72 Roo

Please tell our OC that TE's do indeed exist. I think he likens them to unicorns or good Kent State football .......they are not for real

To add more fuel to the fire, I will be driving from Columbus for the exhibition and will have a guest. I can't wait to see this team. That being said I don't get why we are starting at 1:00. Curious decision.

Normally I get everything TB is doing, both tactics and strategy. But I gotta admit I don't understand why he answers questions about TW's injury the way he does. TB does not ever directly answer a question. I'd rather him pull a Lou Holtz and describe disaster than say TW is doing well, but not playing. What is that? We will not take Penn State by surprise no matter how well TW is. The next team is Arkansas PB and we don't have to hide players' status for them. If the team wants to build excitement for the season and put fans in the stands tell us the truth. If TW is passing how far? How much speed on the ball? Can his shoulder take a hit? Personally, until TW recovers, I have no problem with going into the season with one of our backup QB's. Thank you Dr. Z for all your information. At least you asked the hard questions. We are starved for something to believe in and you gave us hope. Much appreciated.

For GT this article is deep. Compared to other journalists it's pretty shallow. George got quotes but didn't ask any probing questions. Typical. He once again did not serve his readers.

The natatorium was not part of the plan for the arena that became the JAR. The fault for the debacle that became the JAR lies strictly with Guzetta, the president and his chief advisors and board of trustees. They were not patient. They hired an incompetent architect, who had never deigned an arena. They did not work the legislature or strong arm the local representatives and senators to gain support. They panicked and took what the state offered rather than play the game and possibly wait for the next biennium if they did not get what they wanted (State capital budgeting, which includes state educational institutions had payment for capital projects budgeted over a two year period of time) Guzetta had a low opinion of the role of athletics in a state institution and he had no vision to see how this arena design would hurt the progrum. Forget the fallacy that Gov Rhodes helped us or was honored by naming it after him. Neither was true. His name on the building was a political payoff to keep him from campaigning against it in the legislature. I was sports editor of the Buchtelite at the time and we ran a four installment series written by Mark Maloney outlining the present need, the future needs and what solutions could be available. Mark did a fabulous job. He got a meeting with Guzetta. When Mark saw the plans he told Guzetta not to build it. Mark laid out all the reasons we now cite for not commencing construction. He was regarded as an ignorant student who could not see the big picture. History shows otherwise. Poor leadership can cripple an institution for a long time. The JAR and Ianello are perfect examples of that fact.

This is an interesting topic. As said previously you have to go back many years to understand the naming of the JAR. Rhodes deserves very little credit for it. He only agreed to support it when he learned his name may go on the arena. Previously the university was under much pressure to name it after former Zip star athlete, coach and AD Kenneth "Red" Cochrane. Rhodes saw himself as a great builder and he wanted his name on as many projects as possible because he thought that would cement his legacy for decades to come in the state of Ohio. Remember the JAR was originally to seat 10,000. It's budgeting was cut twice as seats decreased. The only way it got thru the state legislature was because the architect, who was horrible, added three classrooms, at the direction of UA, so the building could then claim an educational mission. To uninformed legislators on the state capital budget committee that sounded easier to swallow than a new gym. The whole project was a lesson in incompetence on UA's part. A few years later both Cleveland State and Wright State got their arenas funded by the legislature. Both seat near 13,000. Both are strictly for sports and campus activities. Both got neat $30,000,000 each. We got less than $10,000,000 originally with a second funding of a few million. Akron could have, and should have, done better. Rhodes was a dynamic governor, but one who made poor decisions at times. His worst decision was to send in untrained, scared national guard troops to Kent State under an incompetent leader, General Del Corso. The results were tragic as we all know. Personally, I'd change the name in a heartbeat.

I think there are many of us who would contribute just as you are willing to do. On a related note, what the hell is going on with information about this year's preseason. There is absolutely nothing. That can't be doing the progrum any good, even if TB wants to keep TW's shoulder issue a mystery. After one game everybody will know what our status is at QB. I have long felt that Akron has the worst sports information dept in the MAC. They are horrible in content, creativity and quantity. Williams has got to correct that. The ABJ has shown it will not get the word out to its readers so we need to try something different. This is truly unbelievable that a DI progrum has put out such minimal information on the sport that is considered No.1 by most of the public.

We've got a top ten team again. I'm content with this ranking for now. In fact, I like it. I want this year's version of Zip soccer to be hungry and fight for everything they want. We have the season to show what we've got. I believe the boys will do just that. See you at First Energy for the 1:00 game vs Penn State on August 16. That will be a good glimpse of what we have. C'mon boys, let's return to the top!

Oh boo hoo. I feel so horrible for offending our rival. What an injustice! Oh the inhumanity of it all! Wait, this is Kent and I could care less. Hell, I'd take the Wagon Wheel to Sunday Mass if it would pee Kent off. If it's up to me we take the Wagon Wheel to every public event we can. If they don't like it, take the trophy away from us. Finally, I think the Record-Courrier reporter was correct. We will beat Kent again and the damn Wagon Wheel will be at the 2018 MAC Football Media day. At our table. Count on it!

Thanks for the post. Whether you believe the Zips will go 3-9 or 9-3 this has to get you fired up. Have a great season boys!

