US skier Nina O'Brien fell and suffered a compound fracture on her leg during the Super G. Not linking it because it is Joe Theismann/Alex Smith-esque.
Sara Takanashi cried like crazy and apologized that she changed everyone's life because of disqualification. Japanese athletes always apologizes to the nation, like when Hideki Matsui broke his wrist with the Yankees and he apologized to the fans.
I noticed earlier that the crotch was oddly low on many uniforms, and figured that it was a purposeful design to better catch the air. As the aritcle says, "like a flying squirrel." It's believeable that this would be a violation, but also like the article asks, why didn't they catch it sooner?
Reminds me of that Friends episode where they talked about how intimate a tailor gets in measuring you for a suit. "That's how they do it...IN PRISON!"
They are allowed to wear suits max 4cm bigger than their bodies, and to get the benefit most athletes design suits to be just that. If their body weight/size changes even slightly during the day, their suit becomes "too large." So that's why there's a 4cm tolerance, but with the level of competition getting harder, everyone has to work at that fine level, thus resulting in many disqualifications. I read one comment from Takanashi's staff that her muscle didn't pump up as normally would due to the cold weather, and that contributed to her body being smaller than expected.
"This week, a major university in D.C. found itself in the position of censoring criticism of the Chinese government by removing art posters highlighting Beijing’s human rights abuses during the first week of the Winter Olympics. It’s not the first time China’s long arm of influence reached onto U.S. campuses — and it won’t be the last."
he's not doing special teams. His old buddy is AD at Texas and they colluded to get ol' sweat towel a gig there. Most think he's DC in waiting if Texas gets boat raced by Bama in week 2 and they fire Kwiatkowski. Also, a grenade for Sark in case they fail to meet expectations
I looked up Pete Kwiatkowski's coaching history (on Wikipedia). His resume looks perfectly fit for Cal based on schools he's stopped. Have no idea about his coaching skills.
on paper, Kwiatkowski is a top 5 no worse than top 10 DC in the nation. But year 1 at Texas was a train wreck of epic proportions. Some of that was scheme change and not having the personnel to play it and some was about bad egos that are now gone so there is some interest in seeing what he can do in Year 2. But patience has grown very very thin and blowing so many 4th quarter leads and giving up 57 to Kansas at home has plenty of folks in Austin ready to pull the trigger early next season unless there is substantial improvement
I can't decide if his decision to help out Texas at that level is to stay in the game or to sorta stick it to the people that fired him after all he's done.
huh interesting. At first read, I don't see a strong argument re: high salary doesn't accord with not-for-profit status. It may be unseemly, but illegal?
Furd has always been for profit since the time of Hewlett and Packard, or before with the Southern Pacific railroad. Just look at the endowment. The great money grab...
This is why I don’t understand all the talk of Wilcox improving the talent at Cal. Hopefully all that talent is young and ready to make an impact because it seems like the further we get away from Dykes recruits, the fewer drafted players we have.
I've talked previously about the family cabin in Sonoma County. Well, during the late 40s/early 50s my grandparents trapped a raccoon who was then transported to Berkeley as a pet for my dad and aunt. Subsequently, the raccoon (whose given nickname was "Bandit") was entered into pet contests in Berkeley and won at least once as "Most Unusual Pet". I still have the cup somewhere around the house.
Bandit had a cage on the west side of the house. At some point, Bandit was released into Codornices Park. We have a hunch that his descendants may come around specifically to our house.
Junior year I was in a townhouse on Dwight and Fulton. One night we were shocked to discover two raccoons shagging somewhat loudly on our back porch/deck. Buggers were there for a full hour.
We have a little cat door on the back garage door. The cat food is in the garage and in the winter she stays in her little heated (pad) house. Racoons come in through the door and pry open the multi-day food dispenser and eat it all up. So at night I try to put something in front the door flap to prevent raccoons from coming in. Also means she can't go out at night. But during the winter that's fine since she stays in her house.
I had thought about that as an option when I was thinking about a cat door. Saw how expensive they were so opted for the manual one. Also didn't think about needing to worry about other animals.
For a time, there was another cat from the neighborhood that would come into the garage as well.
I dunno. I mean I love the ad, too, but the true test is whether he outperforms expectations.
I can imagine it being good at driving donations, especially from out of state. I can also imagine it would drive turnout amongst the true believers. But I'd think it'd also push up turnout on the other side and could be a turnoff for moderates.
I hope his polling supports the strategy, and he's not just making good television.
First Pence, now McConnell call 1/6 a violent insurrection. Why concede this point now? Do they know something? Or have the felt Trump's power diminish?
