Image courtesy of Garfield
I used to love Garfield when I was a kid, so it is good to know that Jim Davis still “has it”. Just check out Garfield’s face in the second frame…perfect. Thanks bro!
Season in Review – Looking Ahead
March 19, 2007 By 1 Comment
We have been spoiled. Since 2000, we have seen the Illini as a power house in the NCAA. Unfortunately, that time might be coming to an end soon. Programs go up and down, and unless we get it together, we might be headed down. I’m going to try to keep a positive attitude, but it is going to be hard to undo the bad things that happened this year. A lot of people want to blame Weber and want to see him leave, but that is not the answer. I think he needs some time to get comfortable recruiting for a Big Ten team before we need to reevaluate. 2004-05 is still looming over him and he needs to get out from under that to see what he can really do with out all of the pressure. I think he has some strong players coming in this year even with the players he lost to other teams. I’d like to see what he can do over the next 4 or 5 years before we tell him to pack it in. Is that too much? Maybe, but I believe in his coaching skills, so I’d hate to lose that just because he supposedly can’t recruit. HE has mediocre players good and he has made good players great. I want to give him time. Here are my best case scenarios for next year:
1) One of the freshman steps up. Quinton Watkins, Demetri McCarney, Mike Tisdale, and Bill Cole are the names to get familiar with for next year. McCarney probably has the best shot since he is the only 4 star in the bunch. This is an important class for Weber since Rose and Gordon were lost. If he can turn one of these guys in to a star, all will be forgotten.
2) The guards get it together. My friends give me a hard time for supporting these guys, but I think one of these guys can turn into a star. I think Frazier has the best chance since he seems to be growing the most, but he needs to develop a shot. Meacham has one year under his built, but he often looks uncomfortable out there. Brock got minutes this year and I think he could be something special if he also develops a shot. Smith…I don’t even want to hypothesize.
3) Randle needs to make a HUGE leap. Pruitt is already a strong player and will probably be the go to guy early in the season, but he is not going to become a 16-18 point player next year. Randle can be that guy. His supposed athleticism is a gift, but he has not proven that he is a complete player. His shot doesn’t fall often, he fouls out way too easy, and he often disappears when you need him the most. I hope he puts the nagging injuries behind him and works his butt off this summer.
See you in November…
American Girl Sucks!
I recently wrote a post about The Rebel Sell. Amongst many of the points that Heath and Potter, they point out that the American quest to be an individual and different has lead to competition amongst people and corporations. In other words, in our quest to not conform, be “against the system” and become a rebel, we have fueled capitalism. They have stated that companies and the system are not (fully) to blame for consumerism, but rather, it is the mindset of Americans that have caused the supposed consumerism in America.
I’m not sure where this story about a 6-year-old girl getting humiliated at an American Girl store for bringing in a Target doll she bought by herself to get her hair styled fits in, but I think it proves and disproves the points made by Heath and Potter.
It proves their point because the attitudes of people in the store show how much we as citizens of the United States are to blame for the rampant consumerism in this country. As was stated in the story:
Obviously, pressure is put on this girl (and her mom) to make her feel like they need to “Keep up with the Jones’”. Consumerism is fueled by the pressure of others.
On the other hand, the girl was chided for being different and going “against the system” to an extent. When she presented the doll to the stylist, here is what happened:
And in this case, the company was the one forcing conformity. While we as American strive hard to be different, companies want to hold your business. In some ways, the only way they hold you is by forcing conformity and wanting people to play by their rules. Yes, you can certainly walk away if you want, but there are people who are not strong enough financially or emotionally to fight a large corporation. In many ways, they have you under the thumb. It is a terrible cycle.
Yes, I have mentioned something that doesn’t have extremely large consequences (except for the fact this girl is scarred), but it is a microcosm of the larger problem. This is not over for me…