FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[joelmama]

Year        "AGE"        K/9 IP        K:BB Ratio        ERA           ERA, +/- %-wise vs. League
2003       28             6.9             3.1                   3.20          +41%
2004       29             6.6             2.2                   3.60          +26%
2005       30             5.4             1.8                   3.98          +2%
2006       31             5.3             1.6                   4.83          -9%
2007       32             4.0             1.1                   4.93          -5%

YIKES!  Those trends aren't moving in the right direction AT ALL.  Hernandez is a pitcher who is striking out fewer batters while walking more.  To top it all off, he's getting older.  The "33" he'll be this year could be considered an "old" 33 in that he's pitched a ton of innings and had a lot of high-pitch-count games (more of both than any other recent pitcher) and he's from Cuba and has faced suspicion about his actual age pretty much from the day he got off the boat.  What this looks like, to me, is a pitcher who has been overworked and is about the fall off the proverbial performance cliff, and the Twins will be lucky if they are not the team holding the bag when it happens.  Add in the fact that Hernandez is moving to a distinctly more offensive league (AL vs. NL), division (AL Central vs. NL West) and home park (Metrodome vs. RFK Stadium, at least.  Chase Field is a terrific hitters' park) and I doubt Hernandez posts a 2008 ERA below 5.50.

I would give you even money he wont be under 6.00 ERA

[Kilted Rat]

We're in America, burden of proof is on the accuser. Ask your fellow Johnnie judge guy. Looking at the # of posts you guys have it appears you have more time to look into it.

Or maybe just more to talk about and a longer season!

[finsleft]

We're in America, burden of proof is on the accuser. Ask your fellow Johnnie judge guy. Looking at the # of posts you guys have it appears you have more time to look into it.

We're way too busy posting to look sh!t up.

[tmerton]

Speaking of professional FB, did anyone see this?

Kenechi Udeze, a starting defensive end for the Vikings, has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia, team sources have confirmed.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/15534342.html

Sad news; prayers for him and his family.

[tmerton]

Okay two birds with one stone here

First, this is something for the lawyers (Fins, JJR, Johnnie Esq.) and a question whether this would be a problem in a good hunting state like MN.

Second, just something else to show us that the events surrounding D-I football are a whole other world.

Oooh, just realized - this is three birds!  It's something special for Summander as well.

Gun halts deposition in Reggie Bush case

Charles Robinson and Jason Cole
Yahoo! Sports

In another bizarre turn in the lawsuit brought against former USC star Reggie Bush, the deposition of New Era Sports co-founder Lloyd Lake came to an unexpected halt Tuesday after a man sitting in on the proceedings revealed he was carrying a handgun.

Lake was prepared to testify under oath about the $291,000 in alleged extra benefits his failed sports agency gave to Bush and his family. But that testimony was scuttled after Lake and his attorney, Brian Watkins, say they discovered Bush's attorneys had brought an armed observer to the proceedings. Watkins and Lake said Bush's attorneys – David Cornwell and Kevin Leichter – refused to reveal why the man was present. Lake's attorneys said they interpreted his presence as an attempt to intimidate their client.

"The guy sat with his arms folded the whole time, staring at Lloyd," Watkins said. "Then he opened up his jacket and you could see that he had a gun on him. I asked (Bush's attorneys) to identify him, and they refused to even tell me his name. Then after going back and forth about it, they told me his name, but wouldn't tell me who he was working for or why he was there. I wanted a business card or something that explained who this guy was."

Watkins said the man followed Lake in "an intimidating manner" almost immediately after he arrived for the deposition, which was set to take place at the San Diego law offices of Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw and Pittman. Watkins said that after following Lake, the man sat down in the area where the deposition was to take place. Watkins said the man didn't identify himself, and instead stared at Lake before eventually opening his jacket to reveal a handgun. At that point, Watkins said he asked that the man leave.

Watkins said he halted the proceedings when the armed man moved "only eight to 10 feet away" from where the deposition was set to take place.

"I'm stunned by their conduct," said Lake's other attorney, Paul Wong. "We take this matter very seriously. You shouldn't be able to bring a gun to a deposition and threaten people. We don't even allow police officers to bring their guns to their own depositions."

