I'm shopping on behalf of a swim and racquet club in the midlands.

Looking to do 3 walk through gates and 1 drive through gate with either fob/card access. Any recommendations?

Is announcing soon.
What are our chances?

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As the calendar turns to July, 14 FBS schools officially moving conferences
By: Sam Cooper - Yahoo! Sports

Big 12 officially adds 4 new members​

With its two most prominent members, Oklahoma and Texas, exiting, the Big 12 was in a tenuous position. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby had to act fast with his league facing the prospect of being down to just eight members — or imploding altogether.

And that’s just what he did. Bowlsby, who has since retired, was quick to add BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Big 12. The formal invitations were announced on Sept. 10, 2021, less than two months after the initial news report from the Houston Chronicle signaled the dawn of a new wave of realignment.

BYU had been operating as an FBS independent since the 2011 season following its departure from the Mountain West and had been angling to join a power conference. The other three are set to make the transition from the American Athletic Conference. Houston has had recent success — particularly in men’s basketball — and is a natural geographic fit with the other Texas-based Big 12 members. Cincinnati also has a rich basketball history and has been a perennial football contender with UCF atop the AAC. Adding UCF also brings Big 12 football into the fertile recruiting grounds of Florida.

For the 2023 season, the Big 12 will operate as a 14-team conference with Oklahoma and Texas playing out one final year before they go to the SEC.

AAC bringing in 6 new members​

Once three of the American Athletic Conference’s top schools were raided by the Big 12, the trickle-down effect continued with the AAC reaching into Conference USA.

First, the AAC pursued Mountain West members like Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State. In October 2021, all four opted to stand pat with the MWC.

From there, the AAC (which was down to eight members) pivoted and reached agreements with six members of Conference USA: Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA.

On Oct. 21, 2021, the news became official, creating a 14-team conference for football. Those six C-USA schools will join East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa for football. Navy is a football-only member. Wichita State is also a member of the AAC but does not have a football program.

With the new teams added for 2023, the AAC has eliminated divisions and will play an eight-game league schedule.

Sun Belt previously added multiple C-USA schools​

With those six schools leaving for the AAC, C-USA was all of a sudden down to just eight members. Three of those remaining members — Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Marshall — did not want to wait around to see what was going to happen with Conference USA. Instead, they jumped at the chance to join the Sun Belt.

Before October 2021 concluded, all three became official Sun Belt members. In the months that followed, they all accelerated their exits from C-USA in time to make their debuts in the Sun Belt last fall.

The Sun Belt also added James Madison from the FCS level to create a 14-member conference.

Conference USA left to pick up the pieces​

Conference USA was left on the brink of complete collapse with six members departing for the AAC and three others heading to the Sun Belt. That left five remaining members — Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky.

Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky subsequently had flirtations with the MAC, but decided to stick with C-USA as the conference worked to add new members. Liberty and New Mexico State joined the fold after previously being FBS independents. The conference also added Jacksonville State and Sam Houston from the FCS level.

With the additions of Liberty, NMSU, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston, C-USA will operate as a nine-team football conference in 2023. Additionally, Kennesaw State will transition from FCS to FBS and join the conference in 2024 to round out the 10-team configuration.

For 2023, the league will have no divisions and play a round-robin eight-game conference schedule. And much like the MAC, C-USA will get some national spotlight by playing many of its games on weeknights, beginning in October.

Pac-12 media rights deal looms large in next phase of realignment​

All eyes are on the Pac-12, which is in a vulnerable state.

The conference has been scrambling to secure a new media rights deal. That was true even before UCLA and USC decided to leave for the Big Ten. Those departures meant the overall value of the league’s broadcast inventory took a massive hit, and it also increased the urgency to try to get a deal done.

The Big Ten’s new deal with Fox, CBS and NBC commences July 1. The SEC’s exclusive ESPN deal begins next year. The Big 12 reached an extension through 2030-31 with ESPN and Fox. The ACC’s grant of rights has it in media purgatory until 2036.

The Pac-12’s impending broadcast contract will play a massive role in dictating the course of its future. If commissioner George Kliavkoff can strike a deal that is commensurate with the Big 12’s (reportedly around $32 million annually to its members), the conference’s remaining 10 members could opt to stick together. If not, some of its members may be looking for other alternatives to guarantee more revenue.

