GP1

UB will go 1-3 against these teams in each of the seasons they play them. I'm not sure why this is such a good schedule for them.

I notice the one guy who really created the problem has not issued a statement. I was thinking the same thing. What kind of message are you sending to your players (no pun intended) when you force Lemon to issue a statement like this but you're the guy who caused the whole thing because you were trying to send a text message behind the guy's back of something you didn't have the cajonas to say to his face? If you're gonna make Lemon eat his shit and do this then you should at least issue a public apology yourself. If I'm a recruit looking at what kind of man I want to play for, Ianello looks like a little weasel. Well said. Lemon not only has to eat his own shit, but they are forcing him to eat Ianello's shit too. This is just unfair. There has been a lot of discussion on this board about character issues of late. I think we have a character issue as well and it ain't all Lemon or even Lemon. I think the character issue goes beyond the head coach as well. Let me be even more clear about the last sentence...I think our AD is a weasel and allows this kind of crap to go on....wait, no....he doesn't just allow it to go on, he promotes it. Something just doesn't smell right. Who will be the next person TW throws under the bus? First it was Reno, now a player....who will be next? For the first time since JD was fired, I'm not as bullish about the future of this program as I once was. I think we have Charlie Weis Jr. coaching our team and a complete incompetent running the Athletic Department. I'm feeling very concerned. Still trying to keep an open mind, but it is becoming more and more difficult. Well, I'm heading up to uptown Charlotte to take in the NRA Convention. I'm in the market for a used Howitzer and I figure if I can't buy it there, it can't be bought.

I notice the one guy who really created the problem has not issued a statement.

It's like the Monica Lewenski (sp?) story in the National Enquirer. A president cheating in the Oval Office with an intern who held onto a blue dress with a gizz stain on it sound out of this world....until you find out it is all true. This story is so stupid, it might just be true.

Deadspin has an interesting story partially explaining the Cavs collapse beyond there not being enough talent and good coaching around Lebron. Whether or not this is true, I could care less. If two people enjoy the company of one another, then so be it. There is really only one question that needs to be asked and it is the most important question of all........How long did Delonte have to stand in line?

It would be very cool if we can have the scoreboard broadcast someone reading through and commenting on the scores. Maybe have a media student or invite guest local personalities to do the read. I'm all for that. A nice thing about Infocision is the WIFI, I can bring my ipod and actually follow other games. I love it. This board has to have the oldest posters in the world.

Let's not sugar coat it...we get enough of that on this portion of the board. Saying he is "moving on" is like saying someone who gets fired is "let go" as if it is voluntary. This guy got KDs boot and is out the door. I don't have a problem with that, but let's call it what it is.

Interesting take. You say "willing to make the needed changes to make the team better", I say being a prick. Four players isn't just being a prick, it is being a huge prick (put your dirty thoughts away you bunch of perverts). Either way, it gets the Zips moving in the right direction as far as talent and I'm glad KD is a prick. "indictment of the recruiting abilitys of Jeff Boals". Who made the final decision on handing out the scholarships? Maybe the case could be as follows....As I was one of the first to say, KD brings a lot of talented scorers into UofA and after a couple of years in his system, they can't seem to throw the ball into the ocean. Maybe they are good scorers when they get here, but the system destroys their ability. Will this kid be the next victim of the Mike Fratello of college basketball?

Early season OOC schedule will cripple a young team and they will have no confidence going into the mac schedule or the following year for that matter. Our ooc schedule is designed to teach a team how to lose. We will see the results of it next year. 3-9

I have to respectfully disagree. The last thing the Zips need to do when the basketball team plays Malone or St. Francis or whatever cupcake the parade into the JAR is get a lot of people to the game. If a person's first experience with Zips basketball is watching them roll over a pile of crap, they will believe that is the way Zips games are. Most people don't understand it is part of the "building process" . If my choice was to watch the basketball team play Malone for $1 or pay the amount of a full price ticket to not have to go watch the game, I would probably pay full price to sit at home and do something interesting. When fans don't go to games, they are making a rationale choice to not spend not only their money, but also their time on a bad product. Nobody is talking about the giant elephant in the room and this isn't just a problem isolated to UofA. The elephant is the quality of play in the MAC in recent years has been terrible. A fan doesn't have to go to a game in person to see the MAC is terrible. MAC schools are on TV a lot and fans get exposure to the league much more than in the past. Fans are not stupid....they know crap when they see it and that's why MAC games are so poorly attended. You can have dollar hotdogs all day long, you can have counter productive discounted tickets all day long, you can have Zippy going around making farting sounds with his armpits all day long, but as long as the quality of product remains low, people will not turn out. The question shouldn't be...How do you market the Zips? It should be....How do you market a bad product and get repeat customers while generating enough income to support an entire athletic department? There are bad products marketed and sold every day that support companies. It can be done, so how do we do it is the real question.

I agree with some of what you said, but below is my disagreement. Why does everything have to be about "the children"? Either we are a big time program or we are not. Stops in play should be filled with awards to student athletes, winter and spring sport athletes being introduced on the field, recognition to large donors, recognition of alumni success, etc. I understand a funny skit with Zippy every once in a while, but college football is adult entertainment. I don't need to go to a football game to be entertained by cartoons during timeouts. Advertise football, not a "family event". We have been giving away tickets for years and it doesn't expand the ticket base. In fact, if I still bought tickets, I would be pissed as Hell that they gave away tickets. Promoting local talent has also not worked....they my as well go back to "band day".

