151 Comments

Nebraska restructures Frost's contract. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32585192/coach-scott-frost-clear-plan-vision-future-nebraska-cornhuskers-football-agrees-restructured-contract

I kind of wonder whether this will be a tactic Knowlton's uses with Wilcox, although Wilcox is only in the middle of the conference pack.

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Any restructuring that includes him having a job tomorrow has to be considered surprising and lucky for him.

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On Scott Frost Day, of all days!

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So that's why I have Thursday off!

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Not clear to me what "restructuring" means in this context. One imagines that it may backload the last extension and lower the buyout, but that's purely speculative until it becomes public.

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I just assumed it was a salary hit, but yeah, I suppose it could take a number of other forms.

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the Cal admin does not have the balls to do something like this

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Also, it probably makes matters worse by making him appear a lame duck. But his salary does escalate each year I think, and attendance has been moving in the opposite direction. I still think they find a way to keep him, cause I don't think they want to or can afford to buy him out yet.

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Llama Discussion:

How are llamas real? I've met dozens of llamas over the past year, but they still feel like fake animals and I don't understand them.

Here's a great video of llamas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq_MdFz7mlE

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Did you get spit on? I've met far fewer llamas and my percentage of being spit on by llamas is quite high.

I also met a lama last month in Tibet, an entirely different experience.

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now go watch the credits to Monty Python's Holy Grail.

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GRBB

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GRBB?

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I'm assuming SGBear meant GBBR!

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No sane person would say this. It's surely Go Rishi, Boo Blue.

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heh...you know I thought that it was GRBB while driving back from Berkeley Bowl. In fact it was probably right around the time of your post...

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That sounds right

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Are you more of a llama or alpaca person?

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I like both, but llamas feel more majestic!

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There's a Llama farm about three hours out, which is amazing

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lllllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss

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I love you too

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The Teddy Bear saga and subsequent related events is a classic case where something very good eventually came from a situation very not good, and sufficiently undesirable to eventually be unlikely to reoccur. Accent the positives of the bear!

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DBD Kitchen

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First: Salad with homemade buttermilk dressing with Pascal Mazet NV "Nature" (i.e. zero dosage)

Main: Red beans & rice with Motor City Kitty Sarah - K Vintners.

After: Blackberry cobbler (batter) with a little '73 Armagnac

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It's OK Cugel, you can call it "ranch."

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Oh Honey, it's nothing like a simple "ranch", it's green, has a lot of ingredients, a fair amount of garlic, needs to be made 6 hours before you use it - but I guess you've never had the pleasure.

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Ranch has like 10 ingredients when it's homemade, including garlic and lots of green herbs. But I'm cool with you calling it 'buttermilk", it's your dressing.

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So it's Avocado Ranch??

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DBD AV

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SNL cold open makes fun of Aaron Rodgers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU-WdnXJabs

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Man, that new Trump is amazing... makes Baldwin's Trump look pathetic in comparison

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Oh yeah, the Butte Community College grad?

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Whoa, a Rishi sighting?

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Much like a red wine stain, it's impossible to get rid of me!

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Watched the special on Four Seasons with the idiot Giuliani. Well, at least you know where to go if you need a gardening service.

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... not that place?

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Finished American Rust…makes Mare of Easttown seem like a Disney movie…yikes!

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Now I’m intrigued to watch American Rust. Is it on Netflix? HBO?

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Showtime’s answer to HBO’s Mare of Easttown…like Armageddon v Deep Impact…Jeff Daniels good - heavy tho…

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Unfortunately I don’t get Showtime.

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Crumbling Democracies

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Ted Cruz Talks About Joe Rogan Being 'President' Of Texas If State Secedes From U.S.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-joe-rogan-texas-secession_n_6188864ce4b055e47d7c1480

In a startling address to constituents, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently talked about controversial COVID-19 conspiracist Joe Rogan becoming the “president” of Texas if the state secedes from the union.

