Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

The revolution will be supervised.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

No one could have predicted…

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

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Open Thread

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Apparently every conference in football is about to explode, and I have nothing to add because I have no clue what is going on.

Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title. I think you all are getting spoiled.

Reader Interactions

150Comments

  2. 2.

    Church Lady

    NCAA just hammered USC. Someone needs to explain the concept of karma being a bitch to Lane Kiffin. Now if only John Calipari would go bald…….

  3. 3.

    Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people)

    It is a brilliant title but choosing a song with the lyric “stack chips like Hebrews” made me go “hmm, what’s going on with John today” to be honest.

  4. 4.

    demkat620

    Well, now we know why we are getting so many threads so quickly.

    You’re really cute when you’re angry. ;)

  5. 5.

    kwAwk

    lmao We’re all such spoiled unappreciative bastards!

    Forgive us for our transgressions almighty master of the Tunch!

  9. 9.

    ruemara

    You must start mining the wealth of the compleat song catalog from Vanilla Ice, if you want some respect.

  10. 10.

    scav

    Well, I don’t think my appreciation, as it is completely unhindered by any comprehension of the origins or teleological magnificence of the title, would engender anything but scorn in you, but I offer it up all the same.

  11. 11.

    Mike Kay

    I believe in accountability.

    Lord knows bloggers constantly type about holding Obama’s feet to the fire.

    In light of the surprise, shocking, upset loss in Arkansaa, where LT Governor Halter out spent his unpopular and badly damaged opponent by a 2 to 1 margin, an accountability in leadership moment has emerged.

    Therefore, in light of yet another electoral debacle, I call on Jane Hamsher to resign.

  12. 12.

    licensed to kill time

    __

    Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title. I think you all are getting spoiled.

    We’re kinda jaded like that, because y’all pour on the awesome sauce each and every day. Maybe you should have titles like “All you get is this stupid title, suck on that, bitchez!”

  13. 13.

    Cacti

    The potential merger of the Pac-10 with CU, Texas, A&M, TTech, OU, and OSU is huge.

    Putting Texas and California into the same Football Conference is like Coke announcing a merger with Pepsi.

  15. 15.

    danimal

    OK, the Binyamins title was a nice, tasty morsel. MMMM, yummy.

    Unfortunately, you share the same blog with snarkmaster DougJ, who gives us gourmet meals of obscure lyrical references.

  16. 16.

    handy

    @Elisabeth:

    I’m a UCLA guy so no tears for ole ‘SC coming from me, but I find the NCAA’s hypocrisy tiresome. Every few years they always make an example out of somebody to show how committed they are to the purity of collegiate athletics, meanwhile ranking in billions of dollars from TV contracts and jersey sales, none of which the players get a cut of.

    Oh I know I know should just be happy they get a FREE RIDE! to a top-flight school. And yes, I know Reggie Bush broke rules he shouldn’t have. I get that. But that doesn’t change the system. In the end, rich white people rule.

  17. 17.

    Violet

    @ruemara:

    You must start mining the wealth of the compleat song catalog from Vanilla Ice, if you want some respect

    Pretty sure you could go with “ICE, ICE Baby” for this story:

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are preparing to roll out a series of changes at several privately owned immigration detention centers, including relaxing some security measures for low-risk detainees and offering art classes, bingo and continental breakfast on the weekends.

    The 28 changes identified in the e-mail range from the superficial to the substantive. In addition to “softening the look of the facility” with hanging plants and offering fresh carrot sticks, ICE will allow for the “free movement” of low-risk detainees, expand visiting hours and provide unmonitored phone lines.

    Continental breakfasts, art classes, hanging plants and fresh carrot sticks? You can imagine the outrage on the Right this is generating….

  18. 18.

    lamh32

    man, I can’t wait til tomorrow.

    Seems like the whole lib blogosphere, is still on this labor v WH thing!. Hopefully, after tomorrow, it will be over. The primary was what, almost 3 days ago. I know I’m gonna probably get flamed for this, but from the outside looking in, while I am in labors corner, this has essentially become a pissing contest between labor and the WH/Congress. It’s becoming a contest of chicken or let’s see who has the biggest balls!

    There is other things going on. From most claim, aside from some pending lawsuits, not many people are claiming that Lincoln’s win was ilegitimate right. Was it the outcome that labor/progressives wanted…no. So what exactly is this fight over. Yes the WH shouldn’t take Labor for granted. Yes, Labor is not at the beck and call of the WH. What is the point of all this?

    Now if we want to talk about some REAL examples of illegitmate elections, why aren’t we hearing more about the Dem nominee(s), Alan Greene in SC. There is some REAL lurky, possibly outright sabotage going on there. Rep Clyburn is alleging, that not only is Alan Greene a plant, but there may be 2 more “plants” enlisted to sabotage the Dem election in SC.

    Clyburn Alleges Conspiracy To Plant Candidates In Three Dem Primaries In S.C.

    So far, TPM is the only one covering it well!

  19. 19.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    A certain large, well known upscare grocery chain can go fuck itself with a rusty dildo.

    Now I get to discover how financially fucked I’m going to be this summer.

    Chalk it up to yet another job interview I’ve had since transitioning in which I didn’t get hired.

    I swear, if you are trans, you need to be a minimum of 9000000000% better than your competitors in order to get a job.

    I’m like pretty devastated, and am retreating into booze and other such fun things that make you feel better.

