Zip Watcher

For me, it's been a combination of 2 things. The job's got me running around a lot these days. Was able to get the standby flight back this afternoon to be here in time for tip-off. So I've got that going for me .. which is nice. I also think there's something to what zipper says. The Nation is far from sleeping right now. Check out the number of users on the main board .. hits and activity are way up over the past 2 weeks. I think it's kindof the calm before the storm .. I can feel the drumbeats coming. I speak with several members of the Nation nearly daily & the excitement is building. I expect a full house tonight. With that aside, here are my PREGAME thoughts for the Miami game: - We will learn yet more about this team tonight. Are they a young team that's ready to contend now for a league title? Or are they on a roll & unaware of any urgency of big games like this. We won't know the final answer until March, but this team lies somewhere in the middle of being a young agressive team still learning to win or being a great defensive team with title potential. - I fully expect to see something similar to what Can't State employed to slow down the Zips. Long halfcourt sets and fewer possessions (& shots) than usual. That seems to be the best way to keep UA in check. OU didn't know that & it got them killed. Charlie Coles knows what's up. Should be intense. Expecting a slowdown game from MU, I think this game hinges on 2 things: 1. Can the Zips contain Horace and stay close in the rebounding battle on the defensive glass? Keeping Miami away from easy putbacks and second chance points will be key. The Redhawks will shoot late in the clock and the Zips need to keep them from getting easy junk. Horace killed them in Oxford .. needs to be curtailed a bit better tonight. If I remember riight, Futch was ill that Saturday. A key to the game is Futch and Preston committing to hitting the glass HARD! 2. Can the Zips turn them over a bit and get some easy baskets themselves? I confess to being a marginal MAC fan in not knowing how deep Miami is, but running at them will go to UA's strength. Theyr'e not going to let us have 60 shots tonight. But every easy one we do get will help. - Balance from McFadden & Bubba outside will help. Just play hard .. commit to the D and everything will be good tonight. Go ZIps!!

Right, That's why I said BZ, and not Big Zip .. you are 2 different posters ..

BZ, The thread was deleted due to the unnecssary amount of personal attacks against you.

Some additional thoughts: - This was a GOOD win. Beating a team like Niagara when the game doesn't really matter for anything other than NIT possibilities says a lot about the even keel this team has been on. NU is a solid club, with at least 2 or 3 MAC level guys. No surprise to me that they're winning the MAAAAAC. MAAAAC teams have been known to cause problems in the first round of NCAA's (see Manhattan in recent years). NU ought to be no different. - The foul shot differential was something I've never seen happen to a home team. The first thought would be to put it all at the feet of the MAAC refs (the visiting team's conference reffed all the Bracket Buster Games today). They're certainly more familiiar with Mendez and what his game usually generates, and don't know that Romeo is "supposed to get all the calls." I think there's something to this theory .. but maybe only a little something. My obervation during the game was that UA wasn't as agressive going inside as NU was, and some of the fouls drawn were inside. The fact that Travis, Futch and Milum had the bulk of the fouls bears this out. - No matter what, the Zips got it done in the face of some foul adversity & with their leading dressed player ineffective much of the night. That's a sign of a good team. While Mendez and Brooks were very good .. the Zips were simply a better, bigger, quicker team tonight. Good win. - McFadden continues his run to finish up strong. I'm pumped he's playing this well. Aside from the fact that my kid had JUST fallen asleep when RM hit the shot late to put a fork in NU .. great shot, great effort .. nicely done Rick! - I still think Middleton can play. He needs to go to the rack and not settle for the outside shots & he'll be fine. HIs defense hasn't suffered during the recent offensive troubles. - Futch can get you angry and then make you glad he's there .. all within 10 seconds. I think Matt is making strides to be more agressive and go at the basket. He certainly seems to be interested in going to the glass on defense, and that helped tonight. - Ditto what CK said about KD's post game interviews. Also, my compliment to Joe Dunn for stepping up his postgame efforts in the past few games .. last night he asked a couple of questions and got out of the way for KD to talk. I think it's good they didn't get into 5 minutes of talk about the refs .. it didn't matter. The refs just kept this game from being a 25 point blowout. - I continue to feel pretty good about this team and its future. Not sure what the next 4 games will hold, but I have to think that 2-2 or 3-1 are within reach. 3-1 gets you a bye .. or maybe the division. Big game on Wednesday. MU looked pretty good on TV this afternoon. Win this and look for some help from BG later in the week and then the division title is in play. - I've got my name on the priority seating list for the Gund, do YOU? I should be bringing about 16 or 20 Zips fans to the tourney this year. Really looking forward to it. Go Zips!!

