"The (bullet riddled) Vest"

I wanted to wait a bit before posting again, but I just could help talking about THIS

In some way, "I told you so" doesn't quite do it justice. Perhaps, "He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones"? Eh, I don't know, not quite. You know what does work? An old Japanese proverb, "The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour." Or, wait wait, I got another one by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "It takes less time to do the right thing than to explain why you did it wrong." You know where I got those last two quotes? Jim Tressel. (Pause)...(Smile)...You have got to be kidding me. I mean could it get any more terrible for one's reputation? Yes, actually it can, you can take your institutions reputation, throw it on the ground and burn it. Unfortunately for "The Vest" he did that too. And OSU is currently helping burn it's own reputation, so I don't feel one ounce of bad for them

Let me preface this with a small fun fact. I met Jim Tressel last winter during the recruiting of Seantrel Henderson in St. Paul. Coach Tress was at a local St. Paul establishment, Plums. Our staff was having a small lunch there and he was eating with his family (He's got family in the St. Paul area). He came over to our table after finding out who we were, and spoke for a while with us. He was cordial, he offered any of us younger coaches to come and coach at his camp, and dropped off this odd, kind of self serving informational card of himself and his career at OSU (which we all thought was weird). He knew all about the area and it's D3 football. He was very well put together and organized. Come to think about it, kind of like Tiger Woods was percieved prior to "hooker-gate". And, just like with Tiger Woods' reputation and career, it's all about to come tumbling down. He was able to get people to forget about being uncooperative with the NCAA while at Youngstown State. He swept the Maurice Clarett cheating scandal under the rug. He continued to preach "morality" and "doing the right thing". All the while staring down into the proverbial fire these "moral midwesterners" think the SEC and FSU, and USC, and Miami sit. On behalf of all those fans who really feel like saying it themselves, "Go Scratch"!

It takes some cajones, and perhaps more accurately losing touch with reality, to be as blatantly hypocritical as Coach Tress was last year...and for several years let's be honest. And let's blast OSU for a quick minute here. Their response is to suspend the coach for the first two games against Akron and Toledo...seriously? Oh wait, I forgot he gets fined $250K. He makes $3.5 million per year. That's a 7% pay cut. Is anyone laughing? Is this a joke? The players he tried to cover up for got 5 games by the NCAA and OSU thinks 2 games is appropriate? When asked if the coach may be fired the President of the University said, and I quote, "No, are you kidding me?" Gee said. "Let me be very clear. I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me."(espn.com, 2011). Way to take control Mr. Gee. Actually, thanks for the transparency for at least we now know who is running the show at OSU. Was there ever a doubt? The worst part was it was so light hearted, as if the question was invalid. Just disgusting. I can't stand the NCAA, but in this case I certainly can't wait for them to bring the hammer down on this charade.

As a Seminole, I've heard so many people over the years belittle their accomplishments. Sports Illustrated came out with a cover that included a FSU helmet and the title, "Tainted title" after the 1993 championship. That was regarding the story about several players getting free shoes from a local foot locker. It wasn't because the Head Football Coach knew, failed to act, lied, and covered up the whole story. When Coach Bowden got wins vacated while he was in the running for more wins than any D1 coach ever, it was because athletes from several sports cheated including football players. Coaches didn't know about it, and when they did they blew the whistle. I understand there are things out there that make that job EXTREMELY difficult, and often things happen out of your control that you need to take a whipping for. There are several underprivileged kids that feel they are invincible and look to get whatever they can. It's a tough situation, I get it. But guess what Valley? Allow me to piggy back on Colin Cowherd's assessment here, people who get paid $3.5 million a year are paid to manage difficult situations. they make that much money because of their ability to handle tough issues and make tough decisions. The oddest part is that Tressel didn't have a tough job to do in this case. Sure he risked losing players that were critical to his team's chances, and clearly Coach Tressel sold his soul, but all he had to do was take a trip over to compliance and inform them of the email he received from an attorney. Forward the email, and get that crap off your desk so you can continue coaching football. This is an explosion, and finally the masses know what I've known for a while: Screw your waspy institutional attitudes, they're all cheating. As a former athlete at the aforementioned Florida State University, I've seen the type of training and teaching that goes on to make sure administrators, tutors and athletes are all in compliance, but as recent as 3 years ago they were all cheating in classes. Poop happens, but when your head man is the source of the cheating, you better be ready to take the lashes. OSU, get ready for your lashes, because they are coming, you can bet that token penalty handed down won't stand.

