TheTastyGreek

HANDLING 9/11: THE COVID RESPONSE PLAN First, I'd pretend it's not even really a problem. It's four planes today, and within a few days that four planes is going to be down to zero. That's a pretty good job we've done! If people want to nitpick over loss of life, well... We need to wait and see how many of them actually died OF the terrorist attack, not just AFTER it. How many dead? And how many of those actually died when a plane hit a building? Because a lot of those people died from fire and smoke. Buildings burn down all the time, and we don't blame it on terrorism. Some of them may have been lifelong smokers, so how much of that is even to blame? How many died when the buildings collapsed? That's GRAVITY, not terrorism. The important thing is: we DO NOT shut down air travel. Not at all. We're not going to let any economic harm come because of this. People know what the risks are: If you don't want to die in a terrorist suicide plane attack, stay off the planes. If you don't want to die WITH a terrorist attack on a building (not OF a terrorist attack on a building, because that is a critical distinction we must never ever ever lose sight of), stay out of buildings. You can stay home if you want. But businesses are open, period. If you want to live in fear, that's your choice. The rest of us red blooded Americans are going business as usual, thank you very much. If anyone wants to complain about how I'm handling things... They're just partisan jerks, brainwashed by the media, suffering from Tasty Derangement Syndrome. It's not MY fault those planes crashed. Those guys were from Saudi Arabia! That's why we call it the "Saudi Arabian Plane Crash". This is their fault, really, and none of the choices and decisions I made in the aftermath are really to blame. If Saudi Arabia could manage their own people, their own aspiring pilots, this would never have happened. It's the SAUDI ARABIAN PLANE CRASH, not "Islamic Terrorism". Anyone who calls it "Islamic Terrorism" is a pawn of the media, head in the sand, idiot. And frankly, the more I hear about this Osama Bin Laden guy... Gotta respect how he runs his organization. No criticism, no second guessing... When he says go, people go. When he says jump, his people immediately say "into which airplane, and what building should I crash it into?" That's leadership. Hell of a lot better than the way we run things over here. What we need to do is arrange a summit. Talk to this Osama guy. Work out a trade deal. Figure out a peace solution. Not one where he has to surrender any weapons or in any way stop the imminent threat he poses to Americans... Just something where we can snap some photos, shake some hands, and show people I'm on top of this whole Osama Bin Laden situation. Back at home... We're not shutting down airports. Not for a week, not for a day. Keep them open, keep them working. That's my federal guideline. And if some governor or administrative flunky at an airport wants to try and shut one down on their own for a few weeks to try and calm the situation? Well, strap on your long guns, camo pants, and hawaiian shirts, gang. LIBERATE DFW AIRPORT! LIBERATE LAGUARDIA! LIBERATE LAX! Get out there and show them we mean business, and the best of the American people won't be treaded on. If people want to fly, let them fly. Let the brave live their lives, let the cowards quiver in their houses. Hopefully, one-story houses. Back in New York, they've got a disaster and a medical crisis... But that's their problem. They want donated blood? They want medical supplies? From the federal stockpile? No way. Your problem is YOUR problem. Maybe the mayor shouldn't have said mean things about me. Maybe the governor shouldn't have criticized how I'm handling the Saudi Arabian Plane Crash. In fact, if they're so sure this Saudi Arabian Plane Crash situation is a potential ongoing crisis... Maybe we ought to commandeer and reallocate some of the blood and medical supplies they've already arranged for on their own. That's just smart long-term planning, frankly. Incoherent thoughts and upside down prayers with YOUR problems, New York. Not MY problems. Not America's problems. YOU figure it out. Maybe I'll send a boat up there in a month or two. But you can't put anyone injured in the Saudi Arabian Plane Crash on it. If planes keep getting hijacked and crashed? Well, none of this would have started in the first place if Saudi Arabia could handle their internal problems. And really, it's not like planes don't crash for other reasons. We need to wait a year or two, see if there's any statistically significant increase over plane crashes and fatalities compared to most years. Because what does it matter if someone hijacked and crashed the plane, or if the engine fell off and it crashed on its own? Because that sort of stuff does happen, you know. Am I supposed to magically stop mechanical failures, pilot error, bad weather too? NO. That's ridiculous. We keep flying airplanes despite all those threats, why would we stop now just because of this Saudi Arabian Plane Crash stuff? And as for the people in the buildings that actually did die because of the crash, and not smoke, fire, gravity, jumping out the window, or who knows what else? Some of them were probably old. Some of them may have had diabetes or heart disease or cancer or who knows what other health problems. And for anyone who was otherwise young and healthy, however vanishingly small we can convince ourselves that number was? Well... Suckers and losers, I'd say. We say they're heroes... They're not heroes. They were heroes because they got hit by a plane? I like people who WEREN'T hit by a plane. Now, the airports are staying open. That's a given. And any new security measures are going to be 100% voluntary. You want to scan me? You want to search my bag? NO WAY. I'm an American, and that is a violation of my civil liberties. Mildly inconvenience me just to possibly limit the potentially fatal risk to OTHER PEOPLE? That's not what Ben Franklin fought and died for. No way. You want your head x-rayed and your nuts grabbed by some stranger? Your business, chump. I'm strolling through unencumbered. So is any other freedom loving American. And if anyone wants to complain? If anyone wants to say it isn't working? It's all just a bunch of crap, anyway. Everyone is going to magically stop worrying about Saudi Arabian Plane Crash after November of 2004. You'll see. And that's how you do it. Now, I suspect that more than half of you are going to think this is an outrageous, irresponsible, reckless imitation of a "plan", and that I'm insane or just flat out oblivious to reality and the risk to Americans for going with it. To you, I say: You don't matter. Socialists. For the rest of you that appreciate bold, decisive, unorthodox leadership? I have some branded merchandise you can buy to stick it to those other idiots. Hats are $20, Flags are $50. Cash, check, or credit.

