Captain Kangaroo

I disagree that C-USA would be a step up for the Zips. Especially if Memphis left for the Big East. CUSA may presently have more bowl tie-ins, but that would certainly change if they lost a team like Memphis.Right now Memphis is the Gonzaga of CUSA. They're pretty much guaranteed a high seed every year in hoops. Conversely, Big East Cincinnati missed the tourney last season with a fairly decent hoops squad. Big East hoops kicked Gary Waters' ass and he's a great coach.The Zips have a home game for the MAC hoops tourney final every season if they choose. I like our Championship chances there, as opposed to travelling to Charlotte or wherever the CUSA tourney is held.A final note: I can't imagine any visiting CUSA football team drawing more than a few flies to the Rubber Bowl. Maybe Marshall would draw well...but even that is debatable...they've blown goats since Leftwitch left town. Akron vs. Rice

Penn-Trafford receiver Tim Cortazzo has scholarship offers from Akron and Temple. More could be on the way for the 6-foot, 180-pounder, who had 37 receptions for 726 yards and eight touchdowns last season -- after he ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at Joe Butler's Metro Index camp. The scholarship count for Greensburg Central Catholic receiver Nick Sukay is at 20 after offers this week from Georgia and Iowa. Sukay said Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and assistant John Latina are scheduled to visit GCC on Friday, and coaches from Michigan and Ohio State also are expected this week. - Chances of him becoming a Zip appear to be fading?Quarterback Cody Catalina received an offer from AkronSeneca Valley offensive lineman Donny Barclay was a no-show for Metro Index but it apparently didn't hurt his recruiting, as Akron offered Monday.

Baseball standout going back to football By Paul SchofieldTRIBUNE-REVIEWSaturday, May 13, 2006 Ryan Flynn is having a great baseball season for Allegany College of Maryland. He's the team's leading hitter, batting .409, and his coach, Steve Bazarnic, said he's one of the best defensive second basemen he's coached in 35 years. "I call him Red Schoendienst," said Bazarnic, after the former St. Louis Cardinals manager and second baseman. "Ryan has great hands and is quick at turning the double play. He's a special player and has done an outstanding job in the classroom." Flynn, a redshirt freshman from Latrobe, has helped Allegany College (41-7) to a No. 1 seed in the NJCAA Division II Region tournament this weekend at Frederick, Md. But despite scoring 59 runs, collecting 67 hits, 14 doubles and driving in 33 runs, this may be Flynn's final collegiate baseball season. That's because the 2004 Latrobe graduate has decided to pursue his first love, playing college football. Flynn plans to walk on as a quarterback at the University of Akron this fall. He still has three years of eligibility remaining to play football. Flynn, who passed for 4,013 yards and holds numerous passing records at Latrobe, was recruited in high school as a quarterback and baseball player. But things didn't work out in football for Flynn, and then an elbow injury during baseball season put his future on hold. Flynn had Tommy John surgery in June 2004 and was forced to sit out an entire season. He returned to athletic competition at Allegany College (Cumberland, Md.) and has shined on the baseball field. "Football is my first love," Flynn said. "Don't get me wrong, I love baseball, too. But I want to give football a shot and if it doesn't work out I'll go back to baseball." When Flynn was in high school, numerous colleges recruited him to play football, including Pitt and Akron. After going through extensive rehab and not being able to be competitive for more than a year, Flynn decided to play baseball at Allegany. It's a decision he doesn't regret. He said his arm is stronger than ever and he has no more pain when he throws. "I had to learn how to throw again," Flynn said. "It was hard watching my teammates play. Being an athlete and not competing was terrible." But it was something he had to do. "I'm glad I came here," Flynn said. "It's the best team and group of players I've been around. The chemistry here is unbelievable. "And Coach Bazarnic has taught me a lot about the game. He's told me a lot of college baseball coaches are calling and that I could play anywhere. A school will have to blow me away with an offer to get me to change my mind." Bazarnic said Flynn has great baseball instincts, but he knows football is his passion. Flynn, however, hasn't played football for more than two years and he's looking forward to getting to camp. "I didn't miss the pounding," said the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Flynn. "But I miss the game. I need to get back into football shape and see what I can do. "It's going to be hard to walk away from baseball. But I'm willing to take that risk to play football."

