BirdZip

Message delivered and Zips still win. Since winning is everything, I guess coach did the right thing.

So your argument is, "I'm old, therefore I'm right." Whatever.

You would make a great NFL owner.

I know facts are sometimes discouraged, but here are some. Make of them what you will. Listed in order of current MAC rank, number of players whose minutes per game are...:Team___>30___>20___>10___>5Ken+--------1----------6----------9--------9CMU---------2----------5----------9--------11Zips---------0----------5----------9--------11Ball----------1----------7----------9--------10Miami--------1---------6-----------9--------9Buff----------3----------3----------9--------11WMU--------1----------5----------7--------12BG-----------3----------5----------7---------9NIU----------1----------4----------10-------13EMU---------3----------5----------9--------10Ohio---------2----------7----------9--------10Tol-----------2----------6----------9--------10

In the standings but not at the bank.I think Saturday's game scared away a few hundred people from ever attending another Zips basketball game.I would guess that most of the reason for the bigger crowd on Saturday was due to the Hall of Fame inductions. How about free tickets!!!Actually, I think the decent crowd size was because word is getting out on the high quality of the halftime entertainment.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "majority lead," but the play-by-play of the Zips-Zags game (link below) shows that the Zips were never more than 4 points behind until 8:15 was left in the game.The Zips led the Zags from 6:40 remaining in the first half to 13:15 remaining in the second half, or 13:25, and a couple of times after that, as well.In the 10 minutes between 16:54 remaining in the first half and 6:40 remaining in the first half, the Zips pulled ahead of the Zags 6 different times.Only in the last 9 minutes of the game did the Zags clearly outplay the Zips. For the other 31 minutes, the Zips were either leading, tied, or within 4 points.Zips-Zags Play-By-PlaySo in all of those stats do you see a major lead for Akron. I do not. A lead by 4 points is clearly not insurmountable. You can tell yourself whatever you like but gonzaga was never in clear danger of losing that game. Gonzaga played almost everyone on their bench while Akron was in their normal rotation the whole game. As it looked to me was that Mark Few was conserving as much as he could knowing that Gonzaga was going to play more games. Keep thinking that Akron is at Gonzaga's level, and that is why Akron is laughed at outside this ring of nonsense.Dave and I were actually at the Rose Garden that afternoon for the Gonzaga game. Standing in line at the concession stand during halftime, I assure you that the Zags fans were quite worried about the outcome of the game. No one was laughing at the Zips. Well me, my dad, and Andy were there, and Mark Few was not worried. Tell Dave that for me. So you saw Mark few laughing at the Zips? Why do you feel it's neccesary to tear down the Basketball program? I'm sorry that the new AD fired your best buddy on the football team, get over it. I have no idea what you are talking about? Do you know what you are talking about?I think what he is probably talking about is that, out of your ~20 posts so far on ZN, at least 12 have been negative, including several personal shots at KD. Another 3 were negative toward other ZN posters. Of the 4 I would rate positive, 3 were positive toward Dan Hipsher in what I would interpret either as a bad joke or a shot against KD. Sounds like a troll to me.And if you went to Portland and never thought Akron was threatening Gonzaga, not only did you waste your money, but you might want to limit your posts here on ZN to non-basketball topics.

I'm thinking maybe that's where Sweich comes in. When we're in a drought, put Sweich in for a couple of minutes. Say what you will about him, the man can score. That's all we need in those droughts--a couple of quick buckets. Once the drought's broken, take him back out.You may now call me an idiot.

Looks to me like it's just a routine hernia check...

nope, we lost the game because we missed around 50% of our free throws again. not gonna win many games, let alone games on the road with all the misses we had. i didnt check the box score, but from what frenchie was saying, our made baskets were about even with UBI'm starting to get sick of the free throw misses. It's not just a few guys either, it's nearly everyone on the team missing. I've never seen anything like it...oh wait nevermind i've seen it from the Zips every year since Dambrot has been coach. Do they not practice them?!I for one would hope that they do NOT take time out of practice to shoot free throws. This is Division I college basketball. These guys need to practice free throws on their own time. Practice time needs to be for the game plan and for doing things with the team. These guys can go to the gym at practically any time and have someone rebound for them while they shoot. No reason not to. You can maybe get on KD for not holding these guys responsible, but don't expect him to take time out of practice.

I'll take a .500 season for starters...

