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Re-Evaluating John Navarre
It all seems so quaint now.
The seats were always full. The players were always good. You could buy a ticket for $30 and you could park for under $10. The seasons rolled through with the promise of championships, and when the team fell short, it was by a small margin. A play here, a second there. There were losses and there was anger, but not like that felt at other, lesser schools. After all, the question was never whether Michigan would have more than four losses; it was whether they would ever have fewer.
Beginning with Elvis Grbac, every Michigan starting quarterback was considered a star and a serious NFL prospect. Grbac and Todd Collins both had substantial NFL careers, and while Scott Driesbach never developed into NFL material (two promising preseasons with the Raiders were derailed by injury) Brian Griese surprised everybody by becoming a genuine NFL player and earning the role of successor to John Elway in Denver. Tom Brady, of course, became one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time. And Drew Henson may have had the best tools of any of them, excelling under center before unexpectedly departing to play Baseball.
Into this environment entered a little-known Wisconsin kid named John Navarre.
He had prototypical qualities; a strong arm and, at 6'6, ideal height. He had a prototypical career path, too—three years of anonymous training, mostly as a backup to Drew Henson, before a friendly debut as the "new guy" with weapons like Braylon Edward and Chris Perry in 2002.
But things did not go according to plan.
By the time Navarre's career had finished, he had started games in four different seasons. He held most of Michigan's significant passing records. He had won 30 games. He had beaten all of Michigan's major rivals. He had won the Big Ten title and gone to a Rose Bowl.
And he had been, and remains, the most criticized player in the history of Michigan Football.
In the last 12 years, our perspective as fans has changed. We have seen previously unimaginable futility on the football field. We have watched great quarterbacks and decent quarterbacks and awful quarterbacks.
From 2000-2003, Michigan fans watched John Navarre. We lived and we died with the results he produced. Many groaned, complained, and yelled; many ached for him and with him; all of us felt the heartbreak and the triumph.
How should we remember him now?
The Seasons
2000: 40 / 77, 51.9%, 583 yards, 7.6 Y/A, 8 TD, 1 INT, 2 wins, 1 loss
A facilities staffer that worked part-time with me at Meijer said, "You're going to be pleasantly surprised with Navarre." Drew Henson would miss 3 1/2 games due to injury, and John Navarre stepped in to take his place in the season opener against Bowling Green.
It could not have begun better. Navarre completed 15 of 19 passes for 265 yards and 4 touchdowns. Another three touchdowns the next week against Rice did nothing to tarnish his image, and there was even isolated talk of yet another quarterback controversy in Ann Arbor.
It all crumbled in game three, a 23-20 loss to UCLA in Pasadena. Navarre looked like a redshirt freshman, compiling a miserable 8-28 line for 111 yards and an interception. The next week, he had completed only 4 of 11 before Drew Henson came to the rescue and (with the help of some friendly officiating) led Michigan to a key Big Ten opening victory at Illinois.
Navarre had started well, but he was clearly inexperienced and unready for the biggest stage. It was not supposed to matter, because he was just biding time until Henson graduated anyway. So we thought.
2001: 186 / 346, 53.8%, 2195 yards, 6.3 Y/A, 17 TD, 12 INT, 8 wins, 4 losses
The 2001 season is still one of the great "What-ifs" of Michigan football. Drew Henson stunned the football world by signing a full-time contract with the New York Yankees, and suddenly he was gone and John Navarre assumed the permanent starting role in his place.
There was an ultra-flukey loss at Washington that wasn't really his fault (field goal blocked and returned by Omare Lowe for a TD? Next series a catchable pass bounces off of Chris Perry's fingertips and into the hands of Omare Lowe for a pick six?) and he would have recorded a win against Michigan State if the game had not lasted a second longer than 60 minutes. Still, as the season progressed, it was clear that the offense was struggling.
A large portion of this was due to the supporting cast: Michigan's running game was mediocre in 2001 (BJ Askew led all rushers with 831 yards at 4.4 ypc) and Navarre had only one reliable receiver to target, the connecting 86 times with the brilliant Marquise Walker. Navarre's inexperienced reliance on Walker was not unmerited; the team's second leading receiver was Askew with 24 catches. The next best? Congratulations if you guessed Bill Seymour, netting a pedestrian 23 catches. The second-best wideout in catches, with 14, was Ronald Bellamy. There simply weren't many weapons on the Michigan roster.
By the Wisconsin game (11/24, 58 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) the calls for Lloyd Carr to insert option-style backup Jermaine Gonzalez were noisy and frequent. The Wisconsin game is recorded as a win for Navarre, but it was as flukey a win as the Washington loss, turning on a terrible muffed punt late in the game.
The Ohio State game (21/47, 206 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT) was the low point of Navarre's career. The critics, growing in volume, suddenly saw every worst fear realized. This was a mediocre Ohio State team, but they jumped on Michigan early, and the mistakes (not only interceptions, but an inept attempt at inserting Jermaine Gonzalez and running option resulted in a fumble, and Walker famously dropped a touchdown pass at a crucial moment) doomed Michigan.
