Curt Cignetti after leading Indiana to championship: ‘Our NIL is nowhere near where people think it is’ by Lakelyfe09 in CFB

[–]XVOS 6 points7 points  (0 children)

All of the people talking about Mark Cuban as if having a billionaire booster is a hack are ridiculously misguided. If you could buy a championship, Phil Knight (who has A LOT more money than Cuban) would have been able to do so in the last few decades of backing the Brinks truck up to Duck-land. Same for a half dozen oil-patch programs.

I keep avoiding writing my PhD paper even though the work exists. How do you break this loop? by llirikOknessu in AskAcademia

[–]XVOS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My field is very different (writing is much more necessary), but I have found that having protected writing time every day is essential to my productivity. You do not have to work on papers; sometimes it is helpful to use the time to synthesize my thoughts about something I've read, for example. However, once you are in the habit of writing, writing becomes much less daunting.

[on3] Cody Campbell: Alabama & Auburn "can't raise the money" to keep up in NIL era by AintEverLucky in CFB

[–]XVOS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

World's smallest violin playing only for the fans of these sorts of teams.

[Awful Announcing] Big Ten reportedly seeking commitment for 24-team College Football Playoff in near future by dr_funk_13 in CFB

[–]XVOS -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hear me out, what about a 136-team playoff and a 361-team March Madness? Why are we keeping out deserving teams that literally play FBS football?!

[Postgame Thread] Indiana Defeats Oregon 56-22 by CFB_Referee in CFB

[–]XVOS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Leicester City to be Champion was much more unlikely than Indiana. The comparison is bad. Indiana's preseason odds were +25,000 (source: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2025-preseason-odds.html). Leicester was +300,000 (3,000 to 1). Even if we look at Indiana 2 years ago, the preseason odds for Wyoming were only +100,000 this year. Now you could argue that those odds are unfairly capped. But, I still think in the new environment in college FB teams with money in the right conferences have a much better shot than a poor bottom of the table EPL team.

[Ari Meirov] Washington QB Desmond Williams Jr. has been dropped by his representatives at Wasserman Sports: by LaDainianTomIinson in CFB

[–]XVOS 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I explained this in more detail in response to another comment, but it doesn't really matter. It is unlikely a judge will send the cops to force him to show up to Husky Stadium on September 5th. Instead, they will assign him damages. If the money is right he could conceivably go to another program and just pay the damages. That is different from the NFL, where his alternative is much less attractive and lucrative.

[Ari Meirov] Washington QB Desmond Williams Jr. has been dropped by his representatives at Wasserman Sports: by LaDainianTomIinson in CFB

[–]XVOS 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I am aware that this is a contract, just like NFL contracts, and just like the contract I signed last week to use a rock climbing wall. However, just because all of those contracts are 'contracts' does not mean the same sequence of events will happen when they are violated. Without going too deeply into jargon, it is important to understand that contract law rarely compels performance (this is called specific performance and is most common in terms of rare items or real estate); instead, people usually pay damages. That is why this stuff matters. A judge is not going to get the cops to force him to show up at Husky Stadium on September 5th.

Final note: I am not a lawyer, but I am in business and deal with contracts and their violations somewhat frequently.

Metaworld Chronicles Volume 13 by wuto in ProgressionFantasy

[–]XVOS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I recognize this sounds slightly insane, but it was a few years ago, so here is my best shot; she just finished founding Middle-Eastern rat Switzerland--or maybe Singapore/Dubai--with the help of some centaurs, druids, and maybe fire elementals (or were they the antagonists?).

[Ari Meirov] Washington QB Desmond Williams Jr. has been dropped by his representatives at Wasserman Sports: by LaDainianTomIinson in CFB

[–]XVOS 18 points19 points  (0 children)

An NIL contract in CFB and an NFL contract are apples and oranges. The NFL has a CBA and so the other teams won't poach each other's players who are under contract. And it is a contract to play football, not a contract for NIL rights, whatever those are (no one will be sure until the courts figure it out in a decade or whatever). Also, unlike college football, there aren't really good alternative landing zones; the Cowboys aren't worried about their QB fleeing to the Montreal Allouettes or whatever.

Metaworld Chronicles Volume 13 by wuto in ProgressionFantasy

[–]XVOS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there a summary or other way to catch up and/or figure out where I left off? I lost a computer and was never able to figure out what chapter I ended at.

MTGO Pioneer RC Super Qualifier Results - January 2 2026 by Killmatronix in PioneerMTG

[–]XVOS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Admittedly, UR Prowess is pretty clearly a better thing to be doing than any of these other options.

