The Morning After: February 25, 2009
Welcome to the Morning After with GatorTrey. This is part of a new and much more serious GatorTrey. To prove it, I invited three very recognizable people to be on a panel here with me today….However, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev didn’t think we talked enough hockey…Oscar winning Actor Sean Penn thought we were too shallow…and finally, Theodore Kaczynski, who could not get a furlough or any outside communication from his 8×8 cell. Boo.
So it’s just me and you of course, and the OPENING DAY OF SPRING TRAINING. Being a native Floridian, Spring Training is a big deal. I hope to get to a few games this year, and with the Braves and the Astros here in Orlando we have a few options…ARod will get his first appearance against opposing fans.
Of course this years rosters will be a little depleted thanks to the WBC, which announced the US pitching staff yesterday…I’m still a little uninterested in it.
Number 1 for 1 day…Pitt got knocked off at the hands of a bubble sitting Providence team…Shocking? Probably, but Pitt is still a Final Four team…
“Hey, Bob. You remember the other day, you asked me what the definition of ‘irony’ was, and I said”…So a 73 year old tries to make one of those, never finished my degree and want to play (insert college sport here) late in my life…What does he do? Fails a class, gets ruled ineligble, and causes the team to forfeit a game.
Move over Stephen Curry…Lester Hudson maybe the best shooter in America (Behind GatorTrey…how else does a white Irish American get the name Trey…and honestly that’s what everyone calls me) Who is Lester Hudson? Click the link!
Jim Calhoun has pissed off the powers that be in Connecticut.
The rest of last night’s college hoops scores…Tonight is the big night.
TIGER RETURNS…Today! Anyone? (just to note, I am a pretty big golf fan)
The Knicks officially came to an agreement to terminate the contract Stephon Marbury…and now he’s in negotiations with the Celtics…My question is WHY?
For the first time in years, the Pistons are now below .500…Despite Lebron James only scoring 15, the Cavs remain victorious…The rest of your NBA Scores.
Is it really news that the Colts released Marvin Harrison? He’s not what he was 3 years ago and just eating cap, smart move Indy.
So a guy is ice skating at a local rink, collapses and dies…two hours later at the same rink another guy is ice skating, collapses and dies. Shit luck!…Not as bad as the Pens with Sid the Kid.
Who likes FREE? And who likes SUBS? FREE QUIZNOS . And what about goats? And condoms? FREE CONDOM (Under “where to get horny”…but it’s just a free condom from a microbrewery)
It’s just the beginning of what promises to be a heck of a busy day for me. So I’m gonna suck back an extra strong cup of coffee and listen to you tell me whats up.
UPDATE: Tom Crean doing his best Kelvin Sampson? (Midwest Sports Fans)
Popularity: 8% [?]
What’s up?
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A baseball game scoreboard widget? Boy, you guys really do like baseball.
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Lakers found a way not to lose to the Thunder
/mikeyzone
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mikey has been busy. well done, sir.
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just trying to do my part to make the world a better place.
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I’m surprised there’s no Obammer link or commentary. I guess what he said was not very interesting.
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FT-at the point that we just need to see how things play out. we have heard plenty of speeches.
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FT while what he said it was interesting, it was pretty much the same thing, different day. While I didn’t come out and say it, it was kinda the idea behind the panel.
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whoever said 15 mins of speech and 45 minutes of applause was wrong. it was 20mins of speech and 40 minutes of applause
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Sorry Trey, over my head. I agree, SSDD. Let’s see some action!
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So I was off on my 15 and 45 prediciton? Oh well. I watched about 5 minutes of the speech and couldn’t stand it. I was forced to watch hockey.
Bruins > State of the Union addresses
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Tom Brady likes goats and condoms. That’s who.
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john is still in the lead for commenter of the year.
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What comment would that be, sparty?
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Bruins (hockey) > state of the union (even though they weren’t calling it that this year)
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Oh, I thought that was just obvious
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he could have said the Biggest Loser > state of the union and i would have agreed. and it is only in reference to the actual event, not who was speaking.
