Captain Kangaroo

Dwight will never have to worry whether or not he has enough money for gun pellets: Mar 7 Jay Glazer, of FOX Sports, reports the New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms with free agent S Dwight Smith (Buccaneers) on a five-year deal believed to be worth $15 million, including a signing bonus in the $3.5 million range.

We can't lose tonight...we simply can't.

To say he never produced is pretty unfair. He's something like the #9 rusher in U of A history and had some very nice 100+ games (Wisconsin is just one that comes to mind). Marcus Sanders....there's your poster child for "never produced."

I disagree. We had "Biggs" in 2003. It was Bobby Hendry. The 2004 difference wasn't Biggs, it was the fact that the new staff wasn't Frye-centric. While Lee Owens chose to run the ball 5 times vs. Miami in 2003, JD knew he had to rush 15+ times in ANY game if only to keep the 2004 opponents honest. Lee Owens' favorite running play was the maddening "delayed draw", usually on 3rd and 8. Saw it a hundred times. JD ran that play once. Biggs caught screen passes. How many times did Owens call a screen pass for Hendry? I can't recall one. JD found ways to give Frye time to pass without keeping the RB in to pass block every down. Owens always defaulted to simply keeping Hendry in the backfield. Yes the seniors "came together" when they seemingly could have given up. However, I give credit to the new staff for instilling the fight in those guys. The coaching staff can't go on the field and tackle or catch the passes, they can only teach and motivate. I think the 2004 seniors responded to the coaching as much as they did their own competitiveness. I summary: If JD would have had Hendry in the backfield instead of Biggs, our 2004 record wouldn't have been any different. The difference wasn't Biggs, it was the fact that JD knew how to use a running back, even though he had an NFL-caliber QB under center. Owens didn't. And on a slight tangent, I'll say the Owens DID know how to run the ball. The McCray, Culler, Payne, Gray, early-Hendry era teams could pile up some decent running yardage. But as the Frye era evolved (under Owens), the running game became a forgotten game. My 2 cents.

My screen saver at work for the past 20 or so months has been a photo of my son, me, Dwight Smith and his son from the 2003 Spring Blue/Gold game. I got to meet his dad, who seemed to be a super-nice person. It really bugs me to see him in the news again for a gun-related offense. I spoke out on his behalf after the first offense, and I will take a wait-and-see on this one. As the facts unravel, it seems there may be more to the story. Regardless...very disappointed. Click: "Victims" ain't no Angels

Happy to see the Zippers finish off Marshall! Buffalo will be VERY tough...hope for a win, but I can't say it is expected. Looking forward to the tourney next week, hopefully with a bye! Thusfar, no Klaas Zollner sightings. CU next week.

Not ENOUGH Warsteiner.

Unfortunately no one wanted to step up and be the man. A number of guys had looks and decided to pass and work for a better shot. KD beens pretty good off of timeouts - this is one he'd probably like to forget but there were some shots in the set -- nobody took them. I'd say we showed our youth on the road here. Anyone takes it to the rack and it's a foul. Found a computer in the hotel. Sucks that the Zips blew it. However, I racall a few years back when the Zips beat the flushes twice in the regular season, then Jose Davis went nuts in the JAR and beat the Zips, starting the flushes impressive 6 year run. Looking forward to next week!!!

Hey, "King Zip." The people on this board have been here for YEARS, not just a few posts. How dare you knock the guys on this board as "fair weather." If that's all you bring to the board, then go the F away.

The Zips will win by as many points as Bubba scores. If Bubba pours in 12, that means Can't's playing crappy D and we win by 12. If they're defending the 3-line well, and Bubba only musters 1 point, we'll still win by 1. Auf Wiederzein (my best guess at the spelling.)

Wonder if any of the "undecideds" are on the Zips radar? Specifically: Nate Hartung 6.04 410 C NT Butler Area SHS Since we "lost" that 5' 6", 165 lb RB to Can't, could we give a schollie or greyshirt to Nate? Since Nate is 410 lb...and the Can't kid is 165 lb...it would be like getting an extra 1.48 kids for the same price! (410/165=2.48) That's as close as I've come to using my Engineering Calculus since I graduated, by the way.

