[OT] The EJ Shuffle

Read something interesting in the NYT today. I was curious to get a reaction from some people around these parts. After reading the article, I was mostly touched, but a tiny part of me found the idea very very unsettling.

[www.nytimes.com]

Discuss.

[q]"The kid thinks he's a kid."[/q]

That statement disturbed me a little.

I don't know that there is anything wrong with it, but it kind of goes against the idea that we shouldn't treat handicapped people differently...

I didn't follow the link so I don't know how germane it is to college hockey or Cornell, but here is my unasked for advice.

Do not turn this into a general topic forum.

It only leads to trouble.

There are a gazillion forums out there -- the USCHO Cafe is one near and dear to many hearts. And they all suck, because they all immediately degenerate into lowest common denominator flamefests.

Please don't pollute this one, even under the best of intentions.

Obviously, one can choose whether to follow specific threads, but flamewars and other idiocy jump threads and eventually destroy an entire forum.

I've gone three (?) years now on eLynah with absolutely no knowledge of any of your social, political, or other views except for Cornell hockey, and I hope *never* to know *any* of them. I'm sure you're all very... clever... in your various opinions -- so much so that they're best left to the imagination.

End of unasked for advice.



Post Edited (10-29-03 20:36)

I get the point Greg, but you really shoulda read the article... it's sports related and is reasonably on topic for eLF. Don't think it's inappropriate.

I read the article. It's "last 2 minutes of the evening news" touchy feely BS.

I'm with, Greg. Let's stick to real sports.

JH

Gist: They let a kid with Down syndrome score a touchdown that didn't count in a middle school football game, and then some people cried. I don't think this one's going to turn into a Forum-crushing flamefest. If thing come to that point, perhaps we shoud start the eLF Cafe?

I was much more disturbed when they let a UConn player who'd blown out her knee score a basket that DID count so that she could reach the 1000 point (or some other milestone) career record a few years ago. UConn then promptly gave the other team an uncontested layup, and the game started 2-2. 998 <> 1000 in my book...

Greg Berge '85 wrote:

I didn't follow the link so I don't know how germane it is to college hockey or Cornell, but here is my unasked for advice.

Do not turn this into a general topic forum.

I'm still trying to recover from reading this from Greg. This from the person who brought us such threads as:

"Who's the babe in the 50 Cent video?"
[elf.elynah.com]

"Chess"
[elf.elynah.com]

"Great movie you should see"
[elf.elynah.com]

"Vegas commercials"
[elf.elynah.com]

"CU Arts distribution requirements"
[elf.elynah.com]

"Alumni trustees ballot"
[elf.elynah.com]

"Vague anti-war joke"
[elf.elynah.com]

and my all-time favorite,
"Check out the art in the SFO terminal"
[elf.elynah.com]

And this just from a 2 month period (Jan - Feb '03) during the stretch-run of one of the most exciting CU hockey season most of us have ever seen. It took me 2 minutes to compile this list, and I didn't even look at the off-season topics where I believe that we got into a discussion about Trebuchets. If ever there was a case of pot/kettle, this is it. I'm not commenting on whether or not there should be OT threads here, but Greg (of all people) complaining about things not being germane to CU hockey makes me laugh, that's all.

LOL!

Hilarious...absolutely hilarious...

Good work Rich H!

"Who is that artist babe playing chess in that movie taking place during a Vegas to SFO flight?...oh...and War sucks!"

LOL!!!

[Q]I was much more disturbed when they let a UConn player who'd blown out her knee score a basket that DID count so that she could reach the 1000 point (or some other milestone) career record a few years ago. UConn then promptly gave the other team an uncontested layup, and the game started 2-2. 998 <> 1000 in my book...[/Q]
Yeah, I thought of that too. I know it was controversial, but I really didn't mind it. And the issue wasn't the number of points, it was letting her set the team record, which she was easily on pace to blow away, had she not torn her ACL half way through her senior season.

Was it necessary to do... no. But it was fair, and it didn't hurt anything. I never felt it violated some fundamental rule.

I'll bet Chad Levitt wouldn't have done it.



Post Edited (10-30-03 14:38)

On a somewhat related note...when's the last time there was an on-topic poll? I think we should revoke Age's poll creation privileges...

yeah, right.

