Vinnie's tutorial on getting a date

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My sister and her family are driving in from DFW for the game tomorrow.
I'm trying to get really good tickets for my niece's birthday.
I've got GA for the rest of the family but want to get my niece and her BFF as close to the court as I can.

Are VB tickets typically $100+ for the primo seats, the prices on some of the resale sites are outrageous.
There are a few on S Geek that are tolerable but the @TicketCity and Stubhub prices are nuts.

Anyone VB game veterans of guidance on when to buy?

Side Note: If anyone is selling please PM.

Thanks and Hook 'em

For anyone unaware he actually scored 37 vs Richardson as a sophomore, and it’s two 5 star senior guards Cason Wallace and Rylan Griffin. One starts for OKC now, and the other Kansas. What we’re hearing about in the scrimmages is only the beginning
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I know there are others here that are on the waitlist. Saw they raised launch prices today. Ours went from $79k to $93.5k.

This will definitely be Coach Terry's best team. We have the next Michael Jordan on our team. He's just a freshman.

Texas may have a bye week, but the work is far from done. Head coach Steve Sarkisian is using the time to go back to the ‘ol drawing board ahead of one of the most important stretches of the season; OU in Dallas, Georgia at home, and Vanderbilt on the road (don’t sleep on that game).

“Where do we think we need to be for the next couple games, you know, schematically,” Sarkisian told reporters Monday. “What are we trying to work on, or what are we trying to improve upon even schematics that maybe we put in training camp that didn't go the way we wanted to. Maybe we can revisit this week as well. So that's kind of the mindset that I have.”

Sark, who has repeatedly said he doesn’t just coach college football, he’s also a fan, watched the Alabama/Georgia game on television, just like the rest of us.



“I watched the remainder of the first half on TV in my office and then I hurried up and got my car and I raced home to watch the second half of that game,” Sarkisian said, explaining he had an inkling that the game was far from over. “You know, one thing about Georgia and Kirby, they're champions. They're a two-time national champion program since he's been there. They’ve played for it. They've been involved in high-level games. I just never thought they were just going to roll over, and they didn't, and they fought their way all the way back. And what an epic game.”

You would be surprised how many coaches and players aren’t really football fans in their spare time.

That probably seems mind-boggling to Orangebloods readers who spend an inordinate amount of time reading about college football in general, and UT football in particular. But think about it this way and you may begin to understand. When it is your job, when you’re surrounded by it all day at work, it’s not at all uncommon to want to take a break from it when you get home.

Not Sark.

Sarkisian watches football because he enjoys it. He wants his team to enjoy and watch football too.

“I do encourage our guys to do that. I think that we have grown into that as a team,” he said. “Because of the ‘situational masters meetings’ that we have on Fridays where I show them different stuff and different games, I think they like watching football. Maybe they did before, I don't know, but I sure feel like this now more than ever, we're watching a lot of football. They're commenting on it, commenting to me about what's going on in games.”

This weekend Sark and the boys will get plenty of time to watch football. Sark says he and his staff are looking forward to watching some high school football this weekend to see recruits.

“It's exciting,” he said. “It's always a good thing when you get to go on the road undefeated and recruit, you know, it's kind of like they roll out the red carpet for you.”

The players are getting Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to get fresh and get healthy.

“I wrote that down, get fresh and get and get healthy,” said Sarkisian. “When I say get fresh, yes, there's a physical get fresh component to this. I think there's a mental get-fresh too, right? Like you get kind of reenergized, recharge the battery a little bit, because I never want it to be mundane. I never want to be stale. I never wanted to feel like we're going through the motions. I want our guys when they walk in the door of Moncrief to have a bounce in their step, to exude positive energy and positive vibes that that can generate energy in the next person.”

The players should have plenty of energy and positive vibes when they get back to Austin next week. It’s OU week. One of the best rivalries in all of college football.

