UAZipster0305

The board is quiet because I assume most of those in Akron are now tailgating.So, I thought I'd start the Temple game thread for those of us out of town. I'll be watching on ESPN3 and listening to Frenchy.Go Zips!

I'd love to watch a top-5 program at the Info!Great showing from Toledo. Kudos for playing to win!

Kudos to owning up to a mistake, Adam. Also, an interesting and otherwise well-written article on former Zips.I hope you have learned something from the error and that it improves your journalism in the future. Judging by your extended apology, I expect this is the case.I will be continuing to follow VCU basketball and soccer. It would not surprise me to see us host VCU in the NCAA Tournament. If so, you'll want to come up for the game and experience our unique game atmosphere and beautiful stadium and campus.Thanks for stopping by and welcome to ZipsNation.

Can you tell that to Zach?Hey Zach,Zakuani finished second for the Herman Trophy. Bunbury and Nagbe won it.

I agree. Thanks for keeping the standards here high.

Zakuani finished second for the Herman Trophy. Bunbury and Nagbe won it.A writer really loses credibility when easily verifiable facts are incorrect.

I don't know if I would use the word coward. I would use the word "lazy". I worry about what happens if we have a terrible next couple of years. This downturn couldn't have happened at a worse time. It raises so many possibilities and none of them are good. Things could be bad in a way that they were after Faust's final season. Lazy? Really? Have you ever met Tom? Can anyone take a deep breath, back away from your angst about the FB team, and really take an objective look at UA Athletics today? You're better than this. B) B) Go Zips! +1 I am as outspoken as anyone about not liking iCoach, but the Department of Athletics is in excellent shape. Coaches Porter, Dambrot, and Kest all have long contracts and we have one of the best track coaches in the country. Even after major upgrades the past ten years, the facilities are continuing to be improved. The new woman's golf program seems to be doing well and the woman's soccer is starting to compete at the top of the MAC. Other than the football program, what's not to love? Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't TW have credit for those long contracts of our great coaches? And as much as we like to make fun of YouTubeTom, hasn't the addition of the YouTube videos been a cheap way of making the coaches and programs more accessible?

I think this is a great idea. Just another thing to add to the already glorious culture of the soccer matches. It could be extended to include a tailgate type setup featuring food from one of our player's countries prior to a match.

To me, the MAC needs to regularly receive more than one NCAA bid to be considered anything more than a mid-major. Mid-majors get multiple bids to other post-seaseon tournaments (NIT, etc.). Hence, most non-BCS leagues are-low majors, there are a few mid-majors, and only a small handful of high-majors (the MVC and C-USA come to mind).

Was it Steve Spurrier that said, after administering a beat down and getting the pouty attitude from the opposing coach - "If you don't like getting beat 52-0, get better." What would Ianello have done if he were on the Liberty staff a few years ago when Lee Owens on-side kicked, up 48-14? This is exactly what I posted after the game on Saturday. How petty, and it reflects poorly on iCoach, the program, and the University. It is iCoach's job to make the score closer!!!

They REALLY need to beat Temple. Thats not only from the perspective of the team but also the fans. If the Zips aren't real competetive Saturday,I'm afraid those 'avg' fans they have been trying to get to the games are gonna lose interest early in the season again. Coming off a 1-11 season and 4+ losing seasons in a row and being consistently recognized as one of the worst programs in D-IA, the only fans left are those that are diehard. It would take several successful seasons in a row to earn a stadium full of Joe Akrons.

Or all the recruits we could have gotten had we won...or the ones we wouldn't have lost had we TRIED to make it competitive.

Way to stay positive when it would be very easy to do otherwise!

This is exactly what I said earlier, and I don't blame him. It is iCoach's job to make the score competitive without relying on the other team to back off. Unlike a game against Tressel, today's score was truly representative of the difference in talent and performance.

I agree 100%, Buckzip. No big plays (and not just one's for TD) allowed on defense against an athletic QB was a huge accomplishment. The WR's were often open, but it seems the delivery was indecisive and/or late resulting in a lot of incompletions. This can change for the better in the future. I was very satisfied with the overall effort. A few things I'd like to add: 1) The heat likely contributed to OSU's success in the second half. We don't have a bench that is nearly as deep as OSU's, so when our starters get tired, things get out of hand much quicker. 2) Our punter looked great and that will pay dividends in close games in terms of field position. and 3) Our overall team speed seemed similar to OSU's...the major differences: the push on the lines was to OSU's advantage and we missed a lot of tackles.

