Messages

1576

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.

1577

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.

1578

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.

1579

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. 

1580

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?

1581

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.

1582

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.

1583

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.

1584

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.

1585

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.

1586

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.

1587

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.

1588

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.
 

1589

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.

1590

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.