Messages

1

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: 2024 football spring game

« on: April 11, 2024, 02:14:06 PM »

Winning is good; losing is bad. Calhoun won many games so that is good. But we need some perspective here. The Horizon League, led by Butler, used to be the elite Mid-Major conference, often finishing ranked between 10 and 12 in power ratings. Those times are long over. According to Massey, the Horizon League is now ranked 26, near the bottom of DI conferences. Not only did Calhoun fail to win the conference tournament, he only got to the conference final four once.

Phillips must navigate in the MVFC, the unquestioned elite group in FCS. The MVFC is often ranked ahead of several FBS conferences in the power ratings, and the best teams (namely SDSU and NDSU) would not only beat but dismantle champions in lesser FBS leagues. Surviving that league schedule and making the national playoffs was a better accomplishment than anything the basketball team did. And football was eliminated on the road by Villanova, the second best team in the playoffs (they proved that by their performance in Brookings.) Calhoun's team got unceremoniously bounced at home to a pedestrian CSU unit.

As far as basketball now being the top sport at YSU, revisit that thought next February as we are completing a 25 loss season. Because unless Faulkner can duplicate what Calhoun did the past two years in the portal, 25 losses is exactly where we are heading with this roster as presently constituted.

2

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU to Name Ethan Faulkner MBB Coach!

« on: April 02, 2024, 11:15:18 AM »

I just have one question about Faulkner. Was he actively engaged along with Calhoun in recruiting from the transfer portal over the last two seasons?  If he was, we might be okay. But if Faulkner just recruited freshmen and had little hands-on experience with the portal, then the program is in serious trouble.

3

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Report: Coach to Utah State?

« on: March 30, 2024, 11:17:58 AM »

Failing to get the West Virginia job, Calhoun turned to plan B: a huge salary increase and all the pressure that comes with it.

At this point in time, our roster for '24-'25 is a wasteland. 25 losses minimum. Of course, you could have said the exact same thing in late March one year ago, and Calhoun somehow rebuilt effectively.

I don't envy the new coach, whoever that might be. Unrealistic expectations from the fan base and an empty roster.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Horizon League Coaches/Portal

« on: March 26, 2024, 10:59:42 PM »

Although things have improved YSU is one of the all-time worst mens programs in D1 the last 30+ years.  The players the last two years came here for a pay day.  How sustainable is that moving forward?

Very good question. I think that the answer is: nobody really knows! 

Supposedly, we formed an organized NIL, the Penguin Collective, before any other school in the league. From comments scattered across the internet, we offer the most NIL money. The big question: is that true? If so, will we remain the Horizon League leader?

Maybe we will. Think about this. The vast majority of the schools in the Horizon League are afterthoughts in the large cities in which they are located. Outside of alumni, few sports fans care about Robert Morris in Pittsburgh, or Oakland/Detroit in the Motor City. IUPUI has no fans at all. Northern Kentucky must compete with Cincinnati right across the river, and UK is 90 miles to the south. Wright State is the perpetual little brother to Dayton. And Cleveland State is irrelevant within metro Cleveland.

Conversely, we are the central attraction in the Mahoning Valley. Our wealthy individuals and corporations sell out the football loges and, I assume, fill the coffers of the Penguin Collective. As long as we can pay out more than our Horizon League rivals, maybe we can "buy" more talent every year. But all bets are off if Calhoun leaves.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU new WBB head coach

« on: March 22, 2024, 10:23:05 PM »

I remember what Strollo said when he hired Barnes. He maintains a list of potential candidates SHOULD he need to replace the head coach for whatever reason. Obviously Jackson was on Strollo's list as soon as Akron refused to renew her contract, despite her relative success in Zippy land.

This is an intelligent method for hiring a head coach, especially in today's world of the transfer portal. There is simply no time for a national search from scratch. And should Calhoun leave, Strollo better have his replacement lined up and ready to sign.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Horizon League Coaches/Portal

« on: March 20, 2024, 05:55:24 PM »

Nothing could have preserved the tradition of college sports. The insatiable greed of the power conference schools has destroyed the experience for 90% of NCAA institutions. They want all the money and exposure. They want all the spots in post-season tournaments, even the NIT which used to be a worthy prize for mid-majors.

Historically, the NCAA did try to shield the majority of the membership from the greed of the bigs. From the early 1950s until the early 1980s, the NCAA retained a monopoly over the telecasting of football. To protect the gates of all member institutions, the NCAA restricted any school...Ohio State, Notre Dame, Alabama, etc... from appearing on national television more than 3 times in a two year period. The NCAA also distributed the proceeds of the tv contract that it controlled widely among the membership.

That all changed as cable tv injected millions, then billions, into college sports. The University of Georgia sued the NCAA and won back control of its athletic television rights. Soon big time conferences then made deals with the networks with no restrictions on the number of appearances. Notre Dame struck their own deal with NBC. And for 90% of NCAA institutions, no distribution of proceeds and big time games saturating the tv dial on Saturdays, snuffing out attendance.

