Actually Crean didn’t recruit Acker, he asked in to play with his buddy after Buckley was canned. But whether Crean recruited two substandard guards to MU and passed them on to Buzz was NOT the point. The point was they were substandard, and leaving the next coach substandard players does NOT amount to leaving a full cupboard.

Your childish reaction only makes your argument look dumber. Firefighters everywhere are embarrassed on your behalf.

The only person embarrassed here is you, though it's funny how desperately you're trying not to be.

Buzz was left with four starting seniors (McNeal, James, Matthews, Burke) on a team that spent time in the top-10 as well as Lazar Hayward, Maurice Acker, David Cubillan, Joe Fulce, and Chris Otule (the last two both committed to Marquette under Crean). Also Tyshawn Taylor, but Buzz couldn't keep him. By any measure a loaded roster in year one and a solid foundation to build on in year two.

Oh, and your "invite him back" characterization is funny. Buzz had to freaking beg Acker back when he realized he couldn't recruit anyone better. Buzz owes his second year success to those two sticking around despite his own admitted best efforts to run them off. No one is saying they were All-Americans. But they were starters and key players on a 6-seed that wouldn't have been a tourney team without them, and they were there because Crean added them to the roster and Buzz failed in his efforts to get rid of them, a failure that ultimately benefited him.

Just stop, man, you really can't do anything but make yourself look worse.

Do you have any idea how Congress works?

You exempt farms and suddenly every lobbying group known to mankind will be looking for the similar exemption. Which is why our tax code is one of the most ridiculously complex sets of regulation ever put on the face of the Earth.

Let's just leave capital gains alone and create investment incentives.

I have no problem with this.  Just don't think farms are an impediment to capital gains increase.  I'm not advocating for an increase. 

Batemon continues to blow up

From Adam Finkelstein 247

Jamarion Batemon, Power 5 - Batemon is in the midst of a breakout spring, putting up big numbers and playing a featured role on a team winning big games on a national circuit. He's proving himself to be one of the best three-point shooters in 3SSB, which is somewhat counterintuitive at first because his release is unorthodox. But he's not only making shots, he's making tough shots, on the move, and in bunches. Beyond that he's long with a chiseled frame, quality motor, and an impactful defender

First of all, Buzz didn’t recruit them and only coached them (decided playing time, for example) for TWO years. In year ONE (their junior years) he kept them as back ups and their minutes were way down from what they had been the previous year when TC was their coach. After the season he kicked Acker off the team, only to invite him back late that summer when Buzz accepted the fact that the backcourt was woefully inadequate. What followed (a 6 seed in spite of two backcourt starters with substantial liabilities and limited assists) was Buzz’s best coaching job ever, absolutely NCOY worthy.

I don’t know that I’ve ever engaged you here before - I skim or avoid a lot of your long winded arguments. But I do read a lot of complaints about you making false statements. You certainly do that here.

Actually, Acker’s went up fro 13 to 16 minutes per game. Cooby’s minuteswent down because he was still adjusting to off season surgery.

Guys:

I understand your revulsion with the pedophilia and, if true, the allegations against the New Orleans archdiocese. I share your revulsion.

But to stress again, the church of God but run by people. We're imperfect and we all make mistakes -- some bigger than others.

I am a citizen of a nearly 250 year old country. For about 190 of those years, we either enslaved or tortured (or both) an entire race of people who, by our Constitution, were American citizens. We rounded up American citizens of Japanese ancestry and put them in concentration camps because we bizarrely feared disloyalty. We have done other things over the years as a nation and people that go against the very nature of our Constitution and laws. Most of us certainly aren't proud of these parts of our history.

The point is that as an American, I'm not proud of many things our country has done. But I'm still of the belief we're about the best thing going in our world today. So I try to change through voting, actions and advocacy the things I do not like. As a Catholic, I feel the same way. From the Crusades, to Bishops' torture chambers to being way too cozy with bad governments, our Church has a history that I believe is against many of the things were are taught in Scripture. We're human, despite what many clerics want us to believe about them. Hopefully, others who feel as I do will try to change our church from the inside.

As Catholics, both as individuals who've put the Gospels into practice, and as an institution, Roman Catholics feed, clothe, medicate and care for, educate and call for more social justice than about any other NGO in the world. That's what we as Catholics and Christians are about.