  22. 22.

    Cacti

    @handy:

    I can’t remember who did it, but somebody crunched the numbers for what the market-value of blue chip CFB players was.

    They used former Cal RB Marshawn Lynch and came up with an annual salary of around $850,000.

  23. 23.

    Corner Stone

    @lamh32:

    why aren’t we hearing more about the Dem nominee(s), Alan Greene in SC

    I read that Yahoo! blurb about Greene and he…um…didn’t come off in a very flattering light.

  25. 25.

    jl

    And it looks like Southern Cal is the new Oklahoma. Will need a post on that once that story gets around.

    Except Southern Cal spread the graft around in a more egalitarian left coast way: so far at least woman’s tennis involved in addition to good old college Fball.

  26. 26.

    Cat Lady

    @lamh32:

    Were all the votes for the “plants” rigged too? If so, that’s the real story. Republicans ratfucking an election is so 2000.

  28. 28.

    sstarr

    As a Nebraskan (and therefore a Nebraska football fan) who now lives in Seattle the idea of Oklahoma joining the PAC 10 is horrifying. Now I’ll never be able to watch Nebraska games, but I’ll have to listen to *&(*(&$ Boomer Sooner in Pac 10 games? Grrr.

    USC Vs. Oklahoma games have the potential to be the worst dueling fight song games ever.

  29. 29.

    Kryptik

    @FlipYrWhig:

    It’ll never happen. WVU’s not an AAC school, nor does it bring in the big TV markets that the Big 10 wants to draw in. Nor does it have the marquee name like Nebraska does.

    Honestly, unless the Big East stays intact, or the ACC is willing to take us, I’m afraid the ‘Eers could be screwed nice and tight.

  31. 31.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Amanda in the South Bay:

    A certain large, well known upscare grocery chain

    I know that was an honest typo, but it couldn’t be more perfect!

    I do feel your pain, though, and wish you luck and success in the job hunt.

  32. 32.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    That evil wench Blanche Lincoln is showing her true colors.

    “Lincoln wrote a controversial provision in the bill that could force banks to spin off their lucrative derivatives-trading operations. Bankers and many lawmakers assumed the provision would wither once Ms. Lincoln lost her primary — or even if she won, given the diminished political imperative to look tough on Wall Street. But her victory appeared to have the opposite effect, with Democrats saying her standing is now strengthened, particularly as it appears the populist provision resonated with voters.”

    Said Lincoln: “We’re going to work hard to keep it in.”

    Imagine the gall, causing so much disappointment and poutrage. Let’s Joan of Arc her Dino ass.

  35. 35.

    Violet

    @jeffreyw:
    Done! I love spamming polls. But in this case, it’s well deserved. She’s so cute.

    Just because I could, I took one for the team, opened up IE, and voted again. It looks like you can vote once per browser.

  37. 37.

    Mike Kay

    @Corner Stone: that doesn’t included the independent expenditures by 3rd party groups, most notably Labor. And while I haven’t seen a specific documentation to the claim that Labor flushed $10 million down the shit hole, Labor has repeatedly decline to refuted the dollar amount.

    So yes $10 + $3 (which doesn’t even include all the free media on MSNBC and the vaunted blogosphere) is rougly a 2 to 1 advatange over $7.

  41. 41.

    Ed Marshall

    You got scooped by a couple hours.

    Your, lazy, make a link, button sucks ass.

    dailyradar.com/beltwayblips/story/all-about-the-binyamins/

  42. 42.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @jeffreyw: Done. It is a pleasure to vote for the lovely Bea. I’ll bookmark the site and click as often as I dare, but I’m nervous about the judges throwing out too many Chicago-style duplicate votes, whaddya think? (I think we all remember when the ballot-stuffing for Bitsy became something of an issue last year, and IIRC they soon went to a one-vote-a-day limit.)

    ETA: I guess they do have a limit as I am now blocked out of voting. How long is this going on, anyhow, and what’s the prize?

  43. 43.

    Elisabeth

    @handy:

    Let’s be clear, though. No one thinks that Reggie Bush (or a lot of others who go to top-tier schools) didn’t use USC as much as USC used him. If it was strictly about playing football between high school eligibility and the pros he could have gone to a small/lesser known school; going to Mississippi Valley State didn’t hurt Jerry Rice’s prospects back in the day. But, USC offered Bush the perks he wanted and he decided to go there instead of elsewhere.

    That said, I think coaches are overpaid. Jim Tressel makes over a million. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sweater vest-clad dude but, come on!

  45. 45.

    Elisabeth

    @sstarr:

    I wonder what the conference set-up will be. With OR, WA, UCLA, USC, OK, OSU, TX, TX A&M potentially all in the same conference will they be willing to settle for one champion?

    I’m just thankful the Big -10- 11 is looking at Nebraska, not Notre Dame.

  47. 47.

    Pangloss

    I wonder if this will have any implications for mid-major conferences like WCC, Missouri Valley, Horizon League, WAC, MAC, C-USA, etc. If the Big 12 goes belly-up and the Pac 10 and Big 10 split them up, what do the mid-majors do?

    Between the Big East, Pac-10 (more like 16), and Big 10 (soon to be 18?), and Atlantic 10 (already 16 teams, including one west of the Mississippi), the big conferences are getting pretty bloated.

  48. 48.

