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SL Xpress

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Everything posted by SL Xpress

  1. Lol. Yeah, I heard she's a team cancer waiting to happen from someone plugged into the club scene.
  2. I was honestly not aware that standard contractual buyouts for top coaches had risen so much. That's a big slap of reality. I remember when Deloss didn't even bother negotiating buyouts, with the attitude of, "Who would want to leave? If you're actively looking for a job somewhere else, just go. We'll find someone else who wants it more than you do." Not a boomer, but Gen X, so close enough.
  3. I guess. I think those Texas fans are idiots, then. When the charges are dropped he's going to be available for practically any opening in the country, at least in terms of his conduct. Heck, I believe Texas would still hire him if this happened at another school, depending on how he acts and what he says after the legal proceedings are finished. We hired a guy who was documented as smelling of alcohol and acting inebriated as the head coach on the practice field, has admitted he's an alcoholic. Texas still would have fired him for the same behavior if it happened here. It's not the same standard. I'll go on to say he's going to be wildly successful. He was a home run hire when it was made. I don't see a candidate I'd want more than pre felonious assault Chris Beard on the landscape right now. You put the whole package together, I'm not sure I'd want Jay Wright over him, and I don't even consider Wright a realistic option. Jay Wright isn't going to go out of his way to embolden the student body to support Texas basketball the way Beard did. Jay Wright isn't going to support every single other sport on campus the way Beard did. Jay Wright isn't going to put out a social media barrage to try to engage fans. Jay Wright isn't going to scream out at the top of his lungs at the Gone To Texas event how he graduated from UT and how proud he is to say that. I don't understand how to turn a blind eye to the circumstances that led to his arrest, regardless of what the details are. I loved Chris Beard, but I'm perfectly fine with him getting fired. Don't make decisions that lead you to getting arrested for felonious assault. It's that simple. Name one head coach in a power 5 conference that has been arrested for felonious assault in a domestic violence dispute that has kept their job. Mike Price was fired for less than that at Alabama of all places. I can wish for what never will be, and I'm going to be angry/jealous/resentful when he goes on to a hall of fame career somewhere else - which by the way I'll be rooting for mass failure the whole way, regardless of how little impact it's going to make. But I'll never question whether firing him was the right decision. There's also this narrative that somehow THIS decision is the one that defines whether Texas truly wants to win in football and men's basketball, which is silly. Texas makes all kinds of compromises above and under the table every day to demonstrate they're willing to do what it takes to win in modern college big time sports. Texas is no shrinking violet in that regard. To say otherwise simply demonstrates an ignorance for how the sausage is getting made. But if you're a coach out there who thinks you'd like to be a head coach at the University of Texas, but you're concerned about what it would take for Texas to fire you with cause, you have a couple of examples. Don't sleep with one of your players. And don't get accused of felony assault of a loved one. If you can manage not to do one of those two things you should be able to leave with a sizable payout even if you don't win enough. And even then you can get a $600k settlement for the first instance, and possibly an undetermined amount from the second.
  4. I looked for it, but didn't see this posted. I love this guy's videos so much. I'm unsure of his role in Bakhmut, just that his commentary in his videos as translated by Dmitri on twitter at wartranslated are a perfect mixture of bravado, low key confidence, and authenticity. Here he says he made an emotional video yesterday, which he did, but reassures everyone they have all the equipment they need EXCEPT for reconnaissance drones that he specified. He's also saying the defensive lines are still holding in Bakhmut. Also, as many of you are aware, advances by Russia in Soledad, while true, where slightly exaggerated. The UAF still holds the salt mines, which are highly defensible. My concern is how vulnerable are they to encirclement with a static defensive position, but for now it appears they still have access to supply lines. Anyway, thanks for everyone's updates and commentary. All of it is appreciated.
  5. There shouldn't be anyone tired of spouses causing issues. If that's the conclusion people are drawing from the Beard firing...it's the wrong conclusion. It's possible to have relationship drama without it turning into a felony arrest.
  6. They're all auto waivers. I don't know why people continue to insist there's going to be some penalty for a player who transfers multiple times. The NCAA has made it extremely clear they will grant waivers in every single instance.
