255 Comments

243 comments. Is that a recent record?

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Google Fiber is going away so I need to get a new streaming service since cable can suck it. I have a bunch of streaming services but to include local channel and act as a general cable replacement, any suggestions? Youtube TV? Hulu? Something else?

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I have DirecTV Stream (I think is the name now). It's not bad. I have ATT cell, so there's a bundle-y thing, that includes free HBO Max

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Google fiber is going away??

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they are killing their TV service and pushing you to one of the brands they own, Youtube being one of those. Making it more "portal" than service

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Oh ok. I didn't know about the tv service. I only have their internet

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We also use YouTube TV. I'd ditch it for a less expensive alternative if there was one worth having. I'm partly held hostage to ESPN and TCM, though Mrs Slug may be willing to go without TCM at some point.

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We use YouTube TV, which is good for local channels and general cable replacement. It is expensive, which is its biggest downside.

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I got Fubo because it has Pac-12 Network and the local channels. So far, so good. The only downside is that it doesn't seem to have TBS/TNT. That'll be a problem for March Madness, but it's solvable.

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I've been pretty happy with Fubo, except for that decision to drop TBS/TNT. The problem is with the costs of content vs cost of sub, there is no cable, satellite, or streaming service that contains and does everything, so usually none that have what "you" want exactly. The reality is lots of people (me included) wind up using 2-3 to cover the gaps, which unfortunately also results in added cost due to overlap. YouTube TV has also gotten pretty good reviews from a couple of people I know that went that route, but it has its limits/holes too.

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Or if the A's ever make the playoffs!

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We have!

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They often do, but a lack of TBS/TNT would be a significant hurdle to being able to watch them.

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I inadvertently hurt myself by deciding I needed MORE Cal football content and to the end spending time on Bear Insider. There's a lot there but my goodness among those additional commenters are some real nutcases, illiterates, ranters, ravers, syphilitics, paranoid schizophrenics and people who don't actually know a football from a watermelon. Mind you, there are many thoughtful, intelligent knowledgable chaps but you've got to sift through so much rubbish from the benighted to get to them that it's hardly worth it. In comparison, the worst of WFC is the Algonquin round table. I'm sticking around here among you learned folks. I self-harmed hanging out on their football forum a few weeks. (Full disclosure: I will continue to visit BI's women's basketball which compensates for the lack of women's BB content here and is frequented by a very nice core of people.)

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When football is over, I'm 100% certain Nick will turn his attention to WBB.

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I left BI years ago. I was under my real name for most of the time I was on BI (and some folks here might remember that name; not certain, though). Sorry you had to endure that place. Thanks for validating that I shall not return.

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I find all online Cal communities have their know nothing dipshits whether it's here, Rivals, or BI

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Unless its a place with next to no online communities (not a good situation either), all communities have this; its not just a Cal community problem.

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I’m sorry for anything and everything I said or did in W4C, BI and CGB. Please don’t cancel culture me to Twitter and Facebook.

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Is that guy who was banned at the last place still over on BI?

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droski makes my teeth hurt sometimes. He argues just to argue

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Is droski Kens BI username?

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Ken's BI username was "xultaif".

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no, its a different guy. Its a shame because he has some good takes but if anyone disagrees with him its not a discussion, its passive aggressive bs micro aggression bs. Its really tiresome

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"You can't ban me. I drive traffic to this website!"

Actual quote from that guy, or a very close paraphrase.

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That's what got him banned.

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I concur with this description.

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He was bad enough that Bear Insider actually banned him.

"Argues just to argue" is the perfect description.

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I SAID I'M SORRY!

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yeah, I couldn't deal with it years ago... BI is just absurd. I think of it as the old fuddy duddy dont know shit crowd

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Don't disagree, but as an old fuddy duddy I object.

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I've been a rabid, hopeful follower of Cal Football. Need I say more? I love my Golden Bears but heart-break is part of being a fan. Sigh......

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the key is to go in with low expectations. That way, when they inevitably shit the bed, the pain is less. I havent been able to master that yet though

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So, I've had rather low expectations of Cal football for decades, and have literally given up all hope of EVER reaching the Rose Bowl, turning my attention instead to a much-documented, ballyhooed and highly anticipated quest for the Sun Bowl in El Paso on New Year's Eve Day....tamping down the hyperbole is an often annual/monthly/weekly/daily/hourly commitment, esp with my best homie Newellbany...

