72 Roo

This announcement doesn't make any sense to me. If there is not already committed outside funding for the baseball program this could be a disaster and the first blunder of the Williams AD leadership. To have a competitive team in the MAC in baseball you need approximately $2,000,000 annually. Where is that going to come from. Kent is the hallmark of MAC teams and their budget is higher. If we are going to play in Canal Park, a logical home field, how are we going to get the $500,000 the owner of the Rubber Ducks wanted in order to build locker rooms previously when the idea was floated and we had a emerging competitive team? Issues of travel, NCAA full allotment of schollies, coaching staff, Ohio vs out of state talent, spring trips, equipment all need to be funded. If not the MAC will kill us. Why add more sports when revenue is flat and all sports need more resources. A previous poster noted men's BB had its budget cut. Men's soccer lost its operations director when Oliver Slawson left to coach Ashland and his position was eliminated to cut the budget. Jared's scheduling opponents who have more coaches and resources than he has. Is it any wonder our best program has slipped. Baseball and women's lacrosse will draw funding away from the other sports that have a chance to excel, not considering football. I'd rather see the time and energy required to pull this off go to bringing all sports to the level of track and men's soccer. I doubt this is going to bring us any closer to getting a better venue to host our men's and women's BBall team's. That is also more pressing to me. These two new sports, as presented in the announcement, seem to be based on a modified D-III model. Yes, schollies are there but only to the tune of what the community will fund. Is it up to the baseball alumni to beat the bushes for the sport's funding? That assures we will be last in the MAC in both sports. I sure hope there is more to this than we have been told. It seems we are passing club sports off as our new varsity offerings.

It seems we specialize in that when it comes to attendance. We are very creative in Akron.

That would have sent a message that we have high standards which all players must uphold. Cheap crap is not tolerable. The bench can teach many good lessons if the players want to learn. If not, get rid of them. Being, and acting, first class should be one of our highest core values.

We had an outside chance to win this game. As much as ISU stopped us we equally stopped ourselves. I'll offer these points just to get s**t off my chest. The trademark of Bowden teams is lack of discipline. He just does not demand it. Penalties are not the result of passion, they are the result of no discipline, no commitment to team values and coaching. The results today spoke for themselves. Taunting, horse collar, targeting, whining, sloppy tackling, facemarks. We made ISU better than they were. Our OL sucks. Last year I said they could not run block. This year I'll say they cannot block! Get the young guys in. Just because you have been on the line for years doesn't mean you are good. Look at the results. In the second half I thought it was time to give Kato a lot of PT. After his display of immaturity I think Kelly has earned more time. I like TW's arm but with this pee poor line I think we need to add a run dimension to the QB position. Our D has improved but still has a way to go. The attacking D the announcers gave to Amato was non-existent. Where they got that is beyond me. I will not throw him under the bus though. He needs to work on our secondary. It may be able to improve. I doubt we can say the same thing for our DL. I began the year predicting 6-6. I now can't see us any better than 5-7. Larry Williams needs to get a short list of HC candidates. Look at the results.

One final point. Tell the Zips to tuck in those damn gold undershirts. The team looked sloppy with a third of the players having a foot of shirt hanging out against their navy blues jerseys and pants. Against a classy all navy uni it looked bush league.

Hard to gauge the team based on this game. We out-talented them the same way PSU out-talented us. Some random observations: Star of the game was either Warren Ball or the referee. She was nice to look at and in great form, so to speak. I give the nod to Ball. She hurt her chances by taking too long to sort out penalties Junk at TE was a disaster. Bowden got so mad you could see him pull Junk and gave the spot to Meeks, a true freshman. Good call on Terry's part. Let the frosh run with it until he proves he can't handle it. Until then it should be his spot Our receiving is crying for the return of Wolfe. Too many mistakes and drops Woody showed his arm tonight and he had all the strength we need. The OL was good but considering the opponent it means nothing. The DL improved. Boxen and Reinke look to be the real deal. Lots of guys got PT which bodes well for the future Cato appears to be a solid #2 at QB. I hope he gets more and more reps. At some point in the season we will need him Not sold on our DB's. They look average at best. Against ISU they will have their hands full.

