We're sure Owen will represent well at his second birthday party tomorrow, and we all eagerly await photos of the exquisite Remy, but tonight let's share a round of cheer and a shout out to little Johny (and his handsome daddy, Noah)
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Beautiful Baby Sweepstakes
We're sure Owen will represent well at his second birthday party tomorrow, and we all eagerly await photos of the exquisite Remy, but tonight let's share a round of cheer and a shout out to little Johny (and his handsome daddy, Noah)
High Frequency Trading
While still apalled at what the investment banks have done to our economy and our society,I am not at this point hysterical, and present the article below simply because it is informative.
DK Matai.Chairman: mi2g, ATCA, The Philanthropia
Posted: May 29, 2010 06:39 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index .
The Achilles Heel of Markets?
It has been the worst May for stocks since 1940. The last time May was this bad, neither had Pearl Harbour been bombed forcing the US to enter World War II, nor had the US recovered from The Great Depression. Although suppressed for much of the global markets recovery that began in March 2009, volatility has sprung back with a vengeance in May. On May 21st the "fear index" -- the "volatility index" of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, also known as VIX -- rose to a 12 month high. May 6th, the day of the "flash crash," saw the biggest intraday point drop ever in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The last-hour market swings, as the European debt crisis injects more uncertainty, are also increasing with every passing day. This volatility reflects a lack of buying interest among long term investors and an intra-day focus for high-frequency traders in the absence of a clear market direction.
High Frequency Trading
Super Arbitrage
The role of high-frequency trading is gathering pace, commanding a bigger and bigger share of financial markets' activity worldwide in equities, bonds, commodities, futures and currencies. High-frequency traders are behaving like computer jockeys. They run complex trading algorithmic software on superfast computers and search the markets for tiny price differentials so that they can carry out super arbitrage. By trading hundreds of millions or even a billion units a day at lightning speed, high-frequency traders pick up fractional pennies each time. The more volatile the market, the easier it is for them to make money jumping in and out of assets across multiple exchanges. High-frequency traders are really just trying to skim the bid to offer spread on a trade. It may only be as low as $0.01 on many trades but, if one does it for 100,000,000 -- 100 million -- units that's over one million dollars a day of profit! High-frequency trading firms rarely go home with a position if they can help it because they make money by maximising transactional volume and minimising risk.
What Does Volatility Mean?
Markets become volatile when liquidity dries up. This means people can't trade stocks at a fair price, when they want. High-frequency traders thrive off volatility, because when liquidity is in short supply, it becomes very profitable for them to provide it. On days with big movements, in the realm of triple digits, high-frequency traders can make a lot of money via this super arbitrage. As a result, May has proved to be the biggest gold mine for high-frequency trading firms since the crash of late 2008 and early 2009. While many long-term investors lost their shirts during The Great Unwind (2007-?) and The Great Reset (2008-?), the high-frequency traders posted huge profits, as they are doing now.
Shadow Markets
In their defence, high-frequency traders say that because their intense trading provides liquidity, they help markets run smoothly, improving the environment for all investors. They say their actions make the markets more functional and fair to typical investors. Given that the high-frequency traders and broker dealers have a symbiotic relationship, they are both actively masquerading as liquidity providers when in fact they are normally liquidity takers, the knowledge transfer of the transactional information being all important. It is clear that high-frequency trading serves no larger purpose. It does not raise capital for companies, create jobs or stimulate innovations in the broader economy. The trades remain completely divorced from underlying economic fundamentals. The high-frequency traders know little or nothing about the companies their computers are feverishly buying and selling. If one combines the speed at which they operate, the outsourcing of decision making to computer algorithms, and an almost complete lack of regulation, this shadow market can fuel and exaggerate volatility.
Anti-Value Investing
High-frequency traders have been branded as the new "black hats" of high finance. Their computer-driven methods, which now account for upwards of two thirds of all US equity volume, are proliferating. To a large degree, fundamental investment strategies -- such as buying and selling stocks based on a company's long term performance -- have taken a back seat to high-frequency trading algorithms hunting for inefficiencies in daily pricing and super arbitrage opportunities.
Reach, Richness and Speed
High-frequency trading has been spreading from the US and Canadian stock markets into new geographies -- Europe, Asia and Latin America -- and all asset classes including equities, bonds, commodities, futures and currencies. Assuming the new financial regulatory reform bill forces over-the-counter derivatives on to exchanges, high-frequency traders will no doubt trade them too. Every day, things are getting faster in the world of high finance and trading. Four years ago, executing a trade in a millisecond -- one thousandth of a second -- was considered fast; now the top high-frequency trading firms and broker dealers are trading in microseconds. That's one millionth of a second.
Conclusion
Law-makers and regulators are right to get nervous. Senator Ted Kaufman -- Democrat from Delaware -- who understands the risk of high-frequency trading, or HFT, says, "I'm afraid that we're sowing the seeds of the next financial crash." He has called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate high-frequency traders and the impact they have had on the broad markets.
In the aftermath of the May 6th "flash crash", the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently voted to propose rules that would give the agency and securities exchanges more timely information about high-frequency trades so that they can better oversee the markets. The proposal requires exchanges and broker dealers that trade on the exchanges to provide detailed information about quotes, orders and trades to what would be a newly created central repository.
Whilst the creation of a central repository may be helpful, it is unclear how this could prevent a "flash crash" caused by high-frequency trades in the future. Human real time is measured and understood in minutes and seconds, whereas the machines are trading in millionths of seconds. In order to be able to understand what happens in a future "flash crash" the regulators would have to play the data from a central repository in slow motion over days or even weeks! What good is it to drive an open-top car at high speed with one's eyes glued to the rear view mirror?
Follow DK Matai on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DKMatai
Previously on The Financial Fix
DK Matai.Chairman: mi2g, ATCA, The Philanthropia
Posted: May 29, 2010 06:39 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index .
The Achilles Heel of Markets?
It has been the worst May for stocks since 1940. The last time May was this bad, neither had Pearl Harbour been bombed forcing the US to enter World War II, nor had the US recovered from The Great Depression. Although suppressed for much of the global markets recovery that began in March 2009, volatility has sprung back with a vengeance in May. On May 21st the "fear index" -- the "volatility index" of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, also known as VIX -- rose to a 12 month high. May 6th, the day of the "flash crash," saw the biggest intraday point drop ever in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The last-hour market swings, as the European debt crisis injects more uncertainty, are also increasing with every passing day. This volatility reflects a lack of buying interest among long term investors and an intra-day focus for high-frequency traders in the absence of a clear market direction.
High Frequency Trading
Super Arbitrage
The role of high-frequency trading is gathering pace, commanding a bigger and bigger share of financial markets' activity worldwide in equities, bonds, commodities, futures and currencies. High-frequency traders are behaving like computer jockeys. They run complex trading algorithmic software on superfast computers and search the markets for tiny price differentials so that they can carry out super arbitrage. By trading hundreds of millions or even a billion units a day at lightning speed, high-frequency traders pick up fractional pennies each time. The more volatile the market, the easier it is for them to make money jumping in and out of assets across multiple exchanges. High-frequency traders are really just trying to skim the bid to offer spread on a trade. It may only be as low as $0.01 on many trades but, if one does it for 100,000,000 -- 100 million -- units that's over one million dollars a day of profit! High-frequency trading firms rarely go home with a position if they can help it because they make money by maximising transactional volume and minimising risk.
What Does Volatility Mean?
