The Broun Blog

For all the stories about pedophiles, stalkers, and immature chat rooms that pollute the Internet, I thought I'd mention this positive story that actually happened this past week.
 
For the past 2.5 years, I've had a baseball gaming-centered message board that I check daily and often post at.  One of those odd places where random people get along pretty well and discuss all sorts of things, kind of an online Broun Basement centered on baseball fans instead of dorm denziens.  The real world is often discussed, but rarely intrudes too much at any given time. 
 
Two nights ago, that changed a bit.  One of the board regulars, whose life has apparently sucked royally for quite a long time, essentially posted his suicide note on the board, as the posters there were pretty much the only people he still "spoke" to.  It wasn't one of those melodramatic "I want attention" notes, and he hadn't been dropping hints for people to "talk him out of it" for weeks beforehand.  It was a rather jarring surprise to everyone on the board.  Other posters, naturally, replied with the expected "nothing can be that bad" and "don't do it!" statements, but here's where the story becomes interesting.  One (or more) of the board regulars apparently got on AIM, tracked down one of the board's moderators, and brought the situation to his attention.  He and several other moderators got together, looked up the guy's online profile, found his Internet Service Provider, informed the ISP of the situation, and the authorities were dispatched to his house.  He was found alive (early indications are that he tried to OD on pills of some kind, probably sleeping pills), and is being treated at a local hospital.  So he's still alive today at least partly due to the existence of a baseball message board. 
 
I thought this was worth sharing.  It's kind of amazing to me when I think about it.  Real life intrudes on "the online world" fairly often, but this time, the people online got together and did something about it, and actually made a difference. 

I heard back from the regional office today and it looks like I get my top choice for East Asia.

I know thats pretty vague, if you want more info, please IM sometime.

OK, I know this is a bit off topic, but I can't help but bring this to attention cause it's bothering that much. I suppose I could do actual research, but I'd rather just ask you guys. Here's a disturbing thought i heard on the radio today.

First, unlike America, in France you only have to be a resident for 5 years in order to run for President.

Second, it was mentioned that the wording in the rules states that any territory, colony, etc. currently or previously owned and controlled by France is elegible. This includes areas such as the large chunk of America bought in the Louisiana Purchase.

This means that anybody living in that area for over 5 years is eligible to run for President of France. This would include people such as former President Clinton. For some reason the radio devoted 5 minutes to explaining this just to point out that Bill Clinton could rule France...technically.

I'm going assume they did their research before saying this on air...but still...is this really possible? The possibilities of this are both endless and scary.

I ran across this article from CollegeFootballNews.com today. Hey, it's mid July! Close enough, right? --Rich

By John Harris
Is it that obvious? – Imagine Eli Manning in orange and blue with Carnell Williams in the backfield. Would Auburn have been dancing in New Orleans instead of LSU?

Just think if Tommy Tuberville had not allowed Philip Rivers to leave the state of Alabama for the Research Triangle. There’s nary a doubt that an SEC title and a stiff armed statue would have made the rounds at Toomer’s Corner.

Even, say, a lesser name like Scott Rislov, formerly of San Jose State – put him under center for the Tigers. Would an SEC title have been out of reach with a consistent performance, week in and week out? More than likely, the answer is yes.

Okay, Tiger fans, wake up! Back to reality, and the biggest key to the Auburn Tiger season – Mr. Jason Campbell. In a year that was to signal the arrival of Campbell as a poor man’s Brad Banks, Campbell turned out to be a poor man’s Brock Berlin. From the first snap of the year against USC through the end of the regular season, Campbell played with little of the confidence and consistency that were present under former offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino in 2002. Shoot, maybe Petrino had more of an effect on Campbell than previously thought; check out the year that first year starter Stefan LeFors had at Louisville in Petrino’s first year at the helm.

However, against Wisconsin in the Music City Bowl, Campbell played with more bravado and chutzpah in an MVP performance against the Badgers (still not one of Campbell’s better performances, though). But, that one game speaks volumes as to how important Campbell is for this Tiger offense.

The Badger defensive gameplan was designed to stop the Cadillac and Ronnie Brown and their running entourage, essentially giving Campbell the ‘opportunity’ to flourish, something opponents did to the Tigers all season long. He stepped up to take on that responsibility, completing 10 of 22 passes for 138 yards and 67 rushing yards. Stats won’t define Campbell, even though he's normally a whiz at passing accuracy, nor is he going to be Jamelle Holieway running the option. However, he can do both of them well enough to take the Williams/Brown led offense to a higher level.

The irony in all of this is the fact that Williams finally made it through a season healthy and Campbell flailed in the wind all season long, in particular in the Tigers’ biggest games. The defense has suffered some key losses, however, Auburn has always been able to recruit great athletes to fit the physical Tiger mold. And, it really doesn’t matter much because Campbell is up front in the driver’s seat with the key. How he chooses to drive the car will determine if a BCS game is on the horizon or the Independence Bowl should reserve a spot for the Tigers.

Conclusion: Al Borges takes the reins as offensive coordinator from run-oriented, ‘old school’ OC Hugh Nall. Borges’ teachings and experience must filter through to Campbell, as this team will go only as far as Campbell’s right arm and legs will take them. The good news for the Tigers is that Campbell had a solid spring under Borges’ tutelage, so hopefully that means a strong season is on the horizon. LSU may dominate preseason pundits SEC West choices, but with Williams and Brown in the backfield with a more effective Jason Campbell and LSU coming to the Plains, don’t count the Tigers out just yet.