text:
Peppers at 10, which seems low.
recruiting is legit yo
Unverified Voracity Overrates Texas Linemen
development: Boren does not haz it. brilliant photoshop via TTB
Development. A killer post on BHGP analyses schools' NFL draft performance relative to what you'd expect given their recruiting rankings. The conclusions:
- Stars matter. No surprise. Guys with five stars are more than four times more likely to be drafted than those with three.
- Michigan is average. They've had 21 draftees and expected 20.6. This places them 29th amongst 66 BCS teams. I'd bet Michigan would have done very well if this study focused on a time period five years earlier; in my imagination their "development ratio" starts off near OSU's, gradually drops as the OL degrades late in the Carr era, and implodes in the aftermath of massive attrition under Rodriguez.
- USC, Ohio State, and Iowa outperform. Interesting diversity at the top, as the #1 school is also the #1 recruiting school—impressive—and three through five are Iowa, Cal, and Wake Forest. Clemson is sixth, further proving that the Tigers have been the worst-coached BCS team of the last decade.
- Duke sucks. Duke sucks.
- U-S-BIGTEN. I'm going to gank this chart:
Rank Conference Recruits Drafted BCS Expectation Development Ratio 1 Big Ten 172 150.4 114% 2 Pac 12 166 152.0 109% 3 Big East 94 87.8 107% 4 ACC 183 177.2 103% 5 SEC 216 223.8 96% 6 Big 12 157 189.7 82% 7 Non-BCS 121 295.4 40%
If you're interested in going to the NFL, avoid the Big 12 and head north. Also, I'm guessing that non-BCS number suggest that Rivals' drilldown rankings (e.g., three stars being rated 5.5, 5.6, or 5.7) have some merit.
- U-S-RICHROD. West Virginia has the highest "win ratio" amongst BCS teams despite not sending anyone to the league, and while that's an artifact of being the best team in the Big East over the period surveyed WHY DID YOU HIRE GERG AARGH
I have a slight beef: study author UpUpDownDown looks at these numbers strictly through the lens of player development. He breaks conference numbers down further into offense and defense, and then further breaks down offense into skill and offensive line, finding the Big Ten murders everyone on the OL and on D while the Big 12 struggles immensely in those two categories. This is attributed to playstyle, specifically the Big 12's addiction to passing spreads.
I think there may another element at work: scouting services overrating certain sections of the country and underrating others, particularly the Midwest. Rivals (the source of the rankings used) doesn't even have a Midwest analyst. Meanwhile, OL rankings are particularly inaccurate since many high school kids need to put on 50 pounds before they can play in college. The flipside—skill position players more easily projectable—sees a much, much lower spread amongst conferences. The worst-performing conference is the ACC at 94% of expectation; the best is the Big East at 108%. That's a much lower spread than you see in the D and OL numbers, one that looks like an even distribution distorted by a little randomness.
If there was a regional bias in recruiting rankings, hard-to-evaluate OL would be the place it would show up most prominently. I think there is. Your ratings are just wrong when Wisconsin has two four-star linemen in the last five years, as they do on Rivals. They are not evaluating linemen correctly. I'm not sure what Big 12's hole of suck on defense represents but I'd be more convinced it was a playstyle thing if they were running 3-3-5s or something. Going up against Blaine Gabbert and a bunch of other passing spreads doesn't make much difference to anyone but a few linebackers, it seems.
In any case, it's a really interesting post you should read all of.
We have done derped. We have lost our superiority when it comes to not erecting embarrassing billboards:
One: Paul Reiser probably came up with the text. Two: it's on I-94, which goes from Canada to Indiana without even brushing up against Ohio. Three: it's derp enough to put up a billboard after you win something. It's extra super derp to do so after not winning since 2003. Five derps out of five.
Recruiting digression. Brady Hoke : linebackers :: Rich Rodriguez : slot receivers. Michigan now has eight in two classes and speculation naturally turns to where these guys all fit. Specifically, can any of them play somewhere else?
The answer for all four in this class appears to be "no" unless Bolden or Jenkins-Stone pack on a lot of pounds and end up at WDE. Ringer's six-foot and Ross six-one and they'll both end up around 230. On a football field guys that size play LB, FB, or RB and nothing else. Even Bolden and RJS are stretches at DE. Those guys are linebackers one and all.
Last year's class, if you don't remember:
- MI QB(!)/LB Desmond Morgan.
- TX LB Kellen Jones
- OH LB Antonio Poole
- OH LB/TE Frank Clark
According to Rivals, none of these guys is more than 6'2" and Morgan is the heaviest at 225—the others are all at 210. No one's mentioned safety for any. So… these are all linebackers too unless Clark swaps to TE, which is going to be at least as crowded as LB if Ron Thompson signs up to be the fourth tight end in the last two classes.
Someone's going to lose out and get flipped to fullback; other than that, all these guys are linebackers for life. That gives Michigan 13 next year, which is a bit excessive for three starting spots. Or at least it would be if we weren't currently enduring a wasteland at the position. I'd guess the 2013 class is homeruns or one random three star picked up late.
Further recruiting digression. The top ten kids in the state are probably Ross, RJS, Devin Funchess, Mario Ojemudia, Aaron Burbridge, Dennis Norfleet, Terry Richardson, Ron Thompson, Dan O'Brien, and Matt Godin. (Ben Braden might be in there somewhere, too.) Michigan has three, is presumed to be the heavy leader for two more (Godin and Thompson) and is in a short group of leaders for Ojemudia, Richardson, and O'Brien. If the chips fall the right way Michigan could get 7 or 8 of the Michigan top ten, which is not only far better than Rodriguez ever did but would be better than Carr's best instate efforts by some distance.
Part of that is it seems like Michigan is producing better football players these days—everyone in that top ten save Norfleet has a Michigan offer, or would have one if his grades were better (Burbridge). That never happened under Carr. A big chunk appears to be Hoke doing work.
Too good to be true. Red might have believed he'd get his whole team back after exit interviews but Mark Burns of the Daily has responded to/fueled/confirmed rumors that Brandon Burlon is gonzo. Some speculation is that he's seriously pisssed off you guys that he was passed over in favor of Clare for the Frozen Four games.
Losing Burlon hurts, but at least Michigan seems well-covered on the back end. Clare will draw into the lineup regularly and the spot opened up by Langlais's graduation will be filled by incoming freshman Brennan Serville, a guy rising up NHL draft boards. He should go in the middle rounds.
Meanwhile in hockey news of a bizarre and speculative nature, Mike Babcock's son is winding his way from the USHL and crazy rumors that Michigan will take him and Babcock will coach him after Red leaves have duly cropped up. Yost Built collects those.
Etc.: Woodson at Mott. ESPN finds out that people are betting huge sums of money on Pop Warner. Ufer as bespectacled track athlete. Holdin' the Rope graduates:
The Appalachian State debacle was my third day on campus. My freshman tickets sat me in Section 16, far away from my fellow students. I sat next to a white-haired old man--whose natural hair color might've been blue--and his son each week. My enduring memories of that first game are conveniently sparse; my first memory is of Chad Henne zipping a passing to Mike Massey in the opening drive. I saw it all from my bird's eye seat in Row 96 of Section 16; it was perfect and logical, a rational manifestation of our pre-season top 5 ranking. Then, the defense took the field.
BON on firing Jim Tressel not once but twice. Linebacker fundamentals: man coverage.
Reviewing The 2006 Recruiting Class: Top 50
Brandon Graham and Ricky Dixon
A few years ago I took a look at the Rivals top 100 and attempted to evaluate the success or failure of the kids in it, ranking each player on a five point scale and coming up with an average. It was pretty interesting but an enormous pain in the butt and the vague desire to repeat that study for future classes paled in comparison to the mountain of tedious research it required.
But if ESPN is going to do the tedious research for me, I'm on board. What follows is a reprise of the earlier post's methodology. Players are rated on a five point scale:
- Total bust.
- Contributor but a marginal one, or a not-very-good starter.
- Average starter.
- All-Conference-ish player in a BCS league, likely NFL draftee.
- All-American-ish player, likely to be drafted in top two rounds.
These should roughly correspond with star rankings. Players on the borderline will be assinged a 3.5 or whatever. Players who don't make it for reasons other than talent—injury, grades or being a total knucklehead—are noted as such. It's a bit much to expect recruiting analysts to project who is going to rob a liquor store.
This post covers the ESPN top 50. The table below has rankings from the three major services and a brief explanation of what happened to them.
|Myron Rolle
|Three year starter and second-team All ACC at FSU; left for Rhodes Scholarship before senior year. Sixth round pick of Titans, NFL backup.
|Percy Harvin
|All-purpose Florida ninja. First round pick of Vikings, offensive rookie of year.
|Vidal Hazelton
|50 catches for USC as soph, injured, buried on depth chart, transfer to Cinci, injured in first game at UC.
|Andre Smith
|Three year starter left to be top ten pick after true junior season.
|Matt Stafford
|Instant starter at UGA, first pick in 2009 draft.
|DeMarco Murray
|Part of backfield platoon for first three years; 1200 yards at 4.3 YPC as senior, two-time AB12, expected to be 2nd-3rd round pick
|Sergio Kindle
|Three-time AB12, AA as senior, second round pick of Ravens, Butkus finalist
|Taylor Mays
|Brutal headhunter was four-time AA. Second round pick of 49ers.
|Micah Johnson
|Three year starter had some injury problems but was 1st team All SEC as junior; undrafted, practice squad type in NFL.
|Antwine Perez
|Transferred to Maryland after one year, worked way into starting lineup as junior, probably won't be drafted.
|Maurice Evans
|Monster sophomore season (12.5 sacks, Hendricks finalist) followed by minor legal trouble, disappointing junior year, early NFL draft entry. Went undrafted and is a practice squad guy.
|Mitch Mustain
|Left after Las Cronicas Locas, transferred to USC, sat on bench, lost to ND in only start.
|Jevan Snead
|Beat out by Colt McCoy, transferred to Ole Miss. Mediocre two-year starter there. Idiotically entered NFL draft after 20-int junior year. Surprise: undrafted.
|Stafon Johnson
|Member of USC diverse but mediocre backfield as soph/junior. Dropped 275 pounds on his throat before senior season. Entered draft anyway, made team, immediately destroyed ankle.
|Tim Tebow
|Is Tim Tebow.
|Jai Eugene
|Started nine games as a sophomore but was LSU's nickel guy after that; bacup safety as senior.
