Captain Kangaroo

Anyone else notice the "Fear the Bobcat" and "Fear the Red Hawk" T-shirts at The Q last month? Copying an ACC school is one thing...but copying a team in your OWN CONFERENCE takes it to a whole new level.I was in Annapolis a few weeks ago and "Fear the Goat" paraphernalia was on sale everywhere. Fear the [iNSERT MASCOT] is here to stay. The terrapins should be kicking themselves. Of course, they stole it from the Disney "Fear the Mouse" campaign, so who's to say...

I will forever call 1-AA schools 1-AA. The NCAA can put whatever lame marketing lipstick they want on that pig, but it is still 1-AA.

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Does Jacquemain Feast on a Depleted Secondary?

Two years ago at a Meet the Team event I introduced myself to Jeff. I told him I was a moderator for ZipsNation and asked if he could answer a couple questions. He in turn answered all the questions, then gave me his cell # and offered "If you ever have any questions about the program in the future, please call me." I only took him up on the offer a couple times, but when I did he responed thoroughly and immediately. He'd occasionally pass along "inside info," the type of thing all of us on the board live for. Jeff respected our board. That a person in his position would place trust in some goofball adult who calls himself Captain Kangaroo on an internet message board speaks a lot for what he is about - a guy that gave his all to the UA hoops program. Whether it was bringing the most heralded recruit in the program's history on campus, or doing his best to get fans interested and excited about the program by passing along information.I sent him a short text message and congratulated him on his new position. In typical fashion he responded immediately. He expressed gratitude to UA and pride in the Zips accomplishments during his tenure, then finished with the statement "I'll always be a Zip!" Considering he's an OU grad, I thought that was pretty cool.Jeff is a great coach, great family man and a great ambassador for UA's hoops program. Like any fan of the program should, I'll miss him. And who knows, maybe a few years down the road he returns?Hey...anyone have his replacement's cell # handy? ;-)

Who has been associated with more schools - Antonio Gates or Williams?

Jeff is a great guy and I wish him all the best.We were fortunate to have him for as long as we did.Can't won multiple MAC championships with three entirely different coaching staffs within a decade. If the Zips program is as good as we all believe it is, I think this is a disappointing, but very minor setback.

Word is he has a realistic shot at becoming a Zip?He wants to attend OSU...but OSU doesn't necessarily want his services.

At first glance I thought this was a thread regarding the 2009 regular season? Any idea when the Zips '09 schedule will be released?

I noticed the announcers CONSTANTLY talking about Boston U's "talent." Every play BU made was due to their "talent." Miami was ip 3-1 with 59 seconds remaining and the announcers never once strung the words "Miami" and "talent" together in a sentence.It reminded be of the Boise State/Oklahoma game. The entire game, every time after Oklahoma made a great play, they blurted "Now you can see where the talent and depth of the Big 12 is taking over...". How'd that work out?I hate announcers in Mid-major vs. Major events. The mid-major never gets any respect.BTW - I do realize Miami is a Top NCAA hockey program. But they aren't Boston U.

It came out of Waters' mouth. I heard it.The quote (now three years old) - "Keith's done a great job at Akron. We aren't at that level yet...we have MAYBE 3 D-1 players on our roster right now."Assuming that was the real reason, then I'd expect he would revist the decision. The programs are on the same competitive plane now.

I read on a web site that some guy's dad thinks Dambrot will get the Xavier job, so it must be true.

My recruiting pitch to Adrian - Play at UA and even if you shoot 3-17 from the field the scoreboard will display 50%. Can Dayton's do that?!

McNees got "posterized," there's no other way to put it. I'm sure the guys on the team will give him grief about it for years to come. That said, he played 32 minutes at point guard against a Top 20 team and committed ZERO turnovers. He really stepped up at years end when Humpty was injured. The elevation of his game was perhaps the biggest contributor to the Zips post-Toledo roughshod march though the MAC Tourney.Did he shoot 0-9 in the Gonzaga game? Sure. But there's not much you can do as a shooter but keep on shootin'. His shots were all good looks...he didn't force anything.One of my all time favorite dunks was John Starks driving baseline on Michael Jordan and stuffing it in his face. If you play the game, at some point you're gonna get posterized.If I'm McNees I send Pargo an SI and have him autograph it.

Not the Chris Webber Fab 5 either...

Corner Blitz?

There are all sorts of odd traditions out there. For example - I know that K.e.n.t. football recruits wear skirts and lipstick on signing day.

100% agreed. Roberts is a proven commodity. He gets the scholarship. You can't take away what the kid has earned.

I think the band should switch to the 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5 stack formation.

That would be dirty pool in my book. The first scholarship available after Zeke's should be Roberts', and I'm sure it will be.

I didn't get an opportunity to post any thoughts or insights from the spring game until now. Here they are -* I probably learned less from this spring game than any other in history. Too many players sat the game out.* Jacquemain looks to be the starter, whether you like it or not. Rogers had his moments, but he didn't go through his progressions nearly as well as Jacquemain. Rogers will see playing time in 2009, but I just don't see him beating out Jacq.* I didn't notice any other QB's getting a single snap?* Nate Burney acquitted himself well. He's a little guy, but ran tough and showed decent hands. He is Youngstown Cardinal Mooney's #2 all-time leading rusher, so you know the kid has some game. FYI - He transferred from Ashland.* Nadir Brown looked raw, but impressive. If he wants to be a great WR...LOOK-OUT! He'll be almost impossible to stop in the MAC.* Bain's back is not looking good. He's beginning some treatments on his back in May.* Lots of recruits on hand. There couldn't have been a better showcase for them with the sunny weather...stadium glistening...standing-room-only crowd...very impressive.* Evan Laube's career may be over due to bad knees. He sat out the spring and may/may not give it a go in the fall.* Alex Allen is in top-shape. Can he stay healthy in 2009...who knows? He is healthy now, and was held out of contact drills for precautionary reasons.* The Zips changed the Football Golf Outing date from Monday June 8th to June 15th. Thus I now can't attend. That sucks.* If Bain doesn't play, the D-line remains suspect. Hazime looked good, as did Marquinn Davis. But they have a ways to go to before they dominate.* Spoke to JD for a bit on the new coaching staff additions. He said he was fortunate to get Harris, Montgomery and Ocruch on board. He speculated that other schools didn't want them because their HC's had too big an ego. His approach was to surround himself with the best talent possible.* TE was manned by a mish-mash of fill-ins. None looks like they could catch. Maybe off-season work outs change that. I hope so.* What happened to Igor? I could see Rogovic taking his job.That's all I got.

JD's Old HS?

I would vote for kazoos and armpit farts from the fans...all 30,000 of them...to the tune of "Eye of the Tiger." Opponent won't know what hit 'em.

Quality tailgating! Period! If the environment is a traditional campus tailgate environment, Infocision will be successful. If people are hassled and the tailgating is micromanaged, it will turn people off and kill attendance.Do not underestimate how critical the handling of tailgating is to overall attendance. The University gets one chance to make a first impression with the community. If they blow it, it will take years to recover.

I think some kid, or kids would have gotten killed if we played that game. It is one thing to schedule a 1-AA game. But these guys don't even meet the minimum requirements of 1-AA. They're essentially Division II. I do know Lee Owens would have pulled an on-side kick on these guys if he were coaching against them, but only if we were up by more than 30. And if we were up 58-0, he would re-insert his starting RB to punch in that final TD and make 100% certain he hit 65.