Spin

IIRC Wadsworth is the only Suburban League school to still have grass. And the only reason they haven't switched yet is because some of the board refuses to put a corporate name on it or the stadium.

That makes a LOT of sense. The regular season and the conference championships are highly important, and nobody can complain about being subbed. You win, you're in. But, the big time conferences would never go for it. Only one team per conference can get in, and if you ask the SEC, they think their top four should be in. And it would make the non-conference games meaningless, no more top ten schools butting heads creating excitement.

I remember the Barons very well. They moved in August and the management had no time to advertise the team. They were also broke, after failing in Oakland, so they couldn't advertise if they had time to. It was in such sad shape it missed payroll. The lease with the Coliseum was the kicker. They got no concessions, no parking, no money from the loges. The lease made it impossible to break even with a major league team. The new AHL Barons found out, it doesn't work for minor league teams either. And that's the same reason Akron's USFL team doesn't want to play at the Info. YOU CAN'T BREAK EVEN. That is why the Monsters thrive where the other teams couldn't, the owner of the team owns the arena. BTW, they were third in the AHL in attendance with a 10th place team).

I heard (said) the same things about baseball and American football too.

Well if you can't see trends and the like I can't help you much. I know what sports fans in Columbus have told me on another forum, and outsiders have said. So I believe Columbus is a "college town" as are other major cities, while Cleveland is a "pro town". I believe Cleveland is a "football town" and St.Louis is a "baseball town". I believe northeast Ohio is a soccer hotbed waiting to happen again, and if Bert Wolstein had lived 10 more years we would have an MLS stadium and an MLS team now. I believe a bad NHL team would be more popular than a bad NBA team in Cleveland. None of this can be quantified with stats, of course. But I also know stats can be arranged to prove anything.

A couple things to keep in mind. Akron has "been there" and it's expected that they will be there again. How many times have they been to the NCAA tournament? 20? Second, cold weather soccer programs do not have the issues that cold weather baseball programs do, and it's rare that a cold weather baseball program can recruit the talent, prepare the team, and make a serious run like Ken+ has. So that was a big part of the story. Having covered the team during it's CWS run, I know this. We just saw Cleveland State shut down its baseball program, it's an uphill battle. You spend the off-season and training camp indoors, you spend the first half of your season riding busses up and down I-77 for hours on end every week. This all adds to the STORY of Ken+ making it to the CWS. And finally you still have the same people running the sports departments at the same TV stations, with the same aging viewers who take the time to write and call in with every whine they have. Meanwhile baseball diamonds are disappearing, not maintained, or are not being used. More and more kids are playing soccer instead (for one reason, they don't want to stand around in the field and pay attention, waiting for their (average) three plays and four at-bats a game), MLB ratings and attendance falls. A lot of that is their own fault, but that doesn't change the facts. From the grassroots level on up, soccer is gaining steam.

They still have picture tube tvs in ther commons too. Lol

The Force averaged over 14,000 fans per game in 1986-87, an all time indoor soccer record, and also set records for single game regular season and playoff attendance of well over 18,000 fans, some SRO. The Caps and the City Stars broke attendance records for D3 soccer (third tier, AA in baseball). Columbus is a very different market than Cleveland/Akron/Canton and always will be. It is not a pro sports town, it is all about the Buckeyes. That is why they will never get any other pro teams there. Hopefully they can keep the Jackets. I did not miss the TV coverage of the baseball team, and that does not surprise me. TV news like newspapers are for old people. The typical younger person is not who they target because they know those people are using the internet for much better coverage and many more choices. Now if you want to watch house fires and corruption stories, the evening news is there for you.

You bolded the wrong part. That was 10 years ago, we're talking about now. We don't have a professional team to compare that to. Considering the records the D3 teams broke (before the league destroyed them) and the Force records tells me it is quite possible an MLS team could outdraw the Dolan Indians. The second place .500 Indians.

We had a thread about the growing popularity of soccer and how it is overtaking other sports. And I came across this interesting stat while debating something else on another forum. The MLS averages more fans per game 18541 than the Cleveland Indians 18,408. Looking further, Seattle 38607 outdraws 24 major league teams. It would rank 7th in a combined MLB/MLS summer pro sports attendance chart. I admit I was skeptical about the amount of growth in the thread, but I am changing my mind. A few more. MLS stadiums are 89% full, the Progressive Field is 42% full. Imagine if all MLS stadiums held at least 43,000... sources http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2012/6/4/30...nce-record-pace http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

Buffon and Balotelli are sick. Just one game left, bring on Spain!!!

