Messages

1576

YSU Penguin Athletics / 2012 Football TV Schedule

« on: July 30, 2012, 07:23:01 PM »

The MVFC web site (www.valley-football.org) has just listed the tv schedule for conference teams.  Look under the category MULTIMEDIA.  The good news is that all five of our road games will be available via internet.  ESPN3 will show the games at Pittsburgh, SDSU, and Western Illinois.  MVFC TV, obviously an in-house production, will do the games at NDSU and Illinois State.  Here is the bad news.  I expect WFMJ will pick up the NDSU and Illinois State games from the conference, but ESPN in the past has refused to allow  local stations to tap into their ESPN3 webcasts.  So expect to fork over money to see those.  Of course, if you have AT&T DSL, ESPN3 comes to you free.

1577

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: PSU to YSU / 2013 Recruiting Class

« on: July 23, 2012, 01:11:53 PM »

I would assume that Penn State players will transfer to other Big Time programs.  Under these circumstances, they would be eligible immediately.  However, if Wolford can grab a few, that would be wonderful.

Ursuline does not have many DI prospects this year.  Their quarterback is getting some DI offers, but he is not as good as Nick Wargo and we probably are not interested.  Mooney has two impact defensive players, a linebacker and a corner.  Both have already committed to Nebraska.  Mooney has two big offensive linemen (6"3""-320 and 6'6"-270 as listed in last year's program.)  Don't know if either are DI prospects or if we are interested.  Here is a question for our football alumni.  Mooney has a junior linebacker who is going to be a big star.  But he might get overlooked because he is short (5'11" program height is really about 5'9".)  So can somebody that short play linebacker successfully at the FCS level?

1578

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: I know this is a sore subject BUT.....

« on: July 20, 2012, 06:03:32 PM »

Here is my two cents.  Things have changed radically in the past year.  The Horizon League without Butler is highly likely to sink from a RPI of about 12 to about 20.  That will be very good for us since we could compete very well in that type of DI basketball league.  We go from being unable to compete in a basketball league to being highly competitive by doing exactly nothing.  Can't beat that.

In the past year, NDSU has restored prestige to the MVFC and repaired some of the damage to our reputation caused by the yearly playoff disappearance of Team Choke (Northern Iowa for the uninformed.)  Conversely, the CAA has lost Massachusetts, is losing Old Dominion after this season, and might lose Villanova whose program remains in Big East limbo.  If we could just get our gridiron act together, I would now prefer to join NDSU as driving forces within a revived MVFC.

But my opinion really does not matter.  Every reliable source to which I have access tells me that our future includes the Horizon League and the MVFC.

1579

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: No Guins on the Preseason Buchanan List

« on: July 19, 2012, 07:24:46 PM »

We are coming off the two worst defensive years in the modern history of the university.  Baby steps.  Let's just hope that we can first become "average" on that side of the ball.  Because with this offense, average will be good enough for the playoffs.  But the fifth title won't emerge until average transforms into "very good."

1580

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Coach Gillispie Meets with Media in First Day at YSU

« on: July 12, 2012, 11:57:48 AM »

He is making a very positive first impression.  He deserves support from all of us.  But we must be patient.  This is going to take several years.  He is inheriting a team with very little talent.

1581

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Cook Named Sport Network Pre-Season All-American

« on: July 09, 2012, 01:50:19 PM »

Remember that All-American rankings are based largely upon statistics and that it is very difficult for a YSU back to rack up the stats since we rotate two and sometimes three backs during the course of a game.  Bell is very good, but he benefited from the presence of that PAC-10 qb who has now graduated.  With ISU now lacking that passing threat, let's see how Bell does against stacked defenses.  As you note, third team for Cook is really absurd when you consider that they picked Bryant and Eastern Kentucky backs on the second unit.  The poor competition in those leagues should disqualify those guys from any national honors.

1582

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Missouri Valley Football Conference Blog

« on: July 05, 2012, 07:05:29 PM »

Your analysis is fair and reasonable.  Allow me to just add several things.  First, "youth" and "inexperience" on defense last season is an understatement, as YSU often started six freshmen on that side of the ball.  The theory is that these kids will not repeat the inevitable mistakes that caused us to lose several winnable games.  We shall see.  Just as importantly, YSU brought in a new defensive coordinator with extensive experience at places like Georgia Southern and UCLA.  Again, the theory is that he can fix those horrible defensive shortcomings that are particularly embarrassing to YSU fans.  Our national titles were won primarily with defense.  Finally, the offense returns the entire starting lineup from, statistically, the most prolific squad in school history.  Given Youngstown State's tradition and past success, this is very significant.  Improve the defense and special teams to "above average" status; look out.  If the defense continues to struggle, the offensive production will once again not matter.

