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Date	Title	Body
2 hours 49 min ago	Nothing like some places	I don't think everybody has the rule, but at least the UK and home nations countries allow folks to qualify just so long as a grandparent is from the country you want to play for.  Guys like James McCarthy and Aiden McGeady never lived in Ireland (both born/raised in Scotland) but play for them internationally.  James Morrison just captained Scotland despite living his whole life in England and playing for them up to U20 level.
2 hours 58 min ago	Craziest one	Preki was born in Yugoslavia, moved here to play indoor soccer in his early 20's, became a U.S. citizen in his early 30's, and after that began playing for the U.S. national team, earning 28 caps and appearing in a World Cup.
3 hours 4 min ago	Flip side	Stuart Holden (19 caps, appeared in 2010 World Cup, hasn't played much recently for club or country due to a series of injuries) was born in Scotland and lived there until he was ten.  The Freddy Adu story is also pretty well known. Just the nature of the contemporary international game.
1 week 3 days ago	Complicated story	The NFL in LA situation was also a total clusterfuck that didn't really have anything to do with fans.  Both the Rams and Raiders were run by psychos who created shitty situations and then got rewarded for it.  The city and the weird political situation surrounding the Coliseum didn't help either.  First the LA Rams moved to Anaheim because of the league blackout rules (had to sellout a 90,000+ stadium to get on local TV).  Then Al Davis showed up, divided the market between two teams, and continued to play in the Coliseum (thus facing the same blackout issue).  Both teams then got offered sweetheart deals to move (new stadium in St. Louis, ridiculously cheap lease in Oakland).  On top of that, Rams execs have reguarly said they never would have left if they had known that Davis was going to move the Raiders shortly after that.
1 week 3 days ago	Not even close	The Dodgers and Angels both drew over 3 million fans last year (5th and 7th in MLB) despite neither team making the postseason.  The Clippers and Lakers were both in the top 10 in NBA attendance (both essentially filled the building every night).  Hockey attendance fluctuates more based on team success but the Kings were also at capacity every night this past season.  SC and UCLA have giant stadiums that can be hard to fill if the teams are struggling (not to mention the Rose Bowl is a pain in the dick to get in and out of) but both draw a lot of fans (SC was 9th in avg. attendance this past season and UCLA 22nd). Plenty of folks come late and leave early, but if anything the numbers would put LA near the top of any list, not at the bottom with places like Miami and Atlanta.
2 weeks 2 days ago	The next big thing	We should just scrap all the current sports and turn the B1G into a giant Japanese gameshow.  Mo money, mo money, mo money!
5 weeks 3 days ago	Two moves	Quinton Washington flipped to DT when BWC moved to OL.  He was a 4-star recruit in the same class, played very well last year, and is a favorite for all-conference honors this year.  But he wasn't awesome as a RS freshman, so that probably means his coach was fucking up big time. Lewan (All-Everything), Roh (HM All-Conference), Schofield (likely All-Conference this year, multi-year starter), Washington (ditto), BWC (drafted despite probably playing out of position at a time when the players at his natural position struggled) is a ridiculously good haul on both lines for one full recruiting class with any kind of job security.
5 weeks 3 days ago	Recruiting myths	MSU really hasn't been getting a bunch of high ranked guys in the state at any time recently.  The 2010 class landed them Gholston (overhyped, seems like a shitty human being), Bullough (probably born with green skin), and Joe Boisture (not as good as Devin Gardner who we landed in the same class).  The 2011 class landed them just Thomas (counting Rivals 4-star guys from Michigan), and he has redshirted, played fullback, and now is apparently moving back to D.  The only time they got a big haul of "blue-chip" guys was in 2009 (7 local 4-stars) and the returns are pretty much all in.  Our class was infinitely better because we took out of state guys who didn't suck at football.  Denard, Lewan, Schofield, Fitz, Gallon, Roh and Washington totally trump the in-state guys State landed.  The only wins for State (calling Fitz vs. Baker a draw as each posted 1,000 yard sophomore seasons them slumped, though Fitz can grab victory with a solid comeback this year) out of that group are Norman (a Renaissance kid who we offered) and Sims (very talented, but at a position the offense wasn't featuring, we offered but it looks like he never visited anywhere but MSU).  That class drove perception in the media, especially because it coincided with their success and our struggles on the field, but we were much better off with the guys we got and they would have probably been better served by sticking to the unheralded 3-star guys (like Thomas Gordon and Jake Ryan) in Michigan and Ohio who had helped turn them into a B1G contender.
