Five (mostly) fun years
Posted on June 19th, 2008 – 8:31 PMBy Chip Scoggins
As a college football fan, I always felt that I had the best beat at this paper. That didn’t change in my five seasons of covering the Gophers, Big Ten and college football.
But in saying that, I’m excited about a new challenge that awaits. I’m moving to the Vikings beat after five memorable seasons of covering the Gophers.
To say my time with the Gophers was often crazy would be an understatement. Five seasons is not terribly long, but I chronicled arguably the top rushing offense in NCAA history and one of the worst defenses in NCAA history.
I got to write about the Gophers winning in the Big House and blowing the largest lead in bowl game history. I covered the Michigan meltdown in ‘03 and the Wisconsin collapse in ‘05. I covered a 10-3 season and a 1-11 season.
I covered every one of Laurence Maroney’s college games, saw Greg Eslinger go from unknown recruit to Outland Trophy winner and watched Bryan Cupito develop into a fine college quarterback and even better person. There are too many other examples to list.
I also met many good people who love college football as much as I do and made new friends along the way.
The thing I found hard about covering college football is that I didn’t get to watch it as much as I would like. Too busy writing about a game.
Hopefully that will change now. Maybe I’ll even see you at a game. Cheers.
Chip
158 Responses to "Five (mostly) fun years"
Thanks for your hard work with your stories and this blog! We’re going to miss your professionalism and love for college football! Good luck with the Vikings reporting, we look forward to seeing your reports there!
Thanks Chip, we’ll miss you on the Gopher beat.
This is honestly a day i was hopeing wouldnt come. See ya later Chip. you are a great writer, and have one of the best college football blogs i have seen. Good luck to you.
Thanks for all your hard work Chip.
You will be missed by all. Your passion and enthusiasm for college football and especially the Gophers was much appreciated. I always enjoyed getting your balanced perspective.
I still think the piece you did on Tyler Johnson was one of the best articles I’ve ever read.
Please keep in touch or at least break out the maroon & gold on Gameday Saturdays. Our loss is the Vikings gain.
Best wishes to you.
Geez, more bad news on the Gopher front. Gonna miss your work Chip.
Thanks, Chip, for all that you’ve done. I’ll be reading much less of your work now that you’re moving to cover a team I care much less about.
Who’s coming in to pick up the Gophers beat?
Chip, good luck with the change. Sadly, I won’t be reading any of your articles anymore as I no longer follow the No Fun League. Best wishes and thanks for all of your hard work and dedication to the Gophs!
Chip, best wishes and I hope you got what you wanted. A wise person once told me, be careful you might get what you ask for. We are not losing you to another state and I hope you stop back in from time to time and let us know how things are going. MN is a great place to raise your family and I am happy you are staying in the area. Best of LUCK.
Chip, good luck with the change. As a fan of both teams, it’ll be nice to see all the hard work that you’ll do for the Vike’s. Hopefully the management will get someone on the Gopher beat that will be as dedicated and insightful.
Great, does that mean more boring articles on the Vikings? Geez, how many stories need to be written on the Vikings and what a Chad Greenway thinks about the upcoming season.
The NFL is soooooooooo stale its pathetic.
I’m a Vikings fan but college football is so much more interesting and its too bad Minnesotans haven’t figured that out yet.
That was a stellar article on Darren Sharper today in the paper about wanting to become a broadcaster after his football career is done.
Great journalism. Give me an article on Canterbury or the Euro Cup.
Thanks Chip for the blog, I came on here to learn more about football and your entries into this blog were the most beneficial to accomplishing that. Good luck with the Vikes.
Congrats Chip. Who will be replacing you as the Gopher beat writer?
No offense to Chip, but this is why I don’t buy the star trib in print, the Gophers writer get “promoted” to covering the Vikings. Maybe someday the paper will consider the Gophers worthy.
Good luck Chip and thanks.
You have done a great job for us, I wish you all the best in the future. You got to cover the Gophers in one of the most exciting eras we have had in many decades. We were lucky to have you on our beat.
thanks Chip! you did a great job and i enjoyed reading your stories in the paper and your blog
Good luck GO gophers and vikings
Thanks for the great coverage Chip. Good luck covering the Vikings. I hope you enjoy your new position.
Hey, where is everyone?? The wheels are coming off and no one seems to care or notice. Top recruit having heart surgery, top recruit transferring, top beat writer moving on, some recruits having trouble becoming academiclly elible. What’s going on up there?? Right now, I feel there is curse over Gopher football.
Without the new stadium this particular job is nearly impossible to do without cheating, even with TCF, the fans had better start showing up and staying until the end of every game. We are going to have a very short window of opportunity when TCF opens. If Brew stays the dud he has started out as, we will blow that chance.
Tex, there is nothing happenning now that has not happened for the past forty years. There is nothing easy or fair about this gig. You get nothing, you have nothing and the fans you do have are few and fickle. Such is Minnesota football. We could be looking at an NCAA Death Penalty and two or three years with the stadium empty if what I have heard is true.
Geez Loon, put up or shut up on the innuendos. One thing for sure, you are not a fan of Gopher football. Fans up there may be “few and fickle” but at least they aren’t out to bring the program down like you appear to be.
If you knew for a fact that the program was cheating, would you blow the whistle? Would “a real fan”?
I would. If we have to cheat to win, I don’t want to win.
Even if many of you guys have no personal ethics, just think of the down side of the risk. Very bad.
Perhaps “true” Gopher fans had better start buying up Twin City Federal stock to help stabalize and prop up the stock to insure that it will still be around and in good shape in 2009 when the stadium opens!
