GP1

While watching some games at Brazwells last night with the luckiest woman in the world, Mrs. GP1, she had the game tracker on the phone. Couldn't see the game where we were. Anyhow, she said at one point, "I keep seeing 'missed layup' cross the screen." Did the Zips miss a bunch of easy shots last night? If so, missing from one foot away is much worse than missing from 15 feet away with foul shots.

It's all about the competition. I just want the players on the team to get a chance to play some more games with an opportunity to get some wins.

All of it together creates a big problems for the dinosaurs who run college athletics and will create the necessary change.

Interesting. Didn't know where else to put it.

The Great GP1 will stain his pants when the power conferences and NCAA start to lose these law suits. I'll send you the dry cleaning bill unless you want to hold on to the stained pants as a trophy like Monica Lewinsky held on to her dress. Perfect person to use in the filing of the class action lawsuit. Out there, lots of people want college athletes to be a bunch of idiots (and a lot are). The want a guy who couldn't make it professional to only be able to read at a second grade level so it can reaffirm their secret attitudes about what they really are. They want to believe it is a sinister money grab by a guy who can't do anything other than play sports. Instead, they get a guy who graduated and is working on an MBA. This article comes back to one of the tired arguments about player compensation...should the players get paid? Players should not receive a dime from the schools they attend other than the normal scholarship they receive. They should be able to capitalize on their fame, hold jobs and get a cut of merchandise sales of which they are a part. This way, everyone can stop pretending that college sports are something they are not and have never been. If a person doesn't have to, why should they go into debt while in college just because the NCAA rules are so restrictive? Why does a guy like Alston have to take out a loan when he could easily make the money signing autographs or off the cut of his jersey sales? Forcing people into financial debt is immoral, but since the NCAA is amoral, the member schools really don't care.

For whatever reason, OU is a team I have a particular dislike for. It really warms my heart every time we beat them. Confidence and momentum. The Zips have it and they will win the MAC.

I'm of the opinion it could have been better. Things can always be worse...they can also be better. It all depends on if you expect more or not.

I don't care if they dress like the guards in The Longest Yard as long as they win.

The Zips have played at a high level for a long time. It would take the wheels falling off or multiple years of not being one of the top 4 teams in the league to slow the momentum. The Zips are the present AND the future of the MAC for the foreseeable future.

Partnering with St. Patrick's Day is a good way for the MAC to pretend it is having that big of an impact on the economy of Cleveland. Let's assume that over a three day period, 30,000 people walk in the gates of the arena. That would mean that each of those people are spending nearly $500/person in the three day period. Seems a bit far fetched to me.

There used to be a mom and pop Italian place near/in Kenmore called Casa Mimi. They had the best baked ziti around Akron. I think about it all the time because I have a mom and pop Italian restaurant just a mile from my house in SC, but in Charlotte. The family is from Syracuse and took over a place called The Gridiron, kept the name and made it an Italian restaurant. Very popular with the northern population who wants a good mom and pop Italian meal without having to go to one of the gourmet places in Charlotte resulting in a mortgage sized bill when it shows up. Always reminds me of Casa Mimi, but I think Casa Mimi had better food. I wonder if people in NE Ohio appreciate how good many of the restaurant selections are.?.? There are many, many good places to eat in NE Ohio.

Effective?...I'd say yes, but with one addition. I think the timing of blitzes is very important. If the front seven is going to be better, the need for blitzing is reduced if the front can get pressure without blitzing. I like the saying, "Blitz early, cover late." Successful early blitzing causes the offense to keep potential receivers in to block. Since there are more blockers, there are less receivers and outnumbering the receivers is very important because it allows for combination zones (man-to-man in addition to zone) on plays. If an offense keeps a RB in to block or even a tight end while the defense rushes four, the count becomes seven guys guarding four. I like the defenses chances to get the most important thing in football, a turnover, in a 7 vs 4 scenario. I also like the elimination of big plays (30+ yard plays) in this scenario as well. The offense is going to complete some passes, just tackle when they do and having a lot of guys back there to tackle sure helps. Unsuccessful blitzing early isn't the end of the world either. It allows a coordinator to know what his choices are for later in the game. The best scenario of all is, no blitzing while getting pressure with four. If the Zips have an improved front line and can do this, it sets up a lot of opportunities for success for the team.

