Zip Watcher

That might be 3 in a row at the MACC for BG. I'm certain it's at least 2.

Super easy to get to. Plan on 2:15 from UA.Go N on I77 to the OH TurnpikeTake the Turnpike (I80) West to I75 (I think it's exit 59, but it's well marked for I75).Take I75 south about 20 minutes to Bowling Green.Follow the signs. The arena is somewhat near the center of campus.After the game (or before) .. ask someone how to get to Jed's downtown .. go get some fireballs (trust me).

I'm down with this. Not into shooting myself .. but I think it's cool to have a few 'non-traditional" sports. It's definitely old-school stuff. Like lacrosse or something. Hope they have a nice season.

OK I think I've settled down enough to post some thoughts on last night's game.Game Thoughts:- Props to OU for hanging in there early and gutting it out at the end. They got it done defensively, plain and simple. A win they needed to have, and they got it. Not pretty offensively, but enough. Nice work.- Quickness of OU was obvious and a strength for the kittens. I don't think however that it was something the Zips couldn't overcome. They just didn't. - Not the best performance by UA in just about any regard. I thought they looked loose and confident on defense early, and the middle of the game, they were solid. At the end, say the last 5-8 minutes, they simply STOPPED attacking the basket. Not too many opportunities presented themselves when the Zips had 5 guys standing on the perimeter while a guard dribbled the ball 40' away from the rim. No real chance at offensive glass in that situation.- Defensively, the first 10 minutes were good, and the remainder looked pretty disorganized, which is unusual for a KD team. OU found it easy in the last 2/3rds of the game to penetrate and dish to Leon inside for easy baskets. Early on, the Zips did a good job on the help and denying the entry, but later on, there wasn't much interference for OU to contend with. Their baskets were often times way too easy.- Late in the game, my cable must have gotten fuzzy because I could swear I saw 3 or 4 possessions of Andre Sims dribbling out the first 25 seconds of the shot clock near the time line. That couldn't have been Dru Joyce .. must have been Sims. Strange thing to be doing when you're trailing in the game.- If everyone is at the perimeter, even when a guy drives and draws a double team, is there anyone there to drop it off to for an open look? Generally not, and that hurt the Zips last night.- Williams had 4 fouls late in the game & was never challenged in the paint on defense. He was never in danger of fouling out. The Zips never went after him.- Zips struggled as a whole with the unforced errors. 16 turnovers are a ton to overcome on the road.- As a whole, I thought the backcourt had a tough night. It won't happen often that all 3 guys struggle. This must then be related to OU & the fact that they did a nice job defending.- Anyone else notice that very little good happened on offense when Linhart wasn't in the game? More on NL below.- You can't convince me that letting Joyce go 1 on 3 and throw up an off-balanced runner was our best offensive option, against zone or man, late in the game. That's pretty much what they did the last 2 minutes of the game. I don't know if it was because no one else was moving away from the ball, or it was the called play, but it was painful to watch.- This was a winnable game on the road. Would have been nice to get this one, but OU wanted it more, and defended to prove it. This was a game the Zips could have won with Defense and Discipline .. and near the end of the game I thought they had neither. These teams appear to be evenly matched. They have vastly different strengths, but as teams, they're pretty close .. final score would back that up.Thoughts on the Coverage:- I guess there's a reason that Bob Donewald isn't coaching in the MAC.- I hope our ONN crew of Phelps & Co. don't come off as bad as these OU guys. They probably do, but I hope not. After the first 15 minutes, my wife insisted we get French & Dunn on and use the DVR to sync them up with the video on ONN. The announcers added nothing of value for me watching the game. Someone in the OZone needs to slip the play by play guy a note that he doesn't need to yell into his mic all the time. The sound guys can help with that.- Video coverage was crappy too. At least 4 steals or baskets were missed because we were looking at the OZone (nice section by the way) or some cheerleader who shouldn't be baring the midriff and should probably not watch the replay of this game.- Generally, it was nice that it was on .. but some times the production work made me wish it wasn't on. Very hard to watch a close game with Larry, Daryll and Daryll screwing around with the Zoom and camera controls.General Team Related Notes:- King Zip said it well, as did KD: Losing Jimmy and JWood for the year set this team back a ton. A little more size in there last night and the Zips could have fouled out Leon, which would have impacted the outcome.- I think that Romeo could be a GREAT MAC player, but right now he's average at best. In some ways, he's taking a step backwords this season. Way too much time is spent telling the refs what calls they're missing. That time could be sent destroying oponents in the paint. I have another rant on how he can be MAC MVP .. maybe I'll post it later.- I like the season Futch is having. I think he's progressing and is having a solid year to followup last season.- Aside from last night, I think Cedric is most improved and the biggest impact carryover guy.- Linhart might be the best basketball player on the team. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to Nate for lack of confidence after the Denison game. We stuck around to see him and Rybak play extended minutes, and I'll admit that I wasn't optimistic about the frosh class after that game. Nate, you've proved me wrong ... way wrong. By the end of the year, this guy will be one of the keys to the success of this team.- Can't just keeps winning. They must be the best in the league to go and win in Dekalb and Miami. Zips aren't at this point .. we saw that last night. They're a good team that should put up a good fight for a bye. They won't win every game, but they should be in position to do so every night.- Last night's game was probably the toughest game situation of the season (even the rest of the way). I think going to Can't is a little better because of the proximity and having some Zips fans in the place. I have a gut feeling Oxford will be tough, but not like this. The issues will be different against MU. Athleticism probably won't be the biggest problem.- That's all for now .. back on the horse on Thursday to try and keep pace, since I give UB no shot at beating Can't.- Geeze .. just looked at how long this is. If you've read this far, you need a job or hobby. Thanks for reading about mine.

