GP1

Good points. This is why playing from behind against talented, well coached teams presents problems. Most teams in the MAC are dying to blow a lead and thus the game. Good teams don't let others come from behind and basically blow the game. The Zips are going to win the MAC this year because that's what we do against our league. After that though, they had better start off faster.

They didn't choke. They didn't live up to their potential.

Akron has been coasting through a pretty below average MAC this season. The game today exposed problems in the team that don't get exposed in the MAC. Everyone is an All American against bad players. I believe they can make no changes and win the MAC if that is the goal. In order to win a game in the NCAA Tournament, I don't think they can start the same five guys they do. Slow starts kill any team in a big time game and that starting five lends itself to slow starts. Would any of you make a change based upon what you saw today? What would they be?

ORU is a darn good team. They can shoot inside....they can shoot outside. They make good passes. They find open guys. They are well coached. They handle the ball well. They take care of the ball. They play good team defense. They rebound well. They did everything a team has to do to win a game against a good team like the Zips. Hats off to ORU. Akron can play like they did today and win a lot of games in a crappy MAC. They have to play much better if they want to do more than one and done in the NCAA Tournament.

They have no shame....

ORU Schedule and Results Looks to be a very similar team to Akron in terms of their ups and downs this season. DiG is right. ORU knows how to throw the little orange ball through the little orange ring. Probably the best scoring team the Zips will play until the NCAA Tournament. The Zips have quite the challenge in front of them tomorrow. Can't wait to watch the game. Go Zips!!

This is exactly the kind of article I wrote about the other day. Thanks to the writer. Where are we? What do we need to do down the stretch to win it all? He askes Coach D questions that takes him down that discussion. I would rather read coaches philosophical thoughs than thoughs on individual players, etc. It creates a story arc for the rest of the season that the average fan can follow. Now, this writer has an arc to follow and can write about the arc at the end of the season, or do some analysis on whether or not the team is following the arc. Good job.

Major League Baseball had a large increase in attandance over 2010 last season. If I'm not mistaken, it was their best season ever. Would you describe the condition of MLB as good or even ascending? Of course not, our national pastime is quickly becoming swallowed up by other forms of entertainment and is in steady decline and has been for a number of years now. TV viewership is terrible and 80% of the teams have no shot at ever even making the playoffs. People in cities like Pittsburgh and KC should never pay a dime to go watch their teams play. Don't count attendance as the only evidence that a sport is in decline or not. CBB is having problems and lots of people are starting to notice it. There are lots of ways to increase ticket sales through low prices, etc. Do we really want to build a 10,000 seat arena and then have $1.00 tickets just to fill the wasted space?

If it is growing, why isn't it #1? Arenas have only gotten bigger so the seating capacity has gotten bigger and fans aren't taking advantage of the increased size of arena. Building bigger arenas in the hope of fan interest and turnout is not the answer. An entertaining product with filled, smaller stadiums is the answer. The reason so many new baseball stadiums were built as small as they are was to drive weekday ticket sales. The teams could easily sell Friday, Saturday and Sunday tickets. They made them smaller to drive sellouts on the weekend so fans who were interested, but without tickets, had to go to Monday-Thursday games. A 10,000 seat arena for Akron isn't the answer.

Thanks for posting ZW. It is a topic I'm interested in and saddened by. College basketball is great entertainment and it's sad to see it in decline. If the NCAA ever goes to a college football playoff, everything will become about the playoffs and not about the games themselves. It will be interesting for a few years, then the stupidity that has crept into college basketball will take hold and the decline will begin. ESPN will be right there to aid in the decline. College of Charleston plays in TD Arena. They were on TV here last weekend the the talking head said it was their 5th sell out of the season. 5,100 seats is too small, but the configuration is great. A larger upper deck making the arena 7,000 seats would be perfect for the Zips. Now...if we would just move the Zips to Charleston, I could go to a lot more games.

This story only points to an increase. Doesn't say where the increase is coming from or gives any history of attendance beyond one year. The increase pointed to is an increase over the previous year, which was probably in decline because of the recession. While it may have increased, it may not be at the point where it was three years ago. Not just college basketball, but lots of industries are experiencing the same phenomena.

Start a thread anyhow. Sift through the nonsense and there are some good ideas on this board. There is an old saying that, "People buy from people." Really? Why are internet sales going up so much. Human interaction is overrated. A thread would be awesome and unique. I don't know if this is George or not, but my opinion is a reporter should search within for good ideas and write good, thought provoking articles. The articles that make me think, "I've never thought of that" are the best to read. Don't write about what people tell you they want to hear. Write about your unique thoughts. Everyone knows what Terry Pluto is going to write about...don't be Terry Pluto.

