johnnyzip84

It may be semantics, but I disagree that the connection between Zip athletics and the nation's #18 TV market has been proven and is merely a "fact". I've stated the reason here several times, but I'll repeat to be clear. It's the northern and highest populated part (roughly within 20 miles of downtown Cleveland) of this market that I feel has not been proven to be a significant market, as yet, for televised Zip sporting events. That's way more time than I really wanted to spend on this. We've got a big day tomorrow. Go Zips!!!

Once again, I'm not saying a portion of the "Cleveland market" can't eventually be swayed to follow the Zips on TV. I just feel it's a "leap of faith" argument (and a pretty big one at that) at this point. I certainly hope it happens some day (even 5-10% would be great). BTW, ECU is in Greenville, NORTH Carolina, well east of Raleigh. Its tiny market is a big reason why it's been left out of the Big East despite terrific fan support.

I think the above point in bold is valid and is enough of a reason for another conference to consider the Zips for expansion. When I use the term Cleveland market, what I am getting at is what percentage of TV's within say 20 miles of downtown Cleveland would be tuned in to a Zips TV game. If you're going to tout the Cleveland-Akron market to a prospective conference, you'd certainly be expected to show that TV's outside of the aggregate Akron/Canton MSA will contribute significantly to the overall ratings.

Doin' fine and I am more than ready for what should be an exciting weekend

First of all, I've seen you chastise people on here for mixing fact with opinion and vice versa, so you have a lot of nerve with the opening few lines in quotes. You wrote the beginning of a novel here, but you failed to address the biggest issue regarding TV markets as related to conference affiliation. C-USA/MWC, the Big East or whoever isn't overly concerned about Zip media coverage in Cleveland (that's left up to us at ZNO). It's the potential TV ratings for televised games that matter period, since this is what has a bearing on conference TV contract negotiations. What we're lacking (both of us) in this discussion is hard data to illustrate exactly how the viewers of Zip TV sports events are distributed throughout the NE Ohio region. Until I see that, the connection between Zip sports and the Cleveland TV market remains unproven for me.

This would be an infinitely stronger point if we were discussing Cleveland State and if they had an FBS football program. Don't get me wrong. I am a long-time believer than UA has been and remains a sleeping giant in collegiate sports. We've seen signs of an awakening for sure. I just don't buy the Cleveland TV market argument at the current. Can that change? I'm skeptical. That doesn't mean I think this prevents UA from taking on a much larger athletic profile, either within the MAC (through domination of it) or elsewhere.

@DiG Holy Toledo! I surrender on this point. Apparently my partial surrender in the last post was ignored. This is unconditional surrender. Now I'll address the crux of the discussion. I'll grant you that there is an OPPORTUNITY for increased UA sports interest/coverage across the Cleveland-Akron media market following a successful run of years in a higher tier conference such as the Big East. The question, of course, is whether the Big East feels it would be worth going out on a limb to invite UA based on an as-yet-completely-unproven connection between Zip athletics and the nation's 18th largest media market.

I knew someone would jump on the Toledo comparison (I tried to defuse this with the NEARLY qualifier to no avail) and miss the main point. But, your 1st and 3rd points are undeniable. I don't think the different state argument is very strong though. Nevetheless, I'll take back the entire Toledo comment. Who here still thinks Clevelanders, in general, give a rat's a$$ about televised Zip sporting events? That's what I thought. The Zips are currently irrelevant to the Cleveland TV market. Hmmmmm I'd say they're NEARLY as irrelevant to the Cleveland market as the Rockets are to the Detroit market

I think it would be great if UA's leaders can convince prospective conferences of the Zips' rightful claim to the Cleveland TV market. But I'm not buying it. I think this assumption is nearly as absurd as Toledo claiming the Detroit TV market. Let's ask ourselves this question. Aside from UA alums, how many Clevelanders typically watch televised Zip sporting events? You might argue that this miniscule number will grow when UA differentiates itself from the Ohio-based MAC schools, but that's a leap at best IMO. When Buffalo joined the MAC, there was much complaining (especially from YSU fans). The TV market was a big factor, and in this case it's completely legit. Frankly, Buffalo shoudn't be ignored as a candidate for expansion because of this (and it's large endowment and respected academics).

