Countdown to Football Season!

Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum

Help Support Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Most of my co-workers are HUGE MSU fans ... I was told I will have to go for tailgating at homegames if for nothing else. Do you go to the tailgates up there?
JR

Yeah, the tailgating in East Lansing is certainly above average. And a definite positive with MSU tailgating is that the day is not ruined if the home team loses. A win is a bonus to be sure, but Spartan fans have learned through the years to have fun either way. "We have never lost a party." :beerchug:

Try to make your first MSU game a late game. Noon games are nice but 3:30 or later is ideal. There should be others but the only late home game scheduled so far is 7pm against Iowa on October 24th.

I live and work in metro Lansing. Let me know via PM if you want any additional MSU info / advice.

 
Roadwreck:
With all due respect...
I hate when people start out with this line. It essentially says, I'm going to call you an idiot, but I don't want you to get upset that I am calling you an idiot, idiot.

Plaxico pleaded guilty to possession of an illegal fire-arm and agreed on a prison term with the DA. NYC is VERY strict when it comes to illegal weapons charges, especially possession of a LOADED weapon in a crowded night-club. Add in the fact that the NYC DA is up for election here shortly (or so I've heard).
Two years in prison is to long for someone who has never had any previous criminal troubles and who's crime was doing something stupid. Yes, it is illegal to carry a fire-arm in NY without a license. Yes, it is illegal to take a gun into a bar (although the security at the nightclub knew he had it and allowed him to take it in). Yes, it is unbelievable stupid to do all these things and then shoot yourself in the leg. That could have easily been someone else in the nightclub. He was lucky he only hit himself and the injury wasn't that serious. But can you really send someone away for two years for being stupid? That seems excessive to me. Had it not been for his celebrity status I'm sure his sentence would have been a lot less then that.

 
From what I've heard, the current DA is retiring at the end of his term. I think the worry was that if things went to trial, it would turn into a publicity stunt for everyone running for DA to show off a hard stance on crime.

I'm surprised the nightclub hasn't had any repercussions from this. If a bar serves alcohol to a minor, they get in trouble, even if the kid's ID 'looked real.'

You'd think inept security, or preferential treatment, or a couple $100 bills to look the other way is no excuse either.

 
I hate when people start out with this line. It essentially says, I'm going to call you an idiot, but I don't want you to get upset that I am calling you an idiot, idiot.
Geez 'wreck, he said "with all due respect". It gives him the right to say whatever he wants. It's in the Geneva Conventions.

Will_Ferrell_in_Talladega_Nights:_The_Ballad_of_Ricky_Bobby_Wallpaper_2_800.jpg


 
I liked it. One of the few Will Ferrell movies I do like.

I don't need to be mentally stimulated, just entertained.

 
With all due respect, Will Ferrel has never played the lead role in a decent movie

 
I hate when people start out with this line. It essentially says, I'm going to call you an idiot, but I don't want you to get upset that I am calling you an idiot, idiot.
My apologies. I have a habit of putting it out there, and it's typically for the reason you stated here... :D

Two years in prison is to long for someone who has never had any previous criminal troubles and who's crime was doing something stupid. Yes, it is illegal to carry a fire-arm in NY without a license. Yes, it is illegal to take a gun into a bar (although the security at the nightclub knew he had it and allowed him to take it in). Yes, it is unbelievable stupid to do all these things and then shoot yourself in the leg. That could have easily been someone else in the nightclub. He was lucky he only hit himself and the injury wasn't that serious. But can you really send someone away for two years for being stupid? That seems excessive to me. Had it not been for his celebrity status I'm sure his sentence would have been a lot less then that.
There's a difference between being stupid and being wreckless. Being allowed to carry a gun into a night-club: stupid. Carrying an illegal, unlicensed (at least in NYC), loaded weapon without a holster or an engaged safety (if it even had a safety) into a nightclub: wreckless. He even said during his interview (in the previews, interview to air tonight on ESPN) that no one even knew it went off except himself simply because he was hit. Now imagine if it had gone off and someone else had been hit. Would Burress even know it went off, let alone acknowledge it was his gun that did it? What about it going off and hitting nothing but a wall? This is the wreckless behavior that I believe truly warrants the punishment he received.

The fact he shot himself is meaningless in the trial/charges against him other than the fact that it forced NYPD to get involved in the first place.

We truly can't compare how he was addressed in the courts versus Mr. Joe Public simply because the media doesn't even cover this. Which I guess makes all the more reason to make Burress the poster-child for it.

 
There's a difference between being stupid and being wreckless. Being allowed to carry a gun into a night-club: stupid. Carrying an illegal, unlicensed (at least in NYC), loaded weapon without a holster or an engaged safety (if it even had a safety) into a nightclub: wreckless. He even said during his interview (in the previews, interview to air tonight on ESPN) that no one even knew it went off except himself simply because he was hit. Now imagine if it had gone off and someone else had been hit. Would Burress even know it went off, let alone acknowledge it was his gun that did it? What about it going off and hitting nothing but a wall? This is the wreckless behavior that I believe truly warrants the punishment he received.