Fair enough, but I don't hear any ideas from the peanut gallery.

Who will lead Cornell in scoring this year? Who will be team MVP? Who will be most improved player? Freshman who makes the biggest impact? What do you think Cornell's GAA this year will be? Lot's of things to choose from. I don't like peanuts, but consider the gallery to have spoken .

I hate speculative polls. Something like who WAS the most improved player after the season is over is fine, but I uneducated guesses seem kind of pointless.

I have a poll suggestion:

When does Cornell hockey season start for you?
- The first captain's practice
- The first official practice
- The exhibition game (vs. U.S. Under-18)
- The first NCAA game (vs. WMU)
- The first ECAC game (vs. Yale)
- The hockey season never ends!

I see your point, though I'm not sure I agree with you. Of course, you have the only vote that counts... In that case, there aren't many polls that can be done right now, with only an exhibition to base things on. So I guess you're being consistent.

How about this for a poll topic?

Your preferred method of learning about the Cornell hockey score:

In attendance
Score update on USCHO
Score update on eLynah
College Sports Pass
Radio
i2sports webcam
Newspaper recap the next day
Other

Also include Lynah Chat in that list.



Post Edited (10-30-03 20:57)

One of the guys who got revenge on Volonnino wrote:
When does Cornell hockey season start for you?

I'd add The Red-White Game to that list as an option.



Post Edited (10-30-03 20:57)

Ooh, ooh, I have a suggestion for a poll topic:

Who will be serving Vesce's penalties this year now that Bâby isn't around to take the rap?

John T. Whelan '91 wrote:

I'd add The Red-White Game to that list as an option.

Yeah, I meant to add that to the list. I thought it but didn't type it out. Whoops.

Aren't polls inherently supposed to be speculative or based on an opinion of a preference or predicted outcome? 'How many times the Yankees have won the pennant' is more of a quiz question...not a poll. There is no 'right' answer to a poll... Correct me if I'm wrong...

All of that aside...Age...you're doing a great job with the site...keep up the good work!!!

Poll ideas:
'Your most memorable moment in Cornell hockey over the past 10 years'
'Would you favor the expansion of Lynah Rink?'

Let me try again. The way I see polls, they should ask your opinion about something that happened or ask about something you want. People have different ways of interpreting events, which polls can shed light on. Was the ticket line better this year? That's asking an opinion on something that was experienced, well documented, etc. There's no speculation there. You went through it. You either thought it was better or worse. Who was the best goalie this year? Again, after the season, you've seen/heard the games and know in your mind who you think was the best. Who will be the best goalie this year? Now that's just pure speculation. Nothing substantial to base your preference on, and rather pointless IMO.

And yes, when there's nothing to poll on, I do trivia at times.

That being said, [q]Now that's just pure speculation.[/q] All the USCHO and USA Today polls are speculative, but also what the voters think of the teams right now.

In addition, there were the two ECAC pre-season polls on what the coaches and media expected the standings to look like at the end of the season.

[Q]Let me try again. The way I see polls, they should ask your opinion about something that happened or ask about something you want. People have different ways of interpreting events, which polls can shed light on.[/Q]
Awful high standards for a guy who posted
Boston Red Sox
-Suck
-Suck
-Suck



Actually, I agree with your preferences, but no reason to be completely strict about it if nothing else comes to mind. Probably more than half the polls on ESPN.com, etc are speculative.

Meanwhile, there were several good examples above that fit your requirements.

Yahoo score update to my cell phone. Good for Cornell hockey. Not so good for Cornell football. Phone beeps every 20 minutes to tell you Harvard scored another touchdown.

Cowbell Guy wrote:

Fair enough, but I don't hear any ideas from the peanut gallery.

How about:

How do you spell the Head Coach's last name?

For the possible responses you can list the variations bouncing around this forum at the moment.

I don't so much care about how far you go off-topic - I can always ignore the thread.

But posting a link to a New York Times article from more than - what is it, one week? - more than one week ago means that I not only have to be a subscriber (which I am), but I'd have to pay money to read the article. And frankly, I'm just not that interested in any news story.

Beeeej

Of course, that link WAS posted a month ago.

DOH!!

That's what I get for not reading eLF for six months.

Beeeej