The Goat Pen

eCat wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 12:09 pm My prediction

The refs are going to catch wind of the growing backlash of Purdue getting all the fouls and change it up for NC St.

Purdue will be stunned by NC ST

If Burns is 275, BRM and I are too.

If State stays healthy, out of foul trouble and avoids having completely off nights from starters -- especially Burns and Horne -- I think Purdue has a serious problem on their hands.

At the same time, I don't know if Burns can avoid foul trouble against Edey, and I think facing a legit rim protector of that caliber -- which he has yet to really face during this run off of the top of my head -- poses the obvious problem for Burns.

State likes to run stuff that is almost like clear out sets but this time to a post player where they get Burns the ball 15-17 feet from the basket, let him iso and back his man in the post. So...
1) What if Purdue shifts personnel to double with Edey traveling away from the basket to stay with Burns? Burns can pass the damn ball very well, and State will have opportunities to feast on cuts to an unprotected basket and work the extra pass out to an open shooter.
2) What if Purdue doesn't shift personnel to double but still keep Edey out on Burns? I think that's smarter, but I still think it leaves Purdue vulnerable to cuts on an unprotected basket.

If the refs are sensitive about Purdue's rep for getting foul calls and Purdue doubles Burns, Purdue is in deep shit all things being equal. Somehow, Matt Painter has yet to coach himself out of a victory this March, and this could be the game it happens.

Burns is legit. Wolfpack gots dis.

If you are UConn, and you are looking PAST Alabama (don't know why you would, but if you are) who do you really want to win this Purdue-NC State game?

at this point I just don't want UConn to win. Would like to see Purdue or Bama win it all just because they haven't

"I am listening to volume 1 of Stephen Kotkin’s soon to be completed trilogy on Stalin"

What have you discovered?

eCat wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 4:02 pm at this point I just don't want UConn to win. Would like to see Purdue or Bama win it all just because they haven't

Yep, with you. UConn had zero titles in 1998. They’re about to tie us for 3rd with six NCAA banners. Hurley is maniacally driven and he is at THE school which doesn’t even pretend to give a single fuck about football. The Huskies might finally be the UCLA of the East that Lefty Driesell prophesied in the early 70s.

hedge wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 4:23 pm "I am listening to volume 1 of Stephen Kotkin’s soon to be completed trilogy on Stalin"

What have you discovered?

Discovered/confirmed/learned more about stuff such as

1) extremist windbags of that era were just as foolish as extremist windbags of this or any era.
2) Stalin was far more capable and far more centrally important in ensuring that the Soviets held on during the period after revolution and during the Civil War than what Trotsky and many historians would lead you to believe.
3) these guys were fucking losers like IB.
4) the Soviets were lucky in that their long shot bid to take/hold power worked moreso because of the incompetence of others than anything else.

DS!

AA!

I hope you are doing well and enjoying what I assume are your retirement / semi-retirement years.

Am I to take it that you are doing some teaching now?

Sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope everything works out for you. I'm glad to see you even if you came after Bama beat my Heels....

Thanks, DS. I’m retired and then unretired. Been faculty at a university for more than a decade. Perhaps a bit more emeritus lately.

I appreciate it, glad to be in a FF -which is stellar for Bama - but no one is beating UConne (or I’ll be shocked if it happens).

Thought you were in hospital administration? Maybe that’s over 10 years ago and time just runs together for me.

Anyway, glad you’re alive

I did 30 years of med center admin. The faculty gig is a lot less stressful.

AlabamAlum wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 10:11 pm I did 30 years of med center admin. The faculty gig is a lot less stressful.

I'm sure you don't miss The Joint Commission.

So, I'm drinking scotch these days, but I'm a neophyte compared to some of my neighbors and folks like you. I gravitate towards Speyside (Glenlivet, Macallan, and Balvenie are my preferred choices with Glenlivet being my standard go to choice) with the occasional foray over to Oban to get my Highland kick. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should try to broaden my horizons?

I'm not a Glenfiddich man, but I was given a bottle as a gift. I have have taken a few drinks from it, and whenever I do, I am reminded of your enjoyment of the valley of the deer....

lol.

I head back to Scotland in June. Glenfiddich 12 is a great everyday drinker. Not everyone prefers a speysider, though.

Have you tried the Islay offerings, DS? They're not to everyone's liking, but I like them...

Islays are good. Lagavulin is probably the most commercially popular of them.

I also love the Highland malts. Dalmore is fabulous, but it’s pricey.

Lagavulin is the most popular, but also my favorite, which kinda bugs me for some reason. But it's good. The other usual suspects from Islay are Bowmore, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich and Ardbeg (they all make several varieties but I usually stick with the standard aged offerings). I don't drink scotch all that often, so I look forward to the double barrel smoke/peat/camphor kick of the Islay offerings when I do. Sadly, due to the state controlled liquor monopoly in NC, I'm pretty much limited to the popular brands, but I like them all, so can't complain too much..

The only Islay I’ve tried besides Lagavulin is Laphroaig…and I prefer Lagavulin. It’s my go-to on the rare occasions I drink scotch.

All the Islay scotches have a somewhat similar flavor profile. I mean, there's a far greater difference b/w different Islay scotches than there is b/w, say, different American light beers (or regular beers for that matter), but you know an Islay when you taste one. Also, the "standard" Laphroaig offering is their 10 year old, Lagavulin's standard bottle is 16 years old, which probably accounts for some of the difference, above and beyond their individual flavor profiles.

My Scottish ancestors came from Mull, which is two islands up from Islay, I'm sure that played a role in my starting with Islays when I was first getting into scotch. Can't say that I've ever regretted that. They do have a distillery on Mull, but the two bottles I ordered from them were subpar (to say the least)...

I love this guy: