Captain Kangaroo

I owe that guy a beer.

I thought the guy on the left was dead?

The selection party was very well done. Terry Pluto wrote a nice column on it in today's PD. He likened the party's vibe to a sendoff of a local high school team to the State Tournament, which I thought was a great analogy. Unlike a BCS program where star players are sequestered far away from the general public, with the Zips you feel like you're a personal part of the success. Everyone in attendance "knows" the players and staff on a level that's not possible at most other schools. Brett McClanahan walked through the crowd and proactively shook hands with a bunch of fans. He needs to work in UA Athletics when it's all said and done. In fact, it would be great if several of these guys stayed at UA in some capacity? If affable Steve McNees asked fans donate some money to the hoops program, who could turn him down? All the players and staff were accessible, and pretty much on Cloud 9. Smiles, photos, congratulations and handshakes never got old for any of them. My son got photos with most players, + Dambrot. I winced a little bit when he enthusiastically told Abreu - "I like you cuz you're one of the only Zips that can make a lay-up!" Alex laughed. Zeke took pictures with scores of kids, and the smile on his face was as wide with kid #1 and it was for kid #50. Great event. Thanks to all involved!

Who cares about K.e.n.t. The Zips are the NCAA Tourney. Focus on that. Hate on K.e.n.t. the other 51 weeks of the year.

I just googled "herbstreit relocating to nashville". All of you should do it. It does not paint a good picture for tOSU fans and Columbus. Those people are a bunch of a-holes. It was probably a biased reporter who wrote that Google stuff.

I was impressed with Ball State. They're the one team out of the West that I think has a chance to do some damage next season. They lose only Perry from this year's squad. WMU is a bunch of thug dirtbags. Teams like that don't win anything. EMU, CMU, NIU...they all suck. They've sucked for 5 years, and they'll suck next year too. Toledo will need to improve a lot to reach the level of EMU, CMU and NIU.

Awesome game by Zeke and the guys! Couldn't be prouder to be a UA alum last night! I hope Momma Zeke's next 3,000 miles are even better than the first 3k. Gotta get my dancin' shoes on!

FYI - It looks just as embarassing when Zips fans continuously whine about referee conspiracies.

yes

On the nose, ZipsWin!

This was a topic of much discussion last night. Zeke needs to get a wider base, and beat his opponent to the spot. Presently his feet are slow, and he doesn't get in good defensive position. He looks awkward, and that doesn't do him any favors with the refs. When there's contact, they will call a foul on the awkward-looking guy every time. Zeke needs to work hard on his footwork this summer. He can block shots all day long with whatever footwork he presently uses...but if he wants to stop an opposing center who's backing him down on the low block, he needs to widen-up.

Love the quote.

Why would Joe Akron come out to see Eastern Michigan/Akron? Dial, Head and Boykins are long, long gone. I posted the Round #1 attendance poll for a reason...you knew it would be low. We had no marketing of the team this season. No marquee wins for the umpteenth season. No star players. Barely 20 wins. We were coming off 2 huge losses, the latter on national television. We weren't exactly on a roll in March. Ask Karman or Gaffney -- if they had to pay for their ticket, would they have shown up for that game? I bet they wouldn't. I was there with my son. But I can't blame anyone else for staying at home on a work night, saving the $20 - $40 and listening to Frenchie.

No.

It is impossible to have a discussion with a person who invents their own reality, so I will post the following solely for those casual forum readers. Jim Tressel's offense was a MAJOR NCAA violation. Ferri's offense was a secondary violation. The same level of violation that Ohio State football had 17 documented occurances in 2009-2010. Believe it or not -- There's a reason the NCAA has a differentiation between major and secondary. Secondary offenses are nothing. Clearly reference the ZERO resulting NCAA sanctions against the Zips football program. Absolutely zero. Clearly reference the $250k fine and two game suspension of Jim Tressel, with more sanctions to follow. Clearly reference the multitude of suspended players. Players suspended not for 1 or 2 games, but 5. I feel bad when someone's hero lies and cheats in such an egregious manner. It obviously has rocked some people's very foundation. If posting fantasy beliefs regarding Ohio State football in a Zips football forum gets someone through the day, I'm happy to contribute to the coping mechanism. That's what we're here for. (lol) (omg) (PBR) I'm also happy to see a post of mine from 2009 is still sought as a reference. After re-reading it, it still hold up (where's a pat on the back smilie when you really need it?). I like when people reference my quotes directly, and credit me, rather than paraphrase me and act like the copied thoughts were original.

