ZachTheZip

It's at home, so I am expecting a blowout for the men's game. No disrespect to YSU, but that's what happens in the JAR. I would be much more worried if it were on the road. The women's team is still a mystery to me. I don't know how good they are, just that they seem to be much improved over every past team in the history of the program, but that's not saying much.I'll be down behind the south basket, heckling the players and coaches like always. I am hoping for a nice crowd. See you there.

For everyone who wants a tougher schedule with KD giving up his exclusive home-and-home policy, I ask you to find me an example of of what you want working for a comperable school. Hundreds of schools do that every year, playing two nonconference away games for every home game, and they all suck. Good teams are good because they get teams to play them at home, where they can win.

Then you obviously haven't heard that WZIP is the top college radio station in the country, with the highest ratings and the most listeners. Not too shabby.

Zips win 88-70.Roberts and the younger McKnight both saw playing time, and from what I've seen they will both be solid contributors this season.

It's his evil twin.

I was planning on going, but a family get together got in the way. Definetely a big win, but not as big as Z.I.P. makes it out to be. Houston is now 4-7 on the year. Xavier and Marist look to be the toughest non-conference teams remaining, and we get them both at home.

Here's KD's reasoning on his schedule, from what I have heard him say or what he has implied:Everything is held against you. You beat Kentucky, and they say it's a fluke. You lose, and they tell you you didn't win enough games. The only way to get them to look at you is to schedule a killer record and win most of your games. Scheduling 2 or 3 top teams in the place of the NC Centrals and keeping the rest of the schedule like it is won't cut it, even if you pull off an upset or two. You need to win against all of those tough teams, and not lose any games you shouldn't so that they see that you are a real competitor and that the wins weren't flukes. We have an exponentialy better chance of winning at the JAR, so we need to play as many home games as possible, which also happens to generate local interest, which helps local recruiting. The big name teams won't come here under any circumstances, and as said previously we would need to schedule many of those teams to have a shot without being labeled a fluke, so until that time we need to improve our record so that we have something concrete to point to to say we are legit.KD is building the program. Remember what is was like before he came? Winless MAC seasons and such are no longer a reality here. Building the type of program reputation that we want, and some of us think we already have, takes time. When it comes to scheduling major opponents, it's all or nothing, and right now nothing is the better option while we grow as a program. Kansas has a 155 SOS right now, which is almost exactly average, nothing too big, but they are ranked #17 in the RPI because they won all nine of their games, only one of which was on the road. It can be done, but first Akron needs to find a way to get teams to play us at home.

Dambrot thinks that some of these guys can make an impact immediately. I trust his judgement on this, since it's worked out for him in the past.

KD said they would play. Are redshirts allowed limited playing time during the season or do they have to sit every game out? If anything they can allow our starters to have more rest.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

Brett McKnight will play on Wednesday against NC A&T. That's all I've heard, but it is possible that we will get everyone back by monday for practice.

Alright. This is the last game without the cavalry in the game. Good win for the Zips. These are the games we need to win and schedule, even though we didn't really schedule it. Play projected mid/low conference champs.

Akron up 55-50. Just over 3 minutes to go. Now's the time to pour it on and ensure the lead for good. Come on guys...

50-44 Akron. Akron's taken 6 FTs compared to APSU's 15. The refs really really really hate McKnight.

The shots aren't falling. So many rattle in then out.

Uh-oh. Clock problems.From the sounds of it, there are about three fans there and they are all drunk.

KD said Brett McKnight will play on Wednesday.

This is a must-win.

Tonight is a night where Bardo has to step up big time. They can't handle big players inside, and Wood can't do it alone.

Not a peep so far. Hopefully the hard core fans either forgot or just don't care.

That's right, you heard me. As far as I am concerned, Zippy is losing to Goldy and her status will remain that way until this thing is over. Vote now and vote as much as possible. Keep recruiting people, and badgering the people you have already recruited. It's do or die. Win or go home. Going undefeated until now means absolutely nothing if we lose this matchup. People only remember winners. NOW LET'S WIN THIS!

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articl...213122007-1.htmIt's always good to see UA partner with the local Fortune-500 companies. The lack of a major partnership with Goodyear still troubles me, and I have no idea whether UA developes materials for Gojo, but this deal is a good thing.

You should see the reaction by the SIU fans. They spend all their free time bashing the MAC, and then their HC leaves for a team they beat earlier this year. It's nice to see them crash back to the reality that they are second-fiddle.

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/12452411.htmlI wonder if that means they will use the extra money to add things or increase the capacity.

What you have been told is not correct. The University of Akron athletic budget has increased each year and is not the smallest in the MAC or I-A. The academic support services for student athletes has seen a lot of turnover in the last five years but is a solid program. Many of the recruits that are not eligible, were never eligible. The came to The University of Akron as non-qualifiers(not academically eligible out of high school for NCAA DI athletics) and were never able to achieve the necessary grades at the university level. JD has gambled on some very talented athletes with questionable grades. It is not the athletics departments fault, nor JD's that they are not eligible. It is the student-athlete that was given an opportunity but unable to achieve the required grades. The department and coaches follow up on athletes but they can't take their tests. The student-athletes have to be willing to work for their grades and some are not interested.Thanks for clearing that up. My mistake. I'll have to go talk to who I heard that from. Either way, we have to find a better way to get these guys eligible. Find ways to motivate them. Some people require more guidance than others, and some just need to find a different reason to do their work. I've seen the tutoring area in Carrol Hall. I'm not sure that the athletes use that or have their own place to get help but I can't imagine it being much better. It's not good. The tutors there do a great job, don't get me wrong, but the facility and what they have to work with is in a sorry state.