Captain Kangaroo

Maybe they can move this season's Marshall / Ohio State game to Mansfield Penetentiary and make "The Longest Yard: Part 2?" Marshall could be The Green Machine...man, I'm on to something here! Marshall DE facing drug, weapon charges Posted: Wednesday May 5, 2004 4:47PM; Updated: Wednesday May 5, 2004 4:47PM HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Marshall University defensive end Jamus Martin has been charged with possession of less than 15 grams of a controlled substance and carrying a dangerous weapon. The charges against the senior were filed Saturday, according to Cabell County Magistrate Court records. Details were not available Wednesday. Huntington police said Martin was arrested by campus police. A call to Marshall University Police was not immediately returned Wednesday. Martin, a 6-foot-2, 224-pound resident of Martinsville, Va., posted a $10,000 surety bond and is scheduled for a plea hearing next Wednesday, according to court records. Marshall coach Bob Pruett and Athletic Director Bob Marcum were both out of the office Wednesday and unavailable for comment.

Punter pleads innocent to underage drinking charge The Associated Press 5/5/04 5:55 PM COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio State punter pleaded innocent Wednesday to a charge of underage drinking , court documents showed. Albert J. Trapasso, 18, appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court for his arraignment, according to court documents. A police report showed Trapasso was charged with underage drinking on April 25. Messages seeking comment were left for Trapasso's attorney, Steven Brown, and athletic department spokesman Steve Snapp. Trapasso's charge was the latest in a string of legal problems involving Ohio State football players. On Saturday, campus police charged tight end Louis Irizarry and tailback Ira Guilford with felony robbery . Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has suspended both players, who have a preliminary court date May 11. Since Tressel was hired in January of 2001, there have been at least 14 incidents involving 15 players, according to an Associated Press search of court records. The problems include underage drinking , drunken driving , disorderly conduct , assault , falsification of a police report to theft :blink: , robbery , felony drug abuse and carrying a concealed weapon . Trapasso, a 6-foot, 220-pound player from Central High School in Pickerington, punted three times in last month's annual intrasquad scrimmage.

GoZips: How would you rate Lee Owens as a "sportsman," in comparison to Paterno?

Hipsher/Andrick flushback?

Dambrot helps his old boss out...talks to his bud LeBron about the opening...seems like enough plausible info to begin a rumor?

For the record...wasn't the Penn State game in 1999? Can this clown get anything right?

In a related story... Two Ohio State players charged with robbery 05/02/04 Columbus- Two Ohio State football players were arrested and charged with robbery Saturday after a student accused the two of assaulting and robbing him, authorities said. Coach Jim Tressel suspended the players, sophomores Louis Irizarry and Ira Guilford, indefinitely and said, "It appears likely they could lose their privilege to play for Ohio State in 2004." Each was being held on one count of felony robbery at the Franklin County jail Saturday afternoon and likely would make court appearances Monday morning. Ohio State student and Brecksville native Kenneth Whitwell, 20, reported that he was assaulted on campus at 3 a.m., according to police records. Police briefly searched the area and arrested the two players. No other details about the assault were available. Guilford, 18, a 6-0, 190-pound tailback from Hoboken, N.J., played in five games last year, rushing for 68 yards on 28 carries. Irizarry, 19, a 6-5, 235-pound tight end from Youngstown, played in seven games, mostly on special teams. "We are aware of the situation," Tressel said in a statement. "We view it as very serious. We are looking into it aggressively to learn more about the facts."