“Rivalries in college football? That's what this is all about,” said Sarkisian. “It's so special. And I love the pageantry of college football. I love the energy of the crowd. I love the smell of the popcorn, all that stuff. And there's nothing like this game. When you pull into the State Fair and you see fans from both sides, and they're intermixed, and both teams' busses pull up, and we're in the same tunnel, and you come out and there's all those OU fans, and you look and there's all the sea of burnt orange. You're just like, I can't wait to get over there with my people. I just want to get with them. That's what it's all about.

“The best way to enjoy and experience a rivalry game is to prepare really well,” he continued. “The people that get caught up in ‘the game,’ on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, miss the preparation, and then you don't play very good, and then you get your butt kicked, and then you think, ‘Man, this was a terrible experience.’ And so if you if you want a good experience, we got to make sure we prepare really well so we can enjoy the experience, because we're playing good football.”

The Horns will need to play really good football over the next couple of weeks as Texas goes to Dallas for the OU game and then it’s the game that everyone has had circled on their calendar since the schedule was released … Georgia at home.

Sark says he’s using the time off ahead of those games to go back to the ‘ol drawing board.

“Where do we think we need to be for the next couple games schematically,” he said. “What are we trying to work on, or what are we trying to improve upon? Even schematics that maybe we put in in training camp didn't go the way we wanted to. Maybe we can revisit that this week as well.”

By the way, this stretch of games until the next bye week; OU, Georgia and then Vanderbilt, Sark is calling ‘phase two’ of the season.

“I save all of my creativeness for the play calls,” Sark said with a chuckle. “It’s just phase two.”

Sark getting creative with his play calls? That should make the college football fans in all of us, excited about what’s coming next.

AROUND THE SEC



There are plenty of good games for Sark and the boys to watch this week.

(all times Central)
Missouri @ Texas A&M (11:00 am)
Auburn @ Georgia (2:30 pm)
Ole Miss @ South Carolina (2:30 pm)
Alabama @ Vanderbilt (3:15 pm)
Tennessee @ Arkansas (6:30 pm)
UCF @ Florida (6:45 pm)

I’m really looking forward to these games. All of these feel like games where we should learn a lot more about who the real contenders are in the SEC. Don’t get me wrong, none of these are Georgia vs. Alabama … but they are all tests in a different sort of way.

Missouri and Texas A&M are both ranked in the top 25, but both have questions. We came into this season saying it was possible that Mizzou could end up playing in the SEC Championship Game because of its relatively light schedule. That is still, conceivably, possible. But after struggling against Boston College and needing overtime to beat Vanderbilt, it feels unlikely. Going on the road and beating Texas A&M may be enough to start turning opinions around about them.

Plus, this game comes with a little extra heat.

Missouri’s assistant director of on-campus recruiting, Briah Reed, is banned from practice this week because the Tigers are going up against her brother, A&M quarterback Marcel Reed.

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Georgia should have an easy win against Auburn. They’re playing at home and the opponent is … well, Auburn. The same Auburn that threw a pick-six to lose at home last week to Oklahoma.

That being said, this is a rivalry game and things happen in those kinds of games. And, right up until the point where Payton Thorne threw the interception, it was looking like Auburn had finally figured out their quarterback.

Thorne finished the game 21/32 for 338 yards, 3 touchdowns and the one, unfortunate, interception. Bear in mind, that was against a very good OU defense.

So, will Georgia win? Most likely. But could this be a closer game than many expect? Absolutely.



I still have no idea how good, or bad, Ole Miss is. Granted, they lost to Kentucky at home last week … and that should never happen. But this is the same Kentucky that took Georgia down to the wire. The Wildcats also needed a miracle fourth-down conversion to make it happen.

On paper, Ole Miss has enough talent to beat anyone. But it is hard to trust them to play up to that potential right now.

Meanwhile, South Carolina had absolutely no trouble in beating Kentucky when those two teams played. So by the law of transitive property ….



