TheTastyGreek

Well... If she *was* walking and she *is* black... Doesn't that technically mean she was guilty? Sounds like the system works. We live in a society of laws. Don't like it? Stand still, or change races. Problem solved.

Not to say that isn't true, but it does beg an obvious question... Who told you that was the case?

Okay, so... First things first: We used to have a moderator around here (JohnDenver) who did a great job of laying out the point that old arguments and dead horses are fresh material for new members. People don't come on board with an encyclopedic knowledge of the archives, and topics that we've rehashed a thousand times are totally new conversations for some of the participants. Now, when I made a very quick, very dismissive response earlier... I didn't really look at the original poster, who in this case ( @Mike Jackson ) has only had a registered account here since April. So, my apologies to Mike. Sincerely. I should have paid closer attention to who made the initial comment, and I'm sorry that I didn't before tossing off a very undiplomatic response. Now, that said... Mike, this is something that's come up again and again, and there aren't really many (if any) examples of the "basketball is easier to fix because if you just get one guy, then..." concept. There are a LOT of examples of that not being the case, at every level of college basketball. But, rather than jump into a conversation without really understanding what the initial point might be, let's start this over from the top. If there's a discussion to be had here (and you don't have to engage in it), please give me an example of what you're talking about having happened at another program. Not a hypothetical, but a tangible historical or current example of the point you're trying to make. Once I have a better understanding of exactly what you're trying to say here, I'll respond (or not) accordingly. And, in any event, much more respectfully. GENERALLY, this tends to be a topic that comes up a lot with very, very casual college basketball followers. And, just like some of the other subjects that come up or came up repeatedly throughout forum history, including but not limited to: - Hey, anyone think we should leave the Sun Belt and join the WAC? - Hey, anyone ever consider starting a 4 team basketball tournament among the Metroplex schools? - Hey, wouldn't a baseball team more than pay for itself? - Hey, wouldn't it be better to be in the 16 seed playoff game than to go into the tournament as a 14 or 15 seed? Things quickly fall into a pattern and people generally jump to their last (usually heated and frustrated) comments on the topic. So, again... My apologies to @Mike Jackson. Mike, if you really want to talk through that concept, we'll treat it like it's never been brought up here before and I'll be happy to discuss it with you much more diplomatically.

I love when people say something like this, as it makes for a very easy signal that they don't know what they're talking about, and don't need to be taken remotely seriously whenever they share thoughts and opinions on basketball.

Poor guy... I feel bad for him now. Where does he live, and do they have a Which Wich nearby?

All-conference tournament player, first team all conference, conference freshman of the year, Lou Henson finalist, first freshman since Michael Beasley to post multiple 30 point/15 rebound games in a season (despite not being eligible until semester break). Until playing for Benford (based on his half-season under JJ), he was the 2nd ranked center in the country and 7th overall player, preseason conference player of the year, Wooden Award watch list, preseason all-american (according to 3 different publications). He played 30+ minutes per game... The only guys to average more rebounds per game in a season in the past 35 years than Tony did under Johnny were Odufuwa (by .4 rebounds per game) and Ronnie Morgan in 1990. When Tony led the team in scoring, he did it with more points per game than Josh White ever had. He still made it into the NBA draft (highest draft pick we've ever had, first pick at all in 30 years), set the school record for blocks (in just 55 games), 5th on the single season 3 point percentage board, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I've never seen a more transformative player in a North Texas uniform in any sport. And I don't think I ever will in my lifetime. A one-man lane stuffing, rebound gobbling, wildly athletic scoring machine. Watching him in person was an absolute joy, and I feel very fortunate that we got the 55 games we did with him. He was a monster under JJ despite having almost no time to prepare because of his partial qualifier status. He regressed under Benford, but still accomplished a tremendous amount here. Why there's such a compulsion to shit on the guy, I'll never understand. - - - - - - - - - - Also, I'd say that Tony Mitchell isn't even the most overrated guy we've had in the past 10 years. Riley Dodge. 3 years, 5 wins. 1-1 TD/INT ratio. Didn't seem better than the guy he replaced at the position. And when he left, he didn't go to the NFL... He went to McNeese State. Going back all the way... Haven't I heard stories about Hayden Fry landing the top recruit in the state, an RB who would be a modern 5-star that never really accomplished anything on the field here?

