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statsman

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  1. They are really counting on Jackson Arnold to be great, and to be great quick. He’s a second year player, and they won’t be surprised if he’s Johnny Manziel’s level. That seems optimistic to me. (Note- Manziel had a terrific OL and Mike Evans helping him). If they do go 10-2, yes, they will be in the playoffs. 9-3 might get them there.
  2. As I understand it, our problem is that…we are paying players from a booster-funded collective and calling it NIL. Now, they are doing the same thing, but with not as much money. They think the amounts we (and Oregon and Ole Miss and Missouri and Tennessee) are paying should be limited to a reasonable level (the amount they can afford). Do they not realize how much their program was rebuilt, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, on blatant cheating and buying of players? Aww, that was just Barry and the boys being rascals.
  3. As far as I know, they weren’t investigated or penalized by the NCAA, when the NCAA was doing such things. OU, TAMU, and SMU were, many times.
  4. That was a rant, for sure. The funny part- he calls back to 2000 Sooner teams, and a 2001 game. We Texas fans know that the kids today really don’t care about 2005. They sure as hell don’t care about 2000.
  5. I’ve added to my guilty pleasure of reading Sooner sites. I also listened to a couple of podcasts. This is what they claim, and I’m curious as to other opinions of their accuracy. 1. They are frustrated with the modern state of the game. “It’s out of control. Something must be done”. 2. NIL seems to be a problem for them. They say that OU can get the money, but Brent wants to build a program on “relationships”, rather than “transactions”. 3. They say OU can get the money; it struggles in organizing the collectives and making the “ask”. 4. They want the NCAA to step in and regulate this. They think NIL really should just be compensation for promotions, and not pay for play. They also allow that there are probably a couple of key players on each team that deserve significant high six figure pay (you figure that one out). 5. They are bringing guys like Curtis Loftin and Mark Clayton in to work personnel staff “GM” and recruiting coordinator positions. My thoughts: Are you kidding me? The NCAA? Do they really think that’s still a thing? Hell, they started the dumping of the NCAA in football, with UGA, in the ‘80s. Then, I figured it out. They may never have been real supporters of the NCAA, but it filled a real function for them, for decades. The NCAA had rules, and their key rivals, UT and NU, followed them. This was a huge part of their success. If Texas had bid for players against Switzer, he would never have won a single MNC. But Texas didn’t, and OU could pay a key recruit $150k to sign, no $30k per year, and Boomer Sooner. Now, Texas’ boosters are funding NIL, and OU is struggling to keep up. They want the NCAA to step in, and regulate Texas, so they can get back to the good old ways.
  6. Come on, we’ve known the answer a long time “Southern Money University”
  7. I suspect this is akin to “nationalist conservatism”, the ideology (such as it is) behind Republican populism and Trumpism. As I understand it, it’s the idea that there are fundamental values in our nation, and only conservatives will protect them now. (They say to old school Republicans, “Don’t you know what time it is?”) I’m an old school conservative- values of limited government, and free markets; policies of strong defense and economic growth. Also, inalienable rights, especially the negative rights (the things government cannot do to you). I believe nationalist conservatism is a dead end, because the idea that the force of government is required to enforce ideas is anathema to the concept that ideas are what really matter, and good ideas don’t require enforcement; they just need freedom. I would say the same about nationalist Christianity; the last thing Christ needs is the government working for Him.
  8. Thats a great link. Here is a WSJ story on how Russia has managed economically. They will struggle long term, as your link explains. How Russia re-engineered its trade with the world to dodge Western sanctions, in seven charts https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/how-russia-dodged-sanctions-in-seven-charts-afb88486?st=gc9fsfpjmqb1rcy&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
  9. On the war’s second anniversary, Ukraine is on the defensive amid shortages of military personnel and ammunition https://www.wsj.com/world/ukrainian-front-line-troops-defiant-under-pressure-on-wars-second-anniversary-ec6f1550?st=jchvcrwguczm1eb&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
