Unverified Voracity Consults You Real Good Comment Count

Brian

The saddest legend. Is Toys R Us headquartered in North Carolina?

Why stop there, NC State? You've honored a gentleman you chased off your campus for playing baseball who finished his Wolfpack career with 7.2 yards per attempt. Once you've broken down the walls between that gentleman and a legends patch there are no barriers left.

Who's wearing 23 for you? He's now the Michael Jordan memorial (probably) tailback. He played somewhat near your school, after all. Jordan Spieth—certainly a carbon-based lifeform—does not have a number, so you can put a patch for him on all your jerseys. Dr. Manhattan may be fictional, but that doesn't have to stop you, NC State. Six words: NC State legend Dr. Manhattan cosplay.

Boom. You just got wow experienced. That will be one million dollars for consulting. Make the check out to Boom Wow Experienced Dot Org Net Inc.

On Samuelson's exit. Dan Samuelson was extremely candid with Nick Baumgardner in the aftermath:

"It had been a tough two years, not seeing the field and really not ever hitting the two-deep spot," Samuelson said Saturday. "I just realized, this is my third season, my chances of playing still aren't very good. I decided it was time to make a change and head somewhere where my chances were a little better.

"I just felt like it wasn't the best fit for me anymore."

Samuelson says he was third string throughout the spring and summer, and was told to focus on gaining more weight this offseason by Michigan's coaching staff -- something he says he accomplished after wrapping spring ball at 6-foot-5, 289 pounds.

But once camp began, Samuelson says he began to realize he wasn't making any progress when it came to Michigan's depth chart.

These days it's tough to play at less than 300, and Samuelson struggling to get up to 290 in his third year means the writing's on the wall. Samuelson made no bones about it.

Injury scares. While it seems Bryan Mone is going to be laid up for a long time with the broken ankle everyone says he's got, rumors that two more players were down for the count seem overblown.

The way this generally goes is several sites report the same thing without names, but with each one using a different set of parameters to indicate who it is (offensive freshman expected to contribute, etc.) people can deduce who the players in question were. Then the sites are like "right, those two guys" in follow-ups. It's a quality system. I enjoy it.

Anyway, in this case the two injured gents were TJ Wheatley and Wyatt Shallman. Steve Lorenz reported that Wheatley had a knee thing that was just a strain, not torn ligaments; Sam Webb reported that Shallman has a strained calf. Both are missing practice time and may miss a game or two but should be back early in the season.

This is a bad article. There are many bad articles. I don't often point them out these days, but this one is special. It is a column in Psychology Today titled "Obesely Speaking" about something something Harbaugh intermittent reinforcement SCIENCE:

We are also drawn to Harbaugh because we are a social species, and instinctually we know that we are only as strong as our weakest, as healthy as our sickest, as wealthy as our poorest – though we’ve lost sight of that. Hence, his many humanitarian deeds add yet another level of appeal.  I asked several Internet social media groups, such as Michigan Football HQ, The University of Michigan M Club, Michigan Proud and True, Big Ten Talk etc. why they liked Jim Harbaugh. U of M alumnus, Bruce Laing, encapsulates the majority opinion: He will instill toughness and accountability in the athletes, posted Laing in the University of Michigan M Club.  Our children's futures are vital, so we embrace the importance of education, accountability and toughness because they galvanize that future; yet  another reason Americans are drawn to Harbaugh.

Woof. The saddest part of this article is that it has 80(!) references to scientific papers at the end of it. Hopefully the guy just writes his columns such that all those papers are always at the end and he just C&Ps it. As good an explanation as any.

Well done. EDSBS commentariat member Tim Hodgson undertook an experiment:

Undertake your experiment today!

No union for (just) you. The National Labor Relations Board turned down Northwestern's attempt to unionize yesterday with a ruling reminiscent of Kirk Ferentz facing fourth and two in the opponent's territory:

"In the decision, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction would not promote labor stability due to the nature and structure of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)," the NLRB wrote in its decision. "By statute the Board does not have jurisdiction over state-run colleges and universities, which constitute 108 of the roughly 125 FBS teams.

"In addition, every school in the Big Ten, except Northwestern, is a state-run institution. As the NCAA and conference maintain substantial control over individual teams, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction over a single team would not promote stability in labor relations across the league.

"This decision is narrowly focused to apply only to the players in this case and does not preclude reconsideration of this issue in the future."

They punted. That's disappointing and a bit nonsensical. Matt Hinton points out that this is a federal agency explicitly concerned with a "level playing field" that does not exist and never will. By shooting down this case, the NRLB forces any unionization effort to be held over at least all private schools and probably something even wider than that.

There is short term relief here for the NCAA; in the longer term this is going down in court.

Etc.: Wheatley profiled. 1981 SI piece on Bo is gold. The first-ever sports team at Michigan. Do not read, Gary Danielsn. Also do not read, Gary Danielson. Here is a week old piece on Kevin Tolbert I meant to link earlier.

Comments

WCHBlog

August 18th, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^

The NCSU thing would have been funnier if it hadn't been directly below a thread bragging about Michael Jordan hanging out on the Michigan sideline because.........($).

08mms

August 18th, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^

I'm constantly shocked at how few people can recognize states by their outlines.  If it was Wyoming vs. Colorado or maybe the Dakotas vs. Kansas, I could see people struggling, but isn't the rest just a basic thing you have to learn as an American?

