brtjohns

thats a big step.  a lot more needs to be done to clean and restructure fifa.  the system for bidding, voting, etc is so susceptible to corruption.  talkin bruce to caitlyn kinda makeover.  stay tuned, much more to come, eg qatar 2022 stay or go, us vs russia, blatter's specific criminal activity... wonder what the final straw was... swiss officials, fbi, garcia report, uefa, sponsors were all shootin flamethrowers at him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr6ar3xJL_Q   jack warner citing an onion article in his attempt to blast the u.s. is the closest thing to perfect i've ever seen and likely will ever see.

solid season, looking forward to the next one.  exceeded most people's expectations getting to a regional.  great careers for donley, nolden, sujka, halstead, harrison -- all helped us get to omaha.  now we watch the draft on june 8 for miller and krupa’s names as we did with ockimey last year.  fineman will probably get drafted late but he seems set on being here.  effross and kelzer are iffy, have to think their draft stocks have dropped due to the sore elbow issue and inconsistency, respectively.  kelzer’s for sure; i think he’ll be here next year.  wouldnt count on the same for effross.   pick us up illini hawkeyes terps...

man, let that bunt drop and you have the easiest double play of the year.

c-rod had plenty of time to get the 1st out at 2nd.  we could've been out of this inning 3-2 five minutes ago.

dj you better be loud and proud down there.  you and whomever you're with should just plan on not saying a word on the drive up tonight because you literally dont have your voices.   dedes is a star.  what a slide by hartong.  morris looks to be throwing with confidence.   vandy is the defending national champ, in case anyone didnt know.  81.3% of teams that win their first two regional games advance to the super regional.

wouldnt be so sure of that, though you might be right.  fifa is nothing without uefa, which is strongly pushing for postponement of the election and throwing a ton of shade at 'em.  i've read the majority of europe and usa back prince ali, the only person still challenging blatter for fifa president.  also of note, a substantial portion of fifa's income comes from usa-based sponsors like visa, mcdonalds, coca-cola, etc.  if some of those corps opt to sever their relationship, in addition to inevitable progressively stronger intimidation tactics by uefa, what fifa would then feel with blatter at the helm would make its current condition feel orgasmic.  fifa would clealry see their power is not as large as it thinks it is if certain leaders, organizations and corporations united against them.   it's a criminal case now.  the us government has said it wont be involved in the russia and qatar world cup investigation, however the swiss and other countries that want a piece are/will be all over it.  none of this might not have even manifested if they didnt take the qatar related bribes.  rewarding a world cup to a place like qatar is the stupidest and biggest red flag in the history of everything.  everyone and their dog knew that was dirty.  fifa ought to be brought to its knees for something so foolish.   there's little doubt blatter is the most hated man in sports now.  he recently dubbed himself "the godfather of womens soccer in fifa" despite his history of misogny and sexism.  a while ago, when asked what could make womens soccer more popular, he actually answered shorter shorts.  he apparently thought it'd be funny.  furthermore, when abby wambach and alex morgan, two of the most prolific players in womens soccer, met him at their respective fifa ballon d'or (world poy) galas, he genuinely didnt recognize them.  wambach said blatter thought her wife was marta, a brazilian who has been considered the best female player in the world for the past several years.  and we cant forget the upcoming world cup being played on turf for the first time ever, something that would never come close to happening on the mens side.   i cant wait to hear jon oliver's take on all of this.

i dont dislike this draw.  though it's certainly a large task, we can beat vanderbilt and radford, then the likely super regional foe would be a familiar illinois.  won 6/8 on the road vs c of c-notre dame-kentucky-maryland... 4/4 sweep at home vs national seeds louisville & fullerton.  11-10 vs ncaat teams.   prediction:  illini play in omaha.

congrats illini and wolverines. i cant see osu or msu getting in.  performed too poorly down the stretch and vs top 50.  expect to see illinois, iowa, indiana, maryland, michigan rep b1g in ncaat.  it'd be nice to win some regionals as the conference is ascending.  doubt illini get a national seed now, but will certainly host. according to d1b:  indiana 34 rpi, arizona st 33 rpi.  sun devils play their final regular season game vs usc today.

