I wonder if there’s a reason why every candidate in a “Dem Primary” (as labeled on the picture) that Brian promoted is a Democrat? Maybe we can get some really smart people to figure out this mystery.
And you can ask why he didn’t do the same for a Republican primary but I imagine that it doesn’t really matter who the Republican candidate is in the general election.
They took no risks AND every single ball bounced right back into their hands. That punt muff could have been a Michigan touchdown. At the end, the ball bounced right back up to Lewerke. Feels bad man.
Every football coach in America wants players who are both big and fast, even Rodriguez. But you know who is both big and fast? 5 star and top 4 star recruits. There are only so many to go around. Rodriguez definitely failed to upgrade his recruiting when he came to Michigan.
If you want to watch a game of football that is 11 big and fast guys playing on both sides of the ball, you can watch the NFL. In college football that can't happen, although it is depressingly close at Alabama and Ohio State.
So the real chess match is what do you emphasize when you can't get the big and fast guys. Rodriguez emphasized speed, Hoke emphasized big but recruited better than Rodriguez. Harbaugh seems to emphasize big on O and speed on D and recruit even better than Hoke.
This series is great and I especially love that you include where Michigan would be ranked -- although I feel like you could just have them actually included in the rankings.
I don't get all the draftageddon hate. I usually skim the first 2 posts to see thoughts on the top players. After that, I skip them and anyone who doesn't want to read it should do so. If all that research is improving a great series like this or Alex Cook's ranking of the Power 5 teams then it is worth it.
Also, only 12% of respondents said they watched fewer hours of NFL if I recall correctly. So on top of the unknown validity of the poll itself, it is a very small sample that watched less NFL on tv. Basically ~3.1% of respondents said they watched fewer hours because of protests and ~3% of respondents said they watched fewer hours because of domestic violence.
I still watch Modern Family and laugh a lot during each episode but you are not really missing anything by not continuing with that show.
I really like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. If you liked Ellie Kemper's character on the office then I think you will like Kimmy as well.
It all depends on what is considered "nuggets for a year." At the most generous, I would assume that he gets one 10-piece order every day for a year. I don't know how much a 10-piece order costs but we can assume it's around $4 (which should be safely overestimating the cost in order to get an upper bound on cash value). Rounding 365*4 up, we can estimate a taxable value of $1500.
I don't know anything about this guy but I doubt he is in a super high tax bracket, so let's tax it at a rate of 15%. That would make him pay $225 in taxes on his free nuggs. This would drop to $150 in the 10% bracket or increase all the way up to $594 if he is in the highest tax bracket and pays a marginal rate of 39.6%.
Using the $225 of taxes and a cost of $4 per 10-piece, he is getting a good deal if he uses it at least 57 times.
A question which I am not sure about is what the value would be if they actually send him 365 physical coupons. Usually those coupons say something like, "cash value .001 cents". I don't think he could but I would have to look into it and see if he could claim that as the value of this income.
This won't really matter for a while -- probably around 18 months -- but never do anything fun that you don't want to do over and over and over and over and over and over and over and ....
You might think, "hey my kid will cheer up if I blow up this balloon and let go so it flies around the room." And you'll be right, they will love it. But then 178 times later you are light headed, passed out on the couch and your kid is screaming "Again! Again! Again!"
In these features it would be helpful if you listed what game time the play you are talking about occurs. I don't know why but my browser often doesn't go to the right spot in the video. Awesome interviews this year. Keep up the good work.
I actually got it worse than my 1 year old. He had little bumps all over but never acted sick at all. Then I got a rash all over my hands and arms and basically had a fever and no energy for a whole day. It was probably the sickest I had felt in 20 years. The next day I was at about 50% and then I felt fine after that although the bumps took a few more days to disappear.
I agree that staying in Evanston will be best.
Definitely go to Bat 17. It was my favorite place to go for a quick meal when I lived there. I've only been back to Evanston 2 or 3 times in the last 5 years so there are new options I don't know about but I always try to go there when I can. Plus it was inspired (maybe even helped/mentored) by Zingermans.
When you make a tackle you have to keep your head up and eyes on your target. Lowering your head increases the risk of injury to both you and the player you're tackling. I agree that making these targeting calls is very tough and a lot of them wind up being terrible calls (or no-calls) but any time you lower your helmet you are making a dangerous tackle.
If you are sick of the food posts stop reading here and refrain from commenting.
But it needs to be said one FINAL time what an absolute first class job Brand Jordan and Nike did with the entire cooking transition culminating in the release of the food. As a food "aficionado" of sorts the Adidas years were a nightmare, from the different flavors of maize (first too bright then too dark) to the ridiculous recipe templates. Those days are now long behind us, and the partnership with Nike has restored a sense of tradition and swagger that was missing previously. Being the only university in the country with Jordan is simply incredible and trendsetting. Jordan and Nike brought a sense of modernism to the kitchen and dining room without sacrificing what makes our food the best in sports. Another big thing is they finally got the flavor of maize (amarillo) correct. Just nailed it. Tastes absolutely BEAUTIFUL and really pops off the plate without being overwhelming.