That said, I nonetheless find myself somewhat disheartened by the current state of affairs for the football program, as 4-7 with offensive inconsistency despite an experienced roster has me seriously re-evaluating my expectations for Wilcox....the D is encouraging, especially if Kuony and BJ return next year with the young secondary, but that Sun Bowl seems more and more elusive.

Still doing my best to maintain a positive approach that slow & steady program continuity will win the race, but 6-6 and a low level bowl is not too much to hope for.....

Sigh...

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That's how I felt about the UCLA game. If we'd won it would have been a surprise.

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Much easier said than done. Every time I think I’m out, they pull back in with a big win.

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I told the wife all day on Saturday that they were going to destroy us. We watched Spencer with her friends and their daughter instead.

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it looked ok 25 mins in. Then... dookie everywhere for the rest of the game

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That's not inadvertent. It's a known outcome.

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I really got my jollies from the pic....new desktop image for monitor no. 2

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Winner of this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Award

Some of the other winners are honorable mentions are pretty good too: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2021/11/18/1056851585/comedy-wildlife-photography-award-winners-2021

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I've already got a bunch of these photos locked and loaded to be photos on future DBDs.

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I purposely shrank the image size. I thought that nobody really wanted to see detailed macaque peen and bag on a Monday morning, but I stand corrected.

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have you not spent time here before?

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Thank you for shrinking the image!

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Yes!

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Pringles

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Fun fact: the pringles inventor was cremated and his ashes are stored in a pringles can.

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Ick.

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And so... in accordance with what we think your dying wishes might have been, we commit your final mortal remains to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean, which he loved so well. Goodnight, sweet prince.

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You fuckin' asshole! Everything's a fuckin' travesty with you, man! And what was all that shit about Vietnam?

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Do you see what happens Larry? Do you see?

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STFU Donnie...

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Sir, this is a mortuary, not a rental house.

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i like them. they are more addictive than most crunchy snacks, perhaps because of the thinness presumably.

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The science fiction writer Gene Wolfe invented the machine that cooks pringles.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sciencefiction/comments/hedv3h/gene_wolfe_is_the_pringles_logo/

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"For a real challenge - try to find the complex and hidden references to fried potato snacks in The Book of the New Sun."

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Four books in the Cycle: Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword of the Lictor, and The Citadel of the Autarch

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Such a great read, my personal favorite sci-fi books.

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Hurting Yourself

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I was once tucking my laptop into the outer pocket of my wheelie bag, in preparation for catching a flight a couple of hours later for a work trip. I neglected to zip the pocket, so when I lifted the bag from bed to floor, the laptop dropped out and onto my foot, breaking my foot (and therefore getting me out of the trip, silver lining and all that).

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Hard way to get out of that trip though!

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Trying to ride my bike no handed at about 10yo and hitting a buckeye fruit. I went full yard sale over the handle bars, broke one wrist a got road rash from pinkies to elbows on both arms.

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Watching the entire second half of that UCLA game

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Thankfully the combination of tiny video boards and visitor seats in the frying pan like end zone section of the Rose Bowl provided enough insulation from watching too much of the actual game on Saturday night. The Cal Straw Hat band was the absolute star of the show at the CAA tailgate, as was chatting up Mr. Boom Got Them Dos himself, Rod Benson. Getting to hang with YWC and and Nick Kranz briefly in the 3rd was also a big plus. We made it to mid 4th quarter before beginning our walk through the stadium to the North end zone (when did they switch visitor seating to the South btw?) and out to Lot 7.

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Nov 29, 2021
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are you back in Reno now? Sorry we decided to be out of town this past weekend.

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Already erased it from the DVR. Nothing short of a complete abomination.

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I'm keeping the Arizona game on my DVR. My plan is to watch it next summer, just when I'm most susceptible to the kind of sunshine pumping that gets me in trouble with Jimmy C. I'm treating it like a vaccine when I'm exposed to articles saying that "guys are really flying around out there" and whatnot.

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Keep the Arizona game as your primary vaccine and the ucla game can be your booster shot when your immunity from the Arizona game starts to wane or we win a big game.

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You should probably keep a brief video of the first 3 offensive plays from Sat’s UCLA game on your phone for easy viewing for those instances when you’re out in public and are overcome by the need to solar pump....

