Rex Hudler

I think this is a classic lesson in that when you buy a used car, there are risks. I still think buying used is better than buying new, but if you don't have the constituion for some out of pocket repairs, maybe new is the route you should go. I understand the situation is frustrating, but think about it. You bought an 8 yr old car with 79,000 miles. You drove it for four months before its first repair. Carmax checked the car out and it worked for four months. It is what it is. I have bought two used cars. A '98 Lexus ES300 in 2001 that had 46k miles and had very few problems. Drove it over 110k miles and finally had about $2k in repairs and decided at that time it was time to get a new one. I just recently bought a 2005 Acura RL with only 17k miles. I got it certified from the Acura dealer and paid a few more dollars, but got a pristine car with very few miles. I'm hoping I have very few repairs on it, but I know anything can happen. My suggestion to someone buying a car is to find a reputable used car dealer who sells wholesale. Ask around. Buy a car 3-4 yrs old with 30k to 50k miles (more if you are willing to take on more risk). Buy a reliable brand/model. Do your homework. Carmax is typically a place to get a decent deal on a car that has been checked out. There is still risk, however. Carmax is not a place to get a great deal. That typically takes patience and research, even a little luck. That doesn't help you now, I know. Expect Carmax to offer you less than you think for your car. There is a legitimate difference between a retail price and trade in value. That is how dealers make money. They may help you a little in this situation, but know they are going to get their money. If they give you a fantastic price, its because they have enough in their other cars that they will make it on your new one. That's just business.

You bought a 2002 used car, got an extended warranty and want to blame the seller? How long did it run before you had your first problem? How long did it run between the first and second problem? What was exact problem? Personally, without more info I would say life sucks, but making a scene at their place is the wrong angle. The car is 8 years old! It sucks, but to blame them to me is ridiculous.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 14, 2010 -> 04:33 PM) Why is that the case? It's not TV revenues they want to protect, its merchandising. Right now ND owns all the rights to their merchandising without having to share it with a conference. Thats a ton of $$$$ You can't convince me that ND is making so much more merchandising revenue that it would cover the difference in TV revenue. Big Ten teams split $22 million last year. The NBC contract was reportedly $8 million. Add in bowl revenue and merchandising (though I do not think Big Ten merchandising is included in the $22 mil figure) and you still aren't there. Notre Dame is not joining the Big Ten right now for one reason and one reason only. It's ego. They have a big enough endowment that the added revenue from the Big Ten, while nice, isn't a necessity. At least not more so than their own perception of their worth as an independent.

As far as Notre Dame goes, their ego is the only thing keeping them from joining. Joining the Big Ten would give them more money than their NBC contract and there is nothing keeping them from the NBC contract until it expires. Notre Dame to the Big Ten makes sense to everybody but Notre Dame's ego. The Big Ten offered to stop at 12 if ND would join, but the Pac-10 stepping in courting Texas moved up the BT's timetable and forced them to take Nebraska now when ND wouldn't commit. Now, if the Big Ten goes east and plucks Rutgers and Syracuse (some see Syracuse as the key to get ND to perk up, but not sure why), then there will likely be further dominos fall. If the SEC adds A&M, they will likely want at least one more team. If they don't get Oklahoma, then the list of VA Tech, FSU, GA Tech, Miami, Clemson, etc opens up. If the SEC decides to go to a full 16, then the ACC has to do some major scrambling and raid the Big East, which would likely crumble. At that point, ND has no conference home for their other sports, which could make scheduling a nightmare. At that point, one would think ND would have to make a move. Going anywhere beside the Big Ten would simply be ego-driven. It could all happen fast or it could take a year for all the dominos fall and there are other possibilities, esp with the Mtn West and the remaining Big 12 schools. I'm not sure I'm going to like where the dust is going to settle when all is said and done, but the journey is certainly entertaining.

