Football

Jay Rohr realizes his height and speed aren’t ideal for an NFL draft pick. But he still hopes to latch on to a team, the Buchtelite’s Adam Ferrise writes.

• The Outsiders also debated about who has the brighter NFL future: Rohr or Brett Biggs.

Men’s basketball

Coach Keith Dambrot filled his staff by adding Jeff Boals as an assistant, Tom Gaffney writes. Boals comes from Robert Morris, where he was an assistant. He played at Ohio, so he knows MAC basketball, too. Gaffney also confirmed that Steve McNees signed a letter of intent.

• For those of you who preferred Lance Jeter to McNees, Jeter chose to play football at Cincinnati today. That is actually good news because it means he won’t play at Kent State or another competitor.

Men’s basketball

Coach Keith Dambrot reeled in a big recruit for his final scholarship.

According to Hoopfactor.com, Steve McNees committed to Akron over George Washington, Rhode Island and Eastern Kentucky.

McNees is a 6-foot-2 point guard from Shanango High School in New Castle, Pa. He is a great passer who has deep range on his shot.

In his senior year in high school, McNees averaged 28.4 points, 8 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game. His stats were similar his junior year, when he won The Associated Press’ All-State Class AA first team. This year, the AP selected him for the second team.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named McNees to its Fabulous Five.

McNees’ father, Bill, was the head coach at Shenango before he quit earlier this month. He said he wants more time to watch Steve play college basketball.

Scout.com gives him two stars, which is higher than the other three incoming freshmen.

Track

Akron’s women broke into Trackwire.com’s top 25 this week.

The Zips are tied with Maryland, Iowa and Houston at No. 22.

The men’s team is unranked, but Tomasz Smialek (No. 9, high jump) and John Russell (No. 3, pole vault) are ranked nationally.

Akron’s Ashley Kaufman is ranked No. 1 in the country in the javelin.

Miscellaneous

Here is my Tuesday column. I wrote it about the Cavaliers finally making the playoffs, but there is some Zips stuff in here, too…

My name is Mike, and I love to root for bad teams.

In 2002-2003, I drove to 15 Cleveland Cavaliers games. That was one of the most pathetic seasons in NBA history. The Cavaliers won 17 on their way to the LeBron lottery.

In the past few years, I have rarely missed a televised Cleveland Indians game. Often, I watched them alone. It is challenging to find cohorts to sit on the couch for a regular season baseball game of a non-contending team.

The same goes for the Browns since 1999.

I have also followed Zips football and men’s basketball religiously since I was a freshman. Missed free throws. Awful run defenses. I’ve seen plenty as an Akron fan.

Now you are questioning my sanity, and probably my credentials for having a sports column in the school newspaper.

Why, Mike, do you get most excited about floundering teams? Why, Mike, do you go to more games when the team is in the cellar?

The answer is simple: Following a loser is so gratifying once the team improves.

I take great pride in saying I have been a Travis Hafner fan for three years. I love telling people about the conversation I had with Zydrunas Ilgauskas last year about that 17-win season.

It tastes so sweet to have your mindless passion pay off. My favorite sports memory is the Mid-American Conference football championship this fall. Experts gave the Zips no shot at winning. The spread was 13 points. And I loved the victory so much more because I never abandoned the team, not even after a disgracing home loss to a winless Army team earlier in the season.

Rooting for the muscular stallion with a skinny 5-foot-2 man on its back doesn’t interest me. I prefer to cheer on the runt with a limp that Janet Reno is riding.

I am writing this because my biggest investment has finally paid off with the Cavaliers reaching the playoffs.

I distinctly remember arguing with my friends the year the Cavs won 17. At one point, my friends seriously thought the Pittsburgh Pirates would beat the Cavs in basketball. Well, as long as pitcher Jeff Suppan started at center.

Some members of the national media don’t think the Cavs’ success will last. They want you to believe LeBron James will leave for New York or Los Angeles at his first chance. In Stephen A. Smith’s small, smug, self-righteous mind, a small-market team could never keep a player like James.

No matter how many times James says he wants to retire as a Cavalier, Smith and his friends will create rumors to preserve the conception that big cities will always trump smaller ones in the end.

The same goes for college football. If you ever talk to an Ohio State fan about the Zips, they will snicker. To them, only one team matters in Ohio. That is the Buckeyes. Why waste your breath on Akron. I mean, come on, it’s only Akron.

But that’s fine. All you Steelers, Yankees and Buckeyes fans can have your safe, assured place in the sports world.

I love the underdogs.

Golf

Here is a Mike Hixenbaugh story about the trio of freshmen that have contributed greatly this season.

Track

Here is a Hixenbaugh feature on A.J. Oyer, whose performance this weekend was crucial for the men’s team winning the Northeast Ohio Invitational.

Softball

Megan MacKenzie is the Buchtelite’s Zips Athlete of the Week. And it has nothing to do with her ability to strike me out while I’m swinging a noodle.

Football

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Domenik Hixon has visited the Steelers.

No comment from me on this. I just hope Charlie Frye gets his way and Hixon becomes a Brown on Sunday.

Men’s basketball

Here is an update on Lance Jeter and Steve McNees. The guards are close to deciding on a school.

