Loyola gets a new name

Little Loyola College grew up this past weekend when the school officially changed its designation to Loyola University Maryland. After many conversations with lots of alums and friends, the concensus is that the change is a great one.
Through the years, my college roommates have always said that their degrees were worth more due to the great strides Loyola was making on the academic side.
The one place these same people were a bit disappointed was the athletic side. A few have said that the Hounds haven't change much since the early '80s. Now that is an exageration since the school has increased grant in aid, coaches salaries and operations budgets. The next step is to put some trophies in the trophy case.
The level of support for the teams has remained constant and the need to market the programs has never been more apparent with the growth of many of the Maryland schools going full speed ahead with their marketing programs. Now is the perfect time for Little Loyola to step up and make some noise.

U20s and DC Disaster

Not a great weekend. DC United crashes at home to San Jose. Yeah, San Jose, a team that has not one a road game in two years. The team looked totally unmotivated and ready for the season to be over. They better pick it up or they will only have a thrashing at Toluca to look forward to in the near future.

Kocic had no chance on the classy free kick taken by Ramon Sanchez, clipped it right over the wall and found the upper corner to tie the game at one. Poor clearance from the DC back line gave San Jose an opening and after a clearance that hit the cross bar, Ryan Johnson pounced on the rebound to head the winner in for the Earthquakes. Extremely frustrated by the San Jose defense for the balance of the game, United saw several chances just miss, along with a desperation clearance off the line on a bicycle kick by Chris Pontius. The team has only a few games left and this was a golden opportunity to stay in the hunt for the postseason. It isn't over yet but it sure is close.

The US Boys U-20 team dropped a 3-0 decision in Egypt to world power Germany. Germany showed their class and never allowed the US team to get going. The US team really never had a chance against the UEFA champs. Cameroon is next up and they are looking like a super fit and physical team that will give Yanks very little time to play. Difficult but not impossible. US must win to have any chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.

So what do you think, can DC make the post season? Can the USA make the round of 16? Let me know your POV...

Who should be in the XI for the USA versus Egypt?

Ok - I just was wondering what you all think?

Should Bradley give some of the younger guys a chance?

Adu, Torres? I don't know, but the US needs a lot of help to make it to the next round.

Right now 

Brazil has 6 points and is +4 in goal difference.

Italy has 3 points and is +1 in goal difference.

Egypt has 3 points and a 0 goal difference.

USA has 0 points and a -5 goal difference.

So if Brazil beats Italy by at least 3 goals and the USA beats Egypt by at least 3 goals then the US can advance.  

What do think the odds of that happening are???

Baltimore City Takes a Stand against Violent Students

If you listened to the radio today in Baltimore, you got an earful on the Baltimore Sun story about city school students being permanently expelled for arson and other violent type acts.  The fact that some people called in and said it was a racist school system seemed to be missing the fact that students need to be safe at school.  In Baltimore, the new superintendent of schools made it clear that there would be zero-tolerance for violent offenders in the school system.  He has backed up his words with actions and it appears from the facts presented that overall school violence is down and the number of students suspended is down.  The number of permanent suspensions is up from 9 to 34 in one year.  But perhaps this harder line on violence has made other students actually stop and think before they do something that they know is wrong.  This is a great example of a leader leading.  Good luck going forward.  What do you think?  What's your POV?

Summer Vacations

It is that time of year, we just sent a check for about $1,200 to stay one week at the beach in New Jersey.  We always have a great time when we get down there and always say we should have booked a couple weeks. What are some ideas for summer vacations.

Check out VRBO.com for some cheap places to stay... dg

Hubble getting a tune up

The Hubble telescope has been wowing us for such a long time. The repair mission is very important to the furtherance of science and our understanding of the the universe. I hope that the repairs go well and that everyone is returned safely to Earth... dg

How about this for redistribution of wealth?

The latest from Texas is that when you get pulled over you are going to have to pay.

Texas Police Story from CNN

I wonder how long this has been going on.  It must have been supported by a large number of the police in the town.  This is totally ridiculous.  People should be screaming for the police to be put in jail.  I don't know the whole story but this is a great example of people in power using it to better their own situation at the cost of others.  Sounds like all the new taxes, just a different way to collect them. 

Let me know your POV on this one... dg

Sun-set in Baltimore?

When I first came to Baltimore, there was the Evening Sun and the Sun.  The Evening Sun disappeared and slowly but surely the newspaper business in Baltimore is fading away like a sunset.  

The recent sacking of over 50 more Baltimore Sun employees may not mean the death of the paper (at least not yet), however the paper's quality and quantity of local coverage is waning. 

