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):

The Hundred Best Lists of All Time

On the topic of lists, view The 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness 2012 here.  Garrett 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

Quote of the Day

It's a very good question, very direct,

and I'm not going to answer it.

George Herbert Walker Bush

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Quote of the Day

Any mind that is capable of

real sorrow is capable of good.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

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

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

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.

Quote of the Day

When we argue for our limitations,

we get to keep them.

Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh

Quote of the Day

There are some things you learn

best in calm, and some in storm.

Willa Sibert Cather

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

Quote of the Day

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

Alfred James "Al" McGuire

Quote of the Day

The world breaks everyone, and afterward,

some are strong at the broken places.

Ernest Miller Hemingway

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Quote of the Day

It's not what you've got, it's what

you use that makes a difference.

Hilary Hinton "Zig" Ziglar

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

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

Quote of the Day

If you are not criticized, you

may not be doing much.

Donald Henry Rumsfeld

Quote of the Day

Parenting is a constant struggle between making

your kid's life better and ruining your own.

Willie Jess Robertson

Quote of the Day

My definition of a redundancy is

an airbag in a politician's car.

Larry Martin Hagman

Quote of the Day

The world is full of willing people;  some

willing to work, the rest willing to let them.

Robert Lee Frost

Quote of the Day

Age is mind over matter.  If you

don't mind, it doesn't matter.

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige

Quote of the Day

The trouble with free elections is that you never

know how they are going to turn out.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov

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

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

Quote of the Day

In journalism, there has always been a tension

between getting it first and getting it right.

Ellen Goodman

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