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Financial Disclosure for PHS-Funded Investigators
Financial Disclosure for Investigators
Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued regulations, 42 CFR Part 50 Subpart F, on financial disclosure for Public Health Service (PHS)-funded investigators. Additional financial disclosure and training is required for anyone involved in the design, conduct, and analysis of PHS-funded research. This includes the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PIs, academic professional research staff, postdoctoral research associates, and graduate research assistants. If your research or employment at UIS is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services, or the National Institute of Health (NIH) you will be required to complete a financial disclosure form and complete mandatory training. The financial disclosure form is designed to assist the investigaor(s) to properly disclose any potential significant conflict of interest (SFI) that is related to the investigator, the investigators 's spouse, and dependent children that reasonably appear to be related to the investigator's institutional responsibilities. This disclosure must occur:
- no later than at the time of application for PHS-funded research;
- within thirty (30) days of discovering or acquiring (through purchase, marriage, or inheritance) a SFI; and
- at least annually, in accordance with the specific time period prescribed by the Institution, during the period of award.
Pre-Award Financial Disclosure When an Investigator is preparing a proposal for submission or renewal of a PHS-funded grant, the PI and Co-PI (if applicable) will be asked to certify that the financial and travel certification disclosures are current for all investigators expected to participate in the project. This certification must be included with the UIS Internal Clearance Form (doc) when submitted to the Office of Grants, Contracts, and Research Administration for approval. Investigators must use the PHS Investigator Financial Interest (pdf) for disclosure. The completed form should be sent to the Office of Grants, Contracts, and Research Administration or emailed to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Prior to initial award or renewal, the PI will be required to certify that financial disclosures, travel disclosures, and required training are current for all investigators participating in the project.
Travel Disclosure for PHS Funded Researchers Investigators of Public Health Services (PHS) funded grants are required to disclose each occurrence of any reimbursed or sponsored travel related to their institutional responsibilities. This disclosure does not apply to travel that is reimbursed or sponsored by sources excluded by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations. Excluded sources include federal, state, or local government agencies; and Institute of Higher Education as defined by 20 U.S.C. 1001(a); an academic teaching hospital; a medical center; or a research facility affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education. Travel associated with significant financial interests such as consulting, paid service on a Board of Directors or Advisory Committee, or other paid outside activities should generally be reported in conjunction with disclosure of the financial interest or paid outside activity. Please use the PHSInvestigatorFinancialInterest (pdf) for this purpose. The disclosure form for Travel Related to PHS Sponsored Research (doc) can be used to disclose each travel event. Please remember that the PHS regulation has a $0 de minimis and the reporting requirement is for the previous 12 months. Required Training for Investigators The regulations require that:
- Training must be completed by all new investigators before engaging in PHS funded research; and
- Training must be completed by all investigators currently involved in PHS projects prior to renewal.
In addition, training must be completed every four (4) years following initial training and when any of the following conditions apply:
- The University revises the Conflict of Commitment and Interest policy or any procedures that may affect the requirements of the Investigator to comply with PHS regulation;
- The University determines that an Investigator is in non-compliance with the Conflict of Commitment and Interest policy or with an existing approved management plan.
There are two required components for the training at UIS. The investigator(s) will complete an online tutorial provided by the National Institute of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research on Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) and review the current University of Illinois policy on Conflict of Commitment and Interest. Please click on the following links:
Upon completion of the NIH tutorial the investigator will be able to print a Certificate of Completion. In addition, after reviewing the University of Illinois policy on Conflict of Commitment and Interest policy the investigator will be able to complete a form documenting completion of the review. The form is available at the following link:
Send a copy of the Certificate of Completion from the NIH tutorial and a copy of the Investigator Training Document Form to:
University of Illinois at Springfield Grants, Contracts & Research Administration One University Plaza, MS PAC 525 Springfield, Illinois 62703-5407
NOTICE If you are completing an application for a PHS sponsored grant, include documentation of completion of training with the Internal Clearance Form (doc) when routing for approval. If your PHS-funded research or PHS sponsored grant application includes human subjects or animals, submit documentation of completed training with your protocols to the Institutional Review Board or the Institutional Committee for the Care and Use of Animals.
Additional Information and Resources Click on the following icons to access the information.
- National Institute of Health FCOI Page
- National Institute of Health FAQ
- National Institute of Health FCOI Presentation
- List of Public Health Service (PHS) Agencies
- List of Organizations Requiring PHS Compliance


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Ten Things That Creep Us Out About John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's New 'Music Video'
Holy moly, that chin hair.
1. John Travolta's chin hair.
2. The number of syllables unnecessarily added to the word "tonight."
3. The speed at which Olivia Newton-John drives.
4. John Travolta's wallet chain.
5. John Travolta's chin hair, and its jet-black hue.
6. The fact that two very rich people couldn't afford to hire better actors.
7. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's matching loungewear.
8. All the line dancing (too much line dancing!).
9. The use of Travolta's family and children to potentially distract from those pesky allegations.
10. John Travolta's chin hair. Did we mention the chin hair?

subset: commoncrawl


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Almost lost in the aftermath of a wild Daytona 500 was the strong second-place finish by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lots of things to note from the drawn-out Daytona 500
February 27, 2012
Random thoughts from the last five days at Daytona International Speedway:
-- What a nice run for Dale Earnhardt Jr., with a strong second-place finish and a very smart, savvy drive. Could this be the year his drought ends? Yeah, we know, no point in speculating.
-- Third-place Greg Biffle swears he couldn't get to leader and teammate Matt Kenseth at the finish line, but it sure looked as if he hung back a bit with Earnhardt on his rear bumper, ensuring that Earnhardt couldn't get a run on Kenseth for the win. It didn't work out as well for Biffle, who finished third.
-- Attrition of the top names was astounding: Jimmie Johnson, credited with finishing one lap, ended up 42nd in the 43-car field. Teammate Jeff Gordon grenaded an engine and ended up 40th. Kurt Busch, so competitive all week, was the last car running, 89 laps down and scoring a 39th-place finish. Danica Patrick was 38th. "Fireball" Juan Pablo Montoya finished 36th after crashing into the jet dryer. Last year's winner, Trevor Bayne, was 35th. A. J. Allmendinger, who had high hopes after taking Kurt Busch's seat at Penske Racing, was 34th. Brad Keselowski was 32nd, and past Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray was 31st.
-- In the Camping World Truck Series race and the Nationwide Series race, the crashes seemed to come just out of turn four. In the Cup race? On the straight just past the flagstand. Why? Hard to say, unless it was the fact that all of the rubber laid down on the track was washed away by all of the rain that preceded the Cup race.
-- Similarly, in the truck race, the outside line began working only late in the race. In the Nationwide race, the inside and outside lanes both seemed to work equally well. In the Cup race, it was inside line all the way, with the outside line never coming in. Perhaps running without the sun beating down on the track had something to do with that.
-- It was almost the ultimate long-shot trifecta: Unknown John King wins the Truck Series race, little-known James Buscher wins the Nationwide race, and had the track not been repairable after the jet-dryer fire, leader Dave Blaney--in the Ollie's Bargain Outlet Chevrolet--would have won the Daytona 500. The good news for Blaney: He led for nearly two and a half hours, thanks to the delay. The bad news: It was all under caution and red-flag conditions. At least the Ollie's people had to be happy.
-- Many of us wondered whether the Daytona International Speedway crew could effectively repair the damage done to the track after the huge jet-dryer fire, but it did, and the repair wasn't a factor. "They took their time, and they did it right," Earnhardt said.
-- The top 10: Ford, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Chevrolet, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Toyota. The three Dodges had a bad night, finishing 32nd, 34th and 41st.
-- Never have the stands emptied so quickly after a Daytona 500, but never has the race finished at almost 1 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday morning. Nonrace-fan employers must be wondering what the deal is with all of the sick days being taken right about now.
-- "I like the package," Earnhardt said. "I can definitely do things on my own." Indeed, NASCAR did a pretty darn good job of breaking up the two-car drafts, and even the multicar drafts seemed packed less tightly than in the past.
-- Fuel injection? A nonissue, but a couple of cars had problems restarting when hot, an expected concern, and at least one car had fuel-pressure problems.
-- The teams and drivers like to say that the season really begins this coming weekend in Phoenix, because Daytona is not a good indication of a team's strengths and weaknesses. We'll see.


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Event features NCAA Division II programs from South Dakota, Missouri
(Sioux Falls, SD) – Four NCAA Division II men's basketball teams will visit the Pentagon by Sanford Health in November as part of the inaugural Sanford Pentagon Basketball Showcase, Sanford officials announced today.
Augustana College, Northern State University, the University of Central Missouri and Missouri Western State University will compete in a four-game showcase on Nov. 9 and 10.
All games will all be played on the Pentagon's Heritage Court. On Nov. 9, NSU plays UCM at 4 p.m., and Augustana faces MWSU at 6 p.m. NSU and MWSU will meet at 2 p.m. on Nov. 10, while Augustana and UCM finish the showcase at 4 p.m.
The Sanford Pentagon Basketball Showcase begins a day after the University of Wisconsin's regular-season contest against St. John's University (NY) at the Pentagon.
Augustana and NSU are both members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while UCM and MWSU compete in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
"Basketball enthusiasts in this region should be excited for November at the Pentagon," said Eric Larsen, general manager of the Sanford Sports Complex. "These four Division II games fill out an incredibly competitive and entertaining stretch of basketball at our new facility, and fans will have the chance to see familiar teams and some visiting Sioux Falls for the first time."
Augustana, which finished the 2012-13 season 22-9, and UCM, a 22-8 team last season, both qualified for the NCAA tournament last year. NSU compiled a 20-11 mark, and MWSU was 10-17.
The Pentagon is scheduled to open in September and will hold a series of grand opening events throughout October and November for the Sioux Falls community. The facility is part of the Sanford Sports Complex located along Westport Avenue between Benson Road and West 54th Street in Sioux Falls. The 162-acre complex is the home of the Sanford Fieldhouse and nine Junior Football fields. The Sioux Falls Ice Sports Association has announced plans to construct the Scheels IcePlex, and the Sioux Falls Tennis Association is also working to build a venue on site.
About the Pentagon by Sanford Health
The cornerstone of the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, SD, is the Pentagon by Sanford Health, a 160,000-square-foot, five-sided facility featuring nine basketball courts, including the 1950s/1960s-inspired Heritage Court. The venue combines state-of-the-art amenities—including high-definition video boards and executive suites—with period-specific finishes that are a nod to the nostalgic days of basketball.
The 3,200-seat Pentagon is home to Sanford POWER Basketball Academy, Sanford POWER Volleyball Academy, the NBA D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Women's and Men's Basketball tournaments and the South Dakota High School Basketball Hall of Fame. For more information, visit sanfordpentagon.com.
Tim Gerszewski
Sanford Media Strategist – Sioux Falls Region
(605) 366-2432 / firstname.lastname@example.com
Follow me on Twitter @SanfordTimG


