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SwanderedTalent

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Everything posted by SwanderedTalent

  1. I have read the first 164 of the Big Book so many times that now in the mornings I tend to focus on the stories. I read IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WORSE this morning, which isn't one I directly relate to exactly (in my case the title would have been SURE, IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE, IN ANOTHER 72 HOURS). But he did say one thing that I think explains perfectly why we keep coming back. [quote] Living with fear and tension inevitably results in wanting to ease that tension, which alcohol seems to do temporarily. [/quote] We're never immune to fear and tension. We're never immune to the desire to "ease" those feelings. That's why I continue to need the program. My immediate response to fear and tension is never "well a drink will solve that", but it is "how dare ______ make me feel fear or tension, that's not fair, come on God!" and that is the first step on a slippery slope of resentment and an amplification of negative feelings that could lead to acting out, and if you play that tape far enough forward, there very well could be a drink involved. So I try to stay close to the program, because it lets me combat fear and tension instead of "living with" them.
  2. The 2003 loss to Oklahoma, because it never felt like the programs were further apart than that moment, and the gulf never seemed insurmountable until that day. I was disgusted and embarrassed by everything about that game. It was 58-13 and OU was trying to run out the clock and we wouldn't even put forth the effort to let them do that, so they tacked on another touchdown. 2006 loss to A&M. Inexcusable, and hugely costly to the program's momentum. It essentially sold the notion that Mack Brown's program was nothing but Vince Young, and that contributed to the recruiting rot that started to set in. The 2008 loss to Tech was more in the vein of "instant heartbreak", as I really thought we'd won the game on a Gideon INT. The 2009 BCSCG hurt because, maybe foolishly, I really thought when we got the ball down 24-21 that Gilbert and Shipley were going to be good for one more TD and we'd win against all odds, and because of how gypped I felt when we lost without getting to take a shot at them with our best player. The entire 2010 season was heartbreaking for what it irrevocably revealed about Mack Brown Texas Football and how it has seemingly permanently changed my emotional investment in Texas football. I haven't had my heart broken by Texas football in a long time. It's been mostly bitterly cynical chuckles the past ten seasons.
  3. As someone who still plays NCAA 2014 but doesn't play Madden, the gameplay to me doesn't really feel dated. I'm not saying it's next gen caliber per se, but it also doesn't feel like you're stepping back an entire console generation the way playing a PS2 game did after being exposed to the PS3. Obviously some of the era-specific facets of the game are off (the BCS, the lack of real RPO offenses) but the actual feel of the play doesn't scream "UPDATE ME".
  4. I love our house, but this whole "spacious vaulted main living area" concept is less than ideal when you have to heat it against 10 degree temperatures. e-- thermostat is set at 65, that's about as good as it's going to get anyway but hopefully also it helps demand against the grid
  5. This isn't hard. I don't think CDC was allowed a hand in firing Herman. He has had ample opportunity to fire Smart and hasn't done so despite the rhetoric about championship caliber programs and splashy softball coach hirings. And @TwiceHorn, I do find those rumors credible given who they come from. My personal stance is the only one I have any control over and the only one that matters to me on a subject like this. I could not care less if I'm the only person on Earth who thinks this way. Del Conte should have fired Smart two years ago or last February. He dithered, and now we're stuck with Smart all the way through next season. That, to me, is a much bigger problem than the handling of a football coach given I personally believe the rumors that CDC wasn't able to take meaningful action with regard to the football coach.
  6. I don't think he did. I think it's well-established at this point that Del Conte was on the outside looking in during the Herman firing and Sarkisian hiring. It's then logical to assume he wasn't allowed to unilaterally extend Herman's contract, although it's also possible that his exclusion from the Herman/Meyer/Sarkisian situation was a response to how he handled the extension. Was it even his idea? I don't really know. I don't want to get into the new staff remark as that's going to take us way off in the weeds and the particulars of Herman aren't the point. My point was that how Del Conte has handled men's basketball is, to me personally, in evaluating his performance, a bigger black mark than anything he did with regard to the football program. I'm not arguing basketball is more important than football, or anything about how much it should matter to anyone else, and I already know all of the contextual mitigations people like to give Del Conte in explaining why he retained a coach who needed a long and improbable win streak at the end of his fifth year just to manage a personal-best tied-for-third finish. I'm saying I have a much bigger problem letting an obviously terrible basketball coach hang on through six years (which most likely means seven) than I do letting an obviously mediocre football coach stay for a fourth year. I can explain why, further, but maybe just clarifying that is sufficient.
  7. to me the most damning stat for him is that in five years thus far, his best finish in the conference is last year's tie for third, but I guess there are those who would say "NO SEE LOOK AT THE DIRECTION THE PROGRAM'S HEADED" in his defense. of course this year, we're fifth in the conference with Tech breathing down our neck, sooooo.... I do find it funny that this year, we are seeing the worst Kansas team in memory, and we went to Lawrence and drilled them and.... we're still looking up at them in the Big 12 standings. Let's wait and see how this season finishes before making any conclusions on it, but even if he rights the ship and we somehow finish in the top 3 of the conference for the whopping 2nd time in his tenure and we manage the Sweet 16, it was obvious three years ago Smart wasn't going to reach the appropriate level of success for this program. Smart's continued tenure here is why I am so down on CDC (I don't think he had much to do with the Herman saga). We should not accept third place as the ceiling for our men's basketball program.