I think this game should be an exciting thing to watch. Sort of wierd, given that it has no bearing on the conference race that they're in. Do you get Milum, Goddard .. etc. some minutes to shake the rust off for the stretch run? The defense has been strong & I expect nothing different tomorrow. In fact, given the difference in leagues played in, I'm expecting the UA D to be successful in putting on the clamps. I'm not sure this would help get an at-large NCAA bid, but I do think a win tomorrow and a strong finish and run in the MAC tourney will help get KD & the boys into the NIT to practice for the big run they'll make in the big dance in '06. Go Zips!

Well, I hit the ground last night & got paged with a pretty good halftime score. Almost put my car into the center barrier on 480 when I read the halftime score: 39-15 :blink: :blink: Was hoping that they'd keep it close and steal it at the end, but that worked for me too. Listened to the second half (or about the last 16) & have some thoughts: - 15-0 Start. Anyone know if they started in zone or man? I'm wondering if KD brought out the secret sauce at the beginning. Great start. - 69 points is not a lot for this team. To win by 20 when you score 10 less than your season average says a lot about what kind of defense you're playing. - Nice balance .. multiple guys in double figs .. nobody over 16? Seems like a team win all around. - Anyone else notice that in all of the topics that OU fans have going to discuss the game, either at macBBS or at the litter box, there is no mention or credit given to the fact that Akron might have come prepared and played well. It's all about TOS and how OU missed some shots. No credit to the team that just kicked their asses on their home floor. That's the biggest difference I see between the litter box and sites like this, MiamiHawkTalk, BSUFans and AyZiggyZoomba .. in the litter box, it's only about the crap their sitting in, and not so much about why they might have crapped on themselves. - That was a HUGE win .. and now Wednesday night will help even more. If you look at Miami's schedule, they have a few tough ones left, so a win on Wed. puts some pressure on them and keeps the East in play. A Miami win assures them a tie for the East titile. - Looking forward to Niagra .. sounds like they like to get up and down the court. I look at this as a way to start helping position the Zips for an NIT bid. The RPI isn't going to get real high, but a strong finish around 18 or 19 wins would go a long way to playing in the NIT, and that would be a great experience for this club in this first season under KD. Great win guys! Nicely done KD! Go Zips!

These were my thoughts THIS MORNING .. traveling today and just now have internet access .. figured I would post them anyway. --- Thinking about the game tonight as I ride a bird to Boston. I picked up an ABJ in the airport for $0.25 to check out the pregame coverage and maybe see some standings after last night's games .. should have bought a gumball instead. What a waste. My thoughts: - This is a real opportunity to put a firm grasp on a home game and line themselves up nicely for the bye. A sweep of OU would further the Zips' strength in the tie-break department. Would put us alone in 3rd in the conference I think also .. correct? - Might be the biggest game of the past several years. I say that as I think that we'll probably observe the same thing 2 more times this year. It's nice to see this team playing strong at this time of year and not "limping" home. With 5 to play, the Zips control their own destiny .. would like to see them go out and get some of it tonight. - Style of play shouldn't be too much of an advantage either way tonight. OU fan thinks they can run at the Zips and have the Zips get tired and get blown out. OU fan clearly hasn't seen KD's version of the Zips yet. Even without DP tonight .. they'll go pretty deep tonight. Even after the OT game, I think they should be ok for tonight. Punch and cookies will help. To me, a run and gun game plays to the Zips' strength. - Should be an intense atmosphere .. OU has been rolling and still has the home record intact. This would be an enormous win if the Zips can get out with it. What will OU fan have to scream about if there aren't any Hipshers there to badger? I guess we'll find out. - I love that KD called out the folks around here that questioned his postgame comments from the Can't game. Nicely done KD. We're with you! - Can McFadden continue his stretch of strong appearances tonight? If DP doesn't go, we'll need it. Rick's turning his early season around nicely. - Futch and Preston played well against OU on Black Sunday .. and they each had flushes of strong play on Monday night. Good nights from them go a long way to making the Zips 9-5 tonight. - This MAC season has been the craziest I can remember since the Zips arrived. March should be an interesting time. I'm hoping none of the bottom 4 make it to the Gund. If 8 of the top 9 are there, it might be the best tournament in the country this year. - Big game in the West tonight also. Do we want BGSU or Ball State? I think BG since they beat OU & Can't and still have a chance to knock off Miami. Not sure if BS has played OU yet. Seems to me we'd like BGSU to run the table in the West to sew up tie-breakers, and maybe knock Miami down a game. Been out of touch network wise all day, but I'll be hitting the ground in CTown tonight around halftime, so I'm really hoping to get a happy page with the halftime score from CSN. The Zips have been in every game and I think tonight will be no different .. being in games late and believing in the defense will win lots of games in conference play. DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS! Go ZIPS!