T C F FINANCIAL CORP(NYSE: TCB)
After Hours: 12.29 0.08 (0.64%)4:23PM
Last Trade: 12.21
Trade Time: Jun 24
Change: 0.06 (0.49%)
Prev Close: 12.15
Open: 12.11
Bid: N/A
Ask: N/A
1y Target Est: 19.00
Day’s Range: 11.96 - 12.55
52wk Range: 11.91 - 28.25
Volume: 3,398,291
Avg Vol (3m): 2,410,220
Market Cap: 1.54B
P/E (ttm): 6.60
EPS (ttm): 1.85
Div & Yield: 1.00 (8.10%)
Hopefully the dividend will hold and perhaps some day banking stocks and financials will be buyable again. However, the 52 wekk high for TCB is 28.25 and it closed at 12.21 today.
So, “true” Gopher Fans, back up the truck and start buying up cheap Twin City Federal shares.
Remember when the Raven’s stadium in Baultimore was called PSI Stadium for a brief moment in time? PSI was an internet bubble broadband provider that bought itself a big naming rights deal only to go belly up. PSI never did pay much money to the Ravans on that deal.
Undoubtedly, TCB will probably survive, but, they are heavily tied to the mortgage industry that continues to haunt the U.S. economy, dollar and has the FED tied up in knots.
Note to macturi: I hope you tried to get as much as possible up front before any bond-holders just in case…
Once again, my friends, into the breach!
Wren, you further display your ignorance with your analysis of the TCF Financial stock and the market in general. Frankly, TCF, US Bank, Wells Fargo, etc. are probably the best buys in the market today, as all have taken the financial hit associated with the sub-prime debacle, and future earnings look good. Considering the dividends most of these corporations pay, they are currently excellent income stocks. I personally have been buying up shares is some of the aforementioned companies, but not because I’m a Gopher fan; they are simply good opportunities.
A couple more things. TCF Financial has not been called Twin City Federal for many years, and has never been called TCB.
“Baltimore” does not have a “u” in it. You and Looney Toons must have flunked 3rd grade spelling together.
Frankly, you need to do some more studying. Perhaps dropping out of high school was not such a good idea after all.
By the way, Chip Scoggins, thank you for your coverage of the Gopher Football team over the years. I have appreciated your insight, and your in-depth coverage of particular players. Good luck on you new assignment, and continue to attend Gopher games because you’re a fan!
+jibmo: Yes, I know that I had a typo or two in the post. You have such great eyes and it truely makes you some sort of superior being…no doubt!
Now: on to the broader market conditions: are ALL of the subprime writeoffs completed? It is entirely possible that there are MORE coming. Check out all the arrests dealing with subprime fraud right here in the Twin Cities. There is a LOT at risk. Yes, wfc and USB are also down a lot. However are THEY done declining? Will they get caught with more write0ffs? I don’t know…but…I do believe thejury is still out there jimbo you self-proclaimed “financial hot shot…”
]
jimbo: the stock symbol for TCF Financial is TCB: that is how I like to look at a company…what is it’s trading symbol? TCB…that’s the ticket here jimbo baby.
Go ahead and put your money where your mouth is jimbo. go out and back the truck up and start buying WFC, USB and TCB. Buy a LOT of it right now. You very well make a fortune if you do…or, perhaps this drama has some more chapters to play out…has some more stories to tell…has some more bombs to drop.
Will USB, WFC and TCB all be able to maintain their dividends? TCB just may have to cut their dividend to hang on to cash to remain viable in the trading markets.
Any way you cut it, a stock price of 12 something vs a stock price of 28.25 during the past 12 months is NOT something to brag about. It is a symptom of a really sick banking system and a really weak dollar. How much more can the FED do to bail out the bankers? The rest of the world is fighting inflation by talking about raising or actually raising their interest rates to defend their currency. The dollar is NOT in good shape vs. the currency of the rest of the major players such as the Euro.
Re: the market in general…how about my Pot Ash, Mosaic, Agrium, Monsanto picks? They are about 50% higher than they were when I made those calls. Profit taking may be happening today, but, the Ag sector looks good to me for the next 5 years. There will be ups and downs, but the world is growing and parts of the world have improving prospects to improve their diets. They can’t eat computer chips, google stock, etc. They will buy potash, nitrogen and phosphate to grow their own crops or they will buy Western/American grain. Because of the price of oil, all of the costs of fertilizer, transportation and increased inflation will have a huge impact on the price of farm-land, fertilizer and the fuel to make it all go.
And jimbo: at some point in time, the financials will probably be safe investments. Right now there still may be danger out there…a lot of danger. When will housing prices reverse their decline? When will the housing market make a come back? How much more money will the investment and banking sector have to raise and how much will it dilute the holdings of the current share-holders? Maybe we are getting close to a recovery…maybe not.
Loon, go on a 4 month vacation and do some digging to come up with your cheating insinuations. We are all tired of your crap about cheating with no back up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So don’t invest in the bank stocks, Wren. I predict it will be your regret. As important as you think you are, I don’t think your decision will influence performance.
jimbo: there will be plenty of time to move into specific sectors of the market once I feel comfortable that those stocks have turned the corner. Personally, I would rather buy USB at 32 than at 29 if I can see that the entire banking sector has shaken the sub-prime blues and the bombs have all been dropped. It will take a few more take overs and it will also take some confirmation in the recovery of the housing market for me to feel comfortable. Re: TCB, I’d rather buy at 15 or 16 and have evidenct that the dividend will be maintained and not slashed. I would like some postiive momentum on my side and then the yield plus potential appreciation might make it a “buy” in my eyes.
You know jimbo: you seem to be so defensive and so insecure in many ways. It shows in your communications you know, don’t you? That’s too bad…
Defensive and insecure? Thank you, Dr. Wren. Getting behavioral and psychological evaluations from a high school dropout is very meaningful to me, and I will most certainly take heed.
Jimbo, if you think you know where any stock is going you are a fool. If there is no high risk, there can be no high reward. Period. Low risk stocks, or any investment, offers low returns. THAT is the market. So please, do not treat us veterans as if we are fools. If men like even Peter Lynch understand the limitations and rewards of investments, you should too.
littlebigboy, do you want me to name names? Who would pay the price? Stop implying that we don’t cheat but, “sure”, others do. If there is cheating going on, the price will be paid by the young men who play for us who are NOT cheats and the fans who never wanted cheating in the first place. Remember, Clem, Bobby Jackson, other players who cheated and another coach of ours were PAID huge amounts of money to go away. The innocent kids, innocent fans and future coaches paid the real price. Big time.
We are the U, not Ohio State, Texas or Notre Dame. The NCAA will eat us alive and spit out the bones of the innocent. You fans of cheating will get what you deserve.
You guys are truly pieces of work. You guys have to be single or divorced. No one in their right mind would put up listening to pure bullsh$&t over and over.
Let me guess on a few other things….I bet all the blinds are closed in your home…You don’t get invitations for high school reunions anymore ‘because you are too popular’…You got fired because ‘you were too smart for your job’…You never played high school sports because ‘the coach didn’t like you’…
Loon, you do not have to name names, let us know what proof you have for each allegation you have. Let it go from there. If your BS is really true then the chips will fall where they will, but its time for you to put up or shut up.
Looney, I never said I know where stocks are going to go. Perhaps you should take the time to read what people write rather than rushing to defend your sidekick. Based on my knowledge of the financial services industry and some recent reports, I BELIEVE banking stocks have very nearly hit their lowest point, and would be a reasonable risk at this point.
Another person not qualified to wash cars giving ME advice.
Incredible.
A loonatic says,
“Even if many of you guys have no personal ethics … ”
__________________________
That’s hilarious … an unrepentant racist and bigot — the lowest lifeform in America — is going to lecture people here about their personal ethics? How absurd.
How does one have proof without using names? My sources are people, the players have names, the coaches are people.
All I can really say without using names is that, from time to time you read about getting certain players under the most implausible circumstances a veteran could possibly believe. The reason they seem so implausible is because they are not true.
Nice try dac, a person who sees reality for reality is not a racist per se. For example, Jews, on average, do score higher on IQ tests. Jews, on average, do make more money than do non Jews. Blacks, on average, have more quick twitch muscle fibers than whites. More than 36% of all black males do prison time, more than three time the rates for whites. Etc.,etc., etc.
How can one understand the world we live in if one is ignoring the fact that the earth goes around the sun, not the sun around the earth. No wonder you are too often confused when reality can not be noticed in your world.
Reality may annoy you, but there are measurable differences between identifiable groups that are quite statistcally significant and no amount of PC BS changes those realities. Those realities can not be used to predict the behavior of any one individual, but they are damn good predictors of group behavior.
Thanks again for allowing this review of reality.
Hey, d_a(sp)_c, how’s the golf game? Mine is not so good, but I sure enjoy it! I think I need to quit working and play more golf.
Nobody on this board needs to listen to lectures about “personal ethics” from an unapologetic racist bigot and gutless smear merchant.
Jumbo … There has been a big falloff but I’m enjoying being out and improving a little each time. Will take a while to get it all back.
Keep at it, d_a(sp)_c. In my case, improvement is rare. A total lack of natural athletic ability may have something to do with it.
So who’s going to take over for Chip? Maybe it’ll be Roman and we’ll have more entries than most of us could keep up with
That would be a good thing. Though it does look as if we are being moved down the pecking order.
Thanks for all the hard work Chip, we’ll miss you here, but best of luck on the Vikes beat. Glad you’re sticking around here at least.
IMO, this blog could use a good old fashioned cooling off period until the season approaches.
Two months to go until season opener.
Tim McGee gone according to Sid. They come and they go, fairly often without the “coming part” at all.
NYC—I was thinking Roman would be a good pick also. He seems to have a bottomless pit of energy and I like his style. We want Roman!!
yo tambien quiero Ramon
eu concordo
The Loon says:
June 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Tim McGee gone according to Sid. They come and they go, fairly often without the “coming part” at all.
=======================
We oversigned by 3, I guess this is new news to you though.
david_allen_coe says:
June 25th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
A loonatic says,
“Even if many of you guys have no personal ethics … ”
__________________________
That’s hilarious … an unrepentant racist and bigot — the lowest lifeform in America — is going to lecture people here about their personal ethics? How absurd.
=====================
That is amazingly funny. Constant racist comments and lies of cheating. I guess even Loon thinks Brewster will turn things around and he needs to get the excuses ready. LMAOR.
Bayfield Gopher says:
June 30th, 2008 at 7:15 am
IMO, this blog could use a good old fashioned cooling off period until the season approaches.
====================
They may not have a blog. That would be a shame, wren/loon has been banned from all the other Gopher boards so I guess that leaves them the sports page from whatever the winona paper is named.
So was he a “great get” or not? The problem with recruiting classes is that it is the players who win games, not the “great recruits”.
If I need to accept your views Derek, I would rather be banned from every site and will continue to live by that standard as long as I am able.
Good morning Loon: Great recruits means there is potential for great players. The better the recruits I would imagine the greater the potential. One never knows if these players will pan out until they start to play.
Well, which is it? It would seem to me that you can know nothing about a recruiting class until they play and, play for some years, ie, win football games. Before that time, it is all just gossip and speculation.
I’m “from Missouri”, I would say to Brewster, “OK, do it.”
I think Mizzou is the “show me” state, but I know what you meant.
You have an idea of a players potential from scouting reports, but as I said before you don’t know if they’ll pan out until they start playing. It’s common sense.
NYC,
Common sense and Loon are words that no one has ever used together in the same sentence.
How is “show me” different from “do it”? Is Brewster to make a video of winning Big Ten games rather than actually winning Big Ten games?
