sgm405

I agree on the importance of holding the lead...that was a problem last time against CMU

Why does this game scare me? lol

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bubblewatch?...e=ESPNHeadlines

I had to share:And the Nets Come Down

According the the flushes on the MAC board, Kennedy put a stop to it and it only happened, the F*** you chant, only once after the Rowdies started the Can't Sucks cheer.those in attendance...true? It did come following the initial Can't State Sucks chant (which I felt was done far too much) but to me, the F you chant took it wayyyyy over the line...

Here are my regular pos-game thoughts...or follow the link for the nicer looking version lol-----Zips Win MAC East Regular Season Crown, Head Into MAC Tournament with Big-Time Momentum-----Wow. Just wow. If you didn’t find a way over to Can't State tonight for what turned out to be the game of the year in the Mid American Conference, you certainly missed out. Two top teams giving everything they had in front of a sell-out crowd…drama..suspense…a game winning shot from Jeremiah Wood…wow, just wow. Let’s review the game…----------The Good--------- * MAC East regular Season Champions - sure, what really matters it who holds the trophy on Saturday night. But it still feels damn good to see the Zips win the regular season crown. * Jeremiah Wood - 17 points, 15 rebounds, and the game-clinching bucket to top it all off. Oh, and did I mention he was 5 of 6 from the line? * Nick Dials - 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and the two biggest free throws of this season to-date. * Cedrick Middleton - 17 points tonight to go with great defense and intensity. He provides the Zips with an amazing spark when he’s on the floor. * Nate Linhart - Gutsy, gutsy, GUTSY ballgame from Linhart. Playing through his injury, he didn’t look to shoot much at all but provided defense, rebounding, and great hustle. Glad to see he isn’t lost for the year, and that he can still produce. * Romeo Travis - While he struggled shooting, he did put out another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He has been much more aggressive inside lately, something I’ve felt he’s lacked in the past. * Zips Fans Coming in Numbers - The entire section was loud for most of the game and really had an effect on the outcome in my mind. Let’s hope an even stronger following shows up come Thursday. Also kudos to Chad for setting up the ticket purchases and organizing everyone in one section. It made a big difference tonight.---------The Bad------------ * Zero bench points from Zips players not named Cedrick Middleton. We need more production in the Tournament. * Missed free throws - they made up for it in overtime, but the Zips could’ve sealed this one up much earlier had they hit some clutch shots from the charity stripe. * The Can't State Police Officer who asked to see Lebron James’ ticket before allowing him to sit down. I mean…seriously?---------The Ugly----------- * The phantom traveling call at the end of the game. It honestly shouldn’t have even gone into overtime…just an amazingly bad call. * Can't State students (or at least the majority). Middle fingers flying everywhere, grabbing crotches, constant swearing…not to mention the “F&%k the Roo” and “F&%k the Zips” chants. Every year I’m amazed at how classless many of them act, and even worse - that the leadership of Can't State hasn’t stepped up to do anything about it. * A few AK-Rowdies doing a very distasteful chant I heard towards the end of regulation - “Where’s Your Sisters?” - referring to one of the Can't State players’ family members having criminal histories. Now, I’m not one to play P.C. Police, but what did this chant have to do with the player himself, who had done nothing? Guys, please…let’s not turn into the type of fans I discussed in my last paragraph at that “other” school…we’re better than that. You don’t bring a person’s family into it. Luckily the chant didn’t catch on thanks to the majority of Rowdies who knew much better than to resort to that.Overall, it was a great night. But let’s not get too excited just yet…there’s still a lot of work to do for Akron. Here’s a look at how the MAC Tourney shakes out:MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTFIRST ROUND - Wednesday, March 7Game 1: No. 8 Eastern Michigan vs. No. 9 Ball State (1 p.m.)Game 2: No. 5 Ohio vs. No. 12 Bowling Green (3 p.m.)Game 3: No. 7 Central Michigan vs. No. 10 Buffalo (5 p.m.)Game 4: No. 6 Western Michigan vs. No. 11 Northern Illinois (7 p.m.)QUARTERFINALS - Thursday, March 8Game 5: No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 8/No. 9 (Noon)Game 6: No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5/No. 12 (2 p.m.)Game 7: No. 2 Akron vs. No. 7/No. 10 (7 p.m.)Game 8: No. 3 Can't State vs. No. 6/No. 11 (9 p.m.)SEMIFINALS - Friday, March 9Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (TBA)Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (TBA)CHAMPIONSHIP - Saturday, March 10Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner (ESPN2, 7 p.m.)A few quick random thoughts on the pairings: * I like getting Buffalo or Central Michigan in Round Two. I think both are great match-ups for Akron and shouldn’t be a problem assuming the Zips play their game. * At this point, would anyone be shocked if Ohio got upset by Bowling Green? * Watch Can't State’s Second Round match-up closely. Should Western Michigan defeat Northern Illinois in Round One, the Broncos would get another shot at defeating the Golden flushes. You might remember Western drubbing Can't 79-57 just weeks ago. * And of course if both Can't and Akron win in the second round, they’ll meet for a third time this season in the Semi-Finals on Friday night, this time with even more on the line. I’m not sure my heart can handle doing all of that again.

Here are my thoughts, also linked on my blog HEREOn January 17th, Akron defeated Can't State 78-68 in the first of two regular season match-ups. At the time, I remember thinking that in the next meeting, the MAC East Title would be on the line for one of these two teams. It turns out it’s on the line for both. While both teams have already secured a first round bye in the MAC Tournament, there is obviously still a lot on the line:1. The MAC East Title - Sure, nobody remembers who won the regular season title. But it’d still be a nice thing to show off to recruits. 2. At-Large Chances - I’m a realist…so I’ll definitely note that I don’t see Akron getting an at-large under any circumstances. There is a small chance…but don’t count on it. 3. Momentum - You want to enter the MAC Tournament on a high-note. If Akron wins, they go in knowing that they’ve defeated Can't State twice in one season. If Can't wins, they build even more confidence that they can still win the league. These players are human, and momentum is a very real thing.4. Pride - It’s Akron-Can't State…it doesn’t matter what sport, what the team’s records are, or what year it is…it’s Akron-Can't State - any win over the other team means a great deal to the respective cities and schools.I hate to do more numbering, but here are my Three Keys to the Game:1. Romeo Travis - He’s played like a man on a mission as of late, averaging 25 PPG, 10 RPG, and 4 BPG in his last three contests, two of them on the road. Simply put - if Romeo Travis plays like he has the last few games and plays to his capability, there’s nobody on the Can't State roster that can take him down.2. Free Throws - I would be surprised if this wasn’t a very close game. And I still believe that if there is one thing that will kill the Zips at some point, it’s their problems at the foul stripe. If they’re serious about making a post-season run, they absolutely have to start shooting better, especially in late game situations.3. The Crowd - This game was sold out almost a week in advance, and while a good number of Akron fans will surely be heard, it’s a guarantee that they’ll be outnumbered. With the rivalry intensifying things, as well as the game implications (MAC East Title), the crowd will be fired up. This Zips team has struggled on the road at times this year, and cannot afford to get flustered by the hostile crowd. They are the veteran team - they need to act like it tomorrow.Now the tough part…my game prediction. This one is always scary, just because you never know what will happen when it’s Akron-Can't. While I feel the Zips have the better team, winning at Can't is no easy task. As I wrote in my February 21st entry, the Zips have yet to win that big, breakthrough, take-it-to-the-next-level game. And this might be one.My Prediction: 76-74, AkronBut also remember this - assuming Toledo wins tomorrow and Akron and Can't State both take care of business in their second round MAC Tournament games, they’ll match up once again in the Semi-Finals, this time with both of their seasons on the line.Now that would be a big, breakthrough, take-it-to-the-next-level game to win for the Akron Zips.

2 points and 8 boards in 12 minutes tonight...not bad!

I clicked the link and it doesnt work...help anybody?