The season concluded in embarrassing fashion, a 45-17 blowout by a loaded Tennessee team in the Citrus Bowl. Michigan was overmatched in all phases of the game; as it happened, that Tennessee team was probably exceeded in talent only by the national champion Miami team in 2001, and that Miami team is one of the all-time greats.
Still, the finish was depressing. Michigan had lost against both major rivals and had been humiliated in its bowl game. At the time, I could not remember a more depressing season of Michigan football.
Navarre was a major factor in this. Yet he was not supposed to be the starter at all—George Steinbrenner spirited away the anointed starter before the season began, and Navarre was put in a difficult position with a team that was rebuilding in many important areas. While it is true that Drew Henson could potentially have put Michigan over the top in each of their three regular season losses, it is also true that the Washington and Michigan State games turned on moments that were not in his control.
Lloyd Carr's ideal strategy has always been to run the football well, play strong defense, use efficient passing when necessary, and win with better talent and execution. He will pass, particularly with star quarterbacks, but his style is comfortable with a less talented "game manager" type quarterback. In 2001 such "game manager" type performances would be the best one could hope for from Navarre. Yet, though Michigan rarely trailed in its games, Michigan averaged 5 more pass attempts per game than they had with Henson at the helm. The defense was young, and the running game was often ineffective. That is not a formula for success with an inexperienced quarterback, and it showed.
The 2001 season was disappointing at the time, but considering these challenges, Michigan actually performed about as well as could be expected overall.
2002: 248 / 448, 55.4%, 2905 yards, 6.5 Y/A, 21 TD, 7 INT, 10 wins, 3 losses
The complaints about John Navarre were loud and they were constant in 2002. I listened to WTKA regularly, and he was the central topic of virtually every show. Lloyd Carr's judgment and coaching ability were not under full attacked, but they were questioned, and always only because of Navarre.
The wins (big ones against Washington and Penn State, for example) were not enough. The growth was not enough. Navarre appeared to be unequal to the largest moments.
On the road against Notre Dame (19/42, 230 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), his passing was erratic and he was totally unable to hit receivers on what could have been a key final drive. Against Iowa (14-33, 112 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT), the whole team disintegrated—the running game was invisible, with Perry and Askew combining to net a miserable 12 yards on 12 carries. The offense's only touchdown was the result of sure-score field position following a blocked punt. After resisting Iowa's strong Brad Banks-led offense for much of the game, the defense collapsed, and the 34-9 loss was the worst seen since 1967.
But Navarre was the familiar antagonist for fans, and so he was the subject of the conversation afterwards. It was much the same after a narrow surrender to eventual national champion Ohio State (23/46, 247 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT). Michigan gained more yards than the Buckeyes, but when the burden to lead a late comeback drive fell to Navarre, Navarre was unable to produce a victory. And so he got the blame.
The Outback Bowl against Florida (21/36, 319 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) painted a contrast to the dominant narrative. Chris Perry was the star, but Navarre's efficient passing and the effective gameplan to throw to Perry in space allowed the offense to move well, and Navarre outplayed future NFL draft pick Rex Grossman.
Here was John Navarre as an efficient component of an effective offense. As in the Washington and Penn State games, Navarre was not required to carry the offense by himself, but he was able to play well and win games against quality opponents. There was more talent around him now; Braylon Edwards had developed into a dynamic receiving threat, and after two years of questions at the tailback position, Perry had emerged as weapon that could make the entire offense move well.
The year had its disappointments, but in both Navarre and the team around him, growth was evident. Would it continue?
2003: 270 / 456, 59.2%, 3331 yards, 7.3 Y/A, 24 TD, 10 INT, 10 wins, 3 losses
When it happened, I considered 2003 to be a "very good year." We beat Michigan State and Ohio State. We won a Big Ten title. We went to a Rose Bowl. Chris Perry won the Doak Walker award. This sounds like a year that should be filed several slots above a year like 2001.
Yet Michigan only improved over 2001 by one loss. A team with Top 5 national-type talent couldn't get out of its own way. The regular season losses themselves were horrendous, and it took a miracle comeback to avoid the entire season collapsing on a Friday night in Minneapolis. As I've reflected on the Lloyd Carr era, I've found there are few seasons where more potential has been wasted.
And it was not the fault of John Navarre.
It all started so well. Beating Notre Dame 38-0 (14/21, 199 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) suggested that this team had almost no ceiling. But then #3 Michigan traveled to pre-Chip Kelly Oregon (28-55, 360 yards, 3 TD, 2INT), and again an early road test devolved into a catastrophe.
