Football

The Buchtelite's sports editor Dan Kadar heard on the radio that the New Orleans Saints are prepared to cut former Zips defensive back Dwight Smith.

Smith brought the spotlight to his alma mater as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he intercepted two passes for touchdowns in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Last year, Smith made negative headlines by pulling out a b.b. gun outside a McDonald's establishment.

The Browns might be interested in Smith's services (tackling, not gun-toting). They have three average safeties, but definitely could stand to improve.

• If you are a NCAA Football video gamer, the ABJ is ready to publish a story about how Kiki Gonzalez and Tim Crouch are already addicted to the '07 version. (Hey, you don't get to be heavier than 300 pounds by running marathons.) Kadar wrote the story. Luke Getsy, by the way, is highly rated in the game.

Baseball

It's too bad for Tom Farmer that the Zips opponents use aluminum bats.

That's because Farmer has been pitching very well in the wood-bat Cape Cod League this summer.

He is sixth in the league with a 1.26 ERA and has struck out 25 batters in 29 innings. Coach Pat Bangtson probably will rely on Farmer to step in for Ross Liersemann as the team's ace in 2007.

Football

Akron lost out on a four-star quarterback target today.

Chris Smith committed to Marshall, turning down offers from Akron, Iowa, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Bowling Green and Ohio.

• Ever wonder how Charlie Frye got so dang tough? Zac Jackson hung out with Frye at his home in Willard and wrote a bit about it for the PD and ClevelandBrowns.com.

Football

Zips incoming freshman Curtis Brown was critically injured in a car accident. Brown is a 6-0 receiver from Belle Glade, Fla. The accident killed Brown's friend Stanfield Watson. I urge Zips fans to keep Brown in their prayers.

• If you know nothing about MAC football, I urge you to read MACReportOnline.com's MAC preview. Dave Ruthenberg has his head on straight.
• Maybe he can give some pointers to Phil Steele and CollegeFootballNews.com. And not just because he picked Akron to repeat as MAC East champs. He talks about the prevailing trends in the MAC, such as the loss of quality quarterbacks and the emergence of future pros at other positions.
• The likelihood of Akron attracting Copley safety David Arnold seem bleak. Gary Estwick's most recent story indicates Arnold is waiting for one of the top-tier schools to offer him a scholarship.

Men's basketball

Akron's frontcourt won't be as devastating as it could have been.

Akron nearly had two stud recruits at center, but 6-foot-10 Nick Evans committed to Southern Illinois. The Zips still have 6-9 Steve Swiech, the 21st best center in the country who verballed to play for Keith Dambrot last month.

Football

Often, I have praised CollegeFootballNews.com for its insight.

I take it back. All of it.

The site ranks Akron as the 90th best team in the country. I would list some of the teams in front of Akron, but it would make me too angry. You can check for yourself.

OK. I understand you have to earn praise. And I don't think J.D. Brookhart's Zips want anything handed to them. BUT COME ON! Akron is behind Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Duke, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, SMU, Louisiana Tech. AGHH! (Howard Dean-style yell)

I told you that would get me angry.

Correction: In my haste, I misread the standings. Many of those teams are, in fact, below Akron in the rankings. That does nothing to cure their severe underrating of the Zips.

Football

GoZips.com did a nice job outlining what college football magazines and Web sites are saying about the Zips and their players.

If you don't want to click the link, here is a rundown…

• Lindy's (42) and The Sporting News (46) rank the Zips in the nation's top 50 teams.
• Most say Akron will win the MAC East.
• They also agree Luke Getsy, Kiki Gonzalez and Jermaine Reid are among the MAC's best players. Also receiving recognition were Andy Alleman, Jabari Arthur, Tim Crouch, Kris Kasparek, Andy Wills, Reggie Corner, Kevin Grant, John Mackey and Brion Stokes.
• If Akron happens to earn another bowl bid, one game just became much, much more attractive. The GMAC Bowl is set for Jan. 7 and won't compete with other games at the end of bowl season.

Golf

Blake Sattler finished 11th and Ryan Gutkowski 38th at the Ohio Amateur.

It definitely will be nice to have Sattler back next season. The Zips made some serious progress last year, despite Sattler sitting out with a medical redshirt.

Track

Akron's women are among the nation's best academically, the track coaches association announced.

