GoZips

It seems to me that the poster does not know or does not understand Coach Dambrot's game philosophy. So, here is an update for his benefit. Coach Dambrot prefers to employ quick, athletic players. Few big men are quick enough to work well in defenses that rely on pressure tactics. The height limit has long been around six foot eight. Dambrot is not the first coach to recognize this. Lew Henson some years ago routinely put the University of Illinois into the Sweet Sixteen and higher while not having a single player taller than six foot six. While I agree that having a couple of tall players that can rebound and dominate close in are an asset that I personally would love to have, they are not a necessity when your front line consists of players such as Jeremiah Wood, Romeo Travis and Rick McFadden. These players all approximately six foot six or seven are athletic and leap well. They are agile enough to compete with the bigger men. Two of the three incoming players match this standard. The third, six foot five shooting guard Jimmy Conyers is an exceptional athlete with great leaping ability. Better still, he is a bonafide shooter BIGTIME. Coach Dambrot has a long history of recruiting well. His first recruiting class headed to Akron next year are three (and possibly four as Terry Eargle is still possibility) excellent recruits that any other MAC school would love to have. Do not forget that an excellent point guard, Nick Dials, is sitting out his transfer year. Make no mistake, Dials would be the starter on the point for the Suckeyes if he were still at Columbus State.

Z-Pouch I think you are quite correct about the improper use of a stall tactic. At one point Peterson and Travis did get a wide open look at the basket. But, Daryl's bad lob over Romeo's head ended in a turnover when Romeo stepped on the back line trying to haul in the ball. If executed well the fans would have gone nuts and EMU's run may have ended right there. But, the run continued and Coach Dambrot pulled a Hipsher and sank Peterson on the bench for the remainder of the game. First time I have been upset with a Coach D move since he became HC. Finishing games seems to be a low point for the Zips. The Zips actually led four of their five road loses in the final ten minutes. Something is most definitely wrong. Both Cleveland State and Ohio also nearly over came huge Akron leads late in the game. I am leaning toward RATFINK's view. The more I ponder it the more dehydration seems a likely possibility. I say this because the kids looked thoroughly whipped the last ten minutes of last night's game. Elton Alexander wrote that it took 35 minutes wall clock time to play the final four minutes of the contest. Lack of conditioning, lack of coaching would have been recoverable in that amount of time. But, unchecked dehydration only gets worse. And worse is exactly what the Zips exhibited. I realize that leg cramps are a common sign of dehydration and we saw no leg cramps. But fatigue is also a dehydration indicator and we all saw tons of that. I plan to start watching the players at the bench more often to see if they are taking on fluids during the game. Oh, and Ratfink is correct it is an assitant trainer's job to make sure players keep hydrated. As a long ago college FB player I can attest to that.

This kid has all the tools to play Defensive End. Six foot six, 255#, foot speed, mobile, long reach. Any one else see this picture? Article reads like he loves to play the game.

Zips recruit John Rybak recovering nicely after appendectomy. Appendectomy John Scores 11 Points After Surgery

A tip of the hat to "CICCAR", an EMU fan for the following link. Here is a link tracking all Div.IA 2005 scheduling ... 2005 Div.I-A Football Schedules

ZIPS88, hey, if I offended you, mea culpa. There are way too many snide remarks cast on these boards. Asking if the Zips are afraid of playing MTSU sure sounded like a snide remark to me. If I can presume, and I will, the MTSU, North Texas and Utah State contracts were all provisional so the Zips have future opponents. As better caliber or more meaningful games become available the contracts are cancelled and new contracts are drawn up with the (hopefully) improved opponent. I agree with GP1 that any I-A opponent is preferable to any I-AA opponent. This applies only to the Zips in our current environment, i.e. a low-mid-major trying to break free of more than a decade in the pits of I-A football. As for the home Virginia Tech game several years ago, the attendance was low not due to a lack of interest, but to hurricane Charolette. The Akron area received at least five inches of rain that day and evening. The game was played when many college football games were postponed or cancelled. I was at the game. Personally, I find the new OOC schedule far more exciting than playing MTSU, North Texas or Utah State. While I would not travel to any of these schools to see the Zips play I certainly plan to attend an away game at Syracuse and Kentucky.