Markets become volatile when liquidity dries up. This means people can't trade stocks at a fair price, when they want. High-frequency traders thrive off volatility, because when liquidity is in short supply, it becomes very profitable for them to provide it. On days with big movements, in the realm of triple digits, high-frequency traders can make a lot of money via this super arbitrage. As a result, May has proved to be the biggest gold mine for high-frequency trading firms since the crash of late 2008 and early 2009. While many long-term investors lost their shirts during The Great Unwind (2007-?) and The Great Reset (2008-?), the high-frequency traders posted huge profits, as they are doing now.
Shadow Markets
In their defence, high-frequency traders say that because their intense trading provides liquidity, they help markets run smoothly, improving the environment for all investors. They say their actions make the markets more functional and fair to typical investors. Given that the high-frequency traders and broker dealers have a symbiotic relationship, they are both actively masquerading as liquidity providers when in fact they are normally liquidity takers, the knowledge transfer of the transactional information being all important. It is clear that high-frequency trading serves no larger purpose. It does not raise capital for companies, create jobs or stimulate innovations in the broader economy. The trades remain completely divorced from underlying economic fundamentals. The high-frequency traders know little or nothing about the companies their computers are feverishly buying and selling. If one combines the speed at which they operate, the outsourcing of decision making to computer algorithms, and an almost complete lack of regulation, this shadow market can fuel and exaggerate volatility.
Anti-Value Investing
High-frequency traders have been branded as the new "black hats" of high finance. Their computer-driven methods, which now account for upwards of two thirds of all US equity volume, are proliferating. To a large degree, fundamental investment strategies -- such as buying and selling stocks based on a company's long term performance -- have taken a back seat to high-frequency trading algorithms hunting for inefficiencies in daily pricing and super arbitrage opportunities.
Reach, Richness and Speed
High-frequency trading has been spreading from the US and Canadian stock markets into new geographies -- Europe, Asia and Latin America -- and all asset classes including equities, bonds, commodities, futures and currencies. Assuming the new financial regulatory reform bill forces over-the-counter derivatives on to exchanges, high-frequency traders will no doubt trade them too. Every day, things are getting faster in the world of high finance and trading. Four years ago, executing a trade in a millisecond -- one thousandth of a second -- was considered fast; now the top high-frequency trading firms and broker dealers are trading in microseconds. That's one millionth of a second.
Conclusion
Law-makers and regulators are right to get nervous. Senator Ted Kaufman -- Democrat from Delaware -- who understands the risk of high-frequency trading, or HFT, says, "I'm afraid that we're sowing the seeds of the next financial crash." He has called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate high-frequency traders and the impact they have had on the broad markets.
In the aftermath of the May 6th "flash crash", the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently voted to propose rules that would give the agency and securities exchanges more timely information about high-frequency trades so that they can better oversee the markets. The proposal requires exchanges and broker dealers that trade on the exchanges to provide detailed information about quotes, orders and trades to what would be a newly created central repository.
Whilst the creation of a central repository may be helpful, it is unclear how this could prevent a "flash crash" caused by high-frequency trades in the future. Human real time is measured and understood in minutes and seconds, whereas the machines are trading in millionths of seconds. In order to be able to understand what happens in a future "flash crash" the regulators would have to play the data from a central repository in slow motion over days or even weeks! What good is it to drive an open-top car at high speed with one's eyes glued to the rear view mirror?
Follow DK Matai on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DKMatai
Previously on The Financial Fix
Friday, May 28, 2010
My brother Mike and I
It's been a turbulent week. Very busy and some complicated emotions involved. The best news was that my brother John's son Michael married a lovely girl named Caitlin in Alpharetta GA. A bad thing was the gulf oil spill which slightly eroded my confidence in President Obama and prompted this Facebook exchange
Me:
Abraham Lincoln "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the pre...judices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
Mike:
Guess he missed ACORN, SEIU, fed takeover of GM with UAW, takeover of healthcare against voters' wishes w. bill no one read (have to pass it to see what's in it), apology to China (!) for AZ having to enforce Fed law vs. illegals whom administration considers unregistered Democratic voters despite their drug-smuggling, kidnappings, murders of agents and civilians, etc. Good thing he was not in business of predicting future; he sure got that wrong!!!
: )
Nephew Mike:
BP.
Mike:
As in BRITISH Petroleum?
Let's not drill there, let Cuba and China do so, and then buy it from them! Yeah, that's the ticket!
Better yet, let's go back to the horse & buggy! Then every city, not just Chicago and DC, will reek of horsesh-t.
: )
Brother John:
Spill baby. Spill.
Me:
Mike, they tricked you. BRITISH, as in Amoco. BRITISH as in Chevron, BRITISH as in Gulf Oil, and BRITISH as in Atlantic Richfield. Dont feel bad that's what they wanted to do.
Mike:
Right, Andy. It's all an evil capitalist plot to deceive us workers of the world, done in anticipation of oil spills. Oh, silly me, I feel so deceived. I should have listened to Marx and Lenin! They tried to warn me!
: )
Sister Dean:
calm down, brothers.
Do other families encompass such varying political sentiments?
Me:
Abraham Lincoln "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the pre...judices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
Mike:
Guess he missed ACORN, SEIU, fed takeover of GM with UAW, takeover of healthcare against voters' wishes w. bill no one read (have to pass it to see what's in it), apology to China (!) for AZ having to enforce Fed law vs. illegals whom administration considers unregistered Democratic voters despite their drug-smuggling, kidnappings, murders of agents and civilians, etc. Good thing he was not in business of predicting future; he sure got that wrong!!!
: )
Nephew Mike:
BP.
Mike:
As in BRITISH Petroleum?
Let's not drill there, let Cuba and China do so, and then buy it from them! Yeah, that's the ticket!
Better yet, let's go back to the horse & buggy! Then every city, not just Chicago and DC, will reek of horsesh-t.
: )
Brother John:
Spill baby. Spill.
Me:
Mike, they tricked you. BRITISH, as in Amoco. BRITISH as in Chevron, BRITISH as in Gulf Oil, and BRITISH as in Atlantic Richfield. Dont feel bad that's what they wanted to do.
Mike:
Right, Andy. It's all an evil capitalist plot to deceive us workers of the world, done in anticipation of oil spills. Oh, silly me, I feel so deceived. I should have listened to Marx and Lenin! They tried to warn me!
: )
Sister Dean:
calm down, brothers.
Do other families encompass such varying political sentiments?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Remy
Remy Cangelosi was born last Wednesday, son of Ross and Kim, in Las Vegas. Here I am posting the news six days later. Of course we've shared a lot of facebook chatter and photos, but it's weird not to have commented here.
I think that's because I feel remote fron the event. Strange. Janett flew there Friday with Stephie to help Kim during her first days at home with her baby. She's returning today. I hope she'll have glowing descriptions and anecdotes to help me feel connected to the little fellow. I don't think I'll get out there til September.
I'll do some real bonding then.
Another explanation is that my primary sensation is one of relief, instead of jubilation. I worried, perhaps without cause, right up to the last minute. This little creature has been a very important part of Kimmy's life for a couple of years, and bringing him into the world wasn't as easy as Kim and Ross deserved it to be.
Now Remy is here, and Kimmy and Ross can rejoice and marvel at his beauty, and I can relax and thank God.
No fat fingers
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a joint report today that they found no evidence that mistaken orders, terrorism or computer sabotage led the drop, which briefly sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 998.5 points.
Just too many sell orders and not enough buy orders. That's how crashes happen.
Just too many sell orders and not enough buy orders. That's how crashes happen.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Audit the fed?
Heres a couple paragraphs from an interesting article.
