pdt1420

Here's the first topic I've ever started and it comes as a rant after the 2nd cup of coffee but before the boring meeting I'm dreading...STO and FSN... is there any chance I can see an Akron basketball game ever, ever?I moved to Columbus and on top of the fact that I have to listen to Buckeyes pregame, game, postgame, call in shows, coach shows, fan run shows, homer fan run shows, homer play-by-play ran shows, and "oh, by the way, here's something about the cavs", I can't see an Akron game to save my ever loving life.Seems to me that FSN and STO service Ohio, whose second conference after the Big10 is the MAC... and the Big10 has it's own network now... so FSN and STO must be falling all over themselves to get some games on, right? Right??The closest I friggin' get is a CSU call-in show (throw up in my mouth) sandwiched between a replayed "Top 10 most zaniest and testosterone-fueled things to happen in a lockerroom show" (whoooooaaaa, I've never seen that Ryan Leaf footage before!!!) and a matchup of Duke vs West Virginia in Girls Basketball. HEY FSNOHIO.... ARE THERE MORE DUKE WOMENS BASKETBALL FANS IN OHIO THAN I THOUGHT? ARE THEY THE SILENT MAJORITY THAT WALKS AMONG US?Good freakin God... while I'm huddled around my laptop trying to pick up the game and hoping that 1350 doesn't wise up and cut its internet broadcast, the day to day programming on FSN and STO (save the cavs) makes me choose which is less painful: another half hour of being weirded out by Summer Sanders' shoulders or punching myself in the chest until I crap bone chips.So, um, what does everyone else think about this lack of coverage?

BREAKING NEWS ALERT:The Beacon and PD are joint reporting that a bull dozer used in the construction of the stadium ran over a gopher hole, thereby forcing the animal to dig another way out. Nefarious but somehow electable people in local government are calling for Luis Proenza to be tried as a war criminal at the Hague. Online article commentors and Can't State fans that know how a computer works are rejoicing in the streets.

Isn't it a little bit unethical to use so many tax payer dollars to fund an investigation into a $40k profit NOT funded with tax payer dollars?We all knew this stadium was going to be built there a loooooong time ago. I wish I would have bought property and then leveraged it into a quick payoff.Non-story... move on!

If Miami or their opponents had 35 points at the half, Charlie would personally pop every basketball within a 5 mile radius with an ice pick during halftime and insist they play the rest of the game with a 15 lb bowling ball.

I'm truly sorry, I thought we were talking about how to make baskets.

oooo.... oooo....Coach Dambrot Quote:"Now with this cornerback who's a dream, Weaver, I believe the 3-3-5 can make it through the night."

I hear that his football skills have been forged over time from intense heat and pressure.After a punishing tackle, his coach said, "Damn, you must be out for blood, Diamond."

I like the inclusion of a JUCO player to this roster.

If I'm reading this write, Mandel has Tulsa going to both the GMAC and the Texas Bowl? Pretty good year for Tulsa if you ask me.

I would vote the Miami Redhawks.... because try as they might, they don't have 45% of the country rooting for them.

We win because we are the better team.We've only lost games to teams that the consensus was they were better than us. Balls Tate was a much better team, it's good we played as well as we did. Cincy and BGSU were slightly better and we lost in heart breaking fashion. But trust that if we won either of those games, they would have been upsets. The way in which we lost was painful, but those losses weren't like losing to army or syracuse or other teams worse than us.We beat teams we should beat, lose games we should lose. This is the truth, but is contrary to what I hear some on these boards say.The remaining schedule is teams that are worse than us or, at best, a tossup. We could/should win out or maybe drop one. If we start losing to teams worse than us, then I'll get worried and mad at the coach.For now, EMU is worse, so we beat them.

Be a part.... from the start!

Most of the time the offense has more than 6 guys blocking on the line? 7 lineman/TE's? We facing alot of double tight and power formations that I don't know about?

