Hilltopper39

Not that it really matters because I think these recruiting rankings and signing antics and all have kind of gotten out of control lately, but based on Rivals.com rankings Alabama had more 5 star recruits (6) than the Big 12, Big 10, and Pac 12 combined.....

^The attitude of those players is pretty reflective of the attitude of the team as a whole. I mean they are kind of a bunch of thugs and that's kind of why they are as good as they are. You have to have little bit of that to play defense the way that they do. Not the mention the head coach. Jim Harbaugh is the same kind of guy as Kaepernick and Crabtree and Willis, he's just on the sidelines instead of on the field. Jim used to come back to Western Kentucky when his dad was the coach there (before I was at Western but my brother played there and some other people I knew) and there were always stories of Jim almost getting into fist fights with current players during 7 on 7 pick up games over receptions and interceptions and stuff. So if that's the mentality of the head coach you netter bet that it's going to trickle down into the make up of the team itself. I'm not a big Kaepernick fan, not because of his attitude or anything just his play at times, but I do love the 49ers and they way they play football. This current Seattle San Fran Rivalry might be the best rivalry in pro sports.

The Gringotts coaster concept sounds really cool, can't wait to finally check all of this out!

No offense to anyone here but it's hard not to notice that the controversy created by Sherman seems to loosely related to your age. Most of the people who think Sherman is a classless dick seem to be older, and most of the people who are either not offended or like his actions seem to be slightly younger. I realize this is a very vague generalization but it does kind of speaks to the way different generations interpret things differently. Maybe all of that rap music and reality tv has desensitized us younger folks, or maybe us youngins are all dumber than we realize and we haven't matured enough to see these type acts for what they truly are. Either way I'm kind of glad the SuperBowl now has a legitimate villain because the Peyton manning coverage is already getting old. The Sherman stories will probably get old before the big game gets here but at least he slightly saves us from the Peyton-ocalypse.

Yeah I love it, I think it's funny how much backlash this whole thing has created. I'm all for more players cutting promos on the field in professional sports haha. As for the Superbowl, I'm kind of pulling for Seattle to beat the brakes off of Denver.

My new pet peeve (professionally) is people who go out of their way to tell you how long they have been doing something/working in this industry/ working on these machines etc. Just because you've been doing something for 20 years doesn't necessarily mean your good at it or that you know what your doing, and just because I haven't been doing this as long as you have doesn't mean that your always right and I'm always wrong. Also, I hate it when people (usually older people) give you their phone number and don't include the area code. I don't know where your from or where your cell phone is registered so just tell me the area code when you give me your number.

Yeah, I loved it, it's not like he was cursing or saying anything that bad.

Sounds like the players at Texas are in for a culture shock..... Seems like a lot of these things are kind of "un-written" rules that everyone on a team just naturally abides by, kind of makes you wonder what the culture of the program has been like for the last couple of years.

I'm pulling for a Seattle vs New Englandsuperbowlbut any combination at this point would be great. I mean it just feels like an outdoor game in NYC in the cold is made for Seattle and New England.

Yeah, no need to put a hurry up offense in place at Alabama with the linemen they have and Derek Henry as a sophomore. They'll be just fine with the offense they currently have in place.

Yeah, we might be getting a home and home out of it as well which would be huge for our program. We had a 4 year contact with Kentucky (that expired this year, don't think they're gonna renew after we beat em 2 straight!) but Western played our home games in Nashville at LP Field so it wasn't really a true home and home. Getting Louisville in our house would be great.

Looks like Petrino to Louisville is a done deal. Interesting note, when Western Kentucky's AD initially negotiated Petrino's deal last year he put in a buy out clause of $1.3 million which may not sound like a lot but he was only being paid a salary around $800K for the season. So basically for one season of football Western Kentucky got a new look, an 8-4 record, a move to a new conference, and half a million dollars of Looserville's money, not bad!

Yeah I think 8 teams will eventually be the magic number, 16 might be too many unless they were to get rid of conference championship games or something (which won't happen). I wonder how difficult that contract would be to re-negotiate to 8 teams before the 12 years is up? Seems like there will be more than enough interest in this thing to justify the format expansion and plenty of money to be made in the process.

Yeah I agree, this bowl season overall felt like it was much more entertaining than it has been in years past. Even some of the non- BCS match-ups like the Cotton and Chik-Fil-A bowl were entertaining.

