Miscellaneous

It seems Akron’s athletics Web site just changed management.

The press release, which has been pulled from the current site, indicates the university may be taking a more hands-on role with GoZips.com, but I could be wrong.

One thing is for sure, if you have GoZips.com in your Favorites menu, you need to change the URL to www.GoZips.com, not www.gozips.cstv.com.

Football

Duke would annihilate Akron in basketball.

In football, reverse that.

Still, a running back from Florida chose the Blue Devils over the Zips. Brian Sumlar had offers from Duke, Akron and Wyoming. He had interest in the Florida schools as well.

Sumlar, who runs the 40-yard dash faster than 4.5 seconds, said he cannot be lured away from Duke by SEC teams that have interest.

Football

Back when Akron initially made offers to several class of 2007 players, no recruiting site had ranked them.

That is beginning to change.

Scout.com recently upgraded eight players whom Akron has offered a scholarship. Each of the following now has a three-star ranking…

• Wide receiver Tim Cortazzo
• Safeties David Arnold and Trenton Hughes
• Defensive end Vincent Browne
• Running backs Frank Edmonds and Robbie Frey
• Linebacker Romale Tucker
• Tight end Ken Bruton

Also of note, Buchtelite news editor Mike Hixenbaugh swears he’s going to start updating his Zips blog on SportingNews.com. I don’t buy it, but he wrote some interesting stuff about Zac Derr, a former Akron kicker who won the Atlanta Falcons’ starting job.

Men’s basketball

FoxSports.com confirms that recent commit Steve Swiech will be one of the best recruits a mid-major pulls in this year.

Football

Offensive lineman John Fieger from Pennsburg, Pa. chose Pittsburgh over Temple and Akron, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Other schools of interest for the 6-foot-5, 250 pound player included Connecticut, Rutgers, Virginia and West Virginia.

Miscellaneous

Akron won two national awards for its athletics advertising the past year.

You know, the marketing that basically made people care.

I’m talkin’ Fear the Roo, baby!

Congrats to former UA marketing genius Mike Waddell and his staff. This stuff is almost as important as what goes on between the lines.

Here is the moment I realized Fear the Roo hit it big: At a poker tournament, my friend — an Ohio State student — yelled "Fear the Roo, m—– f—–!" after staying alive on an all-in.

Men’s basketball

Tonight is always one of my favorite nights of the year — the NBA Draft.

Although no team will select a Zips player, it always interests me to see how superstar college players do not translate to the NBA because they lack size, speed, etc.

This may sound idiotic, but looking at the Zips roster, an NBA executive might say Quade Milum is Akron’s best chance for a future NBA player. His athleticism and length give him potential, as we witnessed during the NIT game against Temple.

That said, I haven’t seen Jimmy Conyers play against college players. (Although, he did help beat the tar out of my rec league team last winter.) Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce can play professionally, overseas perhaps, but don’t appear to have a chance of being drafted.

In case you care, I hope the Cavaliers draft Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez. If one of the top-tier point guards fall, then I’d rather have him. My fellow Ohio.com blogger Brian Windhorst thinks it could be Texas point guard Daniel Gibson.

Football

For the first time I can remember, Akron will compete with Hawaii for a recruit.

Mark Oliver is the target. He is a 6-foot-1 linebacker from Chicago. The Zips have offered Oliver a scholarship, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.

Other teams of interest include Colorado State, Kansas State, Purdue, Wyoming, Central Michigan and Northern Illinois, Rivals.com says. Scout.com, meanwhile, doesn’t know who he is.

• A story in a Maryland newspaper mentions Vincent Hill, one of Akron’s two verbal commitments so far. Hill is the 80th best recruit in the East Region.
• My friends at VanDelaySports.com have previewed Akron’s season. Biggest compliment: Akron has one of the deepest quarterbacking corps in the country. Biggest criticism: The Zips schedule probably will prevent the team from returning to a bowl.
• Bucknuts.com posted a photo of Akron’s coordinator of football operations, Reno Ferri. Ferri was at a camp for third- through eighth-graders. I don’t mean to sound stupid, but I didn’t know about this guy. His bio on GoZips.com says he is in his third season with the Zips.

