Definitely a perfect sponsorship pairing, and contrary to OP no one in South Texas is confused by this. Appeals to all the Cowboy fans from Austin south - Big Red and barbacoa tacos are a staple weekend tradition in San Antonio and down through the Rio Grande Valley.
I've been a member for five and a half years, and an unregistered lurker for probably another solid two before then. I'm not active on the boards as a poster, as evidenced by my lowly 160ish points, but I check the site at least ten times a day to see if there is any new front page content and read the latest board posts.
I don't ever anticipate starting a new topic because, frankly, I don't see myself as having anything post worthy and been here more than long enough to know the common sense threshold. However, if I were to suddenly have a flash of insight that I felt was worth sharing, I certainly feel my almost 7.5 years around this place make me a far better judge of whether to actually post or not than someone who just joined and engaged in POSBang threads to rack up 500 points in a few weeks.
So if there are changes, I recommend they be an "or" set of rules: 500 posts or a year on the board. That gives someone who wants to engage immediately a chance to learn by experience, hopefully earning a measure of post-worthy decision making on the path to 500. Alternatively, a poster who has been lurking on the boards for a year witnessing common decorum and learning the written/unwritten rules of post making through observation should have enough sense that if he or she suddenly deems a thought thread worthy the benefit of the doubt should be granted.
I think it's 3 Top-10 matchups:
1) Michigan - Wisconsin
2) Louisville - Clemson
3 Washington - Stanford
Going to be a good weekend. No time overlap between the games either.
Not understanding why the whole thread was pulled. The offending posts should have been deleted, and maybe some action taken against those posters, but are we supposed to live with out head in the sand about our rivals? If they do something good, something actually historic, we can't have enough respect to say a simple "good job" and then strive to top it with our own draft classes in the upcoming years?
Smoking a cheesecake with cherry wood right now so it can rest and chill until after dinner. Then will switch wood over to mesquite and load up the smoker with a couple turkey breasts that are currently brining, some sausages, and quartered pears topped with Gouda and wrapped in bacon. Finally, will be sous vide-ing some ribeyes to then quickly seat and round out the meats. Sides are simple with some mashed potatoes and creamed corn. Next to the 4th of July, this is my favorite cookout (and this year will probably be even better because it's 70 and sunny down here today, and by July it'll be in the 100s).
But the Raiders are supposed to be moving to the San Antonio-Austin area and then "The Raiders are still in play" thing would be great for us down here! Damn you Hackett!!!!
/s - in case it wasn't extremely obvious.
PS: If the statue is built, it needs to be modeled off of the picture of him in the chair at the town hall style meeting.
In case it isn't obvious from the username, I'm local to where this incident happened and have heard from friends (third and fourth hand, but fairly consistent) about how everything progressed:
1) He was at Pat O'Brien's getting drunk (as one does there) about 1:30;
2) A group of Ducks fans were trash talking to him, and Boykin became aggressive back;
3) Seeing the situation escalating, a bartender stepped in between the groups to separate them;
4) Boykin threw a punch and hit the bartender, and was escorted out of the bar;
5) Teammates of Boykin assured the bar staff they would get him back to the hotel and began walking;
6) By this time SAPD arrived on scene after a call about the disturbance;
7) Boykin separated a bit, and others outside began yelling at him again;
8) At that point he turned around and rushed the group, swinging away;
9) A bike cop was trying to corral the group and get them to shut up, and he's the one who got hit by Boykin;
10) No guns or tasers were drawn, only threats to tase were made when Boykin would not calm down even after punching the officer.
I quit smoking cold turkey about a month ago, and part of that package was giving up alcohol because it was my biggest trigger for nicotine craving, which combined with a lowering of inhibition means (as has occurred previous times) relapse. Prior to that it was 2-3 nights a week of a glass of wine or nice stout with dinner, with about once a month full bore, back to college days drinking.
The defense and special teams are enough to secure a victory for Michigan so long as they aren't put into terrible situations by the offense on turnovers. RBs need to hold onto the ball even if it means getting down and not picking up that extra yard, and Rudock needs to be smart with his decision making. The corners for NW are very good and will take full advantage of bad passes. Throwing it away on 3rd down and letting O'Neill and the defense do their thing is infinitely more preferable than forcing a bad throw and turning it over.
Here in San Antonio, BTN GameFinder is showing UM-MD as the noon game on BTN and NW getting bumped to BTN2GO (since we don't have alternates on Time Warner). Won't be moving to ESPN since it's still contractually a BTN game and doubt Fox will give it up to rival owned ESPN.
From the article regarding the Notre Dame series being rescheduled: "Hackett was unavailable for further comment after the fireside chat, but Chrissi Rawak (one of Hackett’s aides who handles external relations) and Svoboda, the department’s associate athletic director for media relations, confirmed no phone calls have been made [regarding Notre Dame]. Michigan does not have an open date on its schedule until 2018."
From Smidgens' notes form the meeting: "Hackett mentioned Harbaugh was calling about scheduling, for 2018 and later I guess?"
Loved leaving the defensive starters in the game to get the shutout. While there was a risk of injury, those guys deserved to blank the scoreboard, and couldn't hurt with Gary taking in the game.
