Notes From Fairbanks

[BirdZip]

The team had some trouble making it to Fairbanks, but they eventually made it. In Anchorage, for whatever reason they had to pick up and recheck their bags, and in doing so, they missed their flight. They had to wait for the next flight out, and didn't end up making it to Fairbanks until ~11PM Fairbanks time. That's about 20 hours after they left Cleveland.We checked out the Carlson Center this afternoon. They have ice sculptures for each of the teams outside of the main entrance with colored lights shining from behind (though for some reason the lights on ours were purple). We've got pictures but had trouble with the upload--the Captain's got 'em and will post them tomorrow. The sculptures were really good.We managed to meet the team in the hotel lobby this evening. My wife talked to the coaches a little bit. They said the team shot around in the Carlson Center for about 45 minutes, and then went over to the University proper for a while. Cedrick practiced today, but he'll be a game time decision.The team and a number of fans (OK, a small number, but still a number) went out to dinner at a local restaurant. We and the kids sat at a separate table, but it was clear that the team was nice and loose. Milum in particular was having a pretty good time. They seemed to enjoy my daughter's "Can't State Stinks" chants, and as everyone was leaving, my son sent each one off with a "Go Zips". He got a number of hadnshakes and fist bumps, but the high five from Jeremiah was the highlight.Weather forecast--cold. High of 4 tomorrow with snow. Wind has been non-existent, though, so it's bearable.South Carolina Upstate is in the hotel just down the road. Should I head over and pull the fire alarm around 3AM??? Nah! We don't need it.First win tomorrow.Oh, and how come no-one has posted yet that Can't State lost to Detroit??? Now their web site is bragging about their impressive 6-point win over Hampton. Clearly,

[BirdZip]

And it sounds like the Zips are going to Puerto Rico next year, but the deal's not yet done.

[Valpo Zip]

Thanks for the updates Bird zip, it seems like you are having a great time. Please keep the updates coming.By the way, Jeremiah is a wonderful guy with a unique character with a lovely sense of humour. I absolutely love how he handles himself on and off the court.

[ziptrumpet87]

Oh, and how come no-one has posted yet that Can't State lost to Detroit??? Now their web site is bragging about their impressive 6-point win over Hampton. Clearly,

Got my SI in the mail yesterday; they had Can't as the MAC rep to the NCAA tourney, but we all know better Go Zips! Bring home the championship!

[Zip Watcher]

We got to the hotel about 6PM local time on Thursday. We chose to split the trip up .. flew Wednesday night up to Seattle & stayed the night, then took an afternoon direct to Fairbanks. Worked out pretty well. The flight to Seattle was hell due mostly to crowding and strange happenings around us. Seattle to Fairbanks was about 3hrs .. not too bad. We're doing the Anchorage thing on the way home, so it's good to know we've got 3 hrs for that connection.Weather up here isn't as harsh as I expected, though we haven't been out much yet. The lack of a wind makes it cold, but not so biting cold.Looking forward to seeing folks & the game tonight. Should be a good time.Even up here, it's clear to all that

[ZZZips]

Clips from this mornings local paper:The first article has a funny quote from KD http://newsminer.com/2007/11/16/9931The second article highlights tonights gameshttp://newsminer.com/2007/11/16/9922#more-9922Almost 9am here and still pitch dark outside. Feels warm outside (+4) compared to yesterday morning (-5).

[GoZips88]

Clips from this mornings local paper:The first article has a funny quote from KD http://newsminer.com/2007/11/16/9931The second article highlights tonights gameshttp://newsminer.com/2007/11/16/9922#more-9922Almost 9am here and still pitch dark outside. Feels warm outside (+4) compared to yesterday morning (-5).

"Special guestsTennessee State gives a whole new meaning to administrative support.Some teams in the 12-year history of the tournament have been accompanied by only an athletic director.The Tigers of the Ohio Valley Conference are joined at the tournament by the university’s president, Dr. Melvin N. Johnson; its dean of students, Dorothy Lockridge, and dean of residence life, Peggy Earnest."Sounds like an all-expenses-paid Alaska boondoggle to me, courtesy of the taxpayers of the State of Tennessee! Gotta love Dambrot's sense of humor .

[UAZips]

You're making me miss living up there GoZips, thanks for the updates!

