Friday, December 28, 2012

A few more notes...

...before another little break.

Ladies, Don't Fear the Reaper, fear The Rapper!


Here's a great list of lists at The New Yorker (via Kottke):


On the topic of lists, view The 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness 2012 hereGarrett Weber-Gale is #62.

Quiz time!  Who can tell me what this is?

 
Startin' soft and slow, like a small earthquake.
And then he lets go, half the valley shakes!
 

 
Over two and a half million of us read Imprimis.  This month's issue was excellent.  Check it out here.

Calvin Coolidge once said that great statesmen are “ambassadors of providence, sent to reveal to us our unknown selves.” What that means is that great statesmen are not going to be around very often. I’d say that the standard of conservative statesmanship today is improving, but too few prominent conservatives are skillful at explaining the problem of the modern bureaucratic state. This form of government proceeds by rules, and rules upon rules, and compliance with those rules becomes a key activity of the entire nation. That results in bureaucracy, and in the inefficiencies of bureaucracy. Constitutional government, on the other hand, proceeds by clearly stated laws.

TAPPS coaches have been follerin' their checklists, right?  If not, print one out here.

If Arlington ISD teachers start packing heat (highly unlikely), they won't be the first in Texas.  Read more here and here.

Read about the nine (9) young ladies that signed on with UH here.

TCU alum Edgar Crespo missed graduation to compete in the Istanbul World Championships...or did he?  More here.

Early registration for 2013 ASCA World Clinic (New Orleans, September 3 - 8) begins January 7.

Quote of the Day

Man is so made that he can only find relaxation
from one kind of labor by taking up another.

François-Anatole Thibault, a.k.a. Anatole France

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Quote of the Day

It's a very good question, very direct,
and I'm not going to answer it.

George Herbert Walker Bush

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Quote of the Day

If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would
give it too much and I would have it on
its knees, miserable, greedy and sick.

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Quote of the Day

I sit on a man's back, choking him and
making him carry me, and yet assure
myself and others that I am very
sorry for him and wish to ease
his lot by all possible means -
except by getting off his back.

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, a.k.a. Leo Tolstoy

Friday, December 21, 2012

Stunner? Not hardly!

The Associated Press is reporting that college foosball has a steroid problem.  Read more here.

Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid policy can face a team whose players have repeatedly tested positive.

NCAA president Dr. Mark Emmert responded to the allegations with this promise of stepped up enforcement:

"It looks like it's time for some extra little testes - I mean a little extra testing - for our athletes."

Not quite up to SW standards, but...

Yesterday I posted on an article detailing Jonathan Roberts and his daring escape over the finishing wall.

It's been suggested that the author has a bright future in covering our sport...maybe for TMZ or a similar outlet...

Quote of the Day

We spend our time searching for
security and hate it when we get it.

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Swimming World Interns Strike Again?

A few years ago, I had some fun with some Swimming World articles written by their interns.  Stuff like "trumped the valiant effort" made me wonder if they were being paid (in donut holes) by the word fancy word.

Those write-ups weren't nearly as funny as this one, though (thanks, SZ!).  Seems someone looked at results from junior nationals and put together a real gem on Jonathan Roberts' (NTN) mile win.


Doubt this "work" is worthy of a Pulitzer, but you can judge for yourself here.

Roberts lived up to the expectations of his supporters in the 1650 yard freestyle event as he went full rampant in the playoff and occupied the crown of the race.

The 17-year-old Roberts faced tough competition from Liam Egan of Crimson Aquatics throughout the race, but with his unrelenting efforts, he managed to escape him over the finishing wall for the title with an effort of 15 minutes and 12.01 seconds.

Either something's been lost in the translation, or our public school system's in worse trouble that we thought!

Attention sponsors!  Don't worry that you've never coached your kids and can barely match names with faces.  Just get that relay together and holler:

We're goin' full rampant in this here playoff!  Anyone
else gonna occupy the crown of the race?  Hell no!!
Hands in!  Full rampant on three!  One, two, three,

FULL RAMPANT!!

No, I'm not steeler247...

...and I have no idear who he/she is.

Saw this thread on the foosball coaches' forum, The Old Coach.

Before you check it out, I'm giving y'all a sorta kinda naughty words warning.  If you're okay with that sort of thing, read it here.

Really loved the one about taking one for the team.

Googled "hit by pitch drilled between numbers" and this one came up:

Quote of the Day

One of the first conditions of happiness
is that the link between Man and
Nature shall not be broken.

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, a.k.a. Leo Tolstoy

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Quote of the Day

It's so much darker when a light goes out than
it would have been if it had never shone.

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Quote of the Day

Truth, like gold, is to be obtained
not by its growth, but by washing
away from it all that is not gold.

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, a.k.a. Leo Tolstoy

Monday, December 17, 2012

Quote of the Day

The modern bureaucratic form of government
cannot remain accountable to the people, so
in the fullness of time it will become despotic.
That's not the intention of anybody who runs
it today, or at least not very many people,
but that is its direction.

