Rock M Roundtable!

1 - So evidently the Longhorn Network will be broadcasting high school games of its own choosing, both in and out of Texas (as reported by the oft-factually challenged -- but, it appears, correct in this instance, Sports By Brooks). On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a bad precedent does this set?

2 - Let's say you're forced to bet your entire life savings on whether Sheldon Richardson will play football for Mizzou this fall. What's your bet?

3 - If I tell you in six months that one of the following teams won the 2011 national title, which one was it: Florida State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, or Texas A&M?

4 - So the wife informed me this morning that she will be taking advantage of the fact we have a child and going to virtually every zoo in the central time zone over the next couple of years. (And if Baby C. doesn't like zoos? TOUGH! Okay, she'll like zoos.) In the most random roundtable question in a while ... favorite zoo animal, and why?

SleepyFloyd7: The early bird gets the bacon.

1 - I'd say a solid 7 as a bad precedent. Even if the NCAA allows this to fly (and I'm not convinced that they will), there are currently no other programs that would be able to duplicate this competitive advantage. Texas should cut their losses in this case, and stick to re-runs of "Super Slo-Mo Chaps Girls Practice." That would give them just as big of a recruiting advantage, while giving us all a reason not to grumble too much.

2 - I bet he plays. But I'm going to start calling him Nessie.

3 - Florida State. That schedule sets up VERY well for them. The one stumbling block would be Oklahoma. If it turns out to be Nebraska, I will give up college football for 5 years.

4 - Here's the thing. ALL BABIES LOVE ZOOS! When I lived in Portland, I was done with work at 11am, and had all afternoon to hang out with my first baby daughter. We were members of the Portland Zoo, so we could go for free whenever we wanted. We ended up going there 2-3 times each week. We's just walk around with the stroller and let her watch the animals. If it was hot, we'd just go sit in the Sea Lion cave and she's watch them swim around in their tank until she fell asleep. Love the zoo.

And my favorite Zoo animals are Orangutans. I think they watch us as much as we watch them. And they don't seem to mind if people watch them masturbate.

That sounds bad.

The Beef: I’d say the precedent is even worse than that.  The only thing I could see to allow it to fly that would not constitute a tremendous advantage for UT is that they have to never recruit any player in any game ever shown

I don’t believe he is going to be here.  No inside info or anything, but the gut just says that on the 5th or 8th or 212th time, he is not going to be able to get it any more right than he has on all the previous attempts, especially now where he is evidently doing it on his own.

I’d say OU just because I am the most familiar with them at this point.  I could see NU only because the Big 10 sets up for them really well and I believe their only real tough game will be on the road at Madison (is that Ryan or Brad?), and while the Big 10 wont be "strong", NU running the table will be more than enough to get a shot at the title.

The STL Zoo is lovely and free, and is in the process of expanding I believe.  We took Rebecca there in May when my folks were in town, and she seemed to enjoy it.  I am sure we will get back there a bunch.  My favorite part of the zoo growing up (which was the Bronx Zoo) was the cable car ride over the entire zoo.  Either that or I enjoy the penguins because it is nice and cold where they are.

Bill C.: (OSU, not OU, in question 3.)

The Beef: Nah…I don’t think OSU will do much…I will stick with my OU pick

SleepyFloyd7: I like your style, Beef.

Michael Atchison: 1. It’s a solid 9. Want to be on national television, kid? Easiest way to do it is to commit to Texas. It ought to be unsettling to everyone.

2. [Excuse me for a minute while I put most of my belongings in a revocable trust in my children’s names].  My five dollars in life savings says Sheldon is a Tiger!

3. As long as you don’t mind that this opinion is almost totally uninformed, my first thought is Florida State. If they can find a way to beat OU in Tallahassee, the ACC doesn’t pose nearly as big a problem as those other programs’ conferences do (or in ND’s case, a steady diet of high D-I teams), but they still have Florida at the end. I think Oklahoma State might be the answer. Texas and A&M on the road will be tough, but they get OU at home at the end, and they ought to be really good offensively. Let me scrap my FSU choice and pick the Pokes.

4. I visited a zoo just last week, and though the polar bear is tough to beat, I’ll take the kangaroos at the Kansas City Zoo. Just out and about, roaming around, like your buddies.

SleepyFloyd7: And just like my buddies, it's VERY DANGEROUS to get drunk with a bunch of Kangaroos.

Crikey!

