Memorial Day Weekend

As Brittany and I drove past the cemetery near our house yesterday we got to see the array of flowers that have been lovingly placed on graves this weekend. It was a visible reminder that this is Memorial Day Weekend (yes, thank you, Ryan, for telling us something we already know).

Here's my point. This holiday has taken on lots of secondary and tertiary meanings over the years. Let's face it, it tends to be looked at as the beginning of summer lake season around here. It is Indianapolis 500 weekend. It's Coca-Cola 600 weekend (though the weather outlook in Charlotte isn't good for today). It's a 3-day weekend we all enjoy. The list goes on...

But in reality the holiday is intended to honor those who have fought in defense of the freedoms we enjoy in the United States - and specifically those who have died defending those freedoms. You can disagree with the politics or even the premise of the wars that have been fought - that's a right afforded to you by those out there on the front lines. Whatever your view is, please remember that the men and women of the US Armed Forces aren't the ones making policy, they're just serving their country and protecting you. Even if you don't like what they've been sent to do, be thankful for their sacrifice - your life would certainly look different if no one did what they're doing.

Loosely related, I ran across an article this morning about what equipment a ground soldier might wear in 2030. It's pretty interesting and looks like something straight out of Star Wars. I actually don't like it. They'll have to at least do better with the color scheme before they put it on Marines. I think what I'm uncomfortable with is that this feels dangerously close to creating a remote control soldier with a person along for the ride. If the day comes where robots fight our battles (think Predator Drones for a current example) that's one thing. But this seems like one step closer to having someone in a remote location dictating the moves of a soldier in the field just like they were playing Halo. If we're going to put a soldier in harms way, don't take away what makes him so dangerous to the enemy - his ability to think, reason, and figure it out on the fly.

Post-Season Award

After being named Player of the Week for the second straight week (third of the season), word came today that Brayden Drake has been named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. This article on the MVC website gives the details along with info about the all conference teams - which Mo-State had 6 first team members of.

Congrats BD!

Bears Win MVC Title

Brayden Drake's (my wife's brother) tear through the last couple of weeks of Missouri Valley Conference's regular season continued this weekend as Mo-State swept Indiana State on its way to winning the outright MVC regular season championship and securing the #1 seed in the MVC tournament coming up this weekend in Wichita.

Brayden went 8 for 13 in the three game set with 1 HR, 2 - 2Bs, 7 RBIs, and 4 runs scored. He finished the regular season batting .418 (which leads the MVC).

The Bears take on Illinois State on Wednesday, Southern Illinois on Thursday, and Creighton on Friday. Wins in 2 of those three contests would likely put them in the MVC tournament championship on Saturday night versus the winner from the other "pod" (likely Indiana State or Wichita State - my money is on the home team that gets all the 7pm games).

Mo-State Athletics Saturday Article

Mo-State Athletics Friday Article

Mo-State Athletics Thursday Article

Springfield News-Leader Sunday Article

Darned If They Do...

The fall-out from the collapse of the American Auto Industry really began leaking out of Detroit and hitting small towns across the country this week with the announcement of the nearly 800 dealerships that Chrysler is cutting loose as soon as June. GM hasn't announced their list, but it is expected to include 1,100 dealerships.

I'm not an expert on the inner-workings of the contractual relationships between the auto-makers and their dealers. My understanding is that the dealerships have contracts with the auto-maker that establish how sales of cars from the maker to the dealer will be handled and give the dealer the right to sell new cars from the maker.

Chrysler being in bankruptcy has more leverage to alter these agreements than they would have otherwise and GM apparently operates on yearly agreements with dealers (which they simply won't renew for the ones they're cutting loose).

The part that I don't fully understand is this: What is the liability to the auto-maker that is posed by having more dealers than are "needed"?

The coverage on this hasn't even mentioned how cutting these loose will help the makers. I am guessing that it has to do with branding and a desire to protect the better performing dealerships more than it is a direct financial impact on the auto-makers. The dealers buy cars from the makers. The makers don't own the dealers, so cutting them loose doesn't reduce the payroll of the auto-maker.

I'm usually the last one suggesting that failing businesses be propped up - and that's not what I'm suggesting here. What I am suggesting is that it might be less damaging to the economy and a more equitable situation to allow the dealerships to battle it out.

What I mean is this, if there are too many dealerships, some will eventually go under on their own - and that poses no cost (that I can see) to the auto-makers. Let capitalism take its course. What that does is gives the low performing dealers a chance to fight their way out of this and avoids thousands of simultaneous layoffs.

I certainly support the right of the auto-makers to decide which dealers they will let sell their new cars, my issue here is the massive slashing that is about to take place. If they need to set some standards and go through eliminating some dealers over some period of time that's fine. But to redefine the rules and dump 1/3 of the dealers over night is pretty rough.

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Now Batting...Number 5...

Pounding a baseball seems to run in the Drake family. The sports section of today's Joplin Globe had pictures of both Patrick and Brayden.

Patrick hit another home run and had the save in a win over Kickapoo on Wednesday. I'll have to find out this weekend if he taunted anyone in the process. Article

Not to be out-done by his younger brother, Brayden (the oldest of my wife's brothers) went out and got himself named Missouri Valley Player of the Week (for the second time this season). Article

Brayden batted .588 for the week and hit home runs in 4 straight games (all road wins including one at Columbia and 3 over Creighton). He is batting .402 for the season.