As always finances are the main motivator here, and the Big 12 could be ready to pounce.

The Big 12 is open to further expansion, commissioner Brett Yormark said at the conclusion of the league’s spring meetings in early June. According to multiple reports, Colorado has had conversations with the Big 12, which is reportedly eyeing CU along with Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.

Other schools like UConn, Memphis and Gonzaga have emerged in media reports as possible options for further Big 12 expansion. Gonzaga is a basketball power out of the West Coast Conference that does not have a football program. UConn, the defending national champions in men’s basketball, left the AAC for the Big East in basketball and plays football as an independent.

“We have a plan,” Yormark said. “We have an appetite to be a national conference in our makeup from coast to coast. We love our current composition, love the four new schools that are coming in the next month. However, if the opportunity presents itself to create value, we will pursue it. It is a focus of ours.”

There’s also the status of San Diego State, which informed the Mountain West that it plans to exit the conference. SDSU has long been linked to the Pac-12 (which wants to maintain a presence in Southern California), but the lack of a new Pac-12 media rights deal got in the way of SDSU’s exit plan. For now, SDSU is staying put in the Mountain West.

The ACC’s 14 members are tethered together by the conference’s ESPN deal that goes through 2036. It’s not an ideal situation as the other leagues will get to renegotiate their media deals again before the ACC’s grant of rights expires. Many ACC schools are displeased, as evidenced by the new revenue distribution model that will go into effect in 2024, but there are a lot of legal hurdles to overcome for any of them to break free from the conference.

Meanwhile, the SEC and Big Ten — who have now distanced themselves from the rest of the pack in terms of revenue — loom quietly in the background.

Both the Oklahoma-Texas and UCLA-USC departures came out of left field, so perhaps the best piece of advice as we move forward into a new era is to expect the unexpected.

IRS: Some nonprofit NIL collectives may not qualify as tax-exempt​

By: Associated Press

The rapidly expanding landscape of nonprofit, donor-backed collectives paying college athletes to promote charities has been hit with a potentially seismic disruption.

A recent 12-page memo from the Internal Revenue Service determined that, in many cases, such collectives may not qualify as tax-exempt if their main purpose is paying players instead of supporting charitable works.

If the collectives aren't tax-exempt, the donations they collect that are used to pay quarterbacks, point guards and pitchers may not be, either.

"There's a high likelihood we will cease operations, within the next period of months," said Gary Marcinick, founder of the Cohesion Foundation, a collective formed to connect Ohio State athletes with charities for name, image and likeness (NIL) promotional deals. "In our space, we are donor driven. ... It's not only a game changer, it's a game ender, I think, in the vast majority of cases."

The collectives were born out of the massive change that hit college sports in 2021 when athletes were allowed to earn money in ways that had been prohibited for decades.

Some collectives -- and there are dozens of them -- are set up as for-profit entities that help connect athletes with endorsement deals as the new market swelled into the millions and NIL became a recruiting tool. Opendorse, a company that partners with schools to help initiate, track and monitor NIL deals, projected nearly $1.2 billion flowing through the industry in 2023.

The nonprofit model was an attractive option for some donors and entrepreneurs, who tout such things as appearances at sports camps and fundraisers and social media promotions for select charities. There are an estimated 80 such collectives.

Charities gained exposure from star athletes who earned money. And donors got the promise of a tax-deductible donation.

According to the IRS, those collectives already granted tax-exempt status don't lose it as a result of the June 9 memo. But it does lay out new guidelines for how they are expected to operate if they want to keep it.

"These collectives may face future examinations or enforcement action by the IRS," the agency said without elaboration.

"The big question is whether this memo will spook donors enough that they will no longer want to donate to nonprofit collectives, and schools enough that they tell donors not to donate to them," said Mit Winter, a sports law attorney in Kansas City, Missouri, who tracks issues in the college athlete marketplace.

Congress has also been watching. A bipartisan bill filed in 2022 would limit tax deductions for bankrolling nonprofit NIL collectives, but it has yet to pass.

The IRS was granting tax-exempt status to collectives for more than a year before issuing the memo that determined, in many cases, paying players isn't merely incidental to the charitable cause but "is the very justification for the organization's existence."