Doug: 1 - How about 11? I was fine with Texas being able to monetize it's own athletic program to maximum efficiency. More power to 'em. But, if this network turns into an unfair recruiting advantage, giving Texas an even bigger edge, at some point the NCAA is going to have to roust itself and take a look.

2 - Yeah... I'm not going to do that.

3 - I'm with Beef, if it's Nebraska I'll commit homicide.

4 - Zoo story time. Spring break, we're in Dallas and the first couple of days we're there, it's pouring. Rain finally clears out and we go to the Fort Worth Zoo. Of course, it's spring and love is in the air at the zoo. We wander by the rhino enclosure, and there is a male and a female in there, separated by a closed gate. We stop to look at the rhinos and suddenly, I realize the male rhino has grown a 5th leg. It's kind of one of those things you can't un-see. Ever. But, that in-and-of-itself wasn't the funny part. As we walked off, a little girl, probably about 4 or 5 turned to her mom and said, "What's that?" Leading her mother to utter a series of incoherent ramblings as she pulled the child away from view of the 4-foot long penis. So, yeah. Rhino. If you got it, flaunt it.

The Beef: Had a similar "can never un-see" moment when taking the Brewery tour in STL and we made our way into the horse stables…swear to God that horse had a huge smile on its face as it unleashed…well…itself.

Bill C.: This roundtable has taken an unforeseen turn...

1. It's almost certainly a 10, but I can only get worked up to about a 6. Why? Because honestly ... they get whoever they want already. Missouri recruits in Texas non-stop, and if they're after a kid and Texas offers ... Texas gets the kid. As a Missouri fan, I can't really get too worked up about it. (I, for one, welcome our new Longhorn overlord! Hail Texas!) On the other hand, if I'm an Oklahoma fan right now ... I'm absolutely furious. And the prospect of doing out-of-state games is where things get really dicey. (CFT's take is a pretty good one.)

2. I'm an optimist. HE'S ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE HERE IN AUGUST. IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. YES. IT WILL. MAYBE. OR NOT. OKAY, PROBABLY NOT. BUT THE MIZZOU LINE'S GOING TO BE AWESOME REGARDLESS.

3. Honestly, I think Notre Dame could be really, really good this year (so my numbers tell me), but yeah, I'll go with the ACC team. No way in hell it's Nebraska.

4. Penguins are funny. Runners-up: pandas. Pandas are funny. Saw them at the DC zoo a few years ago ... saw one bop another on the head with a closed fist like it was a cartoon.

Michael Atchison: I also like red pandas if only because I get to pretend to be the smart guy and tell you that they’re not really pandas.

Doug: Speaking of animals. Is it possible to love them too much?

The Beef: Can someone queue up D-Sing to put this roundtable out to pasture before Tepper wakes up?

Michael Atchison: Before this roundtable goes belly up, does anyone know a singer/songwriter named Israel Nash Gripka? A friend in Philly hosted a show at his house over the weekend. The headliner was a guy named Anthony D’Amato who is on the road with Gripka. Gripka played, too, and I’m told that he was sensational, and that he’s a Mizzou alum. I looked up his music, and he’s really, really good. One thing I saw said he was a mix of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Harvest-era Neil Young and Exile on Main Street, and after listening a little, that’s a pretty apt description. I saw that he’s from somewhere in the Ozarks and that he released a benefit EP for Joplin relief.

SleepyFloyd7: No, but thanks for the info. He's next on the get-it list.

The Beef: I lost this email after the word, "named".

(30 minutes later...)

SleepyFloyd7: Apparently, Wisconsin Basketball plays Ultimate Frisbee as an off-season conditioning and camaraderie building exercise.

What should Mizzou Hoops adopt for the rest of this off-season?

ghtd36: Ahoy-hoy, gentlemen. Let's get busy.

2- I'm betting that he's not here, and here's why: the worst case scenario there is that I'm dirt poor but Mizzou has an awesome defensive linemen. I'm thinking of the team here, folks. You're welcome.

3- Jeez...I guess I'd go with Florida State, only because their conference is the easiest to run through, and it would depend largely on either A) beating Oklahoma or B) the Big XII beating each other up enough to not field a viable national title candidate. Second would probably be Nebraska, because they've got the second-best shot at going undefeated and there's no way an undefeated Big Ten champion doesn't make the national title game. Then, it's probably Notre Dame. Then, Texas A&M (probably the best team of the group, but the road runs through Norman), then Oklahoma State (why is everyone in love with OK State? Did we forget that Dana Holgorsen is a thing?).

