I thought I would use my forum to post a couple comments on a UCSD professor's comments on the Compton Cookout
After a quick introduction, Prof Yang rolls out this,
We have a 1.3% African-American student enrollment, not simply because of poor admissions, but because admitted students don’t choose to come to UCSD. Only about 1.3% of admitted African-American students come to UCSD (compare to 44% at UCLA).
I'll be comparing UCSD to UCLA a lot as
Sentences like these caused Mark Twain to say, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." Gross misuse of statistics without context is intellectual dishonesty and this sentence highlights how statistics can be manipulated to make a point.
I'd love to know the number of white students that attend UCLA, one of the most prestigious universities in the nation, once accepted. UCSD is just not the same as UCLA. Next, let's consider the sample size of the statistic. In 2006 (I'm using 2006 numbers because they were the easiest to find), UCLA admitted 92 total black people. Now, I'm going to subtract 12 people off those 92 for athletic scholarships leaving us with 80 people who choose UCLA for non-athletic reasons. If we assume the 44% rate at which black people choose UCLA, that means only 181 black people applied to UCLA. So the argument that black people are beating down UCLA's door to get in while flatly rejecting UCSD for being racist is false. UCLA is 3% black (with a full D1 athletic department), UCSD is 2% black.
The author goes on and on about the "toxic campus atmosphere" yet fails to provide examples of what makes the campus atmosphere toxic. He offers a couple "solutions," lets look at them now.
1. Implement the Yield Report recommendations. It didn't show on the first page of my google search so skipped.
2. Put some teeth into the diversity office. Currently, the Chief Diversity Officer is a 50% position with no budget, no staff, and no formal power. Upgrade it to a Vice Chancellorship and equip it with a staff and budget. Such offices at UCLA and UC Berkeley are able to provide material support for research, teaching, and student affairs. They can take a preventive approach to racial incidents on campus. (This recommendation can also be found on page 10 of the Yield Report.) But don’t stop there. Give this office wide reform powers over all units on the campus, and we will gain at least one institutionalized motor for bridging the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of diversity.
Ok, So we should laugh that he considers an office that would somehow magically prevent racial incidents a solution "with teeth." I'd like to know what the office planned to do if they knew about the Compton Cookout, an off campus non-affiliated party, beforehand. What would they have done? Started the protests a couple days early? Theres nothing this office would have been able to do which is why it's so dumb to tout this as a "solution."
4. Create a committed commission on campus climate.
This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where the townspeople are mad about something and the mayor promises to form a commission and Marge excitedly asks, "A blue ribbon commission?!?!" Yeah, a commission will do as much as the Diversity office to prevent racial incidents.
The claim I would like answered is where is all this evidence of institutionalized racism within UCSD? If you're going to claim UCSD has a pattern of racism, where and when? What did the university do wrong? What opportunities were missed? Yes, people made a racist joke but people everywhere make racial jokes. People notice race and highlight the differences between them and do make jokes about it. Take a deep breath and relax.
I just don't see any examples of the university creating a toxic atmosphere or messing up in any way.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
China's Empty City
China's Empty City
This story is very strange and I'm really struggling wrapping my mind around all the angles to consider.
China is currently undertaking a very interesting economic program/social experiment. The went to the middle of nowhere and built the infrastructure for a million resident city. The thing is, no one is living there except the government construction workers building the city. They named the city "Ordos" which is not so coincidentally the same name as another city of Ordos 30 miles away which is very weird considering the original Ordos City isn't a slum, it's a pretty nice functioning city. No one outside of China really seems to know what's going on. All the residences are purchased and accounted by investors who don't plan to live there. The prices of these residences are too high for commoners in China to rent. No one is actually going to move there until there is a economy that can employ them and give them shopping malls and restaurants etc. but no one is going to open up shops in an empty city. Quite the dilemma.
What to do now is the bigger question. Eventually they are going to have to get people to move there but how? I think the government is going to have to essentially "bribe" store owners to open stores in the empty city and eventually people will trickle in if there are shops. I wouldn't be surprised if large tax incentives are offered to businesses who move operations to the new Ordos City.
What's even more interesting is why China would undertake such an expensive project. From the video you can tell China is very proud of it's 8% GDP growth rate. When the economy turned sour 16 months ago, China introduced their own stimulus (a very modest one compared to America's trillion dollar plan) to try to sustain growth and so they just started building. This is politics getting in the way of rational decision making at it's worst. Even though China is officially communist, it most certainly runs a capitalist economy. The GDP grows and shrinks naturally, that's just the way it is. Spending a gigantic sum of money on such a dubious plan will eventually catch up to the government if these types of decisions continue.
