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So for Scootie from yesterday - what was perceived by Italians (and Americans, like yesterday again for the 100+ time) I have been perceived as a dangerous guy who would not ovoid a fight- here it's pretty much always 1 on 1, sometimes I've been out numbered 3 to 1, but still no "real" challenge - In Italy there were all 4 of us, and my son is not small, and muscular.

But there is a perception - that I've seen as well, it's not just about size, it can be subtle.

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If you numbered a pentagram's points - 1 being the top and going around clockwise... how do you draw your stars?

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14253

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413524

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41352

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I do the mirror image: 31425

Do you write left or right-handed? I write lefty

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righty

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👉

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This. start lower left.

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Without using numbers or people as reference, how attractive/ugly are you?

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WORLD CUP

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Argentina vs. Croatia

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That 2nd goal by Argentina was the best one I have seen during this world cup.

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Spectacular ball control on that one

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Stunning!

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DBD Street Journal

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Wall Street or Oakland street? Yesterday driving home on Grand Ave. I get past Harrison, and there are no lights on, either way so I just ignore them - but I get to the off-ramp from 580 and left turn on Grand there and all of a sudden, all the lights are on green in ALL DIRECTIONS at intersections!

Crazy!

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The intersection where Grand Ave meets the offramp from I-580 and MacArthur Blvd. is very busy, indeed. It boggles the mind that the lights were green in ALL directions at that intersection and yet there wasn't a reported pile of smashed cars in the news this morning.

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Wait, you just ignored signal lights that were out rather than treating them as a 4-way stop?

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

So did almost EVERY one else; big two lane street vs a bunch of small one lane streets. With very few cars.

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Dec 14, 2022·edited Dec 14, 2022

To be fair, Grand Ave. east of Harrison Street carries far more traffic than the intersecting side streets. and the sweep of Grand Ave makes it possible for cars on Grand Ave to simply glide through those intersections without fear of getting hit by a car coming from a side street. But it absolutely freezes traffic from the side streets. You literally have to wait for traffic to clear from Grand Ave to safely venture out if you're making a left turn.

That's why EVERYONE is supposed to STOP at intersections when the stop lights go out.

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

So, you're saying that because almost everyone else is taking unnecessary risks, you're also going to take unnecessary risks? Really?

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Damn straight.

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Alrighty, then. Glad to have gotten that cleared up.

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"Yesterday driving home on Grand Ave. I get past Harrison, and there are no lights on, either way so I just ignore them..."

The law says that when the stoplights are out, motorists must treat the intersection as if there is a stop sign in all directions.

Safety first, dude!

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That part WAS safe - it was the green lights in every direction that was dangerous.

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So, why are you rushing to get to that dangerous intersection? Hmmm?

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I didn't know about that part! First time ever!

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Dickhead Musk is no longer the world's richest man. Bernard Arnault of LVMH is now the richest.

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Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas, to be extradited to the US. The fact that he essentially confessed via Twitter is the chef's kiss.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/12/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-arrested-in-the-bahamas-after-us-files-criminal-charges.html

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Final

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Destination

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Exam week. During which Bowles Hall would broadcast Suicide is Painless every morning.

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I was a Bowlesman and don’t recall that, but that is great!

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I wasn't a Bowlesman but they had some everclear punch parties back in those days which got some of us folks from Clark Kerr to head over there.

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As you can see from my handle, that happened during the 70s. When the MASH movie was still fairly fresh. Of course, the TV show had the same theme, and it ran for many years later into the 80s.

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countdown

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Fun song

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Good movie

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Canned

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Weird regional dialect I've noticed since living in the Mid-Alantic: if you look through a directory of a supermarket, canned goods are referred to as "can ____," such as "can fruit," "can vegetables," or "can fish."

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Interesting

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DBD AV CLUB

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I watched about another 25 minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indy uses the staff of Ra to locate the resting place of the Ark. He and Salah clandestinely get into the chamber, lift the lid off a stone sarcophagus, and raise the golden Ark, topped with two cherubim. Unfortunately the French archaeologist Belloq steals it.

