Elton Alexander blog

[zipboy]

Some interesting observations from Elton that did not make the print edition. Observations from Mid-American Conference basketball media day: The new head coaches added to the league -- Louis Orr at Bowling Green, Billy Taylor at Ball State and Ricardo Patton at Northern Illinois -- all said this league suits them better than from where they came. AP file photoLouis Orr is the new men's hoops coach at Bowling Green this season.In particular, Patton, (Colorado, Big 12) and Orr (Seton Hall, Big East), said the pressure of going after one or hopefully two NCAA Tournament bids in the MAC will be tougher, yet more enjoyable, than getting one of the six or seven bids from the leagues they came from. "We're all fighting for the same things here," Orr said. "I like the camaraderie among the coaches here. It's completely different from what I've been used to, even if there's less of the pie to go around." Preseason predictions: In some magazine and Internet polls, four teams were picked to finish first in the MAC East: Akron, Can't, Miami and Ohio University. Interestingly, in a quiet poll among MAC coaches and players, the team of the four with the potential to dominate -- winning 13 or 14 of 16 MAC games -- was Ohio. But the Bobcats were also considered the most fragile of the four as well.. . . Miami's Tim Pollitz chuckled at the question: "What's it like having to defend one shot?" That was no dig at the Miami RedHawks, but a reality of life in the MAC. Miami returns as a preseason favorite thanks in large part to Doug Penno's 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the 2007 MAC Tournament over the Akron Zips. Penno has graduated, but the remaining RedHawks carry the cross. "It's more pressure," Pollitz, a senior forward, said. "We need to come ready to play."Which is not unlike what Leon Williams felt after his overtime tip-in at the buzzer sent Ohio to the 2005 NCAA Tournament over Buffalo. That made the 6-8 Williams and the Bobcats defenders of one shot as sophomores. AP fileLeon Williams of OU"Looking back, that was tough," said the 6-8 senior. "The pressure the next year, I got very frustrated."On to football. They're so bad, they're good. The Akron Zips had better stick to the formula, as Saturday's game at Buffalo is the first of three games in a 12-day stretch, followed by a game next Friday at Bowling Green, then the following Wednesday at home against Ohio University. The Zips are in the midst of the MAC East Division race despite ranking 101st of 119 teams in the nation in rushing offense; 99th in passing offense, 114th in total offense; and 99th in scoring offense. Which pretty much accounts for being the statistical worst offensive team in the MAC. Yet following a bye week to fine-tune things, and with the possible return of rover back John Mackey from an ACL injury, the Zips have no place to go but up. "We've played phases, we've played quarters, but we have not played a good football game yet," said Akron coach J.D. Brookhart. Tough ending: For the second time in his career at Can't State, quarterback Julian Edelman will not be 100 percent the final four games of the season. In 2006, he suffered a shoulder injury that forced the 5-10, 190-pound Edelman to miss one game, and play at less than his best down the stretch. In the off-season he had shoulder surgery. This season, Edelman broke his right arm and is now out for the final four games. He had a plate and six screws put in during recent surgery, paving the way for true freshman Giorgio Morgan to take over at QB. Even before the broken arm, Edelman had been playing with a previously undisclosed knee injury for most of the season. Since Can't's last two head coaches have gone to having running quarterbacks as a key to their offensive attacks, four of the last five seasons' quarterbacks have missed one or more games due to injury.Rack 'em up: Despite being considered a passing league, tailbacks continued to assault defenses around the MAC over the weekend. Toledo's Jalen Parmalee rushed for 241 yards against Ohio; OU tailback Kalvin McRae was not far behind with 182 yards on the ground. Western Michigan's Brandon West rushed for 171 yards in a setback to Ball State. Bowling Green tailback Willie Geter rushed for 203 yards against Can't State, offsetting the 168 yards rushing from Can't State tailback Eugene Jarvis.Jarvis did, however, eclipse 1,000 yards on the season and now stands at 1,103. He is the first Can't State tailback to top 1,000 since Astron Whatley (1996, 1,132), and the first overall since quarterback Josh Cribbs did it in 2002 (1,057). Ouch!: Injuries hit the QB position once again in the MAC. Already this season, injuries have knocked starters out of action at Toledo and Miami. Saturday, two more were sidelined with Temple's Adam DiMechele suffering a broken leg and Can't's Edelman a broken arm in Can't State's 33-20 setback to Bowling Green. Temple's replacement, Vaughn Charlton, held up and led the Owls to victory over Miami. Eastern Michigan also went with a backup quarterback, Kyle McMahon, last week in a 26-14 loss at Northwestern.-- ealexander@plaind.com

[Z.I.P.]

Whoa, whoa! What'd he say??? Possible return of John Mackey?? Where'd he here that?

