text:
"possible 5-star"
Dee Hart rumors...anyone, TVH?
... This is an 18 year old kid. It is not the end of the world. We will be okay. He may still even come here. If he doesn't, we'll get someone else who is very good. I promise it will be okay.
maybe it has nothing to do with RR's status. Maybe Hart is disenchanted with the team's performance in the last two games. Kids are like that.
You have no power here.
NDNation sucks. Just sayin.
Looking around the internet tonight...man, there are a shit-ton of Michigan "fans" acting like jilted high school girls about this. It's times like this when it's embarrassing being in the same set as Michigan fans and/or sports fans...a lot of us are really emotionally immature and get our sense of self-worth in the wrong place.
*Note: forgot Dee was an early enrollee in my post above. Still...
I never thought it'd be like this!
You should've been on Haloscan in 2007. This is calm compared to the furor over the rumored hiring of Kirk Ferentz.
people are emotionally damaged, I think they're lamenting that we've lost a 5-star running back.
We haven't lost a 5-star recruit. That's why they're called rumors.
...when a mans word..was no longer his bond.
I thought he was suppose to be recruiting Cliton-Dix for us, not the other way around.
Dee Hart is a double agent trained in the snake oil arts and he's going deep undercover to get both HaHa and Trey DePriest to come with him to Michigan.
/at least I can hope
I wonder how much they are paying his mom..
are the moderators when we need to quell this hysterical bullshit? God it has been a long stretch. I feel like Drew Sharp is at the controls here. WTF?
Uh oh
Well a lot of people think very highly of Justice Hayes.
So we've got that going for us, which is nice.
I want him
Well, I wish him well and if he doesn't want to go here that is his choice. He is a hell of a player and has a good head on his shoulders and will choose what he thinks is best for him. I'm sure he will succeed if he does choose Bama, just not on Sept.1st, 2012.
I thought we needed defensive help more than another running back? Michigan is bigger than a single recruit or a single coach!
I blame this decommitment to all the bloggers and fans who do nothing but hate on RR and the Michigan program. The Michigan blogoshpere is crowded with negativity. How can you expect an 18 year old kid, to buy-in to some thing that the so-called fan base doesn't? You are basically expecting him to be more of a man than you are. (by you I mean the haters).
We talk all about being "all in for michigan". That applies to the fans. So support your boys and their coach. And if RR is fired support the next guy too. If not, grab a beer and enjoy some football. Let the decisions be sorted out by the authorities who actually have the power to do something, as opposed to reinforcing this vicious cycle of negativity.
Ginger Snaps? Literally...
"Anyway, I think that's all I have to say."
If Dee flips to Alabama, blame nobody but RR and/or DB.
If Brandon were committed to RR, Hart would likely stay. He's an RR guy. But Brandon isn't committed to RR, so Hart isn't committed, either. Can't blame the kid.
DB is in a position to solidify the situation. But he isn't doing so. So it's on him. And it's on RR for putting him in this position. Don't blame the fans and media for creating the "negativity." Obviously, DB doesn't feel positive about RR. It's his call.
You know something that we don't?
do tell...
Since Brandon hasn't explicitly said "RR will be back next year," but instead "Let's wait til after the bowl game," yes, I think it's far to say that Brandon is not (at the moment) committed to RR.
He's not committed to breaking his word simply bc rumors of a change swirl.
Without this class's crown jewel, it becomes a little easier decision for DB. Maybe not a lot, but the scale leans a tiny bit more in that direction...
Sucks for RR that this has all been breaking during the Bust so he couldn't really take any action.
is a fan of Mgoblog. Hopefully he can call DH personally to get him to stay. that would be nice.
As bad as this hurts (if Hart flips), it has taught me (and perhaps many others) an important lesson...
The verbal commitment of an 18-year-old kid is nothing to get excited about. I'm simply done getting all worked up about the comings and goings of fickle recruits.
Until a player is wearing a winged helmet, he's just another player to me. And while Hart would be a great asset to the team, he is not yet a member of the team. Therefore, I will not cry for Dee Hart.
Some of us learned that lesson two years ago when Shavodrick Beaver decommitted. Or even earlier.
Follow these simple steps ....
1) put the gun back into the safe
2) finger on power button of computer
3) press and hold power button until screen goes dark
Go Blue !
This is what I wanted to look forward to tomorrow. I'm not going to glance at this blog tomorrow and maybe everything will be ok.
"I can play in anyones offense "
D. Hart
Justice will still be served.
This sucks.
Hide yo kids, hide yo wife...they snatchin our commits up?
they snatchin errybody
need to come and confess, we;re looking for you, we're gonna find you.
I think I'm gonna puke
Dee Hart did the one thing no else at this point has been able to do:
- unified the fanbase in something
- took the attention of RR
I think he sticks with us personally but who knows?
Your spelling is as beautifully done as my plastic surgery.
Honestly. I haven't been as excited for a recruit as I am about Dee Hart in a very long time. If he goes to Alabama I will be very disappointed.
I already really don't like Alabama. This will make me like them less.
Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips running back Demetrius Hart committed to Michigan over Alabama and Auburn in October. Now there are rumors that the nation's No. 17 ranked prospect may be having second thoughts.
TheWolverine.com has learned that several sources close to Hart are saying the 5-8, 190-pound back plans to rescind is pledge from Michigan and will make a verbal commitment to Alabama on Friday. Hart himself has been unavailable for comment.
Hart was Michigan's highest ranked recruit in the 2011 class. He took his official visit to Michigan for the Wolverines' home game against UConn in September and followed that trip with visits to Alabama and Auburn before committing to the Wolverines following a home game on Oct. 8.
Michigan does have a commitment from Grand Blanc (Mich.) running back Justice Hayes, the nation's No. 84 ranked prospect and the No. 3 all-purpose back.
Still sucks, I agree that if DB would stand behind RR then stuff like this wouldnt happen. Makes me wonder if the decision has already been made....
At least well get the chance to wish he hadn't decommited come 2012 if it's true.
I just put on my HART ATTACK shirt from a few years ago in an effort to restore good MGoHart karma.
If Hart does decommit I will blame DB entirely! Is he decommits it's most likely due to the uncertainty of coaching next year, and if DB would have just said wtf is going on he may not have changed his mind. (if he does)
Come on, do you think DB knows what's going on and is just not telling us? I love how whenever the AD doesn't do what people want, they think he's incompetent. Remember when Bill Martin supposedly "blew" the Les Miles hiring? Everyone was so pissed about that. A lot of those same people were just fine with how that turned out.
Maybe DB isn't an idiot and knows what he's doing. Maybe he has a plan that we don't know about. Or maybe he thinks the future of the program isn't a decision he should rush, especially for the sake of one recruit.
A month ago DB was a golden God. Let's give him the benefit on the doubt on this one and just wait and see what happens.
Maybe Brandon has a plan (i.e. a deal in the works with JH), maybe he does not, but either way he has clearly taken a calculated risk with this year's recruiting class.
At the end of the day, if Brandon decides to change coaches then there may be the argument that the bleeding now was worth it for the greater good down the road.
If, on the other hand, he is going to give RR a vote of confidence, he's done the Michigan program no favors by setting (or agreeing to) this timetable. Bleeding RR system guys, and highly regarded ones at that, and then going back with RR is the worst possible scenario here.
By him not announcing his intentions he is clearly hurting the program.
If Harbaugh asked that he not announce it, Brandon needs to tell him that he's got no choice. He either needs be the coach at Michigan or Stanford. You cant please everyone. If he's coming here he needs to do whats best for Michigan.
What if Dee comes out and says that he wasn't feeling the love since we accepted a commitment from Hayes and were pursuing Rawls also. Is DB in football offices tell RR to continue recruiting running backs?
We potentially lose one recruit out of ~20, have a returning Heisman candidate and a stable of running backs, etc. etc. and you think DB is going to adjust his timeline based on that?
That's like me, as the CEO of a firm, deciding to change my evaluation of one of my managers because a potentially strong hire in his/her department had a more attractive offer from somewhere else. He/she already landed a solid group of individuals, and on occasion you'll get attrition due to circumstances beyond your control.
DB should neva EVAH adjust his approach to managing an $xx million department budget solely for impressing one potential student-athlete that didn't even sign an LOI in the first place.
I guess it would be fruitless to remind anyone at this point that "you can't miss what you never had."
this is how I will look if I see that he really does do it.
but that is really disgusting
What hast thou wrought?
that is all
If this is because of RR's job security, then why go play in Saban's pro-style offense?
The strange part to me is that when Hayes decommitted from ND he said part of the reason was "coaching stability at ND"... Then you head to UM..
why Hayes decommitted from ND.
Took well over 300 posts, but all we've been hearing is people will leave because they don't fit Harbaugh's pro style system. So Dee may be leaving for....Saban's even more conservative pro style system. Not that it would be a bad choice. A running back did just win the Heisman in it. But the notion that all of our players and recruits only see themselves in Rich's spread, well....
Not surprised..I actually thought we'd be hearing stuff like this sooner.
This is what I do. I worry about the team. Too much, I know. Some people are like my wife and watch the games, hope they win, and move on. Some people care more than that. And some people are like me. I know some of you are like me. I never even knew that there were others that cared as much as me until I found this blog.... Many, many things that come up on here will turn out to be things that I should not have worried about, but telling me I'm being ridiculous at the one place I can feel comfortable in my obsession, just frustrates me!
........on this, if it's even true. We do have plenty of RBs in the stable. Shaw and Vincent have shown flashes of greatness at times, and Hopkins is simply a beast for short yardage. Fitz healthy is something I am waiting to see, as he could be the game-changer at RB the offense has needed. We have Hayes committed right now, and we are looking at a couple of others.
