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Mailbag: Equilibrium States, Hockey Formatting, The Distant Future
right via flickr user bre pettis
You've often mentioned how a single elimination hockey tournament is a poor indicator of who the best team is, due to the randomness that exists in hockey. There is one sport where the randomness of the winner is considerably higher - baseball. And college baseball deals with this by making the tournament, and the college world series, double elimination tournament up until the championship.
Do you think a double elimination tournament could work for NCAA hockey, or if not for the frozen four, at least for the regionals? Each regional would still fit nicely into a weekend, rather than needing to spread out over two weeks if it were a 3 game series at each round. As hockey is poised for a potentially cataclysmic change tomorrow, the time for changing the tournament would be now as well.
Double elimination doesn't work for hockey because it's just too many games. A first-round loser could hypothetically play five games if they reach the final and win the first game, and how are you going to fit that into three days? Even if you decide the final is one and done (presumably playing this exhausted team is advantage enough) you've still got a situation where someone's playing twice in a day. That's not feasible.
The thing that makes the most sense is to go back to the old best two-of-three series. Have two rounds of those and have a Frozen Four. Downsides: it takes a week longer and some schools don't control their rinks, making reservations awkward. Upside: massively more revenue and it looks like people care about college hockey.
Something like this may be coming. As mentioned this morning, the NCAA has not announced regional sites past next year. Last May this was apparently the hot idea:
Under the most popular proposal, the tournament would stay as a 16-team field, but the first round would be a best-of-three series played at the venue of the higher seed.
The eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals would play at one of two super regional sites. The quarterfinals would be one-game shots with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line. The Frozen Four would not change.
That manages to be only slightly better than the current system since you know you're going to this random "super regional" site to watch your team play once. There seems to be no reason not to play another campus series other than a desire to pretend you're a bigger deal than your are.
If hockey is truly insistent on having regionals, let's format them like the first round of the World Cup or Olympic hockey: everyone plays each other and the top two teams move on. That would force teams to play three straight days but without overtime everyone's on a level playing field. That should help attendance since you know you'll get to see your team play three times.
The biggest issue with that format is scheduling the last day. In the World Cup the last group games are simultaneous because there are situations in which teams can assure themselves advancement by walking around for 90 minutes and tying. You couldn't do that at a regional. I think if you're flexible with the final day's schedule you could avoid that by making the teams who are in that advantageous position play first, though.
More money, more reason to travel, and less randomness—it's better than the current setup. The tournament could start out with groups, have a campus weekend, and then have a Frozen Four.
If NCAA determines that OSU must vacate last year football wins, does that mean RichRod went 1-2 vs. OSU?
No. A vacated game never happened—unless you lost, I guess—so officially he'd be 0-2.
Hi Brian,
After reading your thoughtful post about Webber, I couldn't help but think about why, despite everything, I always loved the guy. Just to try to explain what it was like: The Fab 5 era has many of the elements of the last few years of Michigan football, except they were magnified. First, there was the culture clash. Fisher's coaching style, the new players, all of it received a very similar reception, but unlike RR he had the '89 national championship for protection. And of course the culture clash was magnified because it was not only a matter of a culture clash within the university but on a national level. Think of it as the culture clash times five.
Then there was the electrifying style of play. Every moment of every game at Crisler, you were just sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for something amazing to happen. Not just dunks, although people often forget just how incredible not only Webber but Jimmy's ups were. But an unreal block, an impossible pass, a quick as lightening steal. The only thing I can really compare it to in my life of watching sports was watching Denard last year. You were just sitting there with visceral sense of anticipation, knowing you just might witness something amazing. But now imagine if Denard and Rich Rod had taken us to a national championship game -- or two in a row -- and I think that will give you some sense of how it felt to be a student at Michigan in that era and why we simply can't not love those guys. We all knew those players personalities, their faces, their styles of play. It was something close to watching five Denards.
There was obviously a culture clash with Rodriguez's program as a whole but Denard isn't a part of that because Denard is the nicest kid in the history of the universe. I've been going to basketball and hockey games for years and when other athletes show up, they do so in a big group, come late, and leave early. This extends even to nonentities like the tennis team. They signed some autographs at Yost earlier this season and then watched a portion of the second period in seats directly behind mine, then took off.
Denard went to the DEATH TO BACKBOARDS Wisconsin game. He wasn't there with teammates (unless Drew Dileo was there—everyone around him was an average-sized white guy), stayed for the whole thing, and when handed a random maize T-shirt he put it over his futuristic Annie Lennox jacket. You can throw that on the pile of evidence that contains every press conference he's ever attended and every touchdown he's ever kneeled after.
But the larger point is good. Michigan swung away from its baseline attitude in the aftermath of the '89 championship because it won a lot for a brief period of time, and then when it won less and got the program in trouble they reacted by hiring Tommy Amaker and John Beilein. Even more telling was only after Amaker left for Harvard that people started complaining about his recruiting practices.
A lot of people have pointed at that reaction as the Fab Five's doing, but it's really just Michigan returning to its equilibrium state after being knocked out of it briefly. The same thing happened with Rodriguez except it didn't take nearly as long because there weren't any of those win things. At some point in the future Michigan will have a coach with a different idea of what football looks like*, and he'll be tolerated as long as he wins, and then eventually he won't win and Michigan will return to its equilibrium state.
*[Possibly a distant, Humans Are Dead future, granted.]
Darius and the Draft
A Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure.
It seems just about everyone in the media has a "source" that knows what Darius Morris plans to do this offseason. Such rumored plans include:
- Returning to school for his junior year with 100% certainty.
- Entering his name for the NBA Draft, but not hiring an agent, so he can pull out of it.
- Absolutely, with 100% certainty, entering the NBA Draft - for keepsies.
The correct answer is... none of the above. At John Beilein's meeting with the media today, he went into great detail about Darius's (possible) upcoming decision.
There are effectively three phases for an underclassman who intends to enter the NBA Draft. The first phase, which is what Darius has done, is to submit an application to the NBA Draft Undergraduate Advisory committee. John Beilein recommended to Darius that he apply to this committee: "Within two days after the season was over, I called Darius into the office, and suggested that we go through the Undergraduate Advisory Committee and gather information - and that's all that's happening right now." This is not a decision that blindsided the coaches, and in fact was Beilein's own idea.
Phase two is declaring for the NBA Draft, which Darius has not done. In fact, the application for evaluation explicitly states:
Please note that submission of this application is not a declaration of eligibility for the 2011 NBA Draft. A separate letter must be sent to Commissioner Davis Stern (received by April 24th, 2011) declaring eligibility for the 2011 NBA Draft.
(Emphasis original to the source). The third phase is actually going through with the Draft, which means not withdrawing by June 13th, or hiring an agent, etc.
Beilein declined to discuss specifics of Darius's merit for the NBA Draft, only pointing out that conventional wisdom states that underclassmen who aren't projected to be first-rounders usually stay in school at least one more year. He's not a scout, and hasn't watched film on every player who's a senior or has submitted his name for evaluation, and so did not say whether or not he thought Darius met that standard.
He was adamant in pointing out that Michigan's coaches want nothing more than for their players to have successful careers (emphasis on career, presumably as opposed to a big draft payday) in the NBA. "It's not about getting drafted, it's about having success in the NBA."
"There's a lot involved in this, and you have to think about it; it's a very important decision," Beilein said. Manny Harris has proven in his first NBA season that he made the right decision, as he's a regular in the Cavs' rotation. It remains to be seen what the Committee will tell Darius, and he'll make his decision after that.
Other post-season notes from Beilein's luncheon are less pressing matters, so expect a recap tomorrow.
Check, Please
3/25/2011 – Michigan 3, Nebraska-Omaha 2 (OT) – 27-10-4
3/26/2011 – Michigan 2, Colorado College 1 – 28-10-4, Frozen Four
The course of the season showed that if Michigan was going to make the Frozen Four they were going to do it one way: narrowly. If you need a number, during the course of the UNO broadcast they put up a stat showing Michigan's record in one-goal games was 10-3. That's just how they do.
That record is now up to 12-3 after history's greatest video review and the Joe Howe show (wsgs Joe Howe's Posts) and if there was ever any chance we remembered this hockey team as the weird one that kind of reminded you of Ron Mason that's gone now. This team isn't trying to win games –1 to –2 but you'd be forgiven if sometimes you thought they were.
It's working, though. I spent the second intermission Saturday thinking about Buffalo, when Michigan dominated Minnesota for two periods but didn't put enough of that domination on the scoreboard to prevent Minnesota's rally from tying the game; Michigan lost the game and Al Montoya's brain in overtime on one of those bizarrely frequent OT goals that comes from almost the goal line on the left side of the net*. I spent the third period thinking about how beautifully boring it was until Red channeled into Lloyd Carr by slipping Jeff Rohrkemper out there for a power play shift. He was immediately punished for punting from the 34 by a Rohkemper boarding penalty and nine seconds later CC fumbled a puck into the net. Everyone braced for a storm. That storm was a single pea-sized hailstone. The most nervous moment after that was a bunch of players rooting for the puck on the boards with the goalie out and twenty seconds left.
