Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Mike]

I'm a big fan of St. Joseph.

[-Deborah-]

Ludington rocks as a vacation spot, if you like the beach and beautiful hikes.

And as a place to live!

I moved to Ludington in my 20s and stayed nearly 20 years. I thought the quality of life up there was terrific. My dog and I miss the state park there a great deal.

But, I moved back to Detroit a year ago and have a much better job.

[Ghengis Jon]

Moved TO Detroit for a better job? Thats a good sign.

[lineygoblue]

She's definitely bucking the trend.

Anyone who can come TO Detroit for a BETTER job is doing something right!

[geo weidl]

Liney, you should buy a house there. I hear they're giving them away and the city is paying for the renovations on the house to boot.

[entropy]

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is being sued for non-payment of $246,000 worth of jewelry by a New York-based company in a civil suit filed Friday in Dallas.

Bryant purchased $267,000 worth of jewelry from A+A Diamonds LTD d/b/a Rafaello & Company, which makes high-end jewelry for celebrities and athletes.

Bryant's attorney, Texas state Sen. Royce West, said they are trying to settle the issue.

"Is there a relationship between Dez and the jeweler? Yes," West said Monday afternoon. "The issue is how much is owed and when it's due. That's the issue. I think we'll solve it quickly."

Bryant's most expensive purchase was a $60,000 custom charm bracelet. He made the purchases on four different days last year, spending as much as $144,000 on Feb. 8, 2010, according to court documents.

"We'll let the lawsuit speak for itself," said Mike Bowes, a Dallas-based attorney who represents the plaintiffs. "My clients in New York worked for several months with Mr. Bryant's counsel to work something out with no satisfactory resolution."

Bryant could not be reached for comment.

The Cowboys wide receiver was in trouble two weekends ago when he received a criminal trespass warning for an incident at NorthPark Center when he got into a profanity-filled exchange with off-duty police over sagging pants. Bryant said his pants weren't the problem, but the pants of one of his friends were low and Bryant got into an argument with the police, who took exception to the fashion statement. Bryant later said that he was treated badly by the police.

The citation would have banned Bryant from the mall for 90 days, but after apologies were administered from both sides, he has been allowed to return to the shopping center.

Calvin Watkins covers the Cowboys for ESPNDallas.com.

[SeanB]

The article I saw stated that Deion Sanders was giving up on him as a mentor because he's just too immature!

[entropy]

The article I saw stated that Deion Sanders was giving up on him as a mentor because he's just too immature!

that says volumes..

[hodgkal]

I'm a big fan of St. Joseph.

Good point, Mike. The entire west tier of Michigan counties is outstanding. We happen to have a summer place on Lake Michigan in Allegan County (where I am sitting at this very moment, looking out over crystal clear blue water). And don't forget Ottawa County where Holland is located with wonderful attractions.

Another geographic curiosity: The M-MSU rivalry pretty much divides up between the coasts and the interior of Michigan. In both SE Michigan and along the western counties you have predominant UM support (you might say where the better educated live :-) whereas in counties in between it is mainly MSU.

[WM Wolverine]

I'd say its 50:50 minimum in the middle counties, where I've lived most my life.

[lineygoblue]

Most of the MSU fans in my area are "closet" MSU fans. Their flags and apparel fly high when their teams are doing well, but disappear when their teams are in the dumper.

[Pasadena Blue]

having grown up in Flint, this is all sad to see.

[Rob F]

This area (Berrien County) of the state----bordering, as it is, on Indiana, just north of South Bend, is probably about 1/3 ND fans, 1/3 U of M, and maybe 20% msu fans. I also know several Purdue fans, and there are a few fans of the Illini and Northwestern, due to the influence of Chicago media and vacationers in the area. Other than my niece that attends IU and her parents, though, I know of practically nobody who roots for IU----in fact, I see more osu fans around here than Hoosier fans. I suppose there are also a few WMU Bronco fans in the area, being less than an hour from K-Zoo, but the local newspaper doesn't even seem to know that WMU exists, even in those rare seasons that they have a good football or basketball team. Besides, other than alumni, I doubt most MAC schools have much of a folloowing outside the metro areas of the town where they're located.

[Jamie H]

Hey, anyone know anything about living in San Francisco? I just got a job offer out there that at first glance looked too good to be true, untill I looked up the cost of living and realized that while it is still a very good offer, it isn't quite as stunning as it looked .

Anyone familiar with the Bay Area? Is it really that much more expensive than even LA? They are offering me 18-50% more than I was making in LA (depending on bonuses) or about 37-63% more than I made in Seattle. I probably wouldn't buy a house, because I'd only be looking to stay for 3-4 years or so, so I would only have to cover renting a house or a nice apartment. I'd probably have to commute into the city, but the BART system is pretty nice for that.

[SeanB]

I have a good friend who has lived in SF for several years now. His rent on a one-bedroom efficiency style apartment is more than my mortgage on a 4 bedroom house!

He loves it, though. Loves SF, loves the city atmosphere and all that it has to offer. He doesn't mind the cost of living because he's not married, no kids, etc. He just says the cost of living is something you deal with to be in the San Fran area.

Sorry, that isn't much in the way of finances, just some minor insight.