If you recall, back in 2008, Hank Paulson, our treasury secretary at the time, convinced Congress over a weekend that he needed $700 billion of TARP funds to get the toxic assets off our commercial banks' books. Amazingly, within weeks of being given the funds by Congress, Paulson decided not to proceed with the purchase of toxic assets from the banks, instead giving away hundreds of billions of dollars to the commercial and investment banks and funding a series of bailouts — giving money to Chrysler, General Motors and AIG (some of which immediately found its way back to the commercial and investment banking community).
At the time, nobody explained what happened to the toxic assets on the banks' books whose purchase was the original stated purpose of TARP. We now know that the financial crisis was not caused solely by a liquidity crunch or an irrational loss of confidence, but rather by the fact that the marketplace realized that the commercial banks held more than a trillion dollars of very poor-quality assets, mostly mortgage securities such as collateralized debt obligations, or CDO’s, and that these bad assets were sizable enough to bankrupt even our biggest banks. How bad? Even the AAA tranche of the typical CDO is facing a mortgage default rate of approximately 93 percent today.
I believe the reason Paulson didn’t pursue his original toxic-asset purchasing plan is because such a purchase would have created a market price for these assets, and then all of the banks would have had to mark their poor-quality assets to this low market price. This would have resulted in the bankruptcy of almost all the major commercial and investment banks, because their leverage was so high that they couldn't withstand such a hit to their equity.
If you recall, back in 2008, Hank Paulson, our treasury secretary at the time, convinced Congress over a weekend that he needed $700 billion of TARP funds to get the toxic assets off our commercial banks' books. Amazingly, within weeks of being given the funds by Congress, Paulson decided not to proceed with the purchase of toxic assets from the banks, instead giving away hundreds of billions of dollars to the commercial and investment banks and funding a series of bailouts — giving money to Chrysler, General Motors and AIG (some of which immediately found its way back to the commercial and investment banking community).
At the time, nobody explained what happened to the toxic assets on the banks' books whose purchase was the original stated purpose of TARP. We now know that the financial crisis was not caused solely by a liquidity crunch or an irrational loss of confidence, but rather by the fact that the marketplace realized that the commercial banks held more than a trillion dollars of very poor-quality assets, mostly mortgage securities such as collateralized debt obligations, or CDO’s, and that these bad assets were sizable enough to bankrupt even our biggest banks. How bad? Even the AAA tranche of the typical CDO is facing a mortgage default rate of approximately 93 percent today.
I believe the reason Paulson didn’t pursue his original toxic-asset purchasing plan is because such a purchase would have created a market price for these assets, and then all of the banks would have had to mark their poor-quality assets to this low market price. This would have resulted in the bankruptcy of almost all the major commercial and investment banks, because their leverage was so high that they couldn't withstand such a hit to their equity.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
It's a gusher
Here's a link to a seeminlgly objective commentator who says the gulf "leak" is a very serious problem. BP has been practicing PR and lobbying skills, but will end up wringing their hands and saying (like the bankers) "Nobody imagined this could go so horribly wrong. While we were getting paids millions to do it, it seemed like a really good idea."
Friday, April 30, 2010
ND Rap Video elicits letter
Notre Dame Outdoes Super Bowl Shuffle3
4/30/2010 11:49 AM ET By John Walters
John Walters
College Football Writer
To: Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame
From: John Walters, '88
Re: Ever Being Able to Wear ND Gear in Public Again
Dear Fr. Jenkins,
Hasn't the Class of 2010 suffered enough? Four straight losses to USC. Two home losses to Navy. The 3-9 season. A first-round NCAA tournament loss to Old Dominion (which, okay, if it were women's hoops, would not be so awful) before half the student body had even woken up that day. And now, just a week or so before graduation, this video, which we've also embedded later in this letter along with some other reviews of the thing.
There needs to be an investigation. Isn't this exactly what the NCAA means by the term "lack of institutional control"? I've watched many a disturbing video in the past decade (the Zapruder film, those Sarah McLachlan animal-cruelty ads, Miss Teen South Carolina's "U.S. Americans" response), but this tops them all. Or bottoms them.
Honestly, Padre, whither the self-inflicted wound? This is like a fragging incident without the live ammo. If I'm Lane Kiffin I open every press conference next season with this tune.
My editor sent me a link to this video on Friday morning, warning me that it was disturbing news related to Notre Dame. Before opening the link, I was a'feared the video might contain incriminating footage of a certain head coach with a certain former South Bend anchor woman. If only it had been that tame.
Fr. Jenkins, you're an alum. Please tell me this is a joke. Please tell me this is an hilarious outtake from The Keenan Revue and you thought it would be fun to release as a social media experiment. Please tell me you're deaf.
Losing at home to Syracuse...and Pitt..and UConn...and Air Force...and of course the aforementioned Midshipmen (twice!) the past three years provided more than enough "laughing-stock" fodder for the rest of the country. But this--this is like finding out that Charlie Weis stayed up late watching game film in a Snuggie (and I wouldn't put it past him).
I don't even want to get into the details: The pilfering of the bass line from Morris Day and the Time's "Jungle Love." The white rap interlude from someone who appears to be the president of the Notre Dame Young Republicans (I know, redundant). The Mike Golic and Brian Kelly cameos. When Appalachian State's promotional video is better than yours, that's just sad.
Seriously, how many verbal decommits will it take before Notre Dame disassociates itself from this unbearable whiteness of being? Even "Up With People" is laughing at this video. Suddenly "The Super Bowl Shuffle" doesn't seem so abominable. The Vatican just this morning released a statement that read, "We acknowledge, accept full blame and express the deepest remorse for decades of improper behavior regarding altar boys, but we had nothing to do with the Freakbass video."
The reviews are already shaking down like thunder:
"If ND can land Manti Te'o in a snowstorm, Irish recruiting can survive this."
--Bruce Feldman, ESPN.com
"If ND leaders had any hand in this, I take back any nice things I said about them in today's column."
--Andy Staples, SI.com
"I like Freekbass' early stuff, but he's just getting too commercial now."
--Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune
"You can tell that this is a Notre Dame music video because it has no hot girls, just a lot of cute ones."
--Dave Fink, Dillon Hall, '88
"Dear Dude who punched out Jimmy Clausen: I have another job for you. Holler back."
--Me
I'm trying to imagine the meeting in which this video got the green light.
"Let's do a music video to promote Notre Dame because, you know, we just never seem to get any attention."
"Great idea! Let's get U2. They're Irish. They're Catholic. And I've been watching ESPN lately and they seem to be into that whole football thing."
"I don't think we can afford U2."
"Who can we afford?"
"Are you familiar with the funk stylings of...Freekbass?"
Earlier this month a few Purdue students conjured up a video that went viral entitled "Boobquake". They do Boobquake and we do this? Somewhere Jim Delany is laughing and re-thinking the wisdom of inviting Notre Dame to join the Big Ten.
Fr. Jenkins, we all have our moments of embarrassment associated with Notre Dame. Two of my friends once penned -- and sent- - a letter to a female high school basketball player from Iowa who appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" imploring her to attend our fine institution (she did not). Another buddy handed in a term paper that began, "Moses was a very historic man." I may (or may not) have appeared on the front page of The Observer taking a nap in the library as spittle dropped from my lip.
But we were young...and subsisting on a diet of Meisterbrau and Doritos. What's the administration's excuse?
I'd like to think that this is my alma mater's nadir. I'd like to think that. But then I imagine Digger Phelps dancing to this tune next season accompanied by two extremely uncomfortable cheerleaders and I realize that the worst is yet to come.
