Donkeys are domesticated wild African asses. It is argued whether donkeys are a separate sub-species from their wild counterparts. A jackass/jack is a male donkey. A jennet/jenny is a female donkey. Mules are hybrids between female horses and male donkeys. A hinney is a hybrid between a male horse and a female donkey. Mules and hinnies are phenotypically different (ie, they look and act different).
Currently 29, high of 61 in the East Bay. Looks like for the next 10 days, it's basically highs ranging from high 50s to low 60s. With a range of lows from high 30s to low 40s.
Skiing wind-blown ice sheets here in the Sierra Nevada's yesterday. It was very cold, on the lift and several strong gusts making it biting, but nothing close to -11.
Mostly clear in the NW. Lows in the mid 20s, mostly sunny with highs in the mid 40s for several days. And DRY! Balmy for winter and really nice for the NW.
Teens this morning with wind chills in the single digits. Dew point is shown as -2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a negative dew point before. The sun feels warm though so it was fine when I went out this morning.
Harbaugh's two decisions to go for 2 in that game were a good illustration of why it's sometimes better to wait.
Late in the 3rd quarter, with the Ravens down 21-13, Derrick Henry scored a TD to make it 19-21. Harbaugh elected to go for 2. This would come back to bite the Ravens in the ass. Had the Ravens simply gone for 1 and made it (a high percentage play), the score would have been 20-21, Bills.
FiatSlug's rule of going for two holds that if you're within one score of the lead, you shouldn't go for 2 unless there are less than 5 minutes remaining in regulation and doing so puts you in position to take the lead with a FG or a TD (the extra point gives you the lead).
Buffalo scored two FGs in the 4th quarter, for a 27-19 lead. If Baltimore had instead kicked the XP after the 3rd quarter TD, the score would have been 27-20 in Buffalo's favor. A Baltimore TD then ties the score with a successful XP, sending it to OT, *or* the Ravens could win it with a successful 2XP.
But NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Harbaugh squandered that chance away with the earlier unsuccessful 2XP attempt in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore got what it deserved.
It's not as egregious as when coaches start chasing points in the first half (hello Wilcox), but yeah I still tend to agree that you shouldn't start going for 2 until the fourth quarter, and the Ravens did it just on the wrong side of that. The exception would be if you're sitting at a huge deficit and want to reduce the needed possessions going forward.
You shouldn’t go for 2 and chase points when the game is close and still have multiple possessions. Ravens going for 2 at the time made no sense. The Fog of Football caused Harbaugh to incorrectly go for 2.
In the ND/OSU game last night, Freeman was right to go for 2 at that time due to the score and needing to maximize the number of points due to the deficit and potential number of possessions left.
I agree with this thinking. I also agreed with Freeman deciding to go for 2 down 10 points given the time remaining and the deficit. Had the 2XP attempt been unsuccessful, ND would have been down 10 with something like 6:34 (?) to play; not great, but not insurmountable. Of course, it was rendered moot on the next OSU possession.
Don't like to chase any low percentage strategy until you have to. ND's 2 point conversions last night made sense, trying to trim the number of possessions needed, and started earlier in the game than is usually warranted, but the right call under the circumstances.
Regardless of whether you prefer high risk low probability of succeeding play calling or a more controlled approach that avoids or minimizes risk, it still depends on actually executing plays and assignments correctly.
Executing plays successfully is the key. This is something that fans often don't understand; wishing doesn't make it so. To be successful, practice is key, and being able to execute basic plays requires practice.
Two-and-a-half months ago, back on November 6, the Golden State Warriors headed to New England to visit the defending-champion Boston Celtics. The newish-look Warriors were rolling, carrying a 6-1 record into the matchup. The same-look Celtics were, less surprisingly, also rolling, holding a 7-1 record.
Despite being on a Monday, viewership levels were great. I guess we'll stick with more teams rather than fewer until after when a smaller market team gets in
Now the 1 - 4 seeds don't get a bye anymore. Though maybe that's a good thing. Add 1 round of games. 8-16 (1-4 and 5-8 byes). 5-8 vs winners of 8-16 (1-4 bye).
Money will be the driver on expanding the CFP. It's also why I look skeptically at arguments that the field of 4 was too small. The CFP honchos are always looking to expand the field and enlarge the pie of TV $$.
Having said that, I thought the case can also be made that 12 teams is too large a field for CFP. I believe that a better field size would be 8.