It might be tight, but maybe this would work. I did some digging and found a couple of links. First, the Seagate center, where the MAC tourney was held. It's a 75000 seat room when all the Halls are used, as they were then. The seating was temporary & the court was arranged horizontally on the floorplan shown. My recollection was that there were large unused areas behind both endzone sections. It sat somewhere in the neighborhood of 9000 for the basketball games I think. Here's a Link: Former home of the MAC Tourney Second, the John S. Knight center in Akron. I found this on their webpage (& I dare you to find that page on google), and here's a verbal description of the exhibit hall, quoting from their site: And an image of the floorplans is located on this page: Click Here if you don't feel like working! There aren't real dimensions indicated, but from some scaling in an image program, I'd estimate that the space is about 164' X 182' .. with 30' ceilings as said above (more on that later). So if a court is 94' by 50' and you assume an 8' buffer around the court for benches & scoring tables .. etc, you're left with a space of 110' by 66' that is used up by the court. I would arrange the court across the room as shown on the image, so that more rows could be fit along the sidelines. So what does that leave us? On the sidelines there would be 58' on each side for retractable bleachers. By my rough estimate a row of bleachers is about 3' front to back and 1' high (totally guessing here). This would fit about 20 rows per side for 40 sideline rows. The sideline rows would extend beyond the court limits laterally, but leave about 15' at each end for exits & traffic .. this gives a row width of 130' Subtract about 12' for aisle space (3 aisle per side) and we're left with 118' of width for asses and 40 total rows. On the ends, there would be 27' on each end, leaving room for about 9 rows in each endzone. The width of the end seating would be the same as the court - 50' and there would be one center aisle, so we're left with 44' of ass space and 18 rows. So the total amount of ass space in the place would be approximately: 118*40 + 44*18 = 5512' of sitting space So now you ask: "ZW how wide is an ass? How does that relate to people?" My guess is that bleechers are generally sized at about 18" per seat. So that would leave a seating capacity of 3674 in the JSK Center for basketball. - There is also the issue of celing height. And while the bleachers would clear things pretty easily, I wonder what the minimum height needs to be to play basketball. 30' ? IS that enough? The track at the JAR is 22 cinderblocks above the court level (don't ask why I counted them last night) That would be about 22' above the court. Is the bottom of the scoreboard more than 8' above the track? Is it 30' off the court? Not sure here. Seems like it would be a band box, but how many games have we had more than 3500 at the JAR in the past few seasons. I think something like this would be manageable for part of one season. Could the job on the JAR be completed in 10 months? Perhaps start it on March 3rd and wrap it up by the end of the calendar year, leaving most of the MAC season to be played in the renovated gym? Seems like a reach to me .. might need more time. As I finish this drain on my work productivity, I find myselve thinking .. why not just put a temporary setup in the new Athletics complex. Again try to minimize it's requirements to a handful of games or half a season, but there's tons of room in there & if you could work around the track & football schedules, maybe it could be done?? That's probably the largest inside space anywhere around.

