Captain Kangaroo

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I liked it too. But I hope they don't do it during a TV time out again. There's only so much uninterrupted clapping one can muster. Per my son - "This is the longest cheer ever."

Yes I heard the quote in question.If you missed it this week, wait until Wednesday. You'll hear it again. 38th verse, same as the 1st.

No. Dambrot is wrong.Dambrot ALWAYS whines about the fans, and attendance. After almost every game he grouses about the people that AREN'T in the seats, rather than appreciating the fans that ARE in the seats. When his team goes in the crapper, he grouses that "all the fans think we stink anyhow." But they don't. Dambrot wants to paint a "It's us against everyone!" picture. F*ck that.I race home for these weekday games, pick up my son from school, get him fed and dressed, wife gets home from work in Cleveland and hurriedly gets changed into her Zips gear. We take our 25-30min drive down to Akron, walk two blocks in 11degree weather to enter a steaming JAR and support the Zips Basketball Program. Dambrot takes that for granted. He preaches tough love to his players, but if a fan wants to express some tough love towards the program...well...then EVERYONE MUST be against him.Yesterday the team put on a listless performance, losing to a team they are eminently capable of beating. In the past two full games, the Zips have barely given the fans a reason to leave their seat (to cheer) during the game. What fun is that? Players are getting suspended. We got SMOKED by K.e.n.t. These last few weeks have pretty much sucked for all but those fans with the last name of Dambrot. You know what? If you express dissatisfaction with that, you probably care about the program. FOR SHAME! But - Us fans are all terrible. We need to put on our hair shirt and repent for days-on-end if we say the team is underachieving.Dambrot needs to realize the love goes both ways. Dambrot needs to realize their are a ton of fans busting their ass, speeding their families through all sorts of crappy NE Ohio weather, to support his team. Fans that are paying $15.00ea, or more, for multiple tickets per game. And those fans get crapped on after every home post game press conference.I'm tired of Dambrot hating on the fans. Fix your issues on the court and the fans will meet your expectations.Quit taking one fan and generalizing that ALL fans are That Guy, because it is ridiculous. You think you're motivating your players by telling them "it's us against the world." But you're just embedding a false impression that fosters dissension.I attend all the games. I'll call a spade a spade if we play listlessly or well. I'll celebrate if we win the MAC tourney, and I'll be pissed if we lose to K.e.n.t. by 20 in the MAC quarterfinals. If you handle it differently, good for you. But you're a no better fan than me, or anyone else, for doing so.

Zips Offer Small-school Illinois Star

QB Chooses UMass

Thanks Keith.

I think EMU is better than us. They have an assassin's mentality. The Zips go soft to the rim. EMU drove hard. The Zips were afraid to take the big shot. EMU shot with confidence. The Zips miss crucial free throws. EMU seems to make them. The hard truth - We aren't as good a team as EMU.

I wish I were young and impressionable so I could get excited over this commitment. I've just been burnt too many times...

Latest

1. With 30 seconds to go in regulation, Ohio's freshman point guard indicated he didn't know which play to run. Ended up dribbling the ball for 30 seconds and then throwing up a desperation 28 footer.I'm suing for copyright infringement. Dambrot ran that same play with Dru Joyce for years.

#14 ranked DB by OhioVarsity.Ball State LOVES Ohio DB's?!

Updated List as of Feb 3rd, 2010 @ 8:40amIf there are errors (I'm sure there are) please let me know.Thanks,CK