Brayden set the Missouri State University career record for doubles earlier in the season and added 2 to that total over the weekend. BD is also climbing his way into the top-10 in several other MSU career batting categories as he closes his senior campaign.

One of the things I have always appreciated about Brayden is that he understands the small things of the game. As a high school senior I saw him hit a ball 430 feet to center field (only in Carthage does that land in the park) to give his team the lead in the first inning and the out pitch a guy who has recently been up with the Dodgers. How did that happen? He understood the game and knew how to get batters out. Baseball is a game where being successful usually requires both having ability and doing the small things right, consistently.

This weekend Brayden has a shot at capturing a MVC title with Indiana State coming to Springfield. MSU enters the 3-game set 1 game back of ISU. The following weekend MSU will travel to Wichita for the MVC tournament and hopefully to capture an NCAA regional bid.

Throw That In Here Again

In the top of the 8th (keep in mind standard high school games are only 7 innings), my brother-in-law, Patrick, found himself facing a new pitcher as the lead-off batter in the inning.

The first pitch - to quote my father-in-law - was a high school curveball (translated: kind of a soft, looping curve that started high and broke down into the strikezone). Patrick took the pitch - tie game in extra innings, lead-off batter, new pitcher, first pitch curve most good hitters are going to take that pitch even if the coach doesn't call it. Strike one.

Second pitch, same as the first. Patrick takes it as well. Strike two.

Third pitch, same as the first two. Patrick fouls it off.

After the foul ball, Patrick looked back at the catcher and said, "Throw that in here again."

Fourth pitch, same looping curveball. Patrick parked it over the left field fence giving Webb City the lead for good.

Some people just have the moxie to throw out the gauntlet and then back it up. Nice job, Pat.

I've Got It! Let The Union Own The Company...

Something happened this week that was either just another step in the unionization / socialization of America or was the most brilliant thing that could have happened.

It was announced this week that when Chrysler emerges from Chapter 11, the UAW (United Auto Workers union) will own 55% of the company (Article).

Let me see if I understand this correctly. The UAW who refused to give any meaningful ground to save the company will now own a controlling stake in it? Hmm...

Well, the way I see it this will cause one of 2 things to happen. Either:

1. The UAW will be forced to change its ways before they force the company they will now own to go out of business.

Or

2. They'll force it off the cliff and have no one to blame but themselves. Though I'm sure that won't stop them from blaming everyone else they can find to point at.

I'm sure glad we sunk billions into Chrysler only to see it file for Chapter 11. My guess is that GM will be next - especially if the UAW stands to own that company as well (because they're sure not going to negotiate without getting a meaningful ownership stake).

A co-worker made a good point yesterday on this topic. At some point in the past the management of the automakers gave too much ground to the UAW and put the companies in a position that when they needed to cut back and change things they couldn't because the UAW had contracts that wouldn't allow the changes. So while the UAW is certainly to blame, it all started when management gave too much ground decades ago.

Congress Debates the BCS

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I would love to get all the parties involved in a room and just lay into all of them. There are about 9 things wrong with this whole situation.

Congress: Really? Really?!? We're in the middle of what you tell us is the worst recession in decades, 2 wars, an outbreak of swine flu and yet you have time to take on the BCS to get that setup the way you want it?

First, it's none of your business. I have yet to figure out what legal grounds you have to get involved in this at all and I hope college football challenges your involvement all the way to the Supreme Court so you'll quit getting involved in private enterprises that haven't violated any laws. Or if the Court upholds your involvement we will at least know what the new ground rules are in the Socialist States of America.

Second, reason number 456 why you need to back off is the fact that you're messing with something that pays for itself - something the government isn't willing to do (aside from just taxing the heck out of everyone to pay for all your pet projects). The BCS funnels millions into these universities, which unlike the government have to operate with balanced budgets and can't print more money or borrow it from China.

Third, Congress is the biggest collection of complete idiots I've ever seen. You're unqualified to do your job (which apparently includes regulating every aspect of our lives) and now you're stepping even further out into territory you don't understand. Half your members don't have the first clue how the game of football is played - and you sure don't have any concept of how the bowl system works.

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

BCS: Congress is right. The system is stupid. The fact that the Big East gets an automatic bid is stupid. Yes, let's insert the 20th ranked team and leave out teams in the top-10.

The first thing you need to do is eliminate the Big East's automatic bid. Second, tell the Mountain West (who is driving this whole initiative in Congress) to shut up. Undefeated against mid-major teams isn't the same as undefeated (or even 1-loss) in the SEC or Big 12 (Big 11 fans keep quiet, you don't have an argument this year; Pac 10 - you're next on my list for the elimination of your automatic bid).

I'll even take it this far. No automatic bids for anyone. Top 10 in the final BCS poll get in. Or you could do the smart thing, take the top 8 BCS teams, use the 4 BCS bowls as the first round, add 2 games as national semi-finals, and then hold the BCS championship. I fail to see how this threatens the bowl structure, it just adds 2 games while providing a playoff that pretty much everyone but the bowl games want to see. And by the way it deals with the whining from the small conferences - play your way in and then prove yourself, good luck!

So there you have it. The playoff is ultimately a better system, but Congress needs to stay out of it. Just like Congress needs to stay out of our lives in general.