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I still have my 2010 Fusion…

I still have my 2010 Fusion Hybrid and it's been one of my favorite cars.  Rust starting under the Passengers doors (which is super common apparently).  154k and it still is a great drive.  Gonna miss it when it gets replaced later this Spring.

Your assumption is that…

Your assumption is that there is a pool of referees just waiting for better pay/gig before they referee basketball that the College sports can pull from if they just 'invested more money' into the profession?  Or that maybe they could get NBA refs who NO ONE ever complains about??? Like NO ONE ever complains about NBA reffing. Not even ONCE! Where in this magical realm do these refs exist?

I hear about local High School reffing (and witnessed it this year) in a lack of quality. The problem is the people willing to ref are reffing. There are not better refs just waiting in the wings for better pay. If you want to ref and are capable, you likely are already doing that now.

Are people unable to ref the current sport of basketball with any consistency. Yes... it's just a matter of fact.  I don't see any solution without some form of technology.

Nintendo Switch

We have both the Nintendo Switch (hard to find) and a PS4. I have kids younger than 8. They don't play the PS4, but they love the Switch. I've bought all the 1st party games so far and they like to play ARMS the most. We will also be getting Splatoon 2 in a few days.

Games we own on switch:

Legend of Zelda

ARMS

Mario Kart 8

Snipperclips (download)

Just know the Nintendo Switch is much more than the initial $300 you might invest in just the system. You will obviously have to buy game(s) at $60 a pop. Then you will likely need some travel bag for it, extra controllers which are expensive, a screen protector to prevent scratches on the portable screen, a SD card to expand the memory if you download games, and more games. Also note that in 2018 they will start charging $20 a year for online services (which many games use like ARMS and Splatoon 2).

Note: If you choose the PS4 there will be a similar investment in games, controllers, and online services.

 

Pods

Here is my hitlist:

Pod Save the World (Politics)

Pod Save America (Politics)

Serial (Human Interest)

S-Town (Human Interest)

Truth and Justice (Crime)

The Watch (Great during Game Of Thrones season)

Waking Up with Sam Harris (occasionally)

Joe Rogan Experience (Depends on guest)

Various NPR programs

Have you seen a store??

Have you walked into a Toys'R'Us in the past 15+ years? They look terrible. While I'm sure DB is A problem, he isn't THE problem.

The overall asthetics are lacking, and yet they charge a premium for the products they sell (Compare Lego prices). With no value added I rarely find my self shopping there over a Target or Meijer... or Amazon.

When I think of getting our kids toys, the last place that comes to mind is Toys'R'Us.

Inevitable

Was this not inevitable in the whole scheme of things? At some point the 'wrong' person or team would get in trouble and open season would follow. Playing chicken with the rules.

NCAA power?

Couldn't the NCAA ban membership from states that hinder there ability to operate? The state here believes they have the power, but couldn't the NCAA just drop Ole Miss/Miss St., etc from participating in NCAA regulated events.

Simmer Down

I'll preface this that I actually watched the video... and it was obvious he was hamming it up for the Georgia guys. Former UM commit Holloman was filming so I'm sure Solomon was playing to that too.

So if you're upset at what he said... an 17-18 year old kid. You need to just take a step back off the ledge and take some deep breaths. It will be alright.

I just saw his apology and some of the responses to it are borderland insane. If you getting fired up about stuff like this you need to just vent somewhere else than the kids Twitter account.

So Internet

This is the most 'internet' OP that I could think of. Tell everyone that they shouldn't be jumping to conclusions too early on OSU... then declare you think we'll be undefeated and in the most hyped up game 1 1/2 months from now. Cool.

Scoring?

You score 31 and give up 37, but it's your offense that is the problem? Oh okay Rex.

A little Hawaiian love

We've got some wings marinating for the grill and I'm putting together some Spam Musubi to represent the Aloha spirit.

Trolling

Can I buy this shirt for my wife (MSU grad) who doesn't know anything about football nor anyones name? The look on her face when her family (many are State grads) called her out for the shirt could be priceless.

Getting Old

It's getting really old that the 'press' is sick of hearing from Harbaugh. Hey, news flash, the only reason he is on TV, on the Radio, written about in ad nauseam is because of you and your breathren. Stop following him around like a little puppy dog. Stop looking for clicks off his coattails.

No one if forcing you to do anything... Paul Finebaum. No one is forcing you to read about Harbaugh, watch him on TV, listen to him on the radio. So just stop. If you don't like something then why would you bang your head against it.