Lloyd Carr's running game / defense / execution strategy was always conservative, and while it occasionally grated on fans our own rival Jim Tressel proved that such a strategy could produce winning at the highest levels. Why, then, did Michigan have so much trouble producing seasons with fewer than 3 or 4 losses? After the Oregon game, much of the blame was placed on the shoulders of John Navarre. His accuracy was inconsistent, it was said (true). Not good in the biggest games, it was said. People talked about his vision and about the high crown of the field.
However, Carr's preferred strategy has always hinged on an effective running game. At Oregon, Chris Perry ran for 26 yards on 11 carries. Carr's strategy requires good defense, and Oregon passed for a scintillating 8.2 YPA. Carr's strategy requires good execution, and Michigan gave up a crucial punt return for a TD in the second quarter and a backbreaking punt block for a TD after pulling to within three points in the fourth.
So run-first Michigan asked John Navarre to pass 55 times. Risks were required. Plays had to be made without the benefit of a run threat. And, impressively, he led 3 touchdown drives in the last 19 minutes. But it wasn't enough.
Michigan's next road trip, to Iowa (26/49, 389 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) would tell a similar story. Both Iowa first-half TDs were set up by special teams returns, particularly a huge 43-yard punt return at the end of the half. Two punts were blocked in the second half (Bob Griese: "If you want to get a punt blocked, do what Michigan's doing" in a final ringing condemnation of Michigan's horrible attempt to use a spread punt formation), the second one setting up a Nate Kaeding go-ahead field goal. Iowa tacked on its only long TD drive of the game later, and a late touchdown for Michigan was again not enough. A final drive finished with three incompletions and a turnover on downs, and Michigan lost, 30-27.
There was, in both of these games, weaknesses visible in Navarre. His accuracy remained inconsistent, and too often Michigan would fail to produce quality drives in key moments. Yet special teams had clearly betrayed Michigan in both games (it should be noted that Michigan did score on a block against Oregon, but that was more than wiped out by its own failures), and the running game was inadequate in both. If Michigan merely played special teams in those two games to a draw, it wins both.
It's easy to gloss over wins, since the losses are what we remember, but the near-loss to Minnesota was of course the turning point of the season. And in that game, Navarre (33/47, 353 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 1 TD reception in the greatest trick play in Michigan history) was brilliant. Minnesota rushed for 424 yards—Michigan simply could not stop them—and Navarre had to produce. And he brought Michigan back from a 28-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 38-35. Navarre had won his big game.
He beat #10 Purdue, #9 Michigan State, and #4 Ohio State, too (21/32, 278 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT). Michigan was humming. The polls ranked them #4 at the end of the regular season; were the current playoff system in place then, there's little reason to think that they would not have earned the fourth playoff position behind one-loss contestants LSU, Oklahoma, and USC.
And, from that perspective, the 28-14 loss in the Rose Bowl (27-46, 271 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) is forgivable. Michigan was beaten by a better team. Kenechi Udeze spent the entire game in Michigan's backfield, and Navarre was pulverized. Braylon Edwards dropped an early deep pass, and Chris Perry squeezed out only 85 yards on 23 carries, but Michigan simply lost both lines of scrimmage, and the results spoke for themselves.
The final loss is understandable. Navarre performed well and won all three rivalry games. He played well when it mattered against Minnesota. It could be (and was, occasionally) said that his losing record against Ohio State and the early losses in 2003 were marks against him; yet the early losses were largely the fault of special teams coaching, and a Michigan quarterback has not beaten MSU and OSU in the same year since. In 2003, Navarre answered the critics.
The Losses
2000 UCLA: A road opener loss. Navarre was awful, but he was young. A better quarterback could have produced a win, but he was not ready.
2001 Washington: A road opener loss. A blocked field goal returned for a TD, and a pick-six that was on Chris Perry's hands. This loss was not his fault.
2001 Michigan State: The offense was rather dreadful in this game, but we neither remember that nor care: This was the clock game, one of the great crimes in Michigan history. This loss was not his fault.
2001 Ohio State: Navarre's darkest moment. Four interceptions. Booing from the fans. A mediocre Ohio State game winning in Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1987. Even an average performance at QB might win this game.
2001-2 Tennessee: Navarre wasn't good. Neither was the rest of the team. I firmly believe that even Drew Henson at his best would have lost this game; Michigan's defense was just too overmatched.
2002 Notre Dame: A road opener loss. Notre Dame was playing a quarterback named Carlyle Holiday. The offense was bad, and Navarre was the major reason. If he had played better, Michigan would have won. It rests on him.
2002 Iowa: This Iowa team was very, very good. Their offense was fantastic. The final score suggests that Michigan's defense could have done better… and they could have. But Michigan's offense was invisible, and while the running game was a problem, Navarre should have done better here. A couple of good drives earlier in the game may have protected the defense from its late collapse and made this game winnable. Navarre is responsible.
2002 Ohio State: If Braylon is not called for a borderline offensive pass interference in the end zone, this might be a win. I felt then and still feel that Michigan played a great road game against a terrific team; Navarre could only have done better by producing a final winning drive when given the chance. Instead, he was strip-sacked and lost the ball. However, OSU's defense did that a lot in 2002, even to would-be champions Miami. I don't hold Navarre responsible here.
