Bull_In_Exile

Have to get the opening of your new stadium in the list.. Even if outside of the new digs it is a yawner of a game..http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/08/30-g...n-state-at.html

I hope they find some dignified name, such things are a rarity now but the 'Motor City Bowl' had a nice ring to it. Maybe something Roman like the Parthenon Bowl, The Forum Bowl, the Colosseum Bowl, or the Gladiator Bowl.http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/

http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/08/30-g...le-at-navy.html

And MAC Smack comparisonhttp://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/07/grad...ican-media.html

http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/07/grad...lay-sports.htmlThe folks over at VanDelay run about one of the best sources of MAC info out there and they have released their 2009 MAC football predictions. Its been awhile since I did a 'grade the rankers' and this is one of the few I can find which is complete for 2009 and for which I can find their 2008 predictions. For those of you who are not familiar with VD's MAC blog what it lacks in appearance it more than makes up for with content and organization.

http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/07/voll...emic-award.html

Well they have not done CMU yet but we know the Chips are their pick to win the west.http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/07/grad...nkers-quad.html

I was just going to post a reply to the Sporting News MAC Prediction thread but I dont see one, apologies if I missed it..http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/07/grad...rting-news.html

from 2008 or this coming season? ;)Remind me in October..

This is a repeat of another post on another thread, but you don't even mention DT Ryan Bain in this evaluation. That's a pretty big oversite.Not a total repeat but I finished all the MAC schools... Sorry for the oversight..

http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/07/mac-...views-2009.html

This turns my stomach a bit... Who remembers how much of the world we understood when we were 13..http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/06/when...op-to-this.html

http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/06/coul...another-ad.htmlCould the MAC East lose another AD?Before Akron has finished finding a replacement for Mack Rhoades they might have competition for talent from within the MAC East. There are some rumblings that Marshall will look to the Ohio Bobcats to replace Bob Marcum. Many say that Jim Schuas is quickly climbing up Marshall's short list being put together by a Dallas firm hired out to find a new AD for the Herd.While nothing yet is official the Charlton Daily Mail has put together a list of 'why and why nots'. The Charlson Daily acknowledges the reality that where you were born, who your parents are and where you went to school can affect your attractiveness to potential college sports jobs and Shuas has this going against him. But they also highlight some of the more compelling reasons he would be a good fit:

http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/Adam Rittenberg over at ESPN has slated the Akron Zips as being one half of a Big 10 fork in the road. Acording to Adam Indiana has allot riding on the September game: Indiana enters the season with its head coach on the hot seat and serious doubts about the team's ability to get on track again. That's why an early trip to Akron and the new InfoCision Stadium is so critical. Indiana could be 3-0 after a win against Akron, or it could be 1-2 with a loss and starting the death march.Incidentally MAC Smack has picked this game for Akron, there is no reason the MAC should not have a banner year against the Big-10 with CMU and WMU getting a crack at the wolverines and also at Michigan State. I doubt the MAC can win more than they lose but anywhere between 3-5 wins is very possible.

http://mac-smack.blogspot.com/2009/06/mac-...d-thoughts.html

Cornell would never leave the Ivy League--this is crazy talkYou realize that would scuttle their whole image?As long as Syracuse is in the Big East they wouldn't want to share the Big East with UBThat is exactly why Akron is a real option for the BE in the near future if they win some damn games. We have the TV market and proper geographic area for it to work. We are right in a big east dead zone with over 4 million viewers for the picking. Except you're closer to Pittsburgh than UB is to Syracuse

1) Yes the SUNY system is crazy centralized (something UB is fighting now in the state Assembly). UB's was a private school bought up by Rockefeller when the SUNY system was built and the other major Centers ( SmAlbany, Stony Brook, Binghamton ) are all fighting in one way or another to control their future.2) I dont think there is anything keeping the other centers from going division one except an effort from their administrations. I would not hold my breath on Albany they took two and a half years to find a university president and cant get past the very initial steps of planning a football stadium upgrade.Cornell would far and away be a better pick to move up.. They have an Ivy Component but also partner with a Suny Cornell and they have the money. Problem is cornell is in Ithica NY which is not exactly a bastion of sports fans.Geographically Stony Brook (long Island) could make it work, being so close to the City would ba a huge advantage but they have other things on their plates..

We are the teams who have moved up?I think Buffalo was, the MAC took a chance on a school that had been out of Division one athletics for a good long time and it's stating to pay off. One can make the case Temple football was a similar mercy mission.

The same can be said of the Browns... (ok Ill stop hammering the browns, Ill leave that to the Steelers)--I think every conference has a place for someone looking to move up. I don't know much about cleveland but if you're right and its a glorified community college then perhaps Cornell... I would say NH but that would be a hike for the Michigan teams..

Cleveland State or the Browns?Depends on the year, I think Cleveland State would be a stronger addition of late Yes I know they have no program but thats better than the Browns are doing /rimshot

That's a good point but who could the MAC cannibalize that's remotely close to the Ohio, MI, NY, NW PA corridor?Whats more likely is the 8 or so teams that would want to stay FBSWMU, CMU, UB, Akron, Toledo, Ohio, Miami, Temple would all find themselves looking for a new home...BE, B10, C-USA, ...

Thats a good name. It could Be Buffalo, Akron, Can't??, Toledo, Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami, and???Directional Michigan gets us to 11, maybe we can get Cleveland to come up to FBS... or perhaps Cornell to add a little ivy league action (have to replace Miami don't cha know)

My Sister-in-law is Canadian and her family comes down here all the time. They stop in Niagara and Erie, Geneva and Cleveland, and of course Akron (because that's where my family lives) and what's interesting is where they have never stopped. Wow, I'm just being out done here... you guys are funny..

I have Canadian relatives and that still hurt.. Believe me I have spent allot of time In Buffalo and Canada and a fair amount driving through akron (why would anyone stop there) you don't really want to put money on which city looks more like Canada do you

I had not realized I did that, nice catch as to Canada.. the market potential is huge. Southern Ontario is Bills Country and the I-Bowl sold more seats with UB there than they ever have before.I think Buffalo and Syracuse would be a great public/private rivalry. And Buff is further from Syracuse than you are from Pittsburgh so both schools have to compete with Market overlap and recruiting pressures. But I will concede that in 90% of ways its a tossup..Buffalo is about to be the first foreign team in the NFL when they move to Toronto.I hope so, the Bills have been nothing but a pain for 15 years. We all know when Ralph Wilson dies his daughters are going to move the team (and he had the temerity to condemn the brown move while he sets up Toronto). The Bills leaving would be a good thing for sports in the Buffalo Area. With UB slated to grow to 40K students in the next decade or so the infusion into the fan base would demand that UB get into a big name conference.As to the Toronto thing.. as nice as it would be to put the Argo's out of their misery there are a couple of reasons the Bills, if they go, will go elsewhere (1) is a cultural pushback in Canada against American professional football(2) is the fact that the Wilson Girls want a warm climate team in a market with bucks... Expect the bills, if they move, to be the next team to flop in LA