Audio and live stats links here: http://www.gozips.com/sports/msoc/2011-12/schedule

"I don't think that was classy, but good luck the rest of the year" I am happy that I heard rob say that to luke. I was so riled up that I would probably have started a fight with any jerk I saw out wearing OSU gear at the bars tonight. That blitzing and those deep throws in the fourth quarter were classless, but that's what we deal with standing behind a bad program playing on a saturday against classless cheating program corrupted by shitloads of money. As much as I dislike OSU, I disagree. And not because I am so strongly anti-iCoach (which I am) but because as the opposing team, it is our responsibility to compete. Fickell did nothing wrong, and. I would say that regardless of who our coach is. Fickell has one chance and is a long shot to make himself a full-time (not interim) head coach. He needs to do what he feels is necessary to convince skeptics of his ability as coach, earn the respect of his players, and prepare the team for the season. D1-A isn't a youth league where you have to worry about hurting kids' feelings and having them get discouraged thus missing out on life skills such as leadership and team work because they lose interest and no longer participate. In baseball, this would be a minor league PROFESSIONAL level. With iCoach's ~half-million dollar salary, he should be the last one to complain. And by doing it on TV after getting beat that badly, it looks that much worse. It's not like iCoach did anything at any point throughout the course of the game to show that our team was there to compete and make an attempt to win. The bland play calling and not going for it on 4th down when we still had a chance to make it competitive in the 2nd quarter was evidence of that. Essentially, the read-between-the-lines interpretation of the comment and our approach to the game was that that we were there to pick up a pay check and let OSU prepare for their season so long as we make no attempt to win and they don't embarrass us. This incident guaranteed that we didn't leave with our dignity. Nobody expected us to win, so all we had to do was show up, play hard, try to make it competitive, and be good sportsman. We definitely showed up and most of the team played hard, but iCoach failed to make an attempt to be competitive and was not a good sportsman.

Until you present data or a reference, you are no different than ZachTheZip. If I wanted non-stop propaganda with no facts, I'd listen to Rush or Hannity. I'd like to think that most of us here are better than that.

trimmy, The Hiram game is part of the regular season. It is scheduled as the second game of the season right after the team gets home from Mississippi. The preseason exhibition game is against John Carroll. When I asked "why Hiram"? I was told to look up Marion (Ind.) College. Last year or recently they nearly beat Butler. Butler is playing them again this year. Remember Findlay taking down the mighty Suckeyes? Thad Matta does. Coaches lose jobs losing these filler games. The Hiram game will allow the coaches to fix problems discovered at Mississippi State. The preseason is for training. Your citing Marion and Findlay seems to indicate we have a lot to lose and very little to gain. Again, why Hiram? I wasn't being sarcastic about liking every other game on the OOC schedule either. Even YSU and Duquesne are good match-ups for local interest.

If Hiram is part of the preseason, fine. However, I don't like it at all if it is a regular season game. We couldn't even find a Division II program to play? Otherwise, a, dare I say, Fair and Balanced?, schedule that will prepare us for the conference and post-season. Good job, KD.

Bravo! Kudos! These guys are good beyond my wildest expectations. The Big 10 and ACC both had terrible out of conference opening weekends (http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page12520.htm), so I think we have a great shot at repeating this year. Look out for Louisville though! I think they just displace Wake Forest as an annual contender. It amazes me how well Ken Lolla has done and yet (to my utter amazement), we are much better off with Coach Porter.

Nothing against Akron, but if you are comparing Akron to Pittsburgh's urban decay!?!....you have lost your mind. You have obviously not been to Pittsburgh in this decade. Pittsburgh is home to NHL, NFL & MLB, plus Duquesne and the University of Pittsburgh. Consol Energy Center-of the Penguins is brand new, PNC Park, Heinz Field, and the Petersen Event Center are all newer. The Rivers casino is brand new, and is awesome. They have beautiful waterfronts, Duquesne and Monongahela Inclines, Zoo, Aquarium, Conservatory, Botanical Gardens, Station Square and the Stript district. Pittsburgh is the world record holder for bridges (446) within city limits, beating out Venice, Italy, the previous record holder by 3 bridges. I would not lump Pittsburgh in with your urban decay examples. Amen, Dr. Z. Take it from someone who has lived there for 6 years, Pittsburgh is awesome. To your list, I'd like to add: Commercial areas of the southside and the waterfront, The neighborhoods of Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Highland Park, and Oakmont (home of Oakmont CC, one of the finest golf courses in the world and host to more major professional tournaments than any other), The bike trails that go up and down all sides of all the rivers including a trail that goes continuously to Washington DC (www.atatrail.org...I made the ride 3 summers ago), Highland, Schenley, Frick, and Riverview Parks, The beautiful campus that is Carnegie Mellon University (I'll be an alum in a month), The Airmall at PIT airport, which is huge and was built to be a hub for US Airways before they moved to Philadelphia in 2006, A hub for MegaBus, New home for a Google campus, The City of Champions (2 Super Bowls and 1 Stanley Cup with the best player in the NHL in the last 5 years), No housing bubble in the last recession, and A national center for healthcare, education, and research. I would say Akron is second and about 5-10 years behind Pittsburgh in modernizing as one of the nicest and most technologically advanced of the Rust Belt cities.

