AURex

Yes, we expected a "self defense" and "stand your ground" defense. And ya know, maybe that is true. HOWEVER, the killer was a felon and thus could not legally possess a firearm of any kind. We don't know yet whether Brian and his brother had license to carry. If they did not, this is one of those "thugs vs thugs" shootouts at 3:30AM in which the law just throws up their hands in exasperation. I hope these stories are not the true case regarding what happened. I'd like to believe Brian and brother and others were innocent victims of a felon. Whatever the truth, I hope the young man recovers.

Of course, I would GUESS that most of us discussing the issue here in this forum graduated long ago when tuition and fees and materials were MUCH lower, or some (I know there are a few) who never attended Auburn or any other university. The reality is that higher education today is incredibly expensive and starting salaries in most fields are really low. Truth is, it is beneficial to society as a whole to reward those who demonstrate their intellectual abilities and graduate and seek meaningful employment. Our U.S. society is not a true meritocracy, it does not really endeavor to create and reward an educated working class, it does not foster progress from lower income to middle class or higher income. The resistance to helping graduates pay off the horrendous (and indefensible) educational debts they encounter is rather like the right wing argument that we shouldn't support health care for the less fortunate, or food stamps, or child support, or school lunches, or Medicaid -- because welp, I personally do not receive those dollars. Of course, if they are being paid NOT to grow crops, or free range, or business tax breaks, or legal largess from the federal or state government, well, that's different because, well, that's ME.

Yes, the entire media situation and the legal problem both dump lots of money into the B1G and SEC for football and basketball.

I guess there is a tradeoff. If you play really top teams during the pre-conference and lose them all, yes, that becomes an albatross around your neck ----- KINDA, MAYBE! Bama played and lost to a several top teams, yet pulled out a good finishing point. And, welp, NCAC ....... The idea is to play some good teams in pre-season, then bust azzzzz and demonstrate you are much better than those tams yu lost to. Yep! Okay! WDE!

I don't want to try to predict the outcome of Brian's medical emergency, so I'll leave that alone. A couple of guys were injured, but not killed. There has been no explanation yet as to what actually (or likely) occurred. Was it is shootout between the Batties and others vs antagonists? Was it shooters against unarmed Batties and friends? You would think, by now, that the cops would have released some sort of explanation or at least more of an idea of what they think happened. Where are the police reports?

The new NCAA alignment, negotiated by the B1G and SEC, is going to further enrich those two conferences in a "the rich get richer" scheme. Additionally (and separately), the NCAA legal agreement (proposed) will favor the B1G and SEC, placing an unfair burden of monetary hardship on the Big East and other basketball / non FBS conferences. Last year, the B1G distributed $60.5 million to 12 of its members (Rutgers and Maryland receive a smaller share). The SEC distributed $51.3 million to each of its member universities, almost $10 million less per institution than the B1G. The new media contracts continue to benefit B1G over SEC, and way over other conferences. The ACC and Big12 receive much smaller pots of money to serve out. B1G has 4 new schools arriving -- UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon. SEC has 2 new arrivals -- Texas and Oklahoma. Will revenues per university even out between the two super-conferences? Will SEC jump over B1G to offer greater revenue to member institutions? One thing is sure. ACC schools are not in a good spot and neither are Big12. Even if FSU and Clemson (and now possibly UNC) succeed in breaking away from the ACC, where will they go? Would either SEC or B1G want to add more members to further dilute the payouts per university? Whatever, I'm sure SEC universities are less than thrilled that B1G universities pulled in $10 million more per year than SEC schools last year. Just further evidence that the realignment of institutions and the media contractual agreements are not over. There is still a bumpy ride to go. Because ESPN and other media networks are now facing limits on how much they are willing to spend for college FB and BB.

She's certainly one of Auburn's great swimmers, along with Rowdy Gaines. I have not really thought about new statues, but it would be interesting to highlight sports other than FB and BB.

Yikes! Frightening and horrific. Hoping the updates are positive for Brian, and also that the police find the shooter(s).

I think you missed the implication of free to STUDENTS. It is not a scholarship. It is free admission, coursework, materials, etc. There is no equivalent in the U.S. As for "the rest of their peer group," well the same is true in the U.S. The younger people who do not pursue higher education, or who are just not smart enough to make a run educationally, are "not worthy" in the U.S. educational system either.

I started out in Architecture at Auburn, although I ended up in a different degree program. Auburn is one of the top schools of architecture in the country. So why build an urban architecture program in Birmingham? Why not NYC or Chicago? Yes, I see the local money thing. I am just curious about the overall academic thing.

Hayek and his compatriot in the Austrian School von Mises are heroes in the ultra-right capitalist cabal. I bought into that extremist philosophy as an undergrad at Auburn. It is fantasy. There is no connection to the real world in this economic machination. The notion of "methodological individualism" proposed by Hayek and others is really just preposterous. The alternative is obviously not pure socialism in the Marxist vein, which has proven ludicrous as a socioeconomic system and horribly dehumanizing socially and politically. The same can be said of other autocratic sociopolicicoeconomic regimes. If one looks at the real world of economies that are actually functioning, by which I mean governments that are actually pursuing policies that benefit their citizens (top to bottom citizens), it is the social democracies that blend policies that benefit corporate success, with policies that support individual freedoms and rights, health and prosperity. I'm not convinced that his notion of "progressive capitalism" really ties in with social democracy. Conceptually, social democracy (to me) tends to emphasize human rights and social well-being founded upon a quasi-capitalist economic foundation that is subservient to the public good. The countries functioning within the social democracy ideology seem to outpace other economies worldwide as well as support for human rights. The U.S. is not among those countries and seems to have moved steadily away from the social democratic ideals of the Roosevelt era in the direction, in recent decades, towards oligarchic economics and restriction of individuate rights. So, however attractive the theories of Stiglitz, I just don't perceive the potential applicability of his notions in the real world. Socioeconomic theories are often pretty on paper, but ugly in practice.