^^I love that Texas graphic, it's great! Hell of a game last night. Both teams made a lot of great plays and it came down to the Heisman trophy winner leading an incredible drive to score a TD to win the National Championship, great way to end the season and the BCS era. However I'm already kind of tired of all of the commentary about who made what mistakes and how FSU ended the SEC streak and everything. Can't we just enjoy the moment for what it was? It was a great football game between two great teams but for some reason that's still not good enough for some people out there. A couple of callers on the local radio this morning were still trying to refute FSU legitimacy as National Champions citing weak schedule and all of the same arguments, absolutely ridiculous, people are dumb. Oh well, time to move on to signing period and next season. There's an awful lot to look forward next season with the 4 team playoff coming. I'm expecting more controversy over the 4 playoff spots than there ever was over the 1 & 2 for the BCS title game, but in the process the 4 team playoff will be the biggest thing to happen to sports in a long long time. It will be absolutely huge and I can't wait. If there were a 4 team playoff this year, we would more than likely be awaiting an FSU vs Alabama game next weekend following a game like last nights, it's going to be insane!

I'm sorry, but you thought the Big 10 was considered a 'lower tier' especially MSU? Can you elaborate on your opinion that we are listed as a lower-tier? We still have a huge conference even if it isn't plastered all over ESPN like the SEC or the PAC 12 - My guess is that, it is because the "rest of the world" only seems to know the Wolverines or OSU; MSU has consistently crushed UM the past 5 of 6yrs and OSU has been tough over the years but we showed everyone who we were knocking them out by double digits in the Big Ten Championship thanks to our #1 D. As a die hard Spartan fan and Alum, it is interesting to see folks around the country that haven't heard of MSU, especially with our stellar basketball program (versus Duke which usually is only good in bball...FB was a surprise this year) not to mention the entire season it was outlined all over EPSN and the media how we were so *underrated* yet blew all opponents out by double digits except the single loss to ND (I'm sure you read the reports how bad that game was at the end to give ND the win). FWIW - Dantonio has been contacted by Texas and may other 'bigger jobs' but his heart lies in East Lansing and he wants to showcase our Elite team. MSU's journey to elite status seems to now be complete (finally) after years of terrible John L Smith. /rant if it sounds like it, my bad... What I meant by "lower tier" was, like you said, they're not Michigan and they're not Ohio State, and in the Big 10 those are the two teams that I would consider "top tier" and then teams like Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State I would consider a "lower tier", not the lowest tier but lower. The point I was trying to make was that usually when a coach has any sort of sustained success at a "lower tier" school more often than not they end up taking a job elsewhere (see Steve Sarkisian, Charlie Strong, Nick Saban, Brian Kelly, Jim Harbaugh, etc.). I didn't mean it as an insult or anything but let's be honest on a national stage over the past decade MSU hasn't garnished the same type of respect and attention as Ohio State or other "top tier" programs, but that might change now. In my eyes Michigan State is kind of in the same position now that Stanford was 2 or 3 years ago where they are just on the edge of becoming a top tier type program (even though MSU has had more sustained success over the past decade.) For whatever it's worth, yes absolutely the Big 10 is a lower tier conference at this point in time, not lowest, but certainly lower. In my opinion the SEC is still the best but not the Pac 12 is a lot closer than people realize, then the Big 12 and ACC are next with the Big 10 behind them. I mean the Big 10 was 4-10 in the Rose Bowl in the BCS era and 5-21 against Top 10 non-conference teams since 2006. It doesn't take an expert to watch a little Big 10 football and realize the level of play in that conference isn't what it used to be.

I follow you guys mainly through Facebook, however if you are live at an event like IAAPA or on a park tour where I know you will be tweeting more frequently than updating Facebook then I'll follow your twitter feed (but I'm not a twitter user) to get the updates. I watch a lot of your Youtube videos, and I think I'm a subscriber, but most of your YouTube content I view is a result of a link you posted on Facebook.

