Jump to content

field

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    198
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by field

  1. I'd venture to say five days in Paris is plenty and, if she's already been there a few times, I can totally see how your wife wouldn't want to do five days.  Paris is beautiful architecturally but it can be one hell of a big city tourist trap and once you've seen the Eifel Tower or Arc, you've seen it.  We just did three days and could have done four, but that would have been about all we needed.  To each his own, though.  We didn't do it on our last trip, but I'd love to do Normandy for a day if we ever went back.  We did do a bike tour of Versailles and actually really liked it.     

    • Haha 1
  2. On 6/3/2025 at 2:32 PM, 4th and 5 said:

    Love to hear about Nice when you return. I've got a trip there in August. Will spend a few days there and then I'm wide open on what to do. No limits, just have to be back in Nice 10 days later. Head east along the coastline into Italy towards Genoa? up to Switzerland? Anyone have suggestions? 

    Just got back from Paris and Nice.  Ended up enjoying Nice a bit more than I expected.  Did a beach club day at Castel Plage which we enjoyed.  Highly recommend if you want to do a beach day in Nice.  Beaches in Nice are rock, which takes some getting used to.  Water is warm and nice.  There are sand beaches a train ride away, but we didn't feel like making the trip.  Bocca Mar is another nice beach club on the boardwalk in Nice.

    Toured Eze, which is cool, and had lunch at La Chevre d'Or.  Expensive but kick ass views and food (Michelin stars and all).

    Boat day to Cannes and the islands was probably our favorite.

    Restaurants - we'd heard about La Cucina and decided to try it.  It only has like six tables all serviced by one waiter and doesn't take reservations.  We waited an hour for a table with a bottle of wine.  Best meal on the trip.  Totally worth it.  Also ate at Carmela twice.  Very good food and highly recommended.  Had seafood at Peixes and hated it.  Nice is so close to Italy that it felt like more restaurants were Italian than French.     

  3. Bill Belichick, girlfriend ended UNC’s ‘Hard Knocks’ dalliance as fast as it began. Why?

     

    Spoiler

    Bill Belichick, girlfriend ended UNC’s ‘Hard Knocks’ dalliance as fast as it began. Why?

    April 30, 2025Updated 4:16 am MST

     

    Reported by Matt Baker, Andrew Marchand and Brendan Marks

     

    On Feb. 28, multiple media outlets — including The Athletic — reported that North Carolina’s football program and coach Bill Belichick were expected to be featured this season on “Hard Knocks,” the episodic docuseries that airs on HBO. But the deal fell apart days later, shortly before a public announcement was to be made.

     

    Jordon Hudson, Belichick’s girlfriend, played an instrumental role in stopping the production, related to her request to be heavily involved in the project, according to multiple industry sources briefed on the negotiations. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. In a December 2024 email to North Carolina officials, Hudson, 24, identified herself as the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions. (The Athletic has been unable to identify any company registered under that name either in Massachusetts, where Hudson’s other business entities are listed, or any other state.)

     

    According to documents obtained Tuesday by The Athletic, NFL Films was scheduled to begin filming March 1 as part of a two-month stint on campus that would delve behind the scenes into the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach’s first UNC team.

     

    Instead, on March 3, Jessica Boddy — the NFL’s vice president for commercial operations and business affairs — sent an email to North Carolina’s counsel confirming that showmakers “will not proceed with the production of the Belichick project.”

     

    The only explanation offered as to why weeks of negotiations had suddenly fallen apart? “The conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with,” wrote Boddy, also one of the show’s executive producers.

     

    Hudson has had an unofficial role at UNC since Belichick’s hiring in December, including being copied on some emails at Belichick’s request and other communications with UNC’s media staff, according to previous reporting. Hudson’s registered entities in Massachusetts include a “multi-platform media project,” Chapel Bill LLC. Most recently, her involvement in the promotional efforts for his upcoming book, “The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football,” has drawn national attention after Belichick’s interview with CBS aired on Sunday.

     

    North Carolina’s athletic department deferred a request for comment to “Hard Knocks,” because it was the production company’s decision to step away from the project. The NFL, which oversees “Hard Knocks,” declined comment. Boddy did not respond to message requests, nor did Hudson.

