GP1

I agree. I'm hearing too much, "Give us recognition!" on this board. It's hard to argue with the facts Elton presented because they are true. The interpretation of the facts is debatable. We play in the MAC. The term "Dollar General" should be used to describe the horrible MAC basketball season this year. Only three teams other than Akron have a record greater than .500 (Source), so why do we deserve national recognition for winning against a bunch of teams from the Dollar General league and losing to the likes of CCU? I hate to seem like I'm throwing cold water on things, but when I see any team with the longest winning streak in the country, I automatically wonder who that team has beaten. There is no doubt we are by far the best team in the league. That alone doesn't qualify for national recognition. I saw UNCC play in person last weekend. They are a fourth to fifth place A-10 school and they could go toe to toe with Akron at every position. Let's keep things in perspective. Instead of demanding respect, let's take it in March.

Neither can they. That's why they bought it. It's not a bad investment if you look at it as a possible tax write off for the investors. If the league goes belly up without ever playing a game or spending a dime for renovation it can be a tax write off for the investors. Any way I look at it, I don't see this league ever playing a game. I think there is a place for spring football in the US, just not this way.

It didn't worry me for a second. Everything comes back to averages. OU was on fire early and the Zips did a good job of keeping the game close against a team that was on fire. Eventually, OU was going to fall back to their average shooting, etc. and the Zips, with their consistent play, were going to get back in the game. I went to the UMASS vs UNCC game yesterday prior to the Zips game. Very good mid major game. I'd love to see the Zips play in the A-10...much better teams, much better talent on the floor, better talent at every position than the MAC and the Zips have the horses to compete. It would be a Zips fan dream. If umass can play football in the MAC and basketball in the A-10, why can't we? Here is why the fans on this board would love the A-10.... Since there are better players spread throughout the floor, the game is something other than a foul-fest. The floor is more spread out and because of that, it is a more entertaining game. Good shooters from the outside make graceful shots. Big men not getting triple teamed and fouled so a fan can watch a big man make a good move and score. It's very good basketball. I'm going back this Saturday to watch them play VCU.

I knew we had it in the bag when I saw our good luck charm, Gerry Faust, sitting behind the bench.

This is one of the more amazing aspects of not only the ncaa, but what has become of American business. Once someone makes CEO or Athletic Director, they become part of a club. A CEO could run five companies into the ground and his next job interview would sound something like this: Interviewer: "I see you ran five companies into the ground as CEO." Interviewee: "I sure did. It was tough work, but someone had to do it. I still believe we had very good action plans though." Interviewer: "Sounds great. You're hired." Athletic Directors are far worse because they deal in public money and a CEO deal in private money. The biggest decisions being made in the NCAA today are at public institutions. If an AD screws up, the taxpayers have to support it regardless of whether or not they want to support it or believed in the "building process" in the first place. If banks can be a threat to the public because their behavior requires taxpayer bailouts; therefore they require regulation, how come athletic directors and big time athletics aren't held to the same standard. Who is going to pay for the Tennessee problem? Who is going to pay for the bonds Michigan sold for their "building process"? Why aren't these athletic directors a real threat to the public deserving of some sort of regulation? If you want real reform in college athletics, cap the amount of money coaches and athletic directors can make. Cap their budgets. Put an end to the obnoxious "building process" going on and college athletics will be reformed. Let these idiots go try to make a living in the real world and we'll see how they do. If you think athletic directors are a problem now, wait until they run out of things to build and start raising money for themselves. I'm 43. In my lifetime, I will see athletic directors go to jail for corruption and the ncaa will wish the only problem they had were players getting tattoos or having salmon on their bagels. Mark my word.

Why not go $200 million in debt? That's nothing. Michigan just issued $250 million in bonds to renovate their stadium. Figure in the interest payments down the road and what is the real cost of it? The bubble gets bigger. Let's stay away.

Read the idiotic quote from that idiot about being able to compete against UF and FSU bringing in thirty cents for every dollar they bring in. These guys are truly fools and I can't believe the power they have throughout the country.

Song of the Year

Link Dear NCAA, Please, please, please, please close your doors and go away. With little respect, The Great GP1

Good riddance.

Sounds like they could advertise for only 1,500 to give away, tell everyone they are gone and make a lot more money off of them selling them on E-Bay.

It depends on how he performs. There is always a chance. Every parent and player should understand that going from walk-on to scholarship is a low percentage opportunity. It is a huge time commitment for no pay. "Do, or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

I would take the total number of times the Zips have come out flat against teams like BG over the past three years and divide it by the total number of times they played teams like BG. It will give you the percent chances of it happening tonight. My guess is they will perform better than the average tonight.

How is this for exposure?

Link Best part is at the end when they discuss what to call the league. I would suggest, "The Island of Misfit Schools Conference".

You're being too kind.

It sure is in an odd place. The way I look at it is, where would you like to live? The MAC is like living in a lower middle class neighborhood. Good hard working people who are trying to do their best. They may not have much, but they can still enjoy a good life. If they do the right things, they can one day live in a nicer middle class neighborhood. The BE on the other hand is a homeless shelter. It's where you go when you have nothing in the hopes of landing on your feet after gambling your life savings away in Las Vegas at the craps tables. Schools that jumped to the BE were making a bet they were never going to win. At best, it is one step away from living in public housing. At the worst, you are living under a bridge. Once the remaining Catholic schools leave, it will be like living under a bridge for those schools. All they will be is a bearded group of piss and body odor smelling bums huddled around a fire in a trash can drinking booze from a paper wrapper nobody wants to associate with. Let them live with the consequences of their "building process"....idiots. There is nothing attractive about the BE right now.

The Catholic schools are leaving the league and mostly the rest are abandoning it. Who would you play games against?

I can't think of a single school that would make such a foolish move right now. The BE is a dead man walking.

The biggest and best change I have seen in the Zips from when I saw their first couple of games this year until now is their physical conditioning. There was a lot of huffing and puffing going on early in the year and I think it hurt them against teams they were better than, especially in a loss to a very poor CCU. The ability was there, but it didn't matter because the conditioning wasn't there. The team is strong and fit now. I see good things ahead.

Article I hate the ncaa like there is no tomorrow. This article makes me hate it even more. There is a link to this article in the one above. I give two thumbs up to both articles. Hopefully, as our society continues to see things more and more for the way they are an not for the way they want to be, the Colonialism of the ncaa will go away. I highly recommend videos in article as well.

These schools need to kiss and make up with the Boise States of the world. It was truly an island of misfit toys...even more so than the MAC. It's too bad because the writer of the article is correct in that it was a small league full of really good team for their level. If the non-bcs schools could ever get their heads out of their butts and start their own division between I-AA and BCS, a team from this conference would stand a good chance to win a national championship in that division early on. Non BCS schools are such a victim of their own stupidity it isn't even funny at this point.

Referring to his once head of golden hair or a good period for the school or both?

Further evidence that the arena has nothing to do with the quality of basketball. There are lots of pretty things to go look at. In fact, there are lots of pretty things to go look at that would be prettier than an arena. I'd rather watch good basketball in a poor arena than poor basketball in a good arena. BTW, this game got EMU and NIU national "exposure" because of that abortion yesterday. I guess they win in the long run if we are to believe the prevailing wisdom that exposure is always a good thing.

This game set college basketball back 50 years.