Zips Win!

Actually I'm surprised they are still on the air. I'd give them a 1 out 10.Sure, there may be an opportunity to talk Zips sports, but these clowns are clueless when it comes to UA athletics.They would be hard pressed to name 5 guys on the team, let alone carry on a meaningful conversation.

That plus his strut....Everywhere I've seen him: at a Browns practice, at the Q, at the JAR and even last Wednesday at BW's after the UB game. Strutting around like he owned the place. The bar had a nice crowd and nobody even recognized him....

I would keep printing and selling tickets until I ran out of ink!

No, the amazing stat is that Gonzaga is still in the mid-major poll and that they are ranked third.So much for credibility of this poll..

My favourite call when D-rob was fouled shooting 3. The refs call 3 free throws. D-rob shoots the first 2 and then the refs decided to review the play on TV to find out if it was 2 or 3 Aren't you supposed to do that before the first 2 free throws???There were a lot of other examples from what I saw on TV.Refs lost track of how many fouls Akron had in the 2nd half. When we got to 10 they weren't sure if we had 10 or 9. BG player missed the first FT, BG got the rebound and dribbled around for a good 7 or 8 seconds before the refs decided to go over to the scorers table and spend 5 minutes figuring it out.The play where C.McKnight stole the ball at mid-court and drove coast to coast pretty obviously should have been an and one.In the 2nd half, I forget what Akron player got absolutely mugged on the way to the rim, no call. Other end, Nitro gets called for a cheap touch foul.At the end of the game there were some really questionable calls. First was the jump ball with Conyers where he was clearly just getting hacked by two BG players. The whistle for the jumpt came quickly and definitively. On another play Nik came down with the rebound off of a BG miss and the refs called a real quick travel.Again, I'm not one to generally complain about refs. Especially when we win, but yesterday was just embarassing. I really hope we can get some good refs for the Can't game. It would be a damn shame to put that kind of a crew on the floor in primetime on national TV.Nice summary on the bonehead officiating. How about when the official handed McNees the ball to inbounds under our hoop and then he had to grab it back from Steve as he noticed the kid was on the floor sweeping up the wet spots...What do these guys pay attention to? The poor calls made it nearly impossible to watch in person. We win that game going away with a fairly called game.

What a surprise?

Exactly my point. How or why would anyone know he went to Akron? All he talked about was tosu...Guys like CB need to get in front of the media and promote UA. It would go a long way to validating our program and then maybe he wouldn't be asked such a question...I think a lot of the problem also stems from our constantly changing Athletics Department staff.If you recall under Mike Thomas' administration we had a spring game where Frye, Blackburn, Taylor and a bunch of other former Zips attended. I guess they put a big effort into getting football alumni back into the UA "loop."I recall one administrator telling me - "I called Jason Taylor and asked if he'd like to make a donation. He said 'sure,' and then said...'no one's ever asked me before?"In the short time Thomas' group was here they did more than build the practice facility and get the stadium off the blocks. Look in the JAR. All those coaches murals in the corners were installed during that time. All the championship banners hanging from the rafters were raised during that time. Eric McLaughlin's jersey was retired during that time. Thomas' group did a great job of bringing former Zips back into the fold, and also promoting the history of Zips athletics that had been forgotten in some Memorial Hall closet for a couple decades.Then Thomas left, and it all stopped. UA needs to be in Blackburn's face. Give the guy t-shirts and caps. Invite him back for the golf outings and spring practices. Ditto Hixon. And Frye. And others. And if they can't make it in one season, you call them back in 6 months and try again. It's pretty simple.If you see Chase Blackburn wearing an OSU shirt underneath his jersey, I blame UA, not Chase.Who cares what he said? The guy grew up in the Columbus area. 99% of the time that person grows up rooting for OSU. Dont rag the guy for being honest. Is he suppose to avoid the question and say....I went to UA damn it, F OSU!!??? Hell no.I grew up a Browns fan. If I got drafted by the Steelers I would still be a Browns fan inside. You cant just get that out of you. You mistakenly assume his loyalties lie with OSU and not UA when that simply isnt true. I have said it before and I will say it again....the success of UA has NOTHING to do with OSU. If you believe that OSU make us a lesser program then you are sadly mistaken."OSU having nothing to do with Akron" you couldnt be more wrong the reason we cant sell out a beautiful new stadium on the second home game of the season is because more people were worried about going up to Cleveland to watch basically a scrimage between Toledo and OSU then cheering on the home town team. Students that go to this University would rather sit at home and watch a OSU game on tv then walk down the street and watch a game live in a beautiful new stadium.Oh yeah, and beat someone that people know. Pounding a freaking loser 1-AA does not make people excited to come out and watch us play a powerhouse like North Texas or Eastern Michigan.I forgot to mention, the Vest routinely plays schedules that are ranked #50 out of 120 and somehow he gets rewarded for it....

