TyrannousLex

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Date	Title	Body
3 weeks 1 day ago	No	Christians aren't evil. But you might keep in mind that those of us who aren't Christian are a little turned off by your insistence that we either A. become Christian or B. at least live according to your rules. I understand that our unwillingness to live as you tell us to live somehow becomes persecution of Christians. We're sorry.
3 weeks 1 day ago	Tim's problem is that he's	Tim's problem is that he's just not very good at playing QB. I read that during last season he told Ryan that he was tired of "gimmicky" offenses and wanted to be a traditional NFL QB ... but i'm pretty sure that requires being able to pass effectively and with regularity. However, the Jets' decision to not play him last year might have also been due to playing time related bonuses in his contract. Unless he was good enough to be the QB, it was likely not worth it to the Jets to play him.
4 weeks 2 days ago	maybe try the lake district	You can try looking NW of A2 in the Pinckney/Dexter/Saline triangle. I lived in what was essentially a vacation cabin inside the Recreation Area for a while. Between phone, voter registration, and mail i was technically a resident of all three places. But since Hell was the closest place to buy milk, i generally said that i lived in Hell (and did my shopping commute to Hell by canoe when the weather permitted). It's a quick and pleasant trip into the city but feels more like "up North" than Ann Arbor. I don't remember drive time to downtown proper, but as out of the way as i was, it wasn't more than a 15 minute commute to work on the far West side at Jackson and Zeeb. Edit: Curiosity got me and i did a quick search: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rentals/michigan/pinckney/r8457 Find the Pinckney State Recreation Area on Google Maps for an idea of the land and locations. Many of these cottages are open year round. Access is generally year round even on the private roads. For the early Fall games, there's also plenty else to do. Regal friends back home about your canoe trip to Hell or canoe trek to the iconic Zukey Lake Tavern
7 weeks 3 days ago	The team, the team, the team	They say that going deep in the tournament is about peaking at the right time. Last night looked like a team that found its moment to start peaking. A very, very talented team that's fallen short in more than its fair share of crushing defeats this season could have given up. Given the team's youth, it would have even been understandable. Instead they rose to the challenge. Intangibles matter on a level playing field of talent, and UM may well have the most important intangible for a championship team. They should believe that they can beat any team, any way ... no matter how improbable it seems. It wasn't flukey. They just kept doing their thing, stuck together, and won what might well be one of those history book games. For all Trey did, it wasn't hero ball. When they look at the film, they'll see McGary scrapping, GRIII scooping a ball from the floor and playing it just right, Morgan with so few minutes playing excellent defense when it mattered most. Trey's heroics don't win the game without his brothers' less heralded heroics. Let's hope that those kids are looking at each other and seeing a team that can't be beat when it sticks together and refuses to quit. Championship teams all share a belief in their own invincibility. This Michigan team just might have found that, and done so at just the right time. I won't be surprised if they come out against Florida and everybody just has the stroke to hit any shot they choose.
7 weeks 4 days ago	Swell	Other than the fact that come 2015 the Tigers will have $90M in payroll for just four players, i'm thrilled. Not that it matters to me beyond hoping that it doesn't impinge on filling out the rest of the roster. It is impressive the way Mr. Mike runs a sports organization, and he manages the near impossible: not being cheap but also generally spending money wisely. You can't let JV go to save a few million bucks. Verlander's loyalty is impressive too. I have a feeling that he never even thought about testing the market. He wanted to play in Detroit, they made him a solid offer, and the deal was done.
7 weeks 4 days ago	Unexpected but for the best	Between flashes of brilliance, he had mechanical and control issues this spring. It would be possible to get him innings without being the closer but he's just a kid playing a position that's mostly psychological. Far better for him to make changes and improve at Triple A where he won't have to worry so much about mistakes getting pounced on, and where the coach won't have to worry about that scenario shaking his confidence. I expect to see him under the bright lights this summer, and don't think that closer by committee is anything to worry about in the first 1/3 - 1/2 of the season anyhow. I'm a little bummed the Berry didn't make the team, but they really wanted a right-handed bat and Tuiasosopo hit well. I think i'd rather have Berry's speed to plug into the lineup. I am glad that Don Kelly has been hitting well and made the team; his versatility is huge if he can keep hitting.
