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I have just read a lot of negative comments about the AA and its instructors and feel that I must relate my experience.In one word great!.On my first lesson I was very nervous althoug I did know some basic things ie clutch control etc as I ride a motorcycle.My instructor made me at ease,took me to a quite road and assesed what I thought I knew,needless to say we started from scratch.My lessons have been very instructive and my instructor very professional,his timekeeping is also faultless.I do agree that the price for lessons is a little expensive but you cannot put a price on safety.Im sorry to read about bad experiences with instructors but thats all about life and choices,if you and your instructor dont gel change instructors,its your choice!.I failed my first test but it was my own fault not my instructors,he got me ready I blew it!.My next test is in a few weeks and wont be changing my instructor.TONY LIVERPOOL
I am 19 years old, I have had a lot of driving lessons but on n off. My previous instructor had taken on a lot of pupils and so couldnt fit me in for more than 2 hours a week. I had two two hour lessons with one instructor from the AA and found him rather patronising, he was speaking to me like I was a little child in junior school. So I then rang up the AA and asked for a different instructor, the first lesson I had with him was briliant and he asked me when I wanted to book my test, excited I said as soon as possible and booked it for 2 and a half months later. I'd already lost £80 after a different instructor had told me to book a test n then told me he couldnt actually fit me in for lessons. On my lessons my last instructor from the AA had called me thick and would sigh at me if I got things wrong. Also in an attempt to correct my steering he actually hurt my chest and arm. I spoke to the people at the test centre as my instructor had said I would be able to get my money back. This was a lie. The people at the test centre told me I was too late cancelling to get a refund. It was also too late to change the date which my jnstructor said would be fine. The people at the test centre told me that out of good will my instructor should pay for my next test but he said I was a joke saying that and has reported me for inappropriate behaviour. Yes I did swear at him n raise my voice but that is because I have lost £140 paying for driving tests that instructors wont actually take me on and I was sick of being talked down to. I would not recommend the AA to anyone for that reason..
with regard to the AA driving school, i have had one bad experience and one good one. i am still having lessons so i am rather loathe to name any names. i can only say that we cannot really blame the AA for bad instructors as they are self employed franchisees. its not a cop out but just merely stating a fact. the only thing i can say is that as soon as you start to feel that all is n ot going well, it is best to speak up straight away. with my first experience, i had many abortive lessons, lessons where i didnt really learn much at all and instead of tolerating it , i should have asked to be reallocated
My experience was a mix. They have some excellent instructors, but you need to get hold of the right one. The first instructor who taught me was beyond words unprofessional. She was horrible, always late, blowing cigarettes in between lessons, chatting to me about her personal life, driving to mcdonalds to grab food and coffee in between lessons, not really caring about my driving, giving me no feedback, putting me down even on the things that i did right and simply minting money out of me. I spent good 3 months trying to learn off her, but got no where. I failed the test badly, so i decided to change instructors. I passed my test very well the second time with only few minors, which was the result of combined hard work, both by me and my new instructor. He identified my weaknesses rightly and dedicated sufficiently enough time to correct them. At the end of each class he would give me feedback suggesting room for improvement. He was very patient and motivating. And of course instilled in me enough confidence by taking me to various routes, both seen and unseen in order to give me plentiful experience in various types of routes. So if anyone is trying to learn driving in the watford area, I highly recommend Phil Frasier. He is extremely good.
This review is based on my experience with The AA Driving School and should be taken for what it is. Many people have told me great things about their AA experience, unfortunately, I cannot share the same sentiment...
After putting my driving lessons off for well over a year, I finally decided to start learning in April last year. I decided to check out The AA Driving School as they are a well known company and always seemed to have good offers on at the time. Unfortunately for me, my area is their busiest city for learners (I know, who'd have thought little old Aberdeen would've been busier than London?!), so they were unable to give me a quote online meaning I'd have to phone them up to find out prices etc. After a few minutes of chatting with the salesman, I'd somehow been talked into buying 10 hours worth of lessons and booking my first one for the following week. This is partly my fault for not being able to say no, but they quite clearly have very well trained salesmen on the phone because I hadn't even realised what I'd done until I'd hung up the phone. I should also mention that the salesman insisted that I book 2 hour lessons as my particular instructor refused to do anything shorter as he felt they were a waste of time.
The 10 hours of lessons cost me £280 and I would be learning with a male instructor. I was informed that all of the AA instructors were fully trained which seemed silly to point out as I assumed every instructor would be fully trained. This isn't the case and to become an instructor you actually only need to complete 2/3 of the training so I was quite confident knowing that my instructor had completed the full training programme. My instructor arrived 5 minutes early for my lesson and rang my doorbell to let me know he was here and to introduce himself. I followed him to his silver Ford Fiesta where he gave me a quick briefing of what I would learn during my first lesson. It was then I pointed out my nerves due to being in car crashes in the past, but he seemed like he'd dealt with that before. He drove me off to a quieter bit of road where he then showed me all the basics of the car and taught me all of the silly little sayings I'd have to remember to make sure I was doing things in the correct order. He then let me into the driver's seat and let me start the car and drive along the road for a little bit. The road he'd taken me to had a very small, quiet roundabout at the end of it and he told me that instead of pulling over and letting him drive round the roundabout so that I could repeat starting the car again, he'd just slowly let me drive round the roundabout as there was no traffic anywhere to be seen. It was then that I might as well have pooped my pants. Here I was behind the wheel of a car for the first time and he has me driving round a roundabout! Panic over, I managed to do it fine and at the end of the lesson he was particularly impressed with how quickly I picked up on things and how I was able to keep the car straight etc. I was left feeling confident and looking forward to my lesson the following week...
It was then that it all went wrong. Don't get me wrong, I got on well with him and I was learning quite a bit from him, and very quickly too, but I couldn't help but notice the rude (sometimes racist) comments he would make about other drivers. He would often tell me stories criticising his other pupils whilst flirting with me and quite frankly, it put me right off. I was 18 years old at the time and he, at least 40. As I had already paid for the lessons, I continued with him for the next 3 weeks.
Week 3 saw me improving greatly and I really was feeling more confident behind the wheel. I wasn't flinching at every bit of traffic that passed me by and I wasn't nervous that I would kill myself either. However the rude comments were happening more and more often and he would occasionally become snippy with me for no apparent reason. At the end of the lesson he told me he was going on holiday next week so I couldn't have my lesson, but it would still come out my quota. Obviously that is total crap considering a 2 hour lesson is £56 and that's a fair bit of money to pay to get absolutely nothing out of it. I point blank refused to pay for a lesson I wasn't getting and that was that. He was unhappy, but we settled on a date 2 weeks later and I was left quite happy with myself for standing up to him.
2 weeks later, my lesson was booked for 3.30pm. At 12.20pm I arrived home from the gym to find my instructor sitting in his car at the end of my street. I was terribly confused and thought I must've got the time wrong, but when I went online to check the student section of the driving school website, the time was 3.30pm as I'd thought. It was then that I decided he must just have another student on the same street as me.
20 minutes later I looked out the window and he was sitting directly in front of my house. Weird. Although I wasn't going to rush what I was doing or change my plans because he'd turned up hours early, I text him and told him I'd be out at 3.25pm for our lesson at 3.30pm and he replied "okay."
When I went out to greet him for my lesson he informed me that the student he was meant to be teaching before me had failed to answer his door, so he came straight to my house. He then told me I'd have to pay for the 4 hours he'd been sitting there.
Well, I hit the roof. This was the second time he'd tried to get money out of me for absolutely NO service and I wasn't having it. There was no way in hell I was going to pay an additional £112 on top of the £56 I'd already paid for the lesson that day simply because he couldn't find something else to do during the time that the other student had failed to show for. If anyone should be paying for it, it should've been the other student. After a good 10-15 minutes of arguing with the sneaky bugger, we carried on with my lesson and booked my lesson for the week after to use up my final 2 hours.
This time the lesson was for 11.15am and at 10.50am I got a phone call from the bright spark himself. He was cancelling our lesson that day because he'd been in an accident and had to take the car to the garage. It was then that he informed me that due to company policy I'd have to pay for that lesson anyway as lessons have to be paid in full if cancelled within 48 hours. I politely pointed out that I wouldn't be paying for the lesson as I wasn't the one to cancel it, nor was I the one to crash his car. This made him particularly angry and it was then I passed him on to deal with my dad. No one talks to me like that and gets away with it. After a few quick words, my dad also told him that although I still had 2 hours of non-refundable lessons to use up, I wouldn't be booking anymore lessons with him due to the money making schemes he'd pulled on me for the previous 3 weeks and the creepy, rude comments he'd been making from the start.