He predates the invention of the forward pass? (No idea. I'd hire Rusty Greer, but that's just me.)

He's so old, his version of an anthem protest is arguing with anyone flying a US flag with more than 48 stars on it. He's OLD, I tells ya. OLD.

Sir, the founding principle of this forum is that There Should Be Piety For Everyone.

Lowest price point is $50 each. So, for $300, you can submit 5 photos of murdered prostitutes and one photo of Craig James for some historically significant fun. For $100 apiece, Sonny Dykes has to sign them.

We don't need Has Resigned-ers.

I live my life in fear of the nefarious puppeteering of those who died in 1972. God save us if the acolytes of M.C. Escher are able to build These United States of America in their style of impossible geometry. Those Brave Colonists fought and died to protect us from stellated polyhedra and reflective tesselation. When I think of innocent schoolchildren potentially being forced to climb infinite recursive staircases for all eternity... I weep. That's not freedom. That's not democracy. Thomas Jefferson didn't take a break from raping slaves to declare our independence just so that Escherites could take over our country 200 odd years later and remake it in his horrifying image. If you think I'm being hyperbolic, I AM NOT. That's Escher's geometry, not me.

Ironically, that 9 years per job stability that was such a selling point ultimately went by the wayside. Sanders left Tom Bean for Lake Worth in 2011. Then, he left Lake Worth for Maypearl in 2015. Then, he retired from Maypearl in 2017. If anyone lives near North Richland Hills and wants to go knock on a door to get some answers, we can clear up this letterman mystery in his retirement. Sandman has solved half the mystery... But many questions remain. Let's hope we figure it out before 2033.

If we're more worried about mind games with Houston Baptist than we are setting the foundation for this season, that tells me enough to know my expectations for the year should probably be very, very low. If we had a starter, we'd have a starter. Right now, we don't. And we don't. I'm confident this will work out at least as well as it has every other time we've taken the same approach under any coach we've had in the past 20 years.

Not to be a pedant, but the only time you "never show... your cards" is when you've folded, or it's showdown time, and you know your hand is beat. Obviously not what he meant, but the only way the analogy stands. At least it worked out great every other time we tried it. Whether it's Dickey with Meager/Phillips/Wilson, Dodge with Meager and Vizza (and Dodge), or McCarney with the Greer/McNulty/Williams carousel... It's always been a dead cinch winner of an approach. This is exceptionally pointless, since week 1 is a paycheck FCS that should be stomped by either, both, or whoever sits in 3rd chair. And none of them has much in the way of game tape that's guiding defensive strategy anyway. Of course, wherever you stand on this 'hide your cards' philosophy... Unless we send them out there in disguises or unmarked jerseys, the mystery is over before the first offensive snap, which makes this even MORE pointless. Encouraging start to the season!

Please keep all off-topic threads confined to the Eagles Nest.

Finally, someone willing to do what it takes to improve our coverage with local TV.

Coach Laundry is rolling over in his grave.

The Big 10 has just under half a billion dollars in annual broadcast contracts with FOX and ESPN. If they deliver games, they get their money. Maybe slightly less if it's spring... But given the screaming desire for football on TV even in normal times, compared to where things stand now, or 6 months from now when the pipeline of episodic TV is almost totally dry... Maybe not. For anyone asking, rhetorically or otherwise, "Why is it safe to play a conference schedule but cancel OOC games?" - that's your answer. It's not. But... Play the conference season, and you deliver enough broadcast content to secure your half a billion dollar check for the year. The College Football Playoff only pays out a little over $65 million to each major conference. That's about 1/8th of what the Big 10 will get for delivering the contracted amount of regular season games to FOX and ESPN.