Michigan had outshot their opponent 43-22, played a game universally acclaimed as their best of the season, and won 2-1 because Scooter is an animal and pucks that come off Lee Moffie's stick will hit the post and go in even if they have to deflect off three guys to do it. There is a natural inertia pulling them towards narrow wins you're uncertain about; even now that they've reached the Frozen Four there's a feeling they don't really match up with a North Dakota.
There's also the feeling they just might, though. Because what the hell, Michigan's 11-1 since the line shakeup after Michigan's dismal 0-3 stretch against MSU and Miami. Season goals slipping away and faced with the question of how to get the most use out of some good forwards who never, ever score Michigan put together a vintage Todd Marchant checking line and let anyone who might put the puck in the net forget about guys like Jaden Schwartz.
This has been remarkably effective. If the announcer didn't bring his name up every time he wasn't making a joke-type assertion about the "hockey hotbeds" of California, Texas, and Arizona, the viewer could have forgotten about Jaden Schwartz. Lingering irritation at Matt Rust's bad OT penalty against UNO evaporated as his line erased Schwartz, Schwartz, and Schultz with a healthy assist from Jon Merill at his most subtly awesome. The Schwartzes got their goal on a four-on-four scramble; everything other than that was frustration. In the second period they started jawing and shoving people because they were getting nothing. This was one day after they turned defending national champs Boston College into a lump of smoking carbon.
I watched North Dakota pummel two teams, one of them not even in the ECAC, this weekend. I remember Michigan's last two not-very-competitive matchups against them. I have considerable doubts that Michigan will beat them since they're by far the best team left standing. Doubts about doubts come when you close your eyes and see Jon Merrill gently shepherding you, the puck, and a hockey team into a deep, peaceful sleep as Matt Rust obscures the face of North Dakota Hobey finalist… oh… you know… what's his name.
*[Almost certainly an artifact of my introduction to college hockey but they seem to happen all the time: Josh Langfeld's championship winner, the Vanek goal (at 1:00) that put Michigan out in Buffalo, and ND's winner against Merrimack were all bizarre nothing shots from the same area of the ice that took the goalie by surprise.]
A Tiny Window Of White Bullets
Also the other two goals but mostly Scooter!
You do not have a twitter account that concerns itself with Michigan hockey if you didn't tweet "Scooter" followed by one to three exclamation points after his goal, which was completely unbelievable even as it was happening. CC does not have the greatest defensemen in the world but holy crap where did that come from?
Monster faceoffs. Michigan both faced and received extended periods of 5-on-3 time in the first period, and during both they got clean, critical faceoff wins. Moffie's goal was a direct result. The lack of a CC goal on their terrifying PP was greatly aided, as well.
Clare escape. To recap the thing I kept talking about during the game: after a tough shift in which Pateryn and Clare got caught in the zone forever, allowing the Schwartz line to get out against them and some other random non-Rust forwards, Red pulled Clare out of the lineup for more than a period. Pateryn took shifts with the second pair D to give guys a break. Clare returned about halfway through the second and actually got some PK time a bit later, which I guess makes sense because your breakout on the PK is slapping the puck down the ice. I saw him out there a couple times in the third, as well, but his minutes were minimized.
All this invites questions about Burlon's availability. He's got two weeks to recover from his strep and penicillin reaction, so I imagine he'll be in the lineup. Losing 15 pounds is kind of a lot, though, and I wonder how effective he'll be.
RNG in full effect. Hockey's vaguely weighted plinko system was a little more random than normal this time around: FF participants are two three-seeds, a two, and a one. One seeds went 2-2 in the first round, bringing their record against fours to 11-9 the last five years. That goes beyond "anything can happen" into "your excellent season gets you nothing."
What's wrong? I don't think you can blame the Pairwise. The "better"* ranking system, KRACH, already updated for the weekend's results and still has Yale a #1. The only difference between KRACH's top seeds and the PWRs is putting Denver above Miami, and there's a fair chance that wasn't the case before the events of the weekend.
You can blame insular schedules. Yale's nonconference schedule consisted of single games against CC, Air Force, Cornell, and Vermont and an "Ivy Shootout" against other ECAC members. The only evidence we had that Yale was a top seed other than their ECAC schedule was a 5-1 win over a .500 WCHA team and a 2-1 record against Atlantic Hockey—yeah, they'd already lost to first-round opponent Air Force.
This vapor-thin trail coupled with some other ECAC nonconference games convinced the ranking systems the conference didn't suck despite years of evidence to the contrary. The last ECAC team to make the Frozen Four was Cornell in 2003 and that last to win a title was Harvard in 1989.
That only explains perpetually disappointing ECAC #1s, which are rare. The rest of it is on a tournament format which has #1 Miami play #4 UNH in New Hampshire in a single-elimination game.
*[FWIW, KRACH is mathematically pure but has a tendency to go nuts about nonconference results. In certain years it would put up to eight WCHA teams, some well below .500, into the field.]
Abandabuildings. It was no surprise to see literally every seat in the upper bowl in St. Louis empty. We wondered if a couple of friends had actually made the trip despite stern clucking about teaching the NCAA a lesson, and I said "if they did they'll be on TV because they'll be the only people there," and midway through the second there they were. Even the NCAA's comically generous numbers only show 55% capacity.
Every year we get sterile half-full buildings as teams get shipped halfway across the country and fans have to deal with the possibility they'll get on a plane to see their team play once, or if they're lucky play twice and make the Frozen Four and then you've blown your budget on regionals already. Insert usual rant about using home sites here.
The good news is the NCAA has not selected regional sites past next year. In the past sites have been selected three to four years out, so that's a clear sign this failed format is on its last legs. Last year there was a report out of Grand Forks that change was coming, with home sites and "super regionals" of an undetermined nature.
The bad news is that once again the CCHA has no regionals within hundreds of miles of it—the closest is in Green Bay as the St. Louis regional moves to St. Paul. At least Michigan's getting out of that rinky-dink operation, and as a bonus the failures of its commissioner* now directly benefit it.
*[Seriously, what has Anastos done since 1998 that a lump of quartz couldn't? The CCHA has gone nowhere, and has clearly become the region of the country that either gets screwed over by the committee or can't scrape together a bid that makes any more sense than having a regional in St. Louis.]
I am Jack's total lack of surprise. The crew doing the Yale-UMD game that chucked Yale's best player out of the game for a clean open-ice hit were from the CCHA. Yale's coach was infuriated enough afterwards to lead his presser with "the game was taken away from us." Yet more reason to be happy we're getting away from the league—hopefully most of the refs don't follow.
Via Boyz in the Pahokee as per usual.
Daily game story and gallery featuring a great shot of the Scooter(!!!) goal:
Everyone in the shot including Scooter is thinking "WTF?"
Yost Built recaps the game with gusto. Not so sure that "this is the year" since North Dakota is terrifying but Mark Burns is. Hunwick:
"I think they did have a few pretty good shots early on," Hunwick said. "But this is an opportunity to play for the Frozen Four. I think I made a couple good saves. It's pretty easy to stay in the game when you're playing to go to the Frozen Four. They didn't really get anything going too much until they got into the power play. Once they got into the power play, I really had to be sharp."
Seriously, that power play was terrifying. That first period five on three was awful.
Torrent of the CC game.
TVH Weekly: Visit Reactions from Chris Wormley, Kaleb Ringer and More
This past weekend was Michigan's junior day and by all accounts was a success. There were a ton of prospects in to watch practice and take part in a few tours. Here's a look at how a few of those recruits felt about the trip.
Chris Wormley
6'4", 255 lbs.
Defensive End
Toledo, Ohio
Wormley is one of the top ranked prospects in Ohio for 2012 and is also one of the main targets for the Michigan staff. He's been on campus before, but this was his first chance to see the new coaches in action.
My mom and dad were up there with me. We watched practice first, went to lunch, and then they took us on a tour of the locker room and everything. I noticed in practice that the coaches are real patient and there's not a lot of yelling. It definitely helped me get a better understanding of how they coach and how they work. This visit definitely helped Michigan.
Chris also got a chance to get some one on one time with Coach Montgomery and Mattison.
We were just talking about general stuff, just chit chat. They talked about the defense and that I would most likely be playing what they call the rusher position on the outside.
While Chris has been on campus before, this visit gave him a little bit of a better understanding for the program in general. He talked about the academics and when he wants to make his decision.
I think what stood out to me the most was how seriously they take the academics up there. The academics are first and football's second; I like that. My parents were having some good conversations too, so it was good. I either want to make my decision before the season starts or after. It will be too big of a distraction during the season. If I'm not 100% comfortable then I'll do it after the season.
Michigan has been high on Wormley's list for some time and the new coaching staff has made a definite impression on him and his family. It's a race now between Michigan and Ohio State for Wormley.
Kaleb Ringer
6'0", 220 lbs.
Clayton, Ohio
Ringer decided to make another trip up to Ann Arbor, and he has also decided on a date to make his final announcement.
I'll be making my announcement on April 15th at 6:00 [EST]. But yeah I was up there for a photo shoot with Tom Lemming and then I stayed for practice. When I got there Coach Hoke came up to me and hugged me. It was cool, but I didn't stay for the junior day. I just wanted to make sure I spoke with the staff before I left.
I then asked Kaleb if this visit let him see anything new or different from what he had already seen from the coaches and the University.
No, they have been real with me from day one. I was mostly checking out the linebackers to see how they play. They really stress physicality and I like that.
While he didn't necessarily see anything new while watching practice there was an aspect that he saw that stood out to him.
I saw a family on the football field, not just a team. You couldn't tell who the stars were on the team, everyone blended. I think they have accepted Coach Hoke's vision and bought into it, and so have I.
Ringer currently has offers from Michigan, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, and Toledo. Like he said, he will be making his announcement on April 15th. It's an announcement to tune in to.
Mario Ojemudia
6'3", 220 lbs.