While some of the circumstances have recently changed, I love the Red River Shootout. Texas and Oklahoma, neutral site in Dallas halfway between the schools. Stadium half in Longhorn burnt orange, half in Sooner red. Texas State Fair deep frying everything imaginable outside.
Plus I've always loved the similarities between Texas and Michigan. Great academic schools, traditional powers in football (now #1 and #2 all time most wins) and also Olympic sports, an in-state rival with a recent superiority complex, main rival from neighboring state that starts with an O. And Austin and Ann Arbor are both great cities,
It was sent to the marketing department, not the staff. It seems to be that the leadership is expecting some story about OSU or MSU to break, and they do not want someone from marketing to run to Twitter and post something that could cause backlash. Even though it's UMHS, their social media accounts will still reflect on the school, and a comment, even if meant as snarky or funny, could easily come off as insensitive.
Would be curious if other marketing departments of the University and related entities received a similar email.
Yes. Hackett called around to ask opinions from other D1 athletic directors, and one of those he called gave Hackett the candid and professional advice that Michigan is one of the biggest brands in all of sports and he should proceed accordingly.
There's a lot of Cowherd hate in the 11W threads on this topic as well. It's not all just "scUM" and other juvenile bashing of Harbaugh's performance in the interview (though a lot of it is).
I'll give ESPN some credit. On the SportsCenter Facebook post regarding this, the headline is, "Harbaugh not amused with Colin Cowherd's questions." When scrolling through the newsfeed, that comes off like Cowherd was the no talent interviewer and Harbaugh was pulling a Pop/Belicheck response to lazy interviewing.
First off, mine are all mixed-breed/mutt rescue dogs these days. There is a need for them to find a home, they tend to have less genetic health issues than pure breds, and you usually get to skip all the house training. So if you're going to get a dog, I highly recommend getting one from a shelter. The volunteers will usually know the personalities and can tell you who will be a good fit.
Second, don't get a dog because you like the breed (or the majority breed if it's a mix), get one that fits your lifestyle. If you're going to be gone at work all day and don't have a dog door for unfettered inside/outside running, probably not the best idea to get a high energy, working dog like a Siberian Husky or Australian Cattle Dog. People tend to fall in love with breeds, but then behavioral issues start because the dogs aren't wired to sit home alone for 8-10 hours with nothing to occupy them. If you're active in the evenings and on weekends, then a Lab or German Shepherd are great. Otherwise if you like to lounge around and not go on nightly long walks, hounds and, surprisingly, Great Danes are perfect.
Lastly, it's far easier to own two dogs than one. Sure the food and vet bills are doubled, but that is outweighed by the fact that there is always another dog around to keep each other occupied, and they get reinforced socialization without having to go to a dog park or doggy day care as often.
As a practicing attorney, I tried to dissuade my younger brother from law school (especially because he went to a degree factory) and actively campaigned against going to law school to all my friends that brought the idea up.
Law is, more than almost any other profession these days, based on who you know. Doesn't matter where you graduate (so long as you can pass the Bar); if one of your parents is partner in a huge firm and you've grown up around high powered lawyers at parties all your life, a good family friend runs a boutique firm that could use another young associate, or prior to law school you've built up a network in the legal world, then the odds of getting a good paying job out of law school are better than if you graduate in the top 5% of your class.
I was extremely lucky because I had some amazing connections, and even then, a bunch of pieces had to fall into place. I work in south Texas which, as I was graduating, hit an oil boom and I happened to be naturally adept at that area of law. In addition, the cost of living is extremely low which helps offset the massive student loan debt. I make a very respectable salary for a young lawyer, and it's still going to take me another 5+ years on an extremely aggressive plan to get debt free. After that happens, I am not certain I'll stay in the legal world for all the reasons mentioned by others above.
Back in 2006 I had a choice as a junior in undergrad of taking an adminstrative support job for a little company called Rackspace (now a billion dollar company and consistently in the top half of the Forbes Top 100 Best Places to Work list) that was just getting into managed web hosting and some newfangled "cloud computing" thing, or an internship for a U.S. Congressman. I chose the latter, and that is the path that led to law school. It wasn't a complete waste because I met some of the best people in the world through that job, in law school, and through professional association after, but I would definitely go back and change my choice if I had it to do over.
TL;DR - the reporting of the fact is perfectly fine, legally and ethically, so long as it is just the transmittal of the fact and not analysis or creative content.
In Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991) the U.S. Supreme Court sets out the standard pretty well:
"The Copyright Act of 1976 and its predecessor, the Copyright Act of 1909, leave no doubt that originality is the touchstone of copyright protection in directories and other fact-based works. The 1976 Act explains that copyright extends to "original works of authorship," 17 U.S.C. 102(a), and that there can be no copyright in facts, 102(b). A compilation is not copyrightable per se, but is copyrightable only if its facts have been "selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship." 101 (emphasis added). Thus, the statute envisions that some ways of selecting, coordinating, and arranging data are not sufficiently original to trigger copyright protection. Even a compilation that is copyrightable receives only limited protection, for the copyright does not extend to facts contained in the compilation. 103(b). Lower courts that adopted a "sweat of the brow" or "industrious collection" test - which extended a compilation's copyright protection beyond selection and arrangement to the facts themselves - misconstrued the 1909 Act and eschewed the fundamental axiom of copyright law that no one may copyright facts or ideas."
