The countdown begins – Saturday #1 & #2 face off in the SEC championship game.  Many say whichever team wins this gets the national championship.  Being a huge SEC fan (Roll Tide); I’m not so sure about that.  Granted, even unranked SEC teams can smack around top-25 teams, something tells me Texas is up for it this year.

I really hope I don’t have to eat my words about the Big 12, but ya never know.  SEC defenses have huge linemen and corners that can actually cover receivers.  I think either Florida or Alabama’s D could keep Texas in check.  Florida is more suited to a shootout game than Bama.

Then, there is TCU.  I like TCU, I really do.  I know I’ll catch hell for this, but are they really a #4 team?  Their “show me” game (to me) was vs Clemson (ACC) in a low-scoring win.  Ranked Clemson lost this past weekend to Spurrier’s S.C. Gamecocks (SEC).  Not that this past weekend’s results mean much, I’m just struggling with if TCU is legit.  Flashback to last year with Hawaii vs Georgia.  Colt Brennan and Hawaii’s high-power offense ran smack into the SEC defense train and the carnage was not pretty.

My point?  I think whomever the Longhorns face, it should be a good game.  I know a lot of people are really pulling for TCU to get a shot at the national championship, but I just don’t see how.

For the two in attendance, and the millions of you reading across the internet……Lets get ready for RIVALRIES!!!!!!!

The First game i bring to you is the Border War. Anyone who deals with a rivalry knows that its just a straight out fight, and what better to fight over then an Indian War Drum & the Lamar Hunt Trophy. Missouri and Kansas have been fighting this war since 1891. Dan George summed up the rivalry by stating “It’s more than the schools — it’s a state thing going back to the Civil War, when William Quantrill’s Confederate guerillas burned Lawrence and murdered nearly 200 people. Neither Missouri nor Kansas folks have forgotten it.” The series between to the two stands officially tied (going by NCAA, cant stand it when conferences make their own rules and try to change rules mid season to get things swinging their way) 54-54-9 even though there is some controversy over a player being disqualified due to a school booster using funds to persuade him to come to that school (Kansas was the school he played for). This just added more fuel to the fire of this rivalry, which, even though by request of the athletic directors of the schools not to be called this, is the Border War.

 Next on the list we have the  Iron Bowl. For those of you not around the south, the Iron Bowl is THE rivalry of rivalries. When people think of Alabama playing against Auburn, they equate it to things such as the North fighting against the South… The Axis versus the Allies… some even go as far as to compare it as the battle of good and evil. It gets intense around here and some people tend to get hurt while waiting for the weekend or in this horrid case because of CBS wanting to grab some ratings, Friday to come around for the game to be played to give the fans the bragging rights they have truly earned. The series originated in 1893 with the two schools playing against each other in Birmingham, Alabama (that’s where the iron came from) The Crimson Tide currently lead the rivalry 39-33-1. This year’s game will be played at Auburns site where Alabama has lost its last six visits.

Now I bring you “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate”. Words that could only be used to describe the Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game. The rivalry between these two schools also began in 1893.  The heated rivalry goes all the way back to truthfully 1891 when UGA began to mock Tech for its choice of school colors. The fire only burned stronger as time passed by with UGA once again offending the Yellow Jackets in 1919 by having a parade celebrating UGA’s return to football while making fun of Georgia Tech students for continuing to play football during war time. With only 70 miles between the schools (UGA in Athens, and GA Tech in Atlanta) the schools are in constant competition against each other not only for recruits, but for state funding and for recognition from their home state as well. The winning school of the years football game receives the Governor’s Cup Finally, I just really like the name given to this rivalry.

Next up on the Rivalry list we have the Texas Longhorns, and the Texas A & M Aggies. These being the two oldest public schools in the state of Texas, their rivalry is a natural one. Texas and A & M have been competing against each other since 1894, but their rivalry has been adjusted to spread bragging rights based on all sports rather then just football. in 2004 a points system was introduced. Points are awarded for all sports in which both schools maintain an intercollegiate team. Each sport is worth one point, which is awarded to the winner of the head-to-head matchup between the two teams. If the head-to-head matchup ends in a tie, each team receives ½ point. In baseball, the team that wins the regular season three-game series is awarded one point. In sports where the teams meet twice during the season — currently softball, volleyball, and men’s and women’s basketball — each contest is worth ½ point. If the universities do not compete in head-to-head regular season competition, the university that places higher at the Big 12 Conference Championship will earn the point. Should the universities tie in Big 12 Conference Championship competition the point will be split between the two schools. In the sport of track and field, multi-school meets do not count as head-to-head competition. There are a total of 19 possible points, with 10 points needed to win. In the event of a 9½ to 9½ tie, the winner of the previous year will retain the title for the following year. Texas currently leads the points run 3-2 with a possible tie of the series pending on the rivalry game this weekend. (if A & M manages to tie the points, according to the rules of point, they will retain the title since they were the previous years winner.)

And for the next big game, we have Virginia Tech at Virginia playing for the Commonwealth Cup. This match up rolls back to 1895 when the schools started playing each other. From what I’ve gathered, aside from just a game between people from really close places to each other, there’s not much to this. With the Va Tech Shooting, the rivalry became even less intense. Many fans on both sides of the rivalry have reported a lessening of hostilities between the two universities while maintaining the same intensity of the rivalry in the wake of the Virginia Tech Massacre. According to The Washington Post “students in both camps are more apt to think of themselves as simply Virginians.” UVa students were amongst the first university students to lend support to the comrades at Virginia Tech in the wake of the shootings. Likewise, the connections between the two university’s populations are often very close. Prior to the 2007 football contest in Charlottesville both college’s bands participated in a joint performance. However, the intensity of the rivalry was still as spirited as ever, with both sides cheering passionately for their own team as a berth to the ACC Championship game was on the line. “…there was the sense among Tech students that fans of U-Va. – an institution founded by none other than Thomas Jefferson – looked down their noses at the mountain-ensconced Hokies of Blacksburg. Hokies were “hicks”; Cavaliers were “snobs.” But after the shootings in April, something changed. U-Va. students and faculty members wrote condolence letters, held a candlelight vigil and even painted the campus’s fabled Beta Bridge with a pro-Hokies phrase.” — Jonathan Mummolo, The Washington Post U-Va.’s student newspaper reported that students in Charlottesville were even sporting Hokie sweatshirts on occasion in observance of the tragedy. The University’s Z Society went so far as unveiling a 65′ x 120′ Virginia Pride flag featuring both UVA and VT logos on it during the annual football game, and it was noted that the two fan bases had never been so close as they were after the shootings. “Since the tragedy, it hasn’t been so odd to see a Wahoo wearing a Virginia Tech sweatshirt. Since April, transfer students haven’t felt so awkward saying they used to attend school in Blacksburg. Truly, Hokies and Wahoos have never been so together.” — Eric Kolenich, The Cavalier Daily.

Next up on the list is Pittsburgh playing at West Virginia in The Backyard Brawl. This rivalry rolls back to 1895 when the first game was played. The rivalry basically exists because, you guessed it, the schools are basically in each other’s back yard. Pittsburgh currently leads the series 61-37-3. The 1921 edition of The Backyard Brawl was the first football game to be broadcast over the radio airwaves. Other then the 2007 Pitt team knocking the then number two ranked West Virginia out of the BCS National Championship game, there hasnt really been much to fuel this rivalry then, they’re competing for the same stuff as GA-GA tech.

Another heated rivalry taking place this weekend is the Holy War. The fierce rivalry between the Utah Utes and the Brigham Young Cougars. The big thing that fuels this fire is…..dum dum dum… religion.  Utah is the Mormon capital of the world, so to no surprise, BYU is a Mormon owned school. Utah, being a state owned school, is non-secular. BYU fans accuse Utah fans of being drunks, although many of Utah’s fans are also Mormons, and alcohol is against the Mormon code. Many non Mormon Utes fans love to mess with BYU fans by drinking lots of coffee, swearing and generally going against the Mormon code. The series started in 1895 ( or 1922 according to BYU) Utah leads the series 53-33-4 (or 50-30-4 depending on when it started).  The two schools are approximately 50 miles apart, so its not uncommon for them to constantly compete over recruits, fans and funding. The rivalry began to change in 1993, during Ron McBride’s fourth season as head coach, the Utes won their first game in Provo in twenty-two seasons and their first since LaVell Edwards became BYU head coach. Utah’s kicker, Chris Yergensen, had already missed two out of three field goals on the day. This time, however, Yergensen did not miss and kicked the game-winning 55-yard field goal (the longest of his career) as time expired.After the win, Utah fans and players attempted to tear down the north end zone goalpost at what was then Cougar Stadium. Cougar players returned to the field to protect the goalpost from being torn down. About the incident, Lenny Gomes, a BYU nose guard, said, “Typical Utah bullshit. All those guys think that’s all there is to life. But when I’m making $50–60,000 a year, they’ll be pumping my gas. They’re low-class losers.” The remark is still remembered in rivalry history today.The 1994 season was McBride’s best, as he led the Utes to a 10–2 record and a top-10 finish in national rankings. The Utes and Cougars also staged one of the best matchups in the rivalry’s history, meeting for the first time as top-25 ranked teams. The Utes won the game 34–31, which was coincidentally the same score of their meeting a year before. Utah ran its rivalry winning streak up to three games a year later, with a 34–17 win at BYU. The Utes and Cougars would trade wins and losses the next couple of years, before the 2000 season. During the 1999 edition of the Holy War, Utah recorded its fourth consecutive win in Provo. Early in the fourth quarter, Utah scored a touchdown when quarterback T.D. Crowshaw completed a four-yard-pass to Donny Utu to put Utah up 20–10. In celebration, Utah cheerleader Billy Priddis ran along the visitor’s sideline with a large “U” flag. An unidentified BYU fan ran onto the sideline and tackled Priddis from behind. Priddis turned around and started punching the fan. He landed seven or eight punches before security separated them. About the incident, Priddis said, “”There’s 65,000 fans here, does he think I’m not going to retaliate?” Utah had another undefeated season in 2008 and defeated BYU 48–24. By doing so, they captured another invitation to a BCS game, where they were matched up with the highly favored Alabama. Utah beat Alabama 31–17 for their second BCS victory in five years. BYU’s team slogan in 2008 was “Quest for Perfection,” and T-shirts bearing that slogan were made widely available. However, BYU’s quest for a perfect season ended at TCU, and Utah, who did finish with a perfect record, created red shirts bearing the Utah logo and the slogan “The Quest Perfected.”

