bartshan-83

I hope no one that has piled on the OP has caught themselves griping about the calls this year. It's one thing to not want to boycott or think it is useless (probably right), but attacking the idea is pretty retarded. If you don't think the calls have been that earth-shatteringly awful (I don't), then by all means, laugh the idea off. But if you agree with the OP's sentiment (that the officiating has been god awful and is hurting the game) then attacking or mocking someone for wanting to do the one thing that puts his money where his mouth is is pretty much the height of hypocritical stupidity.

A lot of good discussion and opinions offered here. I'll throw in some of mine in an attempt to organize: WHY THESE PENALTIES ARE NOT NEARLY AS HARSH AS THE "DEATH PENALTY": Let's stop comparing this to SMU. The version of the death penalty they received was far worse than what Penn State was just hit with. They had an entire season cancelled. Just let that sink in. When that happens, everyone leaves. No one comes in. You start completely from scratch. SMU had to cancel an additional season because they couldn't field a team. And that's on top of the scholarship losses, coaching staff limits and recruiting bans. SMU went from the peak of its power to dust. They didn't get back to a bowl game for over 20 years. So while this is a crippling blow to PSU's program, let's not go overboard. WHY THESE PENALTIES ARE NO JOKE AND NOT SOMETHING PSU WILL EASILY BOUNCE BACK FROM: Ramius, et al have done a very good job laying it out. There are three things at play that will knee-cap PSU in different ways, but the biggest bullet is the scholarship reduction. If you don't follow college football closely, you might not see just how crucial maximizing scholarship numbers are. I won't launch into a whole SEC ethical argument about over-signing and grey-shirting, but any reduction in the number of scholarship players a team has at any given time is huge as it reduces the margin of error on recruiting misses. Players get injured, players transfer, players fail out or get caught with a gun. Or maybe they just don't live up to their billing. What PSU will face in terms of a numbers reduction will make it so not only will they be unable to sign many of their targets, but they will be replacing them with walk-ons if/when something unforeseen happens. What Southern Cal is doing right now is a combination of extremely clever rules-manipulation and almost unprecedented excellence in recruiting ability. Plus, they entered their sanctions period with more roster talent than PSU will see in 5 years combined. They are not a typical case and should not be viewed upon as a parallel. With or without sanctions, Southern Cal has been able to recruit the best talent in the country for decades and that isn't going to change. BUT, despite having an almost ideal "sanctioned" situation, Southern Cal is still on the verge of falling off the cliff. They won't truly feel the burn of their penalties for another few years when their small classes are the upperclassmen and they have little or no depth. During the Carroll years, they were so stocked that they had blue-chip players sometimes 3-deep on their depth charts. While their starting talent hasn't skipped a beat, their depth is nothing like it was. If a few OL go down this year, or a CB or two, they will feel it. Having an All-American senior at QB will make up for most warts. But unless the next guy in can carry the torch, you won't see them near the top 5-10 in a year or two. And the long-winded point of that is, they are in a WOLRD'S better position than PSU could dream to be. WHAT'S UP WITH THE TRANSFERRING PLAYERS: The biggest backlash against the NCAA penalties has been the oft-repeated line of "it punishes players that had nothing to do with the scandal." First off, so what? That's what happens with punishments. There is collateral damage. It's part of life. I'm sure there were dozens of Ohio State players who weren't picking up free gear or tattoos. I'm sure not every USC player got the Reggie Bush treatment. They suffer anyway. It's the way it goes. Second, the NCAA has given all current PSU players the ability to transfer to any program that can admit them without any penalty. AND to grease the skids on the "buyer" side, they are allowing teams that are currently at the 85-player limit to count the transfer towards the next year's class. Meaning, "there's no room at the inn" won't be a roadblock like it normally would be at this late juncture. I empathize with current players and recruits. I imagine these last few months have been confusing, stressful and likely very depressing. But their careers are far from over. They are in less than ideal situations, but they have the power to change their circumstances. You know what else sucks? When players go to a school because they love the coach and then the coach leaves. A new coach comes in and they don't fit the new plan. Now what? Having your college career unfold free of bad luck, bad results or unforeseen events is not a right. And while the current PSU players have been saddled with a ****ty situation not of their making, this does not make them unique, or tragic victims.

Scorecard: Losers: - Josh Reed - overly sensitive Buffalonians feeding the stereotype and perpetuating the inferiority complex Winners: - the LSU kid whose blog exploded a year after a non-story was published - comedy

Ha! What pre-draft red flags were there that warned that Floyd was lazy or unmotivated? Floyd's only area of concern was the multiple drinking offenses. This is a guy who arrived at high school two hours early every morning and worked as a janitor so he could maintain a scholarship. A guy who ND coach Brian Kelly called the hardest worker he had seen in 20 years of coaching. Who knows what is going on in AZ (oh wait, did I say AZ? I meant Minnesota, you know, where Fitz is right now organizing this very official "workout". And by "organizing" I mean working out with a sports fitness coach). But let's not re-write history to fit a new narrative based solely on a tweet from a teammate (which, to put a nice bow on this goofy thread, was most likely intended as more of a trash talk/locker room barking than a heavy handed indictment of Floyd's work ethic).