1-3-1 Defense

You're wrong about the bottom guy needing to be both quick and tall. We ran this defense a lot in high school and our bottom guy was always a point guard (smallest guy on the court). The bottom guy needs to be able to get to the corners to defend/trap with a wing. The guy in the middle works a triangle from the free throw line to the ball side block. The weakness is and always is the short corners. If someone can get to the middle with the ball the opposite short corner can be exposed.



The guy on top and the wings are/need to keep the ball from going middle. Opposite wing shifts middle to take away that. Michigan actually lacks a quick long lanky defender for the top.

Is the SEC okay with Golf?

Any word if the SEC has put forth a proposal to ban coaches from Golfing in Pro Ams?  When do coaches get their FREE TIME!!! Saban doesn't have time for this!

That's it

I think they kept trying to make the point that Kylo was indeed not anywhere near a master in the jedi/sith world. That's why he had those moments of self loathing about how good he wanted to be. We are not even sure who or what Snope is. He isnt necessarily a Sith Lord and after the original trilogy all the jedi and sith were hypothetically wiped out sans Luke. So whose training who in this world?

Kylo Ren vs Newbs

They gave us the reason these two newbies could hang for even a second against Kylo with a lightsaber. He was hurt... Which they made this point more than once during the fight.

As for Rey sudden emergence with the force. I think too many fans are locked into a specific formula for how the force emerges in a character. Some requirement for training by a jedi is not needed. The expanded universe shows that. Look up the story of Savage Opress (Darth Mauls brother)

Take it like this...

Without a 4 team playoff the championship game would've been FSU and Alabama... End of story. So not only does Oregon get to flex its muscle against FSU... But they were given a chance to play for a championship.

Family Divide

My dad is one of ten kids. His brother (my uncle, duh) went to Notre Dame some years back on a wrestling scholarship. My dad's five sisters all went to Michigan State. The three other brothers attended schools without much football tradition (I.e. Albion) and became Notre Dame fans to support the one brother. So the divide is 5 Staters, 4 Domers, and my dad.. The lone Michigan fan. So we were raised as black sheep. My mothers side has two UofM grads and thus my mom easily slide into supporting Michigan. For me Notre Dame is a fun inter family rivalry and has produced a lot of fun banter between all of us.



My favorite memory was going down to Notre Dame with my two uncles and tailgating / touring the campus. It was such a great day and really awesome experience. The game was a close one... oh wait... no it wasn't. It was 2006 *explosions, fireworks, ground tore open and the devil appeared* My uncles are good sports so the drive home wasn't unbearable. #GoBlue

Draft momentum

I've been doing this for awhile and in leagues with newer or less knowledgable managers you will see what I call 'draft momentum'. If someone sees Payton Manning go second then suddenly people start thinking they will need to grab a QB before they miss out on the one they want. Next thing you know 8 of 12 picks are for QBs. My older leagues don't sway far from what you expect based on provided rankings. People that have played awhile seem to stick more to there own picking strategy rather than be influenced by a pick made out of the perceived order.

Let adults decide their pay

I'm going to be in the super minority here, but I believe college athletes should be given full rights to negotiate their compensation at an individual level with the Universities. I think it is a travesty that in America, in 2014, we still have forms of indentured servitude and people widely accept it as ok.

These are adults playing a game and the result is the profit of billions of dollars that they don't have the ability to make a rightful claim to. Whether you are college educated or some schlub off the street, you should always be allowed to negotiate your value when someone wants you to perform 'work'. Football and Basketball are forms of 'work'.

You can say all you want that you 'love' the game and don't want to see it change, but what right do you have to impose your 'feelings' on someone elses ability to ask for compensation. I don't care what you 'think' these players should be compensated.  They should be the ones determining that.  The average career for a professional athlete is short and to think they have to give up to '4' years at a reduced rate of compensation is asinine.

I find it completely hypocritical for coaches being paid millions, get to spout anti-compensation rhetoric. When have the Universities put their foot down and told these coaches to go find a PRO job if they wanted to get paid? Why is anyone supporting 'amatuer' sports allowed to profit off the athletes. Why are coaches not paid as University employee rates along with administrators and professors if they are just part of the educational system.  It's ridiculous.

For all the athletes that play sports that don't generate a profit or sit on the bench, you shouldn't be compensated at the same level as those that are better athletes and contribute more value to the University.  Your sport might just be an 'extra-circular activity' for you and maybe not a job that requires compensation. That should be negotiated at all levels.

