Dave in Green

If Mrs. Brookhart wanted to play children's games, I'm sure she could come up with something as incredibly clever and original as the nya-nya's being tossed at her husband, perhaps something like:My husband's rubber, you're glue, your words bounce off him and stick to you.

Thanks for the free roller coaster ride from the depths of the OU performance to the heights of predicting 6 wins in the next 7 games. It is possible. But only if Nicely develops quickly and the rest of the team rallies behind him.

Scout.com is now reporting that Euton made an official visit to UNC-Greensboro on Oct. 3 and EKY on Oct. 10. It had previously been reported that he visited EKY in September right after visiting UA, and that the decision was down to UA and EKY. So, is this his second visit to EKY? And why visit Greensboro if only UA and EKY were in the running?Just another example of why I take all the "inside information" with a big grain of salt.Scout.com Link

For me, "most productive" is synoymous with "best." There may be players with more potential. But if they aren't producing, I can't rate them higher than someone who is.Tuzze finds the holes and usually gains more even after he's hit. Other Zips RBs too often run directly into the arms of a defender and are stopped dead in their tracks.Tuzze is clearly the Zips "Mr. Inside." If only the Zips had an effective "Mr. Outside," they would both benefit by keeping the opponents guessing about where the next run is going. That, in turn, would take more pressure off the QB and open up the passing game.I would be absolutely delighted if one of the RBs who might have more potential than Tuzze would turn that potential into productivity.

May I suggest that those who are having problems controlling their "anger" here go enroll in a good anger management class instead of taking it out on ZN?Honestly, I really appreciate reading thoughtful opinions from everyone, including those who may see things 180 degrees different from what I do. But when the name-calling and taunting descends to the level of grade school kids, it seriously tempts me to start adding the serial offenders to my Ignored Users list.Anyone who can't make their point without dumping on others probably doesn't have a point worth listening to.

Thanks for removing that comment. I've edited my previous response to remove the quote of your comment, and I hope that others also edit their responses to remove the quote.It's well known that sarcasm does not work well in internet forums. It's often mistaken for a serious comment unless the wording is crafted to make it absolutely clear that it's not intended to be taken seriously. Having said that, some subjects are especially difficult to make successful sarcasm about. A season-ending injury is one that definitely falls in that category, as should be obvious from the reaction of many ZN members.

The longer you watch sports, the more you realize that almost anything can happen during the course of a season. Sure, there are some teams that always seem to win and some who always seem to lose. But there are also teams that start fast and then totally collapse, while others go from mediocre to competitive.The Zips showed a mix of good and bad against OU. The game was not a rout. It turned on a few key plays. Change those few key plays and the outcome could have been quite different.When a team gives up, that's when its fans should give up. The Zips have not given up. They're still out there trying to get it right. And as long as the Zips are trying, we fans owe it to them to support them and continue hoping for the breakthrough.

(Edited to remove reference to quote from previous post that has since been removed.)

Rodgers started poorly and I was ready for Nicely by the end of the first quarter. But Rodgers started getting into a rhythm in the second quarter, and I really thought his timing and confidence were growing. He looked great on the last drive of the first half, and it's tragic that he was injured just as he was beginning to show promise.Having said that, Nicely stepped in like a seasoned veteran. He just took over the offense and showed remarkable poise and timing. He amazed me with his ability to do everything at just the right time -- sidestep the rush, run for the opening when it was there, and pass with authority. I should emphasize that Nicely can PASS with authority. He appears to have a cannon of an arm, a great instinct for the game and extraordinary poise.I was all in favor of giving Rodgers this game and next to prove himself before burning Nicely's redshirt at mid-season. But when Rodgers went down, the handwriting was on the wall. Nicely is the Zips future, and the future is now. He isn't going to be perfect. He's going to make some silly mistakes. But, regardless of how many games the Zips lose this season, I'll enjoy watching Nicely grow into a leader who could lead the Zips to a winning season next year and beyond.You can't discuss QBs without mentioning the offensive line. They looked much better tonight. They gave both Rodgers and Nicely more pocket time to find their receivers.Nicely is the Zips best QB and Tuzze is their best runner. These two should be starters for the rest of the season.

THe team played more inspired but the coaching was still suspect. Tuzze was moving the ball consistiiently and wearing down the D. Why take him out and in the red zone and force rodgers to be the man. rodgers fumbled.Tuzze was hurting pretty bad. They worked on him on the sidelines quite a bit. He is definitely the Zips best running back, and showed a lot of guts playing through obvious pain. But he could not physically be in all the time.

Before it's operational it has to be built.Before it's built it has to be planned.Before it's planned it has to be researched.Before it's researched it has to be discussed.It's never too early to discuss a project that will take years to complete, and discussion time is the time for pie in the sky.So don't put those winged forks away.

