MMW

While we have hashed this out several times in the past I guess we have several hours until kickoff today and a couple days until the Bulls play. In the article his statements are factual. CSH inherited a team that had gone bowling for several years and turned that trajectory into a downward spiral. Conversely CWT inherited CSH BAD team and has the trajectory nudging upward. No arguing with those facts... I say this as devil's advocate because I tend to agree with you opinion-wise, but the measurement of this makes it difficult to prove. The stuff we tend to agree he's better at are more intangibles until the product on the field shows it can produce. Right now, the on-field facts likely wouldn't support an upward trajectory. I think Jones (and I) would agree with you about CWT - "Now, Taggart might be a lousy coach. So far, the Bulls haven't looked good under his direction. But he might be a good coach. It's way too early to tell." But Skip's track record is pretty clear based again on his trajectory.

I sent him an email pointing this out and the fact that Holtz had 2 years of recruits, not 3. Please elaborate. They both took over just before signing day, does that count as year 1 or 0?

He declared Hotlz a shambles by showing the trajectory of his win/loss ratio (especially in light of what kind of team he started off with) and his inferior recruiting skills. (We all agree that Willie is better at that, right?) what, recruiting or win/loss ratio? I was speaking of recruiting. The consensus around here seems to be that Willie is a much better recruiter – something I am not qualified to defend or dispute. Anyway, Jones is forming his assessment of Skip based on the team he inherited and the downward and sole sucking trajectory of his win loss ratio. A valid indicator IMO.

He declared Hotlz a shambles by showing the trajectory of his win/loss ratio (especially in light of what kind of team he started off with) and his inferior recruiting skills. (We all agree that Willie is better at that, right?)

That guy sums up my feelings.

Will FAMU bring their band along? Are they playing again?

I lost that pin at the hospital when they had to remove it from my eyes. They put it to good use. It ended up being used to help pin JPP's hand back together. Too soon, bro. Too soon. Some day we will look back at that game and laugh, right?

Watching these vidoes from seasons passed has made me miss my old team. I hope to see it on Saturday.

I don't agree. I walked around the campus all day buying food from the student orgs and mostly people were shaking our hands. I maybe got one friendly ribbing when we were taking a photo with Rocky on campus. The only time I felt some angst was the next morning when I was buying up all the discounted USF ND swag and they saw my Florida ID. In the airport the next day, had a ND fan ask in a Butch & Sundance kind of way, "Who are you guys??" Told him not to sweat it, it's what we do. Ask Auburn and FSU .................................. ****, maybe I jinxed us! When we were walking to the train a little guy (could have been a leprechaun) sitting alone on the hood of his car yelled to me and my friend "you're welcome for the gift!". I just thanked him for wearing our colors. He almost fell of his car he was shaking so bad.

Can you be a bit more specific as to how that translates to here? It doesn't have to be for here, it can be for where your physical presence is, and you're a pretty smart guy, I'm sure you can figure it out. My question is what do we do HERE until Saturday if it's not the cathartic debating and back and forth that seems to have your panties in a wad? Grabs popcorn I just sat back and cheered on the bulls. I don't recommend trying that at work.

The people who worked at the stadium (ushers?) we not nice either. After the game we were cheering in the stands near the endzone with the team and one of the ushers looked at me and said "Quit down! Show some respect!" while their band played a song. All I have to say is his tears were delicious.

Julmiste could not run the ball very well... I would say he has the arm of Julmiste, the legs of Daniels... we need to see if he has the heart of Grothe. I think it might be too soon to say he has Julmiste's arm. Also, Julmiste was a statue. I hate to bash Julmiste but he was the worst QB I have ever laid eyes on.

that's not the issue, it's a whole group of people whose lives are destroyed while we joyfully watch and cheer them on. Then why do you watch/support football?..... That is a question I ask myself sometimes. I guess I lie to myself that these kids are getting an education. Maybe at the college level it is less brutal.

There is no set number of victories set as a goal. A lot will depend on whether we show improvement. I tend to think to secure another season he has to go 6-6 or better. 5-7 becomes a toss up and if he loses to ucf it better not be a shutout or he's gone. If he keeps it close he might be brought back but on year 4 he would have to get to a bowl or he's gone How many coaches will we have on the payroll if they let him go after this year? (I honestly don't know.) I think they have to show improvement and not look over his head out there.

(6) Score 15 points... 5 field goals? Puns are never funny when you have to explain them. What's a pun? pun. the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words. the word or phrase used in this way. See? Not funny... But where was the pun?

I've never seen the board so united. You must be so proud.

I think it might sound counter intuitive but a lot of the equipment these guys wear make it easier for them to hurl themselves at each other with reckless abandon. They have turned these guys into human missiles. I say, take away some of the body armor and keep the helmet.

There is no question we used to have swagger (warranted or not) and I never went into game thinking we could not win. We also could lose to just about anyone but at least the games we exciting. It would be nice to go to a game and feel excited about the product on the field again. Willie is certainly saying the right things and recruiting lights out so hopefully it will pay off.

This is the response I was waiting for. The Publix deli tie in. I bet you guys didn't think this was about USF football.

