FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[formerd3db]

The announced crowd at Selby was 639...
Sure...the Puppies were in-town...BUT, 639??!!!
Tiger Week....GO BISHOPS

aueagle:

Hey, my friend, I know what you mean, but don't feel bad.  Last week at the Hope/Alma game, the announced (listed) crowd at Alma's Balhke Stadium was 927.  While the Hope/Alma rivalry is perhaps not as intense as the Albion/Hope one is (at least not in recent years), still, that is a pitiful showing for that game.  Granted, Alma is having a terrible season; at that time they were 0-6 (they are now 0-8), so their crowds are smaller this year and...it was their fall break, so many students were not even on campus.  The latter type of  situation I still have trouble understanding why a school would schedule a home game for the weekend of their annual "fall break", although I guess that is perhaps unavoidable on occasion in some seasons.  Yet, were I an athletic administrator at a college, I certainly would try to avoid that at all costs.  Anyway, it was somewhat amusing, but on the other hand sad, as 1/3 of the crowd was the Alma College band and the other 1/3 was Hope fans!

That said, you would think that OWU would have had a bigger crowd also even at that game since they are doing better this year.  I shouldn't say this, however, but what the heck, why not? ...while I once did not question announced/listed crowds for our school, I am now wondering a bit because the officially listed crowd last night and at an earlier game this year was less than what was actually there IMO- actually I know they were more than listed because I personally counted believe it or not!!! .  Oops!  I hope that doesn't get me in trouble!

[NCAC4Life]

The announced crowd at Selby was 639...
Sure...the Puppies were in-town...BUT, 639??!!!
Tiger Week....GO BISHOPS

Eagle if you are as close to this program as you let on you would know the game was at Hiram!

[Desertraider]

The announced crowd at Selby was 639...
Sure...the Puppies were in-town...BUT, 639??!!!
Tiger Week....GO BISHOPS

Eagle if you are as close to this program as you let on you would know the game was at Hiram!

Damn! 639 people were able to find Hiram! Guess its time to move it further into the sticks.

[HCAlum86]

The announced crowd at Selby was 639...
Sure...the Puppies were in-town...BUT, 639??!!!
Tiger Week....GO BISHOPS

Eagle if you are as close to this program as you let on you would know the game was at Hiram!

Damn! 639 people were able to find Hiram! Guess its time to move it further into the sticks.

I guess a 40 mile drive East on 422 from a metropolitan area of 2,000,000 is too complex for some people. Stay at home, watch Doomsday Preppers, and live life through your television, sir.

[ADL70]

Overheard in a bar Saturday night in Cleveland:

"Where are you living now?"

"Hiram"

"We heard you were in Iowa."

Seriously, it happened.  It was all I could do to not jump in and say "Might as well be Iowa."

[The_Bishop]

The announced crowd at Selby was 639...
Sure...the Puppies were in-town...BUT, 639??!!!

Even more odd was the complete removal of the visitor's stands at Selby and how they painted "HC" at midfield for the Hiram game.

[sigma one]

formerd3db:  Schools don't arrange their own meetings of other conference schools.  The conference schedules all conference games.   In your conference, the MIAA, I'm surmising that the schools schedule their own non-conference games in the early weeks of the season.  Then in October, when conference play begins, the conference office set the schedules.  That's one reason why there is a conference office.  This is so in all sports.  Imagine the chaos otherwise. 
     Even in the conference, the process is a bit mind-boggling.  Some teams want to preserve their rivalry/rivalries, and they make requests to the conference.  Probably Albion/Hope on the final weekend is one example.  Some schools have the same fall-break weekend.  On and on.
     Months ago, this board discussed the question of why School A and School B "don't just play."  Well, that's great from the fans' point of view because it's a match up they want to see.  But it's not that easy.  For starters, they (and often their administrations have a lot to say about these things) both have to want to engage.  On and on.
     Yes, it's too bad that a game has to be on campus over fall break when students are scattered.  Unavoidable, too, unfortunately.  Overthe past 10 or so years, I'm remembering that Wabash has played a home game at least 4 or 5 times over its fall break. 

[HCAlum86]

The announced crowd at Selby was 639...
Sure...the Puppies were in-town...BUT, 639??!!!

Even more odd was the complete removal of the visitor's stands at Selby and how they painted "HC" at midfield for the Hiram game.

Perhaps the best comment thus far.

[bashbrother]

I wish to forget about the offensive performance from Saturday.....  unfortunately,  I cannot. 

The defense was stellar again....   and showed little sign of the flu....   I guess it was an offensive flu.   Also,  not taking anything away from Oberlin,  they played very hard as the always do.   BUT,  we should be able to get a yard (1-yard) with our first or second team or any combination of both.... against Oberlin.   All day long,  we kept trying to take runs to the outside and were thrown for a loss on 7 runs... SEVEN.   Stella is not fast laterally and he looked very slow on Saturday.  Klembara showed energy and continued growth. 

My concern this whole season has been:  what happens when we meet a team that stops our run and has talent in the defensive backfield?   This is where I believe that this 2013 Little Giants Team may be in trouble.  Is that team Witt?  or is it in the postseason?

Putko is young and still learning and..... he will be fine.....   He is a talented kid and just needs to find it again.   (Watch the Hanover game again)  In time,  he will become more comfortable looking defenses off and make better decisions when flushed.... and hopefully the "happy feet dance" on the zone read play will settle.