Let me jump in on the A&M situation.... A&M wanted to make a decision which was best for them and not feel like they were simply going to follow big brother in Austin. The SEC courted both A&M and UT, but UT had no interest due to academic reasons (who says academics are not a factor?). Gene Stallings is on the board of regents which advises the presidents in these matters. Stallings is the former Head Coach at Alabama and won the 1993 NC, beating Miami. At first it seemed to be more of an exploration thing and then potentially trying to talk Texas into going too, but that did not happen. Things turned within the last few days when Texas told A&M if they split and went their own way, Texas would not schedule A&M in "anything, anytime soon". That just fueled the Aggies fire to do their own thing. The reason reports are saying it is a done deal is they apparently have a majority of the regents on board with splitting from UT. No vote or decision has been made and things could change. But it seems like much more of a possibility now than it did just 3-4 days ago. I'm sure there are tons of behind the scenes politicking going on right now and anything could change. Beebe is trying to save the Big 12, A&M doesn't want to go west, UT doesn't want to go east. I think Texas would consider the Big Ten if they could bring Tech along, but I'm not sure that will happen. Don't count out the possibility that the Big 12 stays together and then a 2nd wave happens next year, which could include Texas moving again. Anything is still possible, but some possibilities most of us thought could not have been seem to be legit now. My guess is the only shot Texas decides to join the Big Ten is if Notre Dame decides to do so as well.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 6, 2010 -> 02:39 PM) http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5257088 Report: Huskers, Mizzou face ultimatum The Big 12 has drawn a line in the sand for at least two member schools. The conference, amid a chorus of story lines that would all significantly change the face of big-league college sports, has imposed a deadline of Friday for Nebraska and Missouri to state their intentions on whether they intend to bolt for the Big Ten, with the possibility of an extension for a decision by next Tuesday, The Austin American-Statesman has reported, citing two sources. The Big 12's university presidents decided on imposing the ultimatum, two highly placed officials within two of the conference schools said, according to the newspaper. That's easy. "At this time, we have received no official invitations to join any other conference and remain committed to the Big 12. No plans are in place at this time to leave the Big 12. Any speculation on the future is just that, speculation. We value our membership in the Big 12 Conference and our relationships and rivalries with its member schools."

Went to SEC semifinals Saturday. LSU beat Ole Miss 8-0 and Bama beat Florida 5-2. Pretty boring games actually. Nice crowd of about 11,000 though

Thanks for the suggestions. If anyone has anymore I'll keep checking back.

I realize tastes vary, but I'd like input on the following steakhouses, including why you may like one more than another. 1. Gibson's 2. Keefer's 3. Morton's 4. Sullivan's 5. Any others downtown?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 22, 2010 -> 10:09 AM) Slick Rick, Bell Biv Devoe, Salt-N-Pepa, etc on Friday at the taste? That might be fun. They are on Friday June 25th. We won't be there until July 1st.

I'm heading up to Chicago for the first time in 6 years or so for July 4th weekend. We'll get in Thursday morning and leave on Sunday the 4th. I need some suggestions on things to do. Time will be somewhat limited. We'll have all day Thursday, but are going to Cubs-Reds games (yes I know its a Sox board, but the Sox weren't in town!) My questions are: 1. Tell me about Taste of Chicago. Is it worth spending time there? Worth catching after one of the afternoon games? What kind of entertainment will there be? 2. Does anyone know of any other events going on that weekend? Has anyone ever done any of the boat tours? There is an architecture tour and a skyline tour? Any input? Are there dinner cruises at night? 3. Will there be a big fireworks show downtown on Saturday the 3rd or will we miss out having to fly back on the 4th? 4. Suggestions for places to eat? We'll be doing pizza one night for sure. Mostly likely Giordano's or Lou Malnati's. We like dive type places, but wouldn't mind a nice dinner one night either. Definitely not looking for chain or corporate places. Want something unique to Chicago. We're staying at the Sutton Place Hotel which is a few blocks north of the Hancock Tower and west of Oak St. Beach. Is Oak St. Beach going to be packed that weekend. I figured on walking to it at least one morning, but not staying long. Thoughts? Any input on the above or any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. We're using public transportation and time would be limited, so unless something would just blow us away, it needs to be pretty convenient to downtown. Thanks!

