Hustle Belt Daily Dump: Mid-American Conference national champions and B1G transfers

We all have that friend that likes to laud himself or herself as a reader and book aficionado. They’ll recommend books to you unsolicited, tell you about the latest thing they are reading, and the Goodreads invites.... for the love of God, the Goodreads invites. There is no more pretentious human being than a voracious reader, and I say that as a member of the group.

When I was a kid, I remember Jurassic Park being one of the first books that really captured me. It wasn’t necessarily an adult book, because can a book be considered heavy lifting when it is about a dinosaur theme park? But it was the first book that I lost myself in and in some respects, set the stage for my still-present-today romance with the written word and the books that contain them. No e-readers or Kindle for me? CHOP BABY CHOP and give me that sweet sweet paper.

The cementing of that book-over-all stance was finalized 23 years ago today, when I sat in a movie theater with giddy excitement that my favorite piece of literature at the time was going to be broadcast on this big screen. My father was with me, the popcorn was salty and moderately warm, the floors were sticky with what I hope today was just soda, and the excitement was palpable for this experience.

What followed was two hours of film that would begin my common refrain of "It was ok, but man, the book was awesome!" that multiple friends of mine have heard dozens of times.  Over two decades have passed since release, and while I still contend the book was better, it was a watershed moment for filmmaking and special effects. All the cool crap that kids today act like is entitled to them as cinema consumers can basically be traced back to Jurassic Park. Plus that lawyer guy got eaten on the crapper. So no matter how bad your day is, it could always be worse. Perspective, people.

Anyway, know your history, appreciate its laying the track for modern day amenities, and go read some books, dammit. On to the news and notes....

Illinois Transfer Finds Perfect Landing Spot in Toledo | News-Gazette
It’s not everyday that a B1G-level talent lands in the Mid-American conference, but that’s exactly what happened with Illinois’ Eli Peters. The QB has found his destination of choice with the Toledo Rockets, adding to the list of P5 transfers that are slated for Mid-American Conference destinations.

C-USA Should Get Creative to Survive or Dissolve | The Sun Herald
When was the last time you saw the Mid-American Conference lauded as the benchmark that other conferences should aspire to? Though a somewhat backhanded compliment in terms of ranking the MAC beneath Conference USA, the Little Conference that Could receives some positive praise for its television deal and membership revenue share.

Kent State Basketball to get Tropical in 2016 | Kent State Sports
If you’re a fan of great weather, beaches, and Golden Flashes basketball, regardless of the gender of the athlete, then don’t make plans for Thanksgiving. Kent State announced that both their men’s and women’s hoops team will be heading to southwest Florida for Thanksgiving week and the Gulf Coast Showcase. In case you’ve forgotten, late fall and winters in Ohio kind of suck, so I’d check this out if I was a Kent State fan.

Akron’s Clayton Murphy a National Champion... Again | Dayton Daily News
In case you aren’t following the NCAA Championships for track and field, you should be, because MACtion just took home a national championship. Akron’s Clayton Murphy won the men’s 1500m in Eugene, OR. Now, I’m neither a good runner or a metric system guy, but Murphy’s 3:36.38 seems pretty fast for what I think is a pretty good amount of distance.

Bill Simmons Tells All | Hollywood Reporter
I’ve been a loyal Bill Simmons guy since the beginning, the pre-ESPN days where pretty much no one was doing what Simmons was doing on the web but a whole lot of people would start because of him. This piece, and the fallout post-release, is a fascinating look at the inner workings of creative people, the places that hire them, and how not to ever handle not working there any longer.