I've never been in the building, but is the Knight Center big enough to make a bushleague little gym out of it for a season? If you ever went to the MAC tourney at the Seagate center when it was there, it was nothing more than an open room with some retractable seats. You don't need too big of a room to have 5000 temporary seats. Again, I haven't been in the Knight Center, but I imagine it must have a big common convention floor that might do the trick. I'll have to look into it. I like the idea of having some old school games at Memorial .. what did that hold anyway? We could schedule the biggest games there so that there would be people on top of the court .. and nary an empty seat!

What he said!! I concur also. It would be nice if they could use a copy editor with internet access to check Pluto's work in the future. Memo to Terry: 1. The story is only a quiet one because the local paper that's all of 1 mile (if that) from the JAR doesn't cover the local team. If it's a quiet story ... it has a little to do with your paper. Printing the wrong coupons and ads doesn't help make it louder either. 2. Peterson is JUNIOR! 3. The seniors on this team are: Mario Collins Nick Meyers Rick McFadden. Get to know them. Maybe interview one of them for the first time before they graduate this year. Please make a note of it! GoZips!

To my knowledge there was a brief outtage in the AM (maybe around 9 am?) but I was able to access the board each time I tried during the day. Did many people have troubles???

Nice win that the Zips had to have at home. Gotta hold serve at home. Some brief thoughts before I turn in for the night: - I would categorize this as an UGLY win. A win's a win, but there were opportunities to blow this game open .. and those chances were blown by trying to make a difficult pass when the passer had a good look at the hoop already. Turnovers on interior passing in the 2nd half almost cost the Zips a win. - Was this Rick McFadden's best ever game as a Zip? Gotta hand it to him .. that's what a captain should do .. go out and hustle and lead the team to victory. I think he's played quite well the past 2 or 3 games. Nice to see him upping his game. Hope to see hiim finish out his career strongly. Nice work Rick. - I thought that for BRIEF STRETCHES both Preston and Futch showed that they can be effective contributors to this team. I think both of them were at a small peak around the time of the Ball State game & lately have been a bit off. But in the middle of the 2nd half, Preston was huge with a couple of blocks & rebounds. Late in the game, Futch had a key basket and some big rebounds on the defensive side. Rob's tip on the loose pass late in the game was key. Nice game fellas .. looking foward to seeing you both continue to put it together. - When Rob is able to knock down an early three, I think he presents a huge matchup dificulty for the other team defensively. He can blow by big guys off the dribble and shoot over most forwards .. If Rob can get his defense together & commit to the hustle and rotations .. he could be a player. - Romeo continues to improve every night. He's now surpassed Ryan Andrick in my list of the most improved players from one season to the next in recent Zips history. We look forward to seeing him every game because he really brings it. Anyone else notice that he's been able to keep his fouls under control and still be agressive inside? Improvements are visible game to game now. That's what I've got for now. The Zips now sit 2 games back of Miami in the 2nd spot in the East and 3rd overall for the MAC seedings. They control their own destiny for a home game or first round bye. Next one is huge because it will seal up another tiebreaker. The tiebreaks are looking good for the Zips right now and a win on Wednesday would go even further. 8-5 with 5 to play. 11 or 12 isn't out of reach. Go Zips!!