Defensive End
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Mario made it up to Ann Arbor with his teammate TE Devin Funchess. They both took in practice as well.
We went to practice and talked to Coach Jackson and saw all the coaches. I had a long talk with Coach Hoke, too. He basically talked about what Michigan has to offer and the tradition there. I liked the visit more than I thought I would. I liked it more because of the coaches, they're just really easy to talk and get a long with. I didn't expect all that. We were all just talking about life a lot, especially with Coach Jackson.
The visit seemed to make an impression on Mario, and practice gave him a better view of how the Michigan coaches operate.
They said I would be a hybrid type. I could put my hand in the dirt or drop back into coverage. Watching practice I liked how it was ran. Everyone was hustling and it was 100%. I was basically trying to watch the ends and outside linebackers. After that Coach Singletary took me around by myself and gave me a tour. He was just telling me how Michigan is different.
Ojemudia is hoping to make his final decision before the season starts. He's going to wait until the summer to narrow down his list. He also told me that this visit definitely helped Michigan in his mind.
Wayne Morgan
5'11", 188 lbs.
Brooklyn, New York
Morgan is a prospect who hasn't been talked about too much yet. He already has offers from Alabama, Boston College, UConn, Maryland, Miami, Penn State, and now Michigan.
I sat down with Coach Hoke and he asked me if I think I have a scholarship from Michigan. I said no, and he said well you do.
Rutgers has a slight edge right now because of familiarity and how much he knows about their program. This visit was big for Michigan in that regard, and it gave him a better feel for what Michigan has to offer.
We went around the stadium, the weight room, and the academic center. Coach Mattison was showing me coverages that they run. I saw a lot and all my questions were answered. I basically wanted to know about academics and how I would stand in a school like that. The visit got me closer to the coaches, so that helped.
Besides the coaches, the Big House was an exciting part of the visit for Wayne.
Practice was good, it showed me how they coached. But it was great to be in the Big House. I've never been inside something like that, it just blows your mind to be in the Big House.
Morgan will take more visits and try to gain more comfortability with some of the other programs that have offered. He could end up being a key recruit because of his versatility. He could potentially try out at the corner or safety spot at the next level.
Michigan TE Ron Thompson (6'4", 210 lbs) might be announcing his decision this week. Michigan is in good position with Thompson.
If you missed it, here are the reactions from Michigan's first commitment Ben Braden, and another visitor in LB Joe Bolden.
Instate DE Matt Godin decided to head over to Michigan's practice after the Tom Lemming photo shoot as well. He told me that Michigan keeps moving up every time he goes there. He's still not sure when he wants to decide, but I have a feeling he's getting closer. He's likely to take a few more visits though.
Massachusetts LB Camren Williams committed to Penn State while on his visit. His teammate ATH Armani Reeves was also on the visit with him, but won't be making his decision until December. Michigan still has a chance with Reeves despite his teammate committing to PSU.
Dear Diary is Still Decimated (I of II)
DDIII, John T. Greilick/The Detroit News, MGoBlue
The Spring Roster has been updated again. It still doesn't list new weights so I'm not going to bother with Weight Gain 2011 for now, but it's excuse enough for me to do a little delving. First, a couple of tidbits:
- Jihad Rasheed!
- Ricardo Miller is listed as a TE (and 6'4, 215). As with all things Ricardo-related, please mentally insert "Ninja." Too early for YMRMFSPA Tim Massaquoi? Yes.
- There are still 12 scholarship players still listed at receiver.
- Mike Williams is no longer on the roster. As expected, the concussion last year ended a disappointing career for a by accounts good guy. I hope he finds success in life after football, and that his dreams aren't too haunted by visions of 11 foot tall robot Juice Williams.
- Safety watch: M-Rob, Furman, Hawthorne, Carvin, Prison Abs, and Kovacs are your scholarship players listed as "S."
- Heininger back on the 2-Deep: It's a good thing we're recruiting defensive ends. RVB and Roh are the only scholarship upperclassmen on the roster; Jibreel Black is the only other schollied-player listed. Wilkins, Talbott the Elder, and Ash are listed as DTs; Jake Ryan and Paskorz are LBs. Since Steve Watson is back at TE, at least one and most likely two of the freshmen Beyer, Rock or Heitzman will need to play this year. If Roh or RVB miss any extended time, file the transfer of Anthony LaLota as a greater-than-zero bad thing.
- Marell Evans is officially back and wearing his old No. 9. Evans was a 2- or 3-star linebacker recruit in Lloyd's "oh god we need LBs and DBs" class of 2007, and started a few games as a redshirt freshman in '08 in a Ray Vinopal-is-your-starting-FS kind of way before falling behind Thompson, Ezeh and Mouton. He transferred the summer before the 2009 season on "good terms" but left pointing out he had three DCs from '07-'09 and didn't fit with GERG's system. Marell rather quietly returned to the program this winter (not because Rich Rod's gone) and is listed as a 5th year senior.
Stray thoughts:
- Nobody minded the decision at the time, but in retrospect the decision to make Shafer the goat after '08 rather than butt out of the defense may have been the crucible of the RR era.
- Evans:In/Vinopal:Out could be a microcosm of the dichotomy between the RR and Hoke/Lloyd regimes: one early playing 2-star is a tiny speed bug; the other is a 6'3 sure tackler who can't move laterally. This would be a good lead for a "Hoke = Return to Pre-Rod" column…if you're Lynn Henning.
- Attrition on the defensive side is still going to be hurting M's defense this year.
- Did someone say "defensive attrition?"
- Here we go again…
The Decimated Defense Revisited
Yes, I'm going there again. We have two more years of data to see how things have progressed, for one. We have a wide disparity in expectations for next year's defense, for two. And three: I now know how to use pivot tables on Excel – that would have been really helpful last time. This week I'm going to go through Michigan's 2007-2011 classses to re-establish our baseline. I'll also link you to my full list of attrition and retention in case you can add any thoughts before next week.
The Expectation Tracker is an estimate of how much the class is contributing compared to the average of five other schools for which I tracked attrition: Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, Notre Dame, and Alabama. The baseline is the average number of defensive players left from that class between those five schools.
Class of 2007 (5th Year Seniors)
Attrition: 4/9 recruits remaining (Avg. retention = 4/10)
Position Breakdown (DL-LBs-DBs): 2-3-4 recruited / 1-2-1 remaining (Avg. = 1-1-2) So running count, we're up a linebacker and down a DB.
Star Breakdown: 4-3-3-2 remaining (Avg. = 4-4-4-2)
Gone: Donovan Warren (Early NFL after '09), Michael Williams (bust, injury, unrenewed 5th), Artis Chambers (transfer in '08), Renaldo Sagesse (Graduated after '10), Austin Panter (JUCO, Graduated after '08).
Remaining: Troy Woolfolk (Starting CB), Ryan Van Bergen (Starting DE), Brandon Herron (backup SLB), Marell Evans (backup LB)
Walk-On: Kevin Leach (backup MLB)
Discussion: I think you would expect the 5th year class to leave a few B+ guys with a few years of starting experience. The trueborn talent probably found their ways to the NFL, either through early entry or contributing since their true freshman seasons. The 2007 class, recruited from the tail end of the "Year of Infinite Pain" and through the undefeated-till-OSU 2006 season, leaves two such players on defense: Woolfolk and Van Bergen.
Warren was the surprise "horray" commit of the year. Van Bergen was a Zettel, i.e. a 4-star who would be the highest rated player of a typical State of Michigan crop. Michigan whiffed on a lot of top players, and the fallbacks were uninspiring or worse: UCLA and Oregon had backed off from Michael Williams, so there were some red flags around him long before Juice Williams shattered him. Chambers was a 2-star early enrollee who transferred Ball State and couldn't crack the two-deep.
Panter was a stop-gap JUCO for a scary-thin depth chart, Evans a low 3-star from Brandon Minor's school who saw the field a few times before losing his job to Mouton in 2008; he transferred to Hampton (FCS) and was eh before returning this year. Herron was a 3-star boom-or-bust from the Shawn Crable school of athletic DEs too small to play DE. Renaldo Sagesse was a 20-year-old Canadian. Troy Woolfolk was a legacy whom the big local Texas schools didn't offer.
So if you'd asked me to predict in 2007 what that class would leave for 2011, a B+ defensive back and a B+ lineman plus some depth guys would be on the low end but still within expectations. On the other hand, for a class recruited after an 11-2 Rose Bowl season, you would expect a bit more.
Expectation Meter: 3. Baseline 4. +1 for Woolfolk, –1 for Williams, –1 for recruiting whiffs at LB and not getting some backup CBs.
Class of 2008 (Seniors, RS Juniors)
Attrition: 4/8 recruits remaining (Avg. retention = 9/12) (!)
Position Breakdown (DL-LBs-DBs): 1-4-3 recruited / 1-2-1 remaining (Avg. = 3-3-3). Running: –2 DL, +0 LB, –3 DB
Star Breakdown: 4-4-4-3 (Avg. = 4-4-4-4-4-3-3-3-2)
Gone: Boubacar Cissoko (Dismissed in '09), Brandon Smith (Transfer in '09), Marcus Witherspoon (Did not qualify), Taylor Hill (transfer before '08)
Remaining: J.T. Floyd (Starting CB), Mike Martin (Starting DT/NT), J.B. Fitzgerald (Backup SLB, possible starter), Kenny Demens (Starting MLB)
Walk-On: Jordan Kovacs (Starting SS)
Discussion: The meat of a starting group ideally comes from the 4th and 3rd year ranks. To compete for a Big Ten title in '11, the '08 class would preferably contribute at least four starters, one or two of them NFL-bound stars. The hybrid Lloyd/RR class was mostly Carr's on defense; RR recruited Taylor Hill, who stepped on campus, presumably met the coeds, and took the first bus out of town. The rest were players recruited primarily by the old staff, even if some signed after an heir was announced. Bloggers clamored for more cornerbacks (and got the first wave of slot ninjas).
At points during the ensuing three years this class looked more and more like Mike Martin and disaster. The late emergence of Demens last year means we got at least one Big Ten player out of the four linebackers. Martin is fantastic, even when playing a position that doesn't best take advantage of his talents. Floyd seemed to regress before his injury in 2011, but at his best (see Ohio State 2009) he's a not-fast cornerback who survives on brains, effort and grit. When he's not his best, he misses open field tackles and gives up huge plays. Fitz will have the inside shot at the SAM linebacker position but was so bad at it last year he ended up rotating with Obi Ezeh. Cissoko's story is of the Kelly Baraka variety (kid with no prior problems who develops lots on campus) that nails any school every decade or so. Smith hung around then departed when it was clear the defense was going to be terrible until he was a senior (at which point he would have probably been really useful at the Will spot).
Expectation Meter: 3 - Guh. Baseline 9. –5 for attrition. +1 because Martin is a beast, –1 J.B. Fitz is underwhelming so far, –1 hey, while you're out there trying to convince Pryor that winning the Heisman is better than a free Corvette, could you maybe try and get us another cornerback?
