#Cleveland ConCoction 2017 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

emersonsallyjack · 6 years ago

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23 seriously stylish girls at Creamfields 2017

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johnboothus · 5 years ago

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12 Things You Should Know About Genesee Brewery

Walk into a bar anywhere in the Northeast and ask for “Jenny,” and you’ll likely get a pint from New York State’s oldest brewery. Since 1878, The Genesee Brewery has brewed the same flagship Genesee Beer — also known as “Genny” beer — at its Rochester brewery. Along with this traditional American pale lager, the brewery is perhaps best known today for its Genesee Cream Ale, which set the standard for an original American beer style.

But Genesee has seen a lot of changes over the last 142 years, from Prohibition to the rise of craft brewing. Now part of FIFCO USA, the eighth-largest beer company in the United States, Genesee is keeping things fresh with trendy collaborations and dry-hopped variations of its classic beers.

Think you know Genny? Read on for 12 more things you should know about this classic American brand.

Genesee Cream Ale rises to the top.

Genesee Cream Ale, also known as Genny Cream Ale, maintains a bit of a cult status with beer drinkers. It’s hard to imagine a time when Genny Cream Ale wasn’t an option at your local watering hole. But the beer wasn’t actually introduced to the Genesee lineup until 1960, making it 82 years younger than the original Genesee Beer.

Looking for an alternative to the standard pilsner, then-Brewmaster Clarence Geminn turned to a classic American style. He developed a unique recipe (one that remains a secret but that Genesee has faithfully stuck to it) to craft the beer, brewed with ale yeast but fermented at lager temperatures. The result endures as the standard for all cream ales to this day. In the years since it first debuted, it’s taken home two gold medals from the Great American Beer Festival.

Who’s Jenny/Genny?

The brewery’s nickname, “Jenny” or “Genny,” has likely been around for decades but its 1952 ad campaign solidified it for everyone not already in the know. According to Genesee records, the original ad featured model and actress Daphne Dore (though some still question the identity of the first “Jenny”) balancing a pint of Genesee beer on a tray. A tagline invited customers to “ask for Jenny.”

The campaign succeeded and grew to become the brewery’s most successful ad to date. Over the years, several women stood in as “Jenny” to walk in parades or appear at events. While the last “Jenny” ad ran in 1962, the image of “Miss Jenny” still appears on brewery merchandise and patrons continue to ask for “Jenny” as they pull up a chair at the bar.

Genesee’s equipment draws crowds.

The original location in Rochester underwent a $50 million revamp in 2017. Construction lasted for nearly three years. The most exciting part of the project happened when Genesee’s 12 brand new fermentation tanks floated along the Erie Canal from Albany to Rochester, passing through the 35 locks that raised or lowered watercrafts as they flowed on through. Curious fans came to watch the tanks on their journey until they reached the brewery.

Turn left at the giant Genesee Beer sign.

In the early 1950s, Genesee gifted the people of Auburn, N.Y., with an iconic (and hard to miss) landmark. A 26-foot-high, 48-foot-wide Genesee Beer sign took its place atop a six-story building and lit up the sky every night until the 1970s when it shut off for nearly 40 years. In 2011, the brewery teamed up with local businesses to refurbish the sign with over 9,120 LED lights and relight it with a big festival in town.

Cream work makes the Dream work.

After fellow New Yorkers Other Half Brewing from Brooklyn launched a satellite location in Bloomfield, just a half an hour drive from Rochester, local journalist Will Cleveland had an idea: Other Half should brew a beer with its new neighbor, Genesee. Both breweries agreed, and got to brewing. Genesee brewmaster Dean Jones and Other Half’s Sam Richardson merged Cream Ale with elements of the Brooklyn-based brewery’s Dream and Daydream series. The collaboration resulted in Genny Dream Ale, an oat cream ale with lactose and a dose of Citra hops. The smooth, creamy beer came with a hoppy bite.

The Tri-State collaborations didn’t stop at Other Half: Genesee most recently concocted Hop State of Mind Cream Ale with Queens-based Big aLICe Brewing using hops from Chimney Bluffs Hoppery in Wolcott, N.Y. The beer blends Genesee’s classic Cream Ale with New York State artisan hops for another smooth brew that features a burst of hoppy flavor.

The original brewery bowled a strike.

Beer was a booming business in Rochester long before Genesee showed up. In 1857, one of the many breweries landing in the city, Reisky & Sky, opened its own saloon and bowling alley. This was the location that local entrepreneur Mathius Kondolf purchased and renamed Genesee Brewing in 1878.

While the bowling alley is long gone, the current Genesee Brew House still occupies buildings from the original Reisky & Sky brewery campus. In 2012, the newly refurbished location welcomed guests with lots of exhibits to show off the brewery’s past.

Its longtime brewmaster was born into brewing. Literally.

The Wehle family first stepped into the business in 1916 when Louis A. Wehle accepted the position of brewmaster and became the youngest person to hold that position in New York. That same year, Louis’s wife gave birth to their firstborn, Jack Wehle, on the property of the brewery.

When the brewery shut down during Prohibition, the elder Wehle opened a bakery and earned enough money to purchase Genesee Brewing in 1932, just in time to reopen it as the Genesee Brewing Company.

Jack Wehle, who joined the company at age 22, took over as chairman when his father passed away in 1964. Jack’s son, Ted Wehle, would later succeed him in 1993. When Ted passed away in 1999, that ended the Wehle family’s 67-year legacy running the brewery.

Genesee partied like it was 1933.

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution passed in 1919, and while Genesee was forced to close, Louis Wehle took up a new career as a baker. His business was so successful that he was able to sell it in 1929 for $1.3 million, which he then used to purchase the old Genesee Brewery as well as a neighboring brewery just in time for the repeal of Prohibition. He even hired as many of the former Genesee employees as he could.

Genesee is one of the few breweries in the country that can say where it was when Prohibition ended. The company restarted shipping beer on April 27, 1933. To mark that milestone, Louis Wehle hosted a huge bash. The event brought 4,000 attendees to the Powers Hotel in Rochester.

Genesee’s post-Prohibition beer delivery rivaled the Clydesdales.

Wehle also marked the end of Prohibition with a new beer: 12 Horse Ale, an English-style ale. He even got fancy with delivery, designing a 12-horse hitch — the first of its kind. Twelve red roan Belgian horses hitched in rows of three pulled a red wagon from bar to bar. A businessman through and through, Wehle made sure to trademark his one-of-a-kind hitch, making it the first official stamp of ownership for the brewery.

Now only occasionally available, the beer itself was the first Genesee beer brewed with top-fermenting ale yeast, one that the brewery acquired from England that year and would go on to gain notoriety as Genesee’s proprietary yeast. It was used in the brewing of all Genesee’s ales from that day forward.

Another former brewmaster brewed there for half a century.

In 2019, John Fischer retired from his position as Genesee’s corporate brewmaster. He’d been brewing there since 1967, making him the brewer with the longest tenure at the company. And while he did take a three-year leave of absence to serve in the military, he came back and created Honey Brown, a golden amber lager with a malty flavor.

Genesee’s Christmas tree is two stories high, and made with steel.

A new holiday tradition was born in 2014 when Genesee stacked 300 kegs in the shape of a Christmas tree. The structure stood over two stories high. Each year, the brewery recreates the “tree” in front of the Rochester brew house. In 2019, the “tree” reached 27 feet.

Genesee races to the finish line.

The brewery’s longtime legacy extends outside of beer. Since the 1970s, Genesee has sponsored race cars and raceways, including Warren Agor, who drove car number 13 around stock car tracks all over upstate New York. Genesee Beer’s logo graced the side of the car.