PS I wont link it. You'll have to find it yourself. I am not responsible. ABT
4/30/2010 11:49 AM ET By John Walters
John Walters
College Football Writer
To: Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame
From: John Walters, '88
Re: Ever Being Able to Wear ND Gear in Public Again
Dear Fr. Jenkins,
Hasn't the Class of 2010 suffered enough? Four straight losses to USC. Two home losses to Navy. The 3-9 season. A first-round NCAA tournament loss to Old Dominion (which, okay, if it were women's hoops, would not be so awful) before half the student body had even woken up that day. And now, just a week or so before graduation, this video, which we've also embedded later in this letter along with some other reviews of the thing.
There needs to be an investigation. Isn't this exactly what the NCAA means by the term "lack of institutional control"? I've watched many a disturbing video in the past decade (the Zapruder film, those Sarah McLachlan animal-cruelty ads, Miss Teen South Carolina's "U.S. Americans" response), but this tops them all. Or bottoms them.
Honestly, Padre, whither the self-inflicted wound? This is like a fragging incident without the live ammo. If I'm Lane Kiffin I open every press conference next season with this tune.
My editor sent me a link to this video on Friday morning, warning me that it was disturbing news related to Notre Dame. Before opening the link, I was a'feared the video might contain incriminating footage of a certain head coach with a certain former South Bend anchor woman. If only it had been that tame.
Fr. Jenkins, you're an alum. Please tell me this is a joke. Please tell me this is an hilarious outtake from The Keenan Revue and you thought it would be fun to release as a social media experiment. Please tell me you're deaf.
Losing at home to Syracuse...and Pitt..and UConn...and Air Force...and of course the aforementioned Midshipmen (twice!) the past three years provided more than enough "laughing-stock" fodder for the rest of the country. But this--this is like finding out that Charlie Weis stayed up late watching game film in a Snuggie (and I wouldn't put it past him).
I don't even want to get into the details: The pilfering of the bass line from Morris Day and the Time's "Jungle Love." The white rap interlude from someone who appears to be the president of the Notre Dame Young Republicans (I know, redundant). The Mike Golic and Brian Kelly cameos. When Appalachian State's promotional video is better than yours, that's just sad.
Seriously, how many verbal decommits will it take before Notre Dame disassociates itself from this unbearable whiteness of being? Even "Up With People" is laughing at this video. Suddenly "The Super Bowl Shuffle" doesn't seem so abominable. The Vatican just this morning released a statement that read, "We acknowledge, accept full blame and express the deepest remorse for decades of improper behavior regarding altar boys, but we had nothing to do with the Freakbass video."
The reviews are already shaking down like thunder:
"If ND can land Manti Te'o in a snowstorm, Irish recruiting can survive this."
--Bruce Feldman, ESPN.com
"If ND leaders had any hand in this, I take back any nice things I said about them in today's column."
--Andy Staples, SI.com
"I like Freekbass' early stuff, but he's just getting too commercial now."
--Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune
"You can tell that this is a Notre Dame music video because it has no hot girls, just a lot of cute ones."
--Dave Fink, Dillon Hall, '88
"Dear Dude who punched out Jimmy Clausen: I have another job for you. Holler back."
--Me
I'm trying to imagine the meeting in which this video got the green light.
"Let's do a music video to promote Notre Dame because, you know, we just never seem to get any attention."
"Great idea! Let's get U2. They're Irish. They're Catholic. And I've been watching ESPN lately and they seem to be into that whole football thing."
"I don't think we can afford U2."
"Who can we afford?"
"Are you familiar with the funk stylings of...Freekbass?"
Earlier this month a few Purdue students conjured up a video that went viral entitled "Boobquake". They do Boobquake and we do this? Somewhere Jim Delany is laughing and re-thinking the wisdom of inviting Notre Dame to join the Big Ten.
Fr. Jenkins, we all have our moments of embarrassment associated with Notre Dame. Two of my friends once penned -- and sent- - a letter to a female high school basketball player from Iowa who appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" imploring her to attend our fine institution (she did not). Another buddy handed in a term paper that began, "Moses was a very historic man." I may (or may not) have appeared on the front page of The Observer taking a nap in the library as spittle dropped from my lip.
But we were young...and subsisting on a diet of Meisterbrau and Doritos. What's the administration's excuse?
I'd like to think that this is my alma mater's nadir. I'd like to think that. But then I imagine Digger Phelps dancing to this tune next season accompanied by two extremely uncomfortable cheerleaders and I realize that the worst is yet to come.
PS I wont link it. You'll have to find it yourself. I am not responsible. ABT
Saturday, April 24, 2010
"Patrick Coughlin (#29) is a throwback to Don Hogan (#44)."
"...a senior accounting major named Patrick Coughlin was the second-leading rusher (75 yards, 11 carries)" in todays spring practice finale at ND, the Blue Gold game. I didn't recognise Coughlin's name. I guess he's a walk on, kind of a Rudy, only better.
The reference to Don Hogan was what made my heart stop for a second.
"Don Hogan, Notre Dame's leading rusher in 1962, has died according to an e-mail from the Irish's sports information department. Hogan gained 454 yards on 90 carries and scored three touchdowns that year, when Notre Dame went 5-5 under Joe Kuharich." Don Hogan passed away in 2007.
I was two years behind Mr Hogan at Saint Ignatius, a sophomore when he was a senior.
That was the season when Tony Carey and the Mount Carmel Caravan played Dick Butkis' CVS team for the city championship. and I lived in Mount Carmel's back yard, so Don didn't get a lot of recognition in my neighborhood, but he was a "living legend" in his Beverly neighborhood.
After his great sophomore season at ND, over the Christmas break, Don was in a car accident on the way home fron his girl friend's house. His sister was in the car with him, and was killed. Don's hips were so badly crushed in the wreck the initial prognosis was very bad "never walk again" kind of thing.
Of course he did rehabilitate himself and was determined to rejoin the Irish on the field, spending a lot of time the next year running the stadium steps, trying to regain his strength. It was spoken of in hushed terms my freshman year at ND, his obsessive determination. Sadly he was soon afflicted with severe arthritis and had to give up his hopes of returning to the team.
His senior year, he wrote a letter that tne new coach, Ara Parseghian read to the team the first day of practice. A gipper kind of message about the times, in games or practice, when players were fatigued or discouraged, asking that they think of him and of how much we would give to be able to be there with them. Parseghian and that team went nine and one, losing the last game of the season to USC, after having lost seven out of nine games the year before.
I knew Don had joined his father's company after graduation, and I didn't hear or think of him much after that, so seeing his name was almost like a ghostly apparition. I hope he had a good forty years and is in heaven today.
The reference to Don Hogan was what made my heart stop for a second.
"Don Hogan, Notre Dame's leading rusher in 1962, has died according to an e-mail from the Irish's sports information department. Hogan gained 454 yards on 90 carries and scored three touchdowns that year, when Notre Dame went 5-5 under Joe Kuharich." Don Hogan passed away in 2007.
I was two years behind Mr Hogan at Saint Ignatius, a sophomore when he was a senior.
That was the season when Tony Carey and the Mount Carmel Caravan played Dick Butkis' CVS team for the city championship. and I lived in Mount Carmel's back yard, so Don didn't get a lot of recognition in my neighborhood, but he was a "living legend" in his Beverly neighborhood.
After his great sophomore season at ND, over the Christmas break, Don was in a car accident on the way home fron his girl friend's house. His sister was in the car with him, and was killed. Don's hips were so badly crushed in the wreck the initial prognosis was very bad "never walk again" kind of thing.