• Natalie Sako, a junior high jumper, took third at the North American Under 23 Track Championships. She was the only participant from a MAC school.

Miscellaneous

Sami Khorbotly, a semi-frequent commenter on this blog, had a scare last week. His parents were on their way home from Lebanon almost were forced to stay there due to violence between Hezbolah and Israel. You can read the ABJ story by clicking the above link.

• On a lighter note, I met the legendary Captain Kangaroo on a trip back to Ohio yesterday. His softball team had the misfortune of playing the Keg Kickers. Kangaroo is one of three founders of ZipsNation.org, the premier Zips fan site. Dr. Z was also there. Despite their disdain for my employer, they seem to be good guys.
• Kangaroo pitched a solid game, but the Kickers won, 10-8. I failed to hit the ball out of the infield against him in three at-bats, but still reached base twice.

Football

If you visited ESPN.com's college football page today, you probably expected to see a criminal USC athlete who gets paid to play.

Instead, it was a familiar face: Zips quarterback Luke Getsy.

You should read the story associated with it. Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook wrote one of the smartest Zips previews I have seen this season. Even you die-hard fans will learn a thing or two.

(Phil Steele reference goes here.)

Softball

For the second season in three, Akron will have a new coach in the dugout.

This time it's Julie Jones, who comes to the Zips after a 10 years career as Cleveland State's head coach.

Jones took the Vikings to last year's Horizon League championship. The team finished the season at 38-15. Her overall record is 206-245-2.

It's cliche — and pretty meaningless in a sport where athletes are usually good students anyhow — but Jones' players have traditionally done well in the classroom.

Here is another interesting facet about Jones' career: Her fundraising topped $25,000 each year.

Jones is a local product, too, playing at Garfield High School and Baldwin-Wallace College.

Jones replaces Julie Wright, who unexplainably bolted to Wisconsin to be an assistant coach. Despite her noggin-scratching exit, Wright's teams overachieved while rebuilding.

With Jones and women's basketball coach Jodi Kest, Akron hired winning head coaches from Division I programs. This makes me believe athletics director Mack Rhoades is offering salaries that are quite competitive.

Baseball

Here is a GoZips.com update on how players are faring in the wood bat summer leagues across the country…

• Starting pitcher Tom Farmer has a 1.59 ERA in the prestigious Cape Cod League.
• First baseman Kurt Davidson is an All-Star in the Valley Baseball League in Virginia.
• Outfielder Charlie Lenhard has a .559 slugging percentage in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, which is also quite prestigious.
• I reported that outfielder Rashard Graves would participate in the Midwest Prospect Baseball League in Indiana. He has decided not to play, after all.
• To find out what's up with these leagues, you can read my Indianapolis Star story on them by clicking here.

Men's soccer

So you're asking: Who will replace star forward Ross MacKenzie.

Don't be disappointed, but his successor did not play one minute last season.

Pablo Moreira missed the entire season with a knee injury, but coach Caleb Porter is asking him to step into a large role, Jennifer Long of GoZips.com reports.

If Moreira wins that spot, his success will be one of the biggest keys to the Zips' return to the nation's elite.

• The Chicago Fire Premier won the Great Lakes division of the United Soccer League's Premier Development League. Players on the team include Evan Bush, Sinisia Ubiparipovic, Matt Tutich and Jonathan McClain.

Miscellaneous

Remember to add the new GoZips.com to your Favorites list.

The URL no longer includes CSTV. All you need to type is www.gozips.com. If you haven't seen anything new on the site for a while, that's probably why.

Football

A running back from Warren, whom Akron offered a scholarship, verballed with Ohio State on Monday.

Daniel "Boom" Herron is the No. 21 running back in the country, Scout.com says. Neither recruiting site mentions Akron as a serious candidate for Herron.

I hope he enjoys riding the bench behind Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells. Nice career move, Boom. See you in the CFL.

Golf

How to be Ben Curtis Instruction Manual

• Step One: Win the Ohio Amateur golf tournament.
• Step Two: Sign an endorsement deal to wear ugly NFL polo shirts.

Zips players Ryan Gutowski and Vaughn Snyder will start the process this week. Curtis, who gets paid to be the worst dressed non-Euro on Tour, won the state am in 1999 and 2000. The Stow resident went on to win the 2003 British Open.