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updated link at bottom of TMA
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I’d say the author at Midwest Sports Fans need to go have some quiet time. I can see why he’d rubbed raw after Sampson, but he went a little overboard there.
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Hawkeye- It is Indiana Basketball. No such thing as overboard.
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Excellent point. Damned logic.
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Extra phone calls happen EVERYWHERE in EVERY SPORT.
Signed a former compliance intern, whose job was to check all the phone logs for double calls to report to the NCAA.
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What time does tiger tee off?
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Tiger goes off at 2:02.
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2:02, Eastern, God’s Time or when exactly?
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Eastern.
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Okay so my productivity will take a steep downturn around 1ish
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I don’t want to bother and check what the UCONN link is but I hope it is trashing Calhoun
Somebody did some investigating and found that UConn mens basketball makes a little less than 8 million a year and has about six and a half million in expenses
For those who aren’t too good on the math, that mean that Calhoun was wrong and he makes more than their net gain, not more than ten million the other way
But that reporter should shut up and get back to him when he gets his facts straight
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I’ll be the first one here to go out on a limb and say Tiger beats Brendan Jones.
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gitc-is that someone you? because if it is, why don’t you write a post about it so i can get credit for it.
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because i would really like to see the figures you just said in writing.
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is that taking into account the money the university gets from sponsors?
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link
I’d say gitc pulls out numbers he likes, and not the entire article.
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At least Calhoun earns his salary and doesn’t just live off the worst National Champion of the last 20 years.
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Damnit:
http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/02/uconn-mens-basketball-not-12-m.html
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Sparty – which team is showing up tonight against Iowa?
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ill-i am done giving you advice about these guys. but it should be a 20pt win.
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I’m just giving you shit. I’m not taking that game.
Worst National Championship in the last 20yrs? They beat Kentucky, Uconn and Kansas. A more accurate statement would be “2nd worst fall-off from a NC in the last 20yrs.”
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i love how this gets stuck in at the end as if it means nothing. Let’s get those numbers.
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I was raised in Hartford and went to UConn. It cannot be underestimated what Calhoun has done for the state. He is THE BIGGEST MONEY MAKER in the history of the state, and one of the 5 most important people to EVER live there. Yes, ever. Right along side Nathan Hale and Mark Twain. Until he arrived, the school wasn’t even relevant or considered competitive academically. The rise of the basketball program removed the “cow country” stigma and made people stop thinking it was Yukon. The campus has been rebuilt since he arrived. The endowment has risen dramaticly. Why? Because graduates make a ton of coin, buy a ton of gear and write big checks. And it isn’t because they enjoyed chem 101. It’s because they can walk into any bar in the country and tell the bartender to “put the UConn game on” and the bartender will do it. Not look at the you like “the what? Is that a dog race?”
The city of Hartford is one of the worst cities on the East Coast for crime, unemployment, gang violence, drugs, business, and all the other good stuff. Ask the businesses downtown what Calhoun has done for them. He keeps them open for 4 months a year when 20,000 poeple with $ in there pocket show up and spend on Saturday afternoons. Seriously, not only is the guy a GREAT coach and recruiter, he is a great man. And if some law student punk wants to call him out at a post game press conference, then he should take the advice given and STFU. Without Calhoun, the UConn law school wouldn’t even exist.
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coaches don’t only have an economic impact at their school; they also affect the local economy. what everyone is failing to consider is how much the coaches do on their own time for the community. Jim Calhoun and his wife have personally raised and donated to the tune of MILLIONS of dollars solely for the purpose of the cardiology department at the University of Connecticut hospital. by the way, that hospital is STATE RUN and those donations by Calhoun and the others that donated through him were all from PRIVATE funds.
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Game report. Well instead of watching the State of the Union speech, I went to MSG to watch Syracuse play St. Johns.