If you are on the side of the coach who turned this girl in, then you are part of the problem. The guy who turned her in (see, Billy Martin, George Brett) you should be fired tomorrow.

If we have a defense with a pulse, everything else will take care of itself. PN7 needs to be more accurate and everything on offense will be fine.

I have no idea what this means. Is it equal to, "the coach has lost the team"? I have a better idea. Play hard and win some freaking games.

One other thing. A better quality of play would help. People are not stupid and they know a bad sports product when they see it. Not just from the Zips, but from the MAC in general. Unless I'm watching NC State, my laugh-o-meter does not go off during ACC games. It never goes off during SEC, Big 12 or PAC 10 games. It goes off frequently during MAC games.

Agree. The problem is, we hire people with "Sports Management" degrees. The problem is two fold. First, the people we hire only get ideas from other inexperienced people in college athletics when they go to seminars together to network for their next job. The people they listen to are from schools with supposedly good marketing programs like the large BCS schools who have to just offer tickets and they are sold because there is an over demand for the tickets. Second, we have turned over a lot of marketing responsibility to ISP. I think ISP is great, but they are paid on revenue so they use their creativity for big ticket items to maximize their revenue. As long as revenue increases, the AD and ISP can show results. Revenue does not always equal increased attendance.

1. Too many teams. 2. No mention of no poaching into lower conferences for ooc games. 3. No mention on how they will keep competition balanced in the league. For example, fewer spring practices for playoff teams.

This is a tired old excuse that carries very little merit. The fact is, Mark Shapiro is incompetent. The team can't draft, overpays for washed up has-beens (the latest, Russell Branyon), and pays big money to sign free agents to platoon (ie Dave Dellucci in 07). The coaching at the major league and AAA level is horrible, year in and year out the Aeros are a threat to win the title. Yet by the time these guys make it to Cleveland, they act like the simplest fundamentals are beyond them. I don't hear anyone in Tampa Bay whining about the salary disparity. Florida has two rings. Arizona has one, St Louis has one. Colorado went. It's all just an excuse for an owner who doesn't want to invest in a real management and a real roster who can win, even though this market has proven over and over it will support a winner. I do support the pro and college teams teams who at least try. Once the football team melted down last season, I was done. I put all of my support on a program that deserved it so much more, the soccer team. I refuse to waste time and money on a circus run by clowns. Now this year, I'll start supporting the "new" football program (and the "new" Browns) unless they prove they don't deserve it. But the Indians? They're dead to me. It's much more fun right here in Akron at Canal Park. So you are a fair weather fan? I wouldn't say Spin is a fair weather fan as much as he is a rationale buyer. At some point, every consumer must look at their purchases and ask about the value they are getting for the money they are spending. Spin has made a decsion the Indians are not worth spending the type of money it takes to go to a MLB game. Fair weather fans are actually the best type of fans. They expect to see a good product and if they don't see a good product they don't buy. It tells the owner of the company that if they don't improve their product, they will not make money. Spending your money to support a loser encourages the owner to continue with his losing ways. Let's say you always used one brand of toilet paper. One day, the manufacturer of that tp decided it would be good to include 50% sand into their mix. Would you continue to buy the tp or would you find another way to spend your money? The Indians and Pirates are selling sand laced tp to their fans.

This is a dead serious question. Why do you spend money going to Zips games? The NCAA is designed for the BCS teams to win. I support them because I am a fan and I like college football.

True. It does take a sane man to express his frustration in such a clear and thought out manner. MBL won't change a thing about what they are doing. Their attendance and ratings are up over the past few years. People go to games regardless of how bad their team is. For example, the Pirates are near sell-outs for every fireworks night this year and they are a Class AAA team poised add another year to the consecutive losing season record they now hold. The key to marketing bad sports teams is pre-season sales. If you are waiting for in season sales and your team sucks, you are in big trouble. Until people stop going to games, this won't change. Want to make MLB better? Reduce the number of teams by about 6 and the league will be better.

See for yourself.....

Unless "food" means a bag of chips or a case of beer, that's just gross. BTW, does Zip Mart still exist?

What makes this Howard situation so unique is the public statement that Tressel never stopped recruiting. Locker room talk is one thing, public statements are another. There is also a pattern that has always been around the Zips program in the past 20 years. There are a lot of guys playing for the Zips who came to UofA because nobody else wanted them. I don't care what the recruiting services say about who was getting recruited by whom, that's what really goes on. One reason MAC schools suck is it is hard to get a team where half of the guys believe they are settling for something less than what they should have to be successful. It's hard to win with that mentality. In reality, Howard is so stupid that he publically admitted what a lot of guys at UofA think behind closed doors.

17-18 year olds hardly qualify as "Adults". Half of the 25 year olds I know still haven't grown up enough to be responsible adults. All this talk about tOSU is proof of his immaturity. As a matter of fact, 18 qualifys as an adult. I'm sure Mr. Howard's stellar academic performance set him back at least a year. The kid is probably near or at 19.

This conversation is going to go nowhere. We obviously have a different set of morals. I wonder how Tom Brady's life would be different if he got his high school girlfriend pregnant in high school instead of a super model after an established NFL career? ONE supermodel? Try he got two different supermodels pregnant in an 18 month period. One he married. Brady left the bastard child with the other. Since I actually know almost none of the people on the board, I can only assume some things. One is a lot of people on this board are really old or have double standards or at one time were the world's oldest virgins or got married at 18 so they could finally have sex. How many of you who think a kid having sex in high school is a sign of bad character and the kid should not be able to play college football think we could actually field a DIII team if that was the case?