"There are many job opportunities in the US and of A. For men, construction worker, taxi driver or accountant. For woman, prostitute."
Times for moviefilms here.
"It's a tough day for a coach. I wasn't really fired up tonight, myself. I was at the press conference. First of all, (Smith) is a great guy. It's been a tough situation for him, but he's a great person. He's battled his way through, and I still think he's a very good football coach. Sometimes, things are out of our hands, and sometimes, part of it is in our hands. Second thing, I thought our president handled this thing extremely well. I feel comfortable that we are in good hands. I think it was said at that meeting that we made some mistakes. And I don't mean who we picked, but maybe how we've done it. And I think that our university is going to make a concerted effort to get everybody on the same page — the board, president, athletic director — and we do have a lot to sell. It's a great place, and we're going to get a great football coach. And who that is is up to the powers that be, and I hope that I have some input only in helping find that right person. I've not talked to Mariucci. He's actually out of the country, but he's pretty set on pro ball. He was hoping that John L. would make it. In all honesty, he's been fired twice. He knows that side of the coin. … I'm sure I'll talk to him, but I think they're going to do a good job with who they pick. Our president, right now, is on a mission with the other people, and we're going to get all on the same page, and we're going to get it done and get back to a BCS game, and I'll be on that 50-yard line, happy as 10 men, when we do."
Mariucci is pretty set on pro ball. I sure hope that's true.
If Steve is out of the running, then I say we definitely need to include Tom Izzo in the search process. His presence could help mediate between Simon, Mason, and the board, and hopefully it will yield the best possible selection (which was certainly not the case when Mason conducted the search for Williams' replacement behind closed doors).
2. John L. Smith: finally fired, but he killed 4 seasons! Who's next?
3. Dick DeVos: no, I don't want to buy any damn closet organizers!
4. Me wanting a new car: tired of waiting, not enough $ yet
5. End of Daylight Savings: It's dark at 5 something now. Pathetic.
Pah-riiiiiince Shooooooow!
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Prince fans, fire up that Little Red Corvette and head for Las Vegas: the purple one will be performing there every weekend starting Nov. 10.
The diminutive rocker will play Friday- and Saturday-night shows at 3121, a nightclub inside the Rio hotel, according to a Wednesday news release by P R Plus, a Vegas firm representing the club.
Tickets for the 21-and-over shows cost $125 and will be available beginning Nov. 2.
You sexy motha f#cka.
If it were anyone else, I would normally make a joke now about how washed-up has-beens go out to Las Vegas to end their careers (see: Celine Dion, Carrot Top, the list goes on.) But no. This is Prince. The Purple one. One of the coolest dudes on planet earth. I can't wait to see this show next time I'm in Vegas.
• LSJ: Smith sacked
• LSJ: Simon, Mason to lead search
• LSJ: Simon was decisive in making the right move
• Freep: 'L' IS FOR LAME DUCK
• Freep: Izzo should play key role in search
• DNews: WHO REPLACES JOHN L. SMITH?
• SNews: Smith fired but will remain coach until end of season
• SNews: Players 'taken by surprise'
• SN: Replacement search not yet started; candidates on radar
Here are my thoughts. First off, it sounds like Lou Anna Simon was the one who pulled the trigger. Big props to her for sticking to her guns after sending out an email last year talking about how she expected the team to compete for championships. Of course, this raises the question: if the president of the university had to make the final call, where was Ron Mason in all this? Was he just a bystander, and if so, why the hell is he still getting paid to be our Athletic Director?
Look, Ron Mason was a brilliant hockey coach, but let's face it, he boned it big time when he picked John L. Smith to lead our football team. Frankly, I don't want Ron to be significantly involved with picking a new coach since we can't afford (literally, since it'll cost us $4.3 million to pay off Smith) another screw up.
