Spin

Maybe we can get them back on the schedule regularly.

Maybe we can get them back on the schedule regularly.

I rarely watch ESPN anymore. I use to watch SportsCenter in the morning but it's not the same. And if you don't catch it in time, you get hours of talking heads yelling their opinions at you. Apparently that's what millenials want to watch. We're getting closer to pay-as-you-watch TV. No more sattelite and cable companies charging you for 200 channels you never watch to get the 12 you do. Want to see a ball game? Click a button and $2 or $3 will come off your bank card. I don't know which is better.

Chris Bassitt pitched six innings of two-hit ball to get his first win of the season (and his comeback) over the Tigers last night. He's now 1-3 2.82 this year.

I'm pretty sure football parents know the risks. The thing is you could ask 100,000 people how they define "acceptable risk" and get 100,000 different answers. All of them different from yours. I knew the risks when my sons played football, and they knew it. One went on to fight in MMA. Do you think that somebody who climbs into the ring with a muscle-bound behemoth who wants to knock your face loose, doesn't realize the risks? It's not always about the dream of being a professional, or make millions of dollars. More often it's about the love of the sport. It's what you want to do. It's what you enjoy. I played football in high school. I've been a part time firefighter for 30 years. I know the risks, hundreds of them. And it seems every day there's more that we're aware of now, like strange cancers, modern building construction methods that could wipe out an entire department. But when the tones drop, we still leave our homes and drive to the station and go do it again. Not to be heroes, or for the money. We just like to do it. The comraderie with the best guys I know, teamwork, overcoming challenges, being a part of something. The feeling after a good "worker". Sound familiar? All these people want to take football away from the players who love it. Who know the risks. What's next? Are you going to take away my bicycle? Make people stop skiing? Outlaw motorcycles? Scuba diving? Rock climbing? Hand gliding? Drinking alcohol? Do you have a profession or a hobby that is not absolutely 100% safe? Some may choose to live in a bubble, which is fine. But they should not dictate how everyone else lives. And I'm not pointing any fingers toward anybody here, just the do-gooders who want to protect us from ourselves. Now if you'll excuse me I have to figure out which bike trail to explore next. Unless the fire pager goes off.

The Force played a several exhibition games at the Rubber Bowl, mid 80's. They played NASL teams. The Cobras were an ASL team, an older, smaller budget league than the NASL. They played their home games at BW. That's about all I remember of that team.

Did anyone else see the Cleveland Force when they played outdoor exhibition games at the Rubber Bowl? Bert Wolstein wanted an outdoor soccer team, but couldn't find a venue, and the outdoor soccer leagues were a disaster during that time. If he had lived we would have an MLS team in northeast Ohio.

Former Zip Chris Bassitt was called up to the A's today and pitched7 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run on 6 strikeouts and 1 walk. Unfortunately he got no run support was was credited for the loss. No worries from Zips Nation, it's great to see ya back, especially with such a strong start.

In every press release I've seen, that is the plan for the new program. And Canal Park is already excited to have us. I don't see how you could consider starting a new program and have them play at Lee Jackson. In the shadow of First Energy, across the walk from the softball stadium. Embarrassing. And it would be more expensive to make even a modest upgrade to LJF than play at CP. Point of reference, Youngstown State plays their home games at Eastwood Field, home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers minor league team. It's 10 miles from campus. Cleveland State played their games at Sprenger Stadium (Lake County Crushers' stadium) in Avon. 24 miles from campus. It's not unusual for area college programs to play in minor league parks.

That's one thing, they both require a total rebuild of the roster, by the time we're ready to contend again the guys on the current roster will probably be out of eligibility. The men's basketball program draws a lot of attention, and criticism where the baseball program can operate off the grid. The expectations aren't as high because the baseball program never measured up to the basketball (or soccer) program. And college baseball is rarely even considered by sports fans in this region. A vast majority said "Akron had baseball?". Would you rather take a baseball recruit to Canal Park, or a basketball recruit to the JAR. Considering the venues of other colleges.

