GP1

FYI, they do that all the time .. whenever and wherever it's possible. I'm not aware of any such requests being declined. Caleb & KD are out and about more than anyone knows. That's good news. Your last sentence is concerning. Why doesn't anyone know where they are going to be speaking? These speaking engagements should be regular updates on gozips.com. It's good publicity for both UofA and the organization hosting the event.

The CFL kicks off on the NFL Network this coming Thursday at 7:30. Check it out. It's lots of fun to watch. The NFL would be better off if it adopted some of the CFL rules.....all kicks must be returned....20 seconds between plays.....clock stops after every play the last three minutes.

NBA teams typically don't pick Europeans and then keep them in Europe. Europe doesn't have a huge college level like we do in the US where kids who might not be ready for the nba out of high school can go to develop. The American love of college athletics is something most Europeans do not relate to. Many kids play professionally right away in European leagues (some are very good leagues and some can be better than college level in the USA). They can also make a lot of money in those leagues. There are some former Zips doing well in Europe and probably making a better living playing basketball in Europe than they could in our current terrible job market. If I was a European high school kid and had the potential to play in the NBA, I would stay in Europe where I could be close to family and a culture I was comfortable with until I was ready to move to the USA.

That's fine if Zeke is still "growing". He had better hurry the Hell up though, he'll be a junior next year. Guys only get four years in college to "grow". If my opinion doesn't count because I've never seen him play in person, how do any of the coaches count. Do you think any of those coaches would say anything bad about him to someone they don't really know? Coaches don't say anything negative about anything as it relates to players on other teams and even more, fellow coaches. When anyone talks about Zeke and his potential in the NBA, evaluation of how he does against top level teams and talent will be the most important. If an NBA general manager wants to look at Zeke, which is more likely to happen..."I'm going to review ZM from Akron. Get me the tapes of him against...(pick A or B below)." A. Central Michigan or some other schlub MAC school. B. His games against major conference schools in big games. At this point, the only reference point the GM would have is the game against ND. Here is the box score. Would anyone really need to see the game in person to perform an evaluation? Two nights later, Notre Dame was exposed for being a fraud and didn't even have a very good big men. NBA GMs don't care that a player is a good guy...they don't care that the player is "growing"....they don't care who the guy played for in college....they dont' care what guys like Smart, Huggins or Donavan think. They only care if a player fits into their system and if that player can produce at the EXTREMELY high level of play that takes place in the NBA. NBA games aren't developmental and players aren't expected to be "growing". Losing franchises pick players to "grow" them. The NBA is about performance at a professional level. I'm a big fan of Zeke, but if we are going to have conversations about any player playing professionally, the conversation needs to change from that of a fan to a brutal view of a person's talents. With Zeke, the Zips WILL win two more MAC Championships and they WILL continue to be the best team in the MAC. The NBA though?......

I am ashamed to say you are 100% correct.

You're right, I've never seen him play in person. I always thought what happens on TV is an exact reflection of what goes on in person. Please tell me how my post was bashing. I didn't say he was a bad player. In fact, he is a very good player. All I said was I didn't think he would make the NBA. The NBA is EXTREMELY difficult to make a living in. Professional sports in general are extremely difficult to make a living in. Lots of really good players, like Zeke, never make it. Thank you and have a nice day.

The gap between BCS and nonBCS schools is going to continue to get wider for many reasons whether or not players get paid or can have a job. Which is why the BCS schools should have their own division and rules. It's what the ncaa wants.

I was saying this very same thing to myself the other day.