LostOnNorth

August 18th, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^

..So it seems I'm not the only one who writes a paper then googles for  as many corroborating "sources" as possible after to make it look like I didn't pull the paper out of my ass..

MGoBlue-querque

August 18th, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^

I live in New (better than old, amirite?) Mexico and no one out here has guessed correctly what state it is.  The most common thought is: IOWA! That always cracks me up.  Once I tell them it's Ohio they kind of nod, and then I have to explain why I don't like Ohio. 

ST3

August 18th, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^

I don't know why this bothers me, but isn't, "NC State legend Dr. Manhattan cosplay" seven words, or more accurately, 4 words, 1 abbreviation and 2 letters? Help me, MGoGrammar Police.

creelymonk10

August 18th, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^

Texas is the most common guess people give when wondering what state it is on my Worst State Ever t-shirt. People are bad at geography. 

Also shoutout to BryMac for the Kirk Ferentz 4th and 1 punt from your opponent's 37 yard line tweet yesterday.

 

Autostocks

August 18th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^

Brian, why is it so disappointing when a federal agency actually respects its authority instead of trying to overstep it?  Maybe just a matter of perspective, depending on what side of this issue one is on.

raleighwood

August 18th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^

As someone who used to live about a mile from Carter-Finley stadium, I can tell you that NC State is desperate for any kind of recognition.  A few years ago, they celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the 1989 Basketball Team (the last one to win the ACC).  Not the 20th, or 25th....they celebrated the 23rd (or something along those lines).  Of course, I think that this was soon after Chris Corchiani got thrown out of the game as a spectator for yelling at the ref.  They wanted to make a statement against the conference.

They hang banners FOR MAKING THE NCAA TOURNAMENT.  That's right, not for winning it, or winning a regional, or even for going to the Sweet 16.  They hang banners just for making the tournament.

They retired Philip Rivers jersey WHILE HE WAS STILL AN ACTIVE PLAYER.  It was retired at his final home game as a senior.  Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Charles Woodson's jersey hasn't been retired and he won a Heisman and National Championship.  His day will come....and it will be awesome!

The point is that NC State will do anything to draw attention to itself.  It's tough living in the shadow of UNC and Duke.

 

west2

August 18th, 2015 at 1:04 PM ^

unusual these days for scientific/medical articles to reference popular culture to make point or to keep interest in a particular article, dependant on the specific journal/editors preferences of course.  In fairness I did not read the entire article, but what was strange about this excerpt is that it is unusually long as a simple illustrative analogy and what is the point they are making really?

OC Alum91

August 18th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^

great excerpt demonstrating poor writing. A lot of words, but not really saying anything. All the while missing the point. We don't really care about toughness or accountability....*we just want to win.* we love Harbaugh because he's one of us, he's intense and eccentric, but most importantly beacuse he is a winner. He's won before, and we think he will win.

Proclus

August 18th, 2015 at 2:24 PM ^

The NLRB's Northwestern decision is a little muddled, but I don't see anything in it that is obviously concerned with competitive parity. Its conclusion that asserting jurisdiction wouldn't effectuate statutory policy because it wouldn't promote "stability" in the relevant labor market is, as mentioned in this post, based on the fact that the NLRB has no jurisdiction over a large majority of the employers in the industry. Why the board finds that fact relevant is only discussed in vague terms of the "symbiotic" relationship between teams in a sports league. One could interpret that discussion as being motivated by a desire to keep games interesting, but it seems to me that the board is just observing that the nature of sports leagues requires that they have rules that apply to all members, and the board won't have the ability to change those rules by certifying a single-employer bargaining unit. The disruption the board seems to be worried about isn't that a unionized Northwestern would be at a competitive disadvantage, but that it would be easy for the NCAA or the Big Ten to exclude Northwestern if a players' union negotiated something that would violate their rules.

snarling wolverine

August 18th, 2015 at 2:25 PM ^

The article on the 1865 U-M baseball team mentions that "Instead of calling balls and strikes, umpires would instead call 'attention' to a batter." When were balls and strikes added to baseball?

 

Alton

August 18th, 2015 at 2:58 PM ^

It has an answer much more complicated than you would expect!

In 1858, umpires were permitted but not required to call strikes.

In 1864, the "ball" was introduced, and umpires were permitted but not required to call balls.

By 1866, the standard practice at the top level of the game was that most (but not all) pitches would be called either a ball or a strike.

There are recorded instances in National Association games as late as 1872 of an umpire not calling a pitch either a strike or a ball.

http://protoball.org/images/b/bb/CalledPitches.pdf

I assume that at lower levels of the game, like Michigan vs Detroit in 1866, umpires would have been more reluctant to call strikes & balls, and more willing to let the batters hit and the fielders field.

A newspaper writeup of an 1870 Harvard game indicates that umpires were still reluctant to call balls & strikes:  "Mr. Hatfield was elected umpire, and although he gave general satisfaction, he seems to suffer, like many others in a similar position, from a disinclination to call “balls” or “strikes,” as the rules direct. It is only fair to a good pitcher, that the rule should be strictly enforced, otherwise an immediate and decided advantage is given to the side whose pitcher is not so careful or effective. ... [The umpire] is not there to give his idea on the subject, but to fulfill his duties  as prescribed by the rules of the convention."

kevin holt

August 19th, 2015 at 12:55 AM ^

This is so weird... I was actually going to wear my Worst State Ever shirt to Cedar Point tomorrow. I decided not to, because it's dark blue and will be extremely humid and hot, but still.

gewimin

August 19th, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^

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