Tuesday 30 August 2016
GOP hypocrisy: "I was depressed and lonely, so I looked at child porn."
And since Republicans won't say it, still not transgender:
He was president of a Charlotte area Tea Party group for years. He was the volunteer Mecklenburg County chair for N.C. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest’s campaign in 2012 and co-designed the grassroots strategy to get Forest elected, his lawyers said. He led the charge to stop sports taxes in Charlotte. He stood up for what he believed in, say those who knew him. But Christian Hine had a secret.
In order to battle an autistic disorder and depression from a failed relationship, he was “self-medicating” with child pornography.
On a scale of one to whatthefuck, that's about a twelve. Aside from the fact his lawyers have constructed a purely clinical argument designed to absolve him of any responsibility for his actions, there's a huge difference between adult pornography and child pornography. Those who engage in the file-sharing of the latter are directly responsible for the abuse of children, many of them barely out of kindergarten. And those individuals (many who are Christian) who try to equate all pornography as the "same evil" demonstrate clearly their sociopathic disregard for the innocent victims of the truly perverted. Here's more apologizing and rationalizing, if you can stomach it:
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BTP The Podcast Vol. 1: Bill & Mary, and Jaylen Samuels, and Jaylen Samuels
Bill & Mary is not ready for Jaylen Samuels.
The first ever BTP podcast is in the books and you can listen to it below. Will and I went over the William & Mary game, discussed podcast theme song options, tried to estimate Jaylen Samuels’ 2016 touchdown total, and ended with a discussion about basketball.
(Music this week: The Rosebuds, "Life Like," from Life Like; DIIV, "Take Your Time," from Is the Is Are.)
This week’s podcast is rated PG-13 for adult football situations and some mild swears.
You can find BTP The Podcast on iTunes.
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Tuesday News: Thanks for nothin', Art
ART POPE’S VARIETY WHOLESALERS, CREATES 320 JOBS IN GEORGIA (WLTZ-TV) – Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced that Variety Wholesalers, Inc., a retail store chain, will establish its second major distribution center in Coweta County, creating 320 jobs and investing approximately $10.5 million in the Newnan area. The distribution center will support Variety Wholesalers stores as the company expands its presence in the southeastern, midwestern and south central United States.
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Tuesday Twitter roundup
The birth of the state government bully:
As cities become hotbeds for progressive organizing, the number of preemption laws has grown dramatically. #ncpol https://t.co/5oqHRLCDsD
— Action NC (@Action_NC) August 29, 2016
And it's no surprise the biological father was a corporate master:
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S&P+ win projections peg NC State right about where you’d expect
The Pack’s most likely to inhabit the delicious creamy center of the Atlantic Division.
In addition to projecting how each team will stack up overall in 2016, S&P+ can also be used to ballpark win totals for each team. ACC team win total projections, both overall and in league play, can be seen over at Football Study Hall.
To pretty much no one’s surprise, NC State is most likely to win five to seven games. There is a roughly 70% chance that NC State’s win total falls within that range, in S&P+’s estimation. Six or seven wins is about a 50-50 proposition against all other win totals.
Looking at league games only, there is a 57% chance that the Pack wins either three or four games. Dave Doeren is still looking for his first season of .500 or better in ACC games. I’m not confident he’ll get over that hump in 2016 but it does look doable in 2017.
The Atlantic of course is top-heavy, with FSU, Clemson, and Louisville each projected at 5+ conference wins. No other team in the division is projected to win more than three. In the Coastal, four schools are projected to win 4-5 games, so it’s, y’know, another typical year for that division.
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Monday 29 August 2016
Accommodation
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UNC issues painfully optimistic summary of "Collaboratory" goals
A whole lotta roses, but no mention of the thorns:
The collaboratory will facilitate the dissemination of the policy and research expertise of the University for practical use by state and local government officials in the area of natural resources management policy.
Serving as a clearinghouse and coordinating entity, the collaboratory will connect the academic and research expertise of Carolina faculty who specialize in environmental and related public policy areas with state and local governments on environmental policy issues.
The way this is written, it would appear this new entity won't be doing any of its own research, which calls into question the $3.5 million in operating revenue. If it does merely "facilitate" and "coordinate" research done by already existing faculty, that means it will be wielding influence over even larger segments of the University, who currently operate under their own mandates. If I'm reading that wrong, you can blame this naive press release, and not me. And this leaves one critical question unanswered:
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Monday News: Moving backwards, as usual
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BROADBAND LAW COULD FORCE RURAL RESIDENTS OFF INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY (New York Times) -- A federal court ruling may halt the spread of municipal high-speed internet providers, which often serve households and businesses where commercial cable and telecom firms have been unwilling to go.
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William & Mary’s defense has a lot to prove and a lot to replace
Not an ideal combo.
Offense is not going to be the problem for William & Mary this season—there’s too much returning experience from a unit that averaged 6.1 yards per play in 2015 for the Tribe to struggle scoring points.
Defense is another story entirely. The Tribe lost a lot of major contributors, including multiple first-team All-CAA players, on the defensive side. They are likely to be perilously young in a few different spots. And this was not a group that was particularly good in 2015; they allowed 5.3 yards per play on the season, which is decent but hardly ideal.
They had their share of off days: 41 points and 6.2 yards per play surrendered to James Madison, 49 points and 6.8 YPP allowed to Duquesne, 48 points and 5.9 YPP allowed to Richmond. The Tribe won two of those three games, which gives you an idea how good their offense can be, but they lost the Richmond game, which was in the FCS playoffs.
The offense probably will have to cover for the defense a time or three in 2016 as well.
W&M overview, defense edition
Defensive line: The Tribe are in the best shape here, where three starters return. They lost first-team All-CAA defensive tackle Tyler Claytor, who had 4.5 sacks and nine TFLs in 2015. Defensive end Peyton Gryder (6-3, 255) figures to be the standout within this unit; the senior led W&M in both sacks (five) and TFLs (10) last season.
Junior DE Matt Ahola (6-2, 260) and junior DT Isaiah Stephens (6-2, 300) are also back and should be solid. Gryder, Ahola, and Stephens combined for 37 starts last season. They are going to need to be good, because behind them we quickly get into “Not great, Bob!” territory.
Linebacker: Two starters are gone, including one of the proverbial “heart and soul” types in Luke Rhodes. Rhodes was a starter in all four of his seasons in Williamsburg and ranks fifth in school history with 341 tackles. He was a first-team All-CAA player three times, and was a team captain for two seasons. You can put a football player—a talented one, even!—at his position, but it’s not really a guy you replace.
The Tribe also need to replace Zack Fetters, who was third on the team with 60 tackles last year. Rhodes was second with 78.
Marcus Harvey (6-2, 210) and Stephen Lubnow (6-0, 220) are a couple of the guys who’ll need to step up. Lubnow recorded 52 tackles in 2015.
Secondary: The Tribe’s leading tackler last season was safety DeAndre Houston-Carson, who finished with 109 stops. The four-year starter was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The Tribe also lost safety Jared Velasquez, a three-year starter. And one of the guys penciled in as a starting corner missed almost all of last year because of injury.
That leaves, well ... a whole heap of worries. But Trey Reed (5-8, 160) will not be one of them. Despite his lack of size, he finished 2015 fourth on the team with 59 tackles, and he picked off three passes as well. I’ve never seen him play and I already like him.
There isn’t much size on the roster here, whether we’re talking about corner or safety. That could prove a long-term problem, though NC State isn’t in the greatest position to leverage it.
***
State’s offense should be able to put up plenty of points on W&M’s defense, unless the new quarterbacks are reeeaaally struggling. Which is always a possibility. Though if it happens against this back seven, we should start to worry about how this year’s gonna go.
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Sunday 28 August 2016
Outrage over Woodhouse e-mail continues to grow
Tim White from the Fay-O speaks out:
The last time the local board of elections met, Republican Kevin Hight proposed an early-voting plan that would eliminate the Smith Recreation Center as an early-voting site and end Sunday voting. I was surprised, because he certainly knows that the rec center is in the middle of a mostly African-American neighborhood near Fayetteville State University, and that it's well used by voters there. He also knows that Sunday voting - "souls to the polls" - is really popular in African-American church congregations. It was, in short, a pretty blatant move to cut into the black vote - which is also a predominantly Democratic vote.
Turns out this was no one-county aberration: It was orders from the top. Dallas Woodhouse, the state GOP executive director, had sent out a call urging all boards of elections to engage in such mischief. And he wasn't apologizing - political meddling in early voting is completely appropriate, he said. His brother, a Democratic activist, had a clearer view of it: He called it racist. Whether it's hyper-partisanship or racism, it's ugly and wrong.
