johnnyzip84

While nothing is official, all signs still point towards Texas A&M leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. An official announcement is expected in the next week.

Sorry, Dave. I was just being a smart ass thinking it might be funny to muddle a thread having to do with keeping threads on topic. Carry on!

I dropped in here a little late. What were you all talking about?

+1! Got mine, Lot 9........time to rock and roll

I saw the same ad last week. I agree. It was very well done.

LA Times (Sports Network) Zip Preview Like many, they're not expecting much. There is some insight into Coach Sowers new weight training regimen however.

Nice find. Gotta love this exchange: Thames Rivals Bio

I think I read somewhere that it felt like a 2.8 here yesterday.

In addition to the Wagon Wheel TROPHY for football, there will now be a combined sports winner in a new deal sponsored by PNC. GoZips Link

Just about everyone I knew felt it. It was pretty obvious. I can only think of one other time where I've felt that sensation (not quite as long in duration though) and it was back in 1986. On January 31, 1986 there was an earthquake centered in Lake County northeast of here.

Ahh-hah PN7 farts in your general direction! Seriously, I think this was all about upside. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. Except, perhaps, that the Lone Ranger better remember his best play of 2011: take the snap, turn and handoff to #44! Go Zips!!!

Here is the blueprint for how the Akron "Owls" can defeat the Red & Silver

And he's a gold medal winner at a relatively significant international event. I'm sure he'll be proud of that for the rest of his life, as well he should BTW, THIS was the US Men's roster at these games.

Wonder if Nikola is hurt. All the other Serbia players got in the game. The score indicates that Serbia put the Canucks away in the second half. 68-55 Serbia wins. There were a few other games with similar box scores. And I'm sure he played just a few days ago. This is NOT a knock on Nik, but he was clearly the 11th or 12th roster spot on this squad.

Nikola doesn't get any minutes in the championship game of Universiade 2011, but he DOES get a GOLD MEDAL. Congrats, Nik!!

Thanks JZ84 for taking the time to answer my question. If Bice is better prepared and the best we have I am all for him taking the spot. As you said it will be nice to have depth on the O-line for once. We will no doubt need it. No problem! Apparently Rizzo is one of the more versatile linemen also, able to back up several positions.

SI expects 5-7. I'm still pondering.

It sounds like the Brunswick store may be a few steps ahead. There aren't any taps at the Jackson store, but it's still probably worth a look.

The Buehler's in Jackson has a pretty fine selection also.

Keener, another Zip fan sitting with me suggested there were about 250 in attendance. I'd agree. 72 Roo, I believe Rizzo missed some reps early in camp due to an injury. He's a little smaller than Bice, but I think you'll see both play. The article on Bice a while back made it seem like he's in the best shape, by far, of his Zip career. I forgot to mention one highlight in my summary. With no kick return situations, we only had one glimpse of the skills Tyler Williams brings. He caught about a 15 yard out and easily weaved through defenders down the sidelines for a big gain in the scrimmage.

