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Post by alum on May 17, 2024 13:22:48 GMT -5
I am bothered by the use of the term ghost runner as applied to the runner on second. The ghost runner is literally an imaginary runner used when there are not enough players in a backyard, schoolyard, dead end road (they weren't cul de sacs where I grew up) game. Gotta love Wikipedia which has an entry for the invisible runner and which nails the intracacies of this excellent concept. I recall there being many arguments related to how far a ghost runner could advance. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_runner_rule#:~:text=An%20invisible%20runner%2C%20or%20ghost,next%20in%20line%20to%20bat.
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Post by alum on May 17, 2024 9:56:43 GMT -5
A bizarre story developed early this morning outside Valhalla CC in Louisville. There was some sort of bus accident in which someone was killed. Scottie Scheffler apparently tried to get around the stopped traffic to get to the course although it would appear that the round had already been delayed. A police officer on the scene may have leapt onto his vehicle. Scheffler was charged with a felony and a couple of misdemeanors but quickly released and made his tee time. I think that KY75 will have to be our special correspondent to cover this story. www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/40162983/scottie-scheffler-detained-police-prior-start-pga-championship
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Post by alum on May 16, 2024 8:55:09 GMT -5
You may or may not know that "The Dunk" is now the Amica Mutual Pavilion ("AMP") as that venerable insurance company headed by Holy Cross' own Ted Shallcross took over the naming rights. Having worked for decades with a national mutual insurance company, the perspective is a little different than stock company insurers in that the goal is not to make money for their stockholders but rather keep expenses low and resultant lower premiums for their policyholders who are the owners of the company. In Columbus, OH, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company built the Nationwide Arena across the street from its home office and where we played an NCAA playoff game. I understand wanting the extra money, but I am not a fan of all this name changing. Up in Manchester NH, the civic center was never the Manchester Civic Center. It was the Verizon Center. Fine. That's the building's name. Stick with it ( BTW it is now the SNHU Arena - speaking of strange naming rights) Providence Civic Center => Dunkin Donuts Center=> Amica Mutual Pavillion is getting a bit silly. By the way, Great Woods/Tweeter/Comcast/Xfinity Center must be due for a name change soon Given the number of SNHU televsion commercials I see, I think that naming rights to an arena is a drop in the bucket of their advertising budget.
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Post by alum on May 15, 2024 7:58:18 GMT -5
I think the IL bands have disappeared, but I don't know for sure. I am fairly certain they've already disappeared in the PL, if they ever truly existed. What has remained is the floor and apparently the AI average of all recruited athletes being within one standard deviation of the school-wide AI. Richmond's school-wide AI is not that different from Colgate's. .Georgetown's school-wide AI is higher than Colgate's. In the IL at least, schools do borrow the AI scores from teams whose athletes have an average AI less than one standard deviation below the school-wide AI, and 'lend' these scores to teams whose team-wide average AI score is below the one standard deviation. There is a demographic collapse underway. See the headline in yesterdays WSJ. The peak year for U.S. births was 2007, with 4.32 million. (This is the class of 2025.) In 2023, the number of births was 3.59 million (about 17 percent fewer than in 2007.) This will be the future class of 2044. And it will get worse. The total fertility rate in the U.S. in 2023 was 1.62, and dropping steadily (Total fertility rates measure the number of live births that a female has during her reproductive years. You need a total fertility rate of 2.1 to replace an existing population (not factoring in migration.) The total fertility rate in 'Catholic' Italy is 1.24 and the rural country-side is being de-populated. See this Italian villa for sale for130,000 euros, that nobody apparently wants to buy. www.abruzzoruralproperty.com/italian-villas/item/1392-incredible-lake-view-with-panoramic-terrace-and-land-in-guardialfieraAnd men are choosing to pass on attending four year colleges. From Pew Research Group (December 2023: “Most of the decline is due to fewer young men pursuing college. About 1 million fewer young men are in college but only 0.2 million fewer young women. As a result, men make up 44% of young college students today, down from 47% in 2011, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data. “This shift is driven entirely by the falling share of men who are students at four-year colleges. Today, men represent only 42% of students ages 18 to 24 at four-year schools, down from 47% in 2011." And then there is enrollment at Catholic schools. Nationally, total enrollment decreased by 25 percent between 2007-08 and 2023-24, most of it in New England and the Mideast. (Catholic education association's geographical groupings.) IMO, I think Rougeau has about ten years to position HC as a school that seeks applicants nationally. (The effects of the demographic decline is already being experienced in Maine and Vermont, and the decline in the fertility rate is sharpest in New England and Oregon). He also needs to boost financial aid significantly, and improve the school's academic reputation. Otherwise by 2043, it will likely be a regional college, with a diminished academic reputation. Like I said in a previous post, HC is not a "popular" school nationally amongst the kids who are applying to top 25 liberal arts colleges. Rougeau needs to do something to change that. Sad to think that there are headwinds because we are a Catholic school, but that seems to be the case. I'm not suggesting a name change, but know several kids who were surprised to learn that Georgetown and Boston College were Catholic institutions. I think that this tells us that plenty of kids really have no idea what they are doing when they begin the college application process. Perhaps college admissions is not an example of rational decisionmaking?