Yup, as others have noted, this means McConnell thinks this position will be better electorally. Doesn't mean he's always right (he also clearly wanted to impeach Trump after the election, but didn't have enough support), but that's an indication of what he thinks.
Not hard to see why. The insurrection was popular with the core GOP base, but not in swing districts.
I suspect they know the direction of the political winds and are wary of bombshell type evidence, though so far the insurrection claims have fallen mostly on deaf ears...
Father of our Softball player Aleia Agbayani's, a former Mets fan favorite Benny Agbayani, is a ramp agent for Hawaiian Airlines so that he can get benefits and cut down on travel costs to see his kids play.
Bottom of the 13th, NLDS game 3. I loved the 2000 Giants. Great hitting: Bonds, Kent, Snow, Aurelia, Mueller, Marvin Bernard, Ellis Burks. Mediocre pitching: Livan Hernandez throwing a million innings, Russ Ortiz, Shawn Estes, Kirk Rueter, 99 year old Mark Gardner, and Joe Nathan with Felix Rodriguez setting up Robb Nen.
Big one @ OR ST tonight....a couple of teams that have lost a combined 17 consecutive games, with the last win by either squad coming January 2. Get excited people....oh how did we get here, my friends?
I’d say most, if not all, of the fans that have not yet completely given up on the Cal MBB program realize that Mark Fox does not recruit well enough at the power 5 level to be the guy...first at UGA and now here. The quicker Knowlton moves on, the better.
Will he? A loss tonight would be yet another road defeat, to a team that hasn’t won in 2022...you could call it the worst defeat of the year, but that home loss to UCSD in the opener says “hold my beer.” Worse yet for Fox & the program: does anyone even care?
Donor apathy could keep him around another year, and with the high APR rate, an extension actually seems possible given the fact that Fox was Knowlton’s hire...hard to take for someone that once felt the same way about the MBB Program that Boss Tanaka felt about the Tokyo Underground Crime Council in Kill Bill, V 1...
Can you give a bit more color to the Theo part? I haven't found anything in my searching on it. I'm wary that any lingering wisps on it may impact our ability to go after others with ties to the program from better times (Gates, DeCuire, etc...).
I don't quite remember the circumstances of Theo being forced onto Wyking's staff, but I do remember that the relationship blew up at halftime of the Wichita State game of the Maui Classic. Theo left the game/program after that and neither party ever divulged details. Since none of the main actors are around anymore, I don't think it would have any bearing on the next hire. Also, let's stop putting DeCuire's name out there. He's already been passed over multiple times, and I don't think he has ever been the answer here. Gates or bust.
I think Gates would decline any Cal interview offers, as his trajectory has him pointing towards a bigger program in the near future. I hope I am wrong.
Seemed like the reticence with Gates was because he lacked HC experience. I thought it was the wrong call obv., but coming off of the Wyking experiment I could at least see why they prioritized having some HC experience. You are no doubt prolly right about Knowlton and Gates, but let me at least me hope and pray till I'm inevitably crushed again. My take is that for Knowlton, hiring Gates would earn him more cover than if he hires yet another guy that the fan base is not excited about. If you can grab Gates, alumni will forgive if it ultimately underwhelms. For Gates, I still think there may be an allure to coaching here (you never forget your first, right?)--but we just couldn't low ball him. As far as we've fallen off the map, this program still has decent potential so long as it's given some attention.
I think the second possibility is remote. Intelligent people are curious and work to solve problems. Hence, "does not care" seems overwhelmingly likely.
Or maybe I should amend that to "does not care ENOUGH." I'm sure they'd like to have winning teams that sell more tickets. But it's never been a high enough priority to do what's necessary. Maybe for brief spurts it is (enough to get the new athletic center built), but in the long run the inertia takes over and we go back to apathy.
I thought my Peterson/Jacobsen reference was in first, but I'll cede the pole position to this better post. I'm one of those who cares too much about Cal hoops to see it in the state it is in. And over the past couple weeks I've turned the corner on Fox. He needs to go, even if it means we may be stuck for 1-3 more years until the replacement can turn the arrow to pointing up.
We will extend the mens bball coach because of a high APR and we extended the football coach because he turned down Oregon. Does Knowlton extend a coach for on the field success?
Respectfully, I don't think so. Attendance has trended downward in an ugly way. I think that Fox gets the heave-ho sometime next month. The cost of keeping him becomes steeper if only because of the season tickets NOT renewed and the single game ticket sales foregone because no one wants to watch a less than mediocre product.
I think that Knowlton knows this and so does Christ. Or at least I pray that this is so.