Withhold their conference money? Their share of the NCAA tournament credits and football playoff payouts? Sue the hell out of them, boot them from the conference, and keep their broadcast rights for multiple future football seasons? If Nebraska plays some weird Frankenstein 6 or 8 game season this fall, then the Big 10 has a Spring season to satisfy their broadcast contracts... But Nebraska is not able to participate as proper conference members because the NCAA limits how many games a football program can play in one year... Best case, maybe they lose a year's worth of conference money. Worst case, maybe they get booted, get fined by the conference on the way out for breach, AND they don't own their own TV rights for however long they've signed over their grant-of-rights to the Big 10. Extended grant-of-rights was the poison pill everyone choked down to stop the realignment carousel last time around. If you violate whatever conference membership agreement each institution signed last time around, you could take a one season problem and turn it into a 3-5 year financial catastrophe, if not worse. This is all just noise, though... Just like the "We're playing!" "We're just playing conference-only!" "We're not playing after all!" journey we saw happen over the past 3 weeks... Nebraska and whoever else will all go round and round for the next week or three and end up in the same place sometime before the start of September.

My opinion on Jim Jordan chiming in on what's best for college athletes has nothing to do with his politics. Unless you consider this a political matter: https://www.si.com/more-sports/2020/02/12/jim-jordan-accused-cover-up-sexual-abuse-ohio-state If Name Any Democrat had worked as a coach alongside Jerry Sandusky or Larry Nassar and actively participated in the coverup of what they did at Penn State or Michigan State... I'd feel and say the same about them, should they have the gall to speak about what's best for college athletes. If we want to talk about Jim Jordan actively or passively enabling the sexual abuse and exploitation of scholarship athletes under his care... That's SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS. Any thoughts I have to share on his legislative priorities, you'll only find them in the Eagles Nest.

Friendly reminder based on a removed post, no warnings issued or anything... Keep politics confined to the Eagles Nest forum.

72 hour check-in... @NT93, have there been any divine consequences for your possible heresy? Boils? Uncommonly large gathering of crickets or grasshoppers in your yard? Mild headache?

Belo also sold the DRC three years ago, so they no longer have ownership in common with the Dallas Morning News. Plus, y'know, spelling. And the fact that any time @Brett Vito lightly clears his throat, we get some variation of this post. But, if you grant all that and just take away the main point, the implied but inaccurate relationship between publishers, the misidentification of the subject, the ongoing grudge that seems to motivate it all, and the misplaced persecution complex and weirdly threatening conspiratorial tone... I think this post has given us a lot to really think about.

If there's one politician I trust to look out for the best interest of college athletes and protect their health and well being... Well, I don't know who it is. But it sure as douchebag isn't this guy.

Transfers (who I'm sure had a very valid reason for leaving) never lose.

Well, now we'll see. Your possible insolence should be a great field test of the theory. Please let us know if you get smited (smit? smote? smitten?) in the next few days. If you do, there's our answer. If not... I suppose the debate can continue, but on shakier ground.

I don't even wear V-neck t-shirts. Pants in that cut are a definite "no". I do miss "FUPA" being part of the online lingua franca, though. This did remind me of those days.

Prior to becoming known as UT-San Antonio, the institution was actually a ferry boat company, operating on the San Antonio river. A few years later, they attempted to pivot to manufacturing acetylene lamps. This venture was unsuccessful. The buildings were repurposed as a full service gas station. What once started out as a simple country kitchen eventually evolved into the cafeteria system serving the whole campus. The popularity of the food on offer led to them acquiring a small motel, the obvious precursor to on-campus dormitory housing. During that transitional period, school President Herbert Sanspises finalized their proprietary educational blend of courses and extracurriculars, and formalized the "pressure cooker" method of advanced instruction at a rapid pace. The system worked brilliantly at churning out mediocre but functional and homogenized graduates at unparalleled speed. Ultimately, it caught the attention of the University of Texas system, which franchised the concept out throughout the state. And so, what we now know as UT-San Antonio was born.

Daily screenings of Kindergarten Cop with mandatory, stand-up only national anthem preambles, and door prizes of Washington football jerseys and confederate flags. If that didn't work, I'd go hourly and double down on the door prizes. Whatever it took, as long as it didn't require admitting what I'd already been doing wasn't working.