The boys will be in LA with their mom, so I think I can. Going to a friend's for a party he's throwing in the late afternoon so it'd have to be earlier in the day.
I’m just tired and middle aged. I feel like I’m watching both my adopted country and country of birth have a race over who can suck more, I worry about my girls’ futures in a more concrete way this week than the general “gosh this whole environmental decline might be bad” sense. And it was the anniversary of my father dying earlier in the week, which didn’t add to the levity. And yet I’m conscious that in the grand scheme of things, I’m very fortunate in the material scheme of things, the relative autonomy I have at work, and so on. Could be worse!
TBB and S019, if your work crushes are decent people, they'll realize that you are acting weird in a particular way that indicates that you find them very attractive. If they also find you to be a bit attractive, then the weird behavior can even be somewhat charming.
"being a complete weirdo when talking to my work crush"
Lmao this is a vibe (as the kids say).
As y'all are painfully aware, I'm super awkward when meeting new people, but I got better at knowing how to turn it on. Then I think covid made me forget how to be social all over again. So I met someone on the apps and we had great conversation in texts, but when we met up in person I was just all in my head and an awkward mess all over again.
My friend's apricot tree exploded with fruit, so I sort of Frankensteined a couple Jeni's recipes together. I roasted the apricots and added them to an ice cream base in the proportion of the Jeni's roasted strawberry buttermilk recipe, but instead of buttermilk, I used whole milk. Then I crumbled in pecan scones from Sconehenge, à la their cream biscuits and peach jam recipe. I'd be happy to share the proportions here if anyone wants!
I pre-setup this DBD topic many days ago, but I guess I'll answer my own question honestly.
Sometimes, I envy those who have true hobbies - golf, fishing, or whatever that they really love. I enjoy a lot of things, but don't have a single passion - except for perhaps my love of Cal football. The majority of three generations of my family went to Berkeley. My parents met there. I grew up near Berkeley and went to every home game for nearly 15 years. My father was part of a generation that didn't do a lot with its kids, but we did share those football games every Saturday in fall. And it's what we would talk/email about later in life.
I am going through a grieving period as I see Cal at an inflection point - either suffering the consequences of remaining in a dramatically weakened Pac (eg, the loss of several sports, fading to FCS status) or else losing most of its traditions by joining another conference. So when I say "grieve", that's what's on my mind. I feel like I've lost something big in my life... and it's more than losing the one thing that I am passionate about. I can only feel helplessness knowing that the one thing that connected me to my father, who died 2 years ago, will either fade away with a whimper or else be different in two years.
The latter part of your comment is exactly why I’m not excited about SC and UCLA leaving the conference. My brother and I have been giving one another shit for years about SC - Oregon games as well as scorning Washington, it’s not the same as what you shared with your dad but it’s been part of the background hum of my autumns for a long time now.
Yeah, it's really, really hard to take this change, seems to be killing everything that made this perpetually fun - the "changes" people wanted for the players have killed the deal.
I think it's all disappointing at this point, however as long as Cal football is around I don't find myself ever not rooting for them and attending as many games as I can. I've lived this long without a Rose Bowl, National Championship, etc and I really enjoy all the pageantry around college football, as well as the quality family time it enables every fall. If we end up in a regional B1G conference, great! If it ends up being some MWC/Pac hybrid, well less great, but the games will still be fun and new rivalries will be created.
I don't get the whole "if we don't get X, Y, Z, cancel Cal football and burn down Memorial" attitude. Are wins over good teams more satisfying? Of course! But do I also enjoy a good win over a Fresno St, Colorado St, San Diego St? Sure do!
thanks for sharing. i am less of a Cal fan than many on DBD so i am less hurt by the current news but i can see how it is among the biggest changes in our lifetime.
that being said i am going thru my own "loss of favorite hobby" as i am giving up cycling outdoors after my recent accident. a few months ago i would revolve my week's schedule around the weather outside for riding and spin class indoors. i had semi-jokingly resolved "to ride my bike more hours than work at my full time job this year."
also, the Tour de France starts today. normally it is a moment of excitement to see the best riders in the world in a stunning visual race. we had even planned a vacation around going to one of the most famous stage on Bastille Day this year. i find myself much less interested in watching if there is no chance i'll ever ride those roads, or any roads for that matter.
Damn, sorry to hear about your accident. Is there a timeline on when you'll be able to get back on the bike?
I feel like I found my hobbies relatively late-ish in life. I had to give up one—writing—for the most part; I'm still going somewhat strong on exercise as long as I'm able to drag my ass out of bed early enough in the morning.
so i could technically get back to riding since i am mostly healed from the injuries. but it is a larger issue of the uncertainty of road cycling and the anxiety that my wife deals with every time i am out on the road, alone or otherwise.
i am happy to find something better for the relationship and find an alternate thing to take up my time and attention. just a little bit of that "lonely feeling" right now since it is so recent.
probably still continue to ride inside, play tennis, maybe learn to swim ...
Would riding trails/gravel roads (i.e. places without cars) be more comforting for your wife? I know mine appreciates that I do ~95% of my riding away from cars.