On the flip side, Hart has been absolutely stunning as a RB prospect this season and one could see him in this offense as a bigger impact than James is at Oregon, so losing him would hurt in that respect.
In the end, what I want most from the recruits now and throughout their entire journey as UM players is to be all in for UM. Nothing less will satisfy. If Hart goes to Bama, good luck to him. If he stays true to us, then welcome into the fold.
When have you seen Smith or Shaw flash greatness? They're both way to inconsistent to be great. We have hardly had a running game with the RB all season! Maybe the reason Denard keeps it almost all the time on the read option is because he has a better chance of doing something with it.
........the phrase I used means? At times, both have shown the ability to be bigtime gainers in yards. Yes, it wasn't very consistent, but that is why I stated that they showed "flashes". If they were consistent in their play at RB, I would have stated so. There were some drives, particularly later in the season, where Smith gained quite a few yards, sometimes on bigtime runs. For Shaw, it was earlier in the season.
Maybe? Denard has a better chance of doing something with the ball than anyone in the country.
I have a feeling he commits to Auburn
DEE i love you
such a tool
per 24/7 sports JC Shurburt (formerly of scout and espn).
I want scholarships to go to those who want to be at Michigan.
The biggest thing that worries me is that we have a chance to start a pipline at such a strong highschool and we really need that.
Funny, i was thinking the same thing about Rawls. This opens up a spot for him, perhaps. Wisconsin and Iowa have given him some attention.
346 comments so far.
I predict 700+ before midnight (unless Tom VH posts something outside of this thread).
Dee's Mom has been the most straight thinking person in any recruitment I can recall. She seems to know what is important and beneficial for Dee's future. Assuming she retains the voice and influence she has had up to this point, if he does in fact de-commit, I retain respect for her and hope the best for her son. That being said, Mother Hart...there is nothing better than an experience playing football for Michigan and earning a University of Michigan degree! Good luck in any future endeavors.
Go (stay?) Blue!
Well aren't you delightful.
Dont let the ban hammer hit you on the way out you douche bag.
did you come up with that all by your lonesome?
reading this blog, but you clearly have no idea what it is about. I have read many opinions that I have disagreed with, but your approach is pathetic. You seem to have the emotional maturity of a badly parented child. Please find another outlet for your negativity and immaturity.
If we lose a commit due to the fact that DB hasn't made a decision at this point then Rich Rod better be fired. That's not fair to RR to lose a recruit due to the fact that DB doesn't know what he is doing.
Dang it -- forgot to delete the message before caving.
Stuart, all the ban talk below is not directed at you, but at the response that used to be just below yours, which user is no longer with us. When somebody gets banned we auto-delete all of their posts dating back to forever (and put a wolverine in under their computer desks -- ah the wonders of the Internet) and the result is the replies to his comments all move up.
Carry on.
You are a fucking douche bag. I dont give a shit if you dont like Coach Rodriguez and think he should be replaced. Say what you want about his record here but Coach Rodriguez has proved time and again that he is a good man with compassion for people and love of his players. I am sure the Mealer family would disagree with your use of the term "Dickrod," as would the Bills family.
You are nothing but a waste of space on an otherwise good blog.
GO AWAY <clap clap clapclapclap> GO AWAY <clap clap clapclapclap>
In and out, in and out, in and out...
As some have here noted, this board has completely melted down over a rumor which, if it comes to pass, is definitely a big, big BUMMER, but it's not the end o' the world and it certainly wouldn't be the end of UM Football, regardless if Rich or whoever else may be our head man next year.
That said, I have been terribly excited about Dee Hart going BLUE and, again regardless of who the head coach will be in 2011 and going forward, I really hope this works out for us in the end, i.e. Dee remaining BLUE or returning to the BLUE by February 2nd. But, I'm taking a wait-and-see approach, on this and on everything else.
In the meantime, it simply ain't worth the angst to behave as if the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE is upon us - though admittedly it may sometimes be fun to do so - even where we may in some places be reverting to cannibalism in the BLUE UNIVERSE. Be well, brothers and sisters, one way or another the light will eventually return to A2.
OK, I just spent some time over at GBW and read what Tom B. had to share about the banquet tonight, including what I take as some positive comments about what Rich had to say and how he said it, as well as noting that UM is getting "killed" on the recruiting trail right now. So, while I'm taking that "wait and see" approach, I do fully support bringing Rich back (I think very highly of him, in fact) and my "lean" is that I am not overly fond of the way Dave Brandon is handling this situation, though I do respect him a great deal, as well, and assume he has a plan that he is following. That said, if I'm going to throw conjecture out there, the way this is playing out in the early stages it seems to me that one potentially reasonable conclusion - as others here have also suggested - is that DB does have a plan and that the plan may already be set in place and is merely waiting not only the conclusion of our bowl game but the bowl season as well (i.e. That the next head coach has been identified and, going forward, the dominos are lined up to fall when as the bowl season progresses and concludes, with everything being kept close to the vest in the meantime). So, if anything like this does happen, while I can do nothing but support and remain a fan of UM Football regardless of the outcome, I'll be disappointed in the way our university and fan base treated Rich while he was with us...
Its not that Hart may de-committ, its the clusterfuck that has become Michigan Football. This is a program wide clusterfuck. Its not just RR, DB, or any one person. I think most of the blame for this lies squarely on the shoulders of David Brandon. He has all the power to end the speculation but doesn't. You can not leave a coach hanging in the wind for over a month and expect recruits to stick around.
To those who think players come to a program for the program and not for the coach you are delusional. Players committ to coaches who will give them the best opportunity mature as a person and football player. If you think they committ to a program then lets hire some asshat off the street and let the program sell itself.
This is probably just the tip of the iceberg as far as decommitts are concerned. This could get ugly.
Not too smart, are you? Surely Harbaugh would say he will not abandon his team, and coach his bowl game. So Brandon cannot come out and say now... " We are hiring Jim Harbaugh, but AFTER his bowl game." And that puts Brandon in a tough spot, doesn't it? This isn't Brandon's fault.
By him not doing it he's hurting his team. Harbaugh could easily tell his players he's leaving after their bowl game and still coach.
frowned upon.
Rodriguez, for example, did not coach his last WVU team through the bowl game, and LSU demanded Miles sign an extension after word got out (before the bowl game) that he was coming to Michigan.
If he's willing to watch this year's recruiting class dissolve to get a chance (!) at Harbaugh, this is most certainly his fault, though arguably the payoff could be worth it.
If he's truly just waiting til the bowl game so that he has one final game on which to judge RR's body of work... it's still his fault.
This is all Brandon's fault. Either come out in support of your coach or can him. The bowl game adds little to no evidence either way. The only thing waiting does is hurt our recruiting class.
If this is Harbaugh's dream job tell him either come now or never. There are other coaches out there who could lead this team. Harbaugh is not the God of coaches.
Rodriguez abandoned WV before a BCS game...
It wouldn't be the first time a coach was let go before a bowl game.
Coach Carr announced his retirement before Michigan's bowl game, did he "abandon" his team?
You have to announce a coaching change ASAP, IMO, for recruting. Brandon letting RR twist in the wind like this very likely opening up all sorts of opportunities for negative recruting.
Losing this recruit is not the end of the world, and foretells nothing more than that he is de-committing. The ratings by the scouting 'experts' rarely is as accurate as everyone believes. Go Blue!
I agree it isn't the end of the world.
But is far as the rating goes, you don't have to rely on the experts; his film and stats speak for themselves.
Boys.... remember, national signing day isn't until February. Nothing is final until that day. Decommit or not.. it isn't over until it's over.
He is an early graduate. His target date is much earlier than signing day.
This board doesn't have a hard edge.
@ clisimm, we all know you can't predict scout, rivals, espn rankings etc, but when a kid has 46 touchdowns in one season, 2,700 yards and can receive, return, run while playing in one of the most talented states if not the most. He might win national high school player of the year at the army bowl, i believe the hype surrounding Dee and would be very sad if we lose him because he will bring a brand of RB that we haven't seen in RR system yet.
It doesnt make sense to me to do that To me that means that you're more concerned with where you're at than where you're going.
Well boys according to rivals D Hart is now an Alabama commit!!!
It doesn't say that.
I just linked it, and it say D hart alabama commit when i click the link
It doesn't say that.
And it doesn't.
Well then im getting the rivals site from the future cuz when i look up dee hart it says alabama commit
The Michigan Rivals site no longer lists Dee as a Michigan commit.
I just checked it now at 1151pm. Rivals lists Dee Hart as an Alabama commit.
Unless the Alabama logo in the upper right means something else, I'd say he's going to 'bama.
Wish i wasn't just decided to log on saw the thread went to look at rivals and there i saw Dee Hart is now a bama commit per rivals
He's not a commit u retard, it only has his final college choices listed as Alabama.. It doesn't say he is committed to them at all.. Not on their page with committed players, or on his personal page.. It only lists Bama as his only college choice ...
Well this is an excessively long thread.
Dee is the recruit I am (was) most looking forward to. I remember the night before the Michigan State game trying to log into our beloved blog but I kept getting an error because so many people were trying to get the announcement. This is a bummer but it is not what happens to you but how you handle what happens to you.
Let me check........yep, I still love this team!
I am getting VERY pissed with this process. I admit I like the way DB handled the NCAA investigation, but this process is making me very sour on him very quickly. We are dealing will kids lives.. You cannot run a place of higher education like a fortune 500 company. It is almost like people are trying to sabotage RR.. Fans complain that RR class does not look that well, well this is the reason.. He is not only trying to sell michigan, he has to assure parents that he will be there for the entire 4 years.. Totally not fair.
wow. it feels like a mass suicide in this thread...