|Al Woods
|Contributor for four years, starter as senior. No college accolades but a fourth round NFL draft pick.
|Marcus Ball
|Problem-ridden LB suspended three times before transfer to JUCO, then Memphis. Was starting for Tigers before getting suspended again. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/05/porter-suspends-tiger-senior-safety-ball/
|Sam Young
|Four year starter surrounded by utter incompetence. Sixth round pick of Dallas
|Brandon Warren
|Contentious transfer after excellent freshman year; booted from Tennessee; at North Alabama.
|Gerald McCoy
|Two-time AA was third pick of NFL draft.
|Eddie Jones
|Started as senior, contributed before that. Six sacks, one honorable-mention AB12. May go at the tail end of the draft.
|Allen Walker
|Three year starter but not a notable one. No accolades, won't get drafted.
|Carl Johnson
|Three year starter and enormous human; projected to go in the fourth to sixth rounds of the upcoming draft.
|Reshad Jones
|Two year starter was twice second-team All SEC; picked in fifth round.
|Allen Bradford
|Another member of USC's consistently mediocre backfield. Had bust-out senior year until sidelined by injury.
|Markeith Summers
|Mostly a backup; did start as a senior but finished fourth on the team in receptions.
|Jim Barrie
|Career ended with ACL explosion.
|Jermaine Cunningham
|Three year starter was second team all SEC as a senior; second round NFL pick.
|Chris Wells
|Human battering ram was brutally effective when healthy. First round pick.
|Brandon Graham
|The best player in the history of awful defenses, Graham was an AA in 2009 and a first round pick of the Eagles.
|Richard Dickson
|Three year starter had 30 catches as soph/junior. Dropped off a bit as a senior. Second team All SEC twice; undrafted but stuck with Lions.
|JB Walton
|Transferred to D-II school after academic issues.
|J'Marcus Webb
|Played in every game as a freshman, then succumbed to academic issues. Got drafted in seventh round and started 12 games as a rookie.
|Damon McDaniel
|Seven catches in two years; transferred to Hampton; didn't do much there.
|Adron Tennell
|Vague contributor didn't do much until he was a senior and even then just 24 catches.
|Emmanuel Moody
|More mediocre USC tailbacks. Moody had about 400 yards each year he was at USC; he transferred to Florida and did little.
|David Ausberry
|Started as junior but was unproductive; moved to TE; played a bit. Won't get drafted.
|Jeremiha Hunter
|Three year starter was second team AB10 as senior. Probably will get drafted at tail end.
|Byron Maxwell
|Nickelback until his senior year, when he was a decent starter. May get drafted.
|Terrence Austin
|Second team AP10 as kick returner; also a decent receiver. Seventh round pick who stuck with Redskins.
|Dustin Earnest
|Career backup. Did contribute a decent number of tackles as an upperclassman.
|Raeshon McNeil
|Okay two-year starter was passed over by NFL.
|James Aldridge
|Mediocre runner averaged under 4.0 YPC for career; moved to FB as senior.
|Mike Goodson
|Started off with a bang but production tailed off. Fourth round pick.
|Konrad Reuland
|Transferred to Stanford, started as a senior in TE-mad Harbaugh offense. Won't get drafted.
|CJ Spiller
|Insanely explosive do-everything RB/KR/PR was a top ten pick.
|Ricky Dixon
|Two catches in two season; tranferred to Texas Southern.
|Akeem Hebron
|JUCO, then three years at Georgia where he didn't do anything.
|LeSean McCoy
|Prepped, went to Pitt, and was the Panthers offense for two years. Second round pick.
So what does this say?
The 44 players who didn't bomb out for unrelated reasons averaged a 3.4. On average a player from ESPN's top 50 turned out to be a borderline All-Conference type. In buckets:
5: 11
4 (and 4.5): 8
3 (and 3.5): 14
2: 7
1: 4
75% of ESPN top 50 players were at least average-ish starters on big time college football teams or Notre Dame. 43% of them were All-Conference types, and 25% were All-American types. That's a good strike rate at the very top.
It's not as good as it was when I looked a the 2002 class. That Rivals top 50 averaged 3.5 and only had 13 guys 3 or below. However, three guys were punted on and twelve more weren't rated for one reason or another. Only six dropped out here. Sites may be more careful these days about character/grade rumors.
Who won?
Can't say yet until we get through the whole 150 and check out Rivals and Scout lists to see their embarrassing misses, but the above looks ugly for ESPN. There are four flat out busts on the above list. On two all three sites were fooled; on two they weren't. Those two were
- Ricky Dixon, an LSU receiver two did nothing and transferred. ESPN had him 48th. Scout had him a generic three-star; Rivals had him towards the tail end of their four stars.
- Damon McDaniel was 35th to ESPN; Scout had him 29th amongst WRs and Rivals had him 69th. All were somewhat wrong, but ESPN was more wrong.
There are seven meh guys, and on most ESPN was more wrong. Some of them are moderate differences that we'll probably see when we run across outliers in the Rivals and Scout top 50s, but on a few ESPN whiffed hard:
- #27 Markeith Summers was a generic three star to Scout and just hanging on to a fourth star at Rivals.
- #42 Dustin Earnest was 83rd on Scout and a generic three star ILB to Rivals.
Rivals was also considerably less wrong about Jai Eugene; both other sites got Clemson CB Byron Maxwell, LSU TE Richard Dickson, TX QB Jevan Snead, USC S Antwine Perez, MI DE Brandon Graham, OSU RB Chris Wells, and USC RB Emmanuel Moody better pegged than ESPN. There aren't many examples of the reverse, just small gaps in evaluations. We'll see if that holds up once the whole picture is tediously put into Excel.
Unverified Voracity Confirms The Obvious
Obvious. As part of his annual defense of the recruiting-industrial complex, Doctor Saturday has surveyed many things. Now he has struck upon the most over- and under-achieving teams as seen through the lens of recruiting classes. The overachieving list has a variety of causes:
- Oregon. Spread genius.
- Oregon State. JUCO/grayshirt addiction.
- Virginia Tech. FSU, Miami, UNC, and Clemson all recruit like demons and suck on the field. The methodology here prioritizes wins over teams with good classes no matter their results on the field. The ACC champion is set up to do well here.
- Iowa. Own Penn State, greatly benefit from Michigan's implosion.
- Stanford. Harbaugh. Sigh.
The underachieving list… well, you don't even have to look, really. Guess which big time rivalry finishes 1-2? You get zero opportunities. You got it anyway:
Hurray! In Michigan's case the underachieving is due to massive attrition, a change in program philosophy, the program delightfully eating itself alive, and the dumbest hiring decision in the history of the world. Notre Dame had a decided schematic advantage.
The rest of the lame are UCLA, Texas A&M, Miami, and FSU. Unsurprisingly four of these teams have changed coaches in the last two years. UCLA is going to have a hard time not firing Neuheisel next year, leaving A&M the only school that may be able to dig out under the current leadership.
Special K is a disease. He infects the world. I could help but think about Special K when I read about UConn's spelling cheer. It's the generic spelling cheer wherein you spell out the thing you like and repeat it three times. Example: "B-A-C-O-N bacon bacon bacon!" In this case it's U-C-O-N-N. It would be better if it was bacon, but it's UConn.
UConn's version is actually a cool tradition, however, because of this guy:
His name is Kenny, and the reason UConn has a cheer almost as good as B-A-C-O-N is because this lone nut created it via force of personality. People love this:
The reason Big Red's cheer has caught on and become a marker of UConn's success for the past 20 years is because, unlike so many things at UConn games, it is organic. There is no sponsor. It is not forced. It is not pre-packaged. No, instead it is a reflection of pure joy at the success of the young men who step out on the court wearing the jerseys that say "UConn." It is beautiful, and cheering along with Big Red is one of my favorite parts of being a UConn fan.
Unfortunately this year the cheer has been pirated by the PA guy and is deployed at times completely irrelevant to the game situation. It's basically WHO WANTS SOME FREE UCONN CHEER. In two years it will be WHO WANTS SOME FREE UCONN CHEER BROUGHT TO YOU BY CORPORATION. It is in this way that genuine things are co-opted and destroyed by marketers.
Also: bacon, bacon, bacon.
Filling in another hockey blank or two. Hockey gets a 2012(?) commit from Max Shuart, a nephew of former Wolverine captain Alex Roberts. Shuart's playing for major midget—unusual for a Michigan recruit at this stage in his career—and has filled in with the U17 team this year. He's got no points in three games with the U17s.
Michigan also just picked up an Alex Kile from Compuware for 2013. Kyle leads his team with 18-19-37 in 32 games, and is ninth in the league in scoring. He was a 14th round pick of London in the OHL draft—it's always hard to tell how much of that seeming lack of respect is talent and how much is signability.
MHN points out that Kile and Shuart were born only ten days apart, so Shuart may be ticketed for 2013 instead of 2012. That would make more sense since a guy who's doing well, but not amazingly, in midget doesn't seem like a guy who's going to make an impact in two years. I couldn't find anything on the internets indicating either guy was getting early hype, FWIW.
Random two year old sings fight song. Aww.
Is there a way to avoid this pun? Rumors of Soony Saad's departure for Europe are no longer rumors. Michigan's going to have to replace basically all of their scoring next year, which totally sucks because with Saad they were probably Big Ten favorites and in position to establish the sort of success that sustains itself over years. Now I'm not sure who the hell is going to be probably better than Robbie Findley.
Yes, dolla bill. The number for Michigan's guarantee game against Air Force: 1.1 million, which tops Ohio State's million-dollar payout to Navy by a few thousand dollars but not their $2 million guarantee to Colorado. It's a little scary that we just went back to a mid-90s Michigan DC and we're going up against the triple option, no?
Bug status. Items fixed:
- The iPhone app.
- IE bug where content would show up way down the screen. (Inline CSS wasn't getting used on pages other than the homepage, for some reason.)
- Up/down voting has returned. It's a bit different, as an update in the software brought a new widget that tracks up and down votes separately and more obviously. There's also a setting to "dim" comments that fail to meet a certain threshold; I picked –5. No idea what that will do yet. [It appears the answer is "nothing," but maybe it puts classes on these items that I'm not doing anything with yet.]
- Have restored image upload facilities for trusted users using WLW. There is new login information that can be found in the post that explains how to use WLW with MGoBlog.
List of known issues in approximate order of importance:
- IE 7 users (and I think just IE 7 users) are having issues seeing the box wherein comments are composed. Note: I don't even try to support IE 6, so if your company hasn't updated its browser in ten years I cannot help you.