Who would have thought YSU would be the torch-bearer for tailgating? I H-A-T-E OSU...f*ckers can't control their own fans so they try to ruin everyone elses' fun. Screw them. OSU fights bill to allow alcohol at tailgate parties 05/02/04 Stephen Ohlemacher Plain Dealer Bureau Columbus Lawmakers want to let tailgaters down a few beers outside football games without worrying about getting busted for violating the state's open-container law. But don't look for Ohio State University to join the party. The House State Government Committee voted, 11-1, last week to approve a bill over strong objections from OSU that would create a new liquor permit for universities and professional sports teams to establish tailgating areas outside football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer games. Fans could bring their own al cohol as long as the area is enclosed by a fence, with security guards at each exit to make sure no one leaves with open containers. The area must be owned or leased by the schools or teams. The full House could vote on the bill as early as this week. "Wouldn't it be better to have this license and control the tailgating to show the students the correct use of alcoholic beverages?" said State Rep. Kenneth Carano, a Youngstown Democrat who sponsored the bill on behalf of Youngstown State University. The bill is supported by the YSU police, Youngstown city police and the Mahoning County sheriff's office. The bill is permissive, meaning universities and professional teams don't have to apply for the permits if they don't want to. But Ohio State lobbied hard against the measure, failing at the last minute to get it amended to exclude all schools but Youngstown State. The bill, as passed by the committee, would apply to schools and teams with stadiums that seat at least 4,000 people. Passage "will complicate the task of law-enforcement officers by adding another exception to the enforcement of the open-container law and will contribute to the kind of public drunkenness that we have worked so hard to reduce," OSU public safety Director Vernon Baisden told the House committee. Ohio's open-container law bars people from drinking alcohol in public, even outside football games. But law-enforcement agencies across the state, at OSU and at Cleveland Browns games, largely looked the other way - until last season. The city of Cleveland cracked down on drinkers outside Browns games last year - sort of. Some tailgaters in municipal lots were cited if they were caught drinking alcohol from its original containers. Discreet drinkers who used plastic cups were mostly spared, as long as they did not cause trouble. OSU and Columbus police got even tougher on tailgaters after riots that erupted about 12 hours after the school's football team beat Michigan in November 2002, giving Ohio State a berth in the national championship. OSU police handed out 466 warnings and "advisements" for alcohol-related offenses outside the first three home games last year, according to police records. OSU police cited drinkers outside the following game and issued 53 open-container citations outside the final five home games. Columbus police issued 154 citations for open-container violations outside all the OSU home games last year, spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio said. Baisden showed the House committee a nine-minute video of drunken revelers outside the 2002 Michigan game. There were scenes of people urinating, shouting profanities and, early the next morning, overturning cars. The video also showed serene scenes of families walking outside the stadium last year, after the university and Columbus police started enforcing the open-container law. "Obviously, there was an effect," Baisden said. "There was a change." The crackdown also has been a boon to the few remaining campus-area bars and to the growing number of groups that get temporary permits to serve beer at inflated prices in roped-off areas along Lane Avenue, about a block from Ohio Stadium. Several law-enforcement agencies and groups that fight underage drinking also oppose the bill. "Increased access to alcohol through open-container tailgating promotes high-risk drinking and sends a mixed message that alcohol consumption on a college campus is OK," said written testimony submitted to the committee by Ohio Parents for Drug Free Youth and the Ohio College Initiative to Reduce High Risk Drinking. But lawmakers said they didn't see the connection between middle-aged alumni drinking beer before football games and 19-year-old students setting cars on fire 12 hours later. Several lawmakers said problems with student drinking at OSU have been exacerbated since the university bulldozed most of the campus-area bars several years ago, eliminating controlled atmospheres in which students could drink. "I think we've seen a prohibition effect," said State Rep. Dan Stewart, a Columbus Democrat. "They have no place to go." Youngstown State asked for the bill after its student newspaper, The Jambar, ran a story in October about illegal drinking at a university-sponsored lot near the school's football stadium. The university banned alcohol from the lot for the season's last home game. Sgt. John Beshara of the Mahoning County sheriff's office told the House committee there has never been a major incident in the 15 years he has patrolled the lot. "Tailgating is a tradition at YSU and is far more than just some pleasurable activity to take part in before and after a game," YSU Police Chief John Gocala told the committee. "In Mahoning Valley, tailgating is an opportunity for a special kind of camaraderie and unity. I'm sure that this is true for many schools throughout the state of Ohio." To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: sohlemacher@plaind.com, 1-800-228-8272

"He hasn't fired anybody he's hired." That's a good one! You know Kelly been coaching the girls for an entire TWO SEASONS! "CAN" HER NOW!!! Man, any other AD would have gotten rid of her looooong ago. And that JD Brookhart...I saw that BS offense in the spring game...get rid of the guy. It ain't gonna get any better, so let's cut our losses. And…how many games has Dambrot won? I’ll tell you…Z-E-R-O!!! How can MT justify keeping a coach that has NEVER WON A SINGLE GAME!!?? I agree with fallingzips. MT is so gutless when it comes to firing his own "hires."

This will also help Can't, who lost Pelligrino and Brown this spring, and wouldn't have been able to replace both of them. Overall, probably a lot of JUCO guys are "back in the chase" for a scholarship now.

How do you know this and do we really want him to? I think what he means is "Frye can't do it all." I remember after the 2003 opener (Can't) someone asked Owens what he'd do differently if he could re-play the last 6 minutes of theKent game. He said he'd have stuck Charlie in (on defense) because "...he'd have made a *expletive* play!"