In a game where a quick early start was crucial, they come out with two “WTF was that” QB keeps that go nowhere against heavy pressure before Tonges runs a dogschitt route short of the sticks for a quick & easy 3 & out....head scratchers, all of them.

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One of the earliest incidents I can remember, at my elementary school, we used to have this giant "lawsuit-in-waiting" central play structure that was built out of 5 giant wooden wire spools - like that you would wrap industrial cable or telephone wires around. They were stacked in the shape of the Olympic Rings (3 on top, two on bottom) and you could climb up to the top - they seemed gigantic as a kid, and I think they were probably pretty big. like the height at the top was probably 15' in the air?

And you could clamber around up and around and to the top - and I fell from the top spool and landed right on my stomach on a wooden cross beam at the bottom and knocked the wind out myself and was lying on the ground for what felt like 5 minutes but was only like 30 seconds, but I was sure I was dying.

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Two months ago, I got out of bed and for the first time ever my LEFT knee hurt. (My right knee has had constant low level issues after a lifetime of basketball). And the worst part was I didn't do anything that I remember - no stepping off a curb awkwardly, no expecting a step that wasn't there, no awkward twists. And then it really hurt for like 2 weeks, and mildly hurt for 2 more - enough that I could only cycle and not do any other exercise.

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I did something similar. Woke up one morning with a sore left shoulder. I just slept on it wrong somehow. I don't notice it except when I'm swinging my arms while running.

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I strained my hip flexor playing in my hardball league back in July & still wake up sore most mornings bc I somehow aggravate it when I roll over and sleep on my stomach in the night. Getting old sucks.

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I went to sleep one night and woke up with a frozen neck that turned out to be two bulging discs for which I now get a cortisone epidural every six months. GOOD TIMES.

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DBD Test Kitchen

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A sad tale of why moderation is bad: I went to eat the last piece of pie for breakfast and it had grown little mold spots overnight. 😭

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That's pretty quick unless you live in a tropical jungle!

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Nov 29, 2021
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I have kinda been there, post-Turkey Day, 2020, and it's f-ing DEVASTATING. I prefer my step-mom's pecan pie after it has spent some time in the refrigerator and gotten a little chewy...so I went to grab the last slice Black Friday a.m. last year only to find someone had beaten me to it...I suspect Pa Chitwood, and I have spoken only tersely with him since, including this year.

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It's not FAIR.

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DBD AV Club

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Peter Jackson's new old Beatles doc 'Get Back' on Disney+ with my AirPod Max headphones on. Similar to The Hobbit film series in that you get to spend hours upon hours transported to a whole 'nother world.

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I have recently come across Wolf Alice for the first time, and have been enjoying this little ditty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX_QelwuC8I

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I like...thanks for the tout, Scootie

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Season 3 of Hanna on Prime. Enjoyable actioner. A bit on the violent side for a show staring mostly teenage girls.

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I started S3, ep 1 and realized that I remember NOTHING from the S2 closer, tho I clearly must have finished it....so I plan to rewatch it before resuming S3...I love Mireille Enos ever since The Killing...she's married to Cameron Frye, and they have 2 children....CALL ME SIR GODDAMNITTTT....

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sounds like someone doesnt have a teenage daughter

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two past teen daughters. Their violence was less elbows and guns to the face and more sharp words and ostracism.

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Then you definitely shouldn't watch YELLOWJACKETS!!

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Sunday is YELLOWJACKETS night!! Ep 3 was solid....

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I let my 19 year old DJ on our drive to / from my mother in law's place on Thursday and it was a reminder of how little I like the Lumineers.

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I wonder if she likes Hollow Coves. Their music *almost* makes me want to be good at nature.

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There was about a solid month and a half when I was into them and then I just as quickly got tired of them.

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Really really really enjoyed Hawkeye. Always a Hailee Steinfeld fan, excited to see what they do with Kate Bishop. All the hints around the Daredevil-verse are interesting too - Swordsman, etc - are we going to see Kingpin? And/or Daredevil (or Matt Murdock?)

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I think Jeremy Renner is pretty f-ing good...he's pretty solid in Mayor of Kingstown...

Enjoyed him in Hurt Locker, The Town, Wind River, & Bourne Legacy...

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Yeah he is really good in Hawkeye and all the movies you named above. I thought he was excellent in Wind River and The Town.