Given some time, mine should start to look more and more like me. Although, I'll readily admit he is already better looking than I have been at any point in my life (probably has his mom to thank for that)... As for others, I know I'm as guilty as anyone with changing avatars, but when people do that, it messes me up for weeks.

Never actually listed to all of Delirious. Sounds right though. I didn't exactly get the sense that old Gilbert was spitting out fresh material...

What did the fish say when he hit his head? Dam. **** A blind man unknowingly walks into a lesbian bar and sits down. He orders a drink and shouts out "Anyone wanna hear a blonde joke?" In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, sir, I think it is just fair - given that you are blind - that you should know few things: 1. The bartender is a blonde. 2. The bouncer is a blonde. 3. I'm a 6 feet tall, 220 lb. blonde woman with a black belt in karate. 4. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and a professional weightlifter. 5. The lady to your right is a blonde and a professional wrestler. So you still wanna tell that joke? The blind man scoffs and turns back to his drink. "No thanks. Didn't realize I'd have to explain it five times..." **** Two blondes are walking in the woods when they spot some tracks on the ground in front of them. The first girl bends over and examines them closely and says "I think these are fox tracks!" The second one leans in for an even closer look and then scoffs "You dummy. These are way to big for fox tracks. They are definitely bear tracks!" Then the train hit them. *** Heard this one XM the other day from a Gilbert Gottfried routine (I think his voice is actually what got me): A bear and a rabbit are both taking dump in the woods The bear turns to the rabbit and asks "Hey, do you ever have problems with sh*t sticking to your fur?" "Nope" replied the rabbit. So the bear picked him up and wiped his @ss with him. *** And finally I leave you with my all-time favorite, corny Laffy-Taffy wrapper joke: What is Beethoven's favorite fruit? Ba-na-na-NAHHHH! Happy Friday!

OK, good. There are actually 19 sets (which I confirmed) so you guys are just missing on or two. But as to the second one, I agree with you. Here was the answer they gave: Answer:19 Replace the double circle in the first row, second column, to reduce the net count by 1. Replacing any of the other double circles leads to a net gain of zero or 1. I agree that replacing that one reduces it by one, but replacing the one that we picked reduces it by two right? I was wondering if I was missing something...

Bummer. I like him too. Calling Skip Bayless a D-Bag on air this past season clinched it for me. But my first memory of Suggs still makes me laugh and I wish I could find a video of it online. Madden 2004 did a series of commercials with Ray Lewis and members of the 2003 draft class that were hilarious (one of Lewis throwing footballs at Charles Rogers as he tried to announce his stats and demanding that he sing them also comes to mind). In the Suggs one, Terrell appears on screen trying to look badass and announces: "24 sacks. NCAA record. Owned by ME, Terrell Suggs." And then Lewis pulls up in a golf cart behind him with a bunch of bags and announces: "2 sacks. Dirty laundry. Owned by ME, Ray Lewis. Take care of that rook." (or something to that effect). I don't why I still remember that but it cracks me up everytime.

Some of you might remember I used to post these daily puzzles from one of those desk calendars. But it became too much of a PITA to take a picture of the page, email it to myself, upload it to a site, etc...yada yada yada I'm lazy, sorry. But here is one from a few days ago that I was pretty sure I nailed but I got the second part wrong. I've looked at it several times and I think they messed up and printed the wrong answer. But who am I to against the Mensa Puzzle Calendar people... Somebody give it a shot. Puzzle

I've actually wondered if switching to a wrestling/gladiator shape helmet wouldn't be a bad idea. Keep the facemask and side protection. Just eliminate the top. I have no idea if this would be safer, but I guarantee at the very least, "launching" style helmet tackles would stop dead in their tracks...

My bad...that quarter had to be especially painful considering the 2nd quarter was making people believe that maybe the Bulls could rally around Rose's injury and keep moving (they still very well might, in this series at least). The Sixers' fast start to the season made the 2nd half of the year especially rough and it was filled with quarters like that. Once you get past the unfortunate idea that without Rose, the Bulls likely aren't championship contenders, this series is actually very cool. The teams are both well-coached, defensive powerhouses who are going to need "B" level players to step up on a nightly basis. If Chicago gets over the emotional gut-punch from Rose, I could see this going 7.