2003 Oregon: A road opener loss. Navarre struggled at times, but Michigan's crucial running game was nonexistant, and the special teams breakdowns were backbreaking. With average special teams Michigan wins this game. This is not Navarre's fault.
2003 Iowa: Iowa only put together one substantial touchdown drive; two more touchdowns and a field goal were set up by two long returns and a blocked punt, respectively. Navarre started the game strong, and if the special teams do not melt down Michigan may have never needed him to put together late drives at all. He could have done better turning some field goals into touchdowns, but that shouldn't have mattered. This is not his fault.
2003-4 USC: Since the days of Bo, the Michigan family has always known that you win football games at the line of scrimmage. Michigan lost this game at both lines of scrimmage. Even Tom Brady plays poorly when the defensive line is in his face; Navarre never had a chance. This is not his fault.
The Triumphs:
2000 Bowling Green: Four touchdown passes. A dream debut; alas, not a great indicator of future performance.
2001 Illinois: Michigan's best game that season, destroying a Sugar Bowl-bound Illinois team 45-20. Navarre (13-26, 187 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) wasn't remarkable but he wasn't bad, either. This was a game-management win, assisted as it should be by a good running attack, good defense, and good execution in all phases. This is the model for how Navarre was best used early in his career.
2002 Washington: A shootout game, among the craziest in Michigan Stadium history, best known for the Phil Brabbs miracle field goal. Navarre (22/38, 268 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) was good, not great, and in Braylon Edwards found his new star target. The game turned on a very marginal complete pass call that Edwards himself thought he dropped, and on an Illegal participation penalty against Washington that set up the winning field goal. Navarre did not win the game on his own, but he was good and that was enough.
2002 Penn State: A crackling shootout against a good Penn State team, the first overtime game at Michigan Stadium. Navarre (27-41, 244, 2 TD, 0 INT) again played very well. Michigan only gained 97 yards on the ground (that number factors in -7 in sack yardage charged to Navarre), a good but not great total, and Michigan was still able to score 21 points in regulation and win the game 27-24 in OT. Navarre excels here, not by carrying the offense, but by running it and making the plays that need to be made.
2002-3 Florida: Navarre outplayed Rex Grossman, and he got good help. Running backs have long been some component of the Michigan offense, but in this game the coaches made Chris Perry a key receiver and he produced 108 yards on 6 catches. Perry's emergence as a weapon was the big story of the game, but Navarre (21-36, 319 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) was clicking and Michigan doesn't score 38 points without him.
2003 Notre Dame: 38-0 speaks for itself. Navarre was unspectacular, but he was good and in the Lloyd-ball scheme that's what is needed.
2003 Minnesota: Navarre was known as slow, but he charged down that sideline with determination for a touchdown. He had often come up short in the big moments when Michigan trailed, but here he led the team to 28 points in the fourth quarter. He was best-suited for a game manager role, but here he was the offense and he won the game. A jewel in the crown.
2003 Ohio State: The most important laurel in any Michigan quarterback's resume: John Navarre beat Ohio State. He was excellent. Ironically, my clearest memory of this game is his perfectly thrown bomb to Braylon Edwards that was called back due to a specious holding penalty; in truth, he was even better than the statistics show. And, in light of Michigan's history against Ohio State since, this win only grows in stature. And this was no downtrodden form of the team—they were the defending champions, they had one loss, and they had an outside chance at the national title game.
Some themes emerge from careful observation of Michigan in the John Navarre era. The most galling to me is the road opener loss. It was a new phenomenon when Navarre took the helm in 2000; the 1997 team was fresh in our memories, and the excellent 1999 team had finished its season mere months before. But post 1997 Lloyd Carr teams perpetually underperformed in their first road games; even in 1999 (close win against a bad Syracuse team) they were poor, and some of the losses were real head-scratchers. Navarre was the quarterback for four of those losses, but Chad Henne and Tom Brady also helmed teams that looked unexpectedly bad on the road. The 2006 Notre Dame game is all the more surprising in this light.
One is also struck by Lloyd Carr's inability to execute his preferred style of play. He believed in running the football, playing defense, not turning the ball over, and letting superior talent win games. It worked 8 times a year, but there were always games where things broke down. Too often the team could not run effectively, and the offense inevitably sputtered when Navarre was forced to make difficult 3rd-and-long throws. Special teams, also, were disappointing—breakdowns were directly responsible for a whopping three losses during Navarre's career.
As we have seen in our most bitter rival, a team built on recruiting and running the football and defense and execution and special teams can win. Lloyd Carr wanted to win this way, but Michigan too often failed, and too often was slow to adjust. The spread punt formation failure of 2003 demonstrated both that Lloyd Carr was willing to try new things, but also that he and his staff were limited in their capability to coach beyond their experience level. It's not that they didn't want to adapt new schemes, it's that they were incapable it. I believe this insularity affected the success of the program in the Carr era, and it was very clear during Navarre's time.
