farmteam

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 21, 2014 -> 06:59 PM) You guys are calling people terrible and bigots for not supporting something ENOUGH. You're saying an owner could have legitimate concerns with the controversy and/or POTENTIAL controversy Sam is going to bring (protests at games and the security that may come with it, a player saying something to a reporter that's offensive and makes the team/brand look bad, being questioned and no doubt accused of being personally homophobic if he doesn't make the roster or play, etc. etc.) That's a bunch of bulls***. I can get your beef if it's about Tony Dungey and his lame response here that doesn't jive with his past. But there's a legit argument that it's simply not worth getting involved in Sam that has nothing to do with personal opinions about his sexuality. He's not good at football AND not worth the extra stuff he's going to bring with him. I know Tebow is the poster child for this argument, but there's some truth to it. Teams didn't want him because not only was he not good at football, but he also brought a lot of baggage with him. His religion rubbed people the wrong way. I'm sure you were all 100% in support of him then, calling all of those owners and scouts and coaches terrible people, right? He was a 7th round pick. From everything before the draft, and even before he came out he was in the 5th-undrafted free agent range. He shouldn't make or not make the team because he's gay. It shouldn't matter at all. Look, I get that that is pie-in-the-sky thinking because people external to the organization (namely the media) will make it seem to matter, whether right or wrong. But that's my point -- a GM and owner should have the common sense to say "Treat him for what he is -- a guy trying to make our football team. If the media makes a ruckus out of it, we'll deal with it the same way as when our star DB got busted for DUI last season." Or, if they want to really go after it, they could use it as a teaching moment. That does clash with the "treat him like any other football player" point of view, though. And the Tebow comparison isn't completely on point; Michael Sam didn't choose to be gay, Tim Tebow did choose to be a messianic asshole.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 21, 2014 -> 04:46 PM) Come on, that's bulls***. It's a distraction because of the media covering the story, both for good and bad. You can't deny there won't be coverage, just like you can't deny Manziel or Tebow will/did get crazy amounts of coverage. At the end of the day I think it's a valid concern when you're talking about a guy who was drafted so late and is very questionable to make any sort of impact at this level. The question becomes is it worth it? Is it worth the headache? Vick served his time and guess what, was still a very good professional player. There was value there. It made sense to deal with the distractions given what you were going to get. Sam is just a story. Most coaches/scouts don't think he'll make it. And of course if he doesn't, the conclusion will be "oh well it's because he's gay and you're a bigot! That's why he didn't make the team/doesn't start!" I'm sure Dungy is full of s*** and he's really just saying I don't want a gay guy on my team. But I don't agree that distraction can't be a legitimate excuse. Yes. Someone's rights are more important than people getting pissed. Especially when they're getting pissed for a terrible reason. What's more, a smart owner could actually use the otherwise "distractions" as an opportunity for community engagement. And has been brought up plenty of times, here and other places, "distractions" is a bulls*** excuse considering the exploits of some NFL players. I'd rather Michael Sam in the locker room than Ray Rice or Josh Brent.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 21, 2014 -> 10:51 AM) So this weekend my wife and I and another couple took a little "staycation" in north las vegas because I won some package in a charity auction. The resort had a golf course across the street so I made an early tee-time for Saturday morning. Ended up partnered up with two guys who played college golf for BYU several years ago. Wow, were they good! I've gotten my handicap down to about a 9, and was starting to think I was getting pretty decent. Umm, no! What a humbling experience to watch these two guys play. Just automatic with their drivers for the most part and very solid iron players. They said they only get out about once a month so they were fairly ordinary with the putter. I think they both shot 73 or something. Was a great learning experience though and the one asked for my number after the round because he is looking for a regular group to join. Looking forward to learning from this guy. Oh, and my 85 looked like about 110 compared to these guys and their 73's It's ok, I probably would have actually shot 110 on a nice course like that.

Saw Begin Again the other night. It was pretty good, I liked the music. The ending was oddly abrupt, though.

John Oliver with a really good look at the terrifying state of America's prison system. Intuitively privatizing prisons seems like a terrible idea, and this bears that out. 50 deaths in 8 months at prison hospitals in Arizona, vs. 37 in two whole years before privatization?

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 20, 2014 -> 06:56 PM) James Rodriguez on the verge of going to Real Madrid for $90 million. Thought I read it was $101 million.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 20, 2014 -> 02:59 AM) Nix and Close not the victims here... http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2014/7/19/591...a-victim-piffle In what world is Nix telling teams he'll sign for a certain dollar amount (as the article admits, presumably 1.5 million) "gaming the system"? It doesn't matter what his supposed slot value would have been.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jul 19, 2014 -> 11:07 AM) and depending on if Kluwe's right or wrong could get himself into some trouble. Right. If that allegation is true, lots of trouble for the Vikings. If that allegation is false, lots of trouble for Kluwe. Like most things, its truthfulness probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Vikings suspend Priefer 2-3 games. Chris Kluwe's twitter is a hell of a read tonight, too. This one, depending whether he's right or wrong, might get him or the Vikings in a lot of trouble:

Final comments reserved for whenever the facts all come out, but as of now... Man, I hope this completely screws over the Astros as much as possible. It seems they were operating like utter f***nuggets.

Liking the Michalczewski love. I know it's just Lo-A but he's been doing real well.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 12:43 PM) The IHSAA is such a disaster. IIRC the Matt Carlino situation was handled really poorly as well, though that was about 5 years ago now.

Moises and Gillaspie is my new favorite comedic pairing.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 01:38 PM) I like these 3 players. Just thought you guys should know. Same. I also like Rick Hahn. Trevian pride!