After this whole ordeal, I called the AA to complain and was simply brushed off by employee after employee after employee. After finally getting to the person I was told dealt with the complaints, he simply offered 1 hour of free lessons with THE SAME INSTRUCTOR. I politely declined, but in reality I wish I'd told them to go f themselves. No apology, nothing. Just 1 hour of lessons with the same creepy, money grabbing instructor I'd had before. No thank you.
I haven't had any lessons since then as I've been so put off of meeting another instructor, so here I am at 19 years old, back to square 1 of being too scared (or creeped out, you tell me!) to drive. My boyfriend has given me the number of the instructor he learned with 4 years ago, so I'm plucking up the courage to give him a phone and give him a try, but until then, I'm happy with my own two feet taking me everywhere!
My instructor did seem to be quite knowledgable about the road and the car, but this was quickly overshadowed by his terrible personality and scheming ways. I'm quite confident in saying that if you do still want to learn through the AA after reading this then you will get a knowledgable instructor, you just might get someone who would do better in a padded cell than behind the wheel of a car...
I left out my instructor's name simply because I feel it's unfair to name and shame a person without their consent, but I felt that my experience with the AA Driving School should be shared. I absolutely do not recommend them and I'm only awarding 1 star due to the fact that I can't give them zero!
Thanks for reading!
This is my AA story. I really wanted to get my licence asap as I was so tired of taking public transport so I decided to pay a little extra and use the AA as they must surely be the best. Now I am aware that the AA runs as a franchise and they can not monitor every ADI all the time. I am sure they have really lovely, patient instructors too. Just not the one I had. I knew it was all wrong when I started dreading every lesson.
Driving in South London is no easy task for a learner and can be stressful as it is. The ADI use to swear under his breath when I made a mistake and would sigh really loud etc. This made me even more nervous. He told me to book my test and I took many hours with him thinking that I just need to stick it out for a few weeks. At that stage I really hated driving with him as he made me really nervous.
So he taught me the manouvres BUT he only taught me to reverse around a sharp corner, not a sweeping corner AND he never taught me to look in both side mirrors before moving off when Im in traffic etc. at a traffic light etc. How was I to know? Anyway, I didn't know any better and obviously thought I was ready for the test. I did once asked him about parking in a bay but his answer was simply that they do not ask this at the specific test centre I booked my test! So needless to say I never learned that.
I failed my test as obviously I was not prepared for this. What really annoyed me was the ADI telling me on our way back that he didn't really wanted me to pass yet as I was not ready!! Obviously!! I fully blame him for not teaching me what I needed to know as the reasons I failed was things I never knew.
I changed my driving school to a local driving school in my area and she taught me everything I need to know and made me a really confident driver in a fraction of the time. Only after I started taking lessons with my new instructor did I realize what was missing from the AA instructor. I never got feedback after a lesson (my new instructor spend 15 minutes talking about the lesson and this was not part of the time I paid for). She taught me not just with the idea of passing my test, but to become a confident driver. I was actually looking forward to lessons. With my new instructor I passed very easily and felt confident to do any manouvre as I felt like a driver.
Also, the AA instructor car had all these stickers you have to look for when doing any manouvre which is totally unrealistic! You don't learn how to think and estimate for yourself. For example when the red sticker lines up with the curb then turn the wheel till it reaches the green sticker etc etc. It's ridiculous. The focus is on teahing you like a robot jusopass your test andnot to make you a confident driver. The wrs is that I was never taught some of the crucial basics.
All in all, I will not recommend the AA to anyone. As I said before, I am sure they have lovely instructors too and can not know what their franchise holders are up to but this is just how i feel.
I would really urge anyone to first look for local private driving schools, take a lesson and important: change instructors until you find someone you like and actually teaches you what you need to know to be a good driver, not just to pass your test. Actually I could have saved so much money if I just changed my instructor when things were not what I expected but as a learner you just don't know.
Hope this helps in some small part. Apologies to the good AA instructors out there. ;-)
Having booked and paid for 12 lessons as a birthday present for my 17 year old daughter, she rang to book her first lesson. Guess what - he didnt turn up. When she rang the office they told her that it would be cancelled. Later that day I found an email from the instructor saying that he was ill and asking us to contact him for further appointments. Two weeks later we have given up trying. E mails, phone messges to his moble and the head office brought forth nothing. I finally asked for the return of the £ 228 only to be informed that the first 2 lessons had been charged to the account and they could only refund £190. I cannot afford to book more lessons until that money is returned so the birthdat present has been ruined. I have put the matter in the hands of the credit card company but this could take some time. Avoid like the plague!
Every time I think about AA I feel some people RIPPED ME OFF and some how I let it happen to me. I started with some lady called Ruth, she was very impatient and very road. Any mistake I made she would shouted at me. I used to get very nervous while I was on the car with her, forget learning. After spending £740 I learnt no manoeuvre except learning the biting point. She even went on holiday after teaching me 3 weeks and 10+ lesson(I was taking 2/3 two hour lessons a week).
One day she took me to a patrol pump to show me how to put petrol. Fare enuf. But there was a long queue. So we were waiting there for a while. After 10 mins or so she got furious. She started screaming...and telling me, she will never come back in this pump in her life again. All the idiots come here to do their petrol and bla bla. Qualified Instructor and her professionalism!!
That was my last day with her...I must mention that I planned few times to go to a different instructor but every time I was using my last credit she was good as gold and I changed my mind and paid for 5-10 more lessons. Silly me!
So eventually I spoke to AA about her and now they recommend me a guy called Terry. Nice chap and very patient and a very very good talker but he was always after my mone. This guy would start the lesson with at least a 10 mins lecture. And after you drive 10mins he will ask you to stop the car and brief you for another 10-15 mins(!). If he does not have anything to talk about he will ask you to talk about your mistakes. And at the end of the lesson he will give you feedback for 10-15 mins.
Anyways he asked me to book my test after 3 months and funny enough he only taught me one manoeuvre after 30 lessons; which is 3 point turn. So I booked my test and at the last month he started cancelling the lessons. Giving me reasons such as, his diary shows I have never booked any lesson on certain day, he is in a traffic etc etc. so I texted him once saying you do know I have test after 2 weeks and do you think I will be ready by then? He texted me back saying he will come tomorrow. The next day he came and told me, he will take my mock test and if he thinks I'm not ready I have to cancel my test and rebook it after 3 month!!!
That was my last day with AA and by then AA already took my £1560. I went to an independent instructor and first day she told me she thinks, I am a new learner and I took no more than 10 hour lesson. She was not surprised at all when I told her about AA. She said she heard this before! After 6 hour lesson with her now I learnt all the manoeuvres. And she thinks I am ready for the test.
My friends don't you dare to go to AA. They are Con and they will rip you off. Beware of the CON ARTISTS!!
Unlike some other pupils I can honestly say that my experience with the AA has been excellent. I had an instructor call Tim in Chester and found him to be a great instructor throughout.I have had 3 driving instructors in the past (non AA instructors) and have experienced a range of problems from them being a "bit too friendly" to them being rude and completely disappearing on me.With Tim what I experienced was a professional service; he immediately got me to overcome driving problems that I had been experiencing with other instructors. He was extremely encouraging and after 3 attempts at a practical test I passed on my 4th go.This is a genuine review from a genuine AA pupil who wants to sing praise for one of the (few) great driving instructors out there.
After reading these reviews it seems to me that most driving instructors are out for themselves and have no interest in making the pupil feel safe and confident on the road.
I personally find this a disgrace as i have had a great personal experience when being taught to drive and I would very much like to pass on that kind of trust to my pupils if ever I became in instructor.
Now that I have seen how bad a reputation the AA seems to have, I am less inclined to train with them as an instructor, but at the same time I think that since I would be working for myself, arrange my own timetable, lesson structure, route plans, that I would be able to give pupils exactly the kind of confidence building lessons that I had, infact I would make it my goal to be patient, understanding, supportive and friendly, someone who they could really trust.
