Hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend and the PADS onset is brief and merciful. Two out of three definitions apply here.
A while back we posted a story about UT taking physical possession of $1 billion in gold, about 5% of its $20 billion endowment.
A lot of theories were posited about where the gold might be held and in what form. Bullion? Krugerrands? Dubloons? Given the critical thinking that went into those assumptions, some of you might be let down to discover that it's being held in a bank vault in New York:
Friday, as gold prices hit a new all-time high – $1486 an ounce($1500 is around the corner),the University of Texas Investment Management Co., revealed that 5% of its $19.9 billion endowment(it handles Texas A&M as well) was in actual bars of gold bullion in a New York bank vault owned by HSBC Holdings, the London based global banking institution. Not in any gold ETF or individual gold mining shares, or in gold futures; Texas took delivery of 6,643 actual bars of bullion, or 664,300 ounces– a quite unusual transaction for a university.
At a current price of $1510/oz, UT has made about 1%, or $10 million on its investment.
How much have you made since April? Biggest gainer gets a Willie Lyles signed pair of Air Jordans.
Per multiple sources, 2011 DT commit Quincy Russell did not qualify and is headed to an as yet unspecified JUCO to try and regain his eligibility. This gets us back to the 85 man limit for the 2012 class and you have to think Texas will consider taking another DT.
@bryandfischer makes a case for football independents, including the Oregon Swooshes, Boise State Broncos, and oddly enough the Florida State Seminoles. FSU might want to win a few more ACC titles before going solo but Jimbo is doing quick work in Tallahassee. Texas obviously has the money and clout to do what it wants and the current Big 12-2 is nothing more than a placeholder for a few years until the Longhorn Network gains traction. Boise will have an easy path to BCS riches from the cockpit of the Mountain West once TCU leaves for the Big East. Oregon and USC might as well be independents given their collective disregard for the fine print. Maybe just join the CFL and pay all of your players instead of just a few?
#futurebestseller:Recruiting OUR way: Following the Paper Trail to Nowhere! by Lane Kiffin and Chip Kelly, foreword by Gene Chizik and Willie Lyles
In the meantime, SI's Andy Staples has put together a Cheating Guide for Dummies. Rules 1, 4, and 7: Always Pay Cash.
Yahoo! investigative journalist Charles Robinson has few peers in the game right now when it comes to exposing NCAA shenanigans (because traditional network-backed media choo$e not to inve$tigate), but he is still figuring out the Twitter game. Yes, it's okay to ignore idiots on Twitter, Chuck. Or just Tar Heels in general. I recommend following @recruitocosm if you want to learn on the fly.
Will Lyles respects the University of Texas for being honest:
“The University of Texas, they hate my guts,” Lyles said. “At least they tell me they hate me instead of saying one thing about me, then saying things behind my back.”
You keep talking, Willie. It gets better every time.
And finally, the season two trailer for Boardwalk Empire is out. My uncle played the rum runner in season one and said there is some crazy shit coming down the Jersey Turnpike next season. Boardwalk is one of the best shows on television and if you haven't watched the first season, it's a quality timekiller until football starts up again in less than eight weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB7uJWUpLqE