johnnyzip84

We also need to watch Eric Marshall. He'e been playing really well lately too. There's not much question in my mind. This is the stiffest test remaining, and I sure hope I am wrong.BUGS 74Zips 70Please make me be wrong!!!

Now you're qualified to put a whistle around your neck and see the action up close for the rest of the tournament!

Players like that shouldn't be allowed on the team. You play to win, or you go home.I agree,the last I checked they are 19 to 23 year old young men if you have that attitude you will get your ass kicked..man up...I agree 100%. I think the player should be outed to the team, the coaches, and this community. Then he should be cut from the team (whoever he is). There are still many unsigned high skilled players (many still available in the JUCO ranks) that would give their all to be able to play at UA. This unknown player with this attitude can easily be replaced with someone who will be much much more valuable to this team. In my book, anyone player who thinks that we can't beat Penn is someone that I would not allow on the team. Just my opinion. Maybe some people have their doubts about this season's group of players, but I do not. It would be different if the 2009 Zips were the 2008 Zips, but we're not. Somebody better get this mesaage to the team. We do have the talent, I just hope we have the faith/heart to pull off a beautiful upset. Just think of the Big Big Party we all want to be a part of. GO ZIPS! CRUSH PENN. KICK THEIR ASSES!!! Nice to hear from you, dreal1scout! And I agree totally about what kind of attitude should be required of the entire team. But I must correct you in one respect, if you don't mind. The Zips are opening with Penn STATE, not Penn. I'm pretty sure we'd be heavy favorites over Penn, even though they're a decent Ivy League program. Hey, you can always blame the confusion on the California sun Go Zips!!

I'll be there for the last two games and I can't wait

I told you all this extra game would be good for the young Zips Ha ha ha I could care less right now. Go Zips!!!! You've been granted a 2nd chance.....carpe diem!

OK, without cheating I'm going with Steve McNees. And I think you are onto something, good Dr

Sorry GP1, I usually enjoy your football related comments but are you seriously questioning Linhart's manhood on the floor? That's a joke at best. That kid is as tough as they make em. And yes he did make a hard foul on a breakaway drive to the hoop in a hard, yet clean way, as well as some other basketball savvy plays throughout the game to keep us in it. The kid has intangibles and crazy mad work ethic and is the embodiment of Akron, not just the University, but the city as well. Just as Akron is a city that refuses to give up, and just as Akron continues to grow and innovate despite difficult circumstances, so does this team as led by their floor captain Nate Linhart. Just because he doesn't put up 20 points a night, although I believe he's about 50 points short of 1,000 if that means anything (which it surely should) doesn't mean he's some creampuff out on the floor. Basketball is about defense, sweat, and hustle, not about putting up 115 points per game... just ask the phoenix suns how that worked out and why they acquired Shaq.. It's about a balanced game with ferocity on both sides, and when you can create turnover points in excess as well as box out, thus giving up very few offensive rebounds (i.e. dominating inside defensively), you can typically, easily win the game. That's been my long held theory anyway... Take it for what it's worth.Well stated, Z4P.

Actually Nate DID foul McKee, clean but hard, with a few minutes left while going for a legitimate block on a break.

The MAC site has us playing TOLEDO at 6:00 pm on Tuesday. This is a MUCH better match-up than NIU. If we win, we play the late game on Thursday (est 9:30 pm tip off).Linky

Blue & Gold you've made a compelling argument. I like the look of that league, and you have a point about how the MAC's local perception is partly rooted in the Ohio school bias.Zipmeister, you're just COLD but I am Zip Fan enough to admit that you're right.At least give me the point that MAC members who might want contraction, can certainly take matters into their own hands. If it comes to this can we still call it the Vanguard Conference? Little MAC?