The instructors that are in it purely for the money will not get a good word of mouth reputation and therefore a small client base, however if an instructor is friendly, patient and someone you can trust, then they will be reccomended to everyone, and this is how an instructor builds a client base.
So it actually PAYS to be a good instructor, this alone should be motivation enough, however the satisfaction of being able to give confidence to new driver would be amazing, and thats the reason I would do it.
I would be opperating in the Lincolnshire area, of which I have seen very few AA cars about, therefore hopefully building an amazing reputation and being able to have pupils trust me that I will get them through their tests.
I hope I am not making a big mistake going with the AA, but it just seems the right choice, maybe once im a fully qualified instructor, I can get a bit of good rep back for the company, hehe.
Which is why I would advertise myself in local media instead of relying on the AA to find me pupils, this way people know who they are getting and will never have to gamble on getting a bad instructor.
Anyways just wanted to share my thoughts with you guys, hope this helps people to know that not all instructors are out for themselves and the money (even though it seems like most are)
Thanks for reading
Well I don't know where to start. I really wanted to learn driving and choose AA because they were well known company, but very very expensive. My instructor wasn't very good, she never put me on easy, she just was after my money. So after 38h and £1400 spent i ask her when i will be ready for the practical test and she said that i will need another 40h - bitch. Then I quit with her and found another indipendant instructor and past the second time after just 10 more hours of driving.
I have been a driving instructor for 22 years, the last 8 of which have been with The AA driving School.
Firstly, there are good and bad instructors in ALL large driving schools.
Just because your present driving instructor is not what you would have expected, does'nt mean they are all like that. We are all trained, initially to the same standard, and periodically 'check tested' to see if that standard has been maintained.
The problem is that all instructors can put on a show for the supervising examiner and then be rubbish on normal lessons, if they want to be. The good ones will have the professional pride to keep up the standard as much as possible.
The bottom line is, if you don't get on with your present instructor, please, please ask for another, and don't be scared of telling the old one what you think. He will soon get the message, and buck his ideas up, or lose lots of valuable work!!
When I first went to the AA, it was a good school which looked after the instructors and pupils.
Lately, however, they have become far too profit orientated and instructors and pupils suffer as a result.
All large driving schools, unfortunately have the upper hand in many respects, and some instructors can find this not conducive to a happy working environment, hence, the pupils suffer.
Please remember these things things.
1. Driving instruction is a very stressfull job.
2. Some people take a long, long time to learn. This is'nt your instructors fault, he cannot teach you faster than you can learn. But, he should be able to bring out the best in your learning capacity, which may not be what you expected.
3. Word of mouth is the best way to find a good instructor, the schools 'name' means absolutely nothing!!
4. When you get a good one, listen to him/her, and go with their advice.
5. A small private school has more to lose if they don't teach properly, but don't forget, you don't have to put up with someone you don't get on with.
By the way, I am leaving the AA soon, and can't wait to get out of the industry. I have met and taught some fantastic people over the years, some quick learners and some extrmely slow. We are all human and no-one perfect. The job has also helped destroy one marriage and given me a stomach ulcer.
Will I miss it.......NO!!
After a few years of stalling and putting off learning to drive, I finally plucked up the courage to start the journey (excuse the pin) I had a good look round, but finally settled for the AA. A big company, so they're bound to be good, I thought. As a new customer, a block of 10 cost me £169.
The first few lessons were okay, although he came across as incredibly strict and inpatient. This only got worse the more lessons I took. Constantly raising his voice in frustration if I did something wrong. I also hated his teaching methods. He overcomplicated things constantly, using about a dozen reference points on everything, even steering. It was completely frying my brain. Far from me to criticize someone who actually has a driving license, but I've since found out from my new driving instructor, less is more. He would also regularly turn up 25-30 minutes late, his record was an hour. He wouldn't even notify me telling me he was running late.
On my first lesson, he sold me what he described as a "book" - really a PDF document with about 50 pages of his "proven" techniques, and another 50 pages criticizing independent driving instructors for being greedy and taking advantage of pupils.
After my block of 10 finished, I thought I would look elsewhere. But on my last lesson, I did really well and thought I would give him another go, so booked another 10. This cost me £210. No more introductory price! I started my new block of 10, but soon started hated them, again. His obsessive fascination with making things as difficult as possible wasn't for me. I once asked him when I should look to be passing my test by. He told me in a months time, after only 14 hours of lessons. Needless to say, October came and went without learning anything new. He would also now and again take me out for only 45 minutes or so, even if I had a 2 hour booking. He would then claim that "everything you've just learned is in the book I gave you so there's no need to stay out really. Just read the book when you get home and you'll save money!!". As if he was doing me a favour. Obviously had somewhere more important to be.
I've since moved to an independent driving instructor (the same ones that he attempted to tear to shreds in his PDF book) and am now enjoying my lessons. I still get really nervous before they start, but my new instructor has taught me how to do for example, parallel parking and reverse round a corner in just 2 or 3 stages, where as my old instructor used about 10. He's also cheaper and makes me feel more relaxed, which helps my driving no end.
The AA do use a new Ford Focus, which they used to replaced every 6 months. They now replace them at 12 months due to the recession. This is also the reason they're so expensive. They pass the cost of replacing the cars so frequently onto us! Nice car, but far too big for learners in my opinion. I'm now learning in a Corsa, which is perfect for maneuvers etc, the Focus was just too big, bulky and heavy.
Would I use the AA again? No chance. They seem to think far too much of themselves, although I suppose that's what happens when you're the "number 1 driving school in the UK" - plenty of eager learners to take the place of the people that you've put off.
When my brother starts to learn, I'll put him in touch with my current independent instructor, and then a disqualified driver before I'd give him the AA's number :)
Happy safe lessons! Hope I pass by the middle of this year :)


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Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Lars Eller and Jiri Sekac both scored for the Montreal Canadiens in their 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
Carey Price made 28 saves and Max Pacioretty added an empty-netter to secure the win, the Canadiens' third straight and sixth in their last seven games.
"We didn't play a good third period, but we were able to hold on," Price said.
Jordan Staal, in his first game of the season, was credited with an assist on his brother Eric's power-play goal early in the third period, but that was all Carolina mustered. The Hurricanes have scored more than two goals just once in the past 14 games and are 3-10-1 during that stretch.
Cam Ward only made 16 saves and suffered his 14th loss of the season.
Montreal had a goal waived off in the first period when it was ruled Brendan Gallagher made contact with Ward before the puck hit the back of the net.
Sekac was sent off for tripping 4:30 into the second, but after the Hurricanes failed to capitalize, Sekac escaped the penalty box, stick-handled through the defense and threw a backhand on net that fooled Ward.
Late in the second, Sergei Gonchar kept the puck in the Montreal zone, and Dale Weise fed Eller for a one-timer from the right circle. The goal, which came with 1:15 remaining in the period, was the 21,000th in Canadiens history.
Eric Staal scored off a rebound at the 2:59 mark of the third, but Price was strong between the pipes the rest of the way.
"We had our chances, we just couldn't put them home," Carolina forward Riley Nash said.
Jordan Staal missed the first 35 games of the season after breaking his right
fibula in a preseason game ... Jiri Tlusty also played in his first game since
Dec. 11 and assisted on Carolina's only goal ... Eric Staal was appearing in
his 800th career game ... This was the second game of five straight on the
road for Montreal ... The Canadiens have won four straight over the Hurricanes
and are 7-0-1 in the last eight meetings.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Islamic extremists killed 35 people and kidnapped at least 185 in an attack near the town where nearly 300 schoolgirls were taken hostage in April, witnesses said Thursday.
The Ridgewood Local Board of Education will hold a special board meeting Jan. 5 at the administration building.
The new lineup of co-hosts on�The View�are having a hard time jelling with each other.On...
By Frank MulliganMore Content NowThere are subtle indications that your perspective on Christmas may be Grinch-like. For instance, do you steadfastly maintain that elves are illegal immigrants?
Natalie Anderson�says one of the hardest things about participating in Season 29 of
NASA's experimental Orion spacecraft left Florida by rocket and returned by truck.
The Coshocton Opportunity School Governing Board will meet for its monthly session Dec. 18.
Attention Clone Club: The new trailer for Season 3 of�Orphan Black�is here.The BBC...