49'ers are building Thanks for the link. I'm impressed with what uncc is doing. They aren't going to start a team and then start the building process like we did. They are going to get everything in place and THEN have a team. We were doomed from the beginning. I don't know how UNCC will do, but they at least seem to be thinking clearly and planning properly. Notice they aren't even going to try D-1A. They know they don't belong there. The biggest kick I got out of the article was they will be competing against the nfl and nba teams. For what? A group of fans who don't really care about the Bobcats and Panthers. The Bobcats averaged around 13,000 per game last year. They averaged less per game in television viewers. I live one mile from the city of Charlotte in South Carolina so I have a different cable provider than Time Warner...we don't get the games at my house. I couldn't even name a player on the team. I've been to one Bobcats game. I've been to more Charlotte Checkers (AHL) games. I don't even know when their games are taking place. They could move that team tomorrow and nobody would notice. Panthers fans are front runners. If in two years, Wake Forest is as bad as they were last year, I'll give up my tickets and buy UNCC tickets. I might just buy some UNCC tickets and give them to customers. I have Judy Rose and the architect for the football stadium speaking at an organization I belong to the third Monday in August. I'll ask her for a copy of the presentation when she is finished so I can post it on a web page for the organization. If she gives it to me, I'll put a link on this board.

You would have to sit in the seat, turn the key, put it in gear, and press on the accelerator to find out what kind of traction you have. UA Marketing has yet to sit in the seat. Marketing the basketball team should be like falling off a log this season. You should see Zeke's face everywhere you look around town. Quick prediction, you won't. I have no doubt you are right. Keep in mind, NE Ohio fans will find any reason, no matter how silly it is, to not support even a good sport like UofA basketball. For whatever reason, a bad football team will give them the reason to no attend basketball games. Maybe if they used a little more personal touch, they might do better. Billboards are necessary, but they lack the personal touch people respond to. A face to face meeting at a public forum like the Camber of Commerce with a good speaker like KD might just be the personal touch they need to sell extra tickets to small and mid sized business owners. Like you said though, that takes initiative. The Zips need to go off during their OOC schedule. If they fall flat, it doesn't matter where Zeke's head is plastered.

Feel free to bring this post back to the top in late-March 2012. You can bring it up all you want. I didn't say he wouldn't, I said he is a long way from the NBA. Lots of good players never make the NBA or any other sports league.

In some ways, it does. In most ways, it doesn't. We have a top notch basketball program and a national champion in soccer. We have had pretty good track teams over the years. Other programs have performed well also. We have good facilities. There are positives. Our problem is we built White Elephant Stadium, which I like to refer to as The Big Dialer, and it sits empty because of poor performance on the field. The footbal team casts such a negative light on the rest of the Athletic Department because the games happen at the beginning of the school year, it makes it hard to get marketing traction for a good team like basketball. The University badly needs to get the team winning and people in the seats. The distance between where we are and where we would need to be is like the distance from the Earth to the Moon. While it isn't that far compared to other space bodies, it isn't exactly the easiest place to get to. We are much less like the Beverly Hillbillies Captain Kangaroo described and more like a guy who "built" a rocket and thinks he can fly it to the moon. A sample conversation might be like this: Skeptic: "That's a really nice rocket ship you've got there." UofA: "Thanks. We built it." Skeptic: "Do you know how to fly it?" UofA: "We built it didn't we." Skeptic: "I know you built it, but do you actually know how to fly it?" UofA: "Sure we do. We've seen other people do it before." Skeptic: "I understand that, but have you actually piloted one before?" UofA: "No, but we have a plan to fly it." Skeptic: "Where are you going to fly it to?" UofA: "Where else would we go? The moon." Skeptic: "How are you going to guide the craft to the moon?" UofA: "That's a silly question. Look how big the moon is. We'll just point it in the general direction and light a match." Skeptic: "You mean you don't have a guidance computer? They had guidance computers even in the 1960s when we were exploring space." UofA: "They were fools back then. Look up. If the three kings found Jesus by the light of the north star, we can find the moon by following the moon." Skeptic: "Ya, but the three kings were riding camels and not sitting on top of tons of explosive liquid." UofA: "There is little difference between driving a camel and driving a space craft." Skeptic: "Let's get back to the trip to the moon. Does the pilot have any experience piloting a spacecraft?" UofA: "Of course not, but he has an action plan." Skeptic: "Do you think the plan will work?" UofA: "The plan doesn't really matter, we built the rocket. The rocket alone will do all the work." Skeptic: "So nobody has any experience leading a group of people who could guide a craft to the moon? What about the ground crew?" UofA: "The ground crew is equally inexperienced. That doesn't matter though. We have this rocket and it will do all the work. Light a match and off you go." Skeptic: "Do me a favor. Don't light the match while I am within 100 miles of the rocket." UofA: "Don't worry. Everything will be OK. The rocket will do all the work."

