tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post1965930166791729850..comments2023-10-31T06:31:41.395-04:00Comments on Bottom of the Barrel: TMQ: If It Weren't For Football, More Boys Would Go to College?Bengoodfellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-77147995099100503572011-10-16T12:16:18.956-04:002011-10-16T12:16:18.956-04:00Martin, you could be right about that. I think the...Martin, you could be right about that. I think the Falcons feel, and I am saying this just from what I read about them, their defense had injuries last year and is young. So the hope was the injuries wouldn't happen this year and the younger players can start to develop a little bit more. <br /><br />I will say I am surprised they didn't draft a TE b/c Gonzalez is still producing but they could use another guy for Gonzalez to bring along. I think the Jones trade may have been a reaction to getting beat by the Packers like they did. They felt they weren't getting Matt Ryan enough weapons to stretch the field with. Of course, they probably could have used a defender with those picks they traded too.Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-80294182168771889052011-10-15T06:49:49.886-04:002011-10-15T06:49:49.886-04:00Well in a round about way, Julio Jones being on th...Well in a round about way, Julio Jones being on the Falcons is part of the reason why they are bad this year. They needed to shore up their defense more, maybe get another good young tight end. Excellent wide out was a luxury they could do without. None of it's Jones' fault, but that og the Falcon's front office.Martin F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14565240074256943063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-38919042668079214952011-10-14T14:25:51.925-04:002011-10-14T14:25:51.925-04:00Jack, I did that. I googled "Julio Jones"...Jack, I did that. I googled "Julio Jones" name and "character issues" and only found articles saying he didn't have any character issues. I found the same stuff you did. How embarrassing, but of course ESPN and TMQ don't care. Whatever gets readers to read. <br /><br />He wants to explain why the Falcons are struggling and so he blames it on the guy the Falcons gave up a lot of picks to get. It's all his fault naturally, who cares if it is the truth? I wish one of the readers would call Gregg on this. If they did he would have no comment really and would just mention what the reader said in TMQ. Gregg sees a 1st round pick and just assumes they are highly paid and lazy.Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-51866938704772907822011-10-14T01:52:34.756-04:002011-10-14T01:52:34.756-04:00He coaches middle school flag football (that has p...He coaches middle school flag football (that has perhaps changed as his lovable Spencer ages), and yet I'm still waiting for his impossible-to-defend (I think he meant "indefensible") offensive play to be revealed to the public, a play he he often mentioned years ago.csnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-3767642582562603322011-10-13T22:16:59.696-04:002011-10-13T22:16:59.696-04:00HH, I won't disagree about concussions and how...HH, I won't disagree about concussions and how it affects cognitive learning. I just don't think that is the reason boys aren't getting into college. I know you feel that way too. Boys receive concussions playing other sports as well, though I do realize football concussions are the most prevalent. Gregg has lauded football for teaching teamwork and for teaching boys life lessons. Now that's changed I guess. <br /><br />Nick, agreed. Though the concussions caused are a huge negative, the skills learned in football about teamwork, hard work, dedication to a large cause, and how to work through negative results can shape kids for the future. Blaming concussions for males not attending college as often as women is incredibly short-sighted. <br /><br />Rich, I think much of the women's role in this discussion about why they are going to college is they are taking advantage of the opportunity to do so. It's that easy in my mind. There are more two income homes and women are in college more and we are seeing that in the statistics. <br /><br />I have seen stats that show women are going to college for liberal arts and men are going to college for more sciences and engineering-related causes. Gregg likes to make these statements about women succeeding in college but has very little backing behind them. I know some of them are true, but he's making 2-3 assumptions without data for us to buy his final conclusion. <br /><br />Students who don't get good grades and lack the extracurriculars is not necessarily an issue of women/men or football v. other sports. Students in HS have so many things they can get involved with that take up their time. I played tennis and it took up a good portion of 1/2 of my Spring semester, maybe more than that. I didn't get recruited, but it was on my college transcript and it looked good. <br /><br />Gregg's argument is all over the map. First, it is football overall causing a problem for boys. Then it is concussions and football. Then it is the time football takes up that causes the problems to where boys can't study. It feels scattershot. <br /><br />I don't get why football has to be an admissions boost. Can't it just be a fun sport to play and learn other lessons in life? What Gregg doesn't understand is different colleges accept students every single year for different reasons. One year a college may want to focus on a more diverse out of state population and admit students that way. The next year a college may want the best overall student and take less students. The next the college will be focused on more well-rounded students during the