1583

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Pasquale out as a baseball coach

« on: June 18, 2012, 03:02:24 PM »

The coaching fraternity knows exactly how Strollo treated Florak.  Comments like this should not surprise anybody.  I stand by my prediction made earlier in this thread.  Olympic sports will continue to be an embarrassment until the culture changes within the athletic department. 

1584

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Detroit pulls scholarship from incoming freshman

« on: June 15, 2012, 11:53:13 AM »

Let's see.  Thirteen scholarships.  Yep, that is confusing.  Easy to see how McCallum lost track.  I wonder how many Horizon League teams are operating below the scholarship limit?  Probably not many.  We could have a distinct advantage here.  Here is the recruiting pitch: Hey Brent, want to play against McCallum, and his kid, twice a year?

1585

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Devont'a Davis leaves team

« on: June 14, 2012, 01:54:18 PM »

A refugee from a Big Time program, Davis came to campus with a clear and unobstructed path to success.  The corners suffered from injuries and inexperience.  All he had to do was win his position and help to improve the defense.  He could not do that.  By the end of the season, he was not even starting.  Now, after evaluating him during the spring, the new defensive coordinator had him buried on the depth chart.  It is best that he moves on.  This is yet another reminder that Big Time programs make recruiting mistakes and that many transfers never cut it.

1586

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Horizon League Expansion

« on: June 10, 2012, 11:06:45 PM »

There are a lot of errors in that article, especially in the enrollment figures in the chart.  It will be interesting to see just how serious the League is about maintaining the auto bid for baseball.  Here is one solution.  Develop a new policy that states that each member MUST participate in three of the following four men's sports: soccer, basketball (obviously,) track and field, and baseball.  Right now we have two members, Green Bay and Cleveland State, that just take the spring season off, except for individual sports like golf and tennis.  For a so-called Division I school, that is absurd.  So Green Bay and Cleveland, start a track program or field a baseball team.  Lacking track facilities, my guess is that both schools would opt for baseball.  The penalty for not engaging in three sports from that list: a substantially reduced share of NCAA basketball money.

1587

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Athlon Top 25

« on: June 06, 2012, 11:47:50 PM »

We are also ranked, barely, in the top 25 in two other internet polls.  Whoever made this Athlon poll did their homework.  Notice the relatively low ranking for Montana (with a program in chaos due to crime and coaching turnover) and UNI (with their suicidal two games against Big Ten opponents.)  NDSU lost a few key pieces, and I respect these guys for not following tradition and merely placing them at the top.  And it looks like somebody expects that we will fix our defense and special teams.  Sure hope that their insight is indeed sound.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Pasquale out as a baseball coach

« on: May 31, 2012, 11:31:31 PM »

0505,

Many American baseball players today come from the middle and upper middle class.  These families have some money, and these kids want to go to residential party schools.  On the alcohol and drug index, YSU comes up deficient every time.  And that is not really a bad thing.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Pasquale out as a baseball coach

« on: May 31, 2012, 07:07:09 PM »

Indy,

You can confirm this from our mutual friend at WFMJ, but I distinctly remember him stating that Florak quit out of frustration over the small baseball budget.  That was especially ridiculous as that man sent player after player into professional baseball.  Allowing for a player here and there, the kids recruited by Pasquale were remarkably inferior.

The odds of an increase in the baseball budget for a new coach are zero.  Every department in the university is experiencing cutbacks, and that will include athletics.  So unless money is moved internally from administration to coaching (and we know that will never happen) the new guy will be working with the same funding or even less.  Under these conditions, we can rule out anyone with experience and a good track record.  All signs point to a very young coach who will embrace the opportunity and not be troubled over the low level of funding.

1590

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Brendel, Raicevic Sign Letters of Intent With Program

« on: May 29, 2012, 07:04:55 PM »

I'm not sure how to react here.  On the one hand, I want our university to acquire the best athletes available, and a few months ago I urged men's basketball to recruit eastern Europeans.  That being said, the purpose of Title IX was supposedly to provide opportunities for young women that the men already enjoyed.  I kind of translate that as American women who are definitely not getting those opportunities as college tennis becomes dominated by Europeans at the Division I level.