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Malibubill

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  1. Clocktower, My apologies - I agree with you 100%. I'm just playing devil's advocate with those who seem to think SLU/Fr. Biondi was planning all along on not bringing him back. If there was any doubt (which I agree there was not if you believe Chris May and others), I think it would have been more likely due to concerns about his age and health than the administration's desire to get rid of him because he was a maverick. If Fr. Biondi had wanted to get rid of him, he would have just fired him as he did the recent dean of the law school. He is not one to wait until the end of a contact. Thanks for clarifying.
  2. "Granted this next point is circumstantial or supposition, ...." So you are speculating without factual basis. In private conversations between administrators and other alums present in Anaheim last year we were given the exact opposite impression - that while the University would not officially comment on RM's contract because that is private and confidential information, we should not worry about it. Taj79 posts above that Chris May gave similar representations recently to another group. Maybe, just maybe, the University has known all along about RM's health concerns and in the interest of protecting his private information, his health issues, they declined to discuss his contract because it depended in large part on his health - something that he would want kept confidential. Isn't that just as plausible as your speculation? Reading comprehension: You wrote: "As for donors having no say in how a University is managed is very naive on your part. If you've got the cash, you've got clout and you've got some say in how things get done." I wrote: " Input - yes; control, no." Where do I say donors have no say? I expressly acknowledged they have input, but input and control are two different things. And you endorsed the idea that donors should have final say. Sorry, that is not my idea of how a university should be run, and I think it would be a quick recipe for a university's demise. I'd never send my kids to such a school. The University loses RM through no fault of its own, due to the sad news that he has serious health issues, and some of you use this as an opportunity to dump on the university. I guess some people look for any opportunity to criticize. Have at it.
  3. Sorry, but these types of posting cannot go unchallenged. You have absolutely no facts to support most of what you assert, it is pure speculation; and even more galling, you fail to even mention the athletic director's role in all of this. Your statement "even a guy like Dr. C can't take Fr. B out of the process. I really thought after this year, RM's extension would be his decision" pretty much sums it up for me. You have no idea how a university is governed. Dr. C, is a donor. He is not an administrator. He is not a faculty member. Under absolutely no circumstances should a group of alums ever have final say on how a university should be run and who should be hired/fired. Input - yes; control, no. This board should stick to what it thinks it knows, basketball, and not take on issue that it knows very little about - running a university. I'm not trying to defend Fr. Biondi, I agree he has more than his share of issues when it comes to how he governs SLU, but I teach in a university setting and trust me, the challenges and politics of working in such a situation are much more complicated and challenging than any of these e-mails even begin to address. A true fan and supporter of SLU and its athletics has faith in its administrators - including Chris May, notably absent from your e-mail - and does not assume the worst and start bashing the university before the facts are known.
  4. Ha, showing your age with that reference. It was filmed in a little cove a bit north of what most people consider downtown Malibu. Most tourists don't know about it as there really isn't much of a marker indicating where to turn. There is a great little restaurant right on the sand there called Paradise Cove Beach Cafe. I strongly recommend it. If you get a beachfront booth and look to your right you should recognize the spot where the Rockford trailer used to sit.
  5. Actually the issue (whether there exist property rights in the news) raises some rather interesting legal points. The readers on the board who are lawyers may remember reading a famous old case in first year Property where the issue made its way all the up to the U.S. Supreme Court, International News Service vs. Associated Press, 326 U.S. 1 (1918). Now I'm not arguing that the current issue is the same, but it has some similarities. The Court struggled with how to balance insuring that was an adequate incentive for people to gather and distribute news versus insuring that there was adequate competition in the marketplace. The Court actually recognized a "quasi-property" right in news giving some protection to those who invest the time and expense of gathering and distributing the news. Again, I'm not saying it applies to this scenario, but this definitely is an issue of interest for some as electronic distribution of the news makes greater inroads in the distribution process (making it easier and easier for those to reap where they have not sown). OK, this was my break from grading exams, back to that project. See, what is an interesting discussion is all relative. I often come to the board for a break from the monotony of my job, and this was an interesting break for me. (I know what many of you are thinking - if this is an "interesting" break for him I really feel sorry for him.)
  6. I don't know how long this will be up on the LA Times internet page, but for those of you who like to read about (1) Majerus' ability to spot talent that others overlook, and (2) Majerus' basketball brillance, I think you'll enjoy this article. Read the whole article, it will take awhile to see the relevance to this board. http://www.latimes.c...,4708203.column Go Bills.
  7. And you are not being childish by making accusations about his wife? You lost any credibility you might have thought you had with that response. I don't know anyone of this site. I'm not trying to take sides. I live in LA and enjoyed reading about the Billikens because no one in LA is ever going to write about them. I thought it might even be fun to join the discussion. But this type of petty name calling and bickering gets old quickly. I'm joining those posters who have already quit this blog because of this type of pettiness. Why can't a board just stick to Billiken Basketball instead of this type of behavior. It was fun while it lasted. Adios.