Blog Link“With his tremendous athleticism, he will be our most explosive perimeter player from the day he steps on campus,” Dambrot said. “Offensively, his ability to get a good shot at any time definitely addresses a need for our team. On the defensive end, his potential is almost limitless.” - Keith Dambrot, August 2004Prior to last season, “stories” started circulating around the campus of the University of Akron about one of the Akron Zips’ new recruits. It seemed like everyone who followed the team heard a “story” about how much potential the guy had, how athletic he was, and how much he would do for the team. Anytime we’d hear this, we’d smile.We heard “stories” about him embarrassing other guys at the Rec, his skills and ability simply on a whole other level than anyone else there. And while we knew it was just pick-up basketball, we quietly allowed ourselves to get excited thinking about him doing the same in an Akron uniform. He was a diamond in the rough recruit who was still known to take over games. Akron coach Keith Dambrot, usually reserved when discussing unproven players, held very little back in praising his talent. Hearing all of this, you just knew we had a special player committed to the program.Days before the 2005-2006 season, he was declared ineligible. I have to wait another year to see him play? Everyone was frustrated, but still excited to have him be a part of the program. As he watched game after game in street clothes, the “stories” continued…the hype grew more and more.Finally on November 11th, 2006, he - Jimmy Conyers - made his Akron Zips debut:5 minutes, 4 points, 1 foul.Not exactly front-page material. It was OK though…you knew he was much better than that. The stories you heard - “Jimmy Conyers stories” - that spread through campus, the praise he’d received from just about anyone who watched him play…you knew he would get better. It would only be a matter of time until he broke through and forced himself into the starting lineup. Just wait…he’ll step up any game now…Along the way, he has had some good games this season - match-ups against Binghamton, Nevada, YSU, and St. Francis to name a few - but we still keep waiting for that breakout game. And for many of us, our thought process is a bit different now. We’re not sure of what we know about the guy. Maybe he’s not what we thought…maybe he’s just a good role player…A lot of that comes from what we’ve seen this season. Conyers has played in 27 games, averaging just 2.5 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 0.6 APG. He often seems uncomfortable within the offense and hesitant to be aggressive towards the basket, failing to use the athleticism and explosiveness we’ve all heard so much about. He hasn’t been bad…but he hasn’t been that good either. And to be fair to Conyers, he is still in his first year of play and hasn’t gotten regular playing time - it is definitely far too early to fully judge him as a player.As Adam Ferrise reports, Linhart isn’t expected to be back this year, so Akron will need someone to step up into the role Linhart played and at least provide solid defense, rebounding, and a bit of scoring from time to time. It could be John Rybak, who has looked bad all year but played decently against Duquesne. Or it could be Jimmy Conyers, who started (but didn’t do much) in the win over the Dukes.I firmly believe Akron has enough talent to win the MAC with the team as is, and with what the same production that Rybak and Conyers have provided so far this season - they are that good of a team. I’m not sure if it will happen, or how he’ll respond to a starting role with more playing time, but wouldn’t it be something if Conyers finally started stepped up his game now instead of say, next year? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he played with more confidence and aggressiveness, took advantage of defensive mismatches, and provided the Zips with the spark they need to put them over the top and win the Mid American Conference Tournament? Wouldn’t it be great to see even a portion of the player we all wished and many of us still believe he can be?I know one thing that is for sure - it would certainly make for the best “Jimmy Conyers story” yet.

Wow...who's Grandpa picked the music?

Click here for my thoughts

That has nothing to do with the the relative rowdiness of each side. The south side has more crazy, obnoxious, loud fans than the entire north end even though the north end has twice as many students. Why is that? I just edited my last post because I had more thoughts to add. Half of the South Side is filled by the band. The band is required to be there, required to stand, and required to make a lot of noise. If they don't, I'm sure it affects their status/grade in the band. That means you guys fill about what, 40 or so seats? It's a much tougher task to find a full section of people to be loud and crazy than it is 30-40. Furthermore, I really don't see what made the South Side that much better than the North last night. There were an even number of defense chants and Let's Go Zips chants...the only things the South really did otherwise were the "You Can't Do That" chants (which personally I think is wayyyy overused) and the thing when the guy fouled out (which is great but, like a lot of stuff you guys do, it is something the South side can only really do because of the proximity to the opposing bench). And while I love seeing people do the things like wearing capes, painting their faces, etc. that does not make them a better fan to me. Again...you don't become the Cameron Crazies overnight. You have a small portion of the Rowdies who are "crazy, obnoxious, loud"...you have another big portion that gets into the game, stands up, makes noise, does defense and lets go zips chants...and you're trying to push those people away. The goal should be to attract more people to the group and to encourage current members to get more into it...not to badmouth them and push them away. The 10 or so of you that are "crazy, obnoxious, loud"...but you won't have any effect if you end up being the only ones there. Enough people have been pushed away already this year - let's stop the bleeding while we can, okay?

Half of the people sitting in the North side weren't "Rowdies". They were students who just wanted to sit down low. Yes, a few sat down for awhile until a few of us reminded them to stand up. And yes, they might not have been as into the game as I would have hoped that they'd be. But do you honestly want to kick them out of their seats? You want half-empty student sections to become a regular thing? I have said this about eight times tonight...WE CANNOT BE PICKY ABOUT WHO SITS LOW. For whatever reason (a whole other debate) the students haven't been showing up to sit down low. So until they do, you have one of two choices:1) Let anyone sit down low - regardless of what they're wearing, how many games they've been to, how crazy they get, etc. - and have almost-full to full student sections, and in the process hope to gain non-Rowdies interest in the student section and in turn build the fan base2) Kick them out of their seats or not let them sit down low at all unless they do every single thing our best fans do. Continue having half-empty student sections and never allow growth in the group. I know what I'd pick. Not everyone is going to paint their body/face, or stick pom poms in their socks, and/or go absolutely nuts every single minute of every single game. I think it's great that so many in the South Side show that enthusiasm, and believe there is a great set of fans over there. But at the same time, that doesn't mean the North Siders aren't doing a great job either, or that they're any less of fans. And by continually bad-mouthing the North Section, it really does nothing but create tension. Let's not forget...we're all students, we're all fans, and many of us are Rowdies. The point is to get more of us, even if we do have to go through some growing pains...not push current ones away. With 5200 people there last night, and a good contingent of student, praticularly greeks I would like to see the powers that be be a little more choosy on who is sitting down there. The people who were down there looked to me like a lot of the same group of stiffs that they usually get to fill up that side of the student section. And sorry, they NEVER stand up. They might have been on their feet for a grand total of 8-10 minutes last night and even that may have been giving them too much credit. We may not have been able to do much better most of the season in terms of "seat fillers" but last night we certainly could have. It would have been real nice last night to instead of filling those seats with the same stiffs bring down some of the greeks who, I would assume, would have more enthusiasm for the game. And why do you assume that? Maybe we could've set up a screening process...

Someone please explain the fascination with Goddard to me. I just don't get it. He's a freak show. Fun to watch in warmups while he takes his 35 footers, many of them from the opposing teams bench, but when he gets in the game he's still acting like that. To me he's a smaller version of Bubba Walther without the mood swings. Hoisting up ridiculous threes with no regard for anything else, if he hits them maybe he can bury you, but if not he's a liability on the court. I've seen nothing to indicate that he can play solid defense and his speed is lackluster at best. Chris Paul once said Nick Goddard was the best shooter he'd ever seen. CHRIS PAUL! The guy is an incredible shooter with nearly unlimited range. Did you see how much attention Nevada paid to him when he got in? It opened up a lot for the other players. I'm not saying to start him or anything...but I'd rather see five minutes of Goddard than 5 minutes of Rybak, who does nothing.

A.) Good for you, I didn't think they BOTH were.B.) Yeah, I've noticed them. I'm not blind. I've noticed the same thing every game I've been to (quite a few). The South Side pretty close to if not full and on their feet and loud all game. A few diehards on the East side of the North Section standing and making a little noise and the "seat fillers" sitting on their hands doing nothing. All I'm saying is that with a little creative planning last night COULD have been different. It also COULD have established some new Rowdy Rowdies to build on for next year by bringing in some new blood. I'm not saying it would have happened that way. I'm merely saying that I would have prefered that alternative to the same old same old.C.) As long as your actually on your feet and you make noise at appropriate times thats cool. Just don't sit on your hands and do nothing.D.) Again, I don't know for certain that the greeks would have been louder. BUT, I do know that when the status quo CLEARLY isn't working you need to do something to shake it up. Last night was a perfect opportunity and it was wasted. 1) Much easier to fill your end with the band having to be there...they fill half of the section and are required to stand and make noise. If you take them away, the North and South ends start to look awfully similar... 2) You think by kicking people out and inviting the students from Greek life (who by the way, had to be there), it would've helped the future of the Rowdies? And what if the Greek students didn't want to sit down there? I know of more than a few that didn't want to sit down low. 3) Agreed on C. And I didn't see any Rowdies not doing that.

Half of the people sitting in the North side weren't "Rowdies". They were students who just wanted to sit down low. Yes, a few sat down for awhile until a few of us reminded them to stand up. And yes, they might not have been as into the game as I would have hoped that they'd be. But do you honestly want to kick them out of their seats? You want half-empty student sections to become a regular thing? I have said this about eight times tonight...WE CANNOT BE PICKY ABOUT WHO SITS LOW. For whatever reason (a whole other debate) the students haven't been showing up to sit down low. So until they do, you have one of two choices:1) Let anyone sit down low - regardless of what they're wearing, how many games they've been to, how crazy they get, etc. - and have almost-full to full student sections, and in the process hope to gain non-Rowdies interest in the student section and in turn build the fan base2) Kick them out of their seats or not let them sit down low at all unless they do every single thing our best fans do. Continue having half-empty student sections and never allow growth in the group. I know what I'd pick. Not everyone is going to paint their body/face, or stick pom poms in their socks, and/or go absolutely nuts every single minute of every single game. I think it's great that so many in the South Side show that enthusiasm, and believe there is a great set of fans over there. But at the same time, that doesn't mean the North Siders aren't doing a great job either, or that they're any less of fans. And by continually bad-mouthing the North Section, it really does nothing but create tension. Let's not forget...we're all students, we're all fans, and many of us are Rowdies. The point is to get more of us, even if we do have to go through some growing pains...not push current ones away.

I agree, they shouldn't be kicked out, with the attendance what it was in the north end section, so at least the seats are occupied, but it's too bad that the folks who go down there don't get more into it. It's a bad situation, and what's sad is that some people just won't get into it at all even when they're courtside. I'm not sure how that could be. I'm mainly frustrated and can't think of a good answer to the problem.I was at that end for several games and I was surprised at how some people just went down there to hang out and chit-chat and not pay attention to the game or participate at all. Why come to the game if you're not going to participate? I actually saw a couple people who seemed annoyed with me because while I was in my sling and splint for a month and a half I couldn't clap so I'd bang the seat bottom against the seat back with my good arm. The annoyed guys showed up late, sat down and didn't participate, and then seemed really peeved that I was banging the seat. Needless to say, they left early in the second half as well. <groan> I guess it all just depends on what type of fan you are. You wouldn't catch me dead looking like some of the Rowdies do during gametime (and I'm definitely not going to use examples lol), but thats their prerogative. Different people support the team in different ways. What should matter (for now) is putting butts in those seats. Until they are consistently filled up, we really can't be too picky in what we ask.

Some info on the Dukes

Thanks!The depth does scare me...what used to be a strength doesn't seem to be as much anymore. Conyers hasn't provided much, Quade has struggled as of late, and McKnight hasn't been getting much burn...Rybak and everyone else on the bench is a waste for the most part...it's just not a very deep team at times. To further complicate things, they've been getting into foul trouble in some recent games...not a good combo. Personally, I want McKnight to get more of a chance to play. I think he has a lot of ability and just hasn't gotten much of a chance to show it as of yet. Also, why not let Goddard play 5-10 minutes a game? You know he'll stretch the defense and will most likely give you a three pointer or two. I've never understood why he was good enough to play against Nevada in crunch time but hasn't gotten meaningful minutes since.

I'll agree that if you show Can't, you show Akron. But I'm not going to knock them for the OSU coverage. Their #1 vs #2 game against Wisconsin news is one of the top national sports stories right now...not going to knock them for realizing that.

You mean Z-fense. :DIt is disappointing that so many folks down there were sitting, but it seems like that at every game. I've been at both ends and the south end is definitely more lively and only sits at halftime. Of course, not all in the north end are Rowdies members--the folks who haven't signed the contract might not know about the expectation to stand and be rowdy. The folks in the t-shirts should have known better. It projects a much better image if folks are all standing.I wish the band would have saved Apache for a full timeout tonight. It's always more fun to get two rounds of the chorus. I actually do "De-fense" to be honest lolI agree in wishing that every student down low would stand and be crazy. Again though, here is the reality of the situation:1) Overall student turnout was extremely poor this year2) Overall turnout in the lower sections has been extremely poor as well3) Contract or not, it's tough to be picky with what you ask for when it's a tough enough task filling the seats. Sure, we could kick those people out. And then you have empty seats...not sure what you accomplish there.

Here

A few problems with your line of thinking...A) I thought the student sections were fine tonight. B.) Have you noticed the student sections this year? How many games have they been full? I don't know why people can't seem to understand this - until you have people fighting over seats, you absolutely cannot be picky about who you let sit in the student section. C) Not every fan is the type to expend mass amounts of energy during a game. Heck, I stand and stuff, but I don't do much else except for the "Defense" and "Let's Go Zips" chants because I'm so locked into the action. So the solution is me sitting up top and an empty seat being left open? D) I'm not saying the students there for Greek night wouldn't have been loud and crazy - but how do you know?

I'll say this...and I know I'm going to get ripped, but I'm going to be honest. Women's basketball is a boring product to me, especially in the MAC. When you tack on the fact that they're a losing team, I think you have your simple reasons why nobody goes. I wish them the best...I hope they do well...I'm glad to see they're doing better this year...But...I can think of about 732583754 things I'd rather do than watch women's basketball live. Just my opinion.