- The message board is ugly and uses space inefficiently again (but at least there are permalinks).
- Voting is not applying points to user accounts.
- mgolicious is not automatically updating.
- Sidebar pagers are goofy.
- The message board homepage is also in an undesirable state.
If there's something else wrong email me about it, please.
Etc.: There was a very silly AnnArbor.com article that chalked up Forcier's departure to the "impossible expectations" placed on his shoulders, such as going to class and not taking incompletes. It cried out to be fisked; The Wolverine Blog has fisked it. Tom Harmon is the #5 Big Ten Icon, so 1-4 better have dominated jungles, too. Braves & Birds explores why commentary is so dumb. Wrestling takes out OSU and Indiana; I stumbled across the OSU dual on BTN and decided "what the hell" since Michigan was ahead. It was surprisingly entertaining.
Things That Happened During The Great Malware Disaster Of 2011
Every recruit ever committed to Michigan. To recap the "Hello" posts if you missed any of them during GMD11:
- Three star OH CB Tamani Carter, a recent Minnesota commit, was offered by Michigan and flipped.
- 3/4 star CB Raymon Taylor, an Indiana decommit, went with Michigan when they offered him the second time around.
- Michigan replaced decommit K Matt Goudis with CA K Matt Wile, an Army All-America participant who doesn't have the rankings but we're talking about kicker rankings here.
- 3/4 star LB Antonio Poole was offered and quickly committed after meeting with Mattison. Touch The Banner also has a take.
- Michigan snake oiled Purdue commit and three star TX QB Russell Bellomy. TTB sees shades of McNown.
In addition, OH TE/LB Frank Clark and CO LB Leilon Willingham have moved into the "expected to commit" category. Clark's from Glenville, of all places.
The names and stars aren't that impressive—the partially shirtless are shirtless in the same way Martavious Odoms was, a four star to one site and a generic three star to the others—but if we're talking about Michigan 2013 is the new Martavious Odoms better than air? Yes. And who doesn't like Odoms, anyway?
Even if this is just a version of Rodriguez's quick strikes upon taking the Michigan job, Hoke and Mattison (and I guess some other guys*) are doing this in about a fourth of the time Rodriguez had to assemble the last eight members of his hybrid class. And they screwed over Purdue in the process, thereby twisting the knife on Danny Hope and blowing up one of the very first Rodriguez The Demon memes: the "gentleman's agreement." Excellent work all around. Hope you play as a redshirt senior, kid.
Now we've got some insight into what the coaches think is lacking on the team: defense. Here is a small child reacting to this not at all obvious revelation.
there's gambling in this establishment?
More than the linebacker avalanche it's Michigan essentially turning down one-time silent WR commits Devin Lucien, one of those borderline four star types, and Hakeem Flowers, a three star with epic offers. Both tried to firm up those commits with the new staff and were politely told "defense or GTFO." They chose the latter. Michigan has a surplus on the outside now but surely one of those guys wouldn't have been overkill, right?
Similarly, this Heitzman kid they picked up from Vandy is a 6'3", 225 pounder who doesn't seem like he's got a high upside as a DE. So everyone assumed he was a tight end, since Michigan was trying hard to acquire one even before the shift to a more MANBALL philosophy. He denies this, saying Michigan isn't even talking about offense. Which is weird because between Roh, Paskorz, and Beyer Michigan seems to have undersized weakside DE covered for a good long while.
*[Seriously, all the commits save the Purdue snake oilin' are on defense, and the only defensive coach other than Mattison is Mark Smith. Smith is a 50-something dude who's afraid of flash photography. While a lot of the guys are linebackers I think "I coached Ray Lewis" is more the pitch than "I was the ILB coach at Indiana State for 22 years."]
Rick Comley announced his retirement. Red Berenson is "surprised." He's the only one.
Good for Michigan State hockey, good for interesting games against State in the future, still extremely uncertain if they'll get back to where they were under Mason. They've never recruited at the level Michigan has but made up for it with suffocating anti-hockey. Now they're not very good, playing in a dead, half-full building, and trying to compete against the OHL, Michigan, Miami, and Notre Dame. If they hire a real star they'll get back quickly but is Blasi going to leave Miami for MSU? Is George Gwozdecky? I have a hard time seeing MSU splashing the cash for their hockey coach—we'll see.
If it's Danton Cole that's the equivalent of hiring Brady Hoke. He'll be decent but that hire won't put the fear of God in Red or Jeff Jackson. The only name in the TOC thread on this is current assistant Tom Newton, which would be like hiring Mike Debord if Carr had stuck around for the 3-9 year. I'm sure you can dismiss that possibility.
While we're on hockey here's that delightful interlude from the aftermath of the Brown scrum:
Via Michigan Hockey Net.
People started muttering about what it would take for John Beilein to get the axe. It's in the paper and everything. BWS is digging out the wet owl and following that up with the obvious argument about his record.
This is what it will take for John Beilein to get fired this year: Armageddon. There are enough arrows pointed in the right direction, mostly in the persons of Burke, Brundidge, Robinson, Hardaway, et al, that Michigan will give Beilein the epic length of rope they gave Tommy Amaker. He won't get nailed next year and the team will be considerably better in 11-12, and probably better yet in 12-13, whereupon they'll either be a consistent tourney team or even the smitten Michigan athletic department will have to cut the cord.
Of course, I said this about Rich Rodriguez, too, but John Beilein is the kind of saint Michigan likes to be associated with.
Doctor Saturday embarked on his annual defense of the "recruiting-industrial complex." Every year the numbers are the same: on an individual and team basis recruiting numbers are not fate but not useless. Get The Picture set to highlightin' the bit I was going to highlight because Michigan is Georgia:
Those 13 schools [at the top of the recruiting rankings] alone have consistently produced a majority of the top five in the final polls, half of the top 10, at least half of the teams in the BCS and all of the national champions in the BCS era. (With Auburn's triumph – thanks mainly to über recruit Cam Newton, the five-star headliner of a top five class last year – only two of the top dozen recruiting powers have failed to win a BCS championship: Georgia and Michigan. [Emphasis added.]
We've had a lot of reasons our recruiting success hasn't translated to the field—at least, not the field in Ann Arbor. Georgia not so much, as they seem around where Carr was in '05—good young second year quarterback on a team that's around .500 with a declining coach that has maybe a kick or two left at the can.
People who don't lift weights found out what "rhabdomyolysis" is thanks to Iowa. I'm on with Orson when he dismisses the "save the children" aspect of the media reaction—the big issue is more effective sickle cell trait screening, not squatting until you pee brown. While Iowa's strength coach should probably be fired it's more stupid than immoral.
But man can Iowa rack up the terrible PR. Kirk Ferentz wasn't even at the press conference, and the university thought it could get away with a bland press release about thirteen kids being in the hospital. Add that to Iowa's seemingly biannual drug explosion, that weird press conference held late last year in which unnamed rumors were debunked without mentioning what they were, the laundry list of Hawkeye arrests, and that sketchy sexual assault cover-up-type-substance and it's a wonder that beautiful square-jawed Kirk Ferentz is still regarded a molder of men. Or maybe it's not.
"Nice jaw!"
Was that a question?
All right then.
The meme was blessed by Steele. Remember those depressing charts from the past couple years with returning starters and whatnot? Yeah…
|San Jose St
…different story this year. That doesn't even count Troy Woolfolk, though it does count Terrible McFieldgoalkicker. Call it a wash.
Oh, Snape. Michigan soccer associate head coach Paul Snape got the head job at Butler. I'm only mentioning it so I can post… awww. Stupid Google. I can't find the version of this…
That I once saw somewhere that said "Oh, Snape." Also it turns out to be a Harry Potter reference. Stupid Harry Potter and the horrifying things you'll see photoshopped if you attempt to find the slightly modified version of this stupid animated GIF.
Etc.: Thumbs up to the Mountain West for its supreme dickery in moving this year's TCU-Boise game to the blue turf. Mark Smith looks like that all the time, but it's less alarming when he's talking. Hecklinksi, meanwhile, sounds like he's saying "you are feeling very sleepy" no matter what he's saying. It's very soothing.
Upperclass Argh: Carr's Recruiting Fade
2007: The Disaster
I was scanning some message board or another and came across a statement about the '07 recruiting class and how it was dooming Michigan this year, so I took a look. The conclusion: holy pants, what a disaster. Here they are by position group they'd are or would be playing on this year's team, with available players bolded.
The dossier
QB: Ryan Mallett is doing well… at Arkansas.
RB: Vince Helmuth transferred to Miami(Not That Miami), where he has zero carries. Avery Horn left school and was at Reedley CC in California last year. He's not there this year, but he's not anywhere else, either.
WR: Junior Hemingway is a starter. Zion Babb landed at a JUCO after getting the boot and was supposed to transfer to Colorado but didn't make it. Toney Clemons did make it to CU; he's their second-leading receiver with 18 catches for 219 yards.
OL: David Molk is going to be a four-year starter. Mark Huyge is the first guy off the bench at either tackle position and started all of last year.
TE: Martell Webb is a co-starter with Kevin Koger and has been a four-year contributor but not a star.
DL: Ryan Van Bergen is an above-average Big Ten player. Renaldo Sagesse is a backup who gets spot snaps. Steve Watson moved from TE to DE and is this year's David Cone.
LB: JUCO Austin Panter is out of eligibility. Marell Evans transferred to I-AA Hampton. Brandon Herron is Craig Roh's backup when he's healthy.
DB: James Rogers is a very bad starter. Donovan Warren was a multi-year starter who made a bad decision to leave for the NFL. Michael Williams is buried on the depth chart and headed for a medical hardship because of concussions. Artis Chambers transferred to Ball State but is not on the roster. Troy Woolfolk's ankle exploded.
Total contributors from the redshirt junior/senior class
(starters bolded)
WR: 1, Hemingway.
OL: 2, Molk and Huyge.
TE: 1, Webb.
DL: 2, Van Bergen and Sagesse.
LB: 1, Herron.
DB: 1, Rogers. (Woolfolk was a success but would displace Rogers from this list if healthy.)
Of the guys who are gone, exactly two contribute to a I-A team: Mallett and Clemons. That's like six genuinely good football players out of 20 (Mallett, Hemingway, Molk, RVB, Warren, Woolfolk). That is not a successful recruiting class.