CAP'N, good post. I concur with your observations. I did hear toward the end of the game the dreaded "ACL" term. I pray not. That remark came from some one who has access to the locker room. The odd line up at the end of the first half was a chance to rest the starters and prevent any unnecessary fouls by Travis and company. That mix certainly befuddled the Bobcats. Dru is giving the Zips something Jammal Ball never gave, i.e. more than one great season. My thoughts. OU was a lot tougher than I thought they would be. Their defense had the Zips tangled in the first half. Looks like minor adjustments and more pressure by the Zips on D turned the tide early in the second half. The kids are learning that its more fun to win. OU HC was whining that OU is young. Er, 'cuse me, can't see any gray hairs on the Zips. Sore point with me was the terrrible officiating (they were officiating weren't they?). The lopsided obvious OU bias contributed to Wood's injury. The OU player crashed Jerimah plenty hard. No foul called. Things did not improve in the second half with the officials. The Zips did the right thing. They just played through it. The next two games can make or break the season. A split would be great. I'm greedy. Let's go win them both. I'm still pissed at the Worst Athletic Conference officials for homering Michigan State.

First off ... CAP'N 'ROO, with all due respect, we need to eliminate "guest" posts. On this topic we have one "guest" who may or may not be -BZ-. That poster impugns -BZ- by admitting to lying on the board. I'll explain later in this post. On the other hand we have another "guest" making a totally cool remark ... about the holiday season and Buckeyes roasting on an open fire. Whether you are a Suckeye (my name for them) fan or not, it is a totally cool slam. Obviously these two "guests" are two different people or we have a skitzo in the joint. Guest #2 ... way cool. Guest #1 ... the rest of this post is for you. You freaking LIAR. You posted like you were clueless about what is happening in Suckeyeville. That was a disception, a lie if you will. Then you boast that you know more about what is happening with the Suckettes than does ZIP DUDE. At least Zip Dude signs his name to his comments. Worst, you "claim" to be an Akron alum who went to three (count them, one, two, three) Zips home football games. You want a medal? You skink. At the very least as an alum you need to be a season ticket holder. I'll bet my skivvies that you own more Suckeye paraphernalia than you do Zips gear. Worse, you are one of those morons who wears Suckeye crap to Zips games. You loser skink. I laugh at your pathetic attempt to beat your sunken chest about how much inside info you have on the Suckeyes. If you are so insider knowledgeable as to wrong doings in Suckeyeville that makes you an accessory. You skink. Slide on out of here on your scaly belly.

Gawdddd ... I love Zips sports. What fans!!! Hey, ZIP88, I have a question for you. Who is a better name "draw" ... ARMY or Muddle Tennisshoe State? Would you rather watch KENTUCKY or the unheard of North Texas who dey? The Zips are shying away from Sun Belt "power houses" to play SEC and Big East schools. You made a funny.

-BZ- appearantly you don't follow the Suckeyes all that close if you have to ask Zips fans the "skinny" on the Pig Ten's cheatingest team. Here's the "skinny": Coach James Tressel LIED. He LIED about Maurice "I had $5,00 stolen out of my 'borrowed' shiny new Chevy" Claret. He LIED about Troy "I didn't get no stinking pay off from a booster" Smith. He LIED about even knowing the a fore mentioned booster. Tressel LIED, LIED, LIED. Now another blind mouse, Andy "see no evil" Geiger, the soon to be former Athletic Director, is trying to fall on the sword to save the Suckeyes hallowed reputation. Only, the NCAA and the national press are going to hold the OSU admistration's collective paws (Suckeyes don't have real feet) to the fire. Thus both the spineless AD and the knowingly cheating head foosbal coach are headed out the door leaving a trail of broken hearts, and broken spirits in their wake. Or, -BZ- haven't you read or heard anything on ESPN? Try reading Columbus's favorite news rag the Pisspatch. Oh, and DEATH threats made against former Suckeye QB and now ESPN color analyst Herb Kirkstreet or is it Kirk Herbstreet (I can never tell them apart) and his family. Not to mention death threats against the academic advisor who admitted helping a foosbal player with his "grades". Or the foosbal players now admitting that, "sure cheating is occurring, doesn't every one cheat?". Or the foosball player who was convicted of drunk driving four times and still kicks for the Suckeyes. The list goes on and on like my Johnson. Then again, there is the small baskeet brawl scandal.

