The Hip Zip

These early season polls mean squat. The MAC should be a much deeper and balanced conference this year. Can't must be respected due to the fact that nearly everybody is back. Christian used a deep rotation last year and has a lot of experience to call upon. Interesting that OU gets little respect, they have probably the best frontcourt tandem returning in the MAC but much like us they lack experience at the point. I look for a big year out of Western in the west, and expect rapid improvement from Eastern as well as Medlock is healthy again and has some decent talent coming in to help. Ziegler has done a great job of rebuilding at Central Mich also. Other than possibly N Ill and Ball State, wins will not come easy in this conference. The Zips will need to get quality minutes early in the season from Mc Nees in particular at the point to retain their top spot in the East. I hope he's ready but I really feel that Akron won't be playing their best hoops until well into january. Hopefully that will translate into a successful MAC tourney. The East again is the much tougher of the two divisions. Look for Buffalo and Toledo to take a step or two back from the success that both teams enjoyed last year as both teams were hit pretty hard by the graduation of key performers.My selections:East West1. Can't 1. Western Mich2. Miami 2.Central Mich3.Akron 3. Eastern Mich4. OU 4. Toledo

At last, somebody gets it, along with Skip Zip Its not the price of the tickets that bothers me and its not donating a grand to the Z fund that bothers me. Its paying ANY PRICE to make the donation. Also, for the record, This is the first year that I have even glanced at the form as my wife had always taken care of it before. My wife is ill this year so I have assumed the duty of taking care of all of our business accounts and the checkbook. I can understand by the tone of some of your posts that most of you don't understand the principle of my complaint so I will just leave it at that.Last year my wife and I did 5 road trips as well as attending all but one of the home games so please spare methe bit of not supporting the team. I'll still make it to most all of the games. Hopefully I will not be seated anywhere near GP, who likes to call people stupid if their view does not match his own. Well done ace.I'm finished with this topic.

Call me petty if you will, but I see that the U of A athletic dept wishes to charge me a $5processing fee for the privilege of donating $500 a seat to the Z Fund. Guess what ? I'm not paying it.The principle of charging me any amount of money to make a donation does not cut it here. CongratsA. D. , that five dollar bill just cost you a grand. You might just find out that filling those seatsmay be a bit tougher than it was when Romeo and Dru were in town. I enjoyed being a seasonticket holder for many years, but your greed has finally got the best of me.

Ive seen him play on more than a few occasions and agree that he has a great arm, but its difficult to judge his true potential at QB in the very weak city series conference. His receivers at Ellet have been sub-par at best, so with some talent to work with there is some hope at QB.. His greatest quality however may be his spirited competitive fire and I see him as a talented LB down the road. The kid is a winner.

Great news but I'm very curious to know if an escape clause is included should a major program comes calling.

I do understand everything that you stated and fully agree that their contributions are valued. Perhaps better questions would be: Is there a limit on the number of players on an NCAA basketball roster? and how many playes can be red-shirted in a given season?

Well from all accounts, we have three freshmen coming in who all appear to be ready to contribute immediately to the '07-'08 Zips. Add Bardo and Mc Nees to the mix and we have five bodies to fill two vacancies. So who's not going to be here next year?? Sallee??Sowers??Carroll??And dare I say Goddard??Great problem to have, but it appears that some bodies may have to hit the road.