Women’s basketball

All I have for you is this: Jodi Kest named her third, and probably final, assistant coach.

Ebony Pegues is an Ohio native who played at UMass.

According to Kest, she is a great communicator, enthusiastic, blah, blah, blah.

Baseball

Todd Fleming earned membership on the Northeast Inland Area all-district team, the Canton Repository reports.

Fleming, a right handed pitcher from Lake High School, committed in March to play for Akron’s second-year coach Pat Bangtson. He also is the brother of Buchtelite sports columnist Kiel Fleming, who probably would be playing Division I ball if his right (CORRECTION, left) arm wasn’t as fragile as a Faberge egg.

Miscellaneous

I know I promised not to bring up "The Voice" Paul Rodgers on my blog for a while. But I can’t help myself.

His show Saturday at the Grand Prix of Cleveland was outstanding. He can wail like no other man.

For those of you who don’t know, Rodgers was the most debated topic ever on this blog. He is the former lead singer for Free, The Firm, Bad Company and recently toured with Queen.

Let the storm of comments begin.

Men’s basketball

Here are stories about Zips recruit Steve Swiech’s commitment from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Football

Copley safety David Arnold left Ohio State’s camp this weekend without a scholarship offer.

It doesn’t appear the Zips target will get one either. The Buckeyes allot two scholarships for safeties and have already offered them, the ABJ’s Gary Estwick writes.

• Estwick also wrote about text messaging for college recruiting. It is a story I’ve read before, but he localizes it. Zips co-offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead admitted to texting recruits.

Softball

A Zips recruit earned two ABJ honors.

Jessica Davidson made the All-Summit and All-City teams, hitting .405 with 18 extra-base hits.

Baseball

Zips recruit Brian Kordal also made the All-Summit team. He hit .410 with five home runs.

Men’s basketball

Akron just reeled in the 19th best center in the country.

Steve Swiech, at 6-foot-9, is probably the best recruit of the Keith Dambrot era.

The Elizabeth, Pa. native might be the best mid-major commitment of the year, Scout.com says.

Swiech (pronounced SWICK) averaged 26.8 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks per game as a junior.

Other candidates for his verbal were Duquesne, Kent State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Xavier.

In this Scout.com story, Swiech told a reporter he hoped things work out with Pitt.

This is just another indication that the region is starting to respect Akron. Way to go, coach.

Football

Were you wondering about how planning for the new stadium is going?

Me too.

The ABJ’s Carol Bilickzy wrote an very informative story about where the process is, and where university officials hope it is headed.

VP of planning Ted Curtis said he is optimistic that five years is the timetable.

The big question is money.

If you ask me, it’s time for an Akron corporation to step in. I remember Goodyear’s CEO Bob Keegan talking about turning the tire company into a marketing company, or at least in philosophy.

Mr. Keegan, imagine Goodyear Stadium, where one of the nation’s most up-and-coming college football teams plays.

Almost every large city has its local corporations’ names on the stadiums, i.e. Miller Park, the United Center, Comerica Park, Safeco Field, etc. Northeast Ohio has none of that. (Quicken Loans is based in Michigan.)

In a way, it’s nice to have teams devoid of commercialism. In the Zips case, the university could really, really use the money.

• The Zips continue to recruit from Florida. They recently offered a scholarship to a running back from the Sunshine State, Scout.com says. Brian Sumlar, from Orange Park, Fla., is 5-foot-9, 185 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds. Sumlar is weighing other offers from Duke and Wyoming. He also is considering Florida, Florida State and Florida Atlantic. Rivals.com throws Miami (Fla.) into the mix as well. Neither site has ranked Sumlar.
• CollegeFootballNews.com ranked the top 50 coaches in America. J.D. Brookhart was left off. Still, it’s a good read if you have the time.