Dave in Green

The only undies worth savoring belong to libertarian politicians, right?

I think Miami beating LSU on the road was an exponentially better showing. Oh yeah. Amazing accomplishment, and well worth reliving. In 1986, LSU was 1-0 and ranked 8th in the country after beating 7th-ranked Texas A&M in the season opener. Tiger Stadium is better known as Death Valley. Miami (Ohio) was a ridiculous underdog, but pulled off a huge 21-12 upset. LSU responded by losing only one other game during the regular season (by 2 to Ole Miss), finishing 9-2 and ranked #5 in the country. They lost to #6 Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl, but they were still a stacked team. That's a once in a lifetime deal for an unranked MAC team.

Charlie Rosen says that a LeBron success in Miami would be bad for the NBA for many reasons, including the following: Only those teams with the appropriate financial resources coupled with attractive urban environments will be able to attract top-tier free agents. This will lead to four or five teams battling for championships, four or five wannabes, and the other 20 or so franchises stuck in the mud. With one of the lesser attractive urban environments in the NBA, Cleveland would most likely be one of those stuck in the mud. Is anyone concerned about this? Now I know the Akron lovers / Cleveland haters could care less about the big city to the north. So maybe I should phrase it differently: With the Cavs being the closest NBA team to Akron, and therefore the "home" NBA team for Akron by default, is anyone concerned that Akron's default "home" NBA team would suffer under this scenario? Or, like LeBron, do we just pick a winning team somewhere across the country (New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, etc.), root for them and say screw the "home" team if they can't compete with the glamour locations? Should we extend that attitude to the Zips? Charlie Rosen Fox Sports Link

I'm a buyer and you're a seller. Convince me to buy into your sales pitch that winning lower level head coaches make better higher level head coaches than higher level assistant coaches from winning programs. I'm absolutely certain that one category is not always better than the other. I seriously doubt that one category is much more likely to be better than the other. I'm open to the possibility that one category might be slightly more likely to be better than the other, but I've yet to see definitive proof. Show me what's convinced you. EDIT: I guess I should be clear that this is not addressed directly to akzipper, but to anyone who believes that a winning head coach at a lower level program or an assistant coach at a winning higher level program clearly has a big overall advantage over the other in most instances.

I'm wondering how much of this Akron-Cleveland competition thing is based on people having lived in the same place their whole lives. I've lived for extended periods in three different countries and seven different states, and don't feel the slightest twinge of this phenomenon. Is there anyone who's moved around a lot who thinks this is a big deal, or is this feeling of competition exclusive to people who've lived in this area their whole lives?

Another exhibit for ZW's "Quit on the Zips HOF"?

Bigger cities and smaller cities each have their advantages and disadvantages. If you prefer one over the other, you can make a case that one is better -- for you and others who share your tastes. But not for everyone. For people who appreciate both for what they are, there's no reason to pick one over the other. You take advantage of the best of each and avoid the worst of each. That's why some people consider themselves to be residents of a region as opposed to a narrower area. Northeast Ohio has everything from a big city (Cleveland) to rural farm country, and everything in between, including the Akron area. There's good, bad and indifferent throughout the region.

No. It is totally handled amongst players. Thanks. My main purpose in using the internet, including sports forums such as ZN.O, is to expand my knowledge. Thanks to the original poster (equins) and all of those who've contributed informative comments, this has been an interesting and useful discussion for me.

So, are the coaching staffs allowed to be involved in these scrimmages in any way, shape or form? If not, who arranges for the scrimmages to happen, and who measures the performance? Are they allowed to videotape and show the tapes to the coaches, or is it just an unofficial, unrecorded, unmeasured summer exercise?

Digging deep through some obscure internet sites, it appears that you are correct in saying that he has high major potential. Not all players in that category fully develop what they have, but some do. So it comes down to a combination of skillful recruiting and good luck to land the best available. In any case, we know for a fact that all the "can't miss" players go to the "can't miss" schools, and the "might make it" players end up at the "might make it" schools. Since the MAC is a "might make it" conference, Moore might end up in the MAC if he doesn't fully develop his potential in HS.