This next rivalry is near and dear to my heart as I have an ex-girlfriend who is a big Clemson fan. Naturally I pull for South Carolina (Shout out to my boy Darian Stewart #24) every year since then in the Battle of the Palmetto State. Stick with me people because the next might get long and boring, but it is needed to completely understand where it all came from. Unlike most major college rivalries, the Carolina-Clemson rivalry did not start innocently. In fact, the seeds of bitterness were planted even before Clemson became a college. The two institutions were founded 88 years apart: South Carolina College in 1801 and Clemson Agricultural College in 1889.South Carolina College was founded in 1801 to unite and promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Upcountry. It closed during the Civil War when its students aided the Southern cause, but the closure gave the politicians an opportunity to reorganize it to their liking. The Radical Republicans in charge of state government during Reconstruction opened the school to blacks and appropriated generous funds to the University, much of which was embezzled. These actions caused the white citizens of the state to withdraw their support for the University and view it as a symbol of the worst aspects of Reconstruction. The Democrats returned to power in 1877 following their decisive electoral victory over the Radical Republicans and promptly proceeded to close the University. Sentiment in the state favored opening an agriculture college so the University was reorganized as the South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. In 1882, the college was renamed to its antebellum name, South Carolina College, which infuriated the farmers because they felt that the politicians had frustrated the will of the people by deemphasizing agriculture education, even though the school still retained the department of agriculture. Benjamin Tillman emerged in the 1880s as a leader of the agrarian movement in South Carolina and demanded that the South Carolina College take agricultural education more seriously by expanding the agriculture department. In 1885, Tillman was convinced of the superiority of a separate agricultural college by Stephen D. Lee, then the President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, and subsequently Tillman would accept nothing less than a separate agriculture college in South Carolina. He offered the following reasons why he felt that it was necessary to have a separate agriculture college outside the confines of Columbia:

Mississippi A&M featured practical training without unnecessary studying of the liberal arts.

Mississippi A&M provided poor students work-scholarships so that they could attend the college.

There were too few students who studied agriculture at the College to justify an agriculture college there.

The College was a place “for the sons of lawyers and of the well-to-do” who sneered at the agriculture students as if they were hayseeds.

The students at the College lived a life of luxury as compared with the sweat and toil endured by students at Mississippi A&M.

There was not enough farm land near the College to allow for proper agriculture study.

The Conservatives, who held the reins of power in South Carolina from 1877 to 1890, replied to each point made by Tillman:

The most advanced agriculture educational research was being conducted at the University of California and at Cornell University, both of which combined agriculture colleges with liberal arts colleges. Additionally, a separate agriculture college would be more expensive and result in an inferior product.

The work scholarships attracted the lowest quality of students who only cared about obtaining a college degree, not about an education in agriculture or mechanical studies. Furthermore, there was little advantage of attending a college only to pitch manure and grub stumps.

The constant attacks by Tillman on the College caused many to doubt whether state support for the institution would continue. As a result, the enrollment numbers were not impressive, although the numbers of students taking agriculture and mechanical classes increased from 34 in 1887 to 83 in 1889. Over half of the students at the College were the sons of farmers, though most did not study agriculture as Tillman wished. John McLaren McBryde, President of the College, correctly predicted that most students of an agriculture college would not go back to work the farm after graduation. While some students at the College were the sons of the well-to-do, the majority were poor.Tillman was bolstered in 1886 when Thomas Green Clemson agreed to will his Fort Hill estate for the establishment of an agriculture college. Yet, Tillman did not want to wait until Clemson died to start a separate agriculture college so he pushed the General Assembly to use the Morrill funds and Hatch funds for that purpose. Instead, the legislature gave those funds to the South Carolina College in 1887 which would use them along with a greater state appropriation to reorganize itself as the second University of South Carolina and to also greatly expand the agriculture department. After this victory for South Carolina, in January 1888 Tillman wrote a letter to the News and Courier that he was retiring from public life.It was less than ninety days when Tillman reemerged on the scene upon the death of Thomas Green Clemson in April 1888. Tillman advocated that the state accept the gift by Clemson, but the Conservatives in power opposed the move and an all out war for power in the state commenced. The opening salvo was fired by Gideon Lee, the father of Clemson’s granddaughter and John C. Calhoun’s great granddaughter Floride Isabella Lee, who wrote a letter on her behalf to the News and Courier in May that she was being denied as Calhoun’s rightful heir. Furthermore, he stated that Clemson was egotistical and “only wanted to erect a monument to his own name.”In November, Lee filed a lawsuit in Federal Court to contest the will which ultimately ruled against him in May of 1889.The election of 1888 afforded Tillman an opportunity to convince the politicians to accept the Clemson bequest or face the possibility of being voted out of office. He demanded that the Democratic party nominate its candidates by the primary system, which was denied, but they did accept his request that the candidates for statewide office canvass the state. Tillman proved excellent on the stump, by far superior than his Conservative opponents, and as the Democratic convention neared there was a clear groundswell of support for the acceptance of Clemson’s estate. He was so effective because of his “ability to awaken popular passion and prejudice” when the populace by and large mistook “prejudice for truth, passion for reason, and invective for documentation.” Tillman pitted “the poor against the rich, tenant against landowner, hireling against employer, country against town, all of South Carolina against Charleston and Columbia, upcountry against lowcountry, white against black, do-somethings against do-nothings, and outs against those in power” so that “he could rile them up and then appear as their champion.” In addition, the Conservative leadership was aging and its appeal to the past glories of South Carolina during the antebellum period meant little to the emerging younger generation.Tillman explained his justification for an independently controlled agriculture college by pointing to the mismanagement and political interference of the University of South Carolina as had occurred during Reconstruction. The agriculture college, as specified in Clemson’s will, was to be privately controlled and thus would be able to prevent any “possible invasion by the negroes”. With declining cotton prices, Tillman preyed upon the farmer’s desperation by stating that the salaries of the college professors were exorbitant and it must be a sign of corruption. Consequently, the legislature was compelled to pass the bill to accept Clemson’s bequest in December of 1888, albeit with the tie-breaking vote in the state Senate from Lieutenant Governor William L. Mauldin. Thus was reborn the antagonistic feelings of regional bitterness and class division that would plague the state for decades. Having achieved his agriculture college, Tillman was not content to sit idly by because what he really desired was power and political office. After winning the 1890 election and becoming Governor, Tillman renewed the attacks on the Conservatives and those who had thwarted his agriculture college. He saved the coup de grâce for Senator Wade Hampton III, a South Carolina College graduate and Confederate General during the Civil War, who “invoked Confederate service and honor as a barrier to Tillmanism.” Tillman directed the legislature to defeat Hampton’s renomination for another term in December of 1890, thereby finishing what Sherman had left undone in 1865.While campaigning for Governor in 1890, Tillman leveled his harshest criticism towards the University of South Carolina and threatened to close it along with The Citadel, which he called a “dude factory.” Despite the rhetoric, Tillman only succeeded in reorganizing the University of South Carolina into a liberal arts college while in office. It would eventually be rechartered for the last time in 1906 as the University of South Carolina. However, Clemson Agricultural College held sway over the state legislature for decades and was generally the more popular college during the first half of the 20th century in South Carolina. The rivalry started in 1896. after 106 meetings, Clemson leads, 65-37-4.

Next up, the Colorado State – Wyoming Border War. Nothing is really special about this rival aside from rivalry based on location. Colorado State leads the series 55-40-4. In 1968, the ROTC detachments of the respective schools initiated the Bronze Boot, a traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the “Border War” each year. The boot was worn in the Vietnam War by Cpt. Jeff Romero, Sr., a Colorado State graduate and Army ROTC instructor at CSU between 1967 and 1969. Each year leading up to the Wyoming-Colorado State game, the game ball is carried in a running shuttle relay by the ROTC detachment of the visiting team down US 287 to the Wyoming-Colorado state border, where the home team’s ROTC detachment receives it and runs the game ball to the stadium hosting the game. The trophy is guarded by the ROTC unit of the past year’s winning school during the game. Colorado State University leads the trophy series at 21-20.

Off now to the Duel in the Desert and the Territorial Cup. The “Territorial Cup” also known as the “Duel in the Desert” is the rivalry between ASU and UA and is among the nation’s oldest and most heated rivalries, including the oldest trophy in college football. The winner of the game is then given possession of the Territorial Cup until the game is played the next year. In the modern era of the game, it is played on the day after Thanksgiving (and in recent years on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to accommodate network television coverage). The rivalry dates back to before Arizona was admitted as a state, and was a U.S. Territory. In the early history of Arizona, a resentment between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson emerged. The University of Arizona was founded in 1885 as the state’s first university. The same year, Tempe Normal School was founded as a small teacher’s college in the farming community of Tempe, just east of Phoenix. Over the years, Tempe Normal School evolved into Arizona State Teacher’s College, then Arizona State College at Tempe, and eventually Arizona State University. Although both athletic programs have been consistently in the top 20 in the Director’s Cup standings for the past decade, the two schools have featured a difference in athletic strengths. The rivalry started in 1899. University of Arizona currently leads the cup series 45-36-1.

The Bedlam Series is, like most other intrastate rivalries, a rivalry that goes beyond one or two sports. Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have rivalries with other schools, though most of those rivalries are limited to one or two sports at the most. When the Bedlam Series gained Ford and the Bank of Oklahoma as corporate sponsors, the series became much more formalized. A points system was adopted in order to award a winner of the all athletic competitions combined between the two schools. A crystal bell trophy is awarded to individual Bedlam game winners (such as football), in addition to a trophy for the overall series champion for that year. The “Bedlam Bell” is modeled after the bell clapper in Old Central, the oldest building on Oklahoma State’s campus. For a time, the actual bell clapper was a traveling trophy for the two schools, until the popularity of this tradition waned. Oklahoma currently leads the series 79-15-8 which started in 1904.

Moving on, we have the Washington-Washington State rivalry. This one seems so boring that I’m just going to use the Apple Cup Wikipedia entry to fill this slot in. The Apple Cup is the annual college football rivalry game between the two largest universities in the U.S. state of Washington; the University of Washington (UW) Huskies and the Washington State University (WSU) Cougars. It is traditionally the final game of the regular season and takes place on the Saturday preceding Thanksgiving at Husky Stadium in Seattle during odd years, and WSU’s Martin Stadium in Pullman during even years. From 1950-80 (except for 1954), WSU hosted the game at Spokane’s Joe Albi Stadium. The WSU Cougars won three of these fifteen games in Spokane (1958, 1968, 1972), and have won six of the fourteen played at Martin Stadium (1982, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2008).Before 1962, the teams played for the “Governor’s Trophy.” The game was renamed the “Apple Cup” in 1962 because of Washington’s famous apple crop. The Apple Cup trophy has been awarded to the winning team ever since. With the recent lengthening of the regular season schedule to 12 games, there was a movement change the date of the Apple Cup from the weekend before Thanksgiving to the weekend following. This would have allowed a bye week sometime during the season. In the 2006 season, both teams played 12 straight weeks without a break, leaving the two teams noticeably fatigued. For the first time, the 2007 edition of the Apple Cup was played two days after Thanksgiving. The Apple Cup has been sponsored by Boeing since 2007.The first rivalry game was held in 1900 and resulted in a tie between UW and WSU. From 1900 to 2008, there have been 101 games between the schools. The Huskies hold a 64-31-6 advantage. UW’s longest winning streak has been eight games, achieved twice: (1959-66 and 1974-81). WSU has never won more than two consecutive Apple Cups, but the Cougars have won back-to-back games on eight separate occasions: (1929-30, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1982-83, 2004-05 and 2007-08). Although Washington currently leads the overall series, the Cougars have taken four of the past five meetings including a double-overtime win in the 2008 meeting. Washington leads the series 64-31-6.