"The only question was to what extent would the IRS would put its thumb on the scales. It was pretty clear many of these organizations were pushing the boundaries," said Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State with a concentration on nonprofits.

"The IRS memo put a line in the sand," Mittendorf said. "Paying college athletes is not a charitable purpose. Paying an athlete and doing some charitable work on the side, is also not a charitable purpose."

The IRS warning should not have come as a surprise, said Jason Belzer, founder of Student Athlete NIL, which operates several commercial collectives for schools across the country.

"All of these nonprofits were paid solely for paying student athletes, not for doing the charitable work," Belzer said. "That's racketeering."

The NCAA has raised concerns about the collectives, but the federal government is a different story when it comes to enforcing rules that have been somewhat murky when it comes to athlete compensation.

"The IRS," Belzer said, "is not the NCAA."

Eventually, annual financial disclosures required by state and federal regulators will show how much money is collected, spent and to whom. Because these organizations are so new, many of those records haven't been filed yet.

Marcinick said Cohesion has partnered nearly 80 Buckeyes athletes from multiple sports for NIL deals totaling more than $1.5 million. Partner charities include the Ronald McDonald House, Special Olympics, an area food bank and drug and emotional abuse support groups.

"Unfortunately, there are bad actors out there. They have used [nonprofit status] as a way to harvest donations that have nothing to do with a charitable purpose," Marcinick said. "We're a good actor. ... We're paying the price for others."

On June 9, Ohio State's all-Big Ten defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau hosted a football camp for about 80 children backed by the Boys & Girls Club of Central Ohio and the Lindy Infante Foundation, which helps local nonprofits create and improve youth sports programs.

"He talked to the kids, went to every station, signed autographs," said foundation President Stephanie Infante, calling the IRS memo potentially "devastating" if it effectively ends partnerships like that one.

"It was such a great day and great event," Infante said. "Nonprofits struggle as it is. To be able to interact and get involved with athletes who are reaching out ... It's been such a great opportunity for athletes to get involved in their community."

Not everyone is ready to back out of the marketplace.

The Texas One Fund, a multi-pronged collective that includes the Horns With Heart program and its promise of $50,000 for scholarship offensive linemen, intends to keep doing business as usual. The Texas One Fund has long had a disclaimer that a donation could be tax deductible but advice should be sought from a tax attorney.

Texas One Fund will show any nervous donors the group's March 2022 IRS letter granting nonprofit status, said Patrick Smith, the collective's president.

"All we can do is continue to perform the mission of our [nonprofit]," he said. "If that whole thing is disallowed. It would be sad for the charities we are helping out."

Texas One Fund also has a new connection with the university that should help keep the money flowing in. Starting July 1, donors can earn loyalty points with the school-affiliated Longhorn Foundation for season-ticket selections and upgrades.

"I don't know what effect the memo will have on NIL giving," Smith said. "Whether it's a [nonprofit] or not, money is still going to flow to college athletes."

Absolutely love this!!!


By Philip Wegmann - RCP Staff June 28, 2023
AP
Sources close to former President Trump say he has a plan for keeping Congress from ever again forcing him into “disgraceful” and “ridiculous” spending situations. If he returns to the White House, Trump will seek to resurrect authority that Congress stripped from the presidency almost a half century ago.
What President Nixon squandered, his campaign promises, Trump will restore, namely the impoundment power. “A lot of you,” the former president told a New Hampshire crowd Thursday, “don't know what that is.” Indeed, few now remember it.
Impoundment, if restored, would allow a president, in theory, to simply refuse to spend appropriations by Congress. More than just an avenue to cut spending, Trump sees that kind of authority as key to starving, and thus crushing, the so-called “deep state.”
But such a move would fundamentally alter the balance of power, and any effort to restore the long-forgotten authority virtually guarantees a protracted legal battle over who exactly controls the power of the purse. Trump welcomes that fight. Some budget experts believe he won’t get anywhere.
In a statement to RealClearPolitics, Trump described the impoundment power as "the secret weapon" to squeezing out "the bloated federal bureaucracy while still doing everything America needs and more."
"This constitutional power of the President should never have been curtailed," the former president added, "but I will get it back and will use it to stop inflation and bring federal spending under control."
Regardless, advisors close to the former president tell RealClearPolitics they are drawing up plans to challenge the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act in court, and if that fails, to lean on the legislature to repeal it. The latter would require passing a law to surrender power, something lawmakers are loath to do.
Congress already went to war with another president who had expansive views of his own authority. And Congress won.

