Miscellaneous

What would downtown Akron be without the Akron Aeros, LeBron James and Charlie Frye?

In the past month, I have heard about several minor league baseball players coming to the area for the bars and restaurants. That's nothing. Add that to the list of Kobe Bryant, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr.

Tonight, I heard from a reliable source that James was at Posh. Someone else saw Bryant with him.

Swimming and diving

Mack Rhoades announced Nattaya Klim as the university's new swimming and diving coach.

She comes from Penn State, where she was an assistant and recruiting coordinator.

A few swimmers have told me that former coach Brian Vereb left the program after his wife took a job in a different area.

Baseball

Akron lost its 10th straight game today at Pittsburgh, 10-6.

The Zips have now lost 25 of 27 games after starting the season 5-1.

Buchtelite baseball reporter Adam Ferrise writes that pitching and defense have left the team wanting.

Softball

Akron lost 9-0 to Penn State on Wednesday.

The Zips' bats have gone cold the past few games, knocking only six hits over a 20-inning drought.

Volleyball

Here is a Plain Dealer blurb about a recruit from Walsh Jesuit, Megan Rodriguez.

This also marks my first-ever entry on volleyball.

Track

Here is another PD blurb about a future Akron athlete.

Carrie Kayes won the state championship for Division I pole vault last year. I'm sure coach Dennis Mitchell's expertise in the pole vault played a part in bringing her to Akron.

Football

I knew Domenik Hixon injured his foot, but never heard it would affect his draft status.

That is, until this Canton Repository story, which says the Browns are interested in him. Or at least they were before his injury.

So you don't have to register for the Repository, here is the quote:

The Browns like Akron speedster Domenik Hixon, but according to (Phil Savage's right-hand man Bill) Rees, Hixon recently suffered a foot injury.

ColtPower Web site says about 12 teams, including Indianapolis, are interested in him.

Miscellaneous

I don't normally take pieces from contributors, but this story on ZipsNation.org has some good info.

If you didn't know, ZipsNation is the biggest fan site for Akron athletics. It is hard to follow the Zips like some of the members on the board.

I am also working on writing a short profile of the second fan site to pop up: www.uofazips.com.

In the interest of full disclosure, this story is written by Catherine Stoynoff, the wife of the board's founder, Jason Stoynoff…

In 2001, Jason Stoynoff met other fans of Zips athletics as he was surfing the message forums of the Akron Beacon Journal. After several months of swapping opinions and insider information, the followers said the Beacon’s forums no longer met their needs. So they struck out on their own to a free message board site.

As more and more followers of the Zips found the site again, Jason said  the free sites didn’t offer the versatility that the members of the board demanded. They wanted to be able to go to one board to talk about all Zips athletics, not just football which had dominated the board up until that point.

In February, 2004, fellow Zips fan, Dan Savage, suggested that the die-hard members of the board throw in some money and move the site to a server that they could control. ZipsNation.org was born.

Dan is the main administrator of the board. Ryan Hendrickson helped to design it. Jason, Ryan and Marcel Ulrich serve as moderators, who are able to delete posts and ban unruly members.

"We proclaim ourselves the unofficial home of Zips athletics," Stoynoff said. "The board now has several forums including football, basketball, recruiting, soccer, AK Rowdies, general UA discussions, just to name a few."

At any time you might find members of University of Akron athletics department on ZipsNation.

"I can’t say who is or isn’t on the board," Stoynoff said. "We keep our identities a secret so we can speak our mind without getting anyone in trouble."

Two of the hot topics on ZipsNation right now are the potential for a new football stadium to replace the aging Rubber Bowl. Fans also are speculating on who will receive the final men's basketball scholarship.

"It is said that women like to gossip. But when it comes to Zips athletics, the guys on the board are just as bad," Stoynoff said. "No little detail is too small. We don’t want to miss anything."

The site boasted 2,780 unique visitors in February and 3,409 in March. As of April 1, the site had 431 registered members.

"We are happy with the traffic we get on the Nation," Stoynoff said. "There are a lot of differing opinions, which makes for an exciting board."

If you are interested in joining ZipsNation go to www.zipsnation.org.

Football

We Buchtelite editors decided it would be pretty worthless to write about what happened in the Blue-Gold Scrimmage.

I mean, come on, who cares how many tackles so-and-so had? Or who cares that the Gold team won?

Instead, we have features on Dennis Kennedy and Jabari Arthur. I wrote my column on the outlook for next season.

• Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead says Arthur has taken a better understanding of defenses with his perspective as a quarterback and receiver. The story also talks about how the Motor City Bowl may have altered Arthur's career by motivating him during the winter. As a junior, Arthur has even emerged as a leader for the younger receivers.
• The Kennedy feature talks about the competition for the starting running back job and how the backs actually rooted for each other throughout the spring. It also talks about his path from Ohio State to Akron. Coach J.D. Brookhart even gives some insight as to why Kennedy might be the MAC's best runner next season.
• My column probably will be the worst read in the sports section for hard-core Zips fans. I just wanted to tell UA students that they better get ready for a dominant team next season. I will post it below, but here is the link if you prefer to check out the Buchtelite's lovely Web site.

How good was last season's football team?

It is a question people ask me often.

And it is hard to answer. The high-scoring offense kept the team in most games, but the defense often gave up huge amounts of rushing yards.

Face it: The Zips were incredibly lucky to be in the Mid-American Conference Championship. They won obscure tiebreakers against superior teams, Miami and Bowling Green.

Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs' shoulder injury was the only reason Akron was in that position. Jacobs was the conference's most talented player last year.

When the Zips played at Bowling Green, Jacobs sat out. Two weeks later, when Miami played Bowling Green, the conference's best player led the Falcons to a huge win.

Long story short, Akron won the MAC, but had plenty of luck.

This year will be much different.

Akron shouldn't need any luck to make it to Detroit this time.

Not since the 1999 Cleveland Indians has a Northeast Ohio team been in position to dominate their division like the Zips will in 2006.

Akron lost only six of its starters from last year. Sure, three of last year's seniors may be NFL prospects in Domenik Hixon, Brett Biggs and Jay Rohr. However, the added experience of the returning starters and the talent of the incoming freshmen will greatly overcome those losses.

Perhaps the biggest addition, literally, is Rutgers transfer defensive tackle Nate Robinson. He is 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds.

Coming out of high school, scouting agencies ranked Robinson as a top-10 prospect, nationally, regardless of position.

Robinson will join seniors Kiki Gonzalez and Jermaine Reid, who led the team in sacks in 2005. Those three will make up one of the nation's elite defensive lines. You won't see a running back scamper for over 150 yards next season, like they did five times in 2005.

The entire offensive line also returns. Before last season, this was the biggest question. This spring, it is one of the greatest certainties.

Despite losing Biggs, one of the nation's best running backs in 2005, the offensive backfield also will be terrific.

In Saturday's Blue-Gold Scrimmage, Dennis Kennedy showed he will be one of the MAC's elite backs as a sophomore. Behind Kennedy are three players who could start for many MAC teams - Alex Allen, Bryant McMillon and Frank Berchie.

The Zips are also set with returning starters at tight end, safety and cornerback.

At quarterback, senior Luke Getsy showed incredible poise and confidence in the spring game. Last season, he broke Charlie Frye's single-season school record for passing yards. He could easily break his own record this year.

But like any college football team in the spring, Akron still has some positions that need filled. Coach J.D. Brookhart needs to find a second receiver and middle linebacker.

That's where Brookhart's recruiting ability comes in. After bringing in three outstanding classes the past few winters, Brookhart will have several choices to fill those holes.

Most experts will choose the Zips to repeat as MAC champions next season. With a couple non-conference wins, the football team might even break the nation's top-25 for the first time in school history.

Despite that, Brookhart has trained his players to forget past success and disregard preseason praise. Each player will compete as if they are fighting for a roster spot.

That is why Zips fans shouldn't make plans for early December.

They will return to Detroit.

Men's soccer

Next season's schedule should test the team, coach Caleb Porter said.

Here's my date to circle: Sept. 20 vs. Indiana at Lee Jackson Field.

Softball

Kent State completed a two-game weekend sweep over Akron with a 7-0 win on Easter.

For the second-straight day, Flashes pitcher Brittney Robinson shut out Akron, allowing one hit and striking out 10.

Hopefully this weekend has been more about the Zips being shut out by a dominating pitcher than the bats getting cold.

Akron will play its doubleheader against Penn State on Wednesday at Lee Jackson Field. The first game starts at 3 p.m.

Golf

Akron recovered a bit on day two of the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate to finish in 10th place.

I suppose 10th isn't all that bad if you consider almost all of the schools in the tournament were large.

Baseball

Akron lost its ninth-straight game on Sunday as freshman reliever Jeremy Goldizen blew a two-run lead in the eighth inning against Central Michigan.

The Zips (7-24, 2-10) will travel to Pittsburgh for a game on Wednesday before hosting a three-game weekend series against Bowling Green.