With the Mississippi State vs. Mississippi Egg Bowl I was expecting more of a feud to have started the rivalry then anything else. So, with the same boring info I bring you more Wiki info. Early in the series, Mississippi State dominated, and had only lost five times in the first twenty-three contests. When Ole Miss beat MSU, then known as Mississippi A&M College, 7-6, the Ole Miss fans rushed the field, some trying to tear the goalposts down. A&M fans did not take well to the Ole Miss fans celebrations, and fights broke out. Some A&M fans defended the goal posts with wooden chairs, and several injuries were reported. To prevent such events in the future, students of the two schools created the “Golden Egg”, a large trophy which has been awarded to the winning team each year since 1927. The trophy is a large football-shaped brass piece mounted to a wooden base and traditionally symbolizes supremacy in college football in the state of Mississippi for the year. The footballs used in American football in the 1920s were considerably more ovoid and blunter than those in use today and similar to the balls still used in rugby; the trophy thus, to modern eyes, more resembles an egg than a football. The awarding of the “Golden Egg” was instituted in 1927 by joint agreement between the two schools’ student bodies. Ole Miss leads the rivalry that started in 1901 60–39–6.

Next up we got the Toledo – Bowling Green Battle of I-75. This one is a little more interesting then the last ones (enough that I’m not just going to give you stuff from the Wiki then be done with it.) These two schools are only about 20 miles apart from each other, making the pressure to get recruits and fans from the local area much harder then some others. The winner of the battle is awarded the Peace Pipe Trophy (yep that’s right, a Native American peace pipe). The rivalry between UT and BGSU goes back to 1919. The games were (and to an extent still are) marked by a passionate fan following and a hatred for the respective opponent. In 1935, fans rioted following a 63-0 blowout win by UT and as a result, BGSU removed the Rockets from their athletic schedule until 1947. That year, the smoking of a six-foot peace pipe was instated as a gesture of goodwill between the two teams at half-time of their annual basketball match. The peace pipe would be kept by the winning university until the teams played again the following season. The tradition came to an abrupt and unpleasant end in 1969 when the pipe was stolen from the UT offices. It was never recovered and the thief never caught. In 1980, the Peace Pipe trophy was reinstated when a scale-down replica was fashioned and placed on top of a trophy created by former UT football player Frank Kralik. Kralik donated the trophy to the university to be given to the winner of each year’s football game, which like many other college football rivalries is usually the last game of the regular season for both teams. Nowadays, ESPN annually broadcasts the Peace Pipe game, allowing it to reach a wide audience outside of northwest Ohio. Though the two schools play in different divisions in the Mid-American Conference, they have yet to meet in the MAC Championship Game. Toledo leads the series since the reinstatement of the trophy, 15-14.

With the next teams and their rivalry, I hold little interest in. The fact that they are 12 miles apart and both in the same city, I find entertaining, aside from that, more Wiki read. The UCLA–USC rivalry is the college rivalry between two universities located in Los Angeles, California: the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.The athletic competition rivalry between the two schools is among the more notable in NCAA Division I sports because both schools are located within the same city. The campuses are only 12 miles apart. The sheer proximity of both alumni and students, and the likelihood of encountering each other and interacting on a daily basis make this one of the most intense college rivalries in the United States. USC is one of the top teams in the country in college football, and recognizes 11 of its teams as National Champions. UCLA has only one team recognized as a National Champion.Quite often, the winner of the football game has won or shared the Pacific Ten Conference title in football. A berth in the Rose Bowl game has been on the line many times as well for both schools. Since the formation of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1916, USC has won or shared 37 conference titles and UCLA has won or shared 17 titles.Washington is third in overall conference titles with 15.Since the 1959 season, when the Pacific 10 Conference was formed as the Athletic Association of Western Universities, through the 2007 season, the schools have won or shared 33 of the 48 conference titles. USC has won 17 championships outright, shared eight and gone to the Rose Bowl or BCS bowl 21 times. UCLA has won six championships outright, shared five and gone to the Rose Bowl eight times. The schools have shared the championship between them three times. Both teams have spoiled conference and national championship runs for the other. USC was already an established national football power under Howard Jones and had begun a major rivalry with Notre Dame when UCLA joined the Pacific Coast Conference in 1929. Los Angeles Times Sportswriter Braven Dyer predicted on the day of the first football meeting on September 28, 1929, “In years to come, this game will probably be one of the football spectacles of the West” USC dominated the early games (so much so, that after the first two games, the series was suspended for five years and they did not play each other from 1931-1935) until UCLA established itself. By the late 1930s, star players such as Kenny Washington, Jackie Robinson, and Bob Waterfield enabled UCLA to be competitive. With the hiring of Hall of Fame Coach Henry “Red” Sanders, UCLA became the more dominant program in the 1950s, culminating in their 1954 National Championship. A famous quote was attributed to Sanders regarding the rivalry, “Beating ‘SC is not a matter of life or death, it’s more important than that.” But Sanders died suddenly of a heart attack, and shortly thereafter, John McKay took over a struggling USC program and returned it to national prominence. For most seasons from the mid 1960s to the end of the 1970s, the two schools were the top powers on the west coast. In the 15 Rose Bowls played from 1966 to 1980, USC or UCLA played in 12 of them. Even with the rise of Don James’ Washington Huskies in the 1980s and early 90s, UCLA or USC still went to the Rose Bowl seven times between 1981 and 1995. In the 1990s and until the hiring of Pete Carroll by USC, UCLA was the dominant team, winning 8 straight from USC from 1991-1998, before USC then won 7 in a row from 1999-2005. The 13-9 win in 2006 at the Rose Bowl allowed the Bruins to keep the record for consecutive wins in the rivalry.

Florida vs. Florida State is the next rivalry on the list. Not much going on here aside from state pushed interstate rivalry. here’s the history: The University of Florida has been fielding an officially sanctioned football team since 1906. Though Florida State University (then known as “Florida State College”) played football for several years around 1900, it became a women’s college in 1905 and remained so until 1947, when the football team was re-established. Almost immediately, pressure began building for the Gators to play the new team in-state. Some believe that it took an act of the Florida state legislature to force the contest to take place. This is not exactly true – a bill demanding a UF vs. FSU football series was proposed in 1955 but was voted down. However, the schools bowed to pressure from state leaders and agreed to schedule a yearly series starting in 1958.One of the conditions that the University of Florida put on the agreement was that the contest must always be held in their home stadium, Florida Field in Gainesville. Since 1964, however, the game site has alternated yearly between the Gators’ field and the Seminoles’ home turf of Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. Since 1958 Florida currently leads the series 32-19-2.

Rice and Houston are the next match up in their competition to take home the Bayou Bucket. The Houston–Rice rivalry (also referred to as the UH–Rice rivalry, Rice–Houston rivalry, or the Rice–UH rivalry) is a cross-town college rivalry between the University of Houston and Rice University. The universities are located approximately five miles from each other in Houston’s “Inner loop” area. It is one of the few NCAA Division I cross-town rivalries, especially between institutions that field Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The rivalry has existed in a more official capacity since Houston joined the now-defunct Southwest Conference in 1971, in which Rice was a charter member. Since the breakup of that conference in 1995, the rivalry has continued. In 2005, Rice joined Conference USA, of which Houston was a member, and has again made the rivalry more relevant for conference titles as well. Football is the largest focus of the rivalry and is the sport in which the competition between the two institutions has run the longest. Both teams are part of the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and have both been part of the Conference USA athletic conference since 2005. The competition includes an annual regular-season football game between the schools. It has existed since 1971, when Houston joined the now-defunct Southwest Conference, of which Rice was also a member. The winner of the game wins the Bayou Bucket. Houston leads this series 24–9. Although the last Southwest Conference football game was part of the series, the teams did not compete against each other in football from 1996 to 1998 as the universities realigned themselves with other conferences. Although the first official meeting between the teams in football didn’t take place until 1971, a scrimmage took place between the inaugural 1946 Houston Cougars team and the Rice Owls. The Owls, having played football since 1914 and being a part of the Southwest Conference, were a much more experienced and accomplished team than the Cougars. In a front of a crowd of thousands, the Owls easily defeated the Cougars. Made famous from football games between the two rivals, University of Houston students often wear red shirts with the words “Ruck Fice” to UH-Rice games. 5 miles apart from each other.. does that not say, “hey I wanna mess with you and take your recruits fans and basis of how you exist” to you?

Notre Dame and Stanford are next on the list. This rivalry is young and not really considered a major rivalry so there’s not much to it. The Irish have a minor rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal (for the Legends Trophy, a combination of Irish crystal with California redwood). The two teams first met in the 1925 Rose Bowl, then played each other in 1942 and again in 1963-64. The modern series began in 1988 and has been played annually except in 1995-96. Notre Dame leads the series 17-6. When the game is played in Palo Alto, it is usually the last game on Stanford’s schedule (as has been the case since 1999), one week after the Cardinal plays archrival Cal in The Big Game.