When I first saw the story I thought, this is the most retarded plan I've ever heard of. But after having thought about it, I still think its a bad plan but I'm trying to see it from an optimists viewpoint. This is the chance to plan a perfect city and not have to worry about inconveniencing people living there. Think about the concept of one way streets, everyone hates them but they exist because it was the best way to move traffic when cities got so big and it was impossible to knock down buildings and houses to widen the streets because, you know, people were there. This is basically a giant game of Sim City, a blank canvas. If China can successfully get people to migrate to Ordos City, it'll be interesting to watch what unfolds in a perfect city. If they can find a way to fill the city with limited additional expense, I still think it will be hard to justify the investment, but its at the very least an interesting idea.
I really don't have anything else to add, we'll have to see how long it takes to become a real city and if the benefits will ever catch up to the cost.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Dept. of Energy and funding for the next great invention
Glad to be back. I saw an interesting article and it reminded me of my post advising Obama what i wanted to see accomplished in his first term as president.
I wrote the following paragraph regarding the US government using the proposed bailout to invest in cutting edge technology.
Investment: At this point, the only thing the US sells to other countries are weapons and pharmaceuticals. We need to recapture some of the more cutting edge energy technologies and start exporting. If the US government is going to invest, make sure its in things we can sell to the rest of the world.
Essentially, I wanted the government to become a venture capital I'm including the link because as we learned from Wedding Crashers, people understand what Pimps from Oakland do and Maple Syrup Conglomerates do but might be less sure what Venture Capital means. Basically, venture capital companies look for other companies to invest in.
Well it seems the government did what i suggested and there have been some unintended consequences.
The DOE hopes to lend or give out more than $40 billion to businesses working on "clean technology," everything from electric cars and novel batteries to wind turbines and solar panels. In the first nine months of 2009, the DOE doled out $13 billion in loans and grants to such firms.
Great, right? The government is trying to kick-start the economy by providing loans and financing to small entrepreneurs trying to create the industries of the 21st century. Well unfortunately, here's where the unintended consequences part comes in and showed me that I didn't investigate all angles of my (and the government's) great idea.
Some young companies are tailoring their business plans to win DOE cash. Private investors, meanwhile, are often pulling back, waiting to see which projects the government blesses. Success in winning federal funds can attract a flood of private capital, companies say, while conversely, bad luck in Washington can sour their chances with private investors. The result is an intertwining of public and private-sector interests in an arena where politics is never far from the surface.
Basically, if you want private investment for your (energy related) business venture, you better have the Dept. of Energy on your side first. Unfortunately this is going to give a small group of politicians in the Department of Energy enormous power in shaping and directing the future of the United States economy.
"We are caught in this blender of historically new forces, somewhere between the public and private worlds," said Bright's chief executive, John Waters. Without a government loan, private investors are reluctant to jump in, he says, while the DOE loan team is wary of backing ventures that haven't already won significant support in the private sector.
Venture Capital companies work because the people who work there are ruthlessly efficient in determining which companies have the potential to make it because they hire business and economic experts and don't invest in companies they don't will make it because it's their company's money at stake. By putting the government in the driver's seat in deciding which companies make it and which don't, we're running the risk of taking the some of the smartest and shrewdest businessman out of the process and just piggybacking on companies that have already received significant government support.
My main concern is the DOE will issue too much funding because they are trying to stimulate enterprise and are not overly concerned with profitability. Taxpayer money will be wasted because the DOE aren't the experts in picking companies that actually have long term viability. The article focuses on the upstart Fisker Automotive who have already secured over 500 million in loans and while I understand that a venure as large as a car company has a large upstart cost, I wouldn't count on getting any of that 500 million back. The problem is not only the companies/ideas the DOE thinks will succeed and don't, if the DOE passes on what the best idea ever, what then? Before this, no one entity had so much power in the venture capital market. If one company stupidly passed on the chance to get the first toaster company started back in 1900, there was another company ready to fund. But with such a mammoth power like the government in the VC game, will the private firms have the nerve to fund a great idea that wasn't blessed by the DOE?
Overall, I think it's great the government tried to fund new and exciting green technologies and business ventures. The industry needed capital when banks and venture capital companies where shrinking and cutting back on lending a year ago. However, I think the government needs to start to roll back their financial involvement and let the market decide which ideas have long term potential.
Thanks for sticking with the blog.
I wrote the following paragraph regarding the US government using the proposed bailout to invest in cutting edge technology.
Investment: At this point, the only thing the US sells to other countries are weapons and pharmaceuticals. We need to recapture some of the more cutting edge energy technologies and start exporting. If the US government is going to invest, make sure its in things we can sell to the rest of the world.