2008: The Divide
2008, divided into Rodriguez and Carr sections. JT Floyd and Brandon Smith committed post-RR but had Michigan as their leader for so long before that they are categorized as Carr guys. The two decommits aren't considered, but Wienke is a third-stringer at Iowa and TE Christian Wilson has eight catches in his career at UNC.
The Rodriguez dossier
QB: Justin "Win At All Costs" Feagin got in trouble and is gone.
RB: Michael Shaw is probably the starting tailback if healthy.
WR: Terrence Robinson is a marginal contributor. Martavious Odoms and Roy Roundtree are productive starters when healthy.
OL: Patrick Omameh is starting as a redshirt sophomore. Ricky Barnum is the primary backup at guard and should be a two-year starter.
LB: Taylor Hill transferred two weeks after arriving. He is a productive player at I-AA Youngstown State.
Six of eight guys are still around with five of them looking like successes, pending Barnum moving into the lineup next year.
The Carr dossier
RB: Mike Cox is fourth string behind Shaw and younger folks. Sam McGuffie got concussed three times in his freshman year and transferred to Rice, where he's their leading rusher.
WR: Darryl Stonum is a starter.
TE: Kevin Koger is a co-starter with Webb; Brandon Moore is still on the team but has not seen meaningful snaps.
OL: Dann O'Neill transferred to WMU, where he is a starter. Kurt Wermers transferred to Ball State after flunking out and complaining about how RR was bringing in people who "weren't his kind of crowd." Rocko Khoury is Molk's backup and did okay against Iowa. Elliot Mealer looks like a career backup at guard.
DL: Mike Martin is awesome.
LB: Marcus Witherspoon never enrolled because of a Clearinghouse issue. Kenny Demens just got his first start and looked pretty good. JB Fitzgerald has been buried behind Mouton and then Roh.
DB: Brandon Smith was too slow to play DB, didn't want to play linebacker, transferred to Temple, and promptly washed out. Boubacar Cissoko got pulled from the starting lineup for performance reasons, was kicked off the team, and saw his life spiral out of control. JT Floyd is in the starting lineup by necessity.
Ten of sixteen guys are still around with… uh. Stonum, Koger, and Martin are obvious successes. Demens and Floyd are contributors. Fitzgerald, Cox, Moore, Khoury and Mealer are looking like either career backups or meh senior starters on par with Greg Banks, though in Khoury's case he's locked behind a very good player.
Blame-y Section
This isn't a Yet Another Defense Of Rich Rodriguez post, it's Yet Another Roster Implosion Explanation post. (All right: some of both.)
In retrospect the #12 2007 class was overrated. Vastly so.
At the time the line was about the two hyped five stars and the "high upside" guys behind them who were underrated by the services and so forth and so on. The two five stars mostly lived up to that hype, but Mallett did it at Arkansas because of the coaching transition* and Warren took off for the NFL because he thought he was still that good. Meanwhile, the high upside guys mostly can't play football. Even if everyone from the class was still around Michigan would be suffering. Save Mallett, no one who left would see the field. Maybe Artis Chambers would provide some help in the secondary, but he moved to linebacker before his transfer and washed out at Ball State—it's hard to see him displacing Kovacs.
It should have been obvious that recruiting was going in the toilet when Michigan made two desperate reaches at linebacker, grabbing a JUCO guy and a two-star with one other offer(Temple), then made a desperate reach to get a second offensive lineman in the class. But three different groups are proving that subscription models can work on the internet because hope is impervious to reason.
Michigan bounced back in 2008, but a lot of that was the late Rodriguez additions. One man's listing of the top ten recruits in that class, Rodriguez guys bolded:
- Mike Martin
- Patrick Omameh
- Roy Roundtree
- Martavious Odoms
- Kevin Koger
- Michael Shaw
- Darryl Stonum
- Kenny Demens
- Ricky Barnum
- Rocko Khoury
RR's strike rate on 2008 recruits was considerably higher than Carr's, as Michigan seemed like a magnet for overrated guys. Witherspoon, Cissoko, Smith, O'Neill, McGuffie, Fitzgerald, Moore, and Stonum have all under-performed relative to expectations, with only Martin exceeding them. You can make a case that coaching has something to do with it but I believe evaluations are a major factor. From time to time a guy who knows an NFL scout relays his impressions (this year's theme: "Michigan has nothing on defense except for Martin. Who is this Rogers guy?") and from day one this guy said O'Neill was way too stiff and would not work out. Similarly, it's hard to imagine just what position Brandon Smith was going to play in the Big Ten.
Class of 2008 departures who might see the field this year are… well… Cissoko? Definite nos: Wermers, O'Neill, Feagin. Very probable nos: Hill (OLB; would not beat out Mouton or Roh), Witherspoon (could not find the field at Rutgers and washed out), and Smith (like Cam Gordon except worse).
So. Michigan's 2007 class was a disaster and attrition from it did not matter save Warren's early NFL entry. The two thirds of Michigan's 2008 class acquired by Carr was appreciably better but still not so good; Rodriguez's late additions brought it up to something approximating an average Michigan recruiting class when it comes to on-field success.
(By the way: Rodriguez's second class is looking divergent as hell. Massive nuclear strikes at QB and OL, yet another disaster of a DB class—Witty, Emilien, and Turner are all gone and Mike Jones is a linebacker.)
Unverified Voracity Catches Up, But Not To Denard
Note: some of this is pretty elderly due to the season preview extravaganza last week.
Hey… like… does anyone have ND tickets they want to sell to their favorite blogger? Email me if so.
ND Week. Here we go.
Funny. The Funny or Die guys are Michigan alums, you know. They've got a movie premiering at the Michigan Theater October 8th. They also have a Ralph Williams shirt:
Zero. The Fulmer Cup has closed, and Michigan's score checks in at zero. Woo! This follows their one point from last year (Boubacar Cissoko's disorderly conduct charge) and their two from '08 (Darryl Stonum's DUI), and just goes to show what a program of renegades Rodriguez is building around these parts.
The Cup only runs in the offseason and therefore missed Justin Feagin's Bogus Journey, but since Michigan State would have put up 40 points from the Posse Roundup & Engineer/Woman Beatdown, a Fulmer Cup that ran year-round would have been awesome.
Georgia is your champion, by the way, finally breaking through with their innovative system of suspended licenses.
That ain't right. Barking Carnival points out this breakdown of the ESPNU 150:
That can't be right. BC points out USA Today's helpful database on NFL draft picks and says California—home of the most NFL draft picks since '88—gets disrespected, but doesn't go into the numbers. I added and divided and came up with this:
|NFL Picks
|Actual 150
Everywhere except Texas gets dissed by a wildly unbalanced ESPN ranking system. Maybe not by as much as that suggests since population's been slowly moving out of the Midwest, but that only explains one small slice of the lack of balance. The South does have the most talent, but not to the extent suggested by ESPN.
Raise them well.
In which insulting letters are sent to Jon Voigt. The final edition of Six Zero's series of profiles on mgo-denizens covers yrs truly. Marvel at the pratfall in which the blog's genesis can be found! Relive the acquisition of the press pass! Discover my favorite food! Explore the ways in which my life is like Kathy Griffins! No, not plastic surgery! Find out in what fashion Jon Voigt is insulted! Be relieved at this bit if you're one of those people who frets I might go work for ESPN!
I really hope MGoBlog is my job for life as long as we start going to bowls on the regular in the near future. Insufficient emphasis. I desperately want MGoBlog to be my job until I retire. I've rarely been so attuned with a fictional character as when Sterling Cooper was trying to get Don Draper to sign a contract, and when he actually signed it and was immediately slapped in the face with it I felt it was cosmically justified. So... yeah. It will take a lot to do something else.
Wallpaperin'. The hibernation of Nothing Is Illuminated has created a gap in the otherwise all-encompassing Michigan blogosphere: wallpapers. We Are True looks to fill that.
Etc.: This is probably the oldest thing but it was awesome if you haven't seen it: Bobmurph deploys xtranormal in the service of truth re: Big Ten Divisions. Nick Saban on talent: "I don't know where we're stockpiling all this stuff at, but we've got room for lots more." Jesus.


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Get fit for a cause
Published: Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 11:31 p.m.
Local nonprofit Refuge127 is putting on a fundraiser in the Nicholls State University Ballroom beginning at 6 p.m., Saturday March 16, to help build an orphanage in Uganda.
Zumba Love is an hour-and-a-half fitness class taught by Emily Rini Danielle Cashio, Ashlee Ledet and Andie Chiasson from 409 Fitness Studio in Thibodaux.
Registration can be done online at www.zumbalove2014.eventbrite.com and costs $25, including a T-shirt. There is also a class for children costing $5 at the door.
Refuge127 will also raffle a heart rate monitor during the event.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

subset: commoncrawl


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Toyota, Mitsubishi, Volvo improve the most in J.D. Power APEAL StudyWed, 27, Jul 2016
Toyota, Mitsubishi and Volvo had the largest improvements among brands with more than one nameplate in J.D. Power's latest study of new-vehicle appeal, while Porsche paced the industry for the 12th consecutive year.
Hyundai to roll out next-gen fuel cell in '18Mon, 25, Jul 2016
Hyundai will use the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea to showcase a new next-generation fuel cell vehicle.
ASKED & ANSWERED: Gill Pratt, CEO, Toyota Research InstituteMon, 25, Jul 2016
Gill Pratt talks autonomous driving and about those that don't want a machine driving for them.
Infiniti tops survey on satisfaction among sales prospectsMon, 11, Jul 2016
Infiniti stores outperformed all brands in an annual study on building rapport and satisfaction among potential car buyers. The 2016 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index is based on the treatment of mystery shoppers who visited 6,157 U.S. stores. Lexus and Mercedes-Benz stores tied for second; Toyota ranked third; Audi was fourth; and BMW rounded out the top five.
Nissan, Toyota vie for the hearts of TexansMon, 25, Jul 2016
To grow in the U.S., Nissan needs more of Texas. But Dallas is about to become Toyota Town.
Lexus' sexy, sporty flagship leads the wayMon, 25, Jul 2016
Several Lexus models will be moving to the TNGA platform in coming years. Meanwhile, the new RC and coming LC 500 are leading the brand's shift to a sexier and sportier vibe.
Toyota CPO surge boosts sales industrywideMon, 25, Jul 2016
Industrywide first-half CPO sales grew 4 percent, according to data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center. Toyota division helped to lift the total, as its CPO sales climbed 15 percent.