    Third Eye Open

    @Kryptik: WVU travels well, at least that is what it look’d like when I went to the Gator Bowl this past year. I don’t think that the ACC would pass up a small, but marketable team. As much as I don’t like Miami in the same conference as FSU, it has made the hate a bit more relevant every year. Plus, John, if you come down for a game I am more than willing to show you the one decent bar in this whole damn town.

  49. 49.

    J.

    Forget the Big Easy, the Big East, and the Mid East, people. I have really Big news: After a 20-year hiatus, DEVO is releasing a new album! I heard the first single, “Fresh,” and it’s like the men of DEVO never left. More details here.

  50. 50.

    MikeJ

    @Elisabeth:

    That said, I think coaches are overpaid. Jim Tressel makes over a million.

    How much do they earn for the schools? Somebody should be getting a slice of the billions that college sports rake in, especially since the minor league players student athletes are forbidden from taking advantage of the free market.

  53. 53.

    Elisabeth

    @MikeJ:

    But yet OSU’s athletic program is in the red, and tuition at most, if not all schools, keeps going up. I guess it’s a matter of priorities.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge college football fan. I wear my scarlet and grey on fall Saturdays and work my schedule around the tv when necessary. I bet Tressel would do a great job, and still be living quite comfortably, at half the salary. The rest could go to something that benefits either students as a whole or student athletes (who aren’t already getting a full-ride).

  54. 54.

    Brian J

    Didn’t Obama say something about changing college football? If so, isn’t this his, or Rahm’s, fault?

    Anyway, as far as the Republicans wanting the taxpayers on the line for the Gulf Coast clean up–if the Democrats don’t hang the Republican with this by airing commercials in every single remotely competitive district, they deserve to lose. They need to make Republicans either disavow this and apologize or take ownership of it and go down like a virgin on prom night.

  55. 55.

    handy

    @Elisabeth:

    No one thinks that Reggie Bush (or a lot of others who go to top-tier schools) didn’t use USC as much as USC used him.

    I agree. There are no whole innocent victims here. It still doesn’t change the fact that the NCAA needs to re-evaluate their definition of “student athlete” in today’s high dollar college sports world.

  56. 56.

    Kryptik

    @Third Eye Open:

    Yeah, they travel well, and have a rabid fanbase, which are things which will at least get them a glance if they need to jump conferences. But they don’t have the installed market or the premier sex appeal of other schools which have the immediate eyes of the other conferences (Pitt for their market and possibly reigniting a Pitt/Penn St. rivalry, Rutgers for the much vaunted NY/NJ metro market, Conn. for their market as well as proximity to said NY/NJ market, ND for being…well, Notre Dame).

    The problem here is that it all comes down to Money Money Money. And even with a rabid fanbase, a team consistently good enough to draw people in, and good rivalries, WVU just can’t throw enough potential moolah into the mix. I say potential because I honestly don’t know if RU being thrown into the Ten will really help make significant inroads into a market soaked with Pro elites.

  58. 58.

    Elisabeth

    @Elisabeth:

    Let me also add that those athletes like Bush, who are on full football scholarship, get everything free with no intention of finishing school. As you point out, Mike, for those admittedly players it is a farm system not a university.

  59. 59.

    Violet

    @jeffreyw:
    Ooh, yummy!

    Since this is an open thread, I thought I’d post about this weird sounding organization I heard about today. I pulled up at a stoplight next to a car plastered with bumper stickers saying, “Vote Out Incumbents VOID.org.” Couldn’t figure out what the “D” stood for, so looked it up. It’s “Vote Out Incumbents Democracy,” so VOID.org. As far as I can tell, they just want to vote out incumbents. From their “About” page:

    By organizing voters to lower that incumbency rate significantly, we can demand better governance and politics in return for our vote.

    Somehow they think that having fewer incumbents will make for better government. I’m not sure that follows logically. Maybe a bunch of even worse people would get into office.

    I agree in principle that a reasonable challenge to an elected politician can possibly get them to change how they vote. Halter’s challenge to Lincoln probably got her to get on derivatives reform. But it seems really strange to have lowering incumbency rates as the goal. Shouldn’t better government be the goal?

  61. 61.

    eco2geek

    Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title.

    I’m a little pissed about the amount of research I’m going to have to put in when I get home from work to understand your alleged obscure song reference.

    (Not really – it’ll just take a little Net ‘n’ Yahoo.)

  62. 62.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Thanks, I’m pretty much devasted. I think I was objectively more qualified than the person who I was in the running against, alas I also work for said large company in a rather shitty position-the job was for a much better position very much related to current college degree program.

    I just see Aug, Sep and Oct as being financially devastating now. Thanks alot fucking asswipes !!!! There goes my company loyalty.

    I fear I’m becoming the stereotypical under-employed/qualified trans woman who can’t get a fucking break in the job market, even in situations where I think I’m pretty well qualified.

    Its like you never know if you didn’t get the job cause of being trans (liberal California my fucking ass) or if the better candidate got it.

  63. 63.

    Cacti

    @handy:

    I agree. There are no whole innocent victims here. It still doesn’t change the fact that the NCAA needs to re-evaluate their definition of “student athlete” in today’s high dollar college sports world.

    One thing I’ve always preferred about baseball is that it has an honest farm system. Players at the sub-Major League level are still considered pros and are all getting paid. If a guy decides to play college baseball, it’s strictly voluntary.

