A Little OT: An important Admission from Ariel Massengale

[cockhrnleghrn]

A NC resident reading a back and forth between fans of teams from neighboring (and inferior) States on a UCONN message board.

View attachment 7104

Did someone hear a Tar Heel yapping on here?

 

[meyers7]

So if you believe that 23rd out of 347 is average, then 6.5% is above average and 93.5% is below average. Thank God you were never taught statistics by me!

Lies, damned lies and statistics.

I know good, when I see it. Don't need lies, damned lies or statistics.

Like I said your standards are just lower than mine (and UCONN fans in general). Understandable with who you support. Heck you guys made a wonderful celebratory video...about coming in second.

 

[AnotherVolFan]

I love you Fightin Choke....don't let anyone here discourage your opinions cause I love what you bring to this board!

 

[meyers7]

I love you Fightin Choke....don't let anyone here discourage your opinions cause I love what you bring to this board!

I don't think anyone is discouraging Choke's opinion. We just have a differing one. That's allowed.

 

[semper]

Enjoyed the thread. It comes down to the brilliance of coaching, and we have Geno and no one else does. As long as that's the case we'll be in this fight for top dawg every year. These are the golden years of UCONN basketball, and we fans should be and are grateful and enjoying the ride. Of course it will end sometime, everything does. But for now, what a great great time to be blue.

 

[AnotherVolFan]

I don't think anyone is discouraging Choke's opinion. We just have a differing one. That's allowed.

I didn't say anyone did, I said don't let it happen. It can and has happened here before. Especially when discussing other players of teams besides UCONN, which is understandable to a CERTAIN degree, being this is a UCONN board. But hey...I love it for everything its worth!

 

[Icebear]

I didn't say anyone did, I said don't let it happen. It can and has happened here before. Especially when discussing other players of teams besides UCONN, which is understandable to a CERTAIN degree, being this is a UCONN board. But hey...I love it for everything its worth!

Thanks for the advice. Probably not really needed.

 

[RadyLady]

I love you Fightin Choke....don't let anyone here discourage your opinions cause I love what you bring to this board!

I didn't say anyone did, I said don't let it happen. It can and has happened here before. Especially when discussing other players of teams besides UCONN, which is understandable to a CERTAIN degree, being this is a UCONN board. But hey...I love it for everything its worth!

http://huskynan.com/boneyardrules

"We UConn fans like our players and team better than anyone else's and we don't have to be objective if we choose not to be. You can't force us to like your players, team, coach, whatever by endlessly cataloging their merits. There are objective people here who will discuss other teams in a positive light but there are other UConn fans who don't want to hear anything about other teams and that's OK. This is a UConn board for all kinds of UConn fans, objective and non-objective alike."

As I said before. We have had a number of guest posters, fans from other schools who have been posting for years. They don't appear to have any trouble remembering that this is a UConn board.

Nuff said

 

[Icebear]

For me the endless material and discussion of numerous other teams has taken the joy out of the board for me. The absense of others like OC, South, Lasert, etc., who brought real insight and thought to what we have shared are things I deeply miss. As I said there is little joy here anymore and I fear the board is dying for me.

 

[semper]

For me the endless material and discussion of numerous other teams has taken the joy out of the board for me. The absense of others like OC, South, Lasert, etc., who brought real insight and thought to what we have shared are things I deeply miss. As I said there is little joy here anymore and I fear the board is dying for me.

That would be terrible. Keep your fuzzy ears above water. We need you!!

 

[meyers7]

I didn't say anyone did, I said don't let it happen.

Well if you didn't think it happened (here in this thread) why would you need to warn Choke not to let it happen?

 

[AnotherVolFan]

Well if you didn't think it happened (here in this thread) why would you need to warn Choke not to let it happen?

I could sense it a mile away! Far from ....im more like ....then just

 

[JS]

This has been a fine thread but is now, for a few people, taking a grumpy turn, complete with touches of xenophobia, faint resentment thereof, and nostalgia for dead people.

My view is a little different. I've never seen such an array of excellent posts, especially for the off season.

The recruiting analyses (including vowelguy's color-coded works of art), the outstanding threads on the WNBA playoffs, the great coverage of the FIBA Worlds, including by eyewitnesses, have been terrific.

The regular visiting posters contribute a lot, IMO, and add to what I think is a uniquely cosmopolitan board for one with a primary focus on a specific team.

We have plenty of UConn-centrism now and obviously will have a surge of it when the season begins. If there's not enough of it for some people, they're free to write more of it.