4-

ZouDave: Damn, late to the party today and I’m not sure it’s a party I want to attend!  You know, you get invited to this house you’ve been to many times before, you think you know what to expect, then you walk in and see this smoke-filled room playing music you’ve never heard (and I blame Atch for that) and see a bunch of zoo animals in leather outfits.

My gut reaction is:

1 – The correct answer here is what Bill C said.  Texas already basically selects the players they want, especially in Texas.  I have absolutely no doubt that if Missouri is recruiting a kid in Texas, and the Longhorns are recruiting a kid in Texas, that the reason we’re not going to get him is because Texas could put one of his high school games on national TV.  Texas can still only take up to 25 players/year.  But, that’s looking at it only from the Missouri perspective.  The advantage it gives them over teams like A&M and Oklahoma are completely alarming.  The NCAA is going to be forced to do something about that.

2 -

But really...

3 – I’d tell you that you were playing NCAA Football 12 with me, and the answer was Texas A&M because I was controlling them.  But seriously, yeah it’s Florida State.

4 – Lions, because lions f#$&ing rule.

SleepyFloyd7: Dave, Lions are always asleep at the zoo. Cool animals, but terrible choice.

ghtd36: Exactly. That's like winning the lottery and buying a freakin' Camry.

ZouDave: The last time I was at the KC Zoo, 1995 I think, they had a big African exhibit going on.  It was the middle of July, a brutally hot day not unlike today.  We made our way to the Lions pen, nothing to see.  All of them were asleep, inside, in the shade.  Smart creatures.  So we walked around to see everything else and about an hour later were getting ready to head out.  Then we hear "RROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR" and I just turned and sprinted back to the lions.  Standing there on the highest point he could get to (like freaking Pride Rock) was a male just sitting there, looking like a badass.  I didn’t get to see him roar, but hearing it was enough.

Absolutely love those creatures.

D-Sing: When I lived in Ypsilanti a few years ago, my friend Heather and I went to the Detroit Zoo. It was a gray, chilly overcast morning with a light rain falling, which was actually good for seeing some active animals since it wasn't hot. We got to the lions, and there were two females and a male lion out and awake. The male being awake was a nice bonus, and he was sitting next to one of the females. When that female got up and walked away, the other one came over and proceeded to swiftly bitch-slap him. Heather and I stood there, mouths agape-until we started laughing.

D-Sing: 1. For Texas, it's a (-10), since they get to cherry-pick the games they want to carry, and they are going to broaden their reach. For everyone else who has to compete with Texas, it's a bad precedent of 10^2. I wouldn't normally be this hyperbolic about it, but given that TLN has the backing of ESPN, it seems like a perfect storm of badness for almost everyone else.

(Never mind that I have issues with ESPN being in bed with UT like this. I should've added that to the Dear John-type letter I wrote this week.)

2. Well, since I don't have much that's not tied up in a retirement plan at this point, and since I think I said I would believe him to be a Tiger when he suits up and takes the field, I'd bet $100. But what odds am I getting? What's the line?

3. My gut tells me Florida State, although the rhythm of their schedule is very weird, with three home games followed by three road games in 4 weeks. They might slip up during that run. Also, Oklahoma is a tough game, but that game is in Tallahassee, and we know how mortal OU can be on the road.

4. I've always had an affinity for the big cats, lions and tigers. My mom loved tigers (especially siberian white tigers) and I liked lions because I am a Leo.

ghtd36: Bonus question:

Do you ever hear a song you've heard before, enjoy it, look up who it is, realize it's a band you would never in a million years consider yourself a fan of, listen to more of their stuff and realize that you are, in fact, a fan of basically their entire catalog?

In other words, do you have a band/artist whose music you really enjoy that you'd be relatively ashamed to admit to?

The reason I ask: I recently realized that Hall & Oates is greatness. And my love of Genesis is well-documented.

D-Sing: Probably not a whole body of work for a band; there are few bands where I like more than a couple of albums or a handful of songs. The only band or artist whose whole catalog I own is Rush, and even then I don't have some of the retrospectives and other re-releases from their old label. There are lots of groups where I'm missing one or two of their latest albums (Barenaked Ladies, Dream Theater) but that probably has more to do with lineup changes and musical direction shifting and me wanting to put them in amber and remember what I liked.

I will admit, though, that I like Cracked Rear View by Hootie and the Blowfish. It lives in my car and is played more often than I would normally admit.

ZouDave:

"I admit it, I'm a Michael Bolton fan! I celebrate the guy's entire collection! For my money it doesn't get any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman"!"

D-Sing:

"There *was* nothing wrong with it... until I was about twelve years old and that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys."

