Other Andrew

History

Member for

4 years 46 weeks

Blog

View recent blog entries

Karma

Current value

1

Recent Comments

Date	Title	Body
3 weeks 2 days ago	Spiky	Anyone else see a major ripoff of the Dead Kennedy's logo in #4?
6 weeks 2 days ago	The Spot?	They used to focus on whether someone "beat the guy to the spot." In this case there is no question using that criteria. Did we stop using that criteria because of some other technicalities? (Obviously beating someone to the spot by beating them about the face with your elbow would never have counted.)
14 weeks 2 days ago	That place you describe	Brian, I believe that place you describe is Venezuela. Not a political comment at all. But if you have ever played any sport against Venezuelans, you know they are fiercly "caradura" competitors, and will work any angle to their advantage.
50 weeks 13 hours ago	Gracias	I was thinking the other day that the internet is not funny anymore, and nobody's really making anybody laugh nowadays. I am wrong.
1 year 1 week ago	Hope this is the start of a long legacy	1. Hart 2. Woodley 3. Graham ...with seats reserved at the table for Kovacs and Denard if all goes well.
1 year 1 week ago	Stooges	As some have said above, Stooges are necessary (TV Eye, Loose, Now I Wanna be Your Dog all more than viable). And MC5's Kick out the Jams is the most obvious and winning choice ever. If you need something cheesier, Detroit acts like Von Bondies ("C'mon C'mon") a few tracks from Detroit Cobras, and work. Hell, even Alice Cooper was born in Detroit. And no Kid Rock, please. We've been tortured enough.
1 year 2 weeks ago	Forgiveness please	I swear this was funnier in my head. Need moar sleep.
1 year 2 weeks ago	In that picture	Which one is the sex offender? I mean, there's no captiion or anything. Oh, he's the one that's too tubby to pick up shoulder pads off the floor? Ah, ok, got it.
1 year 3 weeks ago	What kills me	...is the media simply printing this shit without even the slightest fisking. I mean, I know I shoudln't be surprised after everything that's gone down the last 10+ years, but what the hell??
1 year 24 weeks ago	NCAA's main issue seems to be control	In college football they have hardly any (when compared to the other sports). They maintain the archaic rules in part to control what they can.  If that is one of the major goals of their system, then #s 1 and 3 above should be amenable to the NCAA. Following #3, about a year ago I came up with an idea similar to that, but addressing the TV revenues. It is basically that if the networks are using the images of the players to promote games, they should get paid based on a fixed scale determined by the NCAA. This lets them keep all that control, but fairly gives the money to the players who are actually bringing it in. Nobody's paying to see Will Hagerup (gifs are free, yo). But Denard puts butts in sofas and viewing lots of Coors Light ads. The long version is here for those willing to indulge. The worst part about this time of year is all the "outraged interlopers" who think they need to comment on playoffs and every other issue about the sport, yet they don't understand how it's different from the NFL. But whatever. Good post, Brian.
1 year 24 weeks ago	Exacto	I was going to say this exact thing. It is so blindingly obvious to have this game in Chicago, even if you have to do it at the Rosemont Horizon on an arenaball field. OK, not quite, but why not have the Midwest's major conference host its crowning event at the Mecca of the Midwest? These aren't the teams with the biggest fan bases in the conference, but they've gotta be #s 5 an 7 at worst. This is pathetic.
1 year 25 weeks ago	That's what stood out most for me, too	This seven-straight thing just, I mean, it doesn't seem real, does it? It doesn't seem that long ago that we considered this game a holiday because we almost always won. But it has been an eternity. The "seeming" is wrong and probably just nostalgia more than anything. I can't bring myself to think about failure in this game. And I am afriad to think about victory. Kickoff can't come soon enough.   GO BLUE!
1 year 26 weeks ago	Anyone else notice...	...that Brian is remarkably unemotional today? Just content, you know? Satisfied. I feel the same. With so much looming this Saturday, it's not a time to be joyful. Just content. Win next week and emotions can soar. Lose, and it's all... discontent. Disatisfied. Pissed, even. I'm happy with the win, but I want elation. T-minus five days. (Fingers crossed.)
1 year 28 weeks ago	Shotgun	I keep thinking about the 2007 team whose offense did just enough to get through the Big Ten season alive before unveiling a spread out attack for the bowl game against Florida. Obviously the various injuries may have made that impossible earlier in the year, but at some point during between the OSU game and the bowl, the coaches realized it would work. Will Borges take a look at this game and realize anything? Will Hoke? How much more do we have to see? Maybe my comparision is not perfectly direct, but the concept is still a worthwhile one.
1 year 33 weeks ago	It's in there	I came away from this game feeling that it somehow meant something. It shouldn't, right? Minnesota is horrendous, and while it's not Baby Seal U, nobody should get ahead of themselves. I think you've put it in the right perspective, Brian, and found the words for my jumbled mix of thoughts. I simply can't wait for these next two weeks to find out what we're really made of..,.
1 year 35 weeks ago	When did he know?	Clearly there must have been some moment where RR realized he couldn't win. That whatever steps he had needed to take were already missed opportunities. When did RR realize that he was doomed, and did he openly express any regrets? Also, how did Bacon find time for both this and playing Rickety Cricket?
1 year 37 weeks ago	I always look forward to this column	Because it means it's finally time for Michigan Football! Woooh! Rock solid analysis as always, Brian. Have to say I agree. Going to be some more frustrating games this year, but hopefully continuing to trend in the right direction.