Without the ability to copyright, there is no legal protection to the dissemination of such facts. However, as I have discussions with clients on a fairly regular basis, just because it's not illegal and you have the ability to do something, does not mean it makes sense to do so in practical application. As has been stated above, the recruiting media world is fairly small, and angering connections is not a wise course of action.
So here, it is my personal opinion that reporting Costello is potentially not coming is perfectly acceptable so long as the information is limited to that singular fact.
Is it because we have the former coach at Stanford who made that school a desireable destination for football players?
No wait, is it because we have a coach who was previously a high level College and NFL quarterback who knows what it takes to be successful at both and has a track record of imparting that greatness to those he coaches?
Definitely wishing him the very best since he'll be playing at the AlamoDome which is only about a quarter mile from my office, so will definitely have a few opportunities to go see him on Saturdays without even having to pay for parking. Hard to believe UTSA is only in its fourth year of existence as a football program, and people down here are still stoked to finally have a hometown team (though most are still Longhorns/Aggie fans).
I'm a civil attorney, and on the days when I am feeling under the weather I'll remote in to the office and work from the couch drafting pleadings and such. So while technically a sick day, still productive and focused on work.
The only exception was when I quit smoking. I used three days of sick leave to hide from the world knowing that I probably wouldn't be much use (read: be potentially hostile) to clients and could not stay focused.
Zooming in on Brandon's pic looks like the first two rows are for the Harbaughs, then behind that Carrs, Schembechlers, and Moellers. Anyone else make out any of the other names?
In 2008, Michigan went 3-9 to finish second from last in the Big Ten. According to this, they would then have to play another game for the right to stay at Level A. One bad last game, and they're demoted to Level B for the next season. No way, even should hell freeze over, would a system ever be put in place where that could happen. USC and Alabama in 2000 would have been in the same position, as would 2007 Notre Dame (under the alignments as presented).
I see why they do something similar to this in professional soccer leagues, but with a guaranteed roster turnover every 5 years (with most players leaving after 3/4), there is no way this would work. One bad "rebuilding" year, and BAM, demoted for at least a year.
If true, shows 49ers believe there is no trade value to Harbaugh. If that's the case, only logical inference is that JH has something in place to coach Michigan.
San Francisco wouldn't take JH or his agent on their word that he's leaving and give up potential value (even if 4th round pick, still value and saves paying 5 million as contract damages.) My completely uninformed guess is Michigan and JH have at least an MOU and 49ers and Michigan reached an agreement on paying out the 5 million severance cost. Again, all premised on if Jay Glazer's report is actually true.
The length remaining on his contract could be seen as veto power, but it merely runs concurrently with the explicit one that is in his contract. If he doesn't want to be traded to a specific team, he could either let them know that he wouldn't sign a contract extension with them, or just flat out veto the trade.
Any approved trade would necessarily be premised on the execution of a contract extension with the new team as part of finalizing the deal. So in practical effect, it doesn't give him any options or leverage greater than just vetoing the trade.
I negotiate for a living (attorney/mediator) and in my opinion, unfortunately, JH's silence on Michigan is a bargaining chip. He may still end up here, but even if he knows that he isn't coming, as much as he loves Michigan, he just can't tell that fact to Hackett and the important figures at this time.
The basic fact is that right now he has three options within his sole control; he can (1) stay in the NFL and coach for the 49ers in a toxic situation, (2) leave and coach Michigan, or (3) quit and sit out for a year then look for an NFL job next year. *I am writing off the third option because it doesn't fit anything about JH to sit at home doing nothing.
The 49ers have the option to (1) retain JH, (2) fire him and pay out his contract, or (3) trade him.
In keeping Michigan as a viable option, JH is creating leverage with the 49ers. If he came out and said that he only wanted to stay NFL, all the power is in the San Francisco front office because they control his NFL future until the expiration of his contract. At this time, if JH says he wants to be traded to Oakland and only Oakland (or whichever team), and the 49ers refuse to make a deal, then he can threaten to walk away from the NFL and San Francisco gets nothing of value for his departure.
Otherwise, the balance of power shifts completely to San Francisco, and if the 49ers want to trade him to Miami because they offer the best compensation package but he doesn't want to go, all he can do is veto the deal and stay in San Francisco. He's too good of a coach and competitor to either sit out for a year or not give 100% to the coaching job, even if he is clashing with front office and players.
Legal leverage is the name of the game here, and Michigan is really the only thing that gives Harbaugh any with the 49ers at this time.
Don't have enough points to post a new topic, and this is from Gregg Henson so take it for whatever, but he has a source that allegedly has received communication regarding Greg Mattison's post-Hoke activities. Supposedly he has a bevy of NFL job offers, but is open to returning to Michigan if the right coach is brought in. (Note: he doesn't think it will be Harbaugh because of the salary cost...) In the interim, he is still espousing the merits of being/staying a Wolverine to current players.
The petition is already at 6,070 signatures as of this posting, and at this rate will most likely hit 10,000 by the day's end. With approximately 500,000 living alumni from the University of Michigan, that would be a signature by 1/50 alumni. Taking into account how many graduates do not have Uniqnames due to the dates of their graduation, obtaining even 2% of the living alumni base to sign onto this petition is a showing that there is a serious movement by the interested students and graduates. With this showing of outrage, eventually the bunker mentality will have to end and the President and Regents will be forced to at least acknowledge the situation in the athletic department.
