Captain Kangaroo

Lot #9 Baby!

Hopefully he beat-out Doug Penno for the job.

Dr. Z with a kick-ass idea!

Mike Thomas got the practice facility built, and transformed stadium talk from a wet dream, into a reality. He hired Dambrot. Mack Rhoades got the stadium completed, and on-time. He cleaned up UA's shoddy athletic academic support. He hired Kest. Our new AD's meal ticket is Rob Ianello. Little STO deals are nice. Getting the soccer stadium upgraded quickly is very nice. But changing the nick name from "YouTube Tom" to "Touchdown Tom" is what will impress. Bringing winning football to Akron is equally as impressive/important as getting the stadium built. That is what gets you a BCS AD job. Winning football helps everyone, and losing football drags everyone...every program...down. UA can't afford to lose on the football field any longer. TW's job is to change that. And of course, not to screw up the good thing we've got going in hoops. TW's successor will hopefully have the Basketball Arena Project as his/her BCS AD resume'-building ticket.

If you want to sit with Akron fans, call the UA ticket office. If you want a cheap ticket, go to the game and buy one from someone outside the gate. There will be below-face-value tickets in abundance at all Zips road games this year. Yes, even at K.entucky. If it is a MAC road game, there is a very good chance someone will hand you a free ticket outside the gate. I don't know that I have ever paid for a MAC road game. And other than K.e.n.t, there will be a million empty seats to choose from at every MAC stadium. "Reserved" tickets aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Take that, Shaka Smart and District Baller!

I want to see Rodgers in a baseball cap, holding a clip board. Maybe mop-up duty vs. Gardner Webb and K.e.n.t. too.

Who knew? I, for one, and absolutely shocked. I thought it might be the case because...well...Nicely is a lot better quarterback. Somewhere, Mike Rasor is weeping.

I agree. I know a lot of old guys who absolutely can't stand the fortune-telling, doom-and-gloom spouting worry worts on this board. They view ZipsNation as a bunch of whiners who never can place a positive outlook on anything. All they do is worry and complain. Or, complain and worry. How can we fix that, and get those coveted "old guys" to participate? I also agree the name-calling on this board is out of control. I will contact a Mod and see what they can do about it.

I like the predicting that goes on here. Especially when it is provided by people whose opinion I value. It is interesting, and I learn something from it. It is easy to attend a game, watch it, and say "This it what happened....", reeling off what everyone witnessed. Any clown can do that. It is also easy to expound using universal truths - "You win some, you lose some...in the end it really doesn't matter who wins and loses .. kids will be kids, and everyone has their ups and downs in life...hey, who here hasn't made mistakes?....and on and on and on...." You can write the same post regarding absolutely any event or individual athlete. It is easy to parrot someone else's thoughts. It saves you from the effort of thinking for yourself. This is the ESPN/WKNR SportsTalk Syndrome. Lot's of people need this direction in the life... because...well..they just aren't all too insightful. The think they are, but they aren't. It is more worthwhile to hear someone say, prior to the game, "He's how I think things are going to play out, and here's why..." The same goes for prediction an individual player's performance, or career promise. In a way, it is like recruiting. Coaches see a kid at 16 years old, and have to predict what he'll be like as a 22 year old man when making a decision whether or not to offer him a scholarship. The best recruiters have a knack for it. The best posters here also have a knack for foretelling how Zip-related things will pan out. Everyone should learn from them.

I wondered that too. I've heard of Southern Methodist...Presbyterian...Texas Lutheran...but I've never heard of "Catholic University"? Since he played some D-1 ball, would Devoe Torrence be a better coach than Lee Owens? Probably not. I see the "street cred point," but certain guys just aren't all that athletically gifted, yet intelligent, motivated and with a love of the game. More often than not, you'd like to see your HC with D-1 playing experience. But it isn't all too rare to find exceptions. Dambrot never played college basketball*, yet he's a pretty successful D-1 hoops coach. * Douche Bag Alert (hereafter abbreviated DBA) - Yes, I do know he played baseball for the Zips, and he got hit by a lot of pitches. Now go back to re-laminating your Bryan Hipsher rookie card. If you are not a Douche Bag, please ignore the DBA.

Funny.... when ZachTheZip states an opinion, it makes me bullish about the opposing view.

Any negatives I saw last season seemed to have a reasonable explanation - His O-line regressed terribly from 2008. His protection was minimal. He had absolutely no running game to support the pass. With Bowser on the shelf, he had no WR's. Combine that with the fact that he was a true Freshman, and he did the best anyone could under the same situation. I like Nicely's vision. I like his arm strength. I like his footwork. I like how he worked through his progressions and didn't lock onto his primary WR. I don't like his tendency to fumble. A strong-armed thrower like Nicely can work on the "touch" throws. A weak-armed QB like Rodgers will never develop a long-ball. Or be able to zip a screen pass quick enough to avoid the route-jumping DB.