Thanks for the kind words above. This board has nothing to do with being an internet tough guy. I'm one of the few people on this board that if you were to pass me on Route 8, you would know exactly who I am.. There is no hiding here...We've had these arguments about my love for the buckeyes about a dozen times now...My stance has always been the same.While it's obvious that I would never root for tosu to win any sporting event, that is about all the "hate" you will ever see from me towards tosu.My disgust is truly with those that have zero affiliation with the school and yet they continue to support them. Specifically, I'm referring to UA students, UA faculty and staff and most importantly, UA alumni.Can I be any more clear? UA, UA, UA.....Even OSUgrad 01 mentions that people need to stop the OSU hate and worry about Akron's program...Well, exactly who is supposed to worry about UA's program? I'm of the opinion that we need UA students, fac/staff and alumni to support our program, not OSU's. As long as there continues to be UA people(defined above) supporting tosu instead of UA, I will continue to "hate".... Finally, here is where CB needed to step up and say " OSU was my first choice, but I didn't get an offer. I had a great experience at The University of Akron and that is where my loyalties lie."

Exactly my point. How or why would anyone know he went to Akron? All he talked about was tosu...Guys like CB need to get in front of the media and promote UA. It would go a long way to validating our program and then maybe he wouldn't be asked such a question...I think a lot of the problem also stems from our constantly changing Athletics Department staff.If you recall under Mike Thomas' administration we had a spring game where Frye, Blackburn, Taylor and a bunch of other former Zips attended. I guess they put a big effort into getting football alumni back into the UA "loop."I recall one administrator telling me - "I called Jason Taylor and asked if he'd like to make a donation. He said 'sure,' and then said...'no one's ever asked me before?"In the short time Thomas' group was here they did more than build the practice facility and get the stadium off the blocks. Look in the JAR. All those coaches murals in the corners were installed during that time. All the championship banners hanging from the rafters were raised during that time. Eric McLaughlin's jersey was retired during that time. Thomas' group did a great job of bringing former Zips back into the fold, and also promoting the history of Zips athletics that had been forgotten in some Memorial Hall closet for a couple decades.Then Thomas left, and it all stopped. UA needs to be in Blackburn's face. Give the guy t-shirts and caps. Invite him back for the golf outings and spring practices. Ditto Hixon. And Frye. And others. And if they can't make it in one season, you call them back in 6 months and try again. It's pretty simple.If you see Chase Blackburn wearing an OSU shirt underneath his jersey, I blame UA, not Chase.Who cares what he said? The guy grew up in the Columbus area. 99% of the time that person grows up rooting for OSU. Dont rag the guy for being honest. Is he suppose to avoid the question and say....I went to UA damn it, F OSU!!??? Hell no.I grew up a Browns fan. If I got drafted by the Steelers I would still be a Browns fan inside. You cant just get that out of you. You mistakenly assume his loyalties lie with OSU and not UA when that simply isnt true. I have said it before and I will say it again....the success of UA has NOTHING to do with OSU. If you believe that OSU make us a lesser program then you are sadly mistaken.F-U OSUgrad 01Go away...

Exactly my point. How or why would anyone know he went to Akron? All he talked about was tosu...Guys like CB need to get in front of the media and promote UA. It would go a long way to validating our program and then maybe he wouldn't be asked such a question...

Did Butler sit around and wait for the rest of the Horizon to get better?Did Boise State football sit around and wait for the rest of the non-BCS football programs to get better?We need to improve ourselves. What Eastern Michigan or Ball State choose to do should have no bearing on the Zips. Like Butler's done to the rest of the Horizon, we can make the MAC our bitch if we make the investment to do so. If we don't, we won't.Agreed.Some of it may be the schedule, but I think a big part of this is finding away to improve the JAR from a player / coach facility perspective. It's the worst facility (maybe behind rifle?) on campus and behind much of the conference and the nation.UA has managed to catapult it's FB facilities squarely into the top 20 or so in the nation, bar none. The cost to do so for the hoops teams is a fraction of that. We've got to find a way to get that done. Note: I'm NOT talking about a new arena, or better fan amenities at the JAR. They're important, but way down on the priority list over better team lockerroom, film room & team rooms. For both the men and women. In essence, upgrade the JAR to be as good a team / practice facility as the Stile Fieldhouse is for FB.Go Zips!Agree. LBJ gets all the love on this board for some free shoes.When I see the large donation to updrade the lockerroom and team rooms/lounges, then I will buy in. Otherwise, he's just KD's boy!