Toyota plans to deliver a more dynamic futureMon, 25, Jul 2016
Years of planning are now bearing fruit as Toyota puts more of its vehicles on the new global modular architecture that debuted on the fourth-generation Prius for 2016.
Winning formula makes Jeep most copied brandMon, 11, Jul 2016
Jeep can claim many milestones. But here's one you may not have thought of: It's the most copied brand of American vehicles.
FCA to Toyota Motor: 'We're baaaack'Mon, 11, Jul 2016
In the first half of 2016, Fiat Chrysler pulled within shouting distance -- about 40,000 units -- of Toyota Motor (1,197,800-1,157,458). FCA's figures include sales of 17,735 Fiats, around 5,000 Maseratis and 300 or so Alfa Romeos.
Dealers invest more in Facebook ads as Google search competition heats upMon, 11, Jul 2016
Facebook, which has a trove of data on its users to back up a growing portfolio of marketing services, is becoming a prime marketing vehicle for savvy auto dealers to reach low-funnel shoppers, especially in the wake of changes in how Google displays advertising.
Toyota's lighter, trimmer '18 Camry takes shapeFri, 08, Jul 2016
New spy photos suggest that the redesigned 2018 Toyota Camry will be more rakish, with a noticeable lip on the rear deck and new side mirrors. With a new platform and powertrain changes, the next Camry figures to offer improved fuel economy, ride and handling and additional safety and driver-assistance features.


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Phytophthora Root Rot On Woody Ornamentals
Some species of Phytophthora attack woody ornamentals including arborvitae, azalea, beech, Chamaecyparis, dogwood, forsythia, Fraser fir, hemlock, Japanese holly, juniper, maple, Pieris, Rhododendron, Taxus and white pine. Other species attack herbaceous plants including annual vinca (Catharanthus), begonia, poinsettias, African violets, and many other plants.
Hosts with mild root rot
- smaller than normal foliage
- foliage with nutrient deficiency-like symptoms
- dead feeder roots
- dark streaks up stem
Hosts with severe root rot
- stunting of entire plant
- wilting
- smaller than normal leaves or needles
- reddish-brown discoloration of wood at soil line
- greatly reduced root systems
- roots with reddish-brown discoloration
- dead feeder roots
- new shoots do not develop
- death of plant
Hosts with cankers or stem rot
- slightly sunken dead area just under the bark (in the cambium)
- wood under the outer edge of the canker may be pink or reddish-brown in color
- bleeding from various points in the cankered area but the ooze does not smell badly
- stems and branches of herbaceous plants collapse
Conditions Favoring Development
Infection can occur over a wide range of temperatures: 15°C (59°F) to 28°C (82°F). 22°C (71°F) is optimum.
Soil moisture just below saturation allows sporangia to form in 4-8 hr and motile zoospores to be released in 10-60 min. Therefore, poorly drained or wet soil favor the pathogen. Zoospores infect feeder roots just behind the root cap. Soil pH plays little role in this disease.
Phytophthora overwinters primarily infected plant roots or stems and only to a small extent free of plant material in soil. The fungus can be splash-dispersed during heavy rains or overhead irrigation. It can be carried in run-off from plant to plant in the field or from an infected plant to the drain holes of containers of nearby healthy plants particularly if containers share puddles of water for an extended period.
- Because Phytophthora usually stays associated with infected plants, a very important reason why it is dispersed long distances is through the shipment of infected plants. Therefore when new plants are purchased, keep those plants together and observe them carefully for any symptoms. Do no co-mingle plants from different sources so that if Phytophthora is detected, you will be able to determine its source. DO NOT recycle the irrigation water for these plants until you are certain they do not harbor Phytophthora . (If Phytophthora ramorum is detected in plants, ALL plants in that shipment and all plants sharing recycling water will be ordered destroyed.)
- Grow resistant cultivars in any areas known to harbor Phytophthora . See the list below.
- Disease prevention must be the primary goal since no chemicals cure a Phytophthora -infected plant.
- Remove and destroy infected plants.
Nursery - Field:
- Plant only in well-drained locations.
- If the area previously harbored Phytophthora, fumigate with a registered material before planting when soil temperatures are 10°C (50°F) or warmer at 15 cm (6 in.) depth and when soil moisture levels are adequate for seed germination. Allow adequate aeration time. (Such fumigation requires a specific pesticide license.)
- Irrigate plants to prevent drought stress. Drought stressed, Phytophthora -resistant plants lose the resistance and can attacked.
- Avoid overhead watering especially in late afternoon.
- Avoid using run-off water for irrigation.
- Certain chemicals can protect healthy plants.
Nursery - Container:
- Use a well drained, pasteurized potting mix. Sand should not be considered sterile. Composted hardwood bark not only drains well, it usually contains other microbes that inhibit Phytophthora .
- Use clean containers
- Place containers on an area that has been graded to ensure drainage away from the growing area. Or, place containers on a 7-10 cm (3-4 in.) thick bed of gravel or other well drained material. Black plastic under this bed will prevent weed growth.
- Group different types of plants by water requirement so that plants are not over or under watered.
- Irrigate plants to prevent drought stress. Drought stressed, Phytophthora -resistant plants lose the resistance and can attacked.
- See chemicals below that are used to protect healthy plants.
Final Planting Site - Home or Commercial Planting:
- Plant only in well-drained areas or grade or tile the site to ensure good drainage.
- Do not plant where Phytophthora -infected plants were previously located.
- Do not plant too deeply. Soil line should not be more than 2.5 cm (1 in.) over upper roots.
- Benson, D. M. 1982. Phytophthora Root Rot - Phytophthora cinnamomi (p. 14-17); and Rhododendron Diseases (p. 69-71). In Diseases of Woody Ornamental Plants and Their Control in Nurseries. Ed. by R. K. Jones and R. C. Lambe. North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service, NCSU, Raleigh.
- Lambe, R. C. and R. E. Baldwin. 1975. Phytophthora root rots and wilt of rhododentron, azalea, and related ornamentals. Plant Disease Control Notes. Extension Division, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. 6 pp.
The following list is from: R. K. Jones and D. M. Benson. 1982. Phytophthora root rot and its control in nurseries. Plant Pathology Info. Note #202. Dept. of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
|Highly Susceptible
|Formosa (I), Fakir (GD), Corrine Murrah (BA), Merlin (GD), Hampton Beauty (P), Higasa (S), Glacier (GD), Rose Greeley (G), Polar Seas (GD), Redwing (I), Chimes (I), Alaska (R), New White (I), Shin-Ki-gen (S), Rachel Cunningham (BA), Pink Gumpo (S), Eikan (S), Sweetheart Supreme (I),Morning Glow (K).
|Barbara Gail (P),White Gumpo (S), Rentschler's Rose (W), Dorothy Gish (R), White Gish (R), Pink Hiawatha (P) Margret Douglas (BA), Gaiety (GD), Gloria (R), Kingfisher (W), White Christmas (W), Sensation (P), Prince of Orange(I), White Jade (BA), Copperman (GD), Hexe (K), Massasoit (K), Martha Hitchcock (GD), China Seas (G), Warbler (W), California Sunset (I), Amaghasa (S), Pride of Summerville (I), Hinodegiri (K), Flanders Field (P).
|Robinhood (GD), Hershey Red (K), Herbert (K), Fortune (P), Catawba (GD), Marion Lee (BA), Snow (K), Royalty (G), Kow-Ko-Ku (S), Rosebud (G), Mrs. G. G. Gerbing (I), Coral Bells (K), Treasure (GD), Pat Kraft (BA), Saint James (BA), Carror (N), Purple Splendour (G), Pinocchio (GD), General MacArthur (K), Pink Pearl (K), Johga (S), Sunglow (N), Hino Crimson (K), Elaine (N), Emily (N), Pink Cloud (N), Adelaide Pope (N), Jane Spaulding (N).
- BA = Back Acres
- G = Gale
- P = Pericat
- GD = Glenn Dale
- R = Rutherford
- I = Indian
- S = Satsuki
- K = Kurume
- W = Whitewater
Phytophthora bleeding canker on beech.
Apple bait for Phytophthora detection.
Discoloration of the base of a Dieback of Ilex (Shamrock holly) from Phytophthora root rot.
rhododendron from Phytophthora.
Phytophthora on begonia.
Prepared by Gary W. Moorman, Professor of Plant Pathology
Notice: The user of this information assumes all risks for personal injury or property damage.
Warning! Pesticides are poisonous. Read and follow all directions and safety precautions on labels. Handle carefully and store in original labeled containers out of the reach of children, pets, and livestock. Dispose of empty containers right away, in a safe manner and place. Do not contaminate forage, streams or ponds.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences research and extension programs are funded in part by Pennsylvania counties, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Wednesday 20th February 2013
The prestigious annual Rose D'Or Awards (now in their 55th year) honour the very best of international radio, TV and online entertainment programmes, and they will take place later this year. Over 400 programmes from more than 130 broadcasters and production companies in 33 different countries were submitted for this year's Rose d'Or awards. For the first time, a new competition category, 'Radio Event Of The Year' was created. We entered European Dawn Chorus in this category, and we're absolutely delighted to let you know that we're one of the final nominees!! And another programme from the Mooney team, called A Very Merry Mooney Tunes, has been shortlisted in the Radio - Music Show category! Click here to read more about the 2016 Rose D'Or Finalists, and click here to relive - and re-listen to - all the beautiful Dawn Chorus birdsong from right across Europe.
***To visit The Mooney Show website, click here!***
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rtenature
Twitter: @naturerte
On Mooney this afternoon (with Olan McGowan),
A personal story of how debt can be overwhelming ;
how the new insolvency laws will affect people in debt;
why kids as young as 5 are being suspended from school in the United States because they choose to play with toy guns...
Paul Carroll from Neo Financial Solutions is in studio to talk about his new Personal Insolvency Guide which can be downloaded here:
Andrea Smith tells her own story of how her dream unravelled and she fell on hard times
In the United States in the last few weeks a number of children have been suspended or reprimanded for playing with toy guns. Lenore Skenazy reports.
Meteorological Society Custom House lecture
Tomorrow evening (Thursday) in the Custom House in Dublin there is a fascinating public lecture by Dinah Molloy who has recently received an M.Sc. in Polar Studies through the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge University.
The lecture is being hosted by The Irish Meteorological Society whose secretary is our own Evelyn Cusack and Evelyn has asked me to invite anyone interested to come along.