Tonight on Showtime is Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez IV, a must see for any boxing fan and a fight that will give those that may not care for boxing anymore a great show. Their 2nd and 3rd fights won Fight of the Year in 2007 and 2008. All three fights have been all out slugfests from the opening bell. These guys were made for each other, punching toe-to toe. They rarely ever clinch and fight both close and from the outside. I definitely recommend watching or recording it.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 16, 2010 -> 06:01 PM) Oh the baseball team is strong, it just can't always compete with the southern and western teams enough to stay in the top 25. No program outside of those warm weather areas can. It's a constant struggle.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 12, 2010 -> 09:03 PM) ND has one of the best all-around men's and women's athletic programs that aren't Big 10 or Pac-10. Almost every sports program that they have is in the top 25 every year. Football and baseball are about the only two to not hover around the top 25 consistently, and football has been around the top 25 on occasion. Actually Notre Dame's baseball program is pretty strong. They would immediately be one of the top teams in the Big Ten.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 3, 2010 -> 07:51 PM) Yep. Poker Stars has plenty of free content. Actually pokerstars.net is completely free.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 2, 2010 -> 04:03 PM) Current thoughts? It seems I will be facing that decision at my new place. Time Warner hasn't strung cable there yet. No matter that they (Time Warner) have a service box 25 feet away in the next subdivision. Direct has MLB so that is my obvious choice. Prices seem to be within a dollar of each other. My basic package would be their 200 channel line up. 2 HD TVs with DVRs and 1 standard def TV. Do they both require regular (non digital) phone lines? Tex, I have DirecTV and love it. More HD, high picture quality and a lot of cool features for special events. For example, during events like the Masters, Wimbledon, etc, they have 4 special channels all in HD. During the Masters, they had one channel that showed all action at Amen Corner, another followed a selected group of the day, the other gave you alternate network coverage and the other showed holes 15 & 16. They do this type of feature for many major events. If you do choose to go DirecTV, call me before you do. Give them my account number and they will give you $100 in credits (in addition to whatever promo they are offering) and do the same for me. It's a no lose situation for both of us if that is the way you have to go. But you have to have my account number when you call in to place the order.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Apr 25, 2010 -> 08:09 PM) Offense: Neal Brown, OC, was OC at Troy Matt Moore, OL coach from Leach's staff Sonny Cumbie, Inside Receivers coach, former Tech QB Tommy Mainord, Outside Receivers coach, was OC at Lamar Chad Scott, RB coach, was RB coach at Troy Defense: James Willis, DC from Alabama as LB coach Sam McElroy, DL coach was Tarleton State's head coach. Robert Prunty DE/LB coach, was Hargrave's head coach. Travaris Robinson, DB coach, was Southern Miss' DB coach S&C: Joe Walker, was assistant strength coach at Auburn Neal Brown and James Willis should be head coaches in 2-3 years. none of the old cronies from the Auburn regime. Willis was LB coach w/ Tuberville, but I never heard his name come up in anything. Tuberville could have stayed at Auburn if he would have cleared many of his assistants. He refused. In reality, he probably should have handled them during the season with Franklin and gotten rid of them at the end of the season. He didn't and that whole season crumbled. I think he could do well at TTech.

This is not brand new and my apologies if I missed it in this thread, but congrats to neighborhood kid Brad Brownell on getting the Clemson job. Used to play some mean games on a neighbor's 8' goal when we were young. I'll be curious to see how he will be able to recruit and compete in the ACC. Nice step up for the kid from Evansville.