O'Bannon's Lawyers

Should simply allow the NCAA talking heads to keep speaking. They are boxing themselves in with contradicting statements.

Great review... A few more points

You missed Beckerman, whose play is absolutely horrendous. With such a great distributor and possession guy like Bradley on the field, Beckerman is not. Watch every touch Beckerman makes. He is playing hot potato. Doesn't look upfield, won't dribble the ball, and has spacing issues. He really limits the US on offense when he is in there. That is really the spot on the roster Donovan should have had. Even if Klinsmann claims Donovan is a forward to Beckerman as midfield.



I don't mind the young guys on the roster. They likely won't play, but you give them an opportunity to experience the World Cup and play/practice with the best you have to offer. We lock a few of them in with the US team by giving them this opportunity.



Dempsey looked out of sorts with his teammates. Made some nice moves and would attack when he felt like it, but never hooked up with any of his passes and wasn't in sync with the others. His attitude looked bad and more than once just gave up if he lost the ball. He needs to get on board. I wonder if him sitting the first game was some sort of punishment by Klinsmann. Maybe Dempsey is bent about Donovan.



I think Altidore played well, but he doesn't have that killer instinct. Years ago when people knocked him for being weak on the ball and being unable to hold possession, we excused that because he was aggressive and creative. Now he is very good at getting the ball and possession, but lacks that imagination to make something happen. We missed out on him putting it all together at the same time. He will never be the great striker we had hoped for, and need. Which then grinds my gears about Donovan not being with them. We need more proven scorers.



The defense was bad but doesn't the potential just seem so much higher than ever before? We have some really good athletes back there. They just need more experience. This World Cup will be rough, but sets up nicely for the next four years.

Gambling

I think he is implying if the player was receiving money to affect the outcome of a game. Not just if the person also happens to gamble.

The Reason

Right now as working conditions seem fair and people are more grateful for having a job than not in this economy, unions won't seem like a good idea. Why pay money to something you don't have need for. I'm sure union popularity will cycle back into America if things get bad for employees.

Donnal's a 4

So out of necessity he will have to play the 5.

But are these guys even being recruited?

Is there someone at a MAC school right now that choose the MAC over the BIG 10 because they had a choice due to playing time? You will have a hard time providing that evidence. If I'm still limited to an 85 man roster I'm not recruiting any differently with or without money. I still go after the same needs. There will still be the same number of athletes looking for a team... They will go somewhere. This big drop off in talent already exists, I'm not sure where this argument of bad teams suddenly getting worse fits into this discussion.

Not much different that it already is...

Am I right? Arms race? The spoils already go to the richest. This isn't news. Does Alabama lose anyone they want to a NON-power conference? Does Michigan lose to them? Nope. Do guys pick the MAC over the BIG 10? Nope. Same guys would be going to the same type of places. The battles will heat up between members of the power conferences, but to say this really changes things for the bottom is ignoring the fact that they are already at the bottom.

Offense or Defense?

Do you want your defense... Which has been struggling all year and in this game... Or your high powered Offense ... Which could be considered one of the best in the last decade. Fouling while tied goes against the grain and maybe not following basketball etiquette. With Michigan's team I wanted to see the offense determine our fate and we could have been playing for the tie or win if we gave up some free throws.



My other thought is that we should have given the Harrison twins a different look. We just played straight up man to man. How about a trap on the first pass or handoff. These are freshman. Doing things they expect put them in a place to succeed. This has to be put into place long before the last 10 seconds of this game, but I like the idea that you might reveal a different defense/look for a team running on instinct and a short clock.

Why draft him so high

When you could just trade the pick to move down in the first and maybe grab other 2nd rounder or another pick for next year when they lose their #1.

Rule

I believe they actually made mention that you can't dunk after the refs have come out on the floor. They said the dunk occurred just as the refs came out and that is why it was called.

People forget...

Breaking Bad had plenty of slow episodes and we all just forget as we look fondly at the whole picture. BB did a whole episode about a FLY!!!! I remember watching that episode thinking I might go more insane that Walter was driving himself. It didn't move the plot along. It was slow... It was boring... It was much about nothing. If you skipped that episode you could've picked up at the next and have been just fine. So when people itch and moan about The Walking Dead, all I can say is TURN IT OFF. Unlike Rick, no one is holding a gun to your head... And no one will miss you for not watching.



As for them not dropping the F-bomb. Why don't you just drop that into there yourself and put yourself in a happier place. Talking Dead actually went into some detail on this and said they filmed the line the way you wanted... From the comics... But ultimately went without. I'm guessing it will be on some Director's cut one day.