I finish up with Arkansas and LSU in the Battle for the Golden Boot, an aged old tradition since 1996. I myself was unaware that this was even a rivalry, but I guess everyone needs a rival. Here’s the background on the two teams playing each other. The Arkansas–LSU rivalry, now known as The Battle for the Golden Boot, is the annual college football sports rivalry game between the teams of the University of Arkansas, the Razorbacks, and Louisiana State University, the Tigers. Although the first game between the two teams occurred in 1901, the rivalry between the teams intensified after Arkansas’ entrance into the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1992, and later in 1996 with the first awarding of the “Golden Boot” and the official titling of the game “The Battle for the Golden Boot”. The game is now generally played on the day after Thanksgiving. The two teams have played 53 times since 1901, and as of the 2008 contest, 17 consecutive times after Arkansas’ induction into the SEC. During that time, LSU has won 33 games of the series while Arkansas has won 19, including the latest meeting in 2008, between the two teams. Arkansas and LSU have twice ended the game in a tie, in 1906 and the 1947 Cotton Bowl Classic. Arkansas and LSU began playing each other in 1901, when LSU claimed a 15-0 victory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Between 1906-1936 (with the exception of 1918) and 1953-1956, the two teams played each other during regular seasons on a yearly basis. In addition, the two teams have played each other at the end of the regular season in the Cotton Bowl Classic twice, on January 1 of 1947 and 1966, the former being the second tie in the series while the latter ended in a 14-7 LSU victory. In 1992, LSU and Arkansas resumed their annual rivalry when Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference after leaving the Southwest Conference. The teams played each other four times in the conference before the introduction of the Golden Boot trophy in 1996. Beginning in 1996, the victor in the rivalry between Arkansas and LSU received the Golden Boot, a trophy that weighs approximately 175 pounds and is generally considered the heaviest “trophy” awarded in all of college football. The trophy itself stands a little over 4 feet tall, is molded out of 24-karat gold, and resembles the outline of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana connected, thus making a boot shape. Since 1996, the game has been set on the day after Thanksgiving, and has been played on alternating years in Little Rock, Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium, which is the secondary home stadium for the Razorbacks, and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at Tiger Stadium. The series has generally represented an important battle in the SEC Western Division, with either Arkansas or LSU representing the division in the SEC Football Championship Game in many seasons. LSU won the inaugural “trophy meeting” in 1996, 17–7, and for the next six years, the trophy changed hands every meeting, beginning with LSU in 1997. After Arkansas’ “Miracle on Markham” victory in 2002, LSU won the rivalry and the Golden Boot four consecutive times from 2003 to 2006. The trophy returned to Arkansas’ possession on November 23, 2007 when the Razorbacks beat then top-ranked and eventual BCS National Championship game winner LSU 50-48 in three overtimes in Baton Rouge; the victory was the first for former Razorback coach Houston Nutt in five tries in Tiger Stadium. Arkansas successfully defended the Golden Boot again in 2008 with a spectacular come-from-behind victory in the last minute of game play.

Okay, Its Dred, and I’ve been asked to post on another hard topic… I think Foxx is gettin lazy… (Just joking, I think his next post is 8 pages long, but don’t believe the hype, its fake… GW Wrote it…). Anyway… The 2009 IRON BOWL… That’s right, its that time of year again… Alabama Vs. Auburn. Kick off is at 1330 CST on the 27th Of Nov. I’m gonna cut the crap and get right into stats…

#2 Alabama (11-0, 7-0 SEC) Coach Nick Saban
#323 Auburn (7-4, 3-4 SEC) Coach Gene Chizik

Rivalry Game Stats… Alabama – 39 Wins 33 Loses and 1 tie (1907)

2009 Top Player Stats…

Passing Yards TD’s
Greg McElroy 1993 14
Chris Todd 2196 19

Rushing Yards TD’s
Mark Ingram 1399 12
Ben Tate 1242 8

Receiving Yards TD’s
Julio Jones 462 4
Darvin Adams 717 9

Returns: Yards TD’s
Javier Arenas 426 1
P. Pierre- Louis 49 0

Ok, and those are just the top player match ups, and as you can tell, its a pretty dead heat, and in all honesty, both teams will be bringing as much heat as possible due to this being the biggest collegiate football rivalry in the country. Anyone who has ever had a conversation with a fan from the other side of the fence knows that I can’t really be funny here. Any attempt at humor would only lead to this blog being dumped on by whiny little auburn fans… because that’s what they do when things aren’t going down the path of the eagle…

I’ll Leave You With A Few Interesting Facts About The Iron Bowl….

“One of the most incredible Auburn-Alabama games was played on Dec. 2, 1972. A few days before the game, Alabama head coach Bear Bryant incited the rivalry when he told reporters that he would rather, “beat that cow college once than beat Texas 10 times.” That set the stage as second-ranked Alabama brought a 10-0 record into Legion Field to meet the ninth-ranked Tigers, who were 8-1.”

“Auburn has an all-time record of 3-8 against teams ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, but the Tigers did win their last game against a No. 2-ranked team. In 2006, No. 11 Auburn knocked off No. 2 Florida, 27-17, at Jordan-Hare Stadium, handing the Gators their only loss on their way to a national championship.”

“1967 – The Run in The Mud – On a night at Legion Field where thunderstorms were so bad that the field had to be constantly cleared of raincoats and other wet weather accessories that blew in from the stands, Alabama quarterback Kenny Stabler ran for a 53 yard touchdown to give Bama a 7–3 win.”

“1984 – On 4th and goal Auburn is down by two points. Coach Pat Dye decides to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal. The ball went to Brent Fullwood and “Wrong Way” Bo Jackson was supposed to block, but he headed in the wrong direction, leaving Tide defensive back Rory Turner free to “wax the dude” (Fullwood), preventing the score.”

“2000 – The Iron Bowl returned to Tuscaloosa for the first time in 99 years. In the first Iron Bowl ever played in Bryant-Denny Stadium, Auburn clinched the SEC West title with a 9-0 shutout in Mike DuBose’s final game as Alabama head coach.”

“2009- Dred becomes the all time leading rusher/receiver/QB in SEC History and defeats Mark Ingram for the Heisman….”

Ok, I made that last one up… dream big or go home…

Unter den Slogans “Unibrennt” und “UnsereUni” protestieren seit einigen Wochen in zahlreichen Ländern Europas Schüler und Studierende für ein besseres Bildungssystem. Schulen und Hörsäle werden besetzt, häufig solidarisieren sich auch Lehrende mit den Anliegen der Studierenden, und anders als häufig zuvor berichten sogar eher konservative Medien deutlich positiv über den Bildungsstreik und zeigen Verständnis für die Anliegen und Forderungen der Beteiligten.

Was sind die Gründe für diese Proteste? Wo liegen Defizite des deutschen Bildungssystems vor, und wie wirken sich diese aus? Und welche Möglichkeiten und Perspektiven bestehen für eine Aufhebung dieser Defizite?

Quelle: Horatiorama (http://gelb.net/gelblog/2009/11/17/unibesetzung-trier-impressionen-von-der-vollversammlung-am-17-november-2009/) unter http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de/

Die deutsche Bildungspolitik: chronisch unterfinanziert

Das deutschen Bildungssystem verfügt über eine viel zu geringe finanzielle Ausstattung, an den Bildungsstätten fehlt es an allen Ecken und Enden. Den immer wieder verkündeten parolenhaften Verlautbarungen, dass Bildung die wichtigste Ressource sei, dass sie unsere Zukunft ist usw., folgten nie die entsprechenden Maßnahmen, die Phrasen der Politiker erwiesen sich vorwiegend als heiße Luft. Eine  Ausweitung des Haushaltsanteils für Bildungs- und Forschungsausgaben etwa wäre dringend geraten, doch erfolgt diese nicht, hier rangiert Deutschland im hinteren Teil der Industrieländer. Deutsche Schulen und Hochschulen sind überbelegt, die extrem schlechte Betreuungsquote lässt eine direktes Eingehen auf die Lernenden oft unmöglich werden.

Die Politiker in Regierungsverantwortung behandeln die Bildungspolitik immer noch stiefmütterlich. Mit politisch oder wirtschaftlich sinnvollen Gründe ist dieses Verhalten eher schwer zu erklären. Vielmehr scheinen Defizite im Funktionieren unseres politischen Systems die ausschlaggebende Rolle zu spielen. Dessen Strukturen führen dazu, dass für die Partei- und Karrierepolitiker, die unser System in die entscheidungsrelevanten Positionen hievt,  Erfolg v. a. an der Anzahl der Wählerstimmen gemessen wird und die Jagd nach diesen den obersten Rang im politischen Handeln einnimmt. Mit Bildungspolitik unterdessen lassen sich kaum Wahlen gewinnen – Steuerentlastungen, Rentenerhöhungen kurz vor der Wahl o. ä. versprechen da schon mehr Erfolg. Zudem hat die Bildung keine einflussreiche Lobby. Auch von Politikern, die nach ihrer Regierungs- oder Parlamentslaufbahn  in Bildungseinrichtungen unterkommen, hört man eher wenig.

Elitenbildung statt Aufhebung der sozialen Selektion

Neben der chronischen Unterfinanzierung zeichnet v. a. ein sehr hohes Maß an sozialer Selektivität das deutsche Bildungssystem aus. In keinem anderen OECD-Land hängt der Bildungserfolg derart stark vom sozialen Hintergrund des Elternhauses ab. Die Selektivität beginnt im dreigliedrigen Schulsystem, Gesamtschulen etwa heben laut Bildungswissenschaftlern die Leistungen eher schwächere Schüler deutlich an. Die Selektivität geht an den Hochschulen weiter, hier hat Deutschland OECD-weit die wenigsten Arbeiterkinder. Dies führt neben einer stärkeren sozialen Ungleichheit auch zu einem für ein Industrieland relativ niedrigen Anteil von Hochschulabsolventen. Gerade die Einführung von allgemeinen Studiengebühren in den CDU-geführten Bundesländern hat eine erhebliche Abschreckungswirkung für Kinder aus ärmeren Familien, ein Studium aufzunehmen. BAföG-Leistungen erhalten nur 25 % der Studierenden, Erhöhungen der Leistungen erfolgen nur in extrem großen Zeitsprüngen und stellen noch nicht einmal eine Anpassung an die Inflation dar. Die ursprünglich versprochene Erhöhung (in Wirklichkeit also eine Real-Beibehaltung) der Leistungen will die neue Bundesregierung nun sogar nur in Verbindung mit ihren geplanten einkommensunabhängige Elite-Stipedien vornehmen. Diese Stipendien werden nichts gegen die soziale Selektion tun, sie sind wie die Elite-Unis wieder ein Teil eines falschen Denkens: wir brauchen nicht mehr Elite-Studenten und nicht größere Unterschiede der Qualifikationen (wie auch Bachelo und Master), wir brauchen mehr Studierende, und dabei v. a. mehr aus sozial weniger privilegierten Schichten.

Hierbei sollte man nicht außer Acht lassen, dass es durchaus politische und gesellschaftliche Kräfte geben kann, die kein Interesse an einer Aufhebung der sozialen Selektivität des deutschen Bildungssystems haben. Das Herrschaftssystem der Eliten könnte in Gefahr geraten, wenn etwa immer mehr Arbeiterkinder in den Genuss einer immer besseren Bildung gelangen.