Essentially, I wanted the government to become a venture capital I'm including the link because as we learned from Wedding Crashers, people understand what Pimps from Oakland do and Maple Syrup Conglomerates do but might be less sure what Venture Capital means. Basically, venture capital companies look for other companies to invest in.
Well it seems the government did what i suggested and there have been some unintended consequences.
The DOE hopes to lend or give out more than $40 billion to businesses working on "clean technology," everything from electric cars and novel batteries to wind turbines and solar panels. In the first nine months of 2009, the DOE doled out $13 billion in loans and grants to such firms.
Great, right? The government is trying to kick-start the economy by providing loans and financing to small entrepreneurs trying to create the industries of the 21st century. Well unfortunately, here's where the unintended consequences part comes in and showed me that I didn't investigate all angles of my (and the government's) great idea.
Some young companies are tailoring their business plans to win DOE cash. Private investors, meanwhile, are often pulling back, waiting to see which projects the government blesses. Success in winning federal funds can attract a flood of private capital, companies say, while conversely, bad luck in Washington can sour their chances with private investors. The result is an intertwining of public and private-sector interests in an arena where politics is never far from the surface.
Basically, if you want private investment for your (energy related) business venture, you better have the Dept. of Energy on your side first. Unfortunately this is going to give a small group of politicians in the Department of Energy enormous power in shaping and directing the future of the United States economy.
"We are caught in this blender of historically new forces, somewhere between the public and private worlds," said Bright's chief executive, John Waters. Without a government loan, private investors are reluctant to jump in, he says, while the DOE loan team is wary of backing ventures that haven't already won significant support in the private sector.
Venture Capital companies work because the people who work there are ruthlessly efficient in determining which companies have the potential to make it because they hire business and economic experts and don't invest in companies they don't will make it because it's their company's money at stake. By putting the government in the driver's seat in deciding which companies make it and which don't, we're running the risk of taking the some of the smartest and shrewdest businessman out of the process and just piggybacking on companies that have already received significant government support.
My main concern is the DOE will issue too much funding because they are trying to stimulate enterprise and are not overly concerned with profitability. Taxpayer money will be wasted because the DOE aren't the experts in picking companies that actually have long term viability. The article focuses on the upstart Fisker Automotive who have already secured over 500 million in loans and while I understand that a venure as large as a car company has a large upstart cost, I wouldn't count on getting any of that 500 million back. The problem is not only the companies/ideas the DOE thinks will succeed and don't, if the DOE passes on what the best idea ever, what then? Before this, no one entity had so much power in the venture capital market. If one company stupidly passed on the chance to get the first toaster company started back in 1900, there was another company ready to fund. But with such a mammoth power like the government in the VC game, will the private firms have the nerve to fund a great idea that wasn't blessed by the DOE?
Overall, I think it's great the government tried to fund new and exciting green technologies and business ventures. The industry needed capital when banks and venture capital companies where shrinking and cutting back on lending a year ago. However, I think the government needs to start to roll back their financial involvement and let the market decide which ideas have long term potential.
Thanks for sticking with the blog.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Georgia: I'm sorry it took so long for part 2
Hey,
It's been a while. Georgia is kind of the same old thing. I've been working long hours but wanted give some highlights of my free time.
My 2nd weekend there, Johnny and I headed down to Daytona Beach, Florida which is about 3 hours south of Brunswick. We head down there and on when we get off the exit its a 4 mile drive to the water's edge. A mile of that was the Daytona Motor Speedway which is super impressive to see from the outside because its a racetrack in next to regular city streets. It goes multiple city blocks and even for a non NASCAR fan, definitely cool to see. We also saw the Vince Carter Athletic Center which is a freaking palace. We got to the beach and Daytona really looks like 70's vegas without the casinos. A bunch of hotels in a row, it was dusty, and had a million cheap gift shops that sold Daytona gifts.
I saw Up and thought it was really good. There must have been a cat in the theater because I got a bit sniffly when Carl was reading his wife's adventure book. Up was definitely full of sentiment; but light on plot. Carl of course was awesome. But I would have liked a little more development of the villain.
Thanks for everyone who wished me happy birthday. I went down to the beach in Jacksonville, FL. It started raining crazy hard, hard enough the windshield wipers did not work fast enough.
I want to get things posted so i might get to some less important things that may have happened a while ago coming soon.
It's been a while. Georgia is kind of the same old thing. I've been working long hours but wanted give some highlights of my free time.