For both of you, I hope you find other things that bring you joy and invigorate you. Perhaps it'll be something you already do, but it'll become a bigger part of your life. Perhaps it'll be whittling flamingos. You're interesting people with vibrant lives!
in fact all the extra time thinking has me re-evaluating work stuff as well and i actually applied for a job teaching HS physics. it would of course completely upend my life in terms of how much free time i have, but it would be great from a career satisfaction standpoint.
Well said and I also don’t have many hobbies but following Cal football was one of my few hobbies and despite the lack of on the field success, I really enjoyed it.
This feels similar to when San Diego lost the Chargers to LA. Sure they had a few more years here before they moved but the writing was on the wall and I began to check out. The same will happen with Cal, sure we have a few years left of the Pac 12 but the writing is on the wall that Cal will end up in a MWC/Pac hybrid conference and a shell of its former self.
I feel this 100%. I used to be a passionate Chargers fan as a kid and now I only passively follow the Niners. Seeing your passions crushed in the insatiable maw of corporate greed is depressing but inescapable.
It will be fun to watch UCLA and possible even USC basically become the LA Chargers in that their stadiums will be filled on game day but the majority of people in the seats will be opposing fans. That will crush ucla and usc fans wills and take a toll on them and their egos.
Seems like a massive overpay. Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, No. 22 pick Walker Kessler and four first-round picks to the Jazz.
Gobert doesn't seem great back to the basket, 1:1.
Yeah, it's a weird move. Gobert has shown that he's a liability against teams that can spread it out. Pairing him with Towns would make them seem even more vulnerable. I thought Chicago was the likely destination for him. I like Vanderbilt and that's a ton of picks. Kessler has 13th man written all over him though. Given that type of haul for Gobert, you have wonder how many firsts it will take for Durant. I'm starting to think that a fair haul for him is probably unreasonable, and he may still be in Nets uni in November.
They scored some runs this time! Six of them! But it wasn’t quite enough, as they dropped an 8-6 decision to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday to open a long series at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners led for most of the evening, but there were some moments when the A’s made things interesting. After going down 4-1 early, the green-and-gold tied it up in the 5th inning with a clutch homer! But then Seattle scored four more in the bottom of the frame to retake the lead. Oakland picked up a run in each of the 8th and 9th innings to narrow the gap, but in the end they were doomed by their combined 17 runners left on base.
Let’s check out some highlights! The A’s first run came on a homer by Elvis Andrus, which tied the game in the 3rd inning.
As an aside, Terence and I went to an Oaklandside event about food and social justice. It was pretty cool, and on top of that, someone in the audience won a free TV!
Justin Turner broke out of a power slump against one of the best pitchers in the National League, leading the Dodgers to a 3-1 win over the Padres on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
The battle of the teams with the top two records in the National League West, meeting for somehow the first time in Los Angeles this season, starts by widening the Dodgers’ advantage in the division to 2½ games, with three games remaining this weekend.
Turner’s solo home run in the second inning tied the score at 1-1, and the game stayed that way through six and a half innings. Joe Musgrove, who entered Thursday third in the NL with a 2.12 ERA, needed only 73 pitches to get through six innings, having only allowed three hits to that point, two by Turner, including a fifth-inning single.
Cubs & Reds combine for 35 hits, which wasn't helped by the Red having their right fielder pitch and the Cub inserting the guy they only play when a game is already impossibly out of reach.
Wow, I guessed he was a priority for us. Given that he is sort of going back home, I can't begrudge him. Great guy. Great story. I wish him the best in Portland.
I thought both he and Looney would've been the priority. I guess either they didn't want to go 3 years or go near 3/28. I think this will hurt because I'm not sure we have someone that fits in his role and getting someone to fit into that role or be willing to fit into that role will cost just as much.
I read that it's not just 3/$28M...with the tax, is astronomically more. Guess they chose not to...plus they've got to get minutes for Kuminga and Moody...hope they can play some D.
I'm with you. He was immensely valuable, even in limited minutes in that Boston series. I was pretty sure we would make sure he was coming back. But that's a pretty strong deal and I can see the allure of Oregon for the Paytons.
Oh wow...so now they can throw money at Looney? Otherwise all 4 key FAs will have left. So money really is an issue. GP2 got 3/28. If money weren't an object I would bet he would've gotten that.
They have to re-sign Looney. Can't expect anything from Wiseman. I think Looney came back to us on a fairly big discount on his last contract, so I don't expect him to do the organization favors again (nor should he).
I'm pretty sure Looney has made it known that he wants to come back. I suspect that gets done.
I'm otherwise sanguine about these guys leaving. They were great role players, but all were signed cheaply and transformed by the organization and the system, and that could easily happen with other cheap signings again. Plus there are promising young guys coming up behind them who can grow into those roles (Kuminga, Moody). Warriors should be fine.
Day 1 of the Tour de France. In other endurance news, the guy I know finished his cross-country run this morning. Left SF on May 1 and made it to Rehoboth Beach at 6AM this morning. Did the last hundred miles by running through the night last night on a twenty-four hour leg.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a dissenting opinion Thursday suggested that Covid-19 vaccines were developed using the cells of “aborted children.”