T. Boone Pickens is OK State's billionaire benefactor, not Warren Buffet. Don't want the Oracle of Omaha's reputation impinged by association with an Oklahoma school, haha.
I live in San Antonio, and actually have a lot of respect for UIW. Their head coach has a ton of NFL coaching experience, and the running backs coach is Heisman winner Ricky Williams. (The university and his fellow coaches have done an amazing job helping Williams get his life back on track.) They may not have the raw talent, but a few years of this staff and an early season game mean UIW has more than an infentismal shot.
1) Unfortunately, no. While I believe Gardner will stay in Ann Arbor, the chances of him making the new playoff bracket his final year aren't where I would be comfortable wagering he'd make an appearance. With conference appearances the way they are now, it would take an undefeated season to make the playoffs over a couple one loss SEC teams or even a one loss PAC-12 champion. While I have the highest of hopes, banking on an undefeated season is never a safe bet, so will have to say that Devin doesn't get to go out as a playoff contender. (Perfectly willing to be shown to be wrong, though!)
2) I think if any B1G team makes the Final Four this year, there's better than even odds that it's Michigan who represents. That being said, however, with the way NCAA Tournament plays, I have a suspicion that there will be no B1G representative on the last days of the dance, and the window on Michigan continuing from this past run will be reset. Honestly, I don't know enough about MBB recruiting to project any further down the road than next year (the curse of one and done), but with Beilein there's always a shot. By that time, I envision State will have made a run, maybe Indiana, Ohio...so no, I don't beleve it will be Michigan again.
3) Last unbeaten is Ohio. Play cupcakes at home to start, and Wisconsin before they find a new identiy. If Ohio survives October 5 in Evanston, which I am on the fence about, but for this prediction will say Buckeyes win, my guess is they go undefeated until November 30 to set up a great game in Ann Arbor.
4) I speculate two recruits committing at the BBQ or shortly thereafter. Artavius Scott and Malik McDowell. Maybe a third, but don't know the visitor list enough to guess on who that may be.
5a) No real surprise commit that I can think of off the top of my head. Don't think any of the top RBs come in this class, and Hand and Jackson aren't really "surprises" if they commit, but I'll wuss out and go with Hand.
5b) Jumping on the bandwagon and going with Westphal here. Seems to be on the Treadwell path, and the later it gets either his spot will disappear if Jackson commits first, or, more likely, he decides to jump ship before that seeing the current roster of DBs and an incoming Peppers to contend with.
There are a couple schools that can put forth a recruiting pitch to attract recruits, but for the Minnesotas and Indianas of the B1G, I don't think there's any sort of solution.
Penn State is always going to be Penn State, at least for this generation. Scandal aside, the memories of that football program are ingrained in PA and the region. Plus, O'Brien is doing a darn good job even with the sanctions, so when those go away I would expect a resurgence. Let Bill keep doing what he's doing, and the recruits will come.
Northwestern can always push academics and, so long as Pat Fitzgerald is coaching there, a system that will guarantee a competitive chance while receiving a great education. One or two big games a year, and always good to have the chance to be talked about on ESPN as the team that "surprisingly" knocked the great and mighty Ohio out of the National Championship hunt. They'll get very high character, hard-working kids, and I wouldn't be extremely surprised if in the next few years a 5-star eventually signed on. (Still a little surprised, but not highly so). If that builds, and the momentum continues to add up, Northwestern may get to a Stanford-light level.
Nebraska can sell the myth of the Blackshirts to a defensive recruit and maybe land a few kids (especially being able to point to Suh still), but the three yards and a cloud of dust history may make it a little more difficult to attract modern offensive recruits. Nothing in recent years has changed that perception, because while Taylor Martinez may be a electrifying a couple times a season, there isn't the ability to flash brilliance on a Denard level and the system doesn't seem to be working out there. Returning to the Nebraska roots may get some kids, but with fewer and fewer high school programs playing trenchwarfare, and Alabama dominating the landing of the top tier of recruits (not to mention Michigan's recent return to loading up), it appears few 5/high 4-star kids will be Huskers in such a system. There is a decent amount of big corn-fed talent in the region, however, so keep Texas and Oklahoma from picking off the best (should go down the more removed Nebraska is from the Big-12), and there's a shot at a decent return eventually.
Wisonsin has the recent string of success to hang onto, but with Bielma leaving they may be winding down. Still a good school, with a tradition of big bodied linemen and great backs, so you pitch that to the kids. Come here, compete, build up, and we'll try to send you to the league. Outside of those groups, well, Russell Wilson gives some credibility to the offensive side of late, so the better he does in the NFL the better for the Badgers recruiters, but I doubt any top-tier QB will ever seriously consider Wisconsin as a first choice. Same for receivers. Sell the school, the atmosphere, Jump Around, and just try to convince some non-national targets that they're the right fit.