While I agree the next MAC commisioner would probably attempt to squelch any notion of contraction, that would not necessarily prevent it from occuring (although perhaps by a slightly different means). When the WAC had grown to a sprawling, illogical, 16-team monster (under former MAC commisioner Karl Benson if I recall correctly), the traditional WAC teams effectively "contracted" by forming the Mountain West Conference in 1999. Giving up the MAC championship game in football is the only negative I personally see if something like this were to occur with the MAC. There are some good arguments for a stronger, 8 or 10-team league; although I'll admit that picking the strongest 8 from an overall standpoint is quite difficult. The only school that seems a sure-fire one to leave behind is EMU. And this brings be to another point. The Michigan schools have always appeard to be sensitive to the MAC becoming too heavily biased towards Ohio. I personally think this is a big reason why YSU has found getting in to be difficult (although I'm sure there are those who feel UA and Can't State have blocked this in the past, and perhaps they have.....I don't know). Booting EMU might be tough to sell to either CMU or WMU. So this got me to thinking of perhaps a bizarre, but possibly workable alternative.Let CMU, EMU, WMU all go. While we're at it, Ball St. and NIU...... it's been nice knowing ya. Add (I'll get flak for this) YSU. Keep Buffalo (they're just beginning to show their promise). If Temple wants to join in all sports, let 'em. If this happens, perhaps Marshall might be encouraged to join. If not Marshall, perhaps Cleveland St., if and when it has a viable football program, might be a possibilty.In summary:AkronCan'tOhioMiami Toledo -----> 8 charter members of Vanguard ConferenceBGSUYSUBuffaloTempleCleveland St. or Marshall ------> later possible additionsI know, there are a few holes in this possible plan. Would U@B and Temple (or Marshall) feel comfortable in an Ohio-dominated league? Would UT and BGSU want to leave the Michigan schools? No plan is perfect. I just wanted to throw out one for kicks. Feel free to hammer it.

Before AND after!

Right after the St. Francis (NY) game I suggested that MAC coaches, in spite of their general disdain for zone defense, would throw a few against the Zips. I'm just surprised it's taken this long (was the NIU game the 1st game in which we saw quite a bit of zone?) for it to occur. It'll be iteresting to see whether Can't will go with one at any time on Sunday. I don't recall them playing any zone the 1st time around.

's 72's 66

I absolutely concur. In fact, I might even argue that an extra home game might not be such a bad thing for a young team. Hey if you lose a home MAC tourney game, you don't really deserve to be in Cleveland anyway. And I'm not buying the "they'll get tired with the extra game" argument. UA is as deep as any team in the league. These are 18, 19, 20 and 21 year old kids for Pete's sake. Endurance should NOT be an issue.I'm trying to figure out who the Zips beat this year that they were supposed to lose to. Looking through the schedule and results, I can't find one. You might make an argument for Niagara.Where does the extra home game come from? All tourney games are at the Q. And of course endurance is an issue. They're young and have better stamina than us old folks but that also means that they put forth a stronger effort than us old folks. An extra game sandwiched in between the Can't State game and a 3-games-in-3-nights run will take a toll.My bad on the extra home game. I forgot that all games are at the Q now. I'm still not convinced that another GAME (be it at the Q or at the Y) would be such a bad thing. And I totally disagree on the endurance aspect. If these kids, most of whom have played AAU ball along the way, can't "rise up" for an extended tourney then they're not in b-ball shape.

I hear what you're saying Hilltopper, but who would have thought when John left that the Southland and the MAC would be about a toss-up in 2009???

I absolutely concur. In fact, I might even argue that an extra home game might not be such a bad thing for a young team. Hey if you lose a home MAC tourney game, you don't really deserve to be in Cleveland anyway. And I'm not buying the "they'll get tired with the extra game" argument. UA is as deep as any team in the league. These are 18, 19, 20 and 21 year old kids for Pete's sake. Endurance should NOT be an issue.

