biggentleben

I have 15 with IBWAA, and I have used every single one of those spots ever since visiting the actual museum. I'm all about a big hall at this point. The plaques are such an aside at the actual Hall that I have to wonder how much importance is really even put on them by anyone but the writers. Here's the article I wrote about why I prefer a big Hall.

Not terribly upset, but I don't think anything to do with the suspensions is reason to fire him. Frankly, there is plenty of reason to fire University personnel for their handling of that situation.

Hello, Jim Wacker!

A kick that bounces off the goal post, a ball that is tipped to the Gopher in the end zone, and they're going to end up winning this ball game.

The U has a system for this, though. They are to go through a procedure where the student is reminded incessantly about how they have the right to have representation through student legal services or their own representation present for any part of any inquiry. That was not done in this case. They are using their student code to dismiss these students, yet they went outside of the procedures laid out in their own student code in order to do the dismissal. That's the crux of the issue. I do not believe that Levi, Smerf, or anyone is condoning the behaviors whatsoever, but the U has a policy on how these things are supposed to happen. That policy has not been followed in this case by every report out there, and that is the entirety of the issue at hand.

And that system hasn't been followed in this case, from all accounts, at the university level. These players were not given the proper University procedure, and it would not surprise me to find out that the University has to pay out a significant settlement to the players involved, especially if they are dismissed from the school.

How do you read that assumption into my comments? That's absolutely adding in more than was there. I'm stating that her possible role in a group that actively attempt to get pregnant by football players could skew how other players perceive her claims. I never once said that excluded her from being able to prosecute for a rape if it occurred. I didn't even say she was one of those women, just that a rape allegation has been a tactic of that group of women many times in the past, so if she was part of that group, her claim could appear contrived to teammates of the players choosing to boycott right now. I'm by no means making any assumptions on her. I'm simply stating one aspect of life as a Gopher athlete that could skew their view of these proceedings.

I don't disagree about prior history being irrelevant to the process, but to players, her claims could hold little water based on her previous position seeking players. There's also the very real possibility that many of the players have seen the video that was used as evidence in the case as well.

As a former Gopher and a former CA in the residence halls, I've been on both sides of issues just like this one. A few things this raises to question in my head after reading pertinent articles... First, is this woman one of the girls that frequents the opposite side of the street from the Nagurski Center? There were as many as a dozen women ranging in age from illegal to cougar outside the practice facility on a nearly daily basis, waiting on players to finish practice or workouts (and trust me, they knew the schedules), and they wanted to find a guy looking for a quick hook up in order to get pregnant with a future NFLer's kid. There were also plenty of your typical jersey chasers there who were just wanting to hook up with players, but there were absolutely those who had nefarious reasons for wanting sexual relations, and they would bend basically all rules to get someone into the sack with them - two guys, two girls, more than that, various other kinks, all sorts of horrid things you would never share with your daughter for sure. This could lead to many of the players having issue believing her story from the get-go, even if they weren't present. If she was a recognizable female that was consistently outside of the facility, that could be something that the rest of the team would know and remember. Second, there is a due process, and it does apply for all students, athlete or not. If there is ever an accusation of one student against another, that is absolutely the route that is pursued. It is swift, intense, and decisive, which is why taking 3+ months to come to resolution tells me that the proper due process spelled out in the student handbook was not followed for these athletes. That would apply regardless of the settlement reached in a legal sense. Third, as far as "representing the University", I will never, ever excuse the behavior of these young men. Not once. However, the majority of these players are NOT on full scholarship. The majority of all football players aren't, let alone the majority of athletes in general. These players frequently work a part-time job that they have to go through 2-3 layers of approval just to make minimum wage due to the restrictions placed on them by the team, who isn't even giving them full money to cover their education. They represent the University no more and no less than any student on the campus would represent the University that is involved with an extra-curricular activity on campus. Public perception of their standing should not determine forcing them into a different level of behavior while they're also forced to limit the number of classes they can take (frequently forcing them to take a year of schooling on their own dime in order to graduate), forcing a schedule onto their lives (while most students are free to schedule their classes as they'd like), and already put to a different level of rules through their coaches on top of University official policy. Last, those who want athletics separated from the University are welcome to do just that, however, our schools would then require significantly more funding, meaning significantly more taxes or significantly more tuition (though there's plenty to say that tuition is not at a level of true cost as it is, but that's another discussion altogether). The U of M receives significant finances from athletics, from medical research, and from agricultural research that come in as income to the University and SHOULD keep costs lower for students. Uncoupling the school from one and not the others (when a place like Monsanto pays for that agricultural research or a drug company is paying for the medical research) seems like a vendetta-based decision. I don't argue that reform in education financing needs to happen, but starting with such a drastic measure is short-sighted in that there is plenty tied in that may not be surface level to the naked eye.