    Even with the change in NBA draft rules, high school hoopsters can go play professionally in Europe for a couple of years before entering the draft.

    Football recruits have no options. It’s the NCAA plantation system or nothing at all.

  64. 64.

    Chad N Freude

    @Violet: Is this April Fool’s Day? Round ’em up, tear them away from their families, prevent them from sending money to their impoverished families in Mexico — by detaining them in a resort. Why not let them go free and send the citizens whose jobs they stole and are therefore desperate to support themselves to the House of Hanging Plants and Continental Breakfasts?

  67. 67.

    Chad N Freude

    @Violet: I think we need to impose a term limit of half a term, thus eliminating all incumbency from the land.

  70. 70.

    PanAmerican

    Short circuiting BCS reformers. (Oh-BAM-Ah! shakes fist) You’ll get your playoffs but only for a top football level of around 100 state flagship and/or research schools with a few traditional privates (ND USC) hanging on. Bottom line is the bottom line. Structurally these are the institutions that can absorb the cost of college football. Another thing to look for is a move away from the smaller, rural schools (like the B12 castaways) and towards a Big East football model. Tradition? Meh… how’s the TV market?

    Whether state funded institutions of higher learning should be mucking around in minor league sport is another issue.

  71. 71.

    frankdawg

    Heck John – I could have told you that! When you are brilliant people just expect brilliance. Anything merely above average is a failure.

    Your mistake was being too good too soon. Aim for mediocrity it makes life easier & everyone happier.

    On that topic – sort of: Did you see today’s Dilbert? PHBoss says “we found a way to increase employee satisfaction. We only hire idiots now”

  73. 73.

    Chad N Freude

    @MikeJ: Apparently, my sarcasm wasn’t abundantly clear. Why imprison them, even in in a nice prison, instead of just letting them live where they want to (presumably, for many, with their not-illegal families)?

  74. 74.

    Cacti

    @PanAmerican:

    Whether state funded institutions of higher learning should be mucking around in minor league sport is another issue.

    Is there another country in the world where public universities are the defacto farm clubs for professional sports leagues?

  75. 75.

    frankdawg

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck:

    Sorry, she only did that after she got primaryed & the thought was there would be time to take it out after. She may have misjudged that part though.

    Meanwhile the guy that lost was leading head-to-head against the R in the race & Lincoln is behind. The net result of her win is a new Republican Senator – there was a chance the other guy could have held the seat.

  77. 77.

    Chad N Freude

    @Violet: That wasn’t what I was thinking. They would have to leave office and be replaced half-way through the term they were elected for. That way they would never become incumbents to be turned out of office. As is now customary in California, they could simply run for other offices until they exhausted all possibilities, at which point they would become lobbyists.

  80. 80.

    Makewi

    On the contrary I thought your all about the binyamins title showed just the right amount of jew hate. Good job adolf.

  81. 81.

    Svensker

    Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title. I think you all are getting spoiled.

    Could you not feel the love coming from NJ, Mr. Cole? Could you not feel the love?

    It was very intense. Sorry you missed it.

    Now, I’m bored.

  82. 82.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    Eddie’s in the ICU. I think this is it. Probably not tonight, but soon. He’s having some trouble breathing, and he has two lesions on his cheeks. They took an x-ray, and they think they see some inflammation and swelling. They can’t tell if it’s the lymph nodes.

    Given this set of symptoms, I’m pretty sure his lymphoma is back. If it’s in his chest, it will probably go quickly. They have him in an oxygen cage to help stabilize his breathing. If he’s doing okay tomorrow, they’ll do a biopsy on the lesions.

    If the lymphoma is back, that’s the ballgame. I’m not going to try chemotherapy. Giving him pills on a regular basis causes him to retreat under the bed full time and not come out. That’s no life, and I’m not going to force it on him. He’ll come home. If I can get steroids or pain relievers into him to ease discomfort, I will. Other than that, it’ll just be waiting for the end.

    I hate the entire world so fucking much right now. The extra little twist is that I spent $3000 three weeks ago to have major oral surgery done. I had a couple of obvious things checked for the lymphoma before having it done, and they came back negative. Thew universe isn’t content just to kill him, it has to put us through all of this first.

    If he dies, I don’t know what I’m going to do. He’s the only source of unconditional, patient affection in my life. To help me through his passing, I have no one. I have three other cats, whose affection is very much situational and demanding; as much as I love them, they aren’t Eddie when it comes to this need. I have an ex-wife: no thanks. I have some friends that are all uncomfortable with emotional scenes. I have family that all lives between 800 and 1500 miles away. Nothing.

    With no job and no significant other for more than four years now, I’ve been telling people that I need something in my life to go right. This wasn’t what I had in mind.

  84. 84.

    Bnut

    I detest USC like the plague, but as an Alabama alum it’s kind of hypocritical to point fingers when it comes to NCAA violations.

  86. 86.

    Ranger 3

    What I would do with D-1A football if I was God.