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Book Tour and Activities on the Go!
About the Destination:
The lush Nandi Hills are ideal to reel in the sights of rare birds and diverse array of flora. As you are amidst the soothing balms of nature, also get to learn the art of photography. This recreational activity lasts for around 11 hours.
Leave from Indiranagar, Bangalore around 6 am and reach the base of Nandi Hills, an ancient fortress of Southern India by 6.45 am. The fascinating guided birding starts and take in the stunning views that abounds. The thick and rich forest cover supports birdlife, making it a popular location for birdwatchers and photographers. The avian variety usually spotted here includes Indian Pitta, Indian Blue Robin, Nilgiri Woodpigeon, Pied Thrush, Eurasian Blackbird, Blue-capped Rock Thrush, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Malabar Whistling Thrush. Break for lunch around 12 and around 2 continue the bird watching experience.
At around 3 pm, leave for Hoskote Lake. Capture the rare sights on camera and enjoy bird and nature photography. Enriching the experience are the photography experts who give you insightful tips and teach you the basics of flight photography. Head back home completely refreshed and having honed the skill of taking still pictures.
Duration: Around 11 hours
Activities: Bird watching, Learn photography, Sight Seeing
Difficulty Level: Easy
About the Activity:
Ask a Question
Ask Question


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Hosea L. Williams writes project leaders and field staff focused on mobilizing field operatives for the Poor People's March on Washington 1968. Williams sets the procedures and guidelines for all fundraising activity.
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Transfer Credit Officer: Libby Saylor
All transfer credit, study abroad, or credit away requests must be submitted through the XCAT system; see: https://apps.sas.upenn.edu/sso/xcat
1. Credit for courses taken away from Penn is not automatic.
All courses are reviewed by the department on a case-by-case basis, through the XCAT system. It is each student's responsibility to enroll only in courses that are as demanding as those taught at Penn.
2. For a course to be considered for credit, the following standards must be met:
• Instructors should hold an advanced degree
• The course must meet regularly (at least 30-40 hours over the term)
• The course must include a substantial reading component
• The course MUST require a significant written component (eight 250-word pages/2,000 words or more in total, not including title page, bibliography and/or images), and students must be able to demonstrate completion of that work.
3. All XCAT applications must include the course syllabus and the written component (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH).
This syllabus must enumerate the course in full, including the lecture schedule, list of readings, exams, and all written assignments. In cases where additional documentation is necessary, students will be asked to provide copies of graded work by uploading to the XCAT request. Students should save all work completed for these courses.
When submitting a course to XCAT for approval, the application MUST include a PDF or .doc file of the course's written component (ie the paper, exam, etc.). If this supporting material is omiitted, the request will be returned to the applicant.
4. Courses that do not meet the standards listed above will not be approved; these typically include:
• "Art appreciation" courses or other courses that remove art from its historical and cultural context
• Courses that are limited only to visits to a group of sites, monuments, institutions, and the like, but do not require class meetings, readings, exams, or papers.
• Courses that do not require substantial written work and substantial reading among others
5. Survey courses taught on study abroad or through credit away may not be counted for the introductory courses in the major except as transfer credit taken BEFORE the student's matriculation at Penn. Upon request, such courses taken elsewhere may be considered as elective credits.
6. Art History majors must meet with the Undergraduate Chair prior to enrolling in Study Abroad program or in courses at other domestic institutions.
7. Survey courses taught on study abroad or through credit away may not, under any circumstances, fulfill any sector requirements for the History of Art Department. Students can only receive elective credits for study abroad and credit away courses.
8. A limit of three study abroad/transfer credit courses, approved by the department, can count towards the major.


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Thieves shopping list: baby formula, toothpaste, tequila
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Baby formula was the "hot" item for four suspects, who got caught allegedly stealing thousands of dollars' worth of the powder from area stores. Officers also found stolen toothpaste, medication and alcohol in their car.
Three of the four suspects were arrested in this week. Sheriff's deputies say two men and two women walked into a Bel Air in Auburn Wednesday evening. They then reportedly filled duffel bags with baby formula cans.
A store employee tried to stop them, when one of the men ran out the front doors with a duffel bag. The other suspects dumped the cans in store aisles before running out of the store.
The initial suspect who ran off also dropped his duffel bag of formula.
Placer County Sheriff's deputies got help from people in the area and tracked down the suspects' car, which was a rental car, parked behind a building across the street from the Bel Air.
The two women were arrested as they ran from the car. The man inside the car ran off.
About two hours later, one of the men was found and arrested. He is identified as Damon Yon Marcus Nash of Hayward.
The women arrested were Charday Mariah Monique Brown of Hayward and Torryiel Gayla Griggs of Oakland. All three were booked on commercial burglary and conspiracy charges.
The rental car had 160 stolen items inside, most of which were large containers of baby formula. There was also packs of Prilosec medication, Sensodyne toothpaste and bottles of tequila. The items came back as stolen from various stores between Reno and the Bay Area.
There is no description of the fourth suspect at this time.


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Welcome to the age of precision medicine and new efforts to minimize birth defects and disease. These ripped-from-the-headlines miracles are the perfect fodder for law students struggling to grasp the complexities of health law.
UC Hastings Adjunct Professor Patricia Davidson's bioethics class spent a recent Friday morning debating the guidelines for a new technology that is being used to reduce certain birth defects associated with damaged mitochondria.
Mitochondria is the engine that powers the cell, allowing it to use and produce energy effectively. Mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, is maternally inherited. Mitochondria defects, however, can be passed from mother to child and can cause a range of health issues, some minor, some serious. In some babies the symptoms are immediately evident and systemic. Others do not show up until patients are adults. And in some, the defect does not trigger automatic illness or injury. Some scientists also believe that damaged mitochondria may be to blame for the puzzling panoply of symptoms that has been dubbed Gulf War Syndrome.
Such defects affect a small percentage of the population. But for at least a decade, scientists have been able to take the mtDNA from one woman, and implant it into the egg of a woman whose mtDNA is damaged. The resulting child, in effect, has three biological parents. One woman who provided the mitochondria, one woman whose mitochondria has been replaced in the egg but whose DNA establishing height, eye color, and other traits remains, and the genetic contribution from the father.
What Laws Govern "Genetic Tinkering?"
One leading researcher acknowledged this "genetic tinkering to promote health" has a host of medical, ethical and legal issues that touch areas of law that are not cut-and-dried. Judging from the wide-ranging small group and class discussion in Davidson's class, today's law students agree.
Such mtDNA transplant procedures were allowed until the Food and Drug Administration halted them in 2001. The FDA is currently considering whether to allow the procedure again, and in what circumstances. Thus far, more than 17 babies have been born in the U.S. using this treatment.
The procedure is under consideration in the United Kingdom, and will be regulated by the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA), which oversees the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research. The procedure has broad support there. HFEA issued proposed draft regulations and guidelines for its use in 2013.
"Mitochondrial DNA donation has the potential to change the lives of couples who might have been otherwise unable to have their own healthy biological children," said 3L Amanda Hamilton. "Our class discussed the ethical and legal implications of the UK guidelines."
"Bioethics is a particularly valuable class in the Health Law curriculum because it allows students to delve into topics that inspire passionate dialogue and deep discussion. I appreciate being exposed to these topics, as it makes me a more well-rounded practitioner," Hamilton said.
Bringing Medical and Legal Minds Together
Like Hamilton, many of Davidson's students are taking the Health Law Concentration. Some are MSL students who work in the medical field, such as Nerissa Segovia, who works as an emergency room nurse at San Francisco General Hospital and wants to go into health policy. Others have extensive experience in healthcare, having worked as clinical psychologists or social workers.
Others are JD students like 1L David Roth, who studied philosophy in undergrad and worked in the UCLA Health Systems Ethics Center before entering law school. Several students are associated with the UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health.
"The value of today's collaborative exercise is that it pushed us to examine bioethics issues that we will have to deal with by the time we begin to practice," Roth said. "Being able to look at something as complicated as mitochondrial DNA donation under the guidance of an experienced professor, and with the input of relevant medical professionals from our consortium with UCSF, is an experience that will help elevate UC Hastings students above their competitors."


