Captain Kangaroo

I think is is a fantastic draw. I couldn't ne happier! Nevada is a great team. We have 4 days rest/practice. It will be a marquee game with national TV.If we deserve to be in the NCAA tourney, we go out there and we win. 22 wins, one being against Nevada, and we're in the big dance. Let's first beat Buffalo and Can't this week.

I don't know the details, but it may be that he doesn't meet Ohio States academic requirements but could very well meet Akron's. Maybe he wouldn't need to sit out a year. If I'm not mistaken, that's how Dennis Kennedy's OSU/Akron story went.I am awaiting news from Derrell Johnson and Elijah Fields. I know they're longshots, but either of those kids would really put an already impressive class over the top.

I personally found it very interesting. I thought it was great to get such candid quotes from Dials and Dambrot. The fact that Dambrot went down to Cinci to speak to Bubba this past summer regarding the situation...and that Bubba somehow twisted that into distrust...is bizarre. How bad would Bubba have been pissed if he was on the team 4 years ago....and Bryan Hipsher was getting minutes ahead of him instead of a solid guy like Dials?

My only comment regarding the cheerleading squad is: "Our girls are a bonnet away from being Mennonite." Every other school's cheerleaders have sleeveless outfits that show a little belly. Our girls wear long sleeve turtlenecks...in the 98 degree indoor JAR? What gives? Is Knute Larsen involved in the outfit selection?I saw this pic of the Zips cheerleaders taken at a Zips baseball game on Jackson Field. I think their outfits for baseball are actually a little more "racey" than their hoops unis? At least you can see their elbows.

1.) I think you are putting WAY too much stock is very minimal data. De-committs happen...sometimes you are the benefactor...sometimes you are on the short end. Regardless, it certainly doesn't make or break a program.2.) OU can offer something the Zips can't: Instant playing time. Akron redshirted 85% of the MAC's best recruiting class last season, and is returning a lot of starters. If an incoming Freshman is questioning if he's really good enough, the path of least resistance is OU. Even if he's mediocre, he can play right away.It is funny...OU folks are quick to tell you how crappy Akron is...but if they get a de-commit from Akron's class it is some sort of a "steal." Doesn't add up?

1.) I think you are putting WAY too much stock is very minimal data. De-committs happen...sometimes you are the benefactor...sometimes you are on the short end. Regardless, it certainly doesn't make or break a program.2.) OU can offer something the Zips can't: Instant playing time. Akron redshirted 85% of the MAC's best recruiting class last season, and is returning a lot of starters. If an incoming Freshman is questioning if he's really good enough, the path of least resistance is OU. Even if he's mediocre, he can play right away.It is funny...OU folks are quick to tell you how crappy Akron is...but if they get a de-commit from Akron's class it is some sort of a "steal." Doesn't add up?

Saw a bunch of football recruits walking around the JAR last night. A great weekend for a visit with the Zips hoops team packing the JAR, thrashing EMU, and the football team being honored...and roundly applauded at halftime. Hope we got a few committals out of the visits?

Travis apparently slept through a practice, meriting the 5 minute slap-on-the-wrist.

What was it?

"Hoppy" is kind of an inside joke. It isn't an official name. I think if the athletic marketing crew had their way, Zippy (aka Hoppy) would be limited in his exposure, and we'd see more of the bad ass fear-inspiring Roo. Based upon the "Fear..." campaign's success, there obviously was a real need for a fresh, tougher, slick kangaroo image.I think they both have their place. The kids absolutely love Zippy/Hoppy as-is. He's a winner. However, the big, fat, goofy Zippy simply isn't cool. The bad ass Roo fills a gaping void in our athletic image/identity. I'm sure it is here to stay...and likely grow.