Also, a high APR rate is a low bar if it is paired with a trash on-the-court product. The trick is to do both. You could pay someone a lot less than what Fox is earning to put together a losing program with a high ADP.
I disagree. I think it's going to be a pretty hard sell on a number of fronts and an extension actually would make Knowlton's seat more hot if it doesn't turn around in a year or two.
I wonder how many non-season ticket holders go to games these days. I imagine some non-STHs show up, like I did when my kids wanted to go over Christmas. However, I'd imagine the count of non-STHs is fairly low.
The number of STH-no shows in Corvallis has consistently exceeded the number that shows up. I'd expect that's the case in Berkeley as well. Published ticket distribution wildly distorts the picture, but since those tickets are paid for, that's all the bean counters see, or care about. The impending season ticket crash is tomorrow's, and somebody else's, problem.
The Power Steering pump on my TSX is leaking. I was looking at Napa for a 3rd party replacement one but then found a video where someone shows how to replace all the seals in the OEM one. I'm thinking I may just buy all the seals and rebuild the pump myself. Also should replace the serpentine belt since it's been leaking oil on it for quite a while.
Let's see how this all goes. I maybe be back at Napa buying a new pump in a couple of weeks...
I'm HELLA jealous. I'm 510 to my core but I have a 512 area code because I got my first cell phone while living in Texas. Oh and I live in the 518 so I'm a mess of five one something numbers. Up next: Montreal (514). Beats the pants off of other five ones like Iowa, Cincinnati, or Long Island.
I was a news person at KALX in the early 90's, and remember talking to all the south side business about the impact. Bancroft Clothing Company, I remember, was majorly upset with the change as it forced them to change letterhead/advertising, and they felt they were losing some of the Bay Area identity as they had nationwide presence.
This is often a complaint when it comes to changing street names. A documentary about changing street names after MLK talked about how companies and residents used this as a reason to fight the renaming of streets after MLK.
Someone on my other internet community is buying a cat, and she's complaining that the breeder takes the "worst photos and videos." I don't think it's user error; I think it's just an exceedingly ugly cat.
After my father was born and the nurses cleaned him up and brought him to his mom, she was insistent that the child in front of her could not possibly be her child because that baby they just brought her was so ugly.
Came upon a 2013 show originally on Cinemax called Banshee...anyone ever watch it? Had a 4 season run...HBO Max now.
Stars Anthony Starr (Homelander from The Boys), Ben Cross, Frankie Faison...every episode features the holy trinity of “parental discretion advised”: violence, nudity and strong sexual situations. Seriously fun ride, tho slightly unbelievable...but if you like R rated entertainment that’s totally not appropriate for the whole family, this one is in your wheelhouse.
Also on HBO Max, and as different as a show can be....The Gilded Age. Good stuff. There’s a main character in it who if he were to run the Cal Athletic Department, the Bears would be elite in the revenue sports.
It's gotten a bit harder recently. I get two letters but can't come up with the final letter as I don't know all of the airports around the world, and airport codes tend to be random.
I tried it for the first time today. Was basically just blinding guessing random combination of three letters after my first guess. Will give it at least another shot though.
Got two letters in the right place on my first guess. Got the whole word on the second. Hopefully an omen for a god day. Temps supposed to be into the 50s so that's a good start too.
Olympics
US skier Nina O'Brien fell and suffered a compound fracture on her leg during the Super G. Not linking it because it is Joe Theismann/Alex Smith-esque.
Yeah I can't see stuff like this. Always have to turn away.
https://twitter.com/BullandBaird/status/1490851374078251009
Gold medal ceremony held up due to positive steroid test. By the Russians. In figure skating.
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1119022/beijing-2022-figure-skating-medal-delay
it's nice to know that, in a world gone mad, you can still count on the Russians for some olympic skullduggery
but but but they were already banned from competing
Five female ski jumpers disqualified, including some favorites, on the second day of wearing their uniforms.
https://sports.yahoo.com/five-olympic-ski-jumpers-disqualified-for-outfits-they-destroyed-womens-ski-jumping-083036244.html
Sara Takanashi cried like crazy and apologized that she changed everyone's life because of disqualification. Japanese athletes always apologizes to the nation, like when Hideki Matsui broke his wrist with the Yankees and he apologized to the fans.
I noticed earlier that the crotch was oddly low on many uniforms, and figured that it was a purposeful design to better catch the air. As the aritcle says, "like a flying squirrel." It's believeable that this would be a violation, but also like the article asks, why didn't they catch it sooner?
