137 Comments

Funny how you can't say "juice box" any more without having a double meaning.

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Apr 27, 2022·edited Apr 27, 2022

Doing the math, I see that Queen Margrethe II of Denmark was born precisely one year before my mother. Good to see that Her Majesty is still kicking even if Mom is not. It'll be three years on June 29.

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Just gave my Vietnamese floor guy a 15 year old bottle of bourbon, supposedly I'll get something Japanese in return.

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A football program that used to be dominant - to the point where it was assumed that they were going to be great - that is now consistently bad spanning over more than one coach's tenure.

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Army.

Navy.

Yale.

Some outfit called California. Fell off a cliff in 1952.

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Army? Yeah that's what a world war will do for you.

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Apr 27, 2022·edited Apr 27, 2022

Yup. The service academies were football powers in the first decade after WWII.

Other teams that had "Pre-Flight" in their name were also pretty good during WWII. There was also a Mare Island Marines team.

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Don't think they quite qualify but Syracuse was a powerhouse in the late '50s/early'60s, still good when Cal shocked them 44-0 in 1968, a victory that got the Bears a feature in Sports Illustrated.

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Florida State?

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Texas?

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Nebraska

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This is the first program that came to mind for me and really the correct answer.

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The downward spiral started for the Cornhuskers when the newish AD (can't remember his name) fired Frank Solich (Osborne's successor). Solich went on to Ohio and built a winner there.

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that's a good choice

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SC sort of. Plunged into mediocrity and national irrelevance many years ago, have not recovered. Heck, even Cal beats them regularly.

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And in that time they have a still went to a two more Rose Bowls than Cal.

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Miami .. but i cant keep up w/ the coaches anymore

my wife was a freshman there the year they won a national championship even though she had zero interest in football.

one time at IU, she asked who Bobby Knight was??!!

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the coach Cal beat in the NCAA tournament

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[sighs] you know what I want to say, but you all would rightfully pillory me for trying to boohoo my alma mater’s football trajectory

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[MBB] Who holds Cal's record for rebounds in a season?

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Harper Kamp

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I'm assuming that's a no. How about Ansley Truitt?

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ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! ding!

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oh wow. Yeah right after I was born. No way I was getting this.

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Thanks for reinforcing how LOLD I am.

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He must have had a high RPG since they played fewer games back then.

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That's also true. Truitt had 382 rebounds in 29 games, an average of 13.2 rpg (#2 on the list).

Bob Presley had 347 rebounds in 24 games, an average of 14.5 rpg (#1 on the list).

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Brian Hendricks? Although it may be someone more recent since I think more games are played now.

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Good guess. He had the highest number of rebounds on the team from 89-93 and was consistently good 242, 252, 204, 200 - but 252 is only the 10th highest since he played.

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Richard Solomon?

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Richard Solomon 307 rebounds in 2014 is #8 on the list and the second highest since 2014.

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Ivan Rabb? I'm guessing he has the highest since 2014 but probably not the highest all time.

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Rabb's 324 (2017) and 291 (2016) were #6 and #10 respectively.

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What's for lunch?

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Chicken mole soft tacos from Tlaloc, which FINALLY reopened this week bringing much joy to my workdays in the office.

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Italian style ham/salumi sando on a brioche bun.

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I met a former colleague for lunch at a kinda fancy place and we both ordered the special - pork belly tostadas. They showed up the size of a tiny appetizer. So disappointing.

But it's on me, really. Why did I think ordering anything loosely Mexican at a fancy restaurant in Albany, NY would go well?

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haha, no joke.

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Veggie tacos

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Hey, that's our dinner tonight!

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My daughter made crispy potato tacos with poblano chilies for the first time this weekend, very tasty.

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That sounds delicious

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Oooh that sounds good!

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Grilled cheese. Garlic tuscan bread with a garlic and chive cheddar made from cows that live about 5 miles from my house.

When I make a grilled cheese I don't mess around.

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Apr 27, 2022·edited Apr 27, 2022Author

Proletariat sandwich. A slice of ham, a slice of processed American cheez, a squirt of brown mustard on two pieces of a grocery store's loss-leader bread - eaten over the kitchen sink, as nature intended.

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And the rest of the brownies. I baked a pan of them yesterday and they're already gone. Edge pieces = best pieces.

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Baked ziti.

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After I workout I'll make a smoothie then I'll either make a PB&J or try to persuade the missus to make me a tuna fish sandwich (hers are infinitely better than the sorry ones I make).

