GP1

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.

Size doesn't matter is just a lie our wives tell us to make us feel better.

Clowns/Jax? You could go see the Steelers play the first week in October on Sunday night. My wife and I are making the short drive to Jax for that one.

Looks to me like after the top 60, they used the tried and true method of picking names out of a hat to rank the remainder.

Option 3: Get a free round trip plane ticket from my airline pilot brother to Akron leaving Friday morning. Get a hotel room Friday night, get up at the crack of dawn and be hammered outside the RB by 10:00. Watch the Zips knock off Davis and the boys on one of the last beautiful Saturday afternoon games at the RB. Go to a bar that night in Akron with all your Zips gear and laugh your @$$ off while OSU gets killed. Make comments like "at least my team won today!", "Boy, those DII teams really helped you prepare for this game didn't they!", and "Did you know 1/3 of Akron and OSU's schedule last year was the same?". That right there is a good time!Good idea except for one or two concerns. First, after a year of living in sunny and warm climate, I don't want to risk depleting the vitamin D levels I have built up. I used to think that it was nonsense that increased sun exposure increased vitamin D levels thus making for a better mood, but it is true. I am almost always in a good mood now. Second, my last game at the RB was one of the most depressing and draining experiences I have ever had as a sports fan and I vowed to never return to that rotting piece of crap. More than anything, I can't go back on my word to myself.

Zipsrifle captures exactly why it is so easy to dislike OSU these days. It has nothing to do with the team and everything to do with their fat, obnoxious fans. The team is actually very good and the coach is very good. Allow me paint a picture.Where I live now, many bars are locations for alumni clubs and NFL team clubs. During the off season, many of the fans hang out in those bars. The Michigan bar is down by a Greek restaurant I like to go to (I can't remember the name of the bar). If you go into this place, most Michgan fans are friendly, well educated and usually dressed in a nice Michigan golf shirt or something like that....they look like they care about their outward appearance. They also have graduated from Michigan, which is a really, really, really good school. Even though they know the MAC is not as good as the Big Ten, they will politely carry on a conversation about how fun the league is to watch and can probably even talk about some players from the league. Even though they may not mean it, they try to welcoming. If you go to the OSU bar, Jocks and Jills, there is a completely different scene. What you will see at an OSU bar are a bunch of loud, drunk, vulgar, really fat Midwesterners sitting around in red t-shirts tucked in to what serves as pants (usually a pair of sweat pants because they can not squeeze into any other type of pants) like a bunch of tourists with their enormous guts hanging over the pants like a wrecking ball. Most of these people have probably never stepped foot in a college classroom. If you try to carry on a conversation about the MAC, they usually dismiss it as unworthy of their time or thought. Usually, any discussion of anything other than OSU results in these people giving you the finger. Interesting that many of these people are also Browns fans, but that is another topic.The Michigan bar also serves as the Buffalo Bills fan club bar and is owned by a real Irish hard ass from upstate NY. Last year after OSU beat Michigan, a bunch of those fat slobs from the OSU bar came in and sprayed fire extinguishers all over the place. The owner of the bar was fuming and along with some of his employees "detained" the herd of cattle and had them arrested.Man, I feel like I'm getting into mid season form already. I hope I don't peak too soon........

What would you guys do if you were me? Option 1: Stay at home and go try to find the Zips vs BSU game on TV and watch the USC game that night on TV.Option 2: Get a free round trip plane ticket from my airline pilot brother to Los Angeles leaving Friday morning, stay at a friend's house for free in Los Angeles and go to the USC vs OSU sure to be blow out (sorry OSU fans, they will lose by more than 17 in this one). Keep in mind that my friend in LA is a professor at USC and is on their Athletic Department academic advisory committee and is on a first name basis with the football coach. With that would come a free ticket to the game for the great GP1 and all access to the Athletic Department pregame party where movie stars and recording artists attend. I wonder if I could get a contact buzz by standing next to Snoop Dog. I could still watch the Zips on TV in the afternoon.

Let's get back to the hat. Where can one be purchased?

You could also turn this into a positive for Frye. Remember, Frye has (I think) started more games in the NFL than Wallace so Seattle has a good idea of what Frye can do. Maybe Wallace is being given a chance to prove himself before being moved to WR.If any of you have been watching preseason NFL, you should not worry about whether Frye has a spot in the NFL or not. Most of these back up QBs playing look like it is the first time they have ever taken a snap.

When God created college football on the 8th day, he intended it to be played in the afternoon. There was a time in the not so far past that almost all college football was played in the afternoon between one and two o'clock. The ESPNization of sports has given us night college football thus proving Satan runs that network. Every college football game I went to last year was in the afternoon and it was great.The only problem with an afternoon game at the RB is people will get to see exactly what the stadium looks like. Then again, maybe that would be a safety benefit so people will be able to see the broken benches before sitting down.