Of course he did rehabilitate himself and was determined to rejoin the Irish on the field, spending a lot of time the next year running the stadium steps, trying to regain his strength. It was spoken of in hushed terms my freshman year at ND, his obsessive determination. Sadly he was soon afflicted with severe arthritis and had to give up his hopes of returning to the team.
His senior year, he wrote a letter that tne new coach, Ara Parseghian read to the team the first day of practice. A gipper kind of message about the times, in games or practice, when players were fatigued or discouraged, asking that they think of him and of how much we would give to be able to be there with them. Parseghian and that team went nine and one, losing the last game of the season to USC, after having lost seven out of nine games the year before.
I knew Don had joined his father's company after graduation, and I didn't hear or think of him much after that, so seeing his name was almost like a ghostly apparition. I hope he had a good forty years and is in heaven today.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
I was preoccupied this week with tax stuff,
but now in the calm of a beautiful Saturday evening, still happy about attending Malachy's first T-ball game earlier, I'm contemplating the big news of the last couple days with a sense of serene detachment, and wondering, is this what a black swan looks like?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Owen and POPPO
I baby-sat Owen at his home once or twice when he was at a young and impressionable age. Since I couldn't smoke at Stephie's house, I would take him outside and sit on the back porch or the front steps with him on my lap to have a cigarette. He was interested to be out of doors after dark, and observed me smoking closely. Somehow these occasions became one of his earliest learning experiences, but maybe he was too young to differentiate because the aspects of the situation merged into one.
POPPO to Owen was not just my name, it was the experience of going out for a smoke.
Now at two he's figured out that my cigarettes are generally in my shirt pocket and that he can reach the package when I pick him up. So now when we get together. he happily calls "poppo" "POPPO" "POPPO", until I lift him, and then his hands are in my pocket for my smokes. He extracts the flip top box and pulls out a cigarette which he hands to me then another which he keeps for himself. "Out" he says, "Later". I say, and usually he doesn't insist. But eventually, we get out into the yard. He usually just carries his cigarette around and doesn't mimic the motions of my smoking but occasionally exhales as if blowing smoke.
I think it's an interesting little ritual, and am glad we share it especially since imitation is the highest form of flattery. The rest of the family shows more forbearance than amusement. But now the problem is getting a little out of hand because Owen wants Janett to feed his habit when she visits without me, and not just at home but at the park and at the local malls. Aside from the mild embarrassment Janett feels at being in the company of such a young tobacco fiend, she generally resists being told what to do by a two year old. "POPPO POPPO POPPO" he cries, while Janett promises herself that she will cut back on the visits until Owen has grown through this stage.
And if you think I'm a bad person for allowing the child such liberties, let me say in my own defense that no matter how often he asks, I won't let him have my lighter.
POPPO to Owen was not just my name, it was the experience of going out for a smoke.
Now at two he's figured out that my cigarettes are generally in my shirt pocket and that he can reach the package when I pick him up. So now when we get together. he happily calls "poppo" "POPPO" "POPPO", until I lift him, and then his hands are in my pocket for my smokes. He extracts the flip top box and pulls out a cigarette which he hands to me then another which he keeps for himself. "Out" he says, "Later". I say, and usually he doesn't insist. But eventually, we get out into the yard. He usually just carries his cigarette around and doesn't mimic the motions of my smoking but occasionally exhales as if blowing smoke.
I think it's an interesting little ritual, and am glad we share it especially since imitation is the highest form of flattery. The rest of the family shows more forbearance than amusement. But now the problem is getting a little out of hand because Owen wants Janett to feed his habit when she visits without me, and not just at home but at the park and at the local malls. Aside from the mild embarrassment Janett feels at being in the company of such a young tobacco fiend, she generally resists being told what to do by a two year old. "POPPO POPPO POPPO" he cries, while Janett promises herself that she will cut back on the visits until Owen has grown through this stage.
And if you think I'm a bad person for allowing the child such liberties, let me say in my own defense that no matter how often he asks, I won't let him have my lighter.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
They're back.
It's been a long day and I'm tired, but wanted to give a little reconition to the courage and resolve of the Thai people in the face of corruption and opression. You could search this blog for "Thailand" to see previous updates on this struggle.
BANGKOK (AFP) – Bangkok was under a state of emergency on Thursday after anti-government protesters stormed the Thai parliament, but the demonstrators remained defiant and said they were ready for "war".
Lawmakers fled and several senior government figures were rescued by military helicopter after the red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra forced their way into the parliamentary compound briefly on Wednesday.
The protesters idolise ousted former premier Thaksin and tens of thousands of them have been rallying in the Thai capital for weeks, at one point splashing their own blood at key locations in a grisly show of defiance.
To contain the growing crisis, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva invoked emergency rule Wednesday, banning public gatherings of over five people and giving broad powers to police and military in Bangkok and surrounding areas.
"The state of emergency aims to resolve the situation and bring a return to normal," Abhisit told a nationally televised news conference.
The premier, who has cancelled a trip to the US for a nuclear security summit next week due to the unrest, said the mass rallies were unconstitutional and had tarnished the country's image, eroding investor confidence.
It is the fourth time since 2008 that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.
But thousands of protesters flouted the decree, waving flags and cheering as their leaders railed against Abhisit's government from their rally stage close to a clutch of luxury hotels and giant shopping malls.
"We have to prepare for another war. If the military comes you should not panic -- just stay put," Reds leader Veera Musikapong told protesters.
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have refused to leave the city's main commercial district, where they have been since Saturday, disrupting traffic and causing major stores to shut.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban urged people with relatives rallying in banned areas "to tell them to leave immediately," adding that authorities would provide transportation for demonstrators from outside Bangkok.
The United States Wednesday rebuked the protesters.
BANGKOK (AFP) – Bangkok was under a state of emergency on Thursday after anti-government protesters stormed the Thai parliament, but the demonstrators remained defiant and said they were ready for "war".
Lawmakers fled and several senior government figures were rescued by military helicopter after the red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra forced their way into the parliamentary compound briefly on Wednesday.
The protesters idolise ousted former premier Thaksin and tens of thousands of them have been rallying in the Thai capital for weeks, at one point splashing their own blood at key locations in a grisly show of defiance.
To contain the growing crisis, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva invoked emergency rule Wednesday, banning public gatherings of over five people and giving broad powers to police and military in Bangkok and surrounding areas.
"The state of emergency aims to resolve the situation and bring a return to normal," Abhisit told a nationally televised news conference.
The premier, who has cancelled a trip to the US for a nuclear security summit next week due to the unrest, said the mass rallies were unconstitutional and had tarnished the country's image, eroding investor confidence.
It is the fourth time since 2008 that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.
But thousands of protesters flouted the decree, waving flags and cheering as their leaders railed against Abhisit's government from their rally stage close to a clutch of luxury hotels and giant shopping malls.
"We have to prepare for another war. If the military comes you should not panic -- just stay put," Reds leader Veera Musikapong told protesters.
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have refused to leave the city's main commercial district, where they have been since Saturday, disrupting traffic and causing major stores to shut.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban urged people with relatives rallying in banned areas "to tell them to leave immediately," adding that authorities would provide transportation for demonstrators from outside Bangkok.
The United States Wednesday rebuked the protesters.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Redemptive Sacrifice
I went to Willow this afternoon for Easter service, although it seemed to me to be a little premature. Perhaps a good thing, because Easter morning we all celebrate the Resurrection, which demonstrated Jesus' power over death, and held the promise of resurrection for His followers. But on Saturday we have only to celebrate the crucifiction and death, something I never thought to do.