Ham, You are definitely a glass-half-full kind of guy. Keep it up. We need more like you. The thing you have overlooked is that last year, against MAC teams, our OL could not get holes for our backs. This has nothing to do with the QB injuries or Ball being out. Morgan and Edwards can hit holes if they are there. So the situation continued in our first game against a good, but rebuilt PSU DL. There was not one ray of hope the whole game long. That's quite an indictment as to their quality in run blocking. If they have character they will work harder and come back. ISU and Troy will be big challenges.

Like many on this board after a frustrating game I have to post some thoughts so here goes. No one expected us to win, but no one expected us to play so poorly My biggest concern was the OL. They could not run block. The announcer on the sideline even said it was striking how bad our OL was being pushed back on obvious running downs. This by a rebuilt PSU DL. Run downs are where our big nasties should be firing off the line. I've said in the spring that our OL pass blocks OK but does not open any holes when a run is obvious. That was very apparent against MAC teams last year. Let's get real and accept that just because they have been together for several seasons they are not skilled. Too many people believe they have to be because they have been around for so long. They aren't. Start working the future in and let them learn. Our RB's will be good if the OL can learn to block. Again, I 'd make changes there TW is healthy but he lacks timing, arm strength, the ability to be a run threat and leadership. His whining on TV was pathetic. I hope we have a plan to gradually work Kato in. The college game today demands a QB with a strong arm or the ability to be a dual threat. Our DL and WR's will be OK. They were over-matched but will improve I am the biggest critic of Milwee on this board. Also in the spring I called him incompetent. I did not see that this Saturday. His play-calling, while still not creative , was OK considering the opponent. We just never executed Our DB's were exposed as over-rated. I think they can improve but they also have a lot of work to do. Same as regards the LB's. I thought they were regularly out of position. I predicted 6-6 this year. I am revising that to 5-7. This is based on the strong showings Ball State and WMU had against Illinois and USC respectively.

I couldn't agree more Buck. My only hope is that PSU doesn't back out of the game.

Agreed. I think the team has more respect for TC than TW. They know they need TW to have a good year but they have never seen him as a leader. Many players have voiced that opinion. They like him but don't see him as their leader. Ball on the other hand commands respect and attention. TC is respected for his level of sacrifice.

A 10 inch increase in vertical jump is nothing short of incredible. If coach can increase every player's performance like that we are making the big dance for sure.

Dr Z, you make a good point here. It seems Sam is getting a lot of press this pre-season. For our sake I hope he lives up to it. I am also of the opinion that Stuart when healthy is one hell of a weapon. He seemed to be more of a natural scorer than Sam. Of course Stu has got to learn to stay healthy. This could be a great year for the Zips if both are in good form.

This is a huge get for us. I've seen RJ play many times and he is a superior lineman. He has the size, strength, speed and smarts to be a a three year starter for us. I could even see him starting four years if he redshirts his freshman year. Congrats to our coaching staff. We will have to work hard to keep him from decommiting as he is the type of kid we need to upgrade our talent level. Thanks coaches. Keep at it.

Captain, thank you for the interview. You do excellent work. I'm more and more in favor of ZNO developing its own content since we don't have enough coming from the ABJ or local media. I can't get enough info on the Zips and I know there are many on this board who feel the same way. Can we explore this?

ZZZips, I have no access to "Zipsnation". That question need to be answered by the guys who created this site.

And if you two are buying, I'll stop by and write a personal interest article on you two for our first edition of our ZipsNation Sports Magazine/Webzine!!! Zips Voice, you are on! We'll drink to the Zips and the new magazine/webzine.

Balsy, We old Buchtelite scribes need to share stories, experiences and achievements, real and imagined. I'd like to meet too. Let's PM each other when we can attend a football or soccer game where we can meet for a brew. I'm sure we can solve all Zip challenges in one or two beers

I remember a TE by the name of Kelly who played several decades ago and even played a game or two with the Browns when the owners went with replacement players during a strike. I have no stats to offer, but I do recall he was one of the best TE's the Zips have ever had. That is to someone who has been watching Zip football for nearly 50 years. He even played one season at center for Huggins. I loved his subbing in against Middle Tenn and seeing their thugs go flying out of the lane as he sent a message not to f--- with the Zips.