I don't know the man past a small talk conversation, but I know this. He had the information and he lied. He did the wrong thing and now will find out EXACTLY what Longfellow meant, Rather than forward the quote to whoever helps him write his "comeback" book I suggest he internalizes his favorite quote and asks himself if there's any chance AT ALL that Yahoo! Sports could come and throw his nonsense out on the public street.

Valley, I'm done with that but had to get it off my vest...excuse me, chest :) On a brighter and cooler note I have a sweet video and story about a D3 hooper from Illinois College. He made a video to try and get into the NCAA Dunk Contest this year. His name is Jacob Tucker, and if you haven't heard about this youtube sensation, you have now. A couple more fact about this dude...he's white, 5'11", and has a 50 inch vertical jump.......yeah 50.

And lastly, like I promised last time, I'll share with you another Chicago Gem for food. it is D'agostinos Pizza. There are three of them around the city and it is very good pizza. lots of other food as well but the thincrust pizza is my favorite...EXCEPT FOR the "Cookie in a bowl" It is a giant chocolate chip cookie that you microwave for 90 seconds. Then put the ice cream they give you on top and pour the fudge and caramel sauce on top of that. It is about 1500 calories of absolute heaven!!

http://ogden.dagsdelivers.com/zgrid/themes/753/intro/index.jsp Yum!!

Out like that busted ass VEST

McQuillan

March on

Daps and hugs Valley, I hope all is awesome where you're at. It's March, and that means madness. College hoops, snow melting, and apparently union workers and their employers not getting along. I just want to start this whole thing off by pointing out that I have opinions, like everyone else. You may or may not agree with my opinions, but I always try to figure out the crux of the issue before having an opinion. You may say to yourself, "Yeah, I do that too", and I would say if you're ever any of the people I see posting comments on pages all over sports, news, and Facebook pages, you generally DO NOT. I hope and believe that the fine men and women that read this page are part of the 1% of people who are reasonable and logical, but in the end I know that's not the case since 99% of the people do not embrace those ideas. Where did I come up with that ratio? No need to worry about it, as a reasonable, logical fella, that always tries to make sure things are right, I had a talk with my good buddy Scott and we figured it out. Forget about it, the numbers are accurate. Let's move on.

I've heard a few times in the past couple weeks an argument trying to belittle the NFL Players union while defending teacher's unions due to the ongoing labor unrest in Wisconsin and in the NFL. At first I didn't really understand the turmoil in WI, I figured, "Okay, more teachers going on strike because they're mad about their pay and what not". Then I started reading and understanding and (here's the big one) applying what I understand to the way I interpret the real world. I feel that is fair, it's how I come to opinions. It's logical. It's not which way the Democrats think or along the line of the Republican philosophy. It's not rich or poor, big market small market, it's FRICKEN reasonable! And here's my reasonable and logical response regarding unions:

NFL union = good. Teachers unions = bad. Now I'll explain my thoughts. I have a lot of teacher friends, my mother is a retired high school teacher, my father is a college professor, and I value education a lot. Check that, I value good education. Oh yeah, and I voted for Obama. However, collectively bargaining for the taxpayer's money is not comparable to collectively bargaining because you are the product. The NFL players are directly responsible for generating NFL's revenue. Teachers unions collectively bargain for taxpayer money. And not just in salaries, the biggest costs are pensions and benefits. In many cases much better benefits and pensions than the average taxpayer. A buddy of mine told me that the average teacher in his district makes $60K. That's a pretty good living for working 9 months of the year. Yet, they threaten to walk out on the kids, the reason they do what they do, the future of our country because they can't squeeze their already broke state out of every benefit possible.