More detail for clothing fanatics:
"The jumping suit must in all places and parts be tight-fitting the athlete's body."
https://assets.fis-ski.com/image/upload/v1623221580/fis-prod/assets/document-library/ski-jumping/Equipment-Guidelines.pdf
Reminds me of that Friends episode where they talked about how intimate a tailor gets in measuring you for a suit. "That's how they do it...IN PRISON!"
They are allowed to wear suits max 4cm bigger than their bodies, and to get the benefit most athletes design suits to be just that. If their body weight/size changes even slightly during the day, their suit becomes "too large." So that's why there's a 4cm tolerance, but with the level of competition getting harder, everyone has to work at that fine level, thus resulting in many disqualifications. I read one comment from Takanashi's staff that her muscle didn't pump up as normally would due to the cold weather, and that contributed to her body being smaller than expected.
There was shrinkage!!!
"I was in the pool! I was in the pool!"
"I don't know how you live with those things" (a paraphrase)
Could it also be because the accommodations have been starving the athletes???
my wife was absolutely incensed about this
I can understand why. I even feel outraged as well, reading the story.
All I can say is that someone is on a power trip.
I wonder if the China athletes weren't DQed.
Like I said yesterday, Pac 12 ref levels of incompetency and officiating.
Whoops!
"This week, a major university in D.C. found itself in the position of censoring criticism of the Chinese government by removing art posters highlighting Beijing’s human rights abuses during the first week of the Winter Olympics. It’s not the first time China’s long arm of influence reached onto U.S. campuses — and it won’t be the last."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/09/another-university-learns-hard-way-about-chinese-censorship-campus/
Elsewhere in college
Gary Patterson got paid $6m by TCU. He's now getting paid $150k to do Texas' special teams. He seems a bit overqualified.
https://twitter.com/asherprice/status/1491458243591557121?s=21
he's not doing special teams. His old buddy is AD at Texas and they colluded to get ol' sweat towel a gig there. Most think he's DC in waiting if Texas gets boat raced by Bama in week 2 and they fire Kwiatkowski. Also, a grenade for Sark in case they fail to meet expectations
So Patterson will be the Texas DC by week 3.
I think its very possible
I looked up Pete Kwiatkowski's coaching history (on Wikipedia). His resume looks perfectly fit for Cal based on schools he's stopped. Have no idea about his coaching skills.
GB49, is that you?
on paper, Kwiatkowski is a top 5 no worse than top 10 DC in the nation. But year 1 at Texas was a train wreck of epic proportions. Some of that was scheme change and not having the personnel to play it and some was about bad egos that are now gone so there is some interest in seeing what he can do in Year 2. But patience has grown very very thin and blowing so many 4th quarter leads and giving up 57 to Kansas at home has plenty of folks in Austin ready to pull the trigger early next season unless there is substantial improvement
I can't decide if his decision to help out Texas at that level is to stay in the game or to sorta stick it to the people that fired him after all he's done.
definitely both. He is well known to hold grudges
Maybe both? Does Patterson get paid the remainder of his TCU salary if he gets another job?
Congressional probe into Stanfurd and other schools as high football coach salary contradictory to not-for-profit status. Shaw makes $9m per yet.
https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/06/congressional-probe-into-college-football-coaches-pay-takes-aim-at-stanford/
I wonder to what extent that will cross over to university-operated hospitals?
I hope a lot. The corporatization of publicly affiliated hospitals is a huge scandal/problem that seemingly nobody wants to do anything about
huh interesting. At first read, I don't see a strong argument re: high salary doesn't accord with not-for-profit status. It may be unseemly, but illegal?
Yeah I don’t get it. It’s a private school, seems like they can pay their employees whatever they want. Doesn’t Congress have something better to do?
Furd has always been for profit since the time of Hewlett and Packard, or before with the Southern Pacific railroad. Just look at the endowment. The great money grab...
Zero PAC 12 QBs invited to the NFL combine.
In fairness, this is probably the weakest QB class since 2013.
Zero Cal players invited
Not even Hicks?
that's what zero means
No Goode?
yeah, it's not a goode look
Disappointing, tho not surprising. Kuony could get picked...UDFA: Trevon
This is why I don’t understand all the talk of Wilcox improving the talent at Cal. Hopefully all that talent is young and ready to make an impact because it seems like the further we get away from Dykes recruits, the fewer drafted players we have.
The lack of offensive players that play on Sunday is the reason why our O is always at the bottom of the P12.
Pro style offenses need pro players…
Raccoon
That one night that I forgot to put the bungie cord back on the trash can at an AirBnb...
Trash pandas
MiLB team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_City_Trash_Pandas
True story.