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Despite the heavy subject matter, I found Wind River to be a brilliant movie. That & Sicario are two of my favorites in recent years…with Taylor Sheridan having a major role in both.

Probably time I checked out Yellowstone.

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As someone who has worked in Indian country for over 15 years, I can say that Wind River was really well done and helped bring attention to a very important issue facing native women that most society has sadly ignored.

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DBD NOT OFFICIAL FINANCIAL ADVICE

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Twitter share trading on the NYSE halted; news pending

https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/twtr?mod=home-page

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Conservative Twitter is crowing about Jack's resignation

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he was the best friend the conservative crowd had. They will be quite sad, when the new regime decides that enforcing the TOU on everyone is better for business. I am constantly surprised by the fact that whenever I come across some manner of conservative nutter and report the account, they get banned.

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Do they think the next guy is going to be more friendly towards them?

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The next guy objectively might, but what they consider friendly is instead deferential and subservient, not "friendly."

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NASDAQ recovers from Black Friday carnage, up 2.09%

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I had some money I was holding on to for purchasing investments to start 2022... decided that morning to say, screw it, I'm buying now.

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Post-Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

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Friday: drove from GA to MD in 10 hours, 45 minutes, our second-fastest trip for that leg.

Saturday: started decorating the house for Christmas, watched several fantastic football games.

Sunday: woke up and watched an awful, awful, agonizing football game. Took cf-98 to a friend's birthday party at a pretty cool giant indoor playplace full of slides, ball pits, and things to jump on.

I'm kinda glad to be back to work today. It's nice to have some time to myself after spending the last week and a half in a house with 6 people (plus assorted visitors who came and went over the course of the week).

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I guess the Friday traffic up the Eastern seaboard wasn't that bad. I thought it would be bad but I guess that was reserved for Sat and Sun.

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The day after Thanksgiving is usually very quiet on the roads. The only traffic we encountered was about 10 minutes of congestion on the DC beltway around 3pm.

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Spent the break in Austin, where wife and I met up and had a great time with Fire Starkey, Mrs. Fire Starkey, and Fire Starkey Jr. with a trip to Salt Lick.

We stayed with the wife's friends, who have two properties. Combined with seeing FS's amazing house again, I'm reminded of just how much more expensive property is in California.

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Also, FS Jr was a huge sport for hanging out with us dumb, boring adults.

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I was surprised he came along. Food I guess

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Leroy and Lewis and Intersteller are on my checklist for my next Austin trip.

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Friday: drove to Sac to visit my niece and my mom who was visiting her. Tried out their new Ooni pizza oven. Delicious

Saturday: Watched Michigan- Ohio St, the Iron Bowl, then had early snacks and cocktails at the lady friends moms house, then went to the Fox to see Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel. DID NOT WATCH THE GAME AT ALL. Felt good.

Sunday: went with the lady friend to buy a new car, an Acura MDX

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To replace her Audi? I was thinking the Ooni would be a great tailgate thing. Still working on perfecting my pizza making in it. I'm getting there. Need to figure out how to make the crust thinner in the middle without tearing it.

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Yep, traded in the Audi. I don't know about the Ooni for tailgating, but my niece and her fiance have the "Tailgater" Traeger which I may invest in for next season.

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I am willing to bring my Ooni if you guys want to try it out. I can make some dough and stuff and we can make some to try.

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Should I be in the Bay Area extended, I will happy to help prep next season.

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the Ooni is nice, we have one and use it fairly regularly

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Surprisingly quick, and makes a damn good pie. I brought them some 00 flour for dough which they cannot find in Sac.

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This is the one I got.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B088QJKNX1

Pizza in under 2 min. I do find it hard to keep it super hot between pies using the wood pellets when I go inside to make the next one. I wish the hopper was a bit larger. Also I assume takes longer to heat up with pellets than propane.

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They have the propane one.

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Friday - decide to go lakehouse to do laundry since washing machine at main house broke. Luckily, we decided to go straight there, skipping on returning something at the mall because there was a shooting there and would have been there for it.

https://www.wral.com/three-shot-including-10-year-old-in-black-friday-shooting-at-the-streets-at-southpoint-one-in-custody/20003175/

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Having to spend a week at home with a 2 and 6 year old as they tear up the house and frazzle your wife, while trying to also make it to family events and put up Christmas decorations . . . is no vacation at all. So happy to be back to work and school.