Well I won’t sugar coat it. Even for a Syracuse fan like myself, it was a bad game. Cuse played OK, not great but OK. St. Johns put up one of the worst performances in the 1st half I have ever seen and only scored 18 points. The 2nd half was a mere formality. Having two of the 5′9″ white guy walk-ons score at the end of the game was the only time the crowd even needed to get into it as Cuse won by 29 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
At MSG which is a home game for St. John’s, the crowd was 2/3’s to 3/4’s Cuse to St. Johns fans. Some fans trying to be funny threw the red St. John’s t-shirts that were thrown into the stands back onto the court. That spurred the announcement to not throw things onto the court. The Let’s Go St. John’s chant quickly was overpowered by a much louder Let’s Go Orange chant. Most of the St. John’s fans filed out with 10 minutes to go.
After the game we stopped for a beer since we had time to kill before our train home. While walking back, we caught not only the St. John’s dance team (who look better from a level up than from 5 feet away we decided) but the Syracuse team walking to their bus.
Eric Devendorf came out with a bag of ice on one knee. We saw Andy Rautins talking to an older couple (his parents?). Also Arinze Onuaku showed off his 6′9″ 270 frame. Devendorf and Rautins look smaller in person than I would have thought. However Onuaku and Kristof Ongenaut looked huge. They all seemed nice enough to sign autographs and pose for some photos with fans. I didn’t have my camera and I am way too old to ask for autographs from 19 year old kids. Still, it was fun seeing those guys up close.
A good time overall since a trip to MSG to watch college hoops is always fun – well except for that time there was a snowstorm and the train got stuck and it took us 6 hours to get home and never even saw the game but I am blocking that day out.
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BASEBALL STARTS TODAY!!! WHOO-HOO!
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I wasn’t saying that he wasn’t helpful to the university. But the reality is that he’s a moron. The way he handled that question was just ludicrous. Listen to yesterday’s B.S. Report from yesterday from 33:40 till 43:30. I don’t doubt that he is a good coach, but in this case he’s just clearly wrong. There’s really no two ways about it. Here are the numbers by the way…
UConn Men’s Basketball Gain: $7,332,214
UConn Men’s Basketball Expenses: $6,009,728
UConn Men’s Basketball Net Gain: $1,332,486
Jim Calhoun’s Salary: $1,600,000
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Calhoun’s salary isn’t already included in the expenses?
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john-
Apparently not. The expenses are the team plane trips and clothes and the athletic center and all that stuff.
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gitc – Lets see the source of those numbers
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he got the 12 million figure as a revenue (which is accurate), not a net, that was his only mistake. the question was asked immediately following a post-game news conference, so it was out of line and caught him by surprise. but once again, your numbers don’t take into account donations from alumni and boosters.
and you really shouldn’t be calling people that are far more successful than yourself, a moron.
/felix pie
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OK, maybe I missed the discussion. Who is the worst NC in the last 20 years?
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maybe someone has already said this…but, the State of Connecticut NEGOTIATED and APPROVED Calhoun’s salary. the issue should not be taken up with Calhoun, but with the state.
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cycledan – Maryland, without a doubt.
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Source is U.S. department of Education.
http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/Index.aspx
Sparty-
The 12 million figure was just made up. That’s the point. And like Tony Kornheiser said on PTI the next day, reporters say that he shouldn’t have asked after the game but that’s because they actually know Calhoun. Do you think that Calhoun would give this guy the time of day? I doubt it.
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What GITC is saying is correct. Calhoun was yelling at the guy to get his facts straight. Turns out Calhoun’s facts were way off. He portrayed the situation as he personally earned $12M for the university. When you are the highest paid state employee – by far – and the economic crisis is causing cutbacks, layoffs and hardship for many people including students at UConn, the question is legitimate and should have been answered more tactfully than a guy screaming to “ask me that question outside”. The governor is right, Calhoun embarrassed himself.
I also don’t buy the idea that it was a post game press conference and they shouldn’t ask him that question. Then when should this guy ask the question? At the next press conference discussing Calhoun’s salary? The only time he is taking public questions from a team of reporters is at the post game press conference.
Calhoun may be a great recruiter and coach, he may do a lot of good for the community, he may raise a lot for charity, but in this one instance, he embarassed himself.