Inflation in the 1970s, the Nixon White House complained, was the result of a profligate “Credit Card Congress.” The California Republican warned Capitol Hill not to spend in excess of $250 billion. When his warning was ignored, Nixon simply refused to spend the appropriated money. A rebuke from the Supreme Court followed when the president impounded funding for environmental projects. But weakened by Watergate, Nixon eventually signed legislation effectively surrendering a power that had been exercised from the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson to Lyndon B. Johnson.
Russ Vought, Trump’s last director of the Office of Management and Budget, calls the concession of impoundment power “the original sin” that ensured “the executive branch no longer plays a meaningful role” in the appropriations process. Vought told RCP in an interview that the power of the purse has become “caricature,” where rather than “setting ceilings,” Congress now sets “spending floors.”
Hence, Trump’s “unhappy” signature on multiple multi trillion-dollar spending bills.
Trump promised he would “never sign another bill like this again” before putting his signature on a “crazy” $1.3 trillion spending bill in 2018. Two years later, he signed another omnibus bill, this one worth $1.4 trillion, that he called “disgraceful.” Both times, Trump justified voting for the bloated bills conservatives loathed by pointing to increased military spending.
Restoring impoundment authority, thus giving presidents an option to curb spending beyond just the veto, current Trump campaign and former Trump administration officials tell RCP that was part of the plan for a second term that never came.
The former president said he believes the 1974 law that gutted impoundment is unconstitutional, and if returned to the White House, would govern accordingly.
“Yes, there's the effort to have it overturned in courts. Yes, there is the legislative effort, but when you think that a law is unconstitutional,” Vought told RCP, the administration ought to look “to do the bare minimum of what the courts have required,” and “to push the envelope.”
Trump did something like this, exercising what Vought called “impoundment-like authorities,” when he froze nearly $400 million in foreign aid to Ukraine, even though the funds were congressionally appropriated. The Government Accountability Office later said that in doing so, Trump violated the law. He was impeached by the House over a phone call to Ukrainian President Zelensky concerning the money.
Trump’s OMB disputed the GAO ruling at the time, saying the administration was simply its apportionment authority to spend the money according to the most efficient timetable.
“The reason why there wasn't an impoundment was because we did not have the authority just to pocket the money and not spend it,” Vought recalled, saying that if a new paradigm was in place, the administration “potentially would have had the ability to go further and pocket the money.”
Trump believes impoundment would be “a crucial tool” in his fight with the administrative state. “Bringing back impoundment will give us a crucial tool with which to obliterate the Deep State, Drain the Swamp, and starve the Warmongers,” he said in campaign video first obtained and reported by Semafor. “We can simply choke off the money.”
His campaign pointed RCP to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the Department of Homeland Security, an entity that House Republicans allege has been involved in censorship of Americans, as a prime example of where dollars could be impounded.
But even some conservatives have their doubts. Kevin Kosar, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said that when it comes to cutting spending appropriated money after the fact, there “is a limited amount of wiggle room.”
“The idea that a president is going to achieve any sort of significant savings or reduction in the size of the administrative state by exercising impoundment authorities is patently ludicrous," Kosar told RCP.
The policy wonk agrees that the reform Nixon signed into law, mandating a complex and cumbersome budgeting process, seldom works. But without repealing and replacing that law, he said, “a president flat out refusing to spend money that was clearly appropriated for a particular purpose, saying he just doesn't want to do it, pretty much would be grounds for impeachment.”
Linda Bilmes, an assistant secretary at the Department of Commerce during the Clinton administration, agrees that the current budget process “has become so dysfunctional that it is very ripe for reforms.”
Now a lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, she points to the partisan gridlock and numerous government shutdowns that are a feature of the current process. “The number of shutdowns in the entirety of U.S. history before 1974,” Bilmes said in an interview with RCP, “was zero.”
Congress has been kicking around ideas for some time on how to reform the way they spend taxpayer money. Lawmakers consistently fail to pass individual appropriation bills, opting instead to approve spending all at once with a single bill, usually at the end of year and the last minute.
Even if the process is reformed, however, Bilmes said that “the basic premise of the law, which is that the Constitution provides Congress with the ultimate authority, is very unlikely to change.”
She added that although she disagrees with the idea that reducing the national debt requires gutting the Impoundment Act, there is a recent precedent for taming runaway spending. Bilmes pointed RCP to the agreements hammered out between Bill Clinton and then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. That is possible again. In theory.