Alabama is flying high right now as the number one team in the country, fresh off their exciting victory over Georgia.

But that game was at home and this week they have to go on the road to Vanderbilt.

Ok, I’m not really suggesting Bama is going to lose. But Vandy’s a little tougher this year than people realize and their quarterback, Diego Pavia, ain’t skeered of no one.

“This is a whole new team,” Pavia told reporters this week. “In the NIL era, every team will be different every single year. We got a team full of dogs who prepare every week like they want to play on Sunday."

“And so with that, the only person that knows who’s going to win on Saturday is God. So we’ll be prepared. We’re going to do everything we can to win a football game. We fell just short to the No. 7 team in the nation. So we gotta get over that little edge, and then start punching some wins here.”



Tennessee has looked like one of the best teams in the country and they are ranked like that too. They have gotten there with an elite defense.

But this is the first time playing an offense that actually has a pulse. Arkansas is 13th in the country in total offense … even though they’ve struggled to convert a lot of those yards into scores, ranking 33rd in the country in scoring offense.



Billy Napier and Florida had better beat UCF at home. Not only are the Knights looked down upon as the lesser cousin (not even little brother status), but they just got drubbed by Deion Sanders’ Colorado team.

TWEETS OF INTEREST:

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Sark said this week that DeAndre Moore has been able to achieve success this year because he patterned himself after Jordan Whittington. He says Moore stuck by J-Whitt’s side and learned as much as he could from him.

It paid off.

And it’s not a bad thing to model yourself after a guy who made things happen in Austin, and is now doing the same in Los Angeles.

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I’ve talked about how bad OU’s offensive line is. Maybe this will put it in perspective.

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The Sooners pretty much had to make the switch to Michael Hawkins Jr. because otherwise, they were going to get Jackson Arnold killed.

Are you paying attention Colin Simmons?

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Sark talked about Georgia’s will to fight … and that’s something that Kirby Smart was proud of his team about after last week’s game.

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The Texas women's basketball team is back on the court and better than ever with Rori Harmon coming back from surgery.

Last year's deep run was just the appetizer.

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That cream Texas ice hockey jersey is pretty sweet.

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The devastation from Hurricane Helene is simply incredible. Any time satellite photos can show the path of destruction, you know it was a big storm.

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God bless everyone still suffering.

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Meanwhile, I have to wonder if Helene isn’t responsible for this?

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Who ever thought Galveston water could look like that?

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This is the kind of preparation I want to see from the Longhorn players ahead of next week’s Red River Rivalry.

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It’s not just Texans that don’t like crossing into Oklahoma.

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They are horrible.

Back in mid evil times they used the name Lance A Lot!…,

“The decision to start Arch Manning at quarterback for the Texas Longhorns depends on various factors such as team strategy, performance in practice, and current quarterback’s efficiency. Arch Manning, renowned for his talent and pedigree, would bring a fresh dynamic to the team. He is ready and has demonstrated strong leadership and skills. Game-time experience and team bonding with Arch Manning is crucial for his development.”

I was not expecting that response, and technically it’s a response from ChatGPT embedded in Siri.

Add that to next week’s thoughts @Ketchum

It’s settled.

...Aways Do What They Do Best!

"LA Erupts Into Chaos Following Dodgers' World Series Victory ... Mob Burns Bus, Looters Raid Nike Store"

Holy crap, dude just hist his 300th home run. Took him 955 games. The next fastest was Ralph Kiner at 1,087 games. A-Rod was fourth fastest at 1,117 games. What Judge has done this year after a horrendous start where even Yankees fans were booing him is simply incredible. I haven't seen a hitter this hot, for this long, since Barry Bonds in 2001.

The White Sox actually intentionally walked Soto (first base open) to GET TO Judge ... insane.