These failures had a negative impact on Michigan's gameplan. In 2000, with Drew Henson at quarterback, Michigan averages fewer than 28 pass attempts per game. With the less experienced and less gifted Navarre under center in 2001, attempts ballooned to over 33. By his senior year, Navarre was attempting nearly 37 passes a game.
Now this in itself isn't necessarily bad, but Michigan had a strong tendency to put severe limits on the passing offense early. Early runs followed by a third-down pass were a common sight. The passing volume was, rather, a consequence of Michigan falling behind and forcing Navarre to throw more often. Too often the adjustments would happen too late in the game to give the offense a chance to adapt. Tellingly, Navarre said of the 2003 Minnesota game, "The coaching staff scrapped the game plan much quicker than anticipated."
Overall, Navarre was a good player with some limitations. The great players are known for consistency, which Navarre did not always have. They are known for clutch play and late-game comebacks, and while Navarre did produce in one key game, there are a number of situations in which he did not.
But the good players produce in difficult circumstances, and Navarre did that. The good players fight through adversity, and Navarre did that. The good players make great plays, and Navarre did that. The good players win the big games. Navarre did that.
The Verdict:
I always felt bad for him. Just a kid, about my age, trying to play a game for the University we loved. Asked to come in and do too much, too soon. And there was such rage, such vitriol, such intensity. If only Henson had stayed, if only the punting team had it together, if only...
John Navarre was the right player in the wrong time. A game-manager asked to be a star; a winner asked to be a national champion; a quarterback whose record any Michigan fan would kill for now, unappreciated in his own time. A Michigan Man, trying to win for Michigan.
He made some great plays. He produced some wonderful statistics. He authored the greatest comeback in program history. And he checked off those boxes on every Michigan Quarterback's list: He beat Notre Dame. He beat Michigan State. He Beat Ohio State. He won the Big Ten. He went to the Rose Bowl.
He had his flaws. He had his limits. He was not a great player.
But he was very good.


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A Harun Yahya VCD set of six films, "Signs of the Creator," has been prepared in Bangladesh. The advertisement in Ittefaq, the most widely read national daily, said this about the set, the first of its kind in the country:
"This documentary set 'Signs of the Creator' includes explanations based on the Qur'an and science. Worldwide, this is the first of its kind in Bengali. Thanks to this film, we will be able to introduce Allah and His infinite knowledge to millions of people in the country and abroad. Before publication and distribution of these documentaries, an official opening ceremony in Dhaka and seminars in various cities will be held to explain the project's subject to the Bangladesh people."

subset: commoncrawl


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Business has been good so far in 2014 for concert promoters in South Florida, continuing last year's theme that saw North American attendance up 23 percent and gross receipts up 26 percent, according to Billboard data.
The trend locally seems unlimited by genre, arena or geography.
Two mainstream BB&T Center performances rank among the top 20 highest-grossing 2014 shows in the country, according to TourIntel: "Michael Jackson: The Immortal Tour by Cirque do Soleil" and Cher and Cyndi Lauper.
The Zac Brown Band had to add a second show last month at the Cruzan Amphitheatre and the Enrique Iglesias-Pitbull tour just did the same, with an Oct. 26 AmericanAirlines Arena show tacked on to a sold-out Oct. 25 date at Hard Rock Live.
And beginning with a pre-breakout performance by the DJ duo Disclosure in January, the eclectically minded Fillmore Miami Beach has sold out 17 shows, with concerts by St. Vincent and Belle and Sebastian soon expected to join them.
"We are definitely off to one of our strongest starts," says Sharisse Pessar, a senior promoter with Live Nation Florida, who books the Fillmore Miami Beach, along with Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale and clubs in Orlando and Tampa.
"South Florida audiences are becoming more sophisticated and diverse in their musical tastes," says Pessar, acknowledging that she has made an extra effort to book the Fillmore with "acts that are on the cutting edge of both artistry and popularity."
With the summer concert season upon us, here is a survey of 16 South Florida shows worth considering for the potential rewards they offer you or someone you care about, from the summer solstice at 6:51 a.m. Saturday to the fall equinox at 10:20 p.m. Sept. 22.
A recent cover story for T, the New York Times' style magazine, put Beyoncé on the front in a $5,320 Louis Vuitton dress and in a special place in history: "Black women have always been dominant figures in American popular music, but no one, not even Aretha Franklin, has reached the plateau that Beyoncé occupies: pop star colossus, adored bombshell, America's sweetheart." Jay Z also dabbles in music. Wednesday at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens. Tickets: Ticketmaster.com.
The other pop colossus. Who else could hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart with a song ("Dark Horse") that references the unusual dietary requirements of a famous mass murderer: "She's a beast, I call her Karma/She eats your heart out, like Jeffrey Dahmer." July 2, BB&T Center, Sunrise; July 3, AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami. Tickets: Ticketmaster.com.