...and there could be good reason for them to expect both/and right now UNTIL due process has run its course. From my experience, anything the PD had, the university had in hand, so for their investigation to take two months longer than the official investigation raises some major questions from my involvement in college in these procedures. Almost always, the U finished their investigation before the legal one was done.

There is a due process at the U for such things. I was part of them on both sides many times during my college years. If that due process was not followed to the letter, the U is in huge violation, and guilty or not, rape or murder or theft of $5 from the vending machine, everyone is entitled to that due process as a student.

I'd wager that over half of people who received a college education wouldn't immediately recognize that difference.

Holy crap was the last episode great! I had multiple gasp moments in the show.

But they first have to find their Ferentz

Yeah, not disagreeing, but Brooks had the ability to get 8-10 yards a pop in the way he runs in the first half, which at least keeps the defensive second level honest. The line simply could do nothing in the run game, which meant the second and third level had to give no credence to a fake, and that allowed them to key in purely on their coverage. Once again, that doesn't excuse the throw itself, but you can do a lot to set up a mediocre QB to have success.

Leidner had clear throwing paths all first half long. Not saying he didn't on any of the INTs, but he was scrambling from pressure nearly every drop back in the second half. That leads to much worse passing, and we all know that Leidner cannot afford any downgrade in his passing quality.

So, I'm an O-lineman, and that's how I see things, no apologies to that. I watched that first half, knowing the talent on the other side of the ball, and I was very impressed by the way the Gophers o-line was playing. Then, the second half came. Help blocks were missed constant. While they couldn't get a 0-1-2 hole run going in the first half, they were having very good success with chipping and turning the interior guys to find success in the 3-4 gaps, but those chips were either missed or simply not done in the second half, and the run game went nowhere, which allowed the D-Ends to just pin their ears back and go nuts on the tackles. I think the Gophers have an extremely talented offensive line. There's a reason they hadn't given up multiple sacks in something like 2 years before today, and it's not JUST a mobile QB. However, whether it was coaching, poor play, or a combination of both, the Gophers simply did not show up as an o-line in the second half, and it cost them the game.

Finished that one last week. Well worth the watch.

Man, the last 3 episodes have been tremendous.

The issue is that you see the ability to make the needed throws. And then you see interceptions like he threw at the end of the game or you see balls all over the place in other games. It's just crazy to me how much he can change from game to game in his ability to spot a football.

I had a convo with a friend from South Dakota State's coaching staff who watched the game after their rivalry game win, and he had the observation that Leidner is a guy with all the tools you could ever want in a QB. His prediction was that Leidner is in a QB competition for someone in the NFL within 5 years. He's run a pro system as well, so he'll take less time to adapt to the pros, helping his development. That's the thing that makes me the most upset. I would wonder if the coaching he's received is as much behind his issues as Leidner himself.

It's definitely been a slow burn on Westworld, but it is coming along nicely.

He also had a handful of drops from his receivers and some poor route-running that he put the incompletion into a spot where no one had a chance to intercept it. Sometimes an incompletion isn't just a 0-1 on the stat line.

This is the way the team needed to play all season. Leidner didn't blow anyone away, but he was efficient and made the passes needed, the run game did what it should, and the defense played like they could. Yes, it was Illinois, but last week was Rutgers, and I'd say Rutgers is quite a bit worse than the Illinois team that they stomped on the road today.

Kind of. She has been sort of bumped out for a few weeks now, but they seem to bring her back in. Penguin rising to prominence in a legitimate way in Gotham could be handled so well.