Found the article I read last football season, it appears that their suspicions were spot on.BOOKMAKERS HANG DARK CLOUD OVER MAC GAMES, ESPECIALLY TOLEDO… While bookmakers have no evidence of wrong doing they are still focusing a tremendous amount of attention to what they say are strange betting patterns in the Mid-American Conference, especially those involving Toledo.Bookmakers say there has been a tremendous amount of line manipulation in the MAC this season and they point to two Saturday games as examples of that. Toledo opened a -10 road favorite at Central Michigan and has been bet down to -7½. In a second game they are watching, Western Michigan opened a -4 home favorite over Can't State and has been bet out to -7.Pointspread shifts such as this are not uncommon but bookmakers say it is happening too often on MAC games and they have the evidence to prove it, as they have been hit hard by “middle” bettors. For those not familiar with the term, a “middle” bettor is one who bets both sides in the same game, laying different prices and then hoping the game falls between that which he gave and that which he took. When that happens he collects both bets.For instance, if the Toledo-Central Michigan final score falls on an 8 or 9-point difference middle bettors will win on both sides. If the Can't State-Western Michigan falls on a 5 or a 6, they will also collect both bets.Bookmakers have already been stung twice this season with Toledo—first in the Rockets game at Temple on September 17 and again on their game at Ball State two weeks ago.In the Temple game, Toledo opened a 30-point favorite and was bet down to -24½. The final score was 42-17, which meant the Rockets won by 25 and the game fell in the middle. This game costs bookmakers tens of thousands of dollars.In the Ball State game, Toledo opened -19½ and was bet out to -23½. The Rockets won that on by 20 points, 34-14, again putting the game in the middle and cost bookmakers another small fortune.ODDS AGAINST SAME TEAM PRODUCING MULTIPLE MIDDLES ASTRONOMICAL… Bookmakers say the odds of one team producing two middle winners during a single season are astronomical and the heavy two-way action on both games was traced to a small group of individuals, all of whom knew one another."We may look stupid, but we're not," said one bookmaker from Antigua, "And we will get to the bottom of this."The mechanics of middle betting tell the entire story, since a middle gives a player 20-1 for his money in a world where most bets return even money on a winning wager. Here is how the middle works, using the Temple-Toledo game as an example. Bettors would take Temple +30 and then bet in a manner that gave the appearance of continued action on the underdog. When they felt their actions had driven the number as far as it would go, they would step in and bet Toledo -24 ½.The math is simple: If a person bet $110,000 to win $100,000 on Temple +30 and then made a similar bet on Toledo -24 ½, he is risking just $10,000 to win $200,000 because it is impossible to lose both bets. If the game falls in the middle of the +30 and the -24 ½, he collects $200,000, or gets 20-1 for his money. Bookmakers have their own crew of investigators studying every aspect of any game with a suspicious betting pattern; from who officiated the games to how touchdowns were scored and if there were bogus penalties or turnovers at key points of the game.We will keep you informed, but in the meantime, this is one handicapper who is staying away from MAC games. It is an understatement in the world of sports betting to say rather safe than sorry.

Boys, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I remember reading about some behind the scenes investigations back awhile ago but I discounted it. It appears that this may be quite real and quite ugly.iToledo RB charged in point-shaving scandalStory Tools: Print Email Blog This FOXSports.comPosted: 50 minutes ago University of Toledo running back Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr. has been charged with recruiting football and basketball players in order to shave points and fix games for a Macomb County gambler, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit said the scheme was spearheaded by a man identified only as "Gary."Allegedly Gary invited players to gamble and eat at Greektown Casino in Detroit. The complaint stated that one player was offered $10,000 to sit out a football game. Other players were given money and food among other gifts.Even though McDougle told the FBI he received a car, telephone and other gifts from Gary, he insisted it never changed the way he played to affect the outcome of games.McDougle, 22, was expected to appear in U.S District Court in Detroit on Friday and could not be reached for comment. There was no immediate response from school officials.It's uncertain how many other athletes were implicated in the scheme because no other players or teams at Toledo were named in the complaint. At this point, it's also unclear if other schools are under investigation.While there was no indication in the complaint that players threw any games because of the scheme, the document alleges that Gary, McDougle and others bribed Toledo athletes to impact the final score of specific games, so bets could be made on the games with illegal sports bookmakers."Once Gary and the players knew the line, they would decide if they could beat the spread," the complaint said. "If they were picked as an underdog by 10 points, they would decide if they could beat the 10 point spread. If they were picked as a favorite by a certain number of points, the players would decide if they would most likely win by that much."__________________

Yes sir it was I. Also, I was able to cop a gift certificate from Luigi's from Frenchy as well. It's all good

Agree that we did not need Dr. Proenza rehashing the end of the Miami game but other than that thought the program was pretty well executed. You could see that Keith was very pleased by the event. I enjoyed Romeo's words a lot, very genuine and from the heart. I talked with French and he told me that Rome was emotional and told him that he almost lost it up there.

I think Reggie has done a fantastic job of recruiting some talent that brought the program up from the ashes, but do not think that he is a great game day coach by any stretch. He may be in for some more lean years following the graduation of Idbihi and the pending transfer of his best young scorer Moore. I think the immediate future of UB hoops will be rather bleak.And by the way, I hope that Dan does gets a MAC head coaching gig. He is better than at least a half dozen guys that were on the bench last season including Tim O'Shea. Also,don't discount the speculation that Andy may resurface somewhere in the MAC eventually after a stint at Utah Valley State as an assistant coach to Dick Hunsaker. Should Dan get a HC gig somewhere, the two Hipshers may again be on the same bench.