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Paris .. is just as nice as ever.

we spend 3 full days there w/ 3 teenage girls and my cousin from Sweden.

ate at a lot of great bistros, girls did a pastry making class, some obligatory sites like Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower for the first timers, a little shopping, and mostly just walking around a lot ...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/p51sTE9wmakkzst26

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the girls found a climbing gym in Paris that they liked. they had a day to explore the city on their own while we met some friends for lunch. afterwards the ate some crepes on the street and did some shopping.

it is definitely a nice feeling when you can feel confident in letting your kids wander around a foreign country on their own and know they will more or less be fine.

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I feel like I never know the age range that that is acceptable, because I've always had older cousins, and Hong Kong was pretty safe, so I was wandering without adult supervision as early as like 10, and on my own (but in the HK neighborhood) at 14? Non-HK countries were late high school.

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That's great that you all had a good time.

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So Taken is not a documentary?

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Got a meningitis B vaccine shot for college requirements last monday. Still haven't fully recovered feeling sore in the shot spot and feeling tired. It was a struggle to get muster energy through thanksgiving (at least the Raiders won) but I think I'm coming around now aside from a somewhat congested/sore throat.

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Our Crumbling Democracy

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Dr. Fauci, who has shown far more patience than most humans can endure, snaps off a tart comment about Ted Cruz

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1464995464424603651

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Rep. Nancy Mace (R-Charleston SC) flip flops with the best of them. Perhaps she got traumatized after vandals graffitied her home in Mace's handwriting.

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1465145531655548928

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GOP probably wants to send US Navy to forcibly open them up again for business reasons

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1465173506082033669

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Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has got more dumb things to say.

https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1465060080131489797

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Michael Cohen says Trump is ‘grifting’ off the American people

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/28/cohen-trump-grifting-american-people-523419

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No shit

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Today in Omnicron

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This thread is interesting, and suggests immune escape is likely driving the faster spread. https://mobile.twitter.com/trvrb/status/1465364300936085506

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I learned on Twitter that omicron is "little o" and omega is "big o"

o-micron and o-mega

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O My, exclaimed George Takei.

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Omicron Ceti

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mira

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Omicron_Ceti_III

The trek episode where Spock was hit with spores from an unknown plant and ended up hanging from a tree laughing...

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oddly o-mega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet

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That's the final boss of the covid variants

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O really?

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Cases were already on the rise due to colder weather forcing more people inside, setting us up for a post-Thanksgiving spike. Adding Omicron on top of that means it could be a rough winter...

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On the sort of positive side, early signs are that it may make folks less sick.

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Ehhh... I would say that it is too early to say this. The variant was made public on Thursday night because of a focus group. While "less sick" may end up being true, this by-line was based upon a BBC interview of Dr. Coetzee, the doctor who first spotted it. She offered anecdotal evidence of younger patience who were coming in with mild, but unusual symptoms not typically associated with Delta.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/29/omicron-covid-variant-symptoms-heres-what-we-know-so-far.html

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So far that doctor's observation is really the only evidence of how sick Omicron makes people, so it is encouraging to think that the symptoms may be milder on the whole. But yes, it's too early to be sure.

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That would be wonderful if true. At the beginning, there were a bunch of articles about how pandemics tend to die out when the virus evolves to become less harmful. It’s been such a consistent horror show since that this narrative has died, but would be nice to see it finally come true.

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That could still be true - it just may take longer than people were hoping for. It makes sense since viruses that kill reproduce less than those who do not kill (as a very general rule).

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Right, that's another piece that makes the doctor's conclusions believable. I hope it's the case.

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Hence "early", "may". I mean, yeah, we're screwed.

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Is it only the vaccinated that are less sick? Or even the unvaccinated?

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Unclear, though in general the vaccinated are going to get less sick period.

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Made its way to Canada. I'm sure this is going to be a fun next 2 months..... My prediction of online classes for the first 2 weeks for winter quarter may come to fruition.

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Pro

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[Portugal's Primeira Liga] Belenesis had a match for the ages. They were forced to start with 9 men (including playing a back-up goalie at defense) due to Covid. The back-up goalie score an own goal in the first minute. The team then lost 2 to injuries and were down by a touchdown at half. One minute into the second half, the match was abandoned when the backup goalie sat down on the pitch and purposely refused to play, which put them below the minimum 7 player.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59448376

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Scherzer on the verge of getting overpaid by the Mets. 3/130. I bet the Dodgers didn't offer much more than 2/80.

