GP1

For those who think people who travel every week around the country have great lives, please pay attention to the following. This is a risk you take when you fly.Last week, I was on my weekly travels and I had a connection in Chicago. After completing what seemed like a 10 mile march through O’Hare (sp?), I found my gate and boarded my commuter jet. In order to save fuel and money, airlines no longer run the engines of these small planes while at the gate and there is no AC hook up with an external air conditioner like on larger planes. When the engine does not run, the air conditioning does not run making the wait to push back seem an eternity. Unfortunately, I was in the second to last row of this sweat box and I had an empty seat next to me with one person remaining to board. As I sat there, I prayed to God to either send a skinny person to sit next to me, or to end my life in lieu of having to sit next to some large fat sweaty person in this small plane. What came next was a Fantasy Island episode.I looked up to see a young, thin girl walking down the row toward me. She was the answer to my prayers from afar. Skinny is good on a flight like this. The only problem seemed to be a dreadlock hair style, but I figured it was probably just some liberal affirmation for a young girl still in college or graduate school. She also had a little bit too much mustache hair for a girl that young, but that is not important to this story.Anyhow, she sits down next to me and introduces herself as Toole and informs me that she is on her way home from Guatemala where she was learning the culture. OK, kind of weird, but everyone has to do something.While still at the gate, she decides to remove the sweatshirt she was wearing. I noticed that her clothes were kind of dirty, but I’m kind of out of touch with what young people in college wear now so I think the dirty clothes are just the style. Upon removal of the sweatshirt, I was witness to the worst armpit hair and body odor I have ever smelled on a single person in public. Toole smelled so bad my eyes were burning by the time the hour long flight was over. Not only did she have hairy armpits, but here legs were equally hairy. I'm pretty certain Toole did not take a bath her entire time in Guatemala.In addition to her poor grooming and hygiene, Toole decided to entertain me with stories of her trip to Guatemala. It was an interesting discussion for the hour long flight. You guys know the debate….the Guatemalan people are either beautiful, peaceful, indigenous people living in nature OR they are dirty savages living in the land that time forgot with only death to look forward to. I’d bet a lot of money you guys know me well enough to know which side of this debate I came down on. Anyhow, the flight ended and I learned my lesson about wishing for things…..just like on Fantasy Island.

I'll do it for a 10% finders fee.

I'm surprised to see Miami ahead of us in that one ranking. Do they know something we don't know or are they just wrong? Miami lost a lot of players after last year....I have to believe they are just plain wrong.

I love the optimism, but anything can happen in a one game playoff. Even teams with loserly pasts have been known to throw 36 yard touchdown passes with 10 seconds reamining to win championship games. Anything other than a MAC East Championship, MACC appearance and a bowl game would be disappointing. I am excited though.......

I'd still be a customer of the Odd Corner if my company didn't have random drug testing.

That just doesn't roll off the tounge as nicely as "defense wins championships." True....doesn't fit on a T-Shirt either. The same reason a "Defensive Players Have No Hand/Eye Coordination Or Brains" t-shirt will never be printed.

Actually, it is always about good QB play regardless of the league or level. I disagree.Sincerely, Mark RypienDoug WilliamsTrent DilferI've always bought into the "Defense Wins Championships" line of thinking. I think all of us have witnessed the dramatic change in Akron's fortunes attributed primarily to making the opponent use their punter a few times during a game. The Steelers consistently made the playoffs with great defenses and offenses with average QBs (Malone, Stewart, Maddox, , sorry, just starting to type the list makes me sick) and didn't win a Super Bowl since 1980. The past two seasons they had a winner at QB and won a Super Bowl. The saying shouldn't be "Defense Wins Championships", it should be "Defense Is The Vehicle Used To Get The Offense The Ball So They Can Win The Championship".I'll give you the fact that those three QBs you listed were/are not great QBs, but they years their teams won the Super Bowl, they were great QBs. In fact, Mark Rypien was MVP of Super Bowl 26 and Doug Williams was MVP of Super Bowl 20. Ray Lewis was MVP of Super Bowl 35 which Dilfer played. Kind of proves my point.When Getsy played well last year, they Zips won. When Getsy played poor last year, the Zips lost. Our defense played horrible in the third quarter of the MACC last year and we still won the game. They should get no pats on the back for giving up 30 points.

I'm sort of in the same opinion but for different reasons. I should also say that I'm a huge JD fan.I don't know what JD is making, but it is a lot more than what he was making at Pittsburgh. The next guy we have here will come from the same boat JD came from which is the young guy looking for a break or USS Help. I don't believe the money is a deal breaker for a guy coming from this ship as they are looking for opportunity and not the money.If JD is making over $200,000 per year, the school should not give him any more than a 10% raise after next season if they make it to the MACC. Any more will not be money well spent because any offer he receives from a BCS school will be in excess of $500,000 and Akron just can not afford to pay that amount. I hate it as much as the next person, but it's just the reality of being in a league like the MAC. Coaches come and go and use it to crawl up the coaching ladder.

People should be fair weather fans. They are the smartest fans of all. I'm ashamed of the amount of time, money and liver damage I put into watching bad Zips football over the years. It gives me no sense of pride or accomplishment that I sat around the Rubber Bowl with about 5,000 fellow idiots watching bad football. Akron is now producing a good product and people should want to spend their hard earned money to watch what they are putting on the field. There were a lot of smart people in Detroit December 26th.

