[Husker] A Big One Gets Away

[jonlists at cbsol.com]

Alan Siporin <alans at efn.org> wrote on 12/21/2005 06:31:03 PM:

> 
> First, I owe Jon an apology. After these many years on the internet I 
should
> know better and control my sarcasm. Yes, it was sarcasm. Sorry about the 
low
> dig, Jon.

Accepted. 

> [snip stuff]
> 
> But that wasn't my main point, anyway. I thought it interesting that
> Callahan had one moral application for one circumstance and seemed to 
have a
> different moral application for another. And I don't say this in 
judgment of
> him. I sincerely see it as an opportunity to explore/discuss moral
> conundrums. And Jon, that's what ticked me off. I said I was not judging
> anyone, and you basically said you didn't believe me. My word wasn't 
good
> enough for you. And that struck me wrong since the whole theme of my 
post
> was the credibility of one's word.
> 

Well, you've been writing a long time, as have I, and you know that 
sometimes what you write is not what people read. 

My reaction was more along the lines of wondering how would we know what 
everyone had said and done, so how can we make a judgement about what 
really happened, especially one as strong as the point you were trying to 
make. 

I usually try not to comment on recruiting very much because there is so 
much that goes on around it that seems to be manufactured. Mel Kiper has 
created an industry (not single-handedly, of course) of it, as have the 
recruiting people who rank recruits. It seems so.... subjective. Some kid 
gets ranked one star because someone is looking at his stats, or his 
school, or his geographical location, etc. 

> I guess a sports list isn't the place for my observations on moral
> conundrums and contradictions. As a novelist and commentator, it's what 
I
> do, and since I generate conversations with high school and college kids 
on
> such topics, it seemed good fodder for the list. I really didn't give it 
a
> second thought. I just tossed it out there for responses. I wasn't 
expecting
> to be called sanctimonious, especially when I made a point of saying 
this is
> just for the sake of observation. Oh well. I'm passed it. I hope 
everyone
> else is, or will be soon.

I was going to say "self-righteous". Which would have ticked you off more? 
<G> 

If you had placed the comment above with your post, I would have 
understood where you were going. Unfortunately, at the time, I took it as 
a flip remark, and to be honest, when I read it my brains were fried (you 
ever worked on Intrusion Detection systems? The rulesets and the results 
can be mind-boggling and I have to explain all this crap to someone 
else... I could keep whining but you get the idea.) 

I will say that there are so many influences with regards to the decisions 
that go into choosing a school that it's difficult (I think) to try to 
frame what's going through these kids' heads. I do remember Murtha 
committing to Nebraska after being committed to Minnesota. The reaction of 
Minnesota fans was absolutely fierce. Murtha simply said that after he 
visited Nebraska, he felt like it's the place he needed to be. Minnesota 
took that as complete rejection. Later on, it came out that Murtha wasn't 
impressed that he was taken to a bar on his Minnesota trip and it bothered 
him. Is that true? Who knows!? Maybe Murtha and the kids he was around. 
But such a deal is made of these things it's hard to overcome the noise. 

> 
> I sincerely wish everyone a happy holiday season, topped off with a 
Husker
> victory over Michigan. And I wouldn't mind some recruiting coup, either,
> like Mitch Mustain.
> 
> Alan
> 

I'm hoping we beat Michigan, too, but I'm not going to hold my breath. 
More important than a win over Michigan is our reaction to it, or a loss. 
The KU loss was about the end of everyone's patience. If for some reason, 
Michigan blows us off the field, I hope we all keep our cool about it and 
go on to discuss basketball or the upcoming baseball season. 

Merry Christmas...... 

Jon Johnston
Creative Business Solutions
IBM, Microsoft, Novell/Suse and Sophos Consulting
952-544-1108
http://www.cbsol.com
Blog:http://bingo.cbsol.com