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THis is interesting. No matter how awful the circumstances at Penn State, I've been wondering if the NCAA, who deals with issues in recruiting, fair competition, etc., can levy any penalties against a University when criminal acts are committed by their athletic officials that are outside of the things that they regulate.

Players never want to sit out a year. I trust that he knew what he was doing, and a family medical condition or disability definitely has qualified in the past for a hardship exemption. I think we might be closer than we think to having a real gift handed to us for next season.

If Bob Huggins saw his talent, and was willing to use a scholarship on him at WV, then I'd take him in a heartbeat !! Size is rare in the MAC. It looks like his desire to come back closer to home is our gift. This is GREAT news.

Just keep something in mind. Separate his ability to block shots and his ability to defend as two different things for a moment. I don't believe he has proven to have the combination of quickness and physical ability to keep opposing players from getting to the basket. There's some big guys in the NBA who may not have a ton of basketball skills, but do have that physical ability, and are strong enough to fight for rebounds on top of that. They become "servicable" as backup players in the paint because of those abilities. I know what you're saying. He could play a backup role, and swat at shots in the paint without the fear of collection fouls. But is that, alone, good enough? We'll find out if someone feels that way next June.

Thanks for sharing that data. I see that Porter makes more than the average pro soccer coach, which is rather surprising. But, since you mention one who makes 2.5 million, are there others who make significant amounts? And could Caleb have a shot at those jobs? To some of the others.... No, I am not saying that making 300K doesn't earn you a good living. But, in the coaching profession, I think most people would agree that you'd have to make significantly more money to obtain lifetime security since it may not last for decades. So, I have to wonder whether someone like Caleb might find his current status as a highly regarded coach in his profession as being that rare window of opportunity he may have in a sport like soccer to catapult himself into a big money job.

The physical nature of the NBA game is one important factor to consider. And I particularly noticed Class of 82's "servicable and useful" comment. So, lets boil this down a bit and really take a look at what he might be able to contribute. He's a shot blocker. He might find it much more difficult to block shots in the NBA vs. the MAC, but I see the potential for some contribution there. Is he physical enough to rebound or defend in the NBA? I have great doubt about that based on what we've seen him do in the MAC. Scoring in the NBA? Only if he becomes deadly consistent with that hook shot, or develops a 10 foot jumper. I've never seen signs that he could ever become effective as a scorer moving towards the basket, and that has been against far less physical MAC players. The greatest thing he has going for him is simply his height. That makes him significantly more rare. But as a college Senior from the MAC, without some big numbers next to his name in his four years, I think he's going to find it difficult to get much of a chance.

Wouldn't money be the biggest factor? Some of you guys would know this better than me, but is there any real opportunities to obtain a high level of lifetime financial security as a college soccer coach? How much do even the best paid college coaches make?

I'll say that he needs a spectacular Senior year just to move INTO draft consideration. In fact, I'd love to see him have a great Senior year, whether he gets picked in the draft or not. But, wouldn't it be great to see the Akron Zips mentioned on draft day next year?

You can spend your time debating and researching the semantics of what was said. I won't. I was simply referencing it in a comment to another poster who was throwing that "16" number out there again in the middle of the summer. But, since you asked, my recollection is that there were other posters who were willing to join him.

I do too. But, I have to ask if you are willing to do what an old friend of ours on this board did last year, and come right out and say that we are a Top-16 team.

I can't find comfort with the idea of being so strongly associated with someone who is so publicly and nationally the newest "face" of cheating in college athletics. Maybe I would have felt differently if this had happened a year or two from now, when some of the public scrutiny and mockery would tend to have time to fade. Maybe someday we'll see some benefits, but the story about the Stow appearance wasn't too encouraging. A young lady talked about how happy she was to meet him, since she was going to OSWho this year. Sadly, even though he's on our payroll, I would probably bet that if a typical 17 year old OSWho Honk would have an opportunity to talk to him, I think that would naturally still influence their decision to want to go to OSWho much more than going to Akron.

Typical. You state records and facts with Suckeye fans, they get defensive, and claim "hatred". Schedule better teams, and beat them, and you take away our ammunition to criticize, right? By the way, you may get some sympathy on this matter by presenting your case on THEIR fan board.

That would be correct. We only drew 3,200 to watch us play WVU in 2010, during the NCAA tournament, in the middle of a national championship run. Now, based on that, tell me why it sounds so crazy that someone is telling you that your prediction is unrealistic? It's not OSWho, and they couldn't break 6,000 in September. Do you think WVU would be a bigger draw than Cowlumbus State, when the game is in late October? Are you also forgetting about all of the OSWho honks that live around here, and all of the fans that they brought up here last year? In addition, we played a late October home soccer game on the same day as a home football game last year, against one of the most renowned programs in college soccer. The attendance was "announced" as only 2,900 people. I actually look forward to your attendance predictions. It's good entertainment.

I'll presume you are hoping for a miracle to happen in which OSWho decides to play AT Akron again this year. Good luck with that.

