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This comment encapsulates…

This comment encapsulates the difference between the two programs at the moment:

Which brings up the question: do college football programs exist to produce NFL draft picks or does it exist to win games as a team. Is Ohio State the former and is Michigan the latter?

Yes, commenter NorthBerg, that is the crux of the matter. Teams win, players don't.

I've seen a few poster say a…

I've seen a few poster say a physical altercation with another coach, perhaps Sanderson. Also something to do with his health.

MGoShoe was a great poster.

MGoShoe was a great poster.

All the Blue faithful should…

All the Blue faithful should go see The Blue Boy at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in nearby San Marino CA.

Seriously, it's a great visit if you're into museums and gardens and such.

He's a genuine funny writer…

He's a genuine funny writer and I generally enjoy his takes, but his post-Wyld Stalions takes have been far less thoughtful and more snarky than insightful.

These damn flies keep…

These damn flies keep landing in my chardonnay when I'm trying to read the blog in peace.

When I was at Ross, the late…

When I was at Ross, the late, great distinguished university professor CK Prahalad had "The March of Folly" by the historian Barbara Tuchman on the reading list. Seemed like an odd choice for a business school course, but i dutifully read it and eventually understood the universality of the thesis: 

"Folly is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives."

Too late to send this book to Tony P?

I'll be there wearing some…

I'll be there wearing some new gear. 

Could you look around there…

Could you look around there for my wallet? I can’t find it.

Pro Tip: Balsamic vinegar…

Pro Tip: Balsamic vinegar with strawberries is GREAT on vanilla ice cream.

No quibbles with anything…

No quibbles with anything you write about stadiums, but saying stock buybacks "create nothing at all" is plainly incorrect.

Companies exist to make money for their stockholders, and companies make investment decisions based on expected rates of return. Burning cash in poorly performing projects is a waste of investor capital and will punish everyone - management, employees, investors, the economy in general. 

If a company cannot find projects that meet a minimum return, they have a responsibility to return that cash to investors. They can return that money in dividends (with a corresponding tax obligation for the investor), or buy back stock (a far more efficient way to return capital).

There are other good reasons for buybacks, and decent arguments against them, but to say they create nothing at all is not true. 

I'm glad I scrolled down and…

I'm glad I scrolled down and saw this post because it saved me a spittle-fleckled ragepost. The misuse of begging the question is an irrational pet peeve.

Begging the Question

The fallacy of begging the question occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it. In other words, you assume without proof the stand/position, or a significant part of the stand, that is in question. Begging the question is also called arguing in a circle.

Example:

1. Erica: "How do you know that the bible is divinely inspired?" Pedro: "Because is says right in the third chapter of II Timothy that 'all scripture is given by divine inspiration of God.'"

https://www.txst.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Begging-the-Question

Love the Spike and Kate vibe.

Double post.

Also, the block was clean. 

 

Love the Spike and Kate vibe.

Love the Spike and Kate vibe.

I posted this in the other…

I posted this in the other thread, but worth repeating:
 

Seeing UTEP on the schedule makes me wonder if the athletic department is actively trying to schedule games with schools we've never played. 

Next year we have E. Carolina, 2024 Fresno State and Arkansas State, and 2025 New Mexico visits. All teams we have never played before.

Seeing UTEP on the schedule…

Seeing UTEP on the schedule makes me wonder if the athletic department is actively trying to schedule games with schools we've never played. 

Next year we have E. Carolina, 2024 Fresno State and Arkansas State, and 2025 New Mexico visits. All teams we have never played before.

The best two bits of advice…

The best two bits of advice I got before getting married:

1) Before an argument, decide "Do I want to be right, or do I want to be married?"

2) If you do decide to argue, make sure you check in with your feelings when fighting. Men tend to stick with logic, but you will be more successful if you say "when you do this, it makes me feel this way" instead of "here's a six point checklist of why I'm right and you are wrong."

Monorails put Brockway,…

Monorails put Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook on the map and can do the same for Ann Arbor!

EDIT TO ADD: How are jerseys selling in Ohio?

Monorails put Brockway,…

Monorails put Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook on the map and can do the same for Ann Arbor!

Public Enemy's Bring The…

Public Enemy's Bring The Noise by The Unholy Trio

https://youtu.be/rCUvtRSMIc0

 

I

Two come to mind:

Poison's …

Two come to mind:

Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys. 

