BirdZip

Sometimes it's hard to hear the Rowdies from up in the bleachers, but I believe at one point when an Aggie was hurt, at least a few of the Rowdies were heckling him for being hurt. If you want to heckle someone for taking off a necklace, that's just fine and dandy. But cheering or laughing about an injury is classless and has no place at Akron.What was with the phone ringing the whole game. Does it always do that and I usually can't hear it, or is this something new? I found it quite annoying.How come I can hear a phone ringing but not the Rowdies?Brett McKnight looked good on the shot. I only got to see him take 4 shots in the pre-game warm-up, but they were all 3's and they all touched nothing but net. Then of course his two in the game were the same. I can't remember his name but I think he was #23, the athletic center for the Aggies. He's a freshman and he's going to be tough. Seemed like an awful lot of blood coming out of Wood in a little bit of time. Face injuries, I guess. Glas to see him come back and still a beast. Ced seemed to be a little dazed after his injury--not quite sure which direction to walk. Probably did have a lot to do with his shot.Seems to me this team is getting better by the game, as expected. I'd just like to see a little more of the killer instinct. If you have a 15-point lead, push it to 20. if 20, push it to 25. Enough with the second-half let down.Penguins are toast. Who would expect a penguin to have a chance against a kangaroo anyway?

Gonzaga to me is not mid-major. Even though they obviously are, they've also been good enough long enough to warrant "major status". So Illinois might (especially if they continue to fall--we're ranked higher than they are in the mid-major poll). It doesn't have to be Gonzaga and SI. There are other quality mid-majors out there. George Mason came to Can't.

Wrong! The majors won't play us home-and-home, but we don't need the majors. We need a steady dose of quality mid-majors, as ZipAnalyst noted. And this is what KD is doing. This year's schedule is a nice step in the right direction, and hopefully next year it will continue along that pathway. Once you do that for a few years and are successful at it (that means establishing yourself as an elite mid-major), then the majors will be more interested in scheduling you.Also, I often find it interesting how some people will chastise the majors for not wanting to play us and then chastise KD for playing teams such as NCCentral. Sounds like having your cake and eating it too. KD does it to them just as the majors do it to us. If NCCentral wants a game, we'll give it to them, but a home only. Once they establish themselves, we'll talk about a return trip. Seems to me KD does a fine job of living in the world he is in. Right now, I'll pass on the 37 point pastings.

Looks like their tallest player of any significance is 6-5. Hopefully that means the ability to dominate for not only Wood but also decent contributions from Milum & Bardo and a follow-up performance by MacKnight. Their guards look tall though.

Not at all what I said, but if you need to put words in people's mouths to try to make your points relevant, so be it.

Played 4 time zones away, not in the JAR, less than 2 days after a botched flight that literally lasted 24 hours, with injuries everywhere. The SCUpstate game means nothing.

I decided to check out North Carolina Central. After about 30 seconds, I decided it wasn't worth it. They're 1-10. Over their last 5 games, all losses, which included games against powerhouses such as Towson & Western Carolina, the LEAST they lost by was 20 points. We're their 6th straight away game. In fact, they play 22 away games this year. Life as an independent must really stink. Life as a first year Div 1 must really stink. Life after Saturday will really stink.Will the Zips flirt with 100 again? I'll go for 86-54.

Bardo is 4 for 5 from the line. Buy Jeremiah Wood one of those sling shots! Free throw shooting doesn't imply ability to score for a big man.

Latest Mid-Major poll has Akron continuiong to move up, now at #9. Miami is at #18. Winthrop is at #26, Can't at #27 and WMU at #30.I didn't see where Miami had any votes this week in either the AP or Coaches' polls.I think if you're looking for a good read on how your team measures up, the Mid-Major Poll is tons better than the other two. I would expect the people voting here are actually familiar with these teams.Has anyone actually seen Miami play this year? I haven't, and I'm wondering if they're as good as their scores indicate or if it's just their style of play keeping the games close.Mid-Major Poll

GP1, how much do the big conferences pay you to continually trash the MAC on this board. Have you been to a game lately? The games themselves are exciting and fun to watch, and this team is good. They didn't really show how good until last night.As far as the ticket conversation, I'd be more in favor of something that allows you to get more for your money rather than a straight giveaway. My first choice would be a "kids get in free" deal or something like that. Get the parents to bring their kids in, and let them see that they actually have a good time there. Do a couple of those and maybe mix in a general 2-for-1 ticket deal.

