Captain Kangaroo

Gozips, are you willing to put money on that statement?I have a friend who knows absolutely nothing about soccer. Even he knows the Zips will get a #1 seed.

1.) If you need KD to tell you the Zips won't get an at-large after losing a home game to Austin Peay, you need help. KD gets the "Captain Obvious Award" for that observation.KD said the same thing after his loss to Dayton last year. And many other losses before that one. This much is absolutely clear - The Zips will never merit consideration for an NCAA at-large if they lose games like Arkansas-Little Rock, Illinois Chicago, Winthrop, Dayton, Austin Peay, Valpariso and on and on and on...Quit losing games these "measuring stick games" and using the BS excuse that "we weren't going to get an at-large anyways...". Win the games. Then prove to me that the NCAA overlooks the Zips. If we keep losing such games, it should be no shocker that we don't get any at-large consideration.2.) Dambrot constantly grouses about the weak basketball attendance. Lose at home to Austin Peay, in the fashion we lost, and those sell-out crowds will continue to be a pipe dream. Joe Akron doesn't get too revved up about teams that can't beat Austin Peay at home. A big-time buzz-kill to begin the season.3.) "Akron sneaking back into the Top 25?" Top 25 WHAT?Big fat egg laid this afternoon by the Zips men's basketball team. It is as simple as that.Pull out whatever coping mechanism you want...the kids learned something...we just miss that awesome Nate Linhart...Jimmy Conyers is going to bust-out any day now...the football team <insert stadium comment>...it is a long season...the Zips will grow and improve...it was only one game...yadda yadda yadda.The Zips laid a big fat egg this afternoon and saying anything else is slathering a lot of lipstick on a pig of a game.

I like the K.A.N.T. !

Beating Notre Dame in football hasn't been meaningful since the early 90's.

The MAC Championship Game was the best coached game in the D-1A era. Huge come from behind win. Defense adjusted to what NIU was doing and held them to field goals instead of TDs. Zips score seven instead of six and win by one. Many of the games the Zips won under Brookhart had decent coaching. The problem is there are too few of the well coached games and too many of the poorly coached games.With good coaching, the team can do much better next year. After suffering through MAC games this week on TV, I am convinced we can beat any team that has been on TV with the exception of CMU. The players proved to me last week they have talent and can execute a game plan even when they are not put in the best position to win. I was very proud of the players last week and I remain very bullish about the near future of this team.OU is terrible. Too bad it was Nicely's 1st game and not his 4th. Hell...if Nicely plays the entire game we probably beat them.Buffalo is terrible. The INT at game's end hurt us...but a true Fr QB will do that stuff on occasion. Certainly a winnable game.NIU is mediocre. Miller catches the Nicely bomb in the 4th quarter and it is a dramatically different outcome. 17-6 would really have put the heat on NIU.K.e.n.t. is terrible.EMU is terrible.BG is terrible.Temple is a good benchmark for JD and the Zips. Nicely now has his feet wet. The D has held opponents under 29 points in 5 consecutive games (no small feat considering our 26-yard rugby punts, pop up kick-offs and penchant for offensive 3-and-outs). The O-line is coming off their best performance of the season. We're at home.I say - if Tuzze has over 50 yards rushing, we win.

Playing YSU would have made sense a couple years ago, because the Penguins actually had a following. I attended the YSU game 2 weeks ago and there were no more than 5,000 butts in the seats. And it was a key game (7-1 South Dakota State). No one in Mahoning or Trumbull County cares about YSU football anymore.So YSU brings 2,000 fans to Akron? Big whup.Why would Akron travel to a marginal 1-AA school's field? For $150,000? We can get $800,000 going to Happy Valley.Keep scheduling Clarion and Slippery Rock. That's YSU's level.

Let the Peay Talk Flow

Keeping with the sunglasses theme...ESTRADATemple by 1. Zips miss 3 field goals.

On Euton:"Dakotah Euton is a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward who made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts last season"Finally - Someone to fill David "The Antipasta Assassin" Falknor's very big shoes!

I was referring to the Horizon conference and some of the atlantic ten schools that have no football. Their basketball programs are superior to MAC schools because that is their focus. I was trying to say that football isn't a money maker and requires funding to be successful and sometimes it can take away from other programs.Look at the financial numbers from this Zips home football season and tell me if MAC football can or cannot make money.The football team drew 21,000 fans for the K.e.n.t. game. It takes the soccer team 12 matches to equal that, and the basketball team...probably 9 games. A 2-7 team drew 21,000 fans on campus. The cheapest standard ticket was $20.00. Fans in loges and reserved seating paid a lot more. Those fans were also lined-up buying food, drinks, gear, paying for parking...the works. Football can make money at UA. That's why the stadium was built. Proenza isn't stupid.Can UA follow up this season with 18k+ crowds in the future? Sure - if we are committed to winning.I went to a YSU game 2 weeks ago. I'll estimate the actual attendance at 5,000. About 1/3 what they used to average only 5 years ago. If UA gets lazy, or loses it's commitment to winning, attendance will erode.Regarding the "Football/Basketball" schools vs. "Basketball-only" Schools -That's baloney. There are 100 "Basketball-only" schools that are worse than the Zips. And plenty of "Football/Basketball" schools that have equivalent, or better programs than Akron. The only thing that matters is your school's commitment to winning.

