Captain Kangaroo

Ford said he is not concerned about Evans' character or the potential risk involved. Hey...why would Ford be concerned about character or potential risk...the kid seems pretty squeaky-clean?

I thought this was a great topic...I just never got a few free minutes to respond.About 6 years ago my wife and I were in Arizona, with ZERO access to any game information aside from the ESPN TV scroll/ticker. We were following the Miami/Akron score closely...and at games end the Zips WON! We went to a fancy local grocery store...got some nice wine and cheese to celebrate the win against the sweaters...man, we had a nice night. Until about 10pm, when the score ticker suddenly showed we'd lost?? WTF?! I called my buddy and he said "...you won't believe it..." It was the "Big Ben" game where we batted a pass into the Miami receiver's hands for a TD on the game's final play. Man, that sucked. In hindsight, at least I got to celebrate for a few hours.Fast forward to 2008 -- I was on a flight from Arizona and missed the entire EMU game Saturday. I got home and saw we'd won 42-35. Before deciding on a celebration plan, I check the score several different time! Apparently it was true?!As a starter we had an always-excellent Paraduxx Red. My son got whatever can of pop he wanted. (mugs of root beer).Had some Heinen's crab/shrimp/salmon cakes, some nice cheese and crackers...a little Port to finish it off...it was a good night. Too many people get pissed because we didn't win like we were supposed to...or didn't win by enough...or only won because the opponent gave it to us on a silver platter. You take a win any way you can get it. The MAC always has bizarre endings. Just expect it and enjoy it. Enjoy seeing the Zips winning score scroll across the national sports TV screens all evening.I guarantee the Miami fans don't grouse about their luck in getting that ricochet TD pass...nor do they whine about the bank shot that beat us in hoops...so when it's time for the sun to shine on the kangaroo's butt for a change, you gotta enjoy it. :cheers:

"BCS" schools find recruiting against "mid-majors" is no longer a slam-dunk

Per Joe Nemer -- "The Ryder Cup was over on September 21st. The European team partied in Akron for a couple weeks, then went home. I closed up shop. Wanna buy 59lbs of falafel mix?"

If the NCAA didn't do anything about the crooked refs in the Pitt/WVa Big East Championship game last season...or the Michigan State/Hawai'i game that kept us out of a bowl a few years ago... they won't do anything about this crooked ref either.

Allen has 1 more year left. Depending upon his appeal for a 6th season, he may have 2.

Post game Quote:"It was amazing," J.D. Brookhart told Joe Dunn on the postgame radio show. "Andy is a great kid. I'm always pulling for him."JD is SOOOOOOOOO dissing Hildreth. If I read it correctly a few days ago, Hildreth has a scholarship? The back up punter/holder is on scholarship and someone's grousing that the coach has it out for him? There are plenty of upper-major D1 schools that have walk on starting place kickers. We give our back up punter a scholarship and his "fans" (I never knew back up MAC punters had fans) freak out? He's the "Nick Goddard" of the football team.JD has a lot better things to do than brood over how he can mess with his back up punter...3rd string nose guard...18 year old true freshman DL...flag line girl...or whatever other inane scenario someone wants to dream up.

Former walk on. Marginal talent, at best. True freshman Redshirt Freshman True Freshman with a broken handThree freshman and a walk on aren't playing much. Man, that really sounds like grounds for a conspiracy theory to me. Why not throw in Cowles Stewart while you're at it? He's out for the season with an injury...but I hear it is all a cover up. He's healthy as a horse...there's just a vendetta against him.

The bad thing regarding our Bottom 5 ranking in rush defense is our level of competition. We ain't exactly facing Heisman trophy candidates every week...we just make every chump RB look like one.Brookhart is correct in his "short field" comment, however. If Jacq doesn't turn into Roman Gabriel when his back's to the endzone in the 4th quarter, our defensive porosity is masked a bit. We beat BG, we beat Cinci. If you're a "manage the game" QB, you need to be one for 4 full quarters...not 3 1/2. He needs to somehow gain some late-game poise over the next 2 1/2 weeks and quit putting our D in impossible (for them) situations.

What's up with Bryan Williams? He's getting one or two tackles more than me, and I'm a 42 year old guy in the stands? No solo tackles vs. K.e.n.t, 1 solo tackle & 1 assist vs. BG, 2 solo tackles and one assist vs. EMU?By comparison @ EMU: Carter had 10 solos, Cobham had 8 solo's and Thomas had 7 solos. In the turnover department, Williams has 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery on the season?And I don't want to hear any "They're running/throwing away from him" stuff. Opponents avoided Dwight like K.e.n.t. State football avoids wins, and Dwight made his presence felt in every game.Our defense is playing very poorly going into the break, and if we're going to have any chance of righting the ship we need Bryan Williams to start playing like the 3rd round NFL draft pick pretty much everyone expected (in September) he'd become.

