Sunday, April 01, 2018
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Dis-n-Dat
That new flu going around? Trust me, you don't want it! I think the term is "debilitating"...
Next up? Rotator cuff surgery for yours truly. Been bad - and getting worse - for a long time. Finally going under the
Exciting NCAA men's D-I meet - records galore - came down to last night. Texas divers really helped out as the Horns took their fourth straight title. Results here
Texas - 449
California - 437.5
Indiana - 422
NC State - 385
Florida - 347
USC - 253
Stanford - 205
Mary Treder Lang, CPA, is running for Secretary of State in Michigan. Why in the world should anyone in Texas care? Hear me out. Granted, Michigan is just one of those "other" forty-nine (49) annoying hangers-on - I'll give ya that.
Still, if we're interested in saving our sport at the Division I level, a Yankee-fied state like Michigan actually matters.
Mary happens to be a partner in crime with James "Benedict Arnold" Webb. That's right, she's a member of the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents - the same dipsticks who think dumping one of their university's most successful athletic programs is a great idear.
Mary claims "I am a certified CPA and as a fiscal conservative - I know how to do more with less."
This "fiscal conservative" is fine with tens of millions of dollars in red ink for the EMU foosball program, but can't see fit to keep a men's swim program that's pretty much self-funded.
As Anonymous said: Button there was nothing more they could take away from us. We already paid for all of our own apparel, fundraised for our training trip and paid for our flights, paid by the hour for parking outside of the pool, and some even used their own suits at conference. We practically sustained ourselves.
Mary's just another gutless politician who won't admit the real reason for under-funding - and then dumping - men's swimming. We know it's not a money issue. We know it's a Title IX problem. We know they need to hit their quota. Just say it, Ms. Lang! It would be refreshing to hear a politician tell the truth, for a change...
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| Jill, Bobby, Pat, & Matt |
Next month, Jill Sterkel will be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Read more here
“I was surprised when I found out,” Sterkel said. “I know there aren’t that many women in the Hall of Fame. But I was most excited about the fact that I was considered a Texan.”
We're Jill fans here at the Button house. She helped make sure we could get Clare her "T" ring for running track and cross country back in the Jack Daniels era.
This from Shannon Clark:
Assistant Coach / Camp Counselor Opportunities
The Aggie Swim Camp at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas has opportunities available for two
or more weeks May 27-June 20 for coaches from college, high school and
club teams who are excited about the opportunity to learn and work with
younger kids and an excellent staff. The Camp is a very successful
operation with over 600 campers over four multiple-day sessions. In
addition to assisting with camp as an assistant coach and camp
counselor, you will also have the opportunity to spend time with
successful collegiate coaches Jay Holmes, Steve Bultman, Tanica Jamison
and Jason Calanog . Free meals and housing are included, as well as a
stipend each week based on experience. Applicants must be 19 years or
older, have attended at least one year of college and have experience as
a competitive swimmer and/or coach. Current First Aid, CPR, and/or
Lifeguard/Safety Training for Swim Coaches are helpful. All staff must
be willing to work a minimum of two weeks in an alcohol/drug free
environment. With our emphasis on stroke, start, and turn technique,
this camp can make a great coaching clinic for any coach. To apply for
this great learning opportunity, please send your resume and a list of
three or more references to Shannon Clark, Camp Director, at aggieswimcamp@gmail.com .