It brings a tear to my eye to see real, educated football fans posting here on Zipsnation. Keep it up -- and I AM looking forward to seeing Evan AND Cameron on FSC this season. When does USL play begin?I'm always been intrigued by the game, Z.I.P. But in the last 4-5 years I've become a lifelong fan. I follow it all....Futbol Argentino, The Prem, MLS, Serie A, etc. I even joined a few adult leagues, just to gain a better appreciation for "the beautiful game". Don't get me wrong, I'm still a huge football/hoops fan.....but soccer is very cool as well.USL-1 has their 1st games on April 11. Here is the link to the league site. Make sure to read the story on Evan!Linky

If anyone questions the caliber of play in USL-1, just look at the success the Montreal Impact is having in the 1st CONCACAF Champion's League in 2008-2009. They had to beat out fellow USL-1 member Vancouver and Toronto FC from the MLS to qualify in the 1st place. Also, USL-1 teams have routinely beaten MLS teams in other open competitions such as the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. This will be very good for Evan.

Home losses to EASTERN MICHIGAN and CANISIUS will do that for you.

One mistake I felt KD and staff made in a key situation was when Humpty went stumbled to the floor near about the 2:30 mark. Of course, if he gets to his feet it's a travel (which he did). But why didn't the staff call a TO then? We still had three left. I'm not dwelling on it....there are plenty of reasons why the Zips lost (most of which have already been stated). It's just that I was screaming TO when Humpty was stuck.

And we have a three way battle between a guy who can't muster a winning record in one of the worst conferences in NCAA Football and two guys who have never taken a DI snap.Pardon me if I think a guy, as a true freshman in the Big Ten, that is 6'6'' and has a good and live arm could work with our team. I mean, all we can get are 2-star QBs, why take a guy who was highly touted? You're right, that makes no sense....He is only good for DIAA, lol... :lol: :lol:First of all, if he came here he would have to sit for a year as a transfer. Second of all Partick Nicely, Jordan Miller, and Matt Rodgers were all rated as three-star QBs and nationally ranked.This guy led Michigan to their worst season in school history and doesn't think he can make the starting job next year on a 3-9 team.Obviously he would have to sit out...scout has Nicely and Rodgers at 2 stars..Michigan was a very young team, under a new coach and an entirely new system. He didn't exactly fit the system RichRod runs up there, is there something wrong with that? We had a very successful transfer from Pitt, who wasn't a world beater at that time and he couldn't sniff the field. That turned out pretty well for us.You act like this kid used to bully you when you were a kid....what gives? Jacq hasn't exactly set the world on fire and Threet wasn't horrible. He did ok, for his first year as a starting QB and against a very tough schedule? Imagine if he got to play the MAC every week, I think his stats would look much different.Well, let's take a look at his stats in the one and only game he HAS played against a little old MAC team, one that also was a pretty week defensive unit.Link7 of 11 for 55 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT......hmmm only so-so. I know it was only one game, but every time I watched this guy play last year I was totally unimpressed. True his line didn't give him much time, but even when they did he rarely took advantage. He may play better wherever he winds up (he could hardly do worse) but he's not as good as Jacq at this point.....no way. It's just my opinion of course.Jacq was 16-23 for 226 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT against this same defense, BTW.

Threet sucks. We have better on our roster. The only reason he played last year is because of Mallet transfering after DickRod took over and because they couldn't get any freshman to come there.+1

Better yet, we can just schedule whoever won the national championship the year before. If Indiana is willing to come to the info, why not Florida?Edit: Seriously though, Akron and Buffalo could form an interesting rivalry. If both programs stay on the rise like they have been the past couple years, I could see both of us moving into a C-USA type conference together and furthering the rivalry.I agree completely. If the MAC were to ever split, the two existing members I would want UA to align themselves with most are Buffalo and Toledo. These schools have the most in common with UA's overall mission.Actually, I think if YSU ever made the jump to FBS then I would welcome a renewed rivalry with them. It's hard to imagine nowadays, but 20-25 years ago this rivalry easily had me as excited as the one with Can't.I doubt that it will continue much beyond the return game at the info in 2010 (especially when the Zips win up there again this year), but the series with Syracuse has been enjoyable.

In order to defend a childhood favorite (I know, I'm old), may I petition the good Dr for just ONE exception?