GP1

That's an absolute classic. What was Owens record in his 8th year at UA? I forget. Can someone help me here?That would be 4-7 I believe.On another subject, I was at one time really tired of seeing President Reagan ruin everything President Carter did for the USA.

Actually, NE Ohio sports fans never get tired of seeing their teams suck. They seem to love the endless five year cycles of firing coaches and rebuilding. NE Ohio sports fans are so comfortable with losing that they enjoy this cycle more than winning. I truely believe it is a sickness.At some point, the players need to be held accountable for five turnovers.

Please define this. What is spectacular fashion?In D-1A football, a road win is good regardless of the score. I actually consider the win at Syracuse to be a blowout at 14 points. With that said, Army lost to UNH a couple of weeks ago. I feel good about our chances.

I didn't see the game, but here is what I think. Too bad the Zips lost, but next week they can beat Army and be 2-2. There have been many, many, many years when we would have given our left you-know-what to be 2-2 after our first four games against all D-1A teams. I really thought we would be 1-3 after the first four so we are ahead of where I thought we would be, if we win at Army. Remember, six wins is the goal. We lost a chance to get one of the six yesterday. Let's get number two next week.For those of you who don't think injuries matter, I couldn't disagree more. The root of all football evil is built around injuries. NFL and college football teams live and die with injuries. MAC teams are especially susceptible to injuries because it is hard enough finding a few top guys and when one of those guys go down, the cupboard is really bare.Go Zips.

I was at the OSU vs. USC game last night and I am posting from LAX right now. Here is what you missed and it has to do with the sea of red. The sea of red was flowing from their seats to the gates at the end of the third quarter last night after OSU put up 4 yards of offense in the third quarter .The only thing that could have made the humiliation of OSU more complete last night would be the following scenario. Coach T. and Coach C. meet at mid field for the post game handshake. Coach C. says, "Look Jim, there is a UFO in the sky." At that point, Coach T. looks up to see the UFO and when he does that, Coach C. pulls his pants down and runs away making the "V" for victory sign.I know this is a Zips board, but I have never seen as complete of a college team in person as what USC has. Even though the game was out of hand and some might consider that boring, it wasn't. Everyone is good and they use everyone in a balanced way. It is almost art.Five things I will remember most about last night:1. Erin Andrews2. USC Song Girls3. The friendliness of the USC fans around me4. Traveler lighting the Olympic Torch at the end of the 3rd quarter (USC game day tradition).5. Sitting in endless traffic and the disorganized nature of the parking situation. Some of you consider yourselves to be experts on parking and you would have had a stroke yesterday.

Rumor has it that Bain is still in a boot. Any truth? If so, it is hard to go from a boot to playing in one week. Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.

Are you sure it was the first two weeks or just the Wisconsin game? I mean, I would understand if you got it wrong. After all, you are still the guy who still thinks billboards are an effective advertising medium evidenced by the fact that Can't uses it. Does it matter though?Moving on..... While driving through Atlanta, I was listening to the game on Sirius. I was encouraged by the Zips . Too bad it was the Syracuse feed. I'm just glad the marketing department doesn't have to waste valuable selling time focusing on a bunch of gambling degenerates in other parts of the world.I have picked on CJ a lot in the past. He seems to have found something the past couple weeks. I hope the kids don't get big headed. I remember a couple of years ago now when a defending MAC Champion went to NC State and won. After the game, we were all chirping about the next bowl game. Then the wheels fell off the bus after playing a very good MAC team the following week. I hope that doesn't happen again. We are sort of in a similar situation right now. NC State was really bad and a very good CMU beat us the following week.Final thought..... We need six wins to make a bowl game. The clock is ticking. Let's get those six asap so we can look forward to maybe an even higher total. Ball State first though.

Well, I was going to hold back, but after seeing your softball team lost to a team captained by Mike Rasor I feel nothing but contempt.*Moderator deleted bullshit*With that said, school is now back in session. Instead of going around and playing in golf outings, you should be out scouting middle schools far and wide for a softball team you can beat. Mike Rasor? Are you kidding me? You can't beat a team with a future lawyer on it? The shame must be unbearable.

Marshall ArticleWhile this team is no longer in the league, most of the problems happened while they were in the MAC and the reading is interesting. It really explains a lot. There is no way that Marshall should be able to have a good D1-A football team without cheating and/or joining the MAC. Look at them now, they stink and the only thing that can save them now is a relocation back to the MAC. Huntington is an absolute dump located in the part of the USA where Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio come together to form the armpit of the world.Two questions. 1. If Marshall came back to the MAC, within five years, would they be the best team in the league again? I think they could. 2. If this same thing happened to Akron, with the exception of leaving the MAC to become a CUSA bottom feeder, how would you feel about all the winning, bowl games and MAC Championships? My opinion is I would feel a small, and I mean very small twinge of guilt, but it was a once in a lifetime ride for a lot of those fans and good entertainment is hard to find. I wouldn't mind getting a ticket for that ride. It sure would be better than the past 21 years of losing with the exception of one MACC. One more question: What carnival ride was Marshall on while in the MAC and what carnival ride are we on? Marshall was on the fastest and most fun carnival ride at the fair. In Japan, they would call it "The Super Fun Rollercoaster". We have been on the ride that just goes around in circles with no clear ending. In Japan, they would call it "The Super Slow Circle Jerk".

