Part I is here.

So here's part II, based on geography. Same NCAA12 rules apply:

NCAA 12 Rules: Must have 4 Independent Teams. Must have 4 teams per conference. No conferences can be destroyed. Schools consist of only those in NCAA12--no created schools or schools moving up to FBS in 2013, like UMASS.

Own rules: Make categories fit together as best given the rules above. Schools in the same state must be in the same conference. Independents must be drawn from states with only one FBS school in them.

So, here we go. Again, enjoy, discuss, debate, hypothesize how they'd do...whatever. You miscreants are the only ones who could appreciate my time and effort on something so useless.

So, about a week ago I was fooling around with my NCAA 12, and decided to blow up the conferences. I remembered THIS FANTASTIC POST by Anonymous IV at Mono Lake from just under a year ago, and his attempt to reorganize the conferences by nickname. Go on, take a minute to go back and reread it. I'll be here...

...done? Good. So, I started with that with my base, but quickly ran into some issues. Maybe with 2013 they'll just allow you to completely destroy conferences and reorganize however you like, but in 2012 EA Sports requires you to keep at least 4 teams in each conference. This means that 3-team conferences like Anon's "Ursidae" division are out. But, using it as a base, here's what I came up with; enjoy, debate, whatever, and I'll be back with another geographic based organization as part II.

NCAA 12 Rules: Must have 4 Independent Teams. Must have 4 teams per conference. No conferences can be destroyed.

Own rules: Make categories fit together as best given the rules above. I go by the team nickname, not that mascot, so for instance Carolina is the Tarheels, not a goat. Also, I don't care if your team was named after some Civil War unit--Tigers are Big Cats, not people. The exceptions are noted in the explanations below.

Teams are listed by conference in their current order as of 3rd season played with this alignment, Week 11. Conference in parentheses is the conference replaced in the game.

Atkinson brothers blaze in Big East 100m finals

Keith over at NBC has a pretty good write up on the football players at the Big East track meet, where Josh and George Atkinson took 4th and 5th in the 100m. Great comparisons to other CFB players' who run track--these guys are fast.

What struck me most, however, was this tidbit:

With Chris Brown ready to enroll this summer, the Irish are collecting the kind of speed needed to compete at the top of the college football food chain. Brown, who clocked a 10.51 100m during regional qualifying at Hanahan High School, also had a seven-foot high jump last week, a number that would’ve won the Big East Championship this weekend. (He’s also had a 51-foot, 2-inch triple jump in the past, a leap that would’ve also netted him a Big East title.)

Not only is Brown fast, but he's got insane jumping ability. Could he be a taller Golden Tate in the future, with the ability to blow by DB's or outleap them in the end zone? I'm very excited by these facts. Wow.

So I was listening to BK's radio show this afternoon, and they talked about early commitments. According to what he was saying, if a kid wants to enroll for Spring semester early, his paperwork has to be in to the school in like the next 2 days or so. I know some of you recruitniks keep pretty close track on this sort of thing, so anyone have any ideas of who has turned in paperwork? Who is supposed to be an early commit? Also, word I remember hearing was that Gunner Kiel was looking to be an early commit, so if we don't hear anything in the next few days, does that mean he's going elsewhere?

Tired of namby pamby nancy's upset because OMG THE COACH YELLED AT A PLAYER?!?! HOW CAN WE WIN WITH THESE ANTICS?!!? NO GOOD COACH WOULD DO SUCH A THING!

Well, BS. Good coaches yell all the time. Don't believe me? Check out the pictures. Check the evidence here yourself.

Nick Saban:

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Enough Saban? What about Steve Spurrier?

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Dan Mullen?

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Brett Bielema?

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Frank Beamer?

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Bob Stoops?

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Oh, look! It runs in the family!

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Okay, so he's a bad one to use as an example. What about someone NDNation AND Michigan wanted?

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Yeah, he's classy.

Fine, I'll just look up "Angry Football Coach"--I bet ND's coach shows up first in the Google Image Search:

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Hmm...who's this guy?

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Man, can't we find ONE coach who's calm and not making a scene?