Standing O to Harbaugh, Nike, Jordan, the AD, and everyone involved in the transition. Sunday night was fantastic and yesterday was tasteful and cool. Job well done.
JBA: Those are sweet pics. Very nice paint job and congrats on beating State.
Now, slightly OT but related to your technical help, how do you embed tweets in comments? I tried to do that yesterday but when I pasted in the embed code that Twitter provides it starts with blockquote so then it just showed a small empty yellow box.
I agree. I think the recruits generally think it's funny and like it but it probably doesn't make much of a lasting impression usually. Except for this case since it has gone national:
Edit: I can't get the tweets to embedy all pretty like:
https://twitter.com/mdm_21/status/512046771199934465 And now E! News aired a segment on these two photoshopped covers. So this recruit just got put on basic cable thanks to this WF recruiting gimmick. Pretty cool for him.
Well, that 97 Nebraska team didn't give up a single yard to any B1G teams in conference play. So I guess they were the best B1G team ever. Too bad Michigan was rotated off the schedule that year. It would have been nice to get a true winner of the B1G.
"Michigan would frequently press the single X receiver away from NDs twins or trips:"
There were two receivers at the bottom of the screen -- i.e. twins -- and a single receiver at the top of the screen who was pressed.
Good call on the ineligible receiver at the bottom of the screen though. Checking the video at mgovideo http://mgovideo.com/2014-michigan-vs-notre-dame/ it turns out this was actually the formation when Notre Dame called their second timeout of the first half. I imagine the formation mistake possibly contributed to that. They didn't have enough time to change who was on the LOS and who wasn't.
Strange. It cut out after the first half for me. I assume everything went exactly like the first half and Michigan won by 25-30 points. Thanks for uploading it.
The main accrediting board for music schools was founded in 1924 which is in the same time span as accreditation was becoming widespread.
There are two options for Michigan to offer a degree in football in the current landscape:
Offer a football degree inside any of the current colleges (LSA or Kinesiology would make the most sense). During their next review the accrediting board would force them to remove the major or lose their accreditation.
Offer a football degree through an entirely new college "The Ross-Wilpon College of Athletics". This would then be an unaccredited college which means all the students would be ineligible for financial aid. So it would only be open to scholarship players. In some states it is illegal to list a degree from unaccredited colleges. The downsides of unaccredited colleges goes on.
Yes, the football schools could band together and form an accreditation board for Sports Performance. But it would have to get approved by the Department of Education so it's not like it would necessarily be automatic.
Combat pay is not the only exemption to income tax. It is a rare exemption that makes a cash bonus (not a reimbursement) paid to an employee non-taxable though. Anything of value that you receive is income. If someboy gives you $5 for your birthday, it is $5 of income. It is not taxable income because it is under the limit for gifts. If you trade somebody your $50 video game for an $80 blu-ray player you just made $30 of income. That is taxable (although you won't report it and there is virtually no way to catch you).
A large part (perhaps the majority) of the IRS tax code is deciding what different forms of income count as and whether they are taxable or not (and what form of taxation they will fall under). Here is a handy chart that gives a small slice of the taxable vs non-taxable discussion:
The IRS also publishes a "short" 36 page document that gives an overview for many (but far from all) scenarios of income. In fact, in this Publication 525 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p525.pdf) it explicitly says the tuition payment will not be taxable to an employee
You can exclude a qualified tuition reduction from your income. This is the amount of a reduction in tuition:
For education (below graduate level) furnished by an educational institution to an employee, former employee who retired or became disabled, or his or her spouse and dependent children.
For education furnished to a graduate student at an educational institution if the graduate student is engaged in teaching or research activities for that institution.
This argument will only apply to undergraduate student-athletes but I think BiSB's logic is correct that the tuition payments would not be taxable for 5th year graduate students either. But even if you don't believe him, there are numerous ways to avoid taxation. For example, the University could set up a tax-free "529 plan" and contribute the tuition and room & board amount to that account. The athlete would then "pay" tuition from that account that Uncle Michigan (I mean University of Michigan) generously contributed to.
There is no bearing of this ruling on the taxability of tuition scholarships. The IRS has already stated in Publication 525 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p525.pdf) that any educational institution may provide tax-free tuition reductions to any EMPLOYEE:
You can exclude a qualified tuition reduction from your income. This is the amount of a reduction in tuition:
For education (below graduate level) furnished by an educational institution to an employee, former employee who retired or became disabled, or his or her spouse and dependent children.