They make this sound like a country standard, and frankly it works much better that way. 

https://youtu.be/z0yFaIBY-Tg

Sturgill Simpson's "You Can Have The Crown" by Post Malone

Yes, this is Post Malone. Amazing, he could (should?) switch to country tomorrow and crush about 98% of Nashville. And that's Dwight Yokam's band backing. (EDIT to note that I don't necessarily like this better than Sturgill, but it's about the biggest positive surprise you will hear).

https://youtu.be/ISuJrPQ3KA8

 

Risk 1.0 Bot

Risk 1.0 Bot

Looking for a single ticket…

Looking for a single ticket for Fiesta Bowl. Driving over from LA on Friday afternoon so can pick up Friday evening/Sat. morning. email on jrfield at gmail

Go Blue!

"Zillows for over a million"…

"Zillows for over a million" made me, a guy living in Southern California, spit out my coffee.

This is what $999,999 buys you in Torrance, CA, a nice middle class suburb of LA:

I am well pleased.

I am well pleased.

AC Milan was founded by an…

AC Milan was founded by an English expat (hence Milan, not Milano) and the disagreement over international players on Milan happened a few years later, which triggered the formation of Inter. The fan base class divisions formed shortly thereafter, but I'm not sure why and the result seems counterintuitive, but that's typical of il belpaese.

This sort of political…

This sort of political/social rivalry by proxy is quite common in European soccer. I'm most familiar with Italian Serie A, where all the cities with two teams share a similar dynamic.
 

(Note: for all below, this is the stereotype)

Rome: Lazio is the "fascist" team, Roma the "Jewish" team

Turin: Torino is the team of "native" bourgeoisie, Juventus the team of the lower classes and southern transplants to the city (odd, because it's owned by the Agnelli family of FIAT).

Milan: Same dynamic as Turin. A.C. Milan is for the transplants, Inter is the "native" team.

First, be it known I'm as…

First, be it known I'm as disgusted as much as anyone with the lawless, absurd behavior by the MSU players. My personal experience includes being a victim of assault from a former MSU varsity athlete (with a broken jaw, titanium bands permanently holding my mouth together, four months on a smoothies and six-figure judgment to show for it), I'm wondering if the Michigan athletic department also is potentially a target for Green's lawyer? 

My attorney was ready to file against everyone with even tangential liability combined with some money or insurance. Because the assault occurred on UM premises, under UM security could Mars go after the athletic department or the university for damages? Against the athletic director or UPD for failing to provide a secure environment? What say you, M-go-law-talkers?

How is it even possible that…

How is it even possible that George Washington University didn't reach out to George Washington III? That man was born to be in Foggy Bottom. 

More imporantly, I want to…

More imporantly, I want to know what Brian was laughing about when recording the intro to the Roundtable podcast. Every time I hear it I wonder.

20 years ago in a previous…

20 years ago in a previous life I was a Foreign Service Officer assigned to a consulate in a very popular country for US tourists. The consular staff was small, so the other officers would take turns dealing with US citizen emergencies on weekends and holidays. 

I would get this "duty officer" status about once a month in the summers, and would start my Saturdays with the calls coming in from airlines, police stations, and stranded tourists all over the consular district and spend the whole day trying to work things out. Most of it was routine - stolen passports, come in to the consulate on Monday, etc. Some crazy stuff would happen almost every weekend however. 

Sometimes there were calls from airlines with deceased senior citizens who had passed during the flight to our district. I'll never forget the woman who didn't understand why they couldn't fly her deceased husband home in the seat he died in - after all, they were just going back to NY, right?

My favorite was two hilarious senior women who had been left behind at a highway rest stop by the tour company bus. They had no idea where they were going, what the name of the tour company was, other than the guide's name was "Monica." Good luck finding that company. They ended up spending the night at a shelter in a church when the bus pulled in to the next town late at night, discovered they were two heads ldown, and it was too late to come get them. They had a great time with the very nice people in the town the were stranded in - one of the local cops took them home to his family for dinner - and told me that this "adventure" was the best part of their trip. 

The worst was having to call families in the US that a loved one had died. I'll never forget calling parents to tell them their college student had died in an accident while studying abroad.

Fun couple of years that filled me with travel stories for a lifetime.

USC and other Pac-10 powers…

USC and other Pac-10 powers occasionally take advantage of this as a tune-up first week of the season game. Far easier for fans to make the trip from the west coast. I see Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, and Arizona as early season games on future schedules. 