    First I would immediately institute a 16 team postseason tournament. Well, duh. All conference champions would automatically qualify for the tournament. I would blow up the Mountain West, Big 12, and Conference USA. The refugees from those three conferences would be placed into the remaining eight conferences, the Pac 10 (yes it will still be called that, same with the Big 10, fuck math), Big 10, SEC, ACC, WAC, MAC, Sunbelt and the Big East. All conferences would have between 12 to 16 teams, with those teams organized into two divisions within their respective conferences. Division champions would compete in a conference championship game. The SEC, Big 12, MAC, and ACC currently have that setup. Also, back to 11 game schedules. Under this system, the eventual champion will play 16 games. That’s plenty. Also, you can have a consolation tournament running at the same time as the NCAA tournament, similar to the NIT in basketball. 16 teams, higher seeds play at home. Have the championship game at a neutral field, like a bowl game. Do it the day before the NCAA championship, more hype that way.

    Colorado, Colorado State, BYU, and Utah would join the Pac 10. Nebraska, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas would join the Big 10. Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will join the SEC. Baylor, TCU, SMU, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech, Tulsa, Houston, Rice and Tulane would join the Sunbelt, which will now resemble an actual conference as opposed to the joke it has been for a decade. Vanderbilt will join the ACC and Florida Atlantic will stop kidding themselves and go back to D-1AA, and Western Kentucky will go to the MAC, which is kinda the same thing. I’m giving Florida International a break, however, on the grounds that they have absurdly hot cheerleaders. Seriously. Google “FIU Dazzlers” and you will see my logic is sound. Also going to the ACC will be UAB. The Big East will pick up East Carolina, Memphis, Marshall, South Florida and Central Florida. UMass will be promoted to D-1A and will join the Big East (UConn/UMass should be alot of fun).

    Notre Dame, Army and Navy will stay independent and Air Force will join them. With eight at large bids and a tough non-conference schedule, ND shouldn’t have too much trouble grabbing an at-large bid, if they can manage at least 8 or 9 wins. I will allow ND an extra game since they won’t get a conference championship game, and it might as well be against Hawaii since we already have that screwy Hawaii exception rule. ND/Hawaii in December will be fun, better than playing Air Force or Vandy, anyway.

    Roll UTEP and the other Mountain West teams into the WAC and throw any leftovers East of the Mississippi into the MAC and that should about do it. Any schools I left out besides that can, oh… I don’t know… stop wasting time on a football program that will never go anywhere and maybe focus more on educating students. How about that? Just a thought.

    One final note… I’m God in this scenario, so don’t give me any shit about how it wouldn’t work for this or that reason. Omnipotence, bitches!

  87. 87.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    @frankdawg: I think a primary challenger in her case was a good thing, and also agree it made her a better candidate and was likely responsible for her FR derivative amendment. It’s over, she won, the dems in AR have spoken and she is our candidate. Too many were carping she would cave on her amendment, she isn’t and hence my snarky post. And don’t give me that she can’t win shit, when she was reelected to the senate twice already, and was written off days before she pulled out a win this week. Okay, so you supported Halter, he lost, now grow up and shake it off and support our only chance of keeping a wingnut out of that seat. When folks here and elsewhere start doing that, I will shut the fuck up. These personality tribal wars do not keep wingnuts out of power. Making the best choice and dropping the personal shit and trying from what is available does, or can.

  88. 88.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @jeffreyw: Oh. My. FSM. That does look really delish. Thanks, I’ll try opening a couple of browsers and see if I can get in again for more votes.

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    @John Cole:

    Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title. I think you all are getting spoiled.

    Dude, I agreed with one of the other posters in that thread that this was one of the bestest titles evah, on the mark and on the money.

    And “All About the Benjamins” could apply to the outrageous greed behind the proposed realignment of college football teams. The huge amount of money rolling in from TV rights makes the sanctions against USC look especially stoopid. Everybody is supposed to make money except the players.

    And speaking of money, did everyone catch this little tidbit from the New York Times?

    If you can marry a sickly Sugar Daddy or Money Momma who pops off in 2010, you have hit the jackpot.

    A Texas pipeline tycoon who died two months ago may become the first American billionaire allowed to pass his fortune to his children and grandchildren tax-free. …[B]ecause Congress allowed the tax to lapse for one year and gave all estates a free pass in 2010, Mr. Duncan’s four children and four grandchildren stand to collect billions that in any other year would have gone to the Treasury.

    Benjamins, indeed. Money, money, money!

  90. 90.

    Violet

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck:
    I agree with you that sometimes we have to choose which candidate is the least bad. But as the primary was only on Tuesday, Halter supporters may still be licking their wounds a little bit. That’s okay for a week or maybe two. But then it should be back to getting the least worst elected.

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): I’m so sorry to hear about your lovely Eddie. Could you at least phone your family to talk? Skype is free and you could even see them. Fingers crossed the news isn’t as bad as you fear.

  91. 91.

    frankdawg

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck:

    seriously I’d rather have a Republican than a Dem like Lincoln or Lieberman. At least it would prevent Fucked News from reporting “Even Democrats like Lincoln & Lieberman say. . .”

    But remember I am also root for the destruction of all mankind, we earned, we deserved, we are going to get it so why delay it?

  92. 92.

    smiley

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): Condolences. Most of us here have been through it. As much as it made me cry, to the point of nearly crashing my car as I drove away from the vet’s office, once it was clear that my feline companion of 16 years was not going to make it, I had him put down. You might consider the same. Suffering is suffering, after all.

  94. 94.

    Mark S.

    When do these conference changes take place? Will Colorado be playing in the Pac-10 this year? I’ve read about 5 articles on this and couldn’t figure it out.