I seriously doubt Zeke plays in the NBA regardless of how he may get there. If his defense improves, maybe he could make it as a back-up. Keep in mind Zeke averaged less than 10 points per game last season in the MAC....in the MAC. An NBA team would be looking for a better offensive skill set even from a back-up player. We're a long way from talking about Zeke as an NBA player. We've had better players than him over the past few years who haven't sniffed the NBA.

I see their athletic director used the "B" word. Whenever the "B" word is used in reference to a MAC school, you know the program is in trouble. Unfortunately, all we ever read about in the MAC is the "B" word. What in the heck can they possibly be "building" towards? Only 75% of their funding coming from taxpayers? It's laughable to think about. EMU would be better off if they discontinued all sports.

I would say it isn't as corrupt. In almost every way, it is worse. At least on Wall Street and in government contracts, the end producers get paid for their services and they are free to go elsewhere to work if they wish. Nobody is forced to work on Wall Street and nobody is forced into a government contract. If a high school player wants to play college sports, that person is forced into a contract by a monopoly called the NCAA. That person is forced into signing away their rights to make money off of what the NCAA is making off of them for the rest of their lives. Many of the athletes, and their families, signing the contracts have no understanding of contract law or the language used in the documents they are signing. Even if they had enough money to hired a lawyer to represent them, they would be unable to change the terms of the contract between the school and the player. Many of those people signing the NCAA contract are under the age of 18 so the NCAA is basically taking advantage of a child. If that isn't a form of corruption worse than what goes on in Wall Street and government contracts, I don't know what is. Given all of that, I don't think it is too much to ask to allow a young adult to have the ability to make a legal income while playing sports in college.

The last time I really got loaded on Yinzling was in State College, PA. It was the night before the Zips played PSU and it rained the day of the game. Between the rain and the hangover, I couldn't make it out of my hotel room to go to the game. I love noon starts, but that was one day I could have used a 3:30 start.

There is an old saying, "Sunlight is the best antiseptic." Bringing the money into the sunlight will kill a lot of the corruption. College football can then focus on....I don't know....this thing called "college football" and not who is taking money from drug dealing tat parlor owners. Remember, it isn't the money that causes the corruption, it's the secrets the money creates that causes the problems. I guess if the ability to pay players in legal jobs is make or break with my scenario, the Ivy League should become the #1 conference in the country. They have the most wealthy and influential alumni in the US.....unless it isn't all about the money.

Pickens has been trying to buy a championship for years at OSU. It hasn't worked yet. There is no evidence he can pull it off. Anytime Pickens has done anything, he has received something in return. In the case of building stadiums, he gets tax deductions. He might throw a little money around for jobs, etc., but I would bet not as much as you might think. He was all for saving the world with wind power, until he realized he couldn't make any money at it. He would be all for guys getting paid until he realized there was nothing in it for him.

This could take place but it I doubt it would be too widespread. I don't think there are that many people out there who would be able to give away that type of money. Would this scenario be any different than the kid taking the money under the table? Money under the table is worse because it becomes criminal activity. The guy with $20,000 to give away would probably be a smart businessman. My guess is he would want something for his 20K. Right now all he gets is a chance to sniff jock. Let's say he was a car dealer. The conversation might be, "I'll pay you 20K, but you are going to be at my dealership for three Saturdays in June, July and August signing autographs for four hours." Professional athletes can do this, actors can do this, any of us could do this if we could get the dealer to pay us. Why not the player? If you treat them like adults, they might just act like adults. Right now, they get treated like children and they act out like children.

This situation wouldn't take place if it was OK for a kid to have a job whenever he wanted to while in college. The current rules create the situation you just described. The ncaa has become like the IRS. The irs now has so many rules, we have all become criminals even though we may not realize it. The ncaa now has so many rules, a 19 year old can't follow them all. I heard the ncaa manual was something like 400 pages long. That's as crazy as tax code.

