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statsman

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  1. In honor of our new Hog overlords, I’m wearing this 1961 Hamilton Seascape (windup, gold plated) Cotton Bowl watch😬. I’d rather have the 1960 Bluebonnet Bowl watch from that year (Texas tied Bama), instead of this Arkansas-Duke game watch, but oh, well. 

    85AD68E7-69AC-442A-9B04-257E286C180B.jpeg

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  2. My Explorer 1016 is easy. The hole for the spring bar is drilled all the way through the lug. You just poke it out through the outside end. It’s not a clean look, but it’s handy. 
      
    ir’s hilarious that my most valuable watch has the crudest feature. 

  3. (And since I have so many vintage watches) another trick, for unscrewing jammed, stuck case backs, that really works is: superglue a 5/16 nut onto the case back. Let it dry. Get a wrench and unscrew case back. Use nail polish remover to remove nut from case back and clean up. (Note- only try this on stainless steel casebacks). 

  4. I have had surprisingly good luck removing spring bars in tight spaces with dental floss. You thread the floss through and around the installed spring bar, as close to the accessible end (smaller diameter) as possible, and tie a knot. Then give the floss a yank. It works better than you’d think. 

  5. Whether they know it or not, conferences have reasons to exist. In a pre-NCAA dominant era, the SWC was formed to regulate the sports’ rules, on and off the field. After the NCAA took over in the ‘50s, the SWC became just a collection of schools with divergent (selfish) interests. 

    The SEC is interesting. I have a copy of Woodruff’s 1928 book, “History of Southern Football”. Believe it or not, even back then they had a chip on their shoulder about regional pride. They exist to promote southern football (and are ok with a bitter rival winning the NC if their school can’t). It will be interesting to see how UT and OU fit in. 
      
    The Big XII exists to provide the best marketing forum for 10 different schools. Big XII schools are happy with Texas being down if it helps their program feed. They are happy to be Lilliputians tying down Gulliver. I think back to the coaches’ vote in 2008 when Big XII coaches from TAMU, BU and OSU (not ISU) didn’t just vote Texas lower than OU, but several spots below IU, to hold Texas out of the championship game. A lot of Texas fans are still pushed about that. 
      
    Of course, in 2009, Stoops sent Venablea to Tuscaloosa to give pre-game tips to Saban. 
      
    going forward, will Big XII schools with opportunities to leave for more secure conferences jump, or stay out of camaraderie and loyalty to their peers? I think we know the answer. The Big XII is a forum to market individual programs. That’s why it was formed. 

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  6. I can think of few things more condescending and dismissive than to tell the diverse contributors to the “Eyes” committee, “Your hard work and recommendations on this issue are being dismissed and discarded because a different self-appointed  faction is making a public stink and the university doesn’t want to appear insensitive”. 
      
    why would anybody ever serve on such a committee again if this is how decisions are to be made?

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  7. 6 hours ago, msucolt45 said:

    My Dad only has his ‘62 Cotton Bowl watch in his possession. It is a gold Omega. He gave his other two to his Dad and brother.

    That is awesome! I collect these watches, and have no familial connection like you. My dad, however, did win a gold medal in the ‘71 Pan Am games (Free Pistol). He’s getting up there, and have had the conversation with him, “You know, Dad, the Pan Am gold medal needs to stay in the family when you die.” I just wanted to make sure there was no confusion about it. 
      
    I wonder where these watches come from before they get to eBay. I suspect they stop working, and go to the back of a drawer for decades, and then to a garage sale. Your dad’s CB watch is very repairable, and no matter how well worn, will clean up really well. I hope you keep it. 

  8. Ha-ha! This is the one I decided to wear today (I only have one of the Cotton Bowl Rolex/Tudors, but have a couple of the older CB Omegas). The name engraved on the back, as near as I can place it, is that of the husband of the UT AD bookkeeper. Not every vintage bowl game watch is washed in glory. 

    C193B19A-CB7D-4448-B971-2245F260201B.jpegThe band is an old Rolex C&I riveted number, and it was in rough shape, so I sent it off to that guy in Hong King that restores them, and it’s a lot nicer now. 

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  9. Actually, this gives UT and OU negotiating power. If the B12 wants to enforce buyout rules, we can force participation in voting rules. In effect, two “no” votes from UT and OU means any expansion candidate requires unanimity from the others. In other words, TCU, TT or BU can individually blackball UH (or any other candidate). 