Bloomberg News
The artwork of Ohio Collage Society members will be exhibited from Jan. 24 through March 15 at the Massillon Museum.
Colombia's government on Thursday rebuffed a unilateral truce declared by the country's largest rebel group, saying the guerrillas' conditions are unacceptable until a peace deal is reached.


text:
Samsung Fascinate
Last Updated: Nov 16th,2010
The Samsung Fascinate is the Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy S line of phones. Much like it's brothers, it includes the same 5.0MP camera capable of taking some of the best quality 720p HD video at 30fps. Unlike the other Galaxy S phones in the states, its one of the thinnest out of the bunch and features an LED flash for low light snap shots. With a 1GHz Hummingbird processor it can easily speed through everyday tasks and features one of the most powerful GPU's for smooth gaming.
It can easily be considered as one of - if not the best of the Galaxy S lineup here in the states and it's on one of the largest networks in the U.S.
Featured ResourcesSamsung Fascinate Review
Every major US carrier has gotten the Samsung Galaxy S in some shape or form, but how does Verizon's specific angle differ from the rest of the pack? Most of these experiences are only unique in terms of software (with the one exception to the Samsung Epic 4G on Sprint with its keyboard). Knowing that […]
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Last month Moneto revealed plans to bring their NFC-enabled microSD card payment system to Android phones. Now the first compatible cards are available for purchase. There is a catch, however. While the Moneto system is technically capable of working with nearly any Android handset with a microSD card slot, the initial rollout is only compatible […]Updates to Android 2.3.5 Rolling Out to Samsung Fascinate Users
The Samsung DROID Charge waited a long time for its Gingerbread update (that it got yesterday) but Samsung Fascinate owners have been waiting even longer. Reports are flowing in of users receiving Android 2.3.5 via over the air. Check your phone in the settings menu to see if yours is ready to be pulled down […]Samsung Fascinate Gingerbread Update Ready to Roll
Pinch me, I'm dreaming. Yesterday Samsung and Verizon managed to get Gingerbread rolling out to the Droid Charge after months of waiting, and now a phone whose owners have waited even longer is getting a piece of its own. The Samsung Fascinate on Verizon has had its support page updated with documentation for software build […]Gingerbread Getting Closer for Verizon's Samsung Fascinate
A Gingerbread update for the Samsung Fascinate is just one of those things you kind of assume was already out. After all, the Samsung Galaxy S II launched months ago and most manufacturers have shifted their attention to Ice Cream Sandwich. But things don't work like that, and the Fascinate has yet to receive its […]Gingerbread Update Now Available for the Samsung Fascinate On Telus
If you're a Samsung Galaxy Fascinate 4G user on Telus, today is your lucky day! The Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread update for the Fascinate 4G is now officially available. Unfortunately, this wont be an "over the air" update pushed to your device so you're going to have to do some fumbling around with Samsung Kies to […]Samsung Fascinate 3G+ on TELUS Gets Gingerbread
Updates, fun fun fun! TELUS users that have opted to make the Samsung Fascinate 3G+ their device should be happy today knowing that the upgrade to Android 2.3.3 is now available, a testament to Samsung's desire to improve their reputation regarding after-market update support. Instructions how to check for the OTA is below, but be […]Deal Alert: Best Buy's "Free Phone Wednesday" Starts Tomorrow At A Store Near You
I've always been one of the more… "frugal" people I know. Which is why I love bringing you good deals like this. Tomorrow Best Buy is having their "Free Phone Wednesday" event and they're giving away some great Android handsets for almost nothing. The handsets included in this deal are the Motorola Atrix 4G on […]CyanogenMod Nightly Builds Now Live for Samsung Fascinate
A couple weeks back we learned the Samsung Fascinate would be added to the stable of devices supporting CyanogenMod 7. Nightly builds are now live for the device, offering users of the handset an alternative to its current Android 2.2 build and the bugs that have in some cases rendered it a frustrating mess. Download […]ED05 Update Ready for Samsung Fascinate, Squashes Incoming Call Bug
The ability for Samsung Fascinate owners to exchange their buggy handsets for something bit newer and totally fresher may be short lived as a new update with build number ED05 is prepped and waiting in the wings. The software patch will correct the incoming call bug that has been bothering some users and deal with […]Verizon Replacing Buggy Fascinates With Other, Newer Devices
"It's like raaaaaain on your wedding day.." Looks like some Samsung Fascinate owners are experiencing troubles fit for an Alanis Morissette song. Ironically, after receiving a minor software update that was supposed to fix incoming call quality, some Fascinate users are reporting they've stopped receiving calls altogether. That's enough to steam anyone but don't worry, […]


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Maternity Ward
Melissa Leddy became a mama, to Little G, in the summer of 2011. Every Tuesday, she shares her "learn as you go" insights about first-time parenthood.
Yearly Archive for 2011
Slow Cooker Mania, Plus Book Club Kickoff
Since the baby daddy and I expanded our family from a party of two to "three's company" with Little G, we've had to adjust our food and wine routine. We no longer have as much time, or as much play money, to frequent our favorite eateries. Plus, we want more than ever to eat healthfully, […] [Read More]


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Marylou Pausewang Gelfer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Graduate Program Coordinator
Enderis Hall, Room 853
Phone: (414) 229-6465
Fax: (414) 229-2620
Communication Sciences & Disorders
- Ph.D., Experimental Phonetics, University of Florida, 1984
- M.A., Speech Pathology, Northwestern University, 1976
- B.S.S., Speech Pathology, Northwestern University, 1975
Speaker Topics
- Voice & Speech Disorders
- Voice, Care of the Professional
- Voice, Transgendered
Interests & Expertise
Dr. Gelfer's research interests center on the voice and voice disorders. Much of her research has been devoted to establishing normative data for various vocal parameters (fundamental frequency, intensity, laryngeal quality) and procedures for valid and reliable acoustic measurement. Dr. Gelfer's expertise in the acoustic characteristics of voice led her to an interest in the voices transgendered individuals, and acoustic cues for male vs. female voice quality. Current research directions include continued development of reliable voice evaluation procedures as well as assessing the outcomes of voice therapy.
Recent Publications
Gelfer, M. P., & Bennett, Q. (2013). Speaking Fundamental Frequency and Vowel Formant Frequencies: Effects on Perception of Gender. Journal of Voice, 27, 556-566.
Gelfer, M. P., & Van Dong, B. R. (2013). A Preliminary Study on the Use of Vocal Function Exercises to Improve Voice in Male-to-Female Transgender Clients. Journal of Voice, 27, 321-334.
Gelfer, M. P., & Tice, R. M. (2013). Perceptual and Acoustic Outcomes of Voice Therapy for Male-to-Female Transgender Individuals Immediately Following Therapy and Fifteen Months Later, Journal of Voice, 27, 335-347.
Gelfer, M. P., & Mordaunt, M. (2012). Chapter 9: Pitch and Intonation. In R. Adler, S. Hirsch, & M. Mordaunt (Eds.), Voice and Communication Therapy for the Transgender/Transsexual Client: A Comprehensive Clinical Guide (2nd Edition). San Diego: Plural Publishing.
Gelfer, M. P., & Denor, S. S. (2013). Conversational Intensity in Caucasian and African-American School-Age Children. 2013 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Chicago, IL.
Gelfer, M. P. (2010, April). Current Research in Voice and Resonance Treatment for the Male-to-Female Transgender Client: Long-Term Treatment Outcomes. International Federation of Gender Education Conference, Alexandria, VA. (INVITED)
Mayer, R., & Gelfer, M. P. (2008). Outcomes of Voice Therapy for Male-to-Female Transgendered Individuals. 2008 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Chicago, IL.
Bauer, J., Gelfer, M. P., & Bashford, J. (2007). Pitch Perception Ability in Modifying Compensatory Voice F0 Responses During Sustained Vowel Productions. 154th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, New Orleans, November 27 – December 1, 2007.
Honors & Awards
- Byoung Kim Teaching Excellence Award, College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2014.
Courses Taught
- ComSDis 703: Voice Disorders
- ComSDis 710: Motor Speech Disorders
- ComSDis 480: Speech Science
- ComSDis 450: Bases of Voice and Fluency Disorders


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Updated: 10/25/2012 5:42 PM KSTP.com By: john gross
Edina was picked to finish 5th in their conference but they upset Minnetonka, Wayzata and Eden Prairie and they won their conference. They are ranked No. 1 in the state.