I HATE HATE HATE putting any stock in high school players. I mean, seriously. I'm sure Hart's a good player, but life will go on if he goes elsewhere.
You know what would really help this team?
Putting a hurt on either Florida in the Gator Bowl or a 10-2 Big-12 Team in the Insight. Let's worry about that. And I don't buy that the Bowl means nothing for Rich or Brandon. We're going to have a great chance to beat some quality teams/programs (even if Florida's down, it would continue our SEC dominance and help recruiting in the SE).
I agree with what you are saying.. but they are starting to add up. I seriously think that our team being young will actually hurt us if RR is fired. These guys can leave and still have a couple of years to play elsewhere. I know they say the "love it here" but seriously what would they say? I hate my teammates and I hate the University, but I love the coach!" I seriously think we are on the brink of something terrible if RR is fired. I am usually a "glass half full" kind of guy, but I think this mess is going to turn out bad.. I think we are going to replace RR, Harbaugh will take over, have a couple of losing seasons and bolt to the NFL similar to Pete Carrol.. just I feeling I have.
I implore you, MGoCommunity, please please please do not leave messages on the kid's Facebook, Twitter, or anything else about this. I'm sure he had his reasons for switching and while it's catastrophic for our recruiting class it's ultimately his decision and we need to respect that.
Best of luck Dee. Wish it had been with us, but you gotta do you.
Harbaugh !! Harbaugh!! Harbaugh !!
Douchebag !!
MyGod this MoGoMeltdown! 428 comments and counting . . .
I just wanted to be a part of a 400+ post thread.Purely epic. I feel like I'm a part of history.
To be truly epic.
That fuckin' Saban and his bag of lies
He sits on a throne of lies.
Well he was a big reason I was excited for next year. Sad day...
Firing DickROD ASAP is whats best for the program, and no amount of neg rep is going to change that, although it might make you feel better.......
It's not going to happen ASAP, I'm pretty sure what with all of the CC posts that DB has said nothing will be decided until after the season is over. What you don't get, whatever happens is going to happen and people on this board will deal with it accordingly. Now go away!
Don't you have some women's velour tracksuits to manufacture?
Dude, I think you need to ditch the pipe and let the bong resin clear out a bit before using anything more complicated than an Etch-A-Sketch.
wasn't dickrod a banned word for the time being, where is that thread at
period can not come soon enough. Dark day as we bid adieu to DH.
Well I sincerely hope that RIchard Ash, Craig Roh, etc beat the crap out of Dee in 2012. Other than that particular game, good luck Dee you sound like a good guy.
Everybody's freaking out lol
Losing a top recruit like this is a reason to freak out. Especially when this team needs more top talent.
If you wanna freak out about something you have literally no control over, then so be it. If he switches to Alabama, that's his choice.
Well, so much for all those claims that DB/RR had quietly assured recruits that DB is all-in for Richrod.
It's over.
Only one recruit can salvage this class: A star DC to turn the D around. RR's got a month to find someone he can work with or it's his job. My money's still on Game Over, Man though.
Didn't RR say at the banquet tonight that he would not change his DC? That blows my mind, if true.
It's hard to believe that less than 3 years ago it was Peanut Butter Jelly Time
And now, this...
We have a good team loaded with young talent, good coaches (good coaching options also), and intelligent administrators. Michigan is going to be just fine although none of us know the path we'll take. Sit back, watch it happen, and enjoy it. Michigan football is about the players and our obsession is a by-product. Not the other way around.
....notre dame probably said the same thing 20 years ago.......
You guys all need to take a deep breathe. Rivals lists him as "high" on Bama, and Scout still has him as a Micihgan commit. Even if he does leave, though it would suck, we still have Justice for RB.
Regardless, I wish Dee the best of luck. This move wouldn't surprise me really, so he can play with HaHa.
Has Saban guaranteed that Dee is one of his favorite 25 recruits out of the 30-something he will likely sign?
JK, I know Dee is good enough to stick there, but if this turns out to be true this sure would suck. Maybe we don't assign Justice to the slot just yet.
Anyone want to check his facebook? Tried but I'm not friends:
Edit: Looks like some people just can't take a joke. I actually feel kinda bad for the people that negged me.
This has sad panda written all over it. There is always Rawls.
he's already been taken off the commitment list on rivals..
It's all hearsay at this point, is it not? A lot can happen between now and February
Dee Hart will be an early enrollee
I think that this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back when it comes to me paying attention to recruiting, coaching searches, etc. Why waste time thinking about how epic a Dee/Denard offensive backfield could be when we may never see the kid get to campus? I am sure that someone as talented as Dee will have a good career at Alabama in a couple of years when he becomes their go-to guy, but he could have been part of a legendary offense at Michigan starting next year.
Firing RR would undermine the two areas of the team in which he has actually seen some success - recruiting during down years and developing a potent offense. Ironically, it is those who seek a true "Michigan Man" that might be willing to bring the team back to square one to get him. Clearly some recruits are already treating RR as gone, whether or not that will truly be the case. The uncertainty is pissing away a lot of goodwill that was aready established, and will prevent more from being developed during the next month. I hope it ends up being worth it.
are with the defense. Losing a recruit of that stature stinks no matter what postion they play. However, I'd rather UM lose its best offensive recruit than even a mediocre defensive recruit at this point (if I had to choose).
Is losing his scholarship to make room for Hart?
Everyone here is certainly entitled to their own opinion but the complete waster of space that people are typing on here is maddening at least to those of us with the mind to think about things before spewing a bunch of crap from our mouths. I have personally decided that Rich Rod should stay on the grounds that he has improved and has just finished implementing his offense fully plus his first full cycle of recruits would end the year after next. Give him next year at least.
Look at the freaking offense! We "could" score at will, barring personal fouls, dropped passes, or poor timing. We're literally a step away from becoming what Oregon is. I think that is an accomplishment in itself.
Another point is Denard. Rod's staff helped him from his horrifying freshman year to a Heisman candidate. Look at how much better he is at running the offense. No denying that one.
Finally, the defense. Yes, he forced the installation of a 3-3-5. Yes, he didn't bring in stellar defensive recruits, other than Demens. But with even a small improvement next year, we have a solid chance to go 9 or more wins with a more experienced corp of DB's.
This is very disappointing. All because of the coaching limbo and not acting now. Damn it I don't care who the coach is! If you want Harbaugh...then get him and tell him its now or never. If he doesn't want to come right now or RR's your guy...then lets get it done. Dee could just be the start if we just keep waiting around doing nothing! Especially if he decides to keep Rich...what is this accomplishing?
.....I am drunk and pissed. Lets get this bitch up to 500.
This entire entire situation is so sickening to me..... It has been less than a week. LESS THAN A WEEK since a veteran Ohio State team playing at home beat a young average beat up Michigan team. Anyone who was surprised by that result is not a true fan. Same should be said for Wisconsin. I was at every home game as well as down in cbus last Saturday. If you think Rodriguez should go thats perfectly acceptable but you people have absolutely no reason to be publicly negative about anything connected to the program. you accomplish nothing. Dave Brandon does not care what you have to say. You do not know what goes on behind the scenes. none of us are informed enough to make a rational opinion in regards to who should be coach. I have never been so disillusioned with the Michigan fan base. I couldnt believe when I heard boos at the end of the first half against wisconsin. These are 18-22 yr old kids. People have no right. If Im a high profile recruit, why would I want to come play at a place where there are boos and so much negativity. Now we've lost the highest touted runningback recruit we've had in a decade if not longer, and anyone who has watched tape on this kid knows he is absolutely electric. I feel sorry for the players. They played hard all year kept good attitudes and all this negativity has to be demoralizing. Stay positive people.
It is one player, especially at a position we do not need right now. Our focus needs to be primarily on the defensive side of the ball.
Oh well if Dee leaves there's always next year to get a top back! We have quite a few good backs on the team. I was excited thinking about next season having Robinson and Hart. Who knows, may be he will change his mind again and sign with UM? Who ever is the coach, I hope they make an attempt to pry him back. I wonder if Nick went out to his HS and spent the day.
I have a belly full of white dog crap in me, and now you lay this shit on me?
i wake up with a hangover from watching lebron destroy the cavs, get to work feeling woozy, log onto mgb and find THIS?
today promises to be just awesome.
Well...Looks like I missed the board-wide meltdown of the year last night. Who's gonna clean up the puke that is all over this thread?
Someone want to e-mail Dee's mom all the posts detailing what Saban does regarding oversigning, medical waivers, etc?
I understand leaving U of M because of coaching instability, I don't understand going to play for a scumbag even if it is a top program. There are other quality programs that are more ethical than Saban's.
I suppose I should have clarified in this day and age of internet stalking that my comment was in jest and would be absolutely ridiculous for anyone to actually do.
This will hurt but in the end its 1 Recruit on a loaded offensive biased team. Unfortunately it seems he got too high profile and couldnt resist the immediate gratification of playing on a NC contender/ Top 10 team. Which our fandom aside, wouldnt you want to tell all the ladies your going to X school and they are ranked.
Its just a double kick in the balls considering DB needs to sh*t or get off the pot @ this point. I dont see whats wrong in saying I am behind my coach and there will be no coaching change this year.
Hopfeully the coaches can change his mind when they see him.
Oh no...McGuffie has cold feet and could be signing with Cal...wait, what year is it? Feb of 2008?
he's transferrin again????
I'm just commenting because everyone else on MGO has done it. Didn't want to be left out.
won't the offense have to change again????
One recruit wouldn't be happy:
The more I think about it I think Dave Brandon is going to fire Rich Rod on January 1st, 2011. I think the bowl game is irrelevant in regards to RR's status. Why would Dave Brandon wait to make a decision? It has to be about saving UM $1.5M!