What I saw:McNees was excellent. Only he and Nikola played with any aggression, and Nik only got 21 minutes. McNees was shooting well but we didn't key on him. Conyers played well but I think fouls hindered his aggression.Both McKnights were horrible. BMac couldn't hit the broad side of a barn but acted like a black hole.I thought Zeke looked much better this game. No problem with his play. he looked smoother--more natural.Tim Carroll started the 2nd half. WTF?I like Ronnie Steward until he passes the ball, then I want to reach out and slap him.McClanahan continues to disappoint, including laying on the ground and watching the rest of the play after a turnover (that's the one where McNees got his intentional foul, which was earned).Buffalo had GREAT ball movement. We actually looked bad and slow on defense. They had no trouble getting open shots, and when they drove they got in too easy. Again, GREAT ball movement.Buffalo shot 64% from 3-land.I was surprised to see it was only 3200 for attendance. Great student turnout for them, and it was loud. They played this up as a revenge game and the team and students came out fired up. We didn't.Buffalo's cheerleaders are awful. Two years ago at Buffalo I saw one get dropped on her head. it almost happened several times yesterday.In typical MAC fashion the refs made some boneheaded calls, but I didn't think Buffalo necessarily got the home treatment. We just stunk.

Why not schedule more games like this? Look at Miami they may be 4-11, but does it really matter. An NCAA berth lies in the hands of the MAC Tournament not the regular season. Miami could get their butts kicked in all there ooc games and still make the tournament. I think its a bunch of crap when people say for us to not schedule better games like xavier, vcu, and gonzaga. At least we can gain more experience and play tougher teams that will better prepare us for the MAC Tournament instead of playing D II schools. I don't care if Akron won 2 games in their ooc schedule next year because thats not going to prohibit us from making the tournament. You can not win the games you do not schedule and by scheduling these tougher games gives us more of a chance to knock off these teams and move forward with the future of this program.I keep seeing this argument and I don't understand it. We've been to the MAC championship game each of the last three years. No-one else has made it more than once in that time period, and we won it last year.

My goodness! Steve McNees stinks, Dambrot doesn't have what it takes, crapping down their leg, etc., etc. I can only imagine what this would look like if Akron had lost.

Basically, K-ent crapped down their leg......and in front of a stellar crowd of 1,299...

I define it in whatever way is necessary to help make my point! If forced to make a definition, I define it as teams that either have a tradition of finishing high in the mid-major poll or who this year have a solid team. I believe someone said Harvard was #1 in RPI--I'll pass. If I'm building a schedule I go back to the last 5 years' final mid-major standings and find teams that are traditionally finishing in the top 30 and buiding my schedule from there. Throw in a few crap teams and a few high levels, call it a day and have a beer.

I know it is tradition on this board to bash the basketball OOC schedule, but I honestly don't think the schedule was too bad this year:High Level / Recognizable Opponents (0-3)NC State (Neutral)Texas A&M (Away)Rhode Island (Home)Solid Mid-Level Opponents (5-1)Austin Peay (Home) (Don't argue they're not, they beat us)Drake (Neutral)Niagara (Home)UIC (Home)Valpo (Home)Wyoming (Away)Crap Games (5-0)Howard (Neutral)AK-PB (Home)Malone (Home)UNC-G (Home)St Francis (Home)I'd prefer to leave the crap-level games to three or less. We all scream for more awesome opponents but we still can't beat them (0-3). We're close sometimes, though, so still schedule them, but don't fill your schedule with them.The only thing that disappoints me about the schedule this year is how we used it. In those crap games, I didn't think the end of the bench was used enough to get them experience or to see if they can perform when the lights are on.

Someone complained about games against teams like Malone not doing anything for our attendance. I believe that the Malone game was the highest attendance for us thus far this season, by far. Many Malone fans, but the cash goes to the Zips.I think on the scheduling side, you can still take the scheduling up a notch and hold to Dambrot's philosphies. If the big schools won't schedule the way you want to, go with the solid mid-majors. To decide who, use the Mid-major rankings for the past 5 years. Find teams who are consistently in the top 20 over that span, and work deals with them. See if the new football coach can use his ties to get us a few games, and be happy about it.Finally, it seems to me a double standard how the folks who say that we shouldn't schedule teams like St. Francis and UNC-G are the same people that think that teams like WVA and Kentucky should bow down and play us at the JAR. What's good enough for the goose is good enough for the gander. Oh, and

