jem101

Hopefully either the UNC or Wake Forest games early on in the season. I also remember hearing somewhere about the Tulsa game being on ESPNU.

We have lots of experience with teams playing for a shootout. That's exactly what UVA did in the College Cup last year. Unfortunately, that paid off for them.

Ideas to better market the team: 1) Market the team as championship caliber. Think about it. As fans from NE Ohio there is nothing we long for more than a championship. Even a collegiate one. If LeBron leaves, Akron soccer would be the only championship threat in the area. UA should be marketing to get people to be apart of the ride to a possible championship. I know that it has a negative connotation, but we need to get people to jump on the bandwagon. Once they're there they could very well be there long term. 2) Use local sports talk radio to push the team. I think that we need to get people to call into these shows in order to promote the team. Besides, it's free! Most people in that area are unaware of the team. I'm from Streetsboro, yet I never knew we had the #1 team in the land until I started attending the school. Even then, if I didn't have a friend who was a big fan I wouldn't have known that. 3) Have a promotion where season ticket holders can bring a friend for free to a game of their choosing. Encourage them to bring friends who are knew to the sport. 4) MArket the Michigan game. Use the hatred of UM to get people in the seats. 5) Have more merchandise in the stores. We need to have people walking around advertising the program. These are just a few thoughts, but I think they could get at least a few people in the seats.

I just drove past the stadium last night and the bleachers have disappeared. The press box however is still there. Not sure if they just had to raise up the ground under the bleachers so it was level with the rest of the field or if they are planning on completing the new seating this summer. Just thought I'd share this development. On another note, the new surface is almost two feet higher than the practice field. Drainage shouldn't be a problem this year!

Is there any chance one or both of the NC tournament games will be televised on ESPNU or some other national network? It's going to drive me crazy knowing there is a huge game going on, yet not being able to see it. Can't wait for this season!!

I drove by the field on Friday, and there really isn't much to see. The whole field has been reduced to dirt and it looked like they were about to put in some gravel or something for drainage. Unfortunately, the bleachers haven't been touched so it looks like they are going to hold off on that for another year. I didn't notice any changes in the lighting, but I wasn't really paying attention.

Isn't Korb still with the Zips? I'm pretty sure he's a senior this coming year.

Does anyone know why Bunbury isn't getting much playing time? I know almost nothing about the MLS, so maybe this is standard.

Highlights here. http://mls.neulion.com/mlsvp/console.jsp?c...822&id=4580

The announcers went on and on about the quality of play from Gavin and Zemanski. Nice to see our guys excelling at the next level!

Chivas USA will be playing on the Fox Soccer Channel (Time Warner 318) tonight at 10:30.

That is awesome to have some former Zips playing just 2 hours away down in Cbus. Two weeks ago, me and some friends headed down there for our first Crew game. Unfortunately, no former Zips were there, but we're planning on heading down there this summer to see either Teal or Blair and Zemanski.

The bulldozers are finally in action. Right now they're ripping up the berm seating behind the East goal. I might try getting down there in the next few days to get a picture up here.

That seems odd, they didn't appear to be using the heavy machinery this morning for the tree removal. I can't see how a big old bulldozer is needed for tree removals. I'll check it out again tomorrow and see what's up.

They've brought in some heavy equipment at the soccer field. Currently, they are cutting down some trees around the fence, and they've got a couple bulldozers and a track-ho sitting out there ready to go.

Hey zipsnation, I thought I'd share some thoughts on this past years Zips' team from a freshman's viewpoint. As a little background, I've never watched to much mid-level conference NCAA basketball. Keep that in mind if you think my critiques might be a bit harsh. I attended around 10 games this year( being a commuter with a 40 minute drive to Akron had a big affect on me not going to more games,) and watched several more on TV. First off, the most glaring problem I saw with this team was their inconsistent play. It seemed like they never played a full 40 minutes of basketball. They repeatedly seemed to go into 5-10 minute long funks (usually in the beginning of the second half, see game at Can't State.) If you want to win in any sport you need to play hard the whole game. It seems like a lot of people love Dambrot, and this probably has a lot to do with the fact that he's elevated this program to a 20 win program. However, he should be at least partially responsible for the team not giving 100% the whole game. Second, this team desperately lacks a go to scorer. We saw this time and time again when we'd go into scoring funks and just throw up low percentage jumpers. It was downright infuriating! I think this ties in with my next point that this team didn't have a consistent guy who could take the ball to the hoop. Nik and Humpty showed that they had the potential, but weren't consistent enough.

atdhe.net has the Zips game listed!

That was the best shot in the Q since game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year.

The officiating was beyond disgusting. I was screaming at the TV for most of the game. You gotta give the guys props for playing through it and coming up with the W.

I wouldn't call Medlock a bum. He's one heck of a player who played one heck of a game. He did exactly what we'd want our guys to do in the situation. If the refs are handing out free trips to the line like that, then any good player will take advantage.The refereeing was pathetic though. I was screaming at the TV most of the time. It's a shame.

I believe that F.S.OH is going to carry all 4 on Thursday. Not 100% sure though.Just checked TVGuide.com and they show the Metro Atlantic quarterfinal at noon on Thursday. STO has Padres/Indians minor league baseball. Gets no better at 7PM ... Blue Jacket hockey on FSN and HS sports/Bucknut Blitz/Bowling on STO. I'm able to make the afternoon games but don't intend to stay for the evening matches. Bummer! Channelsurfing.net I wonder?On gozips.com it says that there is no TV coverage for the EMU game. If it's not on TV in the area, there's no way it's going to be on channelsurfing.net.

I'm a freshman at UA, and I must have missed all the rowdy recruiters when I was going though orientation. My question is how do I contact someone in order to join the Rowdies?

Does anyone know if the CSU spring game is open to the public? If so, where can we get tickets, or do we just show up at game time?

Going back to the soccer attendance. The simple fact is, if you win the fans will show up. Look at Cleveland sports. The Indians packed the Jake night in and night out in the 90's and also filled it up in 2007. Other than that though, the stadium is half empty. The Cavs are the same way. Up until LeBron, the Q was never full. Now it's the hottest ticket in town. And the Browns... O wait never mind. They always sell out.

Did any of you happen to read CJ's final blog? It brought back a lot of painful memories. Excellent read though. Hopefully next year will be different. I can't wait till August! Here's the link to the blog. http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPS...TCLID=204889278