The name of the talk is 'Thar She Blows: A Whaler's Fortuitous Legacy'
Dinah will tell about her research into the meteorological treasures buried in British whaling logs of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Over the last ten years she has been investigating non-instrumental, historical weather reports concealed in Arctic whaling logs within the period 1750 to 1850 and especially a group of British Arctic whaling logs between 1810 and 1820.
Dinah will discuss the use of this data in current climate research.
The talk will be held in the Custom House, Dublin on Thursday, 21 February and will commence at 6.15pm.
All are welcome and admission free but you must book at http://www.irishmetsociety.org/
RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external websites


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Anro "Andy" Erickson, 86, of Tucson, Ariz., formerly from Montevideo, Granite Falls and Grove City, died from heart failure Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, in Tucson. He is survived by wife, Eileen "Sis"; children, Randall and Carla Erickson, Pat and Terri (Erickson) McKeown, and Sheldon Erickson and Sandra Schonning; grandchildren, Aric and Maija (Boitman) McKeown, and Kirstin and Elyse McKeown. No services are planned.
Location, ST | website.com


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Hungary's greatest business event in industry
24-27 MAY 2016, HUNGEXPO Budapest Fair Center
The most comprehensive industrial professional fair returns in 2016, with the goal of convening and presenting practically all industrial branches in order to provide exhibitors and visitors with a first-hand account of professional trends.
The latest innovations and solutions of industrial electronics, automation, robotics, machine manufacturing, subcontraction and logistics at the same place! More than 280 exhibitors from 12 countries booked their stands in the pavilion so as to present their products, services, innovations and novelties to the trade visitors.
Exhibitors' list: http://iparnapjai.hu/en/exhibitors-list
Besides the wide scale of exhibitors' offers, presentations, lectures and conferences organized by the professional partners of Hungexpo C.Co. Ltd., such as:
- Fraunhofer – MTA SZTAKI lecture series and workshops,
- Automotive Suppliers Forum
- work safety conference
- presentations on YuMi®, the ABB IRB14000 type collaborative robot
- Conference organised by the Budapest and Pest County Chamber of Engineers
- Techtogether competition
Detailed programs: http://iparnapjai.hu/en/conference-program
Grand Prix:
In 2016 the INDUSTRY DAYS GRAND PRIX was organized again. The winners were carefully selected by a professional jury, the awards will be delivered during the official opening ceremony.
List of awarded companies: http://iparnapjai.hu/en/grand-prix
Come and visit the International Industrial Trade Exhibiton in Hungary!


text: education 16,000 new preschool slots could open up in Michigan with funding boost By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 28, 2013 Dustin Dwyer / Michigan Radio "It's certainly a good day for early childhood advocates." - Matt Gillard of the Michigan Sandbox Party Dustin Dwyer from our State of Opportunity team has more on the expected increase for early childhood education in Michigan: The annual legislative brawl over how to spend the state's money is expected to come to a close this week in Lansing. The budgets currently under consideration include many changes. One of the biggest is a nearly 60 percent increase in the state's funding for early education. The governor initially proposed a $65 million increase for the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) in his budget. The proposal went back and forth as it made its way through the legislature this year, but it's now looking like the governor will get his way. Read his full report here. Michigan public schools could get a funding boost By Jake Neher • May 24, 2013 Jane M Sawyer / morgue file Michigan public schools would get a three-percent overall funding boost under a plan in the state Legislature. It comes up for final votes next week. No school would get less money per student than it did last year under a plan approved by a state budget panel. Lawmakers added language that would guarantee every school gets at least five dollars more per student than last year. Without that provision, some schools could have seen cuts because of reduced payments to cover teacher retirement costs. Schools that get the minimum amount of state funding right now could see up to $60 more per student next fiscal year. That total amount is right around $7,000 per student. The bill now goes to the floors of the state House and Senate. Are we allowing poorly performing charter schools to expand in Michigan? By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 24, 2013 Sarah Hulett / Michigan Radio Education Trust-Midwest, "a statewide nonpartisan policy, research, and advocacy organization," released an analysis on the 32 charter schools set to open in Michigan this fall. They say while some newly approved charter schools are run by operators with a strong track record, many others are run by operators that are "chronically low-performing." According to ETM's David Zeman, the data demonstrates that "Michigan needs to seriously consider holding charter authorizers more accountable for school quality." Why Ann Arbor may lay off teachers for the first time ever By Kate Wells • May 24, 2013 Ann Arbor Public Schools In case you've been living under a rock the last couple of months, many Michigan schools are in financial crisis. It's not just separate outbreaks. It's an epidemic. Buena Vista had to shut down for two weeks when they ran out of money to pay staff. Albion is closing its high school. About 50 districts are on the state's financial watch list (as in, watch-out-these-guys-could-go-under). Now, Ann Arbor, the artsy cosmopolitan Disney Land of public school systems, is feeling woozy. 32 new Michigan charter schools set to open in fall 2013 By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 23, 2013 user: jdurham / morguefile This fall, 32 new charter schools are scheduled to open in Michigan. To check out where these schools will be located, look at this Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA) link. According to MAPSA, there are currently 232 charter public schools in Michigan with over 100,000 enrolled students. This year, there number of charter schools opening is due in part to a controversial law that lifted restrictions on charter schools. More from MAPSA: Michigan law allows new public schools to be chartered by state universities, community colleges, intermediate school districts and local school districts."Michigan's system of charter school authorizing and oversight is considered a model around the country, and as we look at the new schools opening this year, we can see why that is," [MAPSA President Dan Quisenberry] said. "Once again, the authorizers have done an excellent job of making sure that only the best, most promising schools will be allowed to open. You'll notice that we aren't seeing the supposed 'flood' of new charter schools that some critics feared. The authorizers aren't going to charter any new school that doesn't offer a high-quality, innovative approach." Stateside for Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 By Stateside Staff • May 23, 2013 Listen Listening... / 10:33 All this week, we've been digging into the causes, and perhaps solutions, to the financial troubles facing our schools. As Michigan Radio has been reporting, some 50 public school districts across our state are facing deep deficits. And, for the first time in Ann Arbor history, the school district may have to lay off 50 teachers. Today we focused on teacher salaries. Just what should determine teacher pay in Michigan? And, Daniel Howes talked with us about the business community in Detroit. Is teacher merit pay what's best for Michigan? By Stateside Staff • May 23, 2013 Jennifer Guerra / Michigan Radio Listen Listening... / 17:55 An interview with professor Jennifer Rice King and Superintendent Scott Moore As the 2012-2013 school year winds down, one of the issues occupying the attention of state lawmakers is teacher pay. In essence: what should determine teacher salaries in Michigan? A state House panel has approved a plan to tie teachers' pay to student performance. But, as Michigan Public Radio's Jake Neher told us, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they're worried the bill would strip away local control. Performance pay for teachers moves forward in state House By Jake Neher • May 22, 2013 Lester Graham / Michigan Radio A state House panel has approved a plan to tie teachers' pay to student performance. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they're worried the bill would strip away local control. Bill supporters say just because someone has been teaching for a long time, that doesn't mean they're a great teacher. They say educators should be paid more if their students are making progress, and less if they're not. Fitting a liberal arts education into our future By Stateside Staff • May 22, 2013 umich.edu Listen Listening... / An interview with Dean Terrence McDonald. Here's a question that colleges and universities across the country are grappling with: how does "liberal arts" fit into our futures? We hear more and more talk about stem courses and careers: science, technology, engineering and math. There's lots of talk about the fact that the U.S. needs people with these degrees to compete in a global economy. So what will it take for liberal arts programs to matter to students who want to graduate with degrees that will secure a job that pays? Those are some of the questions being tackled this week at a major conversation involving more than 50 deans at large research universities around the country coming to the University of Michigan for an unprecedented national conversation. The focus -"The Liberal Arts and Sciences in the Research University Today: Histories, Challenges, Futures." The Dean of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan, Dean Terrence McDonald was kind enough to join us in the studio. Listen to the full interview above. Activist to crawl on hands and knees to Albion High School By Mark Brush • May 22, 2013 49 schools districts in Michigan are in the red. Albion is not one of them. To avoid the red numbers, the district cut their high school. 77 percent of students return to troubled Buena Vista school district By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 22, 2013 Sarah Alvarez / Michigan Radio The Buena Vista School District reopened on Monday after closing for two weeks due to a financial crisis. Of the 400 students that attended the school district before the closure, 77.5 percent have returned, according to Lindsay Knake at MLive: Superintendent Deborah Hunter-Harvill said the there are 339 students back in school this week, including 151 students at Doerr Child Development Center, 97 students at Phoenix Science & Technology Center and 91 students at the high school. "We have to keep working to receive high school students back," she said. The high school had about 160 students prior to the school closings, and is missing 40 to 50 students including the 25 graduating seniors, Hunter-Harvill said. There are 29 students missing at Doerr and 10 missing at Phoenix. "Come back to us," Hunter-Harvill asked students at a community meeting on Tuesday, May 21. "Believe in us." Knake also reports that five employees who were laid off were recalled: Stateside for Monday, May 20th, 2013 By Stateside Staff • May 20, 2013 Listen Listening... / 45:47 For the first time in two weeks, teachers are back in the business of teaching and students are back in the business of learning in the Buena Vista school district near Saginaw. That's after the district had to close school doors because it couldn't meet payroll. On today's show: just how bad are finances for school districts across the state? Could your district be next? Michelle Richard, a senior consultant at Public Sector Consultants in Lansing, and Eric Scorsone, an economist at Michigan State University, talked with us about Michigan school finances and whether consolidation is a viable solution. And, Buena Vista's high school men's basketball coach spoke about how the school is doing now that it has reopened. Current Buena Vista teacher and former student is hopeful for the district By Stateside Staff • May 20, 2013 Twitter Listen Listening... / 4:57 An interview with Tory Jackson on the future of Buena Vista. In the Buena Vista school district, teachers are back in the business of teaching and students are back in the business of learning for the first time in two weeks. It has been two weeks since the Buena Vista school board laid off all but three staff members and closed down the schools, because there was just no money to keep things running. It took a new deficit-elimination plan and the state releasing three months of state aid that had been withheld to recoup funding for a program for incarcerated youth. The district had stopped running the program, but had not notified Lansing. It's convoluted and confusing, but in all of these news stories and headlines there is one crystal-clear reality: students are suffering. So are their teachers, who actually offered to work without pay. Buena Vista schools reopen, but financial future uncertain By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 20, 2013 Students and teachers in the Buena Vista School District