Sunday, December 31, 2006
Hello Again
I have not posted regularly during the second half of 2006. I have been busy with a new son, a new time-consuming position in Rotary, and an upturn in my business.
I am not making any promises to do better in 2007, but I hope that my circumstances will allow me more time to blog.
For now, I will be unloading my brain with a few posts on items from the last month or so.
I am not making any promises to do better in 2007, but I hope that my circumstances will allow me more time to blog.
For now, I will be unloading my brain with a few posts on items from the last month or so.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Jimmy Carter a Sexual Tiger?
Amanda Congdon on ABC News
Former Converger Amanda Congdon has crossed the country, and now she has landed with ABC News. This should be interesting.
You Gotta Marvel at Ed Hardin
You gotta marvel at Ed Hardin.
He can create a negative commentary when none is warranted.
This week's target is NC State's athletic department and fans. Amid the hiring of new head football coach Tom O'Brien, formerly of Boston College, Cranky Ed describes the Wolfpack family as so dysfunctional that they are fun to watch.
"There's nothing else like it in collegiate sports, a modern sports machine that soars and crashes with regularity, all the while getting louder and louder, always headed for some great triumph or great fall."
Cranky Ed supports his misguided supposition by citing an unwritten rule that ACC schools do not hire coaches from other conference schools and claims "For the first time since 1956, when North Carolina hired Jim Tatum away from Maryland, an ACC coach has left one school for the other."
Apparently, Hardin forgot about Bobby Ross, who coached Maryland and Georgia Tech in consecutive seasons (with a five week stop in Buffalo in between). Since Ross led the Yellow Jackets to a share of the national title four years later, that is a hard fact to overlook - unless facts get in the way of being cranky.
Hardin also claims State fans do not like the hiring of O'Brien - "The strange thing is, no one seems all that happy about it." Unlike Cranky Ed, I do not claim to know the happiness of every State fan. However, every fan I know thinks O'Brien is a great pick. He has class, he is committed to academics, and he is a proven winner against major competition.
"The silence coming out of N.C. State is from the school's indecision on what to do next. Do they announce it? Do they wait until Monday? Do they continue to allow O'Brien to twist and BC to seethe and all of college football to continue to roll its eyes at N.C. State?"
Cranky Ed misses the mark again with these (mis)statements. Every other media outlet I heard announce O'Brien's hiring reported the formal announcement would be today (Saturday). This delay allowed the Board of Trustees to approve the hire at their Friday evening meeting.
Regular readers of the News & Record know that Ed Hardin usually writes like he is in a bad mood. However, I am disappointed that he misreported and misrepresented the situation to support his flawed thesis.
You really gotta marvel at Ed Hardin.
He gets paid to be the Grinch year round.
***NOTE*** John Newsom of the N&R correctly points out that Bobby Ross made a very brief stop with the Buffalo Bills between the Maryland and Georgia Tech jobs. That part of the post is edited above. I contend that Hardin should have noted that Ross coached at different ACC schools in consecutive seasons.
He can create a negative commentary when none is warranted.
This week's target is NC State's athletic department and fans. Amid the hiring of new head football coach Tom O'Brien, formerly of Boston College, Cranky Ed describes the Wolfpack family as so dysfunctional that they are fun to watch.
"There's nothing else like it in collegiate sports, a modern sports machine that soars and crashes with regularity, all the while getting louder and louder, always headed for some great triumph or great fall."
Cranky Ed supports his misguided supposition by citing an unwritten rule that ACC schools do not hire coaches from other conference schools and claims "For the first time since 1956, when North Carolina hired Jim Tatum away from Maryland, an ACC coach has left one school for the other."
Apparently, Hardin forgot about Bobby Ross, who coached Maryland and Georgia Tech in consecutive seasons (with a five week stop in Buffalo in between). Since Ross led the Yellow Jackets to a share of the national title four years later, that is a hard fact to overlook - unless facts get in the way of being cranky.
Hardin also claims State fans do not like the hiring of O'Brien - "The strange thing is, no one seems all that happy about it." Unlike Cranky Ed, I do not claim to know the happiness of every State fan. However, every fan I know thinks O'Brien is a great pick. He has class, he is committed to academics, and he is a proven winner against major competition.
"The silence coming out of N.C. State is from the school's indecision on what to do next. Do they announce it? Do they wait until Monday? Do they continue to allow O'Brien to twist and BC to seethe and all of college football to continue to roll its eyes at N.C. State?"
Cranky Ed misses the mark again with these (mis)statements. Every other media outlet I heard announce O'Brien's hiring reported the formal announcement would be today (Saturday). This delay allowed the Board of Trustees to approve the hire at their Friday evening meeting.
Regular readers of the News & Record know that Ed Hardin usually writes like he is in a bad mood. However, I am disappointed that he misreported and misrepresented the situation to support his flawed thesis.
You really gotta marvel at Ed Hardin.
He gets paid to be the Grinch year round.
***NOTE*** John Newsom of the N&R correctly points out that Bobby Ross made a very brief stop with the Buffalo Bills between the Maryland and Georgia Tech jobs. That part of the post is edited above. I contend that Hardin should have noted that Ross coached at different ACC schools in consecutive seasons.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Go Deacs!
"Oh, here's to Wake Forest,
Football's the poorest!"
Or not.
Wake Forest continued its impressive run by beating Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game. As conference champs, the Deacs will represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl.
I recall hearing AD Ron Wellman speak a few years ago. He said he had found one of the best football coaches in America in Jim Grobe, a relative unknown at the time. Wellman put his money where he mouth was by signing Grove to a ten-year contract. That was genius.
Football's the poorest!"
Or not.
Wake Forest continued its impressive run by beating Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game. As conference champs, the Deacs will represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl.
I recall hearing AD Ron Wellman speak a few years ago. He said he had found one of the best football coaches in America in Jim Grobe, a relative unknown at the time. Wellman put his money where he mouth was by signing Grove to a ten-year contract. That was genius.