They're also free to skim and/or ignore the rest. If they feel burdened by being forced (which they aren't) to read a broader array of views, well, that's unfortunate for them.

For each who feels the board isn't sufficiently confined to partisan discussion, there's another who holds a counter-view -- that reactions here to, e.g. recruiting successes by other teams, are overly partisan and inclined to discount the existence of quality programs elsewhere.

And then there's the happy medium. I'm not a medium, mind you, but am personally quite happy with how the board is now and where it's headed. Haven't taken a poll, but the exceptional activity level here would suggest I'm not alone.

 

[DaddyChoc]

We have plenty of UConn-centrism now and obviously will have a surge of it when the season begins. If there's not enough of it for some people, they're free to write more of it.

They're also free to skim and/or ignore the rest. If they feel burdened by being forced (which they aren't) to read a broader array of views, well, that's unfortunate for them.

For each who feels the board isn't sufficiently confined to partisan discussion, there's another who holds a counter-view -- that reactions here to, e.g. recruiting successes by other teams, are overly partisan and inclined to discount the existence of quality programs elsewhere.

And then there's the happy medium. I'm not a medium, mind you, but am personally quite happy with how the board is now and where it's headed. Haven't taken a poll, but the exceptional activity level here would suggest I'm not alone.

 

[arty155]

I love you Fightin Choke.... I love what you bring to this board!

It's all good...

 

[j66kicker]

This has been a fine thread but is now, for a few people, taking a grumpy turn, complete with touches of xenophobia, faint resentment thereof, and nostalgia for dead people.

My view is a little different. I've never seen such an array of excellent posts, especially for the off season.

The recruiting analyses (including vowelguy's color-coded works of art), the outstanding threads on the WNBA playoffs, the great coverage of the FIBA Worlds, including by eyewitnesses, have been terrific.

The regular visiting posters contribute a lot, IMO, and add to what I think is a uniquely cosmopolitan board for one with a primary focus on a specific team.

We have plenty of UConn-centrism now and obviously will have a surge of it when the season begins. If there's not enough of it for some people, they're free to write more of it.

They're also free to skim and/or ignore the rest. If they feel burdened by being forced (which they aren't) to read a broader array of views, well, that's unfortunate for them.

For each who feels the board isn't sufficiently confined to partisan discussion, there's another who holds a counter-view -- that reactions here to, e.g. recruiting successes by other teams, are overly partisan and inclined to discount the existence of quality programs elsewhere.

And then there's the happy medium. I'm not a medium, mind you, but am personally quite happy with how the board is now and where it's headed. Haven't taken a poll, but the exceptional activity level here would suggest I'm not alone.

Amen JS. The diversity on this board nowadays is not only tolerated, but encouraged (by most, and we tolerate the intolerant too). This hasn't always been the case, in my experience. Also in my experience, diversity ALWAYS improves quality, whether it's a management team, highly-focused project team (like a sports team), or just a discussion (like this).

BY is becoming a kinda cool place to hang out for more than just die-hard UCONN homers. (It's probably mostly the ultra-cool die-hard UCONN homers that make it this way, but maybe the diversity has a little bit to do with it too

 

[Icebear]

The board is what it is. And that is fine. JS gave a fair description my point was only that I personally find no joy here anymore, not that others should or shouldn't. It is the reason, however, my posting has virtually dried up. OC, Warren, was a very good friend and to my wife's chagrin we could talk for a couple of hours post game on a variety of subjects from the game, to ski equipment, Burke Mountain Academy, or Warren's current pet project. His stroke and rehab and his passing were a real loss to me as well to the many others whose lives he touched in and around sports.

On top of that from last November on I was dealing 5 individuals 52 and under all fighting terminal prognosis ranging from severe vascular disease to ALS to cancers. Only one is still alive, a thirty-four year old single mom with two kids battling skin melanoma who travels for treatment out of country for wholistic treatments because she has stopped chemo for more good days with her kids than bad ones. She is a well educated nurse and understands the choices she has made. I saw her Thursday and she ran up to me and gave me a big hug with an energy she hasn't had in a year. She's back to work two days a week. Whatever the number of her days she has the two most important things in her life, her work and her kids and feels good enough in the moment to enjoy them and her numerous friends. She is filled with joy because they define her and she has come love that.