I'm afraid it's equal parts of both. Normally professionalism and responsibility keep most of these boards of elections from falling into those muddy waters, but this blatantly partisan communication from Dallas Woodhouse is having its desired effect: Giving approval to those board members who are already tempted to wield their power unjustly, and intimidating others who fear they might be removed for not toeing the party line. And the reference to earlier injustices is both fair and appropriate:
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Sunday News: It runs in the family
NO VACANCIES FOR BLACKS: HOW TRUMP GOT START AND WAS ACCUSED OF BIAS (New York Times) - An investigation by The New York Times — drawing on decades-old files from the New York City Commission on Human Rights, internal Justice Department records, court documents and interviews with tenants, civil rights activists and prosecutors — uncovered a long history of racial bias at Donald Trump’s family’s properties, in New York and beyond. That history has taken on fresh relevance with Mr. Trump arguing that black voters should support him over Hillary Clinton, whom he has called a bigot. While there is no evidence that Mr. Trump personally set the rental policies at his father’s properties, he was on hand while they were in place, working out of a cubicle in Trump Management’s Brooklyn offices as early as the summer of 1968.
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Dave Doeren talks QB and PK battles, standout true freshmen, and more
Game week!
First game-week press conference of 2016 woohoo! Everything’s exciting in week one! Well, I mean, NC State is in game prep mode now, and Dave Doeren met with the media on Friday to talk about the William & Mary matchup as well as what he expects from his team.
GoPack.com has the video of the whole thing, if you’re in to watching pressers. (And who isn’t!)
Notes:
— Doeren reiterated that both Jalan McClendon and Ryan Finley will play against the Tribe, though did not announce which of the two would get the first series. “It’s not a coin toss,” he said about that decision.
— Doeren and his staff are going to make the call based on the 20 or so “regular” drives McClendon and Finley had during camp. That is, the drives that were unscripted as they would be in a game, and not situational.
— Both placekickers will also get opportunities, and to hear Doeren tell it, they’ve been pretty even in camp. A slight edge to Bambard on long-distance kicks, perhaps.
— Four true freshmen will play, and barring injuries, Doeren plans to redshirt the rest of them. Those four: Kelvin Harmon, Thaddeus Moss, Nick McCloud, and Trae Meadows.
— Doeren spent some time talking about the improved roster depth. He pointed out that he’s gotten to a stage in the program’s development where he can redshirt more true freshmen, which was not a luxury he had in the early going. He lamented that he isn’t getting an extra year from some of his upperclassmen leaders like Bradley Chubb.
— Matt Dayes “looked great” throughout camp. Johnny Frasier more mature, playing better than he was last year.
— Along with Bra’Lon Cherry, Kelvin Harmon has been on of the most consistent players at receiver.
— Doeren said he came to NC State because he wanted to be the best coach the school has ever had. That sounds like a plan, coach, let’s do that.
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Saturday News: Driving the bus on the sidewalk
WOODHOUSE WANTS WAKE ELECTIONS BOARD TO MAKE HIS COUSIN CHAIRMAN (Raleigh News & Observer) -- Dallas Woodhouse, leader of the N.C. Republican Party, urged a Wake County Board of Elections member to appoint his cousin as chairman of the board, according to emails released this week. Even though Boyle is a Republican, he “generally has been unresponsive to any thoughts from the party,” Dallas added. “The party’s position was that there needed to be new blood in the chair’s seat.”
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Judge tells UNC not to enforce HB2
The pillars of state-sponsored discrimination are crumbling:
While legal challenge to HB2 proceeds, judge prohibits UNC from enforcing the discriminatory provision targeting transgender people in facilities operated by the University.
"Today's decision is an important step towards rectifying the harm HB2 has done to North Carolina -- specifically the LGBTQ people that call North Carolina home,” said Equality NC Director of Advancement Matt Hirschy. “Judge Schroeder's decision confirms that HB2 is a blatant attack on the transgender community. The preliminary injunction will provide much-needed relief to the brave plaintiffs, and we are confident that this is just the beginning in an unfortunately long journey towards a full repeal of the worst anti-LGBTQ law in the nation."
While this injunction only applies to the plaintiffs in the suit, it does imply that Judge Schroeder is leaning in the direction that HB2 violates Title IX protections. Fingers crossed.
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Saturday 27 August 2016
NC State has 68% chance of making bowl game, according to S&P+ projections
Hey, not bad.
Maybe NC State’s post-season outlook in 2016 isn’t as dire as it sometimes feels. SB Nation’s Bill Connelly published his updated preseason S&P+ projections on Friday, and they present a relatively optimistic view of the Wolfpack’s year ahead.
NC State is being given a 68.3% chance of making it to a bowl game, which ain’t too shabby considering the schedule. Then again, S&P+ doesn’t see State as more than a six-win team this year. (This would be a great time for one of those “big wins” we keep hearing about, Dave Doeren.)
Overall, the Pack ranks 41st in S&P+. Clemson and Florida State both reside in the top five. Notre Dame is 13th, and Louisville is 18th. The Tigers are projected with the nation’s top offense, which makes a lot of sense what with the ridiculous amount of skill position talent they have back.
UNC is 30th overall, though S&P+ remains skeptical of the Heels’ defense (ranked 54th, 14 spots behind State’s). Pitt, UNC, Miami, and Virginia Tech run 29th, 30th, 31st, and 33rd. That’s the Coastal for you right there.
S&P+ also ballparks the odds of a team winning 11 games or more. NC State has a 0.1% chance. Challenge accepted.
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PODCAST | Chaz Beasley’s Millennial Mission
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McCrory's incompetence on display over Jaguar gaffe
Talk about a short attention span:
Gov. Pat McCrory tells the crowd about a secret meeting he had in England a year and a half ago with auto execs from Jaguar and Land Rover, where they took him to a pub in Stratford to “not talk business.”
“I don’t really drink at all, but I was taking a few sips and they were just downing it,” he says to laughter. And after several hours, they wanted to talk business – asking him why they shouldn’t move their jobs to Mexico. He realized the competition was no longer just Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee. North Carolina is competing against the rest of the world, he says. And we ultimately lost that bid to Poland, he says.
The reason they were "just downing it" is because they were never really serious about building an auto manufacturing plant in North America. As usual, McCrory was just being used by more powerful people to help them get what they want. And if our Governor had been that interested in their final decision, he would know that Poland ended up losing the deal to Slovakia:
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Tyranny of the minority
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The Wolfpack football nostalgia series, Danny Evans and ECU edition
It’s good to remind ourselves from time to time that football can produce positive surprises.
We’ve got six days left before the start of NC State’s season, and what better way to get excited than watching a game played by the ... 2007 Wolfpack?! Sure, you know what, let’s do this. I had completely forgotten about this game, but not because it ended badly. I’d forgotten most everything about the Danny Evans era out of necessity.
This performance against ECU was one of Evans’ better games at State, though, and while this Wolfpack team finished the year with a losing record, it could at least claim wins over the Pirates and, later, the Tar Heels.
(game film courtesy internet hero cylonwolf)
State jumped out 21-0 on the Pirates only to watch ECU score the next 20 points (including 10 points in the final minute of the first half, because you know how we do). The Pack eventually regained its footing and buried the Pirates on a perfectly executed wheel route by Jamelle Eugene about halfway through the fourth quarter.
The winning part is nice, but there’s so much more to this video. Does anyone actually remember CSTV, for instance? And there is a young Nate Irving making plays. Harrison Beck, former four-star recruit, standing around on the sideline as a walk-on from Broughton takes all the snaps at QB. Marcus Stone, former four-star recruit, fully transitioned from QB to tight end. It was a strange time.
And there’s Steven Hauschka, the pride of Middlebury, showing off some of the skills that would later earn him a job with the Seahawks.
This was nine years ago, and it does not at all feel that way. Though the uniforms do drive home that this game is relatively ancient history. It’s especially weird for me to know I can look back at my immediate post-game thoughts from a game that’s almost a decade old. I really need to shut down this internet diary machine, man***.
(***In roughly 2057.)
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Thursday 25 August 2016
On the grid vs off the grid: A successful Solar revolution includes both
In the last few years, I've had numerous conversations with various people on renewable energy generation. And most of them, even those with much more technical savvy than I have, were missing some critical pieces of the puzzle in their understanding of the rapid growth of Solar in North Carolina and elsewhere. In example, here's a paraphrased conversation from a few months ago:
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Polls: Advantage Cooper
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Thursday News: Betting on a losing horse
HB2 IS MCCRORY'S ALBATROSS WHILE OBAMA'S JOB APPROVAL SEES AN UPTICK (Capitol Broadcasting Company) -- Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016: A diverse set of North Carolinians don't like HB2 and even more say it hurts the state. At the same time, President Obama's sees an improvement in his job approval. The Monmouth University Poll revealed that nearly across the board – independents, men, women, whites, non-whites, college degree, no-college degree, lower, moderate and upper income – disapprove of HB2. Only those who identify as Republicans and conservatives have majorities backing the legislation.