That legacy races on as Genesee teams up with Watkins Glen International Race Track in Schuyler County, N.Y. The pace car for each race features the Genesee logo.

The article 12 Things You Should Know About Genesee Brewery appeared first on VinePair.

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flauntpage · 7 years ago

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Your Complete Eagles and Saints Betting Guide

In many ways, the Philadelphia Eagles enter their matchup with the New Orleans Saints this weekend in a similar spot to what their previous opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, found themselves in a week ago. More than a touchdown underdog on the road against what’s believed to be a far superior team, the Eagles appear outclassed and overmatched. Most people figured they were tuning into the Cowboys’ funeral a week ago, and just as many, if not more, suspect they’ll be viewing the Eagles’ burial late Sunday afternoon. Of course, those projections of a week ago turned out to have the same accuracy as Thursday’s miscalculated snow forecast:

Disgusting loss pic.twitter.com/rFLGQy408k

�� The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) November 12, 2018

Sports, like the weather, are hard to predict, and I think this brings us to the point the most optimistic of Eagles fans are currently clinging to: anything is possible. While the “any given Sunday” point is a flimsy straw to grasp at, the matchups, momentum, and intangibles of this game sure make it seem like it is the only straw to grasp.

Is there any hope at all for the Eagles this Sunday? Let’s get into it.

Before reading further, if you are in New Jersey and want to bet online, check out our list of all the online sportsbook promos this weekend right here. And for those in Pennsylvania, please be sure to check out our PA sports betting guide.

Eagles at Saints (-8), Over/Under 56

The Saints are scary. They enter scoring a league-best 36.7 points per game, while the Eagles have managed only 22 points per contest. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Eagles can bridge the gap on those 14.7 points. Even if the Eagles offense is firing on all cylinders, concocting a plan to slow down Drew Brees a week after making Dak Prescott look good seems like a tall order.

The thing that really scares me about the Saints is that in previous years they’ve been prone to letdowns and slipups. The Saints are a classic “I think they’ll win, let me tease them down to just win the game” type of team. It’s been hard to trust the Saints to cover bigger numbers over the years because of their inconsistent defense, but it’s easy to talk yourself into Brees prevailing in the end. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen victim to this logic as they end up playing a head-scratching clunker that busts up a moneyline parlay or teaser bet. We actually saw this Week 1 in their 48-40 loss at home to Tampa Bay, and almost saw it again the following week when they barely survived Cleveland at home, but since then they have been lights out. Not only are they 8-1, but they are 7-2 ATS, including seven-straight covers.

I thought they would have a letdown in Baltimore back in Week 7 after Drew Brees set the passing yards record on Monday Night Football the previous week. Nope. Maybe they would slip up on the road against a solid Vikings team? Nah. Then they knocked off the darling Rams at home and followed that statement win up with a trouncing of the Bengals on the road in a game that had letdown written all over it.

The Saints just hung 35 points in one half against the Bengals

#NOvsCIN pic.twitter.com/ptKzpbdCuF

— Cricket Alliance (@CricketAlliance) November 12, 2018

35 points in a half? The Eagles haven’t scored 35 points in a game this season.

The point is, if you’re expecting a sloppy performance from a team feeling itself, well, don’t get your hopes up.

When the Saints Have the Ball

The Saints have the NFL’s top scoring offense, average 413.9 yards per game, convert 46.2% of third downs, and, frankly, look unstoppable. Drew Brees has completed 77% of his passes while throwing for 2,601 yards to go along with 21 touchdowns and only one interception. Brees is averaging 8.4 yards per pass, and while both he and his playmakers deserve a ton of credit for the offense’s success, he has been sacked on only 2.83% of his pass drops this season, which is a credit to the Saints’ offensive line. New Orleans, however, will be without starting left tackle Terron Armstead this week, and the Eagles will have to take advantage of his absence if their depleted defense is to have any chance of slowing down the Saints’ explosive passing attack. Brees, with time, scanning the field for Michael Thomas is not going to end well.

The Saints may only average 4.1 yards per carry, but have a Top 10 rushing attack at 126.8 yards per game because of a steady commitment to the run. New Orleans is No. 2 in the NFL with 30.7 rushing attempts per game. The Eagles, meanwhile, are only allowing 93.4 yards per game on the ground, but that’s a bit deceiving. Opponents average a healthy 4.7 yards per rush, but typically attempt to exploit the Eagles through the air. Opposing teams run the football only 31.8% of plays against Jim Schwartz’s defense.

Of particular concern (and there are many) for the Eagles is finding a way to keep running back Alvin Kamara in check. They have struggled to slow down opposing running backs in the passing game this season, and Kamara has excelled with 55 catches for 473 yards and three touchdowns to go along with his 546 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Oh, and don’t forget about Mark Ingram, who has 405 total scrimmage yards and three touchdowns since coming off his four-game suspension to start the season.

When the Eagles Have the Ball

The Eagles have moved the football with some success this season, but have been a below average scoring offense thanks to untimely breakdowns and red zone inefficiency. The Eagles’ 55.9% red zone TD percentage is 17th in the NFL. It’s imperative they take full advantage of scoring opportunities this week, and they have a favorable matchup against the Saints’ 28th ranked red zone defense that’s allowing opponent touchdowns at a 72.4% rate.

From a statistical standpoint, Carson Wentz is enjoying a terrific season, completing 71% of his passes for 2,148 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. Still, the Eagles are only 3-4 in his starts, and Wentz has taken some criticism locally, fair or not, for not finishing the deal late in games. The Eagles will need him at his best this Sunday and he should thrive against a pass defense that’s near the bottom of the league in opponent completion percentage, opponent yards per pass, and opponent pass yards per game. Defensive end Cameron Jordan is a terrific player, but the Saints have gotten to the quarterback on only 6.21% of pass drop backs. If the Eagles can keep Wentz clean, which has been a struggle at times, he should have success.

Exacerbating the Eagles’ dependency on Wentz is an inconsistent rushing attack that has a difficult matchup this week. The Saints defense is allowing only 3.7 yards per rush and a league-best 80.1 rush yards per game. Whether the Eagles can get something out of a mediocre run game averaging only 102.7 yards per game led by Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams will go a long way in determining their ability to stay in the game.

Betting Trends

The Eagles opened as a 7.5-point underdog, but as of Friday morning the line has climbed all the way to Saints -9 at some books. Given the popularity of the two teams and its national exposure as the late national game, it will undoubtedly be one of the most heavily bet games of the week. Currently, 40% of point-spread bets back the Eagles, but 66% of money is behind them. That would indicate the big money bettors are on the Eagles.

Meanwhile, the game total has risen from 54 to 56 points throughout the week. The public has been all over the, uh, over this week.

If you would like to wager on the game risk-free with a $50 bet, then I highly suggest you check out the very generous promo BetStarsNJ has going on this weekend. You don’t even need to make a deposit.

Things to know

Here’s some hope for Eagles fans. The last time the Eagles were this big of an underdog was back in 2015 under Chip Kelly when they went on the road and (somehow) beat the Patriots. Furthermore, while the Saints are an outstanding 7-2 ATS this season, they’ve struggled as a big home favorite, going 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games when favored by seven or more points at home. Their two ATS losses this season came in this same spot.

But it’s not all good for the Eagles. They are only 4-13 ATS before playing the Giants since 2010. Drew Brees is 4-0 ATS against teams allowing less than 21 points per game this season. It’s presumed the Saints will score 30 points this week, and if they do, that’s a problem for the Eagles. They have gone 5-25 ATS the last 30 times they’ve allowed at least that many points in a game.

The Saints playing on Thanksgiving night. Why does this matter? Teams playing on Thanksgiving are 15-2-1 ATS in the game prior since 2015. Only 17 teams have won seven-straight games ATS dating back to 2003. Those teams were 9-8 ATS in their following game.