I need to vent a little bit.... This whole QB situation has just been upsetting to me. After seeing what we've seen from these two QBs, I can't see anything about this decision to get excited about. And the designated starter is now facing the disadvantage of having received diminished reps with the first teamers with only 10 days left til opening day. I'm not sure that's the way they wanted it to be. But, from what we saw in 2009, I think it's understandable if they wanted to do plenty of evaluation before making a decision. I unfortunately see the Quinn vs. Anderson comparisons that many of you are seeing. Meanwhile, lowly Ken+ State has a freshman QB step in last year and play only 2/3 of the season, throw for well over 2,000 yards, including two late-season starts in which he threw for nearly 400 yards, and looks to have the potential for an amazing future. Barring any unforseen events, they probably have a solid starter for the next 3 seasons, with several good performances already under his belt. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir with many of you who are done with the "they just need more experience" talk. I had hoped that Akron was at the point where we could nab a Charlie Frye-caliber QB once every 5 years or so. I guess I'll have to hope a little longer, unless our selected 2010 starter makes a dramatic improvement from what we've seen thus far from these two individuals. This isn't Quinn-Anderson...it is Kosar and Don Strock/Gary Danielson. It's Stabler and George Blanda. It's Bradshaw and Hanratty or Stoudt. It's Bob Griese and Erol Morral. Nicely is the QB. Done deal. Rodgers is the competent veteran back up who can manage a game in a pinch. That's the way it is. I'm astounded at the anti-optimism over Nicely. As long as the OL gives him reasonable time, he's going to be a great ... not average... GREAT QB. Will he be as good as Getsy? Eventually, yes. But he's a true Soph, and Luke came in as a 4th year Junior. Obviously he won't be perfect. So please spare me any "SEE I TOLD YOU SO's!!" after every interception. Everyone knows there will be a few. Luke sure tossed his share.

I'm not much into the chartered bus concept. The bus is good if you're just going from A-to-B to watch the game. I like checking-out the opposing school's campus and going out on the town the evening prior to the game, then tailgating with the locals on game day...and then watching the game. For me, the Zips vs. K.entucky will be a weekend event, not a 4-hour game.

We'll see how it plays-out. I have no concerns about Nicely. I worry about his receivers, where the #2 WR was a safety 9 months ago.

See here.

Why do I feel like we've been reprimanded? :lol: iCoach translation: "The longer we keep Matt in the mix, the less chance he has to find another school and transfer (IUP, Cal Pa., YSU, etc.). We need an experienced back up." If an ACL-repaired, primary-receiver-locking, Daisey One-Pump-armed Rodgers beats out Nicely, we are in a world of trouble in 2010.

It won't affect anything, since everyone already knows Nicely is the starter.

I guess I missed seeing him play -- both when Akron played here in 1991, and the previous year when Huggy brought the Bearcats to Hawaii. Where does he work as a TV analyst -- what network? If you page down, you will note that Mike Waddell serves on the same Board with AB. Go Zips!! AB does color commentary for the Bearcats sports. Watching a replay of the Bearcats/Zips game coverage from 8-or-so years ago, I laughed out loud at his commentary after Bryan Hipsher got absolutely destroyed by a 6' 9", 270 lb UC player on a layup attempt -- "That kid has absolutely NO business being out on the floor against these guys!" Funny story #2 from that game - The Zips went up 2-0 to begin the game. I began chanting "OH-VER-RAY-TED" in the stands. The Bearcat fans looked at be like I was nuts. I said - "Hey, I gotta get it in while I can!" I think the next time the Zips scored, we cut the Bearcat lead down to... 22-4. I knew what I was doing.

Recent WKY Basketball History 9: 21+ win seasons in the past 10 years 5: NCAA appearances in the past 10 years (one Second round berth, one Sweet 16) 2: NIT appearances in the past 10 years I wish the Zips recent history was so downtrodden.

Found this short bio on AB. IMO - one of the top 2 guards ever to play at UA. He proved his worth, transferring from UA to UC for his senior season and starting alongside Nick VanExel on the Bearcats 1992 Final Four team. AB has put on a little weight? I'm glad to see it isn't only me putting on a few extra pounds in middle-age.

It is nice to be in a position to tell a 6' 9" D-1 recruit that he'd need to redshirt.

Few will arrive to tailgate before 1pm. I'm sure you will have no problem finding a large space to set up. Since the conversion to digital TV, not all network stations can be easily viewed in Akron. I'm guessing one or two is the best you can hope. We'll be in Lot #9, directly behind the main scoreboard. If you want to stop in for a beer before you enter the gate, just let me know.

Link Don't tell Syracuse fans, but per the column they are no longer BCS material -