Per the PD the Zips signed Oscar Odoch from England. He'll be eligible this fall. Listed as "an attacking center midfielder."

Per the PD...and as speculated by Sloopy a few days ago...the new women's coach is Jodi Kest, head coach (former) at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Click for Irrelevant Zips K/P who had a 10yr pro career

Lineman picks Michigan StateGreater Latrobe offensive lineman Paul Simkovich, a 6-foot-4, 298-pound junior, made a verbal commitment to Michigan State. Simkovich, who projects as a guard, chose the Spartans over offers from Akron and Temple."Michigan State has been in on Paul for a couple years now and saw him in spring of his sophomore year and invited him to their camps," Latrobe coach Pat Murray said.

BTW ZipDad57 - I had the posts related to the tailgating and bus trips deleted. It was apparently old, inaccurate news. Someone from the University told be plans are still evolving. I will try and find out details and inform The 'Nation as soon as I learn more.

I sent a pretty extensive letter to the University detailing the problems with the tailgate lot, as well as ideas to fix them. That's the best I can do. I tried to make tailgatefest a success as best I could. So did about 4 other groups. If the University thinks jacking up the price to $250 per spot will create a big party atmosphere...they're nuts. I'll be back in the grass @ $4.00 per car rather than pay $250.00. The parties back there were always pretty rockin anyhow.Note: I expect a premium will need to be paid to tailgate at our new on campus stadium. I get that. I don't get paying $250 to park at the Rubber Bowl.

Pic is actually from a Penn State football preview, circa 1999.

Lee Owens: "Butchie, I want you to run the draw play."Butchie: "But Coach, its 3rd and 7"Lee Owens: "I KNOW! That's the point! They'll never expect it!"Butchie: "But Coach, no one had covered Lavel Bailey all game. I can hit him for a first down no sweat."Lee Owens: "Butchie, never underestimate the element of surprise!"Butchie: But Coach...we run that Goddamn 3rd and 7 draw play every MF-ing game. Everyone knows it's comin'. Hell...those drunk Mf-ers in the endzone are screaming 'DON"T RUN THE DRAW PLAY' at the top of their lungs! Just let me throw it to Lavel!!"Lee Owens: "Draw play to Chris Rooney. Run it or I'll put in Gromek."Announcer: "...and a loss of 2 yards for the Zips brings up a 4th and 9."

My Sekai Greer memory:We're beating Hampton something like 58-0 and Lee Owens puts Greer in to punch in a 5 yard TD to go to 65-0. Greer fumbles twice. A frustrated Lee Owens inserts starter Bobby Hendy...who had already taken off his thigh pads...to get the score up to 65-0. This is the same Lee Owens that called the onside kick when we were beating Liberty 42-14 in the 4th quarter. Lee really liked trying to humiliate the 1-AA lower echelon.Hey...its a slow board period...as good a time as any to discuss obscure Zips memories.

The entry .pdf on the GoZips web site now loads, but is painfully slow. If you have dial-up, forget it.Not stated in the entry text: The event is a four-man scramble and there is a nice Adidas Cool Max golf shirt for all who enter.

He's up to 248 lbs??Sekai Greer Fans...both of you... - Click Here!

Apparently the old Zips football golf outing is returning after a 4-year (or so) stint with the Varsity A as a "General Sports Outing." I'm happy to see it. That thing was at it's best when it was a football-focused event.$150.00 is a bit steep (compared to the $100 fee last year) but Prestwick is a hell of a lot nicer than Mayfair.Beware the links to the entry .pdf don't work at this time.Click for Some Details

I talked to the keyboardist for the Michael Stanley Band yesterday. He says Hixson won't cut it in the NFL. I'm going to get the drummer from Devo's opinion on Luke Getsy next.