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On days off, Leigh Katherine plays songs passed down through generations on the ancient Zimbabwean mbira.
On days off, Sarah Scherrer inks skin with the best of them. See her story in the "People" section of our website.
Every Monday we show how a different unicorn gets to work.
In Amsterdam, white heroin mistaken for cocaine was claiming victims. We created a campaign to warn tourists of this deadly killer.
We snap photos of all our unicorns. Check out the "Careers" section of our site, if you're looking to get a job -- or a picture ;)
Visit us at 2001 The Embarcadero and take a ride on our aquarium themed elevator.
A most sacred tradition, decreed by the ancient unicorns, a well-earned reward for a successful week's work.
On days off, Matthew Jacobson pulls rabbits out of hats -- a hobby he's had since he was seven years old.
On days off, Mick Champayne sometimes travels to far flung corners of the world to test her limits.
Every Monday we show how a different unicorn gets to work.
The website we just launched for Stoli refreshes every 24 hours with new content. We'll drink to that.
Let them eat cake! But not before we film it for social media.
In support of Doctors Without Borders, we encouraged corporations to give the organization a meeting with their CEO as a donation.
We're poets, mathematicians, painters, wizards, and generals. How about you?
On days off, YooJin Hong puts on her scuba gear and dives into the deep.
On days off, Duncan Campbell heads out into the wilderness.
Every Monday we show how a different unicorn gets to work.
Fail fast, learn faster. That's how we validate ideas that work, pivot ideas that almost work, and move on from ideas that don't work.
Say hola to some of our Spanish unicorns!
For Sephora we created in-store retail screens with technology that enhances the customer experience.
On days off, Maggie Allen likes to explore new places near and far.
On days off, Scott Donaton hops on his motorcycle and rides.
Every Monday we show how a different unicorn gets to work.
We recently worked with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts to launch a refreshed meetings and events program.
Our elevators are for more than just going up and down.
Connecting our clients with their clients is what we do. Our client NS then connects their clients to cities throughout Europe.
Bring on the pong! Our annual ping-pong tournaments bring out the best in us. Here's a peak at this year's finals match.
On days off, Mari Docter enjoys spending time at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
To mark this last day of April, we're taking a look back at all it had to offer.
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This holiday, digitas is going dark.
See why and find out how you can help.


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Which is better to use on patients getting hernia surgery: A synthetic mesh patch that costs $140 or a biologic mesh made from pigskin that costs $22,000?
And which patch leads to higher infection and complication rates? Which gets patients out of the hospital sooner?
The surprising answers: No one knows, according to Michael Rosen, M.D., chief of general and gastrointestinal surgery at the Cleveland-based University Hospitals Case Medical Center and co-director of the hospital's Comprehensive Hernia Center.
The answers could come soon from ArborMetrix Inc., an Ann Arbor-based software company that helps health care organizations lower costs and improve patient outcomes.
ArborMetrix is expected to announce Monday that it has closed on a funding round of $8.3 million.
Rosen said the American Hernia Society has been using ArborMetrix software to combine data from 40 surgeons and about 700 patients since August, and will meet in March to begin devising standards of care and decide which procedures and devices best serve which kinds of hernias.
"There are 300,000 hernia surgeries a year, and there's no standard operating procedure. There are hundreds of meshes and thousands of procedures," he said. "For example, at the same hospital, for the exact same kind of hernia, one surgeon will use a $140 mesh. Another will use a $22,000 mesh.
"Sometimes a $22,000 mesh might be appropriate. But when? The answer is, we don't know. There's no data. The $22,000 mesh is used because it's had great marketing. About $500 million of them were used last year in this country. But it's marketing that drove that, not data from outcomes. Clearly, ArborMetrix is going to improve quality of care at a reduction in cost."
The round was led by RPM Ventures of Ann Arbor and joined by Ann Arbor-based Arboretum Ventures, which put up the $1.5 million in seed capital that launched ArborMetrix in 2011; the student-run Wolverine Fund of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business; and the Ann Arbor-based Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, which usually invests in other VC firms but made an exception this time to invest in a specific company.
"This region has always been strong in health care IT, going back to Medstat in the mid-1990s, but granular, actionable data to improve health care has been the big challenge," said Chris Rizik, Renaissance Venture's CEO and fund manager, referring to Medstat Inc., which was sold to the Thomson Corp. in 1994.
"What they are doing is going to be front and center with everything that's going on with Obamacare. It's a really exciting company," he said of ArborMetrix.
The investment round also included the first investment from the new Detroit Innovate Fund I LP, a sister fund to the First Step Fund, both of which operate under the auspices of Invest Detroit and have been funded by the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan.
The First Step Fund invests $50,000 in startup companies. Detroit Innovate is designed to invest much larger amounts to promising area companies and invested $300,000 in ArborMetrix. It has a goal of raising at least $10 million, including commitments of $5 million from NEI and $2.25 million from the Michigan Economic Development Fund.
An idea for a company
Early in 2011, John Birkmeyer, M.D., a professor of surgery and chairman of surgical outcomes research at the University of Michigan Health System, approached Tim Petersen, a managing director at Arboretum Ventures he knew through playing tennis, about an idea he thought might turn into a business.
There was a crying need for better analytics to judge health care procedures and outcomes, he said, especially with the impending rollout of the federal Affordable Care Act. Arboretum decided to put in $1.5 million to develop a business plan, hire a few people and see if there was indeed a business there. Paul McCreadie, another managing director at Arboretum, was named chairman of the ArborMetrix board.
Other company founders are Justin Dimick, M.D., chief of the division of minimally invasive surgery at the UM Health System, and Doug Staiger, a Dartmouth College economist who had developed metrics for measuring the quality of hospital health care.
Since then, ArborMetrix has gathered Web-based, cloud-stored data from more than 200 hospitals and more than 5,000 doctors.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan helped ArborMetrix with proof of concept, that it could analyze data from hospitals to help define best practices; to correlate procedures with high infection and complication rates, and help lower costs by showing benefits or the lack thereof of certain procedures or devices.
The first joint effort between Blue Cross and ArborMetrix was to do a study on angioplasty, according to David Share, M.D., a senior vice president in charge of the Detroit-based insurance company's Collaborative Quality Initiatives program.
It began with data being shared by six hospitals in Michigan and now involves every hospital in the state that does the procedure. ArborMetrix is gathering and analyzing data for other Blue Cross collaboratives, including a bariatric collaborative, urological surgery collaborative, spinal collaborative and breast oncology initiative.
James Montie, M.D. — a professor of urology at UM and co-director of one of the Blue Cross quality initiatives, the Michigan Urologic Surgery Improvement Collaborative, made up of 32 urology centers around the state — said he hopes ArborMetrix data will help clarify a major issue in prostate care: what prostate tumors require surgery and which don't.
Meanwhile, he said, at least four academic papers on prostate care have either been published or are in the process, based on 18 months of ArborMetrix data involving 6,000 patients.
"It has surpassed our expectations," he said.
Through various surgical quality initiatives, Blue Cross Blue Shield has identified more than $85.9 million in cost savings statewide in two years of working with ArborMetrix, including a 10 percent reduction in mortality, 29 percent reduction in pneumonia, 33 percent reduction in cardiac arrest, 15 percent reduction in length of stay and 18 percent reduction in surgical-site infections, according to Share.
One result of data gathered from 36 hospitals in Michigan showed that a device commonly used in vascular surgery, inserting a filter to capture small blood clots, resulted in higher mortality rates and longer patient stays compared to similar surgeries conducted by doctors who didn't use the filter.
After vascular surgeons in the state saw the data and began ending their use of the filters, the mortality rate fell from three in 1,000 operations to one in 10,000.
"The project has been extraordinarily successful," said Share. "The company has shown that it has powerful tools to optimize patient care and outcomes."
ArborMetrix's customers include the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, the American Hernia Society, the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium and Atrius Health.
Growth curve
In July 2012, as data was being compiled and customers were signing on, ArborMetrix was able to recruit Brett Furst, a 23-year veteran of the IT industry, as CEO. Most recently he had been a vice president at Covisint, a business unit at Detroit-based Compuware Corp. that managed large volumes of data collection and sharing for the automotive and health care industries.
Those metrics also drove fundraising for the current financing round, which will fund the hiring of developers, customer service reps and sales staff. The company, which moved into about 9,000 square feet in the former MLive headquarters on East Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor several months ago, employs 32 and plans to hire about 10 more by the end of the year.
Furst said the company plans on the $8.3 million to carry it until the second quarter of 2015, at which point the company should be cash-flow positive and able to fund future growth without further need of equity capital.
He said ArborMetrix grew revenue by 108 percent last year to less than $5 million, with projections of up to $10 million this year.
"We didn't start generating revenue until the third quarter of 2012, so revenue is still fairly modest, but we're on a significant growth trajectory," said McCreadie. "The rate at which we've gone from trying to decide if there was a business to getting customers and getting to market has been really quite remarkable."
Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337, [email protected]. Twitter: @tomhenderson2


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Boy band The Wanted celebrated the anniversary of their first appearance on a major U.S. TV show by returning with flowers for the host.
The group saluted comedienne Ellen DeGeneres for all her support at the People's Choice Awards on Wednesday (09Jan13) as they collected their Favorite Breakout Artist trophy - they even dedicated an a cappella version of Starland Vocal Band's hit Afternoon Delight to the TV personality from the stage at the ceremony.
And they surprised her again on Friday (11Jan13) by returning to her daytime show with hugs and flowers.
Singer Max George said, "You gave us our first break on TV," prompting Ellen to add, "(It was) a year ago today."
Jay McGuiness added, "It's been a very good year for us but all the time we never forgot you took a bit of a risk."
DeGeneres insisted it wasn't much of a risk, adding, "You all are very talented and I could tell you were gonna go places."


