RockRaines

I just really happy we landed this guy's son:

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 03:25 PM) 2 reasons why that happened: 1) Beckman had no idea how to run a big boy program. He didn't have this vision, I personally think he knew he was in over his head from day 1. 2) The assistant budget was not nearly as big as it is now, Whitman not only provided vision but budget allowing the vision to become reality. Illinois dedicated itself to be close to the top of the Big Ten for it's assistant/staff pool. That should be a sound investment. Mike Thomas (former AD) did a lot of good things for the Athletic department, he modernized it, got rid of a lot of donor-only mentality, came up with good facility designs, etc. But he didn't have the personality or vision to sell to top coaches. Whitman so far seems to have it, we shall see when replacing Groce just how much he does outside of football but he's earned a lot of trust thus far. Illinois landing 0 4 stars is f***ing criminal. Next year they have to hit it big. Concentrate on the midwest kids who are usually targeted by MSU, Kentucky, etc and get those relationships. I honestly believe it can be done at Illinois.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 04:58 PM) They are quite literally going to destroy everything Business>environment for the next four years. Its going to be bad.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 04:06 PM) People I am associated with that travel to Europe on a regular basis believe that it is a real issue, especially in southern Europe (Italy and Greece). I have a friend that works in governmental security that tells everyone to avoid Europe at all cost and another that travels to Germany every other month for business that feels the same way. I am not certain if this is an over reaction on their part but they have been doing this travelling for the last 15 years. Those are all americans traveling there though right? My co-workers live in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Ireland. I got the impression they were less concerned than we are.

Also when I went to school in southern ohio, the weed was so much better there. Kentucky is a mecca

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 03:54 PM) Aren't you kind of worried that this would draw a lot of unnecessary attention to the program in regards to drug testing? Why? The NCAA drug tests the players and this kid was a high school recruit who signed with Florida. Nobody else was cited for possession but this kid. He's an idiot. On a personal note, I'd rather have kids that age smoking weed than drinking. Much safer and better for their health.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 03:39 PM) http://deadspin.com/football-prospect-cite...visi-1791882633 Yikes. Lakeland florida. Nuff said.

Best class of all time for my boys today, that avg star rating is incredible.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 02:46 PM) The ones in Europe. Remember the entire premise of his argument is that Europe and the United States are comparable, and that the US should wait 5 years to see how things shake out in Europe before we make a decision. Oh ok, I mustve missed that. My EMEA team hasnt seemed to be very worried about that stuff, but whatever.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 02:29 PM) Lovie has the money and smarts to have a dedicated recruiting staff, we never had a database of recruits (or it was very limited) and most of the data collection was done by the assistants. Now we have personnel doing the dirty work and coaches doing the evals, just a way better setup than before. It allows us to find those guys, recruits like Nate Hobbs that we just got, and then we have the HC to seal the deal. See thats asinine to me. How did nobody think of having a dedicated recruiting staff? Bama has like 20 people that do JUST that. Illinois has a lot of room for improvement in the evaluation process and I think thats the start of the return of the program.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 12:46 PM) And you are hung up on this idea that I'm afraid of terror attacks and that its "risky" to let them in lest we invite more attacks onto our shores. That's not really the point and never has been. Terror attacks are just symptoms of larger issue Muslim refugees have assimilating into the native culture, but because you dont really understand what assimilation is (the fact that you think it means they have to respect our laws actually made me LOL) having this discussion with you is worthless. It'd be like asking my dog how to fix something on my car. I'm not falling for it, and my refusal to insult my own intelligence and do battle with somebody who is literally clueless on the topic is not "running away from the argument". Like which attacks?