MSU...well, tell them to stop focusing intergalactically and keep it close to home. Michigan can't take everyone from the state, Ohio can't fit all the ones that don't choose / aren't offered by UM, so lock down the rest of the home talent. Branch out into Ohio, PA, IL, etc. for some battles against the Illini, Pitt, and other smaller schools and lock up some key players. Mostly, learn how to coach guys up, and focus on the hard-workers with something to prove because the Wolverines and Ohio passed them over. Fits the State mentality for their team, and the chips on their shoulders may lead to some good football.
Purdue, Illinois, Rutgers, Maryland, and Iowa...I'm tired of typing and would actually have to think on these. There are flashes of greatness to pitch to recruits, and some good things about each school, but nothing that screams COME HERE to a recruit of which I am aware.
Denard winning a National Championship was a rather nice tidbit kind of buried in that article! Of course, doing it with Florida State is kind of disappointing.
Pretty sure the Gophers would be justified in saying that because neither Tom Brayd nor Payton Manning is listed as an NFL quarterback, let alone a good one.
Not the biggest fan of Pat Forde, but he's the only one who has brought up this Hoke quote so far: "Even if that play had gone incomplete, Hoke said he might have done the same thing on the final one. 'I may have gone for the touchdown and gone for the win,' he said. 'Why not? I mean, you play to win.'"
Hoke really encapsulates Michigan football. Has the Schembechler legacy coaching ethos along with just enough of that gambler streak that fellow Schembechlarian (coining that as the name for all those who come from the tree of Bo) Les Miles takes too far. Love it.
Not sure if anyone on here knows the exact regulations, but the 3 times I've been to Gameday there hasn't been any specific limitations given. Appeared mostly common courtesy and common sense dictates. Basically all signs follow the rules that they should be able to be held by one person, should have content that can be displayed on television without getting the FCC involved, and should be held up for a few minutes at a time, not constantly, so other signs can be seen.
Mean spirited is acceptable, but make sure it is truly funny. When I was at Kansas/Missouri back in '07 saw one of a very well done "Jabba-ization" of Mark Mangino, but a lot of mean ones making fun of his weight without any redeeming wit/talent.
Exactly my sentiment. We got beat. It was bad. I cried for days (okay, it was a bit longer than that). We can hide our heads in shame, swear never to talk about it again, and pretend THE HORROR never occured. However, we will never truly escape it - everytime a Sparty or Buckeye want to rub some salt in the wound I hear the same lame joke, the one about how many batteries it takes to beat Michigan, and it brings all the memories back anyway. Might as well invite App State back, and show them, our rivals, and the world, that the Wolverines are Michigan Men who do not hide but pick themselves up and come back gunning for you.
Recent Comments
As a Texan, I approve of both the absence of beans (if it has beans it's a meaty stew, but not chili) and the Frito Pie love!
From the article regarding the Notre Dame series being rescheduled: "Hackett was unavailable for further comment after the fireside chat, but Chrissi Rawak (one of Hackett’s aides who handles external relations) and Svoboda, the department’s associate athletic director for media relations, confirmed no phone calls have been made [regarding Notre Dame]. Michigan does not have an open date on its schedule until 2018."
From Smidgens' notes form the meeting: "Hackett mentioned Harbaugh was calling about scheduling, for 2018 and later I guess?"
Coincedence?
While some of the circumstances have recently changed, I love the Red River Shootout. Texas and Oklahoma, neutral site in Dallas halfway between the schools. Stadium half in Longhorn burnt orange, half in Sooner red. Texas State Fair deep frying everything imaginable outside.
Plus I've always loved the similarities between Texas and Michigan. Great academic schools, traditional powers in football (now #1 and #2 all time most wins) and also Olympic sports, an in-state rival with a recent superiority complex, main rival from neighboring state that starts with an O. And Austin and Ann Arbor are both great cities,
It was sent to the marketing department, not the staff. It seems to be that the leadership is expecting some story about OSU or MSU to break, and they do not want someone from marketing to run to Twitter and post something that could cause backlash. Even though it's UMHS, their social media accounts will still reflect on the school, and a comment, even if meant as snarky or funny, could easily come off as insensitive.
Would be curious if other marketing departments of the University and related entities received a similar email.
There's a lot of Cowherd hate in the 11W threads on this topic as well. It's not all just "scUM" and other juvenile bashing of Harbaugh's performance in the interview (though a lot of it is).
I'll give ESPN some credit. On the SportsCenter Facebook post regarding this, the headline is, "Harbaugh not amused with Colin Cowherd's questions." When scrolling through the newsfeed, that comes off like Cowherd was the no talent interviewer and Harbaugh was pulling a Pop/Belicheck response to lazy interviewing.
First off, mine are all mixed-breed/mutt rescue dogs these days. There is a need for them to find a home, they tend to have less genetic health issues than pure breds, and you usually get to skip all the house training. So if you're going to get a dog, I highly recommend getting one from a shelter. The volunteers will usually know the personalities and can tell you who will be a good fit.
Second, don't get a dog because you like the breed (or the majority breed if it's a mix), get one that fits your lifestyle. If you're going to be gone at work all day and don't have a dog door for unfettered inside/outside running, probably not the best idea to get a high energy, working dog like a Siberian Husky or Australian Cattle Dog. People tend to fall in love with breeds, but then behavioral issues start because the dogs aren't wired to sit home alone for 8-10 hours with nothing to occupy them. If you're active in the evenings and on weekends, then a Lab or German Shepherd are great. Otherwise if you like to lounge around and not go on nightly long walks, hounds and, surprisingly, Great Danes are perfect.