“I’m not there yet,” Cruz told an audience last month at Texas A&M University about Texas seceding from the United States — popularly known as “Texit.”

But “if there comes a point where it’s hopeless, then I think we take NASA, we take the military, we take the oil,” he said to loud applause.

Asked if he would also take Rogan, a Texan, Cruz responded: “Joe Rogan, he might be president of Texas!”

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Just wait until Texas hear that Cruz is Canadian!

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heh...good luck taking NASA and the military.

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One of many complicating details its convenient to overlook when trying to whip up a crowd with far more energy (and votes) than common sense.

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Can't do it! (a lot of texans believe the texas state constitution allows them that power, but it is incorrect!)

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buh-bye

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C of B

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Man that piece Avinash put out yesterday on what may have happened is truly something (and really freaking great journalism). If there's more to it that he or others can find....good lord. There may be possibility that there are group of officials who are hated more than Dr.Sara Cody which is something.

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Assuming the story is accurate (City of Berkeley arbitrarily changing rules to further restrict the Cal football team), it really makes me angry. Not because I hate all the left-wing attitudes about being cautious with COVID. I actually agree with most of that.

It's because this looks like bad public policy. Setting out regulations for what people can do when vaccinated, after negative tests, etc., and then deciding they don't apply THIS time. It sows distrust in institutions and only fuels things like vaccine hesitancy (if they're still going to block you from doing stuff even when you've been vaxxed, what's the point?). I really don't see what is accomplished by preventing healthy, vaccinated young people with negative tests from traveling.

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We really don't know what the CoB did and what Cal did, do we?

We also don't know if Cal's reported vaccination rate is based upon verifiable data (such as a QR code from California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for each player or coach on the roster) or if it is based on self-reported numbers without CDPH verification.

For instance, my employer requires that I submit a QR code from CDPH to verify that I have actually received a vaccination. Initially, my employer accepted vaccine cards as verification. But it became apparent that some folks were submitting false information using altered vaccine cards. Hence, the move to require a QR code from CDPH which can be verified.

If, on the other hand, CoB made a policy change on the fly without issuing a revised health order, then Cal should have ignored the policy change and allowed the players in compliance with the last revised health order AND who were vaccinated AND asymptomatic to fly to Arizona with the team.

There are so many holes to this story, I honestly do not know what to believe.

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Yeah, completely agree, utter bullshit.

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Avinash now has more:

https://twitter.com/avinashkunnath/status/1457596266200793090

Seems like Pac-12 policy is that any athlete has to quarantine 10 days after a positive test (vaccinated or not). So if that many players really tested positive then that seems to be that.

It still seems really weird to have that big an outbreak on a team with a 99% vaccination rate, though.

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Wanna make a bet that the actual vaccination rate isn't 99%?

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Given Rodgers and how this week has gone, you can be forgiven for being a little skeptical about pretty much everyone. I'm flummoxed at how 30 folks from 99% percent vax population could experience such a large breakthrough outbreak. Unless these guys are making out together, that seems scientifically unlikely. That said, even if turned out that only few were actually vaccinated, you'd suspect that given how close contact the team is (bus and planes, meeting rooms and locker rooms) that such an outbreak and several more isolated cases would have already occurred.

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That's one of my big questions.

Though I assume the University requires proof of vaccination to be on campus, so I don't know how they get around that?

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Agreed. Fantastic work.

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Today in COVID

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First day of open flights to the US for vaccinated non-American passengers. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic did parallel runway takeoffs from LHR for their first flights back to JFK and I can't decide if that's more of a neat PR idea or a bit cringe. Leaning towards cringeworthy.

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Pro

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Chiefs beat Packers 13-7, in the Covid related absence of A Rodgers, almost as boring as the Cal-Zona game.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chiefs-vs-packers-score-patrick-mahomes-barely-outduels-jordan-love-as-kansas-city-edges-green-bay/live/

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Qaron Rodgers really let his team down.