Well, I was going to keep my trap shut on this subject. I had been only giving topic a cursory glance. But, something caught my eye. The words "Ashland University" flushed like a neon sign. Thus, I read deeper. Had to scroll back and read "RYAN's" post after seeing some trash talk. Now, I openly admit that I am a friend of Lee Owens. I like Lee and have had many conversations with him over the years. We have our differences. I am a strong believer in an "attack" defense. Which JD seems to better utilize than Lee ever did. But, this post is not about Lee Owens. Rather, its about an inane remark "RYAN" made. Folks, I don't give a crap about Nick Strance's play at Willard HS. I have seen this kid play in three Ashland games. He couldn't hold Charlie's jock strap. Strance plays like his feet are encased in cement. His throws are erratic. Let's not beat a wounded horse or in this case a lame arsed Div-2 QB. Instead let us kick "RYAN's" lame arse from pillar to post for such a stupid remark. RYAN what you don't know about football would fill several books.

I can see by looking at the schedule and the past couple of years games why some folks think this year's schedule was made up prior to Coach KD getting the job. That is only partially correct. Some of the OOC games this year are indeed completion dates of previously scheduled contracts. BUT, and it is a very important "butt", KD had no reason to throw his young team into the pit of hell. These kids need to learn his system/style. Getting your brains beat out by even mediocre "big name" schools will not help that goal. Better that the kids play against a level of competition where they have a chance to win. Come February few people other than selection committees look at who you beat or lost to. Most folk just look at your overall record. Coach Dambrot stated in the beginning that his objective was to teach his system/style first. That wins would come later. Oh, I see, you all forgot that. A couple of early OOC wins and you are dreaming of the Final Four. Forget it. This team isn't ready. Let's give Coach a couple of years to put his system/style in place. Then we can judge the results.

GoZips.com has a fresh new article concerning changes to the Out Of Conference schedule. As predicted by a few the ARMY game has been moved to 2005. Better still is the announcement of a fresh home-n-home series in 2007 & 2008 with ARMY. Better than even that is a two-for-one deal with KENTUCKY with the Zips home game sandwiched between visits to Lexington. That insures the contract will be honored. The only sore point I could see is 2008, a twelve game season, where the Zips travel to WISCONSIN, SYRACUSE and KENTUCKY the first three games of the season. That's brutal. The first home game is ARMY. The schedule now extends into 2011 with a visit back to Columbus. This I like. Would love to have Michigan State back on the schedule. A couple of soft ACC teams would be a nice Christmas present as well.

JP, thanks for a nice "heads up" While Charlie probably is the best QB in the up coming draft, if recent history is any indicator Charlie will be selected late in the first round. While some draft analysts are suggesting early second round they are overlooking the needs of one team in particular. If the decision makers of various NFL teams truly did their homework, Charlie would be gone in the first five selections. Because he really is the best QB. However, ignorance and prejudice usually trump intelligence and need. Several teams badly in need of his services will pass on selecting him in favor of lesser QBs or other position needs. But, one team that drafts late in the first round has their collective eye on Charlie. They know he will not be available late in the second round. Thus, the Green Bay Packers WILL select Charlie with their pick in the first round. No other QB in the draft matches the skill set and athleticism of Brett Farve like Charlie Frye. Thus, look for Green Bay to do their homework and take Charlie in round one.

Perhaps JD and the gang need to be scouting the Toledo/Detroit area for talent. Since our local talent wants to leave home theirs may too. I agree that there is a far better chance to play as a freshman at EMU than at Akron. Some of these kids will come home in a year or two. Losing is not a good taste.

No down low post type players = oh and eight You simply can't get by with recruiting just guards. Maybe, just maybe, the light will go on for Coach Kennedy. Is it that she can't sign big players or does she simply have a crazy idea that the shorter the better, ala Jae "what a joke" Conn? Div-I women's basketball requires skilled, quick and tall players, just like the men. Stop reading how to win at women's basketball books copyrighted 1950.

As me saited Mother use to say, "read on McDuff" JD Mentioned As A Longshot

The OOC home game will be against ARMY. Take that to the bank. The 2006 home date has been moved up to 2005. Zippy knows.

After two games, John Rybak averaging 22.5 points and ranked eighth best player in Milwaukee area. Read About John Rybak

Zips recruit Nate Linhart scores a double-double, 23 points, 11 rebounds. See Nate