I tell you what, I'm all for doubling the salaries of teachers, good teachers. I would LOVE that as long as we got to fire the bad ones like every other job most every one of us works. Our education system is not even close to the best in the world right now, and I would be 100% for rewarding the teachers that helped pick us back up. It's called production. Instead of worrying about where to send crappy teachers where they can just sit around all day and not screw any kids up, we could focus on finding teachers to kick ass. But, even doubling salaries wouldn't put them on the same scale as the average NFL football player, I understand that. But, these NFL careers we're talking about average 3.5 years, contracts don't even need to be fully honored, and they ARE the best in the world at what they do. Their bosses are not states with budget deficits, their bosses are billionaires. A union is necessary and fair when trying to bargain for the money they earned, literally.

People, there is little to compare. They are completely different animals. One job is much more important to our country's fabric and perhaps teachers are underpaid, but that's in part because of all the crap they're pulling along and paying because of the union. Lastly, let's remember why the players in the NFL get paid so much...because we pay them. Not with our tax money, but by choice with our hard earned money. We choose to buy merchandise, tickets, and nachos at the game. We could solve this real quick. Everybody put their money in savings and stop going to games. if nobody filled the stadiums they wouldn't be paid very much, that I promise. AND, everyone would have less to bitch about because they would have saved a lot more money. how does that sound?

From a business perspective I'll now explain why the NFL would be idiots to lock out the players. Today's consumer has a lot of choices, more choices than ever before from a sports and recreation standpoint. They do not want to lose their seat on the throne, but their unwillingness to be transparent shows a lack of good faith in their negotiations. Then we find out how they've been planning this for the last 2 years all the while extorting TV networks for a "war chest" of money to protect against lost revenue during work stoppage...the work stoppage provision. Thank God for Judge Doty and his 8th Circuit ruling the the case and that matters of NFL CBA fall under his jurisdiction. That ruling a couple days back finding that the league did not act in good faith may pave the way to an agreement. For all of those whining about millionaires wanting more money, take some time to understand what you're yapping about. The players are going to take a large pay cut. Under the recently expired CBA the players were getting approx 60% of the total revenue, and in the owners most recent proposal they offered 42% to the players. You'd be angry too if you were asked to take a pay cut of close to 20%. Then you found out that your bosses were making more money than any professional sport organization in the country. It is a lot different than walking out of your job because you can't bargain for better benefits and packages than the people paying for them...the same people and state with a multi-billion dollar deficit.

Come on, let's be reasonable. And for all those teachers out there teaching, do work. You only get 9 months a year in this country to do it, so make it count PLEASE!

NFL, you guys make a lot of money to play a sweet game. I know there are a lot of serious issues to work through, but just do it and play so people can keep wasting their money on your jerseys.

And for my newest addition to the blog I'm going to add places I'm going to eat or have eaten recently. Since I live in Chicago, one of the best restaurant cities in the country, I feel a sense of duty. Tonight, I'm going on a date with my hunny to:

http://www.mercaditorestaurants.com/chicago/index.php

Out like me on the town...

McQuillan

Be My Valentine!!

Well hello Valley! I'm so in love to be back with you all on this gorgeous 37 degree AND partly sunny Chicago day! It's the softest, most mushy, completely orchestrated love day of the year...lets celebrate! So, in that spirit, let me orchestrate something halfway as awesome as that big kiss you'll get after you hand her that heart shaped candy box tonight...

1. I love that St. Patty's day is less than a month away. Do I really need to elaborate on this? I live in Chicago, it is arguably the baddest St. Patty's day celebration (weekend before) in the world, I'm Irish (among other things), and I get to join the Maxim's party downtown in the loop with some of the coolest people around.

2. I love that Florida State had the #1 recruiting class in the nation this year. Of course it is subjective, and it doesn't necessarily mean those top ranked kids will translate, pass their classes, or stay out of jail, but it a sign. It's a sign that FSU is getting back to where it should be...the top. In all I've read about the program since Coach Bowden, I've been impressed. For as much as we Seminoles love Coach Bowden and what he did at FSU, the fact is he lost his ability to run a successful program. Or, at the very least, he couldn't figure out how to keep his program evolving with the times. He didn't coordinate, he didn't hire quality coordinators when he lost others, and he lost his elite status as a recruiter. Add the continuous off field issues, including the academic cheating scandal that led him to lose several wins from his record, and it was time to go. Seminole fans are spoiled, I get it. We've never really struggled from the time FSU hit the big time. This was the first rough patch, and I believe the 10 win season mixed with the #1 recruiting class shows that the 'Noles are back on the warpath. We shall certainly see just how far they've come early next year as the Sooners head over to Tallahassee for a little rematch from 2010's disaster. Go 'Noles!

