Recent Comments

Crowd is chanting, "Let's go... Hokies" and the announcer says, "It sounds like a West Virginia home game." I guess you don't get the A-team with a Wednesday noon tip-off.

People pay to see the athletes, not the officials.

Hear, hear. This is why I find basketball so hard to watch.

The start of a long BB season. My heart bleeds for VT and just GUSHES for our BB team. I hope I'm wrong. Please tell me I'm wrong.

I took some time to think about your comment before answering. It's an interesting analogy. First, football has the benefit of instant reply. That should be the equalizer but so far, it only seems to have added to the inconsistency of the call. Second, in football it's a lot about angle, maybe even intent. In basketball, it's much simpler to determine position and contact. I've Ref'd more basketball than any other sport, and block/charge is really not as difficult as it gets made out to be at times. A big part of officiating in the paint is staying fluid and positioning yourself to make the calls, and keeping your head on a swivel.

The last part of your question is tough. Making the call easier isn't necessarily the problem - getting officials to apply a consistent definition of the rule is probably the root cause. And two years in, they don't seem to be any closer to sorting it out even with league oversight and official education. That's one of the questions I want to look at as I continue compiling data. Once I have pulled data on all the ACC calls for 2015, maybe we can string together video clips and see exactly how this played out.

This is sad. Sounds like a majority West Virginia crowd.

Huggi Bear being Huggi Bear, telling one of his players "Thats Stupid"

We are getting physically beaten with this small lineup out there. Buzz just doesnt want to admit to himself that he is going to have to play two of the bigs together (and Leday does not count as a big) and that drive by Leday would be open more often if we had another big in the game. It would allow Leday to create and we desperately need that with Clarke out of the lineup.

Kelly to Texas would be an amazing hire for a school that has shown commitment to getting some big names recently (SHAKA). Texas just needs to cut ties with Charlie Strong.

We're going to sorely miss that Chris Clarke fella.

That catch... Think LeDay could play some tight end?

This is.... not going well.

Saw the movie recently and have been pondering it ever since. For that reason I am very conflicted between it being a thought-provoking story, or simply a rehash of ideas with a very thin plot that leaves much to be desired. All-in-all I found it to be a great Star Wars Movie that had a bit too much fan service. As a standalone film it was pretty good and I think reviewers have clouded judgement given all of the hype and nostalgia. It was incredibly well directed and had far less issues than the prequels. I thought the casting was perfect but the entire plot seemed to have been uninspired and the symbolism completely lacked subtlety. Nazi imagery and doomsday weapons have been overdone to the point of ridiculousness and this movie really made it unquestionable. With that said, I believe Abrams' hands were tied since this movie was a huge segue into what will come. It was a necessary evil in that the older characters had to be reintroduced and the pacing of the storyline had to be slowed enough to introduce new characters. It is a great way to please the young and old, as well as retaining the campiness that makes it fun. I really wish the Starkiller sequence didn't feel as rushed as it did, but given how few new characters have been introduced I can't think of many ways in which it could have made more sense. Flaws aside, it seems to be building up to something truly special, If they can keep the style of of the original trilogy but move away from the cliches that have always plagued the story than I will most definitely let Disney have my money in the future. Its an overall fun film that accomplishes its goal of giving people an enjoyable filmgoing experience, and in the end that all that really matters for introducing the series to future generations.

Quick thoughts/opinions:
- I think Fin is a refreshing character. Its nice to see a conflicted character that doesn't become over-the-top heroic or cowardly, and it certainly adds an element that hasn't previously existed in Star Wars
-Kylo Ren was well-done and well-acted. I think the actor suited him perfectly, however I wish there could have been a scene displaying his true abilities to prove that his blaster injury explains why he got his ass handed to him by Rey. That would also signify that while Rey is powerful, she is not unreasonably so.
-Rey is a very bland character. I think anyone at all could fit into that role and it wouldn't have changed the identity of the character. I believe that she is purposefully mysterious and will develop into a more interesting character down the line, but the badass female character with something to prove trope is getting old fast in modern sci-fi and I would have liked to see a more unique personality to balance the character.
-The status of the First Order and Rebels is very vague. The First Order is clearly fighting a war of attrition, yet somehow built a super-weapon that dwarfs any previous.
-Phasma should have played a bigger role. She was clearly a supporting character that seemed to be very under-utilized.
-Retaining the Millennium Falcon is utterly pointless and I hope that it doesn't play a large role in future films. Yes its iconic, but it wares thin when it has the same issues in every damn movie.
-Poe seems to be a future rebel leader with a high prospect of being a main character and I think he adds a fun dimension.

Something tells me that the next film will be excellent. New characters will gain depth and the development of Sith as power players is very exciting. There is a lot of directions that Kylo Ren can choose and it is interesting to see how it plays out. Hell for all we know he may become a very minor villain.

Bud does what is necessary to get players to play to their potential. He has expectations, and 'reminds' them off what he had instructed them to do (in the practices)....and they love him.

Adonis is young, and like most young players, gets caught in the emotion and forgets the training. Bud just lovingly reminds them.