I agree. One thing everyone should understand is most kids don't grow up wanting to play for UofA or any other MAC school. Most kids end up in the MAC because it is where they belong and they were passed over at BCS schools because they didn't have the ability to play there. It's not a bad thing, it just is what it is.....UofA shouldn't worry about what happens at tOSU. I could really care less about them and I think what goes on at UofA has very little to do with what goes on at tOSU. The only reason people think about it as us vs. them is we live in that type of society where everything has become all or nothing. Talk radio is a lot of us vs. themes...it helps people feel at home listening to the radio because they believe they are part of something bigger. UofA should put a good product on the field and play when they want to play. Put a good product on the field and the ABJ will write about them. Put a good product on the field and people will go to games. It's really not about tOSU.I diasgree. It's completely reasonable that CB grew up in c-bus wanting to go to OSU to play football. But he played at UA and he should be supporting the Zips now, not tosu. Screw Chase Blackburn!The diehards on this board bitch all the time that attendance is poor at UA games. Well, why should Joe Akron spend his hard earned money for a UA game when the players and former players don't give a damn about UA...You are correct, what goes on at UA does have very little to do with what goes on at tosu.However, what goes on at tosu has a huge impact on all other D1 Ohio schools, UA included.I know dozens of families in my community who are UA grads. And exactly none of them ever attend UA games. Yet I see all of them wearing their tosu gear...

Here I disagree. I prefer Humpty...But to be fair, every game is different. At CMU, it was important to play McNees...yeserday I did not get that vibe. His shot was off and when the ball stops going in the hole, the offense seems to get stagnant with him at the point.What hasn't happened this year is KD playing all three guards! Humpty, McNess and Roberts...As CK mentioned, discussing the ebb and flow of the game is fun. It's not a criticism of KD. Bottom line, if a player plays as KD expects him to, he will get the minutes. If not, KD takes advantage of the free substitution rule and makes a change. (I wonder if Caleb would coach any different with this rule in soccer)I did see an awfully athletic OU team yesterday. Heck, I thought Bardo gave us three great minutes- stopping Cooper from penetrating so deep and boxing out preventing any more offensive rebounds..I thought he deserved more minutes down the stretch..

Agree. Depth worked in our favor yesterday, along with 17 missed free throws..But I ask, who is the best team in the MAC East, the first place team or the last place team?I know one thing, if OU got to play a 3 on 3 , 20 minute game with one time out, they would dominate the MAC..After watching yesterday, there is no way CMU has the best backcourt in the MAC, OU does hands down...And to think that one of the MAC's finest officials is also a lead NFL official...How does he sleep at night?

Was it me or was Frenchy doing a lot of complaining last night? He better be careful with the complaining ... It seems like he forgot all about the EMU game a week earlier...Finally, an opponent did the crapping for once...A very nice recovery after going down 11. McNees was huge brining the deficit back to only 6. Then is was game on...Way to weather the storm and then make it a game!And a superb final three minutes....

Hell LeBron's entourage alone could fill the jar.Lebron hasn't done a damn thing other than giving us some free shoes...FSU (free shoes university) here we come....

That's a two-way street! Sure, it would be nice if the Columbus Beacon Journal dug deep into UA sports and actually published them on the front page of the sports page.But does UA really want them to? And how much will they really cooperate?

Humpty aka the black hole? I think he plays Humpty plenty. At least McNees can hold his own on defense. I think the last thing KD need to do is play Humpty more.I disagree. Humpty is the one guy that has the ability to lead us to a MAC championship. The last three games have proven that.Has he had some awful shooting performances? yes. Is he inconsistent? yes.But everyone has had their problems.The last three games proved just how valuable Humpty is. We were awful on Monday while Humpty sat out. We were lights out on Wednesday and Humpty was terrific. And today he led us in scoring....As I said in December...Humpty and Nic would get the lions share of the minutes at their positions. The other seven would have to earn the other minutes.I do like that the rotation has been reduced to nine guys that last few games....A very nice win after letting the victory slip up, up and away in regulation.We score 26 points in 20 minutes in the second half and then score 15 in 5 minutes in OT...Hmmm..

He was one of Ianello's ND recruits....Sorry, that was Notre Dame College....

