meangreendork

It's a verbal commit. It could change, maybe.

I'm right with you. People in the know - people who are experts in both music programs and music as a whole have their list of best programs. SMU is never on that list. And frankly, believing a USAtoday article put together by people who aren't specialists and aren't in that field of knowledge is like taking my advice for choosing our next QB when you've got Chico Canales telling you otherwise.

Actually, it's different because one of the Indian nations of that state chose that name when naming the state during treaty talks with the US. The Choctaw chief of the time chose that name because he thought it reflected all of the Native American peoples in the state. It's one thing when you choose it, it's something else when someone outside of you, with a long history of what amounts to dicking your people over chooses the name, makes a mockery of your culture, and slaps it on a sports team, then makes money off it.

One of my close friends went to Rochester, then got his master's here. He went from one great school to another.

Not gonna lie, I didn't even know some of the schools had a music department. Even by those metrics, I don't know how SMU got in there. It's a program no one hears about that's really small. I also find it funny none of these are public institutions, either.

Saw this on USA Today, but then again, USA Today is really just a stone's throw in quality from Cracked. http://college.usatoday.com/2014/06/19/the-top-10-music-colleges-in-the-united-states/ That ranking was based upon the amount of financial aid available for the students in that relatively small program. Which, I guess they need considering SMU is expensive as hell to attend. What I did like reading were comments from people who attended other schools or were otherwise not affiliated with UNT asking, "hey, how is North Texas not on this list?!"

I think this actually is worse for opposing teams than it is good. Students behind the opposing team might face penalties for saying/doing things. But alumni - if they're not doing anything illegal, they can kinda do whatever they please.

I'm among those who were all, "Thompson? 1:1 TD/INT ratio Thompson? Man, we're in trouble", only to find myself in December, thinking, "Thompson had a damned good year." And in January, thinking, "Holy hell, that guy has talent and more than anything, he's got serious heart."

A lot of this points to the system finance office and whomever was supposed to be reviewing this at the state level. It's hard to aim at really anyone below the university equivalent of c-suite folks since they're likely not aware of what funds positions.

About Bergdahl: Dude's probably a deserter. It's probably a damned good idea to bring him back and try him under the UCMJ so he gets the punishment he deserves. It's also probably a good idea to get him back so he doesn't cough up any more useful information to the Taliban than he may already have. About the released detainees: The US seems to be ceasing formal hostilities, which means that these guys have to be let go per the Geneva Convention (and yeah, this wasn't a declared war and the Taliban is a non-state actor). The other thing these guys are - they're potential intelligence assets, and not because of what they know. It's who they know and who those people know. If it were me, I'd put people and drones on these guys from the day they start their year in Qatar until they die. Who they talk to, where they go, and what they do can be great information. So while these guys may be squeezed empty of useful information, their contacts back home are not. This means both contacts US intelligence knows about and more importantly, ones that are yet to be revealed and ones yet to be created. I figure these guys are going to go right back to work or they're gonna be killed by their own people. Might as well work both to US advantage.

"According to police, the pair are accused of robbing three male victims at gunpoint on May 23 after the three men agreed to purchase marijuana from Claiborne and Golden." Tell me, why even ask if anyone wants these two jackholes? Seriously.

Hall wasn't really about the long throws. He was all about making well-timed and well-placed passes while being a pretty damned good leader on the field.

The cat replies, "I guess it's okay, but I hope you decide to kick a field goal next time you get 8 shots to score from the goal line."

DeNucci seems like a good catch. He's not just holding blocks, but he's blowing things wide open or moving defenders around when he's not pancaking them.

That stadium...sooo not football friendly. The distance from seats to track is far bigger than what was at Fouts. The gap from the arch of the track to what I assume the goalposts will be is huge. Ughhh. Why, CUSA? Why?

Ehhh... Rice, Middle Tennessee and Ohio could give them trouble. Most definitely Rice and MTSU. Their schedule looks extra cupcake beyond that.

I hate to say this, but whenever I think about the financial stumble here, I always think to myself, "But at least we're not Penn State." After Franklin, it's more like, "I'm really glad we're not Penn State."

I'm just gonna go with that. And bad parents. And a likely head injury as a child.

The other responses beyond Moran's were pretty reasonable.

I don't know about UNT relying on bell curves as a way to describe how every instructor handles grades. Only a handful of the classes I was in ran via bell curve, and those were often the larger, lower level classes.

"No P5 university would ever take on student athletes who would dare fall behind NCAA academic requirements." - Assumed NCAA canned response

I was also surprised when Baylor got slotted with UCF - but the truth is, if they were good enough to play Ohio State, then they should've beaten UCF handily. Just because Baylor didn't get who they wanted doesn't mean they get to half ass the game. All that did was hurt Baylor.

I'm hoping our special teams unit is ready to go, too. They were a huge part of the performance vs. Georgia and key to the team doing so well last year as a whole. If they can create turnovers, control field position, and put points on the board, then that may make up for the defense and offense unit gaps when stacked against UT. Many schools treat special teams like an afterthought. I love that our coaches use special teams like a favorite weapon. The whole team will have to be on their A-game.

Not gonna lie, but an 8-5 record for Texas is sort of middling with all the hype that school carries. The score gaps in their losses are really telling, too. As for Baylor, I think they were asleep when they played UCF. UCF came to that bowl game ready to win the day they flew into town. Baylor wasn't ready until the 2nd half but by then, UCF had a rhythm built up and their staff had figured Baylor out. I figured Baylor had that game locked down, too.

This seems to be the analysis from their fans, too. That said, if there's a season to put UT away, this is it. They're normally too good of a team to have a glimmer against, but anything could happen and I'm hoping for the best.