But His death, not His revival, was the redemptive act, and I think would have been sufficient even had He not returned in His transformed body to console and inspire His followers before ascending into heaven. Somehow, I'd come to think of it as a heartbreaking loss on friday with a big comeback win on Sunday. At this moment I'm feeling that Friday was the victory, and Sunday, while still worth celebrating, was not the most important day of the week.
This is new to me, and some have probably prayed over this already. Let me know if I'm missing something.
But His death, not His revival, was the redemptive act, and I think would have been sufficient even had He not returned in His transformed body to console and inspire His followers before ascending into heaven. Somehow, I'd come to think of it as a heartbreaking loss on friday with a big comeback win on Sunday. At this moment I'm feeling that Friday was the victory, and Sunday, while still worth celebrating, was not the most important day of the week.
This is new to me, and some have probably prayed over this already. Let me know if I'm missing something.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Bailouts
The Anglo Irish Bank of Dublin failed last year. The bank had lent a lot of money to builders in the boom early this century, contributing to successive years of 6% GDP growth, and references to Ireland as a Celtic Tiger. But of course, commercial property values have fallen now almost by half, and loans aren't being repaid, and the bank's gone bust. The government estimates cost of a bailout at 30 billion dollars. Hmmm, Ireland has 4 million people. That's $7,500 for every man woman and child in the country.
The quoted cost of the TARP to date is 306 billion dollars, with 513 having been loaned out and 207 having been repaid. The TARP money didnt include the bailouts of the mortgage giants Fannie May and Fredddie Mac which are estimated at another 126 billion. So, not including whatever shady deals the Fed is managing, bailouts of financial industry has cost $431 billion. The US populatiom is just over 300 million, so the per capita cost to date 1s $1,435.
Neither of these numbers include other stimulus or welfare costs.
Aren't you glad you're nor Irish?
I wonder how to compute the cost for Icelanders, since the government couldn't bail out the biggest banks and let them go into receivership. Four or five big banks there were paying close to 10%, drawing deposits from around the world to make risky loans. Of couse the loans went bad and the banks failed. The government deposit insurance was supposed to reimburse depositor losses in excess of $22,000, but just paying off foreign depositors would cost the men women and children of the population of 300,000 $16,000 each, a hefty sum considering the Icelanders have already had their savings wiped out by the bank failures. The Icelandic government has said it would try to pay off the foreign depositors when it is able, but doesn't sound very hopeful. Correct me if I'm wrong but I can't think of anything Icelanders have to sell except herring, and they have to import everything else.
Maybe they could organize an ad campaign like Chick-Filet, with the cows holding signs that say "Eat More Herring"
The quoted cost of the TARP to date is 306 billion dollars, with 513 having been loaned out and 207 having been repaid. The TARP money didnt include the bailouts of the mortgage giants Fannie May and Fredddie Mac which are estimated at another 126 billion. So, not including whatever shady deals the Fed is managing, bailouts of financial industry has cost $431 billion. The US populatiom is just over 300 million, so the per capita cost to date 1s $1,435.
Neither of these numbers include other stimulus or welfare costs.
Aren't you glad you're nor Irish?
I wonder how to compute the cost for Icelanders, since the government couldn't bail out the biggest banks and let them go into receivership. Four or five big banks there were paying close to 10%, drawing deposits from around the world to make risky loans. Of couse the loans went bad and the banks failed. The government deposit insurance was supposed to reimburse depositor losses in excess of $22,000, but just paying off foreign depositors would cost the men women and children of the population of 300,000 $16,000 each, a hefty sum considering the Icelanders have already had their savings wiped out by the bank failures. The Icelandic government has said it would try to pay off the foreign depositors when it is able, but doesn't sound very hopeful. Correct me if I'm wrong but I can't think of anything Icelanders have to sell except herring, and they have to import everything else.
Maybe they could organize an ad campaign like Chick-Filet, with the cows holding signs that say "Eat More Herring"
Monday, March 29, 2010
My belated St Patricks day story
My friend Louie called this evening and invited me to join him and his son Skip at the Elgin Public House. We haven't socialized much of late, and I was agreeable, and Janett gave her permission so I accepted the invitation. Janett "offered" to drop me off there so I wouldn't have to drive home, and gave me some cash and told me not to use my plastic money. She's been very careful in her oversight of me lately, especially about whether I've turned off the burner on the stove after preparing something, but I don't take offense.
Louie, as is the custom, was running a little late and so I was into my second Harps before he arrived, enjoying Monday night bar quiet, and a congenial lady bartender. Once they arrived Skip and I talked about the Oregon (his alma mater) Duck quarterback arrested for burglary who it appeared had been suspended for spring practice but would still be working out with the team, and possibly reinstated in the fall. Louie and I talked about business and how he was looking at a busy spring, thank goodness. Later we talked about his recent trip to Biloxi, Ms with Habitat for Humanity. and the gulf five years after.
Meanwhile, a working man sort of guy came in and sat down one seat away from me. He was the kind of fellow I always am interested in talking too and often enjoy. His soft southern accent and age identified him to me as one the Kentucky coal miners who'd migrated north in the sixties, and I asked him about possible mutual acquaintances, and sure enough he was acquainted with a few gents I'd known. But he was pretty drunk. so we didn't spend a lot of time talking, although when the conversation turned to Rye whiskey, an occasional interest of Louie's, I was thinking of standing a round for the four of us, but fortunately asked the waitress what a shot of rye went for. "Do you really want to know," she asked, "or should I just ring it up?" Turns out it was $8.65 each, so forbidden to use my plastic I had to demure, unembarrassed, since that was a stiff price in this neck of the woods.
Another fellow had occupied the seat between me and Tommy by then, a high school teacher named Tim who was wearing a nice peaked cap and a green tee shirt emblazoned with a Paddy day wish for the world. Tommy and I went out for a couple smoke breaks and compared our histories at local bars. but he was more seriously drunk each time.
So the third time we went out, after Skip had ordered a sandwich to go and we'd soon be leaving Tommy announced he'd better start walking towards home. I asked where he lived and he said by St Joe's. The church or the hospital? The hospital. Well, that's close to five miles. Maybe you should think of calling a cab. I would he said, but I'm $3 dollars short for the fare. I checked my ready cash and found a couple singles and a couple fives, so I had to give him a five. Then Tim walks out the door and asks are you ready? Tom stepping backward and falling to be seated in a big flower pot, says he is, and it becomes apparent Tim has committed to giving Tommy a lift home. So you won't be needing cab fare, I ask. "No" says Tommy, "but I have to stop and get a six pack on the way."
I went back into the bar and confessed how I'd been shorn, and Louie and Skip and the congenial bar tender and I all laughed. But I momentarily wondered if I should have given the drunk in the flower pot a bloody lip. Better not, I decided, and to chalk it up as a lesson in life and cheap at the price.
.
Louie, as is the custom, was running a little late and so I was into my second Harps before he arrived, enjoying Monday night bar quiet, and a congenial lady bartender. Once they arrived Skip and I talked about the Oregon (his alma mater) Duck quarterback arrested for burglary who it appeared had been suspended for spring practice but would still be working out with the team, and possibly reinstated in the fall. Louie and I talked about business and how he was looking at a busy spring, thank goodness. Later we talked about his recent trip to Biloxi, Ms with Habitat for Humanity. and the gulf five years after.