3. I love red wine, a lot. XOXO

4. I love that I don't have food poisoning today, because yesterday I certainly did. For those that have had it, it's 24 hours of misery. A good piece of advice I got is to drink water one drink at a time so you can keep it down. Too much at once means you're fixin' to see that water again soon on the way back up. But you know, at one point yesterday I was laying on the couch and I was thinking, what if I had to actually do something active today? I mean, I did walk to the grocery and back, but I mean actually active. I was thinking specifically like Game 5 of the NBA finals. You owe it to yourself to watch this video, I don't care how many times you've seen the highlights. Most that know me would agree that I'm about as competitive as they come, but then I watch this, and my lord. A guy with all the talent is special, we see a lot of them. But you add the mental toughness and the heart that MJ had, and it is nothing but inspiring to watch and remember...

5. I love that The NFL and the NFLPA negotiate so effectively...or, actually I meant I don't love that. The NFL just filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today asserting that the NFLPA is stalling and not trying to reach a deal so it can decertify as a union and file an antitrust lawsuit. Okay, I get it, finding legal loopholes to get everything you can. And if you're a nobody, with no money and nothing to lose, I may even agree with that tactic. The problem here is that there is a solution. There are approx 9 billion in revenues each year in the NFL. There enough wiggle room there to get a damn deal done. Each side have exhibited major flaws, in my opinion. While I do not like DeMaurice Smith as a leader for the Union, I do think he has the most valid argument. He has said the players are willing to negotiate and give if it is needed to help the league, and has asked to see the NFL owners' financial books. Transparency seems to be a term en vogue these days with our country's recent economic issues. I think it's fair to ask to see that. The problem is if those records become public and we all see how much money those billionaire owners are trying to hoard, they lose big time in the court of public opinion, and lose leverage in negotiations. Either way, if all of this is posturing to get the best deal on each side, I'm fine with that. But the outlook is getting worse and worse even from some of the more optimistic media outlets. It would be an absolute ridiculous blunder to not come to an agreement.

6. Lastly, I love that I get to spend this Valentine's day with my beautiful girlfriend Adrienne. it is going to be a splendid dinner at our place tonight. I don't mean to rub it in for those of you that are feeling the relationship blues, so I have some love to pass to you too. And this is something you could probably use to woo your next would be lover, so listen up. It's called pulled pork. And, below is the easiest recipe on earth:

-2 lb pork tenderloin

-12 oz bottle of root beer

-18 oz bottle of your favorite bbq sauce.

*Put the pork in the slow cooker, pour the root beer over the pork, and turn the cooker to low. Cook 6 hours, strain, and pull the pork apart, it should just fall a part. add the bbq sauce and put back in the cooker on low for about an hour...taste test until you're in love with it, put it on a bun, eat it with some coleslaw, or just use it as finger food, it's all good.

And now, I'll leave you with this youtube beauty, Happy Valentine's Day, Valley!

Love,

McQuillan

Back like Jordan wearing the 4-5...

Valley. Let me take this opportunity to say that my 2 year(ish) hiatus is over. I don't have any excuses other than the usual: I was busy, writers block, my dog died (I don't have a dog, but Michael Vick did). But in the end actually the beginning, I've come back. I've moved back to Chicago with a new resume and some new ammo ready to get into all kinds of mess. I'm Currently working to find a spot to call my job, collecting wine, and hoping Adrienne decides where to put the artwork around the apartment because I'm sick of it sitting on the floor! Things are good and only getting better. I'm going to get back to the roots and talk about the sports we love and how it/they make me feel.

All me to reintroduce my self my name is McQuillan.....

Gimme some love Valley, holler at you soon....

Reporting the facts...well, my facts...