The conservative justice’s statement came in a dissenting opinion on a case in which the Supreme Court declined to hear a religious liberty challenge to New York’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate from 16 health care workers. The state requires that all health care workers show proof of vaccination.
Michelle has the intelligence to be shrewd as hell and unlike Barack, has the benefit knowing exactly where the GOP is hitching its wagon. This wasn't as clear during Obama's presidency, but it is clear now.
It's 44 to 39, so a decent amount of this has to be Democrats who are unsatisfied with Biden and are coming up as "undecided" or something else in the poll right now. It's likely they would wind up coming back into the fold by 2024.
This is depressing. I can’t see how he leads Biden after everything that has come out from the J6 committee, Roe being overturned and his entire shitty term.
I wonder how often someone could change their party? For example could you register republican in the primary to get Liz in, but switch to Democrat before the general election.
How much would switching registration for the general actually matter? You'd get out on different mailing lists but I'm not sure what else would actually change.
Just makes you think that schools like UChicago were right to get out of the game. Such a distraction/headache, really has nothing to do with overall educational mission. And why restrain guys from getting a straight up salary?
SCENARIO: Cal and Stanford go off into the sunset as independents and try to survive in the post apocalyptic super conference CFB world. End up dying like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in a blaze of glory down in old Mexico.
I was wondering your take on it. Reading through a hundred Reddit posts on it yesterday and it felt like the majority of UCLA and USC fans were also lamenting the move as the death of traditional college football. At best were fans who just saw it as a necessary evil to stay alive in the new era.
The improvement I wanted to see from SC was internal governance and protection of student welfare, not blowing up the conference in the interests of the commercial viability of the athletic department.
On paper it makes sense: UCLA and SC gave up preferential revenue shares for the Pac12 / Pac12 network, and it hasn’t worked out. There’s a small petty part of me that is looking at the people freaking out about the LA schools leaving and wondering what percentage of them lectured the LA schools about not being so special when those revenue deals were hammered out...
But I don’t actually give a shit about being part of the Big10 and it sucks that people are really worried that their schools’ Olympic teams might disappear as a result of SC and UCLA’s action.
I liked being part of the Pac10 and then Pac12, I can’t imagine ever being fired up about playing Illinois or Rutgers. I got some texts from the guy with whom I used to write Conquest Chronicles who’s looking forward to seeing SC play in New Jersey & Maryland because he lives near NYC, and I get that... but hooray we’re tailgating with the makeweights for the last Big10 media contract, whatever.
Not a viable option...seriously, how does adding Boise St and SDSU help? Any bump you get from the San Diego market immediately disappears by adding two new members that will receive an equal share of $. If you're adding a new market, it's gotta make fiscal sense...like Dallas/Ft. Worth, etc.
The fact that the Pac 12 was blindsided by this is so on-brand. After Texas and Oklahoma a year ago, nothing should have surprised the Conference heads, especially given SC's statements illustrating discontent. Kliavkoff was on vacation in Montana...of course he was, why wouldn't he be.
It just feels like we are so fucked. Not just football but also non-rev sports that rely on it. Not to mention the bond debt. There will be sports cut for sure it seems
I just read Avi's article about how Cal needs to push to join B1G. Then I thought about how perfectly Cal it would be if B1G decided to woo San Jose State for the Bay Area market instead...or something like that.
Cal stays in what becomes a non-power five conference and eventually fades away to FCS status. Anti-sports faculty members and CofB, which often undermines Cal even though it is biting the hand that feeds it, are thrilled.
along with Oregon, UW, and LSJU. We create a new Pac-6 division/pod. Meanwhile Arizona, ASU, Utah, and Colorado join the Big 12. Poor OSU and WSU are relegated to the MWC.
I've been alternating between optimistic and pessimistic about this scenario, but when you consider all the factors it does seem very possible.
Oregon and Washington are good pickups purely from an athletic standpoint, especially Oregon with all the Nike money. Cal and Stanford are on downswings right now in the revenue sports, but . . .
1. There will probably be political pressure from the regents and the state government to not allow UCLA to leave the flagship UC in the lurch on stadium debt.
2. There will also likely be pressure on USC and UCLA from their own donor bases to maintain the old rivalries with the California schools.
3. The Big Ten presidents probably like the idea of having prestigious academic institutions like this in the fold so wouldn't fight it too much if there was pressure to make it happen.
4. If need be, they can sell Fox on the idea that Cal and Stanford bring a major media market with them.
John Canzano tweeted that State lawmakers in Washington and Oregon are working on legislation that would require the public universities in their respective states to remain joined in any expansion talks - Oregon/OSU would be a package...UW/Wazzu a package, etc.
No word on the viability of this...seems like we've entered "every school for themselves territory", while the B1G is taking a pause, and waiting for Notre Dame's response.
Read the Cougs blog last night. You think we are despondent . . . All of this is so sad. Even if we somehow save ourselves, many programs, traditions and fan bases are just getting discarded. It's disgraceful.