Prediction

The Eagles’ five losses have come by a combined 22 points and they haven’t lost a game by two possessions yet this season. Matchups aside, it would be a bit out of character for them to lose a game by double digits.

I can’t get myself to a place where I look at this game from a purely football standpoint and see how a depleted defense that can’t force turnovers is somehow going to slow down a quarterback that has thrown only one interception this season. I can’t see how the Eagles below average rushing attack can control the game on the ground against a good Saints run defense, but…here’s where I’m struggling. How many people are going look at the board late Sunday afternoon and tease down the Chargers to -1 and the Saints to -2.5 or -3? I have a bit of conspiracy theorist in me, and that just seems way too easy. Maybe it’s the Chargers that falter, but I’ve seen similar set ups in the past and it almost never ends well.

I can’t envision a scenario in which the Eagles win this game, but only eight teams in the past 15 years have covered eight straight games (the 2017 Eagles were the last to do it), the Saints have struggled as a big home favorite, and the sharp money is backing the Eagles as of Friday afternoon. If that last point remains true prior to kick off, I’ll roll with a small play on the Eagles.

One more thing: 15 of the 20 Eagles road games under Doug Pederson have hit the over. Given that I expect a close contest, I’ll take the bait, and look for an over.

Saints 36, Eagles 33

The post Your Complete Eagles and Saints Betting Guide appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Your Complete Eagles and Saints Betting Guide published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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It's time to take the Raptors seriously. We mean it this time

The Raptors have won a lot of games before, but something feels different about this team.

In Taylor Swift’s seminal music video, “You Belong With Me,” she sings from the perspective of a high schooler bemoaning the fact that her neighbor-slash-crush doesn’t see her for who she is, a hidden treasure that he has been overlooking for various reasons.

Though the Toronto Raptors probably share little in common with Swift, perhaps we’re the ones overlooking them now as they’ve blossomed into something worth celebrating.

For example, the Raptors have finished with 48-plus wins in four straight seasons now and have yet to be selected for a Christmas Day game, something that their two biggest stars lobbied for last week. It’s not that anyone wants to lose a holiday, but for DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, this was about respect. Haven’t they done enough? Haven’t they proven themselves?

But the answer, before this season, was no. The Raptors have won many regular season games, but they’ve never been seen as a threat to the Cavaliers, and they’ve failed to give them trouble the past two seasons, even as Toronto advanced to the conference finals. That’s why teams like Philadelphia, Washington, and Boston have been given more attention — all three playing on Christmas — due to bigger stars and brighter futures.

That was Toronto’s deserved reputation, plagued with problems like their non-modern offense and uninteresting play.

But these 2017 Raptors are doing their best to shake it off with style, filling a blank space in the Eastern Conference and taking off their glasses to reveal a team that’s, well, quite attractive.

How else would you describe a squad that had the best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference until Tuesday’s surprising loss to the Mavericks and sit only three games behind the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the league?

More importantly, perhaps, is how the Raptors are doing it. This season, Toronto is outscoring opponents by 8.3 points per 100 possessions, third-best in the league, and by far their best ever as a franchise. Why?

The Raptors have earnestly embraced modern basketball

The NBA doesn’t require homogeneity, but things like shooting and spacing are becoming increasingly necessary. CBS Sports’ James Herbert unearthed this nugget about the team’s offseason scrimmages earlier in the season:

Corner 3-pointers -- where the distance shortens and the shot becomes ultra-efficient -- counted for four points. Other 3s were treated normally, as were layups. Anything outside of the paint and inside the 3-point line was either worth zero or minus-one. This new "shot spectrum," as they call it, was designed to change their habits.

The Raptors are attempting the sixth-most three-pointers in the league, an average of 31.5 per game, while hitting 35.2 percent of them. They’ve picked up their pace, averaging more than 100 possessions per game after years in the mid-90s.

Their leading scorer, DeRozan, historically known for his love of inefficient two-point jumpers, is pushing his comfort zone. He’s still not a great three-point marksman, but his 34 percent and 2.8 attempts per game are both career highs.

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

This is one of the league’s best benches

The Raptors’ third-most used lineup — Delon Wright, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, C.J. Miles, and Jakob Poeltl — is a mostly bench concoction that ramrods opponents, outscoring them 12.6 points over 100 possessions in the 59 minutes they’ve played together. Then there’s Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam, and sometimes Lucas Nogueira, all players that allow Dwane Casey to play 10 or 11 players deep.

Siakam is a little more creative off the bounce. Wright is better finishing at the rim (and has attempted literally zero long two-pointers, somehow!). Miles has always brought valued shooting to any team he plays for, and that has continued.

Toronto’s secret weapon is a rookie

OG Anunoby is a 6’8 do-everything wing who has the same wingspan as Rudy Gobert — 8’0. The 20-year-old has spent most of the season in the starting lineup, and it has given Toronto a terrifying new weapon on the defensive end. If that wasn’t enough, Anunoby is shooting 44 percent behind the arc this season, too.

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Toronto’s at its best when Anunoby’s on the court — outscoring opponents 17.5 points per 100 possessions when he’s out there. That’s partly because the Raptors don’t overextend their 20-year-old rookie: he is never asked to ‘anchor’ bench lineups, and he has mostly played in the starting five, which has smoked opponents.

But look, when you have a 6’8 wing who can smother a perimeter player with arms that reach out longer than most starting centers, it’s going to make an impact. When that same player can record a 62.6 percent True Shooting Percentage, you’ve discovered someone that’s pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a 3-and-D player, even if all Anunoby does is stay in that role.

So they’re good. But what are the Raptors this season, anyway?

There are reasons to think the Raptors might be a great regular season team whose strengths will be mitigated in the playoffs. Deep benches are usually replaced by shorter rotations, and old, ingrained habits are hard to kill, even when replacing them with a new style. DeRozan and Lowry both still need to overcome historic playoff slumps that have plagued them the past few seasons.

Still, this team increasingly seems like the leading challenger to the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially as Boston begins to fade after a fast start. In my head, and probably yours as well, it’s ridiculous to imagine the Raptors beating LeBron James in a playoff series. It’s seems more ridiculous than, say, the 76ers, due to their sheer talent, or even the Celtics.

That might be the old Taylor Swift effect, the one with nerdy glasses and oversized T-shirts, really being something different underneath. These Raptors are radically different, for sure.

We’ll have a better idea once the Raptors and Cavaliers actually play each other — they haven’t yet, with their first meeting taking place on Jan. 11, before two more matchups happen in late March and early April. Maybe James will laugh off Anunoby’s 8’0 wingspan, and the Cavaliers will turn DeRozan back into an ugly duckling.

If they don’t, though, and if the Raptors look more competitive than those two painful Eastern Conference postseason clashes, then it’s time to start taking this transformation that they’ve undergone seriously, if we haven’t already.

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harrythegreekblr · 7 years ago

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Mosher testifies he showed Haslam master plan on how to steal money from Pilot's customers

Jimmy Haslam knew about the fraud going on at his company, Flying Pilot J, according to Brian Mosher, former National Sales Manager of Pilot. Mosher testified yesterday that he showed Haslam the company's master plan on how to steal $56 million from its customers.

Mosher's Direct Sales Unit was "responsible for 25 per cent of Pilot's annual profit", according to the U.S. Justice Dept. Pilot has annual sales of $20 billion. Pilot paid Mosher a half a million dollars a year.

Mosher's testimony was heard in a criminal trial against four former key executives at Pilot Flying J. One defendant is Mosher's former boss, Mark Hazelwood, who as Pilot's former President, earned $30 million a year.

