FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Baldini]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/watch-bartch-reporter-make-drink-infamous-smoothie/ar-BB10AZBT?ocid=spartanntp

[hazzben]

Some MIAC / UST context...

Just finished "The Perfect Pass" about Hal Mumme's revolutionizing the passing game and his journey from TX college and HS football to Mount Pleasant, IA to Valdosta State to Kentucky and the SEC. Super interesting read, very good writing.

One piece that stood out. Iowa Wesleyan was utterly terrible at football when Mumme arrived. The President hired him to get enrollment up. And the now defunct Illini - Badger - Hawkeye conference welcomed IWC with open arms (essentially because they'd be cannon fodder for the other teams). Except that once Mumme arrived the 0-10 seasons were over (and the 50-0 blowouts). After a single year of a respectable finish, where they played around .500 football, the conference summarily kicked them out. Other non-con teams like Dubuque simply canceled their games with them.

Keep in mind, this was the poorest/smallest school in the conference. Essentially the other school's excuse was accusing IWC of spending more on aid than was allowed. In reality, IWC was so broke that the President hadn't even allowed Mumme to use all the aid available, and the admissions department was a constant battle to get kids from outside Iowa (aka kids of color from chicago and TX) even accepted with the same profile as rural white Iowa kids (who didn't want to play at IWC because they were so terrible). IWC/Mumme were just flat out beating them with a superior scheme/philosophy that they had no clue how to stop.

It was just fascinating to read given recent MIAC events. Mumme described year one of the off season conference meeting - everyone loved him (basically because they couldn't wait to destroy them on the field). Offseason mtg 2.0, everyone hated him and they kicked em out.

[formerd3db]

hazzben:

Thanks for sharing about Perfect Pass.  It sounds like a great read and I'll have to get a copy of that.

May I recommend another book which you might enjoy?  Forward Pass: The Play That Saved Football, by Philip Brooks (my brother's former head coach at Alma College), Westholme Publishing, LLC (Yardley, PA), 2008.  Although in a somewhat different context, it deals with the development of the forward pass; its history starting with Coach Jesse Harper, who played for and learned from Stagg, then coached Alma i 19-6 and 1907 before moving on to Wabash and putting the Little Giants "on the map" before taking the head job at Notre Dame in 1912 and transforming them into the next level at the time (he coached Knute Rockne his senior year; also Gus Dorias), then invited Alma (yes, little Alma College, his former team) down to play Notre Dame for 4 years in a row (which they got completely creamed and never scored a point in those years-those Alma teams were called the "Suicide Squads!") Anyway, Alma and Notre Dame used the forward pass in the 1912 game before ND used it against Army, when it really became "public."

Anyway, it is a well written/well researched book and good read also.

[OzJohnnie]

There are Doomsday Preppers and then there are Doomsday Preppers.  Mrz Oz is the second type of prepper.  I came back from walking the dog at 6:30am this morning and found this on the front step.  Our a$$e$ may be sore in the apocalypse but we'll die happy and in style.

[stanbob]

There are Doomsday Preppers and then there are Doomsday Preppers.  Mrz Oz is the second type of prepper.  I came back from walking the dog at 6:30am this morning and found this on the front step.  Our a$$e$ may be sore in the apocalypse but we'll die happy and in style.

I knew she had style when I met her...

[hazzben]

hazzben:

Thanks for sharing about Perfect Pass.  It sounds like a great read and I'll have to get a copy of that.

May I recommend another book which you might enjoy?  Forward Pass: The Play That Saved Football, by Philip Brooks (my brother's former head coach at Alma College), Westholme Publishing, LLC (Yardley, PA), 2008.  Although in a somewhat different context, it deals with the development of the forward pass; its history starting with Coach Jesse Harper, who played for and learned from Stagg, then coached Alma i 19-6 and 1907 before moving on to Wabash and putting the Little Giants "on the map" before taking the head job at Notre Dame in 1912 and transforming them into the next level at the time (he coached Knute Rockne his senior year; also Gus Dorias), then invited Alma (yes, little Alma College, his former team) down to play Notre Dame for 4 years in a row (which they got completely creamed and never scored a point in those years-those Alma teams were called the "Suicide Squads!") Anyway, Alma and Notre Dame used the forward pass in the 1912 game before ND used it against Army, when it really became "public."