Gives new meaning to the old saying about football games being won and lost in the trenches (offensive line against defensive line). Take away the soldiers in the trenches (linemen), and no one wins the war (tie).

LeBron may go down in history as the guy who brought the Harlem Globetrotters / Washington Generals model to the NBA. Chris Paul now wants to follow LeBron's lead. Who's next? "He (Paul) wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players." CBS Sports Link

I guess the proper perspective is that someone reported an unofficial score for a scrimmage where there's no intent to keep score, but for the coaches to measure the performance of their players. So we'd really need to know how the coaches evaluated the performance of their players to understand how each team actually did. Maybe it really was a tie if both teams' coaches were equally satisfied with their players' performances. On the other hand, if the main purpose of the scrimmage had been to run up points, the results might have been different.

Thanks for the update, even though the final score is not exactly what Zips fans want to hear.

As far as I know, the real estate market in the general Akron area is currently about as soft as most other comparable areas in the Midwest. But, as you note, in three years things will no doubt have changed. In general, Akron is a fairly reasonably priced area to live. Depending on how committed you are to being right in Cuyahoga Falls, there are many options nearby. The whole Akron area generally has fairly good moving traffic even during morning and afternoon rush hours, so it's possible to live on one side of town and work on the other with a modest commute. One thing I noticed when I first moved to the Akron area is average snowfall. Akron is close enough to Lake Erie to be on the edge of its snowbelt, which gets a lot of lake-effect snow in addition to the larger storms that hit the whole area. If you like snow and winter sports, there are some modest ski areas just north of Cuyahoga Falls. When I first arrived the local newspaper ran a graphic showing the average annual snow fall for the area. I was surprised to see that there was a big difference between the north and south sides of Akron, with the graphic showing the Cuyahoga Falls area averaging a good 50% more snow per year than the areas just south of Akron. So if you're not absolutely committed to living in Cuyahoga Falls, and you'd rather deal with less snow, you can avoid at least some of the snow by living just south of Akron and more toward Canton, which gets much less lake-effect snow. A lot depends on your personal likes, dislikes and priorities. For example, if you like to go to a lot of concerts, Blossom Music Center is only about 3 or 4 miles north of Cuyahoga Falls. If you can't get enough of football history, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton and a little more convenient from the south side of Akron. But, as I mentioned earlier, traffic is not bad in the area, so you can easily get from one side of town to the other. If you're going to be involved with the University of Akron in any way, it's right in the heart of Akron, and easy to reach from north, south, east or west.

About 5 or 6 miles due north of Cuyahoga Falls on State Road is one of the most unique restaurants in Ohio. Cost is a little above average for the Akron area, but not outrageous. You will need a reservation as it is well known among locals and fills quickly. Unless you're strictly into meat and potatoes, do not pass this one up. You can check their dinner menu and prices online: Russo's Link

Fabulous video. Life just wouldn't be the same without the internet providing opportunities like YouTube for creative people to make gems like this available. Many thanks for posting this link.

Speaking of in-depth investigative reports, this one doesn't paint a very pretty picture: Yahoo Sports Link

Who really knows what might be dug up by motivated investigative reporters? Over the years LeBron has been portrayed almost as a saint, and many have felt that had to be too good to be true. This is such a big story with so much public interest that it's likely that more than one good investigative reporter will be working on this for some time to come. New York City has some of the world's best investigative reporters, and since NYC was scorned in this process, they have good reason to doggedly go after anything that might be getting hidden. It's going to be hard for a lot of people to trust anything these guys are saying. They've made it clear that they will do whatever is in their own best self interests, and it obviously would not be in their best self interests if anything negative is uncovered that would make the public think less of them for the way they went about making this happen. Every time they deviate from their approved script, more suspicions will be raised in people's minds.

I still don't understand this savior mentality. What on God's green Earth could rub off of LBJ, onto Akron, that would make Akron a better place? Well, if you're looking for absolute proof of some kind, I'm not aware of any. There's a general belief among many people that having a famous person from a specific geographical area can have positive effects on the area. But the degree of effect would be dependent on a lot of different variables. There are individual examples out there. For example, Fairmount, Indiana, focuses big-time on the fact that James Dean was born there. Apparently a lot of people visit Fairmount and spend money there to take part in the many activities related to James Dean. I suppose the question back to you would be, how could LeBron's fame as potentially the greatest basketball player ever to play the game not have more of a positive than negative effect on his hometown as long as he continues to say good things about his hometown? I think the jury is out on this one, and no one really has a definitive answer, especially since LeBron's latest move does little to enhance his claim to greatest basketball player ever. The greatest basketball player ever should be able to bring even the Cleveland Cavs an NBA championship, and in this, LeBron failed, turned tail, and ran.