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Kelly opts for Ivy LeagueBy Kevin GormanTRIBUNE-REVIEWThursday, January 19, 2006Cart Kelly dreamed of playing major-college football, but the Baldwin cornerback was ready to accept that his future involved the Mid-American Conference.Then the Ivy League came calling.Kelly elected to put academics first and found a perfect fit during a visit to Princeton. He made a verbal commitment to the Tigers over Division I scholarship offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Can't State, Miami (Ohio), New Mexico State, Temple and Toledo."It was a tough decision, but the visit really helped a lot," Kelly said. "I went up there with the stereotype that Princeton was strictly geared toward academics and that I wouldn't fit in. I went up there and did a 180-degree turn. "At first, I was thinking, 'I'm going to the MAC.' But once I got onto the Princeton campus, I fell in love with it."With his decision, Kelly becomes a rarity in college football recruiting: He chose the non-scholarship, Division I-AA Ivy League, which grants need-based financial aid, over a full scholarship offer to a Division I-A program.But Kelly isn't your typical high school football star. He has a 4.1 grade-point average and scored 1,290 on the SAT. He has been asked to speak at a youth football banquet next week about putting academics ahead of athletics.The 6-foot, 180-pound Kelly made a name for himself by running the 20-yard pro shuttle in a Nike Training Camp-best 3.81 seconds last spring and recording a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at Joe Butler's Metro Index camp.Kelly had 34 catches for 601 yards and five touchdowns at receiver and three interceptions at cornerback. He was selected first-team All-Quad East and was named to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's All-WPIAL Class AAAA team as a senior.Baldwin teammates Justin Hargrove and Jason Pinkston are Pitt recruits, but Kelly explored other options when Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia didn't extend scholarship offers."That's every kid's dream," Kelly said. "They want to say, 'I played scholarship football.' I want to have a successful life. I realized that even if I make it to the NFL, you still have the rest of your life to work and make a living."By choosing to go to Princeton, the doors I've opened up for myself are endless. I'm proud that I managed to get into the No. 1 undergraduate school in the world."

The old school throwback unis from Thanksgiving were nice for a day, but I wouldn't want to see them as "standard." 1970's marketing ideas and styles aren't what we need in 2006. Also - Those basketball throwback jerseys from last year..THOSE were hideous. I hope to God they are burnt...and their ashes re-burnt.The new Roo is sleek and cool. I like it. I like the helmets. I like our colors. We may look like the Rams, but we don't look like any other college team. A "basic" A? Who doesn't have that? There are about 100 helmets out there with some form of upper-case "A". We need to be different. Judging from the increase in logo apparel sales over the past few years, the new Roo was, and remains the right choice to hitch our wagon to.Note: The University Athletics group internally calls the existing, "loveable" Zippy "Hoppy." No name has been assigned to "The Evil Roo."

You saw after 3 consecutive days of games in Puerto Rico...we died at the end of game #3. No field goals for essentially the last 10 minutes of the game. After our recent 3-games-in-5-days, we again died with about 10 minutes remaining of game #3. It scares me a bit for the MAC tourney. 3 games in 3 days. We need the scrubs on the bench to step up and give us some quality minutes over the next couple weeks if we want a championship.

A couple reasons:1.) I needed an author for "The 5 People You Meet at Can't Football Games." I figured he would be the obvious choice to write such a book.2.) Irony. I am not a big fan of his columns.

Welcome to the board, David Lee!

I was told "no" to both. He was never considered. Why?...don't ask me. I agree with the guys above that the final four candidates all seem to have a lot of "pitch 'cred" and the best of that crop should allow us to continue to build on what Lolla and his predecessors established. I like all four.

Interesting snippet:In recent months, their work has included scrutiny of the Can't football program. Coming off the 2004 season, where the Golden flushes won their final four games, they were just 1-10 in 2005.Cartwright was involved with the decision to hire former college coach Jim Young as a consultant. Starting next week, he will take an unbiased look at the football team.Young went 120-71-2 as coach at Arizona, Purdue and Army. In 1999, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Kennedy said Young's consulting fee will range between $5-10,000.``We're making it very clear that we want the unvarnished assessment,'' Cartwright said, ``and we intend to make changes.''************************************************************************Jim Young's assessment: "Quit sucking so bad. God damn you guys absolutely suck. Cut it out. Get better. Sucking is no way to generate fan support. Also - stop arresting your alumni for open container violations in your stadium parking lots. They really don't like being arrested. It deters them from attending future games. Oh, and those bright banana-yellow uniforms. Feel free to beat whomever designed those with a blunt object. Then, beat the clown that approved them."Oh, and please make the check payable to "Captain Kangaroo."