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1465365012298485768

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And then Seager gets 10/325 from the Rangers. They're going all in. I guess thinking that Kershaw would never go to the Rangers since they suck may not be so true anymore.

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Didn't the Rangers go 10/250 on Alex Rodriguez? At the time, that contract was unbelievable. And three or four years later, he was dealt to the Yankees.

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I think he'll end up a Yankee in maybe 4 years when the Rangers underperform.

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Perfectly on-brand for Mets. Pay $10m per a win-above-replacement for a few superstars and then fill the rest of the roster with guys with negative 1.0 WAR.

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The Mets eff it up...again. This is a franchise that can't get out of its own way.

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They are the Cal of MLB.

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Seattle Mariners.

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We've never had a 114 win season.

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[MLS] ICYMI: Real Salt Lake defeated Seattle Sounders in the first round of the playoffs despite taking zero shots on goal

https://www.espn.com/soccer/matchstats?gameId=621672

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Unprovoked, a referee smashes defenseless Brazilian soccer player. Unknown if player will ever recover from injuries.

https://twitter.com/LatamGol/status/1464725076973080581

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49ers win a high-scoring thriller 34-26 over the Vikings

https://www.ninersnation.com/2021/11/28/22806796/49ers-vikings-al-shaair-mitchell-deebo

Their playoff odds now stand at 72%, per 538, which is pretty impressive given that they looked dead and buried a few weeks ago.

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Cam Bynum did not play in the game vs. the Niners, but that didn't stop his fan club show up in Santa Clara

https://twitter.com/Ryan_TheMayor23/status/1465164844709994496e

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Other College

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LSU hiring Brian Kelly... maybe just in time for Cal's road trip?

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Wow he's leaving ND for LSU?

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Someone on twitter (dragonflyjonez) wrote "he looks like he thinks sprite is too spicy, how is he a cultural fit for LSU?"

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I'm pretty pleased that Oklahoma State passed over Notre Dame in the AP and Coaches Poll. Hopefully the committee follows suit. They really should - beating OU is a much, much more significant resume booster than beating Stanfurd.

If Georgia, Michigan, Cinci and Oklahoma State win their conference championship games, we will have rid ourselves of all four perennial playoff teams (Bama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma). The good guys will all be favored, but it'd still be a tidy parlay.

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[CBS Sports' Carl Reed] Fresno State's Kalen DeBoer is Washington Husky's top choice

https://twitter.com/CoachReed314/status/1465393210734231552

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I got an email: "Coach Kalen DeBoer has accepted the head coaching position at the University of Washington"

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He was 2-1 against common opponent that FSU and Cal faced this year, while Wilcox was 0-3.

FSU beat UCLA and Nevada, like Cal, they lost to Oregon by a TD.

He also beat a ranked sdsu team, which is very similar to what Wilcox wants Cal to be.

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Student wants to return to taking nursing classes at Arizona State University

https://www.12news.com/article/news/verify/kyle-rittenhouse-asu-verify/75-af7d078e-9013-494f-b5f0-22b9ff479f94

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Welcome to Transfer Portal Week

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make sure you bring Dr Pepper

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As predicted, Spencer Rattler in the portal

https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1465381447720747012

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My money is on him going to ASU or TCU. Could USC be a dark horse?

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USC is bringing over the #1 QB recruit in the nation who had committed to Oklahoma.

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Wazzu promotes their DC to HC.

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very acceptable outcome for the Apple Cup also

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I believe that interims should be ineligible from permanent hire. Otherwise, institutions that would otherwise be conducting a national search are deciding to limit their candidate pool in favor of comfortable proximity.

Sometimes it works out, but more typically they're just making the safe choice and could have done better. I don't know much about Dickert or WSU's other options, but I'd make it a rule anytime I'm hiring.

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I get your point - the interim candidate is often the "safe" choice.

Why not just simply add the interim candidate to the larger pool? If the interim candidate stacks up against the larger (external) pool, then you've got your successor.

When Bob Bockrath was looking for Bruce Snyder's successor, I think he referred to his short list and didn't actually interview anyone other than Keith Gilbertson, who was probably at the top. I think Bockrath simply got on the phone with Gilbertson and asked him one question and one question only - would you accept the position of head coach at Cal?