I think that the performance of losing teams in the first round was an eloquent argument that too many teams were in the field. None of the first-round games were close, which indicates there was a clear dropoff in talent between the winning teams and their opponents. Even in the second round, there were games which were not close (Ohio State dismantling Oregon, Penn State dominating Boise State).
If an entire round of games is not competitive, it argues that the field is too wide.
Those 13th through 16th best teams in the country need to be given a chance to win the national title. It's what we've all been clamoring for. Although my heart bleeds for the 18th and 19th best teams in the country. Don't they deserve a shot too?
I’m sure they will but I wonder how much if the viewership was driven due to it simply being the first 12 game CFB playoff. It will be interesting to see if that viewership is sustained next year.
Viewership of the other bowls was up in aggregate 14%, so there is a strong appetite for college football, especially for competitive games or evident teams of strength. More teams being in the hunt for the playoffs longer and more audience engagement during a better overall regular season carries over whether a team makes the playoffs or not.
Ohio St went with a poor defensive strategy, trying to make ND throw, which is the only approach that could get them close fast enough, and added some poor individual decisions by players, that didn't help Chip Kelly out, but he still finished a 4 game, 7 week offensive coaching clinic.
Should be mandatory viewing for a lot of coaches to watch not only what he did, but how, in all 4 games.
Trump has been noticeably flipped on Russia - previously being a Putin Stan to not being one - asking/blackmailing for higher spending by NATO members, criticizing Russia being in Ukraine. And Russia has criticized Trump back. I know Trump isn't a reliable statesman with a well thought-out belief system apart from self-enrichment, but I wonder if his new angle isn't to hide his Russian loans but to basically turn Russia into a pariah state to somehow nullify his debts.
He could try to sideline Russia but he runs a great personal risk, I would think. He may have overstepped his bounds, especially if Putin decides it's worth it to exact some sort of revenge.
The play centers around a depiction of the afterlife in which three deceased characters are punished by being locked into a room together for eternity. It is the source of Sartre's especially famous phrase "L'enfer, c'est les autres" or "Hell is other people", a reference to Sartre's ideas about the look and the perpetual ontological struggle of being caused to see oneself as an object from the view of another consciousness.
Isn't Sartre's statement more optimistic, something along the lines of "the dead can't change, but you as a living person can absolutely make a change for the good"
DONKEY
from shrek.
Donkeys are domesticated wild African asses. It is argued whether donkeys are a separate sub-species from their wild counterparts. A jackass/jack is a male donkey. A jennet/jenny is a female donkey. Mules are hybrids between female horses and male donkeys. A hinney is a hybrid between a male horse and a female donkey. Mules and hinnies are phenotypically different (ie, they look and act different).
KONG
i was never particularly good at it.
I was just OK at Donkey Kong. I think I was better using MAME on the PC for some reason 10 years ago.
99% of my Donkey Kong playing was on the pirated PC games we had in HS.
I remember those. Games like Dig Dug, Burgertime, etc.
I did go to the arcades at Pizza junction and sometimes Starcade over by the Dome movie theater.
There is a new refresh out. Graphics look great.
WEATHER
Currently 29, high of 61 in the East Bay. Looks like for the next 10 days, it's basically highs ranging from high 50s to low 60s. With a range of lows from high 30s to low 40s.
Geez, by comparison it was positively warm in Berkeley at about 5:00 AM, with a reading of 46 deg. F. Still cold, though.
I am going by wunderground so maybe it's warmer than 29. But probably not by too mcuh.
My numbers were also from Wunderground. It's my go to weather widget.
12 deg and sunny in NY .. feels like single digits.
it is not as cold as the -11 F it was at Copper Mtn where the family tried to ski yesterday. they gave up quickly.
Skiing wind-blown ice sheets here in the Sierra Nevada's yesterday. It was very cold, on the lift and several strong gusts making it biting, but nothing close to -11.
sounds like VT skiing .. wind-blown ice sheets
New Orleans and surrounding areas to get about half a foot of snow
https://www.nola.com/news/weather/snow-totals-increase-louisiana/article_bf984d54-d73d-11ef-a8b2-bf00fd444fae.html
Mostly clear in the NW. Lows in the mid 20s, mostly sunny with highs in the mid 40s for several days. And DRY! Balmy for winter and really nice for the NW.
San Diego: low 60’s and sunny but we have high winds and another red flag event.
No rain in the future forecast, I am beginning to think we will not get any rain this year at all.