Bachelor und Master – eine grundlegend falsche Reform

Großen Unmut auf Seiten der Studierenden wie auch der Lehrenden hat zudem in den letzten Jahren der Bologna-Prozess hervorgebracht, die Umstellung der Studienabschlüsse in Deutschland auf das angelsächsische zweistufige Bachelor/ Master-System. Dabei kann man nach 3 Studienjahren den Bachelor-Abschluss erlangen, und nur ein Teil der Absolventen darf danach noch 2 Jahre draufsetzen und mit dem Master abschließen (der etwa dem Niveau der jetzigen Abschlüsse entspricht). Ziel dieses Prozesses ist es, günstigere Absolventen eines kürzeres Schmalspustudiums (durch die Beschränkung des Masters) sowie eine stärkere Konzentration auf unmittelbar für die Privatwirtschaft verwertbares Wissen (zu Lasten eines umfassenden Bildungsbegriffes und zu Lasten der Fächer außer BWL, Jura, Medizin und einigen Naturwissenschaften) zu produzieren.

Diese Umstellung stellt einen weiteren Schritt der Umorientierung der Bildungspolitik hin zum neoliberalen Bild der “Leistungsgesellschaft” dar. Der Lernstoff wird stark komprimiert, es gibt einen wesentlich stärkeren Leistungsdruck und eine Erhöhung der Prüfungszahlen. Verschulung, mehr Auswendiglernen, mehr Kontrollen und weniger Eigenständigkeit sind weitere Merkmale der neuen Studiengänge.  Universitäre Abläufe werden bürokratischer und stärker hierarchisch organisiert. Man scheint eine stärkere Disziplinierung mit autoritäreren Maßnahmen, die Abnahme von Kritik und eine Depolitisierung der Studentenschaft erreichen zu wollen. (Näheres zu BA/MA unter: Bachelor und Master – Bildungspolitischer Ausdruck des neuen gesellschaftlichen Leitbildes).

Dazu passt, dass die Umstellung der Studiengänge von der Politik diktiert und nicht demokratisch erarbeitet wurde. Weder Studierende noch Lehrende waren in die Entscheidungen einbezogen, noch konnten sie an diesen etwas ändern oder sich ihr widersetzen. Dabei gab und gibt es durchaus auch unter vielen Lehrenden extrem kritische und ablehnende Stimmen, und dies keineswegs nur von eher links gerichteten Dozenten, sowie ja auch selbst eher konservative Medien dem Prozess äußerst kritisch gegenüberstehen. Einzig die CDU- und FDP-nahen studentischen Hochschulgruppen (RCDS, LHG) lehnen die Proteste ab. Wie weit dies auf Wegsehen vor den Problemen oder eher auf Parteisoldatentum beruht, möchte ich hier nicht beurteilen. Eine über fast alle politischen Lager sich zeigende Ablehnung also – nur lassen sich die Partei- und Bildungspolitiker davon kaum beeindrucken. Und auch dass die Bachelor-Absolventen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt deutlich weniger als die Absolventen der alten Studiengänge eingestellt werden, die Wirtschaft die neuen Studiengänge also gar nicht annimmt, offenbart die extremen Schwierigkeiten, die entstehen, wenn Entscheidungen ideologisch motiviert und nicht rational und wissenschaftlich fundiert getroffen werden, wenn der Rat von Experten nicht eingeholt und Betroffene nicht angehört werden.

Unter den Folgen von BA/ MA leiden Studierende wie Lehrende

Quelle: Horatiorama (http://gelb.net/gelblog/2009/11/17/unibesetzung-trier-impressionen-von-der-vollversammlung-am-17-november-2009/) unter http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de/

Dies offenbart sich besonders drastisch an den unmittelbar spürbaren Folgen von Bachelor und Master. Studierende der neuen Studiengänge klagen über extrem hohen Leistungsdruck. Heute sind so viele Studierende wie nie in psychologischer Behandlung. Der Zeitrahmen für Aktivitäten neben dem Studium, auch etwa politische oder gesellschaftliche, nimmt durch die ständig notwendigen Klausurvorbereitungen ab, und auch die Zeit für Nebenjobs. Diese benötigen jedoch viele zur Finanzierung ihres Studiums; die soziale Selektivität steigt noch einmal. Die Zahl der Studienabbrecher nimmt immer mehr zu. Entgegen der Zielsetzung sind die neuen Abschlüsse auch nicht vergleichbarer als die alten, im Gegenteil. Selbst in dem selben Bundesland können schon Probleme bei der Anerkennung von Studienleistungen entstehen, und erst recht in anderen Ländern. Auslandsaufenthalte gehen immer mehr zurück, wegen der Anerkennungsschwierigkeiten und auch, weil durch die genau festgelegten und kaum variablen Zeitpläne der neuen Studiengänge einfach kaum noch Zeit dafür da ist. Welch ein Hohn angesichts der Reden der Bologna-Verantwortlichen! Durch die ständigen Anwesenheitspflichten sind die Veranstaltungen oft überbelegt, Seminare mit 90 Teilnehmern etwa sind heute nicht mehr unüblich.

Auch der Druck auf die Lehrenden erhöht sich damit. Ständige Vorbereitung und Korrektur von Klausuren werden gezwungenermaßen oft zur Hauptbschäftigung. In Folge von Bologna werden aber auch gerade die Anstrengungen in der Lehre nicht höher gewürdigt – Forschungsergebnisse  sind hier oft das Hauptkriterium. Aber auch auf die Inhalte der Lehre wirkt der Bologna-Prozess. Durch die steigende Teilnehmerzahl und die verkürzte Zeit ist kaum Raum für umfassende und kritische Betrachtungen eines Themas oder für Diskussionen. Hineinpauken von Prüfungswissen wird durch die häufig und dann immer gehäuft anstehenden Klausuren oft leider unumgänglich, und dies ist häufig auch eine andere Vorstellung von Hochschulen, als sie die meisten Studenten und Dozenten haben. Durch die genannten Aspekte kommt es in großen Teilen auch schon zu einer Solidarisierung von Studierenden und Lehrenden. Sie wissen, dass für sie alle unter dem Bologna-Prozess und seiner Umsetzung fast ausschließlich negative Konsequenzen  erfolgen, und sie wissen am besten, wo Verbesserungsbedarf und -möglichkeiten bestehen. Politik muss aber in einer Demokratie die Interessen derer, die sie vertritt ernst nehmen. Sonst provoziert sie Protest.

Auf die Straße!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9riPlkCzv8

Wenn die Parteipolitiker Bildung immer noch als Randthema betrachten und die einzigen “Reformen” dazu führen, Konkurrenzdenken, Leistungsdruck und soziale Selektivität zu stärken, kann ein Weg zur Veränderung nur über alternative Politikformen gefunden werden. Wir brauchen einen umfassenden Bildungsbegriff, der kritikfähige und eigenständige Individuen statt nur egoistisch agierender Marktteilnehmer zum Ziel hat. Und eine Bildung, die keine sozialen Schranken kennt. Wir brauchen ein Schulsystem, dass auf Bildung der breiten Bevölkerung statt auf Eliteförderung setzt, wir brauchen die Abschaffung der Studiengebühren und eine Ausweitung des BAföGs, wir brauchen eine Rücknahme der negativen Eigenschaften des Bologna-Prozesses.

Dafür besetzen nun Schüler ihre Schulen, Studierende ihre Hörsäle. Dafür gehen sie in friedlichen Demonstrationen auf die Straße. Die Schüler, die Studierenden und viele der Lehrenden und ihrer Vertretungen (z.B. die GEW) stehen dabei auf einer Seite, und auch die Medien haben erkannt und berichten, wie es in unserem Bildungssystem aussieht und wie nachvollziehbar und berechtigt die Proteste sind. Begonnen haben die Proteste, als Studierende in Wien das Audimax besetzten. Sie weiteten sich auf andere Unis v. a. in Deutschland und Österreich, aber auch in anderen europäischen Ländern aus. 85.000 Studenten beteiligten sich in Deutschland letzte Woche an Protesten, die Zahl der besetzten Unis in ganz Europa nimmt von Tag zu Tag zu.

Erfolgreich werden die Proteste sein, wenn sie erreichen, dass durch eine steigende Aufmerksamkeit auf die Belange der Bildung die verantwortlichen Bildungspolitiker und auch etwa die Hochschulrektorenkonferenz unter steigenden öffentlichen Druck geraten, dringend notwendige Verbesserungen im Bildungssystem vorzunehmen und Fehlentwicklungen zurückzufahren. Über die Form von Protesten kann man sich immer streiten, wie sinnvoll diese sind. Dass die derzeitigen die Aufmerksamkeit der Öffentlichkeit auf sich ziehen, können wir sehen. Vielleicht wäre es zweckdienlich, die Proteste über die eigene Schule oder Hochschule auszuweiten und dass diese sich auch direkter an die Verantwortlichen wenden.

Die Ziele und Forderungen jedoch sind ohne jeden Zweifel berechtigt. Eine vernünftig finanzierte, sinnvoll gestaltete und allen offen stehende Bildung kommt der gesamten Gesellschaft zu Gute. Und dafür kann es sich auch lohnen, zu protestieren.

Links zum Thema

unsereunis

Bundesweiter Bildungsstreik

Bildungsstreik Trier

“AK Protest!” Trier

Blogposts:

• Lügen gegen Ahnungslosigkeit – Der Bildungsstreik geht weiter (Lowestfrequency)
• Unibesetzung Trier: Impressionen von der Vollversammlung am 17. November 2009 (gelbblog)

Quelle: Horatiorama (http://gelb.net/gelblog/2009/11/17/unibesetzung-trier-impressionen-von-der-vollversammlung-am-17-november-2009/) unter http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de/

]]> http://allthingsmaroon.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/jt-bowtie-sucks-msubama-links/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:49:11 +0000 imabulldog http://allthingsmaroon.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/jt-bowtie-sucks-msubama-links/

Man do I HATE Alabama…and its idiots like this, that ruin it for the rest of them. Just when you are at that moment of “possibly” respecting their traditions and contributions to the SEC, this guy shows up. Anyway, hope he makes the trek to Starkvegas, and gets his butt handed to him on the way out. Wait a second, I think we might have just the answer for this Jabroni-Cobra Kai! Who…Mr. Ralph Macchio, otherwise known as  “Daniel Son.”

Defense Anyone?
Bama has only given up 106 points this year. Their 6 TD’s given up is second to only…UT ? (Bama & UF tied with 6), and they only give up a TD- every 56.6 plays…wow! State has given up 13 TD’s, and give one up every 26 plays.

Even Offenses…
Bama has scored 13 TD’s on the year, which is good for one every 30 plays. State, has 10 TD’s, scoring on average- every 33 plays.

Links, Articles, & Interviews

MSU & Ole Miss face important weekend match ups.

Article on former Bama player-now Bulldog Patrick Hanrahan, status updates on Bo Walters, Christian Ducre’, and Arky match up info.