Most of this has been brewing since the events in Boston two years ago at the marathon. In the chaos early in the event I posted a segment of St. Patrick's Shield a historical prayer of guardianship. I posted it,specifically, because of the great number of Irish cops, fire fighters and EMS folks who were in the midst of the events that still were filled with peril. Irish has always been synonymous with Boston despite the multicultural reality of the city. Unfortunately, the rhythm of the piece repeats Christ again and again. I chose it for the context. It offended some and I was told by a moderator not offer any prayers or religious comments anymore. I asked what that meant so I could meet expectations but no one could define what was and wasn't appropriate. JS was very helpful and encouraging but the problem is it made me second guess everything I say or write because I see the world through spiritual lens, ones that others may not see. It is just part of how many of us as pastors are wired.

Trying to turn the lens on and off is not effective for me. I end up second guessing much of what I write or should write and don't feel free to respond to requests for prayers like ABach's because in the past I would often write a brief prayer. Certainly, nothing long but more than the cursory, "Your in my thoughts and prayers." Many expressed thanks for the effort involved.

Essentially, I felt I could no longer just "be me." That, too, robbed joy from my participation. I could no longer just "be" I felt obligated to "be other."

In all this the board is what it is and that is as it should be. JS likes it and that is good and as it should be. But for me it isn't working and what was once a place where I regained my balance and let down my guard a bit no longer works that way. It is time to check out that road not taken and see if there is new joy.

I'll still be around and reading but to the benefit of all of you you will much less to read. God bless.

 

[connboy77]

The board is what it is. And that is fine. JS gave a fair description my point was only that I personally find no joy here anymore, not that others should or shouldn't. It is the reason, however, my posting has virtually dried up. OC, Warren, was a very good friend and to my wife's chagrin we could talk for a couple of hours post game on a variety of subjects from the game, to ski equipment, Burke Mountain Academy, or Warren's current pet project. His stroke and rehab and his passing were a real loss to me as well to the many others whose lives he touched in and around sports.

On top of that from last November on I was dealing 5 individuals 52 and under all fighting terminal prognosis ranging from severe vascular disease to ALS to cancers. Only one is still alive, a thirty-four year old single mom with two kids battling skin melanoma who travels for treatment out of country for wholistic treatments because she has stopped chemo for more good days with her kids than bad ones. She is a well educated nurse and understands the choices she has made. I saw her Thursday and she ran up to me and gave me a big hug with an energy she hasn't had in a year. She's back to work two days a week. Whatever the number of her days she has the two most important things in her life, her work and her kids and feels good enough in the moment to enjoy them and her numerous friends. She is filled with joy because they define her and she has come love that.

Most of this has been brewing since the events in Boston two years ago at the marathon. In the chaos early in the event I posted a segment of St. Patrick's Shield a historical prayer of guardianship. I posted it,specifically, because of the great number of Irish cops, fire fighters and EMS folks who were in the midst of the events that still were filled with peril. Irish has always been synonymous with Boston despite the multicultural reality of the city. Unfortunately, the rhythm of the piece repeats Christ again and again. I chose it for the context. It offended some and I was told by a moderator not offer any prayers or religious comments anymore. I asked what that meant so I could meet expectations but no one could define what was and wasn't appropriate. JS was very helpful and encouraging but the problem is it made me second guess everything I say or write because I see the world through spiritual lens, ones that others may not see. It is just part of how many of us as pastors are wired.

Trying to turn the lens on and off is not effective for me. I end up second guessing much of what I write or should write and don't feel free to respond to requests for prayers like ABach's because in the past I would often write a brief prayer. Certainly, nothing long but more than the cursory, "Your in my thoughts and prayers." Many expressed thanks for the effort involved.

Essentially, I felt I could no longer just "be me." That, too, robbed joy from my participation. I could no longer just "be" I felt obligated to "be other."

In all this the board is what it is and that is as it should be. JS likes it and that is good and as it should be. But for me it isn't working and what was once a place where I regained my balance and let down my guard a bit no longer works that way. It is time to check out that road not taken and see if there is new joy.

I'll still be around and reading but to the benefit of all of you you will much less to read. God bless.

Icebear, you are a very knowledgeable poster and you will be missed. Take care friend.

 

[semper]

Ice, maybe now you have that off your chest will feel better about the board. Are you sure we can't offer brief prayers on this board? I didn't know that.

Anyway, think of what a GREAT season this is going to be, so interesting, and so much fun to study and analyze. It is such a wholesome distraction from the difficulties of life. I can't believe we get to see who plays the 2- guard, game after game, and so many other fascinating mysteries to be solved by Geno & Co. Not kidding...this is great stuff.