Teens this morning with wind chills in the single digits. Dew point is shown as -2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a negative dew point before. The sun feels warm though so it was fine when I went out this morning.
PRO
Ravens lose on dropped 2 pt conversion. it still would have gone to OT, but they had no chance after that dropped pass.
will be fun to see KC-Buffalo rematch.
Harbaugh's two decisions to go for 2 in that game were a good illustration of why it's sometimes better to wait.
Late in the 3rd quarter, with the Ravens down 21-13, Derrick Henry scored a TD to make it 19-21. Harbaugh elected to go for 2. This would come back to bite the Ravens in the ass. Had the Ravens simply gone for 1 and made it (a high percentage play), the score would have been 20-21, Bills.
FiatSlug's rule of going for two holds that if you're within one score of the lead, you shouldn't go for 2 unless there are less than 5 minutes remaining in regulation and doing so puts you in position to take the lead with a FG or a TD (the extra point gives you the lead).
Buffalo scored two FGs in the 4th quarter, for a 27-19 lead. If Baltimore had instead kicked the XP after the 3rd quarter TD, the score would have been 27-20 in Buffalo's favor. A Baltimore TD then ties the score with a successful XP, sending it to OT, *or* the Ravens could win it with a successful 2XP.
But NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Harbaugh squandered that chance away with the earlier unsuccessful 2XP attempt in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore got what it deserved.
Seems like Wilcox's MO as well. Chase points early when we almost never could make a 2 pt conversion.
It's not as egregious as when coaches start chasing points in the first half (hello Wilcox), but yeah I still tend to agree that you shouldn't start going for 2 until the fourth quarter, and the Ravens did it just on the wrong side of that. The exception would be if you're sitting at a huge deficit and want to reduce the needed possessions going forward.
You shouldn’t go for 2 and chase points when the game is close and still have multiple possessions. Ravens going for 2 at the time made no sense. The Fog of Football caused Harbaugh to incorrectly go for 2.
In the ND/OSU game last night, Freeman was right to go for 2 at that time due to the score and needing to maximize the number of points due to the deficit and potential number of possessions left.
I agree with this thinking. I also agreed with Freeman deciding to go for 2 down 10 points given the time remaining and the deficit. Had the 2XP attempt been unsuccessful, ND would have been down 10 with something like 6:34 (?) to play; not great, but not insurmountable. Of course, it was rendered moot on the next OSU possession.
Don't like to chase any low percentage strategy until you have to. ND's 2 point conversions last night made sense, trying to trim the number of possessions needed, and started earlier in the game than is usually warranted, but the right call under the circumstances.
Regardless of whether you prefer high risk low probability of succeeding play calling or a more controlled approach that avoids or minimizes risk, it still depends on actually executing plays and assignments correctly.
Executing plays successfully is the key. This is something that fans often don't understand; wishing doesn't make it so. To be successful, practice is key, and being able to execute basic plays requires practice.
Warriors left embarrassed by Celtics in lopsided loss
https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2025/1/20/24348168/warriors-celtics-scores-recap-steph-curry-jayson-tatum
Two-and-a-half months ago, back on November 6, the Golden State Warriors headed to New England to visit the defending-champion Boston Celtics. The newish-look Warriors were rolling, carrying a 6-1 record into the matchup. The same-look Celtics were, less surprisingly, also rolling, holding a 7-1 record.
DeMeco Ryans: "What are you going to believe? Your eyes or what I tell you?"
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43494885/texans-coach-kris-boyd-push-assistant-not-disrespectful
NFL: Pull 'em
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nfl-wont-instruct-officials-to-throw-flags-for-pulling-runners
BJ and the Bears
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2025/01/20/ben-johnson-bears-lions-offensive-coordinator/77793017007/
Ichiro misses unanimous HOF by one vote
Well, hold on. Has anyone previously been as close as to unanimous as that?
I think Jeter also missed by 1.
Mariano Rivera was unanimous.
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
tbb happy, Catholics sad. tosu beats nd 34-23.
Think they're still going to fire Ryan Day for losing to Michigan?
Despite being on a Monday, viewership levels were great. I guess we'll stick with more teams rather than fewer until after when a smaller market team gets in
https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/01/espn-delivers-record-viewership-across-college-football-playoff-and-new-years-six/
guarantee you the playoff expands to 16 sooner rather than later. Viewership proved the experiment a success so 4 additional games means more $
Now the 1 - 4 seeds don't get a bye anymore. Though maybe that's a good thing. Add 1 round of games. 8-16 (1-4 and 5-8 byes). 5-8 vs winners of 8-16 (1-4 bye).