No. Dambrot is wrong.Dambrot ALWAYS whines about the fans, and attendance. After almost every game he grouses about the people that AREN'T in the seats, rather than appreciating the fans that ARE in the seats. When his team goes in the crapper, he grouses that "all the fans think we stink anyhow." But they don't. Dambrot wants to paint a "It's us against everyone!" picture. F*ck that.I race home for these weekday games, pick up my son from school, get him fed and dressed, wife gets home from work in Cleveland and hurriedly gets changed into her Zips gear. We take our 25-30min drive down to Akron, walk two blocks in 11degree weather to enter a steaming JAR and support the Zips Basketball Program. Dambrot takes that for granted. He preaches tough love to his players, but if a fan wants to express some tough love towards the program...well...then EVERYONE MUST be against him.Yesterday the team put on a listless performance, losing to a team they are eminently capable of beating. In the past two full games, the Zips have barely given the fans a reason to leave their seat (to cheer) during the game. What fun is that? Players are getting suspended. We got SMOKED by K.e.n.t. These last few weeks have pretty much sucked for all but those fans with the last name of Dambrot. You know what? If you express dissatisfaction with that, you probably care about the program. FOR SHAME! But - Us fans are all terrible. We need to put on our hair shirt and repent for days-on-end if we say the team is underachieving.Dambrot needs to realize the love goes both ways. Dambrot needs to realize their are a ton of fans busting their ass, speeding their families through all sorts of crappy NE Ohio weather, to support his team. Fans that are paying $15.00ea, or more, for multiple tickets per game. And those fans get crapped on after every home post game press conference.I'm tired of Dambrot hating on the fans. Fix your issues on the court and the fans will meet your expectations.Quit taking one fan and generalizing that ALL fans are That Guy, because it is ridiculous. You think you're motivating your players by telling them "it's us against the world." But you're just embedding a false impression that fosters dissension.I attend all the games. I'll call a spade a spade if we play listlessly or well. I'll celebrate if we win the MAC tourney, and I'll be pissed if we lose to K.e.n.t. by 20 in the MAC quarterfinals. If you handle it differently, good for you. But you're a no better fan than me, or anyone else, for doing so.Amen. Thank goodness I didn't hear his post game comments. What a bunch of garbage! Yea, rip on the fans.Fans aren't allowed to complain? Are we back in T-Ball? Coach the team for free, play with a team full of walkons, with free admission, then I would agree... If the coaches can get pissed, and take losses personally, so can I. I've been around UA as long as he has...

In the standings but not at the bank.I think Saturday's game scared away a few hundred people from ever attending another Zips basketball game.I would guess that most of the reason for the bigger crowd on Saturday was due to the Hall of Fame inductions. How about free tickets!!!

I like this topic. I don't think there is a wrong answer. How many Zips fans went to the Zips bowl appearance vs Memphis? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Gonzaga in the NCAAs last year? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Virginia in the soccer national title game? Not really apples to apples due to the geographical proximity, but you get the point.I agree. I love the question, I just wouldn't answer it.I was at all three. I had completely different emotions at each.The bowl game was somewhat anticlimactic after the miracle win over NIU, although very enjoyable.Going to see the Zips vs. Gonzaga was like a ten ton weight (and 23 years) was lifted off my back.Watching the Zips in the national title game was the most intense, nerve racking, two hours ever. You felt that if we gave up even one goal during the game you would probably lose, so you were on the edge of year seat the entire game...and then to lose like we did...Well, sometimes life just sucks...

Agree.But when does this get corrected? Four games now where we are playing decent ball, only to go scoreless for long stretches.. I understand it happens to everyone...even the number one team in the nation. UT was putting it to UConn, only to get outscored 15-0 and lose big.I didn't see the Buffalo game, but yesterday's second half play is a real concern. Not only did we go scoreless, the players acted as if they haven't played together before. Turnovers, bad shots, too much dribbling and when Zeke was in, the decision making on whether to take the shot or pass to Zeke was terrible..Still cannot develop a go to guy to take and make a shot that will stop the run. KD called timeout down 12 and our play continued to be awful and the deficit grew to 20. Make a couple shots and get the deficit to 6 or 8 and maybe we have a different ballgame. We are offensively challenged as a team, unless the threes are going in.Making four three pointers in a game will probably never be enough...to win.Someone, please post an ABP on Brett McKnight's offense...we need his scoring....

That's really strange. I almost re-posted the football scoop link this morning because it clearly said (at that time) Luke was returning to Pitt as a grad assistant. I see now where the wording has been changed from Pitt to Akron.LinkAs of Thursday-1/21/10 the officail word was that Luke is going to Pitt as a GA.

CSU is down THIS YEAR, but Waters track record points towards that being a temporary thing. Bullsh!t. Find a way to make it happen. This isn't finding peace between the Palestinians and the Jews. This is scheduling a freaking basketball game. UA needs to make this happen. If it involves biting their tongue and starting the negotiations fresh, then so be it. Hiding behind the "Until Gary Waters honors the contract..." excuse has run it's course for me. I want CSU on our schedule every year. Home/Home. Do it Tom.Tom - If you want me to do it, I'll make the phone calls. The offer is extended.Not only do I wnat them on the schedule, I would be in favor of playing them twice a year--once at Wolstein and once at the JAR. I bet we would get more than the 2900 we've been getting..