J.W. Wells Co.

J.W. Wells Co.'s picture

History

Member for
3 years 45 weeks
Blog
View recent blog entries

Karma

Current value
3

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
5 weeks 1 day ago Non-Compete Agreements...

...probably wouldn't work in the context of college coaching anyways.  To be binding, non-competes must be reasonable in (1) length of time; (2) scope of proscribed conduct; and (3) geographic scope.

As a matter of public policy, we want people to be able to earn a living doing that in which they are best trained and most talented, so courts tend to look harshly on non-competes that are even just a little too burdensome.  Moreover, courts review non-competes even more narrowly when there isn't a direct client/customer base to be protected, or there aren't trade secrets to be protected.

In the context of buying your average small-town neighborhood gas station and taking a non-compete from the former owner as part of the sale, the absolute most that would probably be considered reasonable for a non-compete would be maybe (1) 5 years; (2) no sales of gasoline or other convenience goods; and (3) a radius of 30 miles.

In the context of college coaching, with coaches not able to directly steal "customers" and with few if any actual trade secrets to protect, and with so many different schools out there in different areas of the country, in different conferences, in different NCAA divisions, and that don't even play each other, I think the most you could ever reasonably get out of a valid non-compete might be (1) 2 years; (2) no head-coaching at Division 1 FBS level; (3) same state, or a radius of 100 miles.  Even that might be pushing it, given the established nature of the industry.

Of course, such a narrow-scope non-compete would never keep a coach from jumping ship and going to a different job; the reasonable scope of the non-compete would just be too narrow to have any teeth.
35 weeks 1 day ago I haven't seen anything this

I haven't seen anything this epic since I walked out of Camp Randall in 2001 and some random Wisconsin coed was sobbing and saying, "Why can't we ever beat those guys?"
1 year 33 weeks ago Michigan,

Michigan, 48-34.

.

yes

.
1 year 34 weeks ago No, what you've said is

No, what you've said is basically accurate.  But looking back at the NCAA lists of national champions, it's fairly easy to see which are the consensus or even co-consensus champions.  See my comments in response to a similar question from MGoUser Fresh Meat below.

For instance, in 1901 and 1902, Michigan "shared" its title with Harvard and/or Yale. But Harvard and Yale were named by only one selector each, while Michigan enjoys the opinion of several selectors.  My comment below spells out all of U-M's claimed and unclaimed titles.  For all of U-M's claimed titles, U-M can easily be called the consensus or co-consensus champion.  This isn't at all the case for three of Sparty's six claimed titles, also spelled out below.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Football_National_Championship for a full list of all champions by year and selector.
1 year 34 weeks ago Well, post-1950 it's pretty

Well, post-1950 it's pretty easy: the NCAA record book, in addition to listing national champions as determined by all recognized selectors, lists consensus national champions as well.  The interesting thing?  Sometimes there are more than one consensus champion.  Generally, if a team after 1950 finished first in one of the two major polls (AP and coaches), it was a consensus champion.

Beside the polls, there are many many NC selectors recognized by the NCAA -- anything from mathematical systems to historical researchers to single individuals way back in the day considered authorities on college football.  For instance, in 1997, the AP and most of the other selectors lined up behind U-M, and the coaches and a few of the other selectors lined up behind Nebraska.

Because the NCAA record book doesn't explicitly note consensus championships before 1950, things get murky for that timeframe, although it's possible to look at the various teams and see how many selectors lined up behind them as champs. (Also, take into account selectors who actually existed at the time; for instance several somewhat recent mathematical formula selectors have been retroactively applied back many years, often resulting in the naming of a champion that was not recognized as such at the end of whatever season.)

Pre-1950 it's common to have two, three, or four schools recognized by somebody as national champions, because of eastern vs. western regional bias in sportwriting, among other factors. For many years, the National Championship Foundation waded through the historical muck and recognized a list of consensus champions, but often even the NCF named co-champions.

For the record, U-M claims National Championships in 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, and 1997.  Michigan shared these championships as follows, according to the NCAA record book:

  • 1901 - with Harvard and Yale (Michigan consensus)
  • 1902 - with Yale (Michigan consensus)
  • 1903 - with Princeton (co-consensus champions)
  • 1904 - with Minnesota and Penn (U-M and Penn co-consensus champs)
  • 1918 - with Pitt and Texas (U-M and Pitt co-consensus champs)
  • 1923 - with Cal, Cornell, and Illinois (U-M and Illinois co-consensus champs)
  • 1932 - with Southern Cal (co-consensus champs)
  • 1933 - with Ohio State, Fritz Crisler's Princeton, and USC (Michigan consensus)
  • 1947 - with Notre Dame and Texas (U-M and ND co-consensus champs... see other commenter's discussion re: unprecedented post-Rose Bowl AP Poll)
  • 1948 - Michigan all alone!
  • 1997 - with Nebraska (co-consensus champs)

Michigan's unclaimed and non-consensus national championships (with selectors noted) are:

  • 1925 - by Sagarin Ratings (Alabama consensus)
  • 1926 - by Sagarin Ratings (Alabama and Stanford consensus)
  • 1964 - by Dunkel System (Alabama, Arkansas, Notre Dame consensus, though Alabama finished first in AP and coaches; ND doesn't claim 1964)
  • 1973 - by National Championship Foundation and Poling System (Alabama and Notre Dame consensus; Ohio State and Oklahoma also recognized by selectors)
  • 1985 - by Matthews Grid Ratings (Oklahoma consensus; Florida also recognized by selectors)