admissions process. To assume there is one process a college uses on a yearly basis is faulty reasoning. Many colleges are interested in students that can pay for their college and students who provide a benefit to the school in some way, but the criteria for accepting students can change from year to year. So football may or may not help, but it certainly doesn't hurt. <br /><br />Anon, I'm glad you brought that up. I had forgotten that he does. <br /><br />http://notgreener.blogspot.com/2011/02/youth-football.html<br /><br />He coaches youth football, which means I am guessing he doesn't feel to blame for boys focusing too much on football in high school.Bengoodfellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401971573776672570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-20271349987350161062011-10-13T21:07:25.716-04:002011-10-13T21:07:25.716-04:00Doesn't TMQ coach high school football? I cou...Doesn't TMQ coach high school football? I could have sworn he wrote that in his articles a couple years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-46282271059423992752011-10-13T16:21:40.693-04:002011-10-13T16:21:40.693-04:00Twenty years ago, there were more men in college t...<b>Twenty years ago, there were more men in college than women.</b><br /><br />This is true, but twenty years ago, women weren't really "expected" to go to college, now, it kind of is.<br /><br />So this statistic is stupid because it doesn't mean less men are going to college, it means more women are.<br /><br /><b>Women are taking more of the available slots in college at the same time boys are spending more time playing football. Are these two facts related? </b><br /><br />There are 4 million more females than males in the US... So by the same logic as my argument above... no, no they aren't. It's just that more women are taking advantage of the opportunity to go to college.<br /><br />Oh and since the NFL forces kids to go to college (basically this is what they do)... wouldn't football actually help the percentages?<br /><br /><b>In the highly competitive race for college admissions, even a small overall medical disadvantage for boys could matter.</b><br /><br />This is hilarious to me. Most colleges will allow any dumbass who is willing to cut a check to the school in.<br /><br /><b>But why are women doing so well in college? </b><br /><br />Are they? Where are the statistics for this?<br /><br />It could also be that women are getting degrees in less time intensive and strenuous areas: English for example, while math, science and engineering still remain male dominate fields. Consequently, if all you do is look at the GPAs of the two genders, then men will be bogged down by these areas where high GPAs are rare.<br /><br /><b>The gender that plays football is falling behind in college. The gender that does not play football is excelling.</b><br /><br />Again, says who? <br /><br /><b>When they don't get recruited, many may lack the grades, board scores and extracurriculars for regular college admission. </b><br /><br />This has nothing to do with gender, but has to do with socio-economic issues.<br /><br /><b>This means the overwhelming majority of those who play high school football receive no college admissions boast from the sport.</b><br /><br />Admissions boast? Wtf does that mean. Oh, he spelled boost wrong.<br /><br />I'll stop there, but seriously, who gives a fuck if someone goes to college. Steve Jobs didn't go to college and Bill Gates dropped out, so TMQ really needs to quit this liberal bullshit argument that everyone needs the "enlightening" experiences of college. They don't. The world has too many dipshit art history majors anyway.richnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-26094266467298898652011-10-13T14:14:34.648-04:002011-10-13T14:14:34.648-04:00I'm not sure I'd agree completely with thi...I'm not sure I'd agree completely with this. Sports not only teaches hard work and basic moral fundamentals (teamwork, perserverance, etc.) that shape kids for a better tomorrow. Football certainly isn't the big problem.Nick Veraldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09576977566830694567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102327997051254703.post-13253200077232346622011-10-13T13:21:15.363-04:002011-10-13T13:21:15.363-04:00I can't even finish reading this post before f...I can't even finish reading this post before finding myself forced to respond. <br /><br />1. More boys than girls play sports. That's true for basically all sports. Thus, you could say that the rise of any sport is keeping boys out of college. <br /><br />2. Boys and girls have different cognitive abilities: boys have higher variance (that is, are both smarter and stupider) while girls are more consistent. To simplify using totally made up numbers, boys are more likely to get a GPA 4.0 or a 2.0, while girls are more likely to cluster around 3.0. If you set the minimum for college at 3.0 (and given women equal opportunity), then more women than men go to college. Obviously mine is a simplified example, but I hope it illustrates the point.<br /><br />3. Gregg is right about the impact on of hits on the developing brains. It could well have an impact on later cognitive performance. It's just impossible to justify knowing what we know about how relatively few boys play tackle football, and how many hits to the head boys have always taken without adverse consequences.<br /><br />4. Hasn't Gregg praised youth football as a way to learn the value of hard work and conscientiousness? Strikes me that this would actually improve male college attendance, as more boys are taught patience and conscientiousness.<br /><br />5. There is so much more to address, but fuck it.HHnoreply@blogger.com