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According to the movies, revenge makes the world go 'round. Revenge is the reason Tony Stark goes after the Mandarin, the reason Khan attacks the Enterprise, and the reason the main characters from Quentin Tarantino's last five films get out of bed every morning. So it's borderline blasphemy when, early in Pacific Rim, a character asserts, "Vengeance is like an open wound." The implication is that humanity won't win its long war against the kaiju — giant, ever-evolving outer-space sea dinosaurs — by framing each battle as a chance to settle the score, because such wounds will never heal. Cooperation and devotion to duty might get the job done, though.
This unusually refined summer-movie morality check permeates Pacific Rim, director Guillermo del Toro's excellent homage to Ray Harryhausen, Toho monster movies, and anime epics like Neon Genesis: Evangelion. With one crucial exception, the film's human-interest level is fairly low. But Pacific Rim does for CGI action sequences what Coraline and Avatar did for 3D: It justifies the format while suggesting new advances and possibilities.
The three major confrontations between the kaiju and the gigantic, man-made, and team-operated robots — called "jaegers," or hunters — take place in a finely textured, digitally enhanced futurescape whose oceans and metropolises pulse with life and tactility. Buildings are demolished and seas crash against these titanic warriors as they rip each other to pieces, but hardly any images look as thin, shadowless, and flimsy as the ones that have rendered similar set pieces unwatchable for nearly a decade. As Grantland's Wesley Morris astutely noted in his review, "On one hand, it's probably just somebody's computer. On the other, it's a miracle."
The second kaiju-jaeger battle, which takes place in and around Hong Kong, is the most potent stretch of action filmmaking I've seen all year. The whole thing unfolds like an improbable run at a craps table: Each outrageous gamble not only pays off but is topped by the next. The climax of the scene is so grand, though, that when it finally ends, the letdown lingers a bit too long: No matter how hard it tries in the finale, the film can't possibly top this scene.
For maximum impact, scenes like these simply must be seen on a big screen. However, before you see Pacific Rim, you've got to make a choice. The film's effects may be even more dazzling in 3D, but the 3D glasses will make the already-dark scenes taking place at night (or on the ocean floor) even darker.
Like fellow fantasist Terry Gilliam, Del Toro clearly loves all the small details about his digitally manufactured creations. But he's smart enough to know when to pay attention to human drama as well. In a film whose male leads are often more cartoonish than convincing, there's a long and important flashback that follows a lost little girl as she tries to hide out from a rampaging kaiju. Its payoff is well worthwhile and it works, because, in monster movies as in life, it's the small stuff that matters.
Pacific Rim
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Marine Investigation Report M00L0039
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigated this occurrence for the purpose of advancing transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
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of the Bulk Carrier Tecam Sea
by the Bulk Carrier Federal Fuji
in the Port of Sorel, Quebec
27 April 2000
On 27 April 2000, the Panamanian bulk carrier Federal Fuji was calling at the Port of Sorel, Quebec, to offload reinforcing bars at berth 15. Commencing its final approach to the dock under the conduct of a pilot, the vessel struck the bulk carrier Tecam Sea, moored at berth 19. There were no injuries or pollution as a result of this occurrence.
Ce rapport est également disponible en français.
Other Factual Information
Particulars of the Vessels
|Official Number
|Port of Registry
|Nassau, Bahamas
|Nassau, Bahamas
|Bulk carrier
|Bulk carrier
|Gross Tonnage
|17 814
|17 056
|182.8 m
|178.21 m
| Forward: 10.08 m
Aft: 10.09 m
| Forward: 9.3 m
Aft: 9.4 m
|1986, Nippon Kokan Shimizu, Japan
|1984, Hitachi Innoshima, Japan
|One Sulzer diesel, 6RTA58, 6988 kW
|One Sulzer diesel, 6RTA58, 8474 kW
|Viken Lakers, Bergen, Norway
|Sea Quality, Athens, Greece
Description of the Vessels
The Federal Fuji is a bulk carrier with a deadweight capacity of 29 536 tons. The bridge, accommodation, and engine room are aft of the five cargo holds. Four deck cranes are used to handle cargo at the cargo holds. The ship is powered by one main engine, driving a right-hand fixed-pitch propeller. The bow thruster develops 660 kW.
The Tecam Sea is a bulk carrier with a deadweight capacity of 27 631 tons. The bridge, accommodation, and engine room are aft of the five cargo holds. Four deck cranes are used to handle cargo at the cargo holds.
History of the Voyage
On 27 April 2000 around 1502 eastern daylight time,2 the tugs Océan Golf and La Prairie were made fast by the bow to the starboard shoulder and quarter, respectively, of the Federal Fuji. The bulk carrier, with 18 813 tons of reinforcing bar on board, was preparing to move from the anchorage in the mouth of the Richelieu River to berth 15 in the Port of Sorel, Quebec. On the bridge were the master, the officer of the watch, the helmsman, a company representative, and a pilot, who was conning the vessel using visual observations. The crew noted that the weather was clear. The winds were from the northwest at about eight knots.
At 1509, off the danger buoy for Sorel basin, the pilot ordered slow ahead. The vessel headed toward the mouth of the Richelieu River, while visual contact was maintained with the front of wharf 15. After establishing visual contact with the front of wharf 16, the pilot ordered port 20 helm. The tug Océan Golf assisted the vessel to swing to port. At 1512, the main engine was stopped, and the tug La Prairie applied astern power to deaden the vessel's headway, estimated at two knots.
Figure 1. Port of Sorel, approximate position of vessels
When the yaw had slowed, the pilot directed the navigation personnel to use the bow thruster to assist the tug. The vessel stopped swinging to port, then suddenly swung to starboard. At 1513, the pilot ordered dead slow ahead and hard-a-port helm, but the speed of the swing to starboard increased and the vessel moved away from berth 15. Two "kicks" ahead were ordered, including full ahead at 1516. The vessel crossed the river and approached the Tecam Sea, moored at berth 19.
When the navigation personnel confirmed to the pilot that the bow thruster was already operating at full power and the helm was still hard-a-port, he ordered both anchors dropped. At 1517, he ordered half astern, then full astern. The port anchor was dropped, then the starboard anchor. At 1518, the starboard shoulder of the Federal Fuji struck the port quarter of the Tecam Sea. The main engine was stopped immediately, and the Federal Fuji moved away from the Tecam Sea.
At 1524, the anchors were weighed and manoeuvres were commenced to allow the Federal Fuji to stem the current again off berth 15. Both tugs were ordered to push the Federal Fuji into berth 15, but the manoeuvre was unsuccessful. At 1532, the tug La Prairie was cast off and then ordered to push on the forward section of the Federal Fuji, together with the tug Océan Golf. The Federal Fuji swung to port and approached the wharf. Around 1546, the Federal Fuji was moored in berth 15 without further incident.
No injuries were reported.
Damage to Vessels
The Federal Fuji sustained damage to the starboard shoulder. The shell plating and the forecastle deck plating and associated girders in way of the forecastle bulwark and boatswain's locker were cropped and renewed. One roller chock, one landing boom, one navigation mast and the access platform also required repairs.
The Tecam Sea sustained damage to the port quarter. The shell plating was stove in way of the quarterdeck.
Port Information
Figure 2. A section of CHS electronic nautical chart C1312A
At the mouth of the Richelieu River, the current vector on the St. Lawrence River indicates a current of 1.5 knots running at 075º. A current of approximately 1 knot is indicated along the axis of the Richelieu River. The current is slightly weaker near berth 15. Flow rates in the St. Lawrence and Richelieu rivers vary with the seasons. During spring runoff, the current is stronger than the average current indicated on the chart. The pilot estimated that the current in the Richelieu River was 2 to 3 knots at the time of the occurrence.
Silting Advisory
The mouth of the Richelieu River is prone to silting. The following silting advisory appears in the reference box of Nautical Chart 1312, Port of Sorel, published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS):
- Owing to continual silting, dredging is carried out periodically to the depths shown but mariners are cautioned that varying amounts of refilling must be expected.
Sounding and Dredging
Because of silting, soundings were taken in the mouth of the Richelieu River in 1987, 1988, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Most soundings were done alongside the berths, including berths 14, 15, and 19. Apart from the natural sedimentation deposited by currents at the mouth of the river, deposits of toxic substances have also been reported, and no disposal site has yet been found for these deposits. The government of Quebec released funding for a dredging impact study.
The shipping channel in the Port of Sorel is dredged to a depth of 11.7 m, but the centre of the estuary is dredged less often. The chart inset on CHS Nautical Chart 1312 indicates that a shoal is located off berth 15, reducing the usable water depth to 9.4 m above chart datum. This shoal was dredged in December 1999, increasing the usable water depth to 10.1 m.
Usable Water Depth
The Sorel tide register for April 27 indicates that, around 1515, the water depth was 1.32 m above chart datum. Consequently, on the 9.4-m shoal off berth 15, the Federal Fuji, drawing 10.09 m, had an under-keel clearance of at most 0.63 m.
Port Operations
The major activities at the Port of Sorel are the trans-shipment of mineral ore, grain, and steel. In previous years, vessels that had loaded grain on the Great Lakes would complete their loads at berth 15 in the Port of Sorel before proceeding to the Atlantic.
Around 1990, Fagen Dock Services Inc. started trans-shipping steel at berths 5 and 6 of wharf 2. The holding area at wharf 2 was eventually too small, and around 1995, Fagen Dock Services Inc. started to use the land to the west of the mouth of the Richelieu River at Pointe-aux-Pins. In 1996, berth 19 was rebuilt to handle general cargo. Now, steel accounts for about 95 per cent of all cargo handled at this berth. Because of restrictions related to usable water depth at berths 5 and 19, deep-draught vessels are partially lightened at berth 15 before moving to berth 19 to finish offloading.
Statistics on Pilot Assignments
Pilots can be assigned to some 140 vessels a year. In 1999, for example, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority (LPA) recorded 787 assignments to the Port of Sorel. In the Richelieu River in particular, the 53 pilots available between Trois-Rivières and Montréal carried out a total of 290 assignments involving vessel movements:
|Number of Assignments
|Average Draught
|Average of Averages
|Usable Water Depth (Chart Datum)
|No. 14
|6.18 m
|7.27 m
|6.72 m
|7.00 m (6.10 m)
|No. 15
|9.21 m
|7.67 m
|8.44 m
|10.9 m
|No. 16
|5.79 m
|5.18 m
|5.48 m
|8.60 m
|No. 17
|4.50 m
|4.50 m
|8.50 m (4.60 m)
|No. 18
|5.72 m
|7.16 m
|6.44 m
|8.80 m
|No. 19
|7.19 m
|8.18 m
|7.68 m
|9.00 m
In 1999, pilots completed 11 assignments involving a transfer from berth 15 to berth 19. During the winter, two pilots may be aboard the same vessel.
Tugs Available
Table 2 lists some key details of the tugs most often used in the Port of Sorel.
|Tug Name
|Gross Tonnage
|Bollard Pull
|Océan Golf
|1567 kW
|2 propellers
|27 t
|La Prairie
|1120 kW
|2 propellers
|12 t
|Omni St-Laurent
|896 kW
|2 propellers
|17 t
|Omni Richelieu
|672 kW
|1 propeller
|15 t
|Jerry G.
|1119 kW
|1 propeller
|18.4 t
|Salvage Monarch
|985 kW
|1 propeller
|21 t
The Océan Golf and the La Prairie assisted the Federal Fuji during the approach manoeuvre. The Omni St-Laurent and the Omni Richelieu, the tugs based at the port, were sometimes relieved by the Jerry G., the La Prairie, and the Salvage Monarch.
Other Occurrences
Several pilots who belong to the Corporation des pilotes du Saint-Laurent central (corporation of pilots serving the Montréal to Québec sector) reported having been involved in such marine occurrences as near strikings and near groundings in the Port of Sorel. Other pilots were involved in marine accidents. The following information is from some Reports of a Shipping Casualty made by pilots to the Laurentian Pilotage Authority:
- During a docking manoeuvre assisted by two tugs with bollard pull of 15 tons and 17 tons, respectively, a bulk carrier with a deadweight capacity of 18 668 tons and a draught of 7.48 m suddenly swung to starboard. The bridge team were unable to control the swing, and the vessel grounded on a shoal in the river.
- When swinging off the river mouth with the assistance of two tugs, each with a bollard pull of about 15 tons, a bulk carrier with a deadweight capacity of 24 105 tons and a draught of 10.61 m was driven by the wind and current. The tug was unable to keep the vessel away from the channel bank, and the vessel grounded.
- During a docking manoeuvre assisted by a tug with a bollard pull of 15 tons, a general cargo vessel with a deadweight capacity of 21 894 tons and a draught of 8.4 m suddenly swung to starboard, crossed the river, and struck the front of wharf 19.
- During a docking manoeuvre assisted by a tug with a bollard pull of 17 tons, a vessel with a deadweight capacity of 6266 tons and a draught of 5.8 m suddenly swung to starboard, crossed the river, and struck the front of the opposite wharf, No. 19.
- During a docking manoeuvre assisted by two tugs with bollard pull ratings of 15 tons and 17 tons respectively, a bulk carrier with a deadweight capacity of 28 086 tons and a draught of 10.48 m grounded about 30 m off berth 15.
- During a docking manoeuvre assisted by two tugs with bollard pull ratings of 15 tons and 17 tons respectively, a bulk carrier with a deadweight capacity of 36 563 tons and a draught of 9.27 m struck wharf 19.
Problems Identified
Because of its concern about the frequency and potential consequences of occurrences at the Port of Sorel, the Board did a preliminary analysis of the above occurrences. The Board identified the following problems:
- Shoals reduce the manoeuvring area available and limit vessel manoeuvrability.
- The tugs available did not provide sufficient assistance under the circumstances.
Material in suspension in the Richelieu River causes silting. Over the years, the accumulated sediment has formed shoals in the estuary and in the St. Lawrence River on both sides of the mouth of the Richelieu River.
To assess the gravity of the silting problem, soundings were taken and dredging was done in the area. In the 10 years preceding this occurrence, the situation had been monitored regularly by sounding. However, efforts to deal with the silting problem have not produced the results expected. Dredging operations were concentrated alongside the wharfs and rarely included the central portion of the estuary. In the absence of a dredging program covering the entire mouth of the Richelieu River, sedimentation on the shoals will tend to flow toward the dredged areas alongside the wharfs. Silting, therefore, will continue to affect the hydrodynamic behaviour of vessels stopping in this section of the port.
Room to Manoeuvre
By limiting their dredging operations to the area just off the wharfs that they operate, the berth operators have considerably reduced the manoeuvring zone. As a result, at the mouth of the Richelieu River, the access channel in the St. Lawrence River is divided into two lanes to provide access to the Richelieu River: one lane on the west side leads to berth 19; another leads to berths 14 and 15. Only shallow-draught vessels can use the middle of the Richelieu River to reach berths 16, 17 and 18.
Squat Effect
Shoals affect a vessel's hydrodynamic performance. The water that should flow under the hull encounters resistance due to low under-keel clearance. The water flowing under the bow moves faster, creating a low-pressure area. This results in a loss of flotation, causing the vessel to squat by the bow.
The mass of water that builds up in front of the vessel increases resistance and shifts the pivot point3 aft. As a result, the steering lever is shorter, and more propeller thrust and/or greater rudder deflection is required to maintain a heading. The manoeuvrability of a vessel in this condition is sometimes unpredictable.4
In this occurrence, the speed of the vessel over the ground plus the speed of the countercurrent, estimated at two and three knots respectively, produced a speed through the water of about five knots during the approach. At this speed, the vessel tended to squat over the shoals. Pilots who execute approaches in this area have often observed this phenomenon. Mariners and pilots use a chart and a worksheet to calculate under-keel clearance as a standard for vessels transiting the confined waters of the St. Lawrence River.5 Marine traffic regulators use this under-keel clearance standard to evaluate the squat effect on vessels.
Converging Currents
To navigate safely, mariners must have a good knowledge of the local currents and constantly monitor a current's direction and strength.
The currents of the Richelieu and St. Lawrence rivers meet in the mouth of the Richelieu. Consequently, a vessel proceeding toward a berth at the entrance to the Richelieu must stem both currents simultaneously. The Richelieu current pushes against the port shoulder, and the St. Lawrence current pushes against the starboard quarter. The combined effect of the two forces applies a yawing moment on the vessel, causing it to swing to starboard.
The investigation established that the majority of pilots use the Richelieu River current to induce sideways movement towards the berths. By ordering kicks ahead or slow forward propulsion with the main engine, it is possible to stem the current by maintaining the pivot point in the fore part of the vessel. This ensures that the steering lever is adequate to manoeuvre and control the vessel. However, if the pivot point is allowed to shift further forward, the moments produced by the bow thruster and the forward tug, in relation to the pivot point, will decrease accordingly.
However, the vessel must not be positioned too far crosswise of the current. If the angle between the vessel's heading and the current is too great, considerable propeller thrust will be required to turn the vessel back into the current. If the water's resistance (created by the current's striking the shoulder of the vessel) is too great, the main engine will be unable to produce enough thrust to overcome that resistance. Unless a great deal of manoeuvring room is available, the vessel will swing out of control in the wrong direction.
Loss of Manoeuvrability
The effect of low under-keel clearance can be insidious and violent. If the vessel is placed athwart the current, the swing will be even greater. When this happens, mariners tend to reduce the vessel speed or even stop the main engine to shift the pivot point aft. This shortens the steering lever and the vessel will not answer properly to the wheel. To regain control of the vessel, power must be increased to maintain torque and apply propulsion forward and helm hard-over in the desired direction. However, if in this case the pivot point shifts further aft, the moments produced by the bow thruster and the forward tug in relation to the pivot point will increase accordingly.
In this occurrence, the manoeuvres ordered by the pilot did not produce the expected results. Off berth 15, the combined thrust of the bow thruster and the Océan Golf was initially insufficient. The vessel's speed was reduced to complete the drift into the berth. A swing to port was begun but, as the vessel was too far athwart the current, a swing to starboard ensued. Even the full thrust of the vessel's propeller, combined with that of the forward tug and the bow thruster, was not enough for the vessel to stem the current. In other words, the moment produced by the thrust of the vessel's propeller, the bow thruster, and the tug in relation to the pivot point was not enough to overcome the moment produced by the current on the hull.
Tug Assistance
When berth 19 at Pointe-aux-Pins was rebuilt to accommodate the trans-shipment of steel products, marine traffic increased on the Richelieu River in the Port of Sorel. Of the 313 pilotage assignments for marine traffic on the Richelieu in 1999, 136 were for this maritime terminal. In addition, departures were made by vessels drawing 8.18 m on average, the second-highest average.
Despite this growth in traffic on the Richelieu, the tug service has remained unchanged in the port. When several pilots experienced unexpected yaw occurrences over the years, they started to make more frequent requests for tugs with higher bollard-pull ratings. This service was provided by tugs from the Port of Montréal.
Keeping a vessel on heading in a current is difficult without adequate tug assistance. The limited space available in the estuary does not provide sufficient manoeuvring room to regain control of the vessel.
For many years, and until quite recently, the Omni St-Laurent and the Omni Richelieu provided towing services in the Port of Sorel. Even though these conventional tugs and their replacements, whose manoeuvrability and performance were comparable, may be economical to operate, their manoeuvrability and performance is now considered limited. The tugs are slow and, at times, their manoeuvring is restricted when repositioning in relation to a vessel. When made fast to the bow of a vessel, these conventional tugs tend to increase the vessel's headway and push on the ship's side, because they only rarely push at right angles to the hull. In this occurrence, the forward component of the push from the forward tug and the vessel's propeller thrust increased the headway of the Federal Fuji and drove it toward the Tecam Sea.
Findings as to Causes and Contributing Factors
- The presence of shoals in the port reduced the under-keel clearance of the vessel and adversely affected the vessel's hydrodynamic behaviour.
- The manoeuvres ordered by the pilot on the Federal Fuji did not produce the expected results. The thrust of the propeller, the bow thruster, and the forward tug was not enough to overcome the effect of the current's pushing against the port shoulder of the Federal Fuji.
- The forward component of the thrust of the forward tug and the vessel's propeller increased the headway of the Federal Fuji and drove it toward the Tecam Sea.
Findings as to Risks
- Ongoing silting at the mouth of the Richelieu River creates shoals. The existing dredging program does not fully cover the river mouth.
- Conventional tugs with a low bollard pull are unable to maintain a vessel on heading when the vessel is athwart the current.
Safety Action
Action Taken
On 21 June 2000, representatives of the Laurentian Pilotage Authority, Fednav International Limited, and the Corporation of Mid-St. Lawrence River Pilots met to review the operating procedures for the Port of Sorel. Solutions under consideration include dredging the mouth of the Richelieu River off berths 14, 15, and 19, soundings, and using a tug more powerful than La Prairie.
In June 2001, the Ocean Group took delivery of the 360º azimuth-drive 3040 kW tug H-9901 to operate permanently in the Port of Sorel. This tug offered greater directional stability and, since its arrival, the number of reportable occurrences decreased substantially. However, in August 2001, it was sold and replaced by the variable pitch, twin screw, 4829 kW Ocean Hercule.
According to the Navigable Waters Protection Division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, only one dredging operation at the mouth of the Richelieu River has been approved since this accident, namely a dredging operation to a depth of 7.4 m carried out in September 2002 off section No. 14.
A dredging project is to be submitted to the Quebec provincial department of environment by the Société des parcs industriels Sorel-Tracy. The sea bottom at the mouth of the Richelieu River would be dredged to a depth of 8.5 m off the docks and to a depth of 11.0 m in the centre of the river. It is expected this project could become a reality in the fall of 2003.
This report concludes the Transportation Safety Board's investigation into this occurrence. Consequently, the Board authorized the release of this report on 17 December 2002.
1. Units of measurement in this report conform to International Maritime Organization standards or, where there is no such standard, are expressed in the International System of units.
2. All times are eastern daylight time (Coordinated Universal Time minus four hours).
3. The pivot point is the point at which the resultant of two forces acts; one force is created by the vessel's headway, the other by the longitudinal resistance offered by the mass of water in front of the vessel.
4. Captain R. W. Rowe, The Shiphandler's Guide, The Nautical Institute.
- Date modified:


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HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker College cross country coach Vic Finora announced today the addition of Fabian Hardy for the 2013-14 academic year.
"Fabian comes to us from a very good program at Chapin High School," said Finora. "Coach LeGrand always does a great job of preparing his runners for success at the collegiate level, and I know Fabian will come in ready to work hard. I am excited about his potential and can't wait to start working with him."
Hardy is from Chapin High School in Lexington, S.C. He was a two-sport athlete in cross country and track and field for the Eagles. In cross country, Hardy made the all-area, all-county and all-region teams. He was also an all-state captain's award winner.
For more information, contact Chris Dougherty, manager of athletics media relations and marketing, at 843-383-8018 or email@example.com.
Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.


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OCN Addresses Colorado Tragedy
The Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) E-Newsletter reports that its flagship podcast Come Receive the Light will feature Fr. Chris Margaritis, Dean of the Assumption Cathedral in Denver, Colorado, with Fr. Chris Metropulos, OCN's Executive Director, as they discuss the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. On the podcast, they will speak candidly of the shootings, the healing, and the theology of life after death from an Orthodox Christian perspective. OCN's theme for the month of July has been dealing with violence.
"Everyone at OCN expresses profound sorrow to the people who lost their loved ones in this tragedy and offers prayers for those who are still recovering," notes the newsletter. "We encourage all of our listeners to offer prayers as well. The recent horrific shooting spree in an Aurora movie theater is the springboard for a much broader conversation about the changing mores of our society, the church's view of tragedy in God's bigger plan, and whether we can reverse this incredibly negative trend, as we wrap-up a month-long series on violence. The power of collective and directed prayer should never be underestimated."
Several Orthodox reflections about the Colorado event are posted to The Sounding, OCN's interactive home for bloggers and discussion.


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In honor of the new year, let me point you toward some free things that have been giving me much enjoyment over the past week.
First, Will Oldham (aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy)! This week, The New Yorker has a profile of this great American singer-songwriter. If you want to sample some of his music, you can get four legal, free downloads at Daytrotter. (His version of "Goodbye Dear Old Stepstone" is gorgeous. To hear Bascom Lamar Lunsford's version, go to this marvelous page of free mp3s of recordings from the '20s and '30s.) My first exposure to Oldham was through his acting -- his performance as the child preacher Danny in one of my favorite movies, Matewan. Much later, I heard he was a musician. I was skeptical -- actors who become musicians, bah! But one day Meghan McCarron and I were driving from Brooklyn to New Hampshire, and she gave me control of her iPod, and I discovered she had the Superwolf album that Oldham did with Matt Sweeney. I loved it. I bought a copy. Suddenly I no longer thought of Tom Waits as writing the saddest and most beautiful songs in the world. For a taste of that album, check out the music video of "I Gave You".
The other free item this week is a real wonder -- a screenwriting software called Celtx that is, as far as I can tell so far, at least the equal of Final Draft, with what I find to be a more useful interface (similar in some ways to Scrivener, in fact). I'm working on a little screenplay project with a friend, but hadn't done any screenwriting in a couple years, and my copy of Final Draft was owned by my previous employer, so I couldn't re-activate it, and even if I could afford a copy of my own, which I can't right now, I'd never been happy enough with it that I would have felt comfortable spending the money. After writing 40 pages in Word, I was frustrated enough that I decided to see if there was any simple, cheap solution -- I would have been happy with anything that made formatting simpler than Word does. Celtx does much, much more than that. Hooray for open source projects! If Celtx had been priced like Scrivener (which is underpriced for what it does), I would have bought it in a second after trying it, but it really is free. Development of it seems to have continued pretty quickly, too, so I expect some of the various features people are suggesting will be added. It's designed to be not just a screenwriting program, but a pre-production organizer, and I bet some of its tools would be useful to people writing novels or working on projects of various sorts. It's really an extraordinary program.


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Japan Eats Podcast: Episode 14, "Warm cockles″
This week, we discuss Marcus's recent travels, winter hot pot dishes and the opening of Good Beer Faucets, a new craft beer bar in Shibuya.
The Japan Eats Podcast is presented by Garrett DeOrio, Marcus Lovitt and Christopher Pellegrini. To listen, click play on the audio player below:
You can also subscribe to the fortnightly Japan Eats feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed.
Find the Japan Eats Facebook page here. Have something to say? Drop us a line.
Here are some links to what we discussed this week:
- Boxing Cat Brewery
- Our recipe for kimchi nabe
- We discuss yuzukosho
- Good Beer Faucets
- Cooking Issues
- Chris's cookbook recommendation: "Karada Taishibou-kei Tanita Shain Shokudo"
You can e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com
Follow us on the Japan Eats Twitter feed. And please "Like" Japan Eats on Facebook.


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13 DIY Valentine's Day Cards
Flex your kid's creative muscles with this collection of DIY Valentine's Day cards. From poems and notes to printable cards, there's something for every important person in your child's life.Download All (13)
Download All is only available to Education.com Pro members. Learn More
Click on a worksheet in the set below to see more info or download the PDF.
Valentine CinquainDownload Worksheet More info
This Valentine's Day, create a special card for your loved one in the form of a heart-shaped cinquain.
Valentine CardsDownload Worksheet More info
Valentine cards make the holiday special. These valentine cards feature cuddly animals, lovely hearts, and vibrant colors.
Candy ValentineDownload Worksheet More info
A candy valentine is always a nice gift on Valentine's Day. Make a candy valentine out of lollipops with this candy valentine worksheet.
Print Your Own Valentines!Download Worksheet More info
Print these out for your child you'll have instant Valentine's Day cards! Then with your help, she can cut them out and give them to all her friends.
Valentine Love NotesDownload Worksheet More info
Valentine love notes help kids express why they care about friends and family. Make some valentine love notes with your child this February.
The set is continued below.
Butterfly ValentineDownload Worksheet More info
This fun Valentine's Day craft is perfect for your little sweethearts. Just cut out the colorful butterfly and add a lollipop for the head!
Boy ValentinesDownload Worksheet More info
Happy Valentine's Day! These sweet little cards will make the day a bit easier. Just print and cut, and you're ready to go.
Cute Printable Valentines!Download Worksheet More info
These valentines will really quack you up! Sweet and old-fashioned, yet so easy; just print and cut into six.
Homemade Valentine's Day CardsDownload Worksheet More info
Give your little one a fun project this Valentine's Day. She can color and decorate valentines for all her friends!
Animal ValentinesDownload Worksheet More info
These cute animal valentines will make Valentine's Day a breeze. Just print them and help your child cut them out.
Printable Valentine's Day Cards to ColorDownload Worksheet More info
These printable Valentine's Day cards to color get your child excited about the loveliest holiday of the year. Try our printable Valentine's Day cards to color.
The set is continued below.
Valentine CardDownload Worksheet More info
You're a grrrrreat valentine! This cute lion card will make everyone smile this Valentine's Day. Just print and fold into quarters.
Sports ValentinesDownload Worksheet More info
Print out these sports valentines cards, great for kids who just aren't into the fluff and frill of Valentine's Day.
Want to download this whole set as a single PDF?Download All (13)
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New England Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft advised Suffolk University College of Arts & Sciences graduates to be passionate about whatever they do in life, telling them to "choose the opportunities that are most rewarding, not financially, but personally and professionally."
After a commencement speech that offered wisdom and anecdotes from his career, Kraft drew laughter by giving "one final piece of advice: Don't follow the advice of others."
Kraft is chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group, which in addition to the Patriots, New England Revolution and Gillette Stadium, holds assets in paper and packaging, real estate development and a private equity portfolio. Kraft also is involved in philanthropy focused on education, youth and athletic opportunity.
"I had to follow my instincts"
He said that he never would have met with the success he enjoys today if he had followed the guidance of his advisers on several key points along his professional journey -- acquiring a paper mill in Newfoundland, purchasing Foxboro Stadium and giving up a first-round draft pick in his bid to bring on Coach Bill Belichick.
"While I believe that it is important to listen to the opinions of others, I still had to trust my instincts and follow my heart," said Kraft.
He also related a story about Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch, who called all of his coaches and mentors before the Super Bowl that followed the 2004 season to thank them for their guidance as he pursued his dream.
"Can you imagine how each of those mentors felt" getting a call from the player who would be Super Bowl MVP by the end of the day after the Patriots clinched the title? he asked.
Kraft then invited "the moms and dads" to stand up and be applauded by the graduates.
The College of Arts & Sciences awarded 911 bachelor's degrees and 264 master's degrees to the Class of 2013. Commencement exercises were held on the afternoon of May 19 at the Bank of America Pavilion on the Boston waterfront.
Honorary degrees
The following honorary degrees were awarded during Suffolk University College of Arts and Sciences exercises:
- Kraft was honored with a Doctor of Public Service degree.
- Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.
- Award-winning author, historian and public television personality David McCullough received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.
- Karen Kaplan of Hill Holliday, who rose from receptionist to CEO of one of the nation's largest advertising firms, received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
Three commencement ceremonies
Paul Fireman, the chair of Fireman Capital Partners spoke at the morning exercises for the Sawyer Business School. He founded and served as chair and CEO of Reebok International, which rose to the top of the athletic apparel industry in the 1980s when it pioneered the concept of melding fashion with athletic gear.
Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball and The Chris Matthews Show on NBC, will speak at the Law School ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, May 20. Matthews went from the Peace Corps to staff jobs on Capitol Hill and worked as a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter before making his mark in newspapers and gaining national and international recognition in broadcast journalism.