Lastly, it's far easier to own two dogs than one. Sure the food and vet bills are doubled, but that is outweighed by the fact that there is always another dog around to keep each other occupied, and they get reinforced socialization without having to go to a dog park or doggy day care as often.
As a practicing attorney, I tried to dissuade my younger brother from law school (especially because he went to a degree factory) and actively campaigned against going to law school to all my friends that brought the idea up.
Law is, more than almost any other profession these days, based on who you know. Doesn't matter where you graduate (so long as you can pass the Bar); if one of your parents is partner in a huge firm and you've grown up around high powered lawyers at parties all your life, a good family friend runs a boutique firm that could use another young associate, or prior to law school you've built up a network in the legal world, then the odds of getting a good paying job out of law school are better than if you graduate in the top 5% of your class.
I was extremely lucky because I had some amazing connections, and even then, a bunch of pieces had to fall into place. I work in south Texas which, as I was graduating, hit an oil boom and I happened to be naturally adept at that area of law. In addition, the cost of living is extremely low which helps offset the massive student loan debt. I make a very respectable salary for a young lawyer, and it's still going to take me another 5+ years on an extremely aggressive plan to get debt free. After that happens, I am not certain I'll stay in the legal world for all the reasons mentioned by others above.
Back in 2006 I had a choice as a junior in undergrad of taking an adminstrative support job for a little company called Rackspace (now a billion dollar company and consistently in the top half of the Forbes Top 100 Best Places to Work list) that was just getting into managed web hosting and some newfangled "cloud computing" thing, or an internship for a U.S. Congressman. I chose the latter, and that is the path that led to law school. It wasn't a complete waste because I met some of the best people in the world through that job, in law school, and through professional association after, but I would definitely go back and change my choice if I had it to do over.
1: Attorney
2: 2014 Ford Fusion
3: Nope, no pressure.
This was supposed to be a reply to the discussion above on whether relaying the paywalled information was violating some standard.
TL;DR - the reporting of the fact is perfectly fine, legally and ethically, so long as it is just the transmittal of the fact and not analysis or creative content.
In Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991) the U.S. Supreme Court sets out the standard pretty well:
"The Copyright Act of 1976 and its predecessor, the Copyright Act of 1909, leave no doubt that originality is the touchstone of copyright protection in directories and other fact-based works. The 1976 Act explains that copyright extends to "original works of authorship," 17 U.S.C. 102(a), and that there can be no copyright in facts, 102(b). A compilation is not copyrightable per se, but is copyrightable only if its facts have been "selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship." 101 (emphasis added). Thus, the statute envisions that some ways of selecting, coordinating, and arranging data are not sufficiently original to trigger copyright protection. Even a compilation that is copyrightable receives only limited protection, for the copyright does not extend to facts contained in the compilation. 103(b). Lower courts that adopted a "sweat of the brow" or "industrious collection" test - which extended a compilation's copyright protection beyond selection and arrangement to the facts themselves - misconstrued the 1909 Act and eschewed the fundamental axiom of copyright law that no one may copyright facts or ideas."
Without the ability to copyright, there is no legal protection to the dissemination of such facts. However, as I have discussions with clients on a fairly regular basis, just because it's not illegal and you have the ability to do something, does not mean it makes sense to do so in practical application. As has been stated above, the recruiting media world is fairly small, and angering connections is not a wise course of action.
So here, it is my personal opinion that reporting Costello is potentially not coming is perfectly acceptable so long as the information is limited to that singular fact.
Is it because we have the former coach at Stanford who made that school a desireable destination for football players?
No wait, is it because we have a coach who was previously a high level College and NFL quarterback who knows what it takes to be successful at both and has a track record of imparting that greatness to those he coaches?
Or, um, #3 - HARBAUGH!
(One of those guesses has to be right!)
Definitely wishing him the very best since he'll be playing at the AlamoDome which is only about a quarter mile from my office, so will definitely have a few opportunities to go see him on Saturdays without even having to pay for parking. Hard to believe UTSA is only in its fourth year of existence as a football program, and people down here are still stoked to finally have a hometown team (though most are still Longhorns/Aggie fans).
I'm a civil attorney, and on the days when I am feeling under the weather I'll remote in to the office and work from the couch drafting pleadings and such. So while technically a sick day, still productive and focused on work.
The only exception was when I quit smoking. I used three days of sick leave to hide from the world knowing that I probably wouldn't be much use (read: be potentially hostile) to clients and could not stay focused.
Good explanation here:
http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/story?id=10431213
Essentially, pay own way to school, can practice, and play, but won't count against scholarships.
Only downside is that the kid must not have been recruited by the school, so that means no official visit prior to committment.
Zooming in on Brandon's pic looks like the first two rows are for the Harbaughs, then behind that Carrs, Schembechlers, and Moellers. Anyone else make out any of the other names?
In 2008, Michigan went 3-9 to finish second from last in the Big Ten. According to this, they would then have to play another game for the right to stay at Level A. One bad last game, and they're demoted to Level B for the next season. No way, even should hell freeze over, would a system ever be put in place where that could happen. USC and Alabama in 2000 would have been in the same position, as would 2007 Notre Dame (under the alignments as presented).