Your conference still has too much bearing on your eligibility for the playoffs, making SOS unfair. Wisconsin could be stuck with a conference schedule of Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue, and Illinois (teams that couldn't win the MAC) and run the table, only to be shut out by a one loss Big 12 or SEC school. Who's to say they would have lost to those teams that beat the B12/SEC qualifier? SOS is a bunch of crap, when schools have no control over 67% of their schedule.

Former Zip Drew Turocy is hitting .362 1 21 and 5 SB with a .848 OPS in his first year with Grenville of the South Atlantic League. He's a regular in RF.

If strength of schedule is a factor non-BCS schools are ALWAYS going to be left out. All you can hope for is to schedule four top BCS schools, and win out, and then you might be considered. Sad but true, a win over Indiana will always be worth more than a win over Toledo or Houston. No matter how bad Indiana sucks.

I see the committee putting three BCS conference teams from three different conferences plus one wildcard. At least I hope that's how it plays out.

He's already done what past coach(es) never did and is building relationships with high school coaches IN THIS AREA. High school coaches have said as much. He's already said he is going to recruit the area. He's from the SEC, yet he knows about the talent in Ohio before coming here and that was one of the reasons he took the job.

+1 Bron never said he was going to stay, never said it wasn't about the money, and then left for more $$$$$. You know, then same guy we sold out the stadium to see come back and almost built a statue for at Gateway...

Two first round draft picks and two second round draft picks. Would those be Tristan Thompson and Milan Macvan?

I'm over it, and I wish a lot of other people were too. Every city has lost free agents, nobody acts like Cleveland does. And we are a joke to the rest of the nation. Did anyone else hear Mike Tyson singing the other day? He had every right to leave, and he left. Maybe he did it the wrong way, but I have left some jobs the wrong way over the years. He was immature, and he was told over and over by the fans and media that he never had a college signing day, he never sat in front of the camera with 3 or 4 hats on the table, and picked one up and put it on. That he missed out. So he did that. And now those same people are still pissed two years later. It got to the point the "fans" were cheering for the NBA's Baltimore Ravens to beat the hometown guy. He's not the first player to join another "alpha dog's" team to get a ring, the best example I can think of this early in the morning is A-Rod. I don't hear Ranger's fans still thumping their chest over that one. And I get it he is the hometown guy, but why wasn't there so much hate when Scott Fletcher turned down the Indians? I'm a born and bred Cleveland fanatic, but I still don't get it. I'm not as much of a fan of his as I was, but I still hope he does well.

Way to go Italia, putting Ireland away 2-0. Now we wait to see who's next...

In the end, it doesn't matter we think or what bars are where now or in the future. What matters is the reasons the people in charge want it on campus. #1 to show off to prospective students and basketball recruits, and #2 to get alumni on campus so they see what's been done and what those in charge want to do. Because those prospective students and alumni are the $$lifeblood$$ of the university.

You're forgetting what else is in the area of E. Exchange. A MAJOR COLLEGE. An arena could jump start more bars and eateries coming BACK to the street, but the college is the real draw. I remember being a teen in the 80's and remember what the strip was like back then, with all the establishments and all the people. That is something the campus lacks now that other colleges boast (Can't State, Ohio).

You guys forgot newspapers. Nobody reads newspapers anymore, for some they prefer the intraweb, for others we just don't have the time to read ANYTHING in today's fast paced society...

That's Jim Tressel's job description. Remember what he said was his first priority when he took the position? And don't forget his boss Dr. Proenza is also a master of finding funding. Look at how many projects are going on or have been completed at the university that are not sports related. Just in the program I was in, we saw huge investment in education. This school is moving forward, despite the economy.

That argument doesn't make any sense at all. First, not all students live in those halls. Second, Each site that's been discussed is closer to those halls than the JAR. and third, NOBODY has come up with an argument that Coach T and Coach B say bringing alumni onto campus is a good thing. I don't buy the entertainment district argument, either. If I want a cold one and a bite after a game, I have absolutely NO INTEREST in going to a college bar. I go to a place close to home where people my age go, where everything is less expensive, where the music doesn't make my skull throb. There's no music at all, there are TV's showing sports. I can't help but wonder how many middle age alum would actually walk into those places.