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Bubble Science
There's a fantastic place way up in Vancouver, Canada called Science World. And we heard a rumor that they had the thickest, bounciest bubbles around. So we asked them how they did it. Here are their recipes for bubbles that not only blow up nice and big, but do tricks and experiments! How do they do it? It's not a secret, it's science!
What You Need:
- Water
- Baby shampoo
- Package of unflavored gelatin (ex. Knox brand)
- Glycerin (you can get this at most pharmacies, all you need is a small bottle)
- Shallow baking dishes
- Bubble-blowing materials, such as drinking straws, funnels, wire hangers etc.
- Food coloring (optional)
- Printable scenes for doing colored bubble art
What You Do:
- Mix your bubble solution! You can just try out one at a time, or make them all at once and compare the different solutions!
- To make All Purpose Bubble Solution, gently mix one part water to one part baby shampoo, and let the solution stand for a few hours. This solution is great for most bubble tricks, activities and experiments
- To make Bouncy Bubble Solution, Dissolve one package unflavored gelatin into one cup of hot water (just boiled). Then add 1.5 - 2 ounces (50-70 ml) glycerin, and 8.5 ounces (250 ml) baby shampoo. Stir gently. The solution will gel as it cools. Reheat it carefully in the microwave (about two minutes). Bubbles made with this solution will bounce off your clothes!
- To make Thick Bubble Solution, mix 3 partsbaby shampoo to 1 part water. When you make a bubble with this solution, try puffing at it to make a bubble inside a bubble.
- To make Colorful Bubble Solution, mix your choice of food coloring with the All Purpose Bubble Solution.
- Once your solution is all mixed, put it in shallow baking dishes and get ready to experiment! Put a bunch of materials out so your child can try a variety of different tools, and make predictions about which will blow the best bubbles. Funnels, drinking straws, wire hangers bent into loops, pipe cleaners, all of these things work well. For a humongous bubble blower, thread a piece of string through two drinking straws and tie the ends together. Challenge your child to come up with his own ideas, too.
- To make an art project out of this experiment, cut out a large shape (flower, animal, etc.) out of a piece of white poster board, blow the colored bubbles, and then "catch" them on the paper to make a neat picture. If you don't have time to cut up poster board, print out our Bubble Art Printables and use them to create your colored bubble art!
Once everyone's experimented with all the materials, have everyone grab his or her favorite blowing tool and see who can blow the weirdest bubble!