DA ZIPMAN begins an interesting thread! My thoughts...hand on a Bible...Sodium Pentathol drip has begun...no BS... Zips defense will be better than last season, and by A LOT. Yes, Owen's recruiting on the defensive side...hell, on EVERY side...was far from chamiponship caliber the past 3 years. But, there are solid defensive players remaining who, with the proper coaching, can be molded into a Top-6 MAC defense. That's all our offense will need to be successful in the MAC in 2004. Where is our D worse off personnel-wise in 2004 (than 2003)? No where. DL talent level remains the same. LB's should be better. Secondary should be much better...and the coaching coaching MUST be better...right? How far will the Zips offense "fall" in 2004 (from 2003?) In my opinion, not too far. Receivers: Hixson is rock solid...great hands and speed. Like Dr. Z said, D-Basch is solid at TE (missed the spring game with a concussion). Montgomery also missed the spring game with an injury, but is a good wide-out. Ellington is "servicable". Jabari could be awesome, but has a lot to learn. And watch true frosh Johnny Long. I swear this kid is the steal of the 2004 signing class! We will have 2-3 solid wide-outs in 2004, with a solid TE. With Frye throwing to them, we'll be fine. So it'll be like when we had Lavel and Jake, instead of Cherry-Sparks-Irvin...it'll be different, not as "deep," but still highly effective. Effective running of the ball will help too, which brings me to... RB: Ringer should be a fine replacement for Hendry, and Vaughns looks good too. Another Zip that didn't play in the spring game is Dan Basch. He'll be ready to go in the fall. The JUCO RB has nice credentials, and hopefully the kid from Oil City is good? RB summary: We're WAAAY deeper at RB than in 2003, when we essentially had 1 RB. Hendry's running should be more than adequately replaced. Will his blocking? I don't think his blocking (pass protection) skills will be missed IF the OL coach gets all the OL's on the same page...AND creates some better blocking schemes. Also, I'll assume JD watched the 2003 tapes and has decided putting Frye in the shotgun EVERY SINGLE PLAY makes it pretty easy for DL's to pin their ears back and tee off on a QB? Hendry's blocking was needed in 2004 because the offensive shemes demanded it. The shemes that contributed to Frye getting pummeled in 2004 will be addressed. JD is a tape "junkie," and he knows the score. QB: Frye could have me, Dr. Z and ZFF as his 3 wide outs and still throw for 2,500 yards. It'll be nice to have Jabari and Fergie as available back ups, so Charlie can catch his breath once in a while. Nothing to write about Charlie that hasn't already been written. Schedule: PSU - SHOULD we win? No. CAN we win...hell yes. Penn State is a bottom-feeder Big 10 school. If we jump on them early, they'll pee their pants. This is CF's day to put the team on his back and carry them to glory. Leftwitch, R-berger, Harris... all had their "signiture" days...this is Charlie's. Zips 27-Penn State 24 (remember, these clowns only scored 32 points on Can't last season, beating them 32-10?) MTSU: A good team, but one we should beat at home. Zips 34-24 UVA: Too much depth to overcome: UVA 45-29 Can't: Zips 52-31 NIU: NIU 17-16. NIU is solid, even with Turner's departure. Buffalo: Zips 42-14 UCF: Zips 35-28. O'Leary and Brookhart are in the same position...but the Zips are further ahead at this point. Ball State: Zips 24-23. BSU can't be Frye in the Rubber Bowl. Marshall: Zips 24 Marshall 12. Bad coaching and lack of defense killed us against Marshall in the past. This time, the NFL-bound QB is on our side. And, the NCAA sanctions have affected the Herd's depth. "This isn't your father's Herd (Oldsmobile)." OU: OU 21-20. Zips can't win all the games they "should," and playing in Athens is always tough for us. Miami: Zips 31-21. No way Charlie goes 0-4 against Miami. Bet the farm on it. 8-3? Seems a bit high? Of course PSU is a "reach," but CF gives us a shot. I say 6-5 is expected. 7-4 is possible if the staff is as good as we hope they are. 8-3 is possible because we have the best QB in the MAC in our backfield. Great MAC QB's always seem to carry their teams far in this league.

CB/KR Waddell joins Titans By Terry McCormick, tmccormick@nashvillecitypaper.com April 25, 2004 The Tennessee Titans stayed on the defensive side of the ball with their second fourth-round pick Sunday, grabbing North Carolina's Michael Waddell. Waddell, a 5-10, 187-pound cornerback, also excels on special teams, where he was the NCAA's leading kick returner for the Tar Heels a year ago. He has a 40-yard dash time of 4.37. Waddell, the 124th pick overall, joins Penn State's Rich Gardner as the Titans' second cornerback selected in the 2004 draft. Best wishes, Wad! Send Jake our best!