"Everyone does it." "Everyone cheats...he just got caught." Blah blah blah... Jim Tressel KNEW his players committed a MAJOR NCAA violation. Jim Tressel played student athletes who should have been on suspension in order to win a game. Jim Tressel is a cheat. A liar. A phony. Early in 2010 there was an article in the Plain Dealer detailing 17 secondary recruiting violations by Ohio State. I never posted that article here because minor stuff goes on everywhere. I could care less about a text or two that occurred in a non-contact period, or an Ohio State alum trying to sway a recruit to Columbus. In your warped world Tressel can do no wrong. Writers don't research. You make up your own reality. You cope with your hero's downfall through the same rationalizations that people do whenever a charismatic fraud is exposed. OJ could still get a foursome after he killed 2 people. Jimmy Swaggart could still fill a church after skanking it up. And Tressel will still have plenty of sheep to follow him. Tressel knowingly played ineligible players. That's as big a cheat as there is. If you look the other way, I can only say "Baaaa....baaaaa."

Rationalize all you want...Tressel is a sham. A liar. A cheat. He's Jimmy Swaggart...Jim Baker...insert whatever other phony baloney religious charlatan you want. He's exposed big time, baby. It is fact. I guarantee he doesn't end up at BYU after he's fired.

Best column I've read from the Beacon in a long, long time. Jason Lloyd won't be in Akron for long...dude's got mad skills.

You are correct. But no coach in Ohio would have the balls to call Tressel out.

It's not the first time.... Actually, he's spot on. Dambrot changed his ways by taking on transfers and guys with questionable academics for the first time since he has been here in an effort to make the team/program better. Basically, he is doing what you all want him to do - do what he needs to do to take this team to the next level, even if it means changing his ways of recruiting. The problem is - as Zach pointed out - you aren't even waiting to see how these guys pan out. I've liked what I've seen of Diggs, and we have Treadwell, Harney, Gilliam, and Walsh waiting in the wings for 2011-2012. All of these guys are very, very different from most previous KD recruits...how about we wait and see what happens with them? I've always said that Dambrot does more with less talent than other MAC teams. Let's see what happens when he gets some raw but high-ceiling talent that's taller and more athletic next year. I always enjoy when people paraphrase what I wrote in an original post and act like it is their own thought.

If our sack-o-crap March defense shows up, we will lose. K.e.n.t. scored on 21 of 23 second half possessions! And we scored at a good clip too, so we had plenty of time to get back on defense?! The OU and K.e.n.t. games really scared the crap out of me. I never thought this Zips team was awesome, but I never thought they were capable of playing so poorly. Did any of those K.e.n.t. guards that drove the lane so effortlessly ever get knocked down? Nik and Brett McKnight drive the lane and avoid contact like the opposing center has leprosy. Conversely, opponents can drive on us with no fear of getting brushed, let alone knocked on their @ss. We could lose by 15 tonight if Dambrot hasn't addressed our defensive issues.

It's not the first time....

Tressel: “There’s a gut-wrenching feeling when you lose a game and you know you could’ve done better,” he continued later. “And then there’s one that goes beyond when you don’t feel as if you did what you should do as people." Sounds like that "beyond" feeling is something he knows about first-hand?

K.e.n.t. is a hippie school in the middle of a cornfield, and they have no problem finding one 20-game winner after another.