The weekend of bloody snow

[WoVeU]

I am rather (call it) known for metaphoric/symbolic story painting and diatribing at work. I got a little (let's call it) excited today, while giving my position and reasons for a particular project layout. I often to refer to the problems that never die around the joint as Frankensteins or Vampires. So as I communicated my desire that a particular portion of work be done thoroughly and expansively, my mind just jumped to the "Weekend of Bloody Snow" and I painted a picture of crimson ice, and the clubbing of seals, followed by drubbing, stomping, more clubbing, splatter patterns...no Jason here...more splatter...more clubbing..."tell me what's the first thing that comes to your mind when you see this splatter pattern!" More clubbing, and so and so forth...

The room drew to total and absolute silence..."silence of the lambs" silent And sunny-side-up eyes were fully ablaze hither and thither! Then the boss with his dry English wit and a 20 year dulled accent, "you know I really have to start keeping a pen and paper handy to get some of these Keithisms on paper!"

(Please note I diatribe on things and processes, not people....I just smack them!)

[Spence]

I am rather (call it) known for metaphoric/symbolic story painting and diatribing at work. I got a little (let's call it) excited today, while giving my position and reasons for a particular project layout. I often to refer to the problems that never die around the joint as Frankensteins or Vampires. So as I communicated my desire that a particular portion of work be done thoroughly and expansively, my mind just jumped to the "Weekend of Bloody Snow" and I painted a picture of crimson ice, and the clubbing of seals, followed by drubbing, stomping, more clubbing, splatter patterns...no Jason here...more splatter...more clubbing..."tell me what's the first thing that comes to your mind when you see this splatter pattern!" More clubbing, and so and so forth...

The room drew to total and absolute silence..."silence of the lambs" silent And sunny-side-up eyes were fully ablaze hither and thither! Then the boss with his dry English wit and a 20 year dulled accent, "you know I really have to start keeping a pen and paper handy to get some of these Keithisms on paper!"

(Please note I diatribe on things and processes, not people....I just smack them!)

OK, now take a deep breath......

[Vileborg]

Ohio St. : I'm guessing the practice squad got to play the last three quarters. I know Spence is upset that they scored 20 points on the towel boy and janitor but I'm sure Tressel even pulled the practice squad in the third quarter. I wouldn't be surprised to find out the cheerleaders were playing in the fourth along with members of the band.

My English professor is an odd sort, but I guess thats why I waited a semester just to get into one of his classes. He used to preach that if you want an audience, speak as if you were speaking to an audience. What he meant was if you want people to listen you need to write on a level they can understand and comprehend. We used to have dumb down sessions where he would read simplistic stories that were well written just so we would know how we should write if we want people to read it. We had a paper where we couldn't use any words over seven letters for the whole paper. It was a fun semester and I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to take English history with him. If anyone can make such a boring subject interesting I have faith he will find a way.

[Spence]

Ohio St. : I'm guessing the practice squad got to play the last three quarters. I know Spence is upset that they scored 20 points on the towel boy and janitor but I'm sure Tressel even pulled the practice squad in the third quarter. I wouldn't be surprised to find out the cheerleaders were playing in the fourth along with members of the band.

My English professor is an odd sort, but I guess thats why I waited a semester just to get into one of his classes. He used to preach that if you want an audience, speak as if you were speaking to an audience. What he meant was if you want people to listen you need to write on a level they can understand and comprehend. We used to have dumb down sessions where he would read simplistic stories that were well written just so we would know how we should write if we want people to read it. We had a paper where we couldn't use any words over seven letters for the whole paper. It was a fun semester and I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to take English history with him. If anyone can make such a boring subject interesting I have faith he will find a way.

Ohio State played the game without 3 of the starting DB's and also without 6 of the total game rotation. Besides that, the first team was in the game for 14 of those 20. Also the game rotation on the lines played most of the game. Ohio State emptied the bench in the game, especially the skill positions, but it isn't like the scored 73 points with the water boy. They had the big boys in for a pretty good period of time.

[donovan]

The problem with that game was not how Ohio State played, or Eastern Michigan. It was that it was scheduled in the first place. OSU defines the problem so there is no solution when they schedule such teams. AND, I see if differently than when a school, like Boise State, plays in a weaker conference. They have no choice. Should there OCC games be better..probably if they want some credibility...but that is a different subject.

All these neo-football terms..like "style points" are buffoonery. I will give it to Mr. Billybud that Florida State has scheduled on a quasi semi regular basis good opponents. They have traveled to meet them and have not shied away from formidable adversaries. The problem is, the flawed system does not recognize that, and all the eloquent and not so eloquent talk does not change the fact that there are losses....as good as Arkansas may be...and I think they are pretty good, they lost. As weak as we want to make VT,Oregon State and Wyoming....Boise won. Would Boise be a run of the mill team in the SEC, ACC or Big 10.....who knows...who cares...the latter being far more accurate in my opinion....and if you don't like that....then kick them out of the 120 teams and get some integrity back to all of this. This same drum gets beat over and over...but in fact...football is running amok from an administration standpoint.

Who is the best team in the country right now? There is not a best team, there is only prejudicial speculation. At the end of all the bowls the answer will still be the same....speculation.

[billybud]

Pretty well put...

The problem is really...the popularity of college football and the drive to anoint a champion.

The last 30 years have seen the rise of the media and the elevation of football as entertainment to such an extent that legislators are now involved.

In reality...teams in the pre BCS past had little chance of being ranked #1 AP unless they beat a couple of other ranked teams. It just didn't happen. The BCS and conference TV contracts and big bowl money have now spotlighted what was, before, a less heated undertaking.

[Spence]

The problem with that game was not how Ohio State played, or Eastern Michigan. It was that it was scheduled in the first place. OSU defines the problem so there is no solution when they schedule such teams. AND, I see if differently than when a school, like Boise State, plays in a weaker conference. They have no choice. Should there OCC games be better..probably if they want some credibility...but that is a different subject.

All these neo-football terms..like "style points" are buffoonery. I will give it to Mr. Billybud that Florida State has scheduled on a quasi semi regular basis good opponents. They have traveled to meet them and have not shied away from formidable adversaries. The problem is, the flawed system does not recognize that, and all the eloquent and not so eloquent talk does not change the fact that there are losses....as good as Arkansas may be...and I think they are pretty good, they lost. As weak as we want to make VT,Oregon State and Wyoming....Boise won. Would Boise be a run of the mill team in the SEC, ACC or Big 10.....who knows...who cares...the latter being far more accurate in my opinion....and if you don't like that....then kick them out of the 120 teams and get some integrity back to all of this. This same drum gets beat over and over...but in fact...football is running amok from an administration standpoint.

Who is the best team in the country right now? There is not a best team, there is only prejudicial speculation. At the end of all the bowls the answer will still be the same....speculation.

I agree. Especially that Ohio State shouldn't be playing Eastern Michigan. To a man, every Buckeye fan I know was saying the same thing before and after the game. Football players practice five days a week they should get a game on Saturday. That is why when I worked on a way to compare teams I didn't have any games like these. Eastern Michigan would play Indiana. That way weaker FBS teams like EMU would have a chance to be compared and get better without having to play in a huge mismatch like they played in Saturday. Games like that don't help anyone and don't advance anything. I have no problem with Ohio State playing the MAC champ and the WAC champ along with the SEC and the ACC champ. That would also give a good comparison along with the conferecnce games of where every team stands compared to everyone else. It would also provide an answer that would be very hard to argue against.