Messages

1591

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Guin Hardballers knock-off Wright State

« on: May 25, 2012, 07:19:37 PM »

Wonderful.  I checked the score in the second inning, saw that we were down 4-0, and wrote it off with the thought that fourth spot in the tournament was an accomplishment for this team.  Now we finish third, and if UIC is the opponent tomorrow, have a reasonable chance to grab the second spot.  Not bad for a team that went into the conference tournament over thirty games under .500.

1592

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Horizon League Expansion

« on: May 18, 2012, 12:12:04 AM »

Looking at the official NCAA attendance stats, Wright State drew an average of 3,903 this season, compared to 2,485 for us.  So the primary sport at WSU outdrew our secondary sport by 1,418.  Interesting.  Didn't Wright State at one time draw about 7-8,000 per game?  Very interesting. 

What these poorly informed critics fail to comprehend is that Youngstown State has 4 to 5 times more fans than any other school in the Horizon League (counting Butler as gone.)  Of course, most of these fans still ignore basketball, but the pieces for a seismic change might just (finally) be coming.  All signs point to football winning big again, starting this season.  That will translate into happy fans, some of whom might stumble into Beeghly Center during the off-season.  If these basketball recruits live up to the billing and wins continue, adding 1,500 fans per game next basketball season is distinctly possible.  And that will put us in the top third in Horizon League attendance.  It will be a fine day when these arrogant fans from non-football schools are put back into their subservient place.
 

1593

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: playoff expansion

« on: May 14, 2012, 02:47:08 PM »

Indy, why not?  Liberty has been to the FCS playoffs so often and enjoyed so much success, they have nothing further to prove.  O wait, never mind....

Seriously, why schools aspire to leave a system with a national playoff for status as a "Big-Time" joke continues to be beyond my comprehension.

1594

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Football 2013

« on: May 14, 2012, 02:42:09 PM »

You mean 2012.   Or will these changes really not be implemented immediately?  The change in the kickoff rule should help us.  Gives our kicker a better chance to reach the end zone; our defenders will be moving somewhat slower and perhaps will not overrun the ball carrier as much as we have done in recent years.

Those other rules will be a nightmare for officials to interpret in the heat of battle.

1595

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Horizon League Expansion

« on: May 10, 2012, 11:09:13 PM »

I have no idea how much Robert Morris values its football team, but the NEC conference just got their automatic bid into the FCS playoffs last season (a joke but that is not the point here.)  So if RMU left the NEC to join the Horizon League, they would either have to abandon football or find another spot for their football team.  Only option would seem to be dropping football scholarships and joining that pathetic Pioneer Conference (which will also get an automatic bid once the playoffs expand to 24 - an obscene joke.)  None of us know the true priorities of RMU officials.

1596

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Horizon League Expansion

« on: May 10, 2012, 02:27:30 PM »

For the long term, Fort Wayne would be a better addition than Oakland.  Right now Oakland, of course, has the superior basketball team, but few besides alumni in metro Detroit care about either Oakland or the University of Detroit.  Ann Arbor is basically a western suburb.  East Lansing is not that far up the interstate. By comparison, IPFW could develop some community support in that basketball-rich state if they played in a stronger league.  They also, I assume, have access to that ancient but large structure where we played several Mid-con tournament games.

Of course, nobody mentions this in these speculative articles, but baseball must factor into our expansion plans.  Oakland, Fort Wayne, or whoever must convince league officials that they will operate a baseball team indefinitely as a condition for entry.

1597

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Softball #4 Seed

« on: May 07, 2012, 03:07:32 PM »

At the early season southern tournaments, we played teams from conferences that were not nearly as good as the Horizon League.  That led to the high but unrealistic expectations.  As OleYSUfan so correctly notes, pitching is everything in softball.  Our pitchers are better than average but lack the ability to shut down the top lineups in the Horizon League.  Our batters, who are quite good, are no match for the excellent pitchers that Valpo, Loyola, and Butler have. (Butler's ace pitcher was hurt when they played us; we get her in the first round of the tournament, unfortunately.)

Campbell has done a good job lifting this program from really bad to above average.  But we can't take the next step up to legitimate contention until we get that dominating pitcher. 

1598

YSU Penguin Athletics / Congratulations to the women's track team

« on: May 06, 2012, 08:30:34 PM »

Beat Milwaukee decisively in Wisconsin, 172-129.  Numerous individual winners over the two-day span.  Men finished as the runner-up behind Milwaukee.  Weren't even competitive. (175-108.)

I think this marks the first time in about three years that a YSU team has won a Horizon League title in any sport. 

