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Saturday, September 23, 2006

Michigan 27, Wisconsin 13 - Stressful, but as expected

This post would have been a lot different if I'd written it at halftime. The defense let the Badgers score easily on their first drive. The offense tuned it over early and had about 5 straight three and outs to end the half.

But the defense was dominant in the second half, the running game got going a bit and the Wolverines completed some long passes. So the final of 27-13 is pretty much as most people expected, matching the Vegas spread of 14.

Despite that early tension, this was a good win for Michigan. The defense continues to show they're among the best in the nation. The running game needs to improve, but Wisconsin is always tough to run on. And considering that everyone in the nation was talking about a letdown for Michigan, pretty much any win here was good. This was good. Bring on the Gophers.

Some miscellaneous notes from the game:

* I know he was educated in Ohio, but I'm still surprised at Chris Spielman's inability to speak clearly. He called Arrington "Abbington", and Chad Henne "Chenny" on the same play. He also called Henne "Chad Henry" at least three times. I'm suprised he didn't call him Kenny Chesney.

* Did Spielman fart in the booth? Soon after they showed the clip from Zingerman's (God, that made me hungry) there was some silence in the booth. Then horrible play by play man Sean McDonough commented "Did you go to Zingerman's last night? Everyone in the booth thinks so."

* Was Wisconsin just frustrated or are they dirty? There were a couple of late hits and the fourth quarter leg twist of Steve Breaston. That one could result in a suspension for the Badger defender.

* I know we talk about this ad infinitum, but the crowd was horrible. And how about all those shots of the fans shaking their keys? Please, please, please, if anyone can get a screenshot of any of those key shakers, please send it to us at MichiganZone at adelphia dot net. There was one shot midway in the 2nd quarter and another with 2 minutes left in the first half.

* Was Lloyd foolish for throwing that long pass in the waning minutes, exposing Henne, or is he just playing a full four quarters?

Leave your comments on this matter, or any parts of the game.

Anonymous said...

Not sure what the refs were looking at, but the facemask (against Michigan) in the first quarter where the flag was thrown, and then picked up, made me wonder who had contributed to their pension fund. And, I thought there were a few facemasks yanked on Hart that weren't called.

Benny Friedman said...

I hate commenting about the officiating, but it was weak overall. There were at least two times where they picked up a flag, and had to have a ten minute discussion every time one was thrown. Thankfullly, they didn't really impact the outcome, though.

matt said...

not only were fans shaking their %^&%^*& keys, but i think i saw the cheerleaders holding up signs that said "key play." (i was watching at a bar, and didn't tape it so someone else will have to confirm)

...and if they were holding up signs, well, i just fucking give up. we can't win.

dgarr22 said...

You guys just need to start grabbing the drunk peoples keys and throwing them away...after a few weeks of walking home the will stop shaking the keys.

harry hasselhoff said...

LOL at Spielman fart jokes. Hilarious.

Can anyone who was actually at the game confirm the crowd was quiet? Obviously I wouldnt be surprised but would like to hear more than from people who saw it on TV. I also noticed cheerleaders holding up "NOISE" signs too. I wish they'd get some kind of MAKE SOME NOISE graphic on the scoreboard monitors. I know its a little cheesy for Michigan's taste but still I'd take cheese over the lack of noise.

bentley2121 said...

The game was pretty much what I expected. Wisconsin's defense is pretty tough. I noticed that they had a top ten unit, per the Sporting News (not the best source but still credible). I thought Henne played excellent, except for two throws, both of which went for INT's. On the crowd, I thought they were better than they have been in the past. I think people underestimate the importance of building luxury suites, for a few reasons. It creates additional revenue, locks in some noise, and will move many of the old alums out of the primetime noise making seats. Good win, in a very tough game that could have been a potential trap. Get back the jug and then we will really find out where this team is going in the three following games.

PeckHorn78 said...

At one point they were what, 0-9 on 3rd down attempts?

Also, have I been missing something, or are the cheerleaders (females too) dressing like they were going to play a round of golf???

Colin said...

The crowd was fine. Your key vendetta baffles many.

mouse said...

dudes, seriously? it's a lost cause. not only were the cheerleaders wearing outfits that made them look like they belong on the back nine of the Michigan golf course [come on. if your whole purpose is to be an attention whore, at least wear more revealing clothes, right?], they also constantly held up those fucking "KEY PLAY" signs. my keys stayed in my back pocket the whole day, FWIW. It also doesn't help that the band pretends that they're shaking their fake keys instead of opening their mouths and making noise on key plays.

I'll bring my camera next game and get a shot from row 21 of the student section for you all. it's a sad, tragic sight.

Aram said...

I'm going to disagree with your assessment on today's crowd. Yes, the maize-out was lame. Very lame. But I'd argue that it got as loud as it's gotten in recent years at many points during the game, even forcing Wiscy into a false start, a couple burned timeouts, and general confusion at points. Don't blame the "key play."

Aram said...

"It also doesn't help that the band pretends that they're shaking their fake keys instead of opening their mouths and making noise on key plays."

Mouse, looks like you need to open your eyes and notice that behind the fake keys the band waves around on 3rd down, their mouths are making quite a bit of noise.

I don't understand the obsession with the "key play," or why you and others are contending that by participating in it, people don't yell. False.

Wholesome Goodness said...

At one point in the game they showed a shot of the student section, and a pack of UM beauties lined the front row. I think I might not be able to get it up for a week now.

On a more football related note, it was a well managed 4th quarter, save that late pass. Almost brought a tear to my eye.

I love cheese said...

Overall, Kinda what I expected. I will admit I was freaking out a bit in the first quarter, but promptly calmed down after the third quarter defensive domination by our boys. Wiscy played decent, but I am not overly impressed by anything except their run defense. They are probably a 5th or 6th best team in the Big 10/11.

Matt K said...

I thought the crowd was fine. It was a very "bleh" game, for me. Not to make excuses, but a lot of students, myself included, have been struggling with like a cold/flu thing that robbed me of my voice for a lot of the game. Not that I didn't try. I thought at the crucial points in the game, the crowd responded well. Even the alumni seem to stand and scream when Branch implores them by waving his arms.

One observation, and I'm not sure if anybody else noticed the same thing, but I thought at least 2 (and maybe 3) of Henne's INTs could have been pinned on Manningham. The first one, while slightly high, should have been caught. It hit him right in the hands. On the second INT, it seemed to me like Manningham stumbled or something right off the line and sort of stopped running his route until he saw the ball coming. I haven't seen a replay or anything, but that was just my knee jerk reaction from having been at the game. Anybody else have thoughts on that?

Jpatrix said...

While I can agree that the key shake is total B.S. ( I first witnessed this about 15 years ago at Michigan Stadium by of all..Badgers. I called it shaking their tractor keys...got a big laugh in section 11). Anyhow, noise was way up when needed today and it helped the energy of not a few offsides. I did see the keys out, but not as bad. Must be a North end zone/Student thing.
The maize out must be a scam to sell more gear, why other would the shirts be alternating colors each year. What's next year? Go Maize, wear Blue. Anyhow, great game. Flat in the 1st half. But the Defense kept rushing way down again. DEFENSE WINS GAMES. Remeber this.

TitleIX said...

get over the key thing, guys. the students scream along with the keys that they wave....the cheeleaders have had those "noise" and "key play signs" since the 80s. Nothing new there.
the horse is dead....let it rest.

AND....if Lloyd had ol' what's his name take a knee you all would have been screaming about what a pussy he is. JEEZ. The coach calls an 'in your face' play at the end of the game and you all piss. Personally, I LIKED the call. Take no prisoners. Sends a great message to the team. And as Lloyd said to the ABC reporter..."It was third down, wasn't it"????

carl tabb said...

Right on, titleix. That was a great reply from The Lloyd. I laughed my ass off. Did it seem the reporter looked like he'd been scolded by a grownup afterwards?
I loved the call. It's high time we stopped caring about saving face for the other team and started smashing their face.

Anonymous said...

Jeez folks complain when LLoyd goes LLoyd and now he goes Spurrier on one play and pepole want to call him on it. Make up your minds people!

IC said...

Re. Benny's post-game notes:

* "I'm suprised he didn't call him Kenny Chesney."

* I somehow missed the exchange about Zingerman's and I'm going to check it on TiVo later. If it happened as described, what else could it have been other than Spielman cutting the chesse?

* I don't think the Badgers are dirty, though that ankle twist by the special teams guy was completely inexcusable and certainly worthy of a suspension (can you imagine if we lost Breaston because of that?)

* The cheerleader' outifts were an absolutely inexplicable abomination.

* Though I typically support and defend Lloyd, it was reckless and stupid to go for a long pass on third down with less than two minutes to go. I don't know what point he was trying to prove. Wisco was only two scores down and it was reasonable for them to call their last time out.

Carr made it worse by basically repeating the obnoxious repsonse that he had given to Todd Harris in the '04 Sparty game (for which he later apologized.) If we have Henne in at that time we should run. If we have a backup it's ok to pass, but not a pattern which exposes our QB and seeks to run up the score.

