Ravenna record Courrier beat writer Dave Carducci recently posted this intriguing story about Athletic director Laing Kennedy and his support of Rob Senderoff over on the the NCAABBS board. I thought it would pass it along, it's a pretty good read.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=425522

It comes as quite the surprise that Ohio University Head basketball coach Tim O'Shea jumped ship earlier this week. He accepted a position as the men's basketball coach at the newly established, in D1 atleast, Bryant University.

Although O'Shea did win 20 games last year (20-13), he has a home in Rhode Island and strong ties to the New England area. It sounds like this decision had to be driven by personal reasons. Why else would anyone leave Ohio for Bryant, who is not tournament eligible for a few years?

I am anxious to see how this plays out because I think it could be a winning situation for the Mid-American Conference. Although O'Shea recruited some of the top talent in the MAC (Leon Williams, Jerome Tillman), his teams always seemed to underachieve.

If Ohio can replace O'Shea with a coach who can maximize Ohio's talent it would improve the competitiveness of the Mid-American Conference as a whole. That could mean more revenue, more notoriety and eventually more bids to the NCAA tournament.

It will be an interesting year in the Mid-American Confererence due to so many question marks. Conference stables Ohio, Kent State and Toledo all have new coaches while Charlie Cole's health is always a question mark at Miami. Bowling Green's Louis Orr and Northern Illinois' Ricardo Patton both enter their second seasons with a certain optimism.

Ford has had to completely rebuild his frontcourt after the departures of MAC Defensive Player of the Year Haminn Quaintance and All league forward Mike Scott. The impact of losing those two individuals will hurt a lot more than people realize. Scott was a coach on the court and was highly motivated off of it. Both players did a lot of intangibles that could not be taught.

There were a few instances early last season where Christian said that Scott's defensive adjustments and rotations prevented easy baskets on blown defensive coverages.

Offseason questions about Rodriquez Sherman's knee doesn't bode well for the Flashes either. If he can't go this season then Ford truly has his work cut out for him.

Akron coach Keith Dambrot must prove that he can continue the success he has had the last few years now that The LeBron James Akron contingent has moved on (Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis and Jeremiah Wood). The Zips were a different team last year when Wood went down with an injury lacking any type of strength and presence on the inside. They must also find someone who can run the point, incoming freshman Humpty Hitchens perhaps?

What a way to start off the the 111th Men's Division I NCAA Championships at kampen Golf Course at Purdue. The Flashes, behind a strong performance from senior David Markle, find themselves six strokes off the lead and tied for fourth place after one round of golf (13 over par 301).

Markle birdied the sixth, seventh, 13th and 17th hole to shoot a 2 under par 70 on the day. He is currently one shot behind the individual lead. Still three rounds to go, but wow what a good start for the Flashes and especially Markle. See for yourself.

It is now official. Eric Haut is the Director of Basketball Operations for TCU, the official TCU athletics Web site announced May 16th. It is far from a shocker, in fact it has pretty much been a done deal since Jim Christian headed south.

Former Kent State recruit Ronnie Moss is also officially a Horned Frog as well. Yet again, not exactly a shocker. Moss became a matter of paper work the moment Christian bolted as well.

ESPNU listed Moss as the top recruit in the Mid-American Conference on signing day a few weeks back. It shows how much attention is paid to the MAC by the so-called world leader in sports.

I can't help to be bothered a little bit by losing Moss. This was supposed to be a Kent State coup. A point guard that was highly touted and highly recruited. Now he is gone. Although I like the work that new coach Geno Ford has put in with the recruit signings this year, letting a point guard of that caliber walk hurts.

Al Fisher and Jordan Mincy are both seniors. Who will play point when those two depart a year from now? With Moss it would of allowed Fisher to play more off guard where he could not turn the ball over as much. It would also have pushed Mincy to a diminished role. His defense is great, but other teams didn't have to bother guarding him.

Questions on the availability of Rodriquez Sherman because of his creaky knee also make me wonder how much losing Moss could haunt the Flashes. I guess we will wait and see.

It is a pretty slow time of year for Kent State athletics. The baseball and softball teams are now done. As is women’s golf. Although It should be a fun watching the Kent State men’s golf team takes another shot at the NCAA Championships in the next few days.

The Flashes are set for an 8:07 a.m. tee time tomorrow on the 10th hole of Purdue University’s Kampen Course. Kent State is one of just 30 teams vying for the Division I title. It is the first time they have been to the championships since 2004 and 13th trip overall.

The Kent State men’s golf team finished in a tie for 15th place after one round of play in the NCAA Central Regional at the Scarlet Course on the Campus of the Ohio State University.
The Flashes are 18 over par 302 as a team, 12 strokes behind leader Wake Forest (6 over par 290).

Senior David Markle is tied for 17th place in the individual competition. He currently sits four strokes back of leader Brendan Gielow, of Wake Forest. Markle’s first round score is 2 over par 73.

The Flashes begin the second round of the three round tournament early tomorrow teeing off at 8:05 a.m. on the sixth hole.

The top 10 teams and top two individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 28-31 at the Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Kent State men’s golf team is set to tee off today at 12:35 as part of the NCAA Central Regional competition at the Ohio State University Scarlet Golf Course. The top 10 teams and two individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 28-31 at the Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind.

After coming in second place at the Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Flashes received an at-large bid marking the school’s 21st visit to regional competition. Kent State has moved onto the Championship round 12 of those times with the last visit coming in 2004.

This year’s team features a well-balanced mix with two seniors and two freshmen. MAC Golfer of the Year and Freshman of the Year John Hahn leads the team with a 72.4 stroke average.

While playing at the Boilermaker Invitational earlier this year, the site of the Championship round, Hahn tied the third lowest score in school history at 11-under 205 (70-68-67).

Joining Hahn as All-MAC First team selections are Senior David Markle and sophomore David Ludlow. Freshman Brett Cairns was a second team All-MAC selection. Senior Tom Ballinger competed in both the 2005 and 2006 regionals.

The Flashes have five straight top-three finishes and have finished in the top five of nine of the 12 events they have participated in this season.