If DB already knows that he is planning to keep RR he would have said so now. I mean why not just say it now so the recruits and team can have peace of mind? Why jeopardize a whole recruiting class by scaring existing recruits and upcoming visitors as well give little time for the new coach to recruit?
DB clearly has no sense of timing....most coaches that are fired are fired as soon as possible so as to give the new coach a chance to solidify a recruiting class before it is too late. Personally, I think it would be a big mistake to fire RR and thus put the program into further turmoil. Let RR see out the remainder of his contract and then decide if he merits an extension or firing. Firing him in January would also make any new potential Head Coach candidate think twice about coming to Um given the turmoil it may cause and that he will have to turn the program around by his 3rd year...heck probably even his 2nd year given the impatience of UM fans and the media.
The Dee-commitment has unDee-cidedly ended in a reversal of the Dee-cision. Welcome: Demetrius Hart!


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My one week long search to identify active SQL Server community in Chennai ended last Sunday.
Chennai SQL Server User Group (CSSUG) is one of the active user groups in Chennai organizing events every month.
Vidhyasagar (MVP) is one of the co-founder of CSSUG is actively leading this group and conducting events every month.
I had a chance to attend an event happened yesterday (06-Aug) in Microsoft training centre, located in Radhakrishnan road, Chennai and met some SQL Server contributors/ MVPs like Amit Bansal, Vidhyasagar and Madhivanan.
Vidhya gave his first presentation on 'Performance Troubleshooting – Tempdb Database' and explained some of internal aspects of tempdb issues.
Amit, guest presenter of this month gave a session on 'Database Unit testing'. He explained how to make use of Visual studio features to perform database unit testing.
Topic which Madhivanan has taken this time is very simple 'Understanding Date Time data type'. But he has shown the breadth and depth of it with some examples.
And finally I got chance to explain 4 common misconception about Indexes, Truncates and NULLs.
Here are few snaps taken at the end of this session.
Left to right: Vidyasagar, I and an active SQL Server contributor (don't remember his name)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I presume that's just the startup costs. Otherwise, it seems a little low to me. I mean, if they're going to stay among the elite in the genre today, they're going to have to compete with EVE Online and X3.
You do not understand. You probably never played Elite. It's *nothing* like any "modern" space sim. Anyway, you could have a team of 20 people working full time for a year and buy some equipment to work on (which is all you need if you already have a company) and have no problems paying everything. Sounds enough to develop this game.
Eve Online is click and point rolling dice game. In Elite and Elite: Dangerous you have actually to fly ship. There's actual collitions, you can damage many parts of the ship and it changes accordingly. Planets are real physical objects. In extenstions there's planned walking on planets and around space stations.
Also there won't be lot of hand crafted things (thus costs will be smaller than imagined for scope of the game) - most of stuff will be proceduralrly generated. And as Elite first did use this concept to keep game's universe big in small memory, I trust David will pull this off again. See this update http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/posts/349783 [kickstarter.com] for more information.
As for money - yes, it's just nominal startup costs for core game. Lot of stuff will be in updates (free for game owners) and extentions (those will be longer in development and will cost accordingly more).
Still, it's biggest game Kickstarter for now, in goal and soon in total (for now it's still SC).
Eve Online is click and point rolling dice game. In Elite and Elite: Dangerous you have actually to fly ship.
Wow. Two comments about this.
1. If you are saying they are two different games so they will appeal to different audiences I'm afraid you may be mistaken. Eve is very much based on the work that came before it (Elite, and Homeworld) and that particular genre of game is going to (and does) appeal to a very specific audience. Elite is going to be competing with Eve. If it can't, then it will die, and no amount of hoping it's something different will change that.
2. Eve (if the developers are to be believe
Eve is very much based on the work that came before it (Elite, and Homeworld) and that particular genre of game is going to (and does) appeal to a very specific audience. Elite is going to be competing with Eve.
That's not true. Having looked at Eve previously I have no desire to play it. I'm very keen to play Elite though. They are not the same audience.
What Elite wants to do is allow you to fly the ship free-form. Fine, but that is a lot more information to transmit to each and every client on-grid (because you end up transmitting real-time coordinates). Good luck. Once Elite has 1000+ ship space battles
None of the realtime MMORPGs are stopped by this challenge.
That's not true. Having looked at Eve previously I have no desire to play it. I'm very keen to play Elite though. They are not the same audience.
I briefly tried Eve but also found it uninteresting. However Vendetta Online looks fantastic. If I actually had time to play games, this is the one I would be sinking hours into. It looks remarkably similar to the proposed Elite. I cannot understand why no comparisons to Vendetta are being made?
The whole concept of 1k v 1k battles is just one of the things that put me off eve outright. Sure, there will be gaming addicts happy to pay for subscription in exchange of grinding for 5 hours every night, but I guess I'm not the dollars these games will ever hope to get.
So, I am not a big Eve fanboy (even though I do play), and I have criticized it publicly here on slashdot before (as SimCity in space (which has limited appeal)). And I would love to have good competition in the genre. But (and not to try to be an asshole here), your description of Eve misses the mark of what it is and if the concept you describe has put you off it may be you've misunderstood it from the outset.
You've probably heard it described as a sandbox. That is what it is. I've never seen a 1k x 1
... And I sincerely hope to play Elite: Dangerous. But Elite will be competing with Eve for my monthly dollars, and they have some serious architectural challenges ahead of them.
No it won't. There won't be any monthly fees for Elite: Dangerous.
But Elite will be competing with Eve for my monthly dollars, and they have some serious architectural challenges ahead of them.
It wont compete for me. Ofc I will play Elite. And after a time I will see if it is worth it or not and perhaps switch back to Eve.
Eve is unfortunately in its game mechanics just like WoW. Everything you do is covered by some "magic". None of the attributes your ships or your weapons have make any sense (in terms of physic laws). I personally find it incredible hard to play, I can
"I used to play Elite. I used to play Homeworld. I play Eve. And I sincerely hope to play Elite: Dangerous. But Elite will be competing with Eve for my monthly dollars, and they have some serious architectural challenges ahead of them."
You do know that Elite: Dangerous isn't subscription based?
Of course EVE is rolling dice, because otherwise you can't do a MMO in scale they wan
Star citizen i think made it to over 7million dollars...
i funded both
go games
£1.3M is what they've got in Kickstarter pledges. I'm sure that won't be their only source of investment.
Now they can go to a publisher, an angel investor, or a business bank and say '22,500 people were excited enough to back us on Kickstarter, to the tune of almost £60/head on average . Give us an advance and you can be our publisher. Invest some money and you can be a shareholder. Lend us some money and you can have some confidence we'll be good for it."
Sins of a Solar Empire was made for less than 1 million dollars and was DRM free-ish.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20026 [gamasutra.com]
So you can still jump on board if you want to.
There are (as of right now) 33 hours left to go.
And I wouldn't say squeaked through - people are still funding the project, and there is a healthy overshoot of the funding goal.
as long as I don't have to break out that little red prism thing you held up to the screen to unlock the game (C64 version, dunno if the others had something similar), I'm all in. I lost that thing about 3 months after I had the game, and I only ever got to jump galaxies once.
I had to look it up, it was called a Lenslok device:
http://torrentfreak.com/crazy-video-game-drm-prism-1980s-style-080617/ [torrentfreak.com]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenslok [wikipedia.org]
(and, evidently, not all were red.)
The PC version had you type in a word from the manual. I got a cracked version so it always passed no matter what you typed.
For people with lot of questions and doubts about this game, check out reddit AMA, he is already there and gives answers http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/15od2s/i_am_david_braben_cocreator_of_elite_creator_of/ [reddit.com]
Also check out updates section on Kickstarter which has lots of videos, dev diaries, concept arts, renders http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/posts [kickstarter.com]
I just have to ask; How is the new Elite going to be significantly different from a game like X3 Terran Conflict? It might be easier and faster for him to just license and reskin the X3 engine.
http://www.egosoft.com/games/x3tc/screenshots_en.php [egosoft.com]
X3 player here. I think the X series is great but has its own engine limits. For instance, no procedural generation and weak AI. Also, some people on the modding forums claim that the architecture is a bit convoluted
Egosoft (the development studio behind X3) has spent much of the time since X3 Terran Conflict on building a new engine for the successor to X3. Maybe that would be an interesting starting point - after the game is released and works well.
You can play the FOSS version right now OOLITE [oolite.org]
Have fun, it is an awesome game.
To be fair, a decent number of the "big game publishers of the time" were just guys like him who had been sufficiently successful selling their own games to publish those of others. It wasn't a David-and-Goliath scenario: the world of mainstream gaming at that time had more in common with today's indie gaming.
Which is, of course, the great thing about indie gaming today.
He didn't publish it himself. Acornsoft licensed the original BBC Micro version, and after that was successful, Firebird picked up the ports to other platforms.
The procedural map generation is a cool hack to get over the lack of memory, but far from the most technically difficult thing they did. It'd make a somewhat interesting homework project for a beginner programmer -- write a small, fast PRNG and massage the output into pronounceable planet names and attributes.
The 3D wireframe graphics were the more
To be fair, the OP said "games _like_ R-TYPE," probably because this might be a more familiar title to a broader audience, which makes it easier and faster to explain the OP's point. If you prefer, you can mentally substitute Acornsoft's Rocket Raid, which came out in about 1982, and ran on the BBC32, just like Elite.
The brilliant thing about Braben's original ELITE was that he managed to squeeze a huge, open, varied, explorable 3D universe into 32/48/64 Kb of RAM on early 8-bit computers. He also had to publish the game himself - the big game publishers of the time wanted ELITE to have "waves of enemies, short levels, collectable powerups, 3 player lives", because that was the formula popular side-scrolling space games like R-TYPE used. Braben refused to do that - it flew in the face of the 3D space sim he was building - and thus ELITE became the first space game to feature realtime 3D wireframe graphics and break the "R-TYPE" space-game formula.