http://www.iuhoosiers.com/ot/ind-crimson-gold-cup-14-15.html   formerly the crimson & gold cup, this is the 11th year of the series, IU leading 6-2-2. past results: http://www.iuhoosiers.com/ot/ind-crimson-gold-cup-archives.html   I or ccg will continually update this thread as we take on the purdouchers this season.   2014-15 Winner: PU, 10.0 - 9.0    volleyball  |  10/8  |  turdue  |  .5  --  pu (3-0) volleyball  |  10/11  |  b-town  |  .5  --  pu (3-1) w soccer  |  10/25  |  turdue  |  1  --  IU (1-0) m cross country  |  11/2  |  b1g  |  1  --  IU (4th), pu (9th) w cross country  |  11/2  |  b1g  |  1  --  IU (6th), pu (8th) football  |  11/29  |  b-town  |  1  --  IU (23-16) w basketball  |  1/4  |  turdue  |  .5  --  pu (86-64) m basketball  |  1/28  |  turdue  |  .5  --  pu (83-67) w basketball  |  2/2  |  b-town  |  .5  --  IU (72-55) w swim & dive  |  2/18-21  |  b1g  |  1  --  IU (591-388) m basketball  |  2/19  |  b-town  |  .5  --  pu (67-63) wrestling  |  2/20  |  turdue  |  1  --  pu (30-9) m swim & dive  |  2/25-28  |  b1g  |  1  --  IU (551-401.5) m indoor track & field  |  2/27-28  |  b1g  |  1  --  IU (49-37) w indoor track & field  |  2/27-28  |  b1g  |  1 --  pu (68-34) w tennis  |  3/13  |  turdue  |  1  --  pu (6-1) m tennis  |  4/15  |  b-town  |  1  --  IU (4-0) softball (dh)  |  4/22  |  b-town  |  1  --  .5 IU (6-3), .5 pu (3-4) w golf  |  4/24-26  |  b1g  |  1  -- pu (3rd), IU (11th) m golf  |  4/24-26  |  b1g  |  1  -- pu (8th), IU (12th) m outdoor track & field  |  5/15-17  |  b1g  |  1  -- pu (8th), IU (12th) w outdoor track & field  |  5/15-17  |  b1g  |  1  -- pu (6th), IU (12th)   hoo hoo hoo hoosiers!

we're in, no doubt about it.  our strong finish and grueling schedule paid dividends.  osu, msu and nebraska are likely out, and maryland probably needs to win one more to feel confident.  terps dont win another, they're feeling about like we did about our basketball squad a few months ago.  osu went 7-14 vs d1b's rpi top 50 and lost 10 of their last 14.  msu lost 4 of their last 5 and went 7-12 vs d1b's rpi top 50.  michigan will need to win it all.  good bet is illinois, iowa, indiana, maryland from the b1g.  the most ever from the b1g is 3.

btt seeds are set: 1-8 illinois, iowa, michigan, maryland, msu, indiana, osu, nebraska. one hell of a clutch finish despite the schedule's unforgiving final stretch.  not a disappointing season at all.  when a program that rose to prominence in just the past few years loses the all-american core largely responsible for it and looks to play regional ball the following year, you have to call that a solid season.  hell season isnt over -- do the cinderella dance in the postseason and upgrade solid to fangoddamntastic. lost some games we shouldnt have and the beginning of the conference season was rough, but check out the below wins marked with d1baseball's rpi rank as of today.  overall, we came to play for most of the big games and caught fire when we needed to.  finished 8-2 vs teams currently in d1b's 26-50 rpi.   beat louisville, 13 rpi split @college of charleston, 17 swept osu, 30 beat notre dame, 31 swept cal state fullerton, 33 beat @kentucky, 56 swept @maryland, 61 won long beach st series, 84 won @stanford opening series, 105   17-3 vs those nine good-great teams.  hurts that we went 2-14 vs the six remaining good-greats on the schedule (illinois, iowa, msu, michigan, evansville, indiana st).  above .500 though.  makes for a good resume. big ten could get 5 or 6 teams in, which would be the most ever.  think the record is 3.  illinois and their 26-game win streak will likely be the only team to host, and they have a nice case to land a national seed, especially if they do well in the btt.  d1b gave them the 4-seed and included 6 b1g teams (ill, iowa, osu, msu, maryland, iu) in their most recent field of 64 projection.   tracy smith's sun devils are 31-19 right now vs what will be a top 10 sos after they wrap up at usc.  their fans couldnt be happier with him.   and one last update on next year's leadoff hitter (if he doesnt go pro) whose #3 nationally ranked team is on the verge of advancing to the njcaa world series... in 53 games:  .464/.514/.719 with 4 hr, 38 rbi, 17 dbl, 10 trpl, 18/21 sb

i had the movie linked below called "the culture high" in queue for a while and the davis news today reminded me of that, so i found a couple free hours to watch it.  it is incredibly eye-opening and a must watch.   https://www.primewire.ag/watch-2752620-The-Culture-High   i saw avengers a few weeks ago, before it came out in american theatres.  it's really fascinating that people still go to the movies.