Session 1 - May 27 – June 1 (Full week, Sunday through Friday)
Session 2 - June 3 – 8 (Full week, Sunday through Friday)
Session 3 - June 10 – 15 (Full week, Sunday through Friday)
Session 4 - June 17 – 20 (Half technique week, Sunday through Wednesday)
Check out USA Swimming's Flex membership program here
Lackland Air Force Base (San Antonio) needs a swim coach. Contact Jeb Halfacre
The Southwest Family YMCA (Austin) needs an aquatics program director
Temple HS needs a head coach. Contact Scott Stewart at 254-215-7093
Liberty HS (Frisco ISD) needs a head coach. Contact Ui Womble at 469-633-5891
Also in Frisco, Memorial HS needs a head coach. Contact Derick Roberson
Cy-Fair ISD needs an assistant coaches at Cy-Fair HS (Contact Jeffrey Burnthorn) and Bridgeland HS (contact Bob Perkins)
Cedar Park HS needs a head coach. Contact Kimberly Davies
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Records on Day 1
Real time results of men's NCAA D-I meet are here
Several records broken in Event #1, 800 free relay:
NCAA/Pool/US Open 800 FR - North Carolina State - 6:05.31
American 800 FR - Texas - 6:07.59
NCAA/American/US Open/Pool 200 freestyle - Blake Pieroni (Indiana) - 1:29.63
EMU Men's Swimming Got Webbed
Complicit in the crime is none other than EMU Board of Regents chair & turncoat James "Benedict Arnold" Webb.
Believe it or not, the guy is a former swimming Eagle!
Read the press release here
Hope you muted your b.s. detector, since the piece contains the usual manure:
The move affects 58 male student- athletes and 25 female student-athletes, and once realized an expense reduction of approximately $2.4 million.
Translation - We can avoid the Women's Sports Foundation shakedown if we jettison thirty-four (34) male swimmers. Why bother finding ways to increase our undergrad male student population?
Also, so it doesn't look like a Title IX cave-in, we're going to sacrifice a few women softball & tennis players.
Let's not forget to fudge some numbers to make it look like we'll save millions.
Actually, we'll just funnel that money elsewhere...as you'll see in the next paragraph...
...and is part of our ongoing effort to realign resources to ensure that we continue to invest in high-demand high-quality academic programs and world-class facilities."
Notes- After they've kicked out the men, the women's swimming and diving program will continue training/competing in the same facility. Guess the added lane space counts as turning their cement pond into a world-class facility...
Unfortunately, the women's program will almost certainly suffer in the coming years. The trend toward mediocrity when men's programs are dumped means it's highly unlikely the ladies will improve on this year's 32nd place finish at the NCAA D-I meet.
Finally, in case you still have doubts about the relationship between men's sports cuts and Title IX quotas, I'll leave y'all with this:
The last time EMU changed its sports offerings was in 2000, when both men's tennis and men's soccer were discontinued and women's rowing was added.
Quote of the Day
The art of leadership is saying no,
not yes. It is very easy to say yes.
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| via The Monthly |
Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Misc.
Highest place in 2018 women's NCAA D-I meet for schools w/o a men's team?
That would be the University of Nevada at 24th place.
Their diver - Sharae Zheng - was 2nd in 3m and 3rd in 1m.
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| via US Senate |
Nancy & Billie Jean: Can you please tell me how dropping men's swimming has helped women?
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| via The Boston Herald |
Andrew McCabe, an experienced G-Man, claims to have been misunderstood due to the chaos that surrounded him. If the man couldn't manage to think straight "amidst the chaos," maybe it's best he's no longer Deputy Director of the FBI...
I'll be having rotator cuff surgery later this month. Recovery/rehab is said to be long & miserable...
Women's NCAA D-I results are here. A&M was 3rd & Texas finished 6th. Y'all probably heard about the Aggies putting four up in the 200 breast. Awesome!
Northwood Club (Dallas) needs a summer team coach
Thousand Oaks YMCA (San Antonio) needs an aquatics director
Santa Rita Ranch needs a pool manager
The City of Tyler needs a pool manager
The YMCA of Abilene needs a swim coach
Quote of the Day
...I answered questions truthfully and as accurately as
I could amidst the chaos that surrounded me. And
when I thought my answers were misunderstood,
I contacted investigators to correct them.
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| via Vox |
Andrew George McCabe
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Quote of the Day
It is not clear that intelligence has
any long-term survival value.
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| via Christian Connection |
Stephen William Hawking
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
NISCA Members
Y'all should have gotten an email concerning rule changes. Pete Hugo would like you to complete a survey on proposed NFHS rules changes.