Do the UofA a favor and throw away that business card and don't bring up NCAA violations again.Oh crap, I hope the NCAA commish doesn't read these boards. :blink:

Get pumped, Baby!!And we can't worry about the attendance too much... we'll have it for the next 2 years at least, but as far as converting tosu fans... that'll happen when the TV people start saying our name and getting our head coach right.Hell, it'll happen when we get to stop asking "is the game on TV this weekend?". They'll see highlights on local news of us beating the Golden Domers infront of a crazy crowd and they'll say to each other, "damn... check online the next time they're at home, we should go to a game"Then they'll come, and on top of the great atmosphere, they'll see our bball team in a halftime ceremony being presented a banner for MAC Champs, the whole place goes nuts more, and that new family says "damn... we should check out a bball game too... I heard they're in the process of building a new stadium downtown... that'll be sweet... hey, where do I buy a Zips tshirt at?"That's how we'll convert, not by bashing them over the head, but by not giving them any options but to be interested and excited.So, in closing... crank up the Rammstein to 11 and get ready to scream your headoff against the BUGS on Saturday... let's have a proper saturday sendoff for the Rubberbowl by feasting on falcon!GO ZIPS!!

About the big name games... I think people are right, that we could win a game one of these days. But let's play this scenario out. We play these guys and win 1 out of every 10 times going forward. This seems miniscule, but the fact is we've won 0 of 100 in the past. At best we beat a top 20 team 1 out of 10 times.... when it happens, we go crazy, there's madness in the streets, the big program's fans are gnashing their teeth and tearing their clothing, we all wear zips gear to work on casual friday...but the national pundits call it a fluke win for us or give us the "hey, isn't that nice for those lil' fellas" treatment... then they say that it's proof that said top 20 team (especially in the Big10) didn't deserve to be ranked that high and wasn't that good in the first place... and when we lose to another top 20 team next year, everyone that doubts our program is vindicated and we as fans become upset with the losing Zips team for not living up to last year's success.No... I think the better future is one where we consistently, I mean 60% or better, beat the midlevel schools... the mediocre schools in the big conferences and the big schools in the mediocre conferences... let the list include:Big10: Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, MinnesotaBig12: Iowa State, Baylor, Texas A&M, ColoradoACC: Duke, Clemson, NC StateBig East: Louisville, Pitt, West Va, UConn, CincyCUSA: UTEP, Houston, Marshall, UCFHell... can we play Notre Dame on NBC one time?The list goes on and on... and looking at that list, most of those teams won't play us or will beat us 70% of the time right now. However, a loss to one of those teams doesn't blow the whole season, and a win isn't swept under the carpet like Syracuse or Army as "hey, they should have beaten those teams, those teams suck"And one of those teams has to say yes to playing us. Even if it's on the road. And eventually, we can beat those teams consistently. And THAT's when those ESPN pundits will speak of us in the same breaths as a WestVa or a TexasA&M... that's what we should be playing for in the next 5-10 years.Being regarded as a school like that doesn't mean beating a Wisconsin one time then falling back to the basement. It means consistent bowl games and bowl wins, and it means every once in a while having a team so good that you get preseason ranked around 20-25.Sorry for the ramble, but I think our vision should be clear... right now we're usually fair to bad with an occasional good bowl year... we need to make a seemingly-small-but-actually-gigantic step towards usually 7/8 win bowl season with an occasional 11 win year.All the talk about leaving the MAC means nothing... we should play at a level when national talking heads are saying on TV "When is this Akron team going to move up to a BCS conference?"... that's when this program, as viewed from right now, will be considered a success in my mind.

Bud Light Beer Garden opens at 3:30 !!!Budweiser American Ale opens in my hand at 10am

My heart (extended to the mouse) says Zips in a close one.I know this seems like an emotional let down game, but I think our guys will be fired up to be back home in front of a crazy crowd that's been drinking all day. If we lose this game, it's because of one or two stupid plays... INT's or a big blown coverage giving up a long pass play.Johnson comes back and we grind this one out.Oh, and peering into my magic ball, I see us breaking a long screen pass.20-17 Zips.