Photojournalist John Gross went to Edina and interviewed head coach Reed Boltmann, quarterback Mark Handberg, linebacker Miles Lerner and receiver Marley Allison.
To watch the story, click on the video box


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Greetings Earthlings, and welcome to my realm. I am, Tamika Jolly (pen name T.Jolly), a freelance multimedia artist and owner of Omni Sound Productions®. I've been working in the field of graphic design for 14 years (21 years of Public Relations experience). As a child, there were moments of awakening, and the artist wtihin would emerge through writing, painting and music. In high school, the music took over. I am consumed with it. I was active in marching band, symphonic concert band, wind ensemble and jazz band. That's what carried me through those years of college preparatory blues. I gained myself and lost myself, simultaneously. Although, I loved science, a life without art slowly starves the soul. Intuition went out the door. To hell with intuition, I was about to get me a 'career'.
One year of the engineering program was enough! Art was looming, subconsciously. While away at school, I was loving my physics classes, yet this was a love affair that was not meant to be expressed this way. So, the following year,I transferred to another school. During the early years, I took the core requirements. Amnesia began wearing off, quickly. I signed up for my first art and music courses which led me to the Graphic Design department. I fell in love with the arts all over again! Jackpot!!! I started a business and became co - owner of JollyTree Tees®. We specialized in customizing apparel ( t - shirts, caps, mouse pads, bags etc..). I continued to take courses, yet, due to unforeseen events ( family members passing on and job shift fluctuations) my attitude towards school became - get in where you fit in. So, I had to make a decision. The business became the primary focus along with working a day job. We, eventually, decided to end JollyTree Tees® which was a relief because the music was calling me home! My goal was to combine my love of graphic design and music together. I honed my skills as a deejay by being my Father's assistant for several years. Eventually, I graduated with a degree in Visual Communication & Graphic Design [Appied Business]. The rest is history!
When I create music, I am Manifest_1. The others are just imitators.
I am often imitated, but never duplicated. Be true to who you are, and be thankful for your unique gifts. Imitation is often the worst form of flattery. Be not boastful, and let your actions speak louder than your words.
Stimulating your auditory system with vibrational sensations resonating within your being.
Video Portfolios
***If you can't view these videos in your browser, you can view them on Vimeo*** [Click Link]Vimeo.
Video Portfolios
***If you can't view these videos in your browser, you can view them on Vimeo*** [Click Link]Vimeo.
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Montgomery Gold 'Realm' cushion cover
Item No.33611_N700353
Item No.33611_N700353
50% Off - Save a total of £6.50
Cushion cover with a sleek and smart quality in an attractive and modern damasque fabric design.
UK Home Delivery Free (UK orders over £30) or £3.49
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Subject to exceptions, Debenhams is happy to exchange or refund your purchase within 28 days of delivery. Please check here for more details on our returns policy and exceptions.


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Back in 2010, I crunched the numbers from the Congressional Budget Office and reported that the budget could be balanced in just 10 years if politicians exercised a modicum of fiscal discipline and limited annual spending increases to about 2 percent yearly.
When CBO issued new numbers early last year, I repeated the exercise and again found that the same modest level of budgetary restraint would eliminate red ink in about 10 years.
And when CBO issued their update last summer, I did the same thing and once again confirmed that deficits would disappear in a decade if politicians didn't let the overall budget rise by faster than 2 percent each year.
Well, the new CBO 10-year forecast was released this morning. I'm going to give you three guesses about what I discovered when I looked at the numbers, and the first two don't count.
Yes, you guessed it. As the chart illustrates (click to enlarge), balancing the budget doesn't require any tax increases. Not does it require big spending cuts (though that would be a very good idea).
Even if we assume that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are made permanent, all that is needed is for politicians to put government on a modest diet so that overall spending grows by about 2 percent each year. In other words, make sure the budget doesn't grow faster than inflation.
Tens of millions of households and businesses manage to meet this simple test every year. Surely it's not asking too much to get the same minimum level of fiscal restraint from the crowd in Washington, right?
At this point, you may be asking yourself whether it's really this simple. After all, you've probably heard politicians and journalists say that deficits are so big that we have no choice but to accept big tax increases and "draconian" spending cuts.
But that's because politicians use dishonest Washington budget math. They begin each fiscal year by assuming that spending automatically will increase based on factors such as inflation, demographics, and previously legislated program changes.
This creates a "baseline" and if they enact a budget that increases spending be less than the baseline, that increase magically becomes a cut. This is what allowed some politicians to say that last year's Ryan budget cut spending by trillions of dollars even though spending actually would have increased by an average of 2.8 percent each year.
Needless to say, proponents of big government deliberately use dishonest budget math because it tilts the playing field in favor of bigger government and higher taxes.
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Bangor Daily News Building Sold
BANGOR, Maine (AP) – An insurance company has announced its purchase of the Bangor Publishing Company building in the Maine city of Bangor.
Cross Insurance, a subsidiary of Cross Financial Corp., announced Monday it has purchased the building on Main Street. The building has been the home of the Bangor Daily News for 60 years.
The insurance company says it will share the building with the newspaper until the publisher finds a new space. Seventy-five insurance employees are planned to move into the facility.
The Bangor Daily News, established in 1889, has been located on Main Street since 1954. The sales price has not been disclosed. The 63,000-square-foot building housed the newspaper's presses until the early 1990s.
Category: News


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Cheryl Pan, Chinese Folk Dancer (#445)
Cheryl Pan of Lexington, who has trained extensively in classic Chinese folk dances for many years, is also a dance instructor. She specializes in teaching people of all ages different Chinese ethnic dances, some of which are rarely seen in the United States.
Pan choreographs and directs many traditional Chinese dancessuch as the Fan Dance, Ribbon Dance, Lantern Dance, and Scarf Danceand more than 20 styles of ethnic dances, representing Tibetan, Mongolian, Uygurian, Korean, Dai, Yi, Bai, and Miao people.
Since being accepted into the Kentucky Performing Art Directory and Art Education Roster, she has performed at numerous events, including the Kentucky Folklife Festival, the World Music and Dance Festival, and the Governors Derby Breakfast.
Air Dates
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 4:00/3:00 pm CT on KET2
Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 1:30/12:30 pm CT on KET


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I read the FAQ and a few other things.
On the:
Looks like the only options is to upgrade and make the changes by hand written here:
But as the bsd.rd is the install kernel anyway, am I wrong to think that if you are welling to always reinstall from scratch, you would have the option of selecting install instead of upgrade with the bsd.rd from current and then do it like a fresh install and all the changes describe into the upgrade section would already be done.
Am I wrong to think that, or will there be something missing? I think it should really be good as it's suppose to be a snapshot anyway. But may be I am missing something, or don't think the obvious.
Nick. -- http://www.holland-consulting.net


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Cleveland has given us so much to forget. It used to be that the tiniest, most insignificant piece of obscure Cleveland trivia was anything but trivial in my mind; I'd actually get frustrated when a name like Paul Zuvella didn't just roll of the tongue. How does the name of former Cavs legend Elmer Bennett not just roll off the tongue? Now, I'd just as soon forget those meaningless tidbits, whether it's a backup shortstop that hit .231 in 51 games with the Tribe in 1988 or a former Sports Illustrated cover boy that played in four games for the Cavs prior to The Decision. But, I'm not trying to purge the Doc Edwards-led Indians or the mop-up time guys for the contending Cavaliers from the memory banks.
I'm searching for those new memories, the ones where it's worth remembering the details. Once upon a time, just watching the games was good enough, without talking about them ad nauseum. Now, it's about winning pretty and convincingly or picking up moral victories in a loss. There's something to be said for living in the moment, but after watching a single game in February this year, we're so quick to rush to judgment, declaring a winning and losing coordinator to be perfect and dreadful candidates for a Browns head coaching gig, which is no longer even available.
I'd just as soon forget that garbage too. I tend to remember the days, more so than the weeks, the months, or the moments. Granted, I'm starved for memories to store in the long-term memory banks when it comes to Cleveland, and I doubt I'm alone on that thought. There was that shot in Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, a miracle that saved the Cavs from going to Orlando down 2 games to none, but that miracle didn't mean squat when their season ended after Game 6. I remember when Clay Matthews picked off Jim Kelly at the goal-line, but that too is spoiled for most, considering it led to another loss to Denver.