The trial is being held this month in the U.S. District Federal Court in Eastern Tennessee, Chattanooga. It is in its fourth week and is anticipated to continue to the end of the year. The trial continues Thursday.

Mosher testified, “Early on (in developing the scam), I would explain the way the spreadsheet was laid out, But later on we (Mark Hazelwood and Jimmy Haslam) would just look at the bottom line.”

For the first time during the Hazelwood criminal trial, the voice of Jimmy Haslam was heard in the courtroom. It was on tape from an FBI informant wire. It was taken during one of Mosher's mandatory sales training sessions. The meetings detailed Mosher's master plan on how Pilot's sales force could make money cheating its customers. The entire training session was taped by the FBI.

Haslam was at the meeting. He was talking about Western Express, one of Pilot's customers. The courtroom heard Haslam saying on tape, “Sounds like Stick’s deal with Western". "Stick" is a nickname for John Freeman, former V.P. of Pilot's Sales Division. Freeman reported to Hazelwood.

Western discovered they were shortchanged on their earned rebates. They thought the amount was one million dollars. Western sold Pilot a grounded airplane that was unable to fly in exchange for the money.

However, Western was shortchanged.

According to court records, they should have received $7 million in rebates. Pilot kept the difference until a private settlement was made after the FBI raided Pilot's headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. The FBI needed 200 agents to complete its search and seizure of criminal evidence in two states.

Pilot admitted in writing they stole $56 million from 5500 customers, cooked the books, and used oral rather than written contracts to make theft easier.

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/28/jurors-get-earful-sports-analogies-pilot-flying-j-fraud-trial/896598001/

Pilot paid $186 million in fines, restitution, interest, good faith estimates of claims, and forensic audit costs. These were the amounts paid pursuant to U.S. Justice Dept. claims against Pilot.

Haslam's company also paid more money in law suits for money. One of Pilot's largest customers, Western Trucking in Nashville claimed losses of $75 million. Attorney fees have yet to be disclosed.

Mosher has plead guilty to mail and wire fraud. He has admitted stealing $20 million from 250 customers. Mosher is facing maximum jail time of 30 years for mail fraud, and 20 years for wire fraud.

The U.S. Post Office and other interstate delivery companies were used to send customers rebate checks in "deceptively fraudulent reduced amounts", according to the U.S. Justice Dept.. "Wire" or use of the internet "over state lines" was used to send "fraudulently reduced amounts" through fabricated spreadsheets. The scam made Pilot, its Direct Sale Unit, and sales representatives more money.

Hoping to reduce his jail time, Mosher is testifying this week against Pilot's former President, Mark Hazelwood.

Hazelwood is on trial for tampering with a witness, fraud, and conspiracy.

https://brassballs.blog/home/pilot-judge-rules-jury-to-hear-hazelwoods-racist-vile-comments-on-jan-10th

https://brassballs.blog/home/whoppers-in-hazelwoods-trial-former-president-of-pilot-flying-j

Three other former Pilot key executives are in the same trial with Hazelwood. They are accused of fraud and conspiracy. Their pictures are highlighted in yellow in the flowchart at the end of this article. They are:

V.P. of National Accounts Scott Wombold (top left under the date)

Regional Sales Representative Heather Jones (bottom second photo to the left

Regional Sales Representative Karen Mann (bottom left of center under the word "Pilot")

Hazelwood's picture is at the top in yellow left of center next to Jimmy Haslam, Pilot's CEO.

Pilot has annual sales of $20 billion. It sells more diesel fuel, seven billion gallons a year, than any other company. Pilot owns 750 rest stops in the U..S. and Canada. It makes more money in its convenience stores selling food, truck repairs, and other items.

The main purpose of the rebate scheme was to create a monopoly for Pilot.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/05/28/pilot-flying-j-probe-lifts-hopes-of-rivals/2364911/

In exchange for agreeing to a "loyalty agreement", Pilot's customers were promised the lowest priced fuel and rebates in exchange for buying fuel exclusively from them. As a result, Pilot was taking away business from its competitors, making it easier for Pilot to expand its business. It was also putting its competitors out of business.

Pilot has been adding 50 new locations a year since 2008, the year the rebate scam was concocted. This is a growth rate experienced by no other company in the truck stop business. Pilot sells more diesel fuel than any other company. It sold six billion gallons of fuel in 2013. Now it sells seven billion. Yes, BILLION. Pilot had 563 locations in 2013. Now it has 750.

https://pilotflyingj.com/history

Pilot offers "rebates that are outrageous and impossible to compete against,'' said Burt Newman, the vice president of Professional Transportation Partners.

At current rates, Pilot's diesel fuel prices are eight cents a gallon lower than other truck stops.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/04/one_of_haslams_competitors_que.html

This case has nothing to do with the Cleveland Browns, another company owned by Haslam.

Haslam is innocent, has no pending criminal charges, and has said he is unaware of "any wrongdoing".

http://thetrucker.com/News/Story/PilotsettleslawsuitwithNashvillecarrierWesternExpress

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/01/browns_haslam_hit_for_a_loss_t.html

https://brassballs.blog/home/pilot-admits-stealing-56-million-from-customers-and-cooking-books

https://brassballs.blog/home/criminal-trial-starts-monday-flying-pilot-j-top-brass

https://brassballs.blog/home/whoppers-in-pilot-flying-j-trial

https://brassballs.blog/home/program-for-mondays-pilot-flying-j-criminal-trial

https://brassballs.blog/home/haslams-lose-pilot-to-pull-out-of-40-per-cent-sales-nose-dive-since-2013-raid

https://brassballs.blog/home/haslam-never-received-a-get-out-of-jail-free-card-when-pilot-paid-92-million-dollar-fine

https://brassballs.blog/home/haslam-said-pilot-fiasco-caused-by-a-handful-of-rogue-employees

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clevelandconcoction · 8 years ago

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The Friends and Volunteers here at ConCoction are pleased to welcome Glen Cook as the 2017 Convention's Author Guest of Honor! See our website Blog for the official announcement!

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sherristockman · 8 years ago