Agreed, but I think the lower limit (if we're playing poorly) would be 2 years of drawing just for the stadium. Alot of people will go the first year, but if they witness a sloppy unprofessional loss, then that'll probably be it for them.I'm not one for looking at the glass half empty, and I'm pretty sure this won't happen, but the worst thing that could happen to Akron is to be 3 years into a new stadium and you're having to run the "discounted tickets through Giant Eagle" and "kids get in free with parent purchase" promotions.If, big picture, we want to become the best MAC football program, and potentially move on and up... then we MUST sell out every homegame for the next two years. If we can't do it with the Rowdies, a brand new stadium on campus, and BCS caliber recruits like Devoe, then we never will. I think that's just the truth. But I think we will do just that, sell out every home game, if we create a schedule that:1) allows us to be 7-3 going into the last home game 2) with wins over an NC State or a UConn 3) and no blowout losses to a BCS power4) and playing for a MAC playoff spot.

wow, no... got it... a college kid that likes obama... shockingListen, I just used "Joe 6-pack" and couldn't get the Palin quote outta my head.But yeah, thanks, now everyone knows where you stand politically, thank you.

JWood still owes me 50 bucks from a poker game.You can run all the way to the netherlands, but I won't forget Wood... it's written on the back of a business card in my wallet.

I agree with this. Non UA-related fans won't come to see games just because we're playing who WE see as rivals or good games. Face it, we need to win, and win often. Some of us have a hard time getting up for the last homegame in a 5 win season, AND WE'RE DIEHARDS!Joe 6-pack (god bless palin) isn't gonna give up his Saturday to watch a losing program just because it's a new stadium.We win to put butts in the seats, then they develop a closeness with the program and a disdain for our rivals, THEN they stick with us when we struggle and stick up for us at work when we lose to a strong BCS team down the road.I think that's the formula.

I understand the financials involved, but I too am getting tired of being involved in money games. When all we want is to win the mac and get 6-7 wins to be bowl eligible, why do we saddle ourselves with a sure loss. Be honest, as much as I want to beat the "big boys", we're not there yet.Replace Wisky with a cream puff this year, and we just moved to 4-2 and we're talking alot better about our team. Hell, not even a cream puff! Pump our schedule with more Cincys and Louisvilles, etc that we have a realistic chance at beating. Losing by ONLY a few to OSU last year was the best we could have realistically hoped for. I hate hoping for close loses, it kills any momentum and any pride that your team has.Figure it out financially, I don't believe we HAVE to get pounded on once a year just to make budget. Get some 8-4, 9-3 MAC East champs seasons under your belt, then play the elites.And futhermore, I know this is a contradiction to how some feel about our basketball scheduling, but the outcomes are different. We've seen us win 25+ games in bball and miss out on the dance, but if you win 8 or 9 games in football, you go bowling.

Great joke, but seriously... Bill Hwang has never missed a day of work in his life. (much to the chagrin of the Akron feral cat population)

Akron student tickets are sold out. They were selling general admission tickets to students when I was there. Zips will be highly represented.All I can say is wow. With fans like that who needs a rival? And seriously, why do they even bother with football anymore? Carducci does not have to include us in his pity party either.I'll take a rivalry with Pitt or Cinci over that. Let 'em move down to 1-AA.Sorry if I take this on a tangent, but I've been wondering: If we continue to improve, and do (please god) move on to a bigger better conference (cough-bigeast-cough)... and Can't State continues to decline... do we keep playing these bums?After awhile, doesn't playing them just validate them and make us look bad. We've beaten them, what, like 9 of the last 11 years? What if that continues? How long do we hold on to a rivalry as it dies with no hope in sight before we just take the wagon wheel and go home, or do we do that at all?