Captain Kangaroo

I will miss watching Brian tremendously. He was one of the only bright spots for the Zips over the past three horrific seasons. The NFL visibility excuses (as the reason for departing) are a bunch of garbage. You get one shot to play college ball. He has 5 total wins in the three years he's played at UA. Next year will be ugly again, regardless of the messiah we hire. There was room on the Titanic life boat for one more, and it appears he's taking the seat. I hope Brian lands somewhere where his new University gives him a chance to walk off the field a winner. He deserves it. Anyone remember when pre-season MAC Defensive MVP Nate Boyd (linebacker) left the Zips after Faust was fired? He was quoted as "wanting to walk with God." He then dropped out and worked at a bicycle factory in the East Liverpool area. Ultimately, he returned. That's my only precedent for hoping Wagner returns. The two situations are eerily similar. If Soccer Guy can be happy for Ben Speas, I can certainly be happy for Wagner, wherever he ends up. Hopefully he'll announce his college as "The University of Akron" on Monday Night Football in a couple years.

I am. I certainly could be wrong, but the 440V line dropping in the bathtub describes the level of shock I'd receive if it's anyone else.

Can't say I blame him. I just don't know what school would take him. Are you serious? I'll give you a hint -- any program that is alphabetically at, or beneath YSU.

Per Elton @ the PD, Harney will not play tonight. He has obligations related to his suspension that he has yet to meet. Sounds like the "Workshop" scenario that David Falknor encountered over break several years ago?

I'll agree with that assessment. With our team in flux from game to game, the playing field against any D1 opponent is leveled. We need a couple home wins, and a consistent roster for several consecutive games, to begin finding a groove.

You also think that former position coaches under contract through February will destroy our football budget. I will stick with my theory.

Lets see...Johnson...Stoops...Narduzzi...all three could have signed on the dotted line a week ago. Yet they haven't. Winters needs to wait until after the D2 playoffs to make any public comment. Gee...who could be our next coach? Boy is Twitter Tom angry that footballscoop.com and ZN.o both announced, and thoroughly discussed Iannello's firing days before he officially announced it.

Aren't you the same hypocrite that rudely chastised the members of ZN.o who confirmed Iannello was fired because it wasn't written in any newspaper? Now you're telling me a newspaper might not know everything? That a team's beat writer might be pathetic? How can that be? Please strive for some consistency. You can't have it both ways.

Call him out in the comments section of the Canton Rep. Oh, that'll teach 'em.

I say we are waiting until after the D2 Championship game to announce new Coach ........Narduzzi! Crafty TW is trying to throw everyone off the trail with the "search" but I got it all figured out.

Translation - We couldn't get any traditional media to attend a press conference. YouTube Tom branching out? Cutting-edge stuff.

I think the GA's can tell the recruits who will be coaching the Zips in 2012. But the recruits can't tell anyone what they've been told. I can't imagine any parent committing their son to play for a University where the head coach is completely unknown. Unless they are the world's biggest Vince Okruch fan. And we know that is Dr Z, so that's off the board.

Columbus said the world was round. Everyone laughed. While I appreciate you putting negative words in my mouth, I assure you I have no horse in the race. All three alleged candidates are quality coaches. I play no games with inferences and other BS. I am objective, and not a University shill. That's one constant in all my years on this board. Agree or disagree with me, you should appreciate my integrity. I do feel that Wistercill f'd up last time, picking his buddy over more worthy candidates. I do feel he's desperate to make amends and give the Zips fan base their "pound of flesh." I do feel that, like the last time, the next Zips coach is already predetermined. It is Paul Winters. As fans, we win. Paul will be an excellent coach. As an AD, Wistercill will receive the love he desperately needs by hiring an "Akron Guy" and making many people happy. But - Wistercill, and UA Athletics, have paid a big price to get an almost unprecedented "mulligan" for his initial, horrific decision. Regardless of how this plays out, it doesn't change the Titanic he smashed the bottle against 3 years ago. Hopefully he doesn't screw up again, and gets one of these three alleged candidates to raise the Titanic and undertake the world's largest rebuilding job.

Puh-LEEZ.