My boss uses "action" in…

My boss uses "action" in this way and this irritates me: "Who is going to action this?" because the word "do," being monosyllabic as well as an actual verb is too difficult.

I reserve my full, unadulterated fury for announcers who use the coach's name as a replacement for the team name: "The Fighting Schianos" instead of Rutger etc. Reese Davis is the worst perpetrator by far. 

Agreed, and if nothing else,…

Agreed, and if nothing else, the dream of playing in an NBA game is real the minute he registers minutes in a game.

Seth, may I suggest that you…

Seth, may I suggest that you change the following passage?

All-American linebacker was an unlikely destination for Colson, whose family in Haiti gave him up for adoption for a chance at a better life in America after his father passed away young.

Adoption advocates prefer the term "placed for adoption" over "given up for adoption." As an adoptive father, the choices made by the birth mother in our adoption story are far, far away from "giving up," but rather an incredible show of strength and bravery. I suspect Colson may feel the same way. 

 

More like Alamo Bowl...Pitch…

More like Alamo Bowl...Pitch the ball, Tyler Eckert!

More like Alamo Bowl...Pitch…

BTN is good

 

Antonio Bass (sigh) is…

Antonio Bass (sigh) is really impressing in practice.

Brady Hoke gets it.

 

Antonio Bass (sigh) is…

Antonio Bass (sigh) is really impressing in practice.

Brady Hoke gets it.

 

His brothers are Murph, Mac,…

His brothers are Murph, Mac, and Fitz. Or at least I can dream.

This summer I donated my…

This summer I donated my beloved 2000 Toyota Camry when the cost to make it smog-compliant was more than the value of the car itself.

I donated to Goodwill. Wouldn't never ever in a million years consider donating to Kars for Kids because of the earache they've inflicted on the world with that jingle. 

Wait up a second for a…

Wait up a second for a minute - Notre Dame played a hardware store? I need more info to harass my Domer friends.

Enjoyed the show, because…

Enjoyed the show, because the coach wasn't an absolute tool like in other seasons.

I found the themes this season to be far more political, particularly towards the last few episodes. Much more discussion of crime, policing, and the gentrification of Oakland due to housing costs and tech boom. 

I'm guessing some of this shift due to editing happening 2-3 months ago - i.e. during the protests - and the producers wanted to participate in the national discussion. 

It's not just that…

It's not just that administrator salaries have been rising, but that the number of university execs, managerial staff and other admins has more than doubled in the last 25 years, this as the number of faculty declined.

 

This is not unprecedented,…

This is not unprecedented, and should happen more in my opinion. There's been success recently to force institutions to follow donor stipulations, even after the original donor death. Hillsdale College just clawed back a $5M gift to another university when that institution refused to follow the deceased donor's wishes:

https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2019/12/hillsdale-college-settles-5-million-lawsuit-with-university-of-missouri.html

A donor to the University of Missouri school of business endowed three chairs and three professorships, specifying they must be adherents to the Austrian school of economics (von Mises, Hayek, etc). He set up Hillsdale as an overseer; should Mizzou fail to honor the donation criteria, the money would revert to Hillsdale.  Mizzou didn't, Hillsdale sued, won, and got the $5M. 

It is a national shame that…

It is a national shame that Mark Helprin is not more well known, in my opinion he's the best living American novelist.

Start with "A Soldier of the Great War" for an amazing life journey of an Italian aristocrat drafted trench warfare. Simply my favorite novel of all time. Not really a war book, but an exploration of how life and love changes based on events. 

Then "Memoir From an Antproof Case" about a Brazilian English teacher who can't speak English and carries an irrational hate of coffee. Laugh out loud funny at times. 

For adults, if you are a…

For adults, if you are a member of the Alumni Association you have free access to the Michigan content on Coursera. The Python series is one of the most subscribed classes on the whole site and a great introduction to programming. The model systems class is also fantastic, as is the negotiation and leadership classes from Ross professors.

Anyone know the story behind…

Anyone know the story behind playing Houston Baptist four times in recent years? Seems odd to have someone fly 3 hours when there are closer bodybag games where the team would appreciate the payday.

If this guy doesn’t wear #30…

If this guy doesn’t wear #30 I shall be overcome with ennui. Also a beret, he should wear one of those as well.

Sidecar in Ypsilanti 

Sidecar in Ypsilanti