Actually, it is always about good QB play regardless of the league or level.

Three updates on former UofA coaches and players moving around the coaching ranks.First, former QB Mike Johnson is now with the the Ravens as WR coach. Formerly with the Falcons as QB coach. Future Zips head coach some day? Probably not due to lack of college experience.Second, Gerald Carr is now the offensive coordinator at University of Buffalo. He was a former QB coach at UA and coached Mike Johnson. Doesn't even list his time a Akron in his UB biography. Probably too long ago now. Interestingly enough, his wife was the dance team coordinator for the Cavs while they live here in Akron and the Cavs played in Richfield.Lastly, Hal Hunter is now assistant offensive line coach with the San Diego Chargers. Former UA line coach and was last at Univ. of North Carolina as OL coach. He was the best coach on staff when I was in school. I don't understand why he never made it any higher than offensive coordinator at Indiana.It's amazing what a racket that coaching profession is. These guys have been all over the place the past 20 years. I can't think of a single good reason to get into that profession. I guess if it is the one single thing you are good at, you do it.Oh well, back to building my ark. How about this rain?

Only if I have enough time after you get done blowing me Vito. I have a flight to catch today.

Best point on this topic. You're right! The Browns have a huge amount of cap space and could afford to bring someone in. The question is who? Trades don't happen that often in the NFL and there isn't really anyone out there worth bringing in as a free agent. If I was a GM looking to make a trade with the Browns at the QB position, I would have to have a solid starter waiting and I would demand Frye in the trade. Who is that team? I don't see one. In all fairness, I think Frye would make a great backup QB. I just have no confidence in his ability to win games for long stretches.Don't feel sorry for Frye, he will make a lot of money for a long time in the NFL if he gets with the right team. It's just a job like all of us have except they make a lot more money than most. If they brought someone in to start in Cleveland in front of him, Cleveland could be his team for a long time as a backup. I'd love for him to back up Big Ben in Pittsburgh. He is better than anyone they have backing up Ben now.

LeCharles Bentley? Centers don't win games.

I should sue this guy for stealing my ideas. If he had really done his homework, he would have seen that two of the wins in the 7-5 season were against 1-AA teams. He would have also mentioned that Biggs saved Frye's senior season from being a complete disaster.

In order to make a comment like that you have to be a squeeler fan. I am.Probably the kind that lives in northeast ohio and has no ties to the confluence. Grew up in a town near there. I don't know how you can say that their offseason acquisitions were poor. Those were some of the best I have ever seen and certainly the best since 1999. You're drunk I hope on this May Day. The only reason players come to Cleveland is because they get drafted or nobody else wants them.As far as injuries - With the exception of the stupid K2 thing last year, injuries are just a matter of bad luck. The only luck Cleveland has. Don't worry squeeler fan, things will turn around in Cleveland and you'll find yourself torn between rooting for Frye and that team that you have zero geographical ties to.Clearly, this is your first time reading one of my posts. I won't hold it against you

Just some guy who works for me and lives out of state. I swear to God, some days I could choke the guy to death with a chain made up of dead kittens tails tied together....

Congratulations on another 6-10 season Browns fans. Between bad talent, poor off season acquistiions and injuries you all really have something great to look forward to. Oh well, I guess Arizona fans need someone to watch the playoffs with.

I think Indy picked up Betts. I never thought much of him though. He was the worst 300 yard a game passer in the history of the NCAA.

Tell that to Dilfer's Super Bowl ring.

I absolutely think the world of Biggs, but I'm hard pressed to see him in an NFL uniform. Regardless of what your wives and girlfriends tell you, size matters and I don't think people will look past his size.As far as Rohr, I don't think he has the size to play in the NFL. Middle linebackers in the NFL are absolutely huge people with speed to burn. Jay worked hard and gave it all he had, he just doesn't have the natural talent necessary to take it to the next level.

There is a photo of the guy who knifed him below his on that web page. Looks like the government let one escaped from Area 51.

I was at M-boro last year for the game. Akron did not play that well and still dominated the game. There was never a point in the game when one might have thought that MTSU would win. Looking back, that game should have been a warning shot for how bad Getsy played mid season last year, not the CMU second half.In terms of the most embarassing loss, don't we all remember the "Divine Intervention" game against Can't State in 2003 . Winning by 14 with approximately 6:30 to go and end up giving up 17 in that period of time. Hell, a first down would have won the game and we couldn't even get one. Only through divine intervention could Can't have won that game.

I'll trade you North Texas for Cincy in the win category. 8-4 is the correct answer though. Akron is 2-0 against Cincy since moving to D-1A. The odds are against 3-0. I have a really good feeling about this upcoming football season.

Your hunch is correct Capt. Kangaroo. I believe it was a nice time for eveyone who attended.....especially the social at the Winking Lizard. The Athletic Development staff should be congratulated for the nice event. The addition of Pat Kreger and Gary Bogue to the Athletic Department will do wonders for alumni relatiions. These two have been to big time schools and understand how to get things done. Most importantly, they understand what should be done. They have been at the school for less than a year and I believe in five years they will pay off dramatically.It was nice visiting with everyone at the Winking Lizard. If you were there and you are a poster, it was nice to talk with you even though I have no idea who any of you are on the board.