145 Comments

Social media tells me it's Girl Scout Cookies season

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Maybe I should eat that box of Thin Mints I saved from last year.

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Heh...I think I still have one from last year as well. Maybe I'll break those out after I finish up this batch of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.

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here's a brief interview with Jamie Raskin - I live in his district. Some of you may have seen the obituary he & his wife wrote for their son who committed suicide on New Year's Eve (and if you haven't, it is linked in the article & is quite amazing). He was on the floor of the House on Wednesday with his daughter & son in law in attendance, so it was that much more of a day. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/jamie-raskin-capitol-attack/617609/

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in the event that the atlantic is paywalled, here's a link to the obituary: https://repraskin.medium.com/statement-of-congressman-jamie-raskin-and-sarah-bloom-raskin-on-the-remarkable-life-of-tommy-raskin-f93b0bb5d184

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Heartbreaking and beautiful

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Crows

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I was telling my daughters a little while ago that there were almost no crows around here around 2000 - 2001. They were wiped out by West Nile Virus. At the time, people said there was no way they'd make a comeback.

The comeback has been so complete that my daughters thought I was bullshitting them.

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I do not trust people who write with teeny tiny little letters.

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We are a sneaky bunch.

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I see how it is

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<font size="3">why not?</font>

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damn...doesn't work.

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nothing works here. I miss the old CGB DBD

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It was way more fun when we could format and embed. Every day there are pictures that I want to embed, but noooooooooooo.

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things I miss

embedd tweets/ pics/ gifs

sarc font

spoiler texts

AND NOT RECEIVEING AN ANNOYING FUCKING EMAIL EVERYTIME SOMEONE REPLIES TO MY POST

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Agreed

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sbnation is changing to a new commenting platform that everyone seems to hate. The NFL sites have started using it and supposedly they're fixing bugs before rolling out to all sites.

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Vox bought/acquired some new commenting platform called Coral project a few years ago. the plan was always to replace the old-broken commenting system with it.

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I never understood that because I didn't think it was broken. Sure there were problems along the way when they tried to introduce new features, but for the most part I thought those were resolved.

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Merry BeastQuake Day!

Believe it or not, it's been 10 years since the BeastQuake, and Marshawn has some T-shirts and sweatshirts commemorating it on sale only until kickoff tomorrow (I think they're pretty cool).

https://beastquakeonline.com/?mc_cid=ea40ff01cd&mc_eid=9d59434b6f

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These are pretty cool. It's interesting that the store for these shirts isn't the usual BeastMode one that now is handled by Fanatics.

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Who are the third, fourth, and fifth-best quarterbacks of all time?

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Solid choices. I might argue for Marino on a pure-talent level, but of course he never won a title.

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Tell the DBD a really beautiful place to take a walk or hike

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Zion Narrows top down.

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The Quiraing on the isle of Skye

Barnafoss and Hraunfossar in Iceland

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Lafayette reservoir

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Kauai

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Russian Gulch

On Highway 1, just north of Jenner is a tiny state park that has a very short hike next to a creek down to the beach. To me, this is peak northern California because it is a non-sandy beach with lots of natural tide pools if you catch at the right time, and usually nobody on it.

This is also where I learned that you should not mess around with bullwhip kelp if you're a whip novice.

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Point Reyes

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This is pretty cleche, but Yosemite Valley.

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Yes, as long as there aren't too many people around.

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So Yosemite in winter. actually, the valley is even more spectacular for hiking in winter.

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i can verify this. winter in Yosemite is magical

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There was a lot of name-and-shame of Capitol Insurgents yesterday. Several lost their jobs.

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Dude who stole Nancy's mail has been arrested.

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lectern guy might be a stay at home dad whose wife is a doctor https://twitter.com/kjhealy/status/1347569793549934593?s=20

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Good! I know someone who turned in a bunch of people she knew from high school to the FBI. They posted their actions on FB for everyone to see so...

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Now that I own the giant floating photo-realistic David Hasselhoff, I can buy the real KITT too

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/95041485_davids-personal-kitt-knight-rider-car

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So the Hoff will personally deliver the car, but how did he get this car in the first place? It feels like it was a fan-made gift rather than the one used for filming.

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I remember seeing a version of KITT at Universal Studios. People lined up to sit in the car and talk to it. Not far away was a man on a walkie talkie.

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15 year old me would've loved to have this car.

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Want to see the Juno Probe's amazing pictures of Jupiter? No artist rendition... an actual front-row seat of Jupiter (scroll down the article for photos).

https://www.universetoday.com/147976/heres-jupiter-from-junos-latest-flyby/

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wow! bookmarked (into the Travel folder).

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wow those are amazing.

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Today in La Rona

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"Over the summer, debates over whether to resume in-person classes during the fall semester raged at colleges and universities across the country. Now, new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the decision to bring students back to classrooms at large universities was correlated with a sharp increase in coronavirus infections in the surrounding county, while caseloads declined when administrators opted for remote learning.