The fact he shot himself is meaningless in the trial/charges against him other than the fact that it forced NYPD to get involved in the first place.

We truly can't compare how he was addressed in the courts versus Mr. Joe Public simply because the media doesn't even cover this. Which I guess makes all the more reason to make Burress the poster-child for it.
With all due respect... :p

...I don't disagree. It was reckless. But so is driving under the influence.

My point wasn't that Burress didn't deserve jail time, I think he does. He broke the law and endangered innocent bystanders. My point was that his sentence seemed excessive, especially when compared to another NFL player who acted recklessly and did harm someone other then himself got off with 23 days in jail and community service (and a 1 year suspension by the NFL).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
My point was that his sentence seemed excessive, especially when compared to another NFL player who acted recklessly and did harm someone other then himself got off with 23 days in jail and community service (and a 1 year suspension by the NFL).
But it goes back to my initial response. These CAN'T be compared. There are too many differences to put these even in the same category other than "NFL Players in trouble with the law." When you compare these, you have to look beyond the "one killed a guy and one shot himself" mentality. You have to account for:

1) DUI laws vs gun laws (how would these two be handled if they had happened in the SAME state, let alone 1000+ miles apart?).

2) Florida law vs NY law. (what if they both drove drunk and killed a guy, but in FL vs NY?)

3) Local political agendas, local media / pubic coverage. (retiring NYC DA vs retired FL population...)

4) The individual involved and how they addressed their situations. Stallworth knew he did something wrong, he grew a pair, and dealt with it (he called the cops, he stayed on scene until the police arrived, he made financial arrangements with the family, and in no way did he ever try to cover-up or hide from what he did). Burress, IMO, didn't really think he did anything wrong until he accepted his plea agreement, and was just acting that way because his lawyer told him to. Burress left the scene (although for good reason), the police weren't even notified until the hospital called (a requirement by law for the Docs to call the police on any shooting related injury), he tried to hide the gun, and have a friend help cover it up.

On a stand-alone basis, IMO the sentences match the crimes for their respective circumstances. Do I agree with the LAWS addressing each? No, but each case was handled within the laws as they should have been. Should the laws between each state be the same? No. The laws are the way they are for each city/county/state for a reason and if you don't like the laws, you have 3 options:

1) Get proactive and get the laws changed

2) Move to a different city/county/state

3) DON'T COMMIT THE CRIMES.

<--- gets down off of his soapbox...

 
^^^ lol. Forget the legal punishment. Make any NFL players who break the law play on the Detroit Lions, MLB to play for the Pittsburg Pirates, NBA to play for Oklahoma City, and we can make the NHL'ers play for Phoenix...

 
But it goes back to my initial response. These CAN'T be compared. There are too many differences to put these even in the same category other than "NFL Players in trouble with the law." When you compare these, you have to look beyond the "one killed a guy and one shot himself" mentality. You have to account for:1) DUI laws vs gun laws (how would these two be handled if they had happened in the SAME state, let alone 1000+ miles apart?).

2) Florida law vs NY law. (what if they both drove drunk and killed a guy, but in FL vs NY?)

3) Local political agendas, local media / pubic coverage. (retiring NYC DA vs retired FL population...)

4) The individual involved and how they addressed their situations. Stallworth knew he did something wrong, he grew a pair, and dealt with it (he called the cops, he stayed on scene until the police arrived, he made financial arrangements with the family, and in no way did he ever try to cover-up or hide from what he did). Burress, IMO, didn't really think he did anything wrong until he accepted his plea agreement, and was just acting that way because his lawyer told him to. Burress left the scene (although for good reason), the police weren't even notified until the hospital called (a requirement by law for the Docs to call the police on any shooting related injury), he tried to hide the gun, and have a friend help cover it up.

On a stand-alone basis, IMO the sentences match the crimes for their respective circumstances. Do I agree with the LAWS addressing each? No, but each case was handled within the laws as they should have been. Should the laws between each state be the same? No. The laws are the way they are for each city/county/state for a reason and if you don't like the laws, you have 3 options:

1) Get proactive and get the laws changed

2) Move to a different city/county/state

3) DON'T COMMIT THE CRIMES.

<--- gets down off of his soapbox...
ugh...

back to my original statement.

holy shit how f-ed up is our legal system?
Shooting yourself in the leg in New York is apparently a far more egregious crime than killing someone with your car while under the influence in Florida.

Am I going to lobby to have the laws changed in NY? No, I don't live there and have no plans to move or visit.

Where I live if I shot myself in the leg the response would probably be yelling "Sum a bitch, Get 'er dun!" then I'd be handed a Natty Light, told to rub some dirt in it and quit being such a pussy. At this point whole incident would be over and I could go on with my life so long as I didn't bleed to death or die from infection.

 
watched the Bears/Jets game sat night with my dad. Hopefully the bears can keep up their blitzing ability like that during regular season as well as their running game. I know its preseaon and the jets defense might not be playing their hardest, but offense should not be able to run 7-8 yds up the middle on several consecutive plays.

 
Back
Top