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Time to mobilize NC Latinos
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Wednesday 24 August 2016
The Ad Wars Begin
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Wednesday News: The Duke Energy bully steps forward
DUKE ASKS FEDERAL JUDGE TO DETERMINE AP REPORTER'S SOURCE (WBTV) - Attorneys for Duke Energy have asked a federal judge to hold a hearing to determine who provided an Associated Press reporter with the deposition transcript for Dr. Ken Rudo. Rudo is a toxicologist with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services at the center of a debate over the state’s standard for hexavalent chromium in well water near Duke coal ash ponds.
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Losing numbers, gaining voters
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The media's hit-and-miss coverage of GOP voter suppression
False equivalencies and fear of conspiracy theories:
For corporate media, it’s safer to stay within the comfy template of false balance: Trump and the R’s say voter fraud is rampant; the D’s say it’s not. It is an improvement that some journalists are stating the obvious fact that voter fraud is a myth. But the debate seldom digs deeper. Doing so would require dealing with thorny issues that Americans tend to avoid in most public settings, namely the racism and inequality wrapped up in voter suppression. The “voter fraud—yes or no” conflict papers over all that.
While media outlets do (usually) acknowledge that voter fraud is a rare occurrence, they rarely point out the obvious follow-up point: That Republicans are using the myth to enact unnecessary laws that are targeted at minorities and college students. Read the whole thing. It's a harsh analysis, but it does provide some insight into the public's apparent lack of understanding on this important issue.
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Now that you’ve seen NC State’s depth chart, what’s your biggest worry?
I speculated a couple of weeks back on which areas might be the biggest weaknesses for Wolfpack, but that came without the benefit of a depth chart. Now that I’ve seen the depth chart, I actually feel a lot better about the overall makeup of this team, but that might just be the preseason in me.
Jokes aside, did the depth chart reveal change anything for you? Is it more bothersome now that the QB race is officially listed as a tie a weekish ahead of the season-opener?
I can’t explain why, but the whole quarterback battle this year hasn’t bothered me like it did in 2004 or 2007/2008 or 2013. I don’t know what that means. Quarterback could be a huge disaster this year. Who knows.
But I really like this team. It’s the June in me, but I really like this team. It’s going to start off slow and it will look painfully behind FSU and Clemson, and it’s going to struggle with depth at defensive back and linebacker.
We could start a long list here, but now that you know the two-deep, what’s bothering you most?
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The #goacc Moment of the Week (8/24/2016)
The weekly in-depth look at the best (worst?) moments in ACC schadenfreude.
Ok, to be honest, I really felt like at the end of July that #goacc had finally returned...but alas, we fell into another dead period. Apologies for that! Hopefully though with football season ever so closer, we’re going to get #goacc much more ramped up again. We’ve also got a tremendous #suregrin winner, a couple of great photoshops, and a BAH GAWD moment I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks that just made my sides hurt. Let’s get right down to it, which is your #goacc Moment of the (last several) Week(s)? Vote below!
1. Dave Doeren ain’t got time for Twitter.
#goacc http://pic.twitter.com/v8aCuoWpve
— Will Thompson (@thrillis4) August 3, 2016
Honestly, he’s probably right.
2. The #goacc King Frank Beamer is enjoying retirement (h/t @CoachSBeamer).
Heated game of "HEDBANZ" with our 6 yr old and my dad today . He seems a little less stressed this August ! http://pic.twitter.com/oMGKMdqsC9
— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) August 22, 2016
Frank is probably telling his granddaughter about how to play defense in HEDBANZ.
3. A Pitt student trying to impress a female friend ended up stuck in a wall (h/t @iamspilly).
HAIL TO PITT https://t.co/0gECyhcOtE
— Spilly (@IAmSpilly) August 23, 2016
I mean, we’ve all been there. You know what happens, you have a few drinks, you try to impress a female friend, yadda yadda yadda, you end up stuck in a wall.
4. Basketball is really popular at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, apparently (h/t @stephenschramm).
"It's the basketball guy!" - Worker at Starbucks in RDU's terminal 2 upon Coach K's arrival.
— Stephen Schramm (@stephenschramm) August 22, 2016
If Coach K is that basketball guy...what does that make Calipari? The guy that hangs out with Drake?
5. The Associated Press used Microsoft Paint to make a graphic about ACC football.
Led by Clemson and Florida St in Top 5, ACC has 4 teams in preseason #APTop25 https://t.co/SO05fNQXcu http://pic.twitter.com/QNBZNm7MJf
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) August 21, 2016
This is one of the worst graphics I’ve seen a publication put out since Netscape existed. Good grief, it’s 2016 put some effort into it.
6. The Miami Hurricanes will officially play football in Hard Rock Stadium (h/t @mattyports).
Report: the Dolphins and Hurricanes will now play in Hard Rock Stadium https://t.co/8b6VPmSfg1 http://pic.twitter.com/um63b0wy9l
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) August 16, 2016
Great, so now the tens of people that go to Miami football games will have to pay $25 for a bud light and $30 for an overrated at best hamburger. At least there will be cool rock memorabilia all over the place.
7. Boston College officially gave Jim Christian a one year extension (h/t @bcinterruption).
Boston College Basketball's Jim Christian Signs One Year Extension https://t.co/dMXg1C32SJ
— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) August 15, 2016
Man, I wish I could go completely winless in conference play and get my contract extended. That sounds like a dream job.
8. A Syracuse student went hiking with a cardboard cutout of Bernie Sanders (h/t @dailyorange).
SU student hikes Adirondacks with cardboard cutout of Bernie Sanders: https://t.co/F7zoa4FbIl http://pic.twitter.com/eMV2jZsN11
— The Daily Orange (@dailyorange) August 14, 2016
I’m really not sure what would inspire someone to do this, so I’ll just chalk it up to millennials, since that seems to be the trendy thing to blame things on these days.
9. Russell Wilson wants us all to know he’s "not Hollywood."
God almighty please let football start soon http://pic.twitter.com/Voyo5gZtnz
— Will Thompson (@thrillis4) August 23, 2016
I literally loathe the NFL offseason. Speaking of the NFL though...
10. Let’s check in on how the Tampa Bay Bucs are fairing after drafting Roberto Aguayo in the 2nd round (h/t @sbnationnfl).
A missed PAT isn't a huge deal ... unless you drafted a kicker in the second round https://t.co/QJzfBRImg4 http://pic.twitter.com/D0nSs2l1Ph
— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) August 12, 2016
Not great, Bob!
the #suregrin award.
This week’s winner is none other than East Carolina! Why, you might ask? Because they were literally dumb enough to have a Kid Rock concert in their football stadium two weeks before the season started. How’d their field take that? About like you might expect:
Kid Rock concert destroyed East Carolina’s football field https://t.co/loOzyWBfRN http://pic.twitter.com/CA4U7hexH9
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 22, 2016
The best photoshops of the week!
Let’s start by acknowledging another tremendous Twitter shoe roast from last night. In case you missed it, Adidas unveiled new James Harden shoes that, well, look like a dirty air filter:
First Look: adidas Harden 1 "Triple Black" https://t.co/YGu7lmmwj2 http://pic.twitter.com/p5nsO2DZkI
— SneakerWatch (@sneakerwatchcom) August 22, 2016
Naturally, these trash shoes immediately got the Crying Jordan treatment (and deservedly so):
had to be done http://pic.twitter.com/KezZxUIQi9
— Jameson (@the_Jameson) August 24, 2016
Moving on to the Ryan Lochte nonsense, @Darth on Twitter perfectly summed up how Lochte was able to get out of Brazil undetected:
*poster*@bart_smith @scATX @carIisIe http://pic.twitter.com/Jz450PhEs6
— darth™ (@darth) August 17, 2016
And now, for your moment of Wrasslin...
THE JIM ROSS BAH GAWD MOMENT OF THE WEEK!!
The folks over at Deadspin came up with probably one of the best mashups I’ve ever seen - they took the angry Michael Phelps face and perfectly combined it into the Undertaker’s entrance, and you just need to see it for yourself:
BAH GAWD, KING, THAT'S MICHAEL PHELPS'S MUSIC! http://pic.twitter.com/V96nYOdaGM
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) August 10, 2016
See y’all next week!
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NC State releases depth chart for William & Mary game
If you’re wondering who’ll be the starting quarterback, alas, you’ll have to keep wondering.