That doesn't make for a lifetime of positive memories, but it's a short list. Obviously, the list of negatives would take a lot longer to recap, but what's the point. Most of know that misery montage well enough to know when to expect it from the networks, as well as what we're going to see. Since Red Right 88, most of the devastation came with hope attached. As the Bad News Bears declared, "just wait 'til next year."
The idea of next year was always a little more tangible back then, the foundation was in place in most cases. The Browns had an answer at quarterback and a stout defense, no matter how bad John Elway made them look. The Indians of the 90s had most of the talent that took them to the post-season in six of seven consecutive years under team-friendly contracts. And, prior to their playoff exit in May of 2010, the Cavs had the one piece that every team in the Association would try to build a contender around.
Since that fateful day in July of 2010, the day my wife's boss sent her an after-hours text to ask if I was on suicide watch, it's all gone to hell. Every team in town has fired their head coach (or manager) at least once; the Browns have fired three and the Cavs have already pink-slipped the guy who had yet to coach a game on the night ESPN conspired to make a boatload of money for the Boys & Girls Club at the expense of a fragile group of fans in the Midwest. There also hasn't been a single post-season victory, though the Indians were at least able to step on the dance-floor last October.
Even if you don't remember a thing from the last three and a half years, you've essentially forgotten nothing. Actually, that's probably not true; the journey might be what makes the destination so nice. The only problem with that logic is the high probability that these teams are just driving us on a road to nowhere. I'm not sure that any of the pieces are in place to lift burden our fan base faces of approaching a half-century without a major sports championship in December, or even to reach that Promised Land slightly thereafter.
Maybe, we can pretend though, the pieces might be in place, but that cloud of pessimism just hangs over us. Just because the only active Head Coach to win three Super Bowls couldn't do it here, and just because the greatest basketball player of this generation couldn't really come all that close to getting it done, it doesn't necessarily mean the only active American League manager with two World Series rings can't make it happen. However, I think it always resonates in the back of the mind of even the biggest optimists; maybe it just isn't meant to be for our city.
Of course, that's nonsense. The word "Cleveland" is just a word on apparel and a few signs around the arena, maybe part of an address on a pay stub. To dismiss the idea of success, sight unseen, is to expect someone to fail because their first name is Mike. So, let's talk today about the pieces that are in place, that may or may not be good enough to get the city to a place it hasn't been since before most households had color TV.
Two Frosh Faces
From Down Under
The 2010-2011 season offered very little for a damaged Cleveland Cavalier fan base, but a few rays of sunshine. There was an Opening Night victory over the Celtics, an emotionally-driven affair with faux transitive meaning attached, considering Boston had offed Cleveland's new South Floridian nemesis the night before. The new-look Cavs, who ditched the uniform style that came to town with their former player in 2003, had a nice little moment with Mo Williams in November, and looked like they might be able to tread water in the aftermath of everything. The honeymoon was short-lived, however, once that team from near South Beach came to Cleveland on December 2nd.
Everything else worth remembering from that season basically involved Baron Davis, whether it was JJ Hickson blocking his shot to end a historic 26-game losing streak when Davis was with the Clippers or the small amount of fun we had watching Davis wear #85 for the Cavaliers. I suppose the most relevant role Davis had were the strings attached to the trade that brought him to Cleveland for Williams and Jamario Moon; the Clippers threw in an unprotected 1st-round pick in the 2011 draft, a pick that ended up being the #1 overall pick.
Without the Clippers' pick, the Cavs new front office would have had to begin their rebuild with the #4 pick in a very weak draft. While there were a few questions about how well he could play against higher competition, considering he only played 11 games in his short career at Duke, Australian-born point guard Kyrie Irving was the consensus thought to be the #1 pick, and barring new General Manager Chris Grant "getting cute", as we'd find out he was willing to do, the pick would be Irving.
For the new beginning, after spitefully watching most of the '10-'11 season, I just so happened to be back in Northeast Ohio the week of the 2011 NBA Draft. In the interest of full disclosure, I had a friend getting married that Saturday, though I'm not sure how much nobler of a Cavs fan I could portray myself as, if I traveled 2500 miles to be in Cleveland for the NBA Draft.
A few hours earlier, we were getting our nostalgia fix in Kent at the first BW3 (I've decided I'm not calling it Buffalo Wild Wings, a la Chicagoans denying the current nomenclature of the Sears Tower). As we traversed I-271 towards the Beachwood Mall, where I needed to pick my tuxedo, the rain came down. Was this like rain on your wedding day?
I decided, since the draft was in New York, that the weather in Cleveland had no impact on the outcome of the draft, and made it to Panini's in Mayfield a few minutes before the broadcast began. There were a few Cavs bloggers in the house, confident it would be the Duke point guard over Derrick Williams, the undersized power forward from Arizona.
The Cavs did not play games, taking Irving first overall, just as they'd taken LeBron James 8 years before. The guy was quick off the dribble, a solid 3-point shooter, and he seemed like a nice enough kid. As long as he wasn't planning to torch our city on basic cable in the future, he would probably be alright.
To see Irving, we had to wait a little longer than usual, given a labor scuffle we'd been anticipating for about four or five years, which pushed the beginning of the season back to Christmas Day in 2011. In a move that surprised absolutely no one, the Cavs were not included in the Jesus Christ birthday games.
They would wait a day for Kyrie Irving's regular season debut, a home game with Toronto, and it was a dud. He was 2-of-12 from the field, 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, and finished with 6 points. Things got better in Game 2, but our snap judgment made it painfully obvious that he wasn't the second coming of you-know-who by any stretch of the imagination, but no one was calling him a bust after a 14-point outing in a win at Detroit. By the end of the week, he was that guy, the one who gets to take the last shot, in his third NBA game.
Game tied at 84, second to play, Irving beats him man off the dribble, and throws it at the rim for the win. It doesn't drop, and we had overtime in Indiana. The Pacers would go to 3-0, the Cavs to 1-2, but Irving had 20, but he needed a pair of free throws in the extra period to get there. Had he gotten it in regulation, the Cavaliers would have won, but such is life.
A month later, Irving got another chance to hit the last shot in Boston. Down 87-86 with the shot clock off, Irving drove the lane with about 4 seconds left, similar to the situation in Indiana, except this lay-up found the bottom of the net, giving the Cavs the big road win. Irving was 10-of-14 from the field, for a slash line of 23 points/6 assists/4 rebounds, which is basically a perfect night on the hardwood, whether you're 19 or 39.
He won the Rookie of the Year in 2012, basically what you hope for when you draft a kid #1 overall. Of course, the thing that means more than Rookie of the Year hardware would NBA Finals hardware or at least a playoff appearance, but the Cavs weren't there yet; everyone knew that. He was scoring almost 20 points per game, but the team was 21-45; on the bright side, it seemed there was nowhere to go but up from there.
After his second season, he was average over 20 points a game for his career. I'm not sure you need 22 points out of your point guard, but when we're talking about a guy on an island, but when the next player down on the points-per-game chart is clocking in at 14 per, it means Chris Grant and Byron Scott put him on an island. Some might raise concern about his overall drop-off in production from year-to-year, which is actually pretty slight given the circumstances, but you do have to factor in those circumstances.
Some might say he's injury-prone; he's played in 46 of 48 games this season and missed 38 of 148 team games since missing all but 11 games of his freshman season at Duke. I understand, there might be some concern there, but he plays with reckless abandon, so I'd chalk it up to being part of his game. He's allegedly immature at times, but honestly, who knows what's what with that locker room drama.
I don't really know what the truth is, either because our beat writers aren't investigating or the organization isn't giving them the opportunity to do so. This is pure speculation, but rumors of wanting out can only mean something needs to be fixed. As fans suffer through Year 4 of post-LeBron stress, it's a good bet that most things need to be fixed in Independence.
That's right; we'll have to start referring to Independence with the same contempt as Berea, and that's really a shame.