Youngbloodz. If you don't give a damn, we don't give a fuck. Don't start no shit, it won't be no shit. Alternate and repeat until issue resolved.

If it were an easy job, it wouldn't pay as much as it does. If it were an impossible job, other people wouldn't be able to succeed at it with less money, fewer resources, and substantial geographic disadvantages.

I keep trying to figure out some way to portmanteau the words Ouroboros and Anus. Can't seem to figure it out, though. Little help?

Stay focused.

If you're trying to imply that airplane banners were potentially not the best way to get my message across to people... Maybe you're right!

I don't remember sending this message... But excluding Quoner from the group of "important people" does make me think this may be credible. Maybe I'm Tyler Durden-ing to handle my mod duties?

I will in fact be leading the moderation hiring process alone. There will be no committee. And to the minority that want to see me gone? We still have things we need to finish here.

The medium was, in no small part, a key component of the message. But, don't worry. That sucked, and I'll never do it again.

@Harry I'm sure he's going to pop in any minute now to give me a vote of confidence. Right? Right?

As I explained... At the time, we had a generator contract with Tulsa Power. When we joined CUSA, that invalidated the contract, and the problems that created led to a need for non-spitted gyros. But, we found a workaround, and the tailgate gyros I've made since we opened Apogee have been delicious. I'm proud of the product I've been able to put on the plate the past few years, especially given the financial circumstances. Frankly, and this is something many of you don't want to acknowledge or refuse to understand... The generator and vertical spit pool is always going to be limited unless the number is where you can negotiate whatever it is. I hope that you don't think that I take accountability. When I took this moderator gig, I said it wasn't a sprint. GoMeanGreen was in a bad place. We had bad forum software, we had no budget, our recruit tracking was below 30%. We had no donors, no forum chat room, nothing. Some people may say "You've been a moderator for five years" (side note: holy crap, five years of you people and your shenanigans). There's been a ton of payoff. You may not see it today in the football forum. But there's been a ton of payoff. In that marathon, we've kept running and completed a ton of that. I think I transform lunches. That's not to take away anything from the many people who made these achievements happen. I certainly acknowledge and appreciate the tremendous contributions @UNTflyer made in the sandwich and LEGO initiatives. What I brought to the party was dick jokes. I brought a vision and I brought a consistency in moving towards things regardless of obstacles. When you look at the things I can control, I'll stand my track record against just about anybody's. Look, I take full responsibility for the failures of The Peach Basket. Am I satisfied with the horrible results of my co-host? No. But, I still think Jesse was a good hire. At the time I made the hire, he was called the 2nd best guy on that podcast by most media in the country. As to why the levels of accountability are different? Well, I think my co-host had everything he needed when he got here. I sent him a headset, I booked the engineer, I mixed and mastered the episodes. We gave that podcast a chance to be relevant. Did it work out the way I'd hoped? No. Do I regret hiring Jesse as my co-host? Well, I'm certainly not happy with the results... But Jesse was a good Sun Belt basketball podcast hire based on who we could go hire.

...what about the universal love and admiration of a grateful populace?

@flyonthewall - Trying to let the guy make a point without shutting him down immediately because of the username. You're right, it's an issue we've raised with others before. But, it's a 6 year old account with no posts before today. I have a message out asking for an acceptable alternate name, and I'll change it as soon as i get an answer. Or, if the content of his posts swings to be actively political, then we'll act accordingly. For now, though, trying to let the guy raise what's generally a minority viewpoint (pro-Rick) around here lately without using his username as a pretense to stifle whatever points he wants to make.

Maybe you should step away from the keyboard and take a few deep breaths, too.

Maybe it's time to step away from they keyboard and take a few deep breaths.

If not, you're welcome to play with RV's new LEGOs.

Fire ___ ? - CHECK Complaint about Vito? - CHECK Never-ending slap fight over something completely secondary to the topic, that probably ought to be handled over private message? - CHECK Someone defending RV because of facilities and ignoring 14 years of failed hired - CHECK If someone would just chime in and say we don't have any business criticizing a coach/AD/peanut vendor if we have no experience in the job... I could punch my bingo card and cash out for a prize.

Here's the response I received to my email... I find it strangely encouraging? Good for you, Ricky V. Good for you.