7 weeks 4 days ago	Like this summer?	Shy of fielding an all-star team the Tigers are there. It would be theoretically possible to upgrade at SS, but not realistic in the market. LF too maybe, but that's pointless with very good young outfielders coming through the system and close to the bigs. Not many teams have stars throughout the rotation, and if Porcello's added pitch and good command continue from the Spring he'll be better than good enough for a fifth starter. So basically we're missing a closer, but we have multiple players capable of handling the role and a guy who got sent to Triple A to start the year to fine tune mechanics and control.
9 weeks 2 days ago	If you're generation company	If you're generation company had 4,473 reportable incidents of injury in 2011, MIOSHA would be setting up a permanent office. At that point, federal OSHA would probably be hanging around too. Your employees are likely (potentially) exposed to all sorts of things like Pb/Cd, asbestos, PCBs, etc. and, yes, the rules for medical monitoring and informing them of their exposure and potential health effects are significant.* Clearly, the NFL does not have to deal with OSHA. Just as clearly, being a substation electrician is quite different from being an NFL player in terms of acknowledged risks inherent in the employment ... though anyone who's seen the more grizzly arc flash safety videos would probably chose getting tackled by Ray Lewis. I'm with you, not sharing the full medical records with the players is the disturbing part of this story. It undermines the NFL statements about being committed to safety as well as the argument that the players are making an informed choice. *From the perspective an industrial hygienist who's been tied to a power generatio company for the last two years as a third-party consultant.
12 weeks 8 hours ago	His ceiling is incredibly	His ceiling is incredibly high, certainly first round draft choice. Heisman is a lot about luck or having a good sob story for the press. Ceiling is also not the same as what we might expect. I expect really good things, and great things depend on making a few relatively minor improvements as well as decisions outside of his control. Some of his passes last year were a little late, not being a QB coach, i assume that he's still thinking rather than knowing and acting instinctually. If Michigan can establish a running game and at least one of the receivers steps up, then Devin will likely be making a lot of national media sit up and take notice. I don't have a lot of worries about what Borges wants to do. Looking at what Hoke/Borges did at SDSU suggests that with my above caveats, we're likely to see a prolific and exciting offense. Devin looks like he can run a passing game, including the vertical stretching Borges likes. Devin can both keep a play alive and burn a defense with his legs (and he showed the decision making chops last year to checkdown to his legs or throw it away when necessary). If the coaches feel that Bellomy can be the 2nd string guy, then i think we're also likely to see a little bit of QB designed runs for Devin. Not like Robinson QB running, but using them to keep the defense honest. Get that redshirt, letting the rest of the team develop around him, and, yes, we might be talking Heisman finalist and very high NFL pick.
12 weeks 4 days ago	I maintain such a list	A specific list of public figures that i vow to kick directly in the nuts if i ever see them in public. It's been decades and no one has yet knocked Jimmy Buffet from the #1 spot. Still, Izzo seems like a nice addition to the list.
12 weeks 4 days ago	Why?	They volunteered, got paid, and get education benefits besides. It's not even all that hard to get the military to pay for multiple degrees while you're enlisted, or at least it doesn't seem to be given the number of people i know who received advanced degrees on the taxpayer dime.
12 weeks 4 days ago	He's trapped in the Circumlocution Office	I had a similar situation with UM and it took an entire semester to straighten it out. It was all because i happened to have mailed my grad school application from St. Petersburg, Russia. My permanent address had remained in MI throughout my time in Russia but the uni didn't seem to care. It wasn't until i took my passport to a meeting and read the visa information to those concerned that it got fixed. But if this guy actually changed his residency, filed taxes in another state, etc. while in the military i don't see why the UM should give him in-state tuition.
13 weeks 3 days ago	footage	Most places wouldn't even produce as much footage as we've seen. It happened pretty fast, as meteor do and all. Driving in Russia is something of an experience. I used to sky dive and jump off of mountains for fun. I've driven a car at speeds greater than 150 mph. Yet all of my near death experiences happened on Russian roads. Because the craziest things happen on Russian roads (including insurance scams, fights, corrupt traffic police, etc.), most Russians run a dash cam to collect evidence in case of what would be a rare eventuality for you but an everyday occurance for Russians. In my gypsy cabbing adventures i experienced road rage leading to off course chases so that my driver could scream and spit on the windshield of another car. I've been in cars that swerved at pedestrians (this was a Chechan screaming "Russian swine" and missing pedestrian babushkas by inches). I've driven on sidewalks at speed, played chicken with trams, and driving in oncoming traffic just stopped seeming like a very big deal. To be fair, some of this was my fault. I reached a point where at times i'd offer a fair fare for the destination and then structure monetary rewards for quicker times to the destination.