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Post by alum on May 14, 2024 19:10:22 GMT -5
Wow. Those are phenomenal stats for Richmond. Brutal for the non athlete to get into a school like that. I tip my cap to any senior who's attending Richmond with those stats. Burying the lead: My daughter will be attending Richmond in the Fall so it will be a war starting in 2025 in this household. Great school. Good for your daughter.
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Post by alum on May 14, 2024 13:45:00 GMT -5
This is the best PL news in years.
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Post by alum on May 12, 2024 19:57:00 GMT -5
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Post by alum on May 12, 2024 5:19:35 GMT -5
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Post by alum on May 10, 2024 8:58:49 GMT -5
New Englands start today at HC. You can follow the meet here. live.harrierrace.com/meets/37050Although it is the "New Englands" a lot of New England track powers will not be participating. There are some conference meets and the IC4A this weekend as well. Nevertheless, there will be some good competition. Best athlete in the meet is Jordan Davis, a javelin thrower from Southern Connecticut, who has throw 274 feet this year. That is the 5th best performance in the world this year.
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Post by alum on May 9, 2024 17:38:18 GMT -5
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Post by alum on May 9, 2024 8:14:14 GMT -5
Don’t know the specific question but tigers and Phillies immediately brings Jim bunning to mind I gave up and looked at the potential answers. Bunning is the most prominent player to have played for the two teams.
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Post by alum on May 9, 2024 7:30:10 GMT -5
You guys would love Immaculate Grid if you're not playing already. Got 8 today (which is good for me) and drawing a complete blank on the last one. I struggle with matching players who have played on two teams, especially when they are both National Leauge clubs although today it is someone who played for the Phillies and the Tigers.
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Post by alum on May 9, 2024 5:12:24 GMT -5
So, about 70% of Crossporters😀
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Post by alum on May 8, 2024 7:31:45 GMT -5
So we aren't going to agree on who was better--the Say Hey Kid or the Commerce Comet-- but I would hope that we can all agree that neither was as good as the Splendid Splinter, the self described "greatest hitter who ever lived," Ted Williams. There can certainly be a case made for Williams. Mays' career WAR is also higher than Ted's, but mainly due to the longer career. Their WAR/162 is similar, 8.6 for Williams, 8.4 for Mays. And Williams missed 3 years for military service to Mays' 1, and unlike Mays where we don't know what player we would have had in the year he missed (he hit .236 with 4 homers the year before his military service, .345 with 41 the year he returned), its safe to say Williams would have been one of the best players in baseball during the 3 seasons he missed..he was second in MVP voting in each of the 2 years preceding his service and was 1st, 2nd, 2nd, and 1st in the four years following. The only quibble I have with your thoughts is that Ted really missed almost five seasons. He was also in the Marines during 1952 and 1953 but played six games at the start of the 1952 season and thirty seven at the end of 1953.