Dr. Larry P. Arnn

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Quote of the Day

Any mind that is capable of
real sorrow is capable of good.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Friday, December 14, 2012

Bullcorn!!

Quit yer danged lyin' Title IX-ers!  Erin Buzuvis, have you no shame?  Does Western New England University support your distortions and lies?


Why do you lie about opportunities for female athletes - at the expense of male athletes?  What do you have against the guys?  Is it a revenge issue?  Is there a lot of money in it for you?  Attention?

Or is it just a simple, plain ol' man-hatin' thing?

Today, Buzuvis posted this trash on her Title IX blog.

Seems several schools are adding both men's and women's lax.  You'd think Title-IX'ers would celebrate the addition of athletic opportunities, right?

Wrong!  Have you forgotten all about proportionality?

Let's take on the Rockhurst fib*:

At Rockhurst, women constitute 59.4% of the student body, yet receive 47.1% of athletic opportunities -- a gap of 12.3 percentage points.

The key word there is "receive"?

Her lies are built on a word that just doesn't belong.

Replace "receive" with "take advantage of" and you'll have a much clearer picture of what's going on at Rockhurst and around the country.

Here's the breakdown of current roster numbers at Rockhurst:

Women's volleyball = 19
Men's volleyball = 0 (no program)

Women's golf = 14
Men's golf = 10

Women's basketball = 18
Men's basketball = 20

Women's tennis = 8
Men's tennis = 9

Women's soccer = 34
Men's soccer = 58

Women's softball = 17
Men's baseball = 43

Female athletes = 110 (44%)
Male athletes = 140 (56%)

Looks like some serious inequity, right?  These numbers are actually worse than Erin's, so why am I calling her out?

Males make up less than half the undergrad population, yet they receive take advantage of more than half the athletic opportunities.

Check out the soccer and baseball/softball numbers.  Now do you see the difference between the word "receive" and the phrase "take advantage of"?

The reasonable course of action would be to continue to offer opportunities for both men and women, right?

The Title IX-ers' will instead demand either roster caps for men's sports or the elimination of at least one men's program.


*I went with them because their site is very easy to navigate and pull info from.  Athletes in multiple sports could be the reason my numbers differ from those Buzuvis presents.

Quote of the Day

Have more than thou showest;
Speak less than thou knowest;
Lend less than thou owest.

William Shakespeare

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Rehabbing Image

Donna Lopiano's getting an award.  From the NCAA.  Read more here.


During her time in Austin, she built a great women's athletic department.  Her work there did not manage to destroy the men's programs.

However, after leaving UT, she and the Women's Sports Foundation have bullied school after school into dumping men's sports to comply with proportionality.

Looks like Gary Brown's helping rewrite history for her:

Lopiano remains outspoken on Title IX matters (several times before Congress), emphasizing that compliance with the law shouldn’t come at the expense of eliminating men’s sports.

She also works as a consultant for a real estate firm selling the Brooklyn Bridge and ocean front property in Arizona...

Quote of the Day

Some people see things that are and ask, "Why?"
Some people dream of things that never were and
ask, "Why not?"  Some people have to go to work
and don't have time for all that.

George Denis Patrick Carlin

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Overheard...

...at an afternoon high school practice:

Coach:  It's (the digital paceclock) broken!

Swimmer:  Can't we get out that old twisty clock?

In the days leading up to...

...the annual Blue vs. Gold intrasquad meet, things get a little testy:

Quote of the Day

You can't help someone up a hill without
getting closer to the top yourself.

Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Quote of the Day

When we argue for our limitations,
we get to keep them.

Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh

Monday, December 10, 2012

Quote of the Day

There are some things you learn
best in calm, and some in storm.

Willa Sibert Cather

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Quote of the Day

The highest compliment that you can
pay me is to say that I work hard
every day, that I never dog it.

Wayne Douglas Gretzky

Saturday, December 08, 2012

Quote of the Day

I think the world is run by 'C' students.

Alfred James "Al" McGuire

Friday, December 07, 2012

Quote of the Day

The world breaks everyone, and afterward,
some are strong at the broken places.

Ernest Miller Hemingway

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Quote of the Day

Sternly, remorselessly, fate guides each of us;
only at the beginning, when we're absorbed in
details, in all sorts of nonsense, in ourselves,
are we unaware of its harsh hand.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Quote of the Day

The third-rate mind is only happy when
it is thinking with the majority.  The
second-rate mind is only happy
when it is thinking with the
minority.  The first-rate
mind is only happy
when it is thinking.

Alan Alexander "A.A." Milne

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Quote of the Day

The man who can drive himself
further once the effort gets
painful is the man who will win.

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister

Monday, December 03, 2012

Costas

Best comment I've seen today on the Bob Costas halftime handgun speech:

I don't blame Bob Costas, I blame the microphone.

Rewriting History

 
Tell the average voter that Abe Lincoln was a Republican and the KKK was a Democrat-led organization that killed Republicans and they'll say you're crazy.
 