IC said...

I love the "take no prisoners" approach we've shown on defense all year and in the second halves of the ND and Wisconsin games on offense. That's because we've been aggressive when the result was in doubt. What we had to gain by going with that pass play (larger margin of victory, "message" to Badgers and others) is far outweighed by what we had to lose (health of Henne, others.)

Carl Tabb:
I'm surprised someone like you--who has been on the team for at least 10 or 12 years--would defend Carr's response to the ESPN sideline reporter. I hate to say it, but Carr looked like a prick, which is unfortunate because most everything else I know about him makes me think he's a good man. The reporter was just doing his job and wasn't being obnoxious. Lloyd would have been better served by responding, "They were playing for a run and we wanted to keep the ball, but we didn't make the play,"

Baltimore said...

i was in the student section, and the crowd was alright, though the key thing does get on my nerves. it isnt even used right- the idea is to use it on a "key play", but basically that means any 3rd down stop. i have never seen it used here for any other purpose- even when we had the game in hand and the Badgers backed up inside their own 20, the keys came out. never on an offensive third down, though, nor on any other "key play". it isnt so much how quiet it is, but just how stupid it looks. the opposing team doesnt get the pun of a "key" play- nor do they care about it. the point is to cup your hands around your mouth to make your screaming count. dont be "clever", be wild.

Kraut said...

I was at the game, and I think the crowd was pretty decent ... they got loud quite a few times.

Also, the KEY PLAY thing bothers me, too. I went to UM in the early 90's and we used the KEY PLAY when it was a key conversion (3rd/4th down) for Michigan, not for the opponent. It's supposed to be a relatively quiet support ... not to pump up the D. I've been confused for the past few years as to what the hell ppl are trying to do with their keys ...

Anonymous said...

The crowd was actually really loud. Forget about your "key play" fixation. It's just a lame but harmless play on words and a long-standing tradition in the Big House. You should focus on crowd noise, not selling your "no keys" t-shirts. GO BLUE

Anonymous said...

When the clock hit 1:35 PM and the Rabbi had just wrapped up his 30 minute sermon, I told my parents peace out, walked back to their house, got my car and drove five miles to my house to catch the second half on HDTV. I was so glad I got to see all of those keys, so CLEARLY. Maybe we should blow SHOFARS at the game.

IamCris said...

How many times has Michigan hung half a hundred since Lloyd has been at the helm? Anyone know how many times "BO" put 50+ up on opponets? Bury 'em all and pad stats, prove a point, make a statement. The game is 60 minutes long, that seemed to be a problem last year, hats off to Lloyd for flexing his balls.

Benny Friedman said...

Anon 10:11, your shofar idea is classic. I'm sure Yost would be in favor of it since it would intimidate the opponent.

Anonymous said...

I can not believe that you have not said anything about the "buckstache"
It was a classic with spewman on the front of it. Can't wait till you get that box picture on here!!

carl tabb said...

Let's see here. In Carr's tenure everything he's done has been scrutinized to the maximum degree. Rightly so, IMO. But you can't cut him a little slack when some snot-nosed reporter asks him a leading question like that? Sure, he's just doing his job but everyone knew that call was going to be loved or hated and reporters live off controversy. I loved the call on the play and I loved The Lloyd's attitude to some window licking punk trying to stir up the pot.
Oh, by the way I'm in my 14th year with the team now!

beast in bama said...

You're right, Lloyd does look like a prick whenever one of those idiot sideline "reporters" asks him a question following a game. He has a history with the one at the Wisconsin game - you can tell that guy would rather take a beating than talk to Lloyd.

On the other hand, it's refreshing to see a coach treat a sideliner with the respect he deserves...Lloyd just needs a little timeout before talking to anyone with a microphone.

I'm so glad you noticed some of the "Spielmanisms" during the game. Whenever they do a booth shot, he stares directly into the camera at all times - it's as though he's attempting to hypnotize the audience. Creepy. You guys have GOT to get ahold of that Wheaties box!

the butcher said...

i agree that lloyd looked like a prick with the sideline reporter. he definitely has a history of doing this: in a previous season he just stood there with his "i'm so looking forward to going 7-5" grin and kept repeating that the question was stupid and he wasn't going to answer it. he has a seven-figure contract because of the tv networks--jesus christ, just answer a damn question. if he doesn't want to talk, then just use some meaningless coachspeak, or if he wants to argue, show some balls and do it like spurrier. don't come across as a middle-school prick. he shouldn't act so smug until he can at least beat OSU.

TitleIX said...

Coachspeak??? come on! I prefer an intelligent leader, not a mimic.
Think about it this way...Lloyd just comes off the field with a great win, Snotty asks him a dumbass question (what happened to 'reporter speak'?) and Lloyd PAUSES, THINKS, gets CLEVER, and slam dunks the punk.
Much different than the hissy fit he threw with the "stupid question" response, which I agree, was not nice.

Speaking of DUMBASS announcers....
At the half of the PSU/tOSU game one of the PSU coaches ran over to Tre$$el and handed him something. The morons in the booth surmise that it's a note about JoePa and the status of his colon....in reality??? as Tre$$el said, "one of our kids lost his wristband"

and lastly---Musclehead is SOOOO going to ruin Dreamy Kirk that I am sickened by it....that guffaw of BM's is evil.

Blou said...

I have to agree with you when it comes to the key play. While the students have been better as a whole this year (a better defense will do that), the use of keys is ridiculous. It's cutesy and while some fans do make noise, others think that just jingling their fucking keys is enough to intimidate the opponent. It's not.

Sure, you can hear it on the field, but it's no replacement for 100,000+ screaming their heads off. Abolishing the "key play" concept would go a long way to making our stadium loud when it needs to be.

the butcher said...

you seriously think "it was third down wasn't it?" qualifies as clever?!?! do UPS commercials leave you in tears? he sounded like a pathetic little man who couldn't handle the simplest of questions. you could argue that playcall either way, but if lloyd wants to defend it and "be clever", he can make some caustic comment about wisconsin's job being to stop his team. a third grade jab at the sideline reporter (who only has one fewer victory against tressel than llloyd does) makes carr look like a little prick. and he had just won the game! good lord, i can only imagine the hissy fit he'd have had if they'd lost the game.

BaggyPantsDevil said...

I think the good defense just gives me comfort, the 10-10 tie at the half just didn't worry me. I'm kind of feeling like with the way the defense plays opponents really aren't going to do much with the ball and it's just a matter of time before Chad Henne can connect to Mario Manningham so bad offensives series, turnovers, and punts kind of make me think, 'cool, now I get to watch the defensive line beat up on people and make then run away like frightened children.'

Unlike last year, when Michigan's defense made me squirm in my seat, I enjoy watching both the offense and the defense when they're on the field. Opponents getting the ball aren't so much opportunities for them to score, but opportunities for me to satisfy some primitive bloodlust that exists deep within my psyche.

I did feel a bit uneasy after Henne's second interception. Fortunately, Wisconsin went three and out and then the touchdown pass to Manningham materialized and I felt better.

I think Chris Spielman was still drunk form the previous night. Complete incoherence plus noxious beer farts adds up to bad hangover. He also made a comment about all of Michigan's defensive starters still playing right after a play when I specifically noticed several backups in the game.

Did anyone notice Lee Corso on College Gameday obviously reading from the teleprompter when talking about USC? When he got to John David Booty's name he paused and I could almost hear him thinking "somebody's fucking with me, I'm not saying 'booty' on the air" before driving ahead while referring to USC's quarterback as "Brody" multiple times. Maybe everyone at ESPN was still drunk.

All these guys have to do for work is know stuff about college football and they can't even get the names of the quarterbacks for the #3 and #6 teams right?

I don't think the deep pass at the end of the game was all that bad. I think the whole "OMG Henne could have died" talk is a bit overstated. He's been on the field all day and this one pass is going to result in a seperated shoulder? Sure, he probably didn't even need to be on the field at that point, but one more play isn't likely to kill him. Might as well forbid him from showering so he won't slip in it. Life is risky, folks.

The pass seemed to me to be like Lloyd Carr's Arthur, King of the Britons saying to Bret Bielema's Black Knight, "Look you stupid bastard you've got no arms left!"

I do think he didn't need to be such a grouchy prick when asked about it. You're 4-0 Lloyd and have one of the best defenses in the country, enjoy it. And he was so movingly sweet after the Notre Dame game. Maybe Wisconsin's stubbornness just pissed him off.

I was actually thinking Wisconsin was going to turn the ball over more than Michigan, who'd have thunk Henne could throw three interceptions and still have a good day. 84% of his passes got caught by someone, (72% buy guys in the right uniforms).

Overall, not a bad game even though we didn't get to see another beat down.

Anonymous said...

At the MSU game, Sparty was holding up a giant pair of keys at several big 3rd downs, encouraging fans to get out theirs.

Just goes to show they copy even our bad ideas.

Anonymous said...

