Back home from the cabin and listened to the podcast that dropped earlier this week. The pre-season top 25 is due to be dropped soon, as Pat said he would not do it on a Friday afternoon in the middle of July. He also shared that his personal listing has Bethel in third, behind North Central and Mount Union, respectively.

Just saw this in my FB feed - kind of surprised to see Bethel ranked third - just wow!

https://gojohnnies.com/news/2026/7/2/first-preseason-ranking-slots-sju-football-at-no-9.aspx

Teams in this year's competition

1. University of MN, Twin Cities Rocket Team
2. Bethel University
3. Cedarville University

4. Augsburg University
5. Explorer Post 1010
6. Louisiana State University
7. Macalester College
8. Michigan Technical Institute
9. Military Technical College, Cairo, Egypt
10. Normandale Community College
11. North Dakota State University
12. Pellissippi State Community College
13. University of Iowa
14. University of MN, Gopher Axis
15. University of MN, MnSGC

The three teams that placed are first in this list in the place they finished. The remainder of this list is in alphabetical order – not the order they finished.

This year's competition had three requirements that all the team rockets had to accomplish on flight day.

1. Use two completely different high-powered motors, flown within one hour of one another.
2. Prove on the way up that you could rotate the rocket 90 degrees in one direction, and then rotate it back the opposite direction 90 degrees, and using a camera simultaneously that could view two LED lights attached to the rocket, and in view of the camera  showing when both directions were being initiated.
3. See the light pattern that was laid out on the ground adjacent to the launch pads.

Extra points:
1. Have enough students get or upgrade their high power rocket certifications.
2. Within ten minutes of landing, transmit all your onboard video and data to a receiving computer of some kind.
3. Solve the secret message that was being flashed from the light display that was laid out adjacent to the launch pads.

None of the teams were able to solve the message in the first week following the launch because none of team rockets were able to stay focused on the light display long enough to get the entire message. So the folks running the contest gave all the teams the light patterns in a video to try to solve the code for half of the extra points of this section of extra points.

So you all know, Bethel got the maximum number of extra points because they were able to solve the code once they got the whole message. We had 11 students certify and we were able to transmit the data in time with no problems. Additionally, Bethel was able to get in a total of 25 flights this year because of test and contest flights.

The official scores are now out, and Bethel University has finally been knocked out of the top spot after occupying it for four straight years. The University of Minnesota, Main Campus won this year's Upper Midwest Rocket Competition. Bethel University came in second place, and Cedarville University from Ohio came in third place.

Was helping my son move into his first home this afternoon and one of his gaming friends shared a quip he learned when working at Carleton a number of years ago that made me chuckle, so I thought I'd share it here. "You may beat us today, but we'll be hiring you tomorrow."

New podcast out - dropped yesterday. Just 71 days left to opening night...

From Yahoo Sports on-line:

"In addition to the Big 12's filing on Monday, the NCAA and its team of lawyers filed with Texas state court an emergency appeal that encouraged the court to delay its ruling on Sorsby and to expedite an appeal decision before the college football season began. Or else, the NCAA filing said, the court will "teach all athletes that when you break the rules and receive discipline, the solution is not to take responsibility but to find a different umpire."...Sorsby's decision to apply for the NFL Supplemental Draft ends one of the most gripping and one-sided fiascos in the modern history of college athletics — a sordid, four-month affair that began with the NCAA investigation earlier this spring."

Nice tip of the hat to John's 409th win at the end of the D3 Podcast that dropped yesterday.

Quote from: Texas Ole on June 09, 2026, 08:05:33 PMIf anyone wants a laugh at Texas Tech I highly recommend doing a web search of Texas Tech Bell Ringer.  You'll laugh!

Yes, yes you will...

Quote from: maripp2002 on June 09, 2026, 07:05:46 PM

Quote from: art76 on June 09, 2026, 06:55:32 PMI still get peeved whenever Johnny Bench's name gets mentioned concerning his not being in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown

I'm 99% sure you meant Pete Rose, but I'm with you all the way. Athletes gambling on the sport they participate in is just a big no-no. It's a no-brainer, which is what I also have to say about the judge that made that ruling.

Fixed it - yeah - brain fart.

Totally tracking with you guys concerning this whole "still eligible after gambling" hoopla. I still get peeved whenever Pete Rose's name gets mentioned concerning his not being in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Being from Western NY I was a Big Red Machine fan in the day, (no love lost on the Yankees), but my heart was crushed when I found out about his gambling on the games. It hurt - a lot. But, he made his bed and now has to lay in it, as they say. Brendan Sorsby should be banned for life in the NCAA - that would almost assure no chance of playing at the professional level anywhere else as long as he lives. Legal matters aside...

So, what's the consensus on the "Brendan Sorsby ruling". Is this as straight forward as it seems? What's the scuttlebutt?

Quote from: OzJohnnie on May 25, 2026, 07:13:53 AMThe sequence 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 tells you the order in which the cylinders fire in the engine. It's a very well-known "secret handshake" among car enthusiasts, mechanics, and gearheads—especially those who've worked on Chevy 350s and similar engines. You'll see it printed on intake manifolds, T-shirts, mugs, etc., as an inside joke: "If you know, you know."

Yes, in addition to rockets, I am "that guy" with a garage full of "parts I'm going to use some day" surrounding my project car I bought in 1986 - a 62 Ford Falcon.

And yes, I have a black hoody with the "secret handshake" emblazoned on the front. It does generate conversations.

Quote from: OzJohnnie on May 24, 2026, 07:37:48 PMAny motorheads here?  Anyone who cares about Formula 1?  It's very popular in Australia.  I've tried to pretend I care, but I've never been into motorsports any deeper than the demolition derby at the Itasca fairgrounds.

18436572

Quote from: OzJohnnie on May 18, 2026, 10:27:09 PMSo... Art starts asking me about the Hawks, and they have three off weeks in a row, resulting in two losses and a draw.  Jinxed the whole damned operation.

I was hoping you wouldn't notice...