5 weeks 6 days ago	Another angle	http://mitchalbom.com/d/journalism/3489/webber-no-longer-kid-image-often... The guy whined throughout his college career (what an awful burden having the fans give a shit about whether or not you return to Michigan) and claimed poverty to justify leaving school early after he had pocketed a ridiculous sum of money and wasn't paying for tuition or basic living expenses.  "But then, I went to lunch the other day with Shonte Peoples from the football team, and we didn't have enough money for the food. We had to, like, take two pops off, and return this fish sandwich, get a three-piece chicken instead of a five- piece. And you can't help but think, 'If we had some money, like the pros, we wouldn't have to go through this.' Chris Webber is a disingenuous shitbag.  No one owes him anything.
9 weeks 3 hours ago	Results	They've been to the Sweet 16 the last two seasons.  It took us nearly 20 years to get back to that point in the tournament.  If that is a "disappointment", your standards are totally out of touch with reality. The only other programs to match or better MSU in the tourney each of the past two years are OSU, Florida, Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette, Indiana, and Kansas.  A criticism that amounts to "The media thought they were a top-5 team but really they were only a top 10-15 team, LOL!" isn't much of a criticism at all.
9 weeks 4 hours ago	Indeed	Since '99, MSU has been to 6 Final Fours.  Duke, KU, UCONN, and UNC have been to 4 each.  Programs like UCLA, Louisville, Kentucky, Florida, etc. have been less often. If Izzo is a perpetual disappointment in the tournament, what does that make every other program in the country?
9 weeks 3 days ago	Johnson	He also went on to be a 5-time all-star in the NBA.  Not sure there is anybody that good in this year's college/draft class.  Not to mention that IU team that beat them in the title game was a monster.  32-0, 4 first round draft picks (all in the top 11), 5 guys who had an NBA career.  The eras were definitely different.
9 weeks 3 days ago	4 year player	I think in this case he's referring to Green, who spent 4 years in college (2 at JUCO, 2 at UM).  In that case if the guy isn't walking away with the sheepskin it doesn't look all that great.  I think for a guy like Burke or someone else leaving early the question for jmblue would be "Are you on track to graduate?" or like you said, "Did you come back and finish your degree in the offseason or at the end of your playing career?"
9 weeks 4 days ago	Frank Clark	I don't get the "he hasn't done anything" comments about Clark.  Last year he posted 9 TFL, second on the team behind Ryan and better than #3 by a significant margin.  For a guy who split time and was still a true sophomore (and didn't play all that much as a freshman), those numbers are about as good as it gets.  He also knocked down three passes (tied for 2nd on the team with Ryan).  The dude has been making plays.  If he is bigger/stronger and just a little smarter about diagnosing plays, I think we can/should expect big things.
10 weeks 2 days ago	Not so fast	This is only the second time in the last 15 or so years that we've gone farther in the tournament (2011 we won a game and they went out in the first round).  Izzo's been to 6 Final Fours in that span and won a national title.  They've been doing it for a lot longer, and with back to back Sweet 16 appearances it isn't like they've fallen off the map. This run puts us in a club that MSU has been in for a while.  Hopefully we can stay there for a decade or so, and then we can start making these kinds of comparisons.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Bill Self	Was thinking about it after some of the "Bill Self is a vacant moron" talk last night coming on the heels of talking to a bunch of seemingly disgruntled KU fans in Vegas a week ago.  Self has won at least a share of NINE!!!! straight conference titles.  He's won the conference tournament six times in that span.  He's made it at least to the Sweet 16 in six of the last seven seasons, which includes a national title and an appearance in the championship game.  The national POY hit a 30 foot three to force OT and knock his team out of the tourney.  And folks are dissatisfied with the results and/or think the dude is underachieving.  It is almost as bad as hearing how many more national titles Wooden would have won if he just called a timeout every once in a while (seriously, I've had this discussion on more than one occasion). You just can't win with some people.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Tough gig	It is also hard to judge a coach at a place where the standards are pretty nutty.  Steve Lavin made the Sweet 16 in five of seven seasons (with one Elite Eight in there) but is viewed as a bum.  Howland made three Final Fours (with one title game appearance in there) and won the conference four times in ten seasons, but just got fired.  Harrick won a national title, made two other deep tourney runs, and won three conference titles in eight seasons, but plenty of folks were happy to run him out of town over a minor NCAA snafu after the early exit against Princeton.  If recent history is relevant, Alford could win a ton of games and still be considered a failure if he doesn't measure up to the Wooden myth.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Not quite true	Alford did make the Sweet 16 back in '99 when he was at Southwest Missouri State.  Hasn't been back since though. As for other options, I think UCLA thought they would be able to steal a coach from a place like Butler or VCU without much trouble, only to be thwarted in their efforts.  At that point there aren't a lot of options demonstrably better than Alford, who is also young, seems like an okay recruiter, and is used to being in the spotlight more than some of the folks who may not be ready for the non-basketball portion of the job.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Definitely see your point	Clearly they had made up their mind on Howland (otherwise firing a guy for winning his conference is kind of nuts), but that doesn't change the perception situation (i.e. you're replacing Howland with Alford).  As such, I think Alford could have a really short honeymoon, especially if the folks across town get things going in the right direction. Unless Alford comes in and blows the doors off success-wise, it looks like a potentially ugly situation.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Please explain	How is Alford an upgrade over the guy they just fired?  Hopefully SC hires Howland.  Or "Lobo killer" Tommy Amaker.