Well, I imagine that one reason that the stadium was so quiet was the Jewish holiday (Rosh Hashana). A lot of people were probably busy with that.

Another thing...ESPN hates us and has a hard-on for Notre Dame! Anyone else notice how strangely difficult it was on Saturday to find a story on the homepage about Mich destroying ND? Yet ND beats Mich St. and guess what? they're on the front page again! Seems like we upset ESPN last week!

surrounded in columbus said...

yeah, it was 10-10 @ half, but cheesy had 8 yds rushing and the D was so completely in control that it didn't feel like the badgers were in the game. they didn't get a first down until late in the half (4th quarter maybe?) and we were ahead a couple more scores. when the D plays like that, the offense's misfires seem unimportant- we'll score eventually- even if only by attrition.

and the D is for real. look back on how we fretted over an ND comeback last week. think now how ND did manage a comeback on Sparty. our D is for real. theirs isn't.

it's a great way to win football games, and, well, though i've held off saying this as long as i could, i'm just going to go ahead and say it now- the game reminded me a lot of the way we played in '97. there, i've cursed us and if we drop kick a loss to Minnesota next week, it's all my fault, but i have to admit it's beginning to feel true.

we had a ton of games that year w/ tight scores that we were just beating the snot out of the other team. the O was effecient, but seldom overwelming. just like this season.

will they do this all year? maybe not. but i spent the entire '97 season sweating out close games. this year isn't going to be any different.

Anonymous said...

I'm kinda surprised that the "intentionally trying to twist Stevie Breaston's leg off" incident hasn't been mentioned. I was glad that the commentators showed it, since it seems as if they are contractually prohibited from saying negative stuff about individual players. What an awful display of (non)sportsmanship. That jerk deserves a suspension.

Anonymous said...

I was expecting much more commentary from this thread on Spielman farting. Easily the most awkward, and hilarious, thing ever said from a football broadcast booth. I think the actual quote was along the lines of:

Commentator: "so Chris did you go to the deli this morning?"
Spielman: "ummmmmmm"
Commentator: "everyone in the booth sure knows you did".
.....followed by 10 full seconds of a very awkward silence.

How bad must he have ripped one for it to have drawn a comment. I'm sure Madden has dropped a ton of ass in the MNF booth, but Al Michaels doesn't come back with: "so how's that Outback bloomin' onion you had for lunch sitting with you John?"

fish747 said...

Dude, I don't understand how you constantly bitch about how lame the crowd is when you watch the games on TV. That makes no sense. I sit in the corner of the endzone for every game, and I'll tell you that this year, the crowd has been screaming when the other team is backed up. It has paid off, because you can see the opposing QBs try to audible. Wisconsin had to burn 2 timeouts becuase they didn't know what play they were in. The crowd had to have something to do with that.

So, quit your bithcing unless you actually go to the games. Otherwise, your blog kicks ass.

Anonymous said...

the shaking of the keys is idiotic. i've been to a game in the big house each of the last 5 years and my friends and i are amazed how quiet 111,000 people can really be. the penn state crowd for last years game was much louder the entire game until we pulled it out at the end.

sean mcdonough is a puke. tirico is a pig. someone please punch lupica and marriotti in the face. i hate espn.

Ben said...

Two things that anyone who actually went to the game would know:

1.) The crowd was fine and even good at times -- Wisconsin third downs were consistently loud, by anyone's standards.

2.) Maize was the predominant color in the crowd and participation will get better as we do more of these -- the student section was completely maize, and the most coordinated I've ever seen them. It was truly impressive.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the crowd seemed loud to me from the broadcast, especially for a noon game where there's less time for one to imbibe enough to lose the inhibition to yell. In my years sitting in the student section, I never saw the keys preventing anyone from yelling.

Anonymous said...

I want to comment on our play calling.

I don't know how many third down plays we had that were 8, 7, 6 yards and we would run a 3 yard out pass play. There must have been 8 or 9 plays like that. What in the heck are the coaches thinking? Even if the pass is caught, the player is right on the sideline, and there is nowhere to go.

And, we never seem to throw a pass down the middle. Manningham is always on the sideline... I don't get it.

I'm just a fan, but this stuff is maddening - we don't seem to want to use our players in an effective manner.

Anonymous said...

As an SEC fan, I've got no dog in the Big 10 hunt, but to me, I didn't get the impression that Lloyd sounded like a prick when replying why he called that pass play at the end of the game. As Spurrier once said (or a paraphrase thereof), it's his job to score points, it's the other team's job to stop him.

Behind Enemy Lines said...

Wow, just read thru all 80 comments and the people crying about Lloyd not being nice to a reporter is making me laugh. Why should Lloyd be nice to a reporter? The last 8 or 9 years he has got nothing from them but criticism. I'm still surprised Lloyd talks to them. Its part of the reporters job to ask tough questions I know but the man is obviously fed up and doesn't care two licks for them and personally I wouldn't either if in his spot. And remember, the reporters need Lloyd, he doesn't need them.

Oh and I loved that Lloyd tried to run up the score! Even if we were up 4 TD's I would still love to see it. Might put a scare into other teams about us especially OSU.

Nicole said...

What's weird about fans pulling out keys is that it seems to mean something different everywhere you go.

At Wisconsin, we shake the keys during the kickoff. I think it's just for the tinkling noise, no real good reason.

At LSU, the studennts pull out their keys in the fourth quarter and they're going to win, to indicate to the opposing team that it's time for them to get out their keys and go home.

You all use it as a pun for key plays.

Are there more key uses out there?

Anonymous said...

It's one thing to have UM's student section jingling keys. What was worse was that during the dozen times they cut to the crowd, a large majority of those students had closed mouths.


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Thursday, November 02, 2006

Gee, there's a shocker: John L. out at MSU

In a move about as shocking as Drew Sharp writing a negative story about U-M, John L. Smith is being canned as the MSU football coach. Smith will finish out the 2006 debacle season but won't be back in 2007.

To be honest, we at the MZone are sad to see him go. No, not for the obvious reason of the usual "W" the Wolverines could count on when they played the Smith-coached Spartans, but because the guy was entertaining as hell. I mean, who can forget his halftime "chat" with Jack Arute during last year's OSU game? Or "the slap" following the MSU collapse loss to Notre Dame?

Now the Spartans will probably get some guy who gives the standard "we need to make adjustments" halftime speech and only slaps himself off camera while still producing the same results on the field.

As such, we here at the MZone would like wish John L. luck in his next endeavor, whatever it may be (since, let's face it, it probably won't be coaching). Hopefully you can find a job in a field that utilizes your specific talents, namely blowing big leads and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Might we suggest politics?

GC said...

In politics, if you screw up royally you merely keep your job. Given John L.'s $3+ Mil buyout, his next move is clear - CEO of Hewlett-Packard.

I've heard of at least a couple of instances where JLS came right out and said he had no idea what to do with the team - anyone else get the impression that he was actually trying to get canned?

Sports on a Schtick said...

Dressing up as a turkey was the kicker.

Eric S. said...

He could be like Seabiscuit at the beginning of the movie, where he'd take the lead and then always lose in the end.

Except that Seabiscuit eventually wins.

Can't spell Lloyd without 2 "L's" said...

One thing that scares me about this: The Detroit News has Ron English listed as one of the possible successors. That would suck.

English has shown me enough with his aggressive D and the way his guys respond to him that, to me, he should be on the short list to replace Lloyd when he steps down.

Anonymous said...

Coach English won't go.... will he? He can't!

I will miss him. He is so much fun!

Again, Coach E CANNOT go to EL!

The King said...

English isn't going anywhere. Mariuchi will be their next coach, and that's not going to work either.

Anonymous said...

What about Valenti's preferences--HR Pufnstuf and Teddy Ruxpin?

Anonymous said...

Good. I love Coach E & his huge mid-line diastema. (That means big space between his 2 front teeth).

Go Blue.

GC said...

Mooch isn't going anywhere either:

beast in 'bama said...

HR Pufnstuf is available. He wants to get back into a college job after being fired by the Browns.

Teddy Ruxpin is holding out for a better job... Word is he's the #1 candidate at Bradley.

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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

It's not Foley... it's the Republicans

Watch out for the media getting caught up in the personal tragedy of Mark Foley. Every release of an IM transcript offers more salacious details. (Where do these come from, by the way? And don't say, "ABC.") Today, his lawyer revealed that young Mark was molested by a clergyman. Juicy tabloid fodder. But misdirection from the bigger story of dereliction by the House Republican leadership: What did they know? When did they know it? And what did they do about it?

Patty Wetterling, Democratic challenger for the Minnesota 6th Congressional District has the first spot I've seen that frames the issue. Patty has been an advocate for children's safety. Her son, then 11, was abducted at gunpoint in 1989. Neither the child nor the abductor was ever found.

Mickeleh's Take: The NIE report that the Iraq War has swelled the ranks of Islamic terrorists and the new revelations in the Woodward book are not welcome, but not game changing. The Republican handling of the Foley affair has the potential to impact the GOP base. In support of Patty Wetterling's jumping out with this spot, please contribute to her campaign.