I toyed with the idea of providing an extremely generic list of observations, laced with coach-speak, as a way of teasing certain members of ZNO. But I decided that after the last few years, that might be considered to be extreme and unusual punishment. So here is my summary of today's open practice: General Thoughts 1) For those that couldn't make it, the event was a typical 2 hr practice, the last 10-12 minutes of which featrured a 11-on-11 scrimmage. The play calling was very vanilla. I think it was because they saw me with my clipboard 2) This is purely a "gut" observation, but I really believe the team is far more enthusiatic at the moment than at any time during Ianello's stay. This was particularly noticeable during the 3-on-3 drill. 3) There were a LOT of new players (mostly walkons I suppose) on the roster handed out before the practice as compared to the roster on GoZips. If anything, this helps with numbers in practice. And maybe a diamond in the rough or two will emerge. Offense 1) Neither PN7 nor CM8 distinguished themselves from one another. PN7 worked with the 1st team more often. Both struggled with accuracy at times, especially while rolling out. I'm not one to put too much into the performance of one practice, but whoever the starting QB is, he will need to play better in game situations. The good news is I didn't see any bonehead plays by either of them, and the snap from center is finally routine. ZD11 and KP16 (red shirt no doubt)look to provide acceptable depth. 2) The depth of the O-Line is a pleasant surprise. Bice, Kasparek, Pughsley, Anderson, and Simcovich look to be the starters. Bice was very vocal on occasions. The newcomer Ian Folmar is enormous. He's a long-term project with a huge upside. Rizzo has the attitude you like to see. 3) Chisholm did nothing to change my high opinion of him. Besides being more of a home run threat than either Staten or Alexander, he seems to have better hands too. Alexander dropped a few. 4) Rossi looked good running the ball and catching balls out of the backfield (no signs of hammy trouble). He looks like the kind of player who trys to excel in all aspects of the game. Bailey and Grice (the legs of a linemen) make the FB position relatively strong. Ianello spent a fair amount of time with the FBs. 5) It was difficult to evaluate the receivers in the scrimmage. Suel made a couple of nice plays (shoulder looks fine). Price was wearing a red jersey but still participating. He brought down a high PN7 toss at one point, using his height to full advantage. Russell burned Lartey deep during a drill, catching a TD from CM8. 6) Fleming must have been hurt, because I didn't see his number. A lot of TEs will see action. The new guy Justin Favors (#48) has great size and looks to move pretty well too. Defense 1) Wilson and Griggs will both contribute immediately on the D-Line. The front four has depth. 2) Besides the known quantities at LB (Wagner, Gilmer, can't recall seeing Little?), Justin March looks like a nice recruit. 3) Richmond appears to have fully recovered. He and LT Smith manned the safety spots while Waller and Lartey were the corners. I'm not sure if Holmes (now wearing #4) played much and I'm not sure why (I think he was hurt at some point this year). 4) The defense appears more aggressive to me. I think we'll see more chances being taken in 2011 on this side of the ball. Special Teams 1) The place-kicking competiton is difficult to gage. There are 4 candidates (lefty Robert Stein, TJ Marchase, AJ Fox and Kevin Ivasku). Each made a few FG attempts. Stein might have the strongest leg. Marchase gets the ball up the quickest. Stay tuned. 2) I didn't see any punts. So I'll assume Zach Campbell remains the man. 3) LS Adam Steiner looked to be working with his backup, a #68 who doesn't show up on any roster. 4) Quite a bit of the practice was dedicated to kick coverage, with the field divided into 3 for simultaneous drills. Conclusion 1) I like the numbers and I like the enthusiasm. 2) I hope a starting QB emerges soon. Ianello may have to go with his gut on this one. 3) We'll learn more on Sept 3, but IMO we really won't know a whole lot about this team until Sept 10 against Temple. That's all for now. Go Zips!!!

Is that Nick Sparks in the photo? I'm 99.9% sure it is and it looks like he was still playing QB when the pic was taken.

Done. I'll have it at the first tailgate. Keener, you have to stop over for a taste, just to say you did. OK, twist my arm. But if I don't like it can I give mine to JZ84's wife too? Just stopped by. What are we giving JZ84's wife? I'd like a picture first. Sorry, Buckzip. She only goes blue & gold Now you've got my attention! Apparently, going with lower case b & g wasn't as effective as I planned Funny stuff

It's no secret that the Zips have a great following at the Q and have used it to their advantage the last 5 years (at least). So while I don't think this change was brought about to "get" the Zips, I do think it may be a result of complaints, particularly from the West, that UA (and Can't State) has a competitive advantage as a lower seeded team since they can at least count on a semi- home court advantage during the "run" required for a lower seeded team to win the tourney. IMO the good thing for us Zip fans is that the change comes too late for the rest of the MAC! These Zips are good enough to win it all regardless of the format.

Done. I'll have it at the first tailgate. Keener, you have to stop over for a taste, just to say you did. OK, twist my arm. But if I don't like it can I give mine to JZ84's wife too? Just stopped by. What are we giving JZ84's wife? I'd like a picture first. Sorry, Buckzip. She only goes blue & gold