     

    Ultimately, the decision for NFL Films to back out of the agreed-upon deal between the league-owned production company and the school meant the end of a project Belichick himself had wanted, emails show. North Carolina lost out on $200,000 in facilities fees and untold more in exposure.

     

    More than 200 pages of emails obtained by The Athletic through a public records request detail how the project was pitched and how close it came to completion. Hudson is not mentioned or included in the emails.

     

    On Feb. 24, assistant director of football operations Bobby Teahan wrote in an email to school administrators, including athletic director Bubba Cunningham, that “this production is at the request of Coach Belichick.” That note came three days after North Carolina and the “Hard Knocks” team first connected, as NFL Films reportedly struggled to find a pro franchise to feature in the offseason version of its traditional preseason show.

     

    Its pitch in pivoting to UNC was simple: a “behind-the-scenes audiovisual project about Bill Belichick’s transition from the National Football League to Division I college football and the process of building a team.”

     

    Filming for a five-part docuseries would start within days, with at least two crews in or around the football facilities daily. Robotic cameras were to be stationed in the staff meeting rooms and the team auditorium, as well as the offices of Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi.

     

    The show also pitched shooting “Scenic B-Roll” of Belichick’s temporary residence, but that location was not included on the final version of the contract the parties agreed to during negotiations. In addition to the facilities fees UNC stood to earn, the Tar Heels were scheduled to receive up to $50,000 in reimbursed costs.

     

    Representatives from HBO, NFL Films and UNC tried to sync up an announcement around the NFL Scouting Combine — even going so far as to circulate a drafted press release, complete with a quote from Belichick, now 73: I’ve been a fan of NFL Films for the entirety of my 51-year coaching career and have enjoyed every collaboration with them. I’ve been waiting for the right time to partner with the ‘Hard Knocks’ filmmaking team and that time has arrived. I’m excited to show off UNC’s tremendous leadership, passionate coaching staff, and roster full of young players, who I hope to teach how to be ‘pros’ on and off the field.

     

    They shared other promotional materials, too, updating the color and logo on Belichick’s hoodie for a graphic of “Hard Knocks: Offseason with Bill Belichick & The Tar Heels,” coming this summer on HBO and its streaming service, Max.

     

    The Tar Heels were “excited about the possibility of the show” as they worked through logistics and broadcasting rights, senior director of media relations Kevin Best wrote in a separate email. By Friday, Feb. 28, the school was ready for an announcement, either that day or on Monday. News of the impending deal trickled out.

     

    There was only one hang-up: Belichick.

     

    “DO NOT announce,” one of the show’s executive producers, Ken Rodgers, wrote that afternoon. “BB has not given approval.”

     

    Robbi Pickeral Evans, the Tar Heels’ senior associate athletic director for external affairs and strategic communications, replied: “Any sense on your end if he is going to approve today? I also have calls into his office.”

     

    “It’s my hope that it happens this afternoon, but we are still waiting for Coach to approve,” Rodgers wrote back. “He has not given the go ahead yet.”

     

    The next day, UNC’s Office of University Counsel received authorization to start receiving contracts to sign. Carolyn Pratt, UNC’s director of university governance and associate university counsel, even sent a final message to the “Hard Knocks” crew before they started filming. “Thanks again for helping make this happen,” Pratt wrote.

     

    But 48 hours later, something had shifted. The conversation had turned uncomfortable, leaving a deal that was at the finish line suddenly dead. All that was left by that point was a final clean-up. Boddy offered for NFL Films to reimburse North Carolina for any expenses the school had incurred, and reiterated that “we greatly appreciate your assistance throughout this process.”

    Then Boddy’s one final correspondence over a deal that had stunningly fallen apart:

    “We should proceed with wrapping this up.”

     

    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  4. 27 minutes ago, pops said:

    He's always been Titleist for gear.  Signed a huge sponsorship deal with under armour and his game hasn't been the same.  I think it had more to do with him being on one of the most ridiculous heaters in golf history with the putter for about three years and then not being able to sustain that. Because it was impossible. 

    But, Rory's game also kind of went to shit for a while after he signed his huge Nike deal. 

