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Samson's Wig

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Posts posted by Samson's Wig

  1. 11 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

    TCU...  Maybe AAC Bound ???  

    Realignment rumors should concern TCU fans

    With Texas and OU apparently in talks with the SEC, teams like TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma State have reasons to worry.

    By Melissa B. Triebwasser@TheCoachMelissa  Jul 22, 2021

    image.png.02fbebef16938db3cbbe1758be93cef0.png

    Jealousy is a spiteful b*tch, isn’t it?

    Jealousy drove Texas A&M to the SEC, where they’ve finished above .500 in conference play just three times, but have raked in the cash and the five star recruits. Just ask Ross Bjork, who said “There’s a reason Texas A&M left the Big 12 — to stand alone & have our own identity. That’s our feeling.”

    Now, it appears that jealousy might be driving the Longhorns to follow their most bitter rival, as rumors began swirling (again) Wednesday that both Texas and Oklahoma are having hot and heavy conversations with the Southeastern Conference ahead of expected realignment when TV contracts come do in 2025.

    It’s an interesting decision for one of the country’s wealthiest universities; with seemingly an endless supply of cash. Money doesn’t feel like the main motivating factor for the Horns, and with just one double digit win season in their last 11 tries, it can’t be because they want a raised competition level. It likely comes down to recruiting; when it comes to the battles between the Longhorns and Aggies, dangling that SEC carrot has helped A&M land the better recruiting class in each of the last two years as Jimbo Fisher has begun to pick up steam in the Lone Star State.

    Chris Del Conte got TCU to the Big 12. Now CDC might be slamming the door on their future. Oh, the irony.

    For Oklahoma, the SEC has always been the golden ticket. Under Lincoln Riley, the Sooners are in or at least in the conversation for the College Football Playoffs annually, and though they haven’t broken through for a win, they have no reason to be scared. They probably look around the state of the SEC as currently constructed and feel like there are really only 2-4 teams annually that they would really have to gear up for, which isn’t much different than what they’re facing in the Big 12.

    As far as the SEC side? They definitely are willing to listen.

    But, we will let the Longhorns and the Sooners worry about what they are going to do if/when they get there, the real question is what does this mean for the rest of us?

    The first question is, can the Big 12 be saved?

    Should the remaining eight programs band together and try and reconstruct the conference, their first calls would likely be to SMU, Houston, and some combination of Memphis/Cincinnati/UCF/USF. The Mustangs couldn’t be thirstier for a Power Five invite (don’t let their fanbase tell you otherwise), but there might be some hurt feelings amongst the rest, who have tried, and failed, to secure an invite to the Big 12 multiple times over the last several years. Ultimately, if the conference can go to ESPN/FOX/Bally whatever/whoever else and sell them on a deal that pays each member school upwards of the $20 million annually they’re getting, well, that’s a lot more than the $7 million AAC teams currently receive. Maybe the TV deal won’t be quite as fruitful without the carrots of Texas and OU, but it’s still going to be eight figures, and more than the AAC. And if you count in the markets that Houston, SMU, and Memphis bring? It’s attractive-ish.

    They’ll take the money if it’s offered, period.

    But what if the Big 12 can’t be saved?

    Just a few years ago, TCU was in a great position, a university with several sports that would be attractive to other power conferences. But with a football program that’s slogged to barely .500 records the last three years and a basketball team that had more transfers this past season than they have postseason wins in the last ten, it’s hard feel super confident that someone like the Pac 12 or Big Ten is going to leap in and save the day. TCU fits in the PAC 12 in some regards — hell, half their freshmen classes seem to come from CA at this point. Geographically it’s not a terrible fit, and it would be easy to develop some natural rivalries in short order. I could see a scenario where the Horned Frogs and Baylor go west as a package deal, forming a division that features the two Arizona schools, Colorado, USC, and UCLA. That’s fun. Or maybe the conference decides to bring in the Texas version of ASU in Tech and Oklahoma State because they feel sorry for them, and become a 16 team super-ish conference that would be well positioned both fiscally and geographically.

    Or maybe they tell us to eff off and let the Big 12 die on the vine so that they’re no longer the misfit of the Power Five.

    Iowa State fans seem pretty confident that the Big Ten will save them — the Cyclones and Kansas boast AAU designations academically that will qualify them to land North. We don’t know, but ISU to the B10 makes sense on paper. West Virginia should have been an ACC school from the start, and could easily land there if they decide to expand. But for the schools in the middle — especially the small private universities — the fear is real.

    If, as it’s rumored to be, both Texas and Oklahoma inform Bob Bowlsby next week that they have no intention of resigning with the league, we will spend the next two years — or more — in a space of suspended animation, wondering what our future as Frog fans will look like.

    After so many decades in the desert and just a few short years enjoying the promised land, the thought of being nomads again is anxiety-inducing to say the least.