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 08:29 AM) Not sure if there is a topic for this but If there is, I figure the admins will make quick work of it. What is the generally rule of thumb regarding rent and your salary? (i.e. Rent should not exceed 1/3 of your gross monthly salary) Not sure what the general rule is, but it also depends on a lot of other factors. If you have student loans, that can be the same as a rent payment, or more.

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 05:58 PM) Is it me or does everyone else forgets to mention that Love has been injured all the time too. They do. He was healthy most of last year I think, but other than that he's been oft-injured.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 04:25 PM) na. it was a pretty hard no. The higher-ups didnt want to spend the time/money to setup taxes in another state. Her boss and bosses boss fought to let her move and stay with the company Is her getting a job in Iowa City a viable option?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 02:05 PM) Not sure if this belongs here, but to make long story short. My cousin is a 20-something lawyer in chicago who makes good money. He got put on some big cases as far as doing some of the 'grunt' work -- flying out to various cities on the company dime to talk to experts, etc. Staying at nice hotels, living the good life on the road. That's not even close to grunt work. Grunt work, as an associate, is sitting in a stuffy little room analyzing, summarizing and categorizing thousands of boxes of documents for weeks or months on end. Granted, if your cousin works at one of the big firms, associates don't do that stuff, contact attorneys are hired just to do document review. QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 02:12 PM) 1. The legal profession is very, very tough nowadays. Far too many lawyers, and making partner or even associate is grueling and never comes for many people. That really makes life tough for anyone. And that's just for law grads who actually finds jobs. It's tough out there right now. I was incredibly lucky to be able to get a job with a firm while in school and then be hired on full-time after graduation. QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 02:24 PM) Taking the Bar in about two weeks here in Illinois. Cannot wait to be done with it. I thought I remember you saying a while back that you decided not to go to law school, because you worked at a firm during/after college and decided it wasn't for you. What changed your mind? Also, I'm taking the Minnesota bar in two weeks and I can't wait to be done either.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 10:32 AM) Which would put him just above the middle of the pack of all punters in the league. You are right, from a football standpoint it makes complete sense to cut him. Just had everything been the same minus the distractions, I still think they may have kept him. You very well might be right. With the facts we have, can't say for certain one way or the other...which gets back to the point of wanting access to this report. I swear I had seen something months ago that the Vikings would allow Kluwe access to the report, but maybe I'm wrong.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:29 AM) He's a punter though. Unless you're Shane Lechler, the line between you and the next guy is awfully slim.]/b] I honestly think the distractions were more than a bonus, they were part of the reason, but it was easily marked off as a football decision. Right. And Kluwe was due 1.45 million for 2013. Because the line between him and some rookie is awfully slim, why wouldn't the Vikings want to save that money?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:15 AM) And all of this is fine, this sort of thing happens, players get cut for being distractions and declining skills. The Priefer stuff is what is wrong and unnacceptable, though. Agreed -- but I don't think that necessarily played into their decision to release him. It just means they have a bigoted asshole on their staff.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:12 AM) I don't think it was about disagreeing with his politics, I think it was just him being so outspoken was becoming a "distraction" in their eyes. He plays one of the least important positions. He was getting older, his salary was increasing, which made him much easier to replace for football reasons. As he challenged politicans and spoke to every media outlet and was loud on social media, I think the team just said, enough, you are a punter, stop bringing all this extra attention to the team. We will bring someone in at half the salary and at least 90% of the production and they will be much quieter. I look at it this way -- if Kluwe was a better punter and/or cheaper, they could have (and would have) put up with any perceived distractions. But he wasn't, so he was getting released even if he was the quietest guy in the locker room. Getting rid of those perceived distractions was a bonus for them.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:04 AM) Like I said, I thought that too until this week. The Vikings investigation should have been a straightforward football discussion that they'd have no problem releasing to anyone. The fact that they have a problem releasing the report means that Kluwe's release wasn't a straightforward football discussion. I don't think it necessarily means that much. Suppose that that assistant coach really did make that "send all the gays to an island and nuke it" comment. That doesn't necessarily make it more likely Kluwe was released because of his activism, but it does make the Vikings look awful enough to backtrack on releasing the report.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 02:37 PM) FWIW the Vikings are denying they ever promised to make it public. And I have to believe them unless Kluwe or his attorney comes up with written confirmation of that. That's something you're going to memorialize and not just keep as an oral promise. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11218287...ct-mike-priefer Also, LOL at his lawsuit. Sadly the PR hit will probably be too big for the Vikings and the League so i'm sure they'll settle, but that case has no shot unless Kluwe admits he's gay. Not sure how religion plays into this, and there was no defamation. Tortuous interference is possible, but he was not under contract at the time was he? I don't remember. I'm not sure if the Vikings ever promised to release the report to the public, but I do think they promised to release the report to Kluwe. Now they're not doing either. According to a "source" the Vikings backtracked because the report came up with some pretty damning stuff. I honestly never thought his release was solely, or even substantially, about Kluwe's politics. It was about what it always is -- money. He wasn't good enough to justify making what he was due. Even if their rookie punter was worse, he'd be a hell of a lot cheaper. Now, once the Vikings decided to release him from a money/performance perspective, I wouldn't be surprised if also getting rid of what they may have viewed as a distraction was an added bonus. Frankly, the Twin Cities culture is incredibly LGBT friendly (at least as much as one can be, sadly), so Kluwe's views weren't as much of a "distraction" as they might have been somewhere else.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 14, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) Anyone else watch the first three episodes of "The Leftovers"? So far it hasn't grabbed me as a "must watch", but I am intrigued. This last episode was weird. I'll keep watching for now.