For a story that has covered so much ground in 4 seasons I don't know why people are in such a rush to get somewhere. Are you late for something? Is the show behind schedule? Do you just want it to be done already? Shame on the writers for trying to get you invested in characters before chopping their heads off.

Thank you Brian

But your going to need to write another fleecing to all the awesomely entertaining, highly thoughtful, insanely credible responses that will no doubt spawn from this thread.

Agree with your points

@French West, I totally agree with many of your points.  Don't you think that once the O'bannon case is resolved that all hell is going to break loose regardless?  It seems inevitable that things are going to change.  What are some realistic outcomes, and I think the one I propose is a possibility.  Title IX will loom large if you are suddenly expected to pay 'student' employees money.  Universities might need to cut ties with that albatross, but the infrastructure and interest is there so those Athletic Departments will look for a way to survive.  I think becoming an non-educational based entity is an option.  Maybe it could be a non-profit system, mabye it goes even farther, but I think the burden of 'student' employees will change the entire structure.

For your concerns over the Ann Arbor Wolverines or Lansing Spartans, I would like to believe the Universities could 'license' out their name/likeness to maintain the current team names. There could still be a symbiotic relationship without the financial ties/ educational ties.

The only Fallacy

is that so many people beleive there is some sort or 'purity' in college sports not seen in the professional levels.  Sure the players are not making big bucks and flaunting that with flashy cars and threads, but where do you think these billions of dollars are being funneled into? The pockets of Administrators, coaches, and all those that reap benefits of selling a product they are not producing.  The money exists, it is just about who is getting it.

When the O'Bannon case successfully shatters the NCAA's weak cover story, there will be a change and my prediction is that the Athletic Departments will look to become their own entity separate from the Universities they represent.  They will then have to challenge TItle IX on the basis that they are no longer part of the Education system, but their own company and it is in their best interest to only pursue revenue generating sports, and/or compensate their employees according to the revenues their sport provides.  'Student Atheletes' will then be employees that are directly paid with a possible contingency that they attend college by paying their own way (this might not even matter).

If schools didn't pursue the almighty dollar.  We didn't have a Bowl system handing out lavish gifts and trips to Administrators and Coaches.  Coaches weren't being paid millions of dollars that is ever increasing.  A basketball tournment being shown on 4 channels all day with MILLIONS of dollars in advertisements being paid.  Then maybe you could make a case that it is about the 'student' athlete.  It is not, and hasn't been that way for a couple decades.

The only people in the system that want the system to be maintained are those that benefit the most under its current iteration.  Have you ever seen Jim Delany sink a 3 pointer or score a touchdown?  What is his salary?  Do you think he is owed more than some of the greats to have played college football or basketball?  Do you believe he brings more 'value' to the product?  Delany might be owed every penny he makes, but he gets to negotiate his pay.  He can improve the terms of his employment.  Where does the student athlete get a say in their well being?

Long gone is the real meaning of 'amateur' atheletes.

Just a side note.  Both college football and basketball have increased their schedules over the years for their 'student' athletes.  Did the student athletes ever have a say in that?  Could they have refused more games/practices in respect for their educational responsibilities?  The NFL has proposed expanding the regular season, and must reach an agreement with the NFLPA.  That will not happen without additional compensation.  Who protects the 'student' athletes well being?  Who represents them?  Taxation without representation.

Out in California

Drinking a Julian Hard Cider: Black and Blue... Go Blue!!

So many lies you forgetting about the 'fake' sister

After 'Lennay' dies the sister 'U'ilani' creates a twitter account and Manti tweets about it.  Tweets that she is the 'realist' people that he knows.  So we are to believe he continues to get conned by fake accounts on twitter like it's going out of style.

If Teo wasn't part of this then he might go down as even dumber than my favorite 'dumb' jock, Andy Katzenmoyer.

A few thoughts

Ace,  I like what you are doing here.  I want to clarify some things as I know some of the terms are being misused.

What Nebraska is doing wouldn't be called a 'soft' hedge as it isn't a hedge at all.  The defender on the player setting the pick is being told to sag into the lane and defend that along with the roll.  This is to prevent Burke from attacking the rim and  force the ballhandler to shoot or pass.

The defender on Burke is working hard and beating the pick so he disrupts any shot attempt.  That is just the defender being better than the screen.