Aren't you really setting yourself up for never being wrong, but never being right either. Neither will happen. In fact, there is a better chance of the sun running out of fuel before either happens. Charlie showed last night why he is a back up. With his ability, he can complete a lot of passes and win 35-50% of the games while the starting QB is healing from an injury. That ability is good enough for the NFL because is keeps a team in the playoff chase while the starting QB is down. Being a back up NFL player sure has a higher salary than what he would make on the outside so I say good for him. Putting up only seven points in one half of an NFL game is unacceptable. If not for a horrible tackling attempt on the part of the SD DB, that play does not go for 68 yards and Seattle may not have scored at all. When Charlie gets inside the 20, he needs to get six.

New clock rules as well as other rule changes.I don't know about you guys, but the length of college football games is nonsense. I welcome these NFL type rules. Less plays makes every play more important making games more exciting.

I would like to refer Elton to any number of my rants about the 3-3-5 over the years. The reason the defense tires over the course of the year is the players playing it are too small and are beat up by the end of the season. Size matters my friends.

I think 5-7 is the right pick here. If 6-6 can get a team like Miami into the MACC last year, that should be considered a good record in the MAC. 5-7 is only one game below a good record in the MAC which makes it an average year for a MAC school these days. Right or wrong, JD gets fired and UofA changes their sports teams names from the Akron Zips to the Akron Browns. The cycle will continue.

Here is why the Miami tickets are such a good idea. First, they remind people, specifically the alumni, of a proud past. My wife and several of my family members went to or are going to Miami and the connection to the past with that school is very strong. There is a whole Old Miami, New Miami thing going on there that I don't quite understand, but they do.Secondly, I see this as an opportunity to sell extra tickets to existing customers. There are a certain number of people who will purchase an extra ticket in order to frame the ticket as a keepsake. Most season tickets come as a sheet of paper and you have to tear the tickets apart when you use them; they are actually perfect for framing if you don't tear them apart. If UofA had this history of coaches and offered tickets like this, I would buy an extra ticket and have it framed and hung in my man cave. I can't even go to games anymore, and I would buy one ticket just to have it framed. Why are the kids drawings so bad? First, the average person looking at the tickets would think, "What do childrens drawings have to do with UofA? This makes no sense."Secondly, nothing says "minor league entertainment" like making children the centerpiece of your marketing program. Just think of the nonsense that goes on between innings at Aeros games. In a year when they are closing the Rubber Bowl, couldn't they market some of the great Zips of the past? Only five games, let's see who we could put on tickets....... Future first ballot Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, Dwight Smith (Super Bowl winner), Blackburn and Dom Hix after the Super Bowl win, the greatest Zip ever Mike Clark, Vic Green, etc. Perhaps even a small book to give out with season tickets and to give to paying walk-ups at the RB describing the careers of the guys pictured on the tickets. These names say "major league entertainment". If we want to be thought of as one of the "big boys", we need to start acting like them.Thirdly, there has to be a tie to next year with the new stadium opening. Wouldn't it be nice if the same people that were on your tickets this year had huge banners of the same picture that was on your ticket outside of InfoCision Stadium next year. Something like what the Indians do in the upper deck of Jacobs Field. Next year, have current players on the tickets and include their banners as well. Connect the past with the new. I believe sports tradition is the connection of year after year after year (This internet definition defines it a little differently.). We never seem to be able to connect the years with our marketing themes. Our marketing is run like a political campaign (one time event with a specific end date until the next campaign) in lieu of an effort to connect loyal followings year in and year out and then grow that following. This isn't just a problem at UofA, it goes on everywhere in college athletics.Speaking of tradition, wouldn't a picture of the doorless bathroom stall in the mens room on the pressbox side of the Rubber Bowl give most of us a more nostalgic feeling than the incoherent scribblings of a child? I'd like to see that on a ticket. That would be a ticket I would put a lot of money into.

Wouldn't this be a more fitting saying for a UT t-shirt, (on the front) "I went to UT to major in casino management...... (on the back) ...and all I got was 5-10 years suspended sentence."

This is interesting. Before I rip apart the idea of putting kids drawings on a D-1A ticket, I would like to know if this is true for all tickets. Do reserved tickets have this as well? My guess is it is true because it would be too much to have two types of season tickets.Here is what you see when you go onto the Miami web page.. Here is what you see on Go Zips. It really does not take a trained professional to see that one school is doing something different to try to sell tickets by using the internet and the physical ticket as a selling tool. Is using kids drawings on tickets really the best we can do?

I was at a Kenny Chesney concert last night and he wore a t-shirt from a MAC school during the show. Unfortunately, it was a UT shirt.

