Opening ceremonies have begun. I haven’t watched in many years, but Peyton Manning, Snoop Dog, Flava Flav are probably not going to get me back watching.
The opening procession on boats large and small was novel, and I thought a breath of fresh air. Enjoyed it, and the subsequent presentation of the Olympic flag (mechanical horse running on the river that transitioned to the real thing on land was cool) and lighting of the flame (long, but I liked how they got so many of the French athletes as well as luminaries involved; had to be meaningful to them) was interesting and had a culmination unlike anything I've ever seen before.
My wife paid $90 on Hulu to get access specifically to watch the opening and closing ceremony since she has no desire to watch anything else. So far, the opening ceremony kinda sucks.
[WArchery] Koreans generally dominate women's archery (9 out of 10 last Olympic golds) and this Olympics is no exception. Yesterday's preliminary ranking round. Korea's LIM Sihyeon set a new world record of 694 (out of 720). It's a bit of a flex since the ranking round and no matter how she shot, she was likely to face (and beat) some of the worst archers in the Olympics head-to-head and wouldn't face a good competitor until near the finals
[USWNT] US beats Zambia 3-0 via a Trinity Rodman goal at the 17th minute and then two Mallory Swanson goals within a 20 second span in the 24th minute were cemented by a Zambia red card due to an intentional foul by a fullback who got beat in the 30th minute. The Americans predictably dominated with 2:1 ball possession.
[Rugby7s] USA into the next round after beating Uruguay 33-17. So they go that going for them, which is nice. They then get predictably get beaten by Australia 18-0 to exit the competition. South Africa stuns NZ 14-7. France's home advantage overcame perhaps the Argentinian's superior team 26-14. Fiji squeaks by Ireland 19-15.
French high speed train lines sabotaged in a coordinated attach, which has affected 800,000 riders. While no official group has been blamed - a prime suspect has to be Russians, who the Czechs accused of trying to actively sabotage EU rail lines due to their support of Ukraine.
As a high school student in 1970 a friend of mine and I went to Memorial Stadium the day before the Big Game to watch the two teams practice. At one point the whole Furd team was huddled in the area of the south end zone. We dashed onto the field and picked up one of their footballs and sprinted towards the north tunnel. The whole Furd team (or so it seemed) was in hot pursuit. We lateraled the ball back and forth (a precursor to '82) but as we entered the tunnel one of us dropped it. The enemy was too close for us to stop and pick it up so we just kept running through campus towards home. (Incidentally, the next day I saw my first Cal Big Game victory. It came over the heavily favored Rose Bowl bound Furd, 22-14.)
I was in South Lake Tahoe and was ending my time there. On a whim, I put the max amount into a slot machine that had a big cash pot and had a Harley bike as the grand prize. I pulled the lever and I got four bars in a row, except the last bar was a fraction off. Like, you had to get your eye really close to even see that it wasn't spot on. I stood there dumbfounded having just missed a multi-million dollar pot. It's probably just as well as I probably would have somehow died riding the Harley since I was young and stupid.
In 1986 I nearly withdrew from the University of California, Berkeley. I had been partying too much, I couldn’t keep up with the reading, my grades suffered mightily (including several that rhyme with “fee” and “chef”). I thought I should throw in the towel. My father convinced me to power through. Somehow I figured things out. I got straight A’s my final two years.
Two of the biggest reasons for the A’s exciting start to the second half of their 2024 season have been Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker. In six games since the All-Star Break, the two have combined to go 19-44 with a few home runs and 14 RBI’s heading into today. Tonight, it was no shock that both were in the middle of the A’s successes yet again.
It was gonna be one or the other: Austin Barnes or Nick Ahmed. The number 8 hitter or the number 9. The back-up catcher or the back-up shortstop recently plucked from the scrap heap.
It’s never the ones you expect to do the damage against Tyler Rogers. You got to be a pesky hitter, you got to choke up, throw the barrel out and lunge. Both Barnes and Ahmed had one homer apiece in the 2024 season, making them perfect candidates to populate our nightmares.
Clayton Kershaw looked good in his return from the injured list, then Nick Ahmed homered to beat his old team in the Dodgers’ 6-4 win over the Giants on Thursday afternoon, finishing off a 6-1 homestand at Dodger Stadium.
Ahmed was released by the Giants on July 10 and signed with the Dodgers on Wednesday when shortstop Miguel Rojas landed on the injured list. Ahmed singled in his first game with Los Angeles, and did so again on Thursday.
PARIS – California women's soccer alumna Ifeoma Onumonu was the first Golden Bear to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, taking the pitch for Nigeria in its 1-0 loss to Brazil on Thursday.
Onumonu, who previously participated in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, entered Thursday's group-play match in the 67th minute for the Super Falcons to earn her first Olympic cap. She is the seventh Bear in program history to accomplish that feat, and Cal women's soccer has now been represented in the past four Olympic Games.
Sudan has had five Olympic swimmers in its history, with none finishing in the top-40 in any event.