It's easy to blame McGary for the screen this time (or always), but it is and often is the ballhandlers responsibility to get a good pick.  Burke isn't forcing his guy into the pick nor is he 'rubbing shoulders' with McGary that would really create that clean pick you need.  Burke needs to 'lead' his man into the pick and with him not getting close to McGary he allows the defender to beat that pick.  It sometimes requires Burke to fake/dribble the other way to set his man up which he isn't doing.  Burke's defender is being told to play 'over' the screen.

There are a lot of ways to beat that sagging defender, none being as obvious as hitting the outside shot.  Which Michigan was unable to do this game.  Nebraska was going to hope that Michigan wasn't shooting well and keep the possesions down to have a chance this game.  It's apparent that when Michigan is able to attack the rim they are really efficient at finishing.

1 - 3 - 1 Defense

We played this a lot in high school and I know the concept well.  You have to be agressive with it.  There are holes that the offense can exploit if you are not trapping the ball and causing the offensive player to make a quick decision.  As the 1 - 3 - 1 shifts with the ball it leaves the back side of the defense open to cross court passes (short corner is where you want to get the ball for easy layups).  You need the offensive guy not to have time to see that and react.  Trapping at halfcourt with both the sideline and half court line in play is ideal, so that would not be 'too' agressive. 

We would sometimes play the defense at 3/4 or full court depending on the other team's skill at breaking presses.

NOTE:  All zone defenses have weaknesses.  Most presses are broken if you can get the ball into the middle of it.  The 1 - 3 - 1 is a more aggressive defense because it really commits your defense to the ball side/middle of the court.  The traps are important to cause panic/confusion/limited sight lines.

FYI

This is Tawianese not Chinese.  If you check out Hot Clicks on CNNSI they link to these videos all the time.  NMA tv likes to make them for various sports related incidents. 

EDIT:  The language is Chinese, but they are made by a Tawianese company.

Point Spread

This is just what I had seen a local sports writer who 'predicted' the final score as being 35-17 for LCC.  Nothing formally posted as a point spread.

Logic would suggest

that smaller schools can be much easier to manipulate the score if you have 1 or 2 players on the take.  The point spreads can be larger and thus the team could still 'win' but not cover the spread.

Snap Count

I believe during Martin's post game interview he mentions that ND was changing up their snap counts to mess with Michigan's timing.  This would definitely affect the ability to generate 'quick' blitzes.

More than the slow blitzing issue is the fact that ND consistently checked plays away from the blitz.  They did a good job or running away from the pressure or throwing over the blitzers.  I think the RPS should be negative for the day, but I believe Mattison is running a high rish / high reward defense on purpose. 

Also it was mentioned by someone in the post game presser that they wanted to keep Michael Floyd bottled up.  In essense that did work to some extent.  Floyd didn't get to break off any deep routes on us.  So you might give up the catch in hopes to keep it in front of you.  I thought Michigan could have jumped more of those out routes, as Kovacs did for his interception and Hawthorne did for a pass breakup on one of the late drives for ND.

Pssst!

Va Tech is in the BCS bowls (top 8 teams) so uh.... yeah 8 teams would still get you Va Tech in a playoff with Major conference auto berths.  Also, Va Tech was undefeated after that James Madison debacle.

Possibly from San Diego

I've been contemplating whether to make the drive up from North County San Diego, but that's quite the haul and I'll need to find overnight accomodations... which I'd totally do.  However, that's a 3 hour drive without Friday rush hour traffic.  Not so sure I can handle that.

Perfect opportunity...

to get some former players involved by letting them vote for a player to have the #1 jersey, along with the coaches and current players.  Then mix in a little Baseball Hall of Fame voting structure where a player would need to get a certain percentage to be given the #1 jersey that year.  So if no player was given over lets say 60% of the vote then the #1 jersey would be left vacated until the next year.

Leads with left shoulder

I'm not so sure he led with his helmet.  Sure looks like he led with his left shoulder.  Since his head is properly attached to his shoulders it followed soon after.  He definitely didn't have the crown of his helmet aimed at the Illinois player.

Why is this here??

And what's the point?  This was neither clever nor interesting.  It needs to be removed.

You say good bye...

as if we'll miss you.  Adios!!!

Personnel Issues

I totally agree with Tim here.  If there was someone better we would have seen them on the field already.  I'm not sure why your assuming Ray Vinopal... a freshman... would be such a better choice.  Our secondary is young, and making mistakes.  This was to be expected.

All last week 'experts' on this board where begging for Man2man and 4 man rushes...  well you got what you asked for.  How did that work out for ya?