A new CSU football program would affect Zips' recruiting as much as Hiram or Muskingum.

Flemming is injured. He will play in 2009 assuming he recovers well.Why is he not on a roster? Ask DaVon Moore.

From sunny Tuscon...and yes I was at the game yesterday...If you truly win as a team and lose as a team, the BG game was a textbook example. A total team loss.Jacq's well known two left feet killed us. He's less of a threat to run than Wally Pendleton. Took ill-advised sacks...tossed a crippling late-game INT...he was at his worst when we needed a poised QB the most.WR's dropped a ridiculous amount of passes.And no, that doesn't excuse Jacq for the above-mentioned blunders.Defense both bent, and broke.Kick coverage was terrible!Bates' snaps continue to rival the t-shirt cannon in their elevation.2nd half playcalling was terrible. Again. We can't bank on a choking kicker to win it for us every week! Kennedy has 186 yards...but there's no confidence that he can get 2 yards on 3rd-and-goal from the 2??? BG bails us out by throwing a late pass that allows us to keep a time out...and we take that time out into the locker room after the game!!??This is the second home game in a row that the offensive playcalling went "Boise State." Which is fine if you're playing Oklahoma and it is your only chance to win. But we're playing mediocre mid-majors whom we are imminently capable of beating "straight up." Bad offensive playcalling has let our opponents off the hook so many times recently it boarders on absurd.They say it is good for an army to see a dead general every once in a while. I think Moorhead should run some stadium gassers on Monday. He was as much at fault as Jacq, the D, the WR's and the special teams.I think that's what is so frustrating about this team...we play terribly...and we're barely losing. If we could just execute a solid gameplan, we obviously have the talent to beat anyone in the MAC.But we don't execute...and we're losing.And a final note to the BG douches complaining about the Rubber Bowl. If you're a BG fan and you didn't think yesterday was as good as it gets for tailgating and college football...you should admit you know nothing about college football and kill yourself.

I'm guessing if his appeal had gone well, there would have been no use in making it public. Since the appeal was denied and he was officially out for the season, it was time.

Thanks for the complement. We try pretty hard to keep things on the up-and-up. Zips fans are generally pretty nice, knowledgeable people, so it works out good for us.

Here is an overview of the Ryan Bain situation, as best I can gather. I hope you can appreciate that I made phone calls and tried to assemble the most accurate answers possible. Q: "What is the illegal substance that the NCAA flagged Ryan Bain on?" A: Despite what some seem to want…there is no conspiracy theory here. The NCAA recently updated its "banned substances" list. It added a supplement readily available a GNC, and one which Ryan Bain had been using. Unfortunately it appears the NCAA doesn't do a great job of informing players about such updates. Ryan tested positive for it and was suspended.Q: "Seems like a raw deal? Couldn't he appeal the decision?" A: With the backing of the University (they didn't leave him hung out to dry) Ryan did appeal. As with appeals of most NCAA decisions, it was denied. His only chance to successfully appeal was if a trainer or coach had recommended the supplement. And that wasn't the case.Q: "Is Ryan Bain leaving the program?" A: No. He'll be playing for the Zips next season. But the kid is pretty devastated. It will be easy for people to lump this issue in with the problems in recruiting a few classes ago. But that's unfair. From everything I can gather…and I have talked to several different people in and around the University…Ryan Bain is a solid kid who caught a really bad break. People can believe what they want, but that's about all there is to it. Right now it sucks to be Ryan Bain.Q: "What's the deal with his 'injury'? Was that just a smoke screen?" A: There's a really good chance Ryan Bain would not play this season regardless of the NCAA's decision. He has a foot stress fracture in a bad location. It is healing well, but there is still a lot of pain. If the pain persists, surgery is likely.Q: "Why'd it take so long for this story to appear on ZipsNation, or anywhere else?" A: Several reasons. On the ZipsNation side the concern was strictly accuracy, and getting the story straight. If I had posted the rumors I heard a few weeks ago, I would have been wholly inaccurate. The UA Athletic Department would have killed me, and justifiably so. Unlike a lot of you on this board, I'm not a "faceless" guy. I know all the coaches, Mack and Hunter, and they know me. They all seem to trust me, and I'd like to think that trust is earned. If I go posting every rumor I hear…especially ones that put the University or it's employees in a bad light…then the ZipsNation doesn't get the inside scoops on recruiting, scheduling, etc that are most imortant to the vast majority of you. ZipsNation does not want to be a K.e.n.t.-esque whiney rumor mill. That's lame.If you look at my posts, I'm as critical as anyone on just about all issues. And I get my share of cold shoulders from administrators and ear-fulls from players parents because of it. But it's all good, I guess. In the end people still check out the board and help us out.Bain was a Top 50 player in the nation a few years ago. In his time he's been here he's practiced hard...and for 3 years at UA it appears all he's going to get out of it is 12 or 13 games of football. And his degree. I'm sure that wasn't what he planned.It is the popular thing to do to pile on the guy when he's down, and not give him the benefit of the doubt. Unless I hear otherwise, I'm going with what I have been told by several independent sources. He got screwed by a recently enacted rule. It sucks to be Ryan Bain. I hope he can get past it, heal, practice this spring and be the bad ass nose tackle we all hoped he would be in 2009. If Tom Gaffney finds out more, good for him. I'm open to any new information. Remember - I'm an Engineer. This is my hobby. A passion for sure, but my access is only what I can shoe-horn in. I hope you understand that.Beat BG.