Trump did something like this, exercising what Vought called “impoundment-like authorities,” when he froze nearly $400 million in foreign aid to Ukraine, even though the funds were congressionally appropriated. The Government Accountability Office later said that in doing so, Trump violated the law. He was impeached by the House over a phone call to Ukrainian President Zelensky concerning the money.
Trump’s OMB disputed the GAO ruling at the time, saying the administration was simply its apportionment authority to spend the money according to the most efficient timetable.
“The reason why there wasn't an impoundment was because we did not have the authority just to pocket the money and not spend it,” Vought recalled, saying that if a new paradigm was in place, the administration “potentially would have had the ability to go further and pocket the money.”
Trump believes impoundment would be “a crucial tool” in his fight with the administrative state. “Bringing back impoundment will give us a crucial tool with which to obliterate the Deep State, Drain the Swamp, and starve the Warmongers,” he said in campaign video first obtained and reported by Semafor. “We can simply choke off the money.”
His campaign pointed RCP to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the Department of Homeland Security, an entity that House Republicans allege has been involved in censorship of Americans, as a prime example of where dollars could be impounded.
But even some conservatives have their doubts. Kevin Kosar, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said that when it comes to cutting spending appropriated money after the fact, there “is a limited amount of wiggle room.”
“The idea that a president is going to achieve any sort of significant savings or reduction in the size of the administrative state by exercising impoundment authorities is patently ludicrous," Kosar told RCP.
The policy wonk agrees that the reform Nixon signed into law, mandating a complex and cumbersome budgeting process, seldom works. But without repealing and replacing that law, he said, “a president flat out refusing to spend money that was clearly appropriated for a particular purpose, saying he just doesn't want to do it, pretty much would be grounds for impeachment.”
Linda Bilmes, an assistant secretary at the Department of Commerce during the Clinton administration, agrees that the current budget process “has become so dysfunctional that it is very ripe for reforms.”
Now a lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, she points to the partisan gridlock and numerous government shutdowns that are a feature of the current process. “The number of shutdowns in the entirety of U.S. history before 1974,” Bilmes said in an interview with RCP, “was zero.”
Congress has been kicking around ideas for some time on how to reform the way they spend taxpayer money. Lawmakers consistently fail to pass individual appropriation bills, opting instead to approve spending all at once with a single bill, usually at the end of year and the last minute.
Even if the process is reformed, however, Bilmes said that “the basic premise of the law, which is that the Constitution provides Congress with the ultimate authority, is very unlikely to change.”
She added that although she disagrees with the idea that reducing the national debt requires gutting the Impoundment Act, there is a recent precedent for taming runaway spending. Bilmes pointed RCP to the agreements hammered out between Bill Clinton and then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. That is possible again. In theory.

Fun fact: the infamous Bobby Bonilla deal expires in 2035, a year shy of the ACC GoR. Both horribly insane business agreements.

House hunting is already tough. Guess what? It’s about to get harder​

By: Diana Olick - CNBC.com

Anyone out shopping for a home on the resale market knows the pickings are slim. They’re about to get slimmer.

The number of homes for sale this month was actually 7% higher than June of last year, according to Realtor.com. But, in just the last week, that comparison went negative, with the number of homes for sale falling below year-ago levels for the first time in 59 weeks.

New listings in the last week of June were down 29% from the same week a year ago. That’s a wider drop than previous weeks.

With mortgage rates surging ever higher, crossing over 7% again on the 30-year fixed Thursday, according to Mortgage News Daily, homeowners have very little incentive to sell their homes. The vast majority of homeowners with mortgages have rates below 4%, with some even below 3%.

