biggentleben

The U has a system for this, though. They are to go through a procedure where the student is reminded incessantly about how they have the right to have representation through student legal services or their own representation present for any part of any inquiry. That was not done in this case. They are using their student code to dismiss these students, yet they went outside of the procedures laid out in their own student code in order to do the dismissal. That's the crux of the issue. I do not believe that Levi, Smerf, or anyone is condoning the behaviors whatsoever, but the U has a policy on how these things are supposed to happen. That policy has not been followed in this case by every report out there, and that is the entirety of the issue at hand.

And that system hasn't been followed in this case, from all accounts, at the university level. These players were not given the proper University procedure, and it would not surprise me to find out that the University has to pay out a significant settlement to the players involved, especially if they are dismissed from the school.

Not to make you feel real bad, but my parents are only a year older....

There were moderators. I was one with ESPN.

How do you read that assumption into my comments? That's absolutely adding in more than was there. I'm stating that her possible role in a group that actively attempt to get pregnant by football players could skew how other players perceive her claims. I never once said that excluded her from being able to prosecute for a rape if it occurred. I didn't even say she was one of those women, just that a rape allegation has been a tactic of that group of women many times in the past, so if she was part of that group, her claim could appear contrived to teammates of the players choosing to boycott right now. I'm by no means making any assumptions on her. I'm simply stating one aspect of life as a Gopher athlete that could skew their view of these proceedings.

I don't disagree about prior history being irrelevant to the process, but to players, her claims could hold little water based on her previous position seeking players. There's also the very real possibility that many of the players have seen the video that was used as evidence in the case as well.

As a former Gopher and a former CA in the residence halls, I've been on both sides of issues just like this one. A few things this raises to question in my head after reading pertinent articles... First, is this woman one of the girls that frequents the opposite side of the street from the Nagurski Center? There were as many as a dozen women ranging in age from illegal to cougar outside the practice facility on a nearly daily basis, waiting on players to finish practice or workouts (and trust me, they knew the schedules), and they wanted to find a guy looking for a quick hook up in order to get pregnant with a future NFLer's kid. There were also plenty of your typical jersey chasers there who were just wanting to hook up with players, but there were absolutely those who had nefarious reasons for wanting sexual relations, and they would bend basically all rules to get someone into the sack with them - two guys, two girls, more than that, various other kinks, all sorts of horrid things you would never share with your daughter for sure. This could lead to many of the players having issue believing her story from the get-go, even if they weren't present. If she was a recognizable female that was consistently outside of the facility, that could be something that the rest of the team would know and remember. Second, there is a due process, and it does apply for all students, athlete or not. If there is ever an accusation of one student against another, that is absolutely the route that is pursued. It is swift, intense, and decisive, which is why taking 3+ months to come to resolution tells me that the proper due process spelled out in the student handbook was not followed for these athletes. That would apply regardless of the settlement reached in a legal sense. Third, as far as "representing the University", I will never, ever excuse the behavior of these young men. Not once. However, the majority of these players are NOT on full scholarship. The majority of all football players aren't, let alone the majority of athletes in general. These players frequently work a part-time job that they have to go through 2-3 layers of approval just to make minimum wage due to the restrictions placed on them by the team, who isn't even giving them full money to cover their education. They represent the University no more and no less than any student on the campus would represent the University that is involved with an extra-curricular activity on campus. Public perception of their standing should not determine forcing them into a different level of behavior while they're also forced to limit the number of classes they can take (frequently forcing them to take a year of schooling on their own dime in order to graduate), forcing a schedule onto their lives (while most students are free to schedule their classes as they'd like), and already put to a different level of rules through their coaches on top of University official policy. Last, those who want athletics separated from the University are welcome to do just that, however, our schools would then require significantly more funding, meaning significantly more taxes or significantly more tuition (though there's plenty to say that tuition is not at a level of true cost as it is, but that's another discussion altogether). The U of M receives significant finances from athletics, from medical research, and from agricultural research that come in as income to the University and SHOULD keep costs lower for students. Uncoupling the school from one and not the others (when a place like Monsanto pays for that agricultural research or a drug company is paying for the medical research) seems like a vendetta-based decision. I don't argue that reform in education financing needs to happen, but starting with such a drastic measure is short-sighted in that there is plenty tied in that may not be surface level to the naked eye.

...and there could be good reason for them to expect both/and right now UNTIL due process has run its course. From my experience, anything the PD had, the university had in hand, so for their investigation to take two months longer than the official investigation raises some major questions from my involvement in college in these procedures. Almost always, the U finished their investigation before the legal one was done.