NC State’s depth chart is out, though it doesn’t tease which player will start at quarterback against William & Mary next Thursday. Jalan McClendon and Boise State graduate transfer Ryan Finley are listed as co-starters. Jakobi Meyers, who has been slowed by injury, does not appear to be a significant factor in the QB battle at this point.
Here is the full depth chart, via GoPack.com, which also has a handy breakdown of each position group.
Of note:
— Ryan Finley has been reclassified as a redshirt sophomore and has three years of eligibility remaining. The NCAA granted Finley a medical hardship waiver because he missed the bulk of 2015 with an injury. This is how you end up with the extremely rare case of a grad transfer with three more years of eligibility.
Both Finley and McClendon will play against W&M, unless something changes between now and then.
— Johnny Frasier is listed as fourth-string running back, which is a surprise considering the praise he earned as a scout player last fall. But the three guys ahead of him have real game experience, and he doesn’t. His spot on the depth chart could be an indictment of his conditioning, or he may be slower to grasp the new offense than his peers. (He does have a reputation as a bit of a loafer.)
— Thaddeus Moss is not a fullback, and neither is Jaylen Samuels. It’s better to think of that as the “move” tight end spot, as Dave Doeren would call it, and picture Moss filling a role similar to Samuels’. Doeren has said that Moss can play both TE spots—that includes the Y spot led by Cole Cook.
— The first-string offensive line has pretty much been set for a couple weeks. There is talent but a lot inexperience behind the first five, which is what warrants keeping an eye on. State’s going to need a rotation of some kind, and that’s without addressing any injuries. It’s also interesting (and encouraging or alarming, depending on how you want to frame it) that walk-on Peter Daniel is the second-string right tackle.
— Yep, Kelvin Harmon is going to see the field quite a bit this year. Hope he’s ready because we’re going to need the help.
— No decision has been made between Kyle Bambard and Connor Haskins at placekicker. AJ Cole and Jackson Maples will be handling the punting and kickoff duties, respectively.
— The defensive line is absolutely loaded, and most of these guys should be back in 2017. Big Eurndraus Bryant had a good fall camp and if he’s ready for a breakout campaign, this unit can be really really good.
— No surprises at linebacker or corner, and it will be crucial for State to stay healthy at those positions.
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NC State is almost sold out of single-game football tickets
An improved home schedule has helped the Pack sell a whole bunch of tickets.
NC State not only has sold a record number of season tickets for the 2016 football season, it’s also nearly out of single-game tickets, as Dane Huffman of the Triangle Business Journal reports. The Notre Dame game, not surprisingly, is a complete sellout, and it looks like the Pack’s ACC home games will follow suit.
So if you’ve been procrastinating about tickets, you had best get on that.
This is easily the best home slate that NC State has had under Dave Doeren—FSU, Miami, and Notre Dame are all headlining games. FSU, at least recently, has been traveling well, and of course Notre Dame is going to travel. (Can’t help but wonder if some of their fans actually bought NCSU season tickets just to get access to that one game. They’re that type of crazy.)
It’s nice to have a little buzz about the schedule for once, and no doubt that’s been beneficial to sales.
Some perspective on the Wolfpack’s ticket sales: as of early August, Florida State had sold somewhere between 36,000 and 37,000 season tickets. The Seminoles sold 38,500 season tickets last year. NC State has sold 36,400 season tickets this season.
FSU is a few years removed from a national title and has developed into an annual contender for the college football playoffs. NC State, uh, has not quite reached that level of success. That the two schools’ season ticket sales are basically the same is amazing, but I’ll never be surprised at the level of support Wolfpack fans show their teams.
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Tuesday 23 August 2016
Screwed
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Tuesday News: The battle for equality continues
TEXAS RULING COMPLICATES COURT FIGHT OVER HB2 (Charlotte Observer) -- A federal judge in Texas potentially has deepened the legal fight over House Bill 2 by blocking an Obama administration order that would give transgender students in public schools access to bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor deals a second setback to the government’s argument that Title IX anti-discrimination protections apply to transgender students. It also moves the battle over transgender rights one procedural step closer to a showdown in the Supreme Court.
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Tuesday Twitter roundup
Bad government is bad enough:
The widening scandal in the McCrory Administration about coal ash and drinking water https://t.co/RA5ov2ROJU #ncpol via @ncpolicywatch
— Ping T (@ItsMePing_t) August 23, 2016
But bad government that takes a cavalier approach to people's health is borderline criminal:
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Football: Soon; Matt Dayes: Also soon
Football. Football is back really soon. Thank goodness for that, because it’s been way too long since I last saw some college football. It’s been even longer since I’ve seen Matt Dayes play college football, but it’s probably not long enough for No. 9 from Wake Forest:
Sorry about that, No. 9. None of it was truly your fault, but there you were, tied to railroad tracks with no help in sight. Sometimes these things happen.
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Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim says he lacked the cojones to draft Russell Wilson
Yeah, you and 30 other guys, pal.
Every NFL franchise passed on Russell Wilson—at least twice—before Wilson was taken by Seattle in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Maybe that fact smarts a bit more for Arizona general manager Steve Keim, who is an NC State alumnus. In any case, he minced no words when talking to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King about his thought process during that draft:
“Look, I’m from North Carolina State. I study all the guys out of there hard. But I just didn’t think there was a good comp for Russell Wilson, and I was wrong. When I think back now, it was a chickenshit call by me. I didn’t have the balls to take Russell Wilson.”
Listen, don’t sweat it too much, Steve, you’re being to hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. (This post is beginning to sound like my inner monologue.) Besides, scouting at its base, micro level is little more than a futile pursuit undertaken to ordain something approximating control over a lot of external factors that can never be controlled. It’s not you, Steve, it’s the universe we live in.
What was I saying again? Oh, right. Anyway, you should have drafted Russell Wilson, Steve. Sheesh, everybody knows that.
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Position Preview: Linebacker and Defensive Back
Stats courtesy of gopack.com
Linebacker looks to be pretty set as we head toward the 2016 season. Redshirt junior Jerod Fernandez will start at middle linebacker for his third season, and junior Airius Moore, who led the team in tackles last year, will start alongside him. Moore started all 13 games last year, including four at middle linebacker in relief of the injured Fernandez. Moore should once again carry the role of starting weakside linebacker and backup middle linebacker
Riley Nicholson started four games toward the end of last year and had some good showings, including a nine tackle game against Syracuse. The sophomore was also the leading tackler in this year’s spring game. He’s a high energy guy that’s probably deserving of more snaps this season, but the question is how many will be available with the two proven commodities ahead of him.
Redshirt junior Ford Howell will be the guy to round out the two-deep. It more than likely would have been safety convert Germaine Pratt if not for an injury that should force Pratt into a redshirt. Howell has earned the right to be there though, working his way to a scholarship after coming into the program as a walk-on. Howell played mostly on special teams last season.
The Pratt injury is obviously disappointing given how many people wanted to see him moved to linebacker. There wasn’t likely to be a lot of playing time available this year, so perhaps a redshirt season might have helped him acclimate to his new position and have more opportunities to play later in his career. Seeing the redshirt come because of an injury though is always going to be terrible.
The secondary was supposed to be the strongest unit on the defense last season, but it gave up way too many big plays and didn’t live up to what was expected. Now the Pack must find replacements for the best corner on last year’s team in Juston Burris and safety Hakim Jones. That’s the bad news. The good news is that replacing those two won’t involve sticking a true freshman or a guy with no game experience into a starting role.
Senior Jack Tocho and junior Mike Stevens shared starts opposite Burris in 2015, and both should be expected to start at cornerback in 2016. The combination gives State two players with a lot of experience at the top of the depth chart, but pretty much everybody after those two is young and/or unproven. Jonathon Alston and Sean Paul are upperclassmen corners, but Alston has been playing offense his entire career and he’s redshirting anyways. Paul’s been so plagued with injuries over his career he’s basically never played at all. Freddie Phillips is listed as a cornerback now after playing nickel last season, but he saw just four snaps last year as a freshman.
Then you’re down to the true freshman that were part of the 2016 recruiting class. Some of them could be ready to fight with Sean Paul and Freddie Phillips for a spot on the depth chart this year, which would be nice given the lack of depth at corner. Nick McCloud is a guy whose name is consistently mentioned among the most impressive freshmen this fall. He’s tall for a corner at 6’2" and, like a few other freshmen, could probably play safety as well, but corner appears to be where he’ll end up.