Sorry mnmike, your post comes over as rather impotent.
A loonatic says,
“Sorry mnmike, your post comes over as rather impotent.”
___________________
Maybe you’re right, looneybin. It was impotent. After all, he didn’t saying anything about momma, trains, prison, gettin’ drunk or hating black people. No wonder you didn’t think much of it.
–Sorry mnmike, your post comes over as rather impotent.–
You’re probably right. I think I got common sense and factual confused, when describing your posts.
d-a-c, perhaps you could pull off a Kelly Leek and kill off your current avatar and replace him with an adult who can speak on issues without name calling as his only position? Hey, but this time, shoot the avatar in the head, not yourself. Pick one with a brain.
So when do practices start?
Since they oversigned by 3 scholarships, has all of that been sorted out?
Thanks in advance
The Loon says:
July 7th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
If I need to accept your views Derek, I would rather be banned from every site and will continue to live by that standard as long as I am able.
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LMAOR. What a horrible life it must be not being able to listen to different opinions. There’s a huge difference between accepting and agreeing. I really have alot of pity for you wayne/wren/loon.
The Loon says:
July 9th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
d-a-c, perhaps you could pull off a Kelly Leek and kill off your current avatar and replace him with an adult who can speak on issues without name calling as his only position? Hey, but this time, shoot the avatar in the head, not yourself. Pick one with a brain.
================
I have no idea what you are talking about, but Leeks is a loser. Heck, Kyle Kessel2 even told me so.
I am happy to listen to your ideas Derek and just as happy to disagree with them most of the time. I don’t need to ban anyone for their non personal views.
You guys have helped turn us into a last place program and you can call me names until forever and it will not change that reality. I see some of you guys are now writing off 2009 as another season of much needed losing.
How nice.
Loonatic … You wrote of ten seasons, so why complain? You will write off the next ten seasons too while you stab every Gopher player and coach in the back like a little weaselworm.
Don’t you white supremisist and KKK types have your own blogs? Or maybe you should start a blog for racists along with Michelle, Brock, Jesse, Al, David, and Bobby.
dac, get up from the table, walk around to the other side and look at your own posts. Nothing but hate and name calling. No content, no ideas, no insights, just rants.
Take up reading, try to broaden your little, limitted mind. Try to figure out why things happen the way they happen, not as you think they should. Try being an adult. Try pretending you are an adult. Don’t expose yourself so often.
Loonatic … We are not talking about anything of substance right now. We are talking about you … a crazed, maniacal racist bigot and hater and gutless backstabbing weasel.
Who sounds crazed?
Loonatic … Please explain in your own inimitable fashion how anything could be crazier than believing, as you do, that an entire race of human beings is by nature inferior and criminal?
You may consult your KKK handbook for this exercise or even phone David Duke or Bobby Sheets Byrd directly if you like.
As I certainly do not believe that all individuals of any groups are inferior in any particular ways and have made it very clear (to anyone with half of one brain) what I do believe, I can not help YOU with your problem. But, for anyone willing to understand, NOT you dac or Jesse Jackson, I will explain again.
It is about basic education. Does a person understand the difference between an average and an individual? Each individual is not, and can not be, average in all ways. But, as I have said, it is above dac’s functioning IQ point to understand that each individual deserves to be treated as an individual while at the same time understanding that groups can, and do, vary.
I am unable to see the world the way it “should be”. I see only what is real. As a group blacks go to prison at over three times the rate of whites. As a group, nearly 40% of all black students score under IQ 85. These are nothing less than reality.
We get the same numbers in Canada, England, France, etc. In Africa, the IQ numbers are much lower, ON AVERAGE.
Such is life. dac wanting it not to be true is silly and PC. Equal opportunity is good and worthy. Equality of outcome is impossible within any group and between groups. I will not ban blacks from running faster, ON AVERAGE, just as I will not expect the school systems to dumb down the university acceptance requirements for blacks. There are many black kids who can do university, most will not.
Just reality. An IQ trick for people like dac: Can they treat every individual as an individual while at the same time understanding that some groups will not easily finish high school as often or as well as others?
Loonatic … You are a grotesque liar. You have never once said Gopher recruits should be looked at as individuals. You have condemned all black recruits as likely criminals who will fail in school and in the community.
None of your comments about Gopher recruits could possibly be directed at them as individuals. You know none of them nor anything about any of them.
Your blantantly racist bigotry is execrable as are you.
If I had ever said such a thing you would have the quote. You do not. Instead, because you do not want to hear or read what I have to say you need to twist and bend what I have said to fit your agenda. Without name calling, you have nothing to say.
Each individual Gopher recruit is unlikely to break the law. 30 Chinese (only about 3% of Chinese Americans do prison time) recruits would be, as a group, unlikely to break the law. As each black recruit is 39% likely to go to prison, that still leads to a group likelihood of one or more individule recruit of felony breaking of the law as quite a high probability.
I wish each recruit of whatever backgroud the very best, but if we recruit lots of black recruits, the risk of serious crime does increase. We all wish those realities were not true, however, they are what they have continued to be for several generations now. This class of recruits can prove me wrong. I hope they do. We will know more in a few years. It is up to them.
Loonatic … Your blatant racism speaks for itself. You reinforce your image as a racist bigot in every post.
If you had the slightest interest in individual Gopher recruits as human beings you would shut up and let their personal actions define them and them alone. You are not interested in individuals, you are only interested in sliming and smearing the team and coaches and in exhibiting your criminal racist attitude.
“Criminal”? Wow. If your name calling does not work, you turn up the volume? Does that work in your house?
No one has slimed our program as well as Maturi, Brewster and their supporters.
Loonatic … The open promotion of racism and racial hatred is called a hate CRIME in America. Criminal comes from the base word crime.
The shoe fits you. Wear it.
I know who you hate, but I don’t think I hate anyone.
By the way, if you think it is a crime to speak the truth you should report me to the police. Crime is a bad thing.
Oh, and if the police are having a hard time finding me, just tell them to look for a Gopher fan at the stadium in the fourth quarter this year.
I doubt the police will have any problems finding the only guy out of 50,000 wearing a white sheet, pointy white hood, and attempting to burn a cross behind the Gopher bench.
When was the last time the Gophers went into a season where the majority of the fans believe the team will be lucky to win two (2) Big Ten games? And they are the optomists.
The Loon says:
July 14th, 2008 at 10:41 am
When was the last time the Gophers went into a season where the majority of the fans believe the team will be lucky to win two (2) Big Ten games? And they are the optomists.
==============
1998, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007
I’m guessing that d_a(sp)_c won’t be inviting Mr. and Mrs. Looney Toons to his home for dinner anytime soon…
Derek, you are always the guy that comes in the back door with a little fact comment. I will give you 1998 because I do remember people saying that they were surprise that we almost made it to a bowl game. After the 1999 season I cann’t think of a year when the Gopher fan base was not thinking or expecting to be in a bowl game. Seven of the eight years we were in bowls. Because you have the hindsight of just how many games (BT) we did win you stick that garbage on the sight. I believe that the post you were responding to was meant to point out that many of the Brewster backers are soft playing this years schedule so they can cover their AS#. Just wait until 2009. That will be interesting. I will give you my prediction right now for 2009. Two wins in the non-conference and two Big Ten Wins. Check out the Big Ten Flip in 2009 and you will see where I am coming from.
I look forward to the Indiana game this year and the Air Force game the next year. These are two must win games for Maturi. If both those games are lost, barring miracles elsewhere, Maturi will be set out to pasture, Dunbar will be gone and Brewster will be lucky to survive for one last year.
Dac, Bimbo, Derek and his other brother Derek will have lost what little believability they have left. Brewster et al have put all their eggs into the stadium openning and no matter what the so called fans say this month, a loss to IU would suck the air out of their tiny little sails. An Air Force loss would be an unforgivable disaster to Maturi’s whole financial plan. The great event would have been totally blown by his moves.
Bud says:
July 14th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Derek, you are always the guy that comes in the back door with a little fact comment. I will give you 1998 because I do remember people saying that they were surprise that we almost made it to a bowl game. After the 1999 season I cann’t think of a year when the Gopher fan base was not thinking or expecting to be in a bowl game. Seven of the eight years we were in bowls. Because you have the hindsight of just how many games (BT) we did win you stick that garbage on the sight. I believe that the post you were responding to was meant to point out that many of the Brewster backers are soft playing this years schedule so they can cover their AS#. Just wait until 2009. That will be interesting. I will give you my prediction right now for 2009. Two wins in the non-conference and two Big Ten Wins. Check out the Big Ten Flip in 2009 and you will see where I am coming from.
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loon/wyne/wren asked a question and I gave my honest answer. Period.
I have always backed Mason in every post, and I support Brewster as my new coach. Quit with the crap.
Oh and Bud, I predict a 5-7 season.
The Loon says:
July 14th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I look forward to the Indiana game this year and the Air Force game the next year. These are two must win games for Maturi. If both those games are lost, barring miracles elsewhere, Maturi will be set out to pasture, Dunbar will be gone and Brewster will be lucky to survive for one last year.
Dac, Bimbo, Derek and his other brother Derek will have lost what little believability they have left. Brewster et al have put all their eggs into the stadium openning and no matter what the so called fans say this month, a loss to IU would suck the air out of their tiny little sails. An Air Force loss would be an unforgivable disaster to Maturi’s whole financial plan. The great event would have been totally blown by his moves.
============
I guess you can hope and dream loon, wren,wayne.
I have no hope of this “Zook like” fantasy system working here in Minnesota. Every team in the nation has been recruiting now for several years to stop the spread. If we arrive as top spread team in a few years, we will be several years to late for this fad. No, we have years of crap football yet to come.
Go Gophers!! Go away Maturi!!!
It will be interesting to see how this “Zook-like” fanasty system works at Michigan.
NYC, it will work just fine because no matter what offense you run at Mich. OSU, PSU, ect. They will have great defensive personell to go along with the offense they run and as long as they do not turn it over they will win games. Zook won last year with a majority of Turners players. It will be interesting to see if all of these 5 star recruits can build on last years success. But remember Ill. came in third in the Big Ten last year. They tied for secound with Michigan but Michigan took them apart down in Champaigne. So head to head they came in third. That might be the best they ever do. PSU has won 1 Big Ten championship in the 16 years in the league. It is pretty tough to say you are going to get to the top of the mountain and stay there with UofM and OSU in your conference. When they do not win the league they are always the ones that the Citruis Bowl and the Outback bowl want in their games. People who don’t understand this do not understand college football.
Bud: One point I was trying to make is Loon’s assessment that the spread is a fad. If Michigan was investing in it, it’s probably more than a passing fad.
Would be nice for the Gophers to put together a decent defense one of these days.
Loon said no such thing. I said that we were moving in the direction everyone else has been working against for many years now. As Bud correctly points out, Michigan will have the players, recruiting, money, fans and media support to win with ANY system. The idea that we can consistently beat them by running the same offense as everyone else is silly.
AGAIN, this is not the NFL where the deck is evenly dealt out. Our best chance to win is to be “the other O” that they see only once a year, not the same one everyone is running. Hey, but what would anyone over 60 years of age know about the Big Ten?
The Loon says:
July 15th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
“Loon said no such thing.”
____________________________
Oh great. Not only is “The Loon” a lying racist, but he’s also starting to talk about himself in the 3rd person.