OUR DEFENSE is amazing! 

WAF!

[Wabash Hokie]

I wish to forget about the offensive performance from Saturday.....  unfortunately,  I cannot. 

The defense was stellar again....   and showed little sign of the flu....   I guess it was an offensive flu.   Also,  not taking anything away from Oberlin,  they played very hard as the always do.   BUT,  we should be able to get a yard with our first or second team or any combination of both.... against Oberlin.   All day long,  we kept trying to take runs to the outside and were thrown for a loss on 7 runs... SEVEN.   Stella is not fast laterally and he looked very slow on Saturday.  Klembara showed energy and continued growth. 

My concern this whole season has been:  what happens when we meet a team that stops our run and has talent in the defensive backfield?   This is where I believe that this 2013 Little Giants Team may be in trouble.  Is that team Witt?  or is it in the postseason?

Putko is young and still learning and..... he will be fine.....  I personally believe something happened to his confidence after the whole "week off" thing.   (Watch Hanover game again)  He is a talented kid and just needs to find it again.   In time,  he will become more comfortable looking defenses off and make better decisions when flushed. 

OUR DEFENSE is amazing! 

WAF!

Bash Bro - I hear you brother.   As gifted as the Wabash defense has proven to be,  the offense has not come along as I had hoped.  As the season (or post-season) unfolds, I anticipate that the lack of a quality passing game is going to be our demise.  The running game has withstood two season-ending injuries and RBs keep stepping up.   I don't have the confidence in Putko that you have.  I agree that he is young but I haven't seen much of anything to show he is learning.   With its current personnel,  Wabash is going to have a devastating defense for at least the next two years.  If a QB can be developed over that time, Wabash could trap lighting in a bottle and have a truly special team.  I am admittedly ignorant of the depth at QB.  I did not see the one game that Putko missed.  When the  season started, I was hoping to see a raw talent that had to be controlled or dialed in.  I just don't see that.  It appears that he is more of a game manager than a difference maker.  That is OK for 9/10's of the schedule this year and will be enough to beat DePauw.  I hope that in the Witt game, Putko will show me completely wrong.

[wally_wabash]

If I never see the phrase "game manager" used ever again- especially when used to denigrate a player- I'll be a happy man. 

[Wabash Hokie]

If I never see the phrase "game manager" used ever again- especially when used to denigrate a player- I'll be a happy man.

If you have a better phrase, I would be happy to use it.  Putko appears to have a limited upside and has not expanded the capabilities of this team.  I was hoping that next Wabash QB would make the guys around him better.   I don't see anything in him that shows he has the talent to do that.  I am not denigrating him - only describing his play to date. 

[formerd3db]

formerd3db:  Schools don't arrange their own meetings of other conference schools.  The conference schedules all conference games.   In your conference, the MIAA, I'm surmising that the schools schedule their own non-conference games in the early weeks of the season.  Then in October, when conference play begins, the conference office set the schedules.  That's one reason why there is a conference office.  This is so in all sports.  Imagine the chaos otherwise. 
     Even in the conference, the process is a bit mind-boggling.  Some teams want to preserve their rivalry/rivalries, and they make requests to the conference.  Probably Albion/Hope on the final weekend is one example.  Some schools have the same fall-break weekend.  On and on.
     Months ago, this board discussed the question of why School A and School B "don't just play."  Well, that's great from the fans' point of view because it's a match up they want to see.  But it's not that easy.  For starters, they (and often their administrations have a lot to say about these things) both have to want to engage.  On and on.
     Yes, it's too bad that a game has to be on campus over fall break when students are scattered.  Unavoidable, too, unfortunately.  Overthe past 10 or so years, I'm remembering that Wabash has played a home game at least 4 or 5 times over its fall break.

Well, not exactly.  Hope has played games over their fall break as well, but it is not "the routine" necessarily.  As you well know, the conference schedule is made up several years in advance, just as are agreements for non-conference games, such as the MIAA-CCIW challenge.   And with regard to scheduling of a school's fall break. that too, is for the most part scheduled well in advance.  However, it doesn't necessarily have to traditionally be the same weekend every year (nor is it always), although for some schools it certainly is (i.e. 3rd week in October, etc., etc.).  Of course, it is unavoidable at times, however, I don't believe for a second that if the athletic department administrators and the school administrators at "whatever" institution wanted to work it out such that fall break could be designated on a weekend of an "away" game in "whatever" future year, that it couldn't be worked out.  Alternating one weekend "back and forth" each year IF necessary would not necessarily be a problem. Yet, whether or not the two administrative bodies would be willing to do that or actually do it is another question/issue.  At a school like ours (Hope), however, I do not think it is impossible or that it couldn't happen.  Then again, I've always been an "idealist" and my comments about having home games not potentially scheduled on one's fall break were made in that realm.  

[formerd3db]

Oops!  You guys are welcome to berate/blast me too!  Nothing against my friend aueagle at all, but I blindly followed his lead and didn't look at the schedule closely and missed that it was @ Hiram, not @ Selby Stadium .   Hilarious comments you guys, all had me laughing with your great levity and especially at myself for that!!!

[aueagle]

Seeing I've been drinking beer and surfing
Lousy waves at Folly Beach all weekend,
I don't care where the game was played..
639 is 639