Bryce Banks and James Valdez are two other freshmen probably worth a mention. Banks is a tall lengthy guy that, like McCloud, could fit in at either corner or safety. He also enrolled early which would theoretically give him a leg up on other new guys. Valdez is a corner that I thought would be a favorite to play early before fall camp started. He was supposedly one of the more polished players in the recruiting class, but neither Banks nor Valdez have been talked about with regards to playing early like McCloud has.
Josh Jones is back for his redshirt junior season at safety. He’s looking to bounce back from a somewhat disappointing season last year. Jones was on a lot of those "players to watch" and "dark horse defensive player of the year" type lists before last season, but it just didn’t quite come together for him. Shawn Boone was the guy that was starting to take reps from Jones in the back half of last season. His sophomore campaign was derailed by injuries though and he didn’t play in four of the last five contests.
This year both players should be atop the depth chart at opposite safety positions. Other than Boone and Jones, there isn’t another safety on the team with significant game experience, which is pretty similar to the situation at corner. Jarius Morehead and Dexter Wright will have their chance at cracking the two-deep. Morehead redshirted last season as a freshman and Wright played exclusively on special teams as a redshirt freshman. True freshman Isaiah Stallings should have a shot also. The big physical safety has reportedly been pretty impressive this fall.
Nickel should look exactly as it did last season. The only difference is that Dravious Wright and Niles Clark are both in their final year of eligibility this time around.
Things are pretty straightforward with regards to who will start in the secondary, but the noticeable lack of experience at corner and safety leaves the remaining spots on the depth chart up for grabs.
That concludes the position previews and just in time for the season to start. I hope you all are super excited to go 15-0 and win the national championship. Or maybe just go 6-6 and go to the Quick Lane Bowl. Is that even a bowl anymore? Why is it called a bowl anyways? Did they used to actually play for a bowl of fruit of something? That seems like a crappy prize. What am I talking about? I have no idea. Vote in this poll.
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What a campaign!
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The ABC's of Kenny West's sexual harassment
Registering a 9.5 on the Creep Scale:
By the time B started working in Meadows' office in early 2014, West already had a reputation for inappropriate behavior toward women, she said. "I was told, 'Hey, by the way, you probably don't want to wear your hair in a ponytail when Kenny's in town, because he really likes to play with girls' hair when it's in a ponytail for some reason, and he seems to touch girls' hair a lot,' " she said.
West "would make comments and remarks that made me feel uncomfortable and also (was) very touchy," Witness C said. "He would place his hand on my shoulder and on my back." She said comments were "nothing explicit or anything blatant, just things that didn't feel appropriate."
As disgusting as it is to contemplate, physical contact of this sort is a form of "grooming." Predators often do this to gauge the reaction of the individual, to determine if that person is submissive enough to escalate. And this (admittedly hearsay) account is suggestive that such escalation did occur on at least one occasion:
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Previewing the William & Mary offense: Tribe return lots of key contributors but still have question marks
These guys are going to put up a lot of points against FCS teams. They’re a good initial test for NC State’s defense.
William & Mary is coming off a 9-4 season and an FCS playoff berth. The Tribe finished 6-2 in the CAA and also gave UVA a scare in Charlottesville early in the 2015 season. This is a talented and seasoned group that has a chance to improve on its run to the second round of the playoffs.
The significant questions lie on the defensive side. The Tribe’s offense, which returns the bulk of its major contributors from 2015, should be very good.
W&M overview, offense edition
Offensive line: The Tribe have to replace their starting center, but everybody else is back, and they are experienced. Left tackle Chris Durant (6-4, 310) and left guard Connor Hilland (6-6, 303) both have 19 starts to their credit. Right tackle Jerry Ugokwe (6-8, 305) has 31 career starts, and right guard Domenic Martinelli (6-4, 295) has 29. Assuming the new center ain’t snapping the ball off his foot every other down, they’ll be okay up front.
Quarterback: Senior Steve Cluley (6-3, 225) has proven a solid guy, if not a huge difference-maker. But airing it out hasn’t been the Tribe’s M.O. over the last few years; Cluley averaged about 22 attempts per game in 2014 and 27 in 2015. He doesn’t need to throw the ball 40 times per game for this team to be successful—not with an experienced offensive line in front of him and a 1,400-yard rusher behind him.
Running back: Kendell Anderson (5-9, 200) made the most of his first year as a starter, rushing for 1,418 yards on 240 carries (5.9 YPA). He broke the century mark on the ground seven times in 2015, and scored 16 rushing touchdowns. He’s not much of a threat to catch passes out of the backfield, however, as he finished last season with only 12 receptions for 80 yards.
While Anderson is one of the best running backs FCS has to offer, there is almost no experience behind him. The Tribe lost veteran Mikal Abdul-Saboor, who ran for 1200+ in 2014, to graduation.
Aside from Anderson, there are five players on the W&M listed at running back. Four are either redshirt or true freshmen. The fifth, sophomore, junior Jonathan Dunn, has 26 career carries. Anderson is going to have to be on the field a lot this season when it counts.
Tight end: This is another spot where W&M has a solid first-stringer and not much to speak of behind him. Incumbent starter Andrew Caskin (6-5, 240) finished 2015 second on the team in receptions with 34 and fourth with 360 receiving yards. The guys behind him either have never played a down of college football or have made no impact as a pass catcher.
Wide receiver: Including Caskin, the Tribe return five of their top six pass-catchers from 2015. Junior DeVonte Dedmon (5-11, 190) is expected to be the leader of the wide receiver group after finishing last season with 51 grabs for 588 yards. Daniel Kuzjak (6-2, 200), Jack Armstrong (6-0, 180), and Kevin Hart (5-11, 195) each had more than 20 receptions last season.
Good depth here, but not a lot of size within this unit, either.
***
Dedmon aside, I don’t think there’s a lot along the edges that is going to scare NC State’s defense. Anderson needs to have a big game to truly create problems (Anderson and Abdul-Saboor combined for 151 on the ground against UVA), and as experienced as they are up front, I don’t see a lot of success coming at the point of attack for W&M.
Not that it’s outside the realm of possibility, mind you. It’s just that defensive line is arguably the deepest and most talented group on this NC State team. This will be a strength-on-strength matchup worth watching.
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Monday 22 August 2016
NC State plays five teams ranked in preseason AP Poll
Hey, no sweat, man.
I go back an forth about how I feel about this season, from excitement for the challenge ahead to sheer terror for the challenge ahead. It ain’t about to be an easy year, but I also feel like this team has a better chance to surprise than any of Dave Doeren’s prior Wolfpack teams. (After the completely dull 2015 season, I’ve talked myself into this idea.)
They’ll have plenty of opportunities to do that, with five opponents in the AP top 25 to begin the season, and three of them in the top 10. Miami just missed the cut, finishing 26th in the voting. I guess the good news is that these six games are split evenly between home and road. We have enough of a hill to climb with a lopsided number of these upset bids having to come on the road.
My plea this offseason is the same as it was two years ago: please, please let our starting quarterback be good. Give me that and I should be able to mostly be at peace with what happens this year.
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Pack in the Pros: 2016 Minor League Baseball edition
Yes, I'm saying there's a chance (for a couple of guys...maybe).
Earlier in the week we took a peak at how the NC State baseball 2016 draft class was faring in their respective pro debuts. With Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner now graduated to The Show, there are no buzzworthy Pack prospects in the minors. Nonetheless, there are a number of pre-16 draft alums toiling away in the bushes and some of them have a shot to dine on that big league per diem a time or two one day down the line. And for the Brad Stones of the world, well we care about you too, bro.
To organize this hefty bit of info, I'm going to group the Pack in the pros in two categories: "guys who might have a career in MLB" and "guys who appear to be organizational filler" (with one bonus category: "guy who now pitches in Korea").
Guys Who Might Have A Career In MLB
Jake Buchanan, 8th round, 2010
Buchanan has not toed the rubber in The Show this season, but he has 22 career appearances in the majors with decent results (4.06 ERA). Released by the Astros in the offseason, Buchanan was picked up by the best team in baseball, the Chicago Cubs, where he has mostly pitched well for AAA Iowa. He's 11-7 with a 4.64 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The ERA is a bit misleading; he's allowed three runs or less in 16 of his 22 starts and basically a couple of "took one for the team" bad outings have stained the stat line.
The knock on Buchanan has always been his low strikeout rate, so it's encouraging to see that he's posting a career best 6.8 K/9. He's had a high BABIP and low strand rate, so advanced metrics judge him more kindly than the traditional ERA measure. His FIP is 3.88, and that's a very solid mark for the PCL. Buchanan will get another shot at the MLB level at some point.