Loon is definitely a piece of work.
I’m sure he’s also hoping Maturi get tOSU job so he can apply for it. I would love to see what his ideas would be for the U.
Loon: On your 1:32 post from yesterday you called the spread a fad.
All offensive formations go through popularity cycles. The D’s react over time until a new idea comes forward. Indeed, in some ways, the way the spread is run is somewhat reminisant of the old single wing in that the direct snap turns what was a quarterback into an old single wing tailback who is both the QB and the featured running back. Oldtimers may recall that one of the things that did the old single wing into the past was the difficulty of finding guys who could throw, run and quick kick while remaining healthy.
But, suit yourself. If you think we are going to beat the top teams by running the same O they run, that is fine by me. Time will tell.
The racist bigot Loonatic is surely a genius.
Who else could have figured out that the way to beat teams with great athletes with tremendous speed on the defensive side is for the Gophers to recruit slow kids with no athletic ability to play offense.
Right, Loonatic … good way to trick the other guys. Let’s run the ball off tackle every down with big and slow players.
Loonatic, it’s brilliant. Think how confused those lightning quick top athletes will be when they only see one slow team a year with poor athletes.
And Bud deserves a hat tip too for the brilliant observation that Ohio State and Michigan have good players and are hard to beat. Who would have known that without Bud?
No wonder he, the Loonatic, and Whine Renbawlbaby have moaned so much about Brewster recruiting better athletes.
How did Nebraska fair with their change from running the ball to the West Coast?
Not too well. So it doesn’t matter how much money or how many recruits you can get. Coaching, coaching, coaching.
I think I trust Dunbar and Ted Roof more than I trust Loon as to how we should be running our team.
Funny you should say time will tell…I don’t think you have given anyone in the new coaching staff any time.
Loon, I think we are all in agreement that if Brewster doesn’t have this ship pointed in the right direction by the end of 2009 (which is 3 seasons) we all think he should be on a short leash….but give the guy more than 1 season for crying out loud.
Go Gophers, you are going to do nothing useful in three years. By the early 1990’s our program had fully earned its reputation as THE premier Graveyard of College Football Coaches. Mason being fired here followed by Brewster being a total bust would really do such serious damage to our limited reputation as to be a greater disaster than anything the new stadium could offset.
As stated above, a loss to Indiana will not fly with casual fans and a loss in the stadium openner to Air Force would cause even fans like you to realize what a total mess had been made.
Add to that the very real possiblity of the NCAA not being amused by our recruiting methods, followed by no football program at all for three years, and you will have moved past all but the silliest fans.
You bet Go Gophers, I should be so happy and encouraged.
???
PS You trusted Withers more than you trusted me also. He was a genius who produced the great results promised. In his case, I AM certain I could have done better.
Loon, you are judging way too early to be as harsh as you are. Next July, if we totally suck in 2008, then you can gripe, for now you’re sounding like someone who doesn’t adapt well to change.
No, NYC, that was not what was said by those who wanted this change. They never once said anything like “we will have a really bad team for a few years and then we will instantly being go to the Rose Bowl”. The arguement was clearly made rebeatablely that “a good coach could take the same players that Mason had and do better with them”. And, that “there was no reason at all that we should fall back to the bottom of the Big Ten.” And that “we will no longer have to lose close games”. And that, “we will no longer blow big leads.” Etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc…..etc., etc.
Want more examples? Let me know.
Now go over to any other Gopher sites and see what the deep thinkers are saying today. And PLEASE do not give me any more of this pure BS about how at the end of the this season if we still suck like never before, it will then be “OK” to complain. We have BOTH years of sucking ahead of us AND at least two more years of group denial that all of this wasn’t EASILY predictable if a person had both half a brain and any real knowledge of Big Ten football.
I’m into year 42 of my long history of our program and I absolutely hate what is happening to my program. You be happy if you want, this “win like Zook” crap makes me puke.
That’s hilarious. This little racist moron actually believes recruiting black players at Minnesota will lead to a three-year death penalty from the NCAA.
This guy is stupid enough to be a U.S. Senator from Illinois.
Or he could be stupid enough to write a sentence like you did dumb-a**
You just showed what kind of person you are… congrats on that.
Yes, NYC, I hope I did … a patriotic American who has no use for anti-American scum.
DAC: very comedic.
By the way this blog is about football and you continue to put asinine political barbs in. Okay we get it, you’re a right-wing extremist.
Anywho, so how many days till the season starts?
Comments on Sid’s column today? Got me more optimistic and I liked reading about how the U helped Pinnix’s academic life improve
It was a good story but I would take some of it with a grain of salt. Amir wants to be seen as a positive person and a motivator. In the end, the team wins games or the coach will fail. No matter how much the fans say they don’t mind losing in the short run, they will hate many more losses to weak teams.
But, Amir is a good story.
NYC, be careful where you tread. Disliking Barack Obama does NOT make a person a “right-wing extremist.” Unfortunately, too many people like you assume that if a person doesn’t support Obama, that person is a racist Nazi. I think d_a(sp)_c has shown quite clearly who the racist on this site is.
I realize this a football blog, but it is also a place where all of us are exercising our right to free speech.
And by the way, I don’t like Obama, either.
You don’t think DAC’s language of “Anti-American scum” is extreme? Hence the description
I can appreciate an opposing point of view if it’s done with respect and I saw none from him.
I think Obama’s loyalty to our country and our way of life is questionable. Is he scum? I don’t know. Define scum.
Calling a political candidate scum does not make one an extremist. As a political candidate, Mr. Obama is subject to the same scrutiny and criticism as anyone running for public office.
Enough said. Back to football.
Jimbo, if you use extreme language you are not discusing the topic at hand. The one constant on this site is the inability of posters like you, dac and others to stick only to some form of reality. To call any man scum is name calling unless you clearly state what is scum like about the person. It weakens the debate and makes the user seem like a weak child because it is what children do before they become educated and less emotional.