Seems to me the NCAA hypocrisy extends to this issue as well. What about the teams that suck? They don't get as much or anything. Good guys/teams make more than the bad guys/teams. The teams that suck should get the swag too.

High school kids shouldn't get paid by their schools to play football. College kids shouldn't be paid by their schools. If a high school kid can play football, keep up his grades and have a part time job while playing football, why can't a college kid do the same thing? I know a guy who played high school football, graduated first in his high school class and worked at nights to earn money because his parents were broke. What did he do after high school? He want to the Naval Academy, graduated fourth in his class while playing basketball, served on a nuclear submarine and now is a Vice President for a company that designs nuclear power plants. He is in charge of 50 designers. Why is having a job OK for a high school player and not a college player? It would seem to me that an adult would do a better job of managing his time than a child in high school, but the ADULT isn't allowed to behave like an ADULT.

Increase visibility? Yes. Let's hope in a good way. Exposure to recruits? Maybe. We get plenty of exposure for the recruits we look at. National respect? If we win, yes. If we lose...no, but we care more about the ooc games against high majors than the rest of the country does. It takes a boatload of winning for a mid major to get national respect. Increase opportunity for at-large bid? Maybe. We can't beat Miss St and then fall flat against the likes of Cleveland State. The Zips need to go on a huge ooc run next year. The talent is there, the coaching is there and the experience is there. They need to make it happen.

As long as you aren't one of the people making the calls, it is a great place to work. The real sad part is, 30 years ago people would have laughed at the idea of a telemarketing company being a top employer in NE Ohio. It's really a statement of what has happened to NE Ohio and less of a statement about InfoCision. I worked at Republic Steel in Massillon during the summers while in college. My job was in the accounting area and I calculated bonuses for "production" workers (and I am using that term in protest). Guys were making 100% bonuses every week for the amount of product coming off their machine. Trouble was...none of it was usable...all scrap. They ran the machines so fast that the small hot steel would run off the tracks. Before they could shut it down, it would pile up on the floor as "spaghetti". A good friend and fellow Zip also worked with me but in the plant. He had another full time b during the day and slept in the supervisors office at night while getting paid at Republic. The saying amongst Republic workers was "if you work at Republic...it is your own fault". Machines would be idle for days because workers on a machine could not make minor fixes and had to wait on the union maintenance department. I could site many other cases. Now...who was at fault?? The union for forcing those work rules or management for agreeing?? Who knows. But one thing for certain....where once thousand or so acres of manufacturing plant is now an empty grass field. THAT is your statement about NE Ohio. People are gravitating to more business friendly states like North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Florida. I have a business in Hayward California. Do you know it is against the law to smoke ANYWHERE in Hayward except in your own private residence?? Not in your back yard...not in your driveway...not in your car. In San Francisco you can't but soda pop in vending machines or buy cigarettes at Walgreens. They want to eliminate "Happy Meals" at McDonalds. Soon you will not be able to buy potato chips...or pay a hefty penalty tax. So...I am leaving California. I invested over 150K in Bali and will invest 150K more over the next 12 months. Do you think I am the only one taking their investments out of the country?? And I love the USofA. Joined the Navy after college. I have traveled to more than 40+ states. But the business here climate sucks. So you say they raised money for Republicans?? I say they did not do a good enough job!! And I am a Blue Dog Democrat :-( As long as it is a free society people will give money to scoundrels over the phone or online. Look how much money Obama raised during his campaign (online). Record amounts from little old ladies and many who could not afford it. NE Ohio?? A workforce that is productive and readily available. But....not business friendly. Few consider Ohio for big production investments. Be glad for those that stay or develop there. What does any of this have to do with InfoCision? You wrote: "The real sad part is, 30 years ago people would have laughed at the idea of a telemarketing company being a top employer in NE Ohio. It's really a statement of what has happened to NE Ohio" Understand?? No.

The company is much more than just web design. The web design is only part of what they do for customers.