I've been there. I recorded the Sixers game so when it started to go south in the 2nd quarter I almost broke into one of my bad habits of fast-forwarding (it's a defense mechanism I've developed from watching the Bills). I'm glad I gave the 3rd quarter a shot because I would have sucked the joy out of watching it happen. Chicago went cold. We started getting boards and running the break. There must have been 10 fast break dunks, capped off by a vicious Iguodala flush over Deng who feebly fouled him and then an alley TO Lou who got higher than I've ever seem him. Plus Turner was abusing Hamilton. It was beautiful...

Hot damn, what a third quarter that was in Chicago! I didn't like how that game was going. The Sixers let Chicago believe that they could do it without Rose and it was starting to happen. Then the 2nd half began the damn burst. I've never seen so many fast breaks and dunks in one quarter. It was vicious. Friday night is the chance to break their spirit. Let them hang around and they will circle the wagons.

Lowered have mercy...

I agree that I'm glad he's not here. I supported bringing him in because (a) we were lost in the wilderness and could've used a dose of legitimacy and (b) despite his pedestrian resume post-Elway/TD, he is a Super Bowl champion coach and longtime winner. But the warts were present... But I disagree that the Cousins pick was foolish. It was (like ALL draft picks).....a gamble! The Skins emptied their high round clip for the next few years for RGIII. Yes, they could have selected a different position at #102 and maybe that player would contribute more over the next 2-3 years. But, as others pointed out, they are obviously hoping to parlay Cousins into a future, higher draft pick. It's not unreasonable and I think Cousins' good qualities (winner, great leader, good accuracy) make him the type of candidate for this scenario. I don't think you need some "established veteran QB" to make this play out (remind me exactly was Schaub learning from Mike "I didn't watch film" Vick). All Cousins needs to do (and of course it's crucial) is develop a good reputation and play well when he gets the chance. And should RGIII get hurt/falter in the regular season, all it might take is one good game (or half) to make Cousins' stock soar. It's a risk and I wouldn't bet on it paying off. But I also wouldn't bet on a 4th round DT or OL becoming a meaningful contributor. Cousins is at worst a safety valve should RGIII tear an ACL or pull and Akili Smith and at best he gets them back into the early part of the draft in 2014.

I would think playing in an offense with Carmelo would be all the pass he needs. I'm surprised this is the first piece of equipment he's murdered since last spring.

I checked the Clips/Grizz score on my phone before I went to bed last night and decided it wasn't worth putting on TV in the bedroom. Oops.. My Sixers have a great opportunity here. They have broken my heart over the 2nd half of the season and yet they are starting to show some signs of life. Everyone says Rose's injury means a gut check for the Bulls. I think it is just as big of a gut check for Philly. They are being given an opportunity and it is up to them whether or not they will take it. Chicago is vulnerable and beatable now, as are the Celtics/Hawks in the next round. Sixers can choose to step up and claw the series out of Chicago's hands, or they can continue their meek slide and fade away.

Yup. This is it. And it is especially more disconcerting when you consider WHERE in the 1st and 2nd rounds we've picked over this span. We've had 11 picks inside the top 55. We've had a first pick no lower than 12 four times. We have had several shots at elite talent and come away with almost nothing. You can't swing and miss at that many good pitches and expect to get on base...

Disgusting. And, the worst part is that the kid never had a chance. If this is how he has been raised for the first 15 years of his life, the damage is already done. The interesting thing is when stories like this surface, everyone seems to be on the same page. Everyone decries this type of behavior and finds it embarrassing. Yet it happens. People are generally reasonable. I have to imagine that if this kid's father had read of a similiar story a year ago, he'd have a good laugh about it with his friends like we are. But now it happened to his kid, so it's different... And as a lawyer, this BS strikes a deeper nerve with me. Attorneys who pursue these types of cases should be disciplined and shamed. I don't begrudge any idiot with a ridiculous idea for a lawsuit to pick up the phone and call a lawyer. I begrudge the lawyer that takes the case knowing it is a shameless, p.o.s. stunt.

With a 9-week old son, I just might do something wild and crazy like stay up until 10pm and pour myself a Fresca! If Round 1 still had a 15-minute clock, I'd never make it to #10...

1. Gilmore ("Cool, I guess... ") 2. Barron ("Cool, but I'm surprised that wasn't a smokescreen.") 3. Kuechly ("Very cool, I just hope he's not Poz.") 4. Floyd ("Hell yeah! Now keep your nose clean, Mike...") 5. any LT other than Kalil ("Eh...weak.") 6. a trade up for Kalil ("Nice! I can't believe Miami only wanted next year's 7th to switch places!") 7. Tannehill ("We didn't need this...")

From what I've heard, Floyd doesn't have a Twitter account anymore. So if the info is coming from there, I'd be wary...

DD sure was on quite the tear back then. I remember one particular post in which he fired off a series of warnings concerning the impending apocalypse. He ended the post with something like (paraphrasing): "What are you going to do when the power goes out and you hear gunshots in the distance?" Dude definitely was wound a bit tight... (Oh, and sorry for going off-topic... )