I would take our potential over theirs. I would take their results over ours. Hunter seems to be a guy who is maximizing his opportunity and is getting a lot done in a relatively short period of time. By getting a lot done, I mean...winning at sports people actually notice. We have some of that, but not enough.

Hunter Yurachek We passed on this guy when he was working for us. All he has done at CCU is turn a small school outside of Myrtle Beach into a winner in the sports that matter. The football team made the IAA playoffs last year and advanced to the quarter finals. The basketball team just won the Big South and is going dancing. Their baseball team last year played made the playoffs. Prior to UofA, he had experience at UVA, Vandy and Wake Forest. We passed.... Nice job Hunter and congratulations on your success.

He looks real proud of himself gazing off into the view of the backside of the scoreboard and the gas station/mini mart across the street. Not exactly a view of the Duke Energy Building or the Bank of America tower, but you have to play the cards you are dealt. If your hand includes a lot across from a gas station and you have conceptualized a rooftop bar, one might want to consider folding that hand.

Fahrenheit is a really good restaurant in Cleveland. Last week, Fahrenheit Charlotte opened and we ate dinner there last night. Great place. Same owner, same concept as Cleveland with the Asian influence over local ingredients along with some other more traditional items for people who may not like that style of cooking. In addition to the food, the setting is outstanding. It is on the 22nd floor of a new hotel/condo building in downtown Charlotte. You can see the views from the restaurant by clicking on Photos on their website. Rooftop bars and restaurants are very popular in the south because the weather nice for most of the year, with the exception of this year, and restaurants/bars like to take advantage of that good weather for a lot of the year. Short ribs were great and so was the Ramen. Great place, great view.

This is really going to be the key. He has some athletic talent right now and he is still over weight. As the weight comes off, the talent will increase. I think his weight looks much better now than when I saw them in Columbia in December, but his physical development is still a key opportunity for improvement. The expectation for him next year should be to be a top center in the MAC. With that means much better physical conditioning and fundamentals. No baby steps for him. Expectations should be for drastic improvement on the off season.

I'm with DiG and JZ84. Pat had a pretty productive game last night doing a heck of a lot more good for the team than bad. Zips fans shouldn't be look to the two big guys for a large amount of the team's production...that is going to come from elsewhere. We should be looking for solid production with limited mistakes from our two bigs and we got that last night.

The they will win three in a row.

Why not is right! The Zips needed to get some confidence and momentum this week and they did. There is no reason they can't win two in a row this weekend and win the MAC. I hear a lot about things on the internet "trending". Not sure what that means, but the Zips are trending in the right direction. I fully expect them to win the MAC this week.

Actually, if the current trend continues in college athletics, MAClike conferences will exist to provide scout teams to the BCS schools.

BTW, the game looked really good on TV last night. Packed stadium with a lot of people who looked like they were having a lot of fun, with the exception of ZipsWin! who looked pretty arms crossed nervous with under five minutes to go in the game. This is exactly the way we should all want the University presented on television. Please keep this in mind next year when the Zips are playing football on a Tuesday night in an almost completely empty Big Dialer. Television makes everything you see important.

How are they going to get the ball to them? Last year (source) the Browns had the #1 rated left tackle in the league and the #18 offensive line as a group. The rest of the OL has to be horrible to move the average that low after having the #1 left tackle. It is incredibly hard to throw the ball from your back. Mark my words. If the Browns draft a QB #1, they will destroy him within two years just like they do every other QB they draft high and expect him to be the savior.

A poorly played game by both teams, but I'll take a win over Can't any day of the week regardless of the play. Rivalry games aren't supposed to be easy. Until late in the second half, the Zips just couldn't get a lead. They came close and were tied a couple of times, but just couldn't get over the hump. I told the luckiest woman in the world, Mrs. GP1, that if the Zips could just get the lead the tide would turn in their favor. Around 7-8 minutes remaining in the game, the Zips took the lead and the momentum shift was obvious. I really thought that was the most critical moment in the game.

I wonder how often Faust leans over and gives KD little bits of coaching brilliance.