2/3rds of the way through the MAC season, sitting at 7-5. 6 games to go, 3 at home and 3 away. Big one tonight that needs to be won. Some thoughts: - Zips now sit 7th overall in the MAC seedings. A win tonight puts them back in 3rd place, with a bye to the Gund due to tiebreakers. A win tonight would really help the tiebreaking game in any route, as they'd really be in good shape against most of the teams they're bound to be tied with. Wins against BSU and BGSU may end up to be huge before this is all over. - Went to the Can't State / BGSU game on Saturday and watched Can't State waste any advantage they had gained by winning on Wednesday night. The game against BG confirmed my thoughts that the UA game was among the flushes best defensive efforts of the year. They weren't nearly as sharp on Saturday. -- If the rumors are true about DP & MC, then the Zips will need a nice showing from Cedric tonight. I think he's got it in him, but we'll need a strong defensive effort to counteract the loss of MC. As for DP, I think Preston will need to be the guy to step up and knock down some shots. - Have the last 5 days gone anywhere in helping convince Futch that the paint is where he needs to be? - I've only seen UT 2 times this year (both on TV) and I would guess that they won't be trying too hard to force a slow-down game like Can't State did. Zips should be able to get out and run tonight. That should help set up the press. I have to like the matchup. UT is tough and did beat us last month, but it was a roadie & the first game w/o JWood. - A recommittal by Preston & Futch to hit the glass and win the rebounding margin would go a long way tonight to sealing up the win. - The next 2 games (UT & OU) are HUGE for seeding in the MAC. Win these 2 and the Zips really put themselves in solid position for a home game and can start thinking about that bye to the Gund. Both OU and UT are going to be in the mix of a log jam for the 3-8 seeds .. Going a combined 3-1 against them will pay big dividends. Get the game tonight! - Again, I look for the KD defense to cause troubles for UT. Every team so far has been stumped by that one particular set he likes to run. I don't think anyone has solved it yet .. hopefully they won't need it too much tonight. - Hope to see a big crowd tonight. Wednesday gave everyone a reason to come back again. Can't State wasting their advantage on Saturday helps also. - The Zips have been in EVERY game this year late with opportunities to win, and I expect nothing different tonight. - What better way to celebrate romance than a woodshed beating of the Rockets .. wouldn't that be nice? Go Zips!!

My thoughts: - From what I've seen from Can't State on TV thus far, and I admit that last night was the first time I've seen them live, that was Can't's A game defensively. Excellent effort on both sides defensively, but Can't State really came and defended the perimeter well throughout. - With the exception of Romeo & occasionally Peterson, I'm not sure any Zips player was able to free himself on his own to create a good shot. That's an indicator that this team is better than the individuals and that there is room for improvement. Can't State was a step quicker at almost every position. I did find myself wondering a little in the first time if Milum might have brought some quickness to free some stuff up ... young kid though. Goddard would have had every shot back in his face last night. - Futch fell back into his "take the 17 footer" mentality last night & it really hurt us. Can't State was successful in forcing the half court game and dictating their tempo, and we needed some big guys to pound it in and force them to defend in the paint. Other than Travis, the Zips didn't do that. Both Cutlley & Warz had 2 fouls early and they really never went after them. Pounding it in woul d have opened things up outside a bit more. This was a game where JWood was really missed (I count this as the 3rd game that he'd have made the difference in a loss - WMU & Miami the others). - Can't remember the last time I saw a team struggle this much to get open looks. Props to Can't State's D for taking Bubba and Peterson out of their games. - Romeo continues to impress .. great game by him. - In the second half, when the ZIps started their run, they went to the 1-1-3 .. maybe with about 9 minutes left? By my unofficial count, there were about 8 possessions when they used it, and Can't State never solved it. I believe 4 or 5 bad shots, a shot clock violation and some turnovers. I have to wonder why we didn't see that look earlier in the game. Similar to the other recent home games (UB, CMU, & BSU) .. it really stumped the opposition. I know that Can't State was in slow down mode, but they didn't get any good looks against the 1-1-3. - The defense and some fouls probably came about a minute or 2 late. All in all, it was a great game. Great atmosphere .. 5500 Zips fans .. wasn't that cool?! Good effort and intensity on both sides. I have no issues w/ the ref's last night, beyond the fact that they didn't give us the call when the Zips were TRYING to foul Warzinski. They hammered him and he walked .. no whistle for either infraction. I think it's telling that in a game where both teams defended well and didn't turn it over excessively, the Zips were right there last night. Can't had to work for this one .. and Akron had opportunities to make it happen. I'm not sure how much credence I give to the "big games" theory. I think there were some bounces that didn't go the Zips' way (missed layups & solid looks by RT that just didn't drop in the first half) and they didn't convert on some easy opportunities. I think an encouraging game, even in a losing effort. Losing to these guys sucks .. but we get another crack at them in a few weeks. The bottom line is that the Zips have been in EVERY game this season, with opportunities to win late. They're getting better every night. More later ... I'm going to watch the tape tonight or tomorrow I think. Go Zips!