The fundraising page of True Majority Action on Act Blue says.
Patty Wetterling

Child advocate Patty Wetterling is taking her concern for families, education and healthcare to a new level, by vying to replace departing Republican incumbent Mark Kennedy. In a state that is also energized by exciting Governor and Senate races, this house race is a leader on lists to switch parties. The Republican nominee, State Senator Michelle Bachmann, is far more conservative than this suburban Twin Cities district and Wetterling enjoys name recognition in over 90% of the district.

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• Written by MiddleEasy @MiddleEasy

Rampage Jackson says the American mentality of MMA is wrong

Rampage Jackson says the American mentality of MMA is wrong

Now that I'm a level 50 in Halo 4, I can finally take some time from the Xbox to tell you guys about a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside-down and I'd like to take a minute just sit right there, I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-air. Wait, that's not a story at all. It's just the introduction to the greatest sitcom of all time. While we're on the topic of the Fresh Prince, can someone out there philosophical breakdown what the lyric 'Yo, homes smell you later!' truly means? Is Will Smith implying that all taxi cab drivers smell? If so, isn't that a little too politically incorrect for 1990?

Rampage doesn't seem like a guy that would care about the intrinsic meaning of sitcom jingles. The guy is entirely too busy traveling the globe, letting people know how he truly feels about the American mentality of MMA. In short, Rampage believes that American MMA has evolved to not fighting to entertain, but fighting to not lose. He does a far better job explaining his position in this FRMMAUK video.

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Oms/b Replaced By A New Location of Cafe Zaiya

As if yesterday’s Times Sq. Bagel news wasn’t enough… we recently got a tip from a Midtown Luncher that an additional location of Japanese bakery Cafe Zaiya has replaced Oms/b on 45th St. (btw. 3rd & Lex). Oms/b, which was highlighted by Midtown Lunch in 2006 and several times thereafter, specialized in omusubi, or Japanese rice balls. Cafe Zaiya also serves omusubi, in addition to many baked goods.

When I stopped by yesterday, the restaurant’s awning still said Oms/b, but a sign near the door had been covered in what appeared to be foil, with a Cafe Zaiya decal next to it. Although we are saddened to see a Midtown Lunch favorite close, it’ll be interesting to see how Cafe Zaiya #2 (or technically, #3 if you include the one in the bookstore on 6th Ave.) adapts to its locale. Clearly the restaurant owners aren’t afraid of competition; much like their original location on 41st btw. 5th and Madison, Japanese restaurants abound on the block (think Menchanko Tei, Riki, and Chef’s Secret). The space is much smaller than the original location with little seating and less space for food — however, many of the same items covered in an extensive food porn guide back in 2009 were on display. Staff were giving away small samples of one of the items covered in that post, the Spicy Tuna Bun.

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Comparator : Java Glossary

java.util.Comparator is used to define a special sort order for a class.

To implement java.util.Comparator you must write two methods. It typically describes a small delegate object passed to a sort to describe some special sort order. The compare method compares two objects of the class you want to sort. The equals method compares this java.util.Comparator to another to see if they represent the same order. It does not compare two objects of the class you want to sort. Normally you also redefine equals when you implement Comparator even though it is not part of the Comparator interface. There are no generics involved

public final int compare( Object o1, Object o2 );
public boolean equals( Object obj );

Here is a typical routine:

If you are using a java.util.Comparator only once, you might implement it as an anonymous

Here is a very general purpose Comparator for sorting rows of a Table (array of arrays

Descending/Inverse/Reverse Order with reverseOrder

Sorting ascending order means sorting with the small elements first then the big. This is usual ordering. Descending order means sorting with the big elements first then the small.

If you have a Comparator or Comparable of some kind, you can convert it into one that sorts into the reverse of the usual order, e. g. if the original sorts alphabetically, the new one will sort in reverse alphabetical order. Here is how you use it:

If you don’t have a suitable base Comparator, just write an ordinary Comparator from scratch and reverse the operands to each compare inside it, or return - result instead of result.

Comparator Using Generics

You don’t need any casts since the compiler checks that no non-Pair classes ever get inside the ArrayList<Pair>.

Sometimes you don’t know the types you are comparing at run time and generics just get in the way since they insist you know at compile time. It seems, no matter what you do, you get warning and error messages about generics when all you are trying to do is write code the way you did in Java version 1.4 before generics were invented. Here is a trick to get generics out the way, compliments of Mike Schilling:

Learning More

Oracle’s Javadoc on Comparable class : available:
Note java.lang.Comparable but java. util.Comparator.
Oracle’s Javadoc on Comparator class : available:
Oracle’s Javadoc on Collections.reverseOrder() : available:
Oracle’s Javadoc on Collections.reverseOrder(Comparator) : available:
Oracle’s Javadoc on String.CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER : available:

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Minnesota Beats Bemidji St. 4-1

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Erik Haula had two goals and an assist to lead Minnesota to a 4-1 win over Bemidji State Saturday in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Jake Hansen had a goal and an assist for the Golden Gophers (21-11-1, 17-7-0), who added to their lead in the WCHA. The Gophers’ win, combined with Minnesota Duluth’s 4-4 tie with Minnesota State, Mankato, extends the Gophers’ lead to two points over the Bulldogs.

Hansen’s deflection for a goal turned out to be the game-winner at 2:05 of the second period.

“We got zero points last week against Denver,” Hansen said. “This was huge to come back. The goal was to get four points and we accomplished that.”

The Gophers outshot the Beavers 32-22 to sweep the series. Minnesota won 3-0 on Friday on goalie Kent Patterson’s seventh shutout of the season. Patterson made 21 saves on Saturday.

“Last night we were up 3-0 and it felt easy,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. “This never felt easy. The game was a lot harder.”

Brad Hunt’s power-play goal for Bemidji State at 17:14 of the first period ended Patterson’s shutout bid.

Seth Ambroz scored Minnesota’s final goal in the third period, officially wiping away any lingering doubts from last weekend’s sweep by Denver.

“You can’t let last weekend beat you this weekend,” Lucia said. “We still control our own destiny.”

Dan Bakala made 28 saves for the Beavers (15-14-3, 9-12-3).

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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After A Bad Showing With The Brick, Club Changes Name, Stage

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(credit: CBS) Jason DeRusha
Jason DeRusha filed his first report for WCCO-TV on April Fool's D...
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — One downtown club is looking for a second chance.

The Brick, which ran into problems last May, has changed its name to Mill City Nights.

When the club initially opened, people complained that they couldn’t see the Brick’s stage. In response, the Brick refunded money to all customers, whether they enjoyed the show or not.

“The issues we had, really, had dealt with our sight lines,” said Jeff Kehr, the venue’s general manager. “Our stage was lower, we had some obstacles on the main level, where you couldn’t see.”

So much for the Brick. After one bad show, they wiped out the name and renovated the space. Now it’s Mill City Nights.

“We really went from a four-foot stage to a five-foot stage, and that has been a huge improvement to the sight lines here on the main level,” Kehr said. “The biggest changes that you’ll see, physically, will happen here on the second level, with the addition of a stadium-tiered platform, which allows you to remain one head above the person in front of you.”

The venue’s balcony was also expanded by eight feet. It can be set with chairs or left open for standing, depending on the show.

Also, in-house TV cameras feed numerous screens to help improve the view.

At the Brick, there were two main entrance doors. Now there are four, as well as an additional stairway.

“We had a pinch point at our front entrance, and so by creating this as a way of egress and entrance into the facility it has been a major improvement for us,” Kehr said.

After three months of renovations, the folks at Mill City Nights say they are ready for the future.

“We just finished three nights of a global dance festival and we’ve heard nothing but great responses back from our fans,” Kehr said.

Mill City Nights will also feature a smaller venue on the basement level, called the Nether Bar.

Upcoming shows at Mill City Nights include Chiddy Bang, Citizen Cope and Theory of a Deadman.

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ISS Seeks Ouster Of Most Of Target’s Board

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NEW YORK (AP) — A prominent proxy advisory firm is recommending that Target shareholders vote out seven of its 10 board members after a massive data breach.

Institutional Shareholder Services on Wednesday targeted those members who serve on the company’s audit and corporate responsibility committee. Included on that list are Anne Mulcahy, former chair and CEO at Xerox, and James A. Johnson, who was once the CEO at Fannie Mae.

The data breach, which led to the theft of 40 million debit and credit card numbers, has rattled one of the world’s biggest retailers.

The board fired CEO Gregg Steinhafel three weeks ago. The company’s chief information officer lost her job in March.

The ISS recommendation comes less than two weeks before Target’s annual shareholder meeting.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Lee Brice: ‘If You Want to Know Who I Am, Go Listen to the Record’

Lee Brice
Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Lee Brice is a busy man. He’s a father of two, including a new baby boy, he’s touring, he’s prepping for the release of his upcoming album and he’s busy writing songs — he does it all, and he seems to do it all extremely well.