I've talked previously about the family cabin in Sonoma County. Well, during the late 40s/early 50s my grandparents trapped a raccoon who was then transported to Berkeley as a pet for my dad and aunt. Subsequently, the raccoon (whose given nickname was "Bandit") was entered into pet contests in Berkeley and won at least once as "Most Unusual Pet". I still have the cup somewhere around the house.
Bandit had a cage on the west side of the house. At some point, Bandit was released into Codornices Park. We have a hunch that his descendants may come around specifically to our house.
Bandit is probably the most appropriate name for a raccoon.
Johnny Quest's dog Bandit looked a bit like a raccoon.
Junior year I was in a townhouse on Dwight and Fulton. One night we were shocked to discover two raccoons shagging somewhat loudly on our back porch/deck. Buggers were there for a full hour.
Go Bears.
Saw one literally this morning, which is uncommon.
We have a little cat door on the back garage door. The cat food is in the garage and in the winter she stays in her little heated (pad) house. Racoons come in through the door and pry open the multi-day food dispenser and eat it all up. So at night I try to put something in front the door flap to prevent raccoons from coming in. Also means she can't go out at night. But during the winter that's fine since she stays in her house.
Can you put one of these bad boys on there?
https://www.amazon.com/SureFlap-Microchip-Cat-Door-White/dp/B003EGIM3O
I had thought about that as an option when I was thinking about a cat door. Saw how expensive they were so opted for the manual one. Also didn't think about needing to worry about other animals.
For a time, there was another cat from the neighborhood that would come into the garage as well.
During some/most of the night she's asleep on my bed anyways.
Raccoons in the front yard are digging up the grass looking for grubs. Always do that this time of year.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
US Senate candidate Gary Chambers (D - LA) is batting 1.000 with his commercials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj_FD25oREY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6iSRU9486I
"It's time to burn what remains of the Confederacy down" Powerful message, powerful imagery. This guy knows how to produce campaign ads.
I dunno. I mean I love the ad, too, but the true test is whether he outperforms expectations.
I can imagine it being good at driving donations, especially from out of state. I can also imagine it would drive turnout amongst the true believers. But I'd think it'd also push up turnout on the other side and could be a turnoff for moderates.
I hope his polling supports the strategy, and he's not just making good television.
where's the donation button???
pqtm. GAZPACHO POLICE
https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1491525010997096449
phew, we've been having trouble every week coming up with a topical trivia team name but now we're back and better than ever
hahahahaha glad someone referenced that Red Dwarf episode.
Mayor of Hudson Ohio goes full Music Man
https://twitter.com/ProfWeinstein/status/1491403199227768835
if you give a mouse a cookie
Melania Trump and/or her people bought her own NFT in a shady deal. Shocking, I know.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7vpx8/analyzing-the-very-bizarre-sale-of-melania-trumps-dollar170000-nft
New money laundering idea.
churches and casinos seeming to be doing just fine at that
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mary-margaret-kreuper-nun-prison-stealing-835000-gambling-debts/
80-year-old nun gets year in prison for stealing $835,000 from school to pay for gambling habit: "I have sinned"
not that new, since it's the first thing I thought of when I heard about NFTs generally.
that really is the main benefit for NFT and crypto more generally
Innovation at its finest
TFG: 1/6 was caused by Nancy Pelosi not bringing in the National Guard
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-blame-jan-6-capitol-riot_n_620192b0e4b09170e9d4c846
First Pence, now McConnell call 1/6 a violent insurrection. Why concede this point now? Do they know something? Or have the felt Trump's power diminish?
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/593339-mcconnell-breaks-with-rnc-jan-6-violent-insurrection
Yup, as others have noted, this means McConnell thinks this position will be better electorally. Doesn't mean he's always right (he also clearly wanted to impeach Trump after the election, but didn't have enough support), but that's an indication of what he thinks.
Not hard to see why. The insurrection was popular with the core GOP base, but not in swing districts.
Simple math, McConnell is no moron, running on a "stolen election" in 2022 is a recipe for disaster for the GOP.
I assume there's some kind of internal machinations in right wing circles about this, plus perhaps some polling in "battleground" states?
I suspect they know the direction of the political winds and are wary of bombshell type evidence, though so far the insurrection claims have fallen mostly on deaf ears...