This has to have been one of my most unproductive few days in my career. Phone ringing off the hook .. excitement building out there. There's a buzzzzz .. might not show here, but things are building up. Tonight has not come fast enough for me. Thoughts on the game: - Romeo needs to play .. stay out of foul trouble and on the floor for 25-30 minutes. - Will Can't State try to slow it down and pound it inside, or will they try and get out and press and run against the Zips? One of those approaches will get them killed tonight, IMHO. - It's been awhile since the last home game. I'm sure the team will be pumped to come home to a jam packed house. Come out loose fellas! We'll be there to keep the energy up tonight .. you just settle in and defend. - Warzinski seems to be putting up nice numbers. Looking forward to seeing what he's all about. - Anyone remember when Tarver broke Haynes' ankles at the JAR last year. Just thought of that .. highlight of last year's game. - Per macbbs, the Can't State folks seem a litle concerned. My flush buddies are talking confidence, but they seem worried about this. What do they know? - I'm feeling pretty good about tonight. Not over-confident I don't think, but I think our team is well prepared and equipped to win the big game tonight. Lots can happen this season in the MAC, but I feel good about tonight. - This type of game has taken WAYYY too long to get here. God Bless Keith Dambrot, Mike Thomas, our players and everyone who contributed to this .. (old HS & college coaches included). Only now am I realizing how much I missed having a dominant team @ UA. - If last seasons Zips could win @ home against Can't State, this team should do much better than that. The Zips are light years better than a year ago. Is Can't State better? The same? Worse? Ultimately, I think tonight is an opportunity to put the earth back on it's correct axis and restore the correct order of things in local college hoops. This is a HUGE opportunity to stake a claim to a top three seed and wake up the Nation. Let's hope it works out! Go Zips!! See you tonight & let's get it on!!! Oh yeah: DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

So you need a college degree to teach finger paints now? What program is that?

Buffalo steps up big and gets the win in Kalamazoozoozoo. I have to admit I'm surprised a bit. Not by UB winning, but more by the continued slide by the Broncos. Perhaps there's an injury that's playing a factor? Regardless, the UB/WMU game result leaves the Zips in the 3rd spot in the MAC Tourney seedings. This by tiebreaker as a result of the best record among games between the teams tied at 7-4. The importance of tonights game is clear to all of us. Hoping to see the JAR full of Zips fans .. 5500 of them. With 7 games remaining in the season, the Zips are in the driver's seat for the 3rd bye. A win over Can't State on Wednesday will pretty much seal up the tie-break with them and get us a game up. I think I'm rooting for BG & Miami to start winning out (aside from the 23rd of course). Miami wins against OU and Can't State will help further establish separation for the Zips.

Thinking about tomorrows game & the race at this point in the season: - Huge win by BGSU for us last night. I hope BG runs the table. In the tiebreakers, records against the top teams comes into play somewhere. Go Falcons. - I can't say I'm impressed much w/ OU. They looked pretty similar to what we saw a month ago in the JAR on Black Sunday. Very athletic, somewhat undiscliplined. I think a press will continue to hurt them. - Who do we root for tonight? A win by WMU pretty much sinks a nail into UB's hopes for a home game, securing it for UA and the others. Or do we root for UB because the Zips are in the hunt for a top 3 seed & we'd prefer BG or BSU to win the West (see tiebreakers above)? - Anyone else notice on the other boards that most projections by fans out there (Mollaut excluded if I remember right) have clearly not considered that the Zips might be in the hunt down the stretch. One guy has the Zips finishing 10-8 in conference. Is that reasonable? 4 more losses seem like a lot to me. In December I would have been thrilled with 10-8 & I still think it's a nice season, but this team is on the edge of much more. - There's an eerie calm around these parts and among the UA fans I've spoken to in the past few days. Sort of a quiet confidence (most people I've spoken to are somewhat confident about tomorrow night) perhaps? Maybe the calm before the storm? Trying hard not to jump on too soon? It's kind of strange ... I'm getting pumped for the game on Wednesday. - Glad to see the Padre re-surface. I guess the Pinto must not have snow rubber, so he had to drive south to avoid the nasty weather & get a good XM signal?