What Pouch said.The injury occured in the first half against OU at home last season. There was no cheap shot involved on the play .. in fact there wasn't even a foul. 2 guys going hard for a board & JW came down wrong.$*IT happens.

JP, you might be on to something, but we're talking about 2 different seasons. The team that knocked of Toledo (ranked 17th? at the time) was Ball's sophomore year (Bosley's first) I think. The quitters were 2 years later.

GraffZ06, a member over in the litterbox, did some digging and analyzing of current stats in the MAC. He describes a productivity index that takes into consideration all tracked statistics to judge a teams (and players) productivity on the court.I think this is a very interesting train of thought .. and I hope it's a telling statistic for tonight and the rest of the season.Clicky the Linky

The only real possiblility I can imagine is back during the year of the quitters. That season, they started the MAC season 8-1 and were running away with the league until they took a crap mentally and finished 3-7 in their last 10 games.Outside chance there was a vote there, but I'm guesing and talking out of my GoZips! Let's get another at the Convo. And get some help from Miami.

If I could see what they look like, I'd offer thoughts, but without jacking my resolution to 640x480, I'm not really sure what I think.

1 vote in the coaches poll as well.Time to go out and have a strong week.

Nice post bobcatt & welcome to the Nation. All anyone can do is wait for it (if anything) to come to light. Otherwise it's all speculation at this point.

The RSS is feasible. I've found a modification to the Invision board that makes that work. I can't tell you when that will happen, but it's now officially on my list.Unfortunately, a lot happening now .. I'll get to these improvements soon.Thanks for the input.ZW

What he said there about recruiting sounds strong to me. UA needs a guy who's been living in and around the college cup .. and all 4 of these guys seem to have done that a lot recently.

I can say with confidence that noone's ever seen that phrase in print.Nice poetry! I hereby nominate CK as the first ever ZipsNation Poet Laureate.

I've got full confidence in KD. Both his coaching and recruiting.I'm not going to be surprised to see these guys (Linhart & Rybak) develop into John Reimold types down the road. We've got some good athletes on this team. Don't forget about Cedric .. and please don't dismiss Jimmy .. he'll be a Zips star. But you need to have BASKETBALL players in there too. Athletes don't always make a winning team. Linhart's a ball player, and I think we'll all be thrilled if he turns into a Reimold or Yost down the road.Trust in KD. The Zips are 9-3 and just getting started. This is YEAR 2!

I have to agree with CK .. Peterson was clutch as a freshmen .. as was Wood.Ball as a frosh was pretty solid.Andy as a freshman was crazy though. I remember thinking after he made Marshall or someone look crazy at the JAR that we were looking at the first real chance at an NBA player from UA in a long time. He could have been awesome. What a matchup nightmare he was early on. That damn game at Western Kentucky will always be one of THE darkest days as a Zips BB fan for me. Hands down.Damn shame .. he had anticipation and vision that you don't see too often.

I think that's a VERY important point that most of us are overlooking during our FB induced haze at the moment. Go check out the Convo at CSU for a game this year. Bring a friend.Hell, bring 8,000 friends, they'll all be able to find a seat.Even when the thing is full, it's an average home court as far as home court advantage goes.I'd much prefer a re-do to the Jar to eliminate the corner posts and bring the upper seating closer in, and maybe bring capacity up to about 7,500 or 8k. I know this is easier to write than to pull off, but I'd rather have a JAR that is full and is a crazy band box than a new gym that doesn't fill but for some big games against Can't State, Miami, OU and maybe BG.Let's get a new FB stadium built, and then take care of the JAR when the dust settles. Fact is, if the JAR is full (6k) of Zips fans .. it's a good homecourt advantage. It can be improved and be a great home venue. We don't need (and I don't want) a big cavernous BB arena.