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The crowd should chant "You let the whole team down" the next time A. Rodgers starts an away game.

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to the tune of "he's got the whole world in his hands"

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to the tune of Who Let the Dogs Out? (hate that song)

You let your team down, YOU! YOU! YOU! You let your team down, YOU! YOU! YOU!

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Is this the vaccinated QB? Yes this is the vaccinated QB! Is this the unvaccinated QB? Yes this is the unvaccinated QB! Vaccinated QB! (point at home QB) Unvaccinated QB! (point at Rodgers). Repeat with glee

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It definitely had the Cal-Arizona feeling. Packers defense held well but the offense keeps sucking and giving the ball back to opponent. I can understand Glover being terrible but how can an NFL QB be that bad at throwing passes?

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Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. KC O seems broken....it’s amazing how the league figures other teams out. Now you see which coaching staffs can adjust.

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And they still have to pay Mahomes for like 8 or 9 years. I wonder how much of his extension was a bonus?

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Ya, they gave Patrick enough to buy part of the Royals!! I think Reid is pretty frigging bright offensively, & they draft well...wouldn’t surprise me the least bit if they make the adjustments to beat this deep cover 2 that teams are throwing at them.

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He definitely has the talent. Just thought it was premature to give him such a long contract, even after winning the SB. Although, players can be waived.

Unlike the Padres mistake of giving Tatis such a long, large contract. They're stuck with that and he hasn't proven that he makes good decisions (see shoulder surgery he should have gotten after the Padres started losing).

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Other College

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Texas Tech: Cross Town Hire. Some would call him a traitor.

https://twitter.com/brett_mcmurphy/status/1457697925920870408

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Huskies also suspend Head Coach Jimmy Lake for 1 week (and 1 game) for physical "altercation" with player involved with an official in the first half of the Oregon game.

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Feels like he's a goner. Could be a lot of open HC jobs in the conference this offseason.

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Will we see lip licking Wilcox back in UW?

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I hope not.

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I think Lake is a tool, he acts like he's the greatest coach Washington has ever had, without any of the results to support that.

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A growing number of people are coming to the same conclusion as you are.

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If only Wilcox can do that to Ragle

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Special teams have been playing better lately.

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Like James Harden, they decided it would be best to play their way into shape this season.

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I agree.

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Oregon State also fired Defensive Coordinator Tim Tibesar, after the Beavers backed up their loss in Berkeley with a double OT loss to Colorado in Boulder. Whether its in time to avoid another episode of OSU's Stanford problem willl be determined Saturday night.

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Wow kind of a willingness to the pull the trigger. Not something that Wilcox would do.

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A function of the $s behind some of the people frustrated with poor results.

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Santa Clara MSoc and Wsoc each win the WCC championship. Men's outright, women's in a co-championship. Imagine telling high school senior me that SCU might have more natty's and be more nationally relevant than Cal...

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Cal

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I have never been so happy to NOT have access to the Pac-12 Network.

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Cold comfort is that I accurately predicted who would win.

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🙄

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go bears (small type)

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Well that game happened...

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When I finally had a chance to check the score in the 3rd quarter, I thought someone played a practical joke and replaced football with futbol.

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New DBD, who dis?!?!

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I hate to admit I had no idea CGB moved until today... I'm a bad fan :(

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Damnit, who spilled the beans?

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Probably TwistHNook

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I was camping and didn’t have reception so I watched the game recording and was able to fast forward through the majority of it. I think I was able to condense it down to about 15 minutes of football like substance.

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Mmm. "Football-like substance" sounds delicious. Wish I would have found that.

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After knowing that the roster would exclude important players because of the press release, I scheduled a day-long hike for my wife's birthday. I got enough cell coverage to get an update of the zip-zip play up to half time and then pqtm when I saw the final score. I felt like I missed nothing.