Football

Here is an interesting story about Jay Rohr's hopes for the NFL in the Canton Repository.

Perhaps the more interesting part of the story is the writer's suggestion that Charlie Frye may be pushing for the Browns to draft Domenik Hixon.

How freaking amazing would that be?

• I might have posted this already, but VanDelaySports.com is reporting a possibility that the MAC will receive two additional bowl bids next year. One is in Toronto, the other in Birmingham, Ala. That would almost make it a lock for a 7-5 MAC team to earn a bowl bid.
• The story also mentions the possibility of adding Western Kentucky to the conference.

Men's basketball

Coach Keith Dambrot may be close to filling the final scholarship, which Bubba Walther vacated by transferring to Ohio.

Steve McNees, a point guard from New Castle, Pa., visited campus on Friday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Beaver Falls guard Lance Jeter will visit campus later this week, the Tribune-Review also says.

According to someone who knows more than me, it isn't unheard of for a coach to hold onto a scholarship if he can't find a worthy recipient. Jeter and McNees would be worthy, but who knows what will happen if they go elsewhere.

McNees decommitted from Duquesne, which granted him a release from his letter of intent. Other schools of interest include Eastern Kentucky, George Washington, Kent State, Rhode Island, Robert Morris and Youngstown State.

Jeter has interest from many of the same schools.

Football

Here is the ABJ's story about the Blue-Gold game.

You will see my column on the game by Monday night.

Softball

Akron lost 2-0 against Kent State yesterday, ending the Zips' six-game winning streak.

Kent State's pitcher, Brittney Robinson, threw a shutout, striking out 14 and giving up only three hits.

The Zips had a scoring opportunity in the fourth inning, but Jaclyn Spirtos popped out in foul territory with the bases loaded.

Kent State scored off two solo home runs.

Track

From the GoZips.com release, it seems like Akron had a quiet Saturday in California for the Mt. SAC Relays.

The biggest news from the event's final day was a sixth-place finish from John Russell in the pole vault.

Akron has two home outdoor meets this season. The first is next weekend at the Akron Quad.

Men's soccer

The Zips tied Cincinnati in their second spring scrimmage yesterday.

It looked as if they would beat Cincinnati, but the Bearcats tied the score at 1 in the 85th minute.

Matt Tutich scored Akron's lone goal. It was his third of the spring.

The Zips will travel to West Virginia for a Wednesday rematch against the Mountaineers who Akron beat in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.

Golf

After day one of the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, Akron sits in an unimpressive 11th place.

Akron won its first tournament in several years a few weeks ago. Since then, it seems the team is fizzling out.

Baseball

Despite a Charlie Lenhard grand slam, the Zips lost yet another MAC game, falling 7-6 at Central Michigan.

Akron now is 7-23 and 2-9 in conference play. The teams will matchup again today at 1 p.m.

Miscellaneous

Happy Easter!

Football

Not that it really matters, but the offense, or gold team, won the Blue-Gold Game, 31-16.

All that matters is how players looked.

• Luke Getsy threw three touchdown passes. He looked just as good as last year.
• Dennis Kennedy and Alex Allen each had impressive plays. At the end of the game, coach J.D. Brookhart basically said he has won the starting running back job. That shouldn't be a surprise.
• On defense, John Mackey and Mark Groza made several plays. That's good because Brookhart lost Jay Rohr as the leading linebacker.
• The offensive line protected well and created some large holes.
• The defensive line looked like the weakest point today, but I assure you that it will be the strongest point once the season starts. Nate Robinson and Jermaine Reid sat out with minor injuries.

I will review the tape and write my column for Tuesday about the scrimmage and what it showed about next season.

Football

I'm sure this is redundant to most of you, but Akron will play the Blue-Gold Game tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the Athletics Field House.

For a list of injured players and rundown of the scrimmage procedure, click here.

Tennis

Akron (5-13, 1-5) snapped its six-game losing streak by winning at Northern Illinois (4-16, 0-6) today, 4-3.

Softball

With a 4-0 home record, Akron is undefeated all-time at Lee Jackson Field.

The Zips (19-15, 8-2) swept Buffalo (9-30, 1-7) today, 5-0 and 12-5.

Akron will play a two-game series this weekend at home versus Kent State (14-18, 4-3). The teams will play tomorrow at 2 p.m. in case you're not busy after the Blue-Gold Game.

Track

Akron competed in a non-scored event in California this weekend that was highlighted by sophomore Cadeau Kelly's win in the men's long jump.