Tommie Update:
UST is 1-0 as we opened our season with a 54-14 win over Macalester. Now, this is not a gauge of much as Macalester is not looking to have a strong season. But, man was it nice to get out there and beat up on someone other than ourselves. We had great special teams, including 2 punt returns for TD's in the first quarter. We put some drives together on offense, but all in all it was a bit sloppy. Nice to get that game out of our system, and of course, get a win. We had a bye last weekend, but this weekend we crank it up again with our home opener against St. Olaf. Olaf look pretty tough, and return some good players. They did have to travel out west to Washington for a game last week, so that may be an advantage for us. We had the week off, which was an advantage from a preparation standpoint, but it's also nice to get game action under your belt. We will see how we handle it all come Saturday. We did lose one of our starting inside LB's with a broken leg, so that will hurt, but we have depth and some studs to jump in there and take care of business. Other than that, we are pretty darn healthy and looking forward to Saturday. As of today we are nationally ranked #18 in Division 3. It's not something we really look at, since we haven't really done much yet, but we could be in the midst of a special season, so if you're in the Twin Cities metro area, come swing by for a game. Should be a great atmosphere out there Saturday, treat yourself to some college football and Go Toms!!

Florida State:
Well, I don't have much to say about this. If you wanted to compare my current relationship with FSU, this similie would suffice:

My relationship with FSU is like when you're fighting with a sibling. You feel like you really hate them and you want to sabotage anything cool they have around the house, or anything with any of his/her friends. You kind of feel like you want to put Vaseline around the toilet seat right before they sit down, or perhaps the rubber band around the kitchen sink hose, trick. You could end up making mom a bit mad with either of these, but but you know what I'm saying. BUT, in the end, you know you love them, and that you would defend them no matter what. Like, you can say stuff about your sister, but don't let you catch someone else saying some mess about her.....

I hope that made sense, because I'm frustrated with my Seminoles. They had offense for the first time in 5 years, and all of a sudden, no defense. What?? A Florida State team with no pass rush or a complete inability to cover anyone running down the field? I think one point illustrates the problems FSU may have on D this year: At one point, I looked on the field and there is a white dude starting at Defensive End, for Florida State, D-End U. I'm not racist against white people, after all...I am one. I just understand that if you're playing D-End at FSU, you are not usually white, and it has a bit to do with freakish athletic skills. We don't have those that much. And if we did, there would have been more than 1 white D-End at FSU in the last 20 years.....
Along with the normal choke against Miami, in another awfully exciting debacle, I just decided that I'm fighting with them. And I haven't even gotten to the AWFUL display they put on against D-1AA Jacksonville State last weekend. Good gracious, I'm done talking about this. FSU and I are fighting, that's all you have to know. We'll get over it together, i'm sure, like right after they pound on the Mormons out at BYU this weekend..................

NFL
So, as a football coach, my Sunday's are kind of full. No more NFL for the most part for me. That's kind of a bummer, but after watching my Fantasy team score 29 points for me, while 4 starters on my bench combined for 66....I think I'm pretty much over it. Or, I'm fighting with the NFL too, while I'm in that mood, haha.

One thing that is awesome about yesterday was that run that Adrian Peterson had against the Browns. I don't have much to say, except watch this freak-a-zoid manhandle people while he's running a 4.3 down the sideline.




...Oh yeah, he's not white either, FYI. I mean seriously, he stiff armed or threw 3 different dudes off of him while running a 70 yard TD. All the dudes on the field are PROS!!!! I mean this dude is a superfreak...superfreak! On that note....



Haha, love it!

Can you believe it?? I talked about the Vikings and not about Brett Favre yet?? Yeah, and before I do, I'm going to talk about my main man Darius Reynaud. I love this football player. I loved him at West Virginia, I loved it when we signed him, and I loved it when we didn't cut him. I think he is a GREAT extra WR to have. He is a super athlete even though short in stature at about 5'9. He was a great special teamer and he's doing that now for us too. I mean this is a guy who is great for about every team, and I'm stoked we have him and that he's finally our Starting pun returner. I hope we can get him on the field elsewhere too. Love him.

