Recordpub.com - Will seats be filled in final home games?

Kent State will have more problems to fret over than just winning football games when the Golden Flashes host mid-week contests to close the 2008 home schedule Nov. 12 and 18.
With the 2-7 Flashes hosting 3-6 Temple in the penultimate home game, KSU's athletic department would have a difficult enough time trying to convince fans to come out to Dix Stadium if the game was played on a normal Saturday afternoon. But Nov. 12 is a Wednesday, and it could be a bitter-cold fall evening when the two struggling teams kickoff at 8 p.m.
The Tuesday, Nov. 18, home finale with Northern Illinois is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
In three home games this season, KSU averaged a respectable 14,630 in attendance. The last game played at Dix Stadium, though, was way back on Oct. 11 when the Flashes still had an outside chance in the Mid-American Conference's East Division race.
Now that the Flashes are 1-4 in conference play and officially playing out the string, KSU officials have to be dreading a repeat of last season when crowds of just 6,439 and 2,687 attended the team's final two home games.
"I don't fault anybody for not coming to see a team that is not winning," conceded KSU head coach Doug Martin. "But if you want to see good players, you won't see a much better football player than Julian Edelman anywhere around here at any level."
Edelman, a senior quarterback who is arguably the most electrifying runner avin the MAC, currently ranks third in the league's rushing rankings at 105.7 yards per game. He will also make his debut as the Flashes' primary punt returner against Temple.
"He is worth the price of admission," said Martin.
Add in Eugene Jarvis, another exciting runner who is finally healthy, safety Brain Lainhart, who is tied for No. 1 nationally with six interceptions, and linebacker Derek Burrell, who is tied for 13th nationally in tackles at 10 per game, and the Flashes have several exciting individuals worth watching on both sides of the football.
"There are some individuals who have done some great things out here and who are fun to watch," said Martin.
Kent State is also still chasing a few adjusted goals heading into the season's final three weeks.
"The thing that I want to get to is that we are competitive in our conference," said Martin. "Right now, we are competitive score-wise, but ... our guys have to learn to win in this conference. They have three conference games coming up. They can still finish .500 in this conference, which hasn't been done very often around here. It would be a shame for them not to get that done because they are good enough to do it."

ESPN 360, NOT ESPN2 - ESPN is betting football fans outside of Northeast Ohio won't be very interested in seeing a team try to get to .500. The network reserved the rights to a national broadcast of the Kent State-Temple game on ESPN2 back in the preseason when both teams were considered dark-horse contenders for the East Division championship. On Oct. 28, ESPN decided to instead show the game on its broadband internet network, ESPN360, meaning only a small percentage of homes in Northeast Ohio will be able to watch the broadcast. ESPN360 is only available to internet service providers who have paid for the service.

FIREWORKS, NOV. 12 - In an attempt to encourage fans to come out to Dix Stadium on Nov. 12, KSU has scheduled a fireworks show for halftime of the Kent State-Temple game.

HOOPS PREVIEW, NOV. 13 - KSU is inviting fans to the M.A.C. Center Thursday, Nov. 13, for its annual preview of the Golden Flashes men's and women's basketball teams. But this year's preview will include more than just basketball.
The school's gymnastics team will perform on the balance beam, its wrestling team will take on KSU students in a tug-of-war, its track and field team will face more students in a three-legged race.
Events involving the basketball team will include a dunk contest between members of the men's basketball team and the men's track and field team and a shooting contest featuring teams comprised of a men's basketball player, a women's basketball player and a student.
The event will culminate in a men's basketball scrimmage.
Doors open at 7 p.m.

DR. DUNKENSTEIN 2 - Kent State men's basketball recruit Greg Avila did his best Darryl Dawkins imitation Wednesday while leading Harcum College to a season-opening 98-80 win over Harford Community College in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
With 10:24 to play in the first half, the power forward shattered a glass backboard with a power dunk, forcing the game to be delayed for 45 minutes and finally moved to another venue. Avila finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. The 6-foot-5 power forward has verbally committed to play for the Golden Flashes as a junior-college transfer next season.
Here's my question: Does Avila name his dunks like Dawkins, the former Philadelphia 76ers star who smashed the glass of his first backboard 19 years ago this month? Dawkins called his glass-smashing dunk over Kansas City Kings center Bill Robinzine on Nov. 13, 1979 "the Chocolate Thunder Flying, Glass Flying, Robinzine Crying, Babies Crying, Glass Still Flying, Catch (expletive), Rump Roasting, Bun Toasting, Thank You, Wham, Bam, I Am Jam."
He named other dunks the Look Out Below, the In-Your-Face Disgrace, and my personal favorite, the Yo-Mama.