The study, published Friday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report, has some limitations, most notably that it focuses exclusively on the country’s largest institutions of higher learning. Researchers tracked infection rates in 101 counties that are home to colleges with more than 20,000 students — more than are found at even some flagship state universities — and that began the fall semester before Aug. 29.

The counties where large universities held in-person classes experienced an average 56 percent rise in incidence in the 21 days after classes began, the study found. By contrast, those where online learning was the only option registered a nearly 18 percent decrease on average.

During the same time period, counties without any large colleges also averaged a 6 percent drop in infection rates."

WaPo

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NO SHIT, SHERLOCK

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Vandy just sent out an email saying they weren't going to test students before flying back, because they said they learned last semester that students that tested positive after returning either got it traveling or congregating before classes started. So they're requiring arrival testing, then testing the week classes start. Students are to shelter in their room except for getting food and medical supplies, not meet up with anyone, and do all classes virtually until they get a negative test.

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"The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine works against a key mutation found in new, fast-spreading coronavirus variants first discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa, and now spreading across the globe.

The finding, published late Thursday night, but not yet peer-reviewed, bolsters many scientists’ expectations that the immune response triggered by vaccines will be broad enough to counter the new, highly contagious variants.

The study showed the immunity conferred by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could block a version of the virus that contained one key mutation among the ensemble of changes found in both the U.K. and South Africa variants. More experiments and direct tests of both variants in the next few weeks will bring greater clarity."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/08/pfizer-vaccine-protection-virus-variants/

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That's good news in a week when we need some.

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We lost a record 4,117 Americans to Covid yesterday.

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1500 today by 11AM. It's going to be another big day, and it likely will take the rolling 7-day average above 3,000 for the first time. A full 9/11, every single day.

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Elsewhere in college

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Boise St. Hires Oregon DC and former Bronco player Andy Avalos as their next head coach.

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Michigan, Harbaugh close to signing a contract extension featuring a significant pay cut.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-coach-jim-harbaugh-nearing-contract-extension-with-significant-pay-cut-per-reports/

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Good for him, I guess.

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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Trump family partying while watching the Capitol riot begin.

https://twitter.com/WordswithSteph/status/1347267280422514695

Tough moment for Laura Branigan's legacy.

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Besides, you can see Trump, and he left for the WH after the treasonous speech.

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Top comment:

This was taken before trumps speech. Please don’t pull the same stunts as they do. No need to present fake news. They require no help looking bad.

You sure?

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True true, looks like it's before.

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Trump banned from Twitter. I guess he is headed to Parler with the rest of his swamp monsters.

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Permanent ban this time.

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buh-bye

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See you later Parler!

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Trump supporters harass Lindsey Graham at the airport.

https://twitter.com/dlippman/status/1347612365093826565

*plays world's smallest violin*

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There are unconfirmed reports that one guy who died of a heart attack at the Capitol Insurgency accidentally activated his taser in his pocket when he was trying to steal a painting of Tip O'Neill

https://twitter.com/AngryBlackLady/status/1347559457757093891

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Tip O'Neill....trying to protect democracy from beyond the grave.

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A woman from Georgia who died after being trampled on inside the Capitol was carrying a "Don't Tread on Me" flag. Allegedly.

https://www.rawstory.com/rosanne-boyland-capitol/

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Of all the minor things to be upset about, the Gadsden Flag is truly one of my favorite historical flags and I hate that it's now associated with the far right - first the Tea Party, now these assholes - so I can't buy one and hang it in my living room without looking like a facist.

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CNN: Assistant House Speaker says that impeachment articles will go forward next week

https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/1347521663244640256

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Next week?! That’s too late. It needs to happen today.

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“Let’s be rational about this,” said Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), suggesting that there were not enough Republican senators willing to quickly remove Trump from office. “Why go through the exercise again if it’s going to be futile?”

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doesn't getting convicted mean that Trump wouldn't be able to run again in 2024? After the other day's foolishness, I think there might be a few people willing to kneecap him, politically speaking.

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I really doubt it would clear the 2/3 needed in the Senate - maybe 3 or 4 Reps join Romney, but that's about it.

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Manchin is going to be a thorn in the democrats side. He has already come out again the $2k stimulus checks.

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Me personally, I think they need to lower the income level for this, to make sure all the stimulus is spent, and not saved.

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I think they need to not do it at all, and use the money instead to double the amount of supplemental unemployment (back to $600) and at least double (preferably triple) the length of time it's available. People who have remained employed throughout do not need another supplemental check.

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Isn’t it $75k for a single individual and $150k for married? I think $75k is about right, especially if that person has lot their job or income during the pandemic.

Let’s be honest, $75k isn’t a lot in most metropolitan cities.

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precedent

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Yep, the precedent and to get GOP on record of who supports and doesn’t support this.

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Yes. This is how to manufacture adds for the next election.

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Betsy DeVos is a coward.

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And water is still wet.

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A little levity to an otherwise bad situation

https://twitter.com/schmoyoho/status/1347053742521262082

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That's some quality work.

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Yes, impressive.