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Best and Worst: Out-of-Conference Schedule
Note: I take this format directly from Brandon Stroud's Best and Worst of Raw over at With Leather. I love what he does there, and figured it would be a nice style to recap both the OOC schedule and, going forward, each game in the schedule. As with everything on the Internet, reader beware.
So the past five weeks were interesting. UM currently sits at 2-2, with one blowout loss, one blowout win, and a split in games that could charitably be described as "competitive" and uncharitably described as "Big Tehnnn footbah!" The David Brandon Memorial "Millions of Dollars" bowl was what everyone expected once it transformed from that big travel date in the sky to Guards in The Longest Yard's fantasy it was in reality. Air Force was the workman-like win that service academies typically extract from good teams, and UMass reminded everyone that we should all be happy that they root for a team with First World Football Problems and not a school whose claim to athletic fame was being the other other school John Calipari screwed over after leaving.
And then there was Notre Dame, which absolutely felt like those times in video game football when the computer says "you are NOT going undefeated this season with Brody Boss as your QB of New Mexico State" and your players do everything short of digitally pooping themselves on the field for 4 quarters. For shorthand purposes, I shall refer to this feeling going forward as pulling a "Rooting for Jimmy Clausen."
But with Purdue coming up next, I figured it would be worth a brief look back at these first four games and highlight the soul-lifting positives and dong-punching negatives as I saw them.
Best: Yeah real Out-Of-Conference Games!
It is a not-so-dirty secret in Ann Arbor that UM almost always treated the ND game as the SUPER HUGE DEAL! game every season, so they rarely tried to schedule another tough opponent before conference play. Sure, you'd get your Baylor/Virginia/Syracuse/mid-level Pac-10 team here and there, but those blockbuster matchups were simply not that common. Whereas in recent years OSU scheduled USC, Texas, and Miami (YTM [when they were supposed to be good]), and various SEC teams were welcoming unassuming programs to the Thunderdome to be pulverized, UM seemingly built its out-of-conference slate around beating leather-helmet enthusiasts who are tears-of-sadness photogenic and who just like to hang out with the guys, bra.
So when it was announced in 2010 that Team 134 would be traveling to JerryWorld to face the good-but-not-yet-terrifying Alabama Crimson Tide the general consensus was "Good, hopefully Rich Rodriguez will have the team ready" coupled with "finally UM is playing a legit team in the OOC schedule." That was also a more innocent time, when Greg Robinson was a bit more GERG and less interpretive dance/motivational animal rubbing-er.
|This can never be unseen
But for once, it felt like UM was trying to maintain at least the notion that it would play anyone anywhere anytime, that it measured itself against the best programs in the country. And sure, it was going to carry with it the big-game taxes and costs to see it live, but finally UM would be part of a marquee non-conference game that didn't include Tom Hammond receiving Pez every time he mentioned the ghosts of Notre Dame past.
|My Coldwell Banker rep sure seems happy today
Worst: So THAT'S why people don't schedule SEC teams
The sense when the game was announced was that there is no way Alabama would be as good as the year before when they won the national title, and the narrative of SEC dominance felt like the unholy lovechild of marketing by ESPN and the Power of Tebow, and not, you know, stone-cold reality. But as the years progressed and Alabama kept schooling fools and Michigan did not, then they switched coaches, it became clear that this wasn't going to be fun.
Of course, there had been rumblings previously that Alabama might up to something, what with the wings of hospitals being filled with former recruits who didn't quite pan out or signing 135 (!!) recruits since 2008 even though natural matriculation, the NFL draft, and math made that number still too high to meet the NCAA scholarship regulations. And it wasn't like Saban was pulling a Houston Nutt and crashing his motorcycle while getting a…er, just grab-bagging kids in droves with no regard for ability or need. He was pulling in 4* and 5* kids, and then putting them on special teams because the 5* kids ahead of them were still producing/not suddenly being deemed unable to play sports again.
Best: Are you not ENTERTAINED!
One of the time-honored traditions for most major-college football teams is to schedule "Baby Seals" to play in home games before the regular conference season begins. The goal is to snag a couple of easy wins, get the starters some game-like practice without injury, and to send the alumni and fans home happy after a nice day game. And heck, maybe it will be a bit entertaining.
So that's why teams typically schedule these Seal teams, comprised of fervent, KISS Army-like followers of British pop/soul musician Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, their anthem a throaty "You're never gonna survive…unless you get a little crazy!" and their uniforms adorned with a vibrant roses on a gravestones…
Wait, that's not right. Fans of Seal would be more into the other game of football, and anyway their leader seems like he'd rather memorialize the game and not necessarily participate. No, apparently Seal teams are a crack team of Navy special forces (like the varsity of version of the Midshipmen, but with more guns, less hair, and the most OMG Shirtless-ness of the elite military forces).
Okay, wrong again. Apparently Baby Seals are teams that programs schedule because the talent disparity between the two programs is so significant that there is NO WAY that the Seal could EVER beat the BCS squad.
A great example this year was UMass, the past home of 16-year (!!) NBA star Marcus Camby and current home of former UM victory cigar Mike Cox. While UMass had given the Wolverines all they could handle a couple of years ago, it was clear from the first snap of the game that UM was a significantly better team than the Mintemen and that the only issue would be if Denard Robinson scored more points for UMass than they did on offense. It was the type of victory people need to see more often before it becomes routine, even though there is NO REASON why UM fans should ever be worried about losing to them. Right?
Anyway, it was the type of game where offensive players scamper untouched 5-10 yards past the line, where receivers are constantly blanketed and overmatched offensive linemen are being crushed left and right by future NFL DTs and DEs, and a couple of cheap scores shouldn't cloud the severity of the beating dished out.
Worst: The other foot
Now, you probably thought that last paragraph above was referring to the UMass game, and it was. But I could copy and paste that text, and really the whole last section save for my weird Seal-based non-sequitur, and it would be a 100% recap of watching the Alabama game. UM was Baby Seal'ed as much as any UM team I've ever seen, though I'll admit to being 10 and definitely not into sports when UM played Florida State. The worst game I ever saw UM play in person was against Iowa in 2002 because it wasn't a fluky game where UM shot itself in the foot as much as Iowa just blew them off the field (check out the drive chart). Maybe Oregon in 2007 was worse, but that team was shell-shocked so it wasn't surprising that a pumped Ducks team (which definitely stay together when they play together) with tons of talent beat them badly. I'm sure I'm missing an ND game in there somewhere, and Brian seems to have a thing about the 2007 OSU game, and anyone with knowledge before 1995 or so feel free to add in the comments below.
This has to be photoshopped, right?
But this Alabama game is the worst beating I've seen UM experience. It wasn't that Alabama was the better team on the day, or that they played UM so well. I have watched UM enough, especially during the RR years but even during those down Carr and Moeller years, to know that sometimes this team just isn't as talented as its competition.
This was different, though. In all previous butt-whoopings, UM at least looked like they COULD have beaten the opposition on a different day. But against Alabama, there was no reality, no world in which Michigan could have beaten that Alabama team. And that includes a reality in which both Michigan's and Alabama's players are clowns made of candy and Jim Tressel is a Doozer who built Cowboy Stadium with pixie sticks. I try not to use hyperbole very often, but Alabama UMass'd UM more than UM has UMass'd a team in recent memory (okay, maybe not Delaware St., but go with it). It was a sobering sight to see Al Borges look at his play sheet, throw up his hands in disgust, and just run the ball out of the I-form and punt. And it showed that while Brady Hoke is pointing UM in the right direction, maybe college football has morphed so much in the past half-dozen years that anyone who doesn't recruit 120 kids and pays NFL-like salaries to state employees is going to be some precious sea animal to be mowed down by the couple of teams that are willing to play fast and loose with the spirit of college athletics.
|Couldn't find an excuse to put this picture in anywhere else – a bear with chainsaws for claws
Best: USA! USA! USA!
I was going to make this a Worst because I'm never a fan of playing the service academies. First, they are about as true a "student-athlete" as you'll find in the FBS – they are not that big, they are not that fast, they all love engineering and science and stuff, and they are definitely Going Pro in Something Other Than Sports. So beating them feels like the varsity team beating a really motivated and disciplined intramural team, if said intramural team was full of smart guys and not brosephs who wear their Oak Red Division II championship t-shirt every time they get their swell on.
Second, they are actually pretty good at football, or at least are resourceful and schematically-unique enough that they can catch even good teams off guard. At least one of them is always a top-5/10 outfit running the ball, they almost never take bad penalties, and their defenses are those annoying blitz-heavy-at-weird-angles schemes that can rattle an offense that knows it probably won't be getting the ball that often. It's actually fun to watch them play football except when it is against your team and they are driving for a game-tying score despite having 5' 9" WRs and linemen significantly smaller than Billy Bob from Varsity Blues.
Finally, it just feels Notre Dame-y to play them, in the sense that certain teams derive some weird morality boost by playing a service academy. To listen to some people describe these matchups, playing Army or Air Force is to Support the Troops® and show why America is great, whereas it always struck me as an easy win on the schedule. It's not like dropping 50 on them in Dublin was going to make them feel any better as they hunted for Sean Connery or defended Andre Braugher (and yes, I need to stop watching so much TV). It's equivalent to acting as if Vanderbilt, Northwestern, or Stanford's football teams are full of geniuses who are also good at football, instead of academically rigorous schools who field football teams that may have a couple of smart guys sprinkled in with guys who are largely indistinguishable from the rest of college sports.
So there are a bunch of reasons why playing service academies is a dumb idea…
EXCEPT I just can't get over how much fun it is to see them on the field and see the respect fans everywhere give them. I'm no Mitch Albom or Gregg Easterbook, but I love seeing names like "Service" and "Freedom" on the back of jerseys, see the cadets in the crowd jump up and down in perfect unison, and remind myself that football is still pretty much a game and even though it drives me crazy when Al Borges doesn't throw a f'ing LAZER screen against Alabama nobody is going to permanently scarred as a result. I'm not going to go watch the Columbia University Lions play the Princeton Tigers every weekend (though good seats were DEFINITELY available), but sometimes it is refreshing to watch a mid-sized David battle a slightly-larger Goliath for an afternoon, provided that Goliath doesn't, you know, lose.
Worst: I was into Groundhog Day back when it was just looking at a land-beaver getting out of a hole.
It has been my goal on this site to never disparage a college kid when he does something bad on the football field. I hate yelling at 22-year-old kids for screwing up in a position where I would turtle as soon as the ball was hiked. So I'm not going to call out Denard for the 5 turnovers against Notre Dame because there are various reasons why the ball was turned over, and not all of them are on his shoulders.
That said, after he threw interceptions on consecutive passes in the second quarter against Notre Dame AND gained a first down running the ball on three straight plays, you just knew that as soon as he rolled out to throw the ball bad things were going to happen. I love the chutzpah Denard has shown over the years, the fearlessness and supreme confidence in his abilities that helped him pull wins out of his butt and give the team hope after going 3-9. But at the same time, he has the problem every other college QB has – he has his safety valves, his "break on pressure" switches that lead him to lock onto Tacopants 50 yards down the field and just say
Or find the slot receiver triple covered and try to phase the ball through two of them into his arms. And yeah, UM QBs have been doing that since the beginning of time (John Navarre practically tethered his large intestine to Marquise Walker when he was being pressured), but this team doesn't have the elite-type WRs those guys had, so they don't usually get separation and can't jump over the coverage and save him unless they are Baby Megatron.
Now, I don't think you put any kid in that position if you can help it. The coaches should have had him keep running the ball until Notre Dame found a way to stop it. Then give the ball to Fitz, or a short dump-off to Funchess, or anything else that has a tiny chance of being turned over. Everyone knew he was a little rattled and that is fine; give him a series to get his feet under him again even if it ends with a punt. The defense was keeping the game close and Tommy Rees was under center on the other side of the field. Trust me – the game wasn't over.
And I guess that will be Denard's legacy at UM – a preposterously athletic kid who tried to play QB in an offense that is just too risky for some people's tastes, who put up numbers but also seemingly came up a couple short when he needed them most. Even if the team wins out, he'll be defeated against Penn St. and Wisconsin for his career, 1-3 versus MSU, and 2-2 against an OSU team that is itself in transition. He'll have the career yardage mark but also the career interception record; the most rushing yards but also a disturbing number of fumbles. He'll be a memorable figure in UM history, the epitome of the good and bad that occurred when UM tried something new for the first time in most of our lifetimes.
Barring Al Borges and Brady Hoke getting seduced by the siren song of Dana Holgorsen, the next 6.02X10^23 QBs are going to be majestic rocket-armed missile launchers who look down a crashing DE and thread three needles to get the ball to a 6'5" TE donkey-busting a DB down the sideline. And they'll make all the correct reads (even when they don't) and have just enough wiggle in the pocket to get time in the pocket (except when they can't). And that will be glorious, if a bit sad. I happen to like little guys who make me smile every time they touch the ball.
Best: "We have the rest of our lives to be mediocre, but we have the opportunity to play like gods [for the rest of the year]"
My favorite dumb line (outside of, you know, this one) from the best dumb movie about football, perfectly embodies what the rest of the year holds for this team. At 2-2, nobody is thinking of a backdoor shot at some national title chase, nor were those wins or Notre Dame loss filled with any defining thru-line regarding how this team will play going forward (except, maybe, that the defense will be better than expected). But with 8 games to go in the conference slate, this squad can still put together a pretty nice season. Sure, they've got to beat OSU in the Horseshoe and Nebraska at the Astrodome North, and MSU looks like they will cobble together a gameplan wherein Bell runs the ball 90 times and they win by 3, but nobody is going to run away with this conference. Robinson may have games like 2012 Notre Dame at times, but he also has games like 2011 Notre Dame, 2010 Notre Dame, and 2011 Ohio State where he is the most dynamic player in the country. So starting with Purdue on Saturday, if this team plays like it is capable of, it has a chance at going from 3-9 to a conference championship in 4 years. That' isn't just amazing, that's heroic.
(Jebus, I need to update my Netflix queue…)
So provided this doesn't stamp my ticket to Bolivia, I'll be back with another installment after the Purdue game.


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Feast on this
Charity-circuit regulars have had their share of rubber chicken dinners, that's for sure. Foul-tasting fowl is never on the menu, though, when Project PAVE has its annual Secret Chefs Dinner.
The 14th edition takes place Sunday at Strings restaurant, where hosts Noel and Tammy Cunningham will open their kitchen to a passle of budding Julia Childs. The guest chefs will prepare a seven-course feast that will include "O, What Wonderful Hors d'Oeuvres," which are crimini mushrooms stuffed with bone marrow and truffle risotto; "Seared Beef Dancing with Sherry," otherwise recognizable as grilled beef tenderloin with sherry reduction, truffle butter, lima bean puree and baby carrots; and "Everything but the Fuzz" peach sorbet.
Gareth Heyman is chairing the 5:30 p.m. event and tickets ($150 each or $250 per patron-level guest) can be purchased at blacktie-colorado.com/rsvp. The event code is secretchef14.
Project PAVE is a nonprofit organization working to eliminate domestic, school and relationship violence.