Remember that on the BBC at any rate that 32K included the screen memory. There were some beautifully subtle tricks played with the BBC video system to get the game to run. The original BBC 6502 version of Elite must be about the tightest and most elegant piece of code out there anywhere, and it is in thankful memory of the months of enjoyment I got out of that game that I contributed to the Kickstarter. If the new version is no better than the original, it will still be an exceptionally good game.
The original game is no longer compelling and doesn't really stand up well against games from systems with more capacity.
It was groundbreaking and amazing at the time, from a 9 year old child's eyes. But even then the combat became laughably simple after you upgraded your ship.
It was groundbreaking and amazing at the time, from a 9 year old child's eyes.
I was 19 at the time, and it was groundbreaking and amazing to my eyes too. And the eyes of every computer geek at the time that saw it. No need to limit it to 9 year olds.
But yes, it's no longer rewarding to play today, with eyes that have seen more modern games.
Yes, they changed screen more 3/4 way down the screen, from monochrome square pixels for the wireframe, to oblong pixels with 4 colours for the dashboard.
They hung a routine off the VSync interrupt, that changed the screen to mode 4, and set up a timer in the 6522 VIA chip. When the timer expired, it kicked off another interrupt service routine that changed the screen mode to mode 5.
Clever stuff for the time. I wonder if Acorn helped them with that, as no one had done it before.
They hung a routine off the VSync interrupt, that changed the screen to mode 4, and set up a timer in the 6522 VIA chip. When the timer expired, it kicked off another interrupt service routine that changed the screen mode to mode 5.
Clever stuff for the time. I wonder if Acorn helped them with that, as no one had done it before.
Revs did a very similar thing, but I don't know which was released first, they were both in 1984. Revs stored some data in the top quarter of the screen buffer and did a timer interrupt to redefine all the colours to blue in the top quarter and then back to their proper colours in the remainder so that you wouldn't see the data as pixels.
Ah, I didn't know that. I do know Elite was before Revs though.
They will do a Mac/Linux port if they reach £1,400,000. I never played the original Elite, and I'm really curious as to how the procedurally generated stuff mixes with the ability of players to affect the game universe.
I never played the original Elite, and I'm really curious as to how the procedurally generated stuff mixes with the ability of players to affect the game universe.
I did play it, a lot. My guess is that the procedural generation produced the starting state, and it stored a delta. The only thing you could affect was your own status (criminal/clean, and number of kills, your cargo and your armoury) and market prices on the planets where you traded. It definitely felt as if you could skew a market by buying or selling in quantity, repeatedly.
Everything else is happens dynamically based on that. If you're a criminal, you'll get cops and bounty hunters coming for you. If y
It definitely felt as if you could skew a market by buying or selling in quantity, repeatedly.
Wishful thinking is all. Once you hyperspaced on, all market prices were forgotten. There wasn't memory available to remember them.
Is it possible to buy it anywhere anymore?
After dying for the 5th or 6th time shortly after leaving the station, I think perhaps I will give it a miss.
Thank you for the link though.
Oh, oops, you're right. *sigh* Well, that's something of a disappointment. Oh, well.
The graphics engine seems to be done, as there are some demo videos on the website of Frontier Development (http://elite.frontier.co.uk/ [frontier.co.uk]). My impression is that the graphics quality does not quite reach that of an AAA game, but is good enough.
If they do even a half decent job at capturing the original and maybe putting in a half-decent story then I'll be more than happy to throw my money at them.
Why does it need a story?
soon many old gamers will be able to relive the joys of exploring the galaxy in what was one of the earliest space trading games
And people wonder why Hollywood sticks with sequels, prequels, re-makes, and re-imaginings. They shouldn't - it's where the money is.
"Turn in your geek card RIGHT NOW"
Ahh yes, it's not enough to have played Tradewars 2002, SRE, BRE, Legend of the Red Dragon, Star Control 2, SimCity, Civilization, MoO, MoM, X-Wing, Ultima, Bard's Tale, Might and Magic, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu, and more other series than i care to list at this point (or can even really remember.) The fact that i haven't played this one single 20+ year old game means that i have irretrievably lost all geek credibility. And having publicly admitted to the lack, instead of encouraging
For those of us who aren't familiar with the original Elite (and can't check it out on Kickstarter because we're lazy or at work) what kind of game is it exactly?
Have a look at oolite.org [oolite.org] for an updated, open-source version of the original. Works for Mac, Linux and Windoze.
The original Elite is a trading game in which you run goods between planets. Buy low, sell high. The journey between planets involves realtime 3D space flight and, potentially, realtime space combat. Going to planets with unstable governments, dealing in illegal goods, bounty hunting, are all ways to make more money, while attracting more badass enemies.
Ostensibly the aim of the game is to achieve 'Elite' ranking, which involves shooting lots of enemy ships -- and looking for fights is necessary if you want to do that. But, you could if you wanted, shuttle back and forth between peaceful planets making money.
The disk version included missions.
Elite: Dangerous, of course, adds loads of intricacies. Braben says things like: there's abandoned wrecks floating around in space ripe to be scavenged for cargo. Of course they might not be as abandoned as they appear... Or you might take payment to carry a valuable cargo - but you can't hope to get through without an escort, so you'll pay some other players for their services.
For those of us who aren't familiar with the original Elite (and can't check it out on Kickstarter because we're lazy or at work) what kind of game is it exactly?
Is it a turn based game like Tradewars 2002? Or is it a real time flight sim like Wing Commander or X-Wing with economics and upgradeable ships?
If it's the former i'll definitely jump in at the last minute. I loved TW2002 in high school. If it's the later... well i liked X-Wing, but i'm not convinced about the marriage of that type of game to an economic sim. (I've tried out the X series and some similar games on Steam, but the controls kind of sucked and i never got into them at all.)
You fly a space ship in mostly-real-time (you can do 'hyperspace jumps' which cover distance more or less instantly) through a very large galaxy. There are many (~2000 on the original 6502 version) civilised planets, with different levels of technical sophistication and different levels of government control. Some are safe and wealthy, some very dangerous, and a haven to pirates and other criminals. In your travels you encounter many different types of space ships, each of which have different appearance and properties, from fast manoeuvrable fighting ships to big lumbering freighters.
You start with a minimally equipped ship and a small account of credits. You proceed through the game initially by trading between planets to build up your credits, but sooner or later you're going to be attacked by pirates and will have to learn to fight. As you get richer you can equip your ship with extra weapons, engine enhancements, a docking computer (of which more later). You can choose to become a bounty hunter, hunting down pirates for reward; to become an asteroid miner, mining asteroids for minerals; to become a pirate yourself; or continue to trade and explore. You can also take on special missions. In trading, you can manipulate markets. You can sell your initial, general purpose ship and buy a ship more suitable to your needs.
Docking with space stations is almost a mini-game in itself. They rotate - obviously, to generate simulated gravity. To dock successfully you must approach on the axis, slowly, and exactly match the roll. One of the ship enhancements you could buy was a docking computer, but the docking computer wasn't completely reliable (don't know whether this was deliberate or a bug) so it paid to learn to dock manually. Also, of course, if you got badly mauled by pirates your docking computer might be one of the things destroyed.
For sheer playability Elite was, in my opinion, the best video game of all time.
It's a little like the games in the Privateer series, without the over-arching story and far more options in how to play the game.
I look at the production history of the company and I wonder if they can pull of an A game of significant scope after having so many previous false starts, and a history of producing buggy games, only a few popular titles and failing to complete products.
To make a comparison, 3D Realms/Apogee put out more than three times the number of games Frontier Developments was working on in the same time period, and many of them enjoyed impressive sales and popularity, even compared to reasonably popular Frontier Dev
I wouldn't hold my breath about Star Citizen, either: Roberts has been out of the business for a while, and most of his promises have ranged from the bizarre to the truly unlikely.
Perhaps I'm an optimist, but I think Roberts has demonstrated that he has the know-how and ability to produce this game. The information available about the game, the time table, the apparent openness and speed at which questions have been tackled make me believe that the game is being well thought out. Not just the design and gameplay, but the entire lifecycle. The hefty 7.2 million war fund helps too.
I've got doubts and questions, but they're mostly about the multiplayer experience. If they can delive
Let's just be clear, there's a teensy little step between "getting Kickstarter funding target" and "people playing Elite again".
Just sayin'.
I've seen videos of "people playing Elite again".
Admittedly it's pre-alpha code, and the "people" were developers. But nonetheless, it was a group of blokes engaging in a cool looking space battle.
ditto, its always a good sign if they are actually playing an alpha build so you know its not all smoke and mirrors.
I think Elite was "of its time" - and if you want a nostalgia trip there is always Oolite. I'm not sure that even a good modernised version will re-capture the magic.
There were several grounddbreaking aspects of the original Elite:
(1) the 3D graphics. They look so rubbish now, and even Oolite is nothing to write home about by modern graphical standards, its hard to convey how amazingly jaw-droppingly good they looked back in the 80s. On the original BBC Micro version they'd even done s hack to switch di
1. Graphics wise it will have good competition and because of budget it probably won't stand out.
2. The details and the rhetoric seem to indicate that expansive universe with unique locals will be a design goal.
3. this part is actually the driving force for most. For me having faith in the designer to keep true to the original ideology, which made the game as enjoyable, is the primary reason to take a risk in funding a project that may fizzle out.
4. This seems to be part of the game design as well.
I am more bored than you could ever possibly be. Go back to work.