What is Brent Venables' buyout? OU football head coach contract details​

Colton Sulley
The Oklahoman

NORMAN — OU football coach Brent Venables' contract buyout following the 2024 season would be substantial.
If the Sooners parted ways with Venables following their last game at LSU, Venables would be owed $44.8 million. Venables, in his third season at the helm, is 20-14 overall as head coach and 11-12 in conference games.
OU's Board of Regents approved a new six-year contract worth $51.6 million for head coach Brent Venables on June 21. Venables signed the contract on June 7, while athletic director Joe Castiglione signed on June 10.
Venables' contract runs through the 2029 season.
Venables' contract includes various opportunities to add to his lucrative extension, according to his contract obtained by The Oklahoman and the USA TODAY Network.
Here's a list of performance bonuses Venables can earn:

• $125,000 for participating in the SEC Championship Game, up from $100,000 for participating in the Big 12 Championship Game
• An additional $125,000 for winning the SEC Championship Game, bringing his total earnings for winning the conference championship game to $250,000

One of the following:

• $25,000 for participating in a non-CFP postseason bowl game with at least seven regular season wins
• $200,000 for participating in a CFP first round game
• $300,000 for participating in a CFP quarterfinal game
• $400,000 for participating in a CFP semifinal game
• $750,000 for participating in the CFP National Championship game, up from $300,000

Awards bonuses (unchanged):

• $35,000 for being named SEC Coach of the Year
• $75,000 for being named National Coach of the Year by any one of the following: the Associated Press, AFCA and/or Home Depot (ESPN)
• $25,000 annually for a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better for any semester

In his new contract, Venables receives up to $240,000 in private air transportation, a change from the 30 hours he was provided in his original contract.

Discuss.

North Korea Launches ICBM

"On Wednesday, South Korean defense intelligence officials told lawmakers that North Korea might conduct long-range missile tests before the American presidential election next week. They also said that the North was preparing to conduct its seventh underground nuclear test, in a bid to raise tensions and gain diplomatic leverage with the next U.S. president. North Korea conducted its last nuclear test in 2017."

Jong-Un announces he is testing the 'next president' of the US. It is only starting. Can you even imagine Kamala sitting down with this dictator to discuss/negotiate our allies or our country's safety? Its unfathomable. She would get trampled. By him, Putin, and every other dictator on the world stage. I don't think we have ever had this big of a security risk in the Oval Office.

How does that not scare the crap out of you people.

Never been- heading for work tomorrow. Staying near Belem Tower.

any suggestions welcome.

In my amateur opinion, that’s what it looks like. Elder abuse is what they are doing to this man, trotting him out there not knowing where he is or even how to open car doors.

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Blowing it in dramatic fashion here in the fifth. Two enormous, egregious fielding errors took the game from 5-0 Yankees to tied 5-5. Wow.

Are OU, Oklahoma State due for youth movement? It's all about present in college football​

Joe Mussatto
The Oklahoman

STILLWATER — With OU and OSU facing slim odds of making a bowl game, Brent Venables and Mike Gundy have to balance the now vs. what’s next. Do good by the veterans and dial up an all-out bowl blitz, or prioritize young players even if it means punting away a postseason berth.
Of course there’s a middle ground, but it would be unwise to get caught in between.
Missing a bowl would be embarrassing for both programs, but way worse, it would cost the Sooners and Cowboys an extra month of practice. Ask any coach and they’ll tell you, bowl practices are vital for young players. It’s basically a December training camp, where most of the focus is not on the bowl opponent, but the upcoming season.
Per NCAA rules, bowl teams are allowed up to four hours of practice a day, or 20 hours a week, from the end of the regular season to their bowl game. Teams that don’t make bowls aren’t allowed to practice — players can only lift weights, condition and watch film for a maximum of eight hours per week up until Jan. 1.
OSU (3-5, 0-5 Big 12) needs three wins over its final four games to secure a bowl spot. The Cowboys host Arizona State at 6 p.m. Saturday. Then they play at TCU, vs. Texas Tech and at Colorado to finish the season. OSU is likely to be the underdog in each of those four games.
OU (4-4, 1-4 SEC) will notch win No. 5 Saturday vs. FCS Maine. Then OU will either need to beat Alabama at home or Missouri and LSU on the road to get to six wins.
If there aren’t enough six-win teams to fill every bowl slot, a 5-7 team or teams will be chosen based on APR (academic progress rate).