Wong said he and Watkins would file a motion for an order of protection from the court in hopes of preventing "further intimidation" when the deposition is rescheduled.

Cornwell did not return a call seeking comment on the developments.

Tuesday's deposition is the first of several that are expected to take place this month, including Bush's, which is slated for Feb. 25.

The depositions are expected to be key pieces of evidence in an ongoing NCAA investigation into whether Bush and his family received improper benefits while he was playing at Southern California. Lake contends that he and business partner Michael Michaels gave Bush and his family $291,000 in benefits as part of a plan to hatch a sports agency around the star. If Bush is found to have accepted the benefits, his Heisman Trophy could be in jeopardy.

Should the NCAA declare him retroactively ineligible during the 2005 season, the Heisman Trust would be forced to determine whether to strip the award. The NCAA's investigation could also impact USC's 2004 and 2005 seasons, including the Trojans' 2004 national championship.

[justadad]

Chris Meidt will always produce all star players, thats where his coaching emphisis is.  He now holds the perfect position for his coaching philosophy.  I think he is a level above where he would dominate (division 1) but he will be successful.  This also improves the college of St Olaf's chance at winning a championship in the future.  While most people will blame the 2008 slide on coach Meidts departure, the ones who really know will understand it is neccesary to win a championship.  Good Luck to the whole Meidt family.

Congrats to Meidt, but...

I got a headache just reading this...  elaborate  on how he would dominate at the DI level.  It is a little different ballgame recruiting "blue chip" Florida prospects than panning for the leftovers to come to MN. 

Who gives a rat's A$$ if you produce all star players.  Last time I checked, the goal of the sport of American Football was to win championships!  And it is the coach's job to mold those "all star" players into a cohesive unit to accomplish said objective.  This is something Meidt was never able to do in Northfield.

Perfect Position now??  He will be the QB coach, and last time I checked the talent at QB in Washington is not at that level.  Maybe, with the REdskins MO recently, he will be promoted to OC in two weeks. Even then, at the NFL level, he will have NO SAY in the talent he is given.  And in recent years, the Redskins have not been a bastian for Free Agents.

Also, not being in the "know", I find it soooooo funny that immediately after Meidt resigns, the OLE faithful strike a daggar in his back as he walks out the door with comments like, "...it is necessary to win a championship".  How quickly you all forget the  year lovefest you had for him.  I don't have nearly the time to look, but I am willing to venture there are 100-200 posts on this baord extolling the fact that Meidt was going to lead the OLEs to the promise land...

Coach Meidt would dominate offensive statistics at the D1 level and produce all stars.  He is an excellent recruiter and an offensive genius.  He will be a great quarterbacks coach.  It is his perfect Job.  From my observations his coaching philosophy is, put the quarterback in the hot seat and apply pressure.  He then teaches them how to succeed and shows them the way.  He builds great leaders and brings out character in them.  I think as an offensive coach he will be successful.  As far as winning championships, that was his soap box, no one pressured him to build it much less stand on it.  I believe the Oles have a better chance with a more balanced approach.  As far as your headache, you mentioned something about a rats A$$.  Keep your head out of there,  read with your glasses on and your mind open.

[cobbernation]

Meidt in the NFL is a surprise to me!  STO has been in the middle of the pack since he arrived and gets a job in the NFL?  Seems like it might not be what you know, but who you know.  Look for Horan to take Bellichick's job when spygate becomes the talk of sportscenter.

Oh, nice pickup today by the twins to get Hernandez.  Look for him to be the opening day starter this season.  In 350 career starts, he is 6 games over .500 and got 5 mil for one season + bonuses if he performs well.

[retagent]

Regarding Army (and other service academies) How do they count athletic scholarships? When you get an appointment to a service academy, there is no tuition since the cost is borne by all taxpayers. What does an athletic scholarship mean in that context?

[mac77]

I'm surprised no one has proposed this yet....but if (recent) history (in St. Paul) has taught us anything......won't Kurt Ramler will be the next head coach at St. Olaf ?

[OleFan]

Regarding Hernandez:  He has struggled to say the least of late.  He is not a huge risk player to sign since you can always cut/trade him if it doesn't work out.  Also Liriano should be back this year.  I am not a huge fan of the signing, but I think the Twins can make it work.