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I made a comment about the game in the 4th quarter that I was actually kind of enjoying the game in a "having a nail hammered through my penis" kind of way

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I followed it on the phone from the Breeder’s Cup at Del Mar, where I got my clock absolutely cleaned...it was the wrong day to back European turf horses!, I figured it was done when U of A returned the punt to midfield on the later side of the 4Q. Suffice it to say, I was all sorts and shades of f-ing pissed off Sat afternoon, so the fact that I got in a post-game/post-BC Classic-debacle piss fest w/ sacman, managed to unintentionally insult Leland AND get threatened with W4C banishment was par for the course. Rough day all around, compounded by an awful case of Round Table induced heartburn that had me up all night.

Not the finest Saturday...

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All right, I got a little more information. Seems like you didn't really do anything big, but a staffer just wanted to be careful because it coincided with high tensions after that stinker of a game. FWIW I'm not offended or insulted and have no beef with you.

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Awesome!! Yes, high tensions from a bad game PLUS an awful day of handicapping at the Breeder’s Cup!!! A bad , bad Saturday!!

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You insulted me? That's news to me. I have no idea what you did that allegedly insulted me or that you were warned.

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"I feel bad for you"

"I don't think about you at all"

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Nov 8, 2021Liked by SGBear

You're not even worth forcing me to carry a scrap of paper.

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Speaking of heartburn and completely random, nonsensical segues, while I still do not think alkaline water helps with overall health, it might help with heartburn following eating a much of overly acidic food.

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Tums, official sponsor of the WFC tailgate video segment

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because that's old technology, not fancy new promoted by celebrity technology

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W4C has a ban hammer?!

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Are you doing ok? Do you need a reset?

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Thank you! I’m better!! Watched the Niners get destroyed by some AZ backups, then the season finale of American Rust on Showtime - puts things in perspective- yikes…feel much better about things, esp after reading the craziness from Avi re: the confusion w/ the communications from the CoB over testing.

Much better today - typed a long cathartic post to Leland & heading back up to Santa Barbara in a few!! It’s a sunny day…get excited people!!!

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I watched the Breeder's Cup race on TV. After living in Louisville, I end up watching the Triple Crown races when I remember. I messaged the kids that something with the name Knicks finally won something.

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Knicks Go won the Classic. A horse named Go Bears Go, named for Cal, finished 2nd Friday in a 2yo race…at decent odds. The weekend highlight for Cal sports maybe?

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That felt like the longest game I have ever seen. There were many moments when I looked at the game clock and thought to myself "I cannot believe we still have __ minutes of gametime remaining." It felt like 6 agonizing hours by the time it finally ended.

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Nov 8, 2021Liked by Rick Chen

Yes, by comparison even the Cheeze-It bowl was fun.

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Nov 8, 2021Liked by Rick Chen

this game was dubbed the Cheez Nips bowl on twitter

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Luckily I didn't have to watch the 2nd half. I was at the St.Francis Mtn View- Serra San Mateo Bay area high school football game of the year. over 3-4K+ fitting into that tiny complex with the game on Kofy TV. #1 and #2 in CCS. S.F beat Serra 44-21, led by Villamu Teu with 346 rushing yards on 46 carries, and pissing off a lot of alumni like myself who were in attendance.

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Theodore

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Alvin, Simon, and

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Roosevelt Island. Part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It's become my go to place to go for a walk the last year and a half. Went just before sunset last evening and saw eight deer which isn't bad for that close to the city.

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I decided to add a loop around the island (just over a mile) to my run this morning. Saw two sets of a doe and fawn. After the second set, another doe joined them and shortly thereafter a snorting buck followed them on the prowl. Later caught a glimpse of six of the turkeys that live on the island.

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Roosevelt National Park…me & the Traveling V hit it on the great Coast to COVID roadtrip of 2020…pretty country!

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Been there.

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"speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far"

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