Bama QB McElroy talks about the MSU game, past losses and this Saturday (pick up at 2:55 mark)

Bama LB, arguably the best in the country-Rolando McClain talks about the MSU offense (picks up from the start).

Bama focuses on remaining schedule, not UF.

And last but not least, my  “pat on the back”  goes to Tommy West. After almost 10 years at the University of Memphis, West was fired on Monday, and was very open about his feelings towards boosters, lack of fan support, the media, and administration. Living in Memphis, I can tell you that all the coin goes to Basketball, and people that attend the university-don’t even know who is on the schedule this week for the football team. I have no respect for U of Memphis athletics, they stink, so does their fair-weather fans, their athletic program, and their dirty AD. But, I do respect Mr. Tommy West, who has for years put up with low funding, fans that exchange their Memphis Blue for UT Orange come football season, and whatever else! Here’s his press release…entertaining.

Anyway, hope you got my Karate Kid jokes, if not, then oh well…have a good one boys!

With their 24 to 15 win over LSU (thanks to my dad for wearing his pink Alabama shirt to ensure the win) last night, Alabama clenched the SEC West division guaranteeing them a seat in the 2009 SEC championship game and a chance to directly prove that they are a better team then Florida. Even though this was a great victory and will probably place the Crimson Tide in a key position, I wouldn’t spend more then 24 hours on this win. Next week Alabama rolls over to Mississippi St. to meet the bulldogs on the grid iron in what will probably be a good game. Miss St. is currently sitting at 4-5 (2-3 in the SEC) so they will be head hunting for their next big win. On down the road just past the bulldogs Alabama is in line for Chattanooga at home on the 21^st of November. I know very little about this team, but I’m willing to bet that they are not just going to sit back and let Alabama trample all over them when they roll into T-town. Alabama will finish off their season on the 24^th of November against their interstate rivals Auburn. The rivalry runs so deep here that for a period of time during the early parts of this rivalry that the teams did not play each other. It took a request from the Alabama House of Representatives to get the rivalry renewed. If Alabama and Auburn were both 0 – 11 going into this game, both teams would still play like this game determined who was getting a shot at the national title. Once again, though, the road to Pasadena will take the Tide through many towns like, Starkville, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, and Atlanta with many tough teams at those destinations more then happy to knock the Crimson Tide off their path for number 13.

Unless you live under a rock, or just don’t follow college football at all, you’ve heard something about the referees in the South Eastern Conference. If you haven’t, just ask Bobby Petrino, Lane Kiffin, or Urban Meyer, they have all had something to say, and heard from the SEC about speaking out about SEC Officials (FYI incase you didn’t know, its in the rulebook you cant publicly criticize officials). Urban Meyer, the latest of the three was fined $30,000 for his public tongue-lashing of the officials. This past month, there has been a couple of calls that you could say were questionable (what am I saying, even the refs after reviewing the play that night were going WTF?), but in my most humble of opinions mistakes will be made. Such a big deal was made out of these based on the fact that they were basically game changing calls on high profile games (except for Kiffin’s case… he was just made the wrong call and wanted an excuse for it that didn’t blame him). These calls, and the fact that they were on two back to back weeks caused the suspension of one SEC crews. I myself completely disagreed with the calls and was actually heated about it (I feel Florida is over rated and should have lost that game) and at one point felt that the refs in question should be fired, if not forced to resign. After putting some more time and thought into it (and reading a little into the response from the referees who made the call) I realized that asking them to hang up their stripes was a little over the top. Digging much deeper into it, I found that I really blame the SEC and the NCAA for how the referee setup works. First off, there should be no set of crews, there should only be pools of referees. I’m ok if you want to split it into 2 pools (veterans and novices) but there should not be a set crew of people who always work with each other. This gives too much for a crew to be paid off or for a crew to have favorite teams. Secondly, I don’t think there should be conference referees. The rules of college football are the same in California as they are in Alabama, so there’s no reason a referee from Washington should have any problem officiating a football game being played in Georgia. Now that I’ve given the SEC crew a little rope, lets see what they do with it now. With so many teams in the SEC controlling a shot at the national title, there’s no room for error. Its hard enough playing the game alone, much less someone calling a penalty that really isn’t there. I wish good luck to the teams, but even more to the refs. This looks like a lose-lose season to them.

Week nine was, without a doubt, my worst week of the season.  I went 4-3 straight up and 3-4 against the spread.  How was I to know that Tennessee would come out in black jerseys and throw the “Head Ball Coach” for a loop with a “special” Halloween fashion statement.  South Carolina was expecting UT to look like they were hosting a garbage man convention but instead the Vols looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie.  Man those were some ugly uniforms and yes, I am a junior deputy in the fashion police.

On the table for this week are an assortment of games that range in interest from practically zero to, as Cecil Hurt wrote this week in the Tuscaloosa News, essentially a playoff game for the national title.  I’ll cover the “zeros” first.

Furman (4-4) @ Auburn (6-3)

Auburn bounced back last week from the midnight of despair with a huge win over a ranked Ole Miss team.  The win makes Auburn bowl eligible and will take a ton of pressure off of the program.  Look for the Tigers to play free and loose this week and win easily.

Guy’s Guess: Furman 14 – Auburn 49

Northern Arizona (5-3) @ Ole Miss (5-3)

No team has disappointed this season quite like the Ol Miss Rebels.  Their offensive line is bad and Jevan Snead has gone from a first round draft pick to being a bellow average quarterback.  Snead has had bright spots here and there but is only consistent in his inconsistency.  Turnovers are a major problem for Mississippi and have probably cost the team two of their three losses thus far.  That being said, Ole Miss will win without a problem this week.

Guy’s Guess: N. Arizona 0 – Ole Miss 52

Eastern Kentucky (5-3) @ Kentucky (4-4)

Kentucky is coming off of a loss to Mississippi State.  Losing last week was a major blow to Kentucky’s hope’s of playing in one of the “better” bowl games this postseason.  The Wildcats are running the ball well but the lack of a competent quarterback is really holding Kentucky back offensively.  This week it won’t matter much against a 1-AA team.

Guy’s Guess: E. Kentucky 10 – Kentucky 42

Tennessee Tech (5-3) – Georgia (4-4)

What has happened to Georgia?  I know that they have talented football players.  I know that Mark Richt is a good coach.  What I don’t know is how good Richt’s staff is and how much the Georgia players care at this point.  The complete lack of defense keeps the Bulldogs from having a chance of beating quality teams and the play of qb Joe Cox is at about the same level as that of Jevan Snead.  Right now, unless something changes in a hurry, Georgia may be looking at being home for the Holidays.  This may be the last win of the year for Georgia.

Guy’s Guess: TN Tech 17 – Georgia 45

Memphis (2-6) @ Tennessee (4-4)

The Line: UT by 26

Memphis is an atrocious football team.  Their offense doesn’t scare anyone and their defense gives up more than 30 points per game.  The Tigers have two guys on that football team worth watching in rb Curtis Steele and wr Duke Calhoun and thats about it.

Tennessee is a team that is improving and making a serious bowl push.  Qb Jonathon Crompton looks like someone flipped a switch and turned on a light.  He is making good throws and better decisions and mainly not losing games for the Vols.  The UT defense is a little thin at lb right now but the Vols have made pretty good adjustments and are playing well.

Memphis is going to try to throw the ball a lot but UT just has too much talent for the Tigers.

Guy’s Guess: Memphis 17 – Tennessee 35

South Carolina (6-3) @ Arkansas (4-4)

The Line: Ark by 7

South Carolina is a team that is on a down turn right now.  Over the last three games the Gamecock offense has struggled to score.  USC is having a lot of trouble running the ball and as good as qb Stephen Garcia has played this season, he, just like every other qb, needs help from the rushing game to keep defensive pressure off.  USC needs this win to help get to one of the higher profile bowl games.

Arkansas has been the ultimate Jekel and Hyde SEC team this year.  From week to week you just don’t know which Razorback team will show up.  Will you see the team that torched Auburn and played tough with Florida or will you see that couldn’t move the ball against Ole Miss and Alabama?  This game is critical for Arkansas’ postseason hopes.

This South Carolina defense is comparable to the Ole Miss defense so I will say that the Hogs will have trouble keeping up with the Gamecocks.

Guy’s Guess: USC 31 – Arkansas 27

Vanderbilt (2-7) @ #1 Florida (8-0)

Vanderbilt lost last week to Georgia Tech 56-31.  Although it was a loss, the Vandy offense played well.  It’s sad to say but losing qb Larry Smith early in the game may have been the best thing to happen to the Commodores so far this year.  Backup Mackenzi Adams came in and played well and should get the start this week against the Gators.  The loss was the wost outing for the Vanderbilt defense and I have to think that not having a bye week is catching up to the Commodores.

Florida beat the stew out of Georgia last week and it looks like the Gator’s offense may have worked out their bugs.  The stingy Gator defense will be without lb Brandon Spikes due to the eye-gouging incident against UGA but it won’t matter this week.

Guy’s Guess: Vanderbilt 13 – Florida 55

#9 LSU (7-1) @ #3 Alabama (8-0)

LSU’s offense has finally showed up.  Last week the Tigers had their way with Tulane and the previous week they man-handled Auburn.  All SEC rb Charles Scott rushed for over 100yds for the first time this season against Tulane and qb Jordan Jefferson has settled down nicely over the past couple of weeks.  The Tigers have found a real weapon in Russell Shepard who can make plays from anywhere on the field.

Alabama has been winning “ugly” if there is such a thing.  The Tide’s passing game has disappeared and Alabama hasn’t scored more than 22 points in a game since week 5 against Kentucky.  The Bama running game has been as good as ever and the Tide defense has the potential to shut out anyone that they face but the lack of production from qb Greg McElroy lately has fans and coaches concerned.

I look for Alabama to open things up this week and take some shots down the field.  LSU will call a conservative offensive game and try to keep Jordan Jefferson from losing the game.  I don’t think that LSU will be able to run the ball on Alabama and I don’t think Jefferson can beat them passing.  It’s a good matchup for Bama in the closest thing to a playoff that I hope we will ever see in Division 1 college football.

Guy’s Guess: LSU 10 – Alabama 24

For some reason the Walmart Supercenter around here decided to close at midnight even though they are a 24hr store.  That meant a 30 minute drive to get what I needed.  Yes, it was that important to me.  Where did my trip end up taking me?  Alabama.  And I honestly have to say Alabama Walmart’s are by far the best.  I don’t know if it has to do with the ‘redneck’ persona but they really did up the ante on their Walmart.  First off, I walked in the door at 1am and there’s still someone standing there greeting people.  If I worked there I would have been passed out in some random corner but on top of them standing there they gave me free pizza.  Granted it was a little cold it was still free.  Then I literally had someone following me around helping me find what I needed.  Maybe they thought I was going to rob the place (I was wearing a Bama hat in prime Auburn territory) but I felt taken care of.  All in all I thought it was amazing and that Walmart ranked near Target.  haha that sounds funny if you think about it.