Also, I cannot believe Brewster is getting players from Dallas Skyline.  My experience with the DISD schools leads me to believe he is making a fatal error.

Now on to St. Olaf.  I for one did look up the penalty numbers.  St. Olaf had the third lowest penalty yards per game of any MIAC school.  They 50 for 417 yards in 8 games.  That is 8.34 yards per penalty.  SJU was the lowest at 33 for 247 yards in their 8 games.  That is about 7.48 yards per penalty.  It is a difference of over 20 yards per game, but it is important to note that St. Olaf was not the most penalized team.  Augsburg led the league in penalty yards while Gustavus had the most yards in penalties.  I would have thought that St. Olaf would have been towards the top of the list, but it is not the case.  It is all on the MIAC website. 

Everyone should be excited that Coach Meidt is leaving.  He is a coach that brings many different emotions from every side of the aisle.  I have friends from Bethel that absolutely hate him, but I have current Bethel players and coaches embrace what he has done.  At the Carleton/Olaf basketball game a few weeks ago a few Carleton football players shook hands with Coach Meidt, and they spoke highly of him.  I know plenty of people on this board speak negatively of him, and they are entitled to their opinion.   I thought Meidt would take Olaf to the playoffs.  I am disappointed that it did not happen, but I saw the program improve.  I was not impressed with Coach Miller as a coach, and Meidt gave the school some hope in its athletic program.  That is a positive.  Many people do not know about the work that Coach Meidt and other members of his former staff did for the community of Northfield.  Feel free to criticize someone for what they do on the field. I don't think it is fair to make accusations about a person without fully knowing them.  As a conference we should be excited that one of our own is making this jump.  We have seen some players make the jump to the NFL from the MIAC, but never a coach.  This is an exciting time.  It shows that the MIAC must be doing something right.  This should be a positive, but so many people make it a negative.

[finsleft]

Coach Meidt would dominate offensive statistics at the D1 level and produce all stars.  He is an excellent recruiter and an offensive genius.  He will be a great quarterbacks coach.  It is his perfect Job.  From my observations his coaching philosophy is, put the quarterback in the hot seat and apply pressure.  He then teaches them how to succeed and shows them the way.  He builds great leaders and brings out character in them.  I think as an offensive coach he will be successful.  As far as winning championships, that was his soap box, no one pressured him to build it much less stand on it.  I believe the Oles have a better chance with a more balanced approach.  As far as your headache, you mentioned something about a rats A$$.  Keep your head out of there,  read with your glasses on and your mind open.

See:hyperbole

Spot on, Cobbernation and very astute observation mac77.

You non-Johnnies are putting us to shame. I might have to start looking crap up.

[OleFan]

I'm surprised no one has proposed this yet....but if (recent) history (in St. Paul) has taught us anything......won't Kurt Ramler will be the next head coach at St. Olaf ?

I think Ramler is a great coach, but I am not sure he is the right guy for St. Olaf.  I also think Ramler has an ideal position for him at Carleton.  Coaching is a job where it takes a lot of combinations between a school and a coach.  I am just not sure Ramler would mesh well with St. Olaf.  I am planning on going to the basketball game tomorrow night at Olaf, and I will keep my ears open for any possibilities. 

[DuffMan]

I am planning on going to the basketball game tomorrow night at Olaf, and I will keep my ears open for any possibilities. 

Are you wearing your costume?

[Johnnie Red]

finsleft, will you be heading to the EelPout Fest this weekend in Walker? Anyone else on the board making an appearance?

[sumander]

Oooh, just realized - this is three birds!  It's something special for Summander as well.

Gun halts deposition in Reggie Bush case

Should the NCAA declare him retroactively ineligible during the 2005 season, the Heisman Trust would be forced to determine whether to strip the award. The NCAA's investigation could also impact USC's 2004 and 2005 seasons, including the Trojans' 2004 national championship. [/i]

Tmert, Still hate'n on my Trojan's are you? I haven't even brought up anything nasty about the Golden Domers lately!

Similar to the Gopher basketball team's record being expunged from the Clem Haskins fiasco. They can go ahead an take the wins away on paper, but we all know what happened on the field. Does this taint that? Not in my mind. It does tell me that Reggie Bush is probably not the most honorable and upstanding kid to ever enter USC.

My .02.