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There is a great episode of The Big Bang Theory where Amy (convincingly) argues that Indy actually did nothing to find the Ark. Worth a look.

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You may mock me, since every thing we watched last night were not new, but still very good.

Affair, in season 2, very great acting, and a great way of telling a story, where the two main character's views don't match up. Some of the best acting in a TV show IMO.

Then Freaks & Geeks (episode 11, there's only one season from 1999-2000) quite good episode.

Superstore - Season 3, episode 5 - hysterically funny episode, laughing throughout.

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I have started watching Echo3 on Apple. It does not succeed in adding a layer of serious drama to the story, which it makes a lot of effort at doing, but the action is pretty fun.

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

I’m not a huge fan, yet continue to watch…I find it somewhat silly how the heroine has seemingly incredible escapability yet remains captive.

Plus Dario Naharis 2.0 from GoT isn’t an incredibly strong character…nice cast tho and will probably keep watching.

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The Lazarus Project (will be broadcasted on TNT next year, but the first season was shown in the UK over the summer so it exists online) - a tight 8-episode SciFi show that's your standard everyman found himself caught in a Time Loop to save the world action/adventure convoluted with Black Mirror. Season 1 did end on a cliffhanger but the show is already renewed for a second season.

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So you would recommend it?

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Spiderverse trailer w/ Miles & Gwen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqGjhVJWtEg

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

May have been discussed previously, as I could be late to the party…Episode 1 of 1899…by the dude who did Dark. Eerie ship stuff…will watch #2.

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I loved Dark (19/19 for S1, 17/19 for the other seasons because they were great but they got pretty complicated and difficult to follow), so I was pretty excited about 1899. I just finished it last week and it's maybe 5/19 at best. The first few episodes set up some interesting mysteries, then they spend a bunch of episodes lollygagging while answering none of the original questions (who is this character? why do some characters keep having pre-ship flashbacks? why did this happen? what's the deal with the other ship?). By the time the show starts revealing some of the mysteries in the final episodes, I'd lost interest in the question being answered or forgotten about it outright. And then the final reveal is an awful cop-out.

It would have been much better as a 2-hour movie where they have a much narrower focus--and even then, I'm not sure it would be very good.

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PRO

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Bill Belicheck picked David Binn (UC Berkeley, BA Interdisciplinary Studies 1995) to the Pro Bowl as a long snapper in 2007 because he wanted to see Pam Anderson in a bikini. Binn was dating Pam Anderson at the time.

https://www.masslive.com/patriots/2022/12/peyton-manning-bill-belichick-tried-using-a-long-snapper-to-get-pamela-anderson-to-show-up-at-the-pro-bowl.html

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Buffalo Bills get Cole for Christmas again.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloBills/status/1602684970698506241

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Nelson Agholor is a good teammate

https://twitter.com/michaelFhurley/status/1602480104558444546

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Multiple concussions, Murray's ACL...that Monday night game was rough on the players

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Brutal, B…I turned on the TV at 5:18 and it was at commercial…I was wondering if someone scored already…then I saw Murray being carted off when they came back from commercial…dude bummer.

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He wasn't even playing by the time I tuned in. I had to check ESPN to figure out what happened to him

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3rd play

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Kyler Murray will get a head start in studying next year's playbook after he apparently tears his ACL last night. Colt McCoy and the the Cards can't hold the lead and lose 27-13 to the Pats.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35241337/kyler-murray-carted-knee-injury-cardinals-first-drive

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Jared Goff comeback player of the year? SI thinks so.

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

Rams were in win now mode and Goff needed more time. Now Goff might get the Lions to the playoffs and even win a game (which they've only done once in the Super Bowl era).

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

That Lions win probably came under Wayne Fontes. For some reason, I want to say it came against the Eagles, but I'm not certain of that.