Jake Fincher, 29th round, 2015
Fincher is a bit of a stretch to be included in the could have a career section, and his ceiling is a fifth outfielder/defensive replacement/pinch hitter type, but so far this year (in an extraordinarily small sample) he's absolutely raked. His triple slash line: .533/.632/.600. Due to injury, Fincher didn't take the field until about a week ago, but he's had quite the first week of 2016. He posted a solid .360 OBP in his pro debut last year. If he can keep finding a way on, stealing bases (20 so far in 50 minor league games), and making the web gems he was noted for with the Pack, he should keep climbing the minor league ladder. You can catch him with the Kannapolis Intimidators, where he's patrolling right field.
Cory Mazzoni, 2nd round, 2011
Mazzoni's injury-riddled career has most likely cost him a chance to have a lengthy stay in MLB despite once having the stuff (mid-90s heat) to be a top prospect. He did make it up briefly with the Padres in 2015 but struggled mightily (20.77 ERA in eight appearances), and yet another injury has shelved him for nearly all of 2016. After offseason shoulder surgery, he logged just two appearances at AAA El Paso before a recurring issue in the shoulder shut him down. If he can regain his stuff, Mazzoni will likely get another shot in some team's bullpen, but shoulders are not elbows and are much less likely to recover once damaged from the rigors of hurling baseballs.
Jon Olczak, 21st round, 2015
Olczak is a pretty generic fastball-slider righty reliever but has had good results so far and may find himself in a seventh-inning or ROOGY role one day. He's 1-3 with a 3.28 ERA and eight saves for the Brewers' A+ Brevard County club. He has a fantastic 1.176 WHIP and is overpowering hitters to the tune of 11.3 K/9. Righties have managed a meager .602 OPS off of him. Walks were always a problem for him with the Pack but not so far in his professional career; Olczak is issuing just 2.7 BB/9 through 77 professional innings. Like Buchanan, advanced metrics like his work more than traditional numbers; Olczak's FIP is 2.86. He should start next season at AA, and, if he does well, have a shot at earning a Big League gig as soon as 2018.
Eric Peterson, 37th round, 2014
Peterson has enjoyed more success than his twin brother, Pat, steadily rising to AA in the Astros' system. For his career, Eric is 12-7 with a 3.25 ERA and 17 saves. It's been tougher sledding in AA, where he has a 4.20 ERA through 23 appearances. He'll need to make some adjustments to truly be on the radar as a relief prospect, but his K rate (9.4/9) and miniscule BB rate (1.4/9) suggest that he's got a shot. Like Buchanan, he's been the victim of some bad BABIP luck and a low strand rate, so, once again, FIP suggests he's pitching a lot better than the ERA indicates. Peterson's FIP is a stellar 2.90.
Guys Who Appear To Be Organizational Filler
For every Jonathan Diaz, a 12th round pick in 2006, there are literally thousands of organizational guys who never, ever have a set of fortuitous circumstances result in even a brief spell on the 40-man roster, much less an actual chance to play even one inning in The Show. The minor leagues exist so that a handful of prospects, maybe as few as three or four on a given roster, have someone to play against while they develop. The rest, the vast majority, are just filler. Alas, Diaz, despite being a career .226 hitter in 11 minor league seasons, enjoyed brief stints with Boston in 2013 and Toronto in 2014 and 15. So, there could be a guy below who holds on long enough to fill in at the highest level someday, but they are the longest of long shots. (Diaz, by the way, is still toiling that toil for the Yankees' AAA club, where he is batting a robust .213.)
Brett Austin, 4th round, 2014
If you followed his NC State career, you're probably surprised to find Austin in this section. But he's been bad, really bad, as a pro. His .216/.313/.360 line at Winston-Salem might seem to be negated somewhat if he was holding up well behind the plate. Catcher is a premium defensive position and hundreds of light-hitting backstops have had long careers in the majors. But Austin is getting run on like a treadmill. Opponents have swiped 104 bases on him in 80 games. He's thrown out just 20% of runners attempting to steal. He's got to hit a ton to make it if he can't shut down the run game, and that .673 OPS, while the best of his career so far, is well shy of a ton.
Austin has set career highs in doubles (14) and homers (8), and historically catchers' bats develop later, but it seems like he made a bad career move when he turned down a million bucks (he was a supplemental first round pick in 2011) to play college ball. I'm not saying that playing for the Pack held him back as player; it's just that it turns out that he left money on the table he'll never make back.
Chris Diaz, 11th round, 2012
The younger Diaz is turning out to be a lot like his brother. He plays second, third, and short, he can't hit (.219 average at AA Altoona), but at least gets on base at a decent clip for a glove-first guy (.319 OBP despite the Mendoza-like average). It's possible that Chris becomes the next Jonathan and gets his own cup of coffee, but his glove does not play as well as big brother's, making the already long odds that much longer. He can likely have a job as a AA/AAA utility guy for as long as he wants one, and that beats working a real job (probably...these guys barely make a living wage).
Pat Peterson, 23rd round, 2014
Though he was a higher selection than his brother, Pat has not enjoyed the same success in the minors. He had a 4.49 ERA for Clinton in the A-level Midwest League a year ago, got bumped from the starting rotation, and was set to repeat the same level as a reliever in 2016. But Peterson was shut down due to an injury after just three appearances.
Logan Ratledge, 13th round, 2015
Rat has been better after a truly abysmal pro debut (.560 OPS in 2015), but he's been moved from the middle infield to 3B/LF, where his still struggling bat (.624 OPS in 2016) simply doesn't play. It doesn't help his prospects as a prospect that he's about a year and a half older than the competition in the SALLY league. At least he's had some fun as the designated shit we're out of pitchers position guy for West Virginia. He's made four emergency relief appearances and actually won a game. He's 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA in four innings.
Brad Stone, 24th round, 2015
Stone couldn't manage consistent time on the bump for NC State, but the Boston Red Sox must've seen something they liked. It's most likely "seen" strictly in the past tense now. Stone has followed up a 6.89 ERA debut season with a 5.70 ERA in 2016. He's walked 53 batters, hit nine, and uncorked 17 wild pitches in 39.1 professional innings. Showing the questionable worth of the W-L record as a stat to judge pitchers, somehow he's 4-3 in his career despite that alarming inability to throw strikes. It would be surprising to find him on a roster in 2017.
Andrew Woeck, 31st round, 2014
Woeck, a two-time recipient of TJS, was released after one season with the Tampa Bay organization during which he posted a 4.35 ERA over 16 appearances, almost entirely at the rookie level of the minors. He's now trying to earn his way back to organized ball with Washington of the independent Frontier League, where he's gone 2-1 with a 3.89 ERA in 28 games. His excellent 1.038 WHIP suggests he could earn another shot, though he's already 24 and has pitched all of one game above rookie ball.
Guy Who Now Pitches In Korea
Eric Surkamp, 6th round, 2008
Due to a slew of injuries, Eric Surkamp actually broke camp as a rotation starter with the Oakland Athletics this year. It did not go well. Surkamp went 0-5 with a 6.98 ERA in nine starts, earning him his release. The Rangers picked him up only to release him before he ever appeared at any level in their organization so that Surkamp could sign with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO. It ain't going well there either. Surkamp is 0-3 with a 7.12 ERA through six starts. It's been quite the forgettable year for the crafty lefty.
Surkamp has made at least one MLB appearance in four straight seasons since coming back from TJS, but he's been hit hard each time. It's hard to write off a guy with a career mark of 52-23 and a 3.15 ERA in the minor leagues, but it seems likely that the former Giant, Pale Hose, Dodger, and A is likely done at baseball's highest level. He's just never been quite the same since he blew out his elbow.
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Sunday News: Revulsion over Hate Bill 2 growing
10 STATES, DC, FILE BRIEF OPPOSING HB2 (Durham Herald-Sun) -- House Bill 2 on its face will have absurd results, and more broadly threatens the travel rights of transgender people protected by the laws of other states, attorneys general for 10 states and the District of Columbia argue. Speaking via a friend of the court brief, the 11 supported the U.S. Department of Justice’s request for an injunction against the bill’s strict gender-separation mandate for “multiple occupancy” bathrooms on public property.
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The true costs of anti-abortion movements
Proving the "women's health" excuse is a dangerous myth:
From 2000 to the end of 2010, Texas’s estimated maternal mortality rate hovered between 17.7 and 18.6 per 100,000 births. But after 2010, that rate had leaped to 33 deaths per 100,000, and in 2014 it was 35.8. Between 2010 and 2014, more than 600 women died for reasons related to their pregnancies. No other state saw a comparable increase.
In the wake of the report, reproductive health advocates are blaming the increase on Republican-led budget cuts that decimated the ranks of Texas’s reproductive healthcare clinics. In 2011, just as the spike began, the Texas state legislature cut $73.6m from the state’s family planning budget of $111.5m. The two-thirds cut forced more than 80 family planning clinics to shut down across the state.