More:Ollie Gordon II will not opt out on Oklahoma State football: ‘I finish what I start’


Asked Monday about the balancing act of prioritizing the present vs. future, Gundy wasted no words.
“Do everything we can to win the game on Saturday,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. Especially in this day and age, right? We don’t even know who we’re coaching for next year.”
Gundy is right about that. Traditional tenets of college football aren’t applicable. Development isn’t dead, but it doesn’t always bear fruit in this transfer portal era.
The Cowboys and Sooners could exclusively play guys who have eligibility left, but just because they can come back doesn’t mean they will come back. A coach might work for a month to mold a freshman, only for him to transfer to Virginia Tech or Purdue.
This isn’t the NBA. Sam Presti’s draft and develop rebuild model wouldn’t work in college football. Not to mention there’s no impetus to tank.
College football is a week-to-week sport. And every season starts with a blank slate.
“This game, this Saturday, is more important than anything,” Gundy said.
But what about practices? OU and OSU need to see what they have in their freshmen and sophomores who haven’t played. Does the possibility of missing a bowl change how practice is organized?
“No,” Gundy said. “We have to get everybody ready to play at the highest level on Saturday.”
For what it’s worth, Gundy said his second-and third-teamers get plenty of reps already.
“We work the threes all the time,” Gundy said. “They’re tired. Those guys are getting a lot of reps. … At the end of practice, the young guys go play a 10-play scrimmage and by the time they go out they’re gassed.”
Both OU and OSU have mixed in more and more underclassmen as the season has gone on, but don’t expect an all-in youth movement. A bowl game is still in play, and with it the prize of another month of practice.

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

Not that I want any player to get hurt, but Reed's game involves lots of running and keepers and he's only 180. Pretty skinny dude.

Will Reed be able to take the pounding thru the next few games? He was eating LSU's lunch but they apparently didn't get the memo he might play. That won't happen again.

So it's easily in the 100s of millions. He didn't have to spend a dime for any of this.

Meanwhile a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl to reach 100 million people is around $7 million.

Trump got over 5 hours of free advertising.

Just finished watching the Rogan interview and anyone who suggests he has dementia or is even in the same ballpark cognitively as Biden likely has dementia themselves. One of the complaints about Rogan is he often speaks more than his guests at times, but in this instance Trump did 90% of the talking and for 3 hours.

Since many on this site may be buying or selling a home at any given time, own investment properties, or commercial real estate I'm posting this weekly update to stay current.

The data is well researched from multiple sources concerning the real estate & mortgage market.

Thus, it is fact based and only analyzing the data/trends without regard to government policy.

As I stated previously let's keep the thread informational for those that might be in the market and leave policy discussions in "The Corral".

A Balanced Real Estate Market -

I know the last few weeks have been brutal in the interest rate markets. On the bright side it seems that home sales and inventories, at least in the Houston Area are both increasing simultaneously. That would indicate that we may finally be returning to a "balanced market" and that's a good thing. Let's look at the numbers and analysis.

Data from Houston Association of Realtors -

There are starting to be some indications that buyers are starting to return to the market. In the latest release by HAR, pending sales are up 5.8% compared to same time period last year. Closings posted a 4.7% increase when compared to last year and showings increased 5.7%.

Not huge jumps but we have been seeing this gradual uptick for several weeks now. The good news is that new listings increased 14.6% so the number of choices available to buyers seems to be also increasing.

Further signs of a balancing out in the marketplace. A balanced market increases activity on both sides. Sellers sell when they think they can get their home sold and buyers buy when they can find a home that suits their needs.