Still, Brice took a few minutes out of his schedule to talk to Taste of Country about everything from his new music to being on the road and everything his life entails. The singer came to us casual in denim on denim, with a backwards red ball cap on, and his excitement for new music was all over him.

“This album is everything inside of me I needed to get out and I think I got it done. It’s a lot of me on the record. I played a lot of the instruments. I played most of the guitar and just did a lot of live stuff. It’s as me as I can possibly be at this moment in my life. So if you want to know who I am, go listen to this record,” Brice tells Taste of Country with a laugh.

‘I Don’t Dance’ is an eclectic mix of all of Brice’s favorite influences — both new and old. Some might even surprise you. “All of the influences I’ve ever had they all came out which is everything from Aerosmith to the Black Crowes to Garth Brooks to Hank Jr.,” the singer says of the album.

“A big thing on this record was I really fell in love with the Bruno Mars record that came out,” Brice admits. “I loved his throwback to classic sounds and classic genres and then also his marriage of those sounds with new, hip sounds … and so taking that kind of philosophy out, I wanted to keep the stuff that I love from steel guitar to all the country elements of what I grew up with and combine them with some stuff that I was hearing that might be a little out there.”

Although he’s proud of every song on the album, Brice says his favorite at the time of our chat (it changes daily) is one called ‘Always the Only One’ a special woman in his life — his wife, Sara.

“It’s a letter to my wife, and then I really got out there and did what I wanted to do musically on the production on it. It does all this cool stuff that I wanted songs to do. I played the guitar,” he shares with sheer excitement. “I did a solo on it. It was like all my dreams come true in a song and it was personal which is like the perfect storm to me.”

Even though that song may be his favorite as of now, he’s still really proud of the album’s first single. In fact, he says ‘I Don’t Dance’ is “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.”

“The intentions were to write a song for my wife … for our first dance,” Brice explains of the title track. “You never know what the song’s going to turn out to be and then when we got done with it I kind of felt like, ‘Ok, this is special.’ I could just tell. I told my co-writers I was like ‘Boys, this is the one. This is the one that’s going to show people who we really are and step out to the next level, hopefully.’”

He was right — the song debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.

Brice chose to let fans in on something very special for the music video he paired with the song, including pieces of his wedding footage in the clip. “I thought ‘You know, it’d be so cool to have a video and have it of your actual wedding footage,’” the singer says. “Before I’d ever done it I saw me spinning Sara around for our first dance and I saw that footage on the video.”

“So I just made sure that we had an old camera there — an old 8 mm camera,” Brice continues, mouthing the camera clicks. “We didn’t want the whole world to see all of our wedding, you know, but I wanted to show the gist and I wanted people to maybe feel like they were a part of it.”

Curb Records

When Brice and his team were creating the ‘I Don’t Dance’ album cover, they were inspired by none other than Tim McGraw. Brice thought about an old McGraw cover where the singer looked striking in front of a white background, and he thought he would try his hand at it. Ultimately, he changed the background to black, but it’s just as stunning. He’s seen posing along with a guitar — a pretty special guitar at that.

“I love the guitar. It’s my wedding present from my wife, that she gave me so it’s my ‘I Don’t Dance’ guitar,” he spills.

It’s obvious Brice is a bit of a softy, which may come as a surprise considering his stature and the fact that he used to play college football. He says that his fluffy interior came from music influences he had at an early age.

“That was my favorite stuff growing up. I listened to the love songs of Alabama and Vince Gill and even some of the rockers like Hank Jr. and Garth Brooks,” he starts. “Man, my favorite songs were their stuff that was ballads and stuff that had a little emotion to it. So I’m a sucker for that — I was used to it my whole life.”

Naturally, such emotion has carried over into Brice’s songwriting. These days, he’s so busy that he has to be picky with which songs he decides to devote the time to writing. Every once in a while, a big artist calls and wants that one particular song he’s been hard at work on.

“When I first was starting out, it was like, I would love to keep ‘More Than a Memory’ for myself, but then Garth Brooks calls and it’s like ‘Uh, duh,’” he says, smiling. “You know, if Garth calls, and I think he’s still looking for songs, I’ve still got plenty of songs I would love for him to record. There may be a couple of songs that I would hold for me no matter what but it’s such an honor for an other artist to want to record a song you wrote.”

It hasn’t always been easy for Brice. When he first moved to Nashville, he had nothing to go on and quickly realized what he’d have to do if he wanted to succeed in Music City. “It’s not about visiting Nashville for a short period of time and handing out your CD and if it doesn’t work, going home,” Brice says. “I learned that this is about meeting people and getting here and throwing your life into this and letting this be your life, because it’s a decision of a life. It’s not even really a decision of a career, ‘cause for a long time you might not have a career. I didn’t and a lot of people didn’t.”

Concludes the hitmaker, “You find out quick when you get here it’s really about being here, meeting people, making relationships, playing your songs over and over and over again and just staying at it.”

Lee Brice’s ‘I Don’t Dance’ album will hit shelves on Sept. 9.

Quit Complaining About Modern Country Music

Next: A Gospel Album for Lee Brice?

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Dearing council also discussing issue of chickens

Dearing Mayor Sean Kelley is making a list, and "chickens" is the first item.

At the Dearing Town Council meeting Monday night, Councilman Bobby Aldred said "we've got a problem with chickens running lose in the streets.

"They are getting into other people's yards, and one of them got hit by a car," Mr. Aldred said.

Discussion ensued between the council members and Mayor Kelley, each one naming a yard they knew of that had chickens -- whether the chickens were contained in a pen or running lose.

Mr. Aldred asked Mr. Kelley whether an ordinance could be passed prohibiting farm animals inside the town limits.

The mayor suggested the subject be addressed when the council begins writing zoning regulations.

Councilman Mike McTier suggested making a list of all the issues they want to address in zoning, and post it where they could all see it and add to it if needed.

So, Mayor Kelley wrote "chickens" at the top of a piece of paper, which he said will be kept at town hall.

Mayor Kelley said zoning discussions and writings will begin this coming January and probably will be implemented in 2012.

Web posted on Thursday, October 14, 2010

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Saturday, 3 November 2012

The Pie Tin & Black Star Pastry - Newtown, Sydney

Vibrant Newtown. I always love going to Newtown, and exploring all the lovely independent bookstores and shops there, not to mention the endless delicious, cheap and cheerful food options that are dotted all along King Street and beyond.

The Pie Tin is located on Brown Street, a shop front I remember because it used to be where Pretty Dog (fashion boutique) were located.

The Pie Tin has a very casual feel to it, where you just go up to the counter, place your order and grab any free seat. They have a big communal table in the middle, very well stocked with magazines and other reading material.

The selection of savoury and sweet pies are quite extensive, and it seems that they vary the menu daily.

Pie tin table number
Communal table

I chose the slow roasted shredded pork with apple and BBQ sauce - hearty filling with chunks of shredded pork, and a side of homestyle potato mash and coleslaw (love the selection of side dishes too! including kumera mash which I'd definitely try next time)
Brown butter pecan pie with ice cream

While in Newtown, can't go past the famous strawberry & watermelon cake at Black Star Pastry

The Pie Tin on Urbanspoon

Black Star Pastry on Urbanspoon

thanhalang said...

nice choices! they are some of my favourite places of newtown!

Tina @ bitemeshowme said...

the pie tin is amazing. Love nearly everything in there. Very affordable too. If I worked near there I know where I'd be every lunch. I've only had the watermelon cake from Black Star and my god, that blew my socks off!

Food is our religion said...

man i've been dying to visit this place! still drooling!

missklicious said...

thanhalang - Iove newtown, so many fab eats!

tina - the watermelon cake was amazeballs, really enjoyed the pie tin too

food is our religion - go go go!! so worth it


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PhD Program

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  • MIT Sloan PhD Program graduates lead in their fields of research and go on to teach at the world's most prestigious universities.

    Rigorous, discipline-based research is the hallmark of the MIT Sloan PhD Program. The program is committed to educating scholars who will lead in their fields of research—those with outstanding intellectual skills who will carry forward productive research on the complex organizational, financial, and technological issues that characterize an increasingly competitive and challenging business world.


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« Impaired Physicians Part III- Clinical Competence, a Moving Target | Main | the common dark of all our deaths... »

Counting Sheep

I suppose one could argue that a sign is an objective descriptor (ie - a vital sign, or an oxygen saturation), while a symptom is subjective (ie - pain). But where JCAHO is concerned, all the rules are broken.

Good article.

Mike O'Connor

These are extracts of a communication from someone who prefers to remain off the radar:

JCAHO was just at XXXXXXXX and it was so annoying. I hate when I see pts in the hospital and have to ask them whether or not they are in pain, whether or not it makes sense. Pain is generally not one of those things that pts keep from you--pain is usually one of the 1st things they tell you. " The 5th vital sign" it is so ridiculous and so out of touch!