It might seem obvious to say Texas is big, but you really can't grasp the size until you try to drive your car from one point to another. I live between the Triangle and the Triad here in NC, and I can drive to the beach and back, or Asheville and back, in about 7 hours. It doesn't work like that in Texas, where it takes 8-10 hours just to get somewhere. And now, many women must travel that distance just to go to a clinic, which also means paying for 1-2 nights in a hotel. And make no mistake, several Republicans in the NC Legislature are looking to Texas for guidance on how to make that happen here:
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Saturday 20 August 2016
Berger finally speaks on UNC Center, reveals true nature of program
And the partisan underpinnings are plainly visible:
Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said the concept originated with citizens who wanted to leverage university expertise to address state and local policy challenges. The collaboratory “was fleshed out and refined” through conversations with the UNC chancellor’s office, he said in an email.
“I have received numerous complaints about the existing philosophical and partisan homogeneity at UNC, where professors registered as Democrats outnumber Republicans by a ratio of roughly 12 to one,” Berger’s email said. “On several occasions I have recommended highly-qualified conservative candidates for positions at UNC and within the university system, and, to my knowledge, none have been hired to date.”
So your solution for that "imbalance" is to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to create an entity friendly to Conservative views and scholarship(?), and use that entity to give credibility to ineffective or counterproductive environmental policies. Gotcha. And who were these "citizens" who supposedly thought this up in the first place? I don't expect an answer to that question any time soon. If they actually exist outside of fiction, we likely won't be able to figure that out until the Center starts cranking out "research." But we'll be watching. Until then, here's what could be a warning:
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The Elevator Queen of quid-pro-quo
Cherie Berry has some questions to answer:
He pointed to contributions totaling $10,000 from Ronald Cameron, the chairman and CEO of Mountaire Farms, a large poultry producer based in Delaware. Mountaire Farms has had a previous workplace death and had three open cases before the labor department earlier this year, Meeker noted.
Cameron, who lives in Arkansas, was Berry’s largest contributor, Meeker said. Executives for Mountaire did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon. “This is not right,” Meeker said. “North Carolina citizens deserve better from our public officials.”
The lack of ethics among GOP elected officials is astounding. And their lame denials all seem to be written by the same incompetent fool:
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Friday 19 August 2016
Joe Thuney looks like an immediate impact player for the Patriots
The former Wolfpack offensive lineman is probably going to be a starter for New England this season.
I don’t think anyone who has closely followed NC State football over the last few years would be surprised to learn that Joe Thuney is adjusting well to life in the NFL. But he’s done much more than that—he’s gone quickly from promising prospect to a near-lock week one starter.
Thuney has been so impressive during preseason camp, he’s had New England media call him a first-round talent. (Thuney was selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.) Not bad for a guy who’s only been on the job for a few months.
His combination of talent, intelligence, and awareness are paying big dividends so far, and he’s been the starter at left guard for New England in each of the team’s first two preseason games. He’s done nothing in those games to damage his status as a first-stringer.
In this profile of Thuney, the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe notes some of the rookie’s recent accomplishments:
Thuney turned in a nearly flawless performance Thursday against the Saints, and he was solid again yesterday when the Patriots hosted the Bears in a fully padded joint practice. The 23-year-old pancaked defensive tackle Eddie Goldman in an 11-on-11 rep and stonewalled Mitch Unrein by the left sideline on a screen pass to James White.
Future’s looking bright for the Tune Man.
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Burr should have kept his mouth shut about TPP
Because it opened the floodgates for criticism of his other trade deals:
Ross, a former state representative, has not made the trade deal a key point in her campaign but said she opposes TPP. “I have always said that I am against TPP,” she said. “We need to protect American workers and we need to stop trade agreements. It hurts the middle class.”
Burr decided to go after her only because he wanted “to mislead the public about his record on trade,” she said. “He voted for NAFTA,” she said. “He voted for CAFTA. He told people he wasn’t going to vote for trade deals, and he did.”
Open mouth, insert foot wearing a loafer with no socks. And this lame attempt at damage control is even worse:
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A scary situation
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N&O blasts Dallas Woodhouse's efforts to stifle early voting
Not clever at all:
Well, you have to give him this: Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, didn’t try to be clever or subtle when he sent an email to GOP members of county boards of elections and other party members last weekend. No, he basically instructed those board members to use their majorities to curb early voting, keep polling sites closed on Sundays, close college campus voting sites and in general, to, as he put it, “make party line changes to early voting.”
Woodhouse has inadvertently helped those fighting the voter ID law as discriminatory and partisan. And he has underlined the true motives in the voter suppression laws in North Carolina and elsewhere.
Proving the old adage, if you give somebody enough rope...
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Blue-chip ratio: A dose of cold, unwanted college football reality
Don’t look at this.
Having better players than the other guy is crucial to success in every sport. Nothing quite drives that fact home like college football, because of the sheer number of players needed to compete in a 60-minute football game. Front-line talent is essential, but quality depth separates.
Which is where recruiting comes in. Either you can consistently fill out a bunch of different positions with good-to-great talent, or you’re pretty much playing for respectability. That’s the unique challenge to college football. You can’t turn things around with one great class or with just a few big-time recruits; you’ve got to replicate recruiting success year over year over year over year.
Few are able to assemble championship-level teams, as SB Nation’s Bud Elliott outlines in his annual pieces on blue-chip ratio.
Blue-chip ratio is the proportion of blue-chip recruits (top 350ish kids) to non-blue-chip recruits on the roster. Recent history suggests that anybody with less than a 50-50 distribution is out of the national title race before it starts.
NC State, as you probably have guessed, is just a wee bit below that 50-50 threshold. The Wolfpack ranks 47th in blue-chip ratio.
It’s a rough sketch of sorts, because it’s calculated based on each school’s signees, with no accounting for what happens to them once they get on campus, or any imbalance in elite talent in a specific position or unit on the field, which could prove an inefficient distribution of talent, mitigating somewhat the bonus of adding a highly-regarded player.
Still this is an excellent general estimator of a program, and if you want to understand where NC State lives within the college football food chain, and how much ground State has lost to FSU and Clemson, there is no better place to start.
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HD-09: The Urologist and the Architect
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HD-08: Candidates Fight Over Conservative Democrats
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Voter suppression 3.0: Federal elections, local discrimination
Democracy is under attack on thousands of fronts:
In March, the City Council of Daphne, Ala., shrank the number of polling places from five locations in white and black districts to just two polling places located in districts that are mostly white. As a result, black voters are now forced to travel farther than before, yet most white voters face no new burdens.
Similarly, although a federal appeals court in July reinstated seven extra days of early voting in North Carolina, the Board of Elections in Wake County, N.C., decided this month to limit early voting to one site, rather than 20, during the restored early voting period.
So much for the "post-racial" America that doesn't need the Voting Rights Act anymore. But contrary to what many advocates fear, the selective stifling of voting in strategic areas, these attacks are ubiquitous and reflect a much wider conspiracy than previously envisioned:
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Meadows in hot water with Congressional Ethics panel
The hush-money payoff that wouldn't go away:
A congressional ethics panel said there is “substantial reason to believe” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), broke House rules by paying his departed chief of staff a three-month severance package in 2015. Meadows has denied any wrongdoing, arguing through a lawyer that he acted in good faith, even if it turns out he broke the rules.
The OCE pointed out in its report that Meadows had not cooperated with their investigation. In May 2016 letter to House Ethics Committee leaders, Meadows’s attorney said he had opted not to engage in the “duplicative, costly and burdensome process” of the OCE review since the Ethics Committee “is the ultimate arbiter of compliance with House Rules and Standards of Conduct.”
Methinks Tea Party Mark doesn't understand the meaning of "good faith." It doesn't just mean you thought you were doing right, it also means you are willing to cooperate with investigators and disclose to them anything that might be relevant. The next logical step for the House Ethics Committee is to subpoena (if they have that authority) Kenny West, to find out a) what work he actually accomplished during that extended period, and b) what juicy information he was holding over Meadows' head (blackmail) that would force the Congressman to break rules over:
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Thursday News: Cause & Effect?
NC CHURCHES KEEPING THE FAITH IN CAMPAIGN SEASON (Public News Service) -- The North Carolina Council of Churches is discussing ways congregations can engage in the political process and educate their members without endorsing a particular candidate.
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CLINTON LEADS NC, ALTHOUGH SOME SAY SHE IS 'THE DEVIL' (Asheville Citizen-Times) -- Hillary Clinton has grabbed the lead in North Carolina, two recent polls suggest, despite the fact that one found a good number of Tar Heels think she is the devil.