PRO
Washington Commanders owner Dan Sndyer hires a legal team and vows to thoroughly investigate himself. NFL says hold up.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2022/02/09/daniel-snyder-hires-legal-team-investigate-sexual-misconduct
Dozens of Rams fans show up to the pre-SB rally. Meanwhile, Cincy goes crazy.
https://twitter.com/WhoDey_03/status/1491047390128013315
people are going to be so upset if the rams win
Why?
there generally seems to be great delight in the lack of rams fans or general interest in the LA area
"seems" to somebody who only hears about things nfl-related from other people
Brad Marchand bolsters his goon status by taking a puck away from a fan and punching/slashing a goalie during time out.
https://twitter.com/BradyTrett/status/1491232274339483649
https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1491241561640022016
LA County DA drops charges against Trevor Bauer
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/33246056/source-los-angeles-dodgers-trevor-bauer-face-criminal-charges-stemming-allegations-sexual-assault
Post a pic of your super bowl poop to win $10k.
https://twitter.com/hellotushy/status/1491460875735244810?s=21
CAL
Father of our Softball player Aleia Agbayani's, a former Mets fan favorite Benny Agbayani, is a ramp agent for Hawaiian Airlines so that he can get benefits and cut down on travel costs to see his kids play.
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-benny-agbayani-bobby-valentine-20220205-5f3f73xl3va6fgfatbkjgysnke-story.html
Hit a walkoff to beat the Giants in the playoffs...that long extra inning game IIRC
Bottom of the 13th, NLDS game 3. I loved the 2000 Giants. Great hitting: Bonds, Kent, Snow, Aurelia, Mueller, Marvin Bernard, Ellis Burks. Mediocre pitching: Livan Hernandez throwing a million innings, Russ Ortiz, Shawn Estes, Kirk Rueter, 99 year old Mark Gardner, and Joe Nathan with Felix Rodriguez setting up Robb Nen.
Oh I remember him. I didn't know his daughter plays for Cal. That's pretty cool.
Big one @ OR ST tonight....a couple of teams that have lost a combined 17 consecutive games, with the last win by either squad coming January 2. Get excited people....oh how did we get here, my friends?
I’d say most, if not all, of the fans that have not yet completely given up on the Cal MBB program realize that Mark Fox does not recruit well enough at the power 5 level to be the guy...first at UGA and now here. The quicker Knowlton moves on, the better.
Will he? A loss tonight would be yet another road defeat, to a team that hasn’t won in 2022...you could call it the worst defeat of the year, but that home loss to UCSD in the opener says “hold my beer.” Worse yet for Fox & the program: does anyone even care?
Donor apathy could keep him around another year, and with the high APR rate, an extension actually seems possible given the fact that Fox was Knowlton’s hire...hard to take for someone that once felt the same way about the MBB Program that Boss Tanaka felt about the Tokyo Underground Crime Council in Kill Bill, V 1...
How did we get here?
let me tell ya...
We got here by Mike Williams doing nothing to help Cuonzo's kid get off the waitlist for admission.
We got here by the short sightedness that keeping a recruiting class intact was more important than the long term success of a revenue sport.
We got here by forcing a coach (Theo) onto said staff to appease boosters which backfired to all hell.
We got here bc of that absolute fuckup of a hire, the donors pulled the money for the practice facility.
We got here bc those same donors refused to pony up a buyout until it was too late.
We continue to be here bc Knowlton hired a coach who was barely .500 in a bad bball conference and who is a shit recruiter.
We continue to be here bc that coach refuses to shake up a do nothing staff and instead bring in marginal P5 talent and loads up on projects.
That's (partially) how we got here
Can you give a bit more color to the Theo part? I haven't found anything in my searching on it. I'm wary that any lingering wisps on it may impact our ability to go after others with ties to the program from better times (Gates, DeCuire, etc...).
I don't quite remember the circumstances of Theo being forced onto Wyking's staff, but I do remember that the relationship blew up at halftime of the Wichita State game of the Maui Classic. Theo left the game/program after that and neither party ever divulged details. Since none of the main actors are around anymore, I don't think it would have any bearing on the next hire. Also, let's stop putting DeCuire's name out there. He's already been passed over multiple times, and I don't think he has ever been the answer here. Gates or bust.
Thanks for some context on Theo.
I think Gates would decline any Cal interview offers, as his trajectory has him pointing towards a bigger program in the near future. I hope I am wrong.
Gates was passed over too...the old “he didn’t interview well” bullschitt. Can’t imagine Knowlton gives him another look, nor would Gates want it.
Knowlton is the problem.
Seemed like the reticence with Gates was because he lacked HC experience. I thought it was the wrong call obv., but coming off of the Wyking experiment I could at least see why they prioritized having some HC experience. You are no doubt prolly right about Knowlton and Gates, but let me at least me hope and pray till I'm inevitably crushed again. My take is that for Knowlton, hiring Gates would earn him more cover than if he hires yet another guy that the fan base is not excited about. If you can grab Gates, alumni will forgive if it ultimately underwhelms. For Gates, I still think there may be an allure to coaching here (you never forget your first, right?)--but we just couldn't low ball him. As far as we've fallen off the map, this program still has decent potential so long as it's given some attention.