For the last four decades the NCAA could at least control academic standards and player movement. Now that is also gone. The NCAA no longer has any real authority, as it loses in court every time it tries to interfere with the greedy aspirations of the bigs. It could not even stop Tennessee from using NIL money to lure recruits.

For YSU fans, and those of 90% of the nation's colleges, you now have a choice. As Mudclods noted, just cheer for the YSU shirt and don't worry about the individual who happens to be wearing it (however briefly.) Or just walk away from this corrupt system. For me I will just support the YSU shirt and intensify my hatred for each and all big time greed machines.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU Baseball

« on: March 18, 2024, 10:07:14 AM »

We lost the second game of the Fort Wayne series, 13-3, and the third game, 18-5. And like us, Fort Wayne is considered a bottom feeder in this six team league. Prepare for two more months of embarrassing results.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: New Women's Basketball Coach

« on: March 14, 2024, 11:04:41 PM »

This hire seems acceptable. Given that we must endure a massive and painful rebuild over the next few seasons, I was worried about the quality of the pool of applicants. I still can't forget the Hill and Martin fiascos. Jackson is light years superior to that dynamic duo. I do share with others that burning question of why Akron, a proverbial Black Hole in women's basketball for most of the past four decades, would dismiss a coach that actually won something there. I trust that Strollo has got to the bottom of that issue.

On a related note, we have two signed recruits playing in the Ohio high school championships this weekend: Cameron for Olmstead Falls and Mosley for Purcell Marion.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU Baseball

« on: March 12, 2024, 11:12:29 PM »

There are two possible courses of action here.

First, show this clown the door and try, again, to hire a real baseball coach.

Second, extinguish baseball and add soccer. That would be an abomination but Horizon League rules require the men's programs to play either baseball or soccer along with basketball.

There would be some advantages to choosing soccer: no need to rent an outside facility, vastly less expensive equipment costs, smaller rosters easily filled with the large supply of fourth-rate high school athletes who play this game in the Mahoning Valley, and the termination of embarrassment (nobody would give a rat's butt if a male soccer team lost every game that they played.)

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: It’s officially Football Season

« on: March 12, 2024, 10:51:00 PM »

ET,

King is eligible. We are not waiting for the NCAA. We have just been speculating about HOW he earned the additional year.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU Baseball

« on: March 11, 2024, 01:59:12 PM »

This is Bertolini's eighth season. I am shocked at how bad his pitching staff is, almost certainly the worst in program history by a large margin. Sure the schedule was way too ambitious, and we shall see how these guys compete in the league. But if your so-called pitchers can't throw strikes, you are doomed regardless of the competition.

I just wonder how long we can continue to waste money on an expensive program with little return. I love baseball but this is ridiculous.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: It’s officially Football Season

« on: March 09, 2024, 10:36:55 PM »

This is certainly not official, but here is how King might have got that extra year.

He played at Northern Michigan in 2019, 2021, and 2022. (Remember no football below the FCS level in the Covid year.) He earned league honors at NMU as a freshman in 2019, but only played in four games in 2021. Was he able to receive a medical redshirt for that? Pure speculation on my part. We should just be very glad that he is back as it will relieve some pressure on the new quarterback.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: It’s officially Football Season

« on: March 08, 2024, 06:24:52 PM »

Like GO, I am primarily concerned with the defense. Make the scheme simple and rely on the natural abilities of our defenders. No more embarrassing breakdowns in coverage at critical points of games.

Obviously our quarterback this season will be inexperienced, but that does not mean that the winner of the quarterback derby won't be good. Brungard is a vastly superior athlete to his father. We did not see his arm in action last season, but from what I could see in high school competition he throws as well or better than his dad. And don't sleep on Shannon, the transfer from Ursuline. He could very well earn the job.

Scanning the roster, all of those promising young wide receivers are still here. And since Brungard and Shannon can run, they will have an easier time of getting open as our opponents will need to commit a safety to run support.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Horizon League Tourney Seeding

« on: March 04, 2024, 02:53:16 PM »

Is this not the best possible bracket for YSU?  Barring an unlikely first round upset, to reach the championship game Oakland would need to beat Fort Wayne at home and probably Wright State in Indianapolis. We would need to get through Cleveland at home and then Milwaukee/Green Bay on the neutral court.

All-League selections are now out. Burns and Reid made second team, Thompson was third team, and Dynes was on the All-freshman team. Burns and Dynes also made the all-defensive team.

Slap in the face to Burns and YSU. How do you AVERAGE a double-double; record a double-double in 16 of the 20 league games, make the all-defensive team, and NOT earn a spot on the league first team?

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Women's Basketball: What does Strollo do with John Nicolais?

« on: February 26, 2024, 02:51:44 PM »

Guinpen,

I now know what happened to Barnes. I was told by an impeccable source in strictest confidence, so I will not repeat that information to anyone. I will just confirm the public information that this is personal and involved no impropriety whatsoever. This has nothing to do with the basketball team or any of the other coaches. So Strollo must decide on the basis of the options that I outlined in my first post.