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Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

Mobius
Joined: March 28, 2002 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 1371
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... November 29, 2007 at 10:45 PM UTC #
Originally posted by Brian Wallace:
Originally posted by vansmack:
Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy, did a marathon chat today for the Jimmy V Foundation
Plus, could someone explain to me the entire "Jimmy V" cult? He died of cancer? So did millions of people. What's so special about him? Does he have an inspiring story? Did he make a real difference?

Brian
Perhaps you've noticed that ESPN has a culture. Chris Berman is the spiritual leader. Sports Center anchors tend to be sarcastic and use catch-phrases. And Dick Vitale is college hoops. Jim Valvano's legacy - esp. b/c of his closeness w/ Vitale - is part of that culture. A lot of ESPN's culture is cliche or worse (e.g. Mark May and Lou Holtz), but that's the network's foundation.

Valvano wasn't a saint but is the namesake of a foundation that raises money for cancer research. This may offend you, but the fact that "millions of people" have died of cancer suggests that research to fight cancer is a valuable thing.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... November 29, 2007 at 11:28 PM UTC #
Originally posted by vansmack:
I don't remember who it was that posted that brilliant Maher interview with Kasparov, but this is what he was referring to.

Press release

ODIHR unable to observe Russian Duma elections

Russian Police Detain Kasparov
By AP/MANSUR MIROVALEV

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1687284,00.html
This was the original thread.

And he's your ongoing update. He was released from prison, but promises chaos as the election gets closer (it's Sunday for those that don't know).

I still maintain that his life is in danger.

But it looks straight out of a movie:

<img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/11/29/world/29kasparov.600.jpg" alt=" - " />

And lastly, I'm going to add this to your sylabus as to why Kasparov and other moderates are so worried about Russia:

The rewriting of history

The Kremlin uses its version of the past to forge a new ideology for the present

For those that aren't going to read that link, there's a new history manual sponsored by Putin's people that teaches that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 is not seen as a watershed from which a new history begins, but as an unfortunate and tragic mistake that hindered Russia's progress, Ghorbachev was the worst ruler in Russia's history, Putin is a quasi-czar, and that Russia did not lose the Cold War, Russia simply ended it.

Now, you might want to read that link.
walkonby
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... November 30, 2007 at 07:17 PM UTC #
hey, van, you still in san fran.? i watched this fucking awesome doc. last night. it was called, the wild parrots of telegraph hill. ever been there? i never knew san fran. was so beautiful.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 02, 2007 at 05:46 AM UTC #
Vansmack and Venerable want you to know that:

(1) The Top 4 are automatically eligible

(2) The Top 14 teams have priority

(3) No more than two teams from each divsion of the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 10, Pac 10 or Big East can qualify

(4) Any non "Big Division" team in the top 12 must be picked (Hawaii is currently down by 21)

(5) Rose Bowl gets first pick if (when) one of their teams is picked

Therefore, Illinois and ASU stand to benefit, while Florida and either Mizzou or Kansas stand to lose out despite being in the top 10 in the BCS.

We assume the C in BCS stands for clusterfuck. We are therefore, sympathetic to two things:

(1) Conference Championship corollary (or the Mizzou Rule) - if you make the conference championship, you deserve priority over another divison team who didn't make the conference championship if you're in the top 14 [but we can be swayed to top 10 instead fo 14].

(2) The old bowl format with a "Plus One" Game

This is worse than 2001, but not as bad as 2004.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 04:59 PM UTC #
Originally posted by vansmack:
This was the original thread.


ODIHR unable to observe Russian Duma elections -Press release


Russian Police Detain Kasparov
By AP/MANSUR MIROVALEV


The rewriting of history
Russia's election

How it was rigged

Dec 3rd 2007 | MOSCOW
From Economist.com

A farce of a poll, but Vladimir Putin looks stronger

IT WAS never in doubt that Vladimir Putinâ??s United Russia party would get a sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections on Sunday December 2nd. The entire government machine, the court system, the prosecution service, the police, the state media and even the central commission itself were deployed to produce a landslide victory. The result was programmed months ago: United Russia got its 64%; just three other partiesâ??the Communists, the ultra-nationalist and obedient Liberal Democratic Party and Just Russia, a Kremlin satelliteâ??passed a 7% threshold.

Nor was there any doubt that the poll was rigged.
HoyaSaxa03
Joined: March 22, 2004 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 7053
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 05:14 PM UTC #
Originally posted by vansmack:
ESPN is having a contest for the greatest Sportscenter Commercial of all time
my roommate in college was the georgetown bulldog mascot

he almost killed himself at the ESPN the Magazine "Mascot Picnic" … remember those 2-min ads that ran non-stop on ESPNNEWS for a while? he inexplicably jumped off a picnic table onto an enormous bouncy ball, almost snapped his neck in half

he was also in a pretty good one where he steals some nascar driver's car and does doughnuts in the parking lot
ratioci nation
Joined: November 22, 2002 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4463
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 06:43 PM UTC #
Originally posted by vansmack:
Vansmack and Venerable want you to know that:

(1) The Top 4 are automatically eligible

(2) The Top 14 teams have priority

(3) No more than two teams from each divsion of the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 10, Pac 10 or Big East can qualify

(4) Any non "Big Division" team in the top 12 must be picked (Hawaii is currently down by 21)

(5) Rose Bowl gets first pick if (when) one of their teams is picked

Therefore, Illinois and ASU stand to benefit, while Florida and either Mizzou or Kansas stand to lose out despite being in the top 10 in the BCS.

