Monthly Archives: September 2011

Sep 19

Conferencepocalypse: Calm before the storm

Things fall apart, the center cannot hold / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. — W.B. Yeats Yeah, it’s like this, only a thousand times worse. To all of you who stumbled here after reading my column in the … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Conferencepocalypse: Calm before the storm
Sep 18

Conferencepocalypse II: Calling in Congress

Buzz: This is not the time to panic. Woody: This is the perfect time to panic! — Toy Story Pete Thamel of the New York Times talked to a representative “from a state with a university potentially negatively impacted,” who … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Conferencepocalypse II: Calling in Congress
Sep 18

Conferencepocalypse II: A building panic

So to all of you out there dreaming up the next big conference shakeup … do yourself a favor and take a couple of deep breaths. The seas of change have calmed for the foreseeable future, which is probably for … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Conferencepocalypse II: A building panic
Sep 17

Conferencepocalypse II: The ACC-Big East subwar begins

Big East: “Are you frightened?” Big 12: “Yes.” Big East: “Not nearly frightened enough. I know what hunts you.” — Brendan Loy, one of the few other people nerdy enough to mix “Lord of the Rings” and college sports ESPN … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Conferencepocalypse II: The ACC-Big East subwar begins
Sep 17

Conferencepocalypse II: Is Monday doomsday?

Tick…tick…tick… The University of Texas Board of Regents – each university has a separate board in that state – has hastily put up a “special called telephone meeting” (PDF) that, coincidentally or not, will happen approximately two hours after the … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Conferencepocalypse II: Is Monday doomsday?
Sep 16

Conferencepocalypse II: The Guns of September

Continuing the WWI theme from an earlier post, because no one wants this to happen yet everyone is compelled to participate. The people who cover college sports for a living, like this reporter from St. Louis, hate it: Missouri and … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Conferencepocalypse II: The Guns of September
Sep 15

Agenda Item 28: Conference Alignment

In every boat all eyes were glued on the Titanic. Her tall masts, the four big funnels stood out sharp and black in the clear blue night. The bright promenade decks, the long rows of portholes all blazed with light. … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Agenda Item 28: Conference Alignment
Sep 15

Five-oh-six-uh-oh

The Des Moines Register: Four mail processing centers in Iowa are among 252 in the nation that are being studied for closure, according to a letter from the United States Postal Service to union leaders. … Under study is moving … Continue reading

Posted in Post offices | Comments Off on Five-oh-six-uh-oh
Sep 15

Recently built post offices on The List

I went on a trip to southern Iowa Tuesday in an attempt to clear my head from all of the conference talk and in search of something about as random and uncertain: Iowa post offices targeted for closure. One of … Continue reading

Posted in Post offices | Comments Off on Recently built post offices on The List
Sep 14

Floodwaters drained off I-29

That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s going to be a long time before the flooded sections resemble a road again. Consider that the south I-29/680 interchange looked like this a month ago. The DOT has extensive … Continue reading

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Floodwaters drained off I-29