I vote that Akron wins by 10 or more. Why?BG is a mentally weak team. You don't lose 65-7 in a bowl game unless you are mentally weak.You don't go on the road and beat Pitt....then lose at home to Eastern Michigan...unless you are mentally weak.You don't lose half of your 2007 defense to arrests...unless you are undisciplined and weak.The only Dr Z "if" I will place is - IF we jump on them, they'll fold. People don't give K.e.n.t.'s defense much credit. Those guys played a tough game last week. K.e.n.t. lost to Ball State by the same score as Akron. K.e.n.t.'s better than their record indicates...they just have a choker kicker, and 30 years of losing to overcome every time they step on the field.K.e.n.t.'s defense gave us fits...but they have the best defense of any team we'll play the remainder of the season. We will romp on BG offensively. Even Dennis Kennedy should be good for 80+ yards rushing. Defensively - We'll be fine. BG doesn't have a big-play offense. And the Zips create a lot of turnovers. Our offense will give the D some time to rest this week. The D will do enough to win.Zips 52 BG 31

Thanks for the updates, Ms. Bozeman! We all really appreciate them! Any truth to the rumor the McKeesport football asked Zeke to temporarily trade in his crown for a football helmet and block a late-game field goal? Keep in touch!

The Next Rick Upchurch?

Nick Davis and John Fink are...Spanky and PorkyJosh Dodge & Al "Tool Time" BorlandTyler Donahue & Dracula

Nice start! Their Link

There is only one real tailgate lot at The Rubber Bowl -- The parking area adjacent to the airport runway. Great atmosphere, and it will be jumpin' BIGTIME Saturday night. Below is a Rubber Bowl Parking map link:Rubber Bowl Parking MapTailgating is in the "General Parking" area. The closer you get to the mapped section marked "Tailgate Area," close to the stadium, the better. But be aware that "tailgate area" is a paved lot reserved for donors and is off-limits to the general public. It is usually empty until 2 minutes before kick off too.Directions? Take I-77 south to the 224 exit. Drive about 1-mile (on Rt 224) until you hit a stop light. Go left at the light.About 300 feet up the road you can take a left. Do it. DO NOT GO STRAIGHT. You'll shortly end up at the top of a hill facing the massive air dock. Go right (Derby Downs Rd?), down the hill and you're "there." Get there early if you want a good tailgate spot!Bars? There's a BW-3's on campus (keep in mind the Rubber Bowl is 7 miles off campus, and there are no real bars nearby). After that, there are several decent bars downtown. Ohio Brewing Co. and The Barley House are decent places and seem to support the Zips. Both are a stone's throw from Canal Park, on Main Street.

You're really reaching when you complain about your QB's late 4th-quarter touchdown pass that essentially won the game. You throw the ball where your WR can catch it and let him do his job. Daunte Culpepper made a career out of tossing balls "in the general vicinity" of Randy Moss. When a guy is covered like Bowser was, one-on-one, you toss it up high and let him make a play. I like Bowsers' chances to out-jump and out-fight ANY MAC cornerback.

Your "beer" quips are really cute. And, they are a great way to avoid substance. Stating it is OK to play OSU, but Penn State is TOTALLY different? That's great too. Especially if you qualify it with a "Duh."There's a reason GP1 has the tag line:"...you want it to be one way. But it's the other way." It's for you.