It's like we administered the death penalty on ourselves.
As with continued stumbles in football, it all comes back to an administration that does not actually care about winning.
Does not care,,,or does, but does not have any idea what or how to do something about it.
I think the second possibility is remote. Intelligent people are curious and work to solve problems. Hence, "does not care" seems overwhelmingly likely.
Or maybe I should amend that to "does not care ENOUGH." I'm sure they'd like to have winning teams that sell more tickets. But it's never been a high enough priority to do what's necessary. Maybe for brief spurts it is (enough to get the new athletic center built), but in the long run the inertia takes over and we go back to apathy.
This is the leader in the clubhouse for DBD Post of the Year.
Well said.
I thought my Peterson/Jacobsen reference was in first, but I'll cede the pole position to this better post. I'm one of those who cares too much about Cal hoops to see it in the state it is in. And over the past couple weeks I've turned the corner on Fox. He needs to go, even if it means we may be stuck for 1-3 more years until the replacement can turn the arrow to pointing up.
True, BP...that was definitely a winner...two of the more punchable faces around...
Pillow fight!
We will extend the mens bball coach because of a high APR and we extended the football coach because he turned down Oregon. Does Knowlton extend a coach for on the field success?
Respectfully, I don't think so. Attendance has trended downward in an ugly way. I think that Fox gets the heave-ho sometime next month. The cost of keeping him becomes steeper if only because of the season tickets NOT renewed and the single game ticket sales foregone because no one wants to watch a less than mediocre product.
I think that Knowlton knows this and so does Christ. Or at least I pray that this is so.
Also, a high APR rate is a low bar if it is paired with a trash on-the-court product. The trick is to do both. You could pay someone a lot less than what Fox is earning to put together a losing program with a high ADP.
you'd be surprised how many donors view APR as a successful measure of the current state of the program., and not W-Ls
I disagree. I think it's going to be a pretty hard sell on a number of fronts and an extension actually would make Knowlton's seat more hot if it doesn't turn around in a year or two.
I wonder how many non-season ticket holders go to games these days. I imagine some non-STHs show up, like I did when my kids wanted to go over Christmas. However, I'd imagine the count of non-STHs is fairly low.
I'm a STH and haven't been
The number of STH-no shows in Corvallis has consistently exceeded the number that shows up. I'd expect that's the case in Berkeley as well. Published ticket distribution wildly distorts the picture, but since those tickets are paid for, that's all the bean counters see, or care about. The impending season ticket crash is tomorrow's, and somebody else's, problem.
I stopped being a STH after the season in which I did not actually attend a single game.
Men's BB = Crickets.
Crickets make noise, I would say it is more like a sloth.
Our offense certainly moves like one.
It's so bad that Kyle Campanelli would start for this team...
Ouch.
DBD Auto Repair
Gas mileage on my 2011 Accord has dropped sharply. Might be related to the fact that I hate dealing with maintenance.
maybe something as simple as not enough air in your tires. Or do an oil change?
The Power Steering pump on my TSX is leaking. I was looking at Napa for a 3rd party replacement one but then found a video where someone shows how to replace all the seals in the OEM one. I'm thinking I may just buy all the seals and rebuild the pump myself. Also should replace the serpentine belt since it's been leaking oil on it for quite a while.
Let's see how this all goes. I maybe be back at Napa buying a new pump in a couple of weeks...
510 turns 30 https://oaklandside.org/2022/02/07/it-brings-a-sense-of-pride-east-bays-510-area-code-turns-30/
I still have a 510 cell phone number because I got a cell phone in Berkeley just two weeks before moving out East for graduate school.
my google voice number is a 510 number
I'm HELLA jealous. I'm 510 to my core but I have a 512 area code because I got my first cell phone while living in Texas. Oh and I live in the 518 so I'm a mess of five one something numbers. Up next: Montreal (514). Beats the pants off of other five ones like Iowa, Cincinnati, or Long Island.
I was a news person at KALX in the early 90's, and remember talking to all the south side business about the impact. Bancroft Clothing Company, I remember, was majorly upset with the change as it forced them to change letterhead/advertising, and they felt they were losing some of the Bay Area identity as they had nationwide presence.
This is often a complaint when it comes to changing street names. A documentary about changing street names after MLK talked about how companies and residents used this as a reason to fight the renaming of streets after MLK.
And as someone pointed out last week, 925 = 510 + 415.