Current math doesn't seem to shake out that way. B1G seems to only want to expand if they get Notre Dame; that would put them at 17 teams and it seems more likely they would target Oregon, Washington, and Stanfurd to get to an even 20.
Unless they decide they want three pods of seven...
I have an idea. All teams join a giant Super Conference. This Super Conference is broken up into divisions that balance historical rivalries, geographic location, and relative power. We then appoint a President for that super conference to make rules to promote stability, fairness, and economic incentives for the more powerful programs. We should call this Super Conference the New Conference of Amazeballs Achievement (NCAA).
Made my flight arrangements to Chicago for the ND game. Just need to lock down an Airbnb. Now I'm not sure if this will be a celebration or a wake for Cal football. Where will the Friday night Chicago party be happening?
Newellbany and I are in South Bend for Fri/Sat, and then heading to Chicago for Sun night. We may actually have room - our plans that were set have now fluctuated a bit and we may be getting a different house.
Thanks, but it's me and three of my old Cal roommates, so that would have to be one large af house. Hopefully we can get it together to get to SB early enough to tailgate properly. Have another former Cal mate in Chicago driving us to/fro.
And this is a little homecoming for me. Lived in Chicago for most of the aughts. Haven't been back since the Northwestern game. South Bend is kind of trashy. Would rather spend as much time as possible in Chicago instead.
Q&A with Berkeley astrophysicist Alex Filippenko
https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/2022-summer/look-up/
I don't know why I should be surprised, but Dan Ackroyd joins Aaron Rodgers, Steve Levy, and Baker Mayfield in claiming that he's seen UFOs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzpxHrQcwFk
Macron allows his pre-war conversation to get published. It shows that Putin wasn't negotiating in good faith. Shocking, I know.
https://www.letemps.ch/monde/emmanuel-macron-vladimir-poutine-quatre-jours-guerre-ne-sais-juriste-appris-droit
This ended up being a cute story https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/vmxo4o/urgent_my_idiot_brother_has_mopped_our_entire/
Does anyone want to go to the Rose Garden with Classof87 and me tomorrow? And maybe do food as well?
The boys will be in LA with their mom, so I think I can. Going to a friend's for a party he's throwing in the late afternoon so it'd have to be earlier in the day.
Ok I'll keep you posted on plans!
Do a Google Image search for "desk ornaments"
I don't see anything particularly unusual. What are you all finding??
There was nothing unusual in your google image search or mein. I don't understand the führer over this post.
I was not expecting it to go in that direction...
Saw this on Twitter and don't need to invite that into my browser. No thank you!
What's on your mind?
I’m just tired and middle aged. I feel like I’m watching both my adopted country and country of birth have a race over who can suck more, I worry about my girls’ futures in a more concrete way this week than the general “gosh this whole environmental decline might be bad” sense. And it was the anniversary of my father dying earlier in the week, which didn’t add to the levity. And yet I’m conscious that in the grand scheme of things, I’m very fortunate in the material scheme of things, the relative autonomy I have at work, and so on. Could be worse!
The Sun Bowl...seems further away than ever...
Might have to recalibrate around the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The negative:
-SCOTUS decisions and the active dismantling of democracy, not just crumbling
-multiple friends' cancer situations
-being a complete weirdo when talking to my work crush
The positive:
-delicious ice cream that I made in the office yesterday--apricot ice cream with pecan crumble
-friends and coworkers who save treats for me
-maybe going to Taiwan this year
TBB and S019, if your work crushes are decent people, they'll realize that you are acting weird in a particular way that indicates that you find them very attractive. If they also find you to be a bit attractive, then the weird behavior can even be somewhat charming.
So, go for it!
Don't lump TBB in with me. Don't insult her like that.
Haha yes, I think "weirdly, somewhat charming" is the best I can hope for :P Ice cream pusher is the frontrunner right now, which is fine with me.
"being a complete weirdo when talking to my work crush"
Lmao this is a vibe (as the kids say).
As y'all are painfully aware, I'm super awkward when meeting new people, but I got better at knowing how to turn it on. Then I think covid made me forget how to be social all over again. So I met someone on the apps and we had great conversation in texts, but when we met up in person I was just all in my head and an awkward mess all over again.
Let's hope it was better than you thought it was!
Lol much appreciated, but that's already dead and done.
Apricot ice cream sounds intriguing and delicious
The pecan crumble sounds like a real game changer too...
My friend's apricot tree exploded with fruit, so I sort of Frankensteined a couple Jeni's recipes together. I roasted the apricots and added them to an ice cream base in the proportion of the Jeni's roasted strawberry buttermilk recipe, but instead of buttermilk, I used whole milk. Then I crumbled in pecan scones from Sconehenge, à la their cream biscuits and peach jam recipe. I'd be happy to share the proportions here if anyone wants!
I pre-setup this DBD topic many days ago, but I guess I'll answer my own question honestly.