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Post by alum on May 8, 2024 6:58:54 GMT -5
While some might be critical of the choreography, I'd like to know where they found the time in med school (they are Harvard med school students, right?) to actually practice this? The stereotype, which may or may not be true nowadays, was that med students studied and worked such long hours that they were sleep deprived and no time for anything but their studies. Has that changed? med students still typically put in very long hours. between the first two years of intense coursework, clinical rotations in the following years, prep for usmle exams, etc., there is a ton of work. i don't think that's changed. while research rules the roost for those of us in academic medicine, some of the best and most rewarding times of my career has been teaching medical students. however, it's hard not to notice that diversity (on superficial characteristics, not in ways that really matter [ideas, perspectives, interests]) seems to be more important than aptitude in terms of class profiles these days. that said, i think most medical students generally have good attitudes and enter the profession to help people (and clearly make a good living). i have seen a little more of the entitled arrogance and narcissism in that harvard video (while admittedly likely done mostly in jest... at least i hope!) in recent years, but i am more concerned about the groupthink, lack of critical thinking ( e.g., there is absolutely no reason to be wearing masks outside in 2024 as in that video), pressure to become activists, and judgmental abandonment of the Hippocratic oath during covid that has trickled down to many medical students today. Dadominate--Well, it took me all of about two minutes to find this video on Youtube. It is part of a collection of videos that Harvard med students create. It is certainly nothing that interests me but I do realize that in this TikTok, Instagram world in which we live, young people make and post videos about everything. I would also point out that it was created three years ago and not this year as you assumed.. Details matter. I would think that a research scientist would have gone to the primary source and not relied on some account wrapped up in Wokeness on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
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Post by alum on May 7, 2024 15:48:58 GMT -5
So we aren't going to agree on who was better--the Say Hey Kid or the Commerce Comet-- but I would hope that we can all agree that neither was as good as the Splendid Splinter, the self described "greatest hitter who ever lived," Ted Williams.
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Post by alum on May 7, 2024 7:52:04 GMT -5
Here is a comparison using that tool on Baseball Reference. stathead.com/baseball/vs/mickey-mantle-vs-willie-maysBefore looking, I would have guessed Mays would be the winner, but now, even considering defense, I think its Mantle. His OPS is .977 and OPS + is 172 compared to Willie's .940 and 155. Looking at the various award categories, Mickey was a three time MVP, and a three time MVP runnerup. He finished in the top 6 of the MVP voting 9 times. He only won one Gold Glove. Willie had 12 top 6 finishes in the MVP with two wins (11 years apart) and one second and had 11 Gold Gloves. (The Gold Glove has only existed since 1957, so mid career for both.) Obviously, both were amazing talents. Mantle was certainly not a great guy and, well, he was a Yankee, but I guess he is the better player. Neither as good as Ruth who was the greatest player in the history of the game. EDIT: James Hirsch's book on Mays and Jane Leavy's book on Mantle are both well done and probably available in your local library.
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Post by alum on May 6, 2024 9:35:43 GMT -5
There are a minuscule number of Jewish students matriculating. And a minuscule, if any, number of students with familial ties to Palestine / Middle East matriculating. Perhaps the (very) high percentage of Catholics on our campus is another factor to be weighed (relative to the absence of pro-Hamas or anti-Israel/antisemitic outbreaks on Mount Saint James). Here’s what Columbia’s Catholic chaplain, Father Robert Landry, did at Columbia to stop his flock from joining in: According to Landry, nearly half of the approximately 300 protesters arrested were non-student activists. He said these outside forces are “explicitly communist groups” who have been distributing Marxist materials attacking the state of Israel since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Landry said that these materials attempt to justify the Hamas attack “out of this neo-Marxist, ‘oppressor versus oppressed’ ideology that says whatever somebody in the category of ‘oppressed’ wants to do against a so-called ‘oppressor’ is justified, even killing way more than a thousand innocent people at a party.” “This divide and conquer class warfare that comes from Marx and Lenin is the exact antithesis of what Jesus Christ himself taught,” he continued. “So, I try to get the Catholic students aware of that problem so at least they’re inoculated to that intellectual virus.” Catholic students act as peacemakers Landry said he was proud of the many Catholic students who have “stepped up” to be peacemakers amid all the hatred on campus. www.catholicnewsagency.com/amp/news/257581/columbias-catholic-chaplain-campus-protests-were-pushed-by-explicitly-communist-outsiders1. Jesus always spoke for the oppressed. I am sure that the Jesuits at Holy Cross would uniformly agree with that assertion. 2. I would like to see the Marxist materials allegedly being distributed which Landry claims say that the oppressed can do whatever they want to the oppressers. 3. I had never heard of Father Landry before. I'm glad he's concentrating on this topic for the time being instead of worrying about men masturbating in order to facilitate IVF which was another recent concern of his. A little Googling will take you that bit of wisdom.