  10. The Israeli F16s, with conformal fuel tanks, have a combat range of 800 miles. It’s 450 miles from Kyiv to Moscow.
  11. The “Ghost of Kyiv” and His Quest for the F-16 by @JillianKayM https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-ghost-of-kyiv-and-his-quest-for-the-f-16-ukraine-war-russia-military-aid-20866c45?st=10cd2hevpva8l5m&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
  12. Isn’t the BYU-Utah game called “The Holy War”? Is beer sold in Utah’s stadium?
  13. “The very existence of Ukraine is fatal for Ukrainians,” said Medvedev, who heads Russia’s ruling party. “They will understand that life in a big common state, which they currently dislike very much, is preferable to death. Their death and the death of their loved ones. And the sooner Ukrainians realize it, the better.” Two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the world is watching to see if the U.S. remains committed to European security, writes the WSJ's Yaroslav Trofimov. https://www.wsj.com/world/will-the-u-s-abandon-ukraine-168c4a0a?st=3l7nan5798cl40p&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
  14. I don’t think it will be coercion. Here is what I think will happen: The 12 team CFP will make a lot of money. The non-CFP bowls will make less and less, as they lose significance (it’s ridiculous that they still factor in final rankings). The CFP will expand to 16, with 11 at large. The SEC and B1G will consistently get ten teams combined in. They will get most of the money. The networks will ask for an expanded playoff, to 24 or 32 teams. The main beneficiaries would be the ACC and B12, who will be all in favor. I think the SEC and B1G would balk- why expand to add teams that don’t make more money for the P2? The networks suggest an alternate playoff to the non-P2 world, a playoff where the non-P2 world gets all the money. They accept. Thats how I think it goes down. Maybe there’s even a final game between the winner of the two playoffs.
  15. I think the CFP will make a lot of money. The SEC and B1G will collect the most. The B12 and ACC will want a larger playoff, so they can get more teams in and get more money. That will be countered by the P2 not wanting to expand the CFP, because their top teams can win it, and they don’t want to keep adding games. This could be resolved by the B12, ACC and G5 breaking away and having their own playoff, with as many teams as they want. It will still be popular, like Texas 5A is a big deal, even though there is still a 6A.
  16. Where do you suppose new ACC member SMU slots in there? I see their 2024 schedule has them hosting BYU, TCU, FSU, Pitt, BC and Cal. Do any IR8 programs have a schedule that good?
  17. Aren’t there four? TCU, Baylor, BYU and Utah?
  18. I think that- “TCU is the league’s fifth biggest brand” and ”TCU is not a big brand” can both be true.
  19. Demographic projections have Russia’s population dropping to 120 million by 2050. China has also started the big drop- single child policy leading to married couples having to support both sets of parents, leading to a lack of desire for more children (both spouses must work). They are in a bad way, and they see what’s coming, which is why the future is very dicey.
  20. It’s fascinating, and dangerous. In 2000, weren’t Russia and China’s combined population about 1/4 of the world? They’ve managed things to where their 2050 combined population may be 1/8 of the world’s. They can respond by: 1. accepting relegation to irrelevance 2. - fundamentally change so as to invite immigration 3. Start wars of expansion 4. Force people to have babies. China, of course, wants to explore option 4, but it may not be successful. Option 2 seems unlikely. What’s left?
  21. Yeah, we saw Trump’s “unpredictability” this weekend. Putin kills Navalny, and Trump’s reaction- “this reminds me of what they’re doing to me!” Trump is very predictable. His first response is always a self-centered narcissistic one. So are his second and third responses. For example- Trump could have undone Obamacare. The GOP had united government from 2017-2018. All he had to do was make nice with McCain. He wouldn’t do it! To the GOP public, that’s a failure, but to Trump, it’s a victory! He is very predictable. Emotionally, he is 11, and he wants to be the alpha on the school bus. He made some acidic observations in 2016 and built a populist movement, but you will find, as everyone in Trump’s life ever has learned, his interests are aligned with no one but him.
  22. https://www.wsj.com/world/the-biggest-ever-sanctions-have-failed-to-halt-russias-war-machine-0986873f?st=7y70ttm4yorerbm&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
  23. The human cost: It looked like a triumph for Moscow: A patriotic Ukrainian teen became a face of Russian propaganda. His family's campaign to get him back exposed a darker reality. https://www.wsj.com/world/ukraine-russia-propaganda-children-49ad9e09?st=midbo2i2d43aso9&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
  24. Bankruptcy and assets seizure?
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