Sometimes, I envy those who have true hobbies - golf, fishing, or whatever that they really love. I enjoy a lot of things, but don't have a single passion - except for perhaps my love of Cal football. The majority of three generations of my family went to Berkeley. My parents met there. I grew up near Berkeley and went to every home game for nearly 15 years. My father was part of a generation that didn't do a lot with its kids, but we did share those football games every Saturday in fall. And it's what we would talk/email about later in life.
I am going through a grieving period as I see Cal at an inflection point - either suffering the consequences of remaining in a dramatically weakened Pac (eg, the loss of several sports, fading to FCS status) or else losing most of its traditions by joining another conference. So when I say "grieve", that's what's on my mind. I feel like I've lost something big in my life... and it's more than losing the one thing that I am passionate about. I can only feel helplessness knowing that the one thing that connected me to my father, who died 2 years ago, will either fade away with a whimper or else be different in two years.
The latter part of your comment is exactly why I’m not excited about SC and UCLA leaving the conference. My brother and I have been giving one another shit for years about SC - Oregon games as well as scorning Washington, it’s not the same as what you shared with your dad but it’s been part of the background hum of my autumns for a long time now.
Yeah, it's really, really hard to take this change, seems to be killing everything that made this perpetually fun - the "changes" people wanted for the players have killed the deal.
Is this good?
I think it's all disappointing at this point, however as long as Cal football is around I don't find myself ever not rooting for them and attending as many games as I can. I've lived this long without a Rose Bowl, National Championship, etc and I really enjoy all the pageantry around college football, as well as the quality family time it enables every fall. If we end up in a regional B1G conference, great! If it ends up being some MWC/Pac hybrid, well less great, but the games will still be fun and new rivalries will be created.
I don't get the whole "if we don't get X, Y, Z, cancel Cal football and burn down Memorial" attitude. Are wins over good teams more satisfying? Of course! But do I also enjoy a good win over a Fresno St, Colorado St, San Diego St? Sure do!
This team lost to the Nevada, a TCU team that basically fired it's coach, and Arizona, the worst team in College football.
We've reached the point where any win is an f-ing win.
thanks for sharing. i am less of a Cal fan than many on DBD so i am less hurt by the current news but i can see how it is among the biggest changes in our lifetime.
that being said i am going thru my own "loss of favorite hobby" as i am giving up cycling outdoors after my recent accident. a few months ago i would revolve my week's schedule around the weather outside for riding and spin class indoors. i had semi-jokingly resolved "to ride my bike more hours than work at my full time job this year."
also, the Tour de France starts today. normally it is a moment of excitement to see the best riders in the world in a stunning visual race. we had even planned a vacation around going to one of the most famous stage on Bastille Day this year. i find myself much less interested in watching if there is no chance i'll ever ride those roads, or any roads for that matter.
Damn, sorry to hear about your accident. Is there a timeline on when you'll be able to get back on the bike?
I feel like I found my hobbies relatively late-ish in life. I had to give up one—writing—for the most part; I'm still going somewhat strong on exercise as long as I'm able to drag my ass out of bed early enough in the morning.
so i could technically get back to riding since i am mostly healed from the injuries. but it is a larger issue of the uncertainty of road cycling and the anxiety that my wife deals with every time i am out on the road, alone or otherwise.
i am happy to find something better for the relationship and find an alternate thing to take up my time and attention. just a little bit of that "lonely feeling" right now since it is so recent.
probably still continue to ride inside, play tennis, maybe learn to swim ...
Glad you already have other options lined up at least.
Would riding trails/gravel roads (i.e. places without cars) be more comforting for your wife? I know mine appreciates that I do ~95% of my riding away from cars.
For both of you, I hope you find other things that bring you joy and invigorate you. Perhaps it'll be something you already do, but it'll become a bigger part of your life. Perhaps it'll be whittling flamingos. You're interesting people with vibrant lives!
indeed .. trying to think of what is next.
in fact all the extra time thinking has me re-evaluating work stuff as well and i actually applied for a job teaching HS physics. it would of course completely upend my life in terms of how much free time i have, but it would be great from a career satisfaction standpoint.
Thanks for sharing the memories with your father.
Well said and I also don’t have many hobbies but following Cal football was one of my few hobbies and despite the lack of on the field success, I really enjoyed it.
This feels similar to when San Diego lost the Chargers to LA. Sure they had a few more years here before they moved but the writing was on the wall and I began to check out. The same will happen with Cal, sure we have a few years left of the Pac 12 but the writing is on the wall that Cal will end up in a MWC/Pac hybrid conference and a shell of its former self.
I feel this 100%. I used to be a passionate Chargers fan as a kid and now I only passively follow the Niners. Seeing your passions crushed in the insatiable maw of corporate greed is depressing but inescapable.
It will be fun to watch UCLA and possible even USC basically become the LA Chargers in that their stadiums will be filled on game day but the majority of people in the seats will be opposing fans. That will crush ucla and usc fans wills and take a toll on them and their egos.
I can’t speak for UCLA but SC always has a healthy turnout of opposition fans even though we keep giving them shitty seats 🤷🏼♂️
The rapid erosion of tradition in favor of a "better" championship system coupled with the monetary arms race has been a disappointing development.
And you as well, I hope one of your other hobbies (or a new one) will bring you joy!