I think it's important not to underbuild or overbuild, but to try to get it just right. Without some good research, it's just guessing. What all will actually (not maybe) be there besides Zips basketball and concerts? What size has worked for metropolitan areas of similar size and demographics to Akron? This is all critical to getting the size right. It would actually be better to slightly underbuild than to overbuild. If seats are hard to get, the facility become a hot commodity. If there's lots of vacant seats, it becomes a financial white elephant.I'm going to go back now and vote for 8k. I'm thinking that even a red hot Zips basketball team after several NCAA tournament runs would have problems filling 8k seats except for a few key games. And I'm strongly influenced by my most recent experience of buying tickets to the upcoming Steely Dan concert at the tiny E.J. Thomas Hall. I was paranoid that if I didn't get tickets early that I'd end up in the back rows, so I scored some good ones minutes after they went on sale. But there were still decent tickets available several days later. And there are still some fair seats left a week after they went on sale. For Steely Dan. In a nice concert hall that seats only 3k. Ouch!

An interesting take on the whole Dakotah Euton situation from a veteran sportswriter:Chuck Schoffner Blog Link

I hope that everyone here shares my feelings that a positive, ongoing discussion of this issue is informative and worthwhile. New thoughts keep popping up from other forum members that I hadn't considered. To me, that's the real value of a forum full of positive contributors. Wherever you think the best location is for a new basketball/multi-purpose facility, I really appreciate everyone freely expressing their reasoning in a positive way without belittling anyone else's opinions.

If only life were so easy. ;)Back to reality, the discussion will go on because there is no definitive proof that a specific vision is locked and loaded with the principal players. There may be someone posting in these forums who has a direct connection to the decision-making process, but they haven't convinced me yet. And, no, bonus points are not awarded for the intensity of opinions.I'm still very much open-minded on the exact location of the proposed facility. I have no problem with people who have passionate opinions. I do have problems with people who try to bully and browbeat others into submitting to their passionate opinions. That usually comes from a position of weakness, not strength.Verifiable facts speak for themselves. Bonus points are awarded for valid sources.

If I'm driving along one day and see one of my fellow ZN forum members pulled over by the local police, is it OK when I get home to speculate here on ZN that it's possible that person may have been picked up on suspicion of murder?I mean, why waste time discussing the possibility of something as mundane as a routine traffic stop when you can really set a forum abuzz by speculating on the worst possible scenario?

While I agree that UA would have a hard time funding another new facility of this magnitude by itself, I don't understand why you think 1st Energy or other sponsors wouldn't consider backing an on-campus facility in the same way that the on-campus football stadium was financially supported by InfoCision, Summa, FirstMerit, etc.I don't know whether or not the city and county would come onboard with any support if the facility was built in a location right on the border of the campus and the city, but they might.

Even the most honorable people make honest mistakes. Truly honorable people will often fall on their own swords to protect the reputation of the institution they represent. I prefer to think the best about Coach Ferri.

I'd still like to see a specific reference on exactly where that Tuesday decision speculation is coming from.Speculation is an odd critter. Everyone seems to have a friend who has a cousin who has a next door neighbor who has inside information about something.On the EKU boards, the only reference to EKU wanting the decision by Tuesday points to the reference on ZN in this thread.And on the Murray State boards, someone with yet more inside information says he thinks that Dakotah is leaning toward UA rather than EKU.Whatever anyone wants to believe, supporting data can be found somewhere.

Technically well done. A minor point is that the way the schedule is presented makes it appear as if the Austin Peay game is in Daytona Beach and not the JAR.

Well that is why I think there will be county help on this too.Absolutely. The new facility to the west may be situated in downtown Toledo, but the official name is Lucas County Arena. I'm not sure the Knight Center could be renovated on its current site to include a proper basketball/multi-purpose facility. But, as discussed in a previous thread, there is some open land next to the Knight Center that might make a good site for an all-new facility that could be connected to the Knight Center.Whatever is done must be done right, and not so compromised that it would be obsolete before all the debt is paid off. Somewhere between state-of-the-art, unlimited budget and painfully compromised, on-the-cheap is a sweet spot that the university, city and county need to carefully research and define.

Do NOT look at the interior and exterior photos of the new Toledo facility unless you are prepared to deal with serious feelings of envy:Lucas County Arena Photos

I guess it was just updated 20 minutes ago, then. In any case, the earlier statement in this forum about EKY wanting a commitment no later than today from a player who hasn't yet played his first game as a HS senior just seems odd to me. There was no link to any online reference, so there's no way to know how to evaluate the validity of that statement. If it came from a KY sports forum, for example, I certainly would take it with a huge grain of salt. So I have to go with the professional interview quoting Dakotah and his father that says the final decision is still weeks away.So far I haven't been able to find any anti-Dakotah trash talking on any Ohio sports forums.

Here's the latest, posted just 20 minutes ago when I found it, in the Louisville Courier-Journal. EKY may have wanted his decision by today, but this lengthy story is still saying the decision will come in the next few weeks:Louisville Courier-Journal Link

1) The single most important thing to me is to see all 11 Zips on the field at any one time consistently executing to the best of their abilities. Consistent maximum execution of even simplistic, unimaginative plays will produce at least some reasonable results.2) Combine the above with creative, unpredictable play calling, and you start getting superior results.3) Consistent excellent results at the national level require, in addition to all of the above, the very best players and coaches. Obviously most of that talent ends up at the top BCS schools.It's way unrealistic to expect the Zips or any other MAC team to consistently perform at the highest level of D1 football. But I'd be ecstatic to start seeing signs of points # 1 and 2.