From what I see, you asked for feedback and then went into denial and made excuses for the feedback you got. If you can't cheer them loud, throw them out and make up new ones. You don't need to see what they're capable of before you do a chant or a sign! Did you have to see how good Cedrick could shoot before making up C-Note? Was the Ro-Me-O chant dependent on his post move? Does Peanut-Butter-Goddard-Time have anything at all to do with Goddard? No! Look at their name and do something with it! Every time McNees makes a free throw (assuming he makes one), do the "duh-duh-duh-duh-dum" from McDonalds and yell "I'm Lovin' it". (Sorry, I'm just quite proud of that sign.) There are tons of options for Wood. Hopefully we'll have our new Wood sign done for Saturday.Any student section that sits behind or near the basket should be filled with skinny white balloons that get shaken like crazy when the opposing team is shooting free throws. A crooked arrow doesn't distract.Here's one for a living Wall Sign. Something on the order of 6 feet wide by 10 feet tall. I'm not an artist, but you'll get the idea--it conveys the Zips dominance at home:Bring the opponent's mascot picture to the game, and after the final seconds tick off and you finish the "I Believe" chant, slap the logo in the jar with the others. That jar will be full to the rim by the time the season is over, and it will let the opponents see just how dominant Akron is at home.

I'm trying to decide if you've actually seen a game yet. Laziness from Wood? He was in a funk against Binghamton, but in the previous games and Temple, he's worked his butt off. No doubt he can (and will) be better, but lazy? I actually thought he did well. He was much quicker than Temple's big men. He did miss his share of shots, but he had the big men beat several times. I thought they should have gone to him more.In Alaska, after Linhart passed up a three, KD turned to his assistants and commented that he had no confidence. After seeing Nate shoot a few, I think I'd rather that he keep passing.By the way, for those of you who couldn't make it to the game, I managed to snap a picture of Jeremiah Wood so everyone could see his latest hairstyle...

My count was 7 in a row and then another after one make. Your comment on fatigue I think was right on. I saw Linhart call to be taken out, then immediately called it off. Less than a minute later he was fouled and barely got both shots to the front of the rim. Coach took him out shortly after that to rest.

Actually, I believe Nevada finished the year somewhere around #10 and we only lost to them by 2 on a missed last second shot. That's higher than Duke finished. I actually like our schedule this year. It's a move in the right direction, with some solid mid-majors. If you can't get what you want from the majors, schedule the bigger mid-majors and prove you can beat them.I would still entertain, though, 3-and-1 deals with four different major teams, giving you at least one home game with a big name each year over a four-year span.Also, let's keep in mind the team is banged up and were playing under some pretty rough conditions in the TOWC. A little slack may be warranted.

Didn't take many action shots this time, but here are a few pics from during the game and after. Wood to Linhart to set up the TreySince the Rowdies weren't here, we tried to do our part with our signs...Leaving with a second win...Team & Fans after the game...See you all on Saturday.

Talked to his mom today. She said he just recently got a cortizone shot and might be ready to play on Saturday. She said it's up to the doctors obviously if they release him to play. He's hurting but he's hurt worse before and can play (her words). So, maybe Saturday.

Defoinitely a better opponent than the first game, but still very beatable. Seemed like we missed our opportunity around 5 minutes left when we had several chances to open it up and didn't for several reasons.Goddard played well while he was in there, and he actually worked hard on defense. It was interesting--Jeremiah was yelling at him the whole time from the sideline about helping on the weak side, etc. Not yelling in a hard way or mean way--yelling to help him out. It was also a nice moment for Goddard when he came off after his two minutes in the first half. He pretty much came out and set the nets on fire, and when he came it at the time out most of the team was rubbing his head. He was all wide-eyed with an "I can't believe this is happening" kind of look. Given that it looks like he has at least been working hard on defense, it was nice.On a separate note, hey Zip Watcher. What are our thought on the older ref (looked like he was the lead ref). Why not at least check the tape on the final rebound for time left? Did they not have tape? It seemed like that ref was anti-Akron the whole ime, but I'm not one to blame the refs (we had plenty of opportunities--see above), so I'm wondering about your take on it.I thought Bardo played well during the time he was in. I thought he made sense to start for his height. he did seem to tire easy, though. I'm not sure I agree with Sallee, though--I'd much rather have seen McNees in there.Looked like J-Wood was hurt--something with his right hip maybe. He wasn't sitting at all when he was out, he was out a lot, and while he was standing there a lot of the time he had a hot pad on his side. Linhart hurt his back, looked like Bardo might have had a minor injury too, and Milum was flexing his wrist a lot (might have hurt it in the first game). Zips need to come in and kick some major tail in this last game. A squeak out win isn't enough today, IMHO. Convince themselves and everyone else that they're better than they've been playing.

Whatever the reason was, it was clear from the get-go and throughout the game that he wasn't going to play. You could tell from the way he handled himself during huddles, etc. IMO, we could have used him. He didn't look sick or hurt--we talked to him earlier in the day (after their practice) and he looked fine. If it was discipline, I hope it pays massive dividends.