You seem to follow the program close enough....when in 2003 did you see any Zips DL get close enough to an opposing QB to even "touch" him? Once...twice? The rule of the scrimmage was "touches" count as sacks for QB's in red. Jabari go nailed by #6 because he wasn't wearing red. I think Fergie and Charlie would have received a few decent pops had their shirts been white. The defensive complexity is definitely up a notch or two, and that's all I could ask to see in the spring.

I chased my kid around the Rubber Bowl for 2 hours, so any insight from anyone else is appreciated...I didn't see much! From what little I did see: Hixson looked great at WR. Like he's been one forever. Jabari looks like he has a lot to learn at WR. That's to be expected, of course. The guy hasn't ever played the position, and hasn't played in an actual game in 2 years. Tough to evaluate RB. Few catties for Ringer or Vaughs. Berchie seems to be the heir-apparent to Ben Ruhlin...a ton of carries in the spring game, and not too many come the regular season. D appeared aggressive and enthusiastic. CB's did a nice job. Good to see many of you...if only in passing! Tried to drop off a small "party favor" for the Allen Street fandango, but couldn't locate it. Oh well, no biggie. Best wishes to #9, #2 and #33 tomorrow!!

Hey Z-P...how was it blocking for Heisman? Was he a "slasher," or a staight-ahead runner? Also, Grantland Rice wrote that you held an OSU DL on the play that sprung Heisman for the go-ahead 12-6 TD? Now that it's been 110 years...come clean! Was it a hold or not??!! See you all tomorrow for kegs and eggs in the parking lot!

I would think WKY and MTSU would be great replacements for UCF and Marshall. WKY is also VERY respectable in Men's hoops, and their 1-AA football program is "Top-5" level. MTSU is already at mid-MAC level in football, and has a solid hoops program. Their football stadium looks awesome too.

What is one of your "smaller kids?" 6'3, 295?

Man...how do you expect to sell stuff with pictures like this? ZW: Did you donate your hat for the pic? By the way...when is the next generation of Zip gear/accessories arriving? I've heard rumors of some nice stuff in the offing?

I will give you the "serious" reply you want, even though you don't seem like all that nice a guy: I follow the football program as closely as anyone. I can say the following: 1.) There has not been a player named Dejovi Platt on the Zips squad in the past decade. 2.) I highly doubt there's been one named Dejovi Platt in the decade preceding this one either. My educated guess is Mr. Platt probably sat the bench for a season...or part of a season...or maybe a single practice...and quit. I assume this because, who the hell would spout off that they were a member of the Akron Zips? If you were going to flat-out fabricate you were a collegiate football player, I'm sure you'd select a Big 10 team and not one from the MAC. Then again maybe Mr. Platt is related to George O'Leary, who lied that he was a star for New Hampshire? I wish Mr. Platt the best in his European venture. The next time he's in Mannheim, tell him to stop and enjoy a Jever Pils. Good stuff.

Shouldn't this be on the MACbbs?

I thought that was a great idea too. Especially since there's no radio show until August. I've never met Tommy G, but I like his style. Hope he sticks around for a while! When does Dambrot's "5 questions" begin? Hell...I'd love to hear from all the Zips position coaches and assistants over the course of the summer.

15 of us went down to Santee SC for our annual golf trip (12th?). Always a good time. Golf was brutal...Dr. Z and I tore up the courses like the hackers we are...but the intake of Coors Light numbed the pain. Note: We had to sink to the level of Coors Light since there are: a.) No decent Micro Brews in cans b.) No decent Micro Brews in the state of South Carolina I'll be there Saturday morning with the kid. Hope the weather it good!

I think he's second from the left.