Sincerely,
Darius Reynaud's #1 fan

Okay, it was nice to see Favre get a bit of rhythm as well, and Percy Harvin is a stud. I think it could be a good season for the Vikes, I will look forward to seeing highlights....until after the Tommies win a National Title in approx. mid December, ah thank you.

Other tidbits:
-Brian Urlacher out for the season...I hate to see a guy go down, no matter what team he plays for. But I sure do dislike the Chicago Bears. I'm not unhappy that their season has taken a turn for poo, but I wish Urlacher a speedy and full recovery. Like how I walked the line there???

-Gophers opened up their new, very awesome, stadium....with TERRIBLE uniforms, and an ugly display of football. Granted Air Force will do that to you, but they were not very good and I have a feeling that squeaking by Syracuse and Air Force is a sign of rough times to come. Starting this weekend when Cal comes to town...yikes. I hope for great things from them, but I'm skeptical at best, currently.

-I'm watching the Bills/Patriots game right now and I LOVE the throwbacks, now that's how you wear a uniform!!

-Had a good time wishing Erik Ferden, aka "Big Perm" a happy birthday this weekend. Erik, I hope your year of 32 is totally groovy...

-I recently found out my sister was spending time at the US Open Tennis Tournament, then went right to the Hamptons, and then took a trip out to Vegas 3 days later....I didn't do any of that.

-As of today I am again a college student. As of my first financial aid refund, I will again have a meal plan at the caf...bet that up.

-I met a girl recently, she is awesome, and that is awesome, will update at a later date.

-How in the world did my blog jump up like 8,000+ hits since my last entry??? Way to crank it Valley!!! I still thinking something fishy is going on, but keep pumping up the volume Valley, I love it!

-I know the posts are getting a little less often, but I'm literally at work 13-15 hours a day so I apologize guys, If you guys have any ideas, or thoughts, feel free to let me know, like always.

Talk to you fools later, and remember: The KValley Report, where trouble melts like lemon drops.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there's a Valley that I've heard of, once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, sky's are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. Someday I'll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are for behind me...."

Out like Da Bears...
McQuillan

What time is is? GAME TIME!!!

Valley, I know it has been way too long AGAIN since we've crossed paths, but for the last two weeks I've been putting in 15 hour days and some sleep overs in the dorms getting our boys ready to whip some butt. Tomorrow is our Macalester walk through and on Saturday we head up the street to Mac for our first game. This post will be dedicated to The UST football team and the upcoming college football season in general. Thank the Heavens that football is back!!!

We've received some preseason love in a few of the D3 polls, and now it's time we prove that we are worthy. I'm very excited to be back to work on college football Saturdays. Granted I do still wish I could play, this is a close second. Feel free to keep up with us at: http://www.tommiesports.com/ftbl/

You can find our schedule and updates on how the season is going and you will in turn see what I'm doing with my time. Come by for a game, i promise you won't be upset. It's a great college environment and a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. And an additional note, right behind the field is the construction of a brand new $56 million dollar athletic building. Yep, $56 million. It will be the premier Division 3 complex ever built. The specs of this thing are outrageous. Our new football locker room will be approx 5,000 sq. ft., the weight room is approx 10,000 sq. ft., new pool, track, basketball arena, coaches offices...etc. I mean this thing is "baller" status, for real. I look forward to seeing everyone on campus at some games!!

WINONA STATE:
A big shot out to WSU football!! They had a huge win last Thursday at home against #10 Carson Newman out of TN. We were in camp so I couldn't make the game, but we watched the play by play online.

Why didn't we watch the streaming video, you ask? Well let me make this a formal declaration of HATE for Penn Atlantic's streaming video operation. The NSIC conference is probably to blame for this, but give me a break. The Website is so bad, that we could never get into the game to watch it. You can't tell me that so many people were trying to watch a WSU football game that they used up all the bandwidth they had. What a pathetic product. I'm upset as a fan and an alumni. It should be very important to WSU for people to be able to watch this. This game and the atmosphere there would have attracted people's attention all year. It was a great win for them and a great scene. But instead lots of people didn't get to watch and now will have plenty of games to choose from during their Saturdays this fall, and may not have done a good enough job of attracting the people who don't live near Winona to tune in. Bad bad stuff. Most colleges have their own streaming video software to stream all their sports, and make it effective. This was pathetic.