    Tough to be hungry when you're full. 

    Good lord, you guys pontificating on Spieth switching sponsors or equipment might want to use a thing called the internet and look at pictures or watch videos of what he was wearing in 2015 when he won two majors (hint.. it was Under Armour) or 2017 when he won the British (hint.. it was Under Armour).  Spieth has always been with Under Armour and Titleist.  Like, his entire professional career.  If by "his game hasn't been the same" since switching to Under Armour you mean "he won three majors and was the best golfer on the planet for a period of time", you'd be right.  Otherwise, respectfully, you have no idea what you're talking about. 

    • Hook 'Em 4
    • Like 3
  5. 7 hours ago, yoladu said:

    Lochlan lives? Apparently, not a very effective suicide fruit.  Tim wins dumbass for the year leaving poison in a blender over night. Tim needs prison time.  

    No, it's totally effective.  It's just that the antidote is someone slapping your face and shaking you.  No medicine or medical care otherwise needed to counteract the poison.

    • Haha 3
  6. 25 minutes ago, Mittens said:

    In what world does Texas need MORE money?

    Seeing as how they raised ticket prices for next season to help offset the increased costs of additional scholarships moving forward, I'd say the world we're living in now. 

  7. Bumping thread - we're looking at a 7 day-ish Spain trip in June with our two college age kids.  They've thrown out Mallorca.  Any thoughts on splitting a week trip between Barca or Madrid and Mallorca?  Or is Mallorca enough in and of itself for a week (with college kids)?  Don't know that we care about seeing Barca/Madrid but at the same time hate to miss if we're already over there.

  8. 7 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

    Interested in hearing the reasoning behind this because I personally like good offensive tackles who are about to go in the top 2 rounds of the draft. Yes, the penalties sucked and weren't ideal, but he also went from backup to one of the top OT's off the board in the NFL draft in the span of 15 games.

    He shouldn't have played against OSU. That was painful to watch.

    I watched him warm up and was convinced he wouldn't play.  He looked less mobile and in more pain than Banks did warming up at the SEC Champ game. 

    • Hook 'Em 2
  9. 2 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

    He's referring to the quarters and semis where I think the highest seed picks location (top seed picks first and so on) but TV picks day and time. 

    Teams do not get to pick the quarterfinal locations.  Those are dictated by historic bowl relationships and rankings (read: SEC - Sugar, Big 10 - Rose, ACC - Peach, Big 12/G5 - Fiesta).  The CFP says that the first seed will receive "preferential placement" for the semifinal games.  

     

    CFP Selection FAQ's

     

    Spoiler
    • The 12 participating teams will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams.
    • The ranking of the teams will continue to be done by a selection committee.
    • The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and will receive a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion will be seeded where it was ranked or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 rankings. Non-conference champions ranked in the top four will be seeded beginning at No. 5. Because of this, the seeding, 1 through 12, could look different than the final rankings.
    • The eight teams seeded No. 5-12 will play in a first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 at No. 8.).
    • The selection committee will assign the four highest-ranked conference champions to Playoff Quarterfinals hosted by bowls. This will be done in consideration of historic bowl relationships, then in consideration of rankings. For example, if the Sugar Bowl hosts a Playoff Quarterfinal and the SEC champion is ranked No. 1 and the Big 12 champion is ranked No. 3, the SEC champion would be assigned to the Sugar Bowl and the Big 12 champion would be assigned elsewhere.
    • With the four highest-ranked conference champions assigned to bowls, their four Playoff Quarterfinal opponents will be dictated by the bracket (i.e., No. 1 vs. No. 8/9 winner, No. 4 vs. No. 5/12 winner, No. 2 vs. 7/10 winner; No. 3 vs. 6/11 winner.)
    • The College Football Playoff bracket will follow the selection committee’s rankings, with no modifications made to avoid rematches between teams that may have played during the regular season or are from the same conference.
    • The bracket will remain in effect throughout the playoff (i.e., no re-seeding).
    • The highest seed will receive preferential placement for the Playoff Semifinal bowl assignment.
    • All 11 games will be under the CFP umbrella with the administrative policies determined by the CFP.

     

×
×
  • Create New...