However I was mislabeled a "troll", "too negative", or "not a real Jared fan". Based upon the current state of the Federal investigation it is painfully clear that I was right and you were so very embarrasingly wrong. Thusly, I demand an apology from anyone on this board who dared insult me or my character during this education that I so graciouslyprovided. You know who you are.

So you are for a union for college athletes? Based on how they are treated I am. What's wrong with the way they are treated? They get a great education (that some opt to walk away and cash dollar signs), meals, housing, and now a little cash in their pockets for spending money! You make it sound like they are POWs Does the college or university ask for them to pay back their scholarship when they leave early for the pros? No, so maybe we should look at putting some language in the scholarship docs that state if one leaves before obtaining a degree (which I thought that's what higher education was intended for), they should be required to pay back the amount of the scholarship that was used during that period of time? There a quite a few things but I will start with the injuries they sustain as college athletes that stay with them the rest of their lives are not covered after they leave school. Normally things like that would be covered by workman's comp (I am sure you have heard if it) but since they are not employess they are out of luck. There are none of the basic protections put in place to protect them from things like harassment or long work hours either. The NCAA has some but they are arbitrarily enforced. If you have HBO, Real Sports covered the situation rather well (better than I ever could). Before watching that segment I was on the fence but the case they made was pretty compelling. I can see where you and the documentary are coming from. The issue I have is that we all make choices in life and some come with more risk/reward than others. They are making a choice to accept a scholarship with the knowledge that you could be injured and it may affect you the rest of your life. So, why should we treat student athletes any different from academic scholarship(full riders)? These students aren't covered if something happens to them but it's different because these kids play a sport? I mean honestly if this is the way college sports are headed, let's throw out the whole sitting out for a year and swap cash for transfer students and let them play right away and have agents involved too? This whole thing is crazy to me and all thanks to Mr. O'Bannon. I am glad we can have a reasonable discussion. Academic scholars are all about the education and other than a paper cut I am not sure what the risks are for them. Look, there is a whole industry dedicated to funneling kids into these situations. I have no idea what it must be like to be told by a bunch of college coaches and boosters that they want me to play for them. They ae bulletproof at that age and I do not see a lot of kids walking away from that "opportunity". They are 17-18 and dad can't wait to get to work to brag about his boy. Schools do seem to make a lot of money off the current arrangement. They also get to kick them to the curb when they are done. Doesn't seem right. I think we should toss the system too. Maybe make the teams made up of guys either getting paid some sort of fee for 4 years or receiving and education. Turn it into minor league football like it really is. Either way they should get help afterward if they are injured IMO.

In that case, I would would like to go on record in predicting the demise of USF athletics. </sarcasm>

Flowers and Mac. If that happens we will have a pretty good season. Johnson will get his too.

So you are for a union for college athletes? Based on how they are treated I am. What's wrong with the way they are treated? They get a great education (that some opt to walk away and cash dollar signs), meals, housing, and now a little cash in their pockets for spending money! You make it sound like they are POWs Does the college or university ask for them to pay back their scholarship when they leave early for the pros? No, so maybe we should look at putting some language in the scholarship docs that state if one leaves before obtaining a degree (which I thought that's what higher education was intended for), they should be required to pay back the amount of the scholarship that was used during that period of time? There a quite a few things but I will start with the injuries they sustain as college athletes that stay with them the rest of their lives are not covered after they leave school. Normally things like that would be covered by workman's comp (I am sure you have heard if it) but since they are not employess they are out of luck. There are none of the basic protections put in place to protect them from things like harassment or long work hours either. The NCAA has some but they are arbitrarily enforced. If you have HBO, Real Sports covered the situation rather well (better than I ever could). Before watching that segment I was on the fence but the case they made was pretty compelling. Here is the episode with the synopsis if you are interested. http://www.hbo.com/real-sports-with-bryant-gumbel/episodes/0/216-episode/index.html Synopsis The Wreckage Producer: Josh Fine The stakes are high when a college athlete suffers a serious injury and a possible pro career hangs in the balance. Injuries sustained on the field can not only leave devastating scars and require years of painful rehabilitation, but also create mounds of debt that become the athlete's legacy lfong after the headlines fade. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg meets with numerous former college student-athletes who endured massive injuries and discovers that once players are no longer at school, they're typically on their own to pay medical bills and support their debilitated bodies. He speaks to players from the University of Washington, University of Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois University and Illinois State University, who document financial difficulties stemming from medical expenses and the lack of earning potential resulting from injuries suffered while representing their colleges. REAL SPORTS also talks to national health and labor experts, asking how the NCAA and the schools have been able to avoid paying for these injuries and sidestep labor protections available to nearly every worker in all 50 states. Scarred Producer: Josh Fine College athletes are often regarded as well-rounded young adults, brimming with self-confidence and good character, and in peak physical condition. However, a sizable number of them are currently being diagnosed as clinically depressed. REAL SPORTS correspondent Jon Frankel examines this alarming mental health crisis and discovers that many athletes report feeling overwhelmed by team responsibilities, performance mandates and academic workloads, while suffering under increasingly abusive coaches who often control their athletic and academic future. Frankel sits down with the NCAA's chief medical officer, a workplace abuse expert and former NCAA athletes to learn more.