Member for

14 years 6 months
Points
4.00

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
Refunds?

I was watching it on the web.  Then a while later tuned into the radio...  I was hoping they called it just so people would request refunds.  Even just the delays, I thought what a horrible customer experience!  $70 to be herded around like cattle for hours in the rain.

I hope Brandon gets 109,000 e-mails from angry fans.  What did he/the school do to appease the fans, make them more comfortable, through this?  Was shelter provided?  And now, seeing less than 75% of the game...

I'm sorry, this is the downside when charging that much and being so concerned about money.  It is more than just demand (i.e., we can charge such outrageous prices because we can get it).

 

I Have Paid A Lot...

of attention to the Shapiro thing, I guess to try and figure out what was really behind it, but maybe also because at first maybe I thought he was kind of right in his claim that he did so much and some people should come to his aid.

I think now that really isn't the case. At least in its latter years, this guy knew what he was doing with his Ponzi business.  Even in prison, he seems to have a real ego problem.  His actions around the football program were really about attention, power, narcissism, influence, partying, and maybe even more greed (e.g., the agent business).  Yahoo! did an amazing job of reporting given their corroboration, records, chronology, interviewing, etc.  This guy Shapiro has severe problems.

I read that he succeeded in meeting with Shannon on the new coach's first day, and in Shannon's words bragged about being "in charge or in control" (I forgot which) and also having particular influence with local law enforcement.  (Oh, BTW, his rants with other university people are documented.)  Everything I've read indicates Shannon saw through him immediately--obviously Shapiro represented a bad and unwanted situation.

The other thing I learned from the story is many of the Miami players come off as pretty, well, not admirable, both when they were at Miami and as pros.  Sure they were young, needy, social, etc., but still...  Some don't appear to be exactly model student-athletes.  And some don't appear to really have thought out--'Hey, I can go pro (and get an education).  Do I really need this?'

 

This is...

going to be fun to watch.  Certainly there is no shortage of options for the fan or reader and they seem to be growing all the time.  I, for one, have very little interest in the pay sites--I'm just not THAT into it and enjoy browsing on the various free sites.

On more than one occasion I considered writing to Tom or posting somewhere something akin to does his work help or hurt recruiting?  I mean, couldn't it hurt that he contacts recruits and could rub someone the wrong way?  But, the truth is, he seems incredibly polite and cognizant of that.  He really does do a good job.  But, I didn't know he was paid a real, full-time salary.  It strikes me as a little odd, in some of his posts, that he is an employee of the site yet doesn't always treat users/customers with information, propmptness, or courtesy that I think might be expected.  I think he will do well anywhere and in a bigger, more read or challenging environment.  Oh, and I commend Tom and Brian for ORIGINAL content.

I've had some communications with Brian at times and one of the things I question about this site is the publishing of others', proprietary, copywrited information on a for-profit stie.  It occurs to me that Tim may have some problems.  His "Hello" posts are often mostly cut and pastes from elsewhere; I cannot see Rivals/Yahoo allowing that.  And I would definitely question his--anyone's--ability to sum up or project a recruits entire college career in a few sentences, especially based who-knows-what web information.

Magnus' knowledge and input has, in my opinion, improved over the years.  It is great to see him learn more about what he does and enjoys.  Still, I think he can be too critical and judgemental toward young, sometimes 16 or 17 year-old kids.  I think it is shame to squash potential when it seems awfully difficult to really tell.  Give them, not to mention the coaches, the benefit of the doubt.  But I think Magnus has definitely done good things with his blog.  What is great is that he is actively involved in the discussions.

DG Destroys seems to have found a home elsewhere.

15 Hours

Here's a good one.  Hardly anything, especially if things are prepared-for and scripted.  Or, like baseball, in the tunnel or out of sight.

"Smith has confirmed that the five-game suspension actually amounts to only a 15-hour suspension — the time during which the Buckeyes are playing games."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/ohio-state-not-on-the-hook-for-football-coach-jim-tressels-legal-team-in-ncaa-case/2011/05/18/AFb4ji6G_story.html

Link to today's events on my blog:  http://peterpfeiffer.co.cc/columns/?p=775

1967 Mercedes

http://www.theresearchsource.net/fun-games.htm

Before 1980 but I'm ready to sell the '67 SL...  Not required, but it helps to own one that will appreciate.

Greasy

This is a very, very slippery slope this blog has begun to slide on.  I am a frequent reader of the blog but seldom do I post.  Recently I have begun to pay a great deal of attention to this censorship issue.  I don't like it one bit.  How does it affect me and the site?  I have read comments from frequent posters saying 'I'll go elsewhere to discuss it.'  I vote too with my dollars (or in this case, eyes, or keystrokes); I too will go elsewhere.

So I have been reading the excised thread and I am stunned by the amount of rules.  This isn't particularly a news site.  The primary reason I read it is to read comments--all comments.  Some are funny, outlandish, crass, whatever.  Personally, I think they are too dire, but there were threads after the Penn State game, and again after Wisconsin, all yanked.  I enjoy reading what EVERYONE has to say.  I saw that someone had the audacity to post something about international soccer; bang, removed.  Yes, over-the-top things should be edited, but I think this direction has gone too far.  I am a marketing, and in particular, customer satisfaction expert; in my professional opinion, this site is properly defining what its role is and who its audience is and is going to suffer from this miscalculation.

This is probably the most glaring example of what I have seen.  'This is a serious matter so no douche comments.'  As far as I can tell, Kelly's actions are out of line.  Again, as a marketer, he has a real perception problem and the examples (e.g., player treatment, the scissor lift, now this) are mounting.  The university too has mishandled, at the very least, the public relations.  It is real and this blog's attempts to censor it, I believe, are wrong.

Finally, if this blog is so intent on such intrusiveness into the behavior of its participants (customers as well as content providers), why not be at least a little cognizant of copyright violations?  I see the following frequently:  Are you not aware that content from the Chicago Tribune is copyrighted and may not be posted without written permission?  This is a for-profit website.  Why isn't this excised?

I really think you are toying with the loyalty of (at least some of) your users.  Do you really know your audience?

 

P.S.  I'll put this on my blog (www.peterpfeiffer.co.cc) as I hope to do a little more with this issue in the future.  Also, I'll explore it with a few other U-M blogs.  I'm curious if this too will be deleted!

Awakened the Ghost

Who made you pope of this dump?  

BTW, same goes for the clown who asked for updates from TomVH on game visitors under disguise.

Get a life! 

Precident:   need I cite them?  Attacks against idiots are OK.  Want to control an open-space blog?  Start your own.

URL unpublished.