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that sounds good - the tuna fish salad. might make one of those too

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I made a beef roast over the weekend with lots of leftovers. Roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauce.

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Yum!

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Have not decided yet.

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Denmark

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Apr 27, 2022·edited Apr 27, 2022

One of my mother (father?) lands. Would love to visit one day. Rich maritime history and, I hear, tons of beautiful cities and people.

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Bluetooth is named after Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, King of Denmark and Norway.

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Brigitte Nielsen (58 years old) is Danish. She had an affair with Schwarzenegger (who hasn't?). She was married to Sly Stallone for 19 months, Mark Gastineau for 2 years, and three other blokes. She dated Flavor Flav. Her oldest child is 38 years old. Her youngest is 3. She is a terrible actress.

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She was in Gladiator. right?

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Connie Nielsen

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Oh that's right. She was in Conan the Destroyer

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Wait, she had a kid at 55?

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Solvang - Great little town

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i thought it was Dutch because of the windmill but i was wrong

Santa Ynez, Buellton, and Solvang make a nice trio of towns that is perfect for a long weekend.

i bought my espresso machine from a guy there ..

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Haagen Dazs?

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No. The company was founded by Polish-born Jews who immigrated to the Bronx. The family made popsicles, Italian ices, and ice cream. They rebranded as a Danish-sounding name to add an air of sophistication to their brand and to honor the Danes' exemplary treatment of Jews during WW2.

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Ha! I was watching The Weakest Link last night and that was one of the questions.

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Did anything come of that bonkers suggestion that Muslim immigrants had to celebrate Christmas to become Danish citizens?

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Ukraine/Russia

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Today in Covid

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Saw a tweet that Fauci was like “you all have fun at the White House correspondents dinner with no masks, I’m old and I’m staying away from that 🦠 🎉 “

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Who is the featured guest at the dinner this year?

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Besides covid, you mean?

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Oh that's a given. It's going to be a super spreader event.

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Elsewhere in college

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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I guess this didn't go exactly as the People's Convoy planned. Old guy has a pretty good arm. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/04/26/peoples-convoy-truckers-egged-kids-california/

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Yasai Market coming in clutch.

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hahahahaha, saw that yesterday; stay strong, Oakland.

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Apr 27, 2022·edited Apr 27, 2022Author

Rand Paul brings Russian speaking points to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing about Ukraine, including that Russia only attacked territories that were part of Russia or the Soviet Union. The Sec of State Blinken rightfully pushes back.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rand-paul-anthony-blinken-russia-ukraine-1343073/

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Saw that. What a jerk.

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Meadows tweets reveal that MTG and Jason Miller knew perfectly well that their supporters were the ones doing 1/6, but promoted the idea to publicize that it was Antifa

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/25/marjorie-greene-texts-jan-6-antifa-lie/

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This is my shocked face.

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Biden reverses Trump-era rollback of LED bulbs. Since the break-even point of incandescent vs. LED is 90 hours, the whole Trump rollback argument of it being about money seemed dumb.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/led-lighting-can-save-boatload-money/

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Rep. Cawthorn is having quite a month. Caught driving without a license (again), got caught with a loaded gun at the airport again, claimed he got invited to GOP cocaine orgies, had a picture of him in women's lingerie, and now has been implicated in and pump-and-dump securities fraud.

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Is he going to face punishment for any of this, or is this a typical "rules for thee, not for me" GOP politician who skirts the law with no consequences?

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Nope. Don't you know who he is?

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* sigh *

https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1518959927284441090

Note: Ironically, Ephesians 5:11 is "Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them."

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John 11:35 "Jesus Wept."

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PRO

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Get out the brooms. Nets get swept.

https://streamable.com/dmub8h

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Game #18: A’s clubbed by Giants 8-2

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2022/4/26/23044015/game-18-as-lose-giants-rodon-jefferies

The A’s fell to the San Francisco Giants 8-2 Tuesday evening in a game Oakland will probably want to forget ever happened.

Nothing was working today, with the lineup more or less getting shut down, the starting pitching getting bit by the big inning a couple times, and the bullpen couldn’t keep the score close enough for a comeback. It’s times like these a short memory comes in handy.

The game got off to a good start, as starting pitcher Daulton Jefferies had a clean first frame with a couple strikeouts on a cold and windy night,

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Nah, pretty sure they cancelled last night's game. Gonna try again tonight.

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Nope. Was there. Can confirm it was an ass kicking.