1599

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Basketball recruiting target Ronnye Beamon, 6-4 SF/SG Hammond(IN) Bishop Noll HS

« on: May 03, 2012, 07:32:57 PM »

Everybody brace yourself and prepare for incoming artillery!  Wait until the 6'10" or bust crowd hears about this "wasted' scholarship.

1600

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Butler expressing interest in Atlantic 10 per ESPN's Andy Katz

« on: May 02, 2012, 04:27:02 PM »

Indy, just a few more thoughts.

The "waiver" period is indeed wonderful.  There is no need for the conference to make a rash decision.

Didn't Oakland build a new, but small, gym while we were still in the Mid-Con?  Didn't think it was 5,000.  Might be wrong.

I have zero fear that the Horizon League will splinter.  Despite the delusions of fans at several schools, these institutions have nowhere to go.  Obviously, Butler is the first basketball-driven movement in the past decade.  That opportunity came only with their amazing run and their location in talent paradise.  Delusional fans can't seem to grasp that college athletics is football-driven and that their school ain't got the goods.

If the Horizon League really wants to save baseball, it could adopt this draconian measure.  Make it a mandatory sport.  The new rules would look something like this, with a large participation team sport offered during each season of the academic year:

For the men, offer soccer or non-league football in the fall, offer basketball in the winter, offer baseball in the spring.

For the women, offer soccer (or volleyball) in the fall, offer basketball in the winter, offer softball in the spring.

Detroit, Cleveland State, Loyola, and Green Bay would be livid about the baseball requirement.  But where would they go?  To the Summit League?

1601

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Butler expressing interest in Atlantic 10 per ESPN's Andy Katz

« on: May 02, 2012, 11:09:47 AM »

Since this certainly looks official, it is terrible news for the Horizon League.  But it is very good news for YSU.  Look at the basketball budgets that Indy posted earlier in this thread.  We go from being 2.5 million behind the league leader to 1.3 million, just like that.  And Butler can and does get prime talent; Milwaukee and Cleveland State can not recruit at that level (unless they embrace thugs that big-time powers don't want.)

You can say that the Horizon League lost much prestige and now has little chance of attaining multiple tournament bids.  True, but what has that got to do with us?  Again, if other schools in the league start to lose high caliber recruits because of the defection of Butler, that just further helps us close the talent gap.

Some have proposed leaving the Horizon League for a conference that plays at the level of the NEC.  OK, but what if the entire league now drops in quality and starts to resemble the NEC.  Again, that is very good for us.

1602

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU to build Soccer Stadium this summer

« on: May 01, 2012, 11:31:30 PM »

DiscMan,

During the spring game, I got a good look at the land between Fifth and Ford from the concourse of the stadium.  With the houses removed, you can tell just how large a space we have over there.  Nobody has seen the diagrams yet, but there will be plenty of room for a soccer field, a softball stadium, and a throwing area. 

1603

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU to build Soccer Stadium this summer

« on: April 28, 2012, 10:55:43 PM »

goodnews,

Hiring a string of bad coaches.  Starting football games at unpopular times.  Failing to inform alumni about upcoming facilities upgrades.  It is all connected.  Just condition yourself to expect nothing from this administration; then you will never be disappointed.

1604

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Basketball recruiting target Ronnye Beamon, 6-4 SF/SG Hammond(IN) Bishop Noll HS

« on: April 24, 2012, 11:14:33 PM »

Guys, I can help you out here.  Private schools set their own admissions standards.  They can let in anybody that they want.  Most schools, of course, set high standards, but about twenty years ago even Harvard and Yale admitted foreigners who barely spoke English because they considered that the trendy, politically-correct thing to do.   

As you know, the key for athletes is establishing NCAA eligibility with that test score.  If he does that, any public or private school will undoubtedly welcome him with open arms.

1605

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: 2012 FB starting times

« on: April 15, 2012, 12:34:48 PM »

I remain convinced that we should play all of our games at 7:00.  That accommodates people who work on Saturdays.  It makes it easier for parents who have youth activities during the day.  It also helps folks who just need to spend Saturday working on household chores.

7:00 starts would end about 9:45; still plenty of time for people to go out on the town.  For college students, 9:45 on Saturday is just the beginning of their evening.

Some will suggest that it gets too cold late in the year.  True, but the last playoff games were at night for tv, well attended, and I remember that at least the James Madison game was quite cold.  Anyway, our afternoon games in November have been a disaster at the gate recently, so why not try something different?

This is what frustrates me.  We cling to formulas that don't work and seem afraid or too lazy to innovate.  Play a full year's schedule at 7:00 and see what happens.