As things look right now, tickets to both games should be easy to get. Chapel Hill is the easy choice since you will be right there. The statium is in the middle of campus with little parking. The best college football setting I have ever seen. Be prepared to walk a lot. UNC fans are a bunch of babies and be prepared to want to punch some of them in the face while you are there, but hold back from doing so. Franklin Street uptown is a cool scene. Lots of hot girls walking around. Wake is a much different atmosphere. Stadium is not on campus but the non parking pass parking is real good across the street at the basketball arena. There are some bars across the street from the BB arena that are good enough if you don't want to tailgate. The BB lot isn't the best place to tailgate. The stadium is about the size if Info so all seats are real good. Games not sold out so you can buy a ticket. Sit on the Wake side on the end near the new scoreboard as the sun is brutal on the visitor's side. Wake fans are Ivy League type people as Wake is a great school. Old money people who never get too excited or too down. They clap politely. Since I have no school loyalty and just want to watch college football, Wake is the choice for me. It is also an hour closer to my house than Chapel Hill. Lots of hot 60 year old women walking around. It all depends on what you want to do. GP1, please define what a hot sixty year old woman looks like. Post pixs if you can. Being sixty-eight myself, I find that women in their forties are the ones I lust for. You are just an old troll pervert. Jane Fonda still looks good. Linda Carter sill looks good, Jacklyn Smith is still outrageously gorgeous I think all if them are aat least 60. Not sure though. I guess what I'm saying is if you are located in Hollywood and have a lot of money and freinds that know people , you may have a very miniscule chance of finding a hot 60 year old Suzanne Somers perhaps?

Depends on the primary motivator. Our basketball facilities are average at best yet we have the best team in the league. Our soccer facilities are probably worse than our basketball facilities yet we win national championships. I have yet to see a building make a tackle, complete a pass or go for a long run. I beg to differ, GP1. Aside from the JAR, the other facilities available to the basketball players (and that are shared among all sports) are tops in the league. Granted, the lack of a sparkling new or even standard bowl arena is a big limiting factor. However, the recruits come because of KD as a coach and person and that the program wins. Nothing recruits better than a winning program with a solid coach. I will never disagree with that. Our soccer facilities are among the best in the country, not just the league. I will give you the benefit of the doubt, GP1, because you are a football guy (and likely not that interested in soccer), and I assume you have not seen the new stadium yet. Creighton might be the only program with a better overall stadium. (Google it.) I was at UNC last year when we demolished the Tar Heals, and even with their tradition-laden woman's program that has won 10+ national championships and perennial top-5 men's program, our new stadium is nicer. There are many factors, but the facilities can contribute positively (or negatively) to the fan experience. The soccer recruits LOVE that the game atmosphere is like a European game and is unique in college soccer. That dynamic is a unique interplay between the fans and the facilities. Hence, the facilities are a large basis for the culture of a program and its success. Along with what I judge to be a great leader in Coach Pfau, our woman's program continues to improve (we just beat Michigan). I believe a lot of that is due to the gorgeous facility, and the elite players it allows us to attract. How many programs exist that are annually competitive for national championships yet have sub-par facilities? If you can name a small handful, I'd be amazed. In converse, consider: GaTech in baseball, Georgia in tennis, Kentucky, Duke, UNC in basketball, Akron, Creighton, and SMU in soccer, Arkansas in track...etc. I could go on. Bottom line, though not the only or most important factor, facilities are a very important component of establishing and maintaining a winning program. Have you been to the other MAC schools to see their basketball facilities, indoor practice fields, training equipment, basketball suites, etc.? You act as though other MAC schools don't invest in facilities. Toledo just spent millions on a Savage Hall enhancement, including training facilities. Most schools have IPFs these days that are just as good as Akron's. Can't has had one for 20 years. OU's b-ball arena, already one of the best, is getting several million in updates. Their weight training facility is much larger than Akron's. I would say Akron's facilities, now with InfoCision Stadium, are on par with many other MAC schools. Exactly. It's a nuclear arms race. Facilities are important. And GP1, why do you think we have players who don't want to win? I think the only program you could even begin to question this for is the football team (yes, I know this is a football forum). With a coaching change followed by a 1-11 season, losing to a D-IAA program, and the number of formerly rostered players leaving, did you expect morale to be high? I wouldn't be so quick to call our kids losers...the circumstances they have played through have been terrible.

I have said this before and I will say it again. Buckzip came to be because the OSU boards were around long before the UA board. My first attempt for my name was Zipbuck. It was already taken. True story. I am not someone to add numbers to my logon. Being a lazy person with a bad memory I Decided every site I go to I will use the same name. On the Browns board I am Buckzip, on the Cavs board I am Buckzip. It's just easier for my little mind to remember 1 logon. If anyone should be offended by my name, it should be OSU. After all, I have Zip in full in my name. I only have Buck as the OSU part. Buckeyezip sounds too odd. Sorry to sound harsh as you are a good guy and fair here. But most of this BS has nothing to do with the game. There are more OSU bashing posts at this place than there are OSU/UA football talk. I would love to talk football, that's what I'm here for. To talk UA football. Believe it or not. If I was here for any other reason, I would be starting threads about them. But there is little room between all the BS. As soon as I gave my opinion on matchups, coaching, etc, I would get attacked. Not playing the victim, just being realistic based on experience. This was totally in jest, BuckZip. I went out of my way to indicate that I was just joking around. The theme of my entire post is that we should all accept the circumstances and relax. I wasn't calling you out either. Sorry if you were offended.