I totally agree. It is all being driven by football right now. My concern is this about college basketball in general and then I'll relate it to the Zips. I believe college basketball is in decline. A few ESPN folks have talked about it recently. Too many low scoring games. Not to pick on tosu, but they were ranked #3 Saturday and only scored 48 on their home court...terrible. There was a game not long ago when neither team scored 50. Dick Vitale called it terrible for college basketball and he is right. It makes college basketball Dollarr General. Players don't know how to play basketball anymore and fans still remember what a good basketball player should play like, which is why Jeremy Lin is so interesting...he actually know how to play basketball. What does the ncaa do to promote more scoring...move the 3 point line back so it is even harder to make one. The people who run the ncaa couldn't run a Boy Scout troop. To a large extent, the ncaa is at fault for the decline in college basketball. The sooner that organization goes away, the better. They are killing the goose that pooped out the golden egg. Everything has become about the ncaa tournament and "crowning a champion". It's so bad that making the Tournament isn't even good enough for some schools. A team either has to make the Sweet 16 or the coach gets fired....complete nonsense. How does not making or not even having a team to go deep in the Tournament hurt schools? If the game is about the Tournament, then why should fans go watch a regular season game? If the game is about going deep in the Tournament and a team is obviously not capable of doing that, then why go watch them play? Anyone notice how empty may big time college basketball arenas are now when you watch a game? It's not about the game anymore, it's about the Tournament because the ncaa needs that goose to poop out that egg every year so they can have another successful year of mismanagement. So, moving for ward with the Zips basketball program. We have a team on the ascent when the general college basketball market is in decline. Are we in a position where it doesn't matter if we continue to improve if fans are losing interest in college basketball? I look at attendance and it makes me think that. I still can't figure out why 5,500 fans a game aren't going to watch this team. I hope this isn't the case because too many people have put too much effort to get this team to where it is today and it would be a crying shame if that happened. This is why I think the Zips should really take their time and spend some of that time trying to figure out where the market for college basketball is going to be in 10 years. The last thing we need is a great team playing in a 10,000 seat arena with the same 4,000 fans going to the games.

Want to really hurt the player. Fine the crap out of them when they take cheap shots. Also, don't allow running backs to run with their heads down. That should be a fine as well.

We've done just fine without them.

I don't care if they start building an arena 10 months from now or 10 years from now. Just don't do it with the City of Akron. A delay would be better than a union with them.

Don't you think that is a little young for kids to be having sex?

Like I've been saying on this board for years now. Regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters.

How come old photos of the NFL show guys aged well beyond their years and their faces are crooked? The rugby analogy is good because I think it is a great sport; however, rugby players pitch the ball a lot and head on hits are rare. They don't pass the ball downfield so there isn't anyone to get hit going over the middle.

Maybe we are letting kids play football at too young of an age and they can't grasp the fundamentals of the game to the point where they can play it in a safe manner. There are a lot of bad jr high coaches who can't teach the proper way to play the game as well.

He had a point alright... A stupid point.

Concussions happen when the brain bashes against the skull. We are not made for sudden stops. They can design all the energy absorbing equipment, nothing can stop the brain from bashing against the skull when a hit is made. It all goes back to hgh. Force = Mass x Acceleration. The players today are too big from taking hgh and the human body cannot take the force. Look at James Harrison. When he came back from injury, his face was so red, he could have guided Santa at Christmas. The red was from all the hgh he takes. He is only one example of many in the NFL. My brother overheard the Falcons strenght and conditioning coach yelling at some linemen one day, "I don't know what you are taking, but you had better get off of it before your head explodes." Everyone knows it is going on and nobody wants to do anything about it. Back to force.... Specifically, the head can't take the force. Some may laugh when I say this, but the NFL needs to go through a five year period where they bring down the maximum weight of the players through weight limits like they do in little league. Make the NFL a sport again instead of a freakshow. I hate to say this because it may come true, but I don't think it is unreasonable to believe that an NFL player, or even a high level college football player, could get killed on the field of play in the next five years. If not killed, one of the linemen die from a heart attack during a game. If that happens, parents will really think twice about letting their kids play.

Actually, there is a funny story behind this that started the saying. To this day, when I call the MAC Dollar General, it drives some on this board insane. My wife, Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, went to Miamioh (got here MBA from UofA). I forget how many years ago it was, but Akron played Miami on a Tuesday or Wednesday night ESPNWhatever game. Miamioh had an alumni party to watch the game in uptown Charlotte so we went. At that time, the MAC was really at a low point. Miamioh beat us that night 3-0. Almost a completely unwatchable game. On the way home, my wife says, "Being commissioner of the MAC must be like being VP of Sales and Marketing for Dollar General. You can trick someone to come in to shop once, but once they see the crap you are selling, it is hard to get them to come back." Mrs. GP1 described exactly why, for a long time now, MAC stadiums sit empty. You are new to the MAC...Would it surprise you to know the MAC has been around since the late 1940s? In over 60 years now, they have not been able to do anything with the league, but like a cockroach, it still lives.

I would have to say no to your question, because not enough people pay enough attention to the MAC to bash it. On the second point, the MAC is straight Dollar General

Article I know this isn't about the Zips, but it is about football and I worry about what the future may hold for some of our fellow Zips in terms of long term health problems.