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Last night I had my first DBD dream. SG Bear had posted the question: which is the second most visited city in the UK? I had answered Birmingham (wrong!). But he said the answer was some city in Nigeria that was technically part of the UK. I angrily protested the use of a trick question. That's all I remember.

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I finally stopped having the final-is-today-for-the-class-you-forgot-you-had dream.

Thank you, Cal.

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In current times, that this is the subject forefront in you mind as you go to sleep is...informative. And since we are talking about Berkeley, not as surprising as would be anywhere else.

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The answer is Edinburgh, Nigeria

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I'm pretty sure that's where Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen was born

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PRO

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Kumar Rocker gets called up, becoming the first Indian-American in MLB history. He proceeds to mow 'em down.

https://sports.yahoo.com/rangers-call-up-kumar-rocker-strikes-out-7-in-electric-mlb-debut-041314947.html

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Cubs take game one with commanding 9-2 win

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2024/9/16/24246815/cubs-take-game-one-with-commanding-9-2-win

The A’s just might be ready to leave Chicago early.

Yesterday, the 35-115 White Sox snagged their second straight win over the A’s to salvage a series victory and win their first back-to-back games since June. Today, the A’s looked to turn a new leaf on the other side of Chicago facing off against the Cubs but the result was more of the same.

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Sep 17·edited Sep 17

Giants win the off-day, Buster Posey will see to that with his side-gig of signing players.

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Kinda looks like the Farhan Zaidi regime has been neutered.

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto with ace-like composure as Dodgers rout Braves

https://www.truebluela.com/2024/9/16/24246841/yoshinobu-yamamoto-dodgers-braves-miguel-rojas-freddie-freeman#comments

The final score won’t indicate the level of tension for much of this game, however, it doesn’t take away from a resounding 9-0 victory by the Dodgers against a Braves team at a pivotal time in their season. Although the offense put up nine runs, it’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto who gets the highlight with a strong start in his second game back from injury.

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Isaiah Pacheco got injured and it affected Chief's management's ability to remember that Kareem Hunt shoved and kicked a woman in a hotel

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/kareem-hunt-to-visit-with-chiefs-on-tuesday

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49ers Deebo Samuel will miss "a couple weeks" with a calf injury

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41292250/san-francisco-49ers-receiver-deebo-samuel-miss-couple-weeks-calf-strain

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Could be a rough start for the 49ers with 2 of their premier players sidelined for a material amount of time, and with an unexpected loss already on the record. Last year, the injury induced losing streak didn't derail them, but having it happen again, particularly early in the season, is not promising.

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I kind of expected to see this in the early part of the season: the contract holdouts, injuries, etc., means that they are basically going to have their preseason now. That big Jets win threw me off the scent.

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Falcons beat the Eagles 22-21 as Saquon drops an easy TD, then Cousins engineers a 70 yard TD with fewer than 2 minutes to go.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401671691

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I saw the last few min of that game. Cousins carved up the Eagles prevent defense. Yet another example of a prevent a win defense.

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prevent defense was always a suspect thing and it seems to have changed a bit over the years because of the offense-defense balance in the league.

it seems that the strategy is now

- assume the other team will score if there is time left on clock

- let them score w/ enough time left so that you can score with clock winding down

- use timeouts on defense to save time for your offense

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Sep 17·edited Sep 17

That is different from the prevent defense of the 70s and 80s, where the idea was to keep the ball in front of the defense and snuff out the long play.

I've never been fond of the prevent defense because it's so obviously a departure from the defensive philosophy of what got you to that point in the game. It's like saying I'm so scared that I'll make a mistake that I'll let you run clock and get in position to score on me. That's just dumb. Utter nonsense.

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I caught the last few minutes too. It turned out not to make a difference, but that unsportsmanlike penalty after the TD was BS.

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At the gym I missed what he did. I guess not much?

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Here’s a link with an explanation and video. I’ve seen much more that wasn’t called.

https://www.si.com/nfl/drake-london-s-gun-celebration-almost-cost-the-falcons-on-late-td-against-the-eagles

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This is what the Eagles spent all that money on Cousins for.

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Post

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Cereal. Oh's is the best cereal ever.

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dont you have Oh's for breakfast all the time?

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Oh's and Smart Start are my 2 cereals. I can't find Smart Start in the Bay Area. I got 2 boxes in Nashville in May and another 2 in Auburn.

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The closest I come to cereal these days is when Mrs Slug makes granola. Oh, I have oatmeal occasionally, and Cream of Wheat a few times during Winter. But none of the boxed stuff. Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I've had raisin bran.

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Froot Loops are my all time favorite.

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I had an English teacher who once (in)famously said, "I teach Fruit Loops."

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i used to eat cereal .. and not i really dont remember the last time i did.

maybe some museli on occasion at a hotel.

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I stopped eating cereal after discovering the purpose Kellogg had for cereal:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/32042/corn-flakes-were-invented-part-anti-masturbation-crusade

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What's for breakfast? 🥞

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i am on west coast (Seattle) so i had coffee + old fashioned donut for 1st breakfast.

after workout, i went to a cool place on Capitol Hill, Analog Coffee, for 2nd breakfast which consisted of a singe-origin cortado and the frittata of the day.

Analog Coffee plays vinyl records and some cassette tapes. the food operation in the back is called B-side Foods. some of the best coffee you can get anywhere

https://analogcoffee.com/

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Coffee and ennui

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Microwaved pancakes with butter and real maple syrup. Peet's coffee.

Mid-morning snack - Mrs Slug's Egg-in-a-Muffin.

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Yogurt with french vanilla granola and blueberries and probably a piece of toasted baguette with butter on one half and PBJ on the other.