Alabama’s next game is against the LSU Tigers. The tigers are rolling right along behind the tide in the SEC west division looking for a chance to go to the SEC Championship game.  Victory in this game would nearly guarantee LSU another shot at Florida (if LSU wins out) and possibly a chance at the national title (assuming they win out including SEC championship game). With all of this one the line, I believe the tigers are going to come to Tuscaloosa with their chin straps strapped tight ready to hit some pads.  This raises the question of is Alabama going to bring their A game to the field Saturday? With the past 2 games against South Carolina and Tennessee, Alabama has looked like not only did they possibly leave their A game in the locker room, but may have forgot to bring it to campus altogether. The SEC championship game is going to play a key role in who plays for the national title. I like Florida (since they’ve grabbed the east with S.C.’s loss to UT last night) against Alabama for the SEC title (I’m sure the tide will bring it with all that’s on the line.) This match up means that the title game is the decision maker for the BCS title. I would love to see Alabama take Florida to only swap positions on the BCS rankings to play each other again for the national shot, but I know that the Harris and Coaches poll wont allow that (especially with all the wining that Texas isn’t #2). Its going to be a good game down in Bryant-Denny stadium, but my nerves are shot already, someone bring me a bottle before the game starts.

சுஜாதா

சுஜாதாவுக்கு பிடித்த சிறுகதைகள் என்று ஒரு லிஸ்ட் என் பழைய ஃபைல்களை கிளறியபோது கிடைத்தது. என் வழக்கமான சிறு ட்விட்டர் ஸ்டைல் குறிப்புகள்.

புதுமைப்பித்தன் – மனித இயந்திரம்: கணக்குப்பிள்ளை பணம் திருடிக்கொண்டு ஓட முயலும் கதை. புதுமைப்பித்தன் உலகின் தலை சிறந்த எழுத்தாளர்களில் ஒருவர் என்பதற்கு இந்த ஒரு கதை போதும்.

கு.ப.ராஜகோபலன் – விடியுமா?: ஒரு காலத்தில் புரிந்த மாதிரி இருந்தது. சமீபத்தில் யாரோ சிபாரிசு செய்யவே மீண்டும் படித்துப் பார்த்தேன். அத்திம்பேர் இருக்காரா போய்ட்டாரா என்று குழப்பம். அப்புறம் திருப்பி படித்தேன். போய்ட்டார் என்று புரிந்தது. நன்றாகத்தான் எழுதி இருக்கிறார். கு.ப.ரா.வின் வேறு கதைகள் சில எனக்கு இன்னும் அதிகமாக பிடிக்கும்.

தி.ஜா. – சிலிர்ப்பு: இதுதான் ரயிலில் சிறு பையன் எங்கோ கல்கத்தாவுக்கு சமையல் வேலை செய்யப் போகும் சிறுமிக்கு பழம் கொடுக்கும் கதை என்று நினைக்கிறேன். நல்ல கதை.

கு. அழகிரிசாமி – அன்பளிப்பு: மிக அற்புதமான கதை. பல சிறுவர்களுக்கு பரிசாக டைரி கொடுப்பவர் சாரங்கனுக்கு கொடுக்கவில்லை. சாரங்கன் ஒரு டைரியை அவரிடம் கொடுத்து சாரங்கனுக்கு பரிசாக கொடுத்தது என்று எழுதி வாங்கிக் கொள்கிறான். மிக பிரமாதமான கதை. அழகிரிசாமி ஒரு மாஸ்டர் என்பதில் சந்தேகமே இல்லை.

சுந்தர ராமசாமி – பிரசாதம்: புன்முறுவலாவது வராமல் இந்த கதையை படிக்க முடியாது. அர்ச்சகரிடம் லஞ்சம் வாங்க முயற்சிக்கும் போலீஸ்காரர் அவரிடம் கடைசியில் கொஞ்சம் பணம் கடனாக வாங்கிக் கொள்கிறார். ஆனால் எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த கதை விகாசம்தான். ரத்னாபாயின் ஆங்கிலம், கோவில் காளையும் உழவு மாடும் என்ற கதைகளும் நினைவு வருகின்றன.

கிருஷ்ணன் நம்பி – மருமகள் வாக்கு: இந்த கதை சிரஞ்சீவி. சாவே கிடையாது. இந்த ஒரு கதையினாலேயே நம்பி தமிழ் இலக்கிய வரலாற்றில் இடம் பெறுவார். உலக இலக்கிய வரலாற்றிலேயே கூட இடம் உண்டு.

அசோகமித்திரன் – புலிக் கலைஞன்: அசோகமித்திரன் ஒரு ஜீனியஸ். எல்லா சிறுகதைகளும் ஒரு தருணம், ஒரு நக்மா, ஒரு moment, ஒரு க்ஷணத்தை நோக்கி போகின்றணன். அதுதான் சாதாரணமாக கதையின் கடைசி வரி. இந்த கதையில் அந்த தருணம் கதையின் நடுவில் இருக்கிறது. மிக அபூர்வமான, அற்புதமான அமைப்பு. பிரயாணம் இன்னொரு அற்புதமான சிறுகதை.

தங்கர்பச்சான் – குடி முந்திரி: தங்கர் இரண்டு மிக நல்ல கதைகளை எழுதி இருக்கிறார். இது ஒன்று, வெள்ளை மாடு என்று ஒன்று. நகரத்தில் படிக்கும் பிள்ளைக்கு ஷூ வாங்க குடும்பத்தின் பாரம்பரிய சொத்தான முந்திரி மரத்தை விவசாயி வெட்டுகிறார்.

பிரபஞ்சன் – மீன்: பலரும் இதை சிலாகிக்கிறார்கள். எனக்கென்னவோ இது மிகவும் ramble ஆவதாக தோன்றுகிறது.

கி.ரா. – கதவு: நல்ல கதைதான், ஆனால் இதை விட பிடித்த கதைகள் இருக்கின்றன.

திலீப் குமார் – கடிதம்: கடிதம்தான் திலீப் குமாரின் சிறந்த கதை என்று பலராலும் கருதப்படுகிறது. இதை விட்டால் மூங்கில் குருத்துகள், பூனை செத்துப்போன கதை ஆகியவை திருப்பி திருப்பி anthology-களில் இடம் பெறுகின்றன. ஆனால் எனக்கு பிடித்தது கடவு என்ற கதைதான். சின்ன வயதில் பாட்டியை கடத்திக்கொண்டு போய் மும்பை சிவப்பு விளக்கு பகுதிகளில் விற்று விடுகிறார்கள். பல வருஷம் அங்கே வாழ்ந்துவிட்டு பிறகு தன் உறவினரிடம் திரும்பும் பாட்டியின் கதை.

வண்ணநிலவன் – எஸ்தர்: அன்பு நிறைந்த குடும்பம் பஞ்சம் பிழைக்க மதுரைக்கும் மற்ற ஊர்களுக்கும் சிதறப் போகிறது. வீட்டில் இருக்கும் கிழவியை என்ன பண்ண? சிறந்த கதை.

படிக்காதவை:
ஆ. மாதவன் – நாயனம்
பாமா – அண்ணாச்சி
இந்திரா பார்த்தசாரதி – அசலும் நகலும்
இரா. முருகன் – உத்தராயணம்
ஜெயமோகன் – பல்லக்கு
கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி – மனிதர்கள்
லா.ச.ரா. – கொட்டு மேளம்
நாஞ்சில் நாடன் – வாக்குப் பொறுக்கிகள்
ரா.கி. ரங்கராஜன் – செய்தி
ராஜம் கிருஷ்ணன் – மாவிலைத் தோரணம்
ராமசந்தர வைத்தியநாதன் – நாடகக்காரர்கள்
சிவசங்கரி – செப்டிக்
சோ. தருமன் – நசுக்கம்
சுந்தர பாண்டியன் – கனவு
சுஜாதா – மகாபலி
சு. சமுத்திரம் – நான்காவது குற்றச்சாட்டு
வண்ணதாசன் – நிலை:

நீங்கள் இந்த கதைகளில் எதையாவது படித்திருந்தால், இல்லை உங்களுக்கு பிடித்த வேறு சிறுகதைகள் இருந்தால் சொல்லுங்கள்! இதில் உள்ள கதைகளுக்கு லிங்க் கொடுத்தால், பதினைந்தும் பெற்று பெருவாழ்வு வாழ்வீர்கள். அதுவும் நான் படிக்காத கதைகளுக்கு லிங்க் கொடுத்தால் பதினாறு!

தொடர்புடைய பதிவுகள்:
எனக்கு பிடித்த சிறுகதைகள் பகுதி 1(தமிழ்), பகுதி 2(தமிழ்), பகுதி 3(பிற இந்திய மொழிகள்)
சிறுகதை வாரம்
ஜெயமோகனுக்கு பிடித்த தமிழ் சிறுகதைகள்
எஸ். ராமகிருஷ்ணனுக்கு பிடித்த 100 தமிழ் சிறுகதைகள், என் குறிப்புகள் பகுதி 1, பகுதி 2

For all you who are non spanish literate and stuff Futbol Americano means American Football ( eh, makes sense now huh, you knew it all along, your brain just didnt want you to think so). In football today im going to talk to you about the one team in football (college that is, haha fooled you if you thought i was talking about that NFL garbage. I  love you brent; Go #4 for whatever team your playin for these days.. whats that.. he retired…but he was just.. nevermind.) That really matters. The Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama.  This past Saturday (yesterday for those of you who still arnt sure what today is from the hangover) my beloved team nearly took a loss to those orange monsters to the north of us, the University of Tennessee. To some of you its like, what.. so your team lost, no biggie, happens to the “best” (see: national champs florida’s imperfect season) but we dont play that way. We are alabama and we do not accept less then perfection (see: alabama hasnt had a national championship since 1992 perfect season). In a show of.. i cant even describe what it was a show of.. a lack of something. Offense wasnt there, defense gave em too much pass game. Special teams actually saved the team this game. With Tiffin’s field goals and Mt. Cody’s 2 field goal blocks, we were barely able to crawl out of the game the victors. This game made me sick to my stomach up until the final momant (it may have been the leftovers i scarfed down during half time but we’ll never know). This brings up the question; With alabama progressively worsening, are they going to be ready in 2 weeks for an aggressive and deadly LSU.

Mt.Cody blocks the Vols for the win! ROLL TIDE!!!