1 year 49 weeks ago	That's the most fake smile	That's the most fake smile I've ever seen on Denard's face.
1 year 52 weeks ago	Is the problem...	...that people assume we are talking about a ton of money? If Delany's going to actually make a proposal, he should make more clear how much dough it's going to be. He mentioned 15 bucks for laundry. What's he hoping to have covered? It would be nice if the commissioner would have some sort of plan in mind before he opens his mouthor writes open letters to other conferences... or names his divisions or messes with the most important game his conference has or whatever comes next from the mind of the Dude's landlord...
2 years 4 days ago	Bowl Guarantees	Seems to me that the big problem is that this stuff is set up ahead of time. The school doesn't get to negotiate with the bowl in particular. Doesn't seem like a very sensible way to do business. They have the schools over a barrel, because what are they going to do, NOT go to a bowl game? If you're Northern Illinois, you only get so many opportunities to get that bowl bid. Well, I guess with so many bowls forced to take eligible teams, the "smaller" schools could indeed negotiate this. Why don't they? Are they overly optimistic about how many fans are going to show up?
2 years 6 days ago	12% = nothing	I can't imagine that a 12% correlation is stastically significant, even with a sample size from here to the moon (which analysis didn't have anyway). Fair to just say that they are not at all correlated year to year. Additionally, when talking about an overall trend, this kind of correlation analysis makes sense. But when you're talking about just one team and just one pair of seasons, it is irrelevant. Any team could be an outlier at any point. And the reasons Brian mentions are far more powerful data than any look at the overall landscape of college football.
2 years 7 weeks ago	Cogent as hell, Brian	Look forward to seeing your thoughts congeal into a proposed solution. Seems like they tend to do that...
2 years 9 weeks ago	Two random thoughts	Wait, first of all, much wooooh. Thought one: These are not the Albert White, Robert Traylor Wolverines. I know this is not news to anyone, but what a phenomenal display of team basketball. Thought two: What were Illini fans thinking during this one? They despise Pearl for getting them in trouble with the NCAA over the recruitment of Deon Thomas. Yet they believe Michigan is their top rival. I'm guessing they enjoyed the bloodbath, but had to think about it a bit.
2 years 10 weeks ago	We'll take it, right?	Double the muppets, double the fun for a 2nd round Big Ten Tourney win over Illinois? What the hell, let's dance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax89cSQ3MG8
2 years 10 weeks ago	Doubt it	They're already in a ton of trouble for covering up and witholding information. You think they're going to compound that now? If they haven't come totally clean now, they're seriously flirting with the death penalty.
2 years 10 weeks ago	Is Tressel a junkie?	How can someone with his experience level actually think he was going to get away with this? This is such an unconscionable error, one that he had plenty of time to think about during the offseason before pressing onward. It doesn't matter if these were his two best players. He had to know this was a bill that had an awfully high probability of coming due. Which leads to my question: is Tressel a junkie? "Successful" junkies (of any kind - drugs, gambling, alcohol, sex addiction) tend to be able to hide their junkiness for a while. They get away with it and do more and eventually things get so out of control that they're snorting coke off the towel rod in the bathroom when their teenage kid walks in on them. As compiled by Brian earlier and referenced above, this is not the first smoke emanating from potential fire on Tressel's watch. It just happens that with those e-mails this smoke comes straight from the gun itself. And Tressel left his prints all over it. He really was on top of the world. Leading the only significant program in the third most talent-rich state. Big Ten titles and BCS bowls and top recruiting classes. He evidently even had the president of the university in his back pocket. Tressel is now college football's Tiger Woods. He pushed this thing as far as he could while still getting away with it. He should have blown his own whistle as soon as that e-mail came through. Any resonable person would have seen the inevitability of the situation. But he obviously thought he could get away with it. Are we to believe that getting out of jeopardy scot-free in the past is not a factor in his decision to ignore the obvious? They say never trust a junkie. That's hard to do if you don't know they're a junkie in the first place. Sometimes you need proof to stop enabling. I can't imagine the NCAA will try to do anything less than a harsh intervention. Not anymore at least. Dude hasn't even accepted that he has a problem yet. Someone needs to sit him down and tell him what's what. It's clear that the peopel close to him aren't going to do it.
2 years 14 weeks ago	Gunner Kiel	Tom Harmon's grandson is named Gunnar. He looks just like his twin brother: Clearly Kiel should be a lock.
2 years 15 weeks ago	Kudos	Kudos to you, Brian for giving this issue so much attention. If it doesn indeed move, you were one of the first ones pushing it.  Thanks.
2 years 18 weeks ago	Well, we at least keep some new stuff	Brian, it's not like we are turning our backs on everything over the last three years. We may be losing Barwis, but Special K is still around, right? Cripes almighty.
2 years 19 weeks ago	Let's keep this simple	1) Michigan has/is surely made/making Harbaugh an offer. 2) It's up to Harbaugh to accept or reject the offer. 3) There's only one fucking guy on the planet who knows anything about #2 at this point and he's coaching a football game tonight. So all we can do is wait or talk about Plan B candidates... of which, well, I'd rather just wait. Anyone can read twitter feeds, it doesn't make it reporting. (This is in no way a slam on Brian, but on reporters passing off "feelings around the league" as some sort of information.)

more