I'm not sure I want to get Izzo involved either. We all know who he'll recommend. Mariucci is a nice guy, but he was supposed to be a turnaround man when he came to Detroit, and he couldn't get the job done there. He now has a reputation of failure in this state. Kids who grew up watching him shake his head during Lions games won't want to come play for a guy like Steve Mariucci. Recruiting is too important in the college game to take a risk on a guy like that.
The timing of this decision was a bit surprising (I never thought the administration would fire Smith before the end of the year), but I think it's very smart. First, we pulled the trigger before the election, which means we can start searching for a coach before George Perles gets on the board. Second, it sends a message to the fans that the administration is serious about getting the program in position to compete for titles -- even if we end up making it to a bowl game this year, it's still not good enough. Third, it puts the word out in a very big way that MSU is looking for a head coach starting today. We immediately become one of the most tempting destinations for a whole slew of coaching candidates, which means we'll have a more talented pool to choose from.
There's another thing to consider. Every Spartan fan has friends and relatives who happen to root for that other university in Ann Arbor. I'm sure they'll tell you who they think we should hire. Here's a bit of advice: don't listen to them. One of the names on the short list of candidates will be Ron English, Michigan's defensive coordinator. The Wolverine fans will mule and puke and say there's no way he would leave Ann Arbor. Maybe he won't. Hell, I'm not even sure if he's one of the best people to consider hiring, but we need to be selfish here. I want a coach who will turn this program around and get us back into a position to win championships, and if we happen to steal a key member from our arch rival's coaching staff, that's just icing on the cake.
Look, aside from a short spurt of success in the late 90s, Michigan State football has been sputtering since we won the Rose Bowl in 1988. I've been a loyal Spartan fan all along, but I'll admit that the team is approaching Lions territory for me, where I pretty much quit caring all together. I don't think I watched an entire game all year -- and yes, I'm including the Michigan game that I went to (we left after the 3rd quarter). Pathetic. It's time to get on the right track and quit screwing around. Spartan fans deserve better.
I think this is a great idea. From the LSJ's Bleeding Green blog:
As the list of available coaches is being assembled I though of something that we may want to instate for the future football coach at MSU. I suggest the next hire is signed on a pay per win bases. Lets say that each win equals $150,000. Course they should get a base salary of say $100,000 incase a win isn’t found in a given season. I mean the family still has gotta eat. If they make a bowl game, and win, the next coach would get $250,000. Even if the coach won all regular season games and lost the bowl game they would pull in $1,900,000. If they did that for six years the future coach would still come in just about a million over what John L. got for his six years signed.
What kind of coach would take this sort of gamble? I guess a coach that thinks he has what it takes to produce consistent winning teams.
I'm not sure what coach would actually agree to something like this, but the next contract definitely needs to incentive-based.
Wins, bowls = big bonuses.
Okay, so Bob Barker is leaving The Price is Right next year. This is truly sad news, folks. Like most people under the age of 117, I spent my elementary and middle school years watching Bob host The Price is Right. It was like my first economics class. He's given this country so much, so let's take a moment to remember Bob Barker this afternoon. This is truly the end of an era (sobs uncontrollably.)
• Bob Barker Retiring After 50 Years on TV
• PopWatch: Can anyone replace Bob Barker?
• Best Week Ever: The Top 10 Things We’ll Miss About Bob Barker
At the beginning of the season I made a bold prediction: John L. Smith would either be fired midseason or at the end of the season. Well, I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong... John L. Smith was fired today at precisely the three-quarter mark in the season. Nostradamus I ain't.
Seriously though, John L. Smith is gone, and I couldn't be happier. The guy was a cancer on the MSU football program, and now that this rootin' tootin' shit-for-brains coach is gone, I hope and pray that we can bring in someone new and start moving in the right direction.
I do have one humble request as MSU's leaders search for a replacement: DON'T HIRE STEVE MARIUCCI! Just because he's buddies with Tom doesn't mean it's a good idea. Whatever Ron Mason and the board decide, for the love of God, they need to make their choice before George Perles gets on the board of trustees. Otherwise, we're really screwed.