It may not be up to KD.If Roberts' grades don't meet the 5th year eligibility criteria, then there's nothing to submit to the NCAA. He needs to be on-track to graduate.Maybe Roberts grades are great...maybe not? I don't know. But it was Roberts' own fault that he had to pay his own way for two seasons. The scholarship was his, and he declined it.Players get injured, players quit, players transfer, players don't make grades, an incoming player can "Grayshirt"...a myriad of highly probable things can happen to open up the final scholarship.

Could THIS finally be the year Conyers busts out? I doubt it...but I wish him well. I predict 4ppg & 4rpg for Jimmy in 2009-10. Percentage-wise, it would be a big increase over his career numbers.Look out for Conyers in 2009-10

Why do that? Unsuccessful ones are a lot cheaper. And, they have a lot of "upside."

Temple has the worst pass defense in the MAC - shouldn't we 'pass the ball and stop the run?'I liked the mix we had at the K.e.n.t. game.Nicely should throw 30 - 40 passes. Not 59, like Keith.

How will we ever keep JD with all these schools looking for coaches?

Why do you even post stupid stuff like this? What's your angle?

And from yesterday's comic section...

Good to see Tom branching out from YouTube videos a little...

K.e.n.t. has 24 more sacks than AkronCle PD:Most successful football teams have an internal motto. In tough times, the motto encourages a leap of faith, giving players the reassurance that what they have done all season is still going to work.At Can't State, this is what they believe now:"We do well together," said senior defensive end Kevin Hogan, a Chardon High School graduate.It's that point in the season for Can't State, as the Golden flushes (5-4, 4-1) sail into uncharted waters against rival Akron (1-7, 0-4) on Saturday, seeking to stay in the hunt for a Mid-American Conference East Division title.The difference could be on the defensive line, where Can't State's 10 players in the rotation have more than just "done well together." The flushes are tied for sixth in the nation in sacks, with an average of 3.33 per game and 30 overall, four off the school record set in 2004. Defensive end Monte Simmons has 71/2 of them and is tied for 13th in the nation individually.Can't has 10 more sacks than anyone else in the MAC, and 24 more than Akron. And Can't's rush to the quarterback is not coming from one spot on the line, but rather from everywhere."Pretty much everybody on the defensive line knows how to play the opposite position," said Hogan, who is third among linemen with four sacks. "Our nose guards know how to play tackle; our ends can play both sides. One advantage this year is there is definitely a lot of trust and accountability, which makes it easy to put different guys in at any time."On a team loaded with freshmen and sophomores, the defensive line has some seniors, including Hogan, Sam Frist and Aaron Hull. Frist and Hull are inside, where the secret to Can't's pass rush begins."Our interior linemen are playing great, some of the best play that I have seen since I have been here," Hogan said. "They're pushing the pocket, creating pressure. One of the things we're doing is pass rushing as a unit rather than rush selfishly. We're accounting for the players we are playing with. That's really helped us become more effective."It also keeps offenses from locking in on one player, or one position trying to slow Can't down."There aren't just one or two people getting sacks. . . . [That's] great for two reasons: One, we're rolling guys in and keeping people fresh. And two, when we're pass-rushing as a unit, it helps with our overall success."That success has Can't State in the MAC East title chase. It is a position Hogan and many of his teammates were in as recently as 2006, only to finish that campaign at 6-6 overall, 5-3 in the conference. That is not where the flushes want to be at the end of 2009."I think the thing we need to do is stay focused, and not become complacent," Hogan said. "That's a problem that past teams have had. Once they've had some success they have become complacent."For us, the things we need to do is focus on one game. Be disciplined and accountable. And take to good coaching. That's where we'll find success."

That's exciting news!

If you've ever seen these early-season, neutral site tourneys on TV, there's usually about 16 people in the stands.It's your call....but if it were me I'd see if I could get some cheapies outside the arena. There's no risk of a sell out.

K.e.n.t is 4-1 in the MAC. Their only blemish is the BG loss on the game's final play.I look at K.e.n.t's talent, and I don't see it being any better than Akron's. Am I wrong? JD cries about his injuries...K.e.n.t. lost their Eugene Jarvis for the season in game #1...they are relying on a 3rd string, true Freshman QB...yet somehow they are 4-1 in the MAC. Who are these 14 key players we lost for the season?Jacquemain? Please. It is a miracle he lasted as long as he did. His "leadership" capabilities were on display as early as 2006.Excerpt for the 2006 Post: Bowser - Legit loss. But no worse than K.e.n.t losing Jarvis.Is Bain a loss? The guy never played!Is Dale Martin a loss? He's been hurt since he was at Louisville. Matt Rodgers? He was getting pulled in favor of Nicely on the next series anyhow.Aaron Williams? Tough kid. I feel terrible for him. But 200lb linebackers tend to get banged up in Division 1-A football.We are losing at near-record pace because our special teams are atrocious and our offensive line is grossly under performing.If the Zips punted effectively, made a decent share of their field goals and got any sort of an offensive line push...we would be 5-3.

If that line proves effective, do you mind if I occasionally use it too?

Crush the OrangeI'm jealous. Wonder how much money LeMoyne University Marketing would have needed to spend to get the publicity their basketball program provided last night?

I think he spent sufficient time on Zeke over the past few weeks.Based upon his writings, he doesn't see Zeke contributing all that much in 2009-10, so why mention him?