Can't believe nobody has proposed changing wording for fly/breast turns/finishes from "two hands" to "two or more hands" or "at least two hands"...
On a more serious note, can you diving coaches explain why we now call them "voluntary" dives instead of "required" dives? Aren't they still required? What was the rationale for the change? I know it's been a while since the change, but it still bugs me!
Monday, March 12, 2018
Quote of the Day
This time, like all times, is a very good
one, if we but know what to do with it.
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| via Humanities |
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Quote of the Day
There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt
down errors instead of establishing the truth.
Maria Salomea Skłodowska "Marie" Curie
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Quote of the Day
Take a music bath once or twice a week for a
few seasons, and you will find that it is to the
soul what the water bath is to the body.
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| via World War I and America |
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Wednesday, March 07, 2018
This-n-That
Surely y'all remember this "smash" hit:
Read Mark Jedow's NISCA Zone 6 Newsletter here
Clear Springs HS needs an assistant coach. Contact Debbie Fuchs at 281-294-2845
NISCA National Clinic is Sunday, March 18 in Minneapolis. Flyer is here
Mays Family YMCA needs an aquatics director
The City of New Braunfels needs an aquatic specialist
Veterans Memorial HS (San Antonio) needs a head coach. Contact Richard Mendoza at 210-619-0220
Cross Timbers YMCA needs an aquatics coordinator
Space City Aquatic Team (SCAT) needs a head age group coach. Contact Philipp Davydotchkin
West of the Brazos Swim Team needs a summer team coach
Thousand Oaks YMCA needs an assistant coach
Bent Tree Country Club needs an aquatics director (and an arborist)
Monday, March 05, 2018
Thursday, March 01, 2018
Quote of the Day
The greatest lesson in life is to know
that even fools are right sometimes.
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| via Inc |
Winston Churchill
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Quote of the Day
The penalty for success is to be bored
by the people who used to snub you.
 |
| via THEFAMOUSPEOPLE |
Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor
Sunday, February 25, 2018
End of Mack Beggs title match was chaos. Had huge lead, nearly got pinned, then came the crescendo of cheers/boos. pic.twitter.com/FrLixVsTAj— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 24, 2018
Friday, February 23, 2018
Hogan & Woessner Out
USA Swimming pushed out two bigwigs yesterday. Read their letters:
In what is one of the more unusual portions of any resignation letter, Susan beats Sean to the punch with this:
...I engaged in kissing on a single occasion with then-coach Sean Hutchison. I have never had sex with Sean Hutchison.
We're all thankful she got that out there before he did, right?
All kidding aside, it's a shame it's come to this for USA Swimming. We're an organization with tremendous people. It only took a handful to make us look like idiots.
Read more here
Quote of the Day
Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes
a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.
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| via abcNEWS |
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Quote of the Day
I am not a 'yes' person. No matter who you are
married to, you still need to lead your life.
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| via eltiempo |
Melanija Knavs, a.k.a. Melania Trump
Monday, February 19, 2018
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Catch-All
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| via Twitter |
5A
6A
Help! Back in the 90's, I used to put together a 4A mythical state meet. Kind of like Swimming World's mythical national meet. Planning to do it again. I'll need meet result files from 5A district, region, and state meets to make this happen. I'll start working on it once a few results come rolling in.
Also, I'd like to do something similar for middle school/junior high. There are several big middle school meets around the state each year. If I can get those meet files, I might be able to put that together as well.
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| via Swimming World |
SEC's conclude today. Real time results are here
Registration for the 2018 TISCA Clinic is already open here
ASCA Fellows 2018: Call for Applications
Info/registration for 2018 Cap 2k is here
Quote of the Day
In our age there is no such thing as "keeping out
of politics." All issues are political issues, and
politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions,
folly, hatred, and schizophrenia.
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| via Literary Hub |
Eric Arthur Blair, a.k.a. George Orwell
Monday, February 12, 2018
Quote of the Day
The sport I love has taken me around
the world and shown me many things.