He's eligible after completing 1 full academic year at OU. Since they're on quarters with that early start in the fall, he can play as soon as grades are posted in november. He shouldn't miss more than a few games next season for them. He threw away over 20 games of his college career by transferring mid-year. Doing it at the end of the year would have allowed him to play the full slate and then play 2 complete after he transferred. As it is now, next year will be his Junior season, and he'll have most of 2 seasons at the convo. OU fan seems prety pumped about this over at bobcatattack.com.FYI, on the year thus far, Bryan Hipsher is averaging more rebounds and about the same number of steals as Bubba was here, in almost exactly the same amount of minutes. This might be a huge loss defensively.

I'm with GP on this one. :macc:

Nice poll, GP .. funny stuff.I don't have a strong opinion on this one, since this game wasn't on in my house yesterday. I'm pretty sure the best outcome if I was watching the game would be a power outage that cancelled the game, and a holdup that prevented both teams from getting their payouts.I did see this girl on Cold Pizza last week though ... one of my boys calls 2-1 odds this chick ends up dropping her clothes for a skin mag in the next 2 years. Seems a bit like a glory hound to me.IMHO, about the only thing less interesting than this game would have been if Can't State was involved somehow. There were no winners on that field. ND OSU Can't State IU UMass.... I guess I have a long list.Go Zips! ----> :macc:

Agreed and well put! Sort of like Temple in the A10 generally.

I have a group of 10 or so that will be congregating at the Detroit Beer Company starting around 2:30 or so. Heading out now .. see you all! Go Zips

I'm friends with one of his daughters. This was an extremely unexpected passing. The Link Wednesday, December 21, 2005 Alana Baranick Plain Dealer Reporter Peninsula - John A. Lahoski, a Peninsula businessman and North Pole Express elf, collapsed Monday evening while lighting luminaria on the Ohio 303 bridge across the Cuyahoga River. Lahoski, 63, had been helping his wife, Judith, decorate the Peninsula bridge for the holidays by lighting the candles that stand in open, sand-filled pa per bags. "Then he was going to go down and be an elf for the evening," his wife said. Lahoski, who ran Terry Lumber and Peninsula Hardwoods in Peninsula, was taken to Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. "It must have been a heart attack," his wife said. For the last 12 Christmas seasons, Lahoski's lumber and hardware business morphed into the North Pole for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad's holiday train. Now called the North Pole Express, it was known as the Polar Express before the Chris Van Allsburg story of the same name was made into a motion picture last year and created copyright problems. The Express, like its fictional counterpart, carries pajama-clad, cocoa-sipping, cookie-eating youngsters and their parents from boarding sites in Independence and Akron through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. Lahoski, dressed as Santa's white-bearded, lantern-carrying chief elf, greeted tiny tots with their eyes all aglow and noses pressed against the windows as the train pulled up. "When you see those little faces, it tells you something about Christmas," Lahoski told The Plain Dealer in 2003. "It gives you strength to believe in some of the things that have gone by the wayside." The North Pole Express made its final run of the 2005 season Tuesday night. The annual attraction is so popular that tickets for the November-December runs are sold by lottery in September. Order forms for the 2006 North Pole Express lottery will be available in August, according to the railroad's Web site: www.cvsr.com. Lahoski, born in Boston Township, was a longtime resident of Peninsula. He chaired commissions in the 1980s and 1990s that unsuccessfully sought to merge the two communities in which he had lived his entire life. He graduated from Boston Township High School and the University of Akron, where he excelled in football. Primarily a fullback, he rushed for 766 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Zips as a senior. He also made an impression as a linebacker. He had the distinction of being named All-Ohio Conference running back and linebacker his senior year. Lahoski received Akron's James Horrigan Award for Male Athlete of the Year for 1963-64 and was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame in 1976. He was a teacher and head football coach at Woodridge High School in Peninsula for many years. He left the classroom and the football field in 1981 to join his wife's father, Terry Montaquila, in the family business. In addition to his wife of 39 years, survivors include his daughters, Lori Reagan of Broadview Heights and Beth Jimenez of Spain; sons, Terry and John J., both of Peninsula; seven grandchildren; a sister; and two brothers. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, 6034 South Locust St., Peninsula 44264. Donations may be made to the church; the Terry Montaquila Fund, P.O. Box 216, Peninsula 44264; and Peninsula Village-Valley Fire District, Peninsula 44264. Arrangements are by Johnson-Romito Funeral Home of Hudson.

My thoughts exactly Z-P. I hope they use their brains and make UAM the Senior Associate Athletic Director WIth Thick Wallet. There's room for both of these guys here for awhile, but I would have like to see UAM here long haul.

Check out the following from the Fort Worth Star Telegram: They have great facilities and they put players in the NFL! Read the kid's quotes, and you'll see that he sees UA as a real move towards playing on Sunday. Interesting line of thinking. :macc: