you am i

No direct bearing, but I think it is somewhat instructive.

The stats I heard on ESPN this morning reflected that Lynch was highly effective from inside the 3, and that the Patriots defense was last or near last in the league in stopping the run from inside the 3. Use your star running back to hammer it in. He just bulled ahead for 4 yards on 1st down. Let him win it. When I saw that play develop, I could not believe my eyes. The Patriots defense were on their heels. Punching it in was a no-brainer. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. If you are going to pass, you don't throw that. IF you are going to throw, roll out the QB with a pass/run option and throw it away if no one is open and you don't have an opening to run into the end zone. Given the context - a miracle comeback by Seattle in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl including an unbelievable catch by a Seahawks receiver, after allowing the Patriots to take the lead in their own unlikely comeback only seconds before, and having a stud running back waiting to take it in - that had to be stupidest play call in NFL history.

37-62 at Bradley.

Why such insecurity? Good luck to Ohio State.

The Can't-Buffalo game scheduled for tonight has been cancelled due to weather. It may be played a few days from now, which would require the Akron game to be pushed back.

When I saw that Blake Frohnapfel was not going to play, I figured UMass was in trouble. He's the guy who makes their offense go. He has a strong and accurate arm and they are clearly not the same team without him. Akron caught them at the perfect time to blow them out of the stadium.

Students don't go to the games because they don't think the team will win and it is no fun to go to a game and watch your team lose, even if it is free. It will take a while to change the mentality of the students and the community.

There has been too much losing for too long. It will take while for the casual fan to get interested enough to get on the bandwagon and to show up. The key is getting football fans in the Akron community to show up, even if they have no direct connection to the University. If they associate Akron football as a winner, they will show up. It may take a few years, but if a winning tradition can be established it will happen. I'd love to see 20,000+ crowds regularly in the stands for MAC games at InfoCision. I dream about 30,000 filling the stands for the Can't game. What a great atmosphere that would be for the fans and the players.

Ugly. Sloppy. Ianello-esque. Not what anyone expected after last year's progress. I expect that Terry will not sugarcoat things at his post-game press conference. That was what killed me about Ianello; after each blowout loss, and there were many, he'd point out the "positives." Bowden is a good coach. This team will regroup.

Cinci has it put away. Moral of the story: Don't fall behind 34-0. The Rockets got it down to a one touchdown game with plenty of time left but could not keep the momentum going. For some reason, Tuberville decided to throw deep into the end zone with less than two minutes left and ahead by 17. What goes around, comes around, Tommy.

If I was you, I'd turn the Toledo-Cincinnati game back on. It's a 7 point game early in the 4th.

Are we still allowed to hope Can't's sports teams fail miserably?

It was an entertaining game between two pretty evenly-matched teams. Did injuries play a part in this? Probably to some degree, but as GP1 points out the UT O-Line is outstanding. I'm not sure it matters too much who is playing RB behind them. I would disagree with the idea that it did not matter too much who played at RB behind that offensive line. Put an NFL prospect behind that line and you get an idea of how dangerous that offense could be. The defense had to stack up to stop the run which made the QB much more effective. It was no coincidence that Toledo's slide coincided with Fluellen's injury. Akron caught a break but no complaints or excuses. Injuries are part of the game. If Chisolm had gone down with injuries no one from Toledo would have cared.

Hey Johnny. I was at the game today. Around 11:15 I was over at your tailgating area looking for you, but no luck. I asked the folks at the tents most directly under the scoreboard if Johnny Zip was around, but no one could help. I've been looking at the Toledo football message board and the Rocket fans are riled up. Fire the coaches. The quarterback sucks. The refs screwed us. In other words, it sounds just like Zipsnation after an Akron loss. It was a thrilling game. I'd say the Zips turned the corner today. Now, the big problem will be keeping the Zips' fans expectations for next season in check. I just want to see more progress.

So far, the three big plays are Akron's end zone interception, Akron's successful fake punt, and Toledo's unsuccessful fake punt. All have gone Akron's way. Well, there a TD to Reedy. That was quick.

This is a great game to watch.

I'm definitely making the trip to Infocision. Following both of these teams this year has been a lot of fun. I'll be cheering both teams on. It is now being reported that the UT running back David Fluellen has an ankle fracture and is likely done for the year, including any bowl game. Watching him in the NIU game, it was clear that something was very wrong with him. His backup is a freshman, Kareem Hunt from Willoughby South. He is explosive. Keep an eye on him. I was glad to see NIU move up in the standings. I think it was because it was a Wednesday night game with no other games on and so, for the first time, a lot of voters got a good look at them for an entire game and were impressed.

I'd like to see them try a Flip Right, Double X, Jet 36, Counter Naked Waggle, X 7, X Quarter. Just to see what it looks like.

Speaking as a half-Rocket half-Zip fan, I think that last night's defeat is going to linger for Toledo. Listening to the players and coaches talk after the game you could tell they were demoralized by the NIU loss. Toledo has an excellent runner named David Fluellen, a legit NFL prospect, but he was hurt about a month ago - back and ankle - and he has not played much since. He was pretty much a non-factor last night. If Fluellen is at 100%, Toledo most likely wins. If he is still hurt and the Rockets are still a bit hungover from last night's loss, Akron can take them. Based on what I saw last night, I doubt Fluellen will be at 100% for the Akron game. I think the Zips can take them, and I did not think I would be saying that even a few weeks ago. I spent time last week browsing the Toledo football message board and there were a few NIU posters chiming in. A few of them were pretty cocky, but I guess they have earned that right.

To check it out just Google "Toledo Jambulance."

The Jambulance is supposed to be in Lot 13. Akron fans should check it out. Its pretty cool.

Two hours down the turnpike BGSU and Toledo are in the same boat as Can't and Akron and they both manage to field respectable football teams facing the same obstacles. I am at a loss to explain Akron's futility when it comes to football. For years I blamed the facilities. Maybe it is simple bad luck. I still have confidence in Terry Bowden. Despite yesterday's debacle there has been an improvement on the field this season. I'm reasonably hopeful that we can pull off another win or two or three.

For an inside look at life playing pro ball in Europe, and life at the edge of the NBA, check out Paul Shirley's book, "Can I Keep My Jersey?"

I guess we're at the "lose small" phase of the rebuilding process. On the positive side, the last three games have been exciting all the way to the end. As a fan, I remember the bad old days from not so long ago, suffering through one boring embarrassing loss after another. We haven't turned the corner yet, but I don't think that is far away. I'm watching Michigan struggle against UConn in the 3rd quarter on ABC. There have been quite a few references to the Akron game.

I kind of figured that, but if someone had never been on the campus I thought they might have visions of freight trains barreling through the campus every 30 minutes with students running for their lives. And I will correct an earlier comment I made about the picture posted showing the UT campus. The building on the left is the old UT field house where the basketball team played up until the mid-70s. Akron traveled there on several occasions before the Zips joined the MAC. The field house was also the site of a concert by The Jimi Hendrix Experience in the late 60s,which is still talked about by the old-timers. I am an Akron grad and a Toledo grad and I am an avid follower of both sports programs. We talked for a bit last year when Akron played Toledo.