ZachTheZip

I do like that we're finally using the stadium for something other than football, though.

It's been going downhill every year since Red Wanting Blue played at the first Springfest.

Congrats to GoZips. Well deserved. So, how'd the banquet go?

I think we may have a late recruit coming for the fall by the name of Dmitre Aaron, out of Fremont Ross High School in NW Ohio. He is a defensive tackle and is 6'3" 360lbs. Not much to go on here, but I know he was on campus today and his Twitter profile says he's committed to Akron. Here's a highlight video I found.

Or more likely it will simply not be spent, since the A-10 is losing a significant amount of NCAA tournament payout money with Temple, Xavier, Butler, and Charlotte all leaving. Also, dropping four men's sports simultaniously implies that they're dealing with a massive Title IX problem.

Jake Kretzer participated last year. Do you think he's not very talented?

Do keep in mind that when you play in an all-star game, you're playing against a team of all-stars. Maintaining your normal stats against better-than-normal competition is pretty good.

Thanks for the rundown. I wasn't able to get to the game.

Day 4 observations

You hand around long enough as an assistant for a high-major (in name only, in Alabama's case), and eventually someone will offer you a head coaching job based on that alone. They were probably star struck. Reminds me of when Akron hired a certain football coach a few years ago.

Something to remember: Abreu already had his second chance. He was suspended from the team for pot-related issues in the past, but supposedly cleaned up and managed to make it back on the team. We trusted that he cleaned up his act, and he betrayed that trust.

There's been lots of talk on the MAC and Sunbelt boards of the MAC taking a look at Arkansas State. Not a bad pick-up as far as football is concerned, and they're not as far away from the MAC West as you might think. In fact, they're closer to the MAC than to the new-look Sunbelt they're stuck in. stAte wants out of the Sunbelt really badly right now. It's no longer the conference they signed up for.

I trust him to coach basketball players.

It's like 5 times the size of the current JAR footprint. Plenty of space to add parking. As far as going places, it's very easy to get to the bars downtown or by Luigi's. Easier to get to places compared to the JAR.

Not Grace Park. The place I'm talking about is just an open field. It doesn't have a name. It's literally nothing. It is the most accessible location you could ask for. It's closer to campus than downtown.

Build it on the huge square of grass bounded by Perkins, Park street, Union, and Goodkirk. It's bizarre that there's such a large empty area in the middle of downtown.

A couple greyshirt players we still don't know the status of: OL Curtis Black DL Arlington McClinton LB Dillon Kern DE William Houst

They don't enroll until the fall, so they wouldn't be on this list.

Looking the over roster, here are the changes that I can see compared to the roster from last season: Missing (using last year's class designation): Fr. QB Daniel Harding Jr. WR Dylan Potts Fr. WR Wade Edwards Jr. WR Nolan Procter So. S Joseph Peticca RFr. LB Adammichael Gesell Fr. OL Jack Ziltz Added (using this year's class designation): Jr. RB Rayshawn Walton Sr. DE C.J. James Jr. LB Ben Karam

Wolstein is very "old school". My main point was that UA wanted an arena that could do all that stuff, but got stuck with the JAR when the state pulled funding. We ended up with a "basketball-specific" arena that did not age well and was extremely limited in terms of hosting events, and now people want us to make the same mistake again. EJ Thomas Hall turns fourty this year. Something to think about.

If we're going to build an arena, we need to do it right. The JAR was not done right. The original plans were for what became the Wolstein Center. Now's our chance to build what we should have had in the first place, and host the kind of events we should have had all along. Wolstein specs. Note the arena dimensions of 112x212 feet. We can do that, except much better. We can have the Q (minus the top level). I've watched games seated behind the basket at the Q and at the JAR for years now, and I would take the Q every day.

So? Ninety percent of the JAR's end seating is far away and on the second level, and we don't even have corner seats. It's still a massive upgrade, and it's a much better long-term investment.

What's wrong with a "basketball-optimized multi-purpose arena" that can host hockey games?

They're all "university events"!

Only under certain conditions. First, he has to be proven totally innocent in court. I don't want him back if he's found guilty but gets probation instead of jail. Second, he would have to pay his own way. We've already moved on in terms of scholarships. Third, he has to come off the bench. Nyles Evans or Melo need to be the starter next year and beyond.