Blue & Gold

We can't fire iCoach after one season. Any coach, even a coach that some may consider the single worst coach ever hired in D-1 football, deserves, IMHO, at least 3 years. This is simply because UofA would look very bad if we fired iCoach after only one season. A move like that would probably scare off many qualified candidates in our subsequent HC search - other coaches knowing that they've got to turn things around immediately, or face being fired after a single season & before they had a chance to bring in their own recruits & make the program theirs.

+1. Lazy minds think alike.

Now that is an interesting comparison, considering we've both just recently made considerable investments in new stadiums. I wish our athletics department was as flush is cash as I'm assuming Minnesota's is.

We were beat down 38-10 by a team that was beat down 43-7 by Columbus.

I agree. Alleman's comments were very insightful. I like how he noted that "Coaches often fall in love with potential as opposed to production." I had never heard that before, but it makes a lot of sense. I also liked hearing his opinion on Rogers, "I think Matt Rogers can be a successful MAC quarterback." He doesn't think Rogers is the next coming of Joe Montana, but he believes Rogers can offer consistency, and that is really what the team needs right now. He was also very gracious with Nicely, reminding listeners that in a stronger program, Nicely would merely be a redshirt freshman QB still learning from the sideline. I really like the job he's doing. You can tell he can't be as blunt as he would probably like, but he's still honest and you can tell he has a passion for the Zips. Good stuff.

Thanks for your contribution, RUMPLEMINTZ! Subtle, as always. In case anyone cares about the Browns & Colt McCoy (sp?), Sam likes Colt alot ("He's a winner."). He predicts good things out of Colt. Today is probably not, to say the least, the best scenario Colt could be facing for a first NFL start. But, if you're interested (unlike myself), you can see how Sam's prediction w/ Colt works out. I just hope his prediction about the Zips is accurate!

Good call, Scott! Unfortunately we weren't able to keep it close for even your modest, tongue-in-cheek prediction of 5-minutes. 1st 4 OU Possessions: 1 - TD 2 - TD 3 - FG 4 - TD Can anyone begin to fathom the travesty that we have to play The University of Columbus next year?! O, the humiliation.

Your name is Rob. Lol. Yup. I should have just copied and pasted my post on Ohio.com!

Sadly, to answer Question #2, Giorgio Bowers really stood out to me, and well, we know what happend to him. Anthony Holmes really passes the eyeball test. And I suppose my pleasant surprise of the class thus far would be ShelDon Miller.

Going from bench pressing 135 lbs. 7 times to 225 lbs. 5 times is an incredible jump. But, perhaps, what I like most is that Zeke claims, "I don't feel any stronger." That means his gains in weight and strength are coming naturally and he's not bulking up more than his frame would naturally dictate - i.e., he's still going to be a very fluid athlete.

He beat around the bush a little bit when that question was posed. He thinks Mangini should stick to coaching the defense & not meddle with the offense much, if at all.

I was at a luncheon yesterday and sat with Sam Rutigliano. I didn't let on that I was a Zips fan because I wanted to get his honest opinion on things, so he spoke with me as if I didn't have much knowledge of the Zips' program at all. The conversation centered mostly around the Browns, but occassionally turned to the Zips (and Columbus). I asked him if he thought Coach Ianello, having been part of a staff that failed to win at Notre Dame, could possilby win at Akron? Sam thinks iCoach can turn the Zips around. His reply was basically in 3 parts: 1) "Have you seen Akron's facilities?! Wow. They're not just good, they're fantastic! As good as any in the country." He then went on to denigrate the Rubber Bowl. 2) iCoach has to use those facilities to bring in more talent and keep local talent here. He likes the idea of MAC schools recruiting in Ohio and eastward, as most of the Big Ten schools dominate the midwest. 3) iCoach has to change the losing culture of the program, which Sam stressed is very difficult to do and will probably take time. Mainly I just thought you guys would like to know Sam Rutigliano was so animated that he almost choked on his food as he described how he thought our facilities were among the very finest in the nation. I was proud of that.

We're 17-point dogs to a team that got beat 43-7 by Columbus.

If we can't sign him we can at least use that music during team warm-ups!!

I was over on Grand Valley State University's athletics website and noticed that Chuck Martin is no longer their HC. Did he get hired away by a bigger school? According to their website, GVSU's HC is now Matt Mitchell.