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 01:22 PM) Would you be offended if I implied that you were a member of the KKK? Can you quote the post that you are referring to?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 09:15 AM) Well that and Beckman just being an unmitigated disaster in all facets. Zook recruited a ton of talent to Illinois until the disastrous 2009 season. True, but even outside of some of the elite recruits Zook got, Illinois just hasnt made the correct targets a priority IMO. There are players in Ohio that are going to Mac schools or even kentucky that I think teams like illinois could land and they would be stars in the big ten. Beckman totally didnt even try.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 11:17 AM) Honestly, that is all I'm asking for. Consistently around 7-9 wins with the occasional great season of 10-11 and I'll be perfectly content. Looks like Illinois just landed another commitment too. Nate McNeal (Director of relations) is hinting at another one after Williams. I dont see why they cant. Recruiting has been awful and its not because of the school, its because of the wrong targets.

Malik Hooker has to have labrum and hernia surgeries. Maybe he will fall a bit in the draft.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 08:38 AM) Chris Johnston ‏@reporterchris 24m24 minutes ago More St. Louis, it should be noted, is dead last in team save percentage at .887 despite allowing the fourth fewest shots per game (27.6). If you bring Mike Yeo onto your staff you are about to get fired..

Hitchcock canned.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 06:42 AM) He actually made a choice that a normal Republican would make. I guess that when you need an established judge that the Senate will need to approve, you can't just nominate a Bannon inspired Leninist Nazi puppet. He replaced Scalia with a clone. Not shocking.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 07:03 AM) Because he's not cowering in fear of them because of their ethnicity or based on a stereotype. Doing so would be exactly where you logic would lead, yet you only are scared by certain groups. I'm more alarmed that Sqwert hates white males

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 08:17 AM) That sounds like a weird problem for an LED TV to have, and I'd be interested to hear what it ends up being. Yeah it is. A factory reset did nothing?

My family escaped Germany around WW1 to come to the US. At the same time they were fighting a war with each other. They were forced to buy War Bonds so they wouldnt be imprisoned for being "sympathizers." Their stories are horrifying and I can only imagine how much worse it has gotten over the years. I sympathize with anyone who wants to be an American and support this country.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 04:58 PM) I guess I'll be the one to say it, I don't disagree with us temporarily stopping and reassessing our vetting process. What I disagree with is how we went about it and how unsmooth and undiplomatic the entire process was. That said, the statement made by Rudy Guilani regarding his order, was terrifying. I mean, it takes 1.5 to 2 years to vet these guys, how much longer would you like it to take and how much more detailed? Its already hilariously hard for them to get here.

I'll add he has a huge opening/opportunity to grab some base and have some staying power if he can continue to grow the economy. If he does something that benefits the fiscal conservative base, that will go a long way.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 05:41 PM) The election flipped because of essentially 38,000 votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, that had they gone away from Trump, would have still given the election to Clinton. With the decided advantage of the FBI letter and Russian intervention, it was nevertheless a razor-thin margin, not to mention the 2.9 million spread in the popular vote. If you still think Trump would win again were another election to be held...well, good luck. If even 20-25% of those Republicans who voted Trump disagree with his core values of building the wall, immigration bans (when we're a 99.2% immigrant country, other than Native Americans), government intervention and regulation of trade (protectionism always leads to higher consumer prices and stifled innovation), persecution of all non-white non-Christian males, complete indifference about balancing the budget....it won't even be close. You're also not taking into account the many African-American (stung by the Clintons, loyal to Obama) and young people (Sanders) who sat this one out. Hispanic-Americans who watching a Cabinet without Representation among 22 posts for the first time in 30 years won't sit out, either, assuming Trump can't possibly win. In addition, the GOP had huge numbers of "late breakers" for reasons outlined above. And then you want to see MOST of the women in the U.S. engaged when they try to push through a Supreme Court justice who wants to reverse Roe v. Wade? This won't even last until 2018 at the rate egregious mistakes are being made on a daily basis. A lot if not all of those "flipped votes" are having serious buyers remorse right now. They didnt think he would do any of the crazy stuff he ran on as a platform and they wanted anyone but Hillary. Now that he is actually going through with his horrific xenophobic s*** he is going to be left with the alt-right and the uneducated, lower class base. Once they get f***ed by his economic staff and policies its going to be VERY easy for someone to beat him in 4 years. Well as long as its not a Clinton.