My 2nd weekend there, Johnny and I headed down to Daytona Beach, Florida which is about 3 hours south of Brunswick. We head down there and on when we get off the exit its a 4 mile drive to the water's edge. A mile of that was the Daytona Motor Speedway which is super impressive to see from the outside because its a racetrack in next to regular city streets. It goes multiple city blocks and even for a non NASCAR fan, definitely cool to see. We also saw the Vince Carter Athletic Center which is a freaking palace. We got to the beach and Daytona really looks like 70's vegas without the casinos. A bunch of hotels in a row, it was dusty, and had a million cheap gift shops that sold Daytona gifts.
I saw Up and thought it was really good. There must have been a cat in the theater because I got a bit sniffly when Carl was reading his wife's adventure book. Up was definitely full of sentiment; but light on plot. Carl of course was awesome. But I would have liked a little more development of the villain.
Thanks for everyone who wished me happy birthday. I went down to the beach in Jacksonville, FL. It started raining crazy hard, hard enough the windshield wipers did not work fast enough.
I want to get things posted so i might get to some less important things that may have happened a while ago coming soon.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Georgia: The first couple days
Wanted to give my loyal fans the rundown on my first couple days in Georgia. I've given different people different bits and pieces of the story but I'll start from the beginning.
Last Tuesday, my boss calls me into his office and his boss is in there too. I sit down and they both look of me, the first thing that goes through my head is, "oh fuck, I'm about to be fired!"
So then one of them says to me, "How would you like to go to Brunswick for 30 days?" And I already know about Brunswick and the fact that the company has a facility there and even though the thought of spending 30 days in rural south Georgia is not what I had in mind for the start of my summer, its just one of those things you can't say no to.
So here I am, I left on Thursday and had a fairly uneventful day of traveling. I flew from San Diego to Atlanta and then on to Brunswick. On my flight to Brunswick, I sat in a two person row with a guy who is one of those people that should be forced to buy 2 seats. I was sitting on the aisle (thankfully) and was folding my legs and arms all over myself trying to get them some space.
So I arrive Thursday night and they put me straight to work on Friday and Saturday. The people I work with are really funny (to me at least). A lot of them are sweet ladies in their 40s and 50s (and 70s) with Georgia accents. A lot of times they'll use expressions that don't make any sense in the literal sense so I don't know what they're talking about but they all seem to know. I wish I had more to this story because on of the old ladies used, "make it rain." Now, she wasn't talking about rain coming from the sky and she wasnt talking about showering strippers with dollar bills so I'm still not sure what she was saying. I guess you had to be there (like a geography joke).
The first day at lunch I tried to make friends right away so I sat with some guys and they spent the 45 minute lunch break talking about fishing and I didn't say a word. The only time I've ever gone fishing, I was 7 and didn't even bait my own hook (I bet that would have impressed them). So in terms of mixing up with the locals, day number one wasn't super productive. After work, I went home and caught up on sleep.
Saturday they had me back to work and this time I was driving cars. It was pretty cool driving some of the super nice BMWs they have here. I don't know much about cars but i drove one that went up to 200 on the odometer (but I did take it up that high :). That day I went to lunch with my boss and two guys that work in the body shop. These guys were good guys and all but again, not a whole lot in common. We went to Larry's subs. Larry's subs was run by a family (presumably Larry's) and it was the classic hick family. Anyway, the guys I ate with talked about the drag race they went to recently, or Sponge Bob (of which they were both experts). Then I got to see that ridiculous Laker game.
I spent the rest of Saturday sleeping or looking for something to do on Sunday. I thought I found something good; I was was going to head down to the semi-touristy St. Simons Island. I saw on this website that it had beaches and bike trails. So I thought this sounded pretty good. I start the day out walking in the direction of St. Simons and I end up walking to a Wal-mart to pick up and Ipod data cable and decide to stop at a small restaurant to have some lunch before I took a cab the rest of the 10 miles to the island. I walk into the restaurant (think Applebees but not called Applebees). I walk in and this is the exchange I have with one of the girls at the front desk:
"Didn't I see you walk by?"
"Yes, I needed to run an errand"
"Why'd you walk by and come back"
"I went to Wal-mart to pick something up."
"Are you from here?"
"No"
"Where are you from?"
"California"
"Why are you here"
"Business trip."
At this point one of the other girls steps in and chastises here for the grilling I'm getting and I ask jokingly, "Did I do something wrong?" Even though she was extremely rude to me, she wasn't trying to be a dick to me, she was just curious but I'm writing it because I've never had anything like that happen to me. So as I was leaving I ask for the girl to call me a cab. 15 minutes later my cab driver walks in and walks me to his cab. Now, I'm asking you to picture the definition of cowboy and thats who my cab driver was. Boots, jeans, a button up black shirt with orange flames and topped off with a cowboy hat. So we get into the cab and he introduces himself as "Country." Whoa. Country? Are you kidding me? The whole time we were talking I couldn't get over it. This was a Georgia boy through and through. It was funny, he was asking me questions about why I was visiting Georgia (Apparently I stick out like a sore thumb because Georgians can tell immediately that I'm not one of them). So I answered some questions and would usually respong, "I like your style." Then he asked me questions about how I liked Georgia and things like that usually responding to my answers with, "I like your style." The he rolled the windows up and put on the air and I said, "You know what, I wouldn't mind the fresh air blowing through here." You know what comes next, "Hey man, I like your style." I think I could have told him, "I think Country is a stupid name and you're a dumb redneck." I still think he would have told me he likes my style."