I think that if Akron had won on the PK's many would not have voiced an opposition to the that at first, but once you sat down and thought about it, you would at least admit it's not a great system. As to the argument of people being tired, I think people might just get tired in other sports too. I seem to recall a 6OT game in basketball last season (Syracuse and UConn). I'll bet they were pretty tired, but they finished it. I guess maybe a better way would have been after the 2nd OT, just shoot 10 free throws each and go home.That being said, I'm not a soccer fan and don't understand the rules, but I was glued to the TV through both games of the Final 4, and was sick to my stomach the whole time from the stress of being a fan. Soccer is boring for me in general, but when it's your school playing, especially at that level, it can be pretty darn enthralling (and nerve wracking).Congratulations to the Akron Men's soccer team on a great season.And also congratulations to the fans in attendance--very loud on ESPN!

Agree on every account. I brought a friend and his kids to see the game and it wasn't exactly a great performance. I learned a while back to wear layers to peel off as the heat rises in the JAR, but this was hot from the get-go. My guest had to step out at one point as he didn't dress as wisely.Humpty worries me. Since his fight he's scored only 9 points total in 3 games.Free throw shooting for the Zips in this game: 6-17. Sweich was on the cover of the roster card and he got his couple of minutes and 4 points. Bricked two free-throws though. Good to see Sullivan get in (bricked two free throws also) and even Kyle Petersen grabbed a minute. That's what Akron does. When we had a 15+ point lead early, I thought we should just pound it inside and get either the points or the fouls. Their tallest guy was 6-6. The good part is they double- or triple-teamed Zeke and he made the outlet pass. The bad part was that our guys weren't hitting the threes (6-25).Happy birthday Zeke.

Oh no sorry let me clarify...they weren't exactly Tulsa fans. They were St V graduates that were friends of Joe Salem, they were very obnoxious and spilling beer on me and people around me (including my 14 year old cousin and his friend who came with him). This was along with them shouting things far more profane than any Rowdies were yelling with many children in the general area.Oh yeah and there were about 10+ of them.It's ok. I watched some of them (The ones that were screaming during the corner kicks against us anyway) hassle one of the...more vocal rowdies. After the game they were leaving and one of them yelled "Go Tulsa". I made eye contact with him and screamed "You lost...GET THE F*&K BACK TO OKLAHOMA YOU B*&@H". It was fun calling someone out and screaming profanities at them. While their actions do indeed sound classless, your response was just as classless. If that's how you're going to represent Akron, I'd just as soon see you watch/listen at home.

Look for a big jump after the Malone game. Actually, maybe we will. We beat Niagara, but then they jump back ahead of us by beating two near-500 teams while we lose to a top-20 team. As bad as a game with Malone is, I think if you're going to do it, this is the perfect time for it. Not having to work too hard to prepare during exams week.

Almost forgot--Bardo's defense was excellent this weekend.

Humpty has been excellent--no argument there. May pass 1000 pts next year?Nik's fine where he is IMHO. Has been a strength.Zeke looked lost against NCSt and Howard but looked great against Drake. Learning curve is fine as he learns what to do when things don't go as planned.McClanahan has looked real good on both ends. Very impressed with his improvement.Brett McKnight has not looked good. He seems lost--obviously rusty--doesn't need more minutes than he is getting now.One thing I don't understand I'd the end of the bench. Down by 20 to NCSt and no-one gets in. Up by 20 vs Howard and Sweich and Sullivan get in for maybe a minute (and the regulars don't get them a shot--BMc shoots a 3 instead). Kyle Petersen doesn't get in at all.Hope for +e this weekend.

They seem to do it once every year. Close but no cigar against a top team, Miami loses to Kentucky by 2 on a last-second shot.Game recapOf course, they also lost to Towson by 11.

GP1: If I gave a crap about your opinion, I might be offended. I know it's not funny, and I know it's not original. That's what makes it so sad, because it's appropriate. Consider this:Our starting quarterback got thrown off the team because a free education just wasn't enough.Our record is 2-8, and one of those "wins" was against a high school team.We're 5 for 15 on field goals this year. 5 for 15! When we punt, I'm just happy if it goes forward.We've been outscored 288-175 this year, and 288-134 if you exclude the Morgan State game. Let me do the math for you--that's more than double.Temple scored 49 unanswered points on us on semi-national TV.It's friggin' embarrassing.