Class of 2009 (Juniors, RS Sophomores)
Attrition: 6/10 recruits remaining + 2 pos. switches, so 8/10 (Avg. retention = 9/10)
Position Breakdown (DL-LBs-DBs): 3-3-4 recruited / 3-4-1 retained (Avg. = 3-3-3) Running: –2 DL, +1 LB, –5 DB (!) and (!) again!
Star Breakdown: 5-4-4-4-3-3-3-3 (Avg. = 5-4-4-4-3-3-3-3-2)
Gone: Justin Turner (transferred before '10), Vlad Emilien (transferred before '10), Anthony LaLota (transferred before '10), Adrian Witty (did not qualify)
Remaining: Will Campbell (Starting DT?), Craig Roh (Starting WDE), Mike Jones (Starting WLB?), Brandin Hawthorne (backup WLB), Isaiah Bell (backup SLB), Thomas Gordon (Backup S)
Moved from Offense: Cam Gordon (Starting WLB?), Quinton Washington (backup DT)
Discussion: The juniors are the guys expected to make the big leap close to their ultimate effectiveness. The class was kind of weak against previous Michigan classes, and really strong for teams that finish 3-9. Given this class was entirely recruited by Rodriguez's staff, the high attrition (40%) due to playing time (!), is really irksome. Two 4-star position switches add depth in the box, but three defensive back losses were not replaced. So the Class of '09 held serve on the d-line and got some linebackers, but ultimately contributed only "Prison Abs" to the secondary. Here you see the genesis of Secondary Disaster 2009-'10.
Turner, if you believe unsubstantiated rumor, turned out to be the cautionary tale of the kid who wanted to be Woodson, but without all that effort. Emilien had an injury that scared away Ohio State and made him look awful in two Spring Games, but board insiders claimed his speed was back. I have no idea if he would have helped; his own assessment was that Cam Gordon would hold down free safety for his entire Michigan career. LaLota was a project recruit who also looked bad in Spring. Witty was the DeVito twin to the Denard's Schwarzenegger, but raise your hand if you'd have taken a 2-star junior cornerback on this depth chart?
Among positives, position switcher (WR) Cam Gordon was epic bad at free safety but has the knack for hitting that could see him turn into a mean Will linebacker, which is where everyone expected him to end up, even during his recruitment. Q has come in for practice hype and wasn't awful at NT after a mid-season position switch from offensive guard. Roh is the kind of high-motor end that has been Iowa's secret weapon for years. Mike Jones was a 3-star S/OLB who generated some practice hype as an outside linebacker before losing the 2010 season to injury.
The 5-star is Big Will Campbell, who looked ineffective at NT, got moved to guard last year, and now is back to the DL as 3-tech. In a spring of precious little breakout player hype, Campbell probably leads the team in positive mentions (and leads the 3-tech battle), but that's also probably because Hoke is most often asked about the defense's lone blue chip in his break-or-bust offseason.
Thomas Gordon was somewhat effective though small at Spur, and is in the mix for free safety or backing up Kovacs. Isaiah Bell was a talented/raw DB in high school but outgrew safety and is rumored to have a bit of the Turner syndrome. Hawthorne is the opposite: his talent level is meh but he's a good roster guy and special teamer. If you think Campbell and Turner were overrated coming out of high school, there's a recruiting/scouting problem with this class; if you think it's due to bad luck or bad coaching there's plenty of that to go around. Anyway, unless maybe Roh pops this year there doesn't seem to be a star in the group. If you're looking for unsubstantiated hope for 2011, it's probably one of the low 4-star guys making that big leap, plus the standard "THIS time the new DC is going to fix all!" that we seem to get every year since Jim Hermann.
Expectation Meter: 3 - Double-Guh. Baseline 9: –1 for attrition. –4 because there are no starting DBs left. –2 Big Will disappointment thus far, +1 Roh=Crab People,*
* Giving a +1 Roh's dad is disingenuous to the mission of this exercise but don't think I didn't think of it.
Class of 2010 (Sophomores, RS Freshmen)
Attrition: 12/16 remaining (Avg. retention = 9/10)
Position Breakdown: 6-3-7 recruited / 4-2-6 retained (Avg. = 3-3-3) Running: –1 DL, +0 LB, –2 DB
Star Breakdwon: 4-4-4-4-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 (Avg. = 5-4-4-4-4-3-3-3-3-3-3)
Gone: Demar Dorsey (did not qualify), Davion Rogers (did not qualify), Antonio Kinard (did not qualify), Ray Vinopal (transfer to Pitt)
Remaining: Cullen Christian (nickel CB), Marvin Robinson (Starting FS?), Ken Wilkens (Backup DT), Richard Ash (Backup DT), Carvin Johnson (Starting FS?), Jibreel Black (Backup SDE), Terry Talbott (Backup DT), Josh Furman (Backup S/Starting FS?), Courtney Avery (Starting CB?), Jordan Paskorz (Backup LB), Jake Ryan (LB), Terrence Talbott (Backup CB)
Discussion: By 2010 it was finally obvious to the coaching staff that warm bodies were needed at defensive back, and warm bodies were attained. This is consequently the first class where Michigan didn't match its rivals in recruiting quality; the result going into their sophomore season is two more 3-stars on the roster instead of a 5-star. The desperate staff, which by this point was recruiting with a few clouds overhead, also perhaps relaxed academic expectations, resulting in three DNQs.
The players still around are too young to grade: you'd expect a typical 4-star who eventually ends-up-being-RVB kind of guy to get some rotational playing time, but you wouldn't expect that guy to be a starter without some growing pains along way. Because of the Decimated Defense (TM) that went before them, a lot of this class got playing time when by all rights they should have been redshirting, giving us a peek at their respective abilities. However, I'm wary of judging too harshly for play by true freshmen thrown into a bad situation. Of those who changed opinions, I think M-Rob downgraded a bit from high expectations, Cullen was much worse than a 4-star cornerback should be even as a freshman, Black flashed ability as a pass rusher (caveat: major liability size-wise vs. run) and Avery didn't look like the next Leon Hall but sure looked a lot better than you'd expect of a 3-star fall arrival who was a high school QB. Conversely, Terrence Talbott looked exactly like a 3-star true freshman cornerback should look.
Expectation Meter: 11! Baseline 9: +3 for Dudes! –2 for low-rated recruits. –1 M-Rob did not play like a guy with 5-star offers, +1 Carvin Johnson showed promise, +1 Jibreel Black too, +1 Courtney Avery, –1 Cullen.
Class of 2011 (True Freshmen)
Attrition: 12/12 remaining (Avg. retention = 11/11)
Position Breakdown: 3-4-5 / 3-4-5 (Avg. 5-3-3) Running: –3 DL, +0 LB, –1 DB
Star Breakdown: 4-4-4-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 (Avg. = 5-4-4-4-4-3-3-3-3-3-3)
Gone: Nobody – it's been two months; what do you think this is, 2008 through 2010?
Remaining: Greg Brown (CB), Raymon Taylor (CB), Blake Countess (CB), Delonte Hollowell (CB), Tamani Carter (S), Brennan Beyer (DE), Chris Rock (DE), Keith Heitzman (DE), Kellen Jones (LB), Antonio Poole (LB), Frank Clark (LB), Desmond Morgan (LB)
Discussion: With the world waiting for the axe to fall on RR, and no coach until mid-January, this class was a sunk cost. There's a few low 4-stars but if any of them end up contributing this year, that guy was either very underrated (YAY!) or something has gone horribly, Cone-is-your-starting-QB wrong (again). Since only Brown is on campus so far, there's zero rating. Michigan made up some ground on personnel with this class, but it's even less highly rated than 2010, on par with a good year for Michigan State and an NCAA infraction at other schools. This is the direct result of "The Process," specifically the part about waiting until Winter Semester of their senior years to tell prospective recruits who their coaches will be. No 5-stars, and short a 4-star as well next to comparable teams, but that's somewhat made up for by four more 3-stars than normal.
Defensive line and defensive back are still priorities to recruit beyond normal this year (if you're a DE in Ohio and you haven't received your Michigan offer yet, please contact us). The next step is lots of quality, since the last two classes really should only be expected to do a good job of producing depth and a few upperclassmen starters.
Expectation Meter: 8 Baseline 11: +1 for Dudes!, –4 for low-rated recruits.
Need the dudes: Scout via Maize&Blog
Attrition Total: 40/57 = 70.17% of D recruits still here
I mean: Horray, we're over 10 clicks higher than the Alabama-like losses that haunted 2009 and 2010. Then again, what did we lose?
Star Breakdown Total:
- 5 Stars: 1/2
- 4 Stars: 14/23
- 3 Stars: 24/29
- 2 Stars: 2/3
Gawddammit! M retention versus the field:
- 5 Stars: 1/2
- 4 Stars: 14/17
- 3 Stars: 24/20
- 2 Stars: 2/2
The damage doesn't look as bad from out here.
Position Breakdown Total: 14 DL, 12 LB, 14 DB (Avg. = 17-12-13)
Why more DL and DB? The way I handled transitions to offense is to simply pull guys out (so you don't gain or lose from it) and more DLs ended up as offensive players. Converse: more are recruited. At defensive back, there seems to be, in general, a greater attrition rate for DBs across schools. No idea why this is.
Next week I'll get into the direct comparisons and play the blame game. For now, feel free to check my work.
Diaries of Darius and Decimation
Melanie R. Maxwell/AnnArbor.com
It's Darius Morris week in the diaries while Darius decides whether he's worthy of this year's NBA draft. While Morris explores, let's talk about how much better he makes Michigan.
Raoul has been active in threads discussion DM and decided to try using a simple WSJ formula to show that Morris is actually the key to Michigan's offense:
His 201 field goals and 235 assists mean Morris was involved in 436 of the team's field goals--or 51.5% of the 847 total.
By comparison:
- [Rumeal] Robinson in 88-89 was involved in 432 of his team's field goals (199 FGs + 233 assists), or 32.6% of the team total
- [Gary] Grant in 87-88 was involved in 503 of his team's field goals (269 FGs + 234 assists), or 42% of the team total
This stat raises the Morris quotient in my hoops heart to 31.4% It's low, but I've got a Hardaway man-crush, and gotta save some for the bench.
Say Soyonara to Da U.P. eh
Meanwhile mfan_in_ohio scooped all of us in Michigan media by breaking the news that U.P. may be sayin' ya to da Cheese State eh?
Upper Peninsula can't be sure it's staying in Michigan
The Upper Peninsula said all the right things.
It said it would "definitely" be back next year. After all, it is geologically attached where it is, and already has the Mackinac Bridge connecting it to the rest of Michigan.
But the UP will investigate other options.
The piece, which I bumped from the boards took a shot at the Freep's Mark Snyder for (at the time) jumping the gun with Morris-to-NBA speculation minus, you know, evidence.
The Schwartz is With Him
In Things Not Morris, denverblue put together an extensive (and mostly correct) puck preview of Colorado College, right before Michigan beat the Tigers to advance to the Frozen Four. Since I can't tell the difference between Denver and North Dakota (they've played each other tight all season), I'm down for rooting for Denver if it means I get another write-up like this Diary of the Week.
Merrill Muppets
Complete domination obscured by thousands of horrible pinging sounds and late-game terror until the world's dumbest penalty, and then more late game semi-terror, resulting in awe at a guy who doesn't show up on the scoresheet at all. JMFM. Definitely best freshman defenseman I've ever seen. Possible additional superlatives might be warranted. Muppets.
And you can't have one without the other…
Quick, everyone look up transport to St. Paul.