  8. This is the type of petty bickering that drives people from the board. You could just as easily warn redbird to be more careful about how he posts. Posts that even hint at a rule infraction should be worded very carefully or you will bring an investigation into the program. The implications of such an investigation are so costly that I think Billikan's reading of redbird's post is completely reasonable and his reaction the more prudent. All he was trying to do was to send a message to posters that they need to be careful about how they word posts when it comes to rule sensitive issues. I see his reaction not only as perfectly reasonable but prudent under the circumstances. He owes no on an apology - if anything we owe him a 'thank you' for pointing that out. People who write and say they have 'inside' information need to be very careful about how they word that 'inside' information. We saw hints of this problem before when someone claimed that RM said that donors could come to the closed scrimmage against Memphis. That would have been a rules violation and it took another poster to clarify/correct the first post. All Billikan was doing here was trying to (1) make sure people who post realize they need to be sensitive about posting when talking about rule sensitive issues; and (2) getting a clarification to this specific post so it did not leave the impression that RM was violating any rules. I say 'good job' to Billkan.
  9. RM warned that this was going to be a tough year. After the first couple of games, some on this board deemed themselves a better judge of talent and potential than RM and got carried away with your expectations. Now that RM's warnings are coming true, rather than admitting that some of you got carried away, you take out your frustrations on the players and the coach. Some of you are a real joke. Go back and read what some of you wrote about the coach and the players during the game. Thank goodness they are the ones publicly representing SLU and not some of the fans posting on this board. True fans support the players through thick and thin. Frustration and disappointment is one thing, disparaging comments about the players is another. It isn't that the comments are critical, it is the tone - completely uncalled for. I learned one thing today - don't bother reading the game thread if the Bills are losing, little insightful or constructive in them, primarily passionate but irresponsible comments.
  10. Agreed - they played DePaul tough in Chicago.
  11. Interesting - I think almost all of these predictions so far have the Bills winning. I wonder how many of those predictors know that Nebraska's victory this weekend was its 27th consecutive non-conference home victory in a row. I'm not saying that the Billikens don't have a chance, but it seems like Nebraska must have a pretty good home court advantage to have that type of record - or they have been very careful in whom they have scheduled out of conference, but I haven't bothered to do the research. I know the people in Vegas do the research when setting the line, and they are a bit more objective than most of us on this website, so it will be interesting to see their prediction.
  12. Welcome to the board Dude, but your comment about Eckerle is not even worth responding to. I look forward to more informed comments in the future. It will be interesting to see how the freshman play in their first game on the road. Nebraska won its 27th consecutive non-conference home game recently. The record speaks for itself. I think the freshman will struggle in such a hostile environment, but the last two games show they can play with heart and play tough whomever the opponent. It will be interesting to see the line on the game.
  13. I understand the students are leaving candles, flowers and notes!! The basketball program is really bringing some fun and spirit to campus. The students are in for some big time college fun that the SLU campus has not seen before. It was a long time coming, but SLU is finally doing it right. I know, there are still some problems, and people can nit-pick if they want, but looking at it from afar and from the big picture, SLU is finally doing it right. Congratulations, and I hope the students and the local alums enjoy it.
  14. The key is how the donors give the money. If they donate money on condition that it be used solely for a particular purpose, the school generally can use the money solely for that purpose. But more often than not, donors don't know to specify exactly how their money is to be spent - typically because they don't know and are too trusting. They may have had discussions with someone (maybe even a coach) about how they wanted the funds to be used, but more often than not they do not specify the purpose at the time they donate. If they do not, the money is usually just added to the general revenue (either for the whole school or for the athletic department, but rarely for a particular purpose). Assuming money was actually given here, the issue is who were the checks made out or whether there was a cover letter that specified how the money was to be used. Absent that, the school treats it like any other donation and can and usually does do what it wants with it - even more so right now due to the unexpected economic conditions and the very difficult situation almost every school is in. Many/most universities are laying off people and freezing spending - don't expect a lot of expenditures on new projects. You can say what you want, but that is the reality of the economic situation at most universities right now - no new building/projects when you are laying off people. Doesn't look good and it isn't the way people should be treated. If the coach has a problem with that, let him go look for a new position in this economic environment. I don't think you will find the usual number of openings in the non-revenue sports as those who have positions are much more likely to hold on to them in this climate.
  15. Disagree - maybe "scared" is not the best word, but he also said "nervous." I think that is the better word. They were not nervous about playing UMSL, they were nervous about playing their first division 1 basketball game (their dream finally coming true) in front of thousands of people in a hyped up atmosphere because of the opening of the new arena. To use an overused phrase these days, it was a "perfect storm" that made this 'first game' unlike almost any other in Billiken history. When was the last time SLU relied so heavily on four freshman on the court at the same time. For most teams, maybe one freshman starts/plays a significant role so that his play is not that important. He can lose himself in the more senior team. These freshman could not just role play their first game - particularly not with Kevin out. They knew going in that they had to step up and be an important part of the team if the team was going to win. If you don't think that is going to make one nervous about his first college game I would submit you don't know much about human nature. They were so excited and so nervous at the same time, they just couldn't control their emotions enough to play at their usual level. I agree they were no more afraid of UMSL than they were of Harris-Stowe, but UMSL was the first game that really counted, the first game in their collegiate career, the first game in the new arena. Too many firsts for them to handle well, but they handled them well enough to win. That is all that counts in first games. Now let's see if they can settle down and play better in their second game. Even though the opponent will be a much more formidable opponent, that will actually take quite a bit of pressure off the freshman. I think early on the freshman will play much better when they are underdogs than when they are favored because they won't have nearly as much pressure on them. Let's see how they play Wednesday.
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