3. TIM McGRAW
Just when you decided to write off McGraw as a cautionary tale, there he is on the July/August cover of Men's Health magazine looking ripped and ready for anything. But it was a close call. In talking to the magazine about how he kicked booze and repaired his frayed marriage to Faith Hill, McGraw referenced the sad fate of influential country singer Keith Whitley, who died of alcohol poisoning in 1989: "Keith Whitley taught me how demons can overtake you if you let 'em. And I was headed down that path." Kip Moore and Cassadee Pope open. July 11, Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach. Tickets: LiveNation.com.
4. RAY LaMONTAGNE
The polish given to the former shoe-factory worker's new album, "Supernova," has challenged fans of the spare Americana heard on LaMontagne's breakout, "God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise." But the jangly psychedelic shimmer of new songs such as "Lavender" and "Pick Up a Gun" is hard to resist. Give in. LaMontagne's opening act, former Rilo Kelly firebrand Jenny Lewis, is getting good preview buzz for her imminent album, "The Voyager." July 12, Fillmore Miami Beach. Tickets: FillmoreMB.com.
The perennial South Florida favorite plays two nights in a setting that he has conquered before. Bassist Stefan Lessard tells Rolling Stone that the band is dividing its shows into acoustic and electric sets, taking them far beyond "Ants Marching." Recent set lists have included Paul Simon's "Slip Slidin' Away," Rodriguez's "Sugar Man," Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" and Lefty Frizzell's "Long Black Veil." July 18-19, Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach. Tickets: LiveNation.com.
The only true singer on the Billboard charts these days working without a net held by an overzealous producer (yes, you Sam Smith), Legend has performed in South Florida four times in the past calendar year. He's always welcome. July 27, Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton. Tickets: Ticketmaster.com.
We like to think that David Crosby, a sailing man who has said he wrote the classic "Wooden Ships" in Fort Lauderdale, will get up for a show right on the New River. Aug. 6, Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale. Tickets: BrowardCenter.org.
The goth chameleon and Bauhaus icon on June 3 released a new album, "Lion," filled with contemporary vitality. Consequence of Sound approved, saying: " 'Lion' is filled with elements old and new, but nothing here is simply regurgitated retro fancy. Murphy, along with producer Youth (the Killing Joke bassist who also helmed Echo and the Bunnymen's latest, 'Meteorites'), has delivered an uncompromising album … easily one of Murphy's most solid solo releases." Aug. 5 Grand Central, Miami. Tickets: GrandCentralMiami.com.
Pure, unapologetic, turn-of-the-century firepower. Not many bands can match the sustained assault of NIN's "March of the Pigs," "Wish," "The Hand That Feeds" and "Head Like a Hole," then add a newer song like "Came Back Haunted." Sometimes, this is just what you need. Aug. 10, Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach. Tickets: LiveNation.com.
The singer released her long-awaited album "Unrepentant Geraldines" last month, an eclectic showcase for Amos' deft piano work and one of the most familiar and unconventionally soulful voices in pop music. Aug. 24, Fillmore Miami Beach. Tickets: FillmoreMB.com.
Two of rap's biggest stars, at the top of their game, will work up a summer sweat with hits such as "Started From the Bottom," "Hold On, We're Going Home" and the latest, "Believe Me." Sept. 3, Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach. Tickets: LiveNation.com.
The Followills this week are in Britain, where they are huge, playing the Isle of Wight Festival, among other locales. The concerts prompted the Irish Independent to proclaim: "Newly domesticated, and semi-detoxed, Kings of Leon are playing some of the best shows of their career." Sept. 6, Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach. Tickets: LiveNation.com.
Andy Bell and Vince Clarke were conjuring up digital, danceable pop music long before people like Calvin Harris, Avicii and Zedd had a laptop, plus they did their own vocals on hits such as "Chains of Love," "A Little Respect" and "Oh L'Amour." Sept. 12, Fillmore Miami Beach. Tickets: FillmoreMB.com.
Amid our ongoing celebration of Brazil, it is worth noting the visit of Bahia-born Veloso, called "one of the greatest songwriters of the century" by the New York Times. Veloso recently released "Abraçaço," the final album in a trilogy that prompted musician David Byrne to say: "Veloso has found a sparse, post-rock beauty in which strange yet simple rock instrumentation is juxtaposed with softly seething vocals." Sept. 13, Fillmore Miami Beach. Tickets: FillmoreMB.com.
On his imminent album, "Hypnotic Eye," Petty has stripped down and returned to the urgent post-new-wave rock of his early years. Not a bad place to be. Steve Winwood opens. Sept. 20, Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach. Tickets: LiveNation.com.
This headbanging cruise sets sail on the Carnival Ecstacy with an impressive manifest of rock hellions including Motorhead, of course, Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament, Down, Zakk Wylde and, for grins, the Jim Breuer Band. Sept. 22, Port of Miami. Tickets: MotorheadCruise.com.