It is interesting to me, I thougt pain med seekers were a YYYYYYYYYYYYYYY thing. I did not realize that it was a common trend. These chronic pain pts on narcs are generally pretty nasty. They prey on young and inexperienced physicians. They try to get appts with interns in July of their 1st year. All of the chronic pain pts are supposed to have a pain consult, a psych consult, and a PCP. They are emotionally draining pts and doctor shop. It is often the pharmacists who call us to let us know that pts are getting narcs from more than one doc. As a PCP it is hard to know if you are the only one prescribing the meds.

I hate opiate contracts. I feel like I am signing up to give narcs period, whether or not they are appropriate. How is this good medicine? I feel like the contract puts me in a bind rather than makes pts less abusive. It feels demeaning, elementary schoolesque.

There are some people who do take there meds as needed,I did when I was 18 I took everything as needed.Then I made the mistake of doing powder cocaine at 18, I was discharged, I like to have died I started having siezures,Iended up in ICU.I have been on pain meds since I was 8.I found anouther DR. who took care of what I needed 2 years later, I did powder again and I as last time was discharged.Now I am 38 noone will help me I am as bas as they come and none will help me

God forgives why cant pain clinics, its caused me to become, Bipolar, depression, Manic, and very suicdal,and I still want to die bacause of my pain.

Mike O'Connor

UNKNOWN has two comments to my post, both of which are provocative and informative. Real or not, they're worthy of a response.

Pain has many causes. Pain can be a substantial component of both neurologic and psychiatric disease. Worse, in both instances, the absence of an apparent physical explanation has delayed the acceptance of this truth and systematic investigation of both cause and treatment.

Psychiatric disease is extraordinarily difficult to treat under the best of circumstances, and sadly it is the destiny of almost all psychiatric patients to be treated in the worst of circumstances, as their disease makes them uninsured/uninsurable in a world where insurers balk at paying for psychiatric care (which is staggeringly expensive). Hence most patients with significant psychiatric disease end up living on the fringes of our society, and at the bottom of the economic ladder, receiving whatever care is available to the indigent and uninsured.

Substance abuse is a significant component of some psychiatric disease (especially Bipolar disorder), and can cause or worsen others (e.g. the increasing association between cannabis abuse and psychosis). Worse, the liability associated with prescribing controlled substances to a non-compliant patient psychiatric patient with a history of substance abuse is insuperable. Even if there were no liability, compassionate practitioners might well judge that the risk to the patient from any such prescription might well surpass any benefit the patient might derive.

UNKNOWN: Good Luck.

I'm an old woman; I had not been in a hospital since having babies when I was much younger (when they drugged us to the gills). I didn't watch medical tv shows nor had I ever seen a medical blog. Then I was hospitalized for a broke hip. I remember a nurse asking me occasionally to "rate your pain, one to ten". I had no idea what she was talking about, but she was so solicitous and kind that I wanted, in my wooze, to comply, so I'd give her a number, trying to vary it so as not to be boring or seem to be making it up. I never felt the slightest tinge of pain while in the hospital, just slept and rested, got up into the chair without assistance twice a day and never could stay awake long enough to eat more than two bites at mealtimes. After two days, I went home very hungry and with pain meds, but stopped them after a couple of days (constipating) because I could manage the pain with a couple of tylanol in the evenings and otherwise with ice packs and heating pad. I believe the hospital and the surgeon are the best in the country (I've since had experiences elsewhere to compare) and am so grateful to them for everything.

Health remedies

Great Poggy, I'm agreed with you.

Van Sales

I visited this blog first time and found it very interesting and informative.. Keep up the good work thanks..

What if you truly are a chronic pain patient? I go to 1 dr, and the only time add'l narcs are prescribed are in a hospital situation as I've had many surgeries in addition to major back injury. Not crazy about the contract, but it was a promise to shop only 1 pharmacy and not go to other docs which I don't do anyway. The only time it can be a problem is when my pharmacy is out of stock then I call for permission and they note my chart. Each month I feel a weight of judgment on my shoulders when I have done NOTHING wrong!! Have your chest cut open 3 times & get back to me. Is it possible for their to be true chronic pain sufferers & the "bad apples" have caused these problems?

Michael O'connor

You are absolutely not the problem. There is no question that there are a large number of real chronic pain patients out there deserving of the highest level of care that we can provide. People like you.

It is the bad apples that have caused these problems. Thanks for pointing out to me something that escaped me in my original post: all of this does make legitimate patients feel guilty, even when they have done nothing wrong.

I'm a nursing student and am thrilled to see this information. I wish I could bring this to class, but would probably be thrown out on my keester for blaspheming the Holy JACO.

Thank you for this.

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Alex Gordon Trolls Everyone

Saturday, September 28, 2013 4:41 PM

Alex Gordon might beat out Elvis Andrus for “Troll of the Year” with this one play. He fools Hawk Harrelson, James Shields, Alexei Ramirez and everyone else in the ballpark by climbing the outfield fence on what “looked” like a home run. Even the home run fireworks were set off! Well played, Gordon. Comments

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    Star Wars the Old Republic: lore

    Star Wars the Old Republic: lore
    This is a Bioware game. Story and lore are important. If you skip through all of the voice acting, you will get high level faster....
    Star Wars the Old Republic: lore

Star Wars: The Old Republic Gameplay

Star Wars: The Old Republic Gameplay

Star Wars: The Old Republic also known as TOR or SWTOR, is the first MMO attempt from the hugely popular developers at Bioware Studios. Based on the iconic Star Wars franchise and the best-selling The Old Republic titles, Star Wars: The Old Republic has all the ingredients to be one of the greatest MMORPG games ever to grace the internet.

The most discussed aspect of Star Wars: The Old Republic is the unique approach to the story. Unlike typical MMORPG games where story takes a back seat to grind and gear, Star Wars: The Old Republic delivers its story on the forefront of the game, offering players an immersive experience unlike anything seen in today's MMO titles. There's a large variety of classes in the game, each of which have their own progressive story that can be completed alone or with friends. Each quest, from major story plots to simple experience-based quests, are fully voiced using a wide range of talented actors.

Like The Old Republic console titles, Star Wars: The Old Republic allows players to define their role in the universe using the unique Light and Dark side system. Players are able to join either the Sith or Jedi at character creation, but their actions define who they become as they progress. You will be faced with hundreds of decisions on your journey to master the force, with each decision having the potential to drastically affect your personal story and the game world. Dark side players are able to be persuaded to renounced their sins, while the Light side can also be tempted to switch over to the Sith.

Star Wars: The Old Republic takes the much loved features from the original Old Republic titles and merges them perfectly with exciting an innovative MMORPG mechanics. A thrilling story line, a huge variety of classes and some of the most fast-paced Jedi combat ever seen makes Star Wars: The Old Republic one of the best MMORPG titles available on the market.

By Rachel Rosen

Star Wars: The Old Republic is definitely a game that differs from other MMO's, and though that might sometimes be a bad thing, it does not really work against it in this case. Of course, that is not to say that the game is completely polished and flawless—quite the opposite, in fact. Like any other game, Star Wars: The Old Republic features its own set of pros and cons.

The first, and perhaps most important, pro on the list is its unique storylines. All other MMOs generally feature the same goal, and some might even offer a few unique quests for, let's say, the first five levels of the game depending on your race. However, Star Wars: The Old Republic takes it ten steps further and offers you a fully unique story and goal for every class. For example, the Smuggler tries to take revenge on a thief who gave him the once over, chasing him around the galaxy until one final moment, while the Sith Warrior works to become true Sith after he is called upon to Korriban for the proper training as he later becomes Darth Baras' apprentice, and the Imperial Agent ends up in a complicated web of undercover missions as he is assigned throughout the game. All in all, they definitely went all out to create unique experiences that don't make you want to immediately skip all of the dialog each time you play it through as somebody new.

Leveling is also pretty balanced in the game. As it is explained in further detail later on, each class has the proper set of skills that allows them to hold their own when it comes to fighting enemies in the environment.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few cons that come with this game. For one, many journalists and gamers speculated that Star Wars: The Old Republic would be free to play, and it would certainly be the wise choice if it ever wanted to knock Warcraft out of the park. However, not only did it come with a subscription fee, but it was equal to that of Warcraft, giving no incentive for WoW players to stick with SWTOR.

Even if there were the monetary incentive, PvP and the endgame are completely broken. There is absolutely no sense of balance when it comes to PvP, and though it wouldn't actually be fair to say that the endgame is broken, it is safe to say that there really just is nothing to do once you reach the level cap. All of the endgame content can be completed during level 48, so there is nearly no point in finishing other than to see how your story ends, and even that does not absoutely require being level 50.

Finally, the biggest problem with TOR is that it is broken in general, thanks to incredibly poor optimization. Bioware is not new to PC gaming, especially considering how very well the Mass Effect series and other Star Wars games play on the PC, so there is absolutely no excuse with regard to why Star Wars: The Old Republic is so broken even on the higher-end computers. On the average computer, it can take upwards of five minutes to even load the image, and sometimes it can take a few minutes before you gain control of your character. Let's not even get started on the ten minutes it takes to load the textures at times, or the hour it takes for the memory to fully adopt the game so that it does not stutter as you traverse the world.