From Up North
The consensus among the pundits had Williams at 2, if not 1A; Bill Simmons had "Irving over Williams" in the "Oden over Durant" and "Bowie over Jordan" discussion. The Timberwolves took the Arizona forward, despite already having Kevin Love, likely with the thought that he could play the small forward position. It's possible they were just taking the best player available; I won't pretend to understand the motivation behind what David Kahn did before being pink-slipped by Minnesota in 2013.
While it could argued that this draft became a crapshoot after Irving and Williams were off the board, or even the second David Stern announced that the Cavs were on the clock, Enos Kanter was probably the clear-cut pick for the Jazz, who picked third. I know that there were some hoping either Williams or Kanter would fall to the Cavs' second pick in this draft at #4, but it wasn't meant to be.
Back in Northeast Ohio, we weren't long for Panini's, making a dash after Minnesota took Williams. As we headed north on I-271 towards Lake County, we had only the voices of WKNR to take us to the next pick of the rebuild. I didn't follow the Cleveland media close enough back then to tell you who exactly those voices were, but you got the sense they were a bit disgruntled.
Speculation about this pick had varied; a lot of international names, mostly Jonas Valančiūnas, were floated, but there was a demographic that looked at the two Top 4 picks as a tandem, rather than individually, who thought it would be best to take Derrick Williams and get a point guard like Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker with the fourth overall pick. Hindsight suggests passing on Irving would have gotten Chris Grant a cameo in the next Bad Idea Jeans commercial.
Now, I'd read about Tristan Thompson, and I have to admit I was a bit intrigued with the skill-set of the Texas freshman power forward, but I didn't understand why he was on the Cavs RADAR. He struck me as a good player with some upside, this the opinion of the most unqualified basketball evaluator in the blogosphere, but hardly a Top 5 guy.
A voice, one that I now know to be that of Tony Rizzo, was livid. I'll always remember, as the stormy summer sky became dark as night, we'd exited 271 at Route 91, and were sitting at the light at 84, headed into Willoughby, that's when we learned that it would be the 13 and 8 guy from Texas. I had to look up those college numbers from him, because I specifically remember Rizzo's rant about how it wasn't like this was a guy that put up 20 a night in college.
Well, Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams didn't average 20 a night either. The first power forward taken that fit the criteria was JuJuan Johnson (20.5 ppg in 2010-2011 at Purdue), to Boston with the 27th pick. He spent a year in Boston, a year in the D-League (with a cup of coffee in Canton), and now he's playing overseas. Twenty point per game scorers could be found in the lottery, in the form of Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette, and Alec Burks.
Let's not beat anyone up over what Captain Obvious can reveal to us in hindsight. Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Kenneth Faried, Jimmy Butler, and Chandler Parsons all ended up being quality contributors in the Association, despite not being picked in the Top 10. Though Cavs fans might enjoy the other Thompson, Klay went from Washington State to Golden State at 11, it's fair to say that taking Tristan at 4 might be as well received as he would be if the Cavs picked 2nd.
Thompson suffers from the same blunt fact that plagues Irving, Grant, and everyone else that's been on board since the rebuild really began with the Mo Williams trade; the team stinks. This season, when it was finally supposed to hit a new gear, they're struggling to win a third of their games, which is sadly almost good enough to put them in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Does that really make a difference?
To back in to the post-season well under .500, only to be bounced by Indiana or Miami, what does that say? Is it progress, and even if it is, can't we see that progression has its varying levels? Their current clip actually represents a better winning percentage than any season since The Decision, and I can't tell you how much it bothers me that an event like that has a proper title. This is the kind of progress that gets your general manager pink-slipped, and has everyone seeing a head coach with a foot in the grave.
That's not an unfair reality or an unfair assessment. To bring it back to the #4 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, it isn't his fault. There was a time, before we knew about Dion Waiters and before we knew the Cavaliers would be picking first in the 2013 NBA Draft, where we believed that Chris Grant's legacy would be tied directly to his creative pick in 2011. If that was the case, I think Thompson was a win for everyone involved.
He's not the guy that's going to dictate W's and L's, but he does his job. He's quietly started every game he's played in since Byron Scott made him a starter for the final 25 games in 2012. He obviously has this unique skill-set, but he plays a role, one that doesn't define him as a playmaker.
Did we anticipate the Cavs getting a 20 & 15 guy with this pick? I don't think so. I'm upset he's not blocking nearly as many as shots, but he's rebounding better and his fouls are down. Hard to say he's a disappointment; it's actually hard to say what the real expectations were for him, considering that seems to be the standard that Dan Gilbert is holding everyone to at this point, how this team is performing versus expectations. It seems that everyone is failing, but I don't know a soul that expected Tristan Thompson to be Kevin Garnett. He's an important piece, one whose role would be appreciated on a team netting better overall results.
One 4-letter State
Nick Swisher went to Ohio State. The next year, I found myself back in Ohio, to golf, to go to Put-in-Bay, and to catch the Tribe take on the Yankees on a Friday night in a miserable month of August. It was the post-collapse Indians, but hey, still pretty cool. Swisher was there as a Yankee, but let it known he was still a Buckeye.
Cody Allen was the lone bright spot for an Indians team that had fallen off a cliff, starting his career with a nice little scoreless streak, which was doomed the moment MLB.com's Jordan Bastian wrote about it. The batter was Nick Swisher, whose two-run home off Allen gave the Yankees a 3-1 win. My 2012 self thought, boy it would be nice to have a player like that.
As luck would have it, the 32 year-old hit the open market that winter, and the Indians had their ducks in a row for a free agency pitch that appealed to the Ohio in Swisher. The pitch to the guy with Ohio roots seemed like the same type of failed ploy the Indians' next-door neighbors attempted two and half years earlier. When it actually worked, and Swisher convinced his Hollywood wife that the good life could be had on the North Coast, you could call me a believer.
From there on out, every pitch could include Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, Hopalong Cassady, and Woody Hayes. It was a big win in free agency for a town that doesn't win in free agency, like ever, and there's always a factor that qualifies it in a certain way. One of the first social media interactions that I ever had with our fearless publisher at MTAF was on this subject; with Josh arguing that three legitimate free agents have chosen Cleveland over the course of a century.
I took a trip down memory lane to try and find the tweet I sent two years ago, which is dangerous activity on a Saturday afternoon; that tweet included the names Eddie Murray, Shawn Kemp, and Andre Rison, so needless to say, I lost whatever argument I was trying to make. At that point, Kerry Wood and LeCharles Bentley were presented as the best relevant and recent free agents to choose Cleveland. Cleveland had the fact that Bentley grew up in Cleveland going for them, though no such excuse could be made for Wood.
You could make a similar argument for Roberto Alomar joining his brother or an aging Willie McGinest joining his friend Romeo Crennel; Cleveland just never "wins" a free agent without some extenuating circumstances. It seemed different with Swisher; though he was certainly attainable, it felt like he had options. Yet, he chose the Cleveland Indians, even if the truth is more that he joined Terry Francona. So, even if the front office's only real win was landing Francona, then using that to bring in everything followed, the end result is all that matters.
Swisher was a character from the start. It's who he is; you can't turn something like that on and off. It was the type of energy that we loved, but we also worried about last spring. That's great to get the guys excited to be out there on February 27th, but would his act be tired in an August slump?
Though the team played pretty well, he was never the reason. You began to think there was nothing blue chip about this guy, and you might have started to classify him in the same group as Matt Lawton and David Dellucci. Previous free agent busts weren't gigantic personalities like Nick though.
I'd spent some time around Nick in Arizona. He is that guy that you see in the interviews and in commercials all of the time. While I'll say that he's very much a one of a kind guy, his type exists, and in times when the on-field performance doesn't reciprocate the attitude, the angry masses begin to turn on the personality, whether it's a fun guy or not.
I think back to Eric Byrnes, who had his own show locally in Phoenix when he was with the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, he couldn't hit his weight, and that natives became restless, they began to resent the show, and in turn, they despised Byrnes because the Eric Byrnes Show existed. It's hard to like a guy that gets $11 million to hit .226 in year after he made $6 million to hit .209.
After a rough start on a personal level for Swisher, the team was still playing .500 ball after a six-game road trip to begin the season. The timing stunk for Swisher, who was going to play his first home game in Ohio against his former team. Unfortunately, he was hitting .182. Now, news broke of Nick dealing with a sore shoulder throughout Spring Training, but he tried to play through it for a while, which suggests that he understands the reality of being the big name.