Reading down through the posts I see several interesting and well thought out posts. Most I agree with. I have to disagree about whether Middleton is a Div.-I player. He is. CED brings athleticism to the guard positions. He can slash to the basket and with his leaping ability is able to rebound decently for a six foot player. His main short coming is not understanding the style of play Coach Dambrot wants. He seems to be showing signs of "getting it". Look for CED to deliver more and more as the season progresses. I agree that we lack good coaching and or talent in the post. The Zips certainly have the size. They seem to lack the fire and heart needed to play down low. Thus, Wood, Peterson and Travis end up covering the weakness of the PF and C slots. How do you get Nick Meyers who always seems to be asleep play up to his potential? More minutes, less minutes, ooops, how could he play less minutes? Preston may need to be a starter to get his juices flowing. He, like the rest of them is a spotty player. Seems he plays best when ticked off, angered or just plain pissed. Futch is the enigma. He often plays like a bull in a china shop fouling anyone near him. Of late he seems to have improved on that. But at what expense? One of these three guys needs to step up consistently. The Zips are loaded at small forward. Thus we often see three of them on the court at the same time. Which, seems to work. Personally, I favor Travis as he plays with heart even when his head is asleep. The guard slots need shoring up. "Rio" Collins just isn't up to long minutes. The girls sitting behind me at the game tagged Mario as "Rio". Its because he is to short for the full name of Mario. He did step up big at the end of the CSU game. He earned that. Bubba Walther needs more floor time. Like most streaky three ball shooters you cannot just plug him in when you are desperate. Bubba needs to warm up the motor like most players do. Part of the problem in the CSU game was that Coach got away from the two deep rotation and went to an eight man that included longer floor time for the starters. This hurt the Zips big time. One guard that seems to be NOT getting enough floor time is Nick Goddard. Okay, so he is a walk-on. So what? Nick has played with the Zips for two years. He is quick and he hustles. His presence in the game confused CSU. Apparently they had not practiced match ups including him. Nick gives the Zips five guards. If he plays ten minutes a game he gives that much rest time to the starters. Free throws. What are we? An NBA team? We shoot free throws like we think we are in the same conference with the Cavaliers. No concentration. No awareness of the situation, of the game score, of the value, etc. It makes me sick. Half the time the Zips were not even along the foul lane for rebounding. They were so blasé. What are they thinking? Saved the worst for last. What happened to the 40 minutes of 94 feet of pressure? CSU did far more 3/4 court and full court pressure than the Zips. Yet, in the few minutes the Zips actually did pressure CSU caved. I saw this same failure to put pressure on the ball at Duquense and NIU. This is supposed to be the Zip's bread and butter. Then, too, if Coach wants to play just eight players he cannot afford to pressure the ball. Dropping into a 2-3 zone sure rests the kids when on defense at the expense of allowing wide open three point shots. CSU capitalized on this and made a game of it. CSU is a bottom feeder in the Horizon. They made the Zips look like a bottom feeder of the MAC. Which is borne out in the NIU loss. Looks like Coach Dambrot has abandoned his scheme of coming after it for 40 minutes. That is a shame as it is this team's best hope.

I could not get to vote using ZIPPER's link. So, I went and got us a new one. Try this one. Vote Against The WAC Officials

ZIPSRIFLE, I completely agree with you. I have been watching in total dismay as the officials have done everything in their collective power to insure that Hawai'i wins. The score is now 41-31 with just over 3:30 to play. There is no hope. Akron has been cheated out of a bowl game by the representatives of fair play ... the officials. I have to believe that UH is in cahoots with these bastards. Thus, I have lost all respect for UH. Michigan State is one of the least penalized teams in college football. Yet they were flagged nearly anytime they made progress. UH impossibly was error free literally on every play. Impossibile. I watched in horror on the UH drive that led to the TD that brought UH to 27 points. The 39 yard pass play was enabled by a huge holding (not called) right in front of the QB. Then on the pass play for the score there is an another hold not called. A MSU pass play that would have given MSU a first and goal was broken up by a clear cut pass interference (not called). Shame, shame, shame. There simply are far too many flagrant "no calls" and bad calls to list. Shame on the WAC. Shame on UH. Shame. UH just wan valdez 41-38. Shame. Shame. Shame. Z.I.P. hang your head in shame. That was an ugly display of "sportsmanship". No fricking wonder UH is 7-1 at home.

Andy Hipsher is a graduate assitant at Texas Tech. Andy's and his father's personal relationship with Coach Bobby Knight undoubtedly had a bearing on his getting the position. Is there a problem with that? Not that I know of. I hope Andy has a long and successful career.

In today's ABJ writer Gary Estwick wrote a lame article about blaming the colleges for the sad state of the BCS. Its enough to make any non-BCS fan wretch. Buried in the second part of Estwick's article is a heads up for Zips fans. There is a link and phone number for contacting (lobbying) the Silicon Valley Bowl. The link is: Silicon Bowl Selection committee Their phone number is: (408)-792-4117