11 weeks 4 days ago	So?	As long as he keeps his dangly bits out of the gravy, what's the harm?  Don't be so uptight.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Refuse to wear pants	Nothing forces compromise like a naked dude at the dinner table.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Obviously	Beilein has done a fantastic job here.  That is what he and other coaches can/should be credited with.  Identifying talent, bringing in players, and building a program.  And as far as the marginal impact a coach can have once the talent is in place, I think most folks who follow the game closely (other coaches, etc.) are in agreement that Beilein is nearly as good as it gets.  At the same time, he was just as good at that part of things when his team had a losing record in two of his first three years here and numerous people wanted him gone because he was a small-time "system" coach who couldn't get it done here at a "big-time" program.  Patting the coach on the back when a great player hits a 30 footer to go to the Elite Eight (since, you know, he told him to do that) is just as silly as getting pissed off when the offense is occasionally stagnant with a walk-on PG (in the same spirit, most of the "he can't coach offense" criticisms of Amaker should have been replaced with "Why didn't he recruit a pure point guard to take the pressure off Daniel Horton who is playing out of position?"). There are a lot of reasons we're still alive and IU isn't.  Strategery is pretty far down the list.
11 weeks 4 days ago	Um...	Trey Burke >>>>>>>>>>>>> Yogi Ferrell Beilein is a very good basketball coach, but guys look a lot fucking smarter when they have the best player in the country running the show for them.
11 weeks 4 days ago	And...	He has a broken hand now.
11 weeks 5 days ago	LA is getting people paid	Having the SC and UCLA jobs both open is making a lot of coaches a lot of bucks.  Dixon and Alford got big extensions after being bounced in the first round.  Smart and Pastner got extensions after going out in the Round of 32.  Stevens looks to be cashing in as well.  Even guys like Gottfried and Lorenzo Romar (former UCLA assistants) are starting to get their names into the mix. If Pat Haden and Dan Guerrero have your phone number, you are probably going to have a nice day as a head coach.
11 weeks 5 days ago	Victim of the offense	There were also a number of games where Fitz had to take one for the team and the results were very positive for Denard.  Our read/option game pretty much boiled down to just the inverted veer last year (probably a reflection of what the interior line could do), and a lot of teams (thinking of Purdue specifically) were forced to pick their poison on that play.  They chose to defend Fitz and every time he got the ball headed toward the sideline he was swarmed by multiple defenders.  Conversely, Denard was able to rack up over 10ypc and get a free run at a DB in space whenever he kept the ball up the middle.  I'm sure Borges will take that tradeoff every time, it just made it look like Fitz personally wasn't playing as well as he has in the past. Throw in the fact that he missed over 3.5 games (and was racking up yards against Iowa when he went down) and I think we'll see a very good year out of Fitz if he's back healthy in 2013.
11 weeks 5 days ago	Agreed	The Keady comb-over was magnificent.  So weird seeing him embracing his baldness during the M-Purdue game in W. Lafayette when he was sitting in the stands next to the Big Dog.  Somebody needs to hit his pate with a can of spray paint.  Or Soul Glo.
11 weeks 5 days ago	Real men eat subs!	Fuck Kansas!
11 weeks 5 days ago	I think you mean...	#HALOL /BacariAlexanderIsBiggerThanMichiganFootball Bill Self molests collies!

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