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It's genuinely astounding and fairly terrifying the extent to which team Trump has effectively convinced a huge swath of the country that reporting on the doings of the Trump administration is, in itself, a partisan act of opposition politics. And media outlets have internalized that shit. They give Trump and his people a pass on things purely because they do so many shitty things. Because if you call him out too often, too consistently, you obviously can't be considered credible. So it generates this insane false equivalence and ultimately a slant in favor of Trump and the worst parts of his base. Sure, Trump is not even being remotely subtle about promoting his use of immigration and asylum policies as a form of ethnic cleansing while literal Nazis cheer him on, but let's have another handwringing NYT op-ed about how politics have gotten so uncivil, and really if you call people racist just because they are you're part of the problem. Because the lack of civility clearly comes from people who get outraged by racist shit and rampant corruption and toddlers screaming in cages, not Donald Grab Em By The Pussy Shithole Countries Immigrant Infestation Lock Her Up Trump and his vast army of shit flinging fuck-your-feelings monkeys. Or maybe this week we should revisit how college students protesting reactionary shitheads just might be the real threat to liberal values.

Lulz. I read that and thought it was mostly bullshit. There was a lot of aggy-esque sunshine pumping in there. IT says just about all of our recruits are underrated pretty much every year. The article also makes it sound like Herman's first choice was to take 3 stars and coach them up while ignoring the fact that most of the 3 stars we have taken the last two years are due to missing out on higher rated guys the staff prioritized first. The staff did a great job mitigating their misses last year, and I like our class and tend to think most those guys are underrated except for Coburn and Carson. I'm not as high on this year's class so far. Sweat and Carter (assuming he's in) should be 3 stars. They're solid players but don't have very high ceilings from what I can see (and their offer list echoes that). Mpagi is underrated, and I expect his rating will rise with a strong senior year. Regarding your data on tOSU, I have no idea where you got your numbers, but they're way off and entirely misleading. Urb's 2 first full classes were 2013 and 2014. He took 6 DEs (including Hubbard who was listed at ATH but played DE) for an avg of 91.38. This included first-round pick Joey Bosa in 2013, who is a similar size and rating to the #1 target we just missed on in Leal. Weighing down that number were 2 3-stars Urb took in 2014. Both barely played and ended up transferring. For DT, he took 3 guys with an average of 91.45. For UT, you said we only took one DT but we've taken 2: Ojomo and Coburn. So for DE, it's 5 guys with an avg of 88.13 and 2 DTs with an avg of 91.76. tOSU's total DL average was: 91.40. UT's total DL avg over 2 years: 89.16. Further, only 2/7 of UT's commits were 4 stars. For tOSU, 7/9 were 4 stars and the only ones who actually contributed were 4 stars. All this also glosses over the fact that tOSU had 2 5 star DEs in their 2012 class and another DE who was #92 overall. Point being, Urban recruited significantly better on the DL his first two years, and the talent he's utilized to get to where he's at now with tOSU is much better than the talent Herman and Co. will have to utilize for the next few years. Your comp to tOSU doesn't hold up at all. I don't understand why people either completely deny bad news or get irrationally angry and upset when confronted with it, whether it's that Herman made some big mistakes in his initial hires with guys like Mehringer, Warehime, and Beck, or that DL recruiting has some issues and is lagging behind this staff's recruiting at pretty much every other position. The 2018 DL class was good, but it wasn't the staff's Plan A like IT is trying to say, and it's not sustainable to do it that way every year. 2019 is shaping up to be worse than 2018, unless we find 2 Ojomo's in this class or a big time recruitment takes a major turn. All these things can be overcome and no one's saying that we're doomed and Herman will be a definite failure, but they're also fair to point out. There is no doubt in my mind the offensive hires lost us at least two games last year (there were 3 games alone where our O couldn't' score than 10 in regulation), which is negatively affecting our 2019 recruiting and will negatively affect our 2020 recruiting, unless we turn it around this year, which I'm not super optimistic about since Beck is still the OC and all three offenders are still on staff, not to mention the opportunity cost of wasting 3 coaching spots on TE and WR when we could (and should) be using at least one of those spots to help out DL recruiting. Anyways, I like Herman and I'm hopeful he can be a good coach at UT, but he absolutely under performed on the field last year and there are things he needs to fix in the program. It shouldn't be that hard to hold both of those ideas in your head at the same time. Anyways, these conversations are probably gonna keep coming up ad nauseum while things are slow, my work is picking up, and I waste way too much got dam time on this site, so I'll be signing off for a while. Have a fun dead period y'all!