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gitc-
not made up. i don’t believe he even referenced it as net, but it was implied.
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so what’s the point of contention here? is it Calhoun’s salary or is it his reaction to the question and errors in his facts? somebody, please clear this up.
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gitc thinks calhoun is a moron for misrepresenting facts. so he has just set a precedent for himself.
/felix pie
//lead-off hitter
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FYI – How the US Department of Education defines Expenses:
Term:
Expenses
Definition:
All expenses attributable to intercollegiate athletic activities. This includes appearance guarantees and options, athletically related student aid, contract services, equipment, fundraising activities, operating expenses, promotional activities, recruiting expenses, salaries and benefits, supplies, travel, and any other expenses attributable to intercollegiate athletic activities.
In other words, Calhoun’s salary is included in the $6MM/year.
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sparty-
The most they could claim is $7,332,214. That’s the point. He made up the 12 million. It doesn’t exist. That 7.3 is non net number. Even if he had said that he brings in 7.3, that would be inaccurate because it doesn’t take expenses into account. The relevant answer for how much UConn basketball turns over to the state is $1,332,486. He said 12. He acted like a jerk. He told the guy to shut up. He told the guy to get his facts straight. He was very wrong.
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I think that there is no question he handled it terribly. As far as if his salary is justified, I feel that it probably is because of the number of people that can do that job.
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gitc-
not really made up…but continue…
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hawkeye-
Good call. I misread the article I was reading. Still embarrassing to call 12 million when it’s 1.3 million.
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check your own link, GITC. Calhoun’s salary is included in the expenses.
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sparty-
If not made up, still supremely misrepresented. He said turned over. That 5 million isn’t turned over by him to the state at all. And the other 7 is turned over only after they give him 6 to start with. I think we can all agree that the 12 is crazy inaccurate.
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miz-
I was quoting an article that quoted that link. My bad. Calhoun was even wronger.
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as i said, he misspoke by inferring it was a net profit, but that number is not made up. the article you are referencing that criticizes him doesn’t seem to think that 12 mil figure is crazy either.
don’t take a black marker to parts of the article that contradict you.
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ok, GITC; let’s go ahead and assume there’s no way Calhoun can justify the numbers he threw out at the press conference and he is completely wrong. what’s the right thing for him to do now?
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sparty-
There’s a difference between misspoke and acted like a jerk and misrepresented.
Miz-
I’d say he has to apologize to the reporter and apologize for the insensitivity to the state employees losing their jobs and are generally in rough times. You have to remember that he called the reporter stupid and told him to shut up. He also said he wouldn’t give a dime back and bragged about making “way more” than 1.6 million a year.
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On the other hand, if Calhoun made an apology the universe might implode.
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Calhoun is a tough old school Boston irishman. Tact isn’t his thing. He’s hard on his players and they produce. Why is it when Parcells does it it’s funny, when Knight does it it’s ok cause he graduates his kids and wins, when Paterno does it he’s old and senile but when Calhoun does it he’s a jerk? Yes, he is a jerk. So f’in what? He’s a basketball coach for God’s sake. His job is to win games and bring in money. Not submit to some disrespectful “moron”. Anyone aware the same kid was arrested for standing in the road and stopping the governers inaugeration parade in 2006? Just because you ask a question you should be treated well? Why? He showed disrespect to a man that has earned respect and got bitchslapped. Get over it.
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why does he need to apologize to the state employees? the STATE gave him the contract.
but, I agree with you; if Calhoun is wrong about this situation but felt it necessary to call someone else stupid, he definitely needs to apologize to said person.
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I’m still not understanding why it’s appropriate to tell anyone they should make less money.
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The kid was/is stupid. Why should he apologize? Not his fault the kid was out of line.
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I’m curious as to why the law student who asked the question has an ax to grind against Calhoun.
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@Hawkeye – simple…15 minutes of fame. Hoping to translate it into a stellare law career.
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the kid is a trouble maker. this isn’t the first time he has acted like an ass, as Trey’s link stated.
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i can understand the importance of revenue from college basketball to the school.
based from the Philippine perspective.
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