Before we move on the the traditional string of pre-Christmas cupcakes (much needed nutrition for the thusfar sweets-deprived Zips) it is interesting to see where we stand in light of the CSU loss. As my son and I stood in line outside the Wolstein Center, a guy approached us with a pair of tickets. $10 each, 6th row, center court. I don't think he was too happy to see that were were Zips fans...but he didn't figure it out until we were already seated next to him. Make fun of the 1/2 sectioned arena all you want, or the 5k crowd, it was a sweet venue to watch a college basketball game. Comfortable seats. Microbrewed beer to sip on, if you so desired. Very nice. Zeke played great. No stupid fouls. Love that he's hitting his free throws. And Pogue, who at 6' 9" 285 lbs could bench press both Cventinovic and Zeke simultaneously, was held to 4 very quiet points. Cventinovic seems to have taken a page out of the Lone Ranger's book -- he has to lead the nation in blocked shots. His own. All I can figure is a summer full of playing Euro ball ain't like playing against the state-siders. He's finishing soft, and getting stuffed like Z-P on dollar hot dog night. This was the second time I've seen Tree play. Holy crap this kid can ball. He shoots free throws like Shaq, but I guess I can live with waiting for that aspect of his game to improve. He was stellar on defense, and attacks the rim like no 1st year Zip I've ever seen. If he can learn to practice his free throws on Friday nights @ 2am instead of hanging with DJ's from Hartville, he will have an amazing career at UA. Boo Nick Harney. Abreu was solid. I would not have guessed he was injured. He needed to be solid, because we have no other point guard on this team. He's the difference between us being mediocre, with flashes of greatness, and great, with flashes of absolute awesomeness. Diggs played an ok game, but his turnovers were crippling. I think the burden of the player suspensions has affected his game more than any other Zip. His versatility is his own worst enemy...he's often playing out of position because he's been the only guy that can fill the suspension-related voids. I look forward to the day he can rotate between the #2 and #3 spots and settle in to a groove. I wonder if it will ever happen? Walsh -- M.I.A. McClanahan -- M.I.A. Gilliam - Played a nice game. His energy off the bench ignited the team in the 2nd half. He's starting off 2011 like Diggs started off 2010. Figuring things out, and making the most of his minutes. As the season goes on, his contributions will go no where but up. We need him. Dambrot -- He coached a good game. For the team dealing with the schedule we've seen, and the off the court issues, the Zips were ready to play. A 28-ft 3-pointer from a guy that was 1-11 took us down. That's not bad when facing a Top 35 team on the road. If Harney weren't suspended, we probably win. Waters takes get another NE Ohio Hoops Supremacy Crown. But hopefully in 2012 CSU hangs their second consecutive NIT banner, while the Zips hang their 2nd consecutive NCAA banner. Yet another game lost due to player suspensions. This really has to stop. If we had the Tree I saw Saturday in West Virginia, and the Abreu I saw Saturday in West Virginia, than that bus trip would have been a lot more fun. Our trip to Middle Tennessee would have been better too. Much better. And all those other losses too. This Zips team is still the same one that mopped the floor with Mississippi State. But the margin of error that allows them to ride between mediocrity and greatness is very thin. The guys need to get their act together and focus on basketball. Or it will be a big fat waste of talent. Get Abreu's knee fixed. Get Harney's head on straight. Eat some cupcakes. And play to our capabilities against Marshall and VCU.

What if Winters says "I ain't working for that guy", and stays are Wayne State? Still happy with TW? I could see Winters staying in Detroit. If he keeps winning, better offers will likely come. Maybe even this year? His $275,000 2012 salary buys you a really sweet house in Detroit now-a-days. Way better than what you can get in Fairlawn. And it might give him some personal satifaction to say "no" to the guy that spurned him for i-Legend 3 years ago. "I ain't saving that dude's bacon" is a quote I could imagine being attributed to Winters in an upcoming Elton Alexander column. I guess, since YouTube Tom has shut off all discussions with the media on this topic (per today's PD), we'll just have to wait and see what transpires. And speculate.

Good summary.

Winters' group posted some very respectable offensive numbers on many D1, BCS teams during his time under Owens. It was always the defense that prevented the Zips from pulling off the big upsets. That, and my one big gripe about Winters/Owens offenses -- they often disappeared in the last 2 minutes of tight games. I have no concern with Winters' ability to compete with D1 programs. Especially the MAC schools. At Wayne State, he appears to have become a better coach. He has built a solid defense. He's winning tight games. Hopefully within the next several weeks we'll learn if he's got the job.

Who was the only one to mention Narduzzi in the Wheel of Fortune thread?

http://zipsnation.org/forums//index.php?sh...mp;#entry152128 GoZips aways posts stuff like that. If you took it to heart, shame on you.

As long as no one is trying to sell me that this exhaustive delay is due to being thorough, and admits Winters was the guy all along and UA just had to wait until the D-2 playoffs were complete, I'm ok with it.

A 440V line dropping into my bathtub would shock me less than Paul Winters NOT being named the next Zips head coach. Do we really need to wait until December 19th for the ceremony (as speculated by footballscoop.com)? I think this will go down as the most lengthy delay between identifying a new head coach, and announcing a new head coach, in the history of college athletics.

Bizzare post. Of course, I'm the one you reference with the prediction of a great 10k+ crowd for the game. Conveniently left out of this was my reference that the Zips needed to hold up their end of the bargain by playing well. CSU came into the game at 10-1. The Zips limped into the game hot off a series of embarrassing beat-downs. And player suspensions. The Zips had their chance to make this a sexy, marketable, marquee 10k crowd match up. It should have been a battle of two teams with a combined 3 losses. Instead, the Zips came into the game having put on 18 lbs after Thanksgiving, no make-up and stained sweat pants. Beyond that - there is no way that Abreu's injury is a blessing. It is absolutely crippling. Deji is no where near ready to play point guard at the Division 1 level. Diggs is not a point guard. His talents ebb between negated, and wasted when he's forced to play the point. Without Abreu, we are in big trouble.

Will a clergy member be involved? Will anything need to be notarized? I say they all prick their fingers and make a Blood Pact.