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Voter frauds
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Team Red Goes on Red Alert
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Tennessee State, Fairfield on NC State’s basketball schedule
Ten non-conference games set, a few more to go.
Slowly but surely, we’re piecing NC State’s non-conference basketball schedule, and I do mean we, because this has been a collective effort. Thanks to commenters on this thread and some Twitter intel, here’s what we know for sure about the schedule:
Nov. 13 — vs. St. Francis-Brooklyn
Nov. 18-21 — Paradise Jam (three games, beginning with Montana)
Nov. 26 — vs. Loyola-Chicago
Nov. 29 — at Illinois (B1G/ACC Challenge)
Dec. 10 — vs. Tennessee State* (h/t Jason)
Dec. 15 — vs. Appalachian State
Dec. 28 — vs. Rider
TBA — vs. Fairfield (h/t Jon Rothstein)
(* — Reynolds game)
That’s 10 games total, leaving three or so left to be confirmed/revealed. (NC State played 13 non-conference games last year.) This isn’t a lineup of teams that jumps off the page, but NC State is coming off a losing season, and there is still potential for some classic Mark Gottfried #schedukong magic.
Fairfield, for example, finished fourth in the MAAC and returns nearly everyone of consequence. In the Paradise Jam, State could run through Montana, Creighton, and St. Joe’s, which would bolster the schedule strength considerably.
It’s fair to say this isn’t going to be a vintage Gottfried schedule, but this isn’t going to be an albatross come March, either.
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Thursday 18 August 2016
Charter supporters throw temper tantrum over low approval numbers
And engage in a little name calling between tears:
Today, Alan Hawkes, a Greensboro charter leader who sits on the state’s Charter School Advisory Board (CSAB), is still hot. That’s because five schools tapped for opening by Hawkes’ board, which makes recommendations on charter applicants to the state board, were overwhelmingly voted down by the State Board of Education (SBE). Board members cited typos, weak applications and publicly questioned whether some schools’ academic plans were ready for prime time despite the CSAB’s support. Typically, state board members heed the counsel of the CSAB, but not this month.
“Don’t get me started about public charter school no-nothings (sic) on the NC State Board of Education,” Hawkes wrote in an email to Policy Watch this week. “The temerity and ignorance of those soulless SOB’s (sic) presuming to know better than the NC Charter School Advisory Board with its diversity of knowledge and experience in this area. If there is anyone who knows the good, the bad and the ugly about public school choice, it’s members of our NC CSAB.”
The plural form is "sons of bitches," so I'm thinking it should be "S'sOB"? Still doesn't look right...Anyway, if the people who are supposedly going to teach our children can neither write well nor proofread, maybe they should take up another hobby, like ATV riding without a helmet? Using a chainsaw to cut the wrong side of the limb they're sitting on? Something along those lines.
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Knizner, Gilbert off to good starts in pro ball
Palmeiro hasn't seen the same success as his former teammates.
NC State's 2016 draft class has seen mixed results in their respective professional debuts. Andrew Knizner and Will Gilbert don't appear to have much left to prove at their current levels, while Preston Palmeiro has scuffled mightily.
Knizner is triple slashing .292/.405/.451 for the Johnson City Cardinals in the Appalachian League. Those numbers are better than he put up as a junior at NC State, and his production is 32% above league average. But the rookie-level league is definitely a rung or two below major college baseball. I've taken in a couple of his games, and actually I've seen high school programs that would not embarrass themselves against the raw bunch of mostly teenagers. Knizner is old for the league and will hopefully get an opportunity to showcase his abilities against better competition before the season concludes.
Knizner has split his time pretty evenly between first base and catcher. On the bright side, he's thrown out and impressive 48% of would-be base thieves; however, he continues to struggle with his receiving skills. He's allowed eight passed balls in 16 games, and in one game I saw he got five-holed by a ball in the dirt when he tried to glove it rather than drop to his knees and block up.
Gilbert is a rung higher on the ladder with Vermont of the short season New York-Penn League. He leads the Lake Monsters with 12 appearances, and he's pitched well in a setup role. Opponents have managed a paltry .570 OPS against him, and he's fanned 10.7 batters per nine innings. Gilbert's ERA stands at 3.26.
The lefty hasn't toed the rubber in a week but doesn't show up as being on the DL on any minor league transactions sites I perused. My guess is that the A's may have shut him down after the rigors of a college season that saw him miss time with injury. Between NC State and Vermont, Gilbert has made 36 appearances spanning 72 innings. That's a big jump in usage from his 29 outings and 47.1 innings from his junior campaign.
Perhaps waiting until the 11th hour to sign did not benefit Palmeiro, as he has been unable to shake off the rust at short-season Aberdeen, posting an ugly .230/.266/.262 triple slash line. His plate discipline has all but disappeared (anemic 4.7% walk rate), and his K rate is out of control (31.3%). Swaggy P had 30 extra base hits and 29 walks in 60 games for the Pack. He's managed just two extra base hits and three walks through 17 games of his debut professional season.
If there's a bright spot for Palmeiro it comes on the defensive side, where he's handled 128 chances without an error at first base. And, given his pedigree (did you know he was Rafael Palmeiro's son?), the Orioles are likely to show lots of patience with him.
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PODCAST | Mike Morgan’s Supreme Competition
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Trump unchained
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Pro Football Focus names Jaylen Samuels a first-team All-American
Justice at last, friends, justice at last. After countless omissions during this offseason, Jaylen Samuels finally managed to earn a formal preseason accolade. He is Pro Football Focus’ preseason first-team All-American at tight end. My hat is off to the incredibly reasonable people at PFF.
If you’re wondering how often Samuels lined up at tight end last season, PFF has the numbers. This is from a previous article, which deemed JaySam one of the five most versatile players in the country:
Listed as a tight end on NC State’s depth chart, putting a posting to Samuels’ name is a disservice to his true value to the offense. While he played 187 snaps as an in-line tight end, he also spent 164 snaps in the backfield and 189 snaps split out wide or in the slot.
So about a third of his snaps came at the more traditional tight end spot, but another third also came from what Dave Doeren would consider his “move” tight end spot. Which is somewhere between wide receiver and traditional tight end, otherwise known as the modern-era tight end.
He’s likely to occupy those areas on the field more often as long as the backfield is settled, which makes all the quibbling over position seem more ridiculous, but hey, at least somebody is paying attention.
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Tuesday 16 August 2016
ACC athletics directors remain undecided on football schedule format
The ACC’s athletics directors are still at an impasse when it comes to football scheduling. A recent teleconference to discuss the matter apparently did not bring them any closer to a final decision, and as Andrea Adelson explains here, there are a variety of issues complicating things.
They have until the end of the year to decide whether to go with the 8+2 (eight league games, two power-five games every year) or 9+1 model. They have to pick one. ESPN said so. Establishing a network in partnership with the Worldwide Leader ain’t about to come without some strings attached.
ESPN’s demands for additional inventory have left the headaches almost entirely on the football side. An increase in conference games on the basketball side still leaves a lot of scheduling flexibility since those teams will still play 10+ non-conference contests. With football, ESPN’s stipulations begin to feel constricting, especially for schools that have set games against SEC rivals each year. Not surprisingly, all of those schools are in the 8+2 camp.
NC State prefers a move to nine league games—Debbie Yow for years has been a proponent of expanding the league schedule. I still think that this format makes the most sense, but I can also see this from the other side.
Notre Dame’s agreement/half-membership with the ACC is a wrench in the negotiating, since under the 9+1 model, Louisville/FSU/Clemson/GT would have years where they had 11 of their 12 games set in stone. They don’t want to play more power-conference teams than necessary any more than they want to relinquish scheduling flexibility in those years. The 12th team they schedule in those seasons would, for practical purposes, have to be a cupcake.
And it kinda takes the fun out of the non-conference slate if you’re seeing the same two teams every few seasons.
That’s a completely reasonable objection to the 9+1 format. But the 8+2 format would be one heck of a strain on most of the league’s members, and might not actually be feasible at all.
The 9+1 format seems better for the overall health of the league, as teams will rotate more quickly through opponents in the opposite division than they do currently. Right now everybody in the Coastal save UNC feels like a dang stranger, and that includes Duke. But there’s no perfect answer.
So we got ourselves a stalemate, and there’s no telling when or how they’ll manage to sort it out. There is no compromise available, because our omnipotent sports broadcasting god, ESPN, hath decreed from his perch in the clouds, “TEN! Ten is the number of power-five games thou shalt play!”
That will soon be the law of the land, and the mere mortals involved will simply have to accept the consequences that will come from it. The ongoing negotiations/arguments are about which set of consequences they prefer.
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