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Experts Warn Statin Drug Trend Puts Lives at Risk Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola The number of people continuing to suffer from heart disease and stroke rises each year, despite advancements in pharmaceutical intervention. Unfortunately, the misguided recommendation to eat a low-fat diet is only making matters worse. Cardiovascular disease was listed as the underlying cause of death in 33 percent of all deaths in the U.S.1 and remains the No. 1 cause of death. Someone has a stroke every 40 seconds and a stroke kills someone every four minutes. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), seven factors are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, including smoking, inactivity, diet, high cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.2 While some of these factors are straightforward, such as smoking or not smoking, others are more complicated than a simple measurement. Like saturated fat, cholesterol has been vilified despite 60 years’ worth of research having failed to demonstrate a correlation between high total cholesterol and heart disease. Cholesterol is actually one of the more important molecules your body uses to build cells and produce hormones and vitamin D. Low levels of cholesterol that may occur with pharmaceutical intervention are linked to memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease,3 and may increase your risk of depression,4 stroke and violent behavior. Cholesterol is often divided into HDL/”good” and LDL/”bad” cholesterol, but the division is really based on how the molecule combines with protein. LDL and HDL are lipoproteins, or fat molecules combined with protein. Fat must be transported in your blood with a protein, which is classified by density. Large LDL molecules are actually not harmful, but small dense LDL particles may squeeze out of the lining of your arteries and trigger damage and inflammation. Some groups, such as the National Lipid Association, are now starting to shift the focus toward the size of the LDL particle instead of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, in order to better assess your risk of heart disease. While a potentially more accurate method of assessing risk, the process has not yet been embraced by the mainstream, and requires more complex blood testing than currently done for cholesterol levels.5 New Study Defends Statin Drug Use A recent study released in the Annals of Internal Medicine6 triggered a flurry of media attention when it recommended patients continue — or start — taking statin drugs.7 According to Cleveland Clinic chairman of cardiovascular medicine, Dr. Steven Nissen, holistic practitioners are hyping side effects associated with statin drugs and have concocted unfounded assertions against the medication. However, many studies have shown statins fail to live up to the promises of lowering your cardiovascular disease risk. In fact, this class of drug may actually raise your risk. The study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital that sparked this attention evaluated 28,266 people who reported an adverse event or reaction to taking the statin drug.8 Of those who had already experienced an adverse reaction, 70.7 percent continued their medication. After four years, the researchers found those who continued the drug had a 12.2 percent rate of cardiovascular events. Those who discontinued the medication had a 13.9 percent rate of adverse cardiovascular events. In other words, those who continued taking the drug after suffering some form of adverse effect experienced a mere 1.7 percent reduced rate of cardiovascular problems over four years. In an editorial in the same publication, Nissen laid a substantial portion of the blame for stopping statin drugs on the doorstep of dietary supplements, lifestyle-based approaches and benefits from these that have not been confirmed in formal clinical studies.9 Statin Benefits Are Weak at Best Interestingly, the AHA places a strong emphasis on lifestyle-based approaches that include quitting smoking, getting exercise, normalizing weight, reducing blood pressure and reducing blood sugar.10 In other words, while Nissen is not convinced lifestyle-based approaches are very helpful, the AHA doesn’t appear to agree. Moreover, the potential benefit of statins must also be weighed against its drawbacks, and many cardiologists and even professional organizations have warned that statins seem to do more harm than good.11 According to an analysis from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force,12 to prevent a single person from dying of any cause, 250 people would need to take statin medications for six years; 100 people need to take a statin as a primary preventive for five years in order for one or two people to avoid a heart attack, but none will actually live longer.13 Other studies have also failed to find any kind of mortality benefit from statin medications, even in at-risk groups.14 Unfortunately, statin medications are not just recommended for individuals who have had a cardiovascular event in the past and considered at high risk. They’re now recommended to any person who has a 7.5 percent risk of having a heart attack in the following 10 years, based on a risk profile created by the AHA, which takes into account gender/age/race, cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and smoking. Using this calculator, an amazing 26.4 million Americans become candidates for statin treatment.15 However, as discussed in previous articles,16,17 researchers have warned the AHA’s risk calculator overestimates your heart disease risk by anywhere from 75 to 150 percent. This means even healthy people at low risk for heart problems are being put on these risky drugs. Statin Drugs Focus on the Wrong Factor Your risk of heart attack and stroke is not related to a simple number, but rather to a complex interaction of the different weight densities of lipoproteins in your blood. For years Americans were misinformed and told to eat a low-fat diet to reduce their risk of heart attack. However, research does not support this recommendation, and even a general look at the difference between potential risk in people from the U.K. and France demonstrates something quite different. The average French person receives 15.5 percent total calories from saturated fat, while a person from the U.K. receives 13.5 percent. However, the rate of death from heart disease in France is one-third that of that in the U.K.18 And, like saturated fat, Americans have been advised to eat a diet low in cholesterol to control the cholesterol in their body, until the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee said:19 “Cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.” Heart disease is triggered by damage to your artery walls and blood clotting. When the endothelial wall of your artery is damaged, your body begins the repair process and essentially creates a “scab.” To prevent the scab from dislodging, your endothelial wall grows over it, causing the wall to thicken, which you know as atherosclerosis. In other words, cholesterol is not clogging your arteries; rather, the arterial walls are thickened as a result of a natural repair process. One of the primary culprits of the initial damage to the arterial walls is sugar (fructose). This means that eating a diet high in sugar is the way to increase your risk of heart disease, not a diet high in cholesterol or saturated fats. Statin drugs are designed to lower your total cholesterol levels, which tell you virtually nothing about your risk of heart disease unless it is exceptionally elevated. A total cholesterol above 330 or so would be suggestive of familial hypercholesterolemia, which, in my view, would be about the only time a cholesterol-reducing drug would be appropriate. While cholesterol numbers may be indicative of an increased risk of heart disease, they aren’t the numbers you’re used to seeing. Two ratios that are far better indicators of heart disease risk are: Your HDL/total cholesterol ratio: HDL percentage is a very potent heart disease risk factor. Just divide your HDL level by your total cholesterol. This percentage should ideally be above 24 percent. Below 10 percent, it's a significant indicator of risk for heart disease Your triglyceride/HDL ratios: This ratio should ideally be below 2 Statin Side Effects Far From Minor In an interview with CBS News,20 Nissen said that most side effects associated with statins are minor and can be addressed by adjusting the dose or switching to another type of statin. The side effect primarily discussed were muscle aches. Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, professor of preventive medicine and cardiology at Northwestern University School of Medicine, downplayed the matter further by suggesting the muscle aches typically associated with statins may simply be due to the age of the individual taking the drug.21 However, muscle pain is only one of the common side effects attributed to statin medications. Health professional information for atorvastatin (Lipitor) ranks side effects as very common (10 percent prevalence or greater), common (1 to 10 percent), uncommon (0.1 to 1 percent), rare (0.01 to 0.1 percent) and very rare (less than 0.01 percent). Side effects from statins reported to health professionals as very common, common and uncommon include:22 General: Urinary tract infections, dizziness, partial loss of sensitivity to sensory stimuli, distortion of the sense of taste, amnesia and headache Gastrointestinal: Diarrhea, indigestion, nausea, intestinal gas, constipation, abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain, vomiting and pancreatitis Metabolic: Abnormal liver function tests, hyperglycemia, hepatitis, anorexia, hypoglycemia and weight gain Musculoskeletal: Joint pain, pain in extremity, musculoskeletal pain, muscle spasms, myalgia, joint swelling, back pain, elevated creatine phosphokinase, neck pain and muscle fatigue Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Side Effects Are Devastating The problem with using statin drugs is they address only the surface issue of total cholesterol levels in a simple manner inside a complex organism. The drugs work by blocking the enzyme in your liver that naturally produces cholesterol your body needs to function. This essentially reduces your total cholesterol without addressing the different densities of lipoproteins, namely HDL, LDL, VLDL (very low-density lipoproteins) or your triglyceride levels. By altering just one aspect of your cholesterol production, statin medications have a significantly negative effect on your total body health. Rarely mentioned is the link between cardiovascular death and statin medications. It’s important to realize that the medication you’re using to prevent heart disease has a common side effect of cardiovascular death, occurring in up to 10 percent of patients.23 Another less publicized side effect is a progression of muscle wasting that may lead to a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The World Health Organization Foundation Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring has noted a disproportionately high number of patients with upper motor neuron lesions, like ALS, among those taking statin medications.24 Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medical School countered these disturbing findings25 saying the condition can be treated with steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs; hence, there’s no need to fear this popular “fantastic medication.” Considering you can dramatically lower your cardiovascular disease risk with lifestyle changes alone, this hardly seems like a reasonable recommendation for most people. What Is the Statistical Effectiveness of Statin Medications? When the risks of taking a medication include neuromuscular disease and a “common” side effect of cardiovascular death, you would hope the effectiveness of the drug outweighs the risks. However, in this case, the risks far outweigh any benefit from using the drug. In a report published in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, the authors concluded statin advocates used a statistical tool called relative risk reduction (RRR) to amplify what amounts to trivial benefits.26 The same report states clinical trials have also succeeded in minimizing the significance of a large number of adverse effects that patients experience. When you consider the absolute risk for adverse side effects listed above the use of statin drugs, that benefits just 1 percent of the population, appears ludicrous. A 1 percent benefit means that out of 100 people treated with the drug, one person will have one less heart attack. By changing the statistic to a relative risk, the benefits of statins suddenly help 30 to 50 percent of the population. To understand this better, imagine you have a study of 200 men, half of whom take a drug and the other half a placebo, to examine the effect on prostate cancer. After five years, two men in the group taking the drug get prostate cancer, compared to four in the group taking the placebo. Using this data, researchers could claim the drug cut the risk by 50 percent, or that there was a mere 2 percent drop in risk — and both would be correct. The first claims relative risk reduction and the second uses absolute risk. In a second study published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, researchers found that not only were statins not as effective as commonly communicated, but they may also contribute to cardiovascular disease,27 which would account for the common cardiovascular side-effect associated with the drug. Several physiological mechanisms associated with statins were discussed that show how the drug may be associated with making your heart health worse, including but not limited to the following:28 Inhibits vitamin K2 function Mitochondria damage Interferes with and depletes coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) Interferes with selenium-containing proteins Reduction in CoQ10 May Be Trigger Behind Statin Side Effects One of the known effects of statin medications is that it depletes your body of CoQ10, used for energy production in every cell of your body. Hence, CoQ10 is vital for your good health, energy levels, longevity and general quality of life. Although there was a proposal to add a black box warning on statin medications regarding the depletion of CoQ10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided against it in 2014. The reduced form of CoQ10 is ubiquinol, also a critical component in cellular respiration and the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Considering your heart demands the most energy of the organs in your body, you may see how potentially devastating it may be to diminish your body’s main source of cellular energy. If you are taking a statin drug, it is essential you also take a CoQ10 or ubiquinol supplement. I strongly recommend the latter as it is more effectively absorbed by your body. Dr. Steven Sinatra, cardiologist and founder of the New England Heart Center, recommends taking at least 100 milligrams (mg), but preferably 200 mg of high-quality CoQ10 or ubiquinol daily. Using ubiquinol improves the mechanism that prevents LDL cholesterol from damaging your body and effectively rescues cells from the damage done by the statin, protecting muscle cells from myopathies.29 Protect Your Heart Health Using Drug-Free Strategies It is important that you don’t just stop a medication without first putting other strategies into place to help manage your heart health. If you are looking for a nondrug way to boost your heart health, here are some of my top recommendations: ✓ Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your diet. It is vitally important to eliminate gluten-containing grains and sugars, especially processed fructose. ✓ Consume a good portion of your food raw. ✓ Make sure you are getting plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats from fatty fish low in mercury. Good examples include sardines, anchovies, herring and mackerel. Alternatively, take a high-quality omega-3 supplement such as krill oil. Research suggests that as little as 500 mg of krill per day may improve your total cholesterol and triglycerides and will likely increase your HDL cholesterol. ✓ Replace harmful vegetable oils and synthetic trans fats with healthy fats, such as olive oil, butter and coconut oil (remember olive oil should be used cold only; use coconut oil for cooking and baking and source your butter from certified grass fed, organically raised dairy cattle). ✓ Include fermented foods in your daily diet. These will not only optimize your intestinal microflora, which will boost your overall immunity, but will also introduce beneficial bacteria into your mouth. Poor oral health is another powerful indicator of increased heart disease risk. ✓ Optimize your vitamin D levels, ideally through sensible sun exposure as this will allow your body to also create vitamin D sulfate — another factor that may play a crucial role in preventing the formation of arterial plaque. ✓ Check your iron level at least once a year, and donate blood two to three times a year if your ferritin level is above 80 ng/mL. An ideal level for adult men and non-menstruating women is somewhere between 40 and 60 ng/mL. You do not want to be below 20 ng/mL or above 80 ng/mL. Another valuable test is the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) test. GGT measures liver enzymes. Not only will this tell you if you have liver damage, it can also be used as a screening marker for excess free iron and is a great indicator of your sudden cardiac death risk. For women, a healthy GGT level is around 9 units per liter (U/L) whereas the high ends of "normal" are generally 40 to 45 U/L. For men, 16 U/L is ideal, while the normal lab range can go as high as 65 to 70 U/L. ✓ Exercise regularly. Make sure you incorporate high-intensity interval exercises, which also optimize your human growth hormone production. ✓ Stop smoking completely and don’t drink alcohol excessively. ✓ Be sure to get plenty of high-quality, restorative sleep. ✓ Practice regular stress-management techniques.