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Post by alum on May 6, 2024 7:06:31 GMT -5
I will tell you a story of an athletic screwup that is completely on me. It was 7th and 8th grade CYO basketball and we were playing a non league weeknight game against a team from another league. Coach calls time out within the first minute of the second quarter and puts me in. My older brother is going to inbound the ball to me. The opposing team is covering us man to man. My brother waves for me to go into the back court and then throws the ball ahead of me, presumably to get separation from the defender. I grab the inbound pass and dribble right to the opponent's basket and lay it in.
Thankfully, we lost by three.
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Post by alum on May 5, 2024 7:31:32 GMT -5
Eyeballing his times, I'd say sophomore Liam Lyons has a shot at grabbing our outdoor mile record (Art Dulong 4.04.1 5/24/69) before he graduates. Liam's outdoor mile PR is 4:07.79 (and his outdoor 1500 PR from the PL Championships is 3:46.07...Art Dulong's outdoor 1500 school record is 3:45.4 5/18/69...so breaking that record is an even stronger possibility). Beyond all the usual difficulties of breaking outdoor track records (the usual running issues + weather), the mile/1600 is not run too frequently in collegiate competition. (Dulong's indoor mile record is quite a bit stronger: 4:01.1 1/70) Let’s hope for good weather and a good field that pushes the pace next week in the NE’s for a chance at 1500 record. I think we will see the coaching staff find opportunities for him to post a fast mile. He was HC’s only competitor in a meet earlier this year at PC with a very strong mile field. The 1500 yesterday converts to a 4:04.1
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Post by alum on May 5, 2024 5:11:15 GMT -5
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Post by alum on May 3, 2024 18:02:16 GMT -5
Good first day with plenty of personal bests. Three HC guys in finals of 110 hurdles. McAlpine and Dicks scored points in their events. Liam Lyons (3:48) and Joe Mahon (3:50) had bests while making the 1500 final. Mahon ran the equivalent of a 4:28 mile in high school last year. Today’s race equals a 4:08 mile. Hatem is on pace to blow by his prior decathlon score. Kulis and Feeney are on pace to place in heptathlon. Kulis and Gray made finals in hurdles and Lusby ran faster than I hoped for with a 2:10 half. EDIT: Here is the recap. Two records I didn’t appreciate from just looking at results goholycross.com/news/2024/5/3/mens-track-field-crusaders-have-strong-start-in-day-one-at-patriot-league-championships.aspx
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Post by alum on May 3, 2024 11:04:57 GMT -5
The PL track championships are today (Friday) and tomorrow at Bucknell. Live results can be found here. results.leonetiming.com/?mid=7240The meet is on ESPN + You can look at this for top performances in the conference tf.tfrrs.org/lists/4772/Patriot_League_Outdoor_Performance_List?gender=f#event25Not everyone on this list will be compete in all events in which they have competed throughout the year. Some things to watch: Decathalon--First year Ryan Hatem is competing. Our top decathalete, Brian Fennelly, would likely place in the top 3 but is competing in individual events instead of the decathalon Heptathalon--Celia Kulis and Jane Feeney are first and third right overall during the ongoing second event of the high jump. I think that Kulis will likely get points. 1500 men--Soph Liam Lyons was second in the indoor championship for the mile. Look for him to run well in a very strong field. Trials today and hopefully finals tomorrow. 1500 women.Abigail Hughes has a shot at points 110 hurdles men--We have four entrants including Michael Mazzocca who is the second seed. Unfortunately, they are all in the same heat. Look for Fennelly to score and perhaps Josh Exantus 100 hurdles women--Kulis and Ella Gray are both strong contenders here I would think that both should place high. Javelin--men-_Senior Will McAlpine has thrown 208 feet. He will hopefully get points. 100/200 men--Senior Chris Barone seems not to be entered, perhaps he is hurt. I suspect that he could have scored. Aidan Bergin can compete well here. 800 women--Look for Alex Lusby to run close to 2:11 and compete Men LJ and HJ--Frosh Chandler Dicks may not place but he is someone to watch in both of these events going forward. Mens 4 x 100--Has been strong but if Barone is out that may be a problem