My dad was a coach and one of his favorite old adages was that the further you are from the ball the easier you are to evaluate. Any fucking schmuck (EJ, Barton, et al) can tell you WR X is really good. RB the same. Interior OL are harder to evaluate than OTs for the same reason. @Gardner Barnes can tell you a fuckload more about it than I can because he played C and unless you've played C (and depending on the complexity of your offense) you can't grasp all the fucking mental gymnastics that go along with the position before you ever get to the job of snapping the ball and then you still have to defeat a guy that likely has a huge physical/athletic advantage on you AND doesn't have to snap a ball between his legs before putting both hands on you to ragdoll your ass. This is why WR rankings and widely overblown on all of the services. It's why CB rankings are easier than FS which is easier than SS. This is also why you see terrible and/or weird overrated pass rushers. (call it the RJ Washington effect). Guys that clearly can't maintain gap integrity, that don't use leverage well, they don't read and diagnose, they don't play well coming across the OTs face -- and yet they are 4* or higher because at 220 pounds they can explode off the ball and run faster than a 300 pound high school kid to the QB. Shocking. Those guys get to college where the 300 pounders have redshirted, discovered weights, yoga, and martial arts/boxing/hand fighting techniques - and find that as they try to run past the big man, they take a punch to the fucking chest or simply to their inside shoulder, or just get mirrored out and have they no technique or natural feel to overcome a single move. One trick ponies.

The GOP in 2018 is a Jerry Springer audience, but stupider.

more prestigious university? Are we using Lucci's rankings?

http://pittstategorillas.com/coaches.aspx?rc=404

My boy Rocky came by today with a Epiphone SG body and a couple bags of parts he bought from some guy for $10. "Hey Shawn Rocker, can you help me put this together?" A couple hours later we had a guitar that plays and sounds pretty fucking good for $10. Rock fronts what is probably my favorite band in SF, Turqoiz Noiz. Can't wait to hear this thing at a show.

That analogy will go way over their heads. Olin should have gone with: "You're sitting in the Rose Bowl, you're up by 28 points at halftime. The corps is humping it like it's shearing time. There's not a sip in sight. Then, for some unspecific reason you get a nagging feeling that this game is going too well. Suddenly, you're compelled to ease off the jizz jar and put down the pimp cane. Ever have that feeling?"

Not Cruz or O'Rourke related, but this is the best campaign ad I've ever seen:

Aggy is talking to another aggy at the table next to myself and little homesick during the Tech/Florida baseball game. Little Homesick: Dad, who are we cheering for? Me: The sand aggies buddy. Little Homesick: But I thought we never cheer for aggy. Me: It’s just a joke bud. They’re not actually aggy. Aggy 1 at the adjacent table: No. They’re nothing even close to us. Aggies are winners. Aggy 2 (Referencing little homesick’s Longhorn cap): Your dad shouldn’t let you where that, they lost to Arkansas. Little Homesick to aggy 2: When do the aggies play? (7 or 8 people within earshot start laughing, with one Tech fan making an SEC quip) Aggy 2: Just wait, Arky’s got this. (More laughter) Little Homesick: Dad, you played in the SEC right? Me: Yeah bud. Little Homesick (for the walk off): But you were OG SEC huh? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not as down on certain members of the staff as a lot of people, but I do agree that they aren't all championship level. It's hard to grade them fairly in a first year where a big focus was on culture. It probably cost us games last year but we won't see the payoff until this upcoming season is done. But championship coaching staffs don't mess up the WR rotation, fail to run the ball to the left side when Connor is healthy, give Porter the ball, or miss so many priority targets early in the cycle. Big thing that is encouraging to me is that Herman has shown the ability to improvise. Called plays in the bowl game. Brought in Hand. I think he'll fire the assistants that aren't pulling their weight after his second season, but I'm personally glad he didn't this year because we've already had so much consistent turnover for almost an entire decade now. I think he also realizes that he's a great recruiter, but that he did start from behind in state this year and is working to fix it by getting 2020 guys on campus a lot earlier and including them in events like Heat Wave.

Staying on-topic.

Might I invite you to check out aggypedia?

While they're looking in that direction, maybe they could look for a pair of balls. Would be interesting to know if there's a single pair in the room.

Uh oh. Lawsuit accuses TAMU of anti-male bias in sexual assault case https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11039 This was the pic on the page with the story.

Oh, and this is how you fight back: https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/el-paso-county-sheriff-prohibits-staff-from-moonlighting-at-tornillo-tent-city-for-children/ That follows this move yesterday: Starve the beast. Don't allow local law enforcement to assist in such efforts in an off-duty (but licensed peace officer) capacity. Publicize the names of the raw material suppliers for these facilities -- from tents to 2X4s. Do not do business with them. Publicize the names of the people profiting from these enterprises. Shame them. Heckle them with loudspeakers on the golf course. Shame them when they go to Costco. Do not allow them to move and live in polite society, because they do not belong there. Shame American businesses from having ANY association with this Administration and its evil. Fight them on every front. From the one-on-one to the business level. Lie down with the Trump dogs, you get fleas.

Two summers ago when my son was 3 we went to Sea World. As we were walking up to the gate a family wearing burkas were walking in front of us. Son asks me... "Daddy, why are there Jawas here?"

Small limited government means land grabs, detention centers for children, and corporate tax cuts.

,,,, I

Last I heard, recruiting was at a record high. The concentration of talent was never higher. You could hardly tear the kids away from the place.

Not sure what the Trump administration would call this new education/labor department combo, but I’m sure it will be misspelled.