13 weeks 3 days ago	The guy in the hippie hat might be the key	While it looks like face-paint boy might be trying to get overall-girl's attention with a shoulder tap that missed it's target, he may be looking behind her. Look at hippie-hat have his attention drawn, pause celebration, lean behind overall-girl, and congratulate face-paint boy with a high five. Part of the general celebration, maybe, but the timing is odd as is the way hippie-hat goes right back to what he was doing. Also, everyone is going crazy except face-paint boy, who's attention is solely focused on overall-girl. What could have had to say to her at that very moment that was so important that it overrode the emotions everyone around him (include her) are experiencing? I think that the tap/grope and hand around the waist are less likely if they know each other, because in that case they'd have plenty of time for that elsewhere and he wouldn't be stopping what he was doing to try and catch a jiggling boob.
14 weeks 2 days ago	Maybe misinterpreting "the best play"	Especially on the O line, there's a lot of complexity to grasp and implement at nearly the level of instinct. Those young guys might have a lot more talent but weren't overall better because they were still learning. You may also be putting a little too much into those statement from the coaching staff. These are also the guys who call staph infections "boo boos" and pay a lot of lip service to the seniors. I don't doubt that they'd play a young guy ahead of an upperclassman if the former was signficantly better than the latter. I also wouldn't be surprised to find out that one of the major reasons for that statement being used so often was simply to foster competition in practice.
14 weeks 2 days ago	Generally agree	But still want to point out that Devin Gardner does resemble John Amos. The facial structure differences almost disappear from certain angles. I nicknamed Devin "Good Times" for it.
14 weeks 3 days ago	Maybe, but it's weird	In a household without generational or attendence allegiances, i can see it. I live in the UP now and i imagine that there's a lot of Yoopers like that ... though there's a lot of Yoopers who love the Tigers, Wings, and Packers, so with a history of treasonous behavior maybe it's not a good anecdotal data point. I hate State, and i didn't attend either school (didn't apply to MSU, was accepted and declined UM, twice). I do however come from a multi-generational UM family and spent my childhood living in Ypsi. My first UM game was against IU in '79 when i was not yet 6, so the die was probably cast before i had the rational ability to make my own decisions. On the other hand, there's never been any thought of changing those allegiances. I can see casual fandom for both schools, but that's about it.
14 weeks 4 days ago	I guess Rocky got a statue	You mean like his charity that he doesn't contribute to?
14 weeks 5 days ago	100% agreement	They have to be actual dual threats. Gardner has that. He wasn't perfect in 2012, but given his still limited game experience the downsides of his passing game are understandable and hopefully able to be improved.
14 weeks 5 days ago	I like this	Especially modeling on SF. Throughout the playoffs i kept wondering if SF's offense is the future of the NFL. I still don't think that there will be true, running spread offenses at that level; however, much of the best QB talent coming out of college will continue to be dual threat. SF runs my ideal of a hybrid offense, and i would be incredibly happy if UM looked like SF. I think we all would be, because we're likely to win a lot of games over the next two (hopefully) years with Gardner running a SF style offense.
14 weeks 5 days ago	watch some SDSU tape	The thing you might notice about these newfangled NFL offenses (two of three are referenced here, but i'll include Seattle) is that the QBs running them can pass effectively. All the scheming in the world doesn't help if the offense is effectively one dimensional and you don't have an overpowering O-line. Also, these kids have limited time to learn things and are still developing their skills. If Denard had a hard time incorporating new concepts into the offense and running them, then it's really not possible.
14 weeks 5 days ago	The NFL offenses in question	don't necessarily run the QB all that often. Play choice where the QB can run (so long as he does it every now and again) can be enough to have the desired schematic effect. If the QB is a potential running threat, that threat has to be accounted for by the defense. However, like the NFL offenses in question, i assume that Gardner's legs will be the check down. He's shown good ability to both throw on the run and make that choice correctly. If the defense is going to give you 10-15 yards, take them and fall down.
14 weeks 5 days ago	They're professionals	First, they're all the best of the best. Second, they don't have any time limit on practicing. That second one helps a lot.