Feelings about LeBron's move appear to have a high correlation to how one feels about the Cavs and Cleveland in general. For those who only care about LeBron and his direct association with Akron, it doesn't matter so much where he plays as long as he creates a legend that somehow partially rubs off on Akron. For Clevelanders and Cavs fans everywhere, the view is much different. What seems to be coming more and more into question is the effect of LeBron never having made a total, longterm commitment to Cleveland and the Cavs. By not signing a longterm contract with the Cavs and setting himself up for free agency and the real prospect of leaving, he made it more difficult for the Cavs to get commitments from the type of players who are following him to the Miami Heat. His failure to make a longterm commitment to Cleveland and the Cavs may have helped create a self-fulfilling prophesy that the Cavs couldn't win chamipionships, making it even easier for him to walk away. This is now being painfully rubbed into the faces of Clevelanders and Cavs fans everywhere as more and more news comes out about the personal effort LeBron is putting into helping attract as many good players as possible to Miami. Compared with his previous commitment to Cleveland and the Cavs, his present commitment to Miami and the Heat appears to be much greater. This may mean little to those who only care about LeBron and Akron. But the absolute poison it's creating among Clevelanders and Cavs fans everywhere should not be underestimated.

Good for LeBron. We can only hope that he continues to do good things for his hometown. Going back to Jason Whitlock's Fox Sports column expressing distaste for Jackson's remarks, here's why I agree with Whitlock: Slavery happened. Slavery was bad. Slavery is distant history. Prejudice happened. Prejudice was bad. Prejudice still happens. Prejudice is still bad. But if a white man treats a black man the same way he would treat a white man (or vice versa), it ain't prejudice, and it's not remotely connected with slavery. The only way Jesse Jackson is right is if Dan Gilbert would have reacted any differently if LeBron were white. Given identical circumstances, I personally don't believe that Gilbert would have reacted any differently if the player was Larry Bird, and if Larry Bird had been born in Akron, and if Larry Bird had done exactly the same things that LeBron did. That's just my personal opinion based on all the data I've seen. Different people with different perspectives will see it differently. I admit, it's difficult to use the term "slavery" in America without reference to race -- and yet harder for many to look beyond it when it comes from the mouth of a black civil rights activist, however, there is the use of "slavery" in sports solely referencing ownership of an athlete by a team owner. That sort of "slavery" supposedly was put to rest by Curt Flood 35 + years ago. However, it sure sounded like Dan Gilbert felt he somehow "owned" LeBron James, and should have been compensated for his "loss". Sorry, Dan. That's the way pro sports works. Maybe you should buy another franchise, like Tosu, if you want guys who can't be free agents. Well, I said that different people with different perspectives will see it differently. It's really amazing, isn't it? None of us really knows Dan Gilbert, or what's in his heart. There's nothing in his words that inherently reference slavery or "ownership" of one individual over another. There's nothing in his words that weren't felt by many Cavs fans who know they don't "own" any player. Yet some of us see one thing and some of us see something entirely different. We tend to see things from our own perspective, and we're all different. We can't really know what intent is in another's heart, but we go ahead and interpret anyway. Gilbert has since issued a statement that he totally disagrees with Jesse Jackson's personal interpretation of his words. But that won't stop people from believing whatever they want to believe. You see the same thing every day in the real world, and on forums like ZN.O -- different people with different perspectives and totally different interpretations of the words and actions of others.

There was a legal option for the Cavs, but it would have been futile. Ken Berger CBS Sports Column

Not interested.

Apparently it's all over but the crying. The almighty Stern has decided to forgo any investigation and has unconditionally decreed that no rules were broken. Learn to live with it or find another pastime to send dollars to. Stern Speaks