UofAZIPS.com Blog

ZIPS FANS ROOTING FOR GIANTS IN THE SUPER BOWL?

Akron football fans may not have had a personal interest in the MAC Championship game this year, but the same cannot be said about this Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Patriots and the New York football Giants.

Two players who once roamed the sidelines at the Rubber Bowl will be roaming the pastures of the retractable roof (and retractable field) University of Phoenix Stadium .

Domenik Hixon, who caught the last-second desperation pass of Luke Getsy to win the 2005 MAC Championship, and Chase Blackburn, the former Zips defensive captain, traded in their blue and gold for the red, white and gray of the New York Giants, and will be taking on what some consider to be the best NFL team ever, the New England Patriots, in Super Bowl XLII.

Blackburn and Hixon are not the first Zips to appear in a Super Bowl. Dwight Smith picked off two passes, one for a touchdown, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

UA PLAYERS TACKLE BIG GAME…The Buchtelite

HAVING TWO ZIPS IN SUPER BOWL HUGE FOR UA…editorial in The Buchtelite

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HEALING HIXON

Hixon was on the other end of the collision that put Buffalo’s Kevin Everett in the back of an ambulance. ESPN.com reports that Everett wasn’t the only one who needed to recover from that fateful play.

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ZIPS SIGN HOBAN FOOTBALL STAR

Will Flemming, son of Zips Defensive Coordinator Jim Flemming, has made an oral commitment to The University of Akron.

Hoban Senior Picks The University of Akron…Akron Beacon Journal

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

ZIPS HOME STREAK CONTINUES

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men’s basketball team rallied for a come-from-behind 68-52 defeat of Toledo on Wednesday night at Rhodes Arena before a crowd of 3,882 fans. UA has now won 21-straight games at home – the fifth-longest streak of its kind in the nation.

Steve McNees’ 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting – including 4-of-5 from 3-point range – led the Zips (15-5, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) as they snapped a two-game losing streak, the program’s longest since losing back-to-back games in the 2005-06 season. The 6-foot-2 redshirt-freshman guard also tied a career high with four assists.

Trailing by five points at halftime, Akron would recover to lead by as many as 17 after the break. UA would vastly improve its shooting in the second half to finish the game 26-of-54 (48.1 percent) after struggling from the field in the first period, successful on just 40.7 percent (11-of-27) of their attempts in the opening period.

Nate Linhart and Darryl Roberts joined McNees as the only other Zips in double figures, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Roberts recorded a career-high points total in his first collegiate start, while Linhart’s nine rebounds was one shy of his season high in that category. Linhart also logged 40 minutes. With his five points versus the Rockets, Jeremiah Wood is now three points away from achieving the 1,000-point plateau for his career.

Toledo (6-13, 3-4) was led by Anthony Byrd’s season-high 12 points, while Jerrah Young chipped in 11. The Rockets took advantage of a 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) shooting performance from long range to secure the lead at halftime, but would connect on just 2-of-7 from behind the arc in the second half.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Cedrick Middleton and McNees capped a 21-5 run that gave UA its first lead of the game, 37-35, with 15:59 left in the contest. Another long-distance field goal by McNees would extend the lead to double-digits, 59-49, at the 7:31 mark. Nick Dials (nine points, five assists) began the second half with a quick 3-pointer of his own to set the pace for the remainder of the game.

UT jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before a 3-pointer by Roberts put the Zips on the scoreboard. A Rocket lay-up by Young would hand the visitors their largest lead of the first half, 30-16, with 5:43 remaining before intermission. Early turnovers and poor shooting by Akron resulted in the large deficit.

The Zips have won 24-straight league games at home and 42 of the last 43 overall at Rhodes Arena. In four seasons with head coach Keith Dambrot at the helm, Akron has compiled a record of 51-2 at home. UA also ended a two-game losing streak in the all-time series with Toledo.

Akron will return to action on Saturday when it plays host to Eastern Michigan. Tip-off for that game is slated for 7 p.m. EST at Rhodes Arena.

(source: Akron Media Relations, Photo: Lew Stamp, Akron Beacon Journal)

ZIPS SHOOT DOWN ROCKETS…Akron Beacon Journal

FRESHMEN BAIL OUT ZIPS…The Plain Dealer

HALF-BAD UT FALLS AT AKRON…The Toledo Blade

Post-game notes

Post-game quotes

Box score

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

AKRON PULLS AHEAD LATE FROM THE FREE-THROW LINE

Can this be correct? Has Hell frozen over? Has Cleveland won a world championship? Okay, maybe the last one is a bit far fetched. The Akron Zips, winning only by a score of 66-61 late in the second half, pulled away from Buffalo to chalk up their second MAC victory of the season by a score of 76-68.

Earlier in the season, when the Zips were still throwing up bricks at the charity strip, Coach Keith Dambrot said he wasn’t worried about the foul shots. He said they eventually would fall. It seems like he was right as Akron sank 10 consecutive free throws in the last minute to take control of the game.