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Happy Veteran's Day, One Foot Down. I know we've got a few military types out there who've shared the fun of getting up at 3 AM in random locations around the world, some dusty, some not, to watch/listen/hit refresh on a web page/skype/whatever necessary to track Irish football. I found some pictures of Rocket participating in a USO trip in Dec/Jan 2009-10. I didn't think I could love the man any more, but knowing he went to Baghdad with USO, I do. Say a prayer for those who couldn't make it back with us, and Go Irish.

ALSO, go check out the guy's site here: Traveling to Iraq. He was the video producer for the trip. The Youtube vid is his.

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Tostitos 'Salute The Troops' Bowl Highlights (via KHolmesFrito)

Be thankful that we can get into internet shouting matches about helmets with shamrocks and whether a 38/24 run/pass split is not enough running. Be thankful that our biggest problem is whether Tommy Rees is going to be our starter going forward or Hendrix/Golson will take over next spring. Be thankful that we have two games against inferior opponents before ending the regular season at Stanford. Be thankful that we are bowl eligible and have a good idea of our destination. Be thankful that these are the things we wrestle with at the moment.

The situation at Penn State is not a joke, and is not a moment to be smug and look down on that program, thinking we're above them. No one expected this. No one saw this coming. By "no one", I mean outside the immediate circle of those involved. Penn State alums and fans have always prided themselves on doing things "the right way". They trumpet tradition and a history of success. Sound familiar, Irish? It would be easy to sit here and say "oh, nothing like that could happen at Notre Dame, we wouldn't stand for it." Well, I'm sure Penn State fans would say the same thing if the shoe was on the other foot. Something like this only takes a few people in key positions to turn a blind eye, for whatever reason. Part of the reason we love Notre Dame like we do is that we BELIEVE the people responsible at Notre Dame, whatever we think of their scheduling or uniform choices, would root something like this out, no matter where or who was involved. But Penn State fans would have thought the same thing. You don't know until a news story this horrible breaks.

Be thankful we are not Penn State. Be thankful Notre Dame, in the IMPORTANT things (not uniforms or stadium music, or any of that nonsense) does things the RIGHT WAY. But--be prayerful and hopeful that we continue that, that we demand that, and that everyone involved knows that and does the right thing, even when faced with difficult choices. I have faith that ND would have acted to stop this tragic series of events. Sadly, I'm sure Penn State fans would have thought the same about their University.

Go Irish. Harrumph Fullbacks. Harrumph Shamrocks and Gold Leaf. Rant all you want about those. But say a prayer that those things are what we are talking about. It could be so much worse.

Back at the beginning of the season, prior to the USF game, we all were giving our expectations for the Irish this year. As part of the discussion, I made the comment that even if we lost 4 or so games, the season could still be a success if we continue to show progress. A lot of people had a problem with that statement--after all, we lost 5 games last year, we didn't really lose anyone, finished the year strong, destroyed Miami in the bowl game, and had the greatest crop of freshmen EVER coming in. How could we lose 4 games and consider that success?

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So I got into a rather lengthy discussion with an Alabama fan and a tOSU fan over at EDSBS, centering on whether "everyone is doing it" (meaning cheating) in college football. It seems most people think that every school does stuff, but only the high profile stuff gets caught. Personally, I would rather walk away from ND football forever than see us win a National Championship with illegally recruited players or kids getting paid. But, I'm simply one voice.

And so I present to you, esteemed fellow ND fans: Which would you rather be? Would you rather do things "the right way" (which I think for the most part we do), and go 3-9, 4-8, etc. for the foreseeable future? All the kids graduate, no scandals, no players paid, no recruits taken on trips to strip clubs, no agents hanging around paying kids while in school, no boosters taking kids on their private yachts.

OR, would you rather go to a BCS bowl game every year, win a couple of national titles, and ignore the fact that our star WR was paid $50,000 and given a car to be at ND, our star LB was taken to a strip club so he could have sex with the strippers, the entire starting DL is only eligible because the tutors are writing their papers, and the QB has an agent buying his mom a house.