[BirdZip]

The team headed out to North Pole, Alaska, this morning to visit the school that is sponsoring them. I was surprised to see them heading out so early when they had an evening game, especially with the time change, but I suppose that is part of the deal with the tournament.You don't realize how good the Akron cheerleaders are until you sit through a routine by UAF's cheerleaders, including one with a relatively substantial beer gut.As to the game, there aren't exactly tons of Akron fans up here, so we managed to get seats behind the bench. Here are some things I picked up that I thought were worthy of noting:Everyone seemed grumpy, with short tempers. I feel the same way, so perhaps that's still part of the time change. Several times I heard Dials and Wood jawing at each other about one not passing to the other. Wood seemed to make his point and move on, but Dials seemed pretty irked.At one point in the first half, KD yelled something out to Jimmy Conyers, and Jimmy jawed back at him. Coach turned around to his assistants and exclaimed "he's arguning with me!" Surprisingly, he left him in, but not for long, and he didn't play a whole lot after that. He was kind of sulking on the bench.Milum's athleticism was on display today. Several very nice plays on offense.Conyers and McKnight seemed somewhat lost or overwhelmed. They'd go over the play in the huddle and then they'd not be lining up right when they went out on the court. Hopefully just first game jitters. McKnight was pretty animated in trying to get the guys riled up in the second half, though.Goddard seemed to be disinterested. During the huddles, he didn't pay much attention and headed back to the bench before the break. I suppose part of me understands that, if you're a senior and you're not getting much playing time, you get peeved, but the other half of me thinks perhaps that's part of the problem.Coach chastised the team a lot for playing selfish ball. We talk a lot about worrying about the reliance on the 3. Coach seems to feel the same way. At one point he was yelling to "stop shooting that sh*t and get it inside".Did not do a good job protecting the ball. A lot of weak passes that usually got picked off. Wood played some pretty good defense on their 7'2" center. Nate played good D too. I thought McNees did well when he was in there. That's going to be a pretty solid shot as he continues to mature.Someone posted an article a few days back about Cedrick, and it talked about him working out to never be tired in a game. He looked that way--full of energy and a ready and able spark.A good night's rest may do them a world of good. It seemed to me like they were out of sorts. We'll see tomorrow how they come out.Oh yeah. Here's something I thought was interesting, at least from the standpoint of ZipsNation. If I heard correctly, the Zips have a play called Ohio State.We took some more pictures at the game--I'll try to get them posted if I can. UPDATE: Posted pictures on "Birdzip's Fairbanks Pics" string.

[RowdyZip]

Firstoff...BirdZip...thanks for all the great info and pics. It's nice to have a courtside reporter :thumb: Second...if I read the bracket correctly we'll be playing Portland State tonight at 8pm Alaska/12 Midnight Eastern time. I'd have to think this gives a distinct advantage to Portland State who is dealing with only a one-hour time difference. Any thoughts?

[ziptrumpet87]

Firstoff...BirdZip...thanks for all the great info and pics. It's nice to have a courtside reporter :thumb: Second...if I read the bracket correctly we'll be playing Portland State tonight at 8pm Alaska/12 Midnight Eastern time. I'd have to think this gives a distinct advantage to Portland State who is dealing with only a one-hour time difference. Any thoughts?

I'd agree. Sounds like they all could use a nap and the flight snafu may hurt us in that respect. Hope they get it together and shoot better tonight. <------ (had to throw that in )

[ZachTheZip]

The four remaining team in the tournament are Colorado State (Beat Oregon State), Tennessee State (beat Alaska), Akron (Beat SC Upstate), and Portland State (beat Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis). All remaining team are solid mid-majors. I think Akron just needs a good night's rest and then they should be out of whatever funk they were in yesterday. Hopefully they practice their free-throw shooting. Quick question: do we have a free-throw coach? Some teams have them, and it helps the team dramatically. He wouldn't need to be a full-time coach, just a guy that shows up to a few practices to work on the proper form with the players.

[GoZips88]

Everyone seemed grumpy, with short tempers. I feel the same way, so perhaps that's still part of the time change. Several times I heard Dials and Wood jawing at each other about one not passing to the other. Wood seemed to make his point and move on, but Dials seemed pretty irked.At one point in the first half, KD yelled something out to Jimmy Conyers, and Jimmy jawed back at him. Coach turned around to his assistants and exclaimed "he's arguning with me!" Surprisingly, he left him in, but not for long, and he didn't play a whole lot after that. He was kind of sulking on the bench.

My son and I attended the Nevada game a couple of years ago in Reno and this section of your post sounds all too familier. We had the good fortune of sitting behind the Akron bench in Reno and I swear I could have written the same two paragraphs. Somebody barked back at KD in Reno and he made a similar comment to the players and coaches on the bench. Sounds like that is a button you don't want to push. KD invited us into the locker room following the game but I thanked him and passed on the "opportunity." Everyone was grumpy in Reno as well AND they had it handed to them by the Wolf Pack. If I remember correctly, travel out to Reno from Akron didn't go smoothly either. A beer gut on a cheerleader - male and ESPECIALLY female - do NOT mix. I'm assuming we won't have a picture of that.KD and the team will get things sorted out as the season moves forward. A bit of a shaky start last night but we got the 'W.' Planning to take a decent nap this afternoon so I can pull the midnight-2AM radio shift. Thanks for the updates!!!