I will note that this does require graduate students to be involved in teaching or research activities. BiSB's analysis I think would still prove that the tuition is not taxable.
BUT even if you don't believe him, there are numerous ways that this could be avoided. For example, the university could contribute (tax-free) the amount of tuition and room & board to a "529 plan" for every student-athlete. Then the athlete would "pay" his tuition out of this plan that Uncle Michigan so generously contributed to.
Interesting links about Haikus. Apparently November counts as early winter but I feel like any month of the regular season is by definition fall. So here's a late autumn linked to early winter haiku run.
Good question. It's actually coming this week! There will be the half-season update. And then a couple more in the 2nd half of the season and the end of season update.
Although I wish the first update hadn't come the week that Michigan dropped out :(
Unfortunately NDNation has made a separate game board that is only visible to registered members. That was always an interesting read after a Notre Dame loss. Although I felt like I needed a shower after visiting the site.
I agree with your prediction that with a loss next week they will be ranked in the 20s. I don't think the voters will put a 1-3 team in the polls. They'll be near the bottom of receiving votes.
I also don't really think they should be ranked a 1-3. Good teams need to win some of those games. Losing all 3 might be a sign they aren't Top 25 material.
Now, after beating Vandy, Tenn and Mizzou with a 4-3 record and those specific losses, they'll definitely be ranked again.
I'm on the Georgia side with you this week, so hopefully this is all just a thought exercise.
This is why early polls are fun. There's a lot of potential movement and more things to discuss. The last few weeks, the positions are somewhat locked in place and can't change very far. Boring!
If the voters could be trusted to ignore their previous ballots then the early season polls have no downside. The problem is that too many voters take their previous poll and make minor adjustments. I would rather fix this problem than eliminate early polls (although it is the much harder solution).
If Georgia loses a close game to South Carolina (say 28-27) this weekend they will be 0-2 but they will have only lost to the #4 and #6 team in the country by a total of (in my example) 4 points.
Will they still be in the Top 25?
SHOULD they still be in the Top 25?
Right now, I think 11th is a good spot for Georgia. Will the voters be able to have an 0-2 team in the Top 25 though? Questionable.
In week 3, they'll crush North Texas. In week 4 they could lose to LSU the #9 team. Can a 1-3 team be in the Top 25?
Recent Comments
I wonder if there’s a reason why every candidate in a “Dem Primary” (as labeled on the picture) that Brian promoted is a Democrat? Maybe we can get some really smart people to figure out this mystery.
And you can ask why he didn’t do the same for a Republican primary but I imagine that it doesn’t really matter who the Republican candidate is in the general election.
Inspired by your post, I spent the rest of the night after the Bama game making this:
I thought the exact same thing. Maybe the title should be "Note to President Schlissel: ..."
But
I think he knows that.
But which is more important? Some meaningless game in the B1G/ACC matchup, or the big rivalry game with our in-county opponent?
That's ironic!
JBA: Those are sweet pics. Very nice paint job and congrats on beating State.
Now, slightly OT but related to your technical help, how do you embed tweets in comments? I tried to do that yesterday but when I pasted in the embed code that Twitter provides it starts with blockquote so then it just showed a small empty yellow box.
35-38 Utah wins :(
I agree. I think the recruits generally think it's funny and like it but it probably doesn't make much of a lasting impression usually. Except for this case since it has gone national:
Edit: I can't get the tweets to embedy all pretty like:
https://twitter.com/mdm_21/status/511921142358372352 They photoshopped another player with Selena Gomez (as Ace linked to above)
https://twitter.com/mdm_21/status/512046771199934465 And now E! News aired a segment on these two photoshopped covers. So this recruit just got put on basic cable thanks to this WF recruiting gimmick. Pretty cool for him.
Well, that 97 Nebraska team didn't give up a single yard to any B1G teams in conference play. So I guess they were the best B1G team ever. Too bad Michigan was rotated off the schedule that year. It would have been nice to get a true winner of the B1G.
You're talking about the second picture, right? The top picture was right before a timeout.
"Michigan would frequently press the single X receiver away from NDs twins or trips:"
There were two receivers at the bottom of the screen -- i.e. twins -- and a single receiver at the top of the screen who was pressed.
Good call on the ineligible receiver at the bottom of the screen though. Checking the video at mgovideo http://mgovideo.com/2014-michigan-vs-notre-dame/ it turns out this was actually the formation when Notre Dame called their second timeout of the first half. I imagine the formation mistake possibly contributed to that. They didn't have enough time to change who was on the LOS and who wasn't.
UM and ND
Should play in every sport
Every year. Fuck 'em.
Ghost of Bcook it is your lucky day! The ghost of Joan Rivers has deemed your request worthy:
The main accrediting board for music schools was founded in 1924 which is in the same time span as accreditation was becoming widespread.