So he drops me off on St. Simons and I walk around a bit before going to look for a bike rental shop to tackle these bike trails. Its a nice place, a couple shops and a small beach but the island is mostly houses and swamps. So go to a bike rental shop and ask if they have a map or if they can direct me to one of these legendary bike trails. The disinterestedly hands me a map and sends me on my way. So I look at the map and it doesn't say anything about bike trails. I bike around the whole island and don't see anything. Apparently Georgia's definition of bike trails means paved sidewalks... next to streets... in the middle of the town. I just had to laugh about it because in no way shape or form were there "bike trails" but they fooled me into coming down and taking some of my money, well done.
I call up the cab company and ask for them to send Country to give me a ride home. The dispatcher says, "Country will be there in a few." I get picked up and this is the first time I notice the name tag on the dash, "Hayes Forbes." Hmm. As much as I want to believe that Country's name is actually Country (the dispatcher called him that too), the name tag on the dash throws some doubts in my mind. But it would break my heart for him not to be named Country, so I choose to believe although I'll probably never know.
It's been an interesting first couple days. I start a "special project" on Tuesday so then I'll have a better sense of why I'm here. Thanks for everyone calling, texting, and gtalking to me while I'm here.
Last Tuesday, my boss calls me into his office and his boss is in there too. I sit down and they both look of me, the first thing that goes through my head is, "oh fuck, I'm about to be fired!"
So then one of them says to me, "How would you like to go to Brunswick for 30 days?" And I already know about Brunswick and the fact that the company has a facility there and even though the thought of spending 30 days in rural south Georgia is not what I had in mind for the start of my summer, its just one of those things you can't say no to.
So here I am, I left on Thursday and had a fairly uneventful day of traveling. I flew from San Diego to Atlanta and then on to Brunswick. On my flight to Brunswick, I sat in a two person row with a guy who is one of those people that should be forced to buy 2 seats. I was sitting on the aisle (thankfully) and was folding my legs and arms all over myself trying to get them some space.
So I arrive Thursday night and they put me straight to work on Friday and Saturday. The people I work with are really funny (to me at least). A lot of them are sweet ladies in their 40s and 50s (and 70s) with Georgia accents. A lot of times they'll use expressions that don't make any sense in the literal sense so I don't know what they're talking about but they all seem to know. I wish I had more to this story because on of the old ladies used, "make it rain." Now, she wasn't talking about rain coming from the sky and she wasnt talking about showering strippers with dollar bills so I'm still not sure what she was saying. I guess you had to be there (like a geography joke).
The first day at lunch I tried to make friends right away so I sat with some guys and they spent the 45 minute lunch break talking about fishing and I didn't say a word. The only time I've ever gone fishing, I was 7 and didn't even bait my own hook (I bet that would have impressed them). So in terms of mixing up with the locals, day number one wasn't super productive. After work, I went home and caught up on sleep.
Saturday they had me back to work and this time I was driving cars. It was pretty cool driving some of the super nice BMWs they have here. I don't know much about cars but i drove one that went up to 200 on the odometer (but I did take it up that high :). That day I went to lunch with my boss and two guys that work in the body shop. These guys were good guys and all but again, not a whole lot in common. We went to Larry's subs. Larry's subs was run by a family (presumably Larry's) and it was the classic hick family. Anyway, the guys I ate with talked about the drag race they went to recently, or Sponge Bob (of which they were both experts). Then I got to see that ridiculous Laker game.
I spent the rest of Saturday sleeping or looking for something to do on Sunday. I thought I found something good; I was was going to head down to the semi-touristy St. Simons Island. I saw on this website that it had beaches and bike trails. So I thought this sounded pretty good. I start the day out walking in the direction of St. Simons and I end up walking to a Wal-mart to pick up and Ipod data cable and decide to stop at a small restaurant to have some lunch before I took a cab the rest of the 10 miles to the island. I walk into the restaurant (think Applebees but not called Applebees). I walk in and this is the exchange I have with one of the girls at the front desk:
"Didn't I see you walk by?"
"Yes, I needed to run an errand"
"Why'd you walk by and come back"
"I went to Wal-mart to pick something up."
