BirdZip

Bear with me--I'm still learning the picture thing. Click on the small pictures for full size...Warming up pregame...TIPOFF!!!Dials for 2...Milum for the DUNK...

The team headed out to North Pole, Alaska, this morning to visit the school that is sponsoring them. I was surprised to see them heading out so early when they had an evening game, especially with the time change, but I suppose that is part of the deal with the tournament.You don't realize how good the Akron cheerleaders are until you sit through a routine by UAF's cheerleaders, including one with a relatively substantial beer gut.As to the game, there aren't exactly tons of Akron fans up here, so we managed to get seats behind the bench. Here are some things I picked up that I thought were worthy of noting:Everyone seemed grumpy, with short tempers. I feel the same way, so perhaps that's still part of the time change. Several times I heard Dials and Wood jawing at each other about one not passing to the other. Wood seemed to make his point and move on, but Dials seemed pretty irked.At one point in the first half, KD yelled something out to Jimmy Conyers, and Jimmy jawed back at him. Coach turned around to his assistants and exclaimed "he's arguning with me!" Surprisingly, he left him in, but not for long, and he didn't play a whole lot after that. He was kind of sulking on the bench.Milum's athleticism was on display today. Several very nice plays on offense.Conyers and McKnight seemed somewhat lost or overwhelmed. They'd go over the play in the huddle and then they'd not be lining up right when they went out on the court. Hopefully just first game jitters. McKnight was pretty animated in trying to get the guys riled up in the second half, though.Goddard seemed to be disinterested. During the huddles, he didn't pay much attention and headed back to the bench before the break. I suppose part of me understands that, if you're a senior and you're not getting much playing time, you get peeved, but the other half of me thinks perhaps that's part of the problem.Coach chastised the team a lot for playing selfish ball. We talk a lot about worrying about the reliance on the 3. Coach seems to feel the same way. At one point he was yelling to "stop shooting that sh*t and get it inside".Did not do a good job protecting the ball. A lot of weak passes that usually got picked off. Wood played some pretty good defense on their 7'2" center. Nate played good D too. I thought McNees did well when he was in there. That's going to be a pretty solid shot as he continues to mature.Someone posted an article a few days back about Cedrick, and it talked about him working out to never be tired in a game. He looked that way--full of energy and a ready and able spark.A good night's rest may do them a world of good. It seemed to me like they were out of sorts. We'll see tomorrow how they come out.Oh yeah. Here's something I thought was interesting, at least from the standpoint of ZipsNation. If I heard correctly, the Zips have a play called Ohio State.We took some more pictures at the game--I'll try to get them posted if I can. UPDATE: Posted pictures on "Birdzip's Fairbanks Pics" string.

And it sounds like the Zips are going to Puerto Rico next year, but the deal's not yet done.

The team had some trouble making it to Fairbanks, but they eventually made it. In Anchorage, for whatever reason they had to pick up and recheck their bags, and in doing so, they missed their flight. They had to wait for the next flight out, and didn't end up making it to Fairbanks until ~11PM Fairbanks time. That's about 20 hours after they left Cleveland.We checked out the Carlson Center this afternoon. They have ice sculptures for each of the teams outside of the main entrance with colored lights shining from behind (though for some reason the lights on ours were purple). We've got pictures but had trouble with the upload--the Captain's got 'em and will post them tomorrow. The sculptures were really good.We managed to meet the team in the hotel lobby this evening. My wife talked to the coaches a little bit. They said the team shot around in the Carlson Center for about 45 minutes, and then went over to the University proper for a while. Cedrick practiced today, but he'll be a game time decision.The team and a number of fans (OK, a small number, but still a number) went out to dinner at a local restaurant. We and the kids sat at a separate table, but it was clear that the team was nice and loose. Milum in particular was having a pretty good time. They seemed to enjoy my daughter's "Can't State Stinks" chants, and as everyone was leaving, my son sent each one off with a "Go Zips". He got a number of hadnshakes and fist bumps, but the high five from Jeremiah was the highlight.Weather forecast--cold. High of 4 tomorrow with snow. Wind has been non-existent, though, so it's bearable.South Carolina Upstate is in the hotel just down the road. Should I head over and pull the fire alarm around 3AM??? Nah! We don't need it.First win tomorrow.Oh, and how come no-one has posted yet that Can't State lost to Detroit??? Now their web site is bragging about their impressive 6-point win over Hampton. Clearly,

From what I could find tonight, the games aren't even on here in Fairbanks.

In this poll, we're ranked higher than any opponent on our schedule. The closest is Dayton, at 71.Then again, their comment for K-ent State (118) is "Golden flushes will be relying on young backcourt." Aren't they returning all 5 starters?Regardless...

Things I find interesting about these rankings:1) Austin Peay is ranked above us.2) We play two of the teams ranked above us this year (Austin Peay & Winthrop). Unfortunately, they're ranked directly above us.3) Toledo shows up nowhere.4) We're the highest ranked MAC team, but we're picked to finish fourth in the MAC East in the MAC News Media Association poll. Two of the teams (Can't State and Miami) are right near us, but Ohio is nowhere near us (50th, if I counted right).

U-Conn is 4-0, but look at who they beat:Duke (1-3)Maine (1-3)Temple (0-4) and only by 5Pittsburgh (2-2) (Pitt's 2 wins are over E. Michigan and Grambling St.)I think there's hope here.

Frye--> <--ZipsNationWhy?If you believe he's not that good, OK, we got it 547 posts ago. But why the need to keep doing this?

Seriously Flush the Flushes?????? Where did that come from, I think that is the stupidest thing I have heard of considering Cant is the flushes not the Flushes!At least when Cant says Screw the Roo or whatever they say they keep our mascot saying, and not change it to the "Flushes". Little Joeys should spend a little more time becoming familiar with the board before they call other people's posts stupid. This website automatically changes F-L-A-S-H to F-L-U-S-H. Look at your own post for crying out loud. I'm sure that what Zipbox was intending to type was "Flush the Fla-shes". (Before you call it stupid again, allow me to explain to you that the hyphen is ON PURPOSE for this website only.)

How's this for kicking you in the A$$ on your way out the door. From WTAM's web site:But Savage says they feel fortunate to have gotten something in exchange for Frye, based on his Sunday performance. In fact, Savage is squarely placing the blame for most of the team's six sacks Sunday on Frye’s shoulders. Savage says the offensive line against the Steelers was the best he's seen in three years, and it was Frye's job to get rid of the ball during the blitzes they knew the Steelers would run.......Savage says Anderson was much more effective, getting sacked only once and leading a touchdown drive. Savage says it was very disappointing to see the game slip away in the first eight minutes. He says because of that, they had to throw out most of the game plan.

The Dayton Daily News allowed Romeo to clear everything up:"There's a plan," Crennel said. "I'm just not letting you guys know yet."Interpretation: "Why the hell did I ever leave New England?"

I don't think I've ever heard so many people complain about a waitress taking her shirt off!!! :blink: We watched the game at the Lizard in Mentor. Mostly Buckeye fans with two tables of Zips fans (the others were Jacquemain's family--Gma and extended).The place was QUIET in the first half, and never got crazy. The OSU fans in that bar, at least, didn't leave feeling it was an easy game.

Be careful about believing this. I heard from a very reliable source that this guy is a 35-year old who lives at home with his parents...

"Buckeyes lose to Akron U"

Are the Rowdies planning any kind of send-off?

My wife and I were discussing the same thing. We were thinking that BW3 off of Heisley might carry it, or perhaps the new Lizard on 20.Anyone know for sure who's carrying it and, moreso, if anyone's planning on getting together?