But, Awesome win for those guys. Big shot out to the guys who I kicked it with down at the camp last month, and big Shot to my boys Bruce Carpenter, Carson Walch, and the staff down there for coaching them boys up. Awesome stuff.

FLORIDA STATE
Many of you know my affiliation with FSU, I love them, always have...well, since 1985. The girls at the top of the page, certainly bring a smile to most normal dude's faces. I transferred there to play football, however, the cuties were just a perk (Big shot out to Sister and Delta Delta Delta!!!). I made the team, practiced and played in a couple spring games, I never played when it counted. There were a few things that got in my way, but I certainly did work when the opportunity arose...here's proof. Anyone recognize any of those names in that article? or perhaps the chubby kicker in the photo? Haha, Nostalgia and I are going to have a moment..........ok, thanks.............So, there is my affiliation with FSU and an explanation of why I have so much love for them. In years recent, things have trended stinky for FSU football, at least according to our standards. I'm not sure they can rebound to the glory years of late 80's and 90's, but they need to improve. I think this year will be a step in the right direction.

FSU opens up Monday night, Labor day at home against hated rival Miami. I think FSU will give them the business actually, but that's not saying much, i think Miami will struggle again. FSU will run the ball a lot and well all year. I really don't know what the season has in store, but I know they have a murderous schedule. That's what I love about FSU, they never shy away from anyone. Always playing both Miami and Florida and Always throwing in tough other non-conference games. This year they scheduled games at home against South Florida and at #20 BYU. If I had to guess I would guess 8-4, but I'm hoping for 10-2 If they can get to 10-2 with that schedule they will be looking at a BCS bowl. We shall see. They return a great O-line, their QB is back with a young stud behind him. I'm interested to see how my Seminoles will do this year. For a little history of the Seminole name at FSU, read below

...

Osceola and Renegade

In 1978, FSU embarked upon a new tradition — one that had the full endorsement of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. A Seminole warrior riding a horse, to become known as Osceola and Renegade, was introduced at FSU home football games, and soon became one of the most enduring and beloved symbols of the university.

In the early 1990s, activists began to show up at FSU football games to protest the use of the Seminole name. Blistering speeches were given. Several times, the debate became heated. An Oklahoma Seminole Indian, Mike Haney, began to make frequent statements threatening to file human-rights complaints against FSU if it did not discontinue the use of the Seminole name and imagery. Throughout these attacks, the Seminole Tribe of Florida remained supportive of FSU and its use of the Seminole name and images. Later, Chief Jerry Haney of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma added his support to FSU as well.

...

Go scratch Oklahoma Seminole, Tallahassee is Seminole Country!!!! Oh yeah, and NCAA, you can go up the creek too. Come try to take the name away again...chumps. "F-L-O-R-I-D-A S-T-A-T-E...Florida State, Florida State, Florida State...Woooooooo!

IN CLOSING:
Obviously, I'm pumped that football season has started. I moved here to get back into the game I loved so much. Saturday afternoon, all the time I spent trying to get to this point will just evaporate within the smell of concession stands, sweat, field turf and that sweet new football smell!! I can't wait. Enjoy the best time of the year Valley, and I'll be talking to you soon with updates and more!!

Out like Preseason Camp...bring on the games!
Coach McQuillan

Speed Dating Vol. 2

Sorry for the delay, things are getting a bit busy as football season begins to get cranked up over at UST, Go Tommies!! But I do have the conclusion to our speed dating Q & A with our great friends Dave and Ryan. So please, enjoy.

Highlights of dates (From Dave):
One thing you will realize real quick from date to date is that you are constantly saying the same thing. It's a lot of that fake, small talk conversation. Where you from, what do you do etc. I would say all 9 dates that I went on were pretty much the same thing. However, two of the dates stood out more than others.....