I said this a couple of weeks ago and I'll say it again. Akron needs to treat the WI game like a scrimmage and sustain as few injuries as possible by playing back up players as much as possible. Take the 50-0 beating with the second team, pick up the check on the way out the door, get out of town and get ready for Syracuse and Ball State.There is still a lot of time to heal guys before Syracuse and Ball State. Don't take a risk on an almost sure loss.

If Kade is the same as Brian and if this is true, I'll say this. When the reality of a year on scout team hits a kid in the face, it shows how bad they really want to be on the team. I thought this was exactly the type of "character kid" who was supposed to save the program. "Character kid" = Walsh College...... Walsh College talent in the MAC = losing. No thanks! We can find more scout team kids next year.

JD needs to pick a starter that gives us the best chance to win in 2008. "Building for the future" is not an option....the future is now because there is enough talent on this team to win at least 6 games. The problem with changing QBs is....What happens if you replace your #1 QB and the #2 doesn't do anything? If the #2 does not work out instantly, the season is over. I can't think of a single team that has replaced their starting QB because of performance issues, had the #2 fail and then put #1 back in and had success. People like to overuse the phrase, "The coach has lost the team." (whatever the Hell that is supposed to mean). As far as I am concerned, the only time a team is lost is when they do not think they can win. Failing to succeed with a starter and then failing with the #2 and then trying to go back to the #1 that has already failed is one sure way to convince a team they can not win. Here is the question I would like answered and there is no way to find out the answer because it is a very personal question. When CJ11 and Rogers are alone in their rooms at night thinking about the season, do they in their heart of hearts believe they can win or is there heavy doubt? Actually, I think UoA has everything it needs to win with the exception of a winning attitude because of decades of losing. Players are easy to change; decades of losing and the stench that comes along with that is very difficult to change.

Seattle Times ArticleFrye played the whole game last night for Seattle. Played poorly against the Bears awful first team defense and played much better against the Bears even worse second and third string defenses. Brings Seattle back from behind to win an all important Week 2 preseason game.Warning to the biggest of Frye fans....... Don't forget to cover your keyboard with plastic before reading this article!

Nice post CK. When I was in school, we had a huge problem with guys getting arrested, bar fights, on campus dust ups, etc and that is not happening now. I would actually change the word for your definition of thug to criminal. People who use the word thug actually have a more disgusting motivation behind their usage of the word and it usually centers around their dislike of those who, let's just say, don't look like they do and don't come from the same class structure they do.I've told this story and I'll tell it again. When I was growing up as a Catholic kid in a small town in Ohio, there were always a bunch of old timers (when I was a kid, "old timer" meant anyone over 30 years old) who sat around saying, "If they put every good Catholic kid on one team, nobody could beat them." I always wanted to say (looking back, I wish I had the guts back then to say the things I do to people now), "If they took the best of the rest, the Catholics would get killed because they would be too weak and slow." Basically, the old timers were thinking one thing and not saying what they meant which was, "I'm uncomfortable with the number of black kids playing in sports these days because they are different than what I am used to watching. What I am going to do is create a fantasy for myself that allows me to feel good about myself without calling the black kids nasty names. I could use a word like thug because it could relate to anyone, but all my friends will know exactly what I mean."You're absolutely right on another point CK, there are many people on this board who would much rather lose year after year than take a risk to actually win something. It's the curse of NE Ohio sports fans. They are most happy when they are looking for their next qb or head coach because their team is losing than when they are winning. I actually think it is an epidemic in NE Ohio that started when the Browns left years ago. Many Zips fans are also Browns fans and they bring the same sickness to the program and this board. It's the most bizarre thing I have ever seen.

Winthrop Fans,Zips Supporter is correct. This place is much better than BW3.I have to warn you Winthrop fans though, you guys will be coming up from Rock Hill or somewhere around there. Christmas time in NE Ohio can be pretty cold. You will have to drive from Barley House to the game. You could walk, but if it is cold you will be miserable. The only advantage of BW3 is you can park in the arena parking, walk a short distance to BW3 and have some beer without having to drive to the game. If it snows, go to BW3....I get to see first hand every time it rains how southerners drive in the rain and it ain't pretty.....if it snows, forget about it. You seem like a nice guy and I'd hate to hear you killed yourself. I have to give you credit Winthrop fan, if you are going to spend a weekend of your life at Christmas time going to Akron freaking Ohio for a bb game, you are one Hell of a good fan. Just as an FYI to everyone else, you want to live somewhere people have trouble driving in the rain. Poor rain driving = almost never snows and a beautiful climate where the biggest concern is how hot it is going to be. This is the life.

One thing we know for sure, the sound of the bang will not be from the stall door in the restroom on the home side slamming shut.

I'll let the Winthrop fan respond, but my understanding is they had several seniors on the team last year. It is really an amazing story for those seniors. Each year at Winthrop, the seniors made the NCAA Tournament.WinthropBigStuff, if you are going to take some time for a pregame drink, there is a place near UofA called Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3). BW3 is your version of Wild Wing Cafe, only WWC has better food and more food selection, but not as much beer selection.