An even tighter housing market ahead means home prices are unlikely to cool. Prices peaked last June, after rising over 45% from pre-pandemic levels. They began to fall because mortgage rates had doubled in a matter of months. But prices bottomed in January, according to the latest S&P Case-Shiller home price index, despite still higher interest rates and slower sales.

“The ongoing recovery in home prices is broadly based,” Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said in a release.

Pending sales, which measure signed contracts on existing homes, fell nearly 3% in May from April, according to a report Thursday from the National Association of Realtors.

“Despite sluggish pending contract signings, the housing market is resilient with approximately three offers for each listing,” NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said in a release. “The lack of housing inventory continues to prevent housing demand from being fully realized.”

On the flip side, the nation’s homebuilders have been big beneficiaries of the tight market, seeing sales jump 12% in May from April, according to the U.S. Census. Higher mortgage rates have been less of a factor, as builders, some of whom have their own mortgage arms, have been buying down rates for buyers. In May, there were twice as many homes that were sold but hadn’t been started as there were a year ago.

While single-family housing starts are finally increasing, they are still well below historical levels. Builders have also been underbuilding since the great recession, meaning the market was undersupplied well before the recent, pandemic-induced run on housing.

“Bottom line, for all the excitement in the home builders because of the need for more supply, the existing home market is depressed and experiencing a serious case of stagflation with little transactions taking place but at still very high prices,” wrote Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group.

It was going to happen sooner or later. You don't stop discrimination by discriminating. I for one thought the worse law on helping solve discrimination was affirmative action. Of course the dyed in the wool racists are going to claim it was an equity event and equalizer. How about an equality event. I support equality of opportunity and meritocracy in advancement for all people. Of course if you are a vote buying pandering Democrat that is not what you want and that also applies to some Republicans.

Recently working with some literacy people on developing programs the conversation came around to the Democratic and Republican Parties commitment to literacy. The group of open-minded free thinkers i was with have decided that all politicians want dumb and shoeless voters but that particularly applies to the Democratic Party.

I personally am looking forward to the mass of lawsuits that will follow the ruling that you cannot use race as a DEI determinant in admissions and in considerations. The Asian community is ging to be on easy street. Now all the white folk can jump in and get their reparations for the wanton discrimination directly against them. Since this injustice directly affected a huge amount of white folks, it should now become a national need to pay reparations directly to injured white and Asian folks by this clearly racist Un-American policy.

I love it when justice is served.

How much would you pay per month to ensure we were able to sign top players?

This has been swept under the rug for some reason!

I just picked up a palate of sod in Green Sea. About a 55 minute drive inland from Myrtle Beach. A very polite young man greeted me and loaded it on my trailer. I asked him how many acres they have. He said 2000. I said all sod? He said only 800 in sod the rest other stuff. I say "vegatables"?

He says "no sir. Beans, corn and tomatoes" 😅😅 Dear Facebook I know. But had to share.

Anyway - anyone know how it got it's name? I mean - it's a good ways to the sea.

I've used the same broker for the past 7 years. He's always provided good service and has shopped my policy's around. Something's happened the last two years. Communication is bad and his rates have sky rocketed, and I know I'm getting screwed.

I currently have a home, an umbrella policy, and car insurance with him.
I have a clean driving record and drive a lot for work.
My company requires me to have full coverage, high limits, medical payments, and a low deductible.
I was quoted $1,855 yesterday for Car Insurance for the year with discounts.
Did some quick checking this morning and Geico quoted me $1280 for the same coverage and that's without bundling my other policies.

What are your limits and what are you paying?
Any Insurance brokers on the board?

Headed to a week long 12u softball tourney next week. It was billed as a "Nashville" tourney, but our games are all in Hendersonville, TN - 30 minutes east. We are staying on the water in Hendersonville with another family. We will also have our 5 year old in tow, so downtown Nashville will be a one afternoon thing.

This place is always good for random great recs, so I am trying again...

What is their to do in the area (not counting Nashville proper)? Good places to eat? Etc. We usually have a drink or two at dinner with the kids present, but we are obviously looking for family friendly recs mostly.

TIA. Pic for your troubles...