UPDATE: Stories from the LSJ here and here. State News here. Rampant speculation about Smith's replacement can be found here.
From @U2:
U2's Vertigo Tour may soon create a real sense of vertigo among moviegoers as the band is planning to release its first 3-D concert film next year.
The untitled feature is being directed by Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington. In conjunction with the film's anticipated mid- to late-2007 debut, U2 also might take part in the first live 3-D performance projected in theaters nationwide.
3ality Digital Entertainment, the project's producer, put together of the largest assemblages of 3-D camera technology ever used for a single project. A representative for the band called it "the first-ever 3-D multicamera live shoot."
The feature is being edited in New York by Olivier Wiki and readied for a summer or fall release. Discussions are under way with several major studio distributors. It is expected that the film screen nationwide using the Real D technology in place by theaters screening the digital 3-D release of "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas."
Glad to see my favorite band isn't keeping a low profile. It would be nice to get a one-two punch of this 3D concert film and a new album next year. Of course, I'll admit that the Vertigo DVD from Chicago was a little disappointing. The director must've had a nose full of blow when he edited that thing, because he never holds a shot for longer than three seconds -- it's almost painful to watch. Here's hoping this project takes on a more Rattle and Hum-ish feel.
Things we never realized the original Thriller video was missing: Bhangra dancing, shiny red patent leather, a gaggle of Indians, and overzealous pelvic thrusting. So for our next Halloween inspired clip-o-lantern, we would like to reintroduce you to a clip we posted a little while back, Indian Thriller.
1. Prince: my cousin Brian
2. Dale Earnhardt's Angel/Ghost: some dude at Dagwood's
3. Steve Zissou's crew: some guys at Rick's
4. Flavor Flav: multiple people at Rick's
5. A giant inflatable penis: some guy at Rick's
Brian's Prince costume was bust-a-gut funny, and yes, I'll have the pictures posted by tomorrow. The guy dressed up as a dead Dale Earnhardt was a close second though. What was so great about the costume was that the guy got up to sing karaoke at Dagwood's, and his song was "Walking in Memphis" -- but he changed the words to "Walking in Indy."
Apparently some people went as the Crocodile Hunter this year (including Bill Maher), and I agree that it's probably too soon to make fun of his death. But Dale Earnhardt is a different story. As far as I'm concerned, after you've been in the ground for at least a year, your tragic death is fair game for a Halloween costume.
There's just one catch... it's plated with 24-karat gold. And costs $132,000.
Come on. How much do you love me?
This list is pretty self-explanatory:
1. Dick DeVos: I'm so f-ing sick of those beady eyes
2. John L. Smith: makes Bobby Williams look like Duffy Dougherty
3. Limbaugh: fat, drug-addicted, limp dick jackass attacks Marty McFly
4. Dancing With The Stars: America, time to get a life. You too, Slater.
5. The weather: is it winter, is it fall? Decide already, Michigan!
At one point Billo asks Dave if he wants America to win in Iraq. The obvious response should've been... "How do you define victory in Iraq, Bill?"
I'm sorry, but this "hey, we screwed up, but let's not pull out of Iraq now because that would be an even bigger mistake" argument is complete bullshit. Our presence is clearly making things worse there, not better, and the longer we stay in Iraq, the more American troops will die. It's a pretty simple equation.
If you love endless war like the brave culture warrior, Bill O'Reilly, make sure to vote for republicans next Tuesday. Iran's next after the midterms are out of the way, then North Korea, then China, then....
The concert ended early enough for us to listen to the tail end of the Tigers-Cardinals game in the car on the way back to Stef's house. It was painful to hear, but I still give the team a lot of credit for everything they accomplished this year. Nobody thought we would have such a great regular season, let alone such an impressive playoff run, so I have nothing but praise for the Tigers. Hopefully they can do it again next year.