This discussion seems to ignore the preseason. We don't know too much about the pre-conference schedule yet, but With UNC, Mich State and UConn, Maui could be ugly.

I really do not see this happening unless the athletic department is willing to PAY teams to come play a spring game in Jordan Hare. It woukd end up being kinda like a Fall game against a lower level opponent like Troy, Jax State, some directional school. I do not think any G5 team would be interested even if it as home and home. Why? Because even though it woukd be a Spring game, it would affect media perceptions and preseason rankings. Would Auburn want to pay a lower level team megabucks to come into Jordan Hare for a Spring Game? Personally, I'm skeptical of the entire idea. Would I pay to attend? Nope. Would it really turn out to be a good workout for our depth players? I'm not sure of any real benefit.

Well, ya know, the American education system sux big donkey balls. In the countries we consider our economic and social equals, higher education is FREE for those who make the grades and pass the exams. And based on standardized exams, their younger populace beats the crap out of U.S. students in maths, history, geography, languages, reading comprehension, etc, etc. And furthermore, not mentioned in this thread, there is a societal benefit to paying off the student debts of our younger generation.

Well, thing is, QB problems last year were largely due to (1) crappy OL and (2) crappy WR. Personally, I think The Thorne is better than his stats and better than he seemed. Same as the s**t Bo had to endure at Auburn. But with a decent OL and some decent receivers and some decent coaching - well look what happened with Bo at Oregon. Of course, I do not know that The Thorne is in the same elite league as Bo. But I do think he can do a lot better with decent offensive players around him. Coleman and the other WRs are going to be a force. If the OL this year is worth a crap, I', sayin' look out. The big concern is the DL. IMO, the DL will determine Auburn's W-L record for the year. If they are bust-azzz good, Auburn goes 9-3. If they suck donkey balls, Auburn goes 7-5. If CHF is running the same O and calling the same plays as he did a decade ago, Auburn is in deep doooooodoooooo. I am really trying top be optimistic. I really hope our Tigers make a big step forward this coming season.

He was always one of my favorite players. I wish he had more years to play.

I'm sure Robby is a really fine young man and there is no doubt that he is a truly excellent athlete. But he can't hit the broad side of a barn from 2 feet away in slow motion. I am so disheartened that coaches continued to feed his desire to be a QB rather than forcing him to move into a position where he could actually succeed. The coaches did a disservice to him and now it is too late for him make a real mark as a fb player in some other position.

Travore was rated as a 5 star recruit. CBP believed he was going to be a great addition to the team. He turned out to be a dud. I do not doubt CBP's abilities as a motivational coach. He can get buy-in and effort from everyone on the team. I do question his dedication to recruiting tiny guards and unproven lower tier players. But then, I'm not a professional evaluator of talent and I'm inclined to go along with CBP - at least in the beginning. But he's definitely made some questionable recruiting decisions. I'm not questioning Anchor's cred. I'm just saying that, if he can't make the grade for Auburn -- for ANY reason -- I'm not going to be slashing my wrists.

Improved OL? Improved receiving corps? Solid RB group? Amazing placekicking! Improved gameday play calling? The Thorne surrounded by upgrades everywhere I actually see the possibility of 9-3. On paper. With smokes. And with mirrors. And with inappropriate cheerleader inspiration. And of course with no important injuries. Could it turn out better than that? Wow, I hope! Could it turn out worse than that? Well, I hope not. Everyone thinks I'm some sort of negga-nellie, but I am truly RAH-RAH War Damn Eagle, gimme some CHF magic!

Not surprising that CBP is once again looking to lower-division players hoping for a gem in the very deep portal trough. Achor seems to have done well at Samford. Those guys are always (according to CBP) hungry and that's why CBP likes them. I hope he is a Cheney and not a Travore. And if he is anything like Williams, I'll gladly eat a whole flock of crows, bc my man Williams was a true Auburn stud. Okay, not intending to be negative. He is a good player. And CBP wants him, I want him!

Bama with or without Sears ...... They are pulling in 5 star players. Arkansas ... with Calipari they are pulling in 5 star players. Tennessee ain't going away. Florida ain't going away. Texas and Oklahoma coming in with solid teams. I love CBP idea of pulling in guys from lower bracket teams with the idea of "they are hungry". But the thing is, a group of hungry players is not a;ways equal to a bunch of 5 star players. Just sayin'.

I do NOT want to fire everyone in every sport. And I do not expect to win a natty every year. What I do expect is *competitive* teams every season. Given the huge amounts of money Auburn brings in every single year, I have to ask where is it going and why are so many Auburn teams struggling to be even mediocre in SEC play? And FYI, I played baseball, but instead competed in swimming. You got a problem with that?

Nope! The conservatives really want to try to dump this into a federal court so Trump can kill it if he is re-elected. But this is absolutely a NY STATE case. He can't axe this one. Conservatives are whining to no avail.

Most of the NIL is going top FB, but CBP has some money coming in. The return of Broome is evidence of that. That said, CBP does like to pull in guys from lower divisions or who have not been given a lot of respect, because he thinks they are more "hungry" and want to prove their cred. Fact is, he cannot throw the kind of NIL money at players the way Kansas, UNC, Duke, UK, Texas and now Arky can do. IMO, he is doing the best he can with what he's got. Ans WDE - He's done an awesome job here at Auburn!

It does no good to counter the crazoid wingnut propaganda with actual factual information. I've given up even trying. They are lunatics.