Not a terribly exciting day of bowl games, but some good games none the less. Personally my two biggest locks of the bowl season were both major losses. I thought A&M would crush Duke but they somehow forgot how to play defense for 3.5 quarters, then I also thought Stanford would roll over Michigan State but Sparty is tough. It still amazes me that Mark Dantonio's name doesn't get mentioned for bigger jobs, seems like all the guy does is win 8-10 games a year at a somewhat of a lower tier school. Maybe he's waiting for Spurrier to retire so he can take over his alma mater in the next couple of years. I guess UCF was a shocker for most people but I had a feeling that they would compete in that game and maybe even win. I've watched UCF play a few times this year and they were impressive, glad the rest of the nation got a chance to see that last night. Oklahoma vs Bama tonight, I never condone picking Oklahoma ever, but tonight's game feels like one of those where they've got everything to play for and Bama has nothing to play for. I think during the regular season Bama wins this game 99 times out of 100 but weird things tend to happen in bowl games.

I've thought about trying Crossfit, but yeah it seems really expensive for what it is, and if I started doing cross fit then I couldn't make of people that do crossfit anymore.

^^Yeah, Seattle was a bit more under the radar last year as an 11-5 wild card team but this year they are certainly a favorite. Denver on the other hand, well yeah, a season with high expectations ends in an unlikely loss, that's the story of Manning's career isn't it? I don't know if this is true or not but once heard that in High School Peyton only lost like 4 or 5 games as a starter, all in the post season/ state championships haha. I still don't really like Denver in the playoffs,. Their defense is average, they don't have a great running game, and Manning seems to struggle in cold weather situations (you know, like Denver and NYC in February?). Those things in my mind aren't a great combination for post season success. They're still the favorite to win the AFC but we will see..... ^I like Philly, and they do seem to be getting hot at the right time. I had a feeling that Chip Kelly was going to have a lot of success in the NFL but I am kind of surprised it is happening so soon. Think about how good their offense is going to be next year when Jeremy Maclin is healthy again ( and after they find a way to draft Johnny Manziell) . The funny thing about Baltimore is (and I might be wrong about this) is that they could still lose and get in if everyone else in contention loses. I don't think anyone in the AFC wild card race has control of their own destiny at this point, everyone has to win and have someone else lose to secure the final spot. Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Miami, and San Diego are all still alive and they all have to win and have someone else lose, pretty WILD race for the WILD Card, get it?

Should be a pretty exciting day of football on Sunday with all but 3 games having playoff implications. It's pretty amazing how much has changed in the last quarter of the season, Seattle has gone from looking unbeatable to looking as human as everyone else, somehow the Bears and the Packers have managed to stay alive for the playoffs with back up QB's, the patriots are looking at another 12 win season despite having just about all of their good players hurt, and a team Quarterbacked by Carson Palmer is in contention for the playoffs? Crazy year. I'm starting to think that no one is really that good this year, I mean every team has significant weaknesses that a bad match-up could exploit in the playoffs. I mean other than the 2nd wildcard team in the AFC there's no one I would count out as a no way the make a Superbowl run, and even the 2nd AFC wildcard team might be Baltimore , and you can never count out Baltimore. Should be an exciting month of football coming up! I'm kind of secretly pulling for Carolina to make a deep run. They're fun to watch and I think Cam Newton is a guy that is ready to be the next big star. Colts vs Panthers would be a nice mix of new blood for the big game.

And the opposite of that can be true as well, sometime woodies can look rough in the POV but actually be pretty decent in real life, depends on who is taking the POV I guess.

^Yeah I really don't have a lot of interest in it either, just noticed it was playing this weekend and was curious if it was any good or not. If it is I might check it out! The rest of our season in Jax is pretty decent and probably a lot of the same stuff your are/will be getting in Orlando, Blue Man Group, War Horse, Memphis. and Million Dollar Quartet. I saw Memphis in New York a few years ago and thought it was just fantastic. Kind of a generic story that I feel like I've seen a few times before but the music was good, it had an awesome production, and overall was just a really fun show. There are also some rumors of a Memphis film adaption in the works, which I think could work really well. I've never seen Million Dollar Quartet but I've heard some great things about it. It sounds like it's definitely worth checking out if your into country/rock and roll music at all.

^^Yeah, I think Saban (like most coaches in college football) is just a little bit crazy, and leaving Bama in the middle of being the best program in the history of college football for a struggling program like Texas (with a TON of cash to spare) is a move that probably peaks his interest just a little…… If Saban leaves Bama for Texas, I'm calling it now that Dabo Swinney leaves Clemson for Bama, and there is a chain reaction across college football as a result of it………..

Has anyone here ever seen Flashdance the Musical? It's in Town this weekend and I was just curious if it was worth checking out or not? (I originally posted Ghost the musical, but it's really Flashdance that's in town this weekend)