Some interesting observations from Elton that did not make the print edition. Observations from Mid-American Conference basketball media day: The new head coaches added to the league -- Louis Orr at Bowling Green, Billy Taylor at Ball State and Ricardo Patton at Northern Illinois -- all said this league suits them better than from where they came. AP file photoLouis Orr is the new men's hoops coach at Bowling Green this season.In particular, Patton, (Colorado, Big 12) and Orr (Seton Hall, Big East), said the pressure of going after one or hopefully two NCAA Tournament bids in the MAC will be tougher, yet more enjoyable, than getting one of the six or seven bids from the leagues they came from. "We're all fighting for the same things here," Orr said. "I like the camaraderie among the coaches here. It's completely different from what I've been used to, even if there's less of the pie to go around." Preseason predictions: In some magazine and Internet polls, four teams were picked to finish first in the MAC East: Akron, Can't, Miami and Ohio University. Interestingly, in a quiet poll among MAC coaches and players, the team of the four with the potential to dominate -- winning 13 or 14 of 16 MAC games -- was Ohio. But the Bobcats were also considered the most fragile of the four as well.. . . Miami's Tim Pollitz chuckled at the question: "What's it like having to defend one shot?" That was no dig at the Miami RedHawks, but a reality of life in the MAC. Miami returns as a preseason favorite thanks in large part to Doug Penno's 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the 2007 MAC Tournament over the Akron Zips. Penno has graduated, but the remaining RedHawks carry the cross. "It's more pressure," Pollitz, a senior forward, said. "We need to come ready to play."Which is not unlike what Leon Williams felt after his overtime tip-in at the buzzer sent Ohio to the 2005 NCAA Tournament over Buffalo. That made the 6-8 Williams and the Bobcats defenders of one shot as sophomores. AP fileLeon Williams of OU"Looking back, that was tough," said the 6-8 senior. "The pressure the next year, I got very frustrated."On to football. They're so bad, they're good. The Akron Zips had better stick to the formula, as Saturday's game at Buffalo is the first of three games in a 12-day stretch, followed by a game next Friday at Bowling Green, then the following Wednesday at home against Ohio University. The Zips are in the midst of the MAC East Division race despite ranking 101st of 119 teams in the nation in rushing offense; 99th in passing offense, 114th in total offense; and 99th in scoring offense. Which pretty much accounts for being the statistical worst offensive team in the MAC. Yet following a bye week to fine-tune things, and with the possible return of rover back John Mackey from an ACL injury, the Zips have no place to go but up. "We've played phases, we've played quarters, but we have not played a good football game yet," said Akron coach J.D. Brookhart. Tough ending: For the second time in his career at Can't State, quarterback Julian Edelman will not be 100 percent the final four games of the season. In 2006, he suffered a shoulder injury that forced the 5-10, 190-pound Edelman to miss one game, and play at less than his best down the stretch. In the off-season he had shoulder surgery. This season, Edelman broke his right arm and is now out for the final four games. He had a plate and six screws put in during recent surgery, paving the way for true freshman Giorgio Morgan to take over at QB. Even before the broken arm, Edelman had been playing with a previously undisclosed knee injury for most of the season. Since Can't's last two head coaches have gone to having running quarterbacks as a key to their offensive attacks, four of the last five seasons' quarterbacks have missed one or more games due to injury.Rack 'em up: Despite being considered a passing league, tailbacks continued to assault defenses around the MAC over the weekend. Toledo's Jalen Parmalee rushed for 241 yards against Ohio; OU tailback Kalvin McRae was not far behind with 182 yards on the ground. Western Michigan's Brandon West rushed for 171 yards in a setback to Ball State. Bowling Green tailback Willie Geter rushed for 203 yards against Can't State, offsetting the 168 yards rushing from Can't State tailback Eugene Jarvis.Jarvis did, however, eclipse 1,000 yards on the season and now stands at 1,103. He is the first Can't State tailback to top 1,000 since Astron Whatley (1996, 1,132), and the first overall since quarterback Josh Cribbs did it in 2002 (1,057). Ouch!: Injuries hit the QB position once again in the MAC. Already this season, injuries have knocked starters out of action at Toledo and Miami. Saturday, two more were sidelined with Temple's Adam DiMechele suffering a broken leg and Can't's Edelman a broken arm in Can't State's 33-20 setback to Bowling Green. Temple's replacement, Vaughn Charlton, held up and led the Owls to victory over Miami. Eastern Michigan also went with a backup quarterback, Kyle McMahon, last week in a 26-14 loss at Northwestern.-- ealexander@plaind.com

[zipboy]

Mackey was on the coaches show Thursday night. He is on the 2 deep and should play this week. How, I have no idea.

[ZachTheZip]

Mackey says his knee hurts less than his shoulder injury ever did. I just hope it doesn't lead to something much worse.This will get the team fired up no doubt. Like they didn't have enough motivation to win today already.Go Zips! Buck Fuffalo!