Class of 82

Interesting ESPN article touting Penn State's chances in 2009: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigten/0-3-300/...he-Big-Ten.htmlHighlights: The Lions lose three starting wide receivers, their entire starting secondary and three defensive ends, including two early departures (Maybin and Maurice Evans). Three-fifths of the starting offensive line is also gone.But consider who the Lions bring back for 2009:* A first-team All-Big Ten quarterback in senior Daryll Clark * The league's top returning rusher in junior running back Evan Royster * One of the nation's most dominant defensive tackles in Jared Odrick * A first-team All-Big Ten linebacker in Bowman, who ranked fifth in the league in tackles for loss last fall (16.5) despite not starting the first three games * Bednarik Award candidate Sean Lee, who returns from a torn ACL to anchor Penn State's defensive midsection and complement Clark's leadership There likely will be growing pains at several positions, but Penn State has the schedule to withstand them. Unlike last fall, when the Lions visited both Ohio State and Wisconsin for prime-time kickoffs and made a fateful trip to Iowa City in early November, the slate looks extremely manageable.Penn State will be justifiably ripped for its flimsy nonconference schedule -- home games against Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Eastern Illinois -- but the cupcake convention could allow the Lions to build confidence in areas like the secondary and the offensive line. The Lions also host their two primary competitors for the Big Ten title, as Iowa visits Beaver Stadium for the league opener Sept. 26 and Ohio State arrives Nov. 7.

As I'm sure the akron-area locals read in the Beacon yesterday, Can't has hired a 6-11 post player.http://www.ohio.com/sports/kent_state/43561602.htmlYa know... for a school that's so convinced of its intellectual superiority, they sure have a major thang for JUCO transfers.I can see filling in with one here or there, but Can't should rename itself Mercenary U. Pathetic.

That WAS a nice article. Thanks for sharing it!Here's another from the NFL blog at the Dallas Morning News.http://nflblog.dallasnews.com/archives/200...an-william.html

I remember when Gerry Faust finally got the boot here at Akron, there was a similar exodus of players... for a whole host of varying reasons. When new coaches come into losing programs, I guess this is pretty much to be expected.

I'm looking forward to the Penn State game. Win or lose, it should answer a lot of questions.By the way, one of my favorite Zips football memories was from the '99 game at Not-so-Happy Valley. We ended up getting crushed, but seeing Tony McCrae totally steamroll Lavar Arrington in the open field was too freaking cool! Not bad for a fireplug gullback from Buchtel High! As I recall, that came was really tight until just before midway through the second quarter, when Paterno figured out that 1) he had three wideouts with Olympic-class speed, 2) that Dwight Smith could only cover one of them at a time, and 3) the rest of the Akron secondary couldn't run very fast.

1) Coach Boals is a young coach doing the logical, intelligent, responsible thing both for his career and for his family. To begrudge him that is just so wrong-headed... not to mention petty and selfish. 2) The day larger schools are not interested in our coaches is the day when our coaches won't be very good.3) Go Zips!

This guy gives a whole new meaning to that very important military phrase, "Keep your head down."

By the by... Jimmal is now a French citizen! :blink:

What? She swore she'd love me forever.I'm... I'm speechless.

Ahhh... but the good Marshal Petain didn't make Euros 15,000 a month playing basketball, did he?

A couple of interesting notes gleaned from the few English sources I could find on the net.France's LNB (National Basketball League) is divided into two groups Pro-A and Pro-B, based on the previous year's performance. The three worst teams in Pro-A are relegated to Pro-B the following year, replaced by the top teams from Pro-B. (Can you imagine if they tried that in the NBA?)Last season, Jimmal was the MVP for the Vichy team in Pro-A and a league All-Star. Prior to this season he signed a three-year deal to play for Paris, which hoped to do well enough to return to Pro-A. Needless to say, it's working out well, as Paris is now all but assured a step up to the next level by winning the regular season title with Jimmal as the floor general.The NBA this is not, of course, but it's still pretty cool if you ask me. Anytime somebody can make a nice living as a professional athlete, you have to tip your hat... especially when you're a short kid from Canton who very few thought would succeed in college, let alone as a professional. JB is considered one of the league's top players and is one of the fan favorites.While he's played most of his career in France, Jimmal also played one season in Germany and another in Bosnia.Go Zips!

I loved Jimmal, too. And George Phillips. Too bad those two guys had to put up with so much drama on the team and in the coaching ranks. They were both class acts.Here's a link to a TV commercial for Jimmal's team in Paris. Strangely enough, the words on the screen are in English.When it get's to Jimmal's picture... well, it's very cool. Everybody loves a 5-10 guy who can still dunk at age 31, I guess. Anyway, check it out. (Jimmal's number 5)http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=42265146050

Just guessing, but he's probably going to earn at least 25 to 50 percent more money in Columbus. If I got a raise like that, neither I not my family would consider it a step backwards. And if you want to be a head coach someday, adding a Big Ten team to your resume sure doesn't hurt.I wish the guy well. I also have faith that the coach who really matters isn't going anywhere any time soon.Go Zips!