PRO
[Wojo] Rudy Gobert to TWolves for Pat Bev, Beasley, two others, & multiple first round picks.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1542956279546740736
Seems like a massive overpay. Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, No. 22 pick Walker Kessler and four first-round picks to the Jazz.
Gobert doesn't seem great back to the basket, 1:1.
Yeah, it's a weird move. Gobert has shown that he's a liability against teams that can spread it out. Pairing him with Towns would make them seem even more vulnerable. I thought Chicago was the likely destination for him. I like Vanderbilt and that's a ton of picks. Kessler has 13th man written all over him though. Given that type of haul for Gobert, you have wonder how many firsts it will take for Durant. I'm starting to think that a fair haul for him is probably unreasonable, and he may still be in Nets uni in November.
oh wow...interesting. So Gobert at the 5 and KAT at the stretch 4?
Game #78: A’s score some runs but not quite enough
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2022/6/30/23190968/game-78-oakland-as-seattle-mariners-score-result
The Oakland A’s lost again.
They scored some runs this time! Six of them! But it wasn’t quite enough, as they dropped an 8-6 decision to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday to open a long series at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners led for most of the evening, but there were some moments when the A’s made things interesting. After going down 4-1 early, the green-and-gold tied it up in the 5th inning with a clutch homer! But then Seattle scored four more in the bottom of the frame to retake the lead. Oakland picked up a run in each of the 8th and 9th innings to narrow the gap, but in the end they were doomed by their combined 17 runners left on base.
Let’s check out some highlights! The A’s first run came on a homer by Elvis Andrus, which tied the game in the 3rd inning.
It was at least an entertaining game, but still a loss :'(
I probably should have paid closer attention when y'all talked about this, but do we like this? https://oaklandside.org/2022/06/30/howard-terminal-ballpark-athletics-bay-conservation-development-commission-vote/
As an aside, Terence and I went to an Oaklandside event about food and social justice. It was pretty cool, and on top of that, someone in the audience won a free TV!
Justin Turner powers Dodgers over Joe Musgrove & the Padres
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/30/23190855/justin-turner-home-runs-dodgers-joe-musgrove-padres
Justin Turner broke out of a power slump against one of the best pitchers in the National League, leading the Dodgers to a 3-1 win over the Padres on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
The battle of the teams with the top two records in the National League West, meeting for somehow the first time in Los Angeles this season, starts by widening the Dodgers’ advantage in the division to 2½ games, with three games remaining this weekend.
Turner’s solo home run in the second inning tied the score at 1-1, and the game stayed that way through six and a half innings. Joe Musgrove, who entered Thursday third in the NL with a 2.12 ERA, needed only 73 pitches to get through six innings, having only allowed three hits to that point, two by Turner, including a fifth-inning single.
Cubs & Reds combine for 35 hits, which wasn't helped by the Red having their right fielder pitch and the Cub inserting the guy they only play when a game is already impossibly out of reach.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/player/_/id/5001301
ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr is a hero for having the balls to ask Rob Manfred the question everyone is thinking but was too afraid to ask.
He also scooped that MLB will likely introduce robo-umpires in 2024.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34130915/hate-baseball-wants-save-it
Happy Bobby Bonilla Day. Only 7 left though.
Happy Bobby Bo Day, SGB
GPII turns defensive-specialist bench role into a $8.3m/year deal with the Blazers.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34176737/gary-payton-ii-finalizing-multi-year-deal-portland-trail-blazers-agent-says
Maybe there's something about that broken arm that we don't know? Hope not though.
Wow, I guessed he was a priority for us. Given that he is sort of going back home, I can't begrudge him. Great guy. Great story. I wish him the best in Portland.
I thought both he and Looney would've been the priority. I guess either they didn't want to go 3 years or go near 3/28. I think this will hurt because I'm not sure we have someone that fits in his role and getting someone to fit into that role or be willing to fit into that role will cost just as much.
I read that it's not just 3/$28M...with the tax, is astronomically more. Guess they chose not to...plus they've got to get minutes for Kuminga and Moody...hope they can play some D.
I tink 150M over he life of the contract.
I'm with you. He was immensely valuable, even in limited minutes in that Boston series. I was pretty sure we would make sure he was coming back. But that's a pretty strong deal and I can see the allure of Oregon for the Paytons.
JTA to the Lakers.
Otto Porter to the Raptors.
https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1542891664737308673
Oh wow...so now they can throw money at Looney? Otherwise all 4 key FAs will have left. So money really is an issue. GP2 got 3/28. If money weren't an object I would bet he would've gotten that.
They have to re-sign Looney. Can't expect anything from Wiseman. I think Looney came back to us on a fairly big discount on his last contract, so I don't expect him to do the organization favors again (nor should he).
I'm pretty sure Looney has made it known that he wants to come back. I suspect that gets done.
I'm otherwise sanguine about these guys leaving. They were great role players, but all were signed cheaply and transformed by the organization and the system, and that could easily happen with other cheap signings again. Plus there are promising young guys coming up behind them who can grow into those roles (Kuminga, Moody). Warriors should be fine.