Here is some data for the Austin Area from Austin Board of Realtors -

As of September 2024, the median sales price for the Austin metro as a whole was $425,000, down 6.6% year-over-year. As of September 2024, homes in the Austin metro are on the market for an average of 79 days. As of September 2024, the Austin metro as a whole had 5.9 months of housing inventory.

The decrease in values will help sales. Also the other numbers are closer to historical averages that indicate a balanced market in the Austin Area.

In my opinion it is better to have a lower rate of appreciation and a balanced market. That is when the market functions best versus having either a "Buyer's Market" or a "Seller's Market".

Historical Trend of the Real Estate Market After an Election -

The housing market can experience some fluctuations after a presidential election. Historically, home sales tend to slow down temporarily as potential buyers and sellers may adopt a "wait and see" approach due to the uncertainty surrounding the new administration.

In the year following an election, home sales typically rebound, and the market stabilizes. Obviously the impact of the election on the housing market can also depend on the policies and economic plans proposed by the new administration.

Not going to get into policy discussions in this thread. I just wanted to point out the above for those that may be buying or selling a home over the next few months.

I did find this interesting that Vanguard has real estate stocks/REITS performing better than growth stocks over the next ten years. Not what I would have expected unless they are expecting real estate values to increase, possibly due to inflation.

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Will There Be a Commercial Real Estate Crisis?

Not going to go to deep into this question as I did a thread on it that went 4+ pages. There were lots of great responses from some very savvy posters. There seemed to be a consensus that there is a problem - the argument was more over how large of a problem will it be for the commercial real estate market, lending market, and the overall economy.

At this point it is still TBD but as this post shows it is having some effect.

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The Commercial Real Estate Crisis $950 Billion in mortgages maturing in 2024 (or extending and pretending).

"..Nearly a dozen mid-sized and regional U.S. banks reported higher non-performing loans (NPLs) — debt where borrowers missed scheduled payments — in their CRE portfolios in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, a Reuters analysis of earnings reports showed.

A looming "maturity wall" could complicate matters further. When loans mature, borrowers must either refinance or repay the remaining balance in full.

Failure to do so could lead to defaults and strain banks' balance sheets. Roughly $950 billion of CRE mortgages are expected to mature in 2024, of which 10% are tied to office properties, according to estimates from S&P Global Market Intelligence..."

Full Article Here:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/...-us-regional-banks-cre-portfolios-2024-10-29/

Can Mortgage-Backed Securities Hold On This Floor of Support?

Mortgage Bonds have fallen a lot over the last month. Since their price is inversely proportional to rates, that means mortgage rates have moved up by over a full point.

As you can see on the chart below - I drew a red-line showing the fall in prices and the corresponding increase in rates. The last two days the market has touched a floor and bounced off of it. Hopefully they rebound off of it leading to lower rates in the short-term. Otherwise, if it breaks through that floor rates could go substantially higher.

On the bright side rates are still about a point lower than where we were a year ago. Here are the average rates as of today -

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Comparatively here is where I am on rates today:

30 Year Conventional - High 6's
15 Year Conventional - Mid to High 5's
30 Year Jumbo - Mid 6's
30 Year FHA - Low 6's
30 Year VA - Very Low 6's

Friendly Reminder -

As of today Property Taxes are due - if you have not paid them and are refinancing they will be due at closing.

Odd and Ends

Bye week and like the Horns hopefully the "Mortgage Market" heals up!

Since we're not playing the next best thing would be for South Carolina "Game Cock" the Aggies!

As always happy to answer questions ITT or DM me.

May your children have a Fun/Safe/Happy Halloween!

And on that note - Happy Birthday to my 97 year young dad who still drives, has a 89 year young girlfriend, and loves to watch his Texas Longhorns!

Last Year After the BYU game at DKR to celebrate #96.

Hook 'Em!

God Bless,
MH