Please tell our OC that TE's do indeed exist. I think he likens them to unicorns or good Kent State football .......they are not for real

To add more fuel to the fire, I will be driving from Columbus for the exhibition and will have a guest. I can't wait to see this team. That being said I don't get why we are starting at 1:00. Curious decision.

Normally I get everything TB is doing, both tactics and strategy. But I gotta admit I don't understand why he answers questions about TW's injury the way he does. TB does not ever directly answer a question. I'd rather him pull a Lou Holtz and describe disaster than say TW is doing well, but not playing. What is that? We will not take Penn State by surprise no matter how well TW is. The next team is Arkansas PB and we don't have to hide players' status for them. If the team wants to build excitement for the season and put fans in the stands tell us the truth. If TW is passing how far? How much speed on the ball? Can his shoulder take a hit? Personally, until TW recovers, I have no problem with going into the season with one of our backup QB's. Thank you Dr. Z for all your information. At least you asked the hard questions. We are starved for something to believe in and you gave us hope. Much appreciated.

For GT this article is deep. Compared to other journalists it's pretty shallow. George got quotes but didn't ask any probing questions. Typical. He once again did not serve his readers.

The natatorium was not part of the plan for the arena that became the JAR. The fault for the debacle that became the JAR lies strictly with Guzetta, the president and his chief advisors and board of trustees. They were not patient. They hired an incompetent architect, who had never deigned an arena. They did not work the legislature or strong arm the local representatives and senators to gain support. They panicked and took what the state offered rather than play the game and possibly wait for the next biennium if they did not get what they wanted (State capital budgeting, which includes state educational institutions had payment for capital projects budgeted over a two year period of time) Guzetta had a low opinion of the role of athletics in a state institution and he had no vision to see how this arena design would hurt the progrum. Forget the fallacy that Gov Rhodes helped us or was honored by naming it after him. Neither was true. His name on the building was a political payoff to keep him from campaigning against it in the legislature. I was sports editor of the Buchtelite at the time and we ran a four installment series written by Mark Maloney outlining the present need, the future needs and what solutions could be available. Mark did a fabulous job. He got a meeting with Guzetta. When Mark saw the plans he told Guzetta not to build it. Mark laid out all the reasons we now cite for not commencing construction. He was regarded as an ignorant student who could not see the big picture. History shows otherwise. Poor leadership can cripple an institution for a long time. The JAR and Ianello are perfect examples of that fact.

This is an interesting topic. As said previously you have to go back many years to understand the naming of the JAR. Rhodes deserves very little credit for it. He only agreed to support it when he learned his name may go on the arena. Previously the university was under much pressure to name it after former Zip star athlete, coach and AD Kenneth "Red" Cochrane. Rhodes saw himself as a great builder and he wanted his name on as many projects as possible because he thought that would cement his legacy for decades to come in the state of Ohio. Remember the JAR was originally to seat 10,000. It's budgeting was cut twice as seats decreased. The only way it got thru the state legislature was because the architect, who was horrible, added three classrooms, at the direction of UA, so the building could then claim an educational mission. To uninformed legislators on the state capital budget committee that sounded easier to swallow than a new gym. The whole project was a lesson in incompetence on UA's part. A few years later both Cleveland State and Wright State got their arenas funded by the legislature. Both seat near 13,000. Both are strictly for sports and campus activities. Both got neat $30,000,000 each. We got less than $10,000,000 originally with a second funding of a few million. Akron could have, and should have, done better. Rhodes was a dynamic governor, but one who made poor decisions at times. His worst decision was to send in untrained, scared national guard troops to Kent State under an incompetent leader, General Del Corso. The results were tragic as we all know. Personally, I'd change the name in a heartbeat.

I think there are many of us who would contribute just as you are willing to do. On a related note, what the hell is going on with information about this year's preseason. There is absolutely nothing. That can't be doing the progrum any good, even if TB wants to keep TW's shoulder issue a mystery. After one game everybody will know what our status is at QB. I have long felt that Akron has the worst sports information dept in the MAC. They are horrible in content, creativity and quantity. Williams has got to correct that. The ABJ has shown it will not get the word out to its readers so we need to try something different. This is truly unbelievable that a DI progrum has put out such minimal information on the sport that is considered No.1 by most of the public.