Money will be the driver on expanding the CFP. It's also why I look skeptically at arguments that the field of 4 was too small. The CFP honchos are always looking to expand the field and enlarge the pie of TV $$.
Having said that, I thought the case can also be made that 12 teams is too large a field for CFP. I believe that a better field size would be 8.
8 teams, especially if the Pac12 still existed would have been perfect.
I think it's about right at 12 right now. I would tweak the seeding to not give conference winners all of the automatic byes, but otherwise it's fine.
I would only support an expansion to 16 if it meant that more of the G5 champions got in, but I know that's not what they'd do.
Nope. They want any excuse that meant Bama would've gotten in this year.
I think that the performance of losing teams in the first round was an eloquent argument that too many teams were in the field. None of the first-round games were close, which indicates there was a clear dropoff in talent between the winning teams and their opponents. Even in the second round, there were games which were not close (Ohio State dismantling Oregon, Penn State dominating Boise State).
If an entire round of games is not competitive, it argues that the field is too wide.
Those 13th through 16th best teams in the country need to be given a chance to win the national title. It's what we've all been clamoring for. Although my heart bleeds for the 18th and 19th best teams in the country. Don't they deserve a shot too?
no.
that is until they invent December Madness and have a 65 team field and cinderalla stories, etc etc
I’m sure they will but I wonder how much if the viewership was driven due to it simply being the first 12 game CFB playoff. It will be interesting to see if that viewership is sustained next year.
Viewership of the other bowls was up in aggregate 14%, so there is a strong appetite for college football, especially for competitive games or evident teams of strength. More teams being in the hunt for the playoffs longer and more audience engagement during a better overall regular season carries over whether a team makes the playoffs or not.
i watched till it was about 28-7. decided to watch something else after that.
ND did make it a game in the 2nd half. OSU turtled a little bit. No 2 was asking if they were employing the Wilcox mantra in the 2nd half.
Ohio St went with a poor defensive strategy, trying to make ND throw, which is the only approach that could get them close fast enough, and added some poor individual decisions by players, that didn't help Chip Kelly out, but he still finished a 4 game, 7 week offensive coaching clinic.
Should be mandatory viewing for a lot of coaches to watch not only what he did, but how, in all 4 games.
Yes, because that's how stupid some folks are.
[see Jared Goff critics]
CAL
🫤
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1791720222/we-almost-always-always-win-add-any-team
ICYMI
https://x.com/49ers/status/1865893504599420932
Go Bears!!!
Devin Brown's arrival at Cal becomes official. Hello QB1.
David Reese announces that he is in the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility left. Dude is going into his EIGHTH year of college
https://x.com/DR4our/status/1881775415905386626
POLITICS
What a shitshow. And it's been only half a day.
Based on the blanket pardons, I have to wonder how much blue lives matter.
Trump has been noticeably flipped on Russia - previously being a Putin Stan to not being one - asking/blackmailing for higher spending by NATO members, criticizing Russia being in Ukraine. And Russia has criticized Trump back. I know Trump isn't a reliable statesman with a well thought-out belief system apart from self-enrichment, but I wonder if his new angle isn't to hide his Russian loans but to basically turn Russia into a pariah state to somehow nullify his debts.
He got Russia to help him get re-elected and stay out of jail. Now he doesn't need their support as much.
He could try to sideline Russia but he runs a great personal risk, I would think. He may have overstepped his bounds, especially if Putin decides it's worth it to exact some sort of revenge.
Buries head in sand.
This is me.
Same
DBD AV CLUB
I finished the second season of Silo and the season 2 finale was one of the best season finales I have ever seen.
I’m currently watching Black Doves on Netflix and am enjoying it.
It’s time once again for Oski Disciple’s Question of the Day.
When Jean-Paul Sartre said, “hell is other people,” was he on the Stanfurd campus?
probably. that is one of my favorites.
more context
The play centers around a depiction of the afterlife in which three deceased characters are punished by being locked into a room together for eternity. It is the source of Sartre's especially famous phrase "L'enfer, c'est les autres" or "Hell is other people", a reference to Sartre's ideas about the look and the perpetual ontological struggle of being caused to see oneself as an object from the view of another consciousness.
Isn't Sartre's statement more optimistic, something along the lines of "the dead can't change, but you as a living person can absolutely make a change for the good"