I don’t watch television, have not watched it for years and do not know who

You Were Expecting Dick Cheney?

 the ‘personalities’ are unless they have been around way too long, prior to Janet Reno’s alphabet lesson on Waco.  Instead, video clips have become the visual distraction of rare occassion.

A friend from ham radio days, KK4HG, aka Henry Gardner, contracted ALS some years ago and now has too much time to watch television and that includes Glenn Beck and O’Reilly.  Otherwise, I’d have never heard of Glenn Beck.  Thanks, Henry, Glenn Beck is almost worth watching television in a limited realm.  But video clips eliminate the hazard of the rest of detritus flowing out of the set.  The clip below is amusing not only for creative castigation of ‘Bama and his boondoggling cadre of socialists, communists, bus station queers, class room doctrinarians, hoop-a-joop anal weather phenomenalists but most importantly, Glenn Beck keeps holding open the door to meaningful discourse with a bunch of south side Chicago shysters–to help them with rhetoric.

Mr. Beck could become Obama’s Czar for Rhetoric, a sounding board, pro bono.  Who knows, maybe some conservatives might even hear a word or two put forth from the Obama Opera Emasculata. 

After all, ‘Bama do Letterman, ’Bama do Oprah… if FOX ain’t be news, just noos, then what he have to lose?

And just a short note for any ACORN registered Democrat ‘Bama shill, so you won’t miss Beck’s clever use of homonym–no, that is not an Anderson Cooper ghey werd…

pi·geon (p¹j“…n) n. 1. Any of various birds of the widely distributed family Columbidae, characteristically having deep-chested bodies, small heads, and short legs, especially the rock dove or any of its domesticated varieties. 2. Slang. One who is easily swindled; a dupe

 versus the ‘Bama teams disingenuousness

pidg·in (p¹j“…n) n. A simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two or more languages, has a rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, is used for communication between groups speaking different languages, and is not spoken as a first or native language. 

 

Thought I would spur a few things up today before the big game.  As a Gamecock fan I would love to come away with a big win. Who do you think will win, USC or Bama. Do you even care. Go ahead and vote, I can’t wait to see what the results are.

On 15th September, 2009 the Software Freedom Day was celebrated in

The CSI Auditorium,

Computer Society of India, Kolkata Chapter,

5, Elgin Road, 4th Floor,

Kolkata – 700020

The following talks and discussions were planned for the SFD 2009, Kolkata :

A. Mani to speak on “The Fedora Project”

J. P. Mathews to speak on “Using Linux on PCs with limited resources”

Ratnadeep Debnath(me) to speak on “Fedora-12 Highlights”

Snehashish Chakraborty to speak on “RabbitMQ”

From Durgapur, me, Kishan Goyal, Harsh Verma and Bama Charan Kundu had come to Kolkata on 15th September to attend SFD. We reached the CSI auditorium at around 4:30 PM. There we met with A. Mani. We had a small introductory chat with each other. We were given some SFD goodies like badges, balloons, etc. Then we setup Kishan’s notebook for the purpose of presentation and successfully connected it to the projector.

At around 5:00 PM, J. P. Mathews and some people from DPS Technologies India, and Rohit joined us in the SFD’09. Some students ( engineering) also turned up. There were around 12 people attending the event. A. Mani welcomed everyone to the event and then J. P. Mathews said that Snehashish Chakraborty, unfortunately, could not come to the event. Then he distributed leaflets for the new

Sapienza Home PC coming preloaded with Ubuntu GNU/Linux.

Specifications : Intel ATOM Processor 230 @ 1.6 GHz + Intel original MotherBoard, IGB RAM, 160 GB SATA HDD,

17″ TFT Display with in-built speakers, Keyboard and mouse, Optional DVD drives, etc.

Starting from Rs. 14,900 onwards.

Then A. Mani came up with his talk on the Fedora Project. It was quite informative and introduced the attendees to the features of Fedora, the Fedora Community, foundations of Fedora, Open Source. It was followed by me ( rtnpro) talking on what is new Fedora 12. Topics of the talk were General Introduction to Fedora Project, Fedora Release Cycle, features in Fedora 11, things which couldn’t be implemented in Fedora 11, what’s new in Fedora 12, common Fedora 12 bugs, how to contribute to testing. As an example, I mentioned the various opensource projects that the members of DGPLUG has been involved into. I also highlighted the significance of portable repositories, which is of vital importance when internet connection is a constraint.  Slide used for the presentation can be found at

http://www.slideshare.net/rtnpro/fedora-12-introduction

Then there was a small break for tea. After that, J. P. Mathews gave his talk on Using Lnux on PCs with limited resources. He also discussed about the Sapienza Home PC, which is very affordable, running on Ubuntu GNU/Linux. Then he also mentioned about Linux being used at schools and educational institutions. LTSP is a good technology to be used for the purpose. He also showed interest in the ongoing Bijra Project of DGPLUG ( using LTSP). Idea of having a local flash storage in the LTSP terminals were also discussed. Open Source virtualization tools were also discussed and compared with VMWare. Mr. Mathews also mentioned a functional programming language named Erlang, and Open ERP frameworks.

This was followed by free media distribution of Fedora 11 DVDs and Ubuntu 9 Live CDs.

The event concluded at around 7:15 PM. The discussions held during the event were very interesting and innovative. This marks a long path to travel. The event was a success with people  getting in their head to foster a general understanding of software freedom, and encourage adoption of free software and open standards.

Week 5 Final: 11-6

Week 4 Final:11-5

Week 3 Final: 14-2

Week 2 Final: 11 – 4

Week 1 Final: 10 – 4

Hey Football Fiends!

My money is on Miami beating Oklahoma. Of course I don’t really EXPECT the ‘Canes to beat the Sooners, but I sure HOPE they do!

BYU over Utah State

Pitt over Louisville

South Florida over Syracuse

Florida State over BC

Bama over Kentucky

Ole Miss over Vandy

Notre Dame over Washington

LSU over UGA

Oklahoma over Miami

ASU over Oregon State

UCLA over Stanford

USC over Cal

Tennessee over Auburn

Michigan over Michigan State

Penn State over Illinois

GA Tech over Mississippi State

Wake Forest over NC State

-Your Gridiron Goddess

Don’t much follow a whole lot’a sports.

Not even the holy grail of NCAA Division I’s SEC – by many, the standard by which all other football teams are judged.

On occasion, however I will watch an Auburn game and make every diligent effort to tune into the Iron Bowl – THE gridiron rivalry to end all rivalries.

And, I confess to rooting for Auburn. Been that way for a long time… rooting for Auburn, that is.

You see, when you quite literally owe your life to Auburn, you know where your priorities are.

Yep, that’s owe my life to ‘em, as in I-wouldn’t-be-here-if-it-weren’t-for-Auburn kind of owe my life to ‘em.

So, flipping through the pages of the paper today, I happened upon an item that headlined a Crimson Tider. (For you medical folks, I refrained from titre… it’s just not that punny.)

Anyway, the article told about how MRI confirmed that Inside Linebacker Dont’a Hightower suffered ligament damage and would most likely be sidelined for the remainder of the season… for appropriate surgery and recuperative therapy.

I wish him a speedy recovery and the team well.

But what aroused my curiosity more than anything was this fellow’s name: Dont’a.

My fingers have a hard time wrapping around that apostrophe, so it seems. Because almost every time I type it out, I find myself needing to back up and correct.

Don’t.

No… Dont’a.

Just exactly what kind of name is Don’ta… er, I mean Dont’a?

And having never heard the fellow’s name pronounced, I’m unsure of the pronunciation. I mean, is it properly pronounced “dah-n-tay,” “doughnna,” or what?!

Then I thought again, who names their child something like that?

It’s definitely not an American name… at least I couldn’t find it anywhere I searched.

And what does it mean? Names have meaning… at least that’s what we’re taught when we begin learning to speak. We associate a word and sound with something. And eytmologists – that’s not the folks that study bugs, but the folks that study the origin and derivation of words – tell us that most of all language can be traced back to a common tongue.

That got me to thinking.

Dont’a you do that no mo! I’se gwine ta’ whip ‘yer arsicle if’n ya’ do!

The pleasing sounds of the varieties of our Southern dialects continues to amaze me, and hearing the sweet-as-honey sounds, and the tenor twangs of the many voices we’re blessed to have in ‘Bama is a rich cultural hearitage… er, I mean heritage, that rivals any place I’ve ever travelled.

From the mountain foothills of Northern Alabama’s cuCumberland Plateau, to our wiregrass fields and blackbelt forests, to the Mobile Bay’s oysters and shrimp, the vocal tonalities and rhythmic cadences of our speakers all contributes to our state’s mysterious and equally lovely appeal.

As many attest, her greatest appeal is her people.

For example, I’ve rarely ever heard of anyone moving to Alabama that moves out. I guess it’s the adage, ‘You’ve tried the rest, now stay with the best!’

Sure… what state or location doesn’t have their own idiosyncrasies? But we love our idios, to be certain! I mean, we love you, don’t we?

There’s no place like home… there’s no place like home… there’s no place like home.

Amen.

Week 4 Final:11-5

Week 3 Final: 14-2

Week 2 Final: 11 – 4

Week 1 Final: 10 – 4

Hey Football Fiends-

It’s that time of the week again and this Trojan alum finds herself in a familiar place. Unsure of which USC football team is going to show up to play Saturday night in the Coliseum. USC is a 46.5 favorite over Washington State and as past years have shown – this isn’t a great place to be in. That said, Matt Barkely is starting and USC will win the game. I just don’t think our offense has gelled enough to beat that point spread.

USC over Washington State

Mizzou over Nevada

Ohio State over Illinois

Wisconsin over Michigan State

LSU over Mississippi State

Alabama over Arkansas

Florida over Kentucky

UGA over ASU  (I think the Sundevils have a real shot here and I hope they do win! I just, hmmm, am not sure.)

Cal over Oregon

Florida State over South Florida

GA Tech over UNC

U of Miami over VA Tech

Notre Dame over Purdue

Penn State over Iowa

Oregon State over Arizona

Utah over Louisville

-Your Gridiron Goddess

Bama did the lead role in the film Ellam Avan Seyal. While in an interview to the media, she said,” After Ellam Avan Seyal I got lot of offers from Tamil cinema.

I was not able to accept because I did not like the story. I am currently acting in a Telugu and a Malayalam film. I have decided to act in one commercial Malayalam film for money and another Malayalam film for getting award. Now I am acting in a Malayalam film titled Englanda Veedu.
I am pairing with Vinu Mohan in this film. Apart from this I am donning the role of a revolutionary Muslim woman. People are saying that I will b getting award for acting in this film. This film is going to be screened in the Indian Panorama section. For an actress money is also required as well as fame.”