I concur Z.I.P.! You and I think alike. I can picture an upgraded bandbox JAR that could be tough as hell to play in as a road team. The team on the court is doing its part .. now the community & campus will follow suit.

Z-Pouch, You are correct. We sit about 10 rows up in the center court lower bowl (I think it's Sec. 109). And I would hightly recommend them if you can get some. The first year at the Gund, we sat in C109 (Club seat level), and then moved down to the center lower bowl when we renewed early. Due to media, etc. there aren't any floor seats along the sidelines. Media tables have traditionally run the length of the sideline opposite the benches. I'm not sure what the deal is on the baseline boxes behind the band .. maybe those are for sale? Or are they like loges?? I'd rather sit sideline. I've been taking a group to the MAC tourney ever since 99 in Toledo, and I believe it to be the best use of my sports entertainment dollar. 550 for 7 games X 4 seats breaks down to about $20/game in great seats with free parking. If you like bitch-ball, they throw those in for free also. The games are usually pretty good (2000 was insane). Try doing that well at a Cavs game. MAC PAC seats also go up the center court area in the club levels (CXXX). Those are also pretty good seats. Actually a few people in my group have said that the best seat in the house would be center court in the first row of the C1XX (108 or 109 and the same sections across the court). Not sure I would argue with them. The seats that the schools get are pretty close to as good. They'll be within the baselines, from above the 3point line to about the baseline, starting in the lower bowl and going up to the club seats. Not bad seats at all. Actually, I think the MAC PAC seats only go about 8 or 12 seats in from center court, and then the school seats start, so if you've got priority w/ ZAC, you'll get great seats. It's REALLY a first class event if you've not been there. It will be better w/ the ZipsNation in large attendance, but I've been to other tourney's (Big East for example) & the MAC takes a back seat to no conference in how well it's run. I'm hoping to see a nice long extension signed at the Gund sometime soon .. I think it's only certain through 2006.

Not sure about that, but I'm looking to find out. I've already pretty much filled our 12 center court MAC PAC seats, so it might be necessary to get more from UA for those sessions. I think the best they can do is just take "orders" until the Zips are actually in a game @ the Gund. So probably not till they seal up the East title the last week of Feb. will we be able to get tix from UA. Go Zips! Oh yeah! --->

I'm in .. same place as before?

All, As a point of interest, a group of us will be gathering for pre-game thoughts, food & beverages. We'll probably be there beginning around 6pm or so. Any slugs out there looking for a beer before the game w/ fellow Zips fans .. that's a spot you're sure to find like minded folks & perhaps a few Can't State followers also ... Hope to see you there.... GoZips!

OK, I think that everything is working over here now. Thanks to CK for helping with some test posting. Thanks to the slugs for the patience. The timing really SUCKED on this thing with the big win last night and all. Regarding all of these "GUEST" posts that are popping in now: due to the relatively low number of posts that didn't come over with the server move, I've just been re-posting the most important of the new posts. Thus, you'll see several posts, whole topics even that are all posted with ***Guest in the names. These posts can be attributed to the user listed, but I couldn't find a super clean way to bring them over .. reposting was the quickest solution. Please post any difficulties you have here, but unless I hear othewise from people, I'm declaring this a finished issue. We've been moved to a much faster server that hopefully won't crash every day at lunch following a big Zips news day. My observation from here is that it is performing better .. we'll see if that holds up. Thanks again for your patience .. Go Zips! ZW

OK .. as of 2PM Eastern, this thing appears to be on the new server. Functionality is still someone iffy. New postings result in a blank screen temporarily. I'm still looking into this. It may take a bit more time before everyone sees this new version .. but certainly by the end of Friday. I am aware that there are some posts over on the other side that are not here. We will do our best to port them over, I know there aren't many. It may end up that we need to repost them here ... Please post any problems or questions you have in this topic. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE!