College athletics is terrible at seeing problems around the corner. The 24-team playoff is the latest example. A lot of schools that supported this will regret it because in the end it won't be about the playoff or even the now diminished regular season. Notre Dame now has the best situation in all of football - almost 100 percent guarantee to make the playoff, freedom to schedule as it wishes, maximization of its own media value. To use the Big Ten as an example, why wouldn't Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State follow? If you can, be independent. That's the future. The 18-team Big Ten is bloated, distant and winning it carries little intrinsic or competitive value for the biggest brands. Those three schools can create a scheduling agreement that would increase their media revenue 2-3x and give the same control over everything. No sharing money. No forced TV times. Eight or even nine home games. Select your own schedule. Staying in the Big Ten now makes little and perhaps no economic sense. And yes, I do understand the league-wide research grants and so on, but there is always a way around everything. In terms of athletics, for those schools (and maybe a few more) it's lost revenue for the sake of loyalty and we know how that usually gets settled. All these middle and lower schools -- even in the P2 -- that supported this because they'll get in the "participation playoff" with an 8-4 record are facing significant risk in the future. There will come a day when they will now get a share of the Ohio State-Michigan windfall; only Ohio State and Michigan will. Maybe not tomorrow, but I believe a 24-team playoff makes it closer than ever. Thoughts?

Real life, baby

For clarity, it wasn’t purely a track win, it was also a timing win. So the 72 hour error is a function of both. And the AI models (GDM & Euro) nailed the timing too. Whereas the other models error may be exaggerated at 72 hours due as much to timing errors as track errors.

Zone 6 Congratulates JJ on the Triple Crown 👑 #DevelopedHere | @Jermiah_Smith1

Worth the read every year. #neverforget Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me? Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone? Todd: No Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane? Todd: There are three that we know of. Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have? Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives. Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives? Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters. Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from? Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east. Lisa: Have they said what they want? Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet. He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake! Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name. Todd: My name is Todd Beamer. Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket. Todd: It’s United Flight 93. Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened? Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind. Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open? Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them. Lisa: Has anyone been injured? Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded. Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd? Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help! Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening! Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again. Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers? Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true?? Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed. Todd: Oh God —help us! Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan. Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me? Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes. Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call.. Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.