Found this on Twitter. Can’t post the tweets because the thread keeps getting deleted. Top 20 NIL collectives by funds:

Tennessee
A&M
Oregon
Texas
Miami
Florida State
Southern Cal
Arkansas
Ole Miss
West Virginia
Texas Tech
Auburn
Michigan
UGA
Washington
SOUTH CAROLINA
Oklahoma
Kansas
Nebraska
SMU

Taking wife and daughter (almost 15) to Niagara Falls in August. Arrive noonish on Wed August 16th. Was thinking of the following sites/things to do:

1. Maybe Wed night do the Behind the Falls tour around 6PM.
2. Thursday - Buffalo things...wife and I both love architecture so we were going to plan on the Frank Lloyd Wright Martin house tour in the AM and then maybe do the Naval and Military Park that afternoon. Daughter hasn't really toured anything like this so figured this would be a good learning/exposure experience for her
3. Friday - Maid of the Mist Canadian Side tour. This is 6 hours. Starts at 9 AM so figure this will be the full days plan.

Am I missing anything or does anyone else have recommendations on other attractions?

Also what are some of the best food places in Buffalo that we must get?

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Melanie Hall, mother of Clemson star basketball player P.J. Hall, joins the podcast to tell the story of her son as he grew up in a family of high-level athletes.

Melanie, who played college basketball at College of Charleston, reflects on the recruiting process that ended with her son choosing Brad Brownell and the Tigers.

At one point during his childhood PJ had his room decked out in all things Gamecock. Years later he found himself in love with everything Clemson had to offer.

Hall recently pulled his name out of consideration for the NBA Draft to return for his final season at Clemson. His mother said it just would've felt incomplete had he not returned for another season and anther year of college life before earning his degree.

Hall is fully healthy for the first time in a long time, and he has his mind set on better days after a difficult year that included not just a return from two surgeries last offseason, but the death of a close family friend.

Melanie Hall interview

And here are the previous three in case you missed them:

Nick Eason, Part 3

Nick Eason, Part 2

Nick Eason, Part 1

How many stickers / decals do you people have on the back of your everyday rider?

Anyone started season three yet??

Just started episode 3 and Uncle Baby Billy is back….

Absolutely glorious. Had to update the avatar.

Flying out for a few nights in the fall and catching U2 at the new Sphere. It's been 25 years since I went out. Flight/hotel recs? We will be with another couple and will keep it low key. No clubs needed. Sights and food will suffice. TIA

Who will be UNC football’s toughest opponent in 2023? Ranking all 12 by difficulty​

By: Rod Baxley - The Fayetteville Observer - Yahoo! Sports

North Carolina football coach Mack Brown is entering his fifth season in his second stint with the Tar Heels.

During a summer press conference in mid-June, Brown didn’t mince words when discussing UNC’s 2023 schedule, describing the opening stretch as “probably the toughest opening four games that I’ve ever been a part of.”

The Fayetteville Observer ranked the Tar Heels’ 2023 schedule, examining the quality of the opponent, among other challenges.

2023 UNC football schedule, in order of easiest to toughest games​

Week 10 vs. Campbell​

Campbell’s 2022 record: 5-6 (2-3 Big South)

Series record: 0-0

Kickoff: TBD, Nov. 4

Notes: In its first game against an ACC opponent, Campbell will make the hour-long trip to Kenan Stadium for UNC's lone FCS game. Entering its first season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, Campbell boasts the top recruiting class at the FCS level.

RECRUITING UPDATE: UNC football 2024 recruiting: Who has picked the Tar Heels so far?

STICKING AROUND: When is UNC football’s Mack Brown retiring? Here’s what the Tar Heels' coach said

Week 8 vs. Virginia​

Virginia’s 2022 record: 3-7 (1-6 ACC)

Series record: 66-57-4

Kickoff: TBD, Oct. 21

Notes: The Cavaliers have won four of the last six, but UNC has back-to-back victories. The Tar Heels dropped 59 points on Virginia in 2021 at Kenan Stadium. The Cavaliers have multiple starters returning on defense, but their offense — which averaged 17 points per game — likely won’t be able to keep up with Drake Maye and the Tar Heels.

Week 6 vs. Syracuse​

Syracuse’s 2022 record: 7-6 (4-4 ACC)

Series record: 3-3

Kickoff: TBD, Oct. 7

Notes: Syracuse has won two of the last three in the series, including a 40-37 double overtime win in 2018, but UNC earned a 31-6 victory in 2020 — the last time the teams played at Kenan Stadium. The Orange is coming off its first winning season since 2018, but lost some key contributors on both sides of the ball.