There is a due process at the U for such things. I was part of them on both sides many times during my college years. If that due process was not followed to the letter, the U is in huge violation, and guilty or not, rape or murder or theft of $5 from the vending machine, everyone is entitled to that due process as a student.

Incredible man. He was the first person to interview Hank Aaron after 715.

I'd wager that over half of people who received a college education wouldn't immediately recognize that difference.

He's on another sitcom that just released on Friday as well. That's crazy...

He doesn't have new international rules applied to him. He was under the previous rules from the last CBA. The new international rules come into affect with the 2017-2018 signing period.

Yeah, derp, though, frankly, you can't get too upset with the Sabathia situation either. They had a legit chance in the playoffs that year with the hottest pitcher in the game.

Kiriloff I got to see a lot of video on from high school, so I'll gladly admit to being still high on him from there, and he showed very good instincts in any outfield spot in the showcase circuit last year. He won't ever be a plus fielder, but his arm should allow him to be solid in either corner. Gordon got a ton of praise and a ton of worry, but there's just so much to like in the ceiling still considering he's advanced up the system as far as he has. Typically the ceiling comes down significantly as a guy climbs the ladder and his floor becomes more secured, but really, Gordon's floor is still a question to some degree, and his ceiling really hasn't been dented much, if at all. It's the part of really not fulfilling any of it at any point that gets some worried that he'll never get there.

It's a combination of a few things. First, I had Blankenhorn as a 2B on my original list based on his position this year. Then I got into reviews, which really made me look back more. The report that I was citing was that he was a utility type that played up the middle, but his arm allowed him to transition well full-time to third in 2015, and that could be an eventual home for his bat. I honestly did not translate that well as the big thing that I was trying to impress was how impressive the bat was.

The Yankees did similar. Do you remember the guys they gave up to get John Wetteland? Paul O'Neill, Tino, etc. that weren't part of the home grown group that was so dominant for so long? Shoot, the Brewers almost got a WS and CY out of their big overpay for Sabathia, and that trade really has brought near nothing to the Indians.

I can tell you that the Braves system produced a lot of the talent that keyed their 90s run, but the guy that put them over the top for their lone WS of the run was a guy the team gave up 2 of its top 5 prospects for and 3 of the top 10 in Fred McGriff.

I mentioned it to an independent scout in Cali, and he threw Kopech in the mix as well. He went so far as to say that of the five, Alvarez would lead, Giolito would be at the back end, and the three others (Lopez, De Leon, and Kopech) could really go in any order in his book in between. I don't have Kopech above Giolito, but crazy to think that Giolito could be #4 in the ChiSox system just a year after being top 3 in all of baseball.

Thanks for the vids, Bob! YouTube makes the life of a writer of minor leagues much more pleasant.

Deepest sympathies on the news reports out this morning on Landa's passing.

Bartolo and CC each had their own as well, though it was funny to see someone misspell CC's name and end up not triggering the filter.

Deng has shown to be a 4 only in LA, though. That's part of the thing is that you could get very bad results pursuing that.

You think it's brought bad things to your site advertising, imagine what the same sort of payment system has done for writing legitimacy online in all areas of life. You get paid by the click, you write click-bait...

So, here's my personal take after reading all this... Detroit having a chance at the World Series made them legit World Series contenders. Look at Cleveland this year - they were starting Kluber and....um....yeah, by the time they got to the playoffs, and they ended up in the Series, taking the team that nearly lapped the field in run difference this season to seven games before they fell without 2/3 of the top of their rotation, their best offensive player, and so many other pieces that were hurt and/or lost. Edit: Return key accidentally posted rather than giving a carriage return... Detroit used their prospects the way they should, to supplement the big league club. They drafted high ceiling guys, and when those guys hit, they hit big. When they struggled, they were easy to brush away and/or sell off on potential to other teams. Their system was never very deep, but it always had viable major league talent at the top of the system ranks. This year is no exception as you see guys like Christian Stewart, Matt Manning, Kyle Funkhouser, etc. at the top of the rankings. Stewart is a guy who should be in Detroit's outfield in 2017 for at least a late-season call up and likely takes over for J.D. when he leaves after the season. They're also in a different spot than any other team with an owner willing to invest significant funds in bringing home a title. Now, the White Sox hung on for a long time where the Tigers are this offseason and didn't make moves like they've already done with the Maybin deal, so their move is delayed and they now need to do the big strip-down rebuild to recover their system because they've hurt the system so badly. Part of that was having those same high-ceiling guys that the Tigers saw some success in almost completely failing for the White Sox. Trayce Thompson finally had success...after he was with another organization. Their pitching has produced Sale and Rodon, but outside of that, their drafting has been rough. Quintana may be the best minor league free agent signing in a long, long time.