Even if you give them the benefit of the doubt, and add in the two games against a very "down" Miami program, they were still 2-4 in those few games in which they actually did schedule decent opponents recently during the OOC portions of their schedule. And they are 1-5 in their last 6 games against Top-5 teams. Sorry Suckeyes. Teams earn my respect by playing and beating top teams. And they've played very few top teams recently (by design), and they aren't beating them anyway.

I expected to see another list of excuses. We all know that KIDS play soccer, and that's been acknowledged by me personally on many occassions. The media covers what is popular to the public. Plain and simple. I'll wait for this amazing emergence of soccer in this country that people have been trying to predict for the last 50 years.

The Media covers what people want to see, regardless of who they are. Cleveland news stations sent sportscasters to Omaha Nebraska just because Ken+ MADE the tournament. They opened broadcasts with stories about Ken+ baseball, and that was in addition to what they talked about during the sports segment later in the broadcast. I've said this many times,but I'll repeat it again. I wish this all wasn't the way it is, because a couple of years ago I would have loved if we would have gotten this kind of attention from winning a soccer title. But, it is what it is. Soccer is not Baseball in this country. Not even close.

Care to share those awesome numbers with us? Ok, so lets look at this amazing growth of pro soccer, and Ohio's love affair with the sport. There is a pro soccer team two hours down the road, in a high growth, progressive Ohio city, without any other pro team except a hockey team in winter. According to information on line, their highest average attendance number was accomplished way back in 1996, with an astounding 18,000 per game. WOW. Their attendance looks to have slowly dwindled since then, reaching an all-time low of 12,000 last year. If this is an indication that this area is primed and anxiously waiting to jump on the bandwagon of a pro soccer team, I'd say that you are choosing to ignore the best indicator we have available to us. Not to mention the long history of an "I don't care" attitude towards the sport. Did you miss the TV coverage that Ken+ State just recieved from just being IN the ncaa baseball tournament? Care to compare it to the level of press coverage we got for WINNING a soccer national championship?

Baseball has about 4-5 times more home games than soccer.

I don't know how this relates to the topic, but I'll respond anyway. No, Tatoos didn't give them an advantage against Arkansas. Playing ineligible players, which is cheating, gave them an advantage. And it was the only win in their last dozen or so attempts. You have a big, uphill climb trying to convince anyone of any remote Big 10 comparison to the SEC, or to try to justify any comparable strength in OSWho's schedule, or defend their record agaisnt the SEC. In OSWho last legitimate season, they had a #64 SOS. Throwing in Texas, USC, and Miami doesn't help much when the rest of your schedule is MAC teams and Big-10 Conference teams, especially when you go 2-4 in those games. You earn respect by playing good teams, and beating them. That's why the SEC has leaped so far ahead of conferences like the Big 10. The MAC will be no different. The conference has to get better so the conference wins count. And significant wins need to come from the OOC too.

I think you need to pay better attention, my friend. As to the first highlighted point: Yes, the SEC plays some weak opponenents in their non-conference schedule too. But, they more than make up for it with the number of ranked teams that they play during their own conference schedule. The Big 10 can't do that, and apparently doesn't seem interested in adding non-conference games that could help their cause. That's why the SEC has won 6 straight titles, and can get two teams into a championship game at the same time. As to the second highlighted point: Are you aware of OSWho's recent record agaisnt the SEC ?? The ONLY WIN they have against the SEC in their last dozen or so attempts is this Sugar Bowl game that you talk about, which later had to be vacated because of a scandal which involved cheating by playing ineligible players.

There's a reason for this. The SEC teams can have a very good SOS by the end of the season simply by playing their conference schedule. The Weak-10 teams don't have that luxury, yet they appear to have no interest in playing a strong OOC to make up the difference. OSWho in particular has clearly taken another path.....Just try to post a good win total and couple that with an already-bloated pre-season status. They found a shortcut, and appear to have no interest in proving they are good by beating top-notch teams. Akron Soccer wanted to prove that they were the best a couple of years ago, and made a road trip to Wake Forest and UNC to start the season. That makes up for playing in a weak conference, and proves your worth.

Wow. This is turning into a great discussion. I love your comment I highlighted above. There's been no better example than the team two hours down south. They say they are "looking into" upgrading their schedule? BULL !! They know that in most years, people will rank them high enough in the preseason that they will have a relatively good chance of making a major bowl if they win 10 or 11 games. They simply have no incentive to elevate their SOS when the media pollsters typically write their ticket to a major bowl game befrore the season even starts. Someone has already commented that the 4-team format may have been to appease the Big 10/11/12. I don't doubt that. They want someone from that conference to be in the mix for $$$ reasons. And right now, it's hard to get to the Top-2 from that conference because it's slipping in strength, and they continue to play MAC teams with the opportunities they have to upgrade their schedules.

And you don't feel that any "good old boys" will be a part of the group deciding who gets the top 4 playoff spots for football? It's funny that you mention the basketball tournament. Because, I see some of the same "ignore the little guys" philosopy that we should expect in the upcoming football process.