i didnt know a high school to d-league immediate jump was possible.  after a little research, it is true.  the d-league's minimum age is 18 and its contracts are signed and paid through the league, no specific team.  latavious williams was the first high school payer to skip college and sign a d-league contract in 2009.  after a season there and turning 19, he was drafted by miami in 2010.  cant find how many have done it since. the pay is pitiful and unreasonable.  three tier pay structure: top players earn 25,500, mid 19,000, low 13,000.  it's easy to see why a year of college is currently the more desirable route.  you could start earning some money and avoid 3.5 months of writing papers, doing homework, etc by going straight to the d-league, and you'd get just as much exposure, perhaps more, to nba scouts and front offices; however you'd miss out on high d1 college arenas and environments, college coaching, college parties with college babes, march madness, public exposure to build your personal brand right away, playing with and vs your peers, etc all on your university's dime.  the draft will be calling you either way. having said that, it wouldnt be difficult to make the one year of d-league route the more desirable avenue.  a fair boost in pay and some national tv time would do the trick.  if the nba and its d-league worked together to form a pay structure of something like 40, 32, 25 and were able to broadcast just like 8 of the top teams' 50-game schedule on espn or tnt -- boom, one and done phenomenon neutered.

it's a great premise.  very needed, as well.  essentially a usa u19 travel team.  the 700k salary seems heavy, and it's unnecessary to insist on targeting 'mcdonalds all americans'.  just state that it'd be another option for top prospects who have no interest in college to further play and develop until they meet the nba's age requirement.  there would have to be some kind of qualification if it's limited to one squad because dozens of the top prep players every year would be interested in this.  a handful of teams could easily be filled if funding can support it. the one and done phenomenon wouldnt completely disappear from the college game.  there would still be top prospects who want to play college, and there would still be freshman unexpectedly blow up and opt for the draft.  that isnt going away until the nba changes its rule of age 19 and one year removed of high school.  so if you're just looking at how this would impact the college game, it'd be both positive and negative.  dominantly positive, imo.  on the good side, it would restore some integrity and purify it a bit.  scholarships once again given to players who actually desire college.  the college game would probably get a boost in balance and parity.  on the bad, the talent level would decrease, though the style and quality of play could become more appealing without the heralded fab frosh focus on showcasing and increasing their draft stock. something like this is needed, though it would be concerning if too many chose to forgo college.  the best solution is the nba expand and create capacity in the d-league for top prospects with obvious, draftable potential.  the owners could keep their precious age 19 and one year removed of high school requirement.  they dont have to see the nba roster right away.  draft on potential, like whats being done anyway, and see them develop in the d-league a year or two, then get promoted.  these players wouldnt be paid anything near 700k in this route but it's better than forcing them to a college campus, a place they dont want to be.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/3kgIZPgASf4

hopefully the fight's uploaded on youtube so if you're like me and often have trouble falling asleep, we now have a quick, fail-proof remedy.  fairly certain i've never seen a more boring fight.  the boxing experts and former stars wanted this fight to "wake up" the sport.  mission failed.  your biggest star just ran and wrapped the entire night.  pac punched a lot of air though.  neither really deserved the win, though i would've given it to pac.  at least he broke a sweat.  mayweather didnt earn a penny of the 9 figures he's takin home.