I see why they do something similar to this in professional soccer leagues, but with a guaranteed roster turnover every 5 years (with most players leaving after 3/4), there is no way this would work. One bad "rebuilding" year, and BAM, demoted for at least a year.
I believe he was making a joking comment referencing Fielding Yost who came from Stanford/San Jose in 1901. Highly doubt Hoke took a train in 2011.
The length remaining on his contract could be seen as veto power, but it merely runs concurrently with the explicit one that is in his contract. If he doesn't want to be traded to a specific team, he could either let them know that he wouldn't sign a contract extension with them, or just flat out veto the trade.
Any approved trade would necessarily be premised on the execution of a contract extension with the new team as part of finalizing the deal. So in practical effect, it doesn't give him any options or leverage greater than just vetoing the trade.
I negotiate for a living (attorney/mediator) and in my opinion, unfortunately, JH's silence on Michigan is a bargaining chip. He may still end up here, but even if he knows that he isn't coming, as much as he loves Michigan, he just can't tell that fact to Hackett and the important figures at this time.
The basic fact is that right now he has three options within his sole control; he can (1) stay in the NFL and coach for the 49ers in a toxic situation, (2) leave and coach Michigan, or (3) quit and sit out for a year then look for an NFL job next year. *I am writing off the third option because it doesn't fit anything about JH to sit at home doing nothing.
The 49ers have the option to (1) retain JH, (2) fire him and pay out his contract, or (3) trade him.
In keeping Michigan as a viable option, JH is creating leverage with the 49ers. If he came out and said that he only wanted to stay NFL, all the power is in the San Francisco front office because they control his NFL future until the expiration of his contract. At this time, if JH says he wants to be traded to Oakland and only Oakland (or whichever team), and the 49ers refuse to make a deal, then he can threaten to walk away from the NFL and San Francisco gets nothing of value for his departure.
Otherwise, the balance of power shifts completely to San Francisco, and if the 49ers want to trade him to Miami because they offer the best compensation package but he doesn't want to go, all he can do is veto the deal and stay in San Francisco. He's too good of a coach and competitor to either sit out for a year or not give 100% to the coaching job, even if he is clashing with front office and players.
Legal leverage is the name of the game here, and Michigan is really the only thing that gives Harbaugh any with the 49ers at this time.
Speaking of coaches and their next stop:
Don't have enough points to post a new topic, and this is from Gregg Henson so take it for whatever, but he has a source that allegedly has received communication regarding Greg Mattison's post-Hoke activities. Supposedly he has a bevy of NFL job offers, but is open to returning to Michigan if the right coach is brought in. (Note: he doesn't think it will be Harbaugh because of the salary cost...) In the interim, he is still espousing the merits of being/staying a Wolverine to current players.
http://gregghenson.com/greg-mattison-speaks/
The petition is already at 6,070 signatures as of this posting, and at this rate will most likely hit 10,000 by the day's end. With approximately 500,000 living alumni from the University of Michigan, that would be a signature by 1/50 alumni. Taking into account how many graduates do not have Uniqnames due to the dates of their graduation, obtaining even 2% of the living alumni base to sign onto this petition is a showing that there is a serious movement by the interested students and graduates. With this showing of outrage, eventually the bunker mentality will have to end and the President and Regents will be forced to at least acknowledge the situation in the athletic department.
T. Boone Pickens is OK State's billionaire benefactor, not Warren Buffet. Don't want the Oracle of Omaha's reputation impinged by association with an Oklahoma school, haha.
" 3 balls and 4 strikes"...may not be so easy to pick up, hahahaha.
1) Unfortunately, no. While I believe Gardner will stay in Ann Arbor, the chances of him making the new playoff bracket his final year aren't where I would be comfortable wagering he'd make an appearance. With conference appearances the way they are now, it would take an undefeated season to make the playoffs over a couple one loss SEC teams or even a one loss PAC-12 champion. While I have the highest of hopes, banking on an undefeated season is never a safe bet, so will have to say that Devin doesn't get to go out as a playoff contender. (Perfectly willing to be shown to be wrong, though!)
2) I think if any B1G team makes the Final Four this year, there's better than even odds that it's Michigan who represents. That being said, however, with the way NCAA Tournament plays, I have a suspicion that there will be no B1G representative on the last days of the dance, and the window on Michigan continuing from this past run will be reset. Honestly, I don't know enough about MBB recruiting to project any further down the road than next year (the curse of one and done), but with Beilein there's always a shot. By that time, I envision State will have made a run, maybe Indiana, Ohio...so no, I don't beleve it will be Michigan again.
3) Last unbeaten is Ohio. Play cupcakes at home to start, and Wisconsin before they find a new identiy. If Ohio survives October 5 in Evanston, which I am on the fence about, but for this prediction will say Buckeyes win, my guess is they go undefeated until November 30 to set up a great game in Ann Arbor.
4) I speculate two recruits committing at the BBQ or shortly thereafter. Artavius Scott and Malik McDowell. Maybe a third, but don't know the visitor list enough to guess on who that may be.
5a) No real surprise commit that I can think of off the top of my head. Don't think any of the top RBs come in this class, and Hand and Jackson aren't really "surprises" if they commit, but I'll wuss out and go with Hand.