Heath fired at Arkansas By NOAH TRISTER, AP Sports WriterMarch 26, 2007LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Stan Heath was fired Monday after five seasons as basketball coach at Arkansas after losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. The Razorbacks made the NCAA tournament thanks to a late-season run, but that was not enough to save Heath's job. Arkansas (21-14) lost 77-60 to Southern California in the first round. Arkansas spokesman Kevin Trainor said Heath and athletic director Frank Broyles met Monday morning, and Broyles informed Heath of the decision. "The decision to make a coaching change was difficult due to the respect I have for Stan Heath," Broyles said in a release. "He represented the University of Arkansas with professionalism and integrity. ... However, in my professional judgment, it is best that the program move forward under new leadership in our efforts to return Razorback basketball to national prominence." Heath met with reporters in Fayetteville shortly after the announcement. "I'm a little surprised, but in this business, universities have the right to make decisions," Heath said. "They have the right to make choices about what they want and what they feel is best for their university." After Heath led Can't State to the round of eight in the NCAA tournament in 2002, he took over at Arkansas that offseason after Nolan Richardson was fired. The Razorbacks missed the tournament his first three seasons but made it in 2006 and 2007, losing in the first round each time. Arkansas went 9-19 in 2002-03, then improved its win total for three straight seasons. Heath's record at the school was 82-71, but he went 31-49 in Southeastern Conference play. When the Razorbacks struggled toward the end of the regular season, reports surfaced that Heath would be fired if Arkansas did not make the NCAA tournament. The Razorbacks then won five straight games and reached the SEC tournament final. Arkansas made the NCAA tournament as a No. 12 seed before being blown out by the Trojans. "About five years ago, when I came here, I knew it was a hard, hard job -- the environment was tough," Heath said. "There were a lot of things we had to deal with, and we found a way to get through that. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the fact that this program is better now than it was five years ago when we started." Broyles, who is retiring at the end of the season, said the search for a replacement will begin immediately. Whoever coaches Arkansas next season will inherit plenty of talent. The Razorbacks had no seniors on this season's roster. Guard Patrick Beverley was named SEC newcomer of the year and fellow freshmen Stefan Welsh and Michael Washington were contributing by the end of the season.Maybe BG will call Dan, who knows?? It's unlikely that he'll stay at Arkansas.

I emailed French and the staff at WNIR last night, he mentioned on the air this morning. Nothing on gozips.com as of yet

Fantastic !! The kids deserved so much more so this will be great for them and us fans. I know that my wife and I won't miss this. Thanks so much for putting this together.We need a full house!!!

So who's freaking out? Just stating the fact that the rumors will be starting. His name has been thrown out there on some of the UM boards, I feel that it is unlikely that Keith would be considered for any job in Michigan soon given his history up there.

let the KD rumors begin in earnest.

When did apathy become the prevailing attitude of America? See it every day, kind of sad.

yep, its true. Not surprising given the history over there. Their philosophy seems to strongly suggest that its much easier to replace a talented coach than it is to pay them well. They have been lucky in finding talented replacements thus far, but that luck will not continue forever. Hey, Dan (meltdown) Dakich is available.

Lets hope that Miami fares well vs. Oregon. None of this mess is their fault and most Redhawk fans are in our corner over the NIT fiasco. A good showing by the 'Hawks would give the MAC a desperately needed shot in the arm. I'll be pulling hard for Charlie's boys.

How about that ain't happening. To quickly let this injustice blow over just endorses the idea that it's O K to screw over the little guy. My bitterness and resentment toward the old farts at the NIT will remain strong for a long time. I'm not going to get over it soon damn it.Slay the NIT committee

By the way,

the only boasting by the flushes fans will be that they still possess the worlds largest presumably female cheerleader. Had to use the word presumably because although she wears a skirt, I'm really not sure.

Got my 10 votes in, I felt like a republican in Florida

Ah yes, Western Cult and Eastern Civ..... Those lectures were about as stimulating as drinking a keg of Vicks NyQuil. I honestly can't remember a single moment.When somebody makes up the AK Oldies tee shirts mark me down for a couple. Don't forget the AK Ancients for the blue hairs (and no hairs) in the really good seats.