FREE THROWS ARE KEY AT ZIPS FIND WAY TO BEAT BULLS…Akron Beacon Journal

IN ROAD ARENA, ZIPS HOLD ON TO BEAT BUFFALO (cute)…The Plain Dealer

RETURN HOME NO REMEDY FOR THE BULLS...The Buffalo News

FREE THROW SHOOTING HELPS MEN’S HOOPS TOP BUFFALO…GoZips.com

AKRON HOLDS OFF BUFFALO 76-68…UofAZips.com

Box Score and Stats

(photo: James P. McCoy/The Buffalo News)
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UB DOESN’T MEASURE UP TO THE BEST IN THE MAC

A Columnist for The Buffalo News says the Bulls haven’t improved that much over last year, and really don’t stand a chance to win anything in the Mid-American Conference this year.

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LeBRON IS BUSTED FOR SPEEDING AT OVER 100!

Celebrating his 23rd birthday, King James was busted on I-71 at quarter to three in the morning. Get this, his license plate number is KNG OF AK. Do you believe these people?

The big question is: if this happened on December 30, how did it stay quiet for so long? The story still hasn’t run in The Plain Dealer!

LEBRON’S 101 MPH LANDS TICKET…Akron Beacon Journal

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KSU CRUISES TO MAC WIN…Akron Beacon Journal

In addition to the blow out of Kent over Bowling Green, OU beat rival Miami and Eastern Michigan beat Western Michigan by a comfortable margin…ESPN.com

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

AND IT WASN’T EVEN THAT CLOSE!

“You heard the song, The Big Payback? Let’s hope that’s what it was. If not, Akron is pretty darn good.” That’s how Miami coach Charlie Coles summed up the game where his Red(skins)hawks had it handed to them last night by a score of 69-54.

For those who don’t follow Akron basketball very close, Coles was referring to last season’s Mid-American Conference Championship game, where Miami squeaked one out with a lucky shot at the buzzer to win 53-52 and go on to the NCAA tournament.  As Miami made it to the dance, the Zips stayed home despite winning 26 games.

Gee, it seems that Akron’s weak out of conference schedule seems to have had absolutely no impact on their ability to compete, and embarrass  even the elite of the MAC, which Miami is considered.

For those who are disillusioned into thinking the MAC is going to get more than one bid to the tournament — it really doesn’t matter now, does it?  Akron Coach Dambrot is holding firm on his scheduling strategy of negotiating a home and home contract, even with the bigger boys.  Some people seem to have a problem with that.  I agree, it is difficult to see some of the patsies on the Zips’ schedule.  What Dambrot is trying to do is not easy.  It is going to be difficult in the early going as he builds his program.  One thing must happen for his program to work — the Zips must win.  And that’s HIS responsibility.
In the meantime, for those who don’t happen to agree with Dambrot, I’d like to borrow a phrase from Mike and Mike on ESPN radio, “Just shut up!”

(photo: Lew Stamp/Akron Beacon Journal)

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AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Steve McNees scored 20 points and was 6-for-6 from 3-point range as Akron coasted to a 69-54 win Saturday night over Miami of Ohio.McNees made three consecutive 3-pointers toward the end of the first half to kick off an 18-0 run for the Zips (11-3, 1-0 Mid-American Conference).He followed that with two free throws and another 3-pointer. Jeremiah Wood closed the run by adding a dunk and a layup just before halftime to put Akron ahead 41-19 at the break.Miami (6-7, 0-1) couldn’t mount a threat in the second half.Eric Pollitz led the RedHawks with 12 points, while Tyler Dierkers and Michael Bramos each added nine.Wood scored 19 and Nick Dials added 10 points for Akron.

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ZIPS TAKE SQUAWK OUT OF THE REDHAWKS…Akron Beacon Journal

MC NEES’S 3s HELP ZIPS BEAT REDHAWKS WITH EASE…The Plain Dealer

ZIPS DEFEAT REDHAWKS…Cincinnati Enquirer

MEN’S BASKETBALL CRUISES TO 69-54 WIN OVER MIAMI (OH)…GoZips.com

AKRON DEMOLISHES MIAMI 69-54…UofAZips.com

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

AND THE WINNER IS….ZIPPY!!!!

All of the hard work Zips fans put in to voting for Zippy as the CapitalOne Mascot of the year has paid off! CapitalOne Announced today that Zippy beat out Goldy Gopher of Minnesota to win the competition.

Zippy won in unprecedented fashion, going undefeated for the entire competition.

Congratulations Zippy and Zips fans. The world now knows what we have known since 1953 — that you are the best!

FINAL VOTE

ZIPPY 40,419

Goldy 33,014

CapitalOne News Release

The University of Akron is celebrating a national title…WKYC-TV

The Akron Beacon Journal

GoZips.com

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Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com