"Are you from here?"
"No"
"Where are you from?"
"California"
"Why are you here"
"Business trip."
At this point one of the other girls steps in and chastises here for the grilling I'm getting and I ask jokingly, "Did I do something wrong?" Even though she was extremely rude to me, she wasn't trying to be a dick to me, she was just curious but I'm writing it because I've never had anything like that happen to me. So as I was leaving I ask for the girl to call me a cab. 15 minutes later my cab driver walks in and walks me to his cab. Now, I'm asking you to picture the definition of cowboy and thats who my cab driver was. Boots, jeans, a button up black shirt with orange flames and topped off with a cowboy hat. So we get into the cab and he introduces himself as "Country." Whoa. Country? Are you kidding me? The whole time we were talking I couldn't get over it. This was a Georgia boy through and through. It was funny, he was asking me questions about why I was visiting Georgia (Apparently I stick out like a sore thumb because Georgians can tell immediately that I'm not one of them). So I answered some questions and would usually respong, "I like your style." Then he asked me questions about how I liked Georgia and things like that usually responding to my answers with, "I like your style." The he rolled the windows up and put on the air and I said, "You know what, I wouldn't mind the fresh air blowing through here." You know what comes next, "Hey man, I like your style." I think I could have told him, "I think Country is a stupid name and you're a dumb redneck." I still think he would have told me he likes my style."
So he drops me off on St. Simons and I walk around a bit before going to look for a bike rental shop to tackle these bike trails. Its a nice place, a couple shops and a small beach but the island is mostly houses and swamps. So go to a bike rental shop and ask if they have a map or if they can direct me to one of these legendary bike trails. The disinterestedly hands me a map and sends me on my way. So I look at the map and it doesn't say anything about bike trails. I bike around the whole island and don't see anything. Apparently Georgia's definition of bike trails means paved sidewalks... next to streets... in the middle of the town. I just had to laugh about it because in no way shape or form were there "bike trails" but they fooled me into coming down and taking some of my money, well done.
I call up the cab company and ask for them to send Country to give me a ride home. The dispatcher says, "Country will be there in a few." I get picked up and this is the first time I notice the name tag on the dash, "Hayes Forbes." Hmm. As much as I want to believe that Country's name is actually Country (the dispatcher called him that too), the name tag on the dash throws some doubts in my mind. But it would break my heart for him not to be named Country, so I choose to believe although I'll probably never know.
It's been an interesting first couple days. I start a "special project" on Tuesday so then I'll have a better sense of why I'm here. Thanks for everyone calling, texting, and gtalking to me while I'm here.
Monday, April 27, 2009
NFL Draft
I've gone around the internet and tried to find out a consensus on the Chargers draft since I've obviously seen a Northern Illinois game. I've copied and pasted for your reading pleasure. Its sounds like most analysts were meh on the Chargers noting that Larry English is good but not middle of the first round good. When we get him on the Merriman plan, he'll be blowing people up. A lot of people talked about English being Merriman insurance, I think enough people raised doubts that its possible San Diego is nervous that A. Merriman may not get back to full strength after the knee injury or B. He will get to full strength and then leave as a free agent when the Redskins offer him 100 mil. With the franchise tag rule, I don't think we'll have to worry about losing Merriman for a couple years but AJ smith might think Merriman is a replaceable part not worthy of a big contract. Back to the Hester deal, look up Phil Loadholt, an offensive tackle drafted by Minnesota in the 2nd round a couple spots behind where we would have picked in the 2nd round. If we hadn't done the Hester deal, we could have had English and gotten a 6'7'' 335 pound right tackle also. Anyway, that's the past. In the first round, I was going to grill the Chargers on not being aggressive and trying to move up to get Orakpo (a personal favorite after the chain picture) but the Redskins made that pick after 10 seconds, its clear they had no interest in trading the pick no matter what the Chargers or anyone else could offer in trade. This draft gets a thumbs up from me.
_______________________________________________________________________________
San Diego Chargers: GRADE: C+
The selection of linebacker Larry English at No. 16 was a little high, but he fills a potential need for them and he's a good player. Guards Louis Vasquez and Tyronne Green were good selections in the third and fourth rounds. Defensive tackle Vaughn Martin was a bit of a reach in the fourth round because he played in Canada against a lower level of competition. The late-round picks of running back Gartrell Johnson, cornerback Brandon Hughes, safety Kevin Ellison and wide receiver Demetrius Byrd were all good picks.
