BadgerHorn

Was referred over here from the UT Beach thread 2023 AVP schedule released today. https://avp.com/events/ I'm targeting Manhattan Beach, Chicago, and the Championship. Maybe one or two others. Hope the championship is outdoor this year. The Phoenix championship last year was done about as well as one could expect for an indoor event, but it was still beach vball indoors. Still think the teams w/ first rd byes were at a disadvantage with their opponents having already played a match in that space. Where are you guys going? Who are you following?

I appreciate you all piecing our schedule together from other teams' schedules. I heard back from the Ath Dept on our schedule: "We are still finalizing a few matches, but it should be out very soon." Been to a bunch of AVP events and now looking forward to seeing burnt orange on the sand.

Allow me to preface this with agreement with what others have said - that the schedule does set up well for us to get to ~10 wins and there is nothing significantly wrong with it. That said, I did notice a few anomalies: UT's opponents: - are home the week prior to playing UT 7 out of 9 times - have Thurs night games for two of those prior games. One of them is TCU's game at TT, which is what, a 4 hr drive to Ft Worth? You can practically call my prior bullet 8 out of 9 then. OU's opponents: - are home the week prior to playing OU 7 out of 9 times ... and in the other two weeks, their opponent is coming off a bye The B12 may not have flipped UT and OU off to their faces with this schedule, but it sure looks like they're trying to get us and OU with paper cuts.

Many/most of those $1k+ prices seem to be first class seats - at least in my queries. Agree the dynamic pricing is kicking in for the plebian seats, but more in the $400-800 range.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10059295-uncs-drake-maye-received-2-5m-offers-to-transfer-pitt-hc-pat-narduzzi-says Skimmed the article and still trying to figure out what Narduzzi has to do with UNC/Maye. Anyway, more behind the scenes transfer portal dealing. Can anyone think of two programs in need of a proven starting QB, with a history of throwing cash around, with a lax perspective on ethics/compliance, and that "[get] all the top recruits"?

Correct - missed the edit time cutoff when I caught my mistake. Thanks

The above is correct. Lots of appreciation in Badger-land for Chryst and some shock when he was let go, but not shocking to many closer to the athletic department. Chryst was a good fit for a while as an alumnus, one who's coaching philosophy matched the existing blueprint, and the fact that he looks like every dad in the state of WI with his sweatshirt and cap on. The problem was, as identified above, lack of emphasis on recruiting and the writing on the wall that we may get crushed going into the new world of NIL and transfer portal continuing down that path. And who knows where conference realignment goes in the coming years - athletic departments cannot afford to become an also-ran these days or they risk some form of to-be-conceived-of relegation. Prior to the Fickell buzz, even into last night, I think most of WI saw Jim Leonard as the likely successor at 85% and the field at 15%. Fickell's name came up along with the other 6 or so usual suspects that always get mentioned and you never think are serious candidates. I don't follow coaches nearly as closely as many here on Surly, but I've been impressed with Fickell and hoped he'd end up at Texas after the Herman firing or, probably a better fit, at Wisconsin. Another thing to note is our AD is 1.5 yrs in, so while this appears to be a very good hire, there's also likely a dash of a new AD wanting to put his own imprint on the program and not doing what everyone expected (hiring Leonard). Kudos to him for getting it done. UW flies under the radar a bit, but it has a surprisingly large (top 15ish) athletic budget and they're looking for results. My two remaining questions: - Most suspect tOSU is Fickell's dream job. How long does UW keep him if he pans out? If he gets snagged by tOSU in the future, presumably that means UW has been doing very well, in which case I wouldn't be too upset. - What happens with Leonard? He demonstrated considerable loyalty over the years to the UW program and was seemingly walking into his dream job. Now that's not the case. There will be a lot of questions about when and how he was made aware. Wisconsinites love Jim Leonard. CFB has become a cold business - we all get that, but some of us in or from WI still yearn for the good ol' days where we think things like loyalty, integrity, etc existed in college athletics. Bringing this discussion back to UT... From a UW board asking why they were caught off guard on this hire and reports that Mrs. Fickell took a flight or two to Madison: Post: Who the hell was supposed to be tracking flights? Reply: Honestly we’re not very good at this coaching change thing. Auburn, Tennessee, Texas, those guys are pros at this.

SIAP Aggy contracted the SEC flu?

Greg Jennings putting the team on his back!

A few yrs ago, ESPN seemed to manage a curated calendar of high profile events. https://espn.calreplyapp.com/espn-daily-calendar The calendar would include the major events across multiple sports (e.g. Super Bowl, Indy 500, Kentucky Derby, Masters, Bowl games etc) and then on a daily basis they would update the calendar with upcoming, high profile NFL, CFB, CBB, NBA, MLB etc match ups - usually only selecting maximum of 3-4/day so your calendar remained manageable. It was a nice complement to the individual team calendars you can subscribe to. They haven't updated this calendar in a few years. Is there any similar service out there?

A buddy is unable to make the trip, so I am looking to help sell his 3 day General Admission wristband for the race this weekend. The wristband includes access to the 21 Pilots (Fri) and Billy Joel (Sat) concerts. No parking or shuttle passes included - just the three day GA wristband. I'm flying in and should be arriving downtown a little after noon on Friday. I can deliver the wristband downtown or at COTA after I arrive Fri afternoon. The resale sites are showing the 3 day GA tickets going for ~$500 with fees and all. Since I am unable to deliver until Fri afternoon and prefer to do the exchange either downtown or at COTA, I'll offer $350... yes, I know I pronounced 350 wrong.

This. It's entertaining and more bearable. Any word if they're doing it for the championship game?

You guys are having your fun, but the joke's on you. As we speak, someone is finishing up a 500 word letter extolling the game day environment at CS. I'm sure pure class and academic superiority will be mentioned. Maybe an amazing story of selflessness... such as helping an elderly lady cross a road... maybe an organ donation at a tailgate... We'll have to wait and see. I was told the registrar's office ran out of spring semester application forms this afternoon. SECSECSEC compliments > SECSECSEC wins

I think he's referring to the Hook 'em costumed mascot vs Bevo the live mascot. Putting on a Bevo head would be very heavy and, more importantly, would not be a good day for Bevo.

I liked Chris Spielman as a color guy, but don't think he's doing college anymore. Beyond CFB: I don't really follow NHL aside from when the playoffs come around, but I'll always listen for a bit if Doc Emrick is PbPing. I grew up with Bob Uecker on the radio. I wish everyone could experience him broadcasting for their team.

BLT and Rare are my favorites in that area

Boarding an AA flight and there’s some sticker on the outside of the a/c next to the door that says “Apex 5 Star Airline” Guy behind me says to his friend: must have been out of ten stars

Some evidence exists of vocal fry becoming more common in the speech of young female speakers of American English in the early 21st century,[4][5][6][7][8] but its frequency's extent and significance are disputed.[9][10] Researcher Ikuko Patricia Yuasa suggests that the tendency is a product of young women trying to infuse their speech with gravitas by means of reaching for the male register and found that "college-age Americans [...] perceive female creaky voice as hesitant, nonaggressive, and informal but also educated, urban-oriented, and upwardly mobile."[4] http:// https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_fry_register

Vocal fry is often an attempt to artificially deepen one's voice to be taken more seriously. Opposite outcome is usually the case.

Agreed - I try to avoid the touristy spots/chains, though some chains are serviceable. I've been in that area once in similar circumstances (not much time available to drive around), so trying to do my homework this time. I think I stopped in at Bodacious BBQ last time. I'd put it in the not bad range; acceptable for repeats, but not necessarily a place I feel the need to go back to. Wondering if there are better options.