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Date Title Body
Chad Henne comes to mind.  He

Chad Henne comes to mind.  He single handedly cost us the ND game his freshman year.  Tom Brady threw a pick six with his first college pass.  Brian Griese won a National Championship but not before losing a QB competition to Scott Driesbach and almost being thrown off the team.  

And, I did play QB in high

And, I did play QB in high school for a small school.  I can say that I was a much better passer in IM leagues through college and playing in the Detroit Sports and Social Club for a few years after - mostly because we were all wearing flags and I had 5-7 seconds to throw.  QB play is hugely affected by the quality of the O line and receivers that can get open.  David Carr syndrome is a real thing that I think is much easier to understand if you have played the position.  It isn't Xbox Madden.  I had games where I was crushed by blindside hits trying to hit a simple slant route on a 3 step drop.  It doesn't take too many of those before you get happy feet and alligator arm release.    

I was one of those who

I was one of those who thought Drew Henson was a better QB and that Lloyd was only splitting time out of respect to a senior.  I know I wasn't the only one.  Hindsight has a funny way of making things look different but there was a reason he was a late round draft pick.  

I think Dantonio handle the

I think Dantonio handle the incident as well as you could expect a coach, too.  It also sounds like they had a lot of programs instituted to help direct their athletes on the how to avoid these situations.  If he is at fault for anything, it would be for the desire to recruit players with "an edge" or whatever nonsense they have been trumpeting for the last decade.  If you pride yourselves on being a team of players playing on the edge of the rules, you have to know that some of that will carry over off the field.  

Daniel Tosh

Did you ever see the Daniel Tosh bit about Brett Favre?  It reminds me of that.  How much does a backup quarterback make? Yeah, I'll do that.  How much for practice squad?  Yup, I'll do that too.  :)

 

https://youtu.be/-kdxn9kBIPk 

He was friends with my

He was friends with my girlfriend's roomate.  I didn't hang out with him, but talked with him enough to know that he was a really good guy.  If memory serves he was one of like 12 kids, and always seemed to be a really respectful and character guy.  I always rooted for him and wish him the best of luck in the coaching world.  

I always have a shred of

I always have a shred of doubt when I hear people citing "medical staff" sources for stories like these.  Are these sources really risking their careers by discussing private medical information just so they can prove that they are in the know.?

Similar job type story.  I

Similar job type story.  I was 17 and working for a construction company doing roofing, etc.  They got a job digging down to expose the wall of a leaky basement and re-tar the outside.  The lady didn't want them tearing up the yard, though, so they got the bright idea to limit the digging to a 3' garden against the house.  So we dug all along the side of the house 9 feet deep and 3' wide.  I was the youngest one working for the company, so they had me down in hte hole digging and loading dirt into 5 gallon pails they would pull up with a rope and empty.  After getting older and learning about excavation deaths in MiOSHA training, I realized how easilly that could have resulted in me literally digging my own grave.

My son plays travel baseball

My son plays travel baseball now, and although the cost is high (but reasonable compared to some of the other area travel programs), I am ok with paying it as he loves the sport, his team, etc.  

I am amazed though at the amount of parents who throw incredible amounts of money at these programs and the individualized training in hopes of their kid earning a college scholorship.  Some of these programs are $2,000 + a year for the team, and then they spend easily an additional $1000-$1,500 a year on training and equipment.  

As most non big three sports offer very few full ride scholorships (choosing instead to spread partial scholorships around) spending $3,000+ a year in HOPES of a partial scholorship seems like a poor investment.  That kind of money in a 529 starting at 9 years old would damn year pay for their education.  

Don't forget "Answer This!"

Don't forget "Answer This!" which is the only movie given permission to film inside the stadium during an actual game.  Written by a Michigan grad, Christopher Farah, and with a supporting role by the best professor I ever had, Ralph Williams.  

 

https://youtu.be/4Pl-WhSyWUQ

I will be. :) I am a lake

I will be. :) I am a lake Fenton grad and now my kids go to Fenton. The Fenton linden game is usually a great atmosphere.

Henson has an NFL start, too,

Henson has an NFL start, too, and driesbach played some preseason games for Oakland.

So more reps than any UofM QB

So more reps than any UofM QB in the last 20 years... Except for Brady...and Henne... And Griese... And as we are talking talent eval and recruiting, you might add Gutierrez and mallet?

West Wing was a brilliant

West Wing was a brilliant show, and in my opinion the best ever - hands down.

For some reason I always

For some reason I always remember some kid on their team that the announcers kept calling "the human bruise" who spent the hole game diving around for loose balls. (or maybe he didn't, but in my memory that entire game was a highlight reel of threes and that kid diving into the stands and sliding around on his belly).