5b) Jumping on the bandwagon and going with Westphal here. Seems to be on the Treadwell path, and the later it gets either his spot will disappear if Jackson commits first, or, more likely, he decides to jump ship before that seeing the current roster of DBs and an incoming Peppers to contend with.
There are a couple schools that can put forth a recruiting pitch to attract recruits, but for the Minnesotas and Indianas of the B1G, I don't think there's any sort of solution.
Penn State is always going to be Penn State, at least for this generation. Scandal aside, the memories of that football program are ingrained in PA and the region. Plus, O'Brien is doing a darn good job even with the sanctions, so when those go away I would expect a resurgence. Let Bill keep doing what he's doing, and the recruits will come.
Northwestern can always push academics and, so long as Pat Fitzgerald is coaching there, a system that will guarantee a competitive chance while receiving a great education. One or two big games a year, and always good to have the chance to be talked about on ESPN as the team that "surprisingly" knocked the great and mighty Ohio out of the National Championship hunt. They'll get very high character, hard-working kids, and I wouldn't be extremely surprised if in the next few years a 5-star eventually signed on. (Still a little surprised, but not highly so). If that builds, and the momentum continues to add up, Northwestern may get to a Stanford-light level.
Nebraska can sell the myth of the Blackshirts to a defensive recruit and maybe land a few kids (especially being able to point to Suh still), but the three yards and a cloud of dust history may make it a little more difficult to attract modern offensive recruits. Nothing in recent years has changed that perception, because while Taylor Martinez may be a electrifying a couple times a season, there isn't the ability to flash brilliance on a Denard level and the system doesn't seem to be working out there. Returning to the Nebraska roots may get some kids, but with fewer and fewer high school programs playing trenchwarfare, and Alabama dominating the landing of the top tier of recruits (not to mention Michigan's recent return to loading up), it appears few 5/high 4-star kids will be Huskers in such a system. There is a decent amount of big corn-fed talent in the region, however, so keep Texas and Oklahoma from picking off the best (should go down the more removed Nebraska is from the Big-12), and there's a shot at a decent return eventually.
Wisonsin has the recent string of success to hang onto, but with Bielma leaving they may be winding down. Still a good school, with a tradition of big bodied linemen and great backs, so you pitch that to the kids. Come here, compete, build up, and we'll try to send you to the league. Outside of those groups, well, Russell Wilson gives some credibility to the offensive side of late, so the better he does in the NFL the better for the Badgers recruiters, but I doubt any top-tier QB will ever seriously consider Wisconsin as a first choice. Same for receivers. Sell the school, the atmosphere, Jump Around, and just try to convince some non-national targets that they're the right fit.
MSU...well, tell them to stop focusing intergalactically and keep it close to home. Michigan can't take everyone from the state, Ohio can't fit all the ones that don't choose / aren't offered by UM, so lock down the rest of the home talent. Branch out into Ohio, PA, IL, etc. for some battles against the Illini, Pitt, and other smaller schools and lock up some key players. Mostly, learn how to coach guys up, and focus on the hard-workers with something to prove because the Wolverines and Ohio passed them over. Fits the State mentality for their team, and the chips on their shoulders may lead to some good football.
Purdue, Illinois, Rutgers, Maryland, and Iowa...I'm tired of typing and would actually have to think on these. There are flashes of greatness to pitch to recruits, and some good things about each school, but nothing that screams COME HERE to a recruit of which I am aware.
Indiana and Minnesota, good luck.
Pretty sure the Gophers would be justified in saying that because neither Tom Brayd nor Payton Manning is listed as an NFL quarterback, let alone a good one.
Not the biggest fan of Pat Forde, but he's the only one who has brought up this Hoke quote so far: "Even if that play had gone incomplete, Hoke said he might have done the same thing on the final one. 'I may have gone for the touchdown and gone for the win,' he said. 'Why not? I mean, you play to win.'"
Hoke really encapsulates Michigan football. Has the Schembechler legacy coaching ethos along with just enough of that gambler streak that fellow Schembechlarian (coining that as the name for all those who come from the tree of Bo) Les Miles takes too far. Love it.
Not sure if anyone on here knows the exact regulations, but the 3 times I've been to Gameday there hasn't been any specific limitations given. Appeared mostly common courtesy and common sense dictates. Basically all signs follow the rules that they should be able to be held by one person, should have content that can be displayed on television without getting the FCC involved, and should be held up for a few minutes at a time, not constantly, so other signs can be seen.
Mean spirited is acceptable, but make sure it is truly funny. When I was at Kansas/Missouri back in '07 saw one of a very well done "Jabba-ization" of Mark Mangino, but a lot of mean ones making fun of his weight without any redeeming wit/talent.
Exactly my sentiment. We got beat. It was bad. I cried for days (okay, it was a bit longer than that). We can hide our heads in shame, swear never to talk about it again, and pretend THE HORROR never occured. However, we will never truly escape it - everytime a Sparty or Buckeye want to rub some salt in the wound I hear the same lame joke, the one about how many batteries it takes to beat Michigan, and it brings all the memories back anyway. Might as well invite App State back, and show them, our rivals, and the world, that the Wolverines are Michigan Men who do not hide but pick themselves up and come back gunning for you.