#VitalityPath

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wavenetinfo · 8 years ago

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Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. SENATORS TO QUIZ SESSIONS ON RUSSIA CONTACTS

The attorney general will face questioning about his role in Comey’s firing, his Russian contacts during the campaign and his decision to recuse himself from the probe.

2. WHAT DENNIS RODMAN IS AIMING TO DO IN NORTH KOREA

The former NBA bad boy, and friend of Kim Jung Un, says he’s “just trying to open a door” by going to Pyongyang in his first visit since Trump took office, but that the issue of several Americans currently detained there is “not my purpose right now.”

3. WHO MATTIS BLAMES FOR POOR COMBAT READINESS

The defense secretary fingers Congress’ inability to deliver an annual defense budget for the woes as the U.S. faces fierce rivals, including an “urgent and dangerous threat” from North Korea.

4. COSBY JURY TO HEAR MORE DEPOSITION TESTIMONY

Jurors in the comedian’s sexual assault trial want to revisit the portion of a 2005 civil deposition where he talked about giving accuser Andrea Constand a pill concoction he called “three friends.”

5. WARRIORS MAGICAL SEASON ENDS WITH TITLE FOR KD

NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant got just what he came for, a championship in his first season with Golden State as the Warriors dispatched Cleveland in five games.

6. TRUMP’S TRAVEL BAN LOSES AGAIN ON APPEAL

If the Supreme Court decides to take the case, justices could order an unusual June argument and try to resolve the lawsuits before they leave town for the summer.

7. TRIMMING MONUMENT IN UTAH ANGERS TRIBES

The Interior Department’s recommendation to downsize the new Bears Ears National Monument marks a setback for tribes pushing for the added protections on lands they consider sacred.

8. WHY ATTORNEYS GENERAL ARE SUING TRUMP

Prosecutors in Maryland and the District of Columbia hope a little-known clause in the Constitution will force Trump to separate himself from his businesses and release his tax returns.

9. MOST MIDSIZE SUVS HAVE UNSAFE HEADLIGHTS

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says it tested 37 in the class and only two received a “good” rating: the 2017 Volvo XC60 and 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe.

10. ‘THERE WAS A SPIRIT IN THE AIR’

San Francisco is going all out for the 50th anniversary of the legendary “Summer of Love,” celebrating with museum exhibits, music and film festivals and dance parties.

13 June 2017 | 10:33 am

Source : ABC News

>>>Click Here To View Original Press Release>>>

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); June 13, 2017 at 05:03PM

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flauntpage · 7 years ago

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Your Complete Eagles and Saints Betting Guide

Disgusting loss pic.twitter.com/rFLGQy408k

— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) November 12, 2018

Is there any hope at all for the Eagles this Sunday? Let’s get into it.

Eagles at Saints (-8), Over/Under 56

The Saints just hung 35 points in one half against the Bengals

#NOvsCIN pic.twitter.com/ptKzpbdCuF

— Cricket Alliance (@CricketAlliance) November 12, 2018

35 points in a half? The Eagles haven’t scored 35 points in a game this season.

The point is, if you’re expecting a sloppy performance from a team feeling itself, well, don’t get your hopes up.

When the Saints Have the Ball

When the Eagles Have the Ball

Betting Trends

Meanwhile, the game total has risen from 54 to 56 points throughout the week. The public has been all over the, uh, over this week.

Things to know

Prediction

One more thing: 15 of the 20 Eagles road games under Doug Pederson have hit the over. Given that I expect a close contest, I’ll take the bait, and look for an over.