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AD talks about going from blue to green
Last Thursday, John Green was officially named as the new Athletic Director for Clarendon College after spending just one month short of 25 years working for Frank Phillips College. That included spending the past 10 years as the FPC Athletic Director and the Plainsmen golf coach since 2006.Earlier this week, Green took time to talk about his time at Frank Phillips College and looking ahead at leading the Clarendon College Bulldog and Lady Bulldog athletic programs. He also talked about the challenges junior colleges and their athletic programs are facing due to uncertainty that continues to go on in Austin.When asked about his dismissal from the Frank Phillips College back in February, Green admits the decision to let him go was upsetting. But over the past two months Green has come to some understanding over the situation.On the circumstances surrounding why the college decided to let him go, Green really didn't give any specifics that could of led to the decision, but instead said, "The best way I can describe the circumstances for my dismissal is by comparing it to a team that gets a new coaching staff and decides to cut a veteran player. It doesn't necessarily mean the player was doing a bad job, but for some reason their style of play doesn't mesh with the direction or style the new coaching style is wanting to take." Green added, "I think that is the best way I can describe what took place here at Frank. I didn't really fit with the direction the college was wanting to take in athletics under the new leadership of the school, so the decision was made to let me go."Green started his work at the college nearly 25 years ago by managing the Borger Community Activity Center, which he did for over 12 years. Green then got involved in helping lead the college's student government before Dr. Herb Swender approached Green to name him as athletic director.When Green took the AD position, athletics at the college had seen many years of struggles in trying to achieve on-field success with Green describing many of the programs as being the "doormats" of the WJCAC.With the help of hiring some great coaches over the years and community support slowly building for the FPC Athletic programs, the past 10 years are ones Green looks back on with pride in leading the FPC athletic program. The athletic program saw the growth of successful volleyball and golf programs that have combined for 14 national tournament appearances, as well as the men's basketball team claiming its first ever WJCAC title during the 2006-07 season.Green also takes pride in seeing several of the student athletes move on to four-year schools, saying, "I have been extremely happy with the number of kids that got scholarship opportunities to move on after their time here. That is the product of having good coaches that have expected their players to work hard on the field and in the classroom. It's seeing those type of things that lets you know those kids are going to be successful in life down the road." That kind of commitment on and off the field have led to several Academic All-Americans, over the past several years, as well as the FPC Golf team being named the Golf Coaches Association Academic National Team of the Year in 2010.Green also credits the work of Johnny Rusten and Chad Campbell for the work they have done with the Adopt-a-Student program in helping give the students a foundation they can depend on away from campus. Green said, "For several of them moving so far away from home, it is a growing process many of these students go through when they come to school here. So it is great to have a program that provides the kids some support in the community away from the campus."In looking forward, FPC supporters will have a difficult time seeing Green wearing green and white instead of blue. However, Green is excited about the opportunities that lay ahead in leading the Clarendon College athletic program.Green is quick to praise the support he already has received from Clarendon's administration that includes giving Green the go-ahead to start a men's golf team that will begin play in the fall.Of the golf team, "I have already been working the phones and have several golfers that are interested in coming to Clarendon to play. The response has been so good that I have already told the college president to expect the team to qualify for the national tournament in its first year."With all the positives, Green will admit there will be some challenges in his new role, which includes strengthening the support base within the Clarendon community. But overall, Green believes the future looks bright, including the possibility of the school adding two or three more sports within the next couple of years.Despite the change, Green is quick to say he still has a lot of loyalty to Frank Phillips and love for the Borger community saying "I might be wearing green now but I still have a lot of blue and gold running through my veins."For the near future, Green said his family will continue to live in Borger with his son, Dallas, planning to start his college education at Frank Phillips College this fall.**In tomorrow's paper, Green talks about the challenges junior colleges are facing from his perspective.


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|9 years ago :: Jun 24, 2009 - 6:07AM #1
My wife and I both have difficulty getting around nowadays and we're going to be moving into our dream house soon. We actually started buying a lot of furniture in anticipation and have a ton of stuff that needs to be moved over. Should I hire San Diego furniture movers or find friends and family to help out? Are professionals worth the cost?
Quick Reply
|9 years ago :: Jun 30, 2009 - 3:49PM #2
Don't know any thing about San Diego movers but I can say from my mom's experiece moving from Northern Calif. to Southern Calif. She did pretty good but they did damage a couple of things. This can happen you have to watch every thing they move, plus I think it is best you pack all of your breakables. They sometimes aren't as carefull as the home owner would be. To much in a rush. If you have enough friends willing to help then go with them, and offer them a really nice dinner out. Plus lunch at your new house. Pizza or ?
Quick Reply
|9 years ago :: Jul 13, 2009 - 1:41PM #3
Unfortunately, many of our friends were unable to help. But the San Diego movers we hired were a big help. Thanks.
Quick Reply


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ADELBODEN, Switzerland (Jan. 13) - The U.S. Ski Team's David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) came out with skis blazing, laying down the second fastest final run for a career best tenth in an Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom in Adelboden. Austria's Marcel Hirscher was the only faster skier on the second run as he took the win to extend is overall World Cup lead. Saturday's giant slalom winner Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) was 11th. The men now head over the mountain to Wengen for the fabled Lauberhorn weekend with super combined, downhill and slalom.
QUOTESDavid ChodounskyI felt I had a good first run, it was nice and solid. I got comfortable with the hill and snow conditions and came our ready to rip in the second run. I ripped.
Everything is building to the next race. I broke my collarbone in August, but was able to get in some good prep in Chile and also in Colorado. From there I've been producing solid results and I try to keep building on that from race to race.
Wengen was my best result until this year, I like that place and I like the hill. It's going to be really fun.
Ted LigetyEleventh place isn't my goal, that's for sure. In order to to have any impact on the overall I have to be on the podium in slalom. I think I have that potential, I just haven't been able to put together two decent slalom runs this year. I have to get rid of the two and three big mistakes I've been making in every race.
This wasn't a horrible result, but it's not what I think I should be getting.
RESULTSOfficial Results
LINKSFacebookTwitterUSSA Network
HELP THE TEAMAthletes like David Chodounsky and his U.S. Ski Team teammates rely on the support of the American public. Click here to support the team.


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Submission + - Tough, super-stretchy hydrogel could be used to replace cartilage (gizmag.com)
cylonlover writes: Scientists at Harvard University have created a hydrogel that's tough, biocompatible, self-healing, and can be repeatedly stretched to 21 times its regular length without breaking – all of which are qualities that could make it an ideal replacement for damaged cartilage in humans. Being a hydrogel, it's composed mostly of water, although it also contains calcium ions, and a mix of two common polymers. While each of those polymers are fairly weak on their own, the results are truly impressive when they're combined.


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Stacy Lewis turned in a second-round 69 on Friday to maintain a 3-stroke lead at the Honda LPGA Thailand
The world No. 3 Lewis is now 12-under 132 through 36 holes.
"I definitely left a few out there," said Lewis. "I didn't hit it as good today, but I made some putts on the back nine and still have a 3-shot lead so I can't complain."
Ariya Jutanugarn, who is playing courtesy of a sponsor invite, vaulted up the leaderboard with a second-round 66 at Siam Country Club's Pattaya Old Course. The Thailand native began Friday in a tie for 10th place and ended alone in second at 9-under.
So Yeon Ryu, ranked eighth in the world, and Beatriz Recari both shot 68s to end 36 holes at 8-under. They are tied for third place with Catriona Matthew, who carded a 69.
Lizette Salas birdied three of her first four holes on Friday and later added an eagle on the par-5 10th to get within a stroke of Lewis, but she faltered with a pair of bogeys down the stretch and finished with a second-round 69.
Se Ri Pak (68) is tied with Salas at 7-under, while world No. 4 Inbee Park (71) is a stroke back in eighth place. Park was tied for third entering Friday after an opening-round 67.
Fifteen-year-old amateur sensation Lydia Ko and last year's runner up Ai Miyazato both carded 71s to move into a tie for ninth place at minus-4. Ko recently won the New Zealand Women's Open to become the youngest victor in Ladies European Tour history, while Miyazato was a 2010 champion at this event.
Karrie Webb (71) and Jessica Korda (67) also sit at 4-under.
World No. 1 and two-time defending champion Yani Tseng rebounded from her opening-round 75 with a 68 on Friday. Last year, Tseng carded a 73 in round one, but rallied with back-to-back 65s in the second and third rounds to jump back into contention.
Joining Tseng at 1-under is Jiyai Shin, who bested the former at last week's season-opening Handa Women's Australian Open and jumped to No. 6 in the world as a result. Shin has turned in rounds of 70 and 73 thus far.
Lewis, who finished tied for 15th last week in Australia, immediately added to her lead on Friday with a birdie on the opening hole. The 2012 LPGA Tour Player of the Year then cooled with four straight pars, allowing Salas to get within three stokes courtesy of her scintillating start.
A birdie on the sixth got Lewis to 11-under, but she closed her outward nine with a bogey as Salas was executing her eagle on the 10th; a feat which quickly narrowed the margin to a single stroke.
Lewis, though, rebounded with back-to-back birdies at the start of her back nine. She then bogeyed the par-4 14th, but her birdie a hole later, coupled with Salas' dropped shots on Nos. 13 and 17, negated the threat.
"I think I've gotten a lot more comfortable having the three-shot lead. In the past you get up and you kind of start protecting a little bit and you realize you still have to go out there and hit shots," Lewis said. "You can't be complacent with it. You just have to go out there and play and not worry about what anyone else is doing. I didn't look at many leaderboards today until kind of the last few holes. I think I'll probably continue to do that."