Not sure about paying for the Mayweather - Mosley fight this weekend. The last two times I have bought PPV, I've gotten burned with crappy fights - see Pacquiao - Hatton and Mayweather - Marquez. I may do so, because I believe you can get a $30 mail in rebate from Tecate which would make the fight only $34.95 (HD). May see if I can find it on in a bar too. Either way, I will watch it on HBO the next week. They always replay it the next Sat night. I hope Mosley beats him, but would not bet against Mayweather. He just seems too hard to hit. Should be a good fight though.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 12:19 PM) Yeah, Tony Franklin. But Auburn didn't have any of the personnel to run a spread, they just tried to put a square peg into a round hole just because others were doing it. Much of the problem in Tuberville's last season at Auburn was discord amongst the assistants, most notably on offense. The existing offensive coaches, old Tuberville cronies, did not mesh with Franklin and seemed to undermine him, making an OC's job nearly impossible. There were reports from personality clashes, to the coaches getting offended when Franklin didn't want to pray with them to out and out undermining him on the field. It was not pretty. Who are Tuberville's offensive assistants now?

Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler on Showtime tonight should be a pretty good fight. I'm not a big fan of Froch or his style, but he's undefeated. I think Kessler wins tonight though. If Kessler wins, it means 5 of the 6 fighters in the Super Six tournament will have one loss. Coming into the tournament, Kessler and Arthur Abraham were the odds on favorites. For those that aren't familiar with it, Showtime put together a tournmant with six of the top Super Middleweights in the world. It's a round robin style tournament with the top 4 fighters moving on to semifinals and ultimately the final. The tournament will take 2 years to complete and the winner will have to fight 5 times against world class competition. It's a pretty unique event. Tonight is the 2nd of three fights in the second round. New favorite Andre Ward (the last US Olympic gold medal winner) will fight Allen Green (a replacement for the injured Jermaine Taylor) in June and the 3rd round will be this fall.

I followed boxing as much as the next guy from the late Ali days to Leonard-Hearns-Hagler to Boom boom Mancini and the Mike Tyson, but dropped interest before Holyfield and Lennox Lewis were in their prime. Just the last few years I've picked up interest again and now can't get enough. I've found the smaller guys provide much more exciting fights and I don't need the heavyweight division to keep me interested. Right now the lightweight, light welterweight and welterweight classes have some amazing fighters and provide great fights throughout the top 10-15 in each division, not just the Pacquaio - Mayweather - Mosely group. I've also found the Super Middleweight Super Six tournament on Showtime to be quite entertaining, with some quality young Americans in Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell. Lastly, if anyone would ever want to watch some unbelievable fights, check out these two trilogies. Arturo Gatti - Mickey Ward (they made Rocky movies seem realistic) and Rafael Marquez - Isreal Vazquez. Marquez and Vazquez will fight for the 4th time in the next month or so and their 2nd and 3rd fights both won Fight of the Year awards. Those two are simply made for each other and put on amazing displays with non-stop action from beginning to end. Check them out!

Hey, havent been around here much lately. Are there many boxing fans here? I've really gotten into boxing in the past 2 years and have enjoyed a lot of great fights. I'd love to discuss the sport if there are others interested and follow it closely. Also, if anyone has EsPN insider and would not mind sharing the following it would be greatly appreciated. ESPN put out their own pound-for-pound rankings by Dan Rafael and only the top 3 can be seen without Insider. Can the link be copied here? If not, could it be sent in a PM?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Nov 7, 2009 -> 12:39 PM) Where the hell has this Illinois team been all year? I realize Michigan and Minny are bad teams but still. Michigan woke Illinois up. Michigan was about to put that game away, but couldn't punch it in from the one yard line. Illinois drove 99 yards and came to life. Michigan never recovered. I have zero doubt that if UM gets into the end zone, whether on the long pass or any of the four runs from the one, Michigan wins that game.

Rock, I just got a copy of the program, but think I may be missing something. The introductory DVD was good and referenced doing an initial fit test. Did I miss the test on that DVD or is it on another DVD? I'm wondering if I am missing one? I have one marked Intro and the 12 workout DVD's. Thanks