are back in the classroom today.After a two-week closure of the Saginaw County district, all three schools in the district opened their doors Monday morning. To make up for lost instruction time, the school year will now end on June 21, instead of the scheduled June 13, MLive reported.The district shut down after the state pulled some $400,000 in misappropriated funding. The 15 Michigan schools running the biggest deficits By Mark Brush • May 17, 2013 Sarah Hulett / Michigan Radio Bake sales, magazine subscriptions and car washes ... it seems school systems are perennially low on money. But with one Michigan school system closing its doors before the school year ends, others consolidating to save money, and still another giving up on its high school; Michigan schools seem to be in an especially bad spot. Blame gets spread around. It's the economy - mismanagement - declining enrollment - excessive funding cuts - high retiree costs - or cumbersome union contracts. Pick whatever reason you like best, it doesn't change the fact that many Michigan schools are in trouble. The State's Deputy Superintendent of Schools wrote this in a recent memo to local school officials: "... we have seen a marked increase in the number of districts that have experienced a deficit fund balance. The magnitude of some of these districts seems almost insurmountable." Let's give it a little perspective. Over the last decade, here are the number of schools that ran a deficit in a given school year. Michigan had 742 school districts in 2002-2003. Today, the state has 805 districts. Of the 805 districts today, as the chart shows, 49 are running deficits. Here are the fifteen schools in Michigan with the biggest projected budget deficits as a percentage of their expected overall revenue. It should be noted that these numbers could change as the school year advances. The Living Room: Memories from a high school dance By Stateside Staff • May 16, 2013 Aaron Alexander / Flickr Listen Listening... / 7:43 In May's segment of The Living Room, Allison Downey tells the story of a high school dance she went to that ended a little differently than she expected. The Living Room is a monthly series produced by Zak Rosen and Allison Downey. In today's segment, we hear Allison's song 'All that Matters.' It was produced & engineered by Michael Crittenden at Mackinaw Harvest Studios in Grand Rapids John Austin: Electric bass Rod Capps: Lead guitar Brian Morril: Percussion Annie Capps: Harmony vocals Allison: Lead vocals and rhythm guitar To hear the story, click the link above. 'Massive' teacher layoffs planned in Pontiac, Flint By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 16, 2013 Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio The Flint School District is planning over one hundred layoffs, the Flint Journal reported. 139 teachers and faculty in Flint will receive pink slips, with the staff cuts going into effect the day after school gets out on June 10. While the interim superintendent emphasized the possible rehiring of many of these teachers at the end of June, the school district's deficit reduction plan calls for firing 150 teachers over the next three years. The Flint School District has three years to chop away at a $15.6-million deficit. If the deficit isn't eliminated by their 2015 deadline, the district could lose state funding. Mid-year public school closings rare nationwide By Mark Brush • May 15, 2013 Sarah Alvarez / Michigan Radio A public school in Michigan closing before the year ends isn't just a state story. The Washington Post picked up on the troubles of the Buena Vista school district in a piece by Lyndsey Layton today. Layton looks at how often these kinds of closings happen around the country: Buena Vista schools get aid from state, doors will open today By Vincent Duffy • May 15, 2013 Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio Students at Saginaw County's Buena Vista school district may be back in the classroom soon. The state has approved the district's plan to bring itself out of debt. State Superintendent Mike Flanagan has approved the release of state aid funds to the Buena Vista school district. The district hasn't held class since May 3 because it ran out of money to pay its teachers. Last night the Buena Vista board of education approved a deficit elimination plan. Flanagan says he is now encouraging the local school board and administration to reopen the doors as soon as possible. The state will release state aid to Buena Vista on May 20th, allowing the district to make payroll on May 24th. The aid will put an end to any discussion of a "Plan B" that was developed earlier this week to have Buena Vista students use federal money to attend a skills camp over the summer. The schools will be open today for those students who qualify for free meals. Emergency manager for Detroit schools extends his stay By Mark Brush • May 15, 2013 Sarah Hulett / Michigan Radio Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts was supposed to leave his post tomorrow. Today, he announced he will stay on the job for another six months. In a letter to the staff at Detroit Public Schools, Roberts said Gov. Rick Snyder agreed to extend his contract. Many of you are probably asking yourselves why I requested this contract extension. My answer is really quite simple, and is the reason I took this job in the first place – it's about educating the children of Detroit. DPS is on a good trajectory, with improved test scores and graduation rates, a balanced budget, and a solidstrategic plan, developed by all of us, that focuses on neighborhood-centered, quality schools. I want to do everything I can to ensure that we complete this school year in keeping with this trajectory – and help begin the preparation for an even more successful 2013-14 academic and fiscal year. The Detroit News reports that Roberts will work on a budget for the coming school year for the district "which educates about 53,000 students and grapples with a graduation rate of less than 70 percent." Budget deficit forcing school officials to close Albion High School By Steve Carmody • May 15, 2013 Steve Carmody/Michigan Radio The Albion School Board voted last night to close the district's high school. Beginning this fall, the mid-Michigan district will only serve students in grades K through eight. Some students cried. Others just shook their heads, after the school board voted 5 to 1, with one abstention, to close Albion High School. School board members said repeatedly they didn't want to close the school, but a projected million dollar budget deficit could not be ignored. There's more money in Michigan's school aid fund, but should it be spent on schools on the brink? By Steve Carmody • May 15, 2013 Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio Battle Creek State Senator Mike Nofs says he doesn't think higher than expected revenue in the school aid fund should be used to bail out struggling school districts. Nofs says at today's revenue estimating conference, state officials will announce the school aid fund has nearly $100 million more than predicted. Nofs expects there will be push to use that money to help the struggling Pontiac and Buena Vista school districts. But he says that's not a good idea. Buena Vista schools approve plan, await state action By Sarah Alvarez • May 15, 2013 Sarah Alvarez / Michigan Radio The Buena Vista School District unceremoniously shut down ten days ago, sending staff and students home for the year after the district ran out of money. At Tuesday night's emergency school board meeting there was almost universal confusion about what happens next. The school board unanimously approved a deficit elimination plan they hope will allow state aid payments to start up again so students can get back in the classroom. If that doesn't work, the board grudgingly approved a plan for a summer "skills building camp," in lieu of traditional classroom time. Nobody at the meeting seemed very happy about that option. Buena Vista's school year could be saved under a new plan By Mark Brush • May 14, 2013 Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio An entire school district closing before the school year ends is a bit of a black eye for public education in Michigan. Just on perception alone, you would think politicians and administrators would jump to fix the problem. Instead, as Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett pointed out, many just put up their hands. Now, some news of movement. Buena Vista school district to use federal funds for 'summer camps' By Rick Pluta • May 13, 2013 Sarah Hulett / Michigan Radio The Buena Vista school district will try to run summer camps to help students affected by the sudden cancelation of classes for the balance of the school year. That's one of the decisions today from a meeting of state and local education officials. The shut-down will not stop eligible seniors from graduating, or other students from advancing to the next grade. The district in Saginaw County will try to run four- to six-week camps over the summer break to help students make up what they missed, and prepare for the coming school year. The money for those camps will not come from the state, but from federal funds. The Buena Vista district abruptly ceased operations earlier this month. That was after the state cut off aid payments because of debts owed by the district. Understanding the new ruling on teachers' union dues By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 13, 2013 Mercedes Mejia / Michigan Radio This past Thursday, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the State of Michigan can proceed with Public Act 53, a law prohibiting school districts from deducting union dues from teachers' paychecks. The 2-1 ruling overturned a Detroit federal court preliminary injunction that ruled in favor of the unions. In June of 2012, U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood issued the preliminary injunction against Public Act 53. With the new ruling, public schools are no longer required to deduct the union dues from the paychecks of teachers and other school employees. According to the Detroit Free Press, Thursday's opinion read: "The act merely directs one kind of public employer to use its resources for its core mission, rather than the collection of union dues." State signs plan to help ailing Pontiac schools By Associated Press • May 11, 2013 pontiac.k12.mi.us / Pontiac School District Michigan's top education official has signed off on a plan to help the beleaguered Pontiac School District. 2 Michigan schools could close early; in 1993 Kalkaska did it on purpose By Mark Brush • May 10, 2013 Kalkaska schools No doubt, public schools in Michigan are struggling. Around 400 students in the Buena Vista school district in Saginaw have been shut out after the district announced they couldn't make payroll. And it was revealed yesterday that Pontiac schools are close to running out of money and might have to close their doors early. Buena Vista school district could be headed down the path to an emergency manager By Steve Carmody & The Associated Press • May 10, 2013 Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio A Saginaw area school district that's closed its doors has now asked the state to review its finances. That's the first step toward a state appointed emergency manager. But the move does not guarantee the District's 400 students will be back in class anytime soon. The Buena Vista school board heard from parents and students last night, angry about the abrupt and apparent early end of the school year. "If we don't get these kids back in school…we're going to be the ones who destroyed their lives," one upset father told the school board. After four days of no classes, Saginaw district prepares for financial emergency By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 9, 2013 Christopher Webb / Flickr It's day four of no school for Saginaw-based Buena Vista School District, as the district prepares to declare a financial emergency.As Mark Brush reported on Tuesday, the school district canceled classes earlier this week after teachers were laid off. The layoffs come after the district of about 450 students learned the state was withholding funding for April, May and June. Pages« first ‹ previous … 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 … next › last »


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Ah, Boston. I used to visit my SO there often and loved being able to take the night train from DC to Boston and grab the T to a station near his apartment in Somerville. Then I could walk to his apartment in 5 minutes.
I love the underground T stations b/c it brings home just how OLD that system is. It really is just trolley cars in tunnels--so unlike the sleek/boring Metro in DC.
I think you are supposed to pay the drivers with coins, but, strangely, if you only have cash you wad it up and stick it in a little metal slot. They don't take cards, except when getting on in a tunnel.
Thanks what I recall, for future reference.
I believe you can buy tokens at the larger stations, or pay cash to the driver at the small stops. Or something. It's a pretty messed up system.
Logan wasn't designed - it metastisized over many years into the oozing tumor it is today. It's so horrible, airports in Providence, RI and Manchester, NH are slowly-but-surely taking over its business.
Chicago. Boston.
It's kinda cool that Dan Savage is taking this tour of cities I can consider moving to after Prop. 1 goes down in flames and it becomes apparent that there's no Prop. 2 waiting in the wings to take its place.