If there is one thing that most games still don't know how to do correctly, it's get good character customization. Maybe it's due to space limitations in some cases, but MMOs usually don't have a good range of customization in that field anyway, so it's a nice breath of fresh air to see a range of options on the Star Wars: The Old Republic character creation page. Naturally, each of the exact customization options available depends on the chosen species; for example, the Sith Pureblood can customize their face jewelry while Cyborgs get to pick which areas of the face feature the robot parts.

The character models themselves look great, but NPCs in the world sometimes do not fully utilize the different character options the game offers. It's not uncommon to see one fair-skinned NPC offering you missions on one planet, but then travel across the galaxy to see the exact same model but with slightly tanner skin. Even though there are quite a few NPCs to find throughout the world, it still seems like Bioware could have tried a little harder in making the character models a little more unique.

This is also a bit true with the world environment. For the most part, it certainly is the Star Wars galaxy, and though it probably is not possible to make drastic changes, some probably could have been made to make some worlds a little less boring. After all, it is a few thousand years prior to the events in the world Star Wars fans know.

The major cities are decent enough, but it's actually kind of difficult to really see the detail that it has to offer because of how poorly optimized Star Wars: The Old Republic is. Even with a higher end PC, there have been a high abundance of complaints about stuttering and textures taking ages to load. In other words, it'd probably be hard to tell how decent the inner cities are even with a supercomputer trying to figure out the poor optimization.

Similar to the character models, the gear is modeled rather well too. Though whether one likes an outfit or not ultimately depends on personal taste, but the gear does actually look well detailed and fits the characters properly, so no complaints on that end. The only problem the gear models face is, much like the NPC model choices, sometimes very similar as you progress through the levels. For example, an item picked up during the lower end of level ten might look well, but it could also be the visual carbon copy of another one on the higher end of the 40s; the only thing different are the higher stats and a different color to coat it.

If you were not paying attention while someone else was playing this game, you might easily mistake this for one of the classic movies. Indeed, some of the classic tracks are missing, such as the endearing cantina band, though there is the classic theme song at the beginning of the story. During important story missions and epic fights, there's always a great ambient thanks to the songs composed by a group of various individuals.

Two of the names that stand out the most in the list of credited composers has to be Mark Griskey and Lennie Moore. The former has previously worked with Bioware and LucasArts to bring great scores for other titles like Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords. As for the latter, this is the first time he has worked with the pair on composing Star Wars scores, though his previous works include Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Magic the Gathering: Duel of the Planeswalkers.

As for the actual sound effects, everything is there too; every attack with the lightsaber has the appropriate sound, and every pull of the trigger on the blaster is met with proper tone. In other words, the sound designers for Star Wars: The Old Republic really seem to have put plenty of effort into make each of the weapons in the game sound like they really were designed in the Star Wars universe. Of course, you could really not expect much less from Lucas himself; he tends to take it upon himself to make sure everything is done right.

The voice acting is one part of sound that tends to be a little iffy. While you do have some of the voice actors whose names are practically synonymous with video games, such as Jennifer Hale, Steve Blum and Nolan North, there are quite a few who both do their voice acting job very well and some who probably should not have been billed right out of acting class, so to speak. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that not all of the writing is the greatest, which brings us to the next point of this SWTOR review.

MMOs probably will not ever be the greatest source of thrilling gameplay, at least not as far as quests (or missions as they are referred to in TOR) are concerned. For the most part, they are always going to consist of fetching materials, killing guys and talking to other guys. However, there is one positive thing; TOR does not fall into the habits of other MMOs by making you read some boring text, instead providing cutscenes that really let you get involved and immersed with the story and all of the side quests, complete with conversation options much like the Mass Effect series.

The story itself is also pretty good depending on the class you play as. Each of the eight classes feature their own unique storyline in three acts, and it seems like each one had a separate writer crafting it for them. This seems like it would be a bad idea since all of the stories can have varying quality, and perhaps they do to some degree. In particular, the storyline for the Smugger (Republic side) was obviously given to one of the B-writers on Team Bioware. It seems like the tried way too hard to emulate Han Solo, the smuggler on the Republic side of the movies; this is made obvious by the smooth-talking lines and elusions to numerous one night stands with a variety of women.

The story itself on the Smuggler's side is pretty poor too; your character is on this long-winded chase after a guy who cheats him, all while happening to meet up with numerous of his ex-lovers who all either want to help him out or are trying to ambush him. Very... coincidental? Meanwhile, other main stories—especially for the Sith Warrior—are all polished and provide great immersion as you truly feel one with your created character.

The other side missions in the game offer the same level of immersion, and most of them seem like they were actually compiled by some of the real writing team, so you won't be left wanting after watching a cutscene. The only thing that would be nice about it is if the NPCs were a little more clear about which missions were designed for a party rather than being done solo, even if it were as simple as suggesting that one man might not be able to do it, or perhaps mentioning that gathering a group would be the best option. That is more of a personal issue, though, and perhaps it would break the immersion too much for others if they did take that route.

Most of the romance storylines are also well written, with the exception of the options the Smuggler gets. Each of these offer various missions that lead from getting to know one another to general interest and all the way to proposing marriage and ruling whatever side of the galaxy together as partners. The only problem is a lack of options in choosing your romantic partner; though you only do get about five real companions, it would still be nice to have more than the one or two options there are currently, though Bioware has stated that they fully intend to expand the options for alternative lifestyles.

When you are fighting the environmental enemies, there are usually perfectly fine ways to use the various skills in your slots, no matter what kind of combat you require. For example, the Imperial Bounty Hunter does well to take cover and shoot at range while the Jedi Knight has his own unique skills to hold his own in close range combat.

All in all, there is good balance when you fight against the environment, and whatever area you are lacking in can be properly filled by your companion, even if he or she is not explicitly designed to fill that role. For example, the first companion the Sith Warrior receives is a rogue who still makes for a decent—albeit a bit of a weak one—tank as that class cannot handle taking on too much damage either at first, unless you become a Juggernaut rather than the Marauder. Basically, that means the leveling is good.

The leveling works well especially because there is no need to grind through after coming across more difficult enemies in other areas; in fact, by following each of the missions in the world, even skipping the ones that require that you party up, you can find yourself overleveled once you reach the next area. This also means you can safely skip over the Flashpoint instances; they are more of a time-sucker than anything else, taking two or three hours to complete for the same amount of experience you would achieve in an hour blowing through the story.

Unfortunately, the balance really does not carry over to the PvP side of things. The skills each class gets is great for leveling, and many of them are also great for destroying other players, but the primary issue with balance is a complete absence of protection from these skills. To bring up another Sith Warrior example, there are several classes that can kite you or slow down your movement, and you have one move that breaks this effect and one other one that charges in for the kill. However, that class you're playing against likely has a second attack that can push you back, and then they merely need to shoot you to death before your cooldown ever ticks down to zero. Though the currency you receive for PvP Warzones helps you get superior items even for PvE, it really doesn't seem worth it unless you are the Smuggler or the Imperial Bounty Hunter. As a melee class, then forget about it.

As for developing character: It seems like an outdated system, having to place leveled points into specific trees to create the best combination. Personally, it seems like a considerably better system to just get a new skill once you level up instead of having to place a point just to get another percentage of health. If you already have 1000 health, getting another percent just means you are going to have 1010 health instead. Hooray? Maybe other games have spoiled it, but it does seem a little tried and done; it's not really developing your character if the same build is used to make the “best” there is.

Fun Factor

Right off the bat, Star Wars: The Old Republic does one thing that truly sets it apart from all of the other MMOs out there; it offers interactive cutscenes instead of making you read incredibly boring text that is also a bit too small for the average gamer to feel comfortable reading. That is one thing that really sets it apart, and many of its players appreciate it as it makes for a more immersive story rather than just a small text box. The fact that your character also has a polished voice actor instead of just customized grunts or complete, solemn silence makes it all that much more exciting to play as well.

Outside of the fact that it is the only MMO set in the Star Wars universe, its interactive cutscenes and completely unique storylines per class are all that are truly different for Star Wars: The Old Republic. That, of course, and the fact that you can engage in space combat once you receive your spaceship by level 16. By interacting with the speaker in the captain's room, it is possible to obtain daily space combat missions that earn you a special type of currency exclusively for the appropriate vendor on the Imperial or Republic Fleet, which can be exchanged for a pilot's outfit, better gear or better equipment for your spaceship. As long as you work with the daily space missions before they turn grey in the mission log, then it will net you quite a bit of experience points rather than the bare few that you obtain for completing them directly without quests.