B.J. is also the bassist for Hellvis!!?? Boy the Salem News has some serious journalistic standards! Click to Learn About Hellvis

Click for "A Guy That Knows Frye"

"I was also kinda shocked when Denver drafted me"

Two articles from competitive papers. An interesting read even if the kid didn't choose the Zips:Did Jeter make the right choice? By Kevin GormanTRIBUNE-REVIEWSunday, April 30, 2006Lance Jeter was a first-team all-state selection in football and basketball, so it was no surprise the Beaver Falls star struggled to decide which sport to play in college.Jeter ultimately chose to play football at Cincinnati, picking the Bearcats last week over basketball offers from Akron and George Washington.Did he make the right choice?A college coach once said, if a football player isn't good enough to make an all-area all-star team, such as the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25, you have to wonder how he'll do at a major-college football program.Jeter was the Trib's 2005 Player of the Year and a two-time Terrific 10 selection in basketball. In football, he wasn't an All-WPIAL Class AA pick, let alone on the Terrific 25.The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder has all the ability in the world; it's just a matter of whether he's following his heart or the advice of those who are telling him he'll play on Sundays. High School Views: Jeter's decision shouldn't be trashedTuesday, May 02, 2006By Colin DunlapSo how about this for trash talk?Some people are saying Beaver Falls senior two-sport star Lance Jeter made the wrong decision when he recently opted to play football at the University of Cincinnati and spurned basketball offers from George Washington and Akron.Some internet message boards are buzzing with the talk that Jeter's choice to play wide receiver for the Bearcats was flat out wrong .The statement that Jeter made the wrong decision might just be the most off-base contention muttered so far the entire school year.How can anyone truly believe that Jeter made the wrong decision?Sure, he played basketball hero virtually every time a Beaver Falls game went down to the wire. When games were tight, it was Jeter who seemingly always buried the final shot, propelling the Tigers to the win.But why must some people dog the kid because he's choosing to play football in college? After all, have you seen him recently? Just take a few minutes to give him a once-over. Give a quick look starting at his broad, muscular shoulders .Jeter is 6 feet 3, 200 pounds of athletic talent. He is put together on a par with any athlete in the WPIAL.Beaver Falls basketball coach Doug Biega knows exactly what Jeter's body has the potential to do on Saturday afternoons for the Cincinnati football team.Said Biega: "I told Lance, 'Hey, you can be really good in basketball, but with that body and with your athletic ability, football might just be the way to go.' There really aren't a lot of kids built like Lance who can run and jump like that."No, there aren't.And, um, oh yeah, there's something else. There's just another small little detail that the people who said Jeter made the wrong decision have failed to mention. The cost for one-year of school at Cincinnati for an out-of-state student is $23,904.On top of that, a meal plan and dorm lodging is an additional $8,286. That's a little more than 32 grand per year to go to Cincinnati. That is before the books and other incidentals.So think about that, Jeter is getting a four-year education valued at about $128,000 for free because of football.And he made the wrong decision?Yeah, right.Sure, he would have received a high-dollar education for free had he opted to play basketball at either George Washington or Akron.But, to say he made the "wrong" decision by choosing to head off to Cincinnati is so far off-base it borders on comical.To me at least, there wasn't a wrong decision Lance Jeter could have made. He had three schools fighting for his athletic services and, in turn, they were going to ante up the cash for his college education.Honestly, in his situation, there weren't any wrong decisions to be made.There's a big piece of me that is hoping Jeter becomes an All-Big East receiver at Cincinnati and a guy who sharpens his skills to the level where one day, he becomes an NFL prospect.That way, he can look back to his college choice. Maybe he'll crack a smile and say softly to himself, "Those people who said I made the wrong decision ... well, they made the wrong decision. They never should have doubted Lance Jeter."

Hey Blue Raider: Here's a tip - If there's a blue background, you might want to choose a font color other than blue!

He had limited opportunities. No carries that I recall. I forsee he and McDaniel splitting time this season.

Andy Alleman will be drafted next year. Take it to the bank. I tried telling them that at the bank today but they seemed very confused. I repeated it a couple of times and they threatened to call the cops on me. Not sure why. My bad. I forgot to add "with a gun." If you simply repeat "Andy Alleman will be drafted next year" to a teller...no gun...you will just get blank stares.

Andy Alleman will be drafted next year. Take it to the bank.

I saw Rasor had a link to a Liberty Flame football site where a poster mentioned a Zip with "a lot of injuries and illnesses" was considering a transfer to a 1-AA school. I'll guess Brandon Butler.