It was a physical game. No doubt about it. I wish Travis would have mixed it up more. He seemed to settle for too may fadeaways against the CSU goons.CSU isn't a very good team. They really lack shooters. I'm sure some of that was due to our D, but even their open looks clanged off the rims at odd angles...like if you were watching a girl's game. Stupid move keeping Gansey on the bench too...overall I wasn't impressed by CSU's coach."Ced knocked his down?(FT's)" Ced was an uncharacteristic 3-7 from the line last night. He came back to earth for an evening, as did the Zips in general.Linhart played a tough game. He got the crap beat out of him pretty bad but it never seemed to affect him. He does need to work on his ball handling a bit...he struggled bringing it up the court twice. It's just a confidence thing...dude can handle the peel fine.As pretty as the NIU game was, this one was as ugly. Still, a 12 point win on the road against a rival is a big win. My Joe Dunn rant of the day: After the game, while interviewing Dambrot he says "The MAC hasn't received 2 NCAA bids in some time and it looks like they won't again this year." Ok, Joe. We're 11-3. OU is 10-2. NIU has wins vs Kansas State and DePaul. Can't and Buffalo are very solid.Unlike last season...where...let's face it...there were two decent MAC teams in Buffalo and OU...and, like several other seasons where the MAC has truely been 2-deep for tourney consideration (whether we want to admit it or not) there exists in 2006 a legit chance for two MAC teams to get NCAA. Can't State's Kennedy is on the selection committee. That bodes well for us. Assuming the MAC's upper echelon continue their strong play we will get some GREAT opponents for the bracket buster games. If the MAC fares well in the bracket busters and the favorites make it to the MAC finals at The Q there is every reason to expect we can get two teams in the NCAA's this year. To write it off as a lost cause at this time is absurd.Zipboy with the center court floor seats? Man, I wish I were half as well-connected as that guy.

A couple quick notes:* Probably the best effort vs. a quality opponent I've seen the Zips put forth in 20 years. Outstanding. Superb. Word such as those come to mind.* What a shame the refs sucked so bad. That was the only negative I could take away from that game. Do they get paid per-whistle?* Ok...I do have one more complaint. I'm driving home and I'm waiting to here Cedrick Middleton's post game MVP acceptance speech. Instead I get Rob Preston? Hey, Rob had a great game. I love the guy. But Jesus am I getting tired of Joe Dunn's love affair with him. Cedrick has steped up since Bubba's departure and given us 100% of Bubba's offense, PLUS he's defending like a madman. If he can keep it up, what a blessing in disgiuse Bobcat Bubba's departure may have been.* Best minutes I've seen from Quade all season. He could easiy be pouting on the end of the bench, but he really has come in and brought some energy.* Futch FOR THREEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I would love to know if it bothers KD when he hoists those, or if he's cool with it.* Futch was also Outstanding, BTW. * Oh, one more complaint. Our concessions suck ass. That's the first thing I would love to see addressed if we re-vamp the JAR. That, and opening a real Team Shop for buying Zips gear.* Outstanding game. Keep it up and our Bracket Buster game will be a Blockbuster!

My 5 years on campus saw 1 NCAA berth and 2 NIT's for the hoops team. Also an NCAA finals appearance from the soccer team. There were also high hopes for the football team and it's new "big time 1-A coach" Gerry Faust. You know the rest:Hoops: Coleman Crawford...Dan Hipsher...zero MAC touney wins at the Gund...many losing seasons in the past 20 years.Football: When we were good we were mediocre, and when we were bad we were horrible. No championships.Soccer: Has sustained a good competitive level, but only this year did we approach the level of the mid-eighties.In hindsight, I think were are supremely more qualified to sustain our competitive success now than we were in the mid-eighties. The post-Huggins basketball program was doomed by the lack of a quality conference and the hiring of bad coaches. We are now entrenched in a very good hoops conference with teams that our local fan base knows (not Wisconsin-Milwaukee, for example). Our coach is very good.The football team finally has top-notch training facilities. It has a top-notch, on-campus stadium on the way. It has a sweet campus to sell recruits. And, it has the backing of a quality President.The soccer team will roll on.Unless Mack Rhodes is another Helsel, I can't see us stepping back. We may not have years like 2005-6 EVERY season, but I firmly believe the foundation for sustained success in all the major sports is firmly established.

Hope to see a good showing tonight at the Convo. We should outnumber CSU fans 2-1, I'm guessing?Does KD give Dials' knee a breather tonight?

The only transfer of the three names your referenced is Robinson. Kennedy was never enrolled at OSU and Berry was never enrolled at NC. The reason we have the two we have from Pitt is kind of obvious. In general, we don't have any more transfers on our roster than any other school.

I'm wondering when Zips hoops fever will set in? The game tonight really couldn't be any bigger, yet the "buzz" seems to be pretty minimal?

I hope some of the Rowdies show up! We need them for the big game. NIU is damn good. I'm looking forward to a pretty entertaining battle.