  95. 95.

    frankdawg

    Just read about the USC thing . . . is anyone surprised?

    “90% of college teams obey the NCAA rules . . . the other 10% get to go to bowl games.” – Bear Bryant

  96. 96.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): I am heartbroken for you and so desperately sorry that you and Eddie are going through this. It’s the hardest thing in the world to let them go, even when every brain in your cranium is telling you it’s for the best. The truth is, sometimes life just sucks camel balls, and you seem to be getting it all thrown at you at once. Most of the people here are totally okay with emo, as I’m sure you know, and if you need to rant and scream for a while, we’re here. I hope this doesn’t sound fatuous, because anyone who has ever had a sick pet or an ex-spouse or financial worries or job insecurity knows exactly what it feels like.

    In the meantime, white light to Eddie for a peaceful passage, whenever it is to happen, and hugs to you as you head into the next bit of your own life. And you know what? As ludicrous and unbelievable as it may sound right this minute, things will turn around and start going right for you. They will. Really.

  101. 101.

    frankdawg

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):

    Oh god, I wish there was something I could say or do to make this better. Anything I can say is trite and cliche. I once had to do 120 mile ‘forced march’ without food or water in heat & humidity. You don’t live though a lot of it, you just put one foot in front of the other a billion times, numb, blind, and stupid. Then you are done & then pain never goes away but you can put a layer of better times on top of it.

  102. 102.

    fucen tarmal

    all i have to say about conference realignment is, YOU fuckers want a playoff, you fuckers turn half of every discussion on college football into a discussion of why the bcs sucks, and the other half about how awesome the sec is….its you fuckers out there who need a championship in order to make paying attention to the sport, which you do anyway, worth your “entitled while”, meanwhile no matter what college football gives you, you piss and cry and fucking whine, guess what assholes of unincorporated assholia everywhere, not every fucking thing comes to a neat, tidy, no unanswered questions ending. college football is the one sport, that up until the bcs, which is a joke, not because it doesnt produce a non-mythical champion, but because non-mythical champions are a fucking joke in a sport that has 120 teams, playing 12 games each, and each of those teams is responsible individually for 1/3 of making up their own fucking schedule, and at best the other 2/3rds are made by a conference….

    its always been mythical, it should always be mythical, that is why people who’s alma mater will never fucking win, because their whole sports budget is less than ohio state spends on food, for its boosters, so they can give more money….still give a shit…

    make every thing in the sport revolve around a champion and 3/4 of the teams playing top tier football have no business ever taking the field….

    so allignment will pave the way for a playoff, the 20 or so teams that can win, will invite their most favored patsy’s and exclude the rest from getting a sliver of the pie…

    i hope you playoff assholes enjoy

    /end strawman rant.

  104. 104.

    soonergrunt

    Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title.

    And yet, we’ll all get by, somehow.

    More creative, thought provoking posts more often, bitch!

  107. 107.

    Kirk Spencer

    @Ranger 3: See, it bothers me when a school spends more dollars per student in sports than it does in any other field. So if I had the opportunity you present, I’d neuter the athletics.

    Now, I know it would take God to do this. Chattanooga school district faced a shortfall a couple of years ago and tried to cut athletics for a year so they could keep things like math and science. Local fans went on a major fundraising drive, got a large part of it, then spent part of what they’d made to ‘persuade’ the district to change what got cut. Math and science got kept. Music, foreign languages, and all that sort of stuff had to make up the difference — not a cut, but a reduction nonetheless. Again.

    Still, were I God I’d reduce the power athletics has over the rest of the school.

  109. 109.

    Corner Stone

    @Mike Kay:

    that doesn’t included the independent expenditures by 3rd party groups

    Get a grip clownshoe.
    You said Halter outspent Lincoln 2 to 1. That is not what happened.
    3rd party actors can do whatever they choose and IIRC by FEC rules can’t coordinate with the candidate.
    If you want to count total dollars spent in the election then why don’t you do that. Instead of just running your mouth, lying, and mentioning your fixation one.more.time.

  110. 110.

    Ash Can

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): Deepest condolences to you at this terribly difficult time. You’ve obviously taken extraordinarily good care of Eddie. Kudos to you for doing that.

  111. 111.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    @fucen tarmal: I’m in that boat with the Gopher baseball team, given the way that the sport has become completely dominated by the southern and west coast teams. (Well, I’m in that boat with the football team, too, but never mind that.) For me, the goal every year is to win the Big 10. If we do that, the year is a success. Anything that happens in the NCAA tournament is just a bonus.

    Though, this year, that almost turned into a hell of a bonus. A couple more hits here or there, and we’d have beaten Fullerton and played UCLA in a super-regional. It was a fun weekend watching them come close.

  114. 114.

    Ranger 3

    @Kirk Spencer: You might just as well have posted an angry opinion about Israel. Cut sports?

    You are a commie fascist. I oppose your gay abortion agenda. That is all.

  115. 115.

    ThresherK

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):

    We had a situation where my cat’s lymphosarcoma went just too far, taking 35% of her body weight. The only next step were daily steroid injections. No quality of life improvement benefit at all for her.

    The decision wasn’t easy but it was a relief. If you have not had this experience previously, be prepared to possibly be in the situation where thinking about it is one thing, and conversing it out loud to your vet is much more difficult.

    Peace.

  116. 116.