Anyway, since there wasn't a game six on Saturday night, Stef and I decided to head back to Lansing a little early. Since we weren't in any rush though, we went to see "The Prestige" in Birmingham before hitting the road. The movie was really good, and I would definitely recommend it, but I think Stef and I both agreed that we enjoyed "The Illusionist" a bit more.
We went back to Stef's to pack up after seeing the movie, and hit the road by about 5 or so. The drive back to Lansing was pretty uneventful. We just watched some TV at my place for a while before getting dressed up in our Halloween costumes for a night out on the town. Stef and I were Doug Funnie and Patti Mayonnaise this year, and the costumes turned out really cute (I'll have pictures in the next day or so). As always, Stefy gets all the credit for planning the outfits and buying the stuff.
Once we were all dressed up we went over to Stef's apartment to hang out for a while and see what her friends were up to. It seemed like everyone was planning to go to various house parties, but we wanted to go out to a club or something so we could dance. Stef's cousin Olivia was in town for the weekend and we wanted to meet up with her, so we tentatively planned to go to Buffalo Wild Wings, since they supposedly had some Halloween-related activities planned. It turned out that Olivia ended up going to some party with one of her brother's roommates, so Stef and I ended up going to BWW's by ourselves to get some dinner. Well, come to find out, whatever Halloween business they had planned was a total bust, since there were like two other people dressed up in the whole place. It was already pushing 10PM, so we decided to stick around and order some food, since neither of us had eaten since noon.
After dinner, Stef finally got a call from Olivia. She was on her way over to Rick's, so we paid our bill and headed over there to join her. I had never been in Rick's before, so it was cool to finally check it out. There were lots of people in crazy costumes, so it was nice to feel like we weren't the only ones dressed up anymore. The band that was playing basically had an all-90s setlist, so it was fun to sing along to all with all the 90s-era songs I had forgotten about (Semi-Charmed Life, anyone?).
It was well after 1 by the time my head hit the pillow on Saturday night. Considering that I usually go to bed by 10:30 or 11, that's ridiculously late for me. Of course, it just gave me another excuse to sleep in way late on Sunday morning.
Yesterday was kind of lazy. I ran out to get some lunch at Panera for Stef and me while we watched "The Big Chill" at my place during the afternoon. Stef was knitting a scarf for Morgan's Halloween costume all day (she's going as Hermione Granger), so it gave her a chance to get most of the work done. After the movie we took a break to go walk around Eastwood since it was so nice outside. We bought some more movies at Schuler, and Stef bought some fall clothes at J. Crew. Once we were done shopping we came back to my place for dinner and our evening movie, "Drop Dead Gorgeous."
So yeah, that's about it for this weekend. Hope you had a good one.
Basketball coaches Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Tommy Amaker of Michigan plan to campaign against a ballot proposal that would ban some affirmative action programs in the state.
The coaches are among those scheduled to appear at a One United Michigan news conference Monday in the Lansing area.
One United Michigan is opposed to Proposal 2, which would ban the use of race and gender preferences in university admissions and government hiring...
“They see how giving a kid from the inner city a chance can really change their life,” Waymire said. “They understand the big picture.”
Other coaches scheduled to appear include Ernie Zeigler of Central Michigan, Perry Watson of Detroit, Charles Ramsey of Eastern Michigan, Steve Hawkins of Western Michigan and David Greer of Wayne State.
Glad to see that Tommy Turtleneck is good for something. In all seriousness though, I'm really proud of all these coaches for taking a stand on this issue. These guys know better than anybody how much a college education can do to turn a kid's life around.
VOTE NO ON PROPOSAL 2
• SN: No comeback this time
• SN: Spartans Stalled
• SN: Comeback was fool's gold — it's time for Smith to go
• SN: Compare MSU with Indiana? What an insult to Hoosiers
• SN: Coach Smith making lazy mistakes during games
• LSJ: MSU needs to win out or make change
• LSJ: Rock bottom
• LSJ: Offense flops after first drive
Somebody put us out of our misery.