Old Friend

Don't call Indiana "we." Your act is so damned tired. 3 weeks ago, you couldn't stop whining and wanting Tom Allen fired without any real justification except you don't like him. Stop acting like all of a sudden Indiana is your "we" again because they've had success. Until your concession speech, I doubt anyone really wants to hear from you.

All in how you define chirping, I guess.

Chirping is not fine. There is indeed a fine line, and I understand; but that crap is exactly what I'm talking about, and it's been constant under Tom Allen. Taunting, unsportsmanlike conduct, late hits, bad decisions....fundamentally unsound. I'm on board with ALL criticism of that stuff.

Yeah, and that's true too; but it's not a new problem, which is why I said - while I disagree with some of the criticism of Tom Allen - this stuff? Squarely on him.

In my opinion, we are fundamentally unsound (which is why the facemask is a problem) and we make way too many mental mistakes. Ramsey's pass that just got picked off? Horrible decision. as an example. And horrid execution. How you throw behind a guy from 4 feet is beyond me, but I digress. Late hits, which seem to happen at least once a week. Blocks in the back on every decent special teams return? A facemask on 3rd and 17 on a tackle for loss? To me, there is a consistent lack of discipline.

Is it wrong that I am disappointed we EVER have to have a strategy to recruit against Memphis? I don't care who their coach is....Memphis is in a shitty conference (and I know there's decent basketball, but it's also Kelvin Sampson's conference; and the bottom is just awful), has no meaningful history, isn't a college town, is really doing not much more than playing up the NBA angle, and plays in an NBA building. Completely different program than Indiana and a completely different experience. Not sure why kids would have the same two schools on their lists. I have about as much use for Memphis as I do for Kentucky.

We are absolutely remotely close. Michigan State made it and we beat them twice. Hell, Purdue almost made it a year ago, and beat Indiana by a point. We're not nearly as far off as many think; and I'll take what we gained over what we lost any time. Even though I love Juwon Morgan.

IU 30 Neb 24

To be fair, he was hardly the only one calling out LeBron and others for their stance, or lack thereof on the China situation.

WAY too into pop culture for me. On Twitter, calls everyone he disagrees with a "dumbass," and I don't think he knows much. When he has Rick Venturi on, it's must listen radio; but by himself? I just don't care at all about small towns in southwest Indiana or the seemingly 50% of his time spent on non-sports stuff. I agree he's a nice guy most of the time. So are most people...including Dakich. That said, every show in Indy....to me....has serious holes. Big Joe? A complete buffoon. They let him talk entirely too much. Query and Schultz? Too much "schtick." Dakich is what Dakich is. I can't disagree with many of the complaints anymore; but I still agree with him more often than not. I think the radio here is generally "company line" except Dakich; which may be why he's suspended.

If you find that in Indianapolis, let me know.

And his ratings will grow. Guarantee it.

I absolutely believe that. They've been great at hockey for a long time.

I laugh because of all the things Dan Dakich is, he is no "journalist."

I would bet, based on what the IHSAA is asking for, this is a "recruiting" issue. Culver has kids from everywhere. Having coached at private schools and having kids who attend them, I can tell you with experience it's all but impossible to avoid bending the rules, almost without trying. People talk when they're out and social. Parents and coaches talk at middle school AAU events. People at one school try to convince kids to attend that school almost in passing. My kids have friends who all the time try to convince them to transfer, and a baseball coach at a rival school busted my son's chops to transfer just this past summer. My bet? Galloway proactively reached out to player(s) and family/families without kid making first contact to school. 4 games seems appropriate for that kind of violation. My guess is it's absolutely nothing.

He made a few plays with his legs, a few nice reads and throws to Hendershot in particular, and one good deep throw to Westbrook for a TD. True. He also missed a few very easy throws, left a couple others short, and made several others which arrived late. He showed every reason why he lost his job to begin with (consistency and arm strength). He's a decent backup QB and did just enough; but he also showed why the playbook is condensed and limited with him vs. Penix. Congratulations to him and to the team; but seeing him for who he is was pretty obvious today. I'm not going to pick on him, but it's not objective to glorify him, either.

You make me laugh at least once a day. The NBA. For Justin Smith. That's funny. And a random "Maurice Harkless" reference? Is that your way of saying "look at how much basketball I know!" ? Justin Smith. In the NBA as a "defensive guy," but you blow off the references I made. My God, man. Well...thank you for the laugh. Not sure it's what you were after, but I did.

Indiana 33 Maryland 17

IU Football will be IU Football until divisions are re-aligned. 7-8 wins is the ceiling and that is attainable. Trending positive. IU Basketball is in a great position for the long haul and they'll be fine for the short term. I'm not sure how anyone can look at the program and players we have and have coming and think otherwise. Will it mean national titles? Nobody knows. It DOES mean we'll have opportunities. You have to stop looking for track records because not a single circumstance is even similar. Crean left the cupboard bare. That's just truth. Archie has done about as well as he could re-stocking it, and if anyone says he's doing a poor job, they're being intellectually dishonest. What do you consider a low bar? Winning Big Ten titles or being in the top 4 consistently and making the NCAA tournament consistently with good results frequently is not a low bar. You accomplish what you can, and sometimes luck or circumstances take you farther or get you beat before you want to; but NCAA championships cannot be an expectation yet. Consistent success can, and I think it is. What's the low bar? IU football has a definite ceiling and a lower bar than some, but it's in pretty good shape at the moment. For what do you blame Glass aside from perhaps a quick hire of Allen?