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Home runs and Carlos Rodón: still the greatest love story of our time

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2022/4/26/23043987/giants-athletics-recap-carlos-rodon-austin-slater-wilmer-flores

The San Francisco Giants have figured out a fairly flawless plan when it comes to winning baseball games: hit some home runs, and let Carlos Rodón pitch.

You know the whole overplayed question about why they don’t make the whole plane out of the black box? Well why don’t the Giants make the whole season out of Rodón pitching and the dudes hitting the dingers?

Might mess around and win 107 games, or something.

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Go Rishi, Boo Blue

https://www.espn.com/mlb/standings

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I haven't seen Rodon pitch since he's new to the team. Only essentially a 2-pitch guy with average accuracy. But his #1 pitch - his fastball - is something special. He's done great, but I suspect he'll revert to the mean because you can't just keep throwing straight heat without getting tagged eventually.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/carlos-rodon-607074?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb

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Five double plays, late home run key Diamondbacks comeback over the Dodgers

https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/26/23043976/dodgers-double-plays-brusdar-graterol-home-run-david-peralta

A battle of bullpens decided Tuesday night’s game at Chase Field, with Dodgers relievers unable to match zeroes with the Diamondbacks in a 5-3 loss.

Brusdar Graterol, the fourth Los Angeles reliever on Tuesday, allowed the bullpen’s first hit of the game. Unfortunately for him, it followed a four-pitch walk, and the hit was a home run by David Peralta.

The Dodgers threatened throughout the game, reaching base 15 times, but failed to score after the first inning. They had five different rallies neutered by double plays. The battle for most costly had two contenders.

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Dave Kaval makes fun of Giants' attendance for the Bay Bridge Series, he should talk.

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Yes, it is pathetic.

Kaval has played a significant role in dragging the A's down. What a maroon.

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Though ultimately it feels like he's just taking his marching orders from ownership.

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Well, Kaval is taking his marching orders from Fisher.

But were it just that, maybe he shouldn't show so much enjoyment from his role.

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That's weird, maroon was the exact word I thought of. I generally associate it with Bugs Bunny who used it frequently.

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Bugs is the best.

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You're taking this too personally.

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Ja Morant posterizes Malik Beasley

https://twitter.com/ZachMilner13/status/1519127686492266496

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That dunk and his lay-up to close out the game were awesome, definitely the series to watch now that the Suns have seemingly reestablished themselves as the frontrunners over the Pels

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So, taking the group consciousness here…Ja Morant was recently named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, despite winning the Rookie of the Year award as the #2 pick. In his 2nd season, he averaged 19/4/7 in leading Memphis to the playoffs, where he went for 47 in game 2 v #1 seed Utah. This past season, he went for 27 ppg and Grizz are the 2.

So sure, he “improved”, but he was already a mega-star…Dejounte Murray, Ty Maxey, Jordan Poole & others received votes as well.

Can you really call young, star players “improved” though when they take the logical next step in their development?

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It's a similar argument for why some thought Steph should win MIP after winning MVP the previous year. Because he bypassed 300 made 3s and went straight to 400 made 3s the following year.

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There are no rules about what kind of improvement you're supposed to do.

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Sure...but does an already great player doing more great things necessarily scream improvement like, say Tyrese Maxey doubling all his stats, including minutes, or Poole going from the G-league 1 year to 18 ppg the next? Dunno...guess it all depends on your definition of improvement.

By this rationale, who is to say a player couldn't win MVP and Most Improved in the same year....and has it ever been done? THAT'S something...but an MVP-caliber player winning Most Improved just seems...silly?

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Apr 28, 2022·edited Apr 28, 2022

I agree, it should be made distinct from MVP by making it apply to someone that broke out of the peloton to stardom, not a guy that already was a star

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...I guess?

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RIP

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How was that not called a charge?

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probably because it was such a good dunk. but it was definitely a charge.

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Because the NBA is fixed?

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that was one of the best in game dunks i have seen in a while

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CAL

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It seems that Justin Wilcox is still single. I'm reasonably certain that the last head football coach at Cal who wasn't married was Andy Smith. One must assume that Wilcox will soon replicate Smith's success. We can thus expect a run of unbeaten seasons. Am I right or am I right?

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Yep, it's just math.

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No other way to interpret it

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Very creative interpretation! But credit Cal fans for looking for any hopeful interp!

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You're right, has to be.

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Agreed. Less distractions, more focus. He can even sleep in a sleeping bag in his office if he feels like it. Sonny had to go home to Piedmont and have chicken spaghetti.

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Go Bears!!!

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