By the way, I do not like the policies of the left either, but I have seen nothing scum like from Obama. The fact that he is half black would make no difference to me but it will have an effect on some voters who could have voted Democratic. Such was the choice made by the Democratic Party.
NYC, dac hates.
Define “extreme” language, Looney. When using indefinite terms, it’s always left up to the interpretaion of the reader. I don’t think “scum” is “extreme.” So let’s get back to football.
J: Your language is written respectfully. I respectfully disagree with calling someone “Anti-American scum” (not just scum) not being extreme. That rhetoric closes conversation. From what DAC has written in a past blog entry, he is not willing to engage in open dialogue, he is only open to his side being right and anyone who disagrees with him is wrong, case closed and I find that behavior foolish.
Back to football. Go Gophers!
In 2004, I often referred to John Kerry as a hypocrite and a coward. I do not consider myself an extremist, nor do I hate all Irish people. I just think that when a person runs for the highest public office in the land, he/she is fair game for opinions and (unfortunately) colorful name-calling.
Jimbo—Not sure what good this will do but why would consider a coward??
And, he was adopted, he is of Jewish background. Name calling shows a poor command of logic, knowledge and skill.
I did not know that Loon. I do engage in name calling but I do it with friends, it’s not how I would present myself here even tho with this current president it is quite tempting
Oh, Looney, you hurt me so bad!
I thought Pinnix’s comments were interesting, to say the least. I hope he’s right. I would say he has no good reason to “suck up” to the coaching staff, so let’s be optimistic!
I thought Kerry’s embellishment of his Vietnam duty was cowardly.
By the way, Looney, John Kerry was not adopted, but his paternal family is of Jewish heritage. Apparently his grandparents changed their name to Kerry and coverted to Catholicism around the turn of the century.
I dislike John Kerry, but don’t hate all Jewish people. (Although Al Franken is trying my patience…..)
I would say cowardly best describes a person who through high family contacts, dodged the draft, went awol in the National Guard, and was never held responsible for his actions. A good example of hypocrisy is trashing Kerry’s patriotism and then months after winning the election, giving Mohammed Ali the highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Honor.
The gloves are off.
TG: tip of the iceberg
Tx Gopher, so are you the one that gave CBS the news tip that got Dan Rather Fired for spewing that garbage. Just because someone says it does not make it so.
I suspect most of us on this site had earning power and where starting our families the last time we had one of these elections and you know what happend. The country wanted change because Nixon screwed it up and we voted Jimmy Carter into office. 15% home loans, 19% car loans, 28% credit cards. If you do not learn from HISTORY it will repeat itself. Taxing the wealthy and starting up more entitlement programs will do nothing for this country. It will be the same old same old. You better have your financial affairs in order if this election goes to B.O. The markets already are pulling back to take a wait and see attitude on who the next president will be. Cut all your debt and save your cash until after NOV.
Because you know what happened the last time a Democrat was in the White House, “it’s the economy stupid” ring a bell?
Bud—go ahead and try and convince me that Bush is some sort of war hero and Kerry was a coward. Bush is a classic frat boy who in the words of Molly Ivins was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.
NYC, if you were old enough to be a tax paying, wage earning individual during Carters administration then you would know what I am talking about.
TX Gopher, I am not tring to convince you of anything. My point was that a very well respected news man was fired by CBS for reporting the same crap you wrote in your post. You can believe what ever you want to believe but just because you say it is so does not mean that it is the TRUTH.
Anyone who thinks there was the slightest purity regarding 90% of the activities around the Vietnam War is a damn fool or was not there. That war is over and other than a very few like John McCain there are very few who can take much pride in that well intended debacle. On any side of any part of that war. It’s over, drop it.
Bud: I was in college during most of the Carter administration.
NYC, then ask your parents about the interest rates, the gas lines, the hostages in Iran, and inflation. The country damn near went broke and then we elected RR and things became much better when he cut spending and taxes. The Iranians gave the hostages back after the election but before RR took office because they knew we where coming to get them as soon as RR took office.
Jumbo says:
“Disliking Barack Obama does NOT make a person a “right-wing extremist.”
____________
Incredibly, I was not referring to Brock Insane Obama. The worst U.S. Senator from Illinois is Dick Turbin, who has spent the past five years stabbing American soldiers in the back. Durbin/Turbin is the worst anti-American POS east of Pigosi and Comrade Hairy Red.
Bud says,
“NYC, if you were old enough to be a tax paying, wage earning individual during Carters administration then you would know what I am talking about.”
____________
He isn’t and he doesn’t. All liberals are children.
“The markets already are pulling back to take a wait and see attitude on who the next president will be.”
________
The permanent Brock Insane Osama Obama depression has begun.
Bud says,
“The Iranians gave the hostages back after the election but before RR took office because they knew we where coming to get them as soon as RR took office.”
_____________________
Liberal children who worship Marxists have no clue what happened the morning Reagan was sworn in. After spitting in Carter’s face for 444 days, Khomenie released the American hostages THE MORNING REAGAN WAS SWORN IN.
I wonder why? The 6th grade moron Obama and his America-hating wife have no clue why that happened.
Marxist liberals believe anyone who has not spent his/her entire life bashing America, blaming America for all the world’s ills, knifing our soldiers in the back, talking down the economy, undermining our country, and generally destroying the U.S. like Pelosi, Reid, Obama and the rest of the communists running the Democrat party .. must be a “right wing extremist”. Yeah, right.
NYC … Since this is a football blog, I suggest you listen to football players and football coaches. Listen carefully to their words. None of these warriors hate America like Pigosi, Comrade Red, and Michelle Obama do.