Cal junior Ziyad Saleem will become the sixth when he swims for Sudan at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this summer.
So how is it that an American-born swimmer who was raised in Milwaukee will represent Sudan? For that, look no further than the man who most inspires him.
BERKELEY – Three California men's golfers were named 2023-24 Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Thursday.
Current Golden Bears Kuangyu (Tony) Chen and Nathan Wang as well as recent graduate Sampson Zheng received the honor. Chen and Wang were first-time honorees, while Zheng, who graduated this past spring with his degree in economics, was recognized by the GCAA for the third time in his career.
I started the "We Are the World" documentary on Netflix at the gym. About 20-25 min in. Really good so far. They're going over how the project got started and how they communicated with all the artists to get them to show up.
NCAA expected to file an expanded allowance for scholarships. This will help the larger, more successful programs and damage the less successful program for freshmen recruiting. However, I suspect this will reverse as benchwarmers realize its better to start on a team - say, Cal - than be the fourth string DB at Georgia.
OLYMPIQUES
Opening ceremonies have begun. I haven’t watched in many years, but Peyton Manning, Snoop Dog, Flava Flav are probably not going to get me back watching.
The opening procession on boats large and small was novel, and I thought a breath of fresh air. Enjoyed it, and the subsequent presentation of the Olympic flag (mechanical horse running on the river that transitioned to the real thing on land was cool) and lighting of the flame (long, but I liked how they got so many of the French athletes as well as luminaries involved; had to be meaningful to them) was interesting and had a culmination unlike anything I've ever seen before.
My wife paid $90 on Hulu to get access specifically to watch the opening and closing ceremony since she has no desire to watch anything else. So far, the opening ceremony kinda sucks.
Why? It was on over the air tv, as were/will be a couple of replays.
Russian appeals for the ice skater doping denied. Valieva and Team Russia lose individual and team golds. US takes two gold
https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/40638172/russian-appeal-dismissed-kamila-valieva-case
[WArchery] Koreans generally dominate women's archery (9 out of 10 last Olympic golds) and this Olympics is no exception. Yesterday's preliminary ranking round. Korea's LIM Sihyeon set a new world record of 694 (out of 720). It's a bit of a flex since the ranking round and no matter how she shot, she was likely to face (and beat) some of the worst archers in the Olympics head-to-head and wouldn't face a good competitor until near the finals
[USWNT] US beats Zambia 3-0 via a Trinity Rodman goal at the 17th minute and then two Mallory Swanson goals within a 20 second span in the 24th minute were cemented by a Zambia red card due to an intentional foul by a fullback who got beat in the 30th minute. The Americans predictably dominated with 2:1 ball possession.
that was a really harsh red card, I get that it was the letter of the law but I've seen harder collisions in the beer line at DC United games
[Rugby7s] USA into the next round after beating Uruguay 33-17. So they go that going for them, which is nice. They then get predictably get beaten by Australia 18-0 to exit the competition. South Africa stuns NZ 14-7. France's home advantage overcame perhaps the Argentinian's superior team 26-14. Fiji squeaks by Ireland 19-15.
French high speed train lines sabotaged in a coordinated attach, which has affected 800,000 riders. While no official group has been blamed - a prime suspect has to be Russians, who the Czechs accused of trying to actively sabotage EU rail lines due to their support of Ukraine.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13675809/French-train-arson-Putins-new-terror-tactic.html
Touch your toes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THmSqO79PYk
It’s time once again for Oski Disciple’s question of the day.
You hear about people barking up the wrong tree but never hear that someone was barking up the correct tree. Why is that?
Dog bites man is not news. Man bites dog is news.
Tell the DBD a time you almost did something quite good/bad
As a high school student in 1970 a friend of mine and I went to Memorial Stadium the day before the Big Game to watch the two teams practice. At one point the whole Furd team was huddled in the area of the south end zone. We dashed onto the field and picked up one of their footballs and sprinted towards the north tunnel. The whole Furd team (or so it seemed) was in hot pursuit. We lateraled the ball back and forth (a precursor to '82) but as we entered the tunnel one of us dropped it. The enemy was too close for us to stop and pick it up so we just kept running through campus towards home. (Incidentally, the next day I saw my first Cal Big Game victory. It came over the heavily favored Rose Bowl bound Furd, 22-14.)
Good thing they utilized more sure-handed, and clearer thinking, Bears in '82!
I was in South Lake Tahoe and was ending my time there. On a whim, I put the max amount into a slot machine that had a big cash pot and had a Harley bike as the grand prize. I pulled the lever and I got four bars in a row, except the last bar was a fraction off. Like, you had to get your eye really close to even see that it wasn't spot on. I stood there dumbfounded having just missed a multi-million dollar pot. It's probably just as well as I probably would have somehow died riding the Harley since I was young and stupid.