It seems pretty obvious that this is another way to get at privatizing education. If you want your kids in college, you must get them into a private school. Otherwise, they'll be fit to be a mechanic or an electrician when they get done, but not much else. As someone who grew up in a town with 1 high school, 1 middle school, and 1 elementary school, oh and no private schools, I continue to wonder how they think that's going to work in places like that. They are basically dooming their biggest supporters to a future of ditch digging and driving more people who care about their kids' education to larger population centers.

There has been some movement (from multiple areas of the political spectrum) which indicates that public schools are doing a poor job of preparing students for the job market, particularly the non-college job market. I am willing to wager that that combining labor and education is born out of that concept. I can understand some of the appeal, but I find the dangers enough for me to oppose it. Public education should be more than job training. Considering the target that “conservatives” have had on public education, I’d be very concerned about them rewriting the DOEd’s mission as it combines with DOLabor. Even with the best intentions, I could see rural schools being geared to support the industry in nearby towns at the expense of a well rounded education which a) gives a path for social mobility, b) provides some diversification of skills in case that industry ever leaves the town, c) educates good citizens/members of society. I could easily see students in impoverished areas being pigeoned-holed for factory or construction work. And while those are noble fields, which can pay decently, it’s bullshit to limit the potential of students based on from where they come.

Yeah, small retailers are really equipped to collect and remit sales tax for hundreds of local sales tax jurisdictions. This is dumb and short sighted. It's another barrier to entry for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Ain't no one got time to keep tabs on local sales tax rates for hundreds of jurisdictions.

Every response other than this one was a waste of time.

Don't overthink it, don't analyze it, and whatever you do, don't downgrade it. It's 4-and-fuckin'-0 and over O-fuckin-U. He's a fuckin' hero and that's all you need to know.

Eric Nahlin: General Thoughts and Observations of Defensive Line Recruiting

“”Joey” Jones reminded me of this..

Vamonos mi gente !!

Am I wrong? I was negged. I was told Republicans are more diverse than the other party and that they aren’t discriminatory towards blacks, Hispanics, LGBT. Call me crazy

These Mexicans are fucking up Space Force week.

Every time I see that rainbow-colored wig in this thread, I know it's going to be good.

I have been very clear. These actions are evil. Supporting, condoning, or deflecting from the evil of these actions is evil. I will not soften my stance to make someone else more comfortable. If you are not evil, do not act evil. The only option when confronted with evil is to oppose it. Anything else is itself an act of evil.

My 5 YO likes to ask me if I like to eat eyeballs (or boogers etc.). I always reply yes. Then she says “ewwww dad likes to eat eyeballs!” Today at a restaurant, I’m talking to my wife and she asks the question, I’m not listening and say yes out of habit. Then at the top of her lungs she starts yelling “MY DAD LIKES TO EAT BUTTHOLES!!! HE LOVES TO EAT BUTTHOLES!!!”

Scott Pruitt is a tactical codpiece

Only on Surly can we discuss the merits of congregationalism vs. episcopal polity regarding ecclesiastical organization while simultaneously discussing dick breath and peepee whacking.

Women who stroll down the aisle of your Southwest flight with their oversized and over stuffed carryon slung over their shoulder so it smacks everyone in the face on her way to the rear of the plane to park her fat ass in some middle seat between two unfortunate souls

Fuck the country, I got some texts

good rule of thumb for any of you who don't already know: jhawk is an idiot and every nba take he posts is awful.

Lewandowki is a god damned piece of shit. I hope the next car he walks in front of runs his ass over. Then backs up and runs his ass over again. But I don't want him dead. He can suck shit through a straw the rest of his worthless life. Asshole.

My wife gets a call from a colleague who tells her that another person in the same field heard something negative about her from a client. My wife doesn't know this other person. The colleague tells my wife the client's name and it's Leigh Johnston (not real name). So one of my friend's wife's name is Leigh Johnston and she is as batshit crazy as my wife but throw in that they are having serious marital problems and she's been going scorched earth on all of our mutual friends, and she's been drinking a lot and doing all sorts of erratic shit.. So my wife immediately goes into freak out mode. "Your friend's crazy ass wife is ruining my reputation and making up shit about me! I'm new in the field. I'm so pissed. That bitch! You don't understand what a small community this is and how important my reputation is!" On and on and on. Of course, my response is that she 1) doesn't go by her married name and 2) why the fuck would she do that? and 3) you don't even have the facts, etc. Convinced that my friend's wife is single handedly destroying her career, my wife is hearing none of this. She insists on calling my friend up and trying to figure out if it is his wife that is causing all of this with the subtext that she's going to tell him the horrible shit his wife is doing. After about an hour of her bitching about this, I reluctantly agree out of self preservation, to let her talk to him but ONLY to find out if it is the same person. I call my friend, it goes to vm, and my wife leaves a "call me back this is really important" vague message. Then I go out to take the trash. In the meantime he calls back and she talks to him but he can't talk at the moment. She tells him is has to do with his wife. He asks her to text him her number so she can call him in the morning. Fifteen minutes later she gets a call back from her colleague. Oh, it's not Leigh Johnston (a woman), it's Lee Johnson (a man).