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Cup of coffee and scrambled egg+egg whites+mirpoix. It's a change-up from my typical morning protein smoothie.

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Natto then a separately eaten portion of steel cut oats with berries, flax meal, hemp hearts, sliced apple & spices.

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Tallahassee

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Out of curiousity I looked up flights with United end of last week. $1000 but the best is a 2 hop flight. SFO-IAH-TPA/FLL-TLH. I guess it makes sense since TLH must be a small airport, but I would've figured United would have at least one non-stop from IAH to TLH.

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I just looked up too, and it sure is expensive. I can't travel in the same day from my home airport SNA.

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Welcome to the price of ACC travel.

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And wouldn't that be 3 hops? Tampa & Ft Lauderdale are not close to each other.

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Sorry...yup. I meant 2 stops.

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I'm hoping the price to Raleigh won't be that bad for MBB travel.

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Probably worse. Farther, and more vulnerable to weather, being mid-winter.

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Waaaaaaay more flights in/out of Raleigh/RDU than Tallahassee.

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plenty of connecting flights via cities not prone to cold weather issues, so far as I can tell the main risk for RDU is the occasional winter ice storm, but those aren't as common as they used to be

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I was thinking of connecting thru the midwest, since the typical Cal fan is coming from the west coast, and also the cascading effect of flight disruptions not on your itinerary.

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We have not had an ice storm in perhaps five years. The biggest risk is summertime thunderstorms a few hours before dusk.

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CAL

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Today’s ACC PM had a decent several minutes discussing Why is FSU so bad? vs Who expected Cal to be so good?

TLDR (TLDL?): Cal is a team, FSU is not.

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ACC PM still on…”Alan from California” called in to apologize about the stunt cards on the field. This prompted Packer to observe that he doesn’t understand why Vegas favors FSU.

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Cal Burners story makes the front page of the [checks notes] the Daily Mail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/college-football/article-13861077/cal-berkeley-fans-florida-state-game-woke-agenda-memes.html

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outstanding. mostly stupid, but outstanding.

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These are all so great- thank you creatives!

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Honestly, the kids did better than I thought.

https://x.com/CalAthletics/status/1836097514149384691

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Not quite S-tier, but I will take it

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[MSOC] Bears Thrash Penguins 5-0

https://calbears.com/news/2024/9/16/mens-soccer-bears-thrash-penguins-5-0.aspx

BERKELEY - Malcolm Zalayet scored the game-winning goal and Alfredo Ortiz netted a brace for his first goals as a Golden Bear, as the California men's soccer team routed Dominican University 5-0 on Monday afternoon at Edwards Stadium.

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[VB] Bears Prepped For First Homestand Of 2024

https://calbears.com/news/2024/9/16/volleyball-bears-prepped-for-first-homestand-of-2024.aspx

BERKELEY – California volleyball will conclude nonconference play this week with its first two home matches of the season, hosting Santa Clara and UCLA at Haas Pavilion on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. Both matches are slated to be broadcast on ACCNX/ESPN+.

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Sep 17·edited Sep 17

[FB] Bears To Host Bay Area Appreciation Day

https://calbears.com/news/2024/9/16/football-bears-to-host-bay-area-appreciation-day.aspx

The Cal­ifornia football team is set to host Bay Area Appreciation Day when the Golden Bears take on Oregon State on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Festivities will be headlined by Bay Area music legend E-40, with promotions including a special appearance, E-40 bobbleheads for the first 5,000 fans and a custom Bay Area chain for students attending the game.

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Unfortunately I'll be out of town for this game and NC State. Fire Starkey and Jimmy Chitwood are using my tickets.

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Oh joy. Even more traffic and even less parking and even higher hotel prices.

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It’s time again for Oski Disciple’s Bear Facts.

The Golden Bears have started the 2024 season 3-0. Here are the other years in the 21st century in which California has won it’s first three games along with their final overall record in each of those seasons: 2002 7-5, 2004 10-2, 2005 8-4, 2007 7-6, 2009 8-5, 2011 7-6, 2015 8-5, 2017 5-7, 2018 7-6 and 2019 8-5. That means the Bears have gone a combined 45-51 after their hot starts, an average of approximately four and a half wins and five losses. However with the exception of ’02 when they were ineligible and 2017, Cal has gone bowling in each of those seasons.

Oski Disciple’s Bear Facts appears Tuesday through Thursday on the DBD throughout the 2024 college football season. This feature is brought to you by a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation.

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Any season is probably better than '96 under Mooch.

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Urgh. '96 and '07 teams had similar trajectories. Win the first 5, then a rapid fall-off.

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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TFG launches his own cryptocurrency. He is involving his three sons and two guys who have no experience with crypto. Grifter has to grift.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4883290-donald-trump-crypto-project-launch/

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Seems like a natural. Crypto is a Ponzi scheme, so yeah, why not?

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Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) demands that the Navy Seals protect TFG. I don't know where to start with that one...

https://dailyboulder.com/tommy-tuberville-demands-navy-seals-be-pulled-from-military-role-to-provide-personal-security-for-trump-act-like-you-care/

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Well there's the fact that Tuberville may be our dumbest ever United States Senator.

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DBD AV CLUB

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ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE

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The Pacific-12 Conference is looking to add [checks notes] Tulane and Memphis. Now everyone gets to experience what Hawaii has been doing for decades.

https://x.com/johncanzanobft/status/1836047752679326040

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Sep 17·edited Sep 17

All this means is that the Pac-12 has been officially relegated to G5 status even if it has a Power 5 conference name. Cal and Stanfurd are stuck in the ACC.

EDIT: this also means that the Mountain West Conference is weakened; for what purpose I don't know. This is just stupid. Greed, hubris, arrogance, and inattention all contributed mightily to this situation.

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seems perfectly illogical

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