San Diego Chargers
2009 draft class
Best pick: G Tyronne Green, Auburn (Fourth round, No. 133 overall)
Worst pick: DT Vaughn Martin, Western Ontario (Fourth round, No. 113 overall)
Bottom line: It's hard to knock the pick of DE Larry English at No. 16 overall because I think he is a good all-around player who will help the Chargers in the long term. However, San Diego's Super Bowl window is closing quickly and drafting English at arguably their deepest position -- assuming Shawne Merriman returns to health -- does nothing to upgrade the team in the short term. The Chargers needed an impact player at ILB or a physical presence at RT, and after passing on those needs in the first round they were left to wait until the third round for their next pick. Martin has upside thanks to his combination of size and athleticism but it won't surprise me if he's not on their 53-man roster this fall. The only really good news for San Diego is that Green and Louis Vasquez will beef up the interior of the offensive line now and in the future.
San Diego Chargers
Picks: DE/LB Larry English, G Louis Vasquez, DT Vaughn Martin, G Tyronne Green, RB Gartrell Johnson, CB Brandon Hughes, S Kevin Ellison, WR Demetrius Byrd.
Positives: English, Vazquez, Martin.
Negative: Didn’t get top-end running back.
Bottom line: B. English is a small-college player with big-time pass-rush skills, which the Chargers need after not having linebacker Shawne Merriman last season. Merriman is expected to come back this season, but may not get all of the explosiveness back from what he had prior to his knee injury. Therefore, English may have to be ready sooner than later. Vasquez, Martin and Green are the type of big-body guys the Chargers like on their interior lines and Martin should step right in to replace departed Igor Olshansky. However, the Chargers were really hoping for a shot at Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno, who was taken at No. 12 by Denver, four picks ahead of the Chargers. Moreno was going to be the guy to step in after LaDainian Tomlinson left.
San Diego: B-
The Chargers' draft was quietly productive. They may have taken pass-rusher Larry English a tad too early at No. 16 but he is a fine player who should make a fast impact. Guard Louis Vasquez has a chance to start right away if the third-rounder from Texas Tech has a good training camp. Guard Tyronne Green, (fourth round), running back Gartrell Johnson (fifth) and safety Kevin Ellison (sixth) all could help down the road. It was nothing fancy, but it was a solid draft by the three-time defending division champions.
San Diego
The selection of Northern Illinois pass rusher Larry English helps because of the loss of Igor Olshansky and with Shawne Merriman entering his final season contractually. It's difficult to argue with GM A.J. Smith, but a lot of teams ranked English as a second-round player. English, who started 47 games, had 31 1/2 career sacks and twice was named the best player in Mid-American Conference.
Colorado State running back Gartrell Johnson proved his worth with a 285-yard effort against Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl game. Johnson led the Mountain West Conference with 113.5 yards per game. Grade: B
What do you think of the Larry English pick for the Chargers? Did he get taken too early, or is his dominant performance in the MAC enough to justify him going before some defensive players from the big-time programs?
SportsNation Mel Kiper: I didn't think he was taken too early. It was a team that had a chance to make a luxury pick. This is Shawn Merriman insurance. He's coming off of a knee injury. He's a perfect 3-4 OLB. Now they have that third entity that they had the luxury of taking. They had no key need area going in. They also picked a RB. This was a pick for a good player in the MAC. It's not like the MAC is I-AA. It's a good football conference. He played for Northern Illinois and played well. He was in my top 25 for a lot of the year.
# Best pick: Guard Louis Vasquez, the team's second-round pick, is a feisty lineman who fits in with what the Chargers want to do.
# Questionable move: Taking Larry English with the 16th pick might have been a little high. And it really wasn't a need. Some teams had second-round grades on English.
# Second-day gem: Fourth-round pick Vaughn Martin played his college ball in Canada, but he initially was set to go to Michigan State. He is 6-3, 331 pounds and has a lot of raw ability.
I just didn't think they did a lot of really good things. But English can change that if he becomes another Shawne Merriman. C-
San Diego Chargers
Grade: B+
Details: A back to basics draft for Chargers GM A.J. Smith after they spent two years going for luxury picks. Northern Illinois DE/OLB Larry English will learn how to play outside linebacker, and then eventually replace Shawne Merriman or Shaun Phillips as a big-time pass rusher. Three straight linemen in the middle rounds will add bulk. San Diego only gets knocked off “A” status because they dealt their second-rounder in a questionable deal for Jacob Hester last year. (Just so we're clear, I didn't write the last sentence)
_______________________________________________________________________________
San Diego Chargers: GRADE: C+
The selection of linebacker Larry English at No. 16 was a little high, but he fills a potential need for them and he's a good player. Guards Louis Vasquez and Tyronne Green were good selections in the third and fourth rounds. Defensive tackle Vaughn Martin was a bit of a reach in the fourth round because he played in Canada against a lower level of competition. The late-round picks of running back Gartrell Johnson, cornerback Brandon Hughes, safety Kevin Ellison and wide receiver Demetrius Byrd were all good picks.
San Diego Chargers
2009 draft class
Best pick: G Tyronne Green, Auburn (Fourth round, No. 133 overall)
Worst pick: DT Vaughn Martin, Western Ontario (Fourth round, No. 113 overall)
Bottom line: It's hard to knock the pick of DE Larry English at No. 16 overall because I think he is a good all-around player who will help the Chargers in the long term. However, San Diego's Super Bowl window is closing quickly and drafting English at arguably their deepest position -- assuming Shawne Merriman returns to health -- does nothing to upgrade the team in the short term. The Chargers needed an impact player at ILB or a physical presence at RT, and after passing on those needs in the first round they were left to wait until the third round for their next pick. Martin has upside thanks to his combination of size and athleticism but it won't surprise me if he's not on their 53-man roster this fall. The only really good news for San Diego is that Green and Louis Vasquez will beef up the interior of the offensive line now and in the future.
San Diego Chargers
Picks: DE/LB Larry English, G Louis Vasquez, DT Vaughn Martin, G Tyronne Green, RB Gartrell Johnson, CB Brandon Hughes, S Kevin Ellison, WR Demetrius Byrd.
Positives: English, Vazquez, Martin.
Negative: Didn’t get top-end running back.
Bottom line: B. English is a small-college player with big-time pass-rush skills, which the Chargers need after not having linebacker Shawne Merriman last season. Merriman is expected to come back this season, but may not get all of the explosiveness back from what he had prior to his knee injury. Therefore, English may have to be ready sooner than later. Vasquez, Martin and Green are the type of big-body guys the Chargers like on their interior lines and Martin should step right in to replace departed Igor Olshansky. However, the Chargers were really hoping for a shot at Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno, who was taken at No. 12 by Denver, four picks ahead of the Chargers. Moreno was going to be the guy to step in after LaDainian Tomlinson left.
San Diego: B-
The Chargers' draft was quietly productive. They may have taken pass-rusher Larry English a tad too early at No. 16 but he is a fine player who should make a fast impact. Guard Louis Vasquez has a chance to start right away if the third-rounder from Texas Tech has a good training camp. Guard Tyronne Green, (fourth round), running back Gartrell Johnson (fifth) and safety Kevin Ellison (sixth) all could help down the road. It was nothing fancy, but it was a solid draft by the three-time defending division champions.
San Diego
The selection of Northern Illinois pass rusher Larry English helps because of the loss of Igor Olshansky and with Shawne Merriman entering his final season contractually. It's difficult to argue with GM A.J. Smith, but a lot of teams ranked English as a second-round player. English, who started 47 games, had 31 1/2 career sacks and twice was named the best player in Mid-American Conference.
Colorado State running back Gartrell Johnson proved his worth with a 285-yard effort against Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl game. Johnson led the Mountain West Conference with 113.5 yards per game. Grade: B
What do you think of the Larry English pick for the Chargers? Did he get taken too early, or is his dominant performance in the MAC enough to justify him going before some defensive players from the big-time programs?
SportsNation Mel Kiper: I didn't think he was taken too early. It was a team that had a chance to make a luxury pick. This is Shawn Merriman insurance. He's coming off of a knee injury. He's a perfect 3-4 OLB. Now they have that third entity that they had the luxury of taking. They had no key need area going in. They also picked a RB. This was a pick for a good player in the MAC. It's not like the MAC is I-AA. It's a good football conference. He played for Northern Illinois and played well. He was in my top 25 for a lot of the year.
# Best pick: Guard Louis Vasquez, the team's second-round pick, is a feisty lineman who fits in with what the Chargers want to do.
# Questionable move: Taking Larry English with the 16th pick might have been a little high. And it really wasn't a need. Some teams had second-round grades on English.
# Second-day gem: Fourth-round pick Vaughn Martin played his college ball in Canada, but he initially was set to go to Michigan State. He is 6-3, 331 pounds and has a lot of raw ability.
I just didn't think they did a lot of really good things. But English can change that if he becomes another Shawne Merriman. C-
San Diego Chargers
Grade: B+
Details: A back to basics draft for Chargers GM A.J. Smith after they spent two years going for luxury picks. Northern Illinois DE/OLB Larry English will learn how to play outside linebacker, and then eventually replace Shawne Merriman or Shaun Phillips as a big-time pass rusher. Three straight linemen in the middle rounds will add bulk. San Diego only gets knocked off “A” status because they dealt their second-rounder in a questionable deal for Jacob Hester last year. (Just so we're clear, I didn't write the last sentence)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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