    And to add insult to injury? Don’t forget that Gary Patterson’s current contract is set to expire after the 2024 season, something sure to factor in when the interview process for realignment begins.

    It’s going to be a long four years friends. Buckle up.

    (and let’s take it out on Texas, again, come football season) 

     

     

    This is kind of amazing. This person doesn't get paid to cover sports, do they?  Because nothing in this write up indicates they have a clue how any of this works.  TCU was never, and will never, be in a position to be attractive to power conferences.  They back-doored into a desperate Big12 in failing last gasp to save it.  A smattering of alumni and no real fan base isn't exactly a recipe for bringing dollars to the table. 

  2. 16 hours ago, Tex-19 said:

    wtf. KState and ISU instead of TCU or Baylor? Those are big 10 schools all day. Maybe they think Tech secures the Texas market enough to not need TCU/baylor

    You serious Clark?  TCU and Baylor are small schools and add nothing economically to any conference.  They should have never been in the Big12.  KSU and ISU are a stretch, especially KSU, but they're both miles better options than either of the private schools. 

    • Like 2
  3. 1 hour ago, 'stache said:

    Tech, OSU, Kansas, and ISU if they can’t make the BIG or ACC. I like TCU too, which I understand is religious in mostly name only like SMU. They might want more than just the Texas panhandle.

    TCU is a tiny school with no fanbase.  They are not an attractive get for any conference.  

    • Hook 'Em 2
  4. 17 minutes ago, notre dame joe said:

    I thought of that but then the rump Big12 is a Power Conference in name only.  Kinda like the Big East after Miami bolted.  No one will think of TTech and Houston as important undergraduate institutions if they are not in the most important PR league. 

     

    Doesn't the state of Texas have plans to promote UH into the tier of IU, NCST, ASU?

    lol no.  The state of Texas doesn't give a rat's ass about UH.

  5. Tech seems like the school who would get fucked the most out of this deal.   Consistent top 25 revenue generating athletic department, large alumni/fan base, and the best they could hope for is a shitty bid to the shittastic Pac10, which would be a large pay cut.   Playing in a sisters of the poor conference with a bunch of religious schools and Coog High would be meaningless.  And there's not a damn thing they can do to mitigate this.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  6. 3 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

    That very well could happen with remaining Big 12 teams.

     

    Kansas
    Kansas State

    Iowa State

    Oklahoma State


    Baylor
    Tech
    TCU

    Add the following:

    Houston
    SMU

    Maybe one of the following to get 10:

    Tulsa
    UTSA
    Louisiana
    UCF

     

    Woof.

    • Haha 1
  7. 1 hour ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

    I would have more important things to do than answer nosy neighbor questions in a time like that.

    She was largely there to express gratitude to those neighbors who came running when it happened and offered aid, as in the moment she was obviously a bit distracted.  She wasn't posting "look at me" content.

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  8. Has anyone seen numbers on how many kids bailed from AISD last year?  Just anecdotally from the parents I know that either moved or went private I would think it has to be significant.  Between the shitshow of last year, the PTA defunding middle finger to parents who have been keeping AISD schools functioning and afloat for a decade, and, let's not forget, the heavy push for bussing that damn near happened and will undoubtedly come up again soon, it's hard to imagine there will be much of an AISD left if they also fuck up this fall.

     

    EDIT: I forgot to add to the list how dangerously close AISD was to having the State take over the district before Covid hit.  One more failing grade for one of the middle schools and the State could move in.  I assume they got a pass for last year, and I have no idea if the count restarts this year or if a failing grade this year will result in the option for takeover.  What a mess.

  9. 2 hours ago, South Austin said:

    Hmmm, I started losing hair on my calves a few years ago, but thought it was years of wearing dress socks with my work attire. No other hair loss.

    That's what I thought caused that look as well, but apparently it's the alopecia.  Also, I'm an idiot.  I meant 5" diameter circles, not circumference.

  10. I've got a beautiful thick head of hair on my head, but a year ago developed a ~5" circumference bald spot on the tops of both thighs.  I thought maybe my pants were rubbing and I needed to drop a few, but doctor said it was alopecia and very common in men in their 40s/50s.  More common on the calves.  Then he told me I should still lose a few pounds anyway.

  11. I'm thinking we build a big ass wall around Utah and move all the antivax folks in there to fend for themselves.  I know Utah is pretty and we'll kind of miss it, but they'll all be dead in a year or two and then we can go off roading there again.  Might as well give 'em something pretty to look at while the measles get to work.

  12. 2 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

    https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-race-ethnicity/
     

    catching up a little but as of July 6th still 8 and 13 points behind (with everyone way behind the Asians). And guess what/ the blacks and Hispanics aren’t behind the whites because they are disproportionately evangelical, Trumpers or crunchies. That’s the talking points but it’s not reality. 
    If we care to actually fix this and get this right (I’m not sure that we should, I’m not sure that it matters) we probably ought to tailor this thing to be persuasive to the groups that are holding out, which means, you know, accurately identifying who those groups are and then messaging in such a way that could be helpful. 
     