Meanwhile, a working man sort of guy came in and sat down one seat away from me. He was the kind of fellow I always am interested in talking too and often enjoy. His soft southern accent and age identified him to me as one the Kentucky coal miners who'd migrated north in the sixties, and I asked him about possible mutual acquaintances, and sure enough he was acquainted with a few gents I'd known. But he was pretty drunk. so we didn't spend a lot of time talking, although when the conversation turned to Rye whiskey, an occasional interest of Louie's, I was thinking of standing a round for the four of us, but fortunately asked the waitress what a shot of rye went for. "Do you really want to know," she asked, "or should I just ring it up?" Turns out it was $8.65 each, so forbidden to use my plastic I had to demure, unembarrassed, since that was a stiff price in this neck of the woods.
Another fellow had occupied the seat between me and Tommy by then, a high school teacher named Tim who was wearing a nice peaked cap and a green tee shirt emblazoned with a Paddy day wish for the world. Tommy and I went out for a couple smoke breaks and compared our histories at local bars. but he was more seriously drunk each time.
So the third time we went out, after Skip had ordered a sandwich to go and we'd soon be leaving Tommy announced he'd better start walking towards home. I asked where he lived and he said by St Joe's. The church or the hospital? The hospital. Well, that's close to five miles. Maybe you should think of calling a cab. I would he said, but I'm $3 dollars short for the fare. I checked my ready cash and found a couple singles and a couple fives, so I had to give him a five. Then Tim walks out the door and asks are you ready? Tom stepping backward and falling to be seated in a big flower pot, says he is, and it becomes apparent Tim has committed to giving Tommy a lift home. So you won't be needing cab fare, I ask. "No" says Tommy, "but I have to stop and get a six pack on the way."
I went back into the bar and confessed how I'd been shorn, and Louie and Skip and the congenial bar tender and I all laughed. But I momentarily wondered if I should have given the drunk in the flower pot a bloody lip. Better not, I decided, and to chalk it up as a lesson in life and cheap at the price.
.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Kelly's offense
First day of Spring Practice.
Heres the first couple of paragraphs of a pretty good write up of Coach Kelly's offensive perspective. See the whole article here
Spread and Pass, Brian Kelly's (Somewhat) New Irish Offense
by Anthony Pilcher Analyst Written on March 09, 2010
Frank Polich/Getty Images While the defense may be a bigger problem, one of the primary concerns for many Irish fans is the spread passing offense of new head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly makes no secret of his offensive goal, he wants to be aggressive and vertical, scoring on every possession. As such, he favors the pass over the run, operates heavily from the shotgun, and employs an up-tempo pace.
Some question the lack of a consistent, power running element while others worry about ball control. There are also concerns about the how a spread passing scheme will fare against good defensive competition and Kelly’s ability to fill the roster with elite talent at the skill positions.
Former head coach Charlie Weis’ recruiting record should be enough evidence to negate the last of these concerns, but the others may be valid. There are certainly negatives that come with Kelly’s offense, but many successful teams like Utah, Boise State, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida run versions of the spread, and excel doing it.
So what is a spread offense and how does Kelly’s particular brand work? Furthermore, what is the fundamental problem with his approach and is it compatible at Notre Dame?
What Is Kelly’s Spread Offense and How Does It Work?
At a fundamental level, the intent of a spread offense is to stretch the field horizontally with multiple wide receivers. This effectively accomplishes two goals. First, it makes crisp tackling in open space a commodity. And second, it forces defensive coordinators to use smaller, quicker personnel, and to empty the box in order to matchup on the outside. The result is an advantage for the offense on the interior. Defenses can’t overload the box and the offense has one-on-one blocking opportunities in the running game and in pass protection.
The guys over at NDNation asked Chris Brown of Smart Football to summarize Kelly’s flavor of the spread. True to form, Chris penned a solid synopsis. He makes some excellent points and the entire read is worth the time, but a few highlights are noted here with some additions of my own below.
Kelly’s offense is a “traditional” spread that, for the most part, maintains balance and doesn’t tilt too much towards the run (e.g. Michigan) or pass (e.g. Texas Tech).
The run game is simple, particularly without a running quarterback. There is a lot of zone blocking and Kelly’s approach is based on space and angles rather than power, but he does make frequent use of a lead blocker. Mostly, he utilizes inside and outside zone running plays, counters, and some power runs.
The concepts in the passing game are almost equally simple. Kelly prefers a vertical stem route tree aimed at getting upfield while giving the same initial post-snap motion. This accomplishes his goal of being aggressive, but also detracts from the ability of opposing defenses to read routes as they all appear similar through the first several steps.
Kelly also likes to use overloaded formations to isolate receivers on the backside. This generates favorable one-on-one matchups for players like wide receiver Michael Floyd or tight end Kyle Rudolph, or overloads the strongside of the field if the defense rolls the coverage to double the weakside receiver.
Heres the first couple of paragraphs of a pretty good write up of Coach Kelly's offensive perspective. See the whole article here
Spread and Pass, Brian Kelly's (Somewhat) New Irish Offense
by Anthony Pilcher Analyst Written on March 09, 2010
Frank Polich/Getty Images While the defense may be a bigger problem, one of the primary concerns for many Irish fans is the spread passing offense of new head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly makes no secret of his offensive goal, he wants to be aggressive and vertical, scoring on every possession. As such, he favors the pass over the run, operates heavily from the shotgun, and employs an up-tempo pace.
Some question the lack of a consistent, power running element while others worry about ball control. There are also concerns about the how a spread passing scheme will fare against good defensive competition and Kelly’s ability to fill the roster with elite talent at the skill positions.
Former head coach Charlie Weis’ recruiting record should be enough evidence to negate the last of these concerns, but the others may be valid. There are certainly negatives that come with Kelly’s offense, but many successful teams like Utah, Boise State, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida run versions of the spread, and excel doing it.
So what is a spread offense and how does Kelly’s particular brand work? Furthermore, what is the fundamental problem with his approach and is it compatible at Notre Dame?
What Is Kelly’s Spread Offense and How Does It Work?
At a fundamental level, the intent of a spread offense is to stretch the field horizontally with multiple wide receivers. This effectively accomplishes two goals. First, it makes crisp tackling in open space a commodity. And second, it forces defensive coordinators to use smaller, quicker personnel, and to empty the box in order to matchup on the outside. The result is an advantage for the offense on the interior. Defenses can’t overload the box and the offense has one-on-one blocking opportunities in the running game and in pass protection.
The guys over at NDNation asked Chris Brown of Smart Football to summarize Kelly’s flavor of the spread. True to form, Chris penned a solid synopsis. He makes some excellent points and the entire read is worth the time, but a few highlights are noted here with some additions of my own below.
Kelly’s offense is a “traditional” spread that, for the most part, maintains balance and doesn’t tilt too much towards the run (e.g. Michigan) or pass (e.g. Texas Tech).
The run game is simple, particularly without a running quarterback. There is a lot of zone blocking and Kelly’s approach is based on space and angles rather than power, but he does make frequent use of a lead blocker. Mostly, he utilizes inside and outside zone running plays, counters, and some power runs.
The concepts in the passing game are almost equally simple. Kelly prefers a vertical stem route tree aimed at getting upfield while giving the same initial post-snap motion. This accomplishes his goal of being aggressive, but also detracts from the ability of opposing defenses to read routes as they all appear similar through the first several steps.
Kelly also likes to use overloaded formations to isolate receivers on the backside. This generates favorable one-on-one matchups for players like wide receiver Michael Floyd or tight end Kyle Rudolph, or overloads the strongside of the field if the defense rolls the coverage to double the weakside receiver.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Oh, Boy. If it's not one thing its another.