NOTES: With her win at the New Zealand Women's Open, Ko became the youngest victor in Ladies European Tour history. She finished third last week in Australia ... Jutanugarn's sister Moriya, an LPGA rookie, is 2-over through 36 holes ... The field this week is comprised of 70 players -- 60 LPGA Tour players and 10 sponsor invites ... Michelle Wie finished second here in 2011. She is 1-over ... Last year, Tseng closed with a 6-under 66 to overtake Ai Miyazato. Tseng also won this title by five strokes in 2011.


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Weekly roundup: A new president, a Twitter Bible, and a pope with a cold
So much news, so little time. In case you missed the news this week, here is your weekly roundup.
This week has proved tumultuous for Vision Forum, the nonprofit organization headed up by evangelical proponent of male-dominated households, Doug Phillips. Phillips had an extra-marital relationship with a woman and so stepped down as president of the organization. The organization shortly thereafter decided to close its doors.
Former President George W. Bush is in a bit of a pickle this week because he served as the keynote speaker at a Messianic Jews event in Irving, Texas. The president came under some fire from Jewish groups such as the Anti-Defamation League for speaking for a group whose primary purpose is to convert Jews and bring about the Second Coming.
Everyone remember Ted Cruz, of the Freshman Senator Ted Cruz who may or may not have but definitely did advocate for a government shutdown? Well, his father made news this week. Rafael Cruz, father of said freshman Senator, make the claim this week that atheism is what leads to child sexual abuse.
The USCCB met in Baltimore this week so that they could, among other things, elect a new president. Out with the old and in with the new, the bishops elected Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston as Prez and Vice Prez of the bishops conference. It was nothing terribly exciting or surprising, and is likely to mean more of the same from our bishops for the foreseeable future.
The Bible got a makeover this week with the release of the Twible, the Twitter Bible.
#Twible Ps 40: Glad that burnt offering thing is in the past. Sacrifices were bloody. But write the law on my heart? Harder than it looks.— Jana Riess/Twible (@janariess) November 14, 2013
Meanwhile, in Hawaii, Governor Neil Abercrombie signed a bill making same-sex marriage legal in the state. Hawaii, then replaced Illinois as the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage, as Illinois governor Pat Quinn will sign the same-sex marriage bill into law on November 20.
In Illinois, Bishop Paprocki of Springfield announced that he will preside over a service of "supplication and exorcism" on the same day that Governor Pat Quinn signs the same-sex marriage bill into law. The bishop claimed that "It is scandalous that so many Catholic politicians are responsible for enabling the passage of this legislation and even twisting the words of the pope to rationalize their actions despite the clear teaching of the church."
In Washington, the bishops have called for an independent review of coal transportation practices. The bishops expressed concern for how the increase in shipments could affect regional transportation, climate change, and Native American rights, among other considerations.
And now for our Papal Rapid-fire Roundup:
This week, Sarah Palin said that Pope Francis sounds kind of liberal.
But then she took it back and apologized.
Francis may be in some danger, according to a prosecutor in Italy, who warns that there may be a mafia threat against the pontiff.
In Italy, more people are going to church because of him, apparently.
He has the sniffles, so he canceled his audiences this morning.
If he has a vision of Mary, then it's probably just the cold medicine talking.
And that's about it around here. Looking for something to do this weekend? Consider entering your parish in our "Better know a parish" series here. Or take our survey on Civil and religious marriages.


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Quote from: GreenEyedHawk on November 08, 2011, 08:52:48 PMDAZI! LOL. That's hilarious, with apologies to your surgeon lol.I do still feel bad about it, but it is kind of funny now. I woke up about 1/2 through the procedure and they had to re juice me and restrain me.
DAZI! LOL. That's hilarious, with apologies to your surgeon lol.
All the stories about wisdom teeth reminded me of this video. It's super cute.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G8iECWpDAw
Um, okay, let's work backwards from a couple of weeks ago.Held conversations with the staff in French. Groped the Dr. in front of my DH while both of them laughed hysterically.Sang the Cell Block Tango from Chicago, complete with commentary and random writhing that was supposed to be dancing.Demanded freedom for all of the oppressed pygmy marmosets that were being kept as sweatshop labor. Demanded a boycott of Ticketmaster due to the company's policy of racism against koalas.Sang dirty dirty lymerics to all and sundry.Demanded cake and icecream.
Not exactly an anesthetic problem. Those just make me hork up my toenails unless I'm handled pretty carefully.As I mentioned in the Hugs thread, I'm having both knees replaced in the next couple of months. (First one a week from tomorrow.) My doctor gave me a prescription for Percoset because it is the usual pain pill he gives people after surgery & he wanted to see how I tolerate it. Percodan gives me absolute splitting headaches.The good news: It doesn't give me "shoot me now" headaches.The bad news: It makes me very loopy and kind of "otherworldly" feeling. I decided that it was a REALLY good idea to get off the computer before I posted something terminally stupid. (I was reading Ehell ) I went and crawled into bed at about 3 in the afternoon and slept on and off until 7 the next morning. I still felt a little off. I'm never taking that stuff unless I can go straight to bed.
Quote from: Shoo on March 16, 2012, 02:52:51 PMAll the stories about wisdom teeth reminded me of this video. It's super cute.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G8iECWpDAw"What's in my mouth?""Gauze.""WHY?!"I lolled!
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From NBC's Mark Murray
As expected, the Deeds campaign has pounced on yesterday's front-page Washington Post story on Bob McDonnell's 1989 graduate thesis at Pat Robertson's Regent University -- which called feminism an enemy to the traditional family; said government policy should benefit married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals, or fornicators"; and criticized a Supreme Court ruling legalizing contraception for unmarried couples.
In a conference call with reporters, Deeds strategist Mo Elleithee called the thesis "devastating," arguing that it had the potential to change the dynamics of a race that McDonnell is currently leading according to polls. "It shows just how out of the mainstream he is," Elleithee said. "He is out of touch with most Virginians."
Asked how McDonnell's thesis, which he wrote when he was 34, was any different from Jim Webb's (D) controversial writings about women -- which became fodder during the 2006 Webb-Allen Senate race -- Elleithee responded that the thesis turned out to serve as a "blueprint" for how McDonnell governed in Virginia as a state legislator.
Indeed, the Deeds camp said McDonnell opposed child care in Virginia legislature; he opposed pay-equity laws; and he sponsored or co-sponsored numerous pieces of legislation restricting abortion rights.
"This paper laid out, very specifically, his vision for the role of government," Elleithee said. "This is who Bob McDonnell is. This is how he has governed."
The McDonnell camp says it will be holding its own conference call at 3:00 pm ET.


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Marly Silverman is a worker! How many people have played a major role in creating not one or two but three organizations? Marly first created PANDORA, then in response to the CDC's new website, dreamed up the MWCPA and then was a key figure in getting the Coalition4MECFS off the ground.
Plainly put Marly makes things happen. My first hankering of that occurred in 2007 while I was stewing in Southern California bemoaning my inability to get to the Florida Conference. It was Marly who not only told me to get off my butt and make it happen and provided some funds to do that.


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Some might argue [Larry] David's misrepresentation of Judaism is but a warped, misguided love letter to his own tradition, and that his humor doesn't discriminate when it comes to mocking any religion or ethnicity.Wait. Cheryl is out of her mind.
This is true to an extent, but if one takes a closer look at the show's cast of characters, Judaism is the most poorly portrayed. The cast, which features Susie Essman, Jeff Garlin, Larry David and Richard Lewis, is predominately Jewish. All four characters have similar traits, most of them unflattering (with the occasional exception of Garlin, who can be a well-intentioned individual). And interestingly, the one non-Jew, Cheryl Hines, represents the sole voice of reason among the aforementioned neurotics.
December 29, 2005
The sole voice of reason?
9 comments:
- Jake said...
"Curb" makes fun of people who are nominally Jewish but don't have a clue what it takes to be a Jew. The entertainment industry is full of these people.
Those are the ones David is mocking, not the Jewish religion or religious Jews.
- ShadyCharacter said...
Well there is some mocking of religious Jews as well (think of the scene on the ski lift this season!).
However, it's just a factor of the show having 4 of the 5 main characters be Jewish.
Look at how Cheryl's father is portrayed to get a sense of how a recurring "Christian" character would be handled.
That is, in a very funny manner!
- Simon said...
I'm at a loss as to how one is to take seriously the proposition that the Jewish-American Larry David is anti-semitic.
- toecracker said...
Larry David certainly represents the secular Hollywood self-indulgent type who happens to be Jewish. David certainly is not an observant Jew, but he is not anti-Semetic. He did that episode where he starts freaking out that his Jewish friend is planning on being baptized (to marry a Christian woman) in a ceremony in Carmel. It ends with the entire group going nuts (and an argument breaking down along Christian-Jewish lines) the friend being knocked into the water and swept away by the current in Monterey Bay. Although technically the prospective groom did end up the water--the conversion was definitely disrupted. Very funny and probably the most vigorous defense of Judaism (in a strange way) ever seen on HBO.
- Simon said...
"He did that episode where he starts freaking out that his Jewish friend is planning on being baptized (to marry a Christian woman) in a ceremony in Carmel."
It seems to me that, when in a religiously diverse marital commitment, the determination as to which spouse converts should be informed fairly strongly by whether or not said conversion involves either partner undergoing genital mutilation.
- miklos rosza said...
I hate the kind of person who thinks everyone of any ethnicity should be a "spokesman for his race."
Way back into the early days of Hollywood Louis B. Mayer etc were frightened of America identifying Hollywood with Jews. Larry David's work is a refreshing change, and in context daring as hell.
- Wade_Garrett said...
