Blue & Gold

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.

Thanks for the reminder. Just voted again.

Well said.

HALLELUJAH!!! That place drew the riff-raff from all over town. It was like flies to sh*t.

Good man. 99% of OSU fans are bandwaggon jumping lemmings. If they say, "I'm not a lemming, I like them because I live in Ohio," simply ask them, "Oh, really? Well just how many Ohio University shirts do you own?" Morons. Gotta be a real fan to be a Zips' fan, baby. Being a Zips' fan ain't for wimps.

Anyone know who'll cover Ampai's spot in the starting lineup?

Too bad. I thought Giorgio looked like the real deal. Actually, when Erik Howard decommitted, I couldn't have cared less because Giorgio looked like a much more explosive back than Erik. Tyson Gulley relegated Erik to the bench during the Ohio North-South All-Star Game & I though Giorgio looked like a more complete back than Tyson. I wish Giorgio good luck. I hope we don't see him @ another MAC school.

I'm embarrassed and upset. I organized a group outing to the game last night. Am I an idiot, or what?! We had a nice group of around 30-some. 30-SOME POOR PEOPLE WHO TRUSTED ME FOR A FUN EVENING!!! It couldn't have been worse. I doubt any of the folks who attended will ever want to give the Zips another chance. It was as bad as one could possibly imagine. Not only is the team absolutely horrible, but extremely boring as well. The weather was awful. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to invite anyone to another Zips game for a long time. At least the rest of this year. Maybe not next year either. I was embarrassed and felt like a fool. I'm so numb I'm not even bothered by front-runners being Columbus State fans right now. They may be the only sane folks among us. I'm planning on inviting a few people to the Buffalo and Michigan soccer matches. But I'm absolutely done with pimping UA football for a very, very long time. A few weeks ago there was another thread about those who are brave enough to hit games solo. I'm fortunate enough to have two friends who aren't necessarly big Zips fans, but just like football for football's sake. We generally hit the games. But if they're "busy," well, for me, it's that time of year again.

I'm just thinking Kelley (sp?) will restore them to glory. He may not. Who knows? You're probably spot-on. I'm probably just showing my age with still thinking of ND as being or possibly being a premier national power. Should Florida State be on the ACC list? Man, what's happened to them? They were also a (THE?) dominant national power during my formative college football years.

I previously posted that the BCS - Non-BCS dichotomy is a false one, or at least way overblown; that there are really only perhaps 20-ish traditional programs I'd be afraid of scheduling, year-in-and-year-out, if the Zips were any good at all. Unfortunately, when I look @ the conference breakdowns, the Big 10 has more teams I'd try to avoid than any other conference, SEC included. Here are the only BCS teams I'd be extremely hesitant to schedule if I were non-BCS. (Note that all the other BCS schools generally get destroyed by these select few teams too.) Big 10: 1. Columbus State 2. Michigan (I'm assuming Rich Rod is going to restore them to national prominence) 3. Iowa 4. Wisky 5. Penn State (why do we love to schedule these guys?) 6. Nebraska (I know, I know, I'm one year ahead of myself) *A top-tier MAC team competes @ the same level as the rest of the Big 10 SEC: 1. Florida 2. Tennessee 3. Georgia 4. LSU 5. Alabama *A top-tier MAC team competes @ the same level as the rest of the SEC ACC: 1. Miami 2. Virginia Tech *A top-tier MAC team competes @ the same level as the rest of the ACC Big 12: 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma *A top-tier MAC team competes @ the same level as the rest of the Big 12 Big East: none Pac-10: 1. USC 2. Oregon *A top-tier MAC team competes @ the same level as the rest of the Pac-10 Independant: 1. Notre Dame (Again, I'm assuming Kelley is going to take the Irish back to national prominence.) Please spare me the exceptions which prove the rule. This is based on tradition, or an average year, or year-in-year-out, whatever you like to call it. (I know Stanford is having a great year, Cal had a great run for about 5 or 6 years in a row; Missouri had a good 3-year stretch, etc., etc.) So that's it, folks. If the Zips were even a mediocre D-1 team I'd be amped about playing any BCS school not listed above (as the Zips stand presently, we get beat by IAA's.) So, how many programs are on the list? 18. There's not even 20 BCS schools on the elite list. The dichotomy is not between BCS - non-BCS. The dichotomy is between these 18 schools and all the rest. *Of course, I should clarify, that by "top-tier MAC school" I basically mean the best 1 or 2 teams in the league. Lol.