    Calouste

    @Cacti:

    Oxford and Cambridge for English cricket and rugby in days gone by.

    For soccer (which is what you are talking about first, second and third if you’re talking about professional team sports outside the US) a collegiate system would just be too slow. Top players make their professional debuts at 17 or 18 in soccer, not at 21.

  117. 117.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    @ThresherK: Honestly, I don’t think I’ll have trouble making the decision when to let him go. I’ve resigned myself already to no chemo. I came close to telling the vet not to go to great lengths if he has a crisis tonight, but decided to at least wait for test results to come back and make absolutely sure that it’s not just a standard infection. I’m just not confident that that’s what we’re going to find.

  118. 118.

    Rommie

    I hope this isn’t buried the thread somewhere…

    I read about an idea for using the 4 2nd-tier conferences in football in a tantalizing way: Promotion and Relegation.

    Every 1-A school has to have a football field with a minimum number of seats, so there is no risk of some 3,000 seat stadium sneaking into the top level, like other sports.

    It gives the lower-tier schools something to play for outside of the bowl system. It gives the top-tier schools a reason to improve, or move down. (Washington State would have trouble winning in the MWC, as an example, and now could get booted to it)

    Money would get in the way, of course, but if some scheme allowed a team to get relegated without a huge hit to the finances – and allowed a promoted team a big boost to the $$$ stream – then MAYbe. It’s probably as close to a relegation system we’ll ever see in US sports.

    So not only could have the BCS/playoff system, you could also have the promotion/relegation games that count at the end of a year. Mo’ Money! Mo’ Money! Mo’ Money!

    And the suits running College Football will never do it.

  119. 119.

    fucen tarmal

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):

    that’s the thing, i am tired of making the argument defending college sports, and the emphasis on them “its kinda hard to rally around a math class”-bear bryant, and then, when i go to watch college sports, the games, the schools, the students, the alumni, the traditions, all takes a back seat to awards, and imaginary championships….

    the idea should still be that the games are fun in and of themselves, highly competitive yes, but still everyone gets a small piece, a school that has a great year by their standards should celebrate the hell out of it, remember the moment, instead of use it, or see it be used as a measure of how far they are away from the big money in the sport.

    college sports should rally people who care about that school, or respect its traditions.

  120. 120.

    frankdawg

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck:

    Grow up? excuse me but fuck you. I have been working to elect good candidates since 1958 – yes the first lit drop I was 6. I will continue to elect good candidates, not Dems, not Republicans but candidates that support the people that elect them instead of the moneyed interests that buy them.

    When you have one guy who supports decent people & would be leading against the bad guy running against a guy that is a wholly owned subsidiary of the people who will elect the bad guy the choice is easy.

    Grow up my ass

  121. 121.

    Mark S.

    Sources tell Orangebloods.com, the Pac-16 conference would commence in 2012.

    link

    So there would be two more seasons of the status quo.

    This was an interesting article on the subject. Money quote:

    The current bowl system/BCS generated $220 million in gross revenue in 2008-09 and just $140 million in profit due to the high cost of keeping most bowl games afloat. If this sounds good, it isn’t. Delany estimates a playoff could gross $880 million. The more conservative, yet exhaustively researched estimate we used in the book comes in at around $780 million. In each case profits would exceed $700 million, meaning the BCS is costing college athletics over half a billion in annual profit.

    Long story short, the Big 10 and Pac 10 are assholes.

  122. 122.

    Ken

    @FlipYrWhig: No, WVU doesn’t meet B10 academic requirements, Nebraska does. Besides, WVU has already inflicted RichRod on the Conference, enough is enough.

  123. 123.

    Jay B.

    @Corner Stone:

    Obviously Labor’s money counts twice as much spent on Halter than the Chamber of Commerce’s spent on Lincoln. Because of magic and the perfidy of Jane Hamsher.

  124. 124.

    mcd410x

    @jake the snake: This.

    And to the person who pointed out, “In the end, rich white people rule,” we give you college football: the last bastion of plantation economics. There’s a reason you can count the number of black head fb coaches on one hand.

  127. 127.

    JWW

    And as With,

    All major money making collage sports,”football, baseball, basketball” the corruption is ever present. The full athletic scholarships generally hold no academic standard. I would think the education portion would be more important. But a smart student does not make any money in the present. The school has to wait years for those alumni dollars. Our universities and collages sell there soul for the dollar today. Lets send more illiterates to the PAC 10. What a joke.

  130. 130.

    PTirebiter

    …you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title.

    Now I feel just awful. Truth is it seemed a little too good. I confess my first thought was maybe TBogg had been link bartering.
    Sorry man, it was brilliant and you have every right to fish for an encore.

  131. 131.

    fucen tarmal

    @Mark S.:

    or brilliant tacticians, who waited to make their move, until they could be free, to not just expand, but also to avoid having to share that money, across all of d1 football, 4 super conferences, closed playoff, they get the money amongst themselves…current system, the cheese gets spread thinner over twice as many crackers….

    i hate the playoff , i hate the bcs, if they wanted to bring the voting for who’s number 1 back to before the bowls like it used to be, i would be ok with that too.