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Data Released: 2016
Cast: Adam Archuleta, Gino Mosca, Claude Sorel, Kevin Warhol, Jean-Luc Bisset, Miguel Estevez, Raphael Nyon, Nino Valens.
Molded after the very popular Personal Trainers series, Freshmen 3 (The Hungarian Edition) is the latest title from BelAmi. Meet 3 of our newest guys as they undertake both a solo and hardcore performance. In this DVD we feature newcomers Jean-Bisset, Nino Valens, and Raphael Nyon.

subset: commoncrawl


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What They Didn't Tell You About Doomsday
Unique Noises
Lorelai Smith sorted papers on her desk. She wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing. She was thinking. All of them, gone. Suddenly, she shot up from her chair and pressed her face against the cool glass of her office window. A noise had caught her attention. It couldn't be, could it? Of course it was, there were no other noises like that.
"How dare that...murderer think that he can show his face around here! I know Jack says that he's a good man really but I can't forgive him, he should be left to rot! He killed them all! If it wasn't for him..." she faltered. "He lost her though," she thought.
The Doctor hopped out of the TARDIS. He wanted to appear as if everything was fine but it wasn't, Martha was gone now, he was alone again. The curse of the Time Lords haunted his every step. Then he saw it, looming over the City, the newly reconstructed Torchwood Tower. "I can't." he thought, "it wouldn't help, and anyway, Torchwood isn't there anymore." But slowly, he began to take unwitting steps towards the building where he had lost the love of his life. Rose.
Captain Jack Harkness stared in disbelief at his newest member of staff. "You know, it could be wishful thinking, you've wanted revenge on the Doctor for a long time now, are you sure you heard the TARDIS, Rory?"
Lorelai looked pointedly at him. "Do you really think that after all that time, ever since they rescued me from the wreck that was this building and told me that my family and my fiancé were all dead, that I wouldn't want to know why? I've dreamt of that sound every night for three whole years, I know what it sounds like, Jack."
"I don't doubt that but I don't want you rushing down there and screaming your head off at him, he's an old friend of mine. You don't want to lose your job in your first week do you?"
Just then, the automatic doors opened to reveal a smiling face, "Jack! Good to see you! Ah, I see you're back to your old flirting regime then" said the Doctor wryly, looking at Lorelai with interest.
"As a matter of fact, I was in the middle of a meeting, Doctor."
The window smashed to reveal a silhouetted figure…
"But, you're all dead! Why do I lose everything whilst you survive!?"
"What is it?" asked Lorelai quietly.


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Sony Ericsson W710i Review
Sony Ericsson w710i is a nice and solid phone, equipped with rubber details.
Really a great place for a sporty person. There is a fitness program that works with calories counter / pedometer and fitness plan. The walkman feature is a toppertje, sound is very full and loud. You can join him at Speakers included and you can him by a special belt around your upper arm / wrist or hip carry! Great sports phone.
It is not an easy phone to use. The menu is hard! There is no clear button to start calling (green horn is not) and the red button is gone. It is not as easy to navigate. A top phone use but you must have patience for that. Another negative point is the option for ring tones. There is not much and what state is actually not much.
This unit of the line Walkman is ideal for the practice of sports and attracts everyone with its beauty. The various resources are also strengths of the W710i.


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WWE Survivor Series 1987 Trailer (1987)
26 November 1987 Action 180 mins
Survivor Series (1987) was the first Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1987 and was held at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. The main event was a Survivor Series match where André the Giant's team defeated Hulk Hogan's team when André eliminated Hogan's team member Bam Bam Bigelow to become the first lone survivor in the history of the Survivor Series. The entire undercard featured Survivor Series matches which included Randy Savage's team defeating The Honky Tonk Man's team and The Fabulous Moolah's team defeating Sensational Sherri's team. The event also featured a 10 tag team elimination match in which Strike Force and their teammates defeated The Hart Foundation's team.
Watch the official WWE Survivor Series 1987 1987 trailer in HD below or find more WWE Survivor Series 1987 videos on Vidimovie.


