Dr Z

Who do you like? Feel free to explain your reasoning below. Love the matchup, the old debate of what wins a championship, defense, or offense.

Nice article. If AA is truly sorry, and issued a real apology to fans for his wrong doing, I have no problem with him getting a second chance. I hope he is truly sorry, and is trying to get his life on track. Sometimes it takes something drastic to get your life in order. I know it's not apples to apples, but the Chris Carter story comes to mind. He would have to be mentally tough in road games. Weatherspoon scored 20 yesterday for Toledo, if he were in an Akron uniform yesterday what do you think his point total would have been?

Where was this law when Ianello was here?

I agree. I wish the league was better, and we won 19 with a mac championship.

Reminiscent of some of Jimmal Ball's work. I don't blame any fans, but a lot of them left and missed it since it was in "garbage" time. It was interesting to see how his game changed now that he has a team around him. A few of those rebounds, the Zips had descent position under the hoop and the rebound became long enough it was just out of their reach. Doesn't change the fact that they were outworked on most, but I did make that comment in the first half. While I agree with the theory, I don't have the vision as some do for the big Toledo NCAA run. I do enjoy their style, they are players that are comfortable what the guy next to them is going to do. Nothing against Tree (my favorite player on the team), CB drove the lane and dished up a nice alley oop, but Tree wasn't on the same page. Just not the same familiarity. My favorite move of Trees wasn't on court yesterday. He was working his butt off, KD pulled him to give him a break, Tree sat down for about 20 seconds and went over to KD and told him he was good to go. He worked hard yesterday. PS I caught a few Zips Nation members through my lens across the court who used to post thoughtful critics without agendas. I miss reading those posts.

Thanks. More (8) photography by Ed Suba Jr found here.

If Akron uses the formula they did today, they don't match up well with Toledo. I hope Akron avoids Toledo in the MAC tourney because I don't see us changing our game plan. You know the old saying about the QB gets too much credit, and too much blame? I think the PG position gets too much blame on this team. There are multiple things not clicking right now, the point guard position is just one of them. I think the position is what it is, now you must adjust your game plan because of it, not run the same ol' same ol' despite it. I'm not trying to take credit away from Toledo, they played well and deserved to win. They wanted the game, and out hustled us.

I thought I would share a couple of photos from today's game. Wish the outcome was different. Lose the battle, win the war.

Ray Horton. We're rumored to be moving to the 3-4, and he learned from master LeBeau. He lives in the area. Perfect fit. Edit: My favorite Horton story.

You da man Hip ! CK's description of Ellen sort of fits my dark (basketball) Zips fan side. I know his cure is accurate!

I think the same, but I'm not good at guessing the line. That is what helps me with my decision sometimes. I don't like this game, I'll probably stay away from it.

In Ohio, you can start serving at 5:30 am (source). You just need to find a place that's open. Back in the day, I know a few rapscallions that would work midnight shift and head to the bar early in the morning. Bars located close to mills.

We should have organized a Lot 9 cakes and ale tailgate.

The Blade: Styles Differ “We’re a better transition team,” (point guard Julius) Brown said. “They’re a little tougher team, if you ask me, as far as rebounding and things like that.” “Unless we play physical, we can’t beat anybody,” Dambrot said. I'm always interested in how we scheme to get points. Hope we have a plan, and it is not dribbling/passing the shot clock down to minimize Toledo's possessions.

His reasoning:UT's entire starting five averages double figures. It has an elite point guard in Julius Brown (13.4 points) who averages 7.2 assists, double what Akron's top two guards had combined. And it has an elite power forward in J.D. Weatherspoon (11.3 points, 6.0 rebounds) to counter Akron's leading scorer and rebounder, Demetrius Treadwell (13.2/ 7.8). It's a contrast in styles for UT and Akron....But where Toledo seems well oiled, scoring 84.2 points a game and shooting 48.6 percent from the floor, the Zips struggle just to make it to the final buzzer on top.Poor decisions inside the final four minutes and suspect foul shooting make every game a nail-biter for Akron."We have to win until we clean these problems up,'' head coach Keith Dambrot said. "It is what it is right now. Eventually we can't make those mistakes. It's going to bite us." And Toledo has the teeth to do it.Sounds like they go with the theory of starting their best players. Some think it's better to finish with your best.FYI

Ellen gives Zips something for their bulletin board "Toledo (14-2, 2-1) plays at Akron (11-5, 3-0), 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPNU, in what could be the passing of the torch in the Mid-American Conference." Can someone tweet this to Tree?

I forwarded the article to rianello@ku.edu, let's see if he agrees. I'll let you know.

You beat me to it CK. I can almost envision the headline in the Columbus paper...Tressel to Michigan. From the comments under CK's link, it doesn't seem like Lion fans are going to welcome this with open arms. I wonder if the front office is waiting to see what initial fan reaction is before giving the approval. Pending approval? CBSsports.com Full ESPN insider article found here. New Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell is in the process of putting together a staff that can take a talented team to a championship. One of the first names that popped up to have a significant role on Caldwell's staff was former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, a colleague of Caldwell's during the one year they were together in Indianapolis. There's even talk that a deal with Tressel is already in place, with only approval from the front office remaining, though that is unconfirmed. Tressel is currently in a leadership position at the University of Akron but one would think he'd jump without hesitation for a chance to coach in the NFL, especially because he is temporarily banned from coaching in the NCAA because of a show cause penalty. Tressel worked as a replay-review consultant under Caldwell with the Colts in 2011. I never thought that a replay review consultant on your resume would pay off so big!?!

Nice headline. I was going to go with 'Zips Get a Few Crumbs on Court, But Avoid Choking on Cupcake'

You are correct, here are the details. Maybe this guy will be there. Possibly LeBron's coach/Mike Polk will be there?

Zeke and number one pick overall playing in same league? In a season that many would grade an "F," Anthony Bennett could soon earn a "D." Even before he didn't play a minute in a 120-118 victory over the Lakers on Tuesday night, [bennett] was being asked whether he'd be interested in going down to play with the Cavaliers' owned-and-operated NBA Development League franchise in Canton. "It's something I'd think about, for sure," Bennett said before Tuesday's game. "It's not a bad thing, especially going down there, hopefully playing a lot, going out there, building my confidence."

I was pleasantly surprised at the Marshall game. The fact that there was a snow storm, no band, no class, and it was still a nice crowd. If Brad is responsible, nice job!

Tickets here. Interesting using the Z for the men, and the Roo for the women.

Winner! Great find Hip. Makes me glad I didn't do this the day they had it before a football game. No WAY I could compete with that!

Jay Bilas has Toledo ranked #68. Toledo has a top-10 offense in KenPom.com but a defense rated outside the top 250. Toledo's schedule has not helped the cause, with only one win against a team rated in the top 100. This is a good team, but it has to do well in MAC play to garner some national acclaim.