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NFL vs CFL
The first recorded game that resembles what is now called football in North America took place in the mid 1800s and pitted a Canadian team from McGill University in Montréal, Québec against players from Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA. Since that time, both countries have created professional football leagues. Though both the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) play a game based on the original game, there are slight variations in the way the game developed in each league. See how many of these differences you know.
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February 10, 2003
Mr. Jonathan G. Katz, Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission,
450 Fifth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20549-0609.
Re: Mandated Electronic Filing and Website Posting Forms 3, 4 and 5 - File No. S7-52-02
Dear Sirs:
We are pleased to submit this letter of comment in response to the Commission's request contained in Securities Act Release No. 34-47069 relating to the mandated electronic filing and website posting of Forms 3, 4 and 5.
Based on our review and our discussions with a number of our clients, we respectfully suggest that the Commission consider making several changes to its proposal in order to improve the ease of complying with the filing and web posting requirements. As discussed below, we suggest that the Commission allow filings to be made 24 hours a day and permit filings received before midnight to be deemed filed on the same day. In addition, we urge the Commission to increase the alternative formats in which electronic filings may be submitted. We discuss the difficulties that issuers will have in making website postings within one day of filing with the Commission where the issuer does not know in advance that the filing will be made. Finally, we suggest that the Commission amend the language of proposed Rule 16a-3(k) to reflect its intention that hyperlinking to a third-party website satisfies the web posting requirement.
Permit Filings Made Before Midnight to be Deemed Filed on the Same Day
The Commission has proposed that Forms 3, 4, and 5 would be deemed filed on the day received by the Commission if the electronic transmission of the Form begins before 5:30 p.m., Washington, D.C. time. Filings that begin after 5:30 p.m. would be deemed filed the next day. We believe this deadline will be difficult for reporting persons that must file Form 4 within the two-business day deadline (particularly those in Western time zones). It will also be difficult for the Commission, which will need to accommodate large numbers of individuals with filing responsibilities. Accordingly, we urge the Commission to consider a different policy.
We suggest that the Commission adopt a 24-hour-a-day policy for the receipt of electronic filings. We would propose treating all filings for which an EDGAR acceptance message is received before midnight on any day as being filed on that day for purposes of the filing deadlines. We are aware that in the past the Commission has opposed making the system available 24 hours a day because time is required for system maintenance and backup and budgetary constraints limit the availability of filer support staff.1 However, these positions were adopted long before Congress decided to require Section 16 forms to be filed within two business days of a transaction. We believe that technology has advanced to the point where the Commission should be able to perform maintenance and backup without disrupting acceptance of filings.
If a 24-hour-a-day filing policy is not possible for some reason, we would still urge the Commission to adopt the same approach for Section 16 forms as it has for Rule 462(b) filings, which are deemed filed on the same day if received by the Commission before 10 p.m. The fact that other EDGAR filings must be made by 5:30 p.m. to be deemed filed on the same day is not a persuasive reason to adopt the same approach with respect to Section 16 filings. In light of the large number of individuals with filing responsibilities and the fact that Form 4 filings must be made within a two-business day deadline, we believe that it is necessary for the Commission to extend the time available to at least 10 p.m.
Improvement of Filing Options
The Commission states that it will be adopting a new filing system that will provide insiders and those who act on their behalf a means to fill out and submit forms online. While we support this idea, it is not possible to determine whether it will be workable without considerably more information about the system. In any event, we think the Commission should continue to allow the traditional EDGARLink filings and also provide filers with alternative formats in which to submit electronic filings.
At present, filers can either ask the issuer to make their Section 16 filings, hire a third-party service or a lawyer to complete the forms on their behalf or attempt to navigate the Commission's proposed online system on their own. The Commission notes that this system will require data entry to be performed quickly enough to avoid time-outs and will not provide a way to save an incomplete form from session to session. We suggest that the Commission look for ways to improve the technology of the system so that incomplete forms can be saved from session to session or filers can complete the form offline before submitting it online. Even if these technological improvements are made, we doubt that insiders will find it easy to use this system by themselves.
It would be much easier for filing persons if the Commission would allow Section 16 filers to make electronic submissions in .pdf format. There are several reasons why such an approach would be favored. Under the shortened reporting scheme for Form 4, there is limited time for reporting persons to involve third parties in the preparation of their forms, therefore making it increasingly important that these forms be able to be completed by reporting persons themselves. Second, filling out a form in .pdf format would allow filers as much time as they need to complete and review the form, as well as the ability to save a partially completed form. Finally, .pdf format will enable filers to comply with the form instructions by easily attaching or including exhibits when line item or footnote space is insufficient. The .pdf technology is widely available and is free of charge. Most importantly, providing filers with the ability to use .pdf format would be consistent with the Commission's goal of creating a system that insiders can use themselves. Providing an alternative that many filers will be more technologically comfortable with would also increase the efficiency, accuracy and quality of disclosure to investors.