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In a Congress where making news for something other than policy can spell political doom, attention repeatedly veered toward Rep. Aaron Schock's chiseled torso.
"Illinois Congressman Is Schockingly Hot," TMZ reported in 2009, following the boyish Schock's election to the House of Representatives as a Republican from a district including Peoria. When a poolside photo of a shirtless Schock emerged shortly after his election, TMZ was at it again: "The gentleman with the steel midsection from Illinois has the floor."
But there was not much scandal to go along with this kind of extracurricular scrutiny--at least not back then--and in fact, Schock welcomed it.
"First, you've got to get their attention," Schock said in 2009, reflecting on the peculiar notice he'd attracted. "Step 1 in getting anyone's vote is getting their attention."
Depending on whose generational strictures you follow, Schock, born in 1981, was the first millennial to get elected to Congress, yet his congressional career has now imploded in truly traditional Washington fashion: because of money.
On Tuesday, following intense scrutiny over his finances after he remodeled his House office a la "Downton Abbey," Schock, 33, announced he would quit Congress at the end of March.
"The constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself," Schock said in a statement.
Schock, the first member of Congress born in the 1980s, had always been more than mere tabloid bait (although he was anointed "America's fittest congressman" in 2011 by Men's Health, which pictured him shirtless on the magazine's cover).
For every election since 2008, Schock has crushed Democratic challengers at an increasingly dominant pace, winning his first race with 59% of the vote, and winning his most recent, in November, with 75%.
Shortly after Schock first arrived in Congress at the age of 27, Eric Cantor, then the House whip, named Schock a deputy whip, adding, "In only a few short months in Washington, he has already established himself as a leader."
When he steps down, he will abandon his membership in three congressional committees, including the important House Ways and Means Committee.
"It seemed like he was going to be a new, younger face in the political scene, and it was disappointing to see," said Angela Loring, 38, a teacher interviewed outside a Peoria grocery store in his congressional district, of Schock's resignation.
Schock defined himself as that new, younger face with a well-documented lifestyle. He piled up more than 18,000 followers on Instagram, where he posted photos of himself skiing, surfing and at concerts.
He also attracted the skeptical eye of the LGBT media, which ginned up a noisy ecosystem of doubt about the bachelor congressman's sexuality with popular stories such as, "The 7 gayest Aaron Schock Instagram posts of 2013." Schock has said he is straight.
His downward spiral began when a Washington Post reporter noticed that Schock had a natty office loaded with antiques and pheasant feathers--a setup inspired by the TV drama "Downton Abbey"-- prompting a minor PR freakout by Schock's staffers.
"You've got a member [of Congress] willing to talk to you about other things," Schock's communications director, Benjamin Cole, said as he tried to persuade the Post not to run the story. "Why sour it by rushing to write some gossipy piece?"
That piece led other outlets and ethics watchdog groups to scrutinize Schock's spending practices. After the Post piece, the designer who did the "Downton" makeover, Tracy "Annie" Brahler, gave back the $35,000 that she'd been paid from Schock's congressional expense account for the job, according to USA Today. Schock then paid Brahler $40,000 out of his own pocket for the work.
Further investigations raised questions about Schock's financial disclosures and practices, particularly his use of private air charters.
The Associated Press found that Schock had spent at least $40,000 in taxpayer and campaign funds on at least a dozen flights on planes owned by key donors. The AP reported that the flights paid for by taxpayer funds may have violated House expenditure rules.
Then a Politico investigation found that Schock had billed the government and his campaign for reimbursements for 170,000 miles of travel on his personal car, a Chevy Tahoe -- which had only 80,000 miles on the odometer when he sold it in July. The congressman announced his resignation less than 12 hours after he was confronted with the discrepancy.
A spokesman told Politico, "In an effort to remove any questions and out of an abundance of caution, Congressman Schock has reimbursed all monies received for official mileage since his election to Congress."
In recent weeks, Schock has not spoken at length about questions surrounding his financial expenditures. In February and March, his office appeared to be issuing the same statement to inquiring reporters: "After questions were first raised in the press, Congressman Schock took the proactive step of assembling a team to review the compliance procedures in his official office, campaign and leadership PAC to determine whether they can be improved."
But at a March 6 news conference back in Peoria, before the storm waves had subsumed him, Schock acknowledged that perhaps his most notable asset--his image--had become a liability.
"I know that when I take a trip, and I post photos online, it can create the misimpression of being out of touch, or an image that is not worthy of my constituents," Schock said then. "I have tried to balance being a young congressman and doing things differently and more open with maintaining a level of seriousness on the issues of the day."
Schock added, "I know some days I have failed at this."
The Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.
Follow @MattDPearce for national news


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Mimosa Coffee Cake
If you like it, save it!
Save and organize all of the stuff you love in one place.Got it!
If you like something…
Click the heart, it's called favoriting. Favorite the stuff you like.Got it!
Author Notes: This coffee cake is inspired by the quintessential brunch cocktail, the mimosa. The cake is bursting with orange flavor, thanks to a trifecta of orange zest, orange juice, and orange extract, with just a hint of cinnamon. The champagne flavor is much subtler, but the champagne's fizziness renders the cake delightfully light and spongy. —CakePants
Serves 8-10
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter or dairy-free margarine
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (light is fine)
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- zest from 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons orange juice (about 1/2 orange)
- 6 tablespoons champagne
Topping and Icing
- 4 tablespoons butter or dairy-free margarine, melted
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons champagne
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
- Prepare the topping: in a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (1/2 cup flour, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon). Pour in the 4 tablespoons of melted butter/margarine and mix with a fork until all the dry ingredients are coated and small clusters form. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients for the cake: flour, baking, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each one. Add the mayonnaise, orange extract, orange zest, and orange juice to the margarine/sugar/eggs mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients. Pour in the champagne and fold gently (by hand) until just combined.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared springform pan. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Prepare the icing: mix together the powdered sugar and champagne until smooth. Stir in the orange zest. Drizzle over the cake, once the cake has cooled slightly.
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Mash-Up Recipe
More Great Recipes:
Breakfast & Brunch|Cakes|Desserts


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Build a Healthy, Happy, Stress-Free Family with the Unconventional Parenting Kit
Feed your Family & your Soul with Healthy Food you Grow with Organic Life Guru
These programs are here to help you build a healthy happy family. Some things you will discover here are controversial to some people. The material here is for parents who are OK with challenging many common accepted parenting practices on their personal parenting journeys. Click Here to contact Chris if you have any questions.


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You are here: Articles » Music and Concerts » Coffee Break Concerts February/March 2017
The final Coffee Break Concert of this series is Saturday 4th March.
4th March Yulia Nortridzh, violin with Neil & Jane Millensted, piano
The concert starts at 11am and lasts for one hour
Coffee & biscuits are available from 10.15
Admission by donation
The next series will be June 2017 - set the date in your diaries now
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The circumstances behind Oliver Pareece Jones' disappearance weren't adding up.
A private investigator hired by his family had found that the divorced father and successful entrepreneur — last seen in Rancho Cucamonga — had gotten into a fight, fled a hospital and hung out with transients.
"This is a guy who never disappeared or walked off or played games with his family. He called his little girls every night since the divorce," investigator Paul Huebl said this week. "Something was not right."
So when Jones called his family last weekend from Mazatlán, Mexico, no one was more surprised than Huebl.
"When I evaluated this in the beginning, (the case) was as dark and grim as any. So when we got a happy ending it was a surprise to say the least," he said. "The family was prepared for the worst."
Jones' sister flew to Mazatlán and brought him back.
He came through the Border Patrol station in New Mexico, San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said in a news release. Officers there contacted local authorities to have Jones removed from a list of missing persons.
On Monday, a Rancho Cucamonga detective spoke to New Mexico authorities "and was informed that Oliver Jones looked healthy, clean and decently dressed," the sheriff's news release said. "However, Oliver told authorities he was beat up in Mazatlán and despite his amnesia, knew he had been missing for an exact number of 64 days."
Huebl acknowledged that why Jones disappeared and how he ended up so far away remains a mystery.
"There's still more questions than answers," the investigator said.
On April 4, sheriff's officials say, Jones – a 37-year-old father of five from Colorado – drove from Las Vegas to Southern California with his cousin Travis Jones. They planned to attend a business meeting in San Francisco.
Oliver Jones ended up at the Plaza club in Beverly Hills, Huebl said. As he left, five men attacked him.
He ended up in a hospital with a concussion, Huebl said. Against the medical staff's recommendation, he left before they finished treating his injuries.
He and his cousin planned to head back to Las Vegas, and stopped for dinner at a Rancho Cucamonga Claim Jumper, sheriff's officials said in a news a news release. But after dinner, Jones refused to get into the car with his cousin and walked off.
He checked himself into the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Rancho Cucamonga and spent the night, Huebl said.
Oliver was last seen April 5 at a Rancho Cucamonga Walmart, where surveillance video captured him buying what appeared to be camping supplies.
Those supplies — two sleeping bags, an electric shaving kit, a low-end cellphone and other personal items — ended up in the hands of transients, who told Huebl that Jones gave them the items as a gift after spending a day with them.
Also April 5, Jones called his sister Leah Madrid in El Paso, Texas, and asked her to come get him, sheriff's officials say.
Madrid drove to the Rancho Cucamonga Walmart, where she learned from transients and the store's security office that her brother had been asked to leave the premises after seeking money for a bus ticket.
She reported him missing April 9.
And after exhausting all possible leads — and utilizing a K9 unit and aerial searches — the search was stopped April 17.


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RedLine Garagegear Adds New Businesses to Agent Network
In January 2013 RedLine Garagegear hosted one of its largest training classess to date. Six businesses from the United States and Canada met at the manufacturer's training facilities in South Beloit, IL on January 21 and 22. Trainess got a chance to tour our manufacturing facilities, meet with our staff, and get lots of experience working in the comprehensive 3D design software they will use to create garage storage system layouts for customers. Money Magazine published a story about our first training class of 2013 on their website.
Our goal at the completion of every training session is to send the new agents back to their local area ready to promote, design, sell, and install our products right away. If you own a home organization business or are interested in starting a business in the booming garage organization market consider an opportunity with RedLine Garagegear. Our dealer agreements are designed specifically to provide maximum benefit to our local agents. New dealers are given an exclusive territory and there are no exorbiant, up-front franchise fees.
To learn more about the newest batch of freshly minted RedLine Garagegear agents check out the article from Money Magazine by clicking the link to the PDF below.


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Homes in Hilton Head
Homes in Bluffton
Hilton Head Villas
Bluffton Townhomes
Hilton Head Lots for sale
Bluffton Lots for sale
Foreclosures in Hilton Head
Foreclosures in Bluffton
Hilton Head Short Sales
Bluffton Short Sales
Oversized ocean-oriented lot. Close to the beach - 7th Row. A great building site. Port Royal has a great amenity package: pool, beach club, tennis, gardens, 24 hr security. No short term rentals. Lot has 4 corners staked out.
Listing presented as a courtesy of Charter One Realty.