That's where it gets tricky; if you're the $56 million dollar man, you have to suck it up as much as possible and play. Unfortunately, that sometimes puts you between a rock and a hard place, especially when toughness makes you a detriment to your teammates. Add it to that Swisher talks a big game, and he has to be on the field. With the Yankees coming to town, there was a mutual interest in him and the team playing well to start their home slate of games.
"Oh man, that's going to be the jam. How much fun is that going to be?"
Before being spared by two days of rain, the Bronx Bombers outscored the Indians 25-7 in two games, leaving the Indians winless at home, four days after the home opener. Swisher was 3-for-8 at the plate, and was far from being the one to blame for the Yankees scoring 11 and then 14 on the Indians pitching staff. Still, $56 million reasons to be upset at the guy who always had something to say, fair or not. By the way, he was 3-of-8 against his old club, so it wasn't him at all.
You might say Swisher finally got his moment to say hello to the home fans, the ones who dealt with miserable weather and a miserable Cleveland offense, on a Friday night in Cleveland. The Indians didn't register their second hit until Michael Bourn's 1-out double in the bottom of the ninth inning of a scoreless tie.
Swisher, with two on and two out, ripped a single down the first base line to give the Indians a 1-0 win. His teammates mobbed him in right field. The next day, in a victory, he hit a home run and a double. A week later in Houston, the Tribe's new outfielder/first baseman had a four-hit day, and he was at a high point statistically, with a .310 batting average and a .946 OPS. Then it went away.
Over the next seven days, and drove in exactly one run. He sat for a couple of days; after a three-day layoff, he hit a home run in his return to the lineup. For a while there, it looked like he was normal, hitting between .260 and .280 for the month of May, before taking another 3 game hiatus at the end of the month. He took another six games off in mid-June, but it didn't seem to help.
Word was, Swisher's shoulder was hurting and had been. Time off didn't seem to help; he lived right around .240 for most of the season at the plate, but he turned it on when they needed him. For a 13-game stretch in September, he hit .380 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI. The Indians needed every single win they got in September to make the playoffs; Nick Swisher played a big role in getting them there. He's a .246 hitter in his one season with the Indians, but he has proven himself valuable.
To re-visit the Byrnes situation, there's going to be a large vocal demographic that will correlate any errant play on Swisher's part to Section 117 at Progressive Field and the Governor of Bro-hio. Think what you will of the marketing gimmick; I've seen Pronkville and MannyWood turn into gross failures because of their namesake, so I'm not a fan of dedicating sections to players, but it never really hurts anyone. If it gets a group of fans excited, let it be, I say.
As far as what Swisher has to mean to this club in 2014 and beyond, he needs to be a real leader, and maybe that means checking the cool guy routine. Jason Giambi won't be around forever and Justin Masterson already smells the free agent dollars coming his way, so the future of this club wears #33. The team is going to regress without Joe Smith and Chris Perez in the bullpen and without the Ubaldo Jimenez that showed up in August, right before he hit the open market this off-season.
Carlos Santana is a player that's going to have a tough time if this third base experiment is truly a real thing, he'll need a guy in the clubhouse to keep his head up during that transition. And, despite the surplus of outfielders that have been invited to camp, the departure of Drew Stubbs figures to give Swisher more time in right field, where he struggled defensively at times. As far as I'm concerned, he's the heartbeat of this team, and it's up to him to demonstrate whether he's a true champion, or just a guy that was along for the ride when he wore pinstripes in 2009.
For those who don't care whether he wore Scarlet and Gray or Crimson and Cream in his college days, he has some things to prove. In an ordinary situation, Chris Antonetti's job would be dependent on Swisher's success. Swisher is the foundation of this team for the next few seasons; just maybe we can expect him to be a true leader. The season depends on it, and you can even stretch that statement out to say that the near future does as well.
Brian Hoyer
I don't want to get too excited about Brian Hoyer, but I would stress how important he is to the Browns going forward. Look, I don't much more about him, other than what I've seen in the three games that everyone else has seen him play. We know that he's been in some good systems and sat behind a couple of Hall of Fame quarterbacks. We know that he's officially 3-0 as the Browns starting quarterback. We know that he wasn't particularly sensational in any of those three wins, but we can't deny they were wins.
Even if he's not the answer, and let's apply logic and assume he's not, he presents options. The first one being, you don't have to give honest consideration to Brandon Weeden. I'm convinced that when you can't show improvement with Norv Turner in your ear and Josh Gordon on your side, you can't play in this league. I'm sure Brandon is a nice guy, but I can't take him seriously as any type of building block.
Hoyer also gives you the option to make a rookie quarterback earn the job, rather than assuming it. I like the idea of someone young sitting. If a high-profile draft pick is able to earn himself a starting position, you know you've got your guy, provided he didn't earn the job over Alex Tanney and Caleb Hanie. If a rookie can't outplay Hoyer, it really isn't too troubling to consider giving Hoyer a chance to run the offense this season, while the future sits and learns.
Jason Pinkston
Here's a great story. Jason Pinkston was a project, but he's forced into a starting role, playing guard between two Pro-Bowlers. He had an impressive rookie season, but what a shame. Instead of getting better with practice, Pinkston has had to sit for extended periods of time.
He's not quite Nick Swisher or Joe Haden, as far as being exuberant is concerned, but he likes the city and the fans. I like him. I want him to succeed. The sooner we can speak well of the Browns offensive line without mentioning Joe Thomas, the better. If he can start and play well enough, his spot is one place you don't need to consider in free agency and the draft; in both cases, tact, discretion, and luck will all be necessary.
Dion Lewis
Lewis registers a whole 36 NFL rushing attempts in two seasons with Phildelphia, but the Browns picked him in up in exchange for the seldom-used Emmanuel Acho last off-season. This guy hasn't done anything, but impress in the pre-season. He's a good change of pace back, and can be the featured back in the correct system.
Kyle Shannahan's words carry a lot weight, even though it is February. You design your offense around the personnel you have, instead of trying to find the right players to fit a specific system. I happen to think Lewis would do very well with the zone-blocking system, but I don't think Carlos Hyde is walking through that door; at least not until late May.
Lewis will have the change-of-pace role in camp, but could make it interesting for anyone new they might bring to Berea. As far as I'm concerned, Dion Lewis is the starting running back for the Cleveland Browns. Not Fozzy Whittaker nor Edwin Baker promise to challenge to back-fill this spot on the depth chart. While it is likely they'll bring in someone new to challenge for the spot on the depth chart, I'm thinking Lewis's size wouldn't necessarily disqualify him, but it certainly won't help him.
Travis Benjamin
I can already tell, I'm going to confuse Kelvin Benjamin and Travis Benjamin the same way my mother confuses me with my brother and her brother, though I'm separated from them by 8 and 15 years, respectively. The two are related, but that's neither here nor there. The Browns so desperately need a late-round pick to stick, and the jury is still out on Armonty Bryant to give them someone more recent than Ahytba Rubin.
Travis has shown the ability to shine on special teams, but I'm wondering if he is a one-trick pony. Lord knows, there's an opening at the slot receiver position, one they don't need to fill via the draft. Davone Bess won't be with the team, unless something crazy and unforeseen happens, and Josh Cooper isn't cutting it, no matter how much we try to make him out to be Wes Welker. Benjamin might be the answer. We'll see how he bounces back from injury.
Jabaal Sheard
The player that's most important for the Browns on defense would be Jabaal Sheard, even though I'm sure Phil Taylor gets more attention. Can we get this guy, who excelled playing opposite Jayme Mitchell some help?
He is just too good of a football player to have as bad a season as he had in 2013. That falls on coaching, whether it's bad scheme or overall bad instruction. I wonder if Barkevious Mingo can be the guy that plays opposite of Sheard, and does that immediately transform Sheard back into the pass-rusher he was as a rookie? They sure have spent a mint on this front-7; where are the results? Am I way off in assessing Sheard as a key building block?
I don't believe I am.
The #4 Pick
Keep it. Don't trade up, especially from #4 with no Andrew Luck on the board. Don't trade down or risk that you'll miss out on the next Julio Jones. Keep it, and take the best available player. If it's a quarterback, great; If not, build the team the right way.
That's just my $.02
That's all I have this week. Enjoy the time you have to kill between now and next weekend.