There are two options for Michigan to offer a degree in football in the current landscape:
Yes, the football schools could band together and form an accreditation board for Sports Performance. But it would have to get approved by the Department of Education so it's not like it would necessarily be automatic.
Because there is no accrediting board for sports performance degrees.
Combat pay is not the only exemption to income tax. It is a rare exemption that makes a cash bonus (not a reimbursement) paid to an employee non-taxable though. Anything of value that you receive is income. If someboy gives you $5 for your birthday, it is $5 of income. It is not taxable income because it is under the limit for gifts. If you trade somebody your $50 video game for an $80 blu-ray player you just made $30 of income. That is taxable (although you won't report it and there is virtually no way to catch you).
A large part (perhaps the majority) of the IRS tax code is deciding what different forms of income count as and whether they are taxable or not (and what form of taxation they will fall under). Here is a handy chart that gives a small slice of the taxable vs non-taxable discussion:
The IRS also publishes a "short" 36 page document that gives an overview for many (but far from all) scenarios of income. In fact, in this Publication 525 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p525.pdf) it explicitly says the tuition payment will not be taxable to an employee
This argument will only apply to undergraduate student-athletes but I think BiSB's logic is correct that the tuition payments would not be taxable for 5th year graduate students either. But even if you don't believe him, there are numerous ways to avoid taxation. For example, the University could set up a tax-free "529 plan" and contribute the tuition and room & board amount to that account. The athlete would then "pay" tuition from that account that Uncle Michigan (I mean University of Michigan) generously contributed to.
There is no bearing of this ruling on the taxability of tuition scholarships. The IRS has already stated in Publication 525 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p525.pdf) that any educational institution may provide tax-free tuition reductions to any EMPLOYEE:
I will note that this does require graduate students to be involved in teaching or research activities. BiSB's analysis I think would still prove that the tuition is not taxable.
BUT even if you don't believe him, there are numerous ways that this could be avoided. For example, the university could contribute (tax-free) the amount of tuition and room & board to a "529 plan" for every student-athlete. Then the athlete would "pay" his tuition out of this plan that Uncle Michigan so generously contributed to.
Interesting links about Haikus. Apparently November counts as early winter but I feel like any month of the regular season is by definition fall. So here's a late autumn linked to early winter haiku run.
The morning cold
Warmed briefly by the Devins --
This day burns bright?
(Fuller -- MGoBlog)
Michigan's hopes --
Like flowers out of season,
Fall to the ground.
Good question. It's actually coming this week! There will be the half-season update. And then a couple more in the 2nd half of the season and the end of season update.
Although I wish the first update hadn't come the week that Michigan dropped out :(
Unfortunately NDNation has made a separate game board that is only visible to registered members. That was always an interesting read after a Notre Dame loss. Although I felt like I needed a shower after visiting the site.
No. This is Michigan. Our alternate uniforms are the equivalent of Brooks Brothers after a lifetime of wearing bespoke suits from Saville Row.
I agree with your prediction that with a loss next week they will be ranked in the 20s. I don't think the voters will put a 1-3 team in the polls. They'll be near the bottom of receiving votes.
I also don't really think they should be ranked a 1-3. Good teams need to win some of those games. Losing all 3 might be a sign they aren't Top 25 material.
Now, after beating Vandy, Tenn and Mizzou with a 4-3 record and those specific losses, they'll definitely be ranked again.
I'm on the Georgia side with you this week, so hopefully this is all just a thought exercise.
This is why early polls are fun. There's a lot of potential movement and more things to discuss. The last few weeks, the positions are somewhat locked in place and can't change very far. Boring!
If the voters could be trusted to ignore their previous ballots then the early season polls have no downside. The problem is that too many voters take their previous poll and make minor adjustments. I would rather fix this problem than eliminate early polls (although it is the much harder solution).
If Georgia loses a close game to South Carolina (say 28-27) this weekend they will be 0-2 but they will have only lost to the #4 and #6 team in the country by a total of (in my example) 4 points.
Will they still be in the Top 25?
SHOULD they still be in the Top 25?
Right now, I think 11th is a good spot for Georgia. Will the voters be able to have an 0-2 team in the Top 25 though? Questionable.
In week 3, they'll crush North Texas. In week 4 they could lose to LSU the #9 team. Can a 1-3 team be in the Top 25?
Why does it say "Waiting for market to open at 8 am ET"? Are trades only valid on Saturdays?
Edit: It works now. It must have just been a glitch or something.
43 - 10 Michigan wins
Interesting. Is Washington a sentimental pick, or what makes you think they are going to finally emerge from their near-decade of failure?
Thanks for pointing that out. I fixed it now
I emailed you Sunday night/yesterday morning. Did you get my email?
I found this helpful character chart via the AVClub
Alright, I'll go there tonight.