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Because this program is not very good right now. We need to take at least one or 2 chances a year on a kid that we normally have no chance of getting. This kid is at a BCS school if his grade were good.Am I the only one having flushbacks to a couple years ago. Seriously, it is like de ja vu all over again around here.Three comments -1.) Amato had just as many "non-qualifiers" on his roster as the Zips. While Akron had a couple kids who were Prop 48 and sat out year #1 (like Andre Jones), Amato had the same kids who went through a prep school due to grades, then enrolled at NC State. Same kid. Different path. Amato is a hypocrite.2.) There is a big difference between taking a flier on two or three "BCS-level, grade-questionable" kids per class, and basing 1/2 or 2/3rd's of your recruiting class on such kids. You can't cry about every kid that doesn't have a 3.0 GPA out of a 23 kid recruiting class.3.) UA's academic support for athletes has improved by leaps and bounds since the JD-era. Boarderline kids have a lot better chance of being successful in the classroom today than they would have in 2006.If a 2-time Mr. Football, Stark County Player of the Decade wants to attend UA, you take him. How would you feel if he'd have selected K.e.n.t. over UA?

In the history of Zips athletics, no "Mr. Football/Mr. Basketball/"Super-Duper All-Star" has ever made a meaningful contribution. In fact, all have been HUGE busts, often barely seeing the playing field or court.Marcus Sanders (#5 all time Ohio HS rusher and Minnesota transfer), Christian Morgan ("stole him" from Ohio State), Nate Robinson (#1 HS DL in the entire nation), Ryan Bain (Top 50 HS player), John Carson (Top 50 HS player), Emmanuel Smith (Ohio Mr. Basketball), Derrick Tarver (leading JUCO scorer in the nation), DeVoe Torrence (highly regarded OSU recruit - Note: His story end still unwritten)etc etc etc. I hope Howard bucks the trend and has a record-setting career. But odds are the best kid in the 2010 recruiting class will be someone who's accolade-deficient.

Fear the Ru-per?

Who was defending Kool last night?I think the idea was "let Kool shoot, don't let anyone else shoot, see what happens".Does it scare anyone that both Pierce and Kool torched the Zips for 30+? That was almost unthinkable two weeks ago?

Here's some reading material for you

Take those videos with a grain of salt. Best video I have ever watched of a recruit coming to Akron was this guy.That Sean Hakes video was a sweet one too.

Boise State should send their scrubs to play Toledo and save their 1st teamers for Va Tech. They could probably play both on the same day? It would be like when King Kong Bundy single-handedly took on a tag team duo.Interesting note - Captain Kangaroo was King Kong Bundy for a 1985 Halloween party on Annadale Avenue. If I find a photo, I am not too proud to post it.

I follow the ladies team in the newspaper, but that's about it. No knock on the program...that's just the way it isKest has done an amazing job turning around a program that was among the absolute dregs of D-1 women's hoops. If it continues, it could be one of the all-time greatest program turnarounds in college basketball history. It seemed like 5 years ago, every article in the paper mentioned "The Lady Zips were led by Sarah Tokodi..." Then it went to "The Lady Zips were led by Kara Murphy..." Now it seems a different girl's name is highlighted every game. They seem to have developed a very good team.If they make the MAC Tourney finals - I'll attend.And to address G-Mann's comments - I will go on the record as saying I was all for Kelly Kennedy-Kebe's dismissal, as well as the party posse that Kest cleaned out early-on.

As the NCAA continues to phase-out the likelihood of at-large NCAA tourney bids for midmajors, does the "Bracketbuster" name need to be changed? "NIT Buster?""Non-BCS Bitch Slap Prelims?""February False-hope Extravaganza?"Five years ago it was truly an NCAA Bracketbuster in name and in actuality. It was a good way of separating weak conference pretenders with gaudy records from from "real" mid-majors who could run with the Big Dogs. It isn't any longer.I love the Bracketbuster because it has given us 4 games with Nevada and VCU. If not for the Bracketbuster, we'd have played lesser opponents. That is a fact. And we wouldn't be on TV. The Bracketbuster is great for the Zips program, and for Zips fans. But it ain't helping us get into the NCAA tourney.My soap box comment of the day - Look for the local print, radio and blog media to pick up on this topic...and not give ZipsNation credit for the angle. I get tired of that. ZN always provides story links to various traditional media sites. It is almost unheard of that we get any credit when the scenario is reversed.

Signing Day List Filling Up

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