  7. So reading/listening/watching some of the commentary after the firing, something that keeps coming up is Chris Beard's lack of contrition. Without having an intent to defend Chris Beard or his actions, I would like to put forward my view of it, and get any reactions anyone has. If I put myself in Chris Beard's shoes while he's sitting there in jail waiting to appear before the judge, I'm making a list of my priorities. Regardless of my innocence or guilt, they would look something like this, in this order: Priority #1 - stay out of prison Priority #2 - keep my job, if possible Priority #3a - be as employable as possible if #2 doesn't work out Priority #3b - set myself up to receive some compensation for the employment contract I signed if early termination is the result Maybe other people would have different priorities, but those would be mine, and I think they're fairly reasonable. The problem is, based on this idea that if Beard had shown more contrition for his actions that made this possible, there is no question it conflicts with maximizing his chances of staying out of prison. Full stop. I don't know what the scale is. It's likely he could apologize to anyone and everyone, and if his fiancee chooses not to press charges and recants her statements then the DA will have a tough time prosecuting the case regardless. But any amount of contrition expressed for his role in the evening's events sounds like a big no no from a defense attorney's position. At least to me, as a non defense attorney. "I'm sorry even though I did nothing wrong," is not an effective apology. "I'm sorry for what I did but please don't throw me in jail," equally sounds like it would jeopardize his legal position. It's not like any communications between him and the university are privileged. Anything documented is open to FOIA requests. All those communications have to be undertaken with that understanding. Perhaps he could have hired a PR agent at the same time he hires a defense attorney? Not sure how practical or effective that would be, but regardless, if the PR person and the defense attorney butt heads regarding the best course of action, in Beard's current legal situation, who would you give more weight to? I already listed my priority. Expressing contrition - especially the amount of contrition necessary to move the needle to where someone who is in the room deciding these things chooses to go out of their way to be Chris Beard's strong and effective advocate to the others in the room, which obviously didn't happen - jeopardizes every single one of the other priorities. I'm not trying to say Chris Beard is actually a good guy. Or that his hands were tied in terms of expressing whatever regrets and personal responsibility he feels right now. We all have choices, and he made his, with the consultation of the people around him. What I AM saying is that faced with the exact same circumstances, and the exact same choices, I'm maintaining as little responsibility as humanly possible in anything resembling a public facing action until the legal process is played out. Finding Beard at fault for not expressing more contrition by the UT legal department makes perfect sense. But for people commenting on the arrest and firing to point at that as some kind of failing on Beard's part is not a realistic view of the circumstances, in my opinion. Not sure how much of any of this matters. He's gone and eventually I'll move on, too. Especially if we can manage to knock this next hire out of the park. But I do find it an interesting intellectual exercise. Also, I'm interested in seeing if Beard does bring a wrongful termination lawsuit against UT, even with all the legal hurdles in the way, or whether he moves on to another job - and IMO he's going to get some great opportunities if the charges are dropped, which I believe they will be. Or both, which is also possible. UT will never allow a wrongful termination lawsuit from Beard to go in front of a jury, so either they will get the lawsuit dismissed, or there will be some kind of settlement. In any case, he has his whole life in front of him to express some level of contrition. Especially after the legal proceedings are done. It doesn't even have to be genuine to be effective. By his own admission he's not wired to be a reflective guy. He's one of those people that you know bullshit is spewing from his mouth if his lips are moving (as someone who has some of the same characteristics, I can relate). I'm curious to see what his approach is to this watershed moment in his life from a public perspective. I'm not going to be emotionally invested in it, because I long ago realized I didn't believe the things Beard said, but I am going to be interested in seeing what his approach ends up being, and how that reflects on him as a person.
  8. I do not understand how people think Texas is going to hire Calipari. He's had two Final Fours vacated. Texas has never hired a head coach in any sport with past major NCAA violations. Calipari is not going to be the first. Not to mention he'll for sure take a paycut to leave Kentucky. Bruce Pearl has the same issue. Jerome Tang? Are you fucking kidding me? Guy might be an all world "whiz kid" at 54. Just needed his chance. But he's halfway through his first season. Abe Lemons, Bob Wetlich, Tom Penders, Rick Barnes, Shaka Smart, and Chris Beard all had AT LEAST 6 years of experience as a head coach before they took the Texas job. At least Tommy Lloyd is in his second year after a superb initial season. I believe the only thing interest in Musselman results in is a big pay raise for him. I don't know who Texas is going to hire. The decision is 4 months away. I hope we're all stunned by the name. In a good way. But I simply cannot imagine it's going to be an assistant. Tommy Lloyd is the only short term head coach I think has a chance (and he might simply parlay it into getting a big pay raise from Arizona). One big thing I'm going to miss regardless is that Beard was the perfect combination of huckster and great coach. It's helpful for generating support from the Texas fan base if the fans are encouraged in various ways to attend games. That's not something a lot of coaches want to fool with. But it's a higher priority for me that whoever is the coach has the ability to implement fundamentally sound systems on both sides of the court. I don't really think there's a better package out there of both of those two qualities than Beard. So that part is going to be sacrificed, even if we get the right guy, which I hope we do.
  9. No argument. I've never thought of Bakhmut as important strategically. But I still liked Ukraine successfully holding it as opposed to pulling back. That's it.
  10. Is it weird? It seems obvious it has been a political play from Prigozhin in an effort to obtain even more resources and access to more men. He's the only one having any success, so he should get access to more and be granted more responsibility to have more success. I know people lately are floating the salt and gypsum mines as part of the goal, but it's going to be extremely difficult to mine those resources under the current environment in the field. To say the least. I just don't see a lot of evidence that Russia can sustain any kind of offensive momentum. If Ukraine is ever able to mount another effective counter offensive, then it's going to create all kinds of trouble for Russian forces, IMO. They're simply not as motivated, they're not as well equipped. Their artillery advantage is fast dissipating. They still have more air power, but not enough to have free reign over the skies. They're horrible at combined arms, with many of their most competent forces dead or wounded. They're corrupt, with too much politics influencing military strategy. There's no job security for commanders. They have no real power in the Kremlin. Their only real advantage right now is that they have a dictatorship that still maintains strong approval from the populace, whether through fear, propaganda, or a legitimate pride in having a strong leader. Whereas democracies, for all their strengths, are inherently poor at being proactive, and can have issues with being consistent with policies that do not directly affect the voters. An isolationist Congress or President would be horrible for the prospects of this war. And that's not exactly out of reach. From either party. As a one issue agenda guy, I'm very grateful for the current composition in both political institutions. I just wish we'd send even more support. But this latest tranche is extremely welcome by me.