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Post by alum on May 3, 2024 10:28:37 GMT -5
FWIW, more and more states have banned questions asking about criminal convictions on job applications. Even more (probably most) don't allow questions about arrests which don't result in convictions. In addition, it is not unusual for these type of arrests to ultimately result in either the outright dismissal of charges or after use of a diversionary program. (N.B. You probably do have to disclose it for federal jobs and certainly on a security clearance application.) Here is a webstie I found with some information on this. www.orangetreescreening.com/resource-center/which-states-have-ban-the-box-laws#:~:text=CONNECTICUT,erased%20records%20at%20any%20time. Finally, many great Americans have been convicted of crimes they felt necessary to commit in order to promote a cause in which they believed and have gone on to have successful lives. See, for example, Rosa Parks, MLK, John Lewis, the Berrigans, Susan B. Anthony, etc. I know it is easy to say that what these people are doing is different and more wrong, but you can't ascribe the same motivation to every protester and the actions of the people I mentioned were roundly condemned at the time they committed them, too. To be clear, I don't like vandalism and think that protesters should leave buildings when told. I have no problem with encampments. I don't think any fellow student should be stopped from walking on campus where they are entitled to be. Even if it's not on the application, it can show up in a background check. To the best of my knowledge, the people you mentioned had their eyes wide open, understood the ramifications of what they were doing, and made an informed decision that their cause was worthy of the potential consequences they might suffer. The same may or may not be true of today's protestors. Expunged records are not supposed to show up on background checks and, if used, can result in discriminatory practices complaints in many states. The agencies that do background checks remove expunged records if they know. It is not a perfect system and newspaper reports will often still exist but this the system is getting better. This is not to say that a future employer might not make a hiring decision on the basis of the conduct alone as opposed to an arrest. ( Kyle Rittenhouse's arrest is obviously expunged as he was acquitted but he has a household name and I am sure that many employers would steer clear of him. )
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Post by alum on May 3, 2024 10:02:42 GMT -5
Peaceful and lawful protests do not jeopardize one's career opportunities. True. At some colleges, students have crossed that line and been arrested. It doesn't matter why someone was protesting, for the rest of their lives those kids will have to answer "yes" to a job application question "Have you ever been arrested". That might jeopardize a career opportunity. So I am happy I have not heard of any Crusaders being arrested FWIW, more and more states have banned questions asking about criminal convictions on job applications. Even more (probably most) don't allow questions about arrests which don't result in convictions. In addition, it is not unusual for these type of arrests to ultimately result in either the outright dismissal of charges or after use of a diversionary program. (N.B. You probably do have to disclose it for federal jobs and certainly on a security clearance application.) Here is a webstie I found with some information on this. www.orangetreescreening.com/resource-center/which-states-have-ban-the-box-laws#:~:text=CONNECTICUT,erased%20records%20at%20any%20time. Finally, many great Americans have been convicted of crimes they felt necessary to commit in order to promote a cause in which they believed and have gone on to have successful lives. See, for example, Rosa Parks, MLK, John Lewis, the Berrigans, Susan B. Anthony, etc. I know it is easy to say that what these people are doing is different and more wrong, but you can't ascribe the same motivation to every protester and the actions of the people I mentioned were roundly condemned at the time they committed them, too. To be clear, I don't like vandalism and think that protesters should leave buildings when told. I have no problem with encampments. I don't think any fellow student should be stopped from walking on campus where they are entitled to be.
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