Media is helping today's politicians rewrite history...

Quote of the Day

Competition is a painful thing,
but it produces great results.

Jerry Flint

Sunday, December 02, 2012

Quote of the Day

If we do everything right, if we do it with
absolute certainty, there's still a thirty
percent chance we're going to get it wrong.

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr.

Saturday, December 01, 2012

Quote of the Day

I can't please everyone.  That's not in my
J.D., you know, not in my job description.

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova

Friday, November 30, 2012

Quote of the Day

And the day came when the risk to remain
tight in a bud was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.

Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira
Nin y Culmell, a.k.a. Anaïs Nin

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Quote of the Day

It's not what you've got, it's what
you use that makes a difference.

Hilary Hinton "Zig" Ziglar

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Quote of the Day

So much of left-wing thought is a kind
of playing with fire by people who
don't even know that fire is hot.

Eric Arthur Blair, a.k.a. George Orwell

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Correction & Apology

I recently compared a site to a checkout stand gossip mag.

I sincerely apologize to Braden Keith and SwimSwam for calling them the National Enquirer of swimming.

I caught a lot of flack for that one - mostly from the folks at the Enquirer.

If you hunt a little (and click on the link), you'll find they're something else entirely.

Thanks to the Speed Endurance Swimming Blog for setting the record straight.

I'm a Ryan Lochte fan, so it pains me to post this:

Despite this, the media/hype machine had already been programmed before London to turn Lochte into a mainstream star and as a result we have had Ryan Lochte appearances coming out of our ears. Post-Olympics, Ryan Lochte is undoubtedly a star... but more a star of TMZ.

Back to the main point:

Turns out, SwimSwam's actually the TMZ of swimming...

Quote of the Day

If all the world's a stage, I want
to operate the trap door.

Paul Beatty

Monday, November 26, 2012

Quote of the Day

If you are not criticized, you
may not be doing much.

Donald Henry Rumsfeld

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Quote of the Day

Parenting is a constant struggle between making
your kid's life better and ruining your own.

Willie Jess Robertson

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Quote of the Day

My definition of a redundancy is
an airbag in a politician's car.

Larry Martin Hagman

Friday, November 23, 2012

Quote of the Day

The world is full of willing people;  some
willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

Robert Lee Frost

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Quote of the Day

Age is mind over matter.  If you
don't mind, it doesn't matter.

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Quote of the Day

The trouble with free elections is that you never
know how they are going to turn out.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Quote of the Day (thanks, JL)

It is the time you have devoted to your
rose that makes your rose so important.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Race to Sixteen

Will the Big XII (currently with ten schools) or the Big 10 (currently with twelve schools) get there first?

It looks like the Big 10 is widening their lead...but at what cost to the student-athletes that don't play foosball or thump-thump?

Two schools that may be headed for the Big 10 (taking them to fourteen?) dumped multiple sports along the way.  They've become sad examples of overspending and Title IX policies gone wrong.

In total, these two schools dumped over a dozen sports in just the past five (5) years.  Even though they still maintain indoor long course facilities, Maryland dropped both men's and women's swimming, while Rutgers kept only the women's squad.

Read more here and here.

Two largely underachieving, financially irresponsible athletic programs are parlaying their geographic proximity to major metropolitan areas into membership in the Big Ten. They've done very little on the field of competition to deserve it. But that's not what drives conference affiliation these days.

Rutgers:

Whatever the final exit fee is, it's still an expensive proposition for an athletic program swimming in red ink. Of course, Rutgers has been that red-ink pool for so long its fingers are pruned.

It cut six sports programs in 2007, and then proceeded to run up even more debt in the years that followed. The Newark Star-Ledger reported that Rutgers athletics spent $26.8 million more than it earned in 2010-11 – a staggering display of financial recklessness that was in part foisted on the general student population via additional fees and tuition.

...and Maryland:

Maryland is facing a $50 million exit fee from the Atlantic Coast Conference, just months after dropping seven athletic programs in July in an attempt to get itself out of multimillion-dollar debt. The students who worked year-round to compete in those programs – and who tend to graduate at a high rate – were expendable in order for the Terrapins to keep up with the Joneses in revenue sports. If the Under Armour booster cares more about 57 combinations of football uniforms than having a swim team, it's expendable.


On the surface, it might look like the decisions by schools to jump from conference to conference happen at the drop of a hat.

Don't believe it.


If you've never believed in conspiracy theories, but might want to start, this could be the one for you.

What, you don't think athletic directors and school presidents ever play golf?  Or have off-the-record chit-chats at annual meetings?

Give me a danged break...

Quote of the Day

Progress is a nice word.  But change is its
motivator and change has its enemies.

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Quote of the Day

In journalism, there has always been a tension
between getting it first and getting it right.

Ellen Goodman

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Quote of the Day

Critics search for ages for the wrong
word, which, to give them credit,
they eventually find.

Peter Alexander Baron von Ustinow,
a.k.a. Sir Peter Ustinov