The Chicago-based Tribune company bought the Sun and it has been the demise of the Tribune, which entered bankruptcy, that has dragged the once proud Baltimore Sun down with it.  When the Tribune bought the Sun many local journalists and other media people warned that the local staff of the paper would be pared down.  This did happen and with readership down and the explosion of online media and the tools to access it, many local papers are feeling the pressure to change how they operate. 

The Sun is getting thin on content and the content is being surrounded on all sides by advertising.  The loss of a paper is not the end of the world and the news will still get reported. I am assuming that there is a new business model for getting people the news.  With Blackberry and Iphone users on the rise, the ability to capture that market will be the new battle.  The interesting thing is that all of the online media (not all but quite a bit) is controlled by such a few people.  I am hoping that a local owner will try to bring the Sun back.  I am not sure if that will happen but I think the people of Baltimore would support it.

I was wondering how you get your daily dose of news?  Do you still read the newspaper or do you just go online?  If the Sun became locally owned and operated again would you subscribe?

Let me know your POV about this... dg

I am so glad our tax dollars a supporting this...

So now that David Souter is leaving town and the swine flu has settled down, it is time for congress to deal with some real pork or at least some pigskin. I was just browsing around the web and saw this CNN Story on BCS. I thought it was a classic. The great debate about BCS or Playoffs in College Football. The thought that the BCS schools have a monopoly is valid. The idea that congress should be talking about this now is not.
The BCS is about making money and keeping the haves deep in the dough. The Non-BCS schools want a piece of the action. It is really a microcosm of the political system we will continue to see unroll by congress. If the BCS wealth and be redistributed through a new playoff system, maybe this will be a good practice model for the redistribution of wealth in the United States. To politicize sports is almost as bad as what is happening with religion. The more the government gets involved with the free market the further it moves from being a true free market.
I think that the basketball model for the NCAA Championship is one of the best and most exciting tournaments. Does college football work within that same framework? How many teams would make it. In basketball, 65 teams out of 329 (is that right or is it higher, I can't remember) seams to work well and the bracketologists usually can not complain to much about the teams that are left out. So, in college football, with its 120 or so teams would need 8 or 12 teams to make a good draw. That is about 4 weeks of football. Would it work? Would the bowl system still have games? I would like to know what your POV is on this one... dg

Should I Walk to Work?

Ok, I live about 3 miles from where I work and I often think I should just walk.  I have a bike but I am not to sure if I would survive the trip.  Too many idiots out on the road.  How long would it take me to get into the office and would I be tired?  Or would this energize me for the day ahead... One issue I would have to consider is the fact that I have four children, who need to get dropped off at school everyday and would not want to walk. I am just wondering if it is worth walking or should I just keep driving my 1999 Chevy Suburban?  Well the kids are almost done with school, so I guess I could just make this a summer thing.

How many of you currently walk to work?  I am not an environmentalist, I am just thinking if I did not have to fill my 40-gallon tank up so often that I would have some money to buy the new shoes I would need to walk to work.  That is something to think about huh?

So what is your POV on walking to work? Let me know... dg

Thanks to http://shoes-collection-2008.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-balance-mens-mw644-walking-shoe.html for the great picture of the shoe....

There must be 300 ways to leave your....

Businesses are supposed to succeed and fail in the United States.  It is the nature of the free market economy.  Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy and it appears that Fiat will try to marry the weakest car company in the US. Sounds like a great fairy tale - italian prince saving the starving little princess.  Fiat will have its hands full. They need to come up with some great products and fast.  The 300 was a bust.   Fiat line up of cars is an interesting mix and possibly might catch on with some US drivers.

I am looking forward to the next sixty days to listen to the pundits tell everyone how this is the right thing to do.  I am not sure but I know that we (the taxpayers) just gave this company $4 Billion to stay afloat. Looks like that was a poor investment.  The US government will not let Chrysler fail because they want their money back, I mean "our" money...

Some of the most interesting things that will come out of this first filing (how many more will come?) are how the dealers will be handled and how the suppliers will treat the new Chrysler.  If Fiat (Fix it again Tony) can not save Chrysler then we will most likely see it fade into nothing.

What do you think is the correct course of action for the Obama administration over the next few months?  

Do you think saving Chrysler is even worth it in the long run?

I would like to know your POV... dg

Political Switch Hitter

Arlen Spector changed political parties.

This is fine. In the United States, you can change your mind. There is just one little problem associated with this change. Arlen was voted into office as a Republican and now that he might lose his seat, he turns his back on the people that voted for him. Do you think it should be legal for an elected official can change his political party? He can vote as he chooses but he should be voting in the manner that his constituents voted him into office would like. It is naive to think that our congress really has the best interests of the common man in its heart.

Let me know your POV on this.

dg