 

[johnnyc]

No ice, dobbs, doggydaddy..... it's Boneyard light. No chance of having a sub forum for other teams?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Ice, maybe now you have that off your chest will feel better about the board. Are you sure we can't offer brief prayers on this board? I didn't know that.

Anyway, think of what a GREAT season this is going to be, so interesting, and so much fun to study and analyze. It is such a wholesome distraction from the difficulties of life. I can't believe we get to see who plays the 2- guard, game after game, and so many other fascinating mysteries to be solved by Geno & Co. Not kidding...this is great stuff.

Heck, the Board tolerates threads asking for prayers. At the opposite extreme we even tolerate Lady Vol Fans defending Notre Dame fans from nonexistent slights and put downs!(so the Vol boards would keep that vol fan pretty busy)!

It does chaff my knickers a little when we have long, rambling strings about other programs, but it is somewhat more tolerable in the off season.

Ice, recharge and come back strong!

 

[DaddyChoc]

variety is better than more of the same any day in my book...

 

[ChicagoGG]

The board is what it is. And that is fine. JS gave a fair description my point was only that I personally find no joy here anymore, not that others should or shouldn't. It is the reason, however, my posting has virtually dried up. OC, Warren, was a very good friend and to my wife's chagrin we could talk for a couple of hours post game on a variety of subjects from the game, to ski equipment, Burke Mountain Academy, or Warren's current pet project. His stroke and rehab and his passing were a real loss to me as well to the many others whose lives he touched in and around sports.

On top of that from last November on I was dealing 5 individuals 52 and under all fighting terminal prognosis ranging from severe vascular disease to ALS to cancers. Only one is still alive, a thirty-four year old single mom with two kids battling skin melanoma who travels for treatment out of country for wholistic treatments because she has stopped chemo for more good days with her kids than bad ones. She is a well educated nurse and understands the choices she has made. I saw her Thursday and she ran up to me and gave me a big hug with an energy she hasn't had in a year. She's back to work two days a week. Whatever the number of her days she has the two most important things in her life, her work and her kids and feels good enough in the moment to enjoy them and her numerous friends. She is filled with joy because they define her and she has come love that.

Most of this has been brewing since the events in Boston two years ago at the marathon. In the chaos early in the event I posted a segment of St. Patrick's Shield a historical prayer of guardianship. I posted it,specifically, because of the great number of Irish cops, fire fighters and EMS folks who were in the midst of the events that still were filled with peril. Irish has always been synonymous with Boston despite the multicultural reality of the city. Unfortunately, the rhythm of the piece repeats Christ again and again. I chose it for the context. It offended some and I was told by a moderator not offer any prayers or religious comments anymore. I asked what that meant so I could meet expectations but no one could define what was and wasn't appropriate. JS was very helpful and encouraging but the problem is it made me second guess everything I say or write because I see the world through spiritual lens, ones that others may not see. It is just part of how many of us as pastors are wired.

Trying to turn the lens on and off is not effective for me. I end up second guessing much of what I write or should write and don't feel free to respond to requests for prayers like ABach's because in the past I would often write a brief prayer. Certainly, nothing long but more than the cursory, "Your in my thoughts and prayers." Many expressed thanks for the effort involved.

Essentially, I felt I could no longer just "be me." That, too, robbed joy from my participation. I could no longer just "be" I felt obligated to "be other."

In all this the board is what it is and that is as it should be. JS likes it and that is good and as it should be. But for me it isn't working and what was once a place where I regained my balance and let down my guard a bit no longer works that way. It is time to check out that road not taken and see if there is new joy.

I'll still be around and reading but to the benefit of all of you you will much less to read. God bless.

Ice - I would miss you more than I could say - please reconsider (and if permitted, please post the link to your pastoral blog that I lost when my computer went south.... It is a good place for me to go and read when I need to reflect.).

 

[HuskyNan]

No ice, dobbs, doggydaddy..... it's Boneyard light. No chance of having a sub forum for other teams?

More posters add more points of view making a more interesting board. If someone finds another poster annoying, they should use the Ignore feature. If certain types of threads aren't of interest, they can be skipped. Having a greater variety of opinions offers a greater variety of posts. It's really a win-win situation.

 

[HuskyNan]

It does chaff my knickers a little when we have long, rambling strings about other programs, but it is somewhat more tolerable in the off season.

A good point. Once the season starts, I will ask fans of other programs to label their threads clearly so that topics of little interest can be skipped. Actually, it's a good rule of thumb for everyone.