Former Zip #"X," thanks for checking in! As you obviously know, it is difficult for supporters of the program to find Zips info anywhere else but here, or maybe gozips.com. We appreciate the insight. To some extent I think everyone that's attended U of A over the past 2 decades can feel your pain regarding the facilities. In my era (insert Grampa Simpson's voice here) the Zips football players were blindsided by the replacement of Dennison with Faust. I draw the parallel here not for the coaching change itself: Dennison was a very capable coach who was replaced by one who essentially brought Notre Dame to it's knees. Bad hire. Coach Owens and staff, in my opinion, had brought the program as far as they were capable of doing and was replaced by HOPEFULLY a staff capable of coaching talent to the upper-MAC echelon. Good hire. Back to my point...there was no "plan" to upgrade the Zips a 1-A team in the mid-80's. There was no natatorium weight room. I think they had a few universal machines in Memorial hall, and that was it! The guys had to then go out and compete with Oregon State, Auburn, Florida, etc. Bad things, man. Undersized players and bad coaching were a bad combination. For a student that played nothing but intramural sports like myself, the facilites were a joke too. Memorial hall was under renovation for a couple YEARS...hardly any open gyms. When it was open...the baseball or volleyball teams usually occupied it. The JAR was open a couple hours a week to "ball," IF the lazy JAR MF'ers there got off their butts and set up the cross court hoops! The pool, racketball courts...what little is there now came after me. My buddies and I often drove to Can't State to play in their open gyms (6 full indoor courts) because there was no alternative at Akron. Appaling for a 24,000 student University. For ANY graduating student now it must suck knowing next years Freshman class are going to have all those new rec facilities! But, what the hell can you do about it? In the long run, I went to school for the education, and it worked out great for me. I deal with engineers who graduated from every school imaginable on a daily basis, and I've never once felt like any of them was better schooled than me. From my desk at work I can hit about 12 U of A graduates with a half-sandwedge or less, so the U of A education is woking out well for a lot of others too! Off "the rant-that-no-one-cares-about..." on to football stuff... Like a lot of guys on this board, I felt bad for the way the 2003 seniors went out. Mounting the monster comeback vs, OU...winning season...scads of offensive records...only to have the HC you knew for 5-6 years get canned 10 minutes after the game finished. What a punch in the gut that must have been. Despite how things played out on the "business end" (for lack of a better term) I assure you that the guys on the board have the utmost respect for what you guys did on the field and in the classroom. I know Matt and Nick a little bit, and they're fantastic guys on and off the field. My son and I will miss them (if anyone has suggestions on telling a 3 year old why #9 and #2 aren't Nick and Matt anymore, please let me know)! Jessie Smith was a class kid. I wish he played a "tighter" corner..but I respect him for the effort he put forth, especially in returning from the injury. Jud Cummins was a punishing run blocker. I loved watching him flatten the opposing LB's once he got beyond the line of scrimmage. Mike Brake was so solid. I remember when he was a frosh and he killed Dwight Smith on a run-after-catch! A bit later, Dwight got some payback, but I loved the frosh putting the big-hurt on #15! The OU TD catch was a great way to go out! Johnathan Gill stuck with the program for 5 years and earned a scholarship in 2003. At season's end, he was the #2 QB. Being #2 to Charlie Frye will be a nice thing to brag about in a bar in a few years, trust me!! Bobby Hendry ran down hill so damn hard! My favorite moment with him was the Wisconsin game: The guy behind me said "Hey, what is it...1942? Don't you guys know running backs aren't 'white' anymore?" I told the guy "I guarantee he puts up 100+ on you." I think Bobby ran for about 120(?) against the Badgers...and I let the guy know it after the game. The way he blocked in the backfield was awesome. Ditto the had yards to grind out the win vs. Marshall. I loved how Rickie McKenzie just got better every year. Had a great 2003! I met Marques Hayes at Signing Day a few years ago alongside Brandon Payne. He's a great guy. I wish he had better coaching because I think, with his strength, he could have done some serious damage in the right situation. I wish him the best in the future. His heart really seemed to be with the program, and he was a great Zip. Micah Fahler wasn't the best QB, but as a holder, he handled snaps with ease. It was nice not ever having to worry about bobbled holds on FG's. Bryan Shaw's mom and dad were always at the home and away games. You could always see the #70 jerseys in the parking lot! Nice people. Bryan had somewhat of an up-and-down career, but I liked him. Miquel Irvin probably thought when he transferred form Toledo that he'd be "THE MAN." How'd he know that guys like Nick and Matt were the players they were? Miquel accepted his role as the #2/#3 guy and really gave us a three-headed monster" at the WR position! "#20...YOU a BITCH"...a great quote from Miquel to a UCF player last season! Kyle McDuffie transferred for just one season. He had a great game against Wisconsin. I think that game alone should merit his decision to try 1-A ball was a worthwhile gamble. He proved he belonged here! If I forgot anyone, I apologize. I did this off the top of my head, and it's getting late. Time for bed! I just wanted to let any seniors know that, despite what you might think by your lack of media coverage...or the firing of your coach...or anthing else like that...that there were a lot of Zips supporters who really appreciated all your efforts, and who will remember your "era" in Zips football with a lot of pride. Best of luck, 2003 guys! I hope to see some of you on Sundays this fall! And if you're in town for a Zips home game on a Saturday in 2004, look for the wooden Zippy on a Stick along the fence by the blimp hanger...I'll have a beer on ice for anyone that stops by!!