72 Roo

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.

You bet it's encouraging. I hope Woody comes back motivated with a chip on his shoulder to prove something. The team needs him. Hell we need him to restore our sanity after last season. I was talking with Bre Ford recently and he was super high on Austin Wolfe. be said Austin was a bitch to cover in practice, far more of a challenge than Lane. Be predicted Austin would have a breakout season. be said Gladney had trouble picking up the offense and that would hinder him again this year. be had more hope in Coney altho' he said Gladney had a world of physical talent. Bre is from Western PA (Bethel Park), same as Woodson, and he had a tough time understanding why TW didn't take conditioning seriously. He said TW needed a major attitude shift because so much rode on his shoulders this year. He wasn't sure TW was there yet. TW is rehabbing but not like a maniac like Bre would be if he was returning from injury. I guess we shall see but if he isn't ready to reach his potential I am glad Johns and Nelson are waiting in the wings. I thought Bre was being straight up and honest whereas when you talk with coaches you get the general statement "all will be well". Not exactly inspiring, but I respect coaches must say that because jobs are on the line.

Let's face it, we have to have a lot of things go well for us to be successful this year. Some would say too many things. When I hear we want to run the ball this season I welcome that decision. My main concern here is if our O-line can be nasty enough to drive defenders out of the way. I didn't see that last season. They pass blocked well, but when the chips were down and we needed short yardage we rarely got it. My hope is that with time, coaching and strength training this O-line can reach the potential we all hold for them. We can develop everything but nastiness. It's either inside you or not. I hope our boys have it and show it.

Just to cover my ass, I like the videos too. I look forward to seeing as many as they can put together. They give us hope and as Andy Dufraine in the Shawshank Redemption says "hope is a good thing, perhaps the best of things." I'm a fan but I still want proof this is a good football team. I'll be there to see them in the fall. I hope the videos convince others to come too.

I'm really glad that our team is ready to give dance lessons. Now if they can only give football lessons to our opponents. That will be even more heartening. Remember every other team on our schedule is working the snot out of their players this summer and all are getting bigger, stronger and faster. I love the enthusiasm but after last fall they have something to prove to me. Come on Zips, I want to believe.

What's a TE? When you find out please explain the concept to Milwee. Also explain that a team is not penalized for throwing to him. i don't think that's very clear in our OC's mind.

I find it ironic that one of the MAC's best football progrums, Toledo, finished dead last (12th) and one of the worst, Akron, finished first. Don't get me wrong, I like anything that we can win and receive notoriety for, but in today's world of college sports football rules and your reputation and budget are generally established by how good your football progrum is. In dual major sport universities (football and basketball), football is still king. Come on Terry, turn our fortunes around.

I'm glad to be discussing football after all the turmoil of the basketball post season. Here's how I see this season: 5-7 gets Bowden fired 6-6 buys TB another year 7-5 gives the faithful reason for hope 8-4 restores my confidence in the long term positive outlook for the progrum, I may even begin to believe in Milwee as an effective OC. Ahhh ...... then again, forget it. I can't see that happening.

Jerome did get very bad advice. But let's not forget that he is an adult and he made his own decisions. He now has to live with the consequences. My issue with him turning pro has always been that he did not have a pro's mentality. Let's face it, everybody in the NFL has great talent. Perhaps Jerome did too, but it is attitude that separates those who make it and those who don't. In that area he is deficient and that is the area that holds him back. I hope he returns to complete his degree and I wish him well in his next endeavor. This may be a good learning opportunity with much good to come from it.

What a nice Mothers Day present! Welcome Malcolm. Make it official and look forward to a great experience at Akron. You'll like what you find here. The recent change in our coaching staff may prove to be the best thing for our progrum (that's not a misspelling, have someone who follows our football explain it to you).

I also did not think he was ready for the pros. Not because of his speed but because of his commitment to being the best i.e. practice habits, discipline (on and off the field), maturity. Physical attributes aren't the "be all" in the pros. Everybody is good. It's the intangibles that separates those who want to be a pro from those who can be a pro.

OU Dude, not that. I'm expecting more. Don't mess with my hopes!

Thank God for a vigilant press. It never would have occurred to me that a coach taking over a successful progrum, that had lost its two best players and had 5 transfer out, would be hosting possible recruits within a few weeks of that coach taking the job.

This was not a bad situation. It wasn't great either. It was just change and every athlete knows that change is highly likely in D1 sports. Few coaches stay 4 years. Antino ended up doing what he thought was best for him. OK. Go and good luck. New Mexico is a bigger progrum, but it may not have been better. At NM he will just be a forgotten number who played a year and was gone. At Akron he could have built a legacy that could have been far more rewarding after he is done playing. To each their own. But it was not bad at Akron. That's as immature as the posters you criticize.