  11. Well, that answers that question. It seems like a couple of people interpreted my question about Bakhmut as some kind of existential concern about the outcome of the war, when all I was really wondering was if Ukraine could maintain their defensive line. There's a river to the west of Bakhmut where the Ukrainians have another defensive line set up so I'm not exactly wringing my hands regarding a new effective Russian offensive. I was just concerned that the abandonment of Bakhmut was now imminent after months of fighting, and it was.
  12. I'm seeing reports of Soledar falling, which is going to put intense pressure on the northern side of Bakhmut. Arguably impossibly difficult pressure. Anyone have any thoughts on the chances of Ukraine holding on to Bakhmut over the next week or so? The problem isn't Bakhmut itself. The problem is maintaining the current defensive line of which Bakhmut is a key part of.
  13. “We’re here just as cannon fodder, that's all... The main thing is that we are ‘in Belgorod’,” a Russian soldier is heard telling his mother. “You see, that’s bullshit. The boys, cargo 200s, are being taken home,” the soldier goes on – “cargo 200” is a Russian military code for the transportation of dead bodies. “They, like, in Russia, like... Well, like... They mark him as if he died in Belgorod, not in Ukraine. You see the kind of system this is,” the Russian soldier says. He also said drunkenness is rampant among the Russian military, causing everyone to “care less and less about anything.” ____________________________________________________________________ If they're put in a strong defensive position and used as speed bumps, or forced into zerg assaults, maybe they provide something. But if Ukraine can break the defensive lines, these guys have no real will to fight. Maybe the next counter offensive isn't as easy as the one in Kharkiv simply because Russia had a severely undermanned front line, but the results will still be the same if they make breakthroughs, as difficult as they may be. I wish the West was already sending more heavy tanks. I'm glad for the infantry vehicles. Those are critical. But some more heavy armored tanks would go a long way towards success with what's ahead.
  14. Yeah, but if we're counting how many children he fathered, it's not as big of a net loss. Also, we shouldn't be leaving out Mao. Percentage wise I think Cane should get some kudos, too. 25% of the world's population is pretty impressive.
  15. While I agree with you in principle, the idea there can't be any rogue actors on the board of regents is not accurate based on its history. But yeah, there aren't any on this board. It's certainly not a democracy, that's for sure. Titles matter. And "Chairman" is a big title.
  16. I don't see anyway Musselman gets hired away. I feel like people underestimate the passion of those fans and the money pouring into that program right now. They wandered in the desert for a long long time between 1996 and 2021. But he's got them rocking right now. I doubt anywhere other than Kentucky could hire him away at this point, and maybe not even the Wildcats. He has a good thing going up there.
  17. Gerry will be guessing. He has great contacts, but a coach's list will be more of a Gerry wishlist/guess list than some kind of insight. He's best with recruiting and reporting on the current team. But it's the business model. He has to put out something. I don't see how anyone will know anything until the rumors of McDonald's breakfasts start breaking out. And we're months away from that. Mostly what we'll get is either denials, or non denial denials. Or big salary extensions/raises.
  18. Does he like being one of the highest paid assistants in the country with an immense amount of job security being able to live in Austin long term? The guy had a head coaching job at UTEP before he came to Texas. He was a head coach at Fresno State before that. He was a head coach for 10 years, then decided to go back to being an assistant. It seems to me he found his ceiling. He wasn't a terrible head coach. But he wasn't exactly a great one, either. But he's not some kind of super assistant. He's a good recruiter, who is very loyal, knows his way around UT alumni and administrators. If he left it wouldn't be the end of the world, but he's a good value if the next head coach decides he wants to keep him. Just realize every assistant on staff is in danger of being poached by Beard at his next job. Especially if he ever lands at someplace like Kentucky with a massive basketball budget. The guy is extremely charismatic. People are going to follow him.
  19. Well, the time to negotiate something is before the termination. But if there's some way to make a public fuss, especially someway to subpoena UT officials to enter depositions, there's still a path to receiving a settlement. Don't know what that path would be, though. I wonder if someone Beard trusts within the UT power structure was trying to give him assurances there was still a path to keeping his job available to him, even if only a slim one. If so, that was the wrong take.
  20. I figured that was the case. It was more of a just in case post. Also if anyone else came across the thread and was wondering.
  21. I've read your posts, and you're pretty informed. I'm guessing you know this, but in the interest of trying to be helpful if possible, Russian Orthodox celebrate Christmas January 7th.
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