talent disparity there? Want to place any bets on the NIU/OSU game in a few weeks? Any idea why the MAC Champs or Runners Up are slated to play the SEVENTH PLACE Big Ten finisher in the Motor City Bowl on December 26th this year? MAC vs. Big Ten last year... 0-11. If Akron beat Can't 11 times out of 11 and a Can't fan told you that Akron wasn't any better, you'd pass him some smelling salts, right? I'm interested to see how you chalk that up to anything but The Big Ten being a better conference. And what do you mean there's no such thing as a mid-major conference? Just denying it doesn't make it true. I suppose there's no such thing as a BCS conference either?Superiority complex?!?! OSU is the preseason number one... who the heck are they supposed to feel inferior to?!?!?! If they feel superior, it's for good reason, they would beat us by four touchdowns on any given day.I don't even think I'm "looking down on" the MAC so much as just plainly stating a fact... I'm pretty comfortable that, barring a miracle, there will be no MAC squad challenging for a national title in football or basketball in my lifetime. George Mason became the first mid-major to crack the final four (which means they were still two wins away from a title I would remind you) since the field expanded to 64 in 1985. That's one in 88 for the MM's (and they were not the first 11-seed to make it, LSU pulled it off in '86). Now that high schoolers can't jump directly to the NBA, the high-major talent pool will get stronger again... wanna take a bet on whether or not there will be a mid-major in the Final Four next year? I'll give you a straight-line ten for one, and I'm guessing you wouldn't take me up on it. My point about soccer was that (and this is coming from someone who claims soccer as his favorite sport) it doesn't really count, because it's not played on any sort of a national stage. You know as well as I do that you couldn't name me five non-Akron NCAA soccer players, but I'll bet you knew every Heisman candidate from last year. And the Zips did not beat Maryland on a neutral field last year... they beat them at home in a preseason tournament and tied them on the road before failing to advance in a penalty shootout. Not that it matters, I wasn't arguing that Akron's soccer team is anything other than phenomenal... they absolutely got screwed by the seeding committee. All that being said, it is a GREAT time to be a Zips fan. Being favored to win the MAC in football and basketball (and likely to absolutely drub Can't in both sports) and having another national title contender on the soccer field is pretty exciting. I will be at as many soccer, football, and basketball games as I can possibly make... and I am ecstatic for how far all of those programs have come in such a short time. I just don't have any delusions about where any of them stand on the national stage.

Anybody notice that Oscar Odoch is not on the roster @ gozips.com?Is it an oversight or is he really not playing?

I love my alma mater, and can routinely be seen at soccer games, football games, and basketball games... but let's not forget that the MAC is the MAC. It's a mid-major conference. The Big Ten simply offers better competition. Most hardcore college sports fans want to identify with a team who has a fighting chance to go all the way and play those big games against major conference competition.We are from Ohio after all, so I don't see what's wrong with showing the Buckeyes some love... I liken them to our big brother.An act of God placed our soccer team at the top of the NCAA last year, but you will never see a MAC school #1 in either football or basketball. (The only two college sports that generate a serious amount of revenue... but that's a conversation for another day). I don't that being a Zips fan and being a Buckeye fan has to be mutually exclusive. Since they very seldom play each other, there's not even much of a need to divide your loyalties.

Check This Out!ESPN's Jeff Shelman thinks the Zips are the team to beat this year.

I have a great feeling about this guy for some reason.

No problem! Thanks for uploading it!

LOL!!!!!!Salutations Antonio... if it inflates your ego to talk about how amazing your water polo team is, then by all means continue. In college there are TWO sports that matter... basketball and football. No offense to any other sports (soccer happens to be my favorite) but that is ALL anyone cares about. We consistently own your football teams and while your basketball teams have had the upper hand in recent years, it's not by a considerable margin... and on account of your athletes being about as bright as garden tools, you're down a couple of scholarships in basketball next year. In '06-'07, Akron will drub you on the football field and on the basketball court. So I'm glad you're proud of your women's golf team, but I have a feeling that it will only be a short amount of time before you're too embarrassed to show your face around here... and I hesitate to speak for everyone, but I know I won't be shedding any tears over it.

InTheZone, you could do a "yousendit"... go to yousendit.com and upload the file... it will then e-mail you a weblink (which is good for seven days) that you could post.Thanks!

Does anyone know where a video file might be available of Hixon's catch in the MAC title game?

Balki, that statement was racist and inflammatory.

Their coach was such a classless hack. When your team gets drubbed 5-0, "weather" and "field conditions" lag far behind "lack of talent" and "poor coaching" as reasons for the loss. Then he had the gall to say that he wasn't that impressed with Akron and that UConn would beat them. When they play Lousiville this year, I hope they both lose.

You're joking right? Well, two out of four ain't bad.