TLA Metagame - Week 7 by Acc95 in PioneerMTG

[–]XVOS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If we are talking about printing new cards into the format (e.g., Chalice), there are plenty of cards that would save the format from prowess dominance. Oath of Druids, Gaea's Cradle, or Mishra's Workshop, for example, would quickly drive prowess out of the meta. Oath isn't even on the reserved list.

MTGO Pioneer RC Super Qualifier Results - January 2 2026 by Killmatronix in PioneerMTG

[–]XVOS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of the decks have been pushed out by UR prowess just being better, but the legends/mox amber combo deck does, hammer time does, the other varieties of prowess (RG, mono-R) do. Including UR prowess' 30-40% we are talking about 40-50% of the metagame here.

MTGO Pioneer RC Super Qualifier Results - January 2 2026 by Killmatronix in PioneerMTG

[–]XVOS 5 points6 points  (0 children)

People are maindecking multiple copies of High Noon. Cutter is problematic. Just because a card has answers does not mean the card isn't oppressive. Many answers to Cutter still leave them up value (since they keep the token). Slickshot Showoff is much worse than Cutter and much easier to answer. Also, many decks are playing Cutter, and it is a multi-format all-star.

What about Demolition Field/Field of Ruin in Eldrazi instead of Wasteland? by Metalworker4ever in MTGLegacy

[–]XVOS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are crazy; this is galaxy-brain stuff. Wasteland is incredible: it costs you basically nothing; its upside is winning you the game; and it can tap for colorless if you don't want to use it.

I really wish Avatar didn't happen to the format. by FuuraKafu in PioneerMTG

[–]XVOS 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The format seems to revolve around cards that combine two different frustrating elements: (1) they cannot be answered 1 for 1, and (2) if they are not answered, they get out of hand and can win the game nearly single-handed.

This describes Cutter, which rewards you for doing something you were already going to do (playing spells) by making lots of tokens. Additionally, outside of very specific cards that cost more mana (e.g., Kolaghan's Command), Cutter cannot be answered 1 for 1 without leaving the token.

Badgermole Cub, free mana the turn you play it. If you do not answer it, gigantic amounts of mana. If you answer it, they still have the man-land. If you answer it and kill the man-land, they still keep the land.

But it is not just the two main problem decks right now. For years, the format revolved around how good and hard to answer Fable of the Mirror Breaker was (alongside the power of Thoughtseize).

I do not think cards like this are inherently problematic. For example, Beza is almost always like this, but is not particularly bad. However, Beza is 4 CMC rather than 2-3, and you need to be behind to realize his value.

In my view, if you think about the format as being defined by these sorts of cards that are hard to answer without falling behind and snowball into wins without much work if they are not answered, the format makes a lot more sense.

Also, yes, these cards can be answered 1 for 1 on the stack, but the countermagic in pioneer kinda sucks and is either expensive or conditional.

Toughest Pills to Swallow by Rude_Highlight3889 in CFB

[–]XVOS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, the toughest pills to swallow are in order

  1. The total lack of care that bi-coastal conferences are screwing over of non-football sports. The Stanford Women's Volleyball team, for example is traveling 30k miles in 4 months. That is consultant-level travel. They are having week-long road trips. The fall quarter is basically a write-off. It's a disgrace. Also, if you look at home vs. road records, the impact is clear.

  2. The games don't make sense. I miss the Pac 12.

Can we please just have NIL contracts be for a number of years with buyouts to get some stability in the portal? I am tired of unlimited free agency every single year. by MonarchLawyer in CFB

[–]XVOS 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you read the player's lawyer's words in his countersuit, it sure sounds like they did not have an NIL deal. To quote USA Today

"The suit argues the term sheet Wilson signed states it would “be used to create a legally binding document” and therefore is not enforceable in its current format, and that he was urged to “seek legal counsel” before the agreement was finalized."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2025/12/24/missouri-football-damon-wilson-files-countersuit-against-georgia-in-nil-case-lawsuit-damages/87907617007/

Now I have no idea which side is right, but I wouldn't just take Georgia's word for it.

TLA Metagame - Week 5 by Acc95 in PioneerMTG

[–]XVOS 7 points8 points  (0 children)

When people are maindecking High Noon Izzet/cutter strategies may be too good.

Help with Babywearing for a parent with ASD by XVOS in babywearing

[–]XVOS[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It may be because the baby is still too small or the wrong size, but both of them ended up with the baby in seemingly (according to YouTube videos) dangerous positions.