Saints 36, Eagles 33

The post Your Complete Eagles and Saints Betting Guide appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Your Complete Eagles and Saints Betting Guide published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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buddyrabrahams · 8 years ago

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Jabrill Peppers responds to being accused of using drugs

Cleveland Browns rookie Jabrill Peppers says he has never used any of the drugs an ESPN radio contributor accused him of having used earlier in the week.

On Thursday, Sabrina Parr said Peppers tested positive for a diluted sample at the NFL Scouting Combine because the former Michigan star is “high all the time.” ESPN 850 in Cleveland has since parted ways with Parr, and Peppers insists she was lying.

#Browns Jabrill Peppers: I've never done any of those drugs that (the former espn cleveland reporter) said I did http://pic.twitter.com/WScW7KHxj9

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) May 12, 2017

“Absolutely not. Never in my life,” he told reporters on Friday. “I’m not even gonna get into that, but no. Whatever drugs she said I’ve done, I’ve never done in my life.”

Even if you don’t believe the excuse Peppers gave for testing positive, the allegations made by Parr were pretty damning. She claimed the first-round pick is on “the lean” — a concoction of codeine, Sprite and hard candy — and also uses molly, or ecstasy. Parr also brought veteran offensive lineman Joe Thomas into the discussion, though she later said she was being sarcastic.

Peppers will be watched closely by the league because of his positive test at the Combine. If he’s not using drugs, he shouldn’t have an issue.

from Larry Brown Sports http://ift.tt/2pt02pH

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junker-town · 8 years ago

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The Georgia Bulldogs took on a voluntary rebuild. How’s that going?

Will Kirby Smart’s second team be a division champ or just a more experienced version of his five-loss team?

Perceptions are an incredible thing. If Georgia were your typical rebuild job — say, a South Carolina situation, in which the product fell off late in a great coach’s tenure, then fell some more — then it would be easy to say Kirby Smart’s efforts are pretty encouraging.

Despite a reset of sorts on both sides of the ball, Smart’s first team won eight games, beat rival Auburn, and won a bowl game, then inked a spectacular recruiting class, the third-best in the country.

This wasn’t a South Carolina situation, though. This was, for all intents and purposes, a voluntary rebuild.

Smart inherited one of the stablest programs in the country, one that fielded one iffy team in 2015 after four straight excellent ones ... and had still won 10 games with that iffy team. Georgia declared that it wants all the recruits and all the rivalry wins; Mark Richt’s 10 wins per year weren’t enough.

Richt was more successful than Vince Dooley, and he was regarded to be one of the best men in football. He had bounced back from downturns before in his 15 years as Georgia head coach. A couple of lean classes had created a two-deep less plump than he was used to, but odds were good he’d get past it. But instead of renovating the mansion, UGA athletic director Greg McGarity tore it down to build a new one.

I’m not going to lie: I’ve enjoyed needling Georgia fans over the last year and a half. They were unhappy with winning more than almost any team in the country (the “almost” has been an issue for SEC programs), and most fully supported a fresh start. Now they’re talking themselves into being happy with an eight-win Smart debut.

It’s a strange place to be, considering Richt went to Miami, won nine games with an inferior roster, and heads into 2017 the ACC Coastal favorite. Georgia, meanwhile, is projected 7-5.

The Dawgs aren’t far from something great, mind you. S&P+ says they have at least a 40 percent chance of winning in 11 games, and lord knows the offense has the pieces to exceed its own No. 54 projection. If the Dawgs perform a little beyond projections, they’ll probably be back in the SEC title game for the first time since 2012, and, well, a coach’s second year is his biggest opportunity to take a leap forward.

For the most part, the trends are easy to spot. If your performance has been awful, you’re probably going to improve by a decent amount. If you’ve been around average, you’ll move toward zero. And if you’re a first-year coach taking over an elite program, you’re probably going to sink.

But in your second year, no matter what, you’re probably going to improve.

But what if they don’t? What if they only improve to projected levels, again finish below the bar that Richt set, and again finish below the bar that Richt is setting at Miami?

Regardless of the optics, it’s not hard to see why many have decided that UGA will be a top-20 team this year. If you look at the best version we’ve seen of certain Bulldog players and units — quarterback Jacob Eason, running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, the defensive front seven that returns completely intact, a senior-laden secondary — you see a team with a massive ceiling, complemented by elite recruiting.

Granted, you also see an offensive line that is thin and terribly unproven. But that’s still massive net upside, especially if you close your eyes and remember how good Chubb was early in 2015.

We saw the floor a lot last year, though. The Dawgs beat UNC, then tried their damnedest to lose to Nicholls State. They pulled off a last-second win at Missouri, then got destroyed by Ole Miss. They handled South Carolina in Columbia, then lost to Vanderbilt at home. They lost to rival Georgia Tech after beating Auburn.

Maybe this was to be expected of a team with a freshman quarterback and a two-deep young enough that most of it now returns. Maybe it would have all unfolded the same way (or worse) with Richt. Even Smart’s former boss needed a season to establish expectations and install the culture at Alabama, and maybe Georgia fans will be doing all the needling in a few months.

But maybe not.

2016 in review

2016 Georgia statistical profile.

Georgia basically had three seasons in one last year. Each was exciting in one way and frustrating in another.

First 4 games (3-1): Avg. percentile performance: 36% | Avg. yards per play: Opp 6.0, UGA 5.4 (minus-0.6) | Avg. performance vs. S&P+ projection: minus-18.0 PPG

Next 6 games (3-3): Avg. percentile performance: 63% | Avg. yards per play: UGA 5.1, Opp 4.3 (plus-0.8) | Avg. performance vs. S&P+ projection: plus-6.7 PPG

Last 3 games (2-1): Avg. percentile performance: 55% | Avg. yards per play: UGA 6.3, Opp 6.2 (plus-0.1) | Avg. performance vs. S&P+ projection: plus-6.7 PPG

UGA began the year hilariously unstable, posting a rock-solid performance against UNC, duds against Nicholls and Ole Miss, and something in between against Missouri.

Then, as Eason got a little bit of experience and the team figured out what was expected of it, things improved. They went toe-to-toe against Tennessee before losing via Hail Mary in one of the wildest games of the season. They beat a good Auburn team and a peaking Kentucky, then suffered a terribly unlikely loss to Vanderbilt. The defense rounded into form, even if the offense began struggling at the same time.

The final act: an unimpressive win over UL-Lafayette, a loss to Georgia Tech, and a solid win over TCU. The offense got better just in time for the defense to regress again.

This was an up-and-down year, something plenty of great coaches have dealt with in their first seasons.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

Chubb’s junior season began with a wonderfully Chubb-like performance; he powered the Dawgs’ win over UNC with a 32-carry, 222-yard performance (6.9 yards per carry). He ended by rushing 55 times for 338 yards (6.1) in his final three games.

The nine games in between: a mediocre 137 carries for 570 yards (4.1).

The recipe was pretty easy. When Chubb averaged at least 6 yards per carry in a game, Georgia scored at least 28 points. When he didn’t, and when Michel couldn’t pick up the slack (as he did against Kentucky and Georgia Tech), there was way too much pressure on Eason.

The up-and-down fortunes of Georgia’s run game created a unique set of full-season stats. Dawg rushers gained at least five yards on 44 percent of their carries (15th in FBS) but got stuffed 21 percent of the time (94th). They were reasonably efficient (57th in rushing success rate) but produced few big plays (seven gains of 30-plus yards, 79th) and somehow stunk in short yardage situations (113th in power success rate).