We all know how that turned out - it was a poor hire. I don't think Bockrath actually conducted any interviews.

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The interim has too much of a leg-up for it to be a fair process to the other candidates. There is much less objectivity - people become attached to the interim and they don't want to screw over somebody who has become their friend. This is why some denominations of churches explicitly prohibit interim pastors from becoming candidates for permanent pastor - it dismisses confusion on the outset and clarifies commitment to the process. I think it's good practice. Of course, I'd want to make the policy known before asking someone to serve as interim.

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Jake Dickert has no experience with offense, but is a ball of energy. I am curious to see how he transitions to a full-time HC role - which is very different than a coordinator role.

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The key will be hiring a good OC. The Wilcox/Lake conundrum.

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Billy Napier to Florida

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I wish Billy success for a few years. But I would not be upset if he did not meet fan expectations in 2025, leading to a full rebuild in 2026 and 2027 - the two years that Cal plays Florida.

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Lincoln Riley to USC.

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USC apologizes to BYU after Trojan fans chant "F__ the Mormons". Or maybe it was "Let's Go, Brandon (Campbell)"

https://twitter.com/USC_Athletics/status/1465045348074672132

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This hire calls to mind a quote from the great philosopher Dr. Evil: "Shit."

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Exactly. GoldenSD and I were somewhat lamenting this hire as Cal fans when it broke on Sat night, tho it should definitely help the Conference longterm to have an elite SC team back in the mix.

The "Riley's only recruiting CA bc of it" conspiracy is laughable, though.

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Riley and SCs success wilI help Cal financially as well in terms of more money in the next TV deal and CFP payouts.

SC being good again will also help stabilize the Pac 12.

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I don't disagree with any of this...I just wonder if this Saturday is Cal's last best chance to beat USC for the rest of our collective lifetimes.

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All signs point to yes. If we lose, this might be the most depressing loss to SC of the last 20 years.

We are favored by a TD, they have an interim HC, and I believe most SC players will be playing cautiously to avoid any injury before going pro or to the transfer portal.

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so far my two favorite overreactions from Oklahoma fans are "Riley was deliberately recruiting well in California to make himself appealing to SC" and "He's going to do the same thing to you guys in 6 years." My dude, if he went 50-10 & had 2 Heisman winners and then left SC, I'd be completely okay with that. (Neither of those things are going to happen without some kind of miracle in linemen)

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So what is the DC-T analysis of the hire? (I know you vetoed the Urban Meyer proposal, among others.)

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I was hate-reading the Oklahoma blog last night for reactions. Not the smartest or most self-aware bunch.

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Oklahoma is about to become Tennessee West in the new SEC.

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did the "Oklahoma" in the title give it away?

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Santa Clara Women's Soccer defeats #3Georgetown, Wisconsin, and #1Duke all on the road to get into the Women's College Cup (Final Four). Now they get to move on to the College Cup site which was predetermined.....at SANTA CLARA! Imagine that, I can't wait to see them play BYU on Friday and hopefully on championship sunday.

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I'm going to try something a little new, other high school/alma maters. My high school Serra will be facing Mater Dei for the CIF open division title, getting the nod over De La Salle. I think we all know what the result will be, but it feels good to be on the national stage.

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Did you go to the Padre/Lancer game where a gunfight broke out?

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I was supposed to but couldnt find a ride there. They said it was an inside the stadium beef that spilled over to the outside.

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Why was it determined by selection rather than a playoff? Is that the way it's usually done? I'm always happy when De La Salle gets humbled, which happened a few times this year.

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Norcal Open and SoCal open representatives are section championships now, not regional games unlike the other divisions. DLS won its own league and section title, Serra won its section title, but crucially beat the team that beat DLS.

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Thanks. So was Serra automatically selected or received the slot by a decision? I only ask cause Serraa had three losses to DLS's two (one of which was vs. a national opponent)

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You are probably looking at one of the Socal Serra teams. Norcal Serra (San mateo) is 11-1 with the conditions above.

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You're right. I must have. That makes more sense. Also, screw DLS!

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I was looking at the D1 bracket and saw that De La Salle beat Pittsburg for the possibility of going to the Open Championship. Pittsburg then won in the finals of the D1 championships. So I guess De La Salle gets screwed and doesn't get any championship since Serra was selected instead? That's a bit strange.

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Looks like De La Salle is in the D1-AA bracket.