Off to Germany for a week. Strictly work, with some beers in the evenings mixed in. Sucks...but at least the trip isn't the following week. If I missed the MAC tourney, it would kill me.

18 tics I'll be about 35,000 feet over Nova Scotia at tip off. All of you able to attend this game suck. I hate you all.

This thread kind of morphed into a fairly negative one...certainly not fitting of a ZipsNation post-game thread after such a huge, hard-fought win. This thread will be destroyed in T minus 1 hour.

I would hope DP looks at the scoreboard after tonight's game...looks at the MAC standings...and says "This is where I want to be, whether I get 35 minutes, or 15 minutes." We got rid of the guys that were concerned more with PT and their scoring lines than wins (last year), and we've been semi-unstoppable ever since. Hang a banner in the JAR, DP. That's what it's all about.

I look at the end of regulation and I say "Damn, why was Collins guarding their 3-point shooter at game's end? Didn't Dambrot learn anything from the Toledo game? 5' 5' guys can't guard the "3" in that situation!" That's the only thing I could complain about the entire game. That was a great 45 minutes of college basketball. Offensively it was ugly, but that was due to the excellent defense. Until the end of the overtime, was any lead ever greater than 3 or 4 points? Do the Zips EVER take a defensive possession off? Do they EVER get rattled? Zips play gritty...aggressive...smart. They don't play flushy...out-of-control...selfish. And that is night-in-night-out. <Insert any Zips Player's Name Here> had a nice game. Wonder how Coles is going to replace Horace and Mason next season? They should both be 1st team All MAC.

I'm glad to see you aren't dead! The lifespan of the typical male in Mahoning County is something like 31 years, right? Send my best to "Airtime," and I hope to see you at the Gund in a couple weeks! By the way....GET THE HELL OUT OF MAHONING COUNTY!

Ironically...I was told today that the use of the Blue Roo was ok'd for the license plates! Hallejulia! One small step for man...one giant leap for Zipskind. Don't mess with me man. Rumor has it you'll be able to order them in a month or so. The Captain don't mess around when it comes to serious stuff like this...it is true.

Ironically...I was told today that the use of the Blue Roo was ok'd for the license plates! Hallejulia! One small step for man...one giant leap for Zipskind.

Couple OU Kids and That's it I wonder if they changed the way they select the teams? I can't believe that, as well as we recruited, especially in Pa, that none of our kids were selected for the game? Miami had about 5 kids there last year...none this year?

I'm still waiting on a decent answer as to why the Univerity Seal is used on the U of A Ohio license plates.

I can't get excited until we're ranked in a "real" poll. If we beat Miami and Can't, we will be.

Although nothing can replace the loss to Miami in the Rubber Bowl this fall, knocking the Redhawks out of the 1st seed in the MAC tourney and 1st place in the MAC East would be a nice first step in my healing process. This MAC game means more to me than any one other than Can't. Looking forward to an epic battle Wednesday night!

"Who is the better coach?" "Who's having the better season?" It is surreal to be having this debate considering where the teams stood at the end of their respective 2003-4 seasons.

Quick notes then off to bed: Great win. Especially after the slow start McFadden is GOD. Three straight awesome performances. Futch has been horrible recently..save the OT 5 minutes. Quade's big chance to step up! Joyce is solid. Not spectacular...but man does he do a good job running the offense. Nice to see Middleton again. I remember that guy. Nice game by Peterson. Brooks and Cruz are awesome. Niagra is as good as advertised. Why are we getting out FT'd in our own building by 20? The 20 or so Niagra fans that showed up were...at times...louder than the Zips fans. Yo students...get off your butts and get to the JAR! Nice game by Preston. Seems to be flourishing in the post Hipsher era (as do a lot of players). Good game for Collins. 8 assists. In the "Every Action Has an Equal and Opposite Reaction" Catagory: #43 for Niagara has Futch's shot selection and accuracy. Thank God he kept hoisting those 3's. Dambrot gives great post-game interviews. I don't miss Hipsher's "Well exactly Steve..." at all. Nor do I miss Joe Dunn trying to make Bryan Hipsher's minutes seem justified.