Hopefully the U has learned from that hire. I-a-don't-know could screw up a ham sandwich.

I've been going to update this, and with the baseball forum lighting back up, why not now? Zips in the Pros, Baseball Version. Pitcher Chris Bassitt is 2-2 5.77 in AAA Nashville in his attempt to come back from Tommy John surgery. He is in the Oakland A's system. Pitcher JT Brubaker has 4 starts in AAA Indianapolis (2-1 3.32) and 6 in AA Altoona (2-2 1.80) in the Pirates system. Will he get a start in Akron next month? Outfielder Devin Ahart is batting .359 3 7 in Fargo-Moorehead independent league play. Outfielder Dom Iero is batting .115 1 3 in Joliet independent league C/LF Brian Lees and P John Valek have not appeared in a game since 2017

Lots of challenges for the new coach for sure. But our last coach took a 7-20 (16-37) team to within one run of the MAC championship in four years. And he had to "showcase" Lee Jackson Field to recruits. I would rather be the new coach of the baseball program than the men's basketball program. One selling point the new coach has for recruits and transfers is the real chance to start. Our depth chart is currently blank.

Pretty nice crowd today, I thought. The weather probably helped. The parking lot was full, there were cars and trucks parking on Carroll along the Natatorium side. I didn't want to risk that so I pulled in a space in front of the JAR and dumped a bunch of quarters into the meter. When I went back after the game, all of those cars and trucks were gone. They couldn't have all left early. I wonder which tow yard got a bunch of business today. The O was definately behind the D early, but they did get off a few big plays in the second half that were impressive. Kato could have broke off some impressive runs if not for the touch rule. Not a lot is going to translate to the regular season but overall it was nice to just get outside and watch some football.

The Rubber Bowl was condemned, and it cost less to build the Info than to repair the Bowl's foundation, renovate the stadium, and bring the restrooms up to 1950's standards. Figuring in the sponsorship deals at the new stadium.

Is a new arena what will propel the Zips to the NCAA elite? An arena doesn't let the staff fly all over the country recruiting players. An arena doesn't entice future NBA first rounders to come to Akron. I think we're looking at the wrong fix. Some of the most iconic college basketball arenas are 70+ years old.

That's accurate. I'd like to see the average in the MAC, and the B10 for that matter. The NCAA max is 11.7, for 35 guys. Remember, outside of football and men’s basketball, the average scholarship is only $8,700 per year. Some players find D3 a better deal, where you can get over 50% off your tuition with merit awards. Some coaches put all their scholly's in the pitching staff (3 regular starters, x number in the bull pen). Some spread it out into middle infielders, centerfielders, or spread it out among all of the starting players.

I didn't think they would have any scholly's, so that's a good start. With the right people, they could compete in the MAC in a couple years. Which realistically, in the north, is where your goals should be anyway.

I have a question. When the Crew moves to Texas, will they still have territorial rights over Ohio? Right now that only affects Wil, who is signed through 2020 anyway. But could future prospects be territorial picks by a franchise 1300 miles away?

Agreed. We didn't fire KD so we could hire coach Groce. Keith left.

The morning after, I gotta say that was one incredible game, to see how far this team has come, and see the big game experience that a lot of our building blocks got. And the simple fact that we weren't suppose to be here. An 11 seed beating WMU by a point, then dominating the 3 seed for much of the game. Fatigue and inexperience caught up with them. The refs didn't help either. I don't think the league (or the broadcasters) wanted a 6-12 program muddying up the final four. It's hard (but not impossible) for me to blame the coach, he didn't miss any buckets in the last seven minutes. He may have looked better calling different strategies for a team that was inexperienced in big games and looked gassed, but I'm not sure KD or anyone else could have made those late shots go in. I'll wait to see him with a full roster before driving him to the airport. We knew this would be a long painful season. We returned what, five players? Now the rebuild can begin.

So you miss Mr. NeverWinARound?

tied up

We can't hit the side of a barn now.