Week 9 at Georgia Tech​

Georgia Tech’s 2022 record: 5-7, 4-4

Series record: 22-32-3

Kickoff: TBD, Oct. 28

Notes: The Tar Heels have lost four of their last five against the Yellow Jackets, including a 21-17 loss in 2022 that started a four-game losing streak to close the season. UNC hasn’t beaten Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill since 2016, but the Yellow Jackets have a lot of unknowns with additions from the portal.

Week 2 vs. App State​

App State’s 2022 record: 6-6 (3-5 Sun Belt)

Series record: 2-1

Kickoff: 5:15 p.m., Sept. 9, ACC Network

Notes: The Tar Heels and Mountaineers played one of the widest games of the 2022 season, with UNC escaping Boone as 63-61 victors. This game is the hottest ticket at Kenan Stadium — according to StubHub — with prices starting at more than $100. Following its worst season since 2014, App State will be fired up for a chance to win a second straight game in Chapel Hill.

Week 4 at Pitt​

Pitt’s 2022 record: 9-4 (5-3 ACC)

Series record: 11-5

Kickoff: TBD, Sept. 23

Notes: The Tar Heels won six in a row against the Panthers before Pitt earned overtime victories in two of the last three games in the series. UNC heads to Pittsburgh looking for its first road win against the Panthers since 2017. Pitt’s offense will be led by Boston College transfer Phil Jurkovec.

Week 11 vs. Duke​

Duke’s 2022 record: 9-4 (5-3 ACC)

Series record: 64-40-4

Kickoff: TBD, Nov. 11

Notes: Mike Elko's arrival reinvigorated the Blue Devils and the annual Battle for the Victory Bell. UNC has won four straight in the series, including a 38-35 win last season at Wallace Wade Stadium. But Duke was one of the most improved teams in the country. The Blue Devils return a slew of starters, led by quarterback Riley Leonard.

Week 3 vs. Minnesota​

Minnesota’s 2022 record: 9-4 (5-4 Big Ten)

Series record: 0-0

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Sept. 16, ESPN/ESPN2

Notes: These two squads have never met on the gridiron, but the inaugural meeting could provide plenty of fireworks. PJ Fleck’s squad returns quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and a solid group of playmakers around him. The Golden Gophers have posted a winning record in four of the last five seasons, with four bowl victories.

Week 7 vs. Miami​

Miami’s 2022 record: 5-7 (3-5 ACC)

Series record: 15-11

Kickoff: TBD, Oct. 14

Notes: UNC has won four straight in the series, but three of those games were decided by a field goal. In its second year under head coach Mario Cristobal, Miami should be much improved after adding some talent around quarterback Tyler Van Dyke.

Week 1 vs. South Carolina in Charlotte​

South Carolina’s 2022 record: 8-5 (4-4 SEC)

Series record: 35-20-4

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Sept. 2, ABC

Notes: The Gamecocks finished 2022 on a high note with a pair of top-10 wins against Tennessee and Clemson before losing a tight bowl game to Notre Dame. UNC has lost four of the last five games in the series, including two in Charlotte. Maye and South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler should put on a show in this matchup.

Week 13 at NC State​

NC State’s 2022 record: 8-5, (4-4 ACC)

Series record: 68-38-6

Kickoff: TBD, Nov. 25

Notes: The Wolfpack left Kenan Stadium with a 30-27 double overtime win last season. UNC has lost two of its last three at Carter-Finley Stadium. Virginia transfer Brennan Armstrong is expected to lead NC State’s new-look offense and the defense should remain among the ACC’s best.

Week 12 at Clemson​

Clemson’s 2022 record: 11-3 (8-0 ACC)

Series record: 19-39-1

Kickoff: TBD, Nov. 18

Notes: A trip to Death Valley in the penultimate week of the regular season presents a tall task for the Tar Heels, who lost 39-10 to the Tigers in the 2022 ACC Championship game. Clemson has won five straight in the series and the Tigers return a ton of talented defenders to aid an offense under new leadership.