Spin

When are the Rowdies coming back to the hockey games and station behind the opponents goalie? These overtime games are making me old quick.

Video from Friday night's win over West Virginia. They started OT on the power play.

What? No Schaefers? No Red White and Blue? Sheafers is the one beer to have when you're having more than one. On the other end of the scale, I decided to celebrate hockey's come from behind OT win with a Blue Moon. Or 6.

The Zips hockey home opener weekend is this Friday and Saturday at 7:25pm at Center Ice. Admission is $5 (free for students) and includes the possibility of seeing me fall flat on my ass. Friday night we take on the West Virginia Mountaineers, and Saturday the IUP Crimson Hawks are in town. These are the only home games in October. For more info visit www.akronhockey.com

Isn't this the place where the Michigan dentist moved his pro team to play a few yrs ago, when he found out the Canton CC was booked? I think DiG does his figure skating practice there in the mornings. I don't remember. I remember there was a lot of talk about a rink in Massillon and a team moving there. But I don't know if they ever went to Center Ice or not.

Our enrollment is almost 30,000, and we pay a facility feee. And students get in football games. Does that count as 30,000 season tickets sold?

Seventy seats for baseball? That may be excessive. LOL I wonder if they'll be oen for students for baseball. Thinking about it, you wouldn't need an elaborate mechanical system to do the rotating, as the seasons are several months apart. In theory you would only be turning it twice a year. How does spring soccer draw?

The primary reason for the UA/CSU combo was that Cleveland is well served by private universities. Combining the two schools would have increased research dollars for UA (which is what would have become of the whole thing UA-Cleveland) and lessened the student burden. It also would have stopped the current CSU developments for resident housing, turning it into a branch campus. This is why Cleveland would have nothing to do with it. They spent to much money up there making it a campus. USF is a successful multi-campus university. The problem is it is only 50 some years old. You have 140 years of tradition at UA, 100 years at Can't and almost 90 at CSU. You will be hard pressed convincing the region and cities, let alone the alumni and voting public that it would be a benefit. Especially considering our region is so entrenched and the current motivator is anti poaching. Mergers will look like poaching to a city, especially one like Akron or Can't that its University is so key to its city identity. That is why Fingerhut was promoting synergistic relationsips, that is why they have the "center of excellence" designations, and why they are promoting "non duplication of programs". If you are going to have 100 thousand students on 4 campuses (Can't State, UA, CSU, YSU) then you are going to have to make each unique. Oh hell no. Not CSU. I dealt with them when looking for a school and again when I considerd transferring. It is 100% urban and I do not want to deal with them again. They are fine being Tri C's 4 year option. At least Akron and Can't have a lot in common. And are close enough to make it work. I am no fan of CSU.

OK, try Toledo and Bowling Green.

Here is the home schedule

I think it would be great to have a rink on campus. Not just for the hockey team, but also for the students. The games I have been to (Akron Zips and Wooster Oilers JrA) the public skates before and after the games are PACKED. I wonder how many students would use it, looks like a fun hobby, and a good fitness exercise. You could convert it to indoor soccer and have intramural and recreational soccer games certain days of the week. And you could rent it out to other organizations (like youth leagues and high school teams). Maybe even a Jr league or low level minor league team. Just my thoughts. It's not my money they're spending. On second thought, yes it is!!!

I've been thinking more about this C-USA MW merger. Why not include the MAC and the WAC, and just create a superconference that is itself a midmajor sublevel of football?Have an 4 team playoff with the three games each a contracted bowl game?You still get the bowl money, FWIW. You still get on TV. You still get to go to your annual beat-down-for-cash with the BCS schools.Each conference can maintain independance in basketball and other sports, and keep their automatic bids. But football is tied together.And everyone who wants a true playoff system in college football has a higher level of national championship game to watch.And those teams playing at a high level can spotlight for a chance at a BCS conference slot, or a bigger $$ bowl game.Then, you sell out to an up-and-coming network like "NBC Sports" (formerly Versus). Get in now while the gettin's good.Might be the best choice for those left behind...

You may not be going to games after the next five years and it won't be anything the University has done right or wrong. In fact, when you go to MAC games, you aren't seeing the highest level of competition as that level is reserved for BCS teams. Nobody likes to hear it, but that is the truth.That's how I feel. What were our biggest wins? Syracuse? NC State? Are those the top tier teams you want to see? What leads you to think Akron will move beyond that (or even get back to that) in the next 10-15 years?I like watching the best ball players in the world, and they're right there on my TV every night. But I have a lot more fun, spend a lot less money, and eat a lot better food at Canal Park than I do at Progressive Park. The first couple months of this season is an exception.