Finally, we are concerned that when the new online filing system discussed in the Release is operational, the Commission will apparently eliminate the ability to make traditional EDGARLink filings entirely. Under the new system, there will be a textual limitation on footnotes and additional information that would otherwise be placed in a footnote will be required to be placed in an exhibit. We are especially concerned about filings made by groups and affiliated ten percent stockholders who currently use elaborate footnotes explaining the relationship between the members of the group, sometimes cross-referencing documents filed on Schedule 13D. It may take many hours to properly fill out and check a Form 4 prepared on word processing equipment and currently filed in paper format. Such documents can be converted to traditional EDGAR format and filed through the EDGARLink system. We are concerned about the prospective elimination of this filing method for these complex forms, since it appears from the discussion in the Release that it will be difficult to complete these forms online. Of course, we would prefer a system that relied on Schedule 13D filings and eliminated Section 16 filings for ten percent stockholders, but as long as Section 16 requires ten percent stockholders to file reports of transactions within two business days, a realistic method has to be found whereby they will be able to make these filings. We strongly encourage the Commission not to abolish the ability of filing persons to make Section 16 filings in numerous different ways.
Ability of Issuers to Make Prompt Website Postings
We are seriously concerned about the ability of issuers to make prompt website postings of Forms 3, 4 and 5 that are made by filing persons who make their own filings, i.e., where the issuer does not know in advance that the filing will be made. At present, Rule 16a-3(e) requires a filing person to send or deliver a duplicate copy of a form to the issuer's corporate secretary or other person designated to receive filings not later than the time the form is transmitted to the Commission for filing. In practice, many filing persons will send a paper copy to the issuer by certified mail on the same day that they deliver the filing to the Commission in Washington D.C., and this copy will not be received by the issuer until several days later. In order to enable the issuer to make a website posting not later than the end of the business day after the filing has been made with the Commission, as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the issuer will need to receive a copy of the filing at or about the time the filing is made with the Commission. Of course, the Commission could simply mandate that filing persons deliver a copy of the filing to the issuer on the same day that they file with the Commission or on the next day, but this would be very difficult for many filing persons to comply with - and many would not - unless it were possible to send an electronic copy to the issuer.
There are several ways that this problem could be addressed. One way would be for the Commission to design the EDGAR system to send to an issuer copies of filings received by EDGAR that pertain to the issuer, possibly excluding those filings that had been made by the issuer itself. Another way would be for the Commission to design the EDGAR system so that the person making the filing could direct EDGAR to send a copy to the issuer. If, as we suggest above, the Commission were to permit Forms 3, 4 and 5 to be filed in .pdf format, issuers could post on their websites, or include in Form 10-K's, 10-Q's and other filings, copies of an e-mail address that could be used by filing persons to transmit copies of filed forms to the issuer. Of course, a filing person could send a document in .pdf format to the issuer even though the filing with the Commission had been made in EDGAR format. However, because the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that "a statement" filed under Section 16(a) "shall be filed electronically" and that "the issuer (if the issuer maintains a corporate website) shall provide that statement on that corporate website, not later than the end of the business day following that filing," it is not entirely clear that a filing in .pdf format sent to the issuer would constitute that statement. We believe that the Sarbanes-Oxley requirement that Forms 3, 4 and 5 be "filed electronically" was not intended to limit the methods of making electronic filings to the EDGAR format used by corporations in making corporate filings, or at least that such a requirement would not have been imposed by Congress if Congress had fully understood the limitations on EDGAR technology that are now apparent.
Clarify that Hyperlinking to Third-Party Websites is Permissible
As proposed, Rule 16a-3(k) would require an issuer that maintains a corporate website to post on its website all Forms 3, 4 and 5 by the end of the business day after filing. Although the Proposing Release states that an issuer can satisfy this requirement by hyperlinking to a third-party website, including the Commission's webpage containing EDGAR filings, the text of the rule does not reflect this intent. Accordingly, we suggest that the Commission change the text of the proposed rule to clarify this position in the text of the rule itself.
* * *
We appreciate this opportunity to comment on the Commission's proposal and would be happy to discuss any questions the Commission may have with respect to this letter. Any such questions may be directed to Richard R. Howe (212-558-3612), Robert W. Reeder, III (212-558-3755), Max J. Schwartz (212-558-3936) or John E. Baumgardner, Jr. (212-558-3866).
Very truly yours,
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Very truly yours,
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP


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Last Call: Illinois Wind for Schools Program Accepting Applications
February 25, 2013
Now in its second year, the Illinois Wind for Schools (ILWFS) program is accepting applications from highly motivated middle school and high school teachers in Illinois public school districts. Three to five middle and/or high schools are selected each academic year as ILWFS partner schools for intensive support through on-site teacher training and classroom resources. Those who are interested in incorporating wind energy into their curriculum and providing outreach to their community are encouraged to apply by March 1, 2013.


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