Now Jimbo do you see how extreme his rhetoric is? DAC you are a bizarre individual
You are a high-strung control freak who’s just shown the maturity level of someone who’s 14. I’m embarrassed for you.
Yes, we have a brand new record of SIX d-a-c posts in a row!!! Each a bite sized package of well reasoned love and understanding!!
Wow! Big surprise why people are running in droves from the right-wingers, based on some of these posts.
I was too young to know the full extent of Carter’s damage with the 15% home loans, 19% car loans, 28% credit cards that Bud reported. However, I do know that if we keep the current administation’s policies, we will see a further decline in the dollar on the world market, thus much higher interest rates. Hopefully, McCain wouldn’t be that stupid to go down Dubya’s road.
The dollar is weak because the USA imports so much compared to exports. On the good side, a lot of that cash goes to Canada and Mexico, not the Middle East. In any case, I do not see many short term answers by any president to those problems much past what the consumer is doing now.
The T Boone Pickens ads are nice to see. Our new hybrid is working very well.
This blog went down the $hitter in a hurry…..
Any chance football might be part of the discussion anytime soon, or should I just go somewhere else
I agree gopherguy. I really hate off topic political, racial, etc conversations on a football blog.
A very good interview with Amir Pinnix. It seems those coming from inside the program are very positive about Coach Brewster and the rest of the coaching staff.
Personally, I’m looking for a much improved improved team and record this year. For the first time in a long time though, we’re extremely thin at Running Back. I’ll be most interested to see how Dunbar adjusts.
I can’t remember the publication (Sporting News?) but they have us Bowl Bound with a 7-5 record. I’m thinking 6-6 (3-1 OOC and 3-5 BT) with an upset of Michigan.
Wow keep the political garbage off this blog. I even rather listen to loon/wyne/ wren’s rants than that idiocy.
I guess the star trib doesn’t value us enought to get a writer on the Gophers?
I heard they had someone covering them. If we could take Chip’s knowledge, Myron’s enthusiasm, and Roman’s energy, we’d be set.
Did you see Chip’s Vikings article regarding Favre? The way this thing is playing out, they may be guests on “The View”.
Derek, there is nothing going on right now in Gopher football to cover. Would you like to hear about how great the summer workouts are going like last summer. That really equated into alot of wins. Every football team in America right now is undefeated. We will not even know who has cleared the clearing house and ready to play until the first game. Enjoy your summer and Aug. 30 will be here soon enough. Re and Go5 you can go back to the Hole if you want to have your cum-by-ya love fest about Brewster and the Gopher football program.
Ok Dud, if you’re going to bash me, at least take the time to look up the spelling of a word. It took me awhile to figure out what “cum-by-ya” was. Then it occured to me….Bud is stupid…he can’t spell or write, so I’ll have to be creative. The correct spelling is: KUMBAYA.
Rather than have me hype the program, let’s hear it from a former player (who by the way has no agenda):
Speaking about last season’s dismal record, Pinnix said: “We just had to get adjusted to the staff. Coach Brewster and his staff did an excellent job, especially getting us prepared and helping us learn the new schemes. But I just think that it took a little getting used to, but coach Brewster and his staff are unbelievable.”
Well the thing that has really hurt Brewster in the past has been the lack of pre season hype. This year we should all spend the remaining “off season” time hyping the team and coaching staff more.
For example, I have not read enough “Roof will be the greatest Gopher defensive coach of all time” stuff. Or, how about some more “it is terrible the way the players let the coaches down last season”? Perhaps the coaches should be out on the road telling every town in Minnesota about how we are headed to the Rose Bowl very soon (Not this year, not next year, but real, real soon)?
I also think we should spend a lot more time talking about how Mason let the program down by winning some games, but not all games. Whereas the Brew Crew have rejected the whole idea of losing any games (once they get some players worthy of their coaching and those players get a few years of experience).
There are really so many fresh and consensis building, pro Brewster, pro Maturi things we could talk about (how about that big win last year?) that we should not even mention anything else, ever. Now how about some recruiting talk?
Loon wisely asks:
“Now how about some recruiting talk?”
—————————-
Eric Stephens - Running Back from Texas who’s coach said the following:
Coach Terry Cron: “As a sophomore he led the area in rushing with 1,480 yards. A 7.5 yard average per carry. He’s very strong. He benches 355 and squats 450. He’s an A-B student, and a good kid.”
Here’s how his recruiting trip is going:
…..but a post including a quote from Stephens over at GI said the trip was going well.
This kid seems to be an excellent citizen, athlete, and student. He even runs a 4.56 - 40!
Thanks for asking Loon!
More Pinnix quotes:
“Oh, most definitely,” he said. “Coach Brewster’s going to win with this team because he’s an excellent coach and he has some good talent on that squad. So after a year [with] the coaching staff and coach Brewster and his system, I think they’ll be pretty good. They’ll make a bowl run.”
Pinnix has a very high regard for assistant head coach-offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar.
“I love coach Dunbar,” Pinnix said. “I mean, he gets you prepared for a system that you really have to sit down and study, and it gets you prepared for the next level.”
Pinnix said the players on the team like Brewster’s optimism.
“You have to stay optimistic, always,” Pinnix said. “That’s why I love coach Brewster, because he’s so optimistic. He uses motivation, and he can inspire you to go out and make things happen.”
Rescooters comments:
I can’t wait for August 30th! By the way, the latest line has the Gophers by 10 over Northern Illinois.
Just what I thought the real fans and true deep thinkers wanted, some gosh darn good hype! One of those “if we can’t beat you on the field, we will scare you from even showing up in the first place” kind of posts!!
I too think we have a real chance to beat the Huskies. Heck, we can build our reputation until by the time we get to the OSU game we will be able to strut right into the ‘Shoe after a big Brew pep talk and give them a real tongue lashing!!!