Day 1 of the Tour de France. In other endurance news, the guy I know finished his cross-country run this morning. Left SF on May 1 and made it to Rehoboth Beach at 6AM this morning. Did the last hundred miles by running through the night last night on a twenty-four hour leg.
I don't blame him for wanting to avoid running in today's sweltering heat. Dude's probably going to be sore for a month
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
The 11.2% of National Guard who are not fully vaccinated are no longer getting paid.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/deadline-passes-one-10-army-national-guard-soldiers-still-unvaccinated-rcna36269
America, this is one of your supreme court justices...
Clarence Thomas suggests Covid vaccines are developed using cells of ‘aborted children’
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/30/clarence-thomas-claims-covid-vaccines-are-derived-from-the-cells-of-aborted-children-00043483
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a dissenting opinion Thursday suggested that Covid-19 vaccines were developed using the cells of “aborted children.”
The conservative justice’s statement came in a dissenting opinion on a case in which the Supreme Court declined to hear a religious liberty challenge to New York’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate from 16 health care workers. The state requires that all health care workers show proof of vaccination.
Trump leads Biden by 5 points in a poll by Emerson
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3543735-trump-leads-biden-in-hypothetical-2024-matchup-poll/
Just waiting for Michelle Obama to announcer her candidacy.
Please no.
I'd take it. The Obamas may have been more centrist than we wanted but they still have lingering popularity and more popularity than Ancient Joe.
I don’t really want to vote for someone who thinks when the GQP goes low, we go high.
I want someone who will fight the GQP.
Biden has gotten more done in his two years with a much slimmer majority than Obama was able to do in his first two years with a larger majority.
Michelle has the intelligence to be shrewd as hell and unlike Barack, has the benefit knowing exactly where the GOP is hitching its wagon. This wasn't as clear during Obama's presidency, but it is clear now.
It's 44 to 39, so a decent amount of this has to be Democrats who are unsatisfied with Biden and are coming up as "undecided" or something else in the poll right now. It's likely they would wind up coming back into the fold by 2024.
This is depressing. I can’t see how he leads Biden after everything that has come out from the J6 committee, Roe being overturned and his entire shitty term.
Dems better show the F out and vote.
Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law goes into effect today.
This state has a population one sixth that of Puerto Rico and has two US senators. Let's check in how the GOP primary debate is going.
https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1542866096537145345
I hate rooting for Liz Cheney but if I'm a Wyoming resident I'm registering as a Republican just to try and make sure she advances.
I wonder how often someone could change their party? For example could you register republican in the primary to get Liz in, but switch to Democrat before the general election.
How much would switching registration for the general actually matter? You'd get out on different mailing lists but I'm not sure what else would actually change.
"When I spoke with Mike Lindell he did say they was a small portion of voter fraud." Oy.
"What about facebook using the system to steer people. We know for a fact all the major internets do that"
PLTM.
Poor Liz Cheney looked like she was physically carrying 100lbs of exasperation.
January 6th committee shows messages sent to witnesses believed to be from the Trump camp...
https://www.politico.com/video/2022/07/01/january-6-committee-shows-messages-sent-to-witnesses-believed-to-be-from-the-trump-camp-629080
RIP Pac-12
Interim step: conference realignment
Long term step: professional Minor league for 18-21 yo in mold of G league. I mean what is the point of the school affiliation any longer?
Yeah, I'm a little puzzled that a minor league hasn't materialized yet.
Just makes you think that schools like UChicago were right to get out of the game. Such a distraction/headache, really has nothing to do with overall educational mission. And why restrain guys from getting a straight up salary?
Has anyone checked in on the 10 Stanford fans to see how they are doing?
They probably didn't even know the Pac-8 became the Pac-10...
More like the Pac-Six
USC AD Mike Bohn on why they're joining the Big Ten, leaving out $$$ as a reason.
https://twitter.com/ryan_kartje/status/1542710598844026880
SCENARIO: Cal and Stanford go off into the sunset as independents and try to survive in the post apocalyptic super conference CFB world. End up dying like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in a blaze of glory down in old Mexico.
SCENARIO: Cal folds it’s football program, leases Memorial to a MLS team.
Memorial becomes a rugby pitch.
Memorial becomes a tech incubator with pop-ups and Off the Grid on Friday nights.
Welcome resident artists, the Grateful Dead.
Thanks I don’t care for this
I was wondering your take on it. Reading through a hundred Reddit posts on it yesterday and it felt like the majority of UCLA and USC fans were also lamenting the move as the death of traditional college football. At best were fans who just saw it as a necessary evil to stay alive in the new era.
DCT: As a Trojan, what's your thoughts on USC doing this?
The improvement I wanted to see from SC was internal governance and protection of student welfare, not blowing up the conference in the interests of the commercial viability of the athletic department.
On paper it makes sense: UCLA and SC gave up preferential revenue shares for the Pac12 / Pac12 network, and it hasn’t worked out. There’s a small petty part of me that is looking at the people freaking out about the LA schools leaving and wondering what percentage of them lectured the LA schools about not being so special when those revenue deals were hammered out...