The Beef: I attended the Hootie and the Blowfish/They Might be Giants concert at Hearnes back in 1996 I believe, and it was really pretty good.  They Might be Giants were a lot of fun, and Rucker had about a beer per every two songs when Hootie played.  They finished with a joint encore where they covered the Doobie Brothers’ Long Train Runnin’, which was enjoyable for ALL the guitars they had on stage at that point.

D-Sing: I was there, too, on a date. It was the first time I saw TMBG, and then I saw them the next day play a parking lot show at the old Streetside Records location. Fun times. Although the girl later turned out to be a bit crazy....

ZouDave: "joint"
"doobie"

D-Sing: "joint" and "doobie" don't take me there first.
I actually start to think about my roommate second semester freshman year.

He was a dead ringer for this guy:

(Two hours later...)

Michael Atchison: Like most of the ruination of the past 15 years, I blame this on Hootie and the Blowfish.

ghtd36: OH HEY EVERYONE IT'S ATCH COME TO TELL US WHAT MUSIC WE CAN AND CANNOT LIKE.

Michael Atchison: You should stick with me, Greg. I’m with you on Hall and Oates.

The Beef: That should come as no surprise….after all…Atch is a family man.




….sorry

Michael Atchison: Leave me alone.

ghtd36: By the way, Atch, I'm keeping tabs on whom I have and have not met from RMN, and you, Sleepy and KU Doug are basically, well, the list.

The Beef: I feel pretty good that the order this will be accomplished will be

1. Sleepy
2. Atch
Never. KU Doug

Doug: Unless he's willing to come to Albuquerque, yeah, that's a solid list.

ghtd36: I never put two and two together, but...Doug...are you a chemistry teacher at an Albuquerque high school?

Doug: Hell, no. The chemistry teacher works for me.

ghtd36: PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM THIS THREAD.

Michael Atchison: Too bad you haven’t been within about ten miles of my house in the past couple of months.

ghtd36: I keep waiting for you to accept my invitation to be my roommate.

Michael Atchison: I can’t see how that would go wrong.

Did you take any of my Seattle recommendations?

ghtd36: Did the wineries, the downtown, and the Alaskan Amber. All spectacular.

SleepyFloyd7: Um, Greg.

We did meet.

Pre and post Illinois FB 2010.

Glad I made an impression.

SleepyFloyd7: And this.

ghtd36: ...were you the one dressed as a cop?

SleepyFloyd7: No, but I believe there was frisking.

Bill C.: Tepper right now:

The Beef: Yes, but didn’t that come more from Tepper’s brother, or am I thinking of another party?

ghtd36: You'll have to pardon me. I was trying to keep my brother from sports-bullying Bill.

Bill C.: Seriously, when your brother hones in, your brother hones in.

ghtd36: A summation:

"You're into numbers right?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess so."
"THEN TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT FOOTBALL EVER. FROM MEMORY. GO."

Fin.

Bill C.: "AND TELL ME HOW IT WILL HELP ME GAMBLE AND WIN."

Michael Atchison: As long as we’re bringing the noise:

SleepyFloyd7: How about Chromeo and Darryl Hall?

ghtd36: $5 million, but you have to live in Point Barrow, Alaska for three years. You get one week of vacation per year. Your house (heating, television, Internet, etc.), just in Point Barrow.

Do you?

ZouDave: So you’re saying I would have everything my house already has (same TV channels, same internet access, my XBOX 360, etc) I just have to be in Point Barrow, AK?  Do I have to do anything else, like work for a living?  Or is my time my own?

Sign me up, as long as you can guarantee me the at least same TV and internet service I currently enjoy.

ghtd36: You get a stipend for bills and food and stuff, so no, you don't have to work. However, you live alone; no friends or roommate or significant others can live with you.

ZouDave: That’s how I am right now.  Do I get to keep my dog?  Can I outfit my house with exercise equipment (for me and the dog)?  Can family ever come visit, or is that all just part of the 1 week/year thing?  Because that part might suck a little bit.  I would definitely miss going to Mizzou games, but I would accept far less than $5M to not go to the next 18 Mizzou home games.

(90 minutes later...)

Bill C.: So uh...

The Beef: Someone may haz a happy on this one…

ZouDave: Oooh, that’s pretty.

And now I have to go update the roster set I put out for the 360.  I thought he’d be #34.  I think #95 is still available.

(Note: Chad Moller says Richardson's bio is neither a good sign nor a bad sign. Killjoy.)