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  10. Someone suggested that the Big 12 remnant expand with an eye on being the best football conference possible. That’s a solid strategy. 
      
    UH would be a good add for that. Pros- good recruiting base, they have shown they can build competitive teams; they just need to be part of a major conference for selling to recruits. Cons- they don’t expand the conference profile and viewership ($$) much. 
      
    In other words, they’re much like TCU, OSU and Baylor (football-wise) except they are smack dab in a recruiting hotbed. 
      
    This is the test. Will TCU, Baylor and TT agree to invite them, for the overall good of the conference? Or will they reject them, because they don’t want to help the Cougars build their program?

    I think we know the answer. 

  11. Yes, ISIS is a murderous Sunni fundamentalist terror group that believes in instituting Sharia law in an authoritarian society. 
      
    And the Taliban is a murderous Sunni fundamentalist terror group that believes in instituting Sharia law in an authoritarian society. 
      
    yes, they don’t get along. No, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them. 
      
    also, there are maybe low four digit US citizens there, but there are perhaps five digit numbers of US green card holders that the Afghans do not plan on allowing to leave (and to kill a bunch of them). The US government is  not committed to protecting them or bringing them out (unless bad optics motivate it). 

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  12. 5 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

    Fundamentally, I think that's right.  And more importantly, even if that WASN'T the decision, it's where we are now.  We are firmly in the "ripping the bandaid off" part of things.  It's painful as hell, but there's no getting around it now that we've started.

    No. There is another option. We can go back in, hard with lots of troops and retake that city. Basically, a new invasion on the scale of 2001. 
      
    Right now, that doesn’t seem to be something we would consider doing at all. However, let the Taliban (which is not really an organized army following too-down orders) kill a few Americans, and then see what happens. Or kidnap a bunch. 
      
    Which is why we’re kissing the Taliban’s asses right now, hoping nobody acts out. I also suspect at some point they’ll convince us to pay them tens of billions of dollars. 
      
    It’s a mess and it doesn’t have to get neater. 

  13. I hate to argue with guys that I never see a reason to argue with, but it’s clear you guys weren’t there for it (the point I’m arguing against is that Earl Campbell was a “fringe HoFer “). 
      
    when he retired, he was the seventh all time rusher in NFL history. He was voted to the HoF in his first year eligible. He was no fringe HoFer. 

  14. 48 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

    Earl Campbell is one of the top 10 running backs in NFL history. KD and Roger Clemens are each one of the 10 best players to ever play their sport. It’s not close. Earl was a comet that burned bright and then burnt out. That’s just not top 10 of all time resume. 

    Bill James once wrote a breakdown of HoF suitability, placing players in tiers. His suggestion was that tier 1 was for players that were arguably the greatest player ever in the game. In basketball, that’s Jordan, LeBron, Wilt and maybe Jabbar. In football, that’s Jim Brown. I don’t know who else ever entered the conversation. 
      
    Tier 2 is for players who were arguably the best player in the game while they were active. That’s KD. And that’s Earl. 
      
    Tier 3 is for players who were arguably the best ever at their position. Tier 4 is for players who were arguably the best at their position while they were playing. 
      
    I’m not looking to downgrade Clemens. I just don’t think you get just how big a deal Earl was. He took an Oilers team to the AFC championship game twice, losing each time to the eventual Super Bowl Champ, and that Oilers team was QBed by Dan Pastorini. This guy was no fringe HoFer, not by any measure. 

  15. 3 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

    Earls great, earls awesome, earl walks on water. He couldn’t sniff KD or Clemens jock in pro accomplishments. He’s a fringe HOF due to how short his peak and prime were. KD and Clemens are inner circle HOF all timer generational guys. 

    I’m going to cut you some slack, because it’s clear you weren’t watching pro football while Earl was playing. Back then, RBs we’re considered as vital as QBs for a championship team. For his first three seasons, Earl was the best in the game. He was NFL offensive player of the game his first three seasons. He was league MVP his second season. He was no fringe HOFer- he made the HoF on his first season eligible and is named to the league’s all century team. 

  16. I was on campus for the ‘83 CWS win. Yep, Clemens was not the number one starter in that rotation, and at the same time, he was the prospect the pros were most interested in. In other words, the other guys (memory- Schiraldi and Ruffin?) were better in the college game in ‘83, and Clemens had more potential (obviously). 

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