We assume the C in BCS stands for clusterfuck. We are therefore, sympathetic to two things:

(1) Conference Championship corollary (or the Mizzou Rule) - if you make the conference championship, you deserve priority over another divison team who didn't make the conference championship if you're in the top 14 [but we can be swayed to top 10 instead fo 14].

(2) The old bowl format with a "Plus One" Game

This is worse than 2001, but not as bad as 2004.
Why should anyone bother watching college football until this shit is cleared up. The orange bowl and rose bowl can go fuck themselves.
Rhett Miller
Joined: November 15, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 17762
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 06:45 PM UTC #
Hey Smackie, when are you going over to Russia to help them get things straightened out?
godsshoeshine
Joined: September 18, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4826
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 06:47 PM UTC #
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
Why should anyone bother watching college football until this shit is cleared up. The orange bowl and rose bowl can go fuck themselves.
i dont know about anyone else but i only watch my team (penn state) and even then not every week. might watch the championship game too
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 06:57 PM UTC #
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
Why should anyone bother watching college football until this shit is cleared up. The orange bowl and rose bowl can go fuck themselves.
I am definitely boycotting the Orange Bowl. There's no way I'm watching that.

I will, however, watch the Rose Bowl because they have been consistently against the BCS from the beginning and this is just another show by them as to why the BCS is not the proper solution. I kind of like that they kept tradition and picked an eligible Big 10 team.
ratioci nation
Joined: November 22, 2002 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4463
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 06:59 PM UTC #
Originally posted by vansmack:
I am definitely boycotting the Orange Bowl. There's no way I'm watching that.

I will, however, watch the Rose Bowl because they have been consistently against the BCS from the beginning and this is just another show by them as to why the BCS is not the proper solution. I kind of like that they kept tradition and picked an eligible Big 10 team.
a 3 loss big 10 team that Missouri beat on a neutral field, its bs no matter how you slice it
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 07:08 PM UTC #
Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
Hey Smackie, when are you going over to Russia to help them get things straightened out?
Been there, done that. I'm retired from the International Develoment world, especially in the NIS (and under this administration). There are plenty of young people out there with more enrgy than me who can still make a difference though.

I would like to point this out however: disagree with Chavez all you want, but he put his socialist reforms for Venezuela up for referendum and lost. He was even gracious in defeat. It might not have been a completely fair election by international parlance, but it was 1000 times more fair than Russia.

Both of these votes illustrate, however, that as long as these rulers enjoy huge revenues from gas/oil to buy the peoples vote, people will support them.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 07:14 PM UTC #
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
a 3 loss big 10 team that Missouri beat on a neutral field, its bs no matter how you slice it
I'm not saying it was the best pick, but it at least can be explained by tradition, which was the Rose Bowl's fight with the BCS from the very beginning. They've been consistent.

The Orange Bowl has absolutely no excuse for not picking Mizzou. I can't even imagine it was better for revenues.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 07:24 PM UTC #
BTW - I'll be running a Bowl Pool this year as soon as it's available. I don't think Yahoo has ever done one, so I've been using CBS for the past few years. You pick every game (no spreads) and then rank them based on your confidence in the winner (1-33).

I'm up for suggestions if anyone has any better ideas for a college bowl pool.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 03, 2007 at 07:44 PM UTC #
Originally posted by vansmack:
There's really never going to be much progress in the Islamic World until there can be better understanding of Shar'ia Law and it's inability to adapt to modern basic freedoms:

British Teacher Sentenced to 15 Days in Sudan Prison

It really is going to take brave Muslim leaders in free countries to do more of this to help with all of the disagreements:

Sudan's President pardoned the British School teacher after meeting with two Muslim members of Britain's House of Lords, Nazir Ahmed and Sayeeda Warsi, who had traveled to the predominantly Muslim African nation to lobby for her release.

Kudos to them.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 04, 2007 at 12:44 AM UTC #
Law Professor Estimates His Copyright Liability in the Billions

To make the point that copyright law is wildly out of sync with people's behavior and expectations, a law professor at the University of Utah has published an article describing how he would be liable for an estimated $4.5-billion in damages a year if copyright holders assiduously enforced their rights. The professor, John Tehranian, says he starts the day infringing when he responds to e-mail messages. His responses automatically include copies of the messages on which he is commenting. Within an hour he has replied to and forwarded 20 e-mail messages, making him liable for $3-million in statutory damages, Mr. Tehranian writes in the Utah Law Review. Later, he violates the Copyright Act when he distributes to his students copies of three Internet articles analyzing a Supreme Court decision handed down an hour earlier. And when he bares his chest to go swimming he reveals a Captain Caveman tattoo on his right shoulder.

The professor acknowledges he is assuming a narrow interpretation of fair use and a reading of case law that favors copyright holders. Still, his point is that the law needs fixing. "One must either irrationally conclude that John is a criminal infringer–a veritable grand larcenist–or blithely surmise that copyright law must not mean what it appears to say," he writes. "Something is clearly amiss."–Andrea L. Foster
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 04, 2007 at 05:57 PM UTC #
I woke up this morning with the feeling there was going to be an early Christmas present like the year I found out the Angels signed Vlad. Well, there wasn't anything yet, but I did read this from the BirdMart section (the clearance store for cheap MLB players):

The Orioles and Dodgers met last night and discussed Miguel Tejada, according to two baseball sources. But according to one source, the match between the two teams did not appear to be there. Tejada has let it be known that he is only willing to move to third base if he goes to a contending team.

All of my Dodger fan friends loved that.
godsshoeshine
Joined: September 18, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4826
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know... December 04, 2007 at 06:13 PM UTC #
Originally posted by vansmack:
I woke up this morning with the feeling there was going to be an early Christmas present like the year I found out the Angels signed Vlad.
or last year with larrson
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