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| via National Speedskating Museum |
Bonnie Kathleen Blair
Sunday, February 11, 2018
The Salesman:
Note: Only a matter of time before SwimScam pulls down old articles/videos featuring Hutchison. Might want to - holding nose/biting lip - pay them a visit here
The Athlete:
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| via International Business Times |
“At no time did I ever abuse Ariana Kukors or do anything with her that was not consensual,” the statement said. “I absolutely deny having any sexual or romantic relationship with her before she was old enough to legally make those decisions for herself. Prior to that time, I did nothing to ‘groom’ her.”
“Her younger sister also lived with us for several months and her mother was a regular visitor to our home,” the statement added. “I deeply regret that she would make these wild allegations all these years later.”
She said: My Story
Believe HER
Quote of the Day
While it is true that you learn with age, the
down side is that what you learn is often
what a damn fool you were before.
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| via Encounter Books |
Thomas Sowell
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
Quote of the Day
The more concerned we become over the
things we can't control, the less we will
do with the things we can control.
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| via For the Win |
John Robert Wooden
Sunday, February 04, 2018
Region Meets
First, in case you haven't seen them, unofficial call-up lists are on Scott Scofield's blog:
6A
5A
This is the third straight year Scott has done this for our swimmers, coaches, and fans. Also helping out was Paul Hodges. Thanks, guys!
Now, let's share some of the more unusual things seen at this year's region meets.
Want me to go first? Okay, here's a start:
1. We had officials standing side-by-side to do relay take-off judging. Even if neither noticed what their neighbor had noted on his/her heat sheet, it's NOT how dual confirmation is supposed to be done. No matter how trusted an officiating crew is, the appearance just isn't good!
2. Our prelim 500 free bell-ringer had some trouble getting a good ring out of the bell. While hundreds looked on in amazement, this official held the bell upside down, shook it vigorously, and just couldn't manage to get much of a ring out of it. This went on, heat after heat. If only we'd gotten some sort of chant going to help out..."Turn it over! Turn it over!"
3. A young man was "counting" for lane 7 swimmer in a consolation final heat of the 500 free. Had his Beats on and was really enjoying himself...until the coach realized his count was off by a couple of lengths. Coach was less than ten (10) feet away, hollering at the guy counting. Zero response. Kid just continued to stare off in to space. Finally, coach hopped up on bulkhead, went over to counter, ripped off headphones, and gave the stunned kid hell. Couldn't help myself...said out loud "You're fired!"
4. Our boy divers were 1st & 4th in region, but our dive coach forgot to register with TISCA this year. As a result, I was recognized as boy diving COTY for saying "Divers, go dive" each afternoon.
5. We had a couple of schools qualify relays for consolation finals that no-showed Saturday. Danged sponsors..
6. There was a tie for 4th in the 50 free. Thinking it could impact call-ups, they had a swim-off after the 400 free relay. Complete waste of time & energy. UIL rules state that ties are broken by prelim times. They didn't tie in prelims, so swim-off wasn't necessary.
If anyone has some video of our bell-ringer or lap counter, please post!
Anyone care to share unusual events from their region meets?
Friday, February 02, 2018
2018 Call-Ups
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| via pxhere |
Once again, the UIL asked TISCA not to post call-ups.
Just takes a little twist of the nose ring and our coaches' association toes the line...
Scott's got it covered again this year.
Please help him out by emailing complete (prelims & finals) meet result files from your region meet.
Send them to Scott's email
View call-ups on Scott's site
Quote of the Day
I feel sorry for those who live without competition...
fat, dumb, and unhappy in cradle-to-grave security.
Donald Mcintosh "Don" Kendall
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Quote of the Day
Absolutely, in fact, climate change is directly
related to the growth of terrorism.
 |
| via The Nation |
Bernard "Bernie" Sanders
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
2,189.2 - Take a Hike?
A favorite short video I watched before our thru-hike:
A trailer for the feature film (not sure it's ever been made):
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