1. It was date 4 or 5 for me and the usual small talk was in full force. Back and forth questions etc. I just happened to notice though, while I was talking she was drawing/doodling! Yes, she was using the piece of paper we were suppose to use to mark "yes or no" for balloon drawings. She was drawing balloons. Honestly, in the middle of this date I was thinking in my head "this can't be happening" am I that boring? So my thought of this girl was that she sucks. Of course, right when I start to think that, she blindsides me with this question. "My friends and I just started watching this new show called "Dexter", have you seen it?" Little did she know that Dexter currently ranks #1 in my list of Top Shows. My roommates and I have spent countless nights watching Dexter and imitating a lot of his actions! So, needless to say I was excited and talked the rest of the time about how awesome that show was. At the end of the day I still checked "NO" for two reasons. 1 She went to Ohio State and I HATE OHIO STATE. I am a HUGE Michigan fan so immediately she is out. 2. I couldn't get over the balloon issue......

2. This was my last date. I knew this date wasn't going to be fun when I asked the girl where she worked. Here is how the conversation went

Dave engaging in small talk "So where do you work?"
I forgot her name so we will call her Mollie "I work at a marketing company in Scottsdale"
Dave: "Cool, What company?"
Mollie: "I can't tell you that, you might be a stalker"
Dave: "Oh, ok??"

I was completely caught off guard. I never thought I put out that stalker vibe so this caught me by surprise. She went on to say that she didn't even want to be there and her friends dragged her out! After hearing all of this I didn't even know what to say because she was pissed off at life.

About a minute later the head of the speed dating event came around and wanted to take our picture and she immediately said "NO". In fact it was very rude and the guy didn't know what to say. (I actually wanted to take a picture so he could put that up on the website). Overall, this girl was cold. She was the worse date I had (the Dexter girl scored higher just because she likes Dexter).

On a side note, during Ryan's speed date with "Mollie" he gave her a high five!! I saw it!!!

Summary (From Ryan):
All in all, I'd say that speed dating was probably worth the $40....but just barely, and only because it was a new experience and because I was able to go with a trusted KV comrade. There just wasn't a lot of talent there for us to get too excited about. I'm always down for meeting new people and trying new things, so that was reason enough for us to go, but I doubt that I'd ever do it again.

Recommendation:
I would definitely recommend doing it at least once for everyone. After that, you can make your own call. Some people, like most of the other guys that were there, are looking for hard-core love, and, for them, I say "crank it up, dudes". I mean, honestly, Dave was SOOOO much hotter than every single girl there, that we immediately knew that he would not find any of them worth a second look. Not that looks are everything, but they're definitely something, right???

Closing:
There is a little more to this story. After we left the event, we knew that we were going to get a call from the moderator to tell us who we matched up with. The problem with that was that neither Dave nor I indicated that we were interested in any of the girls, so we weren't expecting a call at all. But, the moderator, who also happened to be the owner of the whole enterprise, called both of us to confirm that we didn't have any interest in anyone!!! I assured him that yes, that was correct. I then asked him if he could tell us how many people were interested in us, and, if so, who were they? He said to me "Oooooh, boy....you and Dave were popular guys!" And, although, he wasn't supposed to tell me this, he paged through the girls' evaluations, and he counted 6 girls that were interested in me, and he said that at least that number were interested in Dave. Yikes!

In conclusion, I just want to say that all the girls there were fine, personality-wise. They all were nice people. Some were, in fact, very interesting and were very good conversationalists. I wanted to say that because I feel bad about talking about their physical appearances like I did earlier!

God bless you, Matt Juaire. And God bless the Valley!

Ryan "Mr. Latenight" Peterson
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Boys, Thank you very much for participating. This was very fun for me to moderate, and I had a bunch of good laughs. Obviously, it helps that I know you guys, but I think for everyone this is a fun and interesting read. I hope the Valley enjoyed the conversation.

*I will be posting my preseason report of out University of St. Thomas football team tomorrow night. Our kids report to camp this Sunday, 2 days from now, and I hope that you will all follow our season. This will be my first year coaching and we have a great team coming back. We were preseason ranked #8, #17, and #22 in 3 different and respected polls. It is the first time Tommie football has received this recognition in a long time, if not ever. If you are in the Twin Cities area, please come by for a game. You can find our schedule HERE Of course I will keep you updated on our season as well as the fun randomness that you visit this page for. Cheers.

Out like my summer
McQuillan