I was planning on perfecting

I was planning on perfecting it, but ended up working on a crossword puzzle instead.

see below

see below

My son running into my garage

My son running into my garage is not a crime.  Your son running into my garage is a crime.  I would not call the police for the non crime of my son damaging my garage, I would call the police for the crime of your son damaging my garage.  Also, did I miss the part of the story where one of the kids trashing the place was the son of the owner?

So if you and your buddies

So if you and your buddies showed up at Treetops tomorrow and your room had all of the cabinets smashed, the walls had holes in them and the ceiling was ripped down you would just go about unpacking and starting your vacation, or would you immediately call the front desk to bitch and get another room?  Who do you think is using these rooms while they are being repaired?  How do you not think this is costing them business?  How have you survived this long in our society believing that you can just pay to "make it whole" and move on from any incident that does not result in bodily harm?  

If I came home and YOUR drunk

If I came home and YOUR drunk kid had run his car into my house I would most certainly call the cops.  You could show up with your checkbook if you like, but you, I , and your son would all be waiting for the police.

I should have moved on a half

I should have moved on a half hour ago, but I feel somehow compelled to convince him he's being an idiot.  I feel like I just met an 18 year old who still believes in Santa and it is somehow my moral obligation to tell him the truth.  I have a problem.

Take a closer look at the

Take a closer look at the pictures.  First of all, there is a lot more damage than the hallway ceiling tiles, and even if there wasn't, there is probably a weeks worth of cleanup and repair there alone.  There was also smashed cabinets and furniture, holes in walls, etc. and that is only what has been shown.  There is weeks of downtime and tens of thousands of dollars in labor involved.  

Wow, what bubble do you live

Wow, what bubble do you live in?  I realize that these kids are very unlikely to have any serious criminal consequences, but you realize that their actions were criminal in nature and that they could face prosecution, right?  

Good call.  We should

Good call.  We should definitely get our views of civil society from an Al Pacino movie.  

You sure they couldn't just

You sure they couldn't just get their parents to pay for the panties and write it off as "boys being boys?"

 

I went to school with lots of

I went to school with lots of kids who came from ridiculously wealthy families and I was neither jaded nor bitter towards any of them for that reason.  I am pissy, however, towards destructive little punks tarnishing the image of Michigan.

That was a serious crime, and

That was a serious crime, and acting like simply paying for the damages makes everything OK is why people have that "stupid rich kid" opinion of fraternities in the first place.  If you have seen the pictures that is well beyond breaking a lampshade while having a few drinks.  It was willful and disrespectful destruction of a facility and personally I have a huge problem with college age kids being that arrogant and selfish and thinking throwing money at it is going to make it go away.  MSU expelled students after the Cedar Village destuction and I think UofM should consider that here.

 

I understand the fear about

I understand the fear about the returning QB's, but I think that too many people in our fanbase have become numb to the horror that is starting a true freshman QB.  Even an elite caliber talent will struggle at times in that scenario.  At a best case scenario you are looking at a freshman Henne type who looked like a deer in headlights in several losses that season.  I am not ready to write off next season as a step to the future, so I would rather roll the dice on a kid with a year or two of college experience.  

Definitely puts life in

Definitely puts life in perspective.  There are worse things than football losses, and better things than football wins.

"I know, I know. You're

"I know, I know. You're probably wondering "what radical new direction will this knight errant take the hallowed Spartan program?" Well, let me tell you: every year Michigan State will jump out to a fast start by beating a bunch of awful nonconference teams. When they play at Notre Dame, they will win. Everyone will get all hyped up for the Michigan game, which they will lose. On the off chance they do not lose, they will arrange to lose to Indiana or Northwestern or some such team to restore the cosmic balance. After the Michigan game they will collapse wholesale. Sometimes they will go to a bowl in Detroit. Other times they will stay home and cry softly into their BEET MICHIGAN cardigans. They will never, ever go to the Rose Bowl, and every year MGoBlog will start its Michigan State preview the same way.



Yes, friends, times are a-changin' in East Lansing."

Holy cow.  He was right, just had the wrong team.

 

They lost to UofM in those

They lost to UofM in those years, though, so they are probably bad examples.

 

That 1990 team that beat #1

That 1990 team that beat #1 Michigan was 2-3-1 in their first 6 games (and that includes the win versus UofM)

This wasn't meant to be a

This wasn't meant to be a prediction post.  I meant it more to point out how often the rankings can be thrown out in rivalry games.  