  8. she's always seemed like a cunt so I'm surprised they don't get along
  9. Perfectly stated. To that, you can add "if I can do anything to help, let me know" in a casual kind of way. Like don't grip his hand tightly and stare penetratingly into his eyes, willing him to be sober and thinking sober thoughts to vibe him, while adding "seriously... seriously... ANYTHING I CAN DO". That would be too much. Keep it light. On the other hand, from personal experience, it's weird when you return and no one acts like they noticed you were gone, but then, the job I had when I went to rehab was paper-pushing busywork anyway.
  10. Grand Theft Auto: College Football it's the only way
  11. that's sort of like the blonde joke where the punchline is the pilot telling the stewardess, "I just told her that the first class section of the plane is going to New York and coach is going to LA", but much darker
  12. and yes, they didn't half-ass their effort on the By Your Side support tour (until it became obvious the record was going to tank and they felt their label wasn't going to support them in anything but "do your Rolling Stones impression"). They kicked out the jams and just rocked.
  13. might have been because he was only ever a hired gun in that band I guess Brother Cane hadn't gone on hiatus yet by the time Marc Ford was fired, but it would have been awesome if Damon Johnson had been able to join the Crowes. He's said they were his dream band or something along those lines at one point. He'd have been a much better fit than Audley, who I think is underrated as a guitarist but also just not really my cup of tea in this context. Chris once said Marc Ford "can play you the difference between BB King, Freddie King, and Albert King". Maybe Audley could too, I don't know, but that doesn't really sound like him to me.
  14. I feel like I'm just being taunted now
  15. I kind of thought college coaches would have learned this about ten years ago, but here's a tip for all of them reading this thread: if you're going to spend a scholarship on a one-and-done, play the shit out of him. 35+ minutes a game. Get everything you can while you can. It's asinine that on a team with as many inconsistencies as this one has, Greg Brown is only playing 20 minutes. If this was a team built around reliable and consistent upperclassmen, assuming such a thing is even possible outside of Spokane and Waco nowadays, then I could see using him sparingly so as to reward the players who deserve to be on the court because they're doing things correctly. He and AJ should be playing as close to 40 as they reasonably can. Shit, I'm not even a Greg Brown fan and I feel like he's being underutilized badly. Reminiscent of Myles Turner but at least when Brown's on the court, he's not being obviously played out of position.
  16. here's what we got my daughter for Christmas, she's a little younger than you, by about 20-25 years, but it's really great. plays by itself and everything
  17. that doesn't even get into the subject of the Vintera Telecaster w/Bigsby this is getting to be a conversation for the Guitar Pron thread but anyway
  18. say no more, friendo, right there with you.... this is an actual statement I made to my wife recently "So the Fender is tuned down a full step and the Martin is in standard, but that's why I want the Taylor, because I need a guitar to leave in open G rather than having to tune back and forth. The Fender doesn't have onboard electronics anyway, it's just an old plonker I keep for sentimental reasons. Technically I'd like two more, with onboard electronics, one for G and one for open A because I prefer that for slide, and I'll just keep the Fender because some of my songs are written a step down and it's easier to sing them and hey where are you going?"
  19. 1,000 days today woot woot let's go buy another guitar!
  20. Managing a roster of 4* and 5* players with access to the transfer portal could be a lot of fun. Right now once you get them on your roster, you barely have to do anything to keep them. About the worst thing that ever happens to my roster is, one of my receivers (it'll be like six 5* and two 4*, and this will be the 5th best guy on the team) will decide to transfer. But I'll have two 4* or better freshman QBs and one of them will gladly ride the bench for four or five years. Not realistic at all. I don't have to do anything to keep him happy. Players never care about changing positions. They never want to move somewhere they can get more playing time (e.g, QB to RB) and they never mind when you do that to them (i.e., threaten to transfer). They also need to do more around coach prestige and the polls. Example 1: imagine if Dabo Swinney or Urban Meyer took the Miami job tomorrow. There's no way in year 2 they'd be losing 5* QBs to Iowa or 5* athletes to Bowling Green. Once you've won a bunch of national championships, it shouldn't take several years to build your program prestige up. Example 2, imagine if Swinney wins five national titles in a row, then takes the Miami job after they went 1-11. In his first year, he beats three Top Ten teams in the first five games. I kind of think Miami would be ranked in that scenario. If they finished the year 13-0, I kind of think they'd start the next year in the Top 5. Etc, etc. Not to mention the G5/low-mid-major programs climbing into the Top 5. There is no scenario where UMass or a MAC school would be in the Top 5 without a single win over a ranked opponent or P5 opponent. Happens all the time in Dynasty. Lastly I turned the CPU FG setting down to 0 and the computer still hasn't missed a single FG against me, ever. 55 yarder into the wind? No problem. I can't kick FGs for shit because you have no indication of where you're actually aiming.
  21. oh, no doubt, no excuse for that-- that discussion needs to be "Chris, for my Director of Player Personnel, I was thinking I'd hire someone with (Hughes' resume)" not "Chris, guess who I hired to run player personnel??? No, not him. Nope. Nope! Think Music City Bowl, or Taxslayer Bowl, or no bowl at all, that kind of season!"
  22. how about warranted "not being impressed by his resume"? we gotsta get us some of what has worked so well for South Carolina and Tennessee!
  23. I love them, they're amazing at incorporating intensity without being overwrought
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