In 1986 I nearly withdrew from the University of California, Berkeley. I had been partying too much, I couldn’t keep up with the reading, my grades suffered mightily (including several that rhyme with “fee” and “chef”). I thought I should throw in the towel. My father convinced me to power through. Somehow I figured things out. I got straight A’s my final two years.
In my last year at Cal my motto was "D stands for diploma." I didn't finish strong but I finished.
Me, too.
Dragged my ass across the finish line.
I was so distracted I got a NP in Music Appreciation. LOL
Yes, and, as I’ve always said, “D stands for Descartes.”
Or Durant.
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/george-w-bush-hey-c-students-you-can-be-president-446627395744
PRO
Bruh
https://x.com/twitchejnave/status/1814751899557450077
https://www.milb.com/player/francisco-vicioso-811591
Juuuuusssttttt a bit outside.
He’s got good movement though.
A’s use the long ball to claim 6-5 victory
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2024/7/25/24206643/as-use-the-long-ball-to-claim-6-5-victory
Two of the biggest reasons for the A’s exciting start to the second half of their 2024 season have been Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker. In six games since the All-Star Break, the two have combined to go 19-44 with a few home runs and 14 RBI’s heading into today. Tonight, it was no shock that both were in the middle of the A’s successes yet again.
Reminds me of the best baseball commercial ever: Chicks dig the long ball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLECMCargd8
Ahmed gets the last laugh
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2024/7/25/24206592/mlb-giants-dodgers-final-7-25-2024-recap-nick-ahmed-logan-webb-kike-hernandez-shohei-ohtani
It was gonna be one or the other: Austin Barnes or Nick Ahmed. The number 8 hitter or the number 9. The back-up catcher or the back-up shortstop recently plucked from the scrap heap.
It’s never the ones you expect to do the damage against Tyler Rogers. You got to be a pesky hitter, you got to choke up, throw the barrel out and lunge. Both Barnes and Ahmed had one homer apiece in the 2024 season, making them perfect candidates to populate our nightmares.
*sigh* of course it was Ahmed via homer to center
Clayton Kershaw returns to Dodgers, Nick Ahmed homers to beat his old team
https://www.truebluela.com/2024/7/25/24206399/clayton-kershaw-dodgers-nick-ahmed-giants
Clayton Kershaw looked good in his return from the injured list, then Nick Ahmed homered to beat his old team in the Dodgers’ 6-4 win over the Giants on Thursday afternoon, finishing off a 6-1 homestand at Dodger Stadium.
Ahmed was released by the Giants on July 10 and signed with the Dodgers on Wednesday when shortstop Miguel Rojas landed on the injured list. Ahmed singled in his first game with Los Angeles, and did so again on Thursday.
CAL
Go Bears!!!
[OLY] Onumonu Opens Olympic Competition For Cal
https://calbears.com/news/2024/7/25/olympics-onumonu-opens-olympic-competition-for-cal.aspx
PARIS – California women's soccer alumna Ifeoma Onumonu was the first Golden Bear to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, taking the pitch for Nigeria in its 1-0 loss to Brazil on Thursday.
Onumonu, who previously participated in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, entered Thursday's group-play match in the 67th minute for the Super Falcons to earn her first Olympic cap. She is the seventh Bear in program history to accomplish that feat, and Cal women's soccer has now been represented in the past four Olympic Games.
[MSWIM] A Father’s Inspiration
https://calbears.com/news/2024/7/25/mens-swimming-diving-a-fathers-inspiration.aspx
Sudan has had five Olympic swimmers in its history, with none finishing in the top-40 in any event.
Cal junior Ziyad Saleem will become the sixth when he swims for Sudan at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this summer.
So how is it that an American-born swimmer who was raised in Milwaukee will represent Sudan? For that, look no further than the man who most inspires him.
[MGOLF] Trio Of Bears Named All-America Scholars
https://calbears.com/news/2024/7/25/mens-golf-trio-of-bears-named-all-america-scholars.aspx
BERKELEY – Three California men's golfers were named 2023-24 Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Thursday.
Current Golden Bears Kuangyu (Tony) Chen and Nathan Wang as well as recent graduate Sampson Zheng received the honor. Chen and Wang were first-time honorees, while Zheng, who graduated this past spring with his degree in economics, was recognized by the GCAA for the third time in his career.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
DBD AV CLUB
I started the "We Are the World" documentary on Netflix at the gym. About 20-25 min in. Really good so far. They're going over how the project got started and how they communicated with all the artists to get them to show up.
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Georgia Bulldog player arrested on multiple charges. I think this is over a dozen arrests over the past two years.
https://twitter.com/CFBRep/status/1816838011071438992
NCAA expected to file an expanded allowance for scholarships. This will help the larger, more successful programs and damage the less successful program for freshmen recruiting. However, I suspect this will reverse as benchwarmers realize its better to start on a team - say, Cal - than be the fourth string DB at Georgia.
https://x.com/On3sports/status/1816157923388617149
Except 4th string Georgia NIL is still > Cal starter NIL. And a better bowl trip.