Aren't Jews in American assimilated enough that this stuff shouldn't matter anymore? I mean, if the fact that the Jewish-ness of Joe Lieberman, who is highly observant, barely came up in the 2000 presidential race didn't show the world that Jews in America are just regular Americans, I don't know what will. I agree with Miklos - when I speak, I don't claim to speak for Catholics, or Italians, or Germans, or straight men, so why should Larry David necessarily be seen as such?
I once read an interview with Philip Roth, in which he recounted how he had his physical safety threatened by a crowd of angry students at Brandeis university, because he had the gall to create a fictional Jewish character who wasn't a nice guy (in the short story 'Defender of the Faith.') Ralph Ellison, who was on the same panel as Roth, was ignored, and Roth was insulted and called a traitor to 'his people.' It is immensely to America's credit that Jews in America are no longer that defensive.
- Bruce Hayden said...
Being Christian, and not Jewish, I always marvel at the Jewish view of Jews accepting Christ. I have one aquitance from college in this category, and my Jewish friends scorn him.
But what is really interesting to me is that there is a A and W Root Beer franchise in Frisco, CO, run by a bunch of Messianic Jews. A couple of days ago, we were in there, and were listening to Christmas carrols while reading Jewish newspapers. There are Hebrew scriptures displayed all over the place, along with Christian literature. Apparently though, they are constantly fighting to keep their franchise, in response to complaints to the franchisor by other Jews.
As a Christain, I find this interesting. Jesus, his twelve disciples, Paul, et al., were all observant Jews. Initially, gentiles converting to Christianity had to first convert to Judiasm. And this was a big part of the debate between Paul and James over the direction of the original Church.
I have often wondered if Jews today partially define themselves as still waiting for the Messiah, then what happens when he (or she?) does finally appear? Does that mean that they will cease being Jewish?
- Simon said...
"I have often wondered if Jews today partially define themselves as still waiting for the Messiah, then what happens when he (or she?) does finally appear? Does that mean that they will cease being Jewish?"
I would guess that, if it happened, it would happen in approximately the same way as last time: the faith would split between those who accepted the Messiah and those who didn't. Why would things have changed?
The only difference is that since the clergy no longer have much power in society to lose as a result of the fulfillment of the prophecies, they are far more disinterested than the pharisees were, but I would maintain that the only change is that the leadership will be as divided as the congregation, instead of the leadership demanding the romans nail the Messiah to a couple of planks of wood in order to safeguard their own status in the community. Jesus: arguably the first victim of a bureacracy protecting itself from change. ;)


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The Palestine refugees would not disappear into thin air, the representative of Lebanon stated, urging that they be given the right to return. That right was acknowledged in the Magna Carta in 1215 and codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, implementing international humanitarian law and resolutions seemed to be inconvenient for Israel, but acting according to law and normality was not a matter subject to convenience.
The Magna Carta? This was a new one on me.
Since Lebanese representatives to the UN tend to simply parrot talking points, I found the likely source for this idea that the Magna Carta discusses a "right to return" all the way back from 1979.
It was mentioned in a document prepared for the UN's "Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People." And the text there shows that duplicity by the "pro-Palestinian" crowd is hardly a recent phenomenon.
The document, called "An international law analysis of the major United Nations resolutions concerning the Palestine question" by William Thomas Mallison and Sally V. Mallison, states:
Historically, the right of return was so universally accepted and practiced that it was not deemed necessary to prescribe or codify it in a formal manner. In 1215, at a time when rights were being questioned in England, the Magna Carta was agreed to by King John. It provided that: "It shall be lawful in the future for anyone... to leave our kingdom and to return, safe and secure by land and water..."
So let's look at the Magna Carta, and see what is hidden behind the ellipses.
42. In the future it shall be lawful for any man to leave and return to our kingdom unharmed and without fear, by land or water, preserving his allegiance to us, except in time of war, for some short period, for the common benefit of the realm. People that have been imprisoned or outlawed in accordance with the law of the land, people from a country that is at war with us, and merchants - who shall be dealt with as stated above - are excepted from this provision.Ah, so it only applies to people who are citizens of the country they left! And it clearly does not apply to members of a entity that is hostile to the country.This is hardly a universal "right of return," and the authors of this paper knowingly quoted only a small excerpt to promote a ridiculous assertion - one that is now confidently shouted at the UN.
It also obviously doesn't apply to descendants.
1979 anti-Israel writers were no less deceptive than their more modern counterparts.
What about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
It says
Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.But this also only applies to citizens or nationals of that country. The text was meant primarily to stop nations from preventing nationals from leaving, and the "return" clause was only added to strengthen the right of citizens to leave. See CAMERA's analysis. Regrettably, the 1963 UN document that is the source for this is not online as far as I can tell.
(UPDATE: Ian found it online, with free registration from Calameo. Ingles' entire monograph is suffused with references to the right of return of nationals. Several times during his discussion he refers to "the right of a national to return to his country." In addition he discusses the matter of how countries may strip nationality from those who leave their country over a long period of time; again the point being that he is only speaking of nationals of the country in the context of return. Beyond that, the language added to the UDHR for "return" being only to strengthen the right to leave was added by Lebanon:
The Lebanese amendment was to add, at the end of paragraph 2, the words
"and to return to his country".
In submitting his amendment, the representative of Lebanon pointed out that
the text under discussion:
"... was intended to cover all movements inside and outside of a given
State. According to that article, any person had the right to leave any
country, including his own. The ideal would be that any person should be
able to enter any country he might choose, but account had to be taken of
actual facts. The minimum requirement was that any person should be able
to return to his country. If that right were recognized, the right to leave a
country, already sanctioned in the article, would be strengthened by the
assurance of the right to return. Such was the object of his amendment."
And, again, it clearly does not include descendants of those who left. That is an innovation that is uniquely applied to Palestinian Arabs, with legal arguments that are at least as specious as these are.


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Daybreakers (DVD)
Just when I was thinking that the concept of the vampire as a frightening monster was going to be done in - not by holy water and wooden stakes but by sparkle and poofy hair and emo-boy posturing – along comes Daybreakers, giving vampire movies a much-needed shot in the arm. It's not perfect, but it gets quite a bit right and it's damned refreshing in its way.
In the year 2019 a vampire plague has pretty much taken over the world, and non-vampire humans now account for only 5 percent of the population. This is a problem not just for the humans but for the vampires as well. You see, consumption of human blood isn't a matter of choice for these vampires. If they go too long without it they begin to change from creatures who more or less look human (save for the usual pasty skin, fangs, and yellowish-brown eyes) to a sort of human-bat hybrid, immensely powerful and completely insane. Drinking animal blood isn't an adequate substitute and feeding off other vampires (or for the truly desperate, one's own blood) only make this descent into savagery happen that much quicker.
At a biochemistry lab run by the transparently evil Bromley (Sam Neill, bringing his Damien Thorn smirk out of retirement), researcher Ed Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is working on a human blood substitute. Unfortunately, his trials on vampire subjects have me with what one could charitably call a lack of success. Ed has a vested interest in finding a substitute – he's been subsisting off animal blood and is starting to show signs of deterioration. By chance he runs into a group of humans who say they have information about a possible cure for vampirism; unfortunately Ed's brother Frankie (Michael Dorman) is a soldier charged with hunting down humans so they can be farmed for their blood.
Daybreakers has a lot going for it. The central premise is good if a bit implausible and the world where vampires are the majority is presented well. The Spierig Brothers, who both wrote and directed, have obviously put a lot of thought into what a mostly-vampire world would require to function – cars that have special UV shields to enable daytime driving, "subwalks" instead of sidewalks to provide shelter during daylight hours, and "farms" where humans are imprisoned and milked of their blood. Rarely if ever is the vampiric plague presented as a good thing – the transformation of blood-starved vampires into feral bat beasts aside, it's delightfully disturbing to see professional businessmen go into a rage because their coffee has only 5 percent human blood in it, to see "civilized" people go into ecstasy as they lick spilled blood off the floor, and to see a young vampire girl commit suicide by deliberately exposing herself to the sun. (Unfortunately the use of wooden stakes against the vampires doesn't work well – it's never explained how the wood destroys the vampires and it comes off as just silly.)
While the movie is far too reliant on use of weird lighting to set the scene and the mood, overall the visual effects are quite effective. The use of physical effects rather than CGI is much welcomed, especially with the bat creatures and the use of stage blood. The only effects misstep is the vampire eyes – the effect is not all that necessary and it's distracting, particularly when the actors seem to keep their eyes open a bit too often, possibly to show off the effect.
Which brings us to the weaker points of Daybreakers. The story is not terribly original, as Ed and the humans work to find a cure for vampirism, all the while dodging soldiers and the evil head of the biochem lab. This could be overlooked if the characters and the actors were more compelling. As written, Ed Dalton simply isn't that interesting, and his portrayal by that Black Hole of Charisma, Ethan Hawke, does the film no favors. Faring better is Willem Dafoe as a human with a Secret That Changes Everything – he comes off poorly at first with a weird accent (and the nickname "Elvis" doesn't help), but in time he's the strongest character in the film. I confess I was disappointed with Sam Neill – it's a pleasure to see him on the big screen once more but sadly he seems to be collecting a paycheck with this one, letting his "I once played the Antichrist" baggage do the heavy lifting for him.
Still, there's enough here to please the fans, particularly if you're really, REALLY tired of pretty-boy, do-nothing vampires. The Daybreakers vampires are old school, undead ghouls that are scary for a change. They're Nosferatu's great-grandchildren and I got a kick of seeing them on screen.
Daybreakers comes to DVD courtesy of Lionsgate, and features a respectable assortment of goodies, including the featurette, The Making of Daybreakers; Audio Commentary With Directors Michael and Peter Spierig, and Special Effects Creator Steve Boyle; Poster Gallery, and a theatrical trailer.