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Texas High Court Takes $10M Carbon-Injection Royalty Fight
The court will hear oral arguments Feb. 5 in the suit brought by a group of royalty owners from the Cogdell Canyon Reef Unit oil field. The plaintiffs claim they were underpaid because Occidental charged them for production services performed by a Kinder...
To view the full article, register now.
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I'm interrupting my stream of Christmas projects to bring you a cute baby card! I had the joy this weekend of attending a baby shower, so of course I had to create a special card. I used the sweet Moon Baby stamp set, found on page 106 of the Annual […] Read more »
Assorted Cards Sharing
Welcome back, stamping friend! I'm back with assorted cards sharing; the rest of the cards from my Chicks & Chocolate card class last weekend; you can see more details about the class in yesterday's post. As not everyone needs a Mother's Day card, or multiples of them, I like to […] Read more »
INKcredibly Creative Crew
Hi there, stamping friend! I hope you're enjoying your Friday – or whatever day it is, when you happen to be reading this 🙂 Last night was my first team meeting of 2017, and it was great to have all of my team members there! We're only a small group, […] Read more »
Brides & Babies card class fun!
Hello stamping friends! Last evening was another fun gathering for my Brides & Babies class, where the focus was on making cards for new couples and babies (sometimes they even follow one another! 😉 ) I always look forward to the classes that I hold; yes, the focus is on […] Read more »
Card Classes = Fun with Friends
Hello Stamping Friends! I hope you've enjoyed your weekend; it's been a very hot one, here! Actually, the whole past week has been quite hot and muggy – Vancouver is known for it's humidity – and the upcoming week will be more of the same! So, that's about it for […] Read more »
It's a Boy!
No, no – I didn't have another baby! (gosh, no!) A friend of ours had their first baby last weekend; a baby boy! Having 2 boys myself, I'm very excited for them – of course I would be if it were a girl, as well! Anyway, along with a little […] Read more »


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Cruisin Grand's annual kickoff show and fundraiser.
A misty morning for sure. Thanks to the owners whom shared their rides!
Arrived at 6:30 but by 9:30 it was a heavy drizzle.
I couldn't keep the lens dry. I left!
I'm sure the beautiful cars on display today are gonna need some
serious cleaning...
OK to share images with link to this page.
Thanks for respecting Copyright!


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You wouldn't believe how many songs Dave (A.K.A. Misung) Stevenson has written and in the past few years, and he has posted most of them on this site for free. But digging through the blog to find all the free tracks could take some time. Although that's really the only way to get the back story behind the tracks, you can also go straight to the source and download tracks from this site from this link:
Which you can access at any time by clicking the link "All the songs from this Blog in one place" on the left of this web page.
Also, Check out this painting I found a photo of. It's Dave, as depicted by Original Ottomen Drummer George Garcia


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I would have to say mine is Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, or Civilization.
Most Helpful Girl
I have a soft spot for Harvest Moon or Pokemon, but Civilisation is probably my favourite too :) Portal is also pretty great.31|20|0
Harvest moon! :D
- Show AllShow Less
I think that pretty much everyone has like this little place in their heart for Harvest Moon, it's so cute! Plus, Pokemon is always a favourite.
Harvest Moon is so cute :) Especially when you get to choose a husband/wife and have a family :)
Most Helpful Guy
I don't have a favorite one of all time, I just like the strategy games better. I played very much games like the Total War series and recently I played a lot Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis series.10|10|0
I love Crusader Kings 2
- Show AllShow Less
Around 100 years
You can still conquer many territories then


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Jacob Vandever is a former political candidate, activist, and amateur writer and commentator. Jacob was born and raised in Umatilla, Oregon on the East side of the State. Jacob got involved in politics early on serving as the student representative to the Umatilla City Council for his Senior Project.
Vandever graduated high school in 2010 and moved to Corvallis to get his degree in Political Science at Oregon State University. At OSU Jacob helped to re-found Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity on campus and went on to serve the fraternity in several different officer positions.
Jacob joined the OSU College Republicans and was actively involved in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles on different campaigns. Jacob was the President of the club for the 2012 Presidential Election.
In 2014 Jacob was the Republican Candidates for the Oregon State Legislature for House District 16 representing Corvallis and Philomath.
Thank you for visiting JacobVandever.com!


text: My daughter lives in another state. She has 4 children, boy 9, girl 7, twin boys 4. The twins start kindergarten next week. I have gone to her home and helped in different years and stayed 3 mons, 9 mons, 10 mons, 6 mons! She has her hands full, the grandfather lives there on the dad's side - it is a large new home. She has to help with all their homework when they get home. Last night she came home from an aftn birthday party with the kids and both kitchen sinks were overflowing with pots and pans, the husband will not ever lift a finger to anything and gets mad if the home is too messy. My problem is that when I go there and daily clean the entire home, dishes and kitchen and keep things picked up all during the day, then she will sit down at the computer most ALL the entire day (on Moms Clubs chats on Facebook). Once last time I was there, seeing she hadn't done anything or picked up one thing in 3 full weeks, I said to her that I came there to HELP her and not to DO ALL her work for her, I didn't come to be a housekeeper, I came to merely "help/assist" her. About 4 times in 6 mons she'll get sarcastic for no reason, and I tell her that she doesn't talk to her friends that way, why me? And she replies that it's because I'm her mom. I've been away (1200 miles) for 9 mons now and because school is starting in 2 weeks, she wants me there again because she is totally overwhelmed, totally. I love being there, absolutely love it because I love each of the kids so, so, so much! I just do not like the fact that I work so hard from 6 a.m. to 7 pm every single day and don't get a single bit of help from my daughter. She picks the kids up from school, takes them to activities every day, faithfully helps them each with their homework - so she is good with the kids in those things. She also makes the meals in the evening for the family. I miss my grandchildren so very much, horribly much, but if I go there again, like she wants me to immediately, I'm afraid I will just be a housekeeper all day long, every day, not even having time to brush my teeth many days until evening. I put the kids to bed at 8:30 but now she has the twins in kindergarten so there's 2 more kids that HAVE to go to bed early. It's hard for her to control all 4 at one time. Forget the husband and grandfather, they will not lift a single finger to anything, EVER. Should I go and help her out for a while and see if she refrains from ALL housekeeping and picking up after herself, and if she doesn't help, just leave?? She really needs help badly - I know, I've taken care of all 4 kids at once and it's hard to totally care for them, the house, the meals, by yourself. I've laid down the rules for her before and when I get there, she gets totally lazy again and doesn't help me at ALL. WHAT SHOULD I DO??


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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov always finds the most diplomatic ways to point out Washington's innumerable international crimes.
During a discussion with Russian military officers last week in Moscow, Lavrov pointed to Afghanistan as an example of Washington's longstanding policy of "managed chaos" in the Middle East.
In the process, he also blew the whistle on NATO's extremely high tolerance for drug trafficking:
The US operation against the Taliban and al-Qaeda was supported by all countries. It's another matter that after receiving the international approval, the United States and its NATO allies, which took over in Afghanistan, started acting rather inconsistently, to put it mildly. During their operation in Afghanistan, the terrorist threat has not been rooted out, while the drug threat has increased many times over. The drug industry prospered. There is factual evidence that some of the NATO contingents in Afghanistan turned a blind eye to the illegal drug trafficking, even if they were not directly involved in these criminal schemes. Afghanistan is a separate case, although the current developments there, which are a result of the NATO operation's failure, despite the carte blanche the bloc received from the international community, can be considered an unintended cause of managed chaos. In Iraq, Syria and Libya, this chaos was created intentionally.
Lavrov is being too gentle.
As Wired magazine reported back in 2013, current U.S. policy in Afghanistan is to allow poppy fields to grow — and prevent Afghan forces from destroying them. You can't make this stuff up:
[U.S. soldiers are] not allowed to actually step foot in [the Afghan farmer's] many acres of poppy fields or damage the fields in any way.
They can't even threaten to destroy the fields or send in Afghan troops to burn, plow under or poison the delicate, pastel-colored flowers.
Watch Lavrov "diplomatically" blow the whistle on this insane racket:
— Video


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(Presseportal openBroadcast) - seolabservicex1350
Germany - Taleb Al Abdulmohsen is Saudi Arabian presently in Germany who has gone public with his views on Islam. Now an Ex-Muslim, Taleb has launched a reformist campaign starting with a book named Creative Refutation of Islam. The Indigogo crowdfunding campaign has already been launched and supporters of his cause have started making contributions. While the initial reactions from his friends and colleague have not been favorable, Taleb has all intentions of going ahead with the campaign.
Taleb has debated and discussed the fundamental concepts of Islam for long and has finally come out with a formula that he believes is sure to appeal to one out of 10 Muslims. As a result, someone has spoken of analyzing the geographic dimension of Arabic Islam perhaps for the first time. Supporting Kant, he has prescribed the need for Arabs to go beyond laziness and cowardice and enter the lane of critical thinking. Even after that you are not completely safe, adds the doctor. Once in the reasoning lane, you will have to persistently avoid misleading arguments.
Through his principles, reasoning and critical thinking, the doctor has finally got his stand right: I am sincerely led to believe that Islam did not originate from a divine origin and its existence is subject to absolute reform or total shutdown. He has also expressed his concerns on the overall validity of Islam that is taught to students in classes and by parents. He says: You will notice that most Muslims do not have a great range of critical arguments and become speechless by the end of such debates.
Dr Al Abdulmohsens efforts are also geared toward a greater cause of giving room to freethinkers in Islam. As he puts it himself: I cannot afford to say what I am saying in Saudi Arabia. We have had too many executions already. Unless people are willing to give space to free thought and speech, Islam will continue to be a flawed doctrine. This is the basic change that I want to see.
About the Company
Taleb Al Abdulmohsen is creating an academy of Ex-Muslims dedicated expressly toward the refutation of Islam. The academy is based on refuting Islam with Arabic-style arguments. Talebs first book is titled Creative Refutation of Islam.
Dr Taleb Al Abdulmohsen can be contacted on Twitter
The crowdfunding campaign can be supported at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/creative-refutation-of-islam--4#/
Ex-Muslims Academy can be supported at https://www.generosity.com/faith-religion-fundraising/ex-muslim-academy
Contact Name: Taleb Al Abdulmohsen
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website URL: http://igg.me/at/exmuslim
Saudi Arabian Ex-Muslim Launches Fundraising Campaign for Reforming Islam
Veröffentlicht von: SEO Wizrad
Veröffentlicht am: 15.04.2016 13:06
Rubrik: Handel & Wirtschaft
Veröffentlicht am: 15.04.2016 13:06
Rubrik: Handel & Wirtschaft
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NATO seeks Afghan accord as it looks for new role
NATO foreign ministers were on Tuesday set to try to nail down an accord with Kabul on the alliance`s new role in Afghanistan as pressing problems in Ukraine, Syria and beyond all call for attention.
Brussels: NATO foreign ministers were on Tuesday set to try to nail down an accord with Kabul on the alliance`s new role in Afghanistan as pressing problems in Ukraine, Syria and beyond all call for attention.
The immediate issue is NATO`s planned training and advisory mission in Afghanistan after it ends its biggest ever combat operation there next year, clearing the decks for leaders to set a new course for the alliance at a summit in late 2014.
NATO`s active military role since the early 1990s, from the Balkans to Afghanistan and Libya, safeguarding gains in inter-operability and capability at a time when defence budgets are under strain.
The aim is a NATO which remains relevant and effective in a changing world where the challenges are as much military as political and economic, threatening to boil over into conflict and social upheaval.
"We have got to ensure that we sustain NATO`s military edge," a senior US official said.
"In the context of extreme budgetary constraints... It is incumbent on us all to do more with (the money) that we have."
The 28 allies, plus NATO`s partners and sometimes adversaries such as Russia, will review issues such as how to destroy Syria`s chemical weapons arsenal.
Missile defence, a hugely sensitive issue for Moscow, is on the agenda given US and European concerns of a threat from Iran despite the recent signing of an initial deal on its contested nuclear programme.
Relations with Ukraine and Georgia provide another difficult issue for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart Secretary of State John Kerry as NATO seeks to maintain and boost ties with former Soviet states.
Continued and growing protests in Ukraine after the government ditched a planned association accord with the EU are likely to test ties.
Following the NATO meeting, Kerry will travel to Moldova which did sign up with Brussels last week despite intense Russian pressure not to.
"We are making this brief stop to demonstrate US support for the important choice that Moldova made," the US official said.