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Cal

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I sorta had (for me anyway) a weird experience Saturday, in that I generally don't spend all day watching college football closely. But last Saturday, I did Michigan - Ohio State was like the beau ideal of a college football game, 2 teams plying at a high level, 100,000 engaged fans, the snow. The insanity of 'Bama's improbable come back, for the first time in a long time, rooting hard for Bama, and texting my sister (Bama fan), Bedlam - I was feeling like "Isn't college football the greatest".

Then our game happened, it was the biggest come down ever, so bad I didn't even feel like drinking.

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I agree 100%. I watched all those games and then finished with the Cal/UCLA stinker.

Minor gripe about the Bama/Auburn game, I thought that was OPI on the Bama TD to tie.

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Auburn should've gone for 2 to win the game after the first OT.

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I agree.

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That first 2 pt play they had in the 2nd overtime would've been perfect for the game winner in 1st OT.

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A little push off, sure. Minor, Pac-12 might have called it, SEC, unlikely.

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I thought the officiating for OSU/Michigan was fantastic....very few flags bc the officials swallowed their whistles & the game maintained a great flow & rhythm...even the brief personal foul exchange was handled quickly. Idiot P12 refs would’ve been throwing flags around the field all game & taken 10+ minutes to sort it out. That crew was lights out better than any we’ve seen in the PAC. Sigh.

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Oh this is so, so true, and instead of stupidly handing out penalties on both side, only tOSU guy who ripped the helmet off got the foul.

Well done.

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Go Bears!!!

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Cal coaches forget to scheme for UCLA, get thrashed and humiliated 42-14 (in reality 7 since we got 7 points giftwrapped).

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I HAVE PROOF THAT THE SCOREBOARD WAS HACKED BY ITALIAN SATELLITES AND THAT UCLA WAS GIVEN POINTS THAT NEVER EXISTED

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It was rigged.

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Cal somehow beats Fresno State in MBB

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Speaking of Fresno State, Kalen DeBoer is rumored to be named HC at the University of Washington in the next 24 hours...keen offensive mind that coached under Tedford and turned Indiana into one of the top O's in the B1G for the first time since Randle El was there.

If so, I'm glad it's not Wilcox, but a little part of me is disappointed it's not Wilcox.....make sense?

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I knew it was never going to be Wilcox. Those rumors were probably all from Wilcoxs agent. After the ucla debacle, I wish it was Wilcox, especially to see the UW fanbase rightfully meltdown after realizing they just hired a coach that lost to ucla 42-14.

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Wilcox needs to go, he's not capable of learning or changing it appears so Cal will be around .500 perpetually with him around. meh

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eh, I kinda disagree, he's not the greatest or anything, but he's a good fit for Cal, and I worry that we won't get a real upgrade with a change. I think we were going in the right direction in 2019, and Covid upended our success in 2020, and it's been hard getting back to where we were.

Musgrave is no dummy, but I didn't want an NFL guy, they're too used to having all the time in the world to install schemes.

I would also knock him for keeping Beau Baldwin when he really didn't pan out. I realize this is hardly a ringing endorsement, but we can (and have) done worse.

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true but his inability to see when something isn't working is really brutal. Its ok to make hiring mistakes...happens to all of us. But when you see you made a mistake you cut and move on. Musgrave is not a good fit for college, Sirmon has been ok but a downgrade from TDR, Special teams guy shouldve been gone already, Baldwin sucked, why the hell is Chryst here and McClure has shit the bed with extreme prejudice. There is decent talent here (although DESPERATELY need more speed on O) but the coaching is brutal and if no QBs are even close to Garbers, thats a massive failure too

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He needs to go. To make things even worse, I doubt he is going to make any coaching staff changes.

I realize we still have a ways to go but ucla isn’t 42-14 better than us in year 5.

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Somehow? We're (surprisingly) not that bad, were within one point with a minute to go against Seton Hall (#23)

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Pretty solid victory. We may be able to get over the .500 mark this season.

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Impossible.

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Well, if we beat OSU on Thursday we'll be 4-4 and 1-0 in conference.

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Cept we then have to play the rest of the conference. OSU may be the one team that is worse than us, but seems unfathomable to me that we could go .500 in conference. 5 conference wins is probably about where we end up.

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ASU, Stanfurd, and UW all look pretty beatable to me. Could be a packed cellar.

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Yes, this.

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