Anyway, it is a well written/well researched book and good read also.

I'll have to check it out. The development of the passing game is actually a main part of The Perfect Pass as well. Fascinating how resistant football coaches were to adopting the passing game.

[DuffMan]

Fascinating how resistant football coaches were to adopting the passing game.

Terry Horan is still resisting.

[OzJohnnie]

Chuckle.  +k

[hazzben]

Fascinating how resistant football coaches were to adopting the passing game.

Terry Horan is still resisting.

Resistance is futile ...

[SagatagSam]

Just got this in an e-mail from SJU:

"Update: Ticket Sales for November 7, 2020 Johnnie Tommie Football Game at U.S. Bank Stadium

U.S. Bank Stadium officials have notified both Saint John's and St. Thomas that ticket sales have been moved back to Friday, March 27, 2020. More information will be coming."

I wonder what happened?

[OzJohnnie]

Just got this in an e-mail from SJU:

"Update: Ticket Sales for November 7, 2020 Johnnie Tommie Football Game at U.S. Bank Stadium

U.S. Bank Stadium officials have notified both Saint John's and St. Thomas that ticket sales have been moved back to Friday, March 27, 2020. More information will be coming."

I wonder what happened?

My guess is a last minute price adjustment. Or they need more time to gauge the optimal price.

[SagatagSam]

Just got this in an e-mail from SJU:

"Update: Ticket Sales for November 7, 2020 Johnnie Tommie Football Game at U.S. Bank Stadium

U.S. Bank Stadium officials have notified both Saint John's and St. Thomas that ticket sales have been moved back to Friday, March 27, 2020. More information will be coming."

I wonder what happened?

My guess is a last minute price adjustment. Or they need more time to gauge the optimal price.

Personally, I'm fine with it. The game isn't for another eight months. I'd even be OK if they pushed the on-sale to May or June. My place in line won't change anytime soon.

[stanbob]

In caronavirus/CoNV19/SARS2 news...

Education is a huge export industry for Australia.  It's been nurturing the upper class Chinese market for years. Melbourne University, my #1's school, has at least 40% international students. #1's course of Commerce, similar to a bachelor of science in business, has a little over 50% of the student body from Asia, predominantly China.

Well, CV hasn't broken out in Australia (some tourists in Queensland were rounded up and the other cases have all come from people in quarantine after returning from the cruise ship in the Japanese harbour).  But the travel restrictions and quarantines have devastated attendance at the universities and the force majeure withdrawals have devastated the coffers. So Melbourne University have today offered Chinese students a $7000 cash payment to cover travel, quarantine, food, etc, in order to encourage those students to figure out a way to get to school.

Australia had pursued economic partnership with China to a huge degree and great benefit (the last recession in Oz was 1991, not even the 2008 financial crisis sent us backwards). China getting it in the neck, though, is going to be extremely hard on the Oz economy.  I hope the world soon settles in "this is a really bad flu but let's just get on with it."

Cindy and I are supposed to be headed for Italy in April hope this all gets figured out.

I'm due to go to London for work in a couple of weeks - curious if that'll end up being cancelled or not.

Edit: and a now the meeting is cancelled, so that was fast...

As of now, our travel agency is exploring "other options" and the plan as of now is to "not to travel to Italy in April".  And of course pandemics are not covered by travelers insurance.

[OzJohnnie]

Knife fights in the toilet paper isle of a supermarket in a Sydney suburb!

https://twitter.com/2GB873/status/1235036153801129984?s=20

[OzJohnnie]