I think he's around 46% from behind the arc. At 6'6" this sounds like a job for Q.

GoZips.com Link Game time is 7:00 pm on Mar 2 (ESPN2).

Keep that glass half full (at least) Zip football has definitely been through the ringer in the D1 era. That is enough in itself to make it hard for long-time fans to expect even someone as qualified as Coach Bowden to turn things around that quickly. But I disagree with the notion that there's a constant, low-level hum of negativity permiating the area and the people who live here. There is plenty of reason for optimism as UA's 2020 vision unfolds and the city welcomes a new headquarters for Goodyear and a new technical center for Bridgestone (among other highlights).

No doubt. Speaking of poor officiating, was it Darryl Smith making the consistenly wrong out-of-bounds calls last night? Or was it Terry Wymer?

It's interesting that Akron is on this list , while Cleveland is not.

I wonder if the team will be staying at the Hotel Coral Essex? I think the Zips will respond well to this challenge. I look for Harney to contribute much more than he has lately. I think our defense and rebounding will win the game. Zips 75 Bobs 70

I picked up a Zip basketball yearbook last night, and while reading through Coach Dan Peters’ bio I noticed that he lists two children (Danny age 24 and Michael age 22). Now perhaps this CVCA player is also his boy and he simply is “protecting him” by leaving his information out in this yearbook. But I thought I would mention it anyway.

Let's just say our definitions of significant may be significantly different.

The reign of Bain was preordained before the strains, the sprains, the suspect veins. Hopes down the drain No house of pain Just a migraine

I think I get an assist for this

That’s the whole point of energy absorbing devices. They make the stop “less sudden” by reducing the decelerations. I’ll agree the increased size of the players (their increased speed can’t be ignored either, since potential energy is related to speed squared…..although of course speeds haven’t increased nearly as much as size) inherently increases the magnitude of these decelerations. Speaking more on the effect speed has on the decelerations felt by the brain, this is exactly why some coaches propose doing away with kickoffs.

And I think he still IS at least six feet tall!

Oh. You mean Zips_Win!

Here is a pretty cool story on an Akron based nano-technology start-up with UA connections.

I believe this is because, while the MAC East has been consistently good over the last few years, it probably has reached an all-time peak this season in terms of overall strength. I also think that just because you might like to avoid facing a particular MAC East team in the MAC tourney, it doesn’t mean you don’t think the Zips have a good chance of winning a 1st round NCAA tourney game. IMO, there is more pressure on the Zips to win the MAC tourney than there is for them to win an NCAA game, if and when they get there. And I don’t think the team they’d likely face in the 1st round of the NCAAs will be significantly better than Buffalo or K.E.N.T.

That’s a very interesting article, GP1. Thanks for posting. I’ve thought about this quite a bit lately. The issue of player safety will continue to become more visible. Various TV shows have taken up the topic. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there’s a small part of me that feels a little uneasy from an ethical standpoint considering I spend so much time and effort supporting a sport that leaves many damaged beyond repair. Here are a few thoughts as I read this: 1. His main notion is that football at the ground level could be destroyed by medical insurers backing out to protect their bottom lines. Maybe this is farfetched, but I wonder if youth/HS/college football could still survive in this scenario by simply requiring medical waivers to be signed by all players absolving the league/team/school financial liability due to injury. Is the love of football so ingrained in the American psyche that players and their families would be willing to sign such a waiver? 2. He discusses the immense economic blow it would have on the “small town” college football centers, like Clemson etc. Who’s to say, in this “post-football world”, that another sport or form of entertainment might not take the place of these local economic engines? And for those thinking about soccer (and I am a big fan), this sport has its own issues with regard to concussions and injuries in general. I don’t know what that replacement activity would be. But without football, all of a sudden the sports and entertainment landscape becomes wide open and totally unpredictable. 3. He points to the use of HGH as one of the culprits in the rise of injuries and that’s hard to dismiss. But I think equipment design and manufacture are at least as responsible. I’m convinced there can be more safety designed into equipment, especially if energy absorption characteristics are given higher priority. This will likely result in more expensive equipment, but I think most would agree at this point that this is a worthwhile tradeoff. This is definitely something to monitor from now on.