Last year when I heard of diminished sun spot activity as a possible forecaster of cooling weather, I thought maybe that it was an unsubstantiated theory, possibly being promoted by the carbon fuel industries to dilute anxirty over global warming. But as time goes by, similar reports keep showing up in scientific journals. Maybe there's something to it. Here's a recent example, followed by another article addressing other causes of cyclical glaciation which the quoted scientists are presenting as possibly on our horizon. (From a personal perspective, I dont think it's fair that, as they postulate, we only get ten or twelve thosand years of warming, then a hundred thousand years of cooling. - But I'm glad Kim and Ross have established a familial outpost in the sunny southwest in case others in the family are driven to migrate in ten or twenty years as the Midwest becomes tundra.)
It’s the Sun, stupid!
By Willie Soon, solar and climate scientist
.
5 Mar 09 – (Excerpts) "The amount and distribution of solar energy that we receive varies as the Earth revolves around the Sun and also in response to changes in the Sun’s activity. Scientists have now been studying solar influences on climate for 5000 years.
"Chinese imperial astronomers kept detailed sunspot records. They noticed that more sunspots meant warmer weather on Earth. In 1801, the celebrated astronomer William Herschel noticed that when there were few spots, the price of wheat soared – because, he surmised, less “light and heat” from the Sun resulted in reduced harvests.
The price of wheat soared! As I've been sayingall along, I fear that
we'll be fighting in the streets for food long before we're covered by ice.
"Between 1645 and 1715, sunspots were very rare and temperatures were low. Then sunspot frequency grew until, between 1930 and 2000, the Sun was more active than at almost any time in the last 10,000 years. The oceans can cause up to several decades of delay before air temperatures respond fully to this solar “Grand Maximum.” Now that the Sun is becoming less active again, global temperatures have fallen for seven years.
More active than at almost any time in the last 10,000 years!
"We have known for nearly 80 years that small changes in solar activity can cause large climatic changes. Where sunlight falls, for how long, and with what effect, determine how climate will respond.
"The most recent scientific evidence shows that even small changes in solar radiation have a strong effect on Earth’s temperature and climate.
The second article:
See entire article by Gregory F. Fegel
http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/106922-earth_ice_age-0
(Most data) shows a strong correlation with the three astronomical cycles known as the Milankovich cycles. … (including) the tilt of the earth, which varies over a 41,000 year period; the shape of the earth’s orbit, which changes over a period of 100,000 years; and the Precession of the Equinoxes, also known as the earth’s ‘wobble’, which gradually rotates the direction of the earth’s axis over a period of 26,000 years. According to the Milankovich theory of Ice Age causation, these three astronomical cycles, each of which effects the amount of solar radiation which reaches the earth, act together to produce the cycle of cold Ice Age maximums and warm interglacials.
In 1976 the prestigious journal “Science” published a landmark paper by John Imbrie, James Hays, and Nicholas Shackleton entitled “Variations in the Earth's orbit: Pacemaker of the Ice Ages,” which described the correlation … between the climate data obtained from ocean sediment cores and the patterns of the astronomical Milankovich cycles.
Imbrie, Hays, and Shackleton wrote that "…the results indicate that the long-term trend over the next 20,000 years is towards extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation and cooler climate."
In 1999 the British journal “Nature” published the results of data derived from glacial ice cores collected at the Russia’s Vostok station in Antarctica during the 1990s. The Vostok ice core data includes a record of global atmospheric temperatures, atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases, and airborne particulates starting from 420,000 years ago and continuing through history up to our present time.
The graph of the Vostok ice core data shows that the Ice Age maximums and the warm interglacials occur within a regular cyclic pattern, the graph-line of which is similar to the rhythm of a heartbeat on an electrocardiogram tracing.
It’s the Sun, stupid!
By Willie Soon, solar and climate scientist
.
5 Mar 09 – (Excerpts) "The amount and distribution of solar energy that we receive varies as the Earth revolves around the Sun and also in response to changes in the Sun’s activity. Scientists have now been studying solar influences on climate for 5000 years.
"Chinese imperial astronomers kept detailed sunspot records. They noticed that more sunspots meant warmer weather on Earth. In 1801, the celebrated astronomer William Herschel noticed that when there were few spots, the price of wheat soared – because, he surmised, less “light and heat” from the Sun resulted in reduced harvests.
The price of wheat soared! As I've been sayingall along, I fear that
we'll be fighting in the streets for food long before we're covered by ice.
"Between 1645 and 1715, sunspots were very rare and temperatures were low. Then sunspot frequency grew until, between 1930 and 2000, the Sun was more active than at almost any time in the last 10,000 years. The oceans can cause up to several decades of delay before air temperatures respond fully to this solar “Grand Maximum.” Now that the Sun is becoming less active again, global temperatures have fallen for seven years.
More active than at almost any time in the last 10,000 years!
"We have known for nearly 80 years that small changes in solar activity can cause large climatic changes. Where sunlight falls, for how long, and with what effect, determine how climate will respond.
"The most recent scientific evidence shows that even small changes in solar radiation have a strong effect on Earth’s temperature and climate.
The second article:
See entire article by Gregory F. Fegel
http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/106922-earth_ice_age-0
(Most data) shows a strong correlation with the three astronomical cycles known as the Milankovich cycles. … (including) the tilt of the earth, which varies over a 41,000 year period; the shape of the earth’s orbit, which changes over a period of 100,000 years; and the Precession of the Equinoxes, also known as the earth’s ‘wobble’, which gradually rotates the direction of the earth’s axis over a period of 26,000 years. According to the Milankovich theory of Ice Age causation, these three astronomical cycles, each of which effects the amount of solar radiation which reaches the earth, act together to produce the cycle of cold Ice Age maximums and warm interglacials.
In 1976 the prestigious journal “Science” published a landmark paper by John Imbrie, James Hays, and Nicholas Shackleton entitled “Variations in the Earth's orbit: Pacemaker of the Ice Ages,” which described the correlation … between the climate data obtained from ocean sediment cores and the patterns of the astronomical Milankovich cycles.
Imbrie, Hays, and Shackleton wrote that "…the results indicate that the long-term trend over the next 20,000 years is towards extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation and cooler climate."
In 1999 the British journal “Nature” published the results of data derived from glacial ice cores collected at the Russia’s Vostok station in Antarctica during the 1990s. The Vostok ice core data includes a record of global atmospheric temperatures, atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases, and airborne particulates starting from 420,000 years ago and continuing through history up to our present time.
The graph of the Vostok ice core data shows that the Ice Age maximums and the warm interglacials occur within a regular cyclic pattern, the graph-line of which is similar to the rhythm of a heartbeat on an electrocardiogram tracing.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Three little words
I went to a link for a ND recruiting story in the South Bend Tribune, and on the right hand side of the page were listed headlines linked to other stories. One caption read "Girl's body found." It chilled me to read those words, even without knowing any of the facts of the story. Whatever singular tragedy was represented by those words, how many times must we see them repeated?
I googled the phrase, and here's the result: 3,730,000 for "girl's body found"
For the sake of comparison I tried a couple other phrases: 1,650,000 for "hope for the future".
557,000 for "Jesus loves you".
and 207,000 for "parents protect children"
Let's say a prayer for the children and their families, and a prayer of thankfulness that our own daughters have been safe and well.
I googled the phrase, and here's the result: 3,730,000 for "girl's body found"
For the sake of comparison I tried a couple other phrases: 1,650,000 for "hope for the future".
557,000 for "Jesus loves you".
and 207,000 for "parents protect children"
Let's say a prayer for the children and their families, and a prayer of thankfulness that our own daughters have been safe and well.
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