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Chubb

That must stabilize. The return of Chubb and Michel, not to mention intriguing third-stringer Brian Herrien, will help. With Chubb another year removed from the awful knee injury that ended his 2015, he might find fifth gear more often. And, as this is Georgia, there are two more former star recruits waiting their turn: four-star sophomore Elijah Holyfield, son of Evander, and five-star freshman D’Andre Swift.

That’s great news! Now ... will they have any blocking? Georgia ranked 101st in Adj. Line Yards and 82nd in Rushing S&P+ last year, then lost three starters from an already shaky line. Guards Isaiah Wynn and Lamont Gaillard are back, but beyond them are mostly unknowns.

There are plenty of star recruits, sure. Senior Dyshon Sims, Michael Barnett, sophomore Pat Allen, redshirt freshman Ben Cleveland, JUCO transfer D’Marcus Hayes, and freshmen Andrew Thomas and Netori Johnson were all four-star prospects, and freshman Isaiah Wilson was a five-star and, per the 247Sports Composite, one of the 20 best recruits in 2017.

If line coach Sam Pittman can find the right concoction and keep it on the field, maybe everything will click. But there are a lot of strong run defenses on the schedule, and despite the monstrous ceiling — Chubb had gained 2,294 yards in just 311 career carries (7.4 per carry) before his injury — we won’t know this run game is fully weaponized until it is.

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Jacob Eason

When the run clicked, the pass did, too, so it’s easy to assume that if Chubb and Michel are rolling, Eason’s job will be pretty easy. But it’s still alarming that the Dawgs ranked 91st in Passing S&P+ and 80th in Passing Downs S&P+ last season. That’s lower than you’d like, even with a freshman behind center. And that was with Isaiah McKenzie.

McKenzie and sophomore Riley Ridley were basically the only big-play receivers Eason had. Ridley caught only 12 of 26 passes but averaged 19.8 yards per catch, while blue-chip tight end Isaac Nauta had a team-best 53 percent success rate over 45 targets. If that’s a sign of things to come, Georgia could have a pretty incredible passing game, in 2018 at least.

Are they ready to carry a heavier load? And is former blue-chipper Terry Godwin ready to produce more than a 37 percent success rate and 10.4 yards per catch out of the slot? If not, does five-star sophomore Mecole Hardman barge into the lineup?

Defense

We’ll start with what Georgia’s defense didn’t do well enough:

The Dawgs weren’t very disruptive, ranking 59th in havoc rate, 101st in stuff rate, and 110th in power success rate.

That passivity rubbed off in a 59 percent completion rate that ranked 72nd. They occasionally let opponents off the hook and ranked 51st in Passing Downs S&P+.

It also might have played a role in poor red zone execution — UGA allowed 4.8 points per scoring opportunity, 95th.

Meanwhile, here’s what Georgia’s defense was good at:

Basically everything else.

Georgia ranked 34th in overall success rate and 12th in IsoPPP (which measures the magnitude of successful plays). They were 19th in Standard Downs S&P+, 28th in Rushing S&P+, and 29th in Passing S&P+.

They fell from 11th in Def. S&P+ to 35th, but they were fielding almost all freshmen and sophomores up front, all sophomores and juniors at linebacker, and mostly juniors in the secondary. Richt’s recent iffy recruiting had left a leadership void in spots.

The Bulldogs now return one of the most experienced two-deeps in the country. And the weaker players on the depth chart will get serious challenges from three four- or five-star freshmen on the line, three at linebacker (plus a four-star redshirt freshman), and four in the secondary.

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Trenton Thompson

Georgia was good at most things but great at few. That will probably change in 2017: it would be surprising if the Dawgs didn’t field at least a top-15 run defense. Junior Trenton Thompson (9.5 tackles for loss, five sacks) is both a boulder and an agile play-maker, senior Davin Bellamy has taken well to the jack linebacker role (typically the best pass rusher in the Smart/Saban defense), and most of the former star recruits — tackles Julian Rochester and Tyler Clark, end Jonathan Ledbetter, linebackers Roquan Smith, Natrez Patrick, Lorenzo Carter, etc. — have shown sporadic promise.

The front seven will also damn sure pass the eye test. Of the top nine returning linemen, all are at least 6’3, and five are at least 305 pounds. Smith and Carter aside, most of the linebackers are at least 6’3 and 230.

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Davis

The secondary is exciting, but it seems to go straight from seniors to freshmen on the depth chart. Veteran safeties Aaron Davis and Dominick Sanders and corners Malkom Parrish and Deandre Baker are all back, and sophomore nickel Tyrique McGhee is back after getting his feet wet.

Four other contributors have departed, though, which likely means that a stacked set of freshmen will fill the second string pretty quickly. Five-star safety Richard Lecounte III and four-stars Deangelo Gibbs, Tray Bishop, and William Poole III are around to provide immediate competition. You never want to rely on freshmen because even awesome frosh make rookie mistakes, but one assumes the pass defense won’t regress much.

So what about that havoc? Might the Dawgs cause more of it? It’s hard to guarantee, but I’d say the odds are good. Getting Thompson, Bellamy, Parish, and company back is big, as is the second-year “everybody knows their role” impact. And if the Dawgs add a few more impact plays, they’ll be in the Def. S&P+ top 15, as they were before Smart arrived.

Special Teams

One plus of combining a dynamic freshman class with a two-deep that returns mostly intact: that could mean lots of dynamite athletes on special teams. That’s great news, as the Dawgs needed some help last year. They ranked 94th in Special Teams S&P+.

Of course, the problem was more in the legs and not the coverage. Punter Marshall Long averaged just 38.7 yards per punt, and the Dawgs ranked 124th in punt success rate. UGA ranked 94th in place-kicking, too, but that mostly stabilized when Rodrigo Blankenship took over kicking duties midseason.

Losing Reggie Davis and Isaiah McKenzie means having to replace a scary couple of return men. That’s where a freshman could come in handy.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 2-Sep Appalachian State 62 13.2 78% 9-Sep at Notre Dame 17 -3.8 41% 16-Sep Samford NR 35.5 98% 23-Sep Mississippi State 30 7.2 66% 30-Sep at Tennessee 24 -0.4 49% 7-Oct at Vanderbilt 63 8.4 69% 14-Oct Missouri 53 12.0 76% 28-Oct vs. Florida 15 -4.4 40% 4-Nov South Carolina 36 9.1 70% 11-Nov at Auburn 9 -9.1 30% 18-Nov Kentucky 41 10.0 72% 25-Nov at Georgia Tech 31 2.2 55%

Projected S&P+ Rk 20 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 54 / 11 Projected wins 7.4 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 12.5 (18) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 6 / 6 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 8 / 4.3 2016 TO Luck/Game +1.4 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 81% (77%, 85%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 7.8 (0.2)

This might have been an unnecessary rebuild, but a rebuild it has become. And it’s hard to separate two prevailing thoughts:

This team has mammoth upside. Chubb. Michel. An enormous defensive line. An experienced secondary. The fact that you can’t walk two feet without running into a former blue-chipper.

This team had most of that upside last year and only rarely showed it.

If you’re looking for candidates for a second-year leap, the list likely starts with Smart’s Dawgs, but it takes a leap (sorry) of faith to simply assume it.

And no matter what we assume, we risk feeling stupid about this team.

If Chubb is 2015 Chubb again, the offense is soaring, and the run defense is rendering everyone one-dimensional, Georgia will go 10-2 or better and make doubters like me feel silly.

But if 2017 Georgia looks like a more experienced version of 2016 Georgia, and Eason doesn’t develop that much, and Chubb never finds fifth gear, then 6-6 or 7-5 are on the table, and we feel silly for assuming greatness.

This makes Georgia one of the most intriguing teams in the country. And I promise I won’t root against the Dawgs, even if it would give my argument more ammo.

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