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Recipe: Bruschetta
A classic antipasto italiano–Italian Appetizer–is bruschetta, pronounced with a short "u" as in "brush" and a hard "ch" sound like a "k" as in "basket". Many Americans incorrectly use a long "u" and a soft "shh" sound, and while this is acceptable in most English speaking countries, I like to use the authentic Italian version, complete with rolling R's and gusto.
Now that we've got the pronunciation stuff out of the way, let's move on to the dish itself. I recently hosted another birthday dinner for friends Joy, Joanna, Heari, and Teresa. Their birthdays stretched way back from February and into the future to May; everyone's lives had just been too busy for us to coordinate dates. But finally, during a recent Saturday evening, we found ourselves seated around my farmhouse table sharing a meal together.
I decided to go with A Night in Tuscany as the theme since they all enjoy those ever-so-reputedly-bad-for-you carbs. For the first course of the four-course meal, I made this classic bruschetta dish. It turned out yummy; the red onion added a sweet yet pungent kick to each bite. I used Genovese basil fresh from our garden and a saltier, French butter on the baguette slices before baking. The creamy richness of the butter (which my dad bought for us from a Vietnamese grocery store) added an extra oomph to the bruschetta. Perfection in every bite. If the Blind can Cook it, so can you.
Recipe: Bruschetta
Summary: Original recipe courtesy of my friend Karen
- 4 roma tomatoes, diced & strained
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- minced garlic (optional)
- extra virgin olive oil to taste
- balsamic vinegar to taste
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 baguette, sliced into 3/4″ slices
- melted butter
- 1/8 c. grated parmesan cheese (optional)
- In a med. bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, and basil. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Toss well and set aside.
- Meanwhile, spread butter on each baguette slice. Bake at approx. 350 degrees for 3 to 5 min. or until butter is melted and bread is lightly toasted.
- Top with tomato onion mixture. Add parmesan cheese on top if desired.
You can add minced fresh garlic to the tomato and onion mixture if desired. Italian food is known for the garlic, after all.
Cooking time (duration): 20
Diet type: Vegetarian
Meal type: hors d'oerves
Culinary tradition: Italian
Microformatting by hRecipe.


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Woodhall Spa skipper Jack Luffman will be hoping his side can step up their challenge for the Lincolnshire ECB Premier League title when they visit rock bottom Market Rasen tomorrow (Saturday).
Fourth-placed Woodhall will go into the clash as strong favourites but Luffman is warning they could face a tough battle.
He said: "Teams aren't playing in the Premier League for no reason. There are no bad sides and we know Market Rasen are fighting for their lives.
"We're under no illusions that every game will be difficult."
Woodhall produced an impressive display to beat Billingborough - another struggling side - last Saturday.
All rounder Matthew Sargeant is a doubt with a niggling back problem and Woodhall will check on his fitness before finalising their side.
Woodhall are within striking distance of top-of-the-table Bourne who entertain Billingborough tomorrow.
Second placed Bracebridge Heath visit Skegness while third placed club Market Deeping entertain Spalding.
Luffman added: "We're in a decent position but we know from experience that the league isn't won in June or July."
Woodhall led the title battle for most of last season only to be pipped for the trophy on the very final day of the campaign.


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Tank // Kimono c/o Moddeals // Jeans // Bag // Wedges // Bracelets c/o ShopJami & Ariel Gordon // Necklaces H&M (old) Collarbone Necklace c/o JMR // Nails c/o Nicole by O.P.I. in "A Like-Haley Story"
I wanted to share my thoughts on Generation Beauty! They had a "pink" carpet to take photos on! That was a cute detail.
This was a great place to gather as a makeup lover. The lines were blurred between pros and the cosmetic obsessed! I love that…another thing is anyone could buy tickets, if you bought them early they were as low as $45 and they had breaks for IPSY members also (confession: I really regretted canceling this subscription to IPSY…Birchbox, not so much, so I signed back up for IPSY 🙂 ) , the swag more than paid for the ticket! I snapped photos of most of the booths for you, enjoy!
The Sexy Hair area was HUGE, there pros were there styling and using their fantastic products!
I loved the Bare Minerals area! It was big and roomy, and they were very generous in what they gave out to try.
Nicole by O.P.I. was there, giving free manis 🙂 They also had all their Selena Gomes & Modern Family lines out for us to check out.
A brand that took me by surprise is Pacifica. You know how sensitive my skin is, I had gotten to the point of removing fragranced cleansers and lotions from my beauty regimen because my skin cannot tolerate it. I even launder my clothes in fragrance free soaps. This company gave me hope again! Their line smells amazing, but naturally! No chemicals or engineered fragrances are added, I cannot wait to try more from them! They even have a pure makeup line, their eyeshadow quads are natural and only $14! You can't even get 1 MAC shadow for that 🙂
There where workshops and question & answer sessions going on while you walked around and checked out the booths.
I meet some lovely Youtube personalities/ beauty gurus while I was there!
With the lovely Nicole Guerriero
What a sweetie Promise Pham is!
My energetic and real girl…the one & only Kandee Johnson 🙂
Last but not least the mastermind behind this whole operation, the kind & gracious Michelle Phan.
Onto the swag! There was swag both days but I only went Sunday, but some of the companies gave me extra goodies to review for you, if I had gone both days can you imagine the piles of product I would have??? I'm telling you, if you can make it come next year! 🙂
Swatches and first impressions post to come for some of my favorite brands! If you have any questions about IPSY, let me know and I will do my best to answer them, if you are already convinced it's the best subscription to spend $10 on, join me on ipsy and subscribe to the Glam Bag! You get 4-5 beauty products every month delivered to your door! Check it out HERE


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PLEASE NOTE THAT ONE OF THE ANTENNAE INSIDE THE SMART METERS OPERATES AT 2.45 Ghz. SMART METER RADIATION IS PULSED.. The study below shows that this frequency, continuous wave, or pulsed, is damaging to nerves. (SMART METER DANGERS)
Donald I. McRee and Howard Wachtel (1982) Pulse Microwave Effects on Nerve Vitality. Radiation Research: July 1982, Vol. 91, No. 1, pp. 212-218.
Isolated sciatic nerves of frogs were exposed to 2.45-GHz pulse-microwave radiation in a waveguide exposure system at an average specific absorption rate (SAR) of 10 mW/g. In previous studies using continuous-wave (cw) microwave radiation at an SAR of 10 mW/g, survival time of the irradiated nerve when stimulated to fire at a high rate (50 twin pulses per sec) was shortened significantly. This investigation was performed to determine if pulse-microwave radiation produced the same or different effects on the vitality of frog sciatic nerves as continuous-wave microwave radiation. Three sets of experiments were carried out using 10-μsec-wide pulses at 50 pps, with an average SAR of 10 mW/g: (1) asynchronous pulsing wherein the mw pulse was delivered at varying times in the firing cycle; (2) synchronous pulsing during the peak of the nerve action potential; and (3) synchronous pulsing during the quiescent period between nerve firings. In all three cases a significant decrease in the survival time of the exposed nerves, as compared to their unexposed mates, was seen. However, the magnitude of this effect was essentially the same in all three cases and was also comparable with the effect seen earlier using cw (of equivalent SAR).


text: Has anyone ordered from Yoox before? It seems they ship UPS but I'm wondering if they're like Victoria's Secret and calculate all your customs/etc before hand or if you're stuck with the crazy UPS charges afterwards. I'm particularly interested in your experiences if you're in Canada like me.....since we have crazy customs.