I covered the Indiana Amateur for the Star two weeks ago. It was a lot of fun watching how good the players are. If you're in Beachwood, drop by Canterbury Golf Club.

This information comes courtesy of the great Tom Gaffney, who covers Zips basketball pretty darn well for the ABJ.

Miscellaneous

I remember Mike Waddell talking about when Akron first started going after corporate partners.

In the past, the athletic department had scheduled the Acme/Zips Game and called it a day.

But Waddell talked about how he was constantly on the phone with new advertisers to change that. And he mentioned how nice it would be to have someone help him out.

The university has hired an entire company for that purpose. ISP Sports will handle broadcasts and signage, most notably.

Other schools with such a partnership include Ohio, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The MAC also has a deal with ISP.

Football

I bring you this information with a disclaimer: ESPN.com's ratings and information last year were the least accurate of the three recruiting Web sites.

But whatever. It's been a slow news week in Zipsland.

Periodically, I will profile some players that ESPN says are deciding on possibly coming to Akron.

• Mike Dykes, the nation's No. 12 offensive guard from Pittsburgh. His schools of interest are North Carolina, Duke and Akron, in that order, ESPN.com says. Scout.com does not list Akron, but does mention Miami (Ohio). Scout gives Dykes three stars. Rivals.com lists Akron among eight of Dykes' college choices.

Here is some good news for the Miami RedHawks, but not for the rest of the MAC East. Four-star receiver Chris Givens committed to Miami. He is the best MAC recruit so far. Akron was one of his finalists as well. You can bet that he chose Miami because his brother goes to school in Oxford.

The Zips' other four-star recruits are receivers Toney Clemons and Kyle Jefferson. Clemons seems to be a lock to wait for fall for his decision. I don't know about Jefferson.

As for the three-star targets, I only see that offensive lineman Cameron Holland will choose soon. His final options are North Carolina and Pittsburgh.

Football

I reported a couple months ago that Toney Clemons was weighing an offer from Akron.

Well, this kid must be special. Scout.com recently upgraded Clemons to four-star status and ranked him as the nation's 10th best receiver.

Clemons is 6-foot-3 and comes from New Kensington, Pa. Problem is, Clemons also has scholarship offers from Michigan, Mississippi and Pittsburgh. The competition is so steep that Rivals.com does not even list Akron as a possibility.

• I like the ABJ's Gary Estwick. He has always proven to be a good sports writer. But he made a fatal error in his story today about Kent State's football program. He mentioned Phil Steele — the brain surgeon football analyst who picked Kent State to win the MAC East. Memo to Steele: If Kent fares better than .500 in the MAC, I will mow your lawn for a month.
• A few more comments about the story. Kent State's slogan is "On the Hunt." I feel bad for the marketing minds at Kent who had to work on this one. … "OK, folks. Excite people about a football team that lost every Division I-A game last year and brought in a lousy recruiting class."
• A last comment about the story: You need to allow real tailgating if you want to draw fans. Real tailgating is fans tossing footballs, drinking beers and grilling their own juicy meats. Tailgating cannot be forced by the university making a carnival out of it. As someone who has seen several different atmospheres at pro and college games, I know how much students love real tailgating. Tailgating dies when the open-container laws are in effect. Work with the police and city to make it happen.
• On an unfortunate note, former Zips receiver Domenik Hixon is still having foot problems. Hixon is probably my favorite professional athlete, and not just because I have his cell phone number. Hixon is the most genuinely nice guy you will ever meet. He is a hard worker and an exceptional athlete. In my humble opinion, this guy will be a starter before his career is over.

Track

I caught up with coach Dennis Mitchell via e-mail yesterday.

He is still constantly on the go. He just finished a major recruiting trip and now is preparing for fall.

Senior-to-be Natalie Sako is also busy. She is competing in the under-23 NACAC Championships in the Dominican Republic. Mitchell said this is the first Zips athlete to wear the Team USA uniform since national champion Christi Smith in 2000.

Men's basketball

Jeremy Sallee is a hard worker and bright guy.

That's why he has a chance to succeed at Akron, a story on the Pulse-Journal from Liberty Township says. Sallee transferred to Akron after a successful year at Case Western Reserve University.