Michigan State's six claimed national championships are:

  • 1951 - Tennessee consensus (Georgia Tech, Illinois, and Maryland also picked by some selectors)
  • 1952 - MSU consensus (Georgia Tech also picked by some selectors)
  • 1955 - Oklahoma consensus (MSU picked by one selector out of 16)
  • 1957 - Auburn and Ohio State consensus (Oklahoma also picked by a selector. MSU picked by one selector out of 16)
  • 1965 - MSU (UPI) and Alabama (AP) co-consensus
  • 1966 - MSU and Notre Dame co-consensus (Year of the tie; both AP and UPI-coaches named ND as national champions; Alabama also picked by some selectors)
1 year 34 weeks ago Well, pre-Bo U-M was 4-0 in

Well, pre-Bo U-M was 4-0 in the Rose Bowl.  So make the all-time bowl record 19 wins in 39 games.
1 year 37 weeks ago - Because Bo did. - The way

- Because Bo did.

- The way they cheated to try to get 9-year-men Dimmick and Philbrook into the 1910 game.

- After the 2003 ass-kicking game, my little bro picked up a discarded sign in the parking lot that said, "LOSE LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY" and carried it around a while.  An ND fan came up to us with a sanctimonious look on his face and said, "Hey, we will."

- Those stupid up-and-down-fist arm movements the fans make in the stands.

- The 1812 Overture: ND's AWESOME and totally pumped up version of JUMP AROUND.

- The way the wind died for Harry Oliver's field goal.

- Tyrone Willingham's fake-confident raised finger in the air to go for one after a touchdown.

- Because they keep the grass mown high for speedy teams.

- The guys (?) in kilts.

- The tinny, no-bass sound of their marching band.

- Jeff Samardzija looks like a girl. Seriously. An ugly girl, but definitely a girl.

- People seem to like their fight song, even though its composer is on record as saying it's "rather amateurish."

- Brady Quinn was drafted too high.

- Jimmah Ostrich was drafted too high.
1 year 43 weeks ago Like Brian, the only of those

Like Brian, the only of those that I missed live was the Thomas fumble, because I too went to Yost.

My dong hurts so bad after the rehashing.  It didn't just get punched; it got punched and then clawed by the world's largest and angriest lobster whose claws had been refitted with cobra venom.  I just want a month's worth of ice.
1 year 43 weeks ago Some odd practical matters.

I took the Michigan bar in 2006.  I'm one of those people that likes to cover all the practical bases, to make sure that I'm prepared for any situation.  Some hints of mine:

1.  Pack your ziplock bag or whatever container you're allowed to take in with you with plenty of extra pens, pencils, a small pencil sharpener, *good* pink pearl erasers (don't trust the ones on the ends of the pencils), and even a few different kinds of pens (you'd be amazed how three hours of writing can hurt your hand if you've got a pen that you have to put too much pressure on the paper with).  Also lots of kleenex (AC can make your nose run bad), your ear plugs (there will be a fair amount of ambient noise), and a good watch.

2.  Overdose on Immodium at around noon on the day before.  Seriously.  Do you really want to have to spend 10-15 minutes finding a restroom and dropping a deuce during your exam?  What if your dinner from the night before suddenly doesn't agree with you during your first essay response?  Better to just eliminate that.

3.  Take a small keychain flashlight as part of your keys that you can take in with you.  What if the lights go out?  (This has happened in bar exams.)  You're still in the clear.

4.  Even if you're like me and well prepared and not the sort of person who gets nervous, you'll still get a bit nervous.  Hit the grocery store the day before and get some food that won't contribute to your stomach turning: fruits, crackers, and juice.  Eat that stuff until you're done with the exam.

5.  Trust your prep work.  BarBri and PMBR's practice exams are made to be tougher than the actual multistate exam in order to have you covered on any of the really confusing questions that have appeared in past years.  Add about 20 points to your practice exams, and that's what your real MBE score will probably be.

6.  After a while, the stuff just starts swimming in your head.  Shut down your studying with two days to go.  Just look over some review sheets here and there.  Watch a ballgame the night before.  If you're staying in a hotel, take your own pillow with you.  Set multiple alarms for the morning of the exam.

7.  I'll totally echo the sentiments of someone above: don't talk to others during the breaks about the exam.  The questions you've already done are over.  Rehashing them will just make you crazy.
1 year 44 weeks ago Alpena Grandfathers.

I live in Alpena, after seven years in school in Ann Arbor.  I'm not a grandfather, but I know lots of Alpena grandfathers.

And I hate Mitch Albom.

When I was in 9th grade or so, I'd come home from school every Monday in the fall and read Mitch's THE HUDDLE column.  It was good.  It was funny.  Barry Sanders had lifetime membership.  Lou Holtz was always trying to sneak in.  Albom was a good sports read.

Then TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE happened and Albom went all Oprah.  Instead of doing sports, he did politics, social issues, and lots of touchy feely crap.  Now his columns are just all dreck; pseudo-intellectual masturbation.   And I can guarantee you that there aren't many Detroit assembly line workers or Alpena grandfathers who care about reading his stuff anymore.
Theme provided by Roopletheme; sidebars adapted from Chris Murphy.