even if he wasnt a bigoted, childlish, arrogant, hypocritical, misogynistic, cowardly prick, i couldnt root for this:     blew up on twitter today  :lol: :lol:   :laugh: :laugh:

couldnt disagree more with the general tone of this thread.  this issue wouldnt even exist had c-wat not made that shot.  iu-uk would've simply proceeded to play the last 3 seasons and counting home-and-home.  seems the majority of our fanbase has switched its strong stance of "this rivalry deserves home-and-home" to "i dont care where it's played, just play".  somewhat painful to read.  i think it's a massive disgrace to move any college basketball rivalry game, especially one of this prestige, away from the home courts.  neutral sites are for tournaments.  these border-sharing bluebloods battling nailbiters on the hall and rupp's iconic courts in front of a student and fan crowd so hyped that it's nearly blowing the lid off these historic venues is what makes the iu-uk rivalry stand out from so many.  you could not convince me that the watshot would have an identical or greater feel if it had happened in rca, freedom or lucas oil as opposed to the hall or rupp.  the college basketball rivalry environment and stadium energy produced on a home court cannot be replicated at any other level of basketball.  i for one do not want to see that trashed because kentucky is still butthurt, and wants to use this game to further bolster their brand.  as i've firmly held for the past few years, until the kentucky staff's cowardice and hypocrisy dissolves, **** em.  our season, at least to me, doesnt feel cheapened if they're not on the schedule.  they are not a prize or requirement.  we can easily manufacture a strong sos without the cats, and please for the love of god lets stop acting like they're this big king-of-the-playground bully we just have to take a swing at.  it's also nice to not hear dickie v rant about how the hall should be renamed the knight hall, center, whatever.

has anyone heard if we'll still be eligible to win despite wearing new zealand's practice jerseys complemented by neon urine socks?

  yes.  knew there was another seemingly obvious scenario that i wanted to add to my points.  couldnt think of it.  thats exactly it, you see it all the time.  they're inning killers.   pitchers have just proven to have no business being at the plate, period.  in a sport that has way too much downtime as it is, replacing a pitcher's bat with a dh's is, to me, a must.

in my mind there's 4 primary reasons for the national league to adopt the dh: - al has a big advantage attracting players like cruz, mccann, gattis, etc. when they hit free agency or deadline deals.  same might be said for starters and nl. - when nl goes to al parks for interleague play, nl uses a bench hitter.  bench hitters rarely rival a dh. - in the nl, when a starter is pitching well and it's late in a close game, often the manager is forced to remove him come his spot in the lineup for a legitimate hitter.  everybody wants to see him continue pitching. - pump some energy into the less potent league of this relatively sluggish sport   both leagues need to be the same.  if the leagues never played each other then it wouldnt be an issue, but they do.  i vote for dh.  separate the pitching game from the hitting game, defense from the offense.  when a sport recognizes an opportunity to improve, it should.  i think it's more than a sensible improvement.  al adopted the dh in 1973, so nl pitchers have been given 41 seasons worth of chances to prove they can hold their own and not dull the game...and here we are.  i pay little to no attention when a pitcher comes up to bat.  feels like 9/10 at bats a pitcher fails to either bunt or put the ball in play.   good to see big shuma still obliterating baseballs.  hell of a pick by the cubs front office.

has anybody heard if we're gonna stick with those jerseys?  hope so.

  if i can, after watching recent videos i'd like to change this to jones, alkins, blackwell, davis, brunk.   youtube rawle alkins and watch the videos of the past month.  i thought he was more flash than substance and expected to see taunting.  probably because i cant help but think lance stephenson when i see him.  nope.  i fully admit i was wrong and ignorant.  dude has a nice all-around game and hustles and just dominates the game.  i dont see stephenson's character.  really hope tom1, tom2, chuck and vic can lure him to btown.   i like what i saw from jones and brunk's recent highlight vids too.  stevens isnt as polished as i thought, not that we should back off.  carr would still be a very nice pick-up, just think jones would better fit crean's system.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaxyQ5xZpdE

  i've lost all respect for anybody who's lost an ounce of respect for yogi.  if anything, i've gained a new level of respect for the young man.  this speaks to his desire to again be the leader of this team, willing further investment in the program and classes, and hunger for another march challenge after early losses to syracuse and wichita st.  if he had decided to go pro, i would have completely understood as it's probably the choice i would have made.  would i have agreed to announce my decision at a restaurant in front of media -- doubt it.  would i have used damn near every available hour leading up to the deadline to ponder all options and ramifications of this difficult life decision -- definitely.  good for him and his parents for not giving in to the pressure to expedite the process to ease the fanbase's lack of patience and empathy.   could still use a point guard.  i'm not ready to call this team a final four contender until i see a legitimate defense and how quickly bryant acclimates to the college game.  one thing is for sure: big ten will be the strongest conference in the country, as usual.