    Also- I don’t think it’s likely that any more vaccinations will be particularly helpful from a group perspective. My brothers family, for example, isn’t vaccinated but they’ve all had the Rona and should have natural immunity that as helpful, or more helpful, than any vaccine. I’m sure there’s a decent chunk of people there. Combine that with 67% of the total adult population being vaccinated and we should be well over the 70% that was touted as being necessary for hers immunity.  
    If the Delta variant doesn’t stop because of vaccines then getting people vaccinated isn’t going to stop it and that horse is probably already out of the barn. If the delta strain isn’t sending vaccinated people to the hospital or morgue then it becomes a minor inconvenience on the same level as the flu or cold or some other irritation that we deal with that doesn’t involve us freaking the hell out. 
    If the delta variant is sending people to the hospital and morgue (which doesn’t appear like the case right now- wishcasting from some in the media and authority aside) then I guess we are right back to March of 2020 with half or more of society opting out. Which would, quite obviously, suck donkey balls. 

    Frank Luntz has been brought in to develop talking points that will resonate with the largest group of holdouts - evangelical conservatives.  I don't know who they need to speak to the granola eaters, Deepak Chopra?  The relatively small gap between Hispanics/blacks and whites can be attributed as much to access as anything else.  Regardless of race, or whether or not someone is into yoga and natural healing, the common thread amongst the unvaccinated is largely a lack of education, which is the common thread for many large scale health related issues.  This brings me back to my original plan - gang tackling and forced vaccinations.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  13. 1 hour ago, StruggleBus said:

    Nothing is fucked. Has there been a huge spike of hospitalizations and deaths among vaccinated people? If not, then it don’t make a shit 

    Not yet.  The point is that the longer this shit floats around the more likely new variants emerge.  The right shift in makeup and the vaccinations become a complete waste of money and effort.  And we'll all end up right back where we were a year ago.

    • Hook 'Em 2
  14. 13 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

    Blacks and Mexicans are lagging both those groups FYI. 

    This is no longer the case, although it was early on.  The last two or three months have almost completely closed any gap in vaccination rate based on race or ethnicity (I'm going to assume you were speaking about Latinos/Hispanics and not Mexican nationals).  The holdouts now appear to be die hard Trumpers, evangelicals, and the new age yoga crowd.  These three groups include members of all races/ethnicities.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Like 1
  15. 1 hour ago, Lobo said:

    So y'all think that the same people refusing the vaccine because they don't think it's necessary for the first Coronavirus are gonna suddenly get science and go get it because it's necessary for a variant of a thing they don't really believe in in the first place?  Yeah, good luck with that. 

    I don't think cigarettes are bad for me at all.  I won't be told about the risks of smoking.  You then come along with an even more dangerous cigarette (twice the tar in a more lethal deliverable mechanism) and think that'll scare me into believing the risks of smoking?  No, it'll only confirm what I thought about the first cigarette---it's fine and looks even less harmful in comparison to this new thing you're shouting about.  It's not confirmation bias.  It's Empowered Stupidity Bias.  That which does not kill me can only be repackaged to kill somebody else, but not me.  'Cause I'm strong and smart.  Not dumb like everybody says, I'm smart.  

    That's why they need to be tackled and force fed vaccines.  They're too stupid to function on their own and will take the rest of us down with them.

  16. I'm at the point where I'm willing to sign up to gang tackle any morons refusing vaccination and hold them down while someone administers the shot.  Fuck those morons.  As a large number of them are apparently evangelicals and antigovernment conspiracy nuts, they can use the experience to feed their victimhood complex.  The granola eating yoga instructors that apparently make up the rest of the antivax crowd can simply go cry in their leotards afterwards or maybe burn some sage to cleanse their unclean blood. 

    The win here is two-fold.  We'll stop further spread and mutation of this virus, and maybe, maybe, these yahoos will realize vaccinations won't kill you after they've been force fed a couple of doses.

    • Hook 'Em 5
  17. 21 minutes ago, orange dream said:

    Talked to a co-worker yesterday who tested positive (along with his wife and teenage son) for the Delta variant over the weekend.

    He, his wife and his teenage son have all been fully vaccinated with Moderna (April / May timeframe) .

    Son apparently picked it up at a camp somewhere in west Texas a week or so ago. Came home after camp with a dry cough and generally worn out.  They assumed he was just tired from camp and had some allergies, etc.  Cough and fatigue persisted and his ears had fluid so they went to the doctor to check on a possible ear infection.  Doc said they needed to covid test even though they had been vaccinated.  Son was positive.  Parents were tested and were positive also.  The mom and dad both developed a cough and the dad even ended up with a 104 fever.  County health tested them all again to confirm it was the Delta variant and it was.  They're in Kerr county.

    I do not like this story.  Nope.

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