But I don’t actually give a shit about being part of the Big10 and it sucks that people are really worried that their schools’ Olympic teams might disappear as a result of SC and UCLA’s action.
I liked being part of the Pac10 and then Pac12, I can’t imagine ever being fired up about playing Illinois or Rutgers. I got some texts from the guy with whom I used to write Conquest Chronicles who’s looking forward to seeing SC play in New Jersey & Maryland because he lives near NYC, and I get that... but hooray we’re tailgating with the makeweights for the last Big10 media contract, whatever.
SCENARIO: Cal remains in weakened Pac-XX Conference
Not a viable option...seriously, how does adding Boise St and SDSU help? Any bump you get from the San Diego market immediately disappears by adding two new members that will receive an equal share of $. If you're adding a new market, it's gotta make fiscal sense...like Dallas/Ft. Worth, etc.
The fact that the Pac 12 was blindsided by this is so on-brand. After Texas and Oklahoma a year ago, nothing should have surprised the Conference heads, especially given SC's statements illustrating discontent. Kliavkoff was on vacation in Montana...of course he was, why wouldn't he be.
It just feels like we are so fucked. Not just football but also non-rev sports that rely on it. Not to mention the bond debt. There will be sports cut for sure it seems
I mean, there has to be, right? Tough to see any windfall coming now that the LA market is gone?
I just read Avi's article about how Cal needs to push to join B1G. Then I thought about how perfectly Cal it would be if B1G decided to woo San Jose State for the Bay Area market instead...or something like that.
Good idea TBB! San Jose State, Fresno State, Cal Poly will team up to represent northern California. LOL
Does SLO even count as Northern California?
It's pretty firmly Central California.
So is Fresno
Cal stays in what becomes a non-power five conference and eventually fades away to FCS status. Anti-sports faculty members and CofB, which often undermines Cal even though it is biting the hand that feeds it, are thrilled.
SCENARIO: Cal to super-conference
along with Oregon, UW, and LSJU. We create a new Pac-6 division/pod. Meanwhile Arizona, ASU, Utah, and Colorado join the Big 12. Poor OSU and WSU are relegated to the MWC.
I've been alternating between optimistic and pessimistic about this scenario, but when you consider all the factors it does seem very possible.
Oregon and Washington are good pickups purely from an athletic standpoint, especially Oregon with all the Nike money. Cal and Stanford are on downswings right now in the revenue sports, but . . .
1. There will probably be political pressure from the regents and the state government to not allow UCLA to leave the flagship UC in the lurch on stadium debt.
2. There will also likely be pressure on USC and UCLA from their own donor bases to maintain the old rivalries with the California schools.
3. The Big Ten presidents probably like the idea of having prestigious academic institutions like this in the fold so wouldn't fight it too much if there was pressure to make it happen.
4. If need be, they can sell Fox on the idea that Cal and Stanford bring a major media market with them.
OSU and WSU are probably effed, sadly.
John Canzano tweeted that State lawmakers in Washington and Oregon are working on legislation that would require the public universities in their respective states to remain joined in any expansion talks - Oregon/OSU would be a package...UW/Wazzu a package, etc.
No word on the viability of this...seems like we've entered "every school for themselves territory", while the B1G is taking a pause, and waiting for Notre Dame's response.
Read the Cougs blog last night. You think we are despondent . . . All of this is so sad. Even if we somehow save ourselves, many programs, traditions and fan bases are just getting discarded. It's disgraceful.
Well we still have a glimmer of hope. Maybe a 10% chance of making it into the Big10. WSU/OSU have none.
I think are chances are better than even.
Current math doesn't seem to shake out that way. B1G seems to only want to expand if they get Notre Dame; that would put them at 17 teams and it seems more likely they would target Oregon, Washington, and Stanfurd to get to an even 20.
Unless they decide they want three pods of seven...
I have an idea. All teams join a giant Super Conference. This Super Conference is broken up into divisions that balance historical rivalries, geographic location, and relative power. We then appoint a President for that super conference to make rules to promote stability, fairness, and economic incentives for the more powerful programs. We should call this Super Conference the New Conference of Amazeballs Achievement (NCAA).
More revenue from the TV kitty, Cal football on the upswing...
Elsewhere in college
CAL
Made my flight arrangements to Chicago for the ND game. Just need to lock down an Airbnb. Now I'm not sure if this will be a celebration or a wake for Cal football. Where will the Friday night Chicago party be happening?
Newellbany and I are in South Bend for Fri/Sat, and then heading to Chicago for Sun night. We may actually have room - our plans that were set have now fluctuated a bit and we may be getting a different house.
Thanks, but it's me and three of my old Cal roommates, so that would have to be one large af house. Hopefully we can get it together to get to SB early enough to tailgate properly. Have another former Cal mate in Chicago driving us to/fro.
And this is a little homecoming for me. Lived in Chicago for most of the aughts. Haven't been back since the Northwestern game. South Bend is kind of trashy. Would rather spend as much time as possible in Chicago instead.
Go (to another conference) Bears!!!