15 weeks 2 days ago	I suspect	that there's a misreading of the lay of the land. Proving that football is dangerous will not be necessary or even likely tried. Citing evidence that it isn't (assuming such evidence exists) will have little effect in the court of public opinion. One NFL player questioning it is enough to overshadow any clinical study. But more importantly, nobody's ever going to file criminal charges against a football organization claiming some sort of negligence that must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. The legal precedent will be in civil court, where the argument will be that the NFL knew about the potential danger/risk and did not A. inform players who could make a decision based on that information and B. did not act on its information to make the game safer for its employees. This will be in front of a jury where players and their wives can tell the story, and while we may not be immediately sympathetic to millionaires, the jury only has to be more sympathetic to them than to the billionaires being sued. A couple of cases won, and insuring football programs below the revenue level of the NFL will likely become prohibitive. Game over if some NCAA players successfully sue their alma mater. And long-term, the game might be over as parents and kids decide against football. I know a young man who did the research himself and decided not to sign up for football (no parental pressure). He's sticking with soccer and basketball.
16 weeks 19 hours ago	No apologies necessary	Shirt was in the mailbox today! Can't wait to wear it ... especially most Saturdays at the Farmer's Market where i'll have the most opportunities to explain it  (i'd wear it for animal slaughters at the farm, but it wouldn't remain regularly wearable for long). But the shirt was just a bonus. I'm more looking forward to the garden updates and seeing the project come together. I wish i could volunteer directly, but the shores of Superior are a long ways from Pahokee and my knowledge, centered as it is on growing in the cold white north, wouldn't be all that applicable anyhow.
17 weeks 6 days ago	Interesting	With the dual threat QB becoming a norm in the NFL (and it will continue) and the fact that we're seeing read option plays on Sundays with some regularity, Kelly will be the test of the spread making a real jump to the pros. And of all the spread minds, Kelly's is probably the best bet for success. Or, Philly's taking a huge chance with either being the league innovator and getting at least a few seasons head start or the failure will be laughable.
17 weeks 6 days ago	Access	Southern California might be slightly better for a kid wanting to break into popular music than Ann Arbor. There's a good chance that the people he idolizes in music and can help that career will know his name from the football field, maybe not so much playing at UM.
17 weeks 6 days ago	That's probably about right	His routes and his hands will obviously be the question. Though he's technically big enough to be a back in the NFL, i'd guess that teams will want to see him in space where he can do the most damage to defenses. I've got hope. The right organization drafting Denard could make things interesting. Clearly, the era of the dual-threat QB has begun in the NFL, and it's going to continue. Denard's not ready to be a starting NFL QB. However, an innovative team could pick up a hardworking kid that can provide immediate impact on offense and devote offseason resources to teaching him the details of playing QB that he needs. If his routes and hands are acceptable, you've got a guy that with some polish can play the slot, come out of the backfield, and even go wildcat. Put him in a backfield with a dual threat QB and you could give a DC real fits. Can you say halfback pass? Five years ago he would have been special teams only, or maybe seeing time in a 5 wide set. Now, there are a lot more possibilities.
17 weeks 6 days ago	maybe, maybe not	Look at the trend in NFL QBs. Nobody's running a read-option spread offense, but seeing the play run on Sundays is getting to be pretty common. When RGIII got hurt in the playoffs and Cousins came in, the Skins had to change the offense drastically. Now it's unlikely that an NFL team will have a backup QB returning kicks and entering the offense for some plays, but you never know. And teams will spend money teaching QB mechanics. The Broncs tried with Tebow, but he couldn't figure it out ... which is probably why they shipped him away. The right team might see in Denard a guy that can provide value immediately with potential as a project too.
18 weeks 5 hours ago	I have a coworker who was the	I have a coworker who was the starting OC at GVSU under Kelly (was already there when Kelly ascended), so i take his consultations on OL play and intricacies pretty seriously. He gets all bent out of shape when we call WRs, and RBs "skill positions". In his estimation, those are talent positions and playing the line is skill position because it requires so much learning to do well as opposed to being born able to run really flippin fast. Because of the learning and ability to apply the learning instinctively, he maintains that linemen don't become really good until their junior/senior seasons. That doesn't bode well for UM in the next year or two. I guess we'll just have to hope that there are some real gems in these two classes, the kind that can come in and contribute early. That may not produce outstanding OL play in 13 and 14, but if it can produce decent play now, then 15, 16 and beyond look very bright indeed.

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