Had a chance to see the new InfoCision Stadium in Akron this past weekend. Took in the Akron-Indiana game, and you have to give the stadium a thumbs-up. Mind you, it’s all bench seating, but that’s football. There’s not a bad seat in the house. There are more than 27,000 of them, and attendance can top 30,000 when the hillside and standing-room areas are filled. I was impressed, too, with the relative affordability. Tickets are reasonably priced, parking on nearby lots is five bucks, and the food in the concession stands, while more expensive than your neighborhood burger joint, is still more affordable than the obscene professional venues. Service was fast and the lines were short -- for food, souvenirs and in the rest rooms. To be honest, everything about the experience was pleasant, and I would definitely go again.
About 18,000 fans watched as the Zips lost to the Hoosiers, 38-21, having lost their starting quarterback to a suspension and then enduring four interceptions thrown by his sophomore backup. A disappointment, no doubt, but Indiana was bigger and faster -- which is no surprise, with them being a Big Ten school. Perhaps the highlight of the day, however, was when Zippy –- Akron’s much-hyped mascot –- entered on a segway, one of those single-rider “people movers” that hit the streets a decade or so ago. As the delighted crowd cheered the erstwhile kangaroo, ol’ Zip fell right off the segway. He quickly climbed back on, whereupon it promptly stopped and lurched forward, leading to a face plant that left Zippy a little dazed and confused. If it didn’t make ESPN’s highlights that night, it should have. Sorry, Zippy, but that was funny.A nod to Jim Tressel...
CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel writes online columns that elicit all sorts of emotional responses from readers. Sometimes you agree, often you don’t. But Tuesday he posted one that was right on target. Doyel compared the coaching performances of Ohio State’s Jim Tressel and USC’s Pete Carroll over the past decade, and pronounced Tressel the better of the two. I’m not concerned about who is actually better, but I was glad to see someone on the national stage defend the Buckeye’s leader. I wrote about it here last December, recognizing Ohio State’s sustained excellence since 2001. Doyel strikes the same chords. You can read his thoughts here.Ah, the Browns!
A week ago I advocated taking it easy on the Browns after their season-opening loss to Minnesota. This time, after the debacle in Denver, not so much. That was a terrible performance, and it’s truly getting disgusting rooting for a team that simply cannot score a touchdown on offense. How pitiful can things get? That said, I’m not ready to give up on Brady Quinn, not by a long shot. I’ve mentioned before that I lived in Texas when the Dallas Cowboys drafted Troy Aikman, and the team ushered in the Jimmy Johnson era that year by going 1-15. They were terrible, something you just can’t be in Dallas, and fans and the media were wringing their hands in panic over what was happening. But, slowly, surely, Johnson molded a team that rose to the pinnacle of the sport, eventually winning two Super Bowls (and a third under Barry Switzer). Aikman struggled through his rookie year, but was, in short order, crucial to the rise of that team. His leadership and career accomplishments landed him in the Hall of Fame.
When the Browns returned to the league as an expansion team in 1999, Tim Couch (left) was the toast of the town. Within four years, he had led the team to the playoffs. Remember that? They were 9-7 that season. But Couch suffered a broken leg in the last game of the year. Kelly Holcomb rang up a ton of yards in the playoff loss to Pittsburgh, Butch Davis and the fans fell in love with Holcomb and, for whatever reason, out of love with Couch, and #2 was sent packing. I’ve always felt that Couch got a raw deal here. (Would you take 9-7 right now? I would.) That Couch pretty much disappeared from football after the next season isn’t the issue. He ended up with shoulder problems and was never the same. But he’s still the best quarterback the Browns have had in the 10-plus seasons since the team was reborn. Maybe Quinn will be better than Couch was, maybe he won’t. But two games at the helm of a pitiful offense is not enough to form a judgment on the kid. Leave him alone and let’s see what happens. The team isn’t going anywhere, so let’s stop kidding ourselves and play this season with the future in mind.