 

On the homer note, though, I never understood why people think it is some badge of honor to be a realist in sports.  Being a fan of an athletic team is all about being a homer.  You watch the news to be a realist... watch sports to root for your team.  I always assume we are going to win until we don't.  If I assume we are going to lose I should find something else to do with my time.  If you want to be that guy in the corner with your arms crossed claiming you knew that we were goign to lose I suggest you take your ball and go home.  That is off topic, though.

 

Having played QB (only in

Having played QB (only in H.S.) I can attest that having a struggling O line is a very difficult mental hurdle as well as physical hurdle.  Even on plays where the line doesn't allow pressure, your internal clock and mechanics are already impaired by the relelntless beating you have taken on previous plays.  My question with Gardner is will he be forever lacking that confidence and security ( a la David Carr, Ken O'Brien, Jeff George, Tim Couch - who all found themselves in the top 15 of the all time sacked in a season list before they were 25 years old), or will he be able to forget last year and start fresh.  The difference between standing calmly in the pocket and stepping smoothly into a throw, and dropping back 60% sure someone is one step away from knocking your head off are two hugely different things.  Statisticians count sacks and hurries, incompletions and completions, but it is hard to quantify that additional factor.

I think he performed admirably last year under tough circumstances, but it might be tougher than people realize to recover completely.

Mark's brother?

Mark's brother?

You can catch a minute of one

You can catch a minute of one of his lectures in "answer this!" by the way.

The works of Primo Levi with

The works of Primo Levi with Ralph Williams. That guy is what I always thought a college professor should be.

The issue I take with the

The issue I take with the term is that is somehow implies that everyone who cheers for MSU is an alum which is ridiculous.  Having spent a few evenings passed out on some filthy couch in a cedar village apartment does not make you an alumni.

It isn't good enough to just

It isn't good enough to just be there, though.  Get something done while you are there.  Make it worth it.  Remind yourself how many kids would kill to be in you shoes and take advantae of your opportunity.  Not just to get the degree, but experience the culture of campus, volunteer doing something worthy (I volunteered at Project SAFEhouse, the UofM emergency room, with a program at local elementary schools, etc. and probably got more out of that than anything I learned in a classroom), go to lectures and speeches, and make sure you leave in 4-5 years a better person than you are now.  That is the trick.

Sean Higgins putback sticks

Sean Higgins putback sticks in my mind.  It is easy to look back on great runs like last year and 89 and forget that it takes a lot of little miracles to reach that level. 

Stealing Home

He was also in one of my all-time favorite movies, "Stealing Home," with Mark Harmon, Jodie Foster and a young Jonathan Silverman.  Classic - especially if you are like me and have a special love for baseball movies. 

What is the point in this

What is the point in this movie?  What is the rule of thumb, now, 5 years before a remake?  3?  

Except for Orange is the New

Except for Orange is the New Black, the new season of Arrested Development, and House of Cards which are all wildly popular, so yeay, they do produce new content.

I totally agree that I could

I totally agree that I could be wrong on this.  I just felt that his wierd lack of concern either implied that she wasn't as incapacitated as she is showing or he is a heartless sociopath.  That, coupled with the fact that she shows at lease some ability to control her body made me think she is probably not unconscious.  Again, I could be completely wrong and maybe she is woozy to teh point of only having a slight bit of control.  I also want to reiterate that whether he struck her unconscious or struck her to some level below that is the same level of depraved in my opinion.  I don't care if she hit him first or not.  Even if she came at him with a bat, he is an NFL caliber athlete and should be able to protect himself without hitting her.  

I am not even sure how to say

I am not even sure how to say this without sounding like I am defending Rice - as I am not, but it doesn't look to me like she is unconscious.  When he lets go of her after dragging her out, she doesn't slam head first into the floor, which unconscious people do, and when he pulls her up again later, she holds herself in a slumped position.  It is kind of irrelevent, as if he touched her at all he should be prosecuted and suspended from football, but I wonder if she isn't just going limp which might explain his seemingly unconcerned attitude towards her condition.

Correct use of affect /

Correct use of affect / effect only to misspell snapping.  So close.

I am impressed as always by

I am impressed as always by the board's quick responses.  I have wanted to use that screenshot since I joined and appreciate the find.  

You have done it!  well done,

You have done it!  well done, sir!  

Apparently the board has

Apparently the board has gotten snarkier since my last question.  I didn't ask if anyone could verify the film existed with IMDB or a google search.  I asked if anyone had an image or video of the Dad in gear, and if you remembered the film in general.

I liked A and B, the SAT

I liked A and B, the SAT question guys.