Here in Seattle, we rely on buses. Buses that keep erratic schedules, buses that are usually late but may be early, buses that may never show up at all. Seattle is a city that every day sends a message to its residents, "Buses are for losers. If you care about your time and your schedule, drive." *
This is the Seattle of Ron Sims and the two Mikes, O'Brien and McGinn. It's my dear hope that, once people like me are gone, people like the two Mikes can get elected to the Seattle City Council and serve alongside their soulmates David Della and Nick Licata. And you can have your Governor Rossi. And Erica Barnett, Josh Feit, Knute Berger, and Joni Balter can be the most influential journalists in the city when it comes to transportation and planning decisions.
Yes, it's my dear hope that you all will get the Seattle you deserve.
* Just this morning I got to my bus stop a few minutes early, and the bus simply did not show up. I stood there staring in the distance, fearful that if I sat there actually doing something productive on my laptop, the bus driver would miss me and zip right by.)
They got rid of tokens a year or two ago and replaced them with cards. On regular stations you have to go to a card-making machine -- much like the Sounder. But BC is on the B line, a street-level stop. I haven't done those since the token days, but I guess you were supposed to put $2 in the fare box.
Government Center, where you switched from the Green to the Blue, is hardly the aesthetic gem of the T, though it's also one of it's busiest stations. Basically; the Green Line is the college student line, so who cares; the Blue Line is the blue-collar laborer line, so again, who cares. If you'd wanted to see the nice stations, you'd've had to go on the Red Line (which goes to Harvard and MIT).
Anyway. The MBTA is 109 years old. If it's a little dingy, it's because it's been around forever. And despite those 109 years and dingy stations and fare increases and card-swipe systems, it's still the #1 way that people get around Boston. (Take that, light rail haters.)
Dan - we no longer have tokens. You have to buy a ticket, much like in DC where you can add money to it. On certain routes of the above ground T, the ride is free between certain distant stations, which is what I suspect happened to you.
And I will agree - Logan International Airport is a pit and MassPort who runs it, has been demolishing/building that friggin' POS airport since I moved to the Boston area 25 years ago. You're lucky your gate didn't disappear while you were waiting for your flight hom.
I was in Boston this summer, and stayed at my brother's place in the North End, and from there took a 10 minute water taxi to Logan. I think it was $10. I could have taken the T for only $2, but how cool is it to be able to take a quick boat ride to the airport? And I have to say, as horrendous as the Big Dig has been, the whole North End area is so much nicer now that the highway is under ground. It's such a great city to walk around in.
Oh cool. I was in Milwaukee this summer and drove my mom's Cressida everywhere. Sorry, please do continue with the town/name dropping.
move along
"It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression 'as pretty as an airport.'
Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort. This ugliness arises because airports are full of people who are tired, cross, and have just discovered that their luggage has landed in Murmansk...and architects have on the whole tried to reflect this in their designs."
Douglas Adams -- Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul
posts 5 and 6 are correct. The MBTA has switched to Charlie Card. Tokens went out about two years ago. they had a few issues during implementation.
and yes, the red line has the newest and best stations. orange line stations are in the middle. the green lines are being upgraded. for decades, they had high floor LRT, which was slower and less reliable than the subway lines.
the new silver line connects downtown with the airport under the harbor. it has not yet been connected with the BRT segment.
you should check out the multimodal station on the red line at Harvard Square. there is a trolley bus tunnel next to a subway station.
and note that the commuter rail services out of north and south station run all-day and two-way. Boston had many old rail lines to convert to transit.
Defending the T.
A)It is the oldest system in the US. (Yes kids, older than the NYC subway)
B) I think the grimy stations have s sort of urban chic, like the NYC subway.
C) Logan is not that ugly. Attractive, hardly, but C'Mon, have you flown through Dulles?
Another Boston ex-pat here, the aboveground part that's in the picture is the part that runs through Brookline, which is "where all the Jews and doctors live." Walk outside of Brookline into neighboring Allston and you immediately see the difference. The brick sidewalk ends and the concrete one begins, almost exactly on the border. The decorative plants are gone, no nice wooden benches, etc...
The aboveground parts for the college kids are (or at least were a few years ago) akin to Seattle bus stops, only longer. Even the Harvard and MIT stops, underground, are somewhat dank, but with touches of art here and there.
Lived in Boston in the early 80s. The T was great. A train came every 8 minutes. Even during blizzards. Only complaint was that service (the Red Line)didn't extend over to Cambridge much beyond Harvard Square (now Alewife). You'd have to bus from there to go to places like Belmont and Arlington. The southern and western suburbs were much better served.
The Green Line destinations did seem to take longer to get to. Had a friend in Brookline - which isn't far from downtown Boston where I lived - and getting to her place took about 40 minutes on the T.
Logan is depressing. Most of east Boston is depressing as well. It's like a dreary, sad, black-and-white movie about post-war London.
Logan's a shithole? Gee, that's funny, I was there last week, as well as JFK and Hartsfield. All about the same from what I saw. Now, if you REALLY want to see a shithole, check out Philly. From someone who supposedly flies a lot, you sound awfully naïve.
Count me as another vote in favor of the older underground stations. Park Street is a masterpiece; it even smells great. And the lovely grating steel noise!
The lesson of the T is this: if you want a decent transit system, Step One is "start a hundred years ago".
Yeah, my bus left three minutes early this morning. I watched hopelessly as the damn thing passed by. I was only a half block away! With Metro, you basically have to get to your stop five minutes early. Then, you can look forward to the bus being ten minutes late, assuming it shows up at all.
Since we're griping about buses, I just want to add: fuck the 36. Not only does it smell bad from all the homeless drunks, but I've regularly waited for 20 minutes and seen no buses pass by, then had two show up at the same time - the one in front packed with people, and the one in back nearly empty.
Keshmeshi @16:
With Metro, you basically have to get to your stop five minutes early. Then, you can look forward to the bus being ten minutes late, assuming it shows up at all.
Metro ought to incorporate that guidance into their riders handbook.
Fnarf - It's the creosote! Well, that's what I'd bet my 20 bucks on. Smells better than gasoline. Arlington green line station (for all intents and purposes an extension of Park St.), and Government Center blue line stations are cool, too.
Hardly ever drove (got driven) into Boston as a kid. Always took the Red Line. It wasn't so much the traffic that was prohibitive but finding a place to park was nearly impossible.
Boylston, I mean. The one with the ancient street car tucked off on some unused spur track. Arlington station sucks.
Yes, Logan is really ugly, but they have that rule that restaurants can't charge more for food in the airport than they do in the city. Paying 8 bucks for a McDonalds burger just ruins the aesthetic appeal of prettier airports. That little rule is so totally worth the ugly.
@3... Totally agree about Manchester and Providence taking over. I used to fly into Logan when visiting my parents in Maine, since it was ridiculously less expensive than Portland. But, for the past 6-7 years I have flown into Manchester -- Southwest flies there so fares are pretty low all around, and I don't have to deal with Logan or the drive (or the bus) out of Boston.
if you look at that photo you could easily imagine it as a new station where Alaska Way is if you tore it down and if the train would be heading to Sea Tac.
yeah, the Boston subway is cramped, slow and noisy but it does generally get you there. The airport is indeed ugly. I remember when the modernist eastern airlines terminal was torn down. After that it just decayed and festered. Have they extended the subway to the actual terminals yet?
Here's a link to the truly stunning new Beijing Airport, designed by Foster and Partners, to be completed in 2008.
Truly majestic --if only they all looked like this:
In terms of airport beauty, nothing - NOTHING - can or will ever top the Saarinen TWA terminal at JFK. (In its days of glory, that is.)
And once again - don't even start to argue, 'Cause you'd just be wrong, wrong, wrong. There haven't been books solely about the place for nothing.
Boston (actually Salem north of town) was my pre-Seattle home. Haven't been back since before the change to cards, in fact I didn't even know about it. The things one learns from the Slog--thanks 5 and 6!
After 10 years out here the T sounds like heaven. One agency controlling the entire public transport system for the whole region, meaning no political turf battles, no monorail vs light rail dilemmas, no having to transfer over to a whole different system just because you have crossed a county line. Rush hour service that actually goes in both directions (why? why on earth? does the King County Metro not provide any busses for those of us who live in Seattle and commute to the east side?) A service that everyone uses--college students, homeless people, suburbanites and snooty old money Back Bay matrons stand or sit next to each other and no one even notices. The stations may not exactly sparkle, but the T is safe, cheap and reliable, at least it was in the late 90's.
As for the airport, yes Logan sucks but I'm with 14 on Philly. I wonder if that rude ugly bitch at the US Air counter there has been fired yet?
Here in Seattle, we rely on buses. Buses that keep erratic schedules, buses that are usually late but may be early, buses that may never show up at all. Seattle is a city that every day sends a message to its residents, "Buses are for losers. If you care about your time and your schedule, drive." *
* Just this morning I got to my bus stop a few minutes early, and the bus simply did not show up. I stood there staring in the distance, fearful that if I sat there actually doing something productive on my laptop, the bus driver would miss me and zip right by.)
Don't worry, buses in Boston are just like this as well. The subway is only marginally more reliable.
For what it's worth, the GM of the MBTA, Dan Grabauskas, lives about 3 minutes from one of our commuter rail lines, but doesn't take it to his job in Boston because "it's not convenient". Instead, he drives 35 miles which probably takes at least 2 hours given the route he would have to take. Personally, I think the head of a transit system should actually have to ride it on a fairly regular basis.
Caught this post via a boston news blog site. I have lived in Boston most of my life although I did live in Seattle for a year. I miss the Stranger and Dan Savage (we have the Boston Phoenix but it is not nearly as cool).
Depending on where you're going and how badly you need to get there, the T can totally suck or run fairly reliably.
I was shocked by the bus system when I lived in Seattle (1993-1994). In a good way. My experience with buses was that they were awful - the buses in Boston absolutely suck. But the buses in Seattle were amazingly punctual - I really couldn't believe it. I suppose a lot could have changed since then, I've heard traffic has gotten a lot worse there.
Too bad that monorail doesn't really go anywhere.
You know, the more I think of it, there really isn't an airport in the world that I actually like. It's just a matter of degree of dislike.
Funny, that statement pretty closely applies to public transit as well.
Dan, you probably flew Alaska to Boston from Seattle? They use Terminal B which is now the terminal at Logan which has gone the longest without a refurb. It was built in 1975 and apart from stuff beyond security, it has not changed or been rehabbed.
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