As a season ticket holder I agree that we are in essence being punished for supporting a bad team. I could buy GA tickets on the east side for individual games and have a comparable view of the game. And I am only paying for the games I want to go to. I sent an e-mail to the AD about season ticket prices,the performance of the team etc. His response,give it time. He said nothing specifically about season ticket prices. A shout out to the Band. They are now the best part of going to the games. I've got el-cheap-o GA season tickets. I sit on the 50-yard line every game.

Check out this interview from Rasor's blog with freshmen futbolers Darren Mattocks & McKauly Tulloch. I'm sure you'll find it as entertaining as I did. Michael Beavens w/ Darren Mattocks & McKauly Tulloch

Oops. Wrong button. Anyway, I might add, I don't think KSPU will draw 1/2 that many people for any single game the rest of the year, even with $5 tickets. In fact, I'd bet they don't draw 1/3 that many. The attendance, IMHO, shows how big the Akron-Can't rivalry actually is. It's pretty amazing, really. The community honestly gets excited about these games - even after all these years of two absolutely atrocious football programs. The Akron-Can't basketball games speak for themselves - the atmosphere couldn't possibly be much more electric at even a Duke-North Carolina game. Great rivalry.

Edit: With $5 tickets AND GREAT WEATHER, a family may come on out to just, Idk, suffer and moan for a few hours. Lol. Weather probably has a lot to do with attendance.

With how bad our team is, I don't think $5 tickets would draw too many more people than are going to come as-is. Btw, I do know that KSPU was giving away handfuls of free tickets to last Saturday's game. I've got a few friends that attend KSPU-Stark (Community College - yeah, the Can't State branch a mere 10-minutes south of UA - ticks me off) and they were giving away free tickets down there like parade clowns give away candy. I got two free tickets myself! Anyone could have gotten a handful of them. So, idk how KSPU actually counts attendance or tracks revenue @ their games. KSPU administrators must simply consider fielding a football team to be a 100% advertising write-off.

Amen. I was hoping for the perfect storm that the Cleveland Indians experienced when they opened Jacob's Field. Brand new, downtown stadium perfectly coinciding with the team becoming competitive for the first time in my lifetime. We get the brand new, gorgeous, on-campus stadium perfectly coinciding with the team

Zips' Coach Can't Blame QB

I'll preface my two-cent contribution by saying that I have el-cheap-o GA seats, which means I sit in the upper deck behind the visiting team. Thus, I don't have a close enough view of the Zips' sideline to really get a read on iCoach. But having said that, I don't think having a reserved personality should be a problem. Duke's Coach K comes to mind. Even (I hate to even type the name) Jim Tressel. I don't think anyone would classify either of these two as "Ra-Ra" kind of guys. Anyway, shouldn't the players' own sense of self-pride be their primary motivating factor? I know it was for me. I never needed a coach screaming, "Try harder, you bonehead" at me. In fact, I always responded better to reserved, teaching-type coaches, than "I'll-yell-and-spit-at-anything-that-moves" coaches. I'd much rather have a cool, calm, collected coach, simply teaching me the game and explaining my mistakes to me so I won't do them again, than having an overly emotional bafoon prowling the sidelines. But that was me. I was a pretty self-motivated athlete (and, if I do say so myself, more intelligent than your average athlete , I know) so I didn't need anyone screaming at me. In fact, in my case, a yelling coach was always counter-productive. I was always my own worst critic and the last thing in the world I needed was a coach berating me. I felt bad enough if I had made a mistake to let down the team. I wanted (needed) someone to teach me & actually remind me that my mistake wasn't the end of civilization as we know it, and then, I would rarely make the same mistake twice. I've never, ever liked playing for the Bobby Knight kind of coach. But I have seen where that kind of coach is necessary when you're dealing with true boneheads that otherwise don't seem to be paying attention to what is going on, or even able to absorb what is being taught. Idk. I just think that generally cooler heads prevail, and a more reserved, analytical, teaching coach can be a stabilizing presence on a sideline (e.g., again, Jim Tressel )

Josh Cribbs & Julian Edelman.

I've got my fingers crossed for a Chipotle. Though I also think a Chipotle would do booming business down in the E. Exchange apartments, but no one with the money to make money has placed one there yet. Weren't there plans floating around for approximately that area featuring a red-brick apartment building w/ retail shops @ street level? I believe the plans were announced before the housing bubble popped and in conjuncture w/ the Spicer Townhomes. The developers weren't able to sell any townhomes (housing bubble) but I think it's been more than proven that, in the University Park area, there is a greater demand for, than current supply of, quality rental units.