  132. 132.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    @frankdawg: Took you a while to pick up on that. Yes, grow up. If you would rather have a republican than Blanche Lincoln, then campaign for that winger, and quit whining that she is as bad as a republican. You obviously have no clue about her voting record over the years, or you would not present such an ignorant meme. Educate yourself, why dontcha. If not then bend over and kiss your ass goodbye if you really think this

    But remember I am also root for the destruction of all mankind, we earned, we deserved, we are going to get it so why delay it?

    The rapturists would welcome another kindred spirit.

  133. 133.

    Jeffro

    @Ranger 3:

    I’m giving Florida International a break, however, on the grounds that they have absurdly hot cheerleaders. Seriously. Google “FIU Dazzlers” and you will see my logic is sound

    I did.
    If there is something sounder than just plain ‘sound’, that would be you. Your logic, I mean.

    whoa…

  135. 135.

    Corner Stone

    Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title.

    You changed two letters.

  138. 138.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Also, I’m a little pissed that you all did not fully appreciate the effort that went into my “All About the Binyamins” title. I think you all are getting spoiled.

    Nah.. we were all trying to figure out what kind of anti-semitic message you were sending.

  139. 139.

    Anne Laurie

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):

    Eddie’s in the ICU. I think this is it. Probably not tonight, but soon…
    __
    If the lymphoma is back, that’s the ballgame. I’m not going to try chemotherapy. Giving him pills on a regular basis causes him to retreat under the bed full time and not come out. That’s no life, and I’m not going to force it on him. He’ll come home. If I can get steroids or pain relievers into him to ease discomfort, I will. Other than that, it’ll just be waiting for the end.
    __
    I hate the entire world so fucking much right now.

    I am so, so sorry to hear this. Eddie’s been through so much already, and you along with him. And now you are making the right decision, hard as it is, to minimize his further suffering at the cost of your own.

    You and Eddie are both in my prayers. And remember, you do have the other three cats who remain your responsibility. Your mutual relationships may change significantly after this…

  142. 142.

    frankdawg

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck:

    Actually, given how badly fucked over we have been for the last 30 years if we can’t get better Dems than Lincoln & Lieberman you can kiss my ass good bye, along with anything this country used to be.

    I’m aware of her record, both good and bad. I still bet she is not sworn in & the choice was not between a very weak Dem & a Republican the choice was a Dem (who BTW is not a lot better) who might have beaten the Republican & one that probably won’t.

  143. 143.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    @frankdawg: Lincoln is not comparable to the current non dem Lieberman who is outside the party power structure. She has postured some ugly stuff the past year, but her actions, voting, is what counts. And she has been decent on that. Look, I wish we didn’t have to put up with conservadems in the Senate, but the electoral landscapes dictate we have to, except for folks like B. Nelson and Lieberman, who really are obstructionists of the first order. I wish I could just clone my two fine lib senators Mark Udall and Jeff Bingaman and install them in AR. But it doesn’t work that way. And every seat is precious in the senate, lest the wingers take that crucial body over and some kind of Apocalypse becomes possible. I don’t mean to be an ass on this, but it is too important, and somebody needs to be. And nobody knows if Halter could have won the GE, or if Lincoln can, but our politics are volatile right now, and anything can happen between now and election day, and the power of incumbency can never be ruled out. Why not try, and quit bashing her and grit your teeth for the greater good, and actively support her run. That is all I am saying.

  146. 146.

    grimc

    @Mark S.:

    Long article short: Wetzel is pimping his book on why the BCS sucks.

    You can blame the Big Ten and Pac Ten all you want, but don’t forget Texas and Nebraska. This all started when Nebraska decided it had had enough of Texas claiming the lion’s share of Big XII revenue, so it started dating the Big 10.

    As a Pac-10 fan, I don’t care much about that fight. All I know is year-in and year-out we’re subjected to “Oh, the Pac-10 is soft. They don’t play real football out there.” If this does end up with the Pac-10 scooping up the cream of the Big XII, which it looks like is what’s going to happen next week, the tired claims of SEC and Big 10 superiority become that much thinner.

    I hate the BCS as much as anyone, being an alum of the first school to truly get screwed by it (Ducks in ’01). But it is what it is, and if there are going to be the eaters and the eaten, then good for the Pac 10 for acting aggressively.

    And just for the record, I’d be perfectly happy if it went back to AP voters choosing a national champion and leaving it at that. Computer rankings and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Secretaries’ Poll have always been a crock.

  147. 147.

    Beej

    @John Cole: Well, the Big 12 has already blown up. Colorado has formally applied to join the Pac 10 and Texas and Texas A&M have voted to apply for membership in the Big 10. Nebraska’s Board of Regents meets tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. Expect a decision on whether or not to apply for Big 10 membership by about 4:00 P.M. Presumably, if Nebraska votes to apply, Missouri will too. The school that’s really going to get screwed here is the University of Kansas. They’ve got one of the premier basketball programs in the nation, but their football team has been above average at best. They just hired Turner Gill as their new football coach and I’d be willing to bet that within 3 or 4 years they’re going to have a very good football team. Unfortunately, no major conference has been wooing them.

  150. 150.

    burnspbesq

    @Elisabeth:

    That said, I think coaches are overpaid.

    Some are, some aren’t. I think we get a pretty good return on investment for the less than $2 million we pay Coach K (he gets millions more from Nike). Last year, he was only the third highest paid Duke University employee. The head of Duke Health Services gets paid like a Fortune 500 CEO, and last year one of the people who manages the endowment racked up a $5 million performance bonus.

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