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I loved how they stacked the deck with those "in favor" getting to speak. Very shrewd. I keep bringing up this point. If it is going to be publicly funded, how does an arena for a mid-level D-1 program who shares local allegiance with another D-1 school 15 min. down the road stack up against the support of public funding for an MLB baseball team with far-reaching fan support? If the residents in a county in Georgia are this angry about funding for the Braves, where does Summit County stand with the Zips? There's hundreds of thousands of people in this area who couldn't care less about Akron athletics. That's certainly not the case in the Atlanta area in regards to the Braves, yet they have strong opposition. Lets be realistic here, this is an incredible uphill battle. MOST people will see cost and no benefit. We'll have to hope for a major snowstorm to keep them away from the ballot boxes. We're not the Browns, Indians, or Cavs. Our allegiance is a drop in a huge bucket of water compared to theirs. This will all culminate in the Zips building their own arena with their own money in 8-10 years. And that's the way they want it.

Nope. Never gets old, and still gives me goose bumps every single time.

I go to a few Zips baseball games each year. Just wanting to support them. But, this season provided some hope. And I didn't even realize that someone had started this thread until this morning. Lets be honest, a 28-28 record and a 7th place finish isn't going to matter much to very many people, but the late season MAC tournament run got some decent publicity. The news would have been HUGE if they had pulled out that win on Saturday. All of the Cleveland news stations have been covering Ken+'s trip to the college playoffs. I sure wish it was us. Maybe soon.

Here's what I think is reasonable. You beat the team you are supposed to beat, and then you hope for one great performance out of the other 3 games so you can go 2-2 in OOC. Michigan nearly became that 2nd win last year, and if we can pull out a performance like that this year, then it's possible again. We can all speculate as to which of those remaining games is the most winnable, but the problem is that you just never know which of the 3 games could bring out that great performance.

I bring this up all the time. Our offense was horrible in the Ken+ game and the UMass game at the end of the season. And what I saw in the spring didn't help my opinion. Our defense gets all the credit for at least 2 of those wins last year.

I have to look at it this way. Where's the real pressure for this team and coaching staff? Was it digging themselves out of the gutter to become competitive? Or will it be performing even better with elevated expectations? Would any of us be talking about bowl games if we were maybe 2-10 last year instead of 5-7? I think that the expectation to get better after already taking a big leap will be an immense challenge for these guys this year. So, here's the real question: For the fans, if we are 5-7 again this year, or anything short of that, will people be disappointed? Will they see it as the new standard, and claim failure if it is not exceeded? Or, will it be a very satisfied "at least we aren't a 1-11 football team anymore" mentality?

Seriously folks. Cleveland is Cleveland. I'm sure the explanation is from the top on down. From the city leadership all the way down to the loser mentality among fans, which filters down to difficulty attracting the right sports team leadership and the athletes to the city. I'll say it again. The fact that LeBron agreed to stay here for 7 years is a gift that should have been enormously appreciated. Yet, Cleveland fans did what Cleveland fans do. If the history isn't enough, how many people with a winning pedigree truly want to spend their career in a Cleveland environment after that?

I think we should all focus on the first step, and not the second one. If his success doesn't climb here, the offers will not come, and we won't have anything to worry about. If it DOES happen, that's probably good news for him, AND for us. Nobody really can even predict, including the candidate himself, what will happen if the big offers come. But history tells us that they are hard to pass up for most coaches. For now, I will just consider us lucky to have someone of his caliber and his legacy at the moment.

Keener.....The Townhouse used to have QUARTER beer night. It was Lonestar out of a keg. Those were some wild nights. That was back in the early 80s. Hilltopper....Didn't I read somewhere that "Hilltoppers" was actually a possible nickname when "Zippers" was chosen?

LOL...ah, the memories. And I shouldn't bitch about not having recreation facilities. I remember $600 tuition bills. I think we should start an informal poll, based on our last two responses. Who remembers the game "quarters" Who remembers the Townhouse. Who went to school when Buchtel Ave. still ran through campus? I bet we'll find that there's plenty of us old people on here.

I hear that. In my time, the "student recreation center" was dodging cars while crossing the old Buchtel Ave.

There were a half-dozen TV trucks and 80 media members at Rams headquarters, an HOUR early, just to see him introduced to the media. If anyone thinks that the media is not going to be watching every move by anyone over the next few months, you're nuts

No, when someone does something wrong again and again and again and again, over many years, and still tries to paint themselves as a do-gooder, it's comical.

Just helps confirm everything we already know about the guy. He doesn't need the money, but managed to use the situation to try to paint himself as the noble, good and saintly figure, once again.

Well, at the very least, when you have a well-documented history like he has, it does make some of these little unsubstantiated digs at Dr. Scarborough seem pretty petty in comparison, don't you agree?

Sorry, you may have misunderstood. I meant that the media will be watching the other players, fans and coaches. Not that the players fans and coaches will be watching Sam.

I see distractions as well. And I think you can already assume this... It will be scrutinized that he should have gotten picked earlier, until training camp starts. Then, it will be scrutinized if he doesn't make the team If he makes the team, it will be scrutinized if he doesn't play. "Watch Out" is right. I hope the Rams organization is ready for this. I don't think they are. There will be cameras and reporters watching every move. Players, coaches, administrators, AND fans. They'll be looking for any false move that they can make a story out of. Just think about the little things. What if someone gets in an altercation with him in practice? What if a coach berates him over not executing a drill properly? Everything is going to be watched, and little things might (will) get blown out of proportion to create a story.

With his history, lack of experience and lack of a high level degree, how else could he have gotten as far as he did in the process?

I can't stop laughing at this quote out of Youngstown......Enjoy!! “We are confident that Mr. Tressel is the one candidate who will continue to build and nourish our efforts to establish an environment of trust, transparency and open collaboration that we, as union leaders, have worked hard to create,” said a statement from the leadership representing the faculty, police and professional and administrative employees’ unions.

No, it had to do with not getting over it. When you were so sure Tressel was getting hired, you told the rest of us to do the same thing.

"We've selected our new President. It's time to get over it and root for him" Sound Familiar??

I keep trying to point out the same thing. If this is the definition of being "underappreciated", I would LOVE to be underappreciated myself.

An actual real-life employer who has owned and operated companies for over two decades? Yes, please consider the source, by all means.

Really? Because you contend that employers (myself included) don't require their employees to be ethical, honest, and forthright? And they don't try to uncover flaws in those areas in someone's history? Do you know that employers today even look at people's Facebook pages for any indication of a flaw in their character and behavior for the purpose of eliminating them from consideration if other candidates appear to be superior in those traits ?

You hit the nail on the head. But, as GP1 pointed out, they may not be excusing those things away....they just simply act like they never happened. Like I said previously, where would that kind of record get you when applying for ANY job at a typical employer?