Thank you for your interview post. TB seems very optimistic w/o going overboard. It seems to me that he clearly knows he has to produce this season. I hope he does. I appreciate you going the extra mile. I hope you are credentialed for all Zip sporting activities. When you represent ZNO you carry a lot of clout.

Z.I.P. are you tweaking my Columbus nose? The transfers have to be for roundball cuz TB struck out this year in football, at least in graduate transfers. BTW, bring us some island healing for our sore arm (shoulder) QB. We need it. Mahalo

We are good. You were having fun with my typo and I probably would have done the same thing had I read a post like mine. The good news is we can see better days ahead for UA and it's fall!That means football. Hope springs eternal for all Zips, even though I do not have confidence in this team. I want to be proven wrong and enjoy admitting I was wrong. C'mom TB, gives us something to cheer about. C'mom TW, get your arm back! I wish!

Balsy, you sure have a charming way of pointing out mistakes. Of course it was $5 million. My bad. My mistake. It's all on me. I thought I was doing something nice for the rest of the board in filling them in on what went on. I'll be more careful in the future. I, for one, am proud that our university has corrected the deficit for this year and found a way to squirrel away an additional $5,000,000.

Capt'n, thanks for the information. I'm starved to learn as much as I can about this year's edition of the Zips. I predict a 6-6 season, but I relish any hope that can change that for the better.

I went to the event. Here's what I learned. This was the second year UA held an alumni event like this in Columbus. By all accounts the alumni association seemed to be pleased with the turnout. About 80 people came during the two hours it was held. The location, Standard Hall, was nice. We had our own room and bar. The food was first class and the drinks were ample. In addition to the strong alumni association showing there were many faculty and staff from the Bliss Institute for Applied Politics. That stands to reason with Columbus being the center of state government. The highlight of the evening was a talk from Matt Wilson. He noted the following: freshmen attendance is up 10% over last year transfers are up 15% over last year the goal of covering a $30 M deficit has been achieved and an additional $5 has been placed in a surplus fund next year a budget deficit of $29 must be covered and the U of A will be out of the deficits for good the dorms are at full occupancy the law school will host an international on-line symposium that will be attended by people from the five major continents the university wants to get more active in state politics. To that end Willy Kollman has been named executive director of Gov't and Alumni Relations he made no mention of sports I tried to talk with Matt but he needed to spend time with the state elected officials that were there. He did comment that we had to have a stronger presence in Columbus and it appeared he was working on it. It was a surprise to me how many of the alumni who attended wanted to talk about Zip sports. I thought they would be indifferent but the opposite was true. They all wanted to talk about Zip teams winning the MAC. Most were not as informed as the average ZNO member but they were hungry for a winner. They took pride in their school. The event ended at 8:00 pm. I'm looking forward to another next year.

The university is having an alumni and friends social tomorrow in Columbus at Standard Hall on High Street in the Short North district. Do any ZNO members plan on going? It would be fun to talk Zip sports with any of our members. If going PM me.

OK, I'll bite. I'm bored anyway so what the hell. I disagree that this board frowns on positive discussion. Rather I believe this board is informed and realistic. Our team this season has far too many questions than answers. Certainly a healthy Warren Ball is part of the solution, but he has to run behind a line that could not drive their opponents off the line of scrimmage when needed last year. They could pass block but not own the line. Most people say surely they will be better with a year's experience and training. Until they prove it that expectation is based on hope and not fact. Hope is not a reasonable strategy to build a team on. I believe Ball will excel and make them look good. They will grow as a unit, but that is also based on hope so take it with a grain of salt. I welcome positive news wherever you find it LZip.

Good point. I hope that is why we are interested. I also hope we are not giving up a scholly for a holder. Our needs are so much greater elsewhere and I can't believe the coaches would seriously recruit this athlete with 4.8 speed for a WR position. I'm breathing easier thanks to you.

I sure hope the coaches see a massive upside in this young man because the rest of the college world that is recruiting him are decidedly below the Zips' level of play. I'd love to know what they see that others don't.

Unfortunately rumors tend to have some truth to them. The loss of King and Jest, if true, is a big setback. Our D-line did not get the transfers we desperately need and the young players in the wings are either too raw (Freshmen), need more time or lacking the first team talent we need. King's loss would take our LB's from a position of strength to one of average talent. I have given up on Bell from a character standpoint and his ability to grasp his assignments. I saw him, last season, repeatedly out of position. I don't think he gets it and Amato needs to look elsewhere.

What the hell. I'm in on this thread because I am so incredibly bored reading how we beat up each other on non-Zip sports issues. My concerns: 1) Unproven QB (health-wise) 2) Poor run blocking line, based on last year's performance. Until they show they can do it i don't believe they will be able to run block just because it's a year later 3) Incompetent OC. He proved it last year. Coaching does cost us games guys. 4) Poor D line. First team talent is undecided and depth is unproven 5) Depth at WR 6) Special team play especially punting. Coaching makes a difference here too. 7) No winning culture My prediction: 6-6

Best wishes to Noah from here too. Do you guys know the UNLV progrum well enough to know if Noah will get playing time or possibly start? Thanks for your time at Akron Noah.

Very proud of our team in sending some members over to Kent in support of their grieving team. That's total class and I'm proud of these Zips. This gets me more excited for Zip football than any cheap promotion our almost non-existent marketing dept can think of.

He didn't upgrade. I think this is a win-win for both him and our progrum. He was not going to give us much. Good luck Aaron.