Vote, and if you want to give opinions in the comments, then go for it, but feel free to keep your vote anonymous, too. PLEASE note that I'm not trying to argue that we can't compete at a high level if we don't pay players (I don't think that at all), nor am I saying that I think we are, or are not, or anything. Also, I am NOT trying to say I agree with NCAA rules or that I don't agree with them. I think the way the NCAA does business needs to be changed, and players should get some benefit commensurate with what they put into the school dollar-wise. Feel free to discuss those issues, but most important is really, would you rather be USC and win several titles, even if done illicitly and they got stripped and the program hammered years later, or would you rather be like Vandy or Duke--good school, constantly struggling to have a winning season, but doing things "the right way". I'm simply trying to gauge how ND fans feel about the issue. A lot of fan bases, from what I see, simply don't care as long as their team wins. I've always felt ND was different. Am I right or wrong? I have no idea.

So, if Miami gets the death penalty (because at this point, why wouldn't they?), who do we play in their place next year? Suggest a team and neutral site to play them at. Over at EDSBS there was the suggestion to play Kansas State in New York (get it? Manhattan? HA!) because they lose a game with Miami too. My choice? We play Arizona State (Hi Dennis!) in Miami.

Holy Editing Errors, Batman! Should really stop posting late at night.

I know nothing about soccer. It's not even 1 PM here yet, so no drunj. I will fill the rest of this up with thrilling excerpts from my studying:

"In this book we concentrated on Japan's capability in the space industry--the one strategic sector that now underpins civil, commercial, scientific, and security concerns for all great powers. As we detail, there has been an incremental but solid shift from the market to the military in Japan's space policy overall. Practically, this means that Japan's militarizaion--meaning, in this book, the use of space for military purposes to support, enable, or conduct defenseive, and potentially even offensive actions, to protect the homeland--has already become reality."

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

So as not to continue to clutter up the DV, here's a thread for Friday night drunjing, exercise, fashion, Game of Thrones (no spoilers), cars, Father's Day, and whatever else you like.

words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words 

Place your basketyhoopsytravellyball/computer hatred/date reports/trivia prowess discussion HEEYAH.

writing until I get to 75 words wow this is going to take a long time so I'll just do this

"There are clearly strong pressures for change--for the closing of the organization gap--as economic interdependence rises, intraregional competition grows more intense, and divisive historical memories grow more distant. Some progress is being made, yet in the face of deepening transnational trade and investment relations worldwide, Northeast Asia will face serious future collective-action problems unless its fabric of local regional organizations grows even more robust." --from the book I should be reading.

We''ve gone round and round on this site about who/where/what is the best barbecue, and the regionality is something to behold. While I grew up in North Florida, my grandparents' favorite place had Carolina mustard sauce, so I ended up liking a little bit of everything. Every time this is brought up, people shout out their favorite hole-in-the-wall place down the street or regional legendary landmark as "THE barbecue place and no other will suffice and if you argue I will cut you", and the arguments start. That's great, if you're FROM those areas, or have occasion to go to those areas. Some of us don't have that opportunity exactly. Dreamland may (or may not) be the best 'cue in Alabama, but I'm not going to be in Bama any time soon. Ditto with your favorite place in Charlotte or Memphis.

So, I've been wanting to ask this for a while: what barbecue sauces, etc. would you recommend that don't require a trip to that one place on the corner in your town? Yes, we get that KC Masterpiece sucks. So, in my grocery store in Hawaii, what should I pick up if I want good sauce? And please, for those of us who are pan-'Cueists, don't just stick to one genre of sauce/spice. It may KILL you to even think about putting mustard anywhere near your pig, but I love that, and I love mesquite, and I love hickory, and I love vinegar sauces, and....because really, while you may think yours is the BEST, can you really go wrong with barbecue'd meat? (other than KC Masterpiece, I guess).

For what it's worth, there's a place here that has a guava barbecue sauce that's out of this world. I'll see if I can find somewhere that bottles it or something like it that may be available elsewhere. Here in Hawaii it's either island style like that or Asian style like Korean barbecue sauces.

Recipes encouraged as well--if you can teach me to make a good sauce, that's even better than buying it!

Hi all--in the spirit of the ongoing charity drive, I wanted to ask for some advice/information to help out two of my own projects. At the moment, I'm just looking for information, so please don't think I'm asking for your money! As many of you know, I was in Japan for most of the last decade with the Army, and have very strong ties to Japan and the US Military and JSDF relief efforts. One of the ways my wife and I decided to help out was with Operation Backpack. You can find info on it at www.zamagirlscouts.org.

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