Mitchell to lead Team USA

Track

Duke has Mike Krzyzewski, who will lead LeBron James and Team USA to the FIBA World Championships in China.

Akron has Dennis Mitchell, who will coach the country's best male track and field athletes at the 2006 Norwich Union International event in England.

It will be an opportunity the Zips track coach will cherish.

"I have a great team of most of the best track athletes in the world," Mitchell said. "It should be exciting and fun."

The tournament runs Aug. 19 and 20. You can follow the action at this link.

• Zips long jumper Cadeau Kelley also is making an international name for himself. In his native country of Liberia, Kelley surpassed Akron's school record with a mark of 7.73 meters at the 15th Annual African Championships. "It looks like Cadeau is trying to get a jumpstart on being one of Akron's next year's track and field superstars," Mitchell said.

Baseball

GoZips.com published its final wrap-up of summer league competition.

Tom Farmer, Kurt Davidson and Charlie Lenhard absolutely tore up their leagues. Rashard Graves and Garrett Knoll also performed well.

Whether they can swing (or pitch against) aluminum bats in the spring is a more important question.

Football

Every so often, you read something in the newspaper that gives you the sense Akron has taken another step toward national respectability.

Here is a quote from the AP's MAC preview that did it for me:

CENTRAL MICHIGAN - "There are two ways to look at it,'' coach Brian Kelly said of the Chippewas' schedule, which starts out Boston College, Michigan, Akron. "One is that we're being very aggressive. The other is that I was in a coma at the time.''

While you're at it, you might as well read the whole preview, which focuses on Akron.

• Here is CollegeFootballNews' MAC preview. I like the way they broke it down, but as usual, the site shortchanged the Zips. I guess mentioning Kent State is more important that the defending league champions.

Men's soccer

Read the third sentence of the fourth paragraph in this story. It's a lot like Central Michigan's coach's quote.