Yeah, I got a large coffee today. It lasted a while. Sorry, =)

Okay, help me. I need to make sure I have this right. * Illinois football is bad. In far worse shape than Indiana. That cannot be argued at the moment. But we're using them as a comparison that means we should fire both our coaches in football AND basketball, along with our athletic director. * Illinois hired a "big name" who has a record of 11-31 in his tenure there. Yet he's somehow better than Tom Allen....... * Who was a DC at Ole Miss where he turned around a defense ranked last in FBS to one of the better ones in several categories. Who was DC at South Florida where his defense ranked #1 in its conference. Who turned around Indiana's defense in a single season, but many b*tched that we hired a high school coach (never mind that many schools hire successful coordinators as their coach...I don't remember those people b*tching when we hired Wilson...who was a successful OC with zero head coaching experience).... I digress. * Illinois has a bowling alley and a slide (a slide....) in its football facility, which is supposed to mean something for the future, and we're comparing Indiana dis-favorably to Illinois because of it? * Yet the positive things that are happening in our program and in our basketball program which indicate a more positive future are ignored so we can fire OUR coaches? (this one's important....I need to understand whether or not the positives at Indiana are even noticed. My guess for some is "no.") * If Indiana adds a teeter totter, a 4-square court, and a merry go round; and maybe a sand volleyball pit or tether-ball, it will mean we're keeping up with the Jones's? * Indiana needs everything every other school has, or we're not providing enough "amenities." That about the size of it?

After year 2 and only year 1 with any of his recruits playing at all; given the roster, recruiting, and everything else you see; do people really want Archie fired now? Or...if not, do you want his seat hot enough that he feels it this season? That would be a huge mistake in my mind. 1) If "get old and stay old" is a strategy we agree on unless we can get 3-4 five star kids every year, doesn't it make sense to at least let us GET old? 2) Whoever we'd hire would be the 6th coach in 14 years. (Davis, Sampson, Dakich, Crean, Miller, and _____). Who would we legitimately attract with that carousel and obvious "win now or else" pressure? 3) If you do want him fired now, what is it you don't see happening which makes you think he needs to go? I know the records of his first 2 seasons. Leave those out. I think the "why" matters, and the "why" is legitimate in my mind. As of this moment, given what you see and what you know.....about now and what you can surmise about the future, why do you think he needs to go NOW? My 2 cents? He has recruited back to back Indiana Mr. Basketball and is likely to have a 3rd in a row already in hand. He has 2018 Ohio Mr. Basketball healthy, which I think is an "X factor" this season. He is building depth. I happen to know a former player pretty well (who remains close enough to the program for me to trust) who's told me the players are 100% bought in to Archie. The chemistry is allegedly 180* different than the poison a year ago. Everyone (according to the players) is on the same page and on the same agenda. Not true a year ago, even if I realize he had to recruit Romeo. We have depth (and perhaps the deepest front court in the Big Ten), a growing basketball IQ, players who work hard, and I saw a much improved team late last season compared to earlier in the year. And I saw HIM grow last season given play on the floor, some things that changed on the floor, and the fact that he jettisoned some dead weight. I prefer good coaches who will stay above a carousel of coaches because fans are impatient. I see no reason to fire him now or even have the discussion. I see no reason to light the match under his seat at this point. I think he needs at least another year, and maybe 2; and if given that time, I see consistent success in Indiana's future; and by that I mean consistent 22-24+ wins and top 3-4 conference finishes and NCAA tournaments every season. Results will be what they'll be beyond that; but Indiana will be in the discussion consistently. If that doesn't begin to manifest in the next 2 seasons, I can see the discussion having some merit; but I think those discussions now are premature and frankly pretty short-sighted.

He has consistently been at the bottom of the power 5 conference in YPA. A year ago he was last among starters. His receivers also were top 5 in yards after catch, and I've said from the beginning he struggles to get the ball down field and he did again today. What's your point? On top of it, I wasn't even aiming that anywhere near your general direction, but hey.....why miss an opportunity, right? After all, it's an easy mark and you've had a bad day. I get it.

Remember when I told you when the basketball team succeeds and the football team goes to a bowl game this year (and Tom Allen finishes the season with the highest winning % of any coach in IU history over his tenure), you'd have nothing to b*tch about and you'd melt down? I would imagine many of your posts would begin with something like "oh, shove it." I can see it coming a mile away.

On another note, I did have to laugh. Ramsey completed 4 passes and averaged 2.5 yards/attempt.