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Warning: this is upsetting. Bystander gets assaulted at LA Stop the Steal protest for being black.

https://twitter.com/BlackNoChaser/status/1347231914973921281

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Update: the guy bear-hugging her was trying to protect her. He still got fired from his job.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/lapd-hate-crime-investigation-downtown-la-trump-rally-bear-hug-protest/2501697/

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A good lesson about maybe holding back a bit on "Twitter justice."

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Over the couple days I saw probably a few hundred Trump supporters. Saw one black man wearing a MAGA ball cap. Otherwise, all were white.

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was his name Clayton Bigsby?

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Here's another reason why you don't take insurgents lightly

https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/1347326655480651776

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@I'm sure the blue lives matter folks will be just as swift to condemn this one protest that killed an officer as they were to criticize the thousands of BLM protests that killed [checks notes] 0 police officers this summer.@

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Biden should give this man the Presidential Medal of Honor. I can’t help but notice Trump hasn’t mentioned this at all.

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WaPo's breath-taking insiders' view what was going on in the White House and Cabinet for the last 2 days

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-rage-riot/2021/01/07/26894c54-5108-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html

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darned paywall. and my cheap self.

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I have a 30-day pass each month. Congrats, you get it this month! I'll email it to you.

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Thanks! You are too kind.

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how do you get a 30-day pass each month? Is it a perk for having a subscription?

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Yeah, I have a digital subscription for two people (though my dad doesn't seem to have signed in...ever...) and it comes with a pass each month. I signed up when it was $30 or so for a year, but now it looks like I'm paying $150/year???? Harumph. On the other hand, support good journalism. But then on the third hand, Bezos. Blargh.

I'm glad I don't subscribe to the NYT, though. I know they have some good stuff, but every time a headline blows up, it's like the stereotype of the out-of-touch New Yorker come to live.

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Back in the day I had a class with Carolyn Lochhead, who became the Washington Correspondent for the SF Chronicle. I still like to read SFGate, though the journalistic level is generally not as high. Carolyn, now retired, was an excellent writer.

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Subscriptions currently available for $29/year! It's the national newspaper I'm most glad I subscribe to (I also have NYT and LAT subs -- LAT is super expensive and not worth it but I'm too lazy to cancel)

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add a "." after ".com". That worked for me in an incognito window.

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Just plain incognito works for me

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cool, thanks!

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PRO

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The The Angels Angels clubhouse attendant fired for supplying ball doctoring stuff narcs on MLB pitchers Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber, Joba Chamberlain, Adam Wainwright, and Tyler Chatwood

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30671790/fired-los-angeles-angels-clubhouse-attendant-names-pitchers-ball-doctoring-case

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Tommy Lasorda dead at 93

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My sister will be very sad when she hears, she shares the same birthday as Lasorda but is 60 years younger and had told that to Tommy Lasorda on multiple occasions. I was not there but she has a picture with Lasorda from the Dodgers Stadium Dugout Club that's almost as good as that iconic Tommy Lasorda next to a dancing Psy picture.

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Met him 10 years ago at Don & Charlie’s in Scottsdale....nice enough old-timer.

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oof...ugh. At least he was able to see the Dodgers win it all.

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CAL

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Makai Polk is in the transfer portal

https://www.reportdoor.com/wr-makai-polk-enters-the-transfer-portal/

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D Rob who was much more talented and productive his freshman year struggled mightily at Georgia once he transferred and I predict Polk will do the same, especially if he goes to Auburn.

Auburn has a lot of players just as, if not more talented than him.

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that's what happens when you take away reps and give them to a goddamn FB and 2 TE sets

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well, if he really goes to Auburn... whatevs. He's a pretty good receiver but he aint that good. Sounds like he and his family have a pretty "healthy" view on his skills

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we have limited tape on him. He flashed as a true frosh, and yeah this year was a wash, but still... He could have been the go to guy once Remigio and Crawford are gone next year

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well, if Auburn truly is the destination, he'll be competing with at least 8 4 star WR from the last 3 years. I just wonder if he's not seeing the grass being greener somewhere else. If he wants automatically to be "the guy" then some G5 team would be the answer but thats not necessarily getting you to the pros any faster. Hopefully its not grades or anything like that

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where are you hearing Auburn?

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247 forecasts that 4-star co 2022 QB Justyn Martin (JSerra as a So, Inglewood at Jr) will commit to Cal.

https://247sports.com/college/california/Season/2022-Football/InstitutionPredictions/

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CB'd by Biggins with a confidence level 8. That's telling

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Marshall Cherrington leaving the fball staff to take a position at his alma mater USC

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That's too bad. I've been impressed by Borcian, Cherrington, Palu, and Haithcock.

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Men's bball loses 60-71 to Washington State

https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/cal-mens-basketball-gamethread-cal-cdb/comments

As much as I'd like to see Fox replaced, I have no faith in the AD to hire a meaningful upgrade.

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I think we've just got to ride it out until the economy is better. This was a winnable game had Matt Bradley been healthy, although Washington State has a very nice looking record for playing cupcakes until recently.

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but did they cover the spread?

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No cover. And they weren’t competitive for final 28 mins

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how bad is Wazzu if Cal couldn't cover a single digit spread?

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