Was 925 the old area code?
new one...like Walnut Creek was 415, then split off with Oak as 510, then split as 925
yeah, I learned that a few years ago. along with 510 being the "nickel and dime" area code.
my whole life has been 415. when in WC (until 1983), then at Cal (until 1989), then back in SF. Just under the wire with Cal!
Someone on my other internet community is buying a cat, and she's complaining that the breeder takes the "worst photos and videos." I don't think it's user error; I think it's just an exceedingly ugly cat.
That's...remarkable.
I'm just imagining what a cat breeder must be like.
having been more active here this week, and realizing how much time it takes, how do you have a SECOND "DBD" and still manage life?!? ;-)
Ha, they were first!
Grrrr...hearts aren't working, so here's your heart
Yeah, I have had that same issue with the heart lately. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.
have a heart! (it worked!)
It worked for me! I hearted you right back!
well, now it's there :-/
PQTM. Does this also apply to babies? Although just about all babies are cute.
Speaking of your other internet community, the one couple that is restoring the Miata is just about done.
Ummm, almost all babies are not cute. "Oh, Bless his/her heart" did not come from nowhere
After my father was born and the nurses cleaned him up and brought him to his mom, she was insistent that the child in front of her could not possibly be her child because that baby they just brought her was so ugly.
As my friend said, "All dogs are cute. Some dogs are just...actually cute."
Definitely applies to babies.
DBD A/V
watched Malignant last night, the movie is bonkers and knows it 15/19 WB
Came upon a 2013 show originally on Cinemax called Banshee...anyone ever watch it? Had a 4 season run...HBO Max now.
Stars Anthony Starr (Homelander from The Boys), Ben Cross, Frankie Faison...every episode features the holy trinity of “parental discretion advised”: violence, nudity and strong sexual situations. Seriously fun ride, tho slightly unbelievable...but if you like R rated entertainment that’s totally not appropriate for the whole family, this one is in your wheelhouse.
Also on HBO Max, and as different as a show can be....The Gilded Age. Good stuff. There’s a main character in it who if he were to run the Cal Athletic Department, the Bears would be elite in the revenue sports.
Gilded Age: it's Downton Abbey in 1880's New York, with high production values and a good cast. Wife and I are loving it.
I seriously have a man-crush on George Russell.
Wife and I digging it too. I have a crushes on half the cast.
Meryl Streep’s daughter is great
That MF’er gets things done.
I also like how he picks his spots. He knows when to press, and when to let it just play out - very strategic. The bazaar shutdown was excellent.
Haha I know who you mean re: GA; saw the first season of Banshee - fun, but too unbelievable to stick with for us.
Banshee, Quarry, and Warrior are all shows I'm convinced don't actually exist
Was recently contacted for a position by Vandelay Industries. Anyone know anything about them?
It's an importer/exporter company specializing in chips and diapers.
Did they contact you about being their Latex salesman?
Wordle
apparently my older one and all her friends (seniors in HS w/ nothing to do) play all sorts of wordle variants all day long at school.
letterle - https://edjefferson.com/letterle/ (my personal favorite)
nerdle - https://nerdlegame.com/ - guess the math equation
Taylordle - https://www.taylordle.com/ - taylor swift themed
In addition to Wordle and Nerdle, I have also been playing
Primel - https://converged.yt/primel/ (guessing a 5-digit prime number)
Dordle - https://zaratustra.itch.io/dordle (solving two Wordles simultaneously within 7 turns)
nerdle is tough!
yeah, just got it in 4, but too much brain effort!
letterle...went qwerty on down and of course, took 26 tries.
Letterle...got it in 14. one and done.
OK, I got it in 14, and nerdle in 4 today as well. Mental twins I guess.
Tried to Heart your note, but didn't work. But I'm impressed that you saw my two scores in separate sub-threads and kept that info together ;-)
I will be playing needle at 10 past never
On January 37th
and airportle https://airportle.scottscheapflights.com/
this is one of my favorites too. i am 50/50 either i get it easily or not at all
It's gotten a bit harder recently. I get two letters but can't come up with the final letter as I don't know all of the airports around the world, and airport codes tend to be random.
I tried it for the first time today. Was basically just blinding guessing random combination of three letters after my first guess. Will give it at least another shot though.
Lewdle for the...lewd
and SWEARDLE
Got two letters in the right place on my first guess. Got the whole word on the second. Hopefully an omen for a god day. Temps supposed to be into the 50s so that's a good start too.
I have my brother's kids (both hockey players) playing the hockey player-themed Wordle, Gordle.
https://gordle.herokuapp.com/