• Jeter is deciding between sports and schools. If he plays football, it will be at Cincinnati. If it’s basketball, he’s going to Akron or George Washington.
• McNees may actually affect Jeter’s decision. George Washington is also recruiting McNees to fill its last scholarship. If GW goes with McNees, it is more likely Jeter will play for the Zips.

Baseball

It took two walk-off home runs, but Akron finally won its second series of the year.

Kurt Davidson took Bowling Green’s Tyler Sanehotz deep in the ninth inning for the 4-2 win. Before Davidson’s three-run shot, the Zips (9-26, 4-11 MAC) trailed 2-1.

Zips freshman Frank Turocy pitched 6.2 innings and gave up two runs on only three hits.

The walk-off shot was Davidson’s eighth home run this season. The sophomore catcher led the team with seven last year.

The Zips are not good this season. You can tell by their record. Their bats are decent, but the pitchers are mediocre and defense is atrocious. However, the team has shown some indications that it might be good in 2007 or 2008.

Track

According to TrackWire.com’s most recent team rankings, neither Akron’s men or women are in the top 25.

However, a three Zips athletes made the weekly Dandy Dozen national rankings.

• Ashley Kaufman is No. 1 in the nation in the javelin.
• John Russell is No. 3 in the pole vault.
• Tomasz Smialek is No. 10 in the high jump.

Softball

Akron completed the sweep against Ohio, winning an ugly game 7-5.

The Zips and Bobcats combined for eight errors.

With the series sweep, the Zips retook first place in the MAC East.

Akron (21-18, 10-4 MAC) will return home for a four-game weekend series against Northern Illinois (18-20, 6-8 MAC) that starts Friday at 1 p.m.

Men’s soccer

Akron tied Illinois-Chicago in its fifth spring game, 2-2.

The Zips will conclude the spring season at home Friday at 6 p.m against Rio Grande.

Where do they find these teams?

Golf

Akron took seventh in the Rutherford Intercollegiate tournament out of 15 teams.

Zips junior Ryan Culbertson took seventh, shooting 7-over par for the three-round event. Colin Clemente took 25th. Freshmen Vaughn Snyder and Brad Wright tied for 29th.

Akron will host the FirstEnergy Intercollegiate next weekend at Firestone C.C. before entering MAC play.

As an aside, I would kill to play Firestone this week.

Track

The men made a heckuva comeback today to overcome Kent State and Youngstown State in the Northeast Ohio Invitational.

They sat in third place after Friday’s events. In the end, Akron beat second-place Kent State, 219 to 139.

The women remained strong, winning over second-place Kent State, 217 to 148.

Here are some key performances that allowed the men to rebound:

• Cadeau Kelly - won the triple jump and long jump for the men
• Mike Meditz - snapped a 27-year-old school record, winning the 400-meter hurdles
• John Russell - big surprise, huh? He pole vaulted his highest mark this season at 18-00.50

Tennis

The Zips look pretty hopeless heading into next weeks MAC Championships.

Akron (5-15, 1-7 MAC) lost to Miami today, 7-0.

Some good news: Coach Tony Fox is using mostly underclassmen. So the team is bound to improve.

OK. If you don’t have a sense of humor, stop reading here. Go visit ZipsNation or turn on the Indians game.

I just discovered something amazing. Coach Fox is a spitting image of actor Carl Weathers.

Baseball

Once game one of the Bowling Green series resumed on Saturday, two Zips reached base before Doug McNulty ended the game with a walk-off home run.

The dinger gave the sophomore first baseman the cycle for the game. He went 5-5.

Akron lost game two, 9-1, after pitchers Pat Watt and Tom Farmer gave up seven runs in the eighth inning.

The Zips fell to 8-26 and 3-11 in the MAC. They will play Bowling Green again tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field.

A poster on ZipsNation.org says the injured players from Friday, Ryne Romick and Brett Savage, were at the game.

Softball

Megan MacKenzie dominated on offense and defense today, helping the Zips win 2-1 at Ohio.

MacKenzie went 3-3 at the plate with three RBIs. She also pitched the whole game, giving up one earned run on four hits.

The Zips (20-18, 9-4) and Bobcats (23-29, 6-7) will wrap up the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Athens.

Football

Scouts Inc. says Akron receiver Domenik Hixon will fall to the eighth-to-last pick overall in the NFL Draft, or pick No. 248 to the Buffalo Bills.

• Here is a Q&A with Cincinnati’s coach, Mike Dantonio. Akron will play the Bearcats next season.

Baseball

Akron had clawed back from a 4-0 deficit at home to Bowling Green before umpires called the game due to two injured ZIps.

Shortstop Ryne Romick and left fielder Brett Savage collided as they both attempted a diving catch.

Thankfully, GoZips.com says the injuries do not appear to be serious.

The Zips and Falcons will complete the game tomorrow, along with playing the regularly scheduled contest.

Football

First it was Cam Yeow, now it’s Jermaine Reid.

Both will play professional football in Canada. The Hamilton Tigercats drafted Reid in the second round of yesterday’s Canadian Football League draft.

Don’t worry, Reid, Akron’s 2005 sacks leader, will still play on Akron’s dominant defensive line next season.

Track

The good news is the women are leading the Northeast Ohio Invitational.

But the men are third in the five-team event, held on Lee Jackson Field.

In fact, the men (2 points) are getting killed by Kent State (22) and even Youngstown State (6).

The women (20) lead Kent State (8).