Jimmal is the starting point guard for Paris-Levallois in the French Cup league. They're currently in first place in the ProB division with a 23-5 record.JB's 2008-09 numbers: 12 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.2 steals in 28 games.He's made a nice little career over there.I still remember him as a freshman dropping 43 on Xavier (yeah, we lost that one in several OTs), and Dick Vitale dubbing him a Diaper Dandie.

Numbers courtesy of Courtside Basketball Agency, which represents Jeremiah.Playing for Joensuun Kataja, Finland, averaged 20.1 pts, 12.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 41 games. He shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field, including 38.1 from 3-point range. Not surprisingly, Jeremiah was a 56.3-percent free-throw shooter.If anyone can read Finnish, there's a boatload of stories available on the net.Here's a pic I found:And another:

AGREED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Here's a radical concept for y'all. If a discussion or topic doesn't interest you, then you don't participate in it.Good grief. :blink:

...which, again, doesn't answer the question I'm asking.I get it that "similar to" the Rubber bowl and Field House, and "looks like grass, but it isn't" are enough to satisfy your curiosity. I get it that it's all "field turf" to you. No problem. Whatever works for you.As for beating the subject to death, if I'd seen my question answered already at the UA Stadium site or in another thread here, I wouldn't have asked it.

No need for an attitude, Big Guy. We're all friends here, I think, or at least all on the same side.And I think we're all aware that the carpet-on-concrete days are over.What I'm curious about is what KIND of filled system InfoCision will have... 'cause they're not all the same. In fact, they're not even close to all being the same. And they are certainly not all the same as the AstroPlay product at the Rubber Bowl.If the difference doesn't interest you, I'm cool with that. But the difference is of interest to me. Okay?Thanks in advance.

Really? I thought the Rubber Bowl had a new AstroPlay (from the AstroTurf people, not Field Turf) surface installed in 2003. And "similar to" doesn't really say a whole lot, especially when the quality differential among the kinds of artificial surfaces is so wide.

Can't argue with that. Realistically, though, I don't think real grass is an option... from both an economic and maintenance standpoint. The reality is that unless you're prepared to spend a boatload of money each and every every year on the field and probably prohibit any high school games... a real grass field would quickly become little more than a real dirt/mud field covered in green paint and green drying agent.The good news is that the new artificial surfaces are a whole lot better in every respect than the old ones.

Bad form to reply to my own post, but after a little digging, I've at least figured out that the 3D and XPe versions of Gameday Grass appear to be the ones used in football venues. The 3D is more expensive and features monofilament "grass" and a "rootzone" under the turf that reduces compaction and is supposed to give more of a real grass feel as well as improve performance and safety for players. The XPe version is comprised of slit plastic film and doesn't have the "rootzone." Both have the same options for infill, ie., rubber pellets, sand, and various combinations of other stuff.A Michigan State study supposedly ranked 3D as the closest to real grass performance of all the available artificial surfaces out there. It's what's in the Buffalo Bill's stadium, and also at Kansas University.If this issue has been covered already in the megathread on the stadium, my apologies for going over old ground.

AstroTurf manufactures 4 versions of its GameDay turf. Anybody know which one they're installing at InfoCision? I went to the AstroTurf site, and I couldn't tell which one is supposed to be their top of the line for football. http://www.astroturfusa.com/product/gameday-grass.htmlAlso, I understand an option is factory treatment with an anti-microbial agent that's supposed to extend the product life, reduce maintenance, and... more important... help prevent the spread of nasty things like staph, and other infectious stuff. Anybody know if we're getting that? EDIT: Apparently it's called TurfAid... something the Browns probably wish they'd had before all of their staph-infection debacles. Would be a nice thing to tell recruits and their parents about, I'd think.Anyway, I sure hope the stadium gets the best turf available. It would be a shame to settle for less.

Found this today and thought it might be of interest.http://www.sportsagentblog.com/2009/04/03/...or-kevin-grant/ Big Day For Kevin GrantBy: Darren Heitner Kevin Grant (ILB Akron) has a workout with the Washington Redskins today. Two days ago, Jeff Risdon of RealGM put Kevin on his NFL Draft Big Board for Linebackers. It looks like he slotted Kevin at #16 on that list, in front of guys like Stanley Arnoux, Maurice Crum, and Worrell Williams. This is what Risdon said about Grant:Kevin Grant, Akron–real big (6’3”, 252), strong, and ultra-competitive. Strictly a between-the-tackles run stuffer who will have to leave the field on passing downs, but he moves well enough and is smart enough to stick as a 3-4 ILB or even a 4-3 LDE in the right situation. UDFA.Good luck to Kevin!

Nah... I think it's more like people not very familiar with the MAC (which is almost everybody) still remember Can't's Elite Eight run and might be enticed to take a flier on a 1,000:1 shot.

Wow... didn't expect this much response. Lot's of good stuff.I guess my point was mostly that the feeling of Akron football as a major community event is what a lot of us are hungering for. Back in the day, we had that feeling for one game each year. I don't want to make too much of that, but neither do I want to diminish it.What has me pumped is the opportunity that is presenting itself to bring that feeling back, and for a full season of home games rather than just one.