In space combat, you control the ship with the mouse and are essentially tasked with defeating spaceships or space stations, sometimes while protecting and escorting another smaller ship, while also using the mouse button to navigate away from obstacles. Should your spaceship take on too much damage, you explode into a million particles but can somehow repeat the mission from the beginning. If you have the minimum required equipment and are good enough at aiming with your cursor, it is incredibly easy to complete these missions well in advance of the timer, making it a very boring mission by the time you complete all of the objectives.

It is safe to say that Star Wars: The Old Republic offers a level of immersion that other MMOs just have not figured out how to achieve, and it seems like the unique storylines and interactive cutscenes are largely the reason for this. If it were not for the poor writing with certain classes, and if it were not for the poor optimization of the software itself, it seems like TOR really could have blown up MMOs as we know it, perhaps even changing the way they work in general. With the right polishing, it could have been the one to kill World of Warcraft, but it made too many mistakes along the way.

Those who truly enjoy the lore that Star Wars brings definitely can find plenty of fun in Star Wars: The Old Republic since it does implement the lore well and it really is everything that a Star Wars game should be, even considering the fact that it is thousands of years behind the times of the movies. It is an incredibly fun game while you are leveling up, and though there is not much to be had once it comes time to play the endgame, chances are that a true Star Wars fan will get their money's worth just by completing all eight storylines.

In conclusion, Star Wars: The Old Republic really could have been something special, and in some ways, it really was. Unfortunately, it just gets bogged down by optimization problems and a complete absence of care once you reach the endgame.

Our score: 7 / 10

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Tenth Judicial District

Map of Minnesota with Tenth Judicial District counties highlighted

Tenth Judicial District Administration

7533 Sunwood Drive NW, Suite 306
Ramsey, MN 55303-5186
Phone: (763) 279-0179
Fax: (763) 279-0178

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Honorable John C. Hoffman
Washington County

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Honorable Douglas B. Meslow
Anoka County

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Michael Moriarity

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Nancy McCabe

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Kris Wiersma

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Greg King

Human Resources Manager

Kristine Lancaster
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Kris Wiersma
Accounting Officer
7533 Sunwood Drive NW, Suite 306
Ramsey, MN 55303-5186
Phone: (763) 279-0164

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Thomas R. Lehmann Receives 10th Judicial District Pro Bono Award

The Tenth Judicial District presented its 2014 Judge Robert Varco 10th Judicial District Pro Bono Award to Thomas Lehmann of the Eckberg Lammers Law Firm in Stillwater, MN. Mr. Lehmann was nominated by Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) for the pro bono legal services he has provided to clients of SMRLS since 1989. In the nomination, it was noted that his long service outdates their recordkeeping system. Since 2002 he has completed 38 cases for SMRLS clients.  In total since 2002, Tom has contributed over 445 hours of high quality legal services. SMRLS provides a full range of legal services to low income persons in civil matters in 33 counties in Minnesota, including Washington County.  The mission of SMRLS is to obtain effective access to the justice system to maintain freedom from hunger, homeless, sickness and abuse. Lehmann has been willing to take a wide range of cases for SMRLS including collection, employment, landlord-tenant, public benefits, wills, and family law cases including dissolutions, custody matters and adoptions.

In presenting the Award, Judge Krista Martin noted his dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to the poor through SMRLS. “His history of service merits this important recognition. It serves as an ongoing example of legal services for low-income individuals for Washington County.”

The 10th District Award is named in Memory of Judge Robert Varco who chambered in Sherburne County. For years Varco chaired the 10th District’s Pro Bono Committee and was known for his impassioned pleas for pro bono volunteers and his deep expressions of gratitude when he annually made the award presentation. Judge Varco would have been delighted with the well-deserved recognition given Mr. Lehmann.

Family Law Blog

View Judge Steve Halsey's blog on Minnesota family law issues at:http://minnesotafamilylawissues.blogspot.com
Representing the counties of: Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Sherburne, Washington and Wright

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To ensure that every man, woman, and child in the Tenth Judicial District has equal access to justice and can expect, in full confidence, to receive equal justice under the laws of the State of Minnesota.

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Bias is negative, hostile, offensive, or insulting behavior directed towards a person for being perceived as different.  Bias may be based, in whole or in part, on sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability.

If you feel you have been a victim of bias by anyone in the court system in the Tenth Judicial District, we want to hear from you.

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If you feel you have been a victim of bias in the court system of any of the counties of the Tenth Judicial District, please contact the Equal Justice Committee using one of the following:
Email:  EqualJustice10@courts.state.mn.us
Phone:  (763) 279-0177
Download and complete this form and return to:
Equal Justice Committee Chair
Tenth Judicial District
7533 Sunwood Drive NW, Suite 306
Ramsey, MN  55303
Phone:  763-279-0177
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Email:  EqualJustice10@courts.state.mn.us

Complaints that involve the outcome of your case, rather than how you were treated by the judge and court staff, cannot be addressed through this process.  If your concerns are related to the outcome of your court case, you should contact an attorney for legal help.

Complaints received about others involved in the judicial process will be referred to the appropriate agency/office.

No response can be made to anonymously given complaints.

To view our Equal Justice Committee brochure, please click here.

Handouts from the forum of the Equal Justice Committee and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe at Grand Casino Hinckley 2/25/12:
Tenth Judicial District Self-Help Center

The 10th Judicial District Self-Help Center offers assistance to self-represented litigants (people who are representing themselves in court) by providing:

  • Information on pro bono and low cost legal services
  • Information on legal referral services and information about mediation services
  • Forms and instructions on completing existing and approved statewide forms. Some fees may apply to forms.
  • Information on court procedures
  • Help with calculating guideline child support
Self-Help Center staff CANNOT provide legal advice.  If an individual chooses to be self-represented, that individual will have the same responsibility as an attorney to follow court rules and procedures to move the case forward.  Self-Help Center staff are not responsible for the outcome of the case.  This website is not a substitute for legal advice.  Talk with a lawyer if you need legal advice.

Walk-in Services

The Self-Help Center has computers with access to online resources available on a first-come first-served basis.  The Self-Help Center has forms and can perform a review of forms for completeness relating to:
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The Self-Help Center can also provide some limited assistance with probate matters and criminal matters, such as criminal expungements.
The Self-Help Center DOES NOT currently provide assistance with orders for protection (“OFPs”) or harassment restraining orders (“HROs”) (contact your Court Administration office for assistance with OFPs and HROs) or the following case types:  appealing a decision to the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court; annulment of marriage; legal separation; third-party custody; grandparent visitation; adoptions; termination of parental rights; wills; estates; trusts; juvenile matters; immigration issues; bankruptcy issues or emergency motions.  There may be other areas in which the Self-Help Center is unable to provide assistance, depending on the particular case type.
The Self-Help Center cannot:
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If you need to perform legal research or assistance with a case type not covered by the Self-Help Center, contact your local law library or attend a legal advice clinic.

Location & Hours

10th Judicial District Self-Help Center
Anoka County Courthouse
325 East Main Street, C210
Anoka, MN 55303-2489
The Center is located in the central building on the second level, across from the Jury Assembly Room.
Walk-in Hours:  Monday – Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. on a first-come first-served basis based on availability.  Note:  Based on staffing, hours/days are subject to change.  If you are planning to visit the Self-Help Center in person, please call (763) 422-6963 (voicemails not currently accepted) to confirm the Center is open the day you plan to visit.
The Self-Help Center is closed on Fridays, but will accept telephone calls based on staff availability.
Tips on Using the Self-Help Center
  • Visit the Minnesota Judicial Branch Help Topics before you come to the courthouse.  The Help Topics a great deal of information on common legal topics, as well as online tools that can assist you in completing forms.  For some legal topics, these tools include “how-to” videos and tutorials.  For others, you may find written, detailed instructions.
  • Please arrange for child care.  The Self-Help Center does not have a play area or toys for children.  You and other self-represented litigants will need to be able to focus on legal issues without distraction.
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  • Many legal issues are time sensitive and contain strict deadlines.  If you are unaware of any potential deadlines, you should seek immediate legal advice.  DO NOT wait for assistance from the Self-Help Center.
  • If you need assistance with electronic filing or electronic service (Washington County is currently accepting electronic filings for certain case types) please visit the eFile webpage.
Contact Us:
(Please note that normal email response time is 2 – 3 business days)
County Court CalendarsCourt calendars reflect scheduled courtroom hearings, but they do not include all matters handled by the court each day.

Confidential cases are not posted in this calendar, so if your case does not appear on the calendar, do not assume that your court appearance has been cancelled or rescheduled.

The calendar is in searchable PDF format. You can use your computer or mobile device to find your name or the name of an attorney.

Anoka County
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Please note:
  •  This calendar is posted at 7:00 a.m. each business day and updated hourly throughout the day. The Anoka calendar is posted at 7:00 p.m. for the next days hearings.
  • Calendar hearings are subject to change as there are often changes in scheduled cases, judge assignments, and courtroom assignments.
  • Printed calendars located outside the courtrooms or in public lobbies contain the most current daily calendar information.
  • If you have any questions about the calendar, please contact the local court administrator’s office.
  • Information in the calendar is subject to the MN Rules of Public Access».