Just announced UPitt and Syracuse are joining the ACC. UConn and Rutgers may be next.With Texas, Oklahoma, and OSU headed for the Pac Whatever, the Big East and Big 12 are rumored to be talking merger. Notre Dame headed for the ACC if they have to give up their football independance?Mountain West merging with C-USA in football only?

I've said this before, but it's been awhile.I'd much rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. The Zips in the FCS would be exciting, competitive. But would they draw in fans? Would the big beautiful stadium go to waste? Let's go a couple blocks west to the Akron Aeros. Let's go up north a few miles to Richfield and look at the Cleveland Force. And further north to Cleveland and take a peak at the original Cleveland Gladiators. None were ever considered the top level of their sport. All set attendance records. Have you ever been to a wrestling match at Heidelberg? Does the whole community get behind Mt. Union football? That's Division 3, we're talking Division One in a much more densely populated area."If you win it, they will come".After taking a good look at the sport, if Akron or anyone else wanted to be a part of the conference realignment and get into a BCS eligible conference, it's about 10 years too late. None of the MAC schools are being recruited by the Big Ten. That horse left the barn long ago, and now those conferences with their cable networks have an even bigger leg up on recruiting. TCU and BS being pushed aside by the BCS and given their own bowl game against each other was the writing on the wall. "You are not us".I'd rather be contending in the FCS than waddling around with the rest of the taints.

Where do you have Notre Dame?

Heck plant sod and convert it to soccer. We've already outgrown the soccer stadium.And the soccer stadium is plenty big enough for the people who still want to watch this bad idea of a football team.

Like Duke and NC? USC and UCLA? Cincinnati and Xavier? Then there's Temple, Penn, Villanova, St Josephs, and LaSalle (all playing in the same arena)

I recall a motion in the late 90's to contract Can't-Stark because it was so close in proximity to UA; drive another 10-minutes(ish) north & you're on UA's campus. Though it never came to pass, I was all for it. I've always felt Can't-Stark was a Can't State low blow to UA - putting that branch right on Interstate 77 about ten-minutes south of campus. I'd love to see those 4000 students drive another 10 minutes & go to a real school.Where would they park?

Hard to beieve it's been there since 1960. You never hear about it. Last spring they had 13,353 enrolled. Next door Can't State Stark enrolls 4,820.

I see a recurring theme here. Rookie head coach in over his head. No gameplan. No depth on the line. No adjustments. And an embarrassment to their fans.You could rotate the HC's between the Zips, Buckeyes, and Browns and get the same results.

The Akron Zips hockey club has a new website for 2011-12, check it out at http://www.akronhockey.com/The season opener is on the 23rd at Youngstown State, with the home opener October 7 vs. West Virginia. All Home games are played at Center Ice Sports Complex 5319 Port Jackson Ave. NW Canton, Ohio 44720 (phone 330 966-0169) $5.00 tickets are available to the general publicStudents are FREE with a valid Zip Card.The team lost only one senior after last year, and looks to build on their first run in Division 2 where they went 8-9-0 (6-1-7-0 in the TSCHL). The Dayton Flyers won the TSCHL's first title. This year the conference adds the Ohio Bobcats. The conference also includes Cincinnati, Dayton, Indiana Pa., Pittsburgh, Toledo, West Virginia, and Wright State. And of course, the Zips.Two more links to bookmark are The TSCHL Tri State Collegiate Hockey League and The ACHA American Collegiate Hockey AssociationIt's good hockey, and a good time. I'll try to keep the next home games in my signature throughout the season.(images stolen from http://akronsportsnow.com/)

The game was only 60 minutes

Disagree wholeheartedly. There are not enough seats in nursing programs to fill the need already (good for me, bad for NEO) It's highly competitive to get into BSN programs, and AD programs who take anybody have 18-24 month waiting lists after you finish your prereq's. There aren't enough graduates to cover the retirees, let alone all of the expansion. The last thing we need is to combine those programs and further limit those graduates. There are few growth industries in NEO, and Nursing is one of them. I'm already being recruited and I have two semesters left.What would make more sense is dropping state funding of BS programs that have no need in society. Interesting idea. When you see CSU cancelling their baseball program, Can't State not sponsoring soccer, none sponsoring hockey, imagine what a combined budget could build...

Like that went any better.How they continue to find rookie coaches who are in over their heads, but still demand to be someone else too (GM, OC) is beyond me. And Akron Football has caught the Cleveland curse.