EDIT: The last win by the Lions in the playoffs was against the Cowboys on Jan. 5, 1992, 38-6, in Detroit. The 1991 Detroit Lions were the NFC Central champions, 12-4 in the regular season under Wayne Fontes. They lost in the NFC Championship Game to the Washington R******s, 41-10. The Washington team defeated Buffalo, 37-24 in Super Bowl XXVI.

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They were NFL champs in 1957. They are the NFL equivalent of Cal football.

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I believe you are correct that it came under Fontes and I want to say it was the 92 season. The Lions then got blown out by Washington and Washington went on to beat the Bills in the SB.

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Should I play DJ Chark this weekend in fantasy, at the Meadowlands v Sauce Gardner in the cold??

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Related link...

NFL Week 15 Power Rankings: Lions, Jaguars among improbable playoff hopefuls entering final stretch of season

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-15-power-rankings-lions-jaguars-among-improbable-playoff-hopefuls-entering-final-stretch-of-season/

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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J6C final public hearing set for Monday, Dec 19th. Final and full report will be released on the 21st in its entirety.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/politics/january-6-committee-final-public-meeting

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USA Today-Suffolk poll has DeSantis leading Trump by 23 points (56 vs 33).

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3773062-desantis-tops-trump-by-23-points-among-republicans-in-new-poll/

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Roger Stone claims that [spins wheel]... a demonic portal opened up over the Biden administration's White House when he moved in and there are photos.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/roger-stone-says-theres-a-demonic-portal-above-the-biden-white-house-that-the-media-refuses-to-cover/

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The transfer portal opened and everyone is going to USC.

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Is this the plot of the next Doom game?

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That is actually a version of the portal through which Iron Man sent a nuclear bomb, to end the Chitauri attack.

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They're just Stranger Things pictures.

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Senator Elect JD Vance is coming. Coming for your porn.

https://news.yahoo.com/j-d-vance-coming-porn-095540859.html

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The URL creators knew what they were doing.

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Mark Meadows communicated with 34 members of Congress... let's call that conspiring... to overturn the 2020 Election... let's call that sedition.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/mark-meadows-exchanged-texts-with-34-members-of-congress-about-plans-to-overturn-the-2020-election

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Per the texts, Rep Ralph Norman (R-SC) called for "Marshall Law". Traitor.

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Rupert Murdoch to take the stand today in the $1.6b Dominion defamation lawsuit. Cue the "we are pure entertainment and no reasonable person would believe what we say is true" defense in 3... 2...

https://www.reuters.com/legal/rupert-murdoch-be-deposed-16-billion-dominion-defamation-case-2022-12-13/

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Plus a healthy dose of “I don’t recall” and “I don’t remember”.

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A Moment of Truth is fast Approaching for Trump and the DOJ

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/politics/trump-investigations-doj-analysis/index.html

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ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE

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Emory Jones - who started the first 7 games for ASU - is in the portal . Cal will face his replacement Trenton Bourguet in 2023.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4569184/trenton-bourguet

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ASU to the 2023 Sun Bowl…bastards - that’s OUR bowl.

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Texas MBB HC suspended without pay for Domestic Abuse charge. Arrested and released on $10k bond.

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2022/12/12/chris-beard-texas-basketball-coach-charged-domestic-assault/69720219007/

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The Beard era is over in Austin.

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Not fired yet.

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RIP Mike Leach

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He was always the highlight of Pac-12 media day back when I used to attend. I may not have agreed with several of his ideas/philosophies, but he always had an interesting, thoughtful perspective on nearly any topic imaginable. He was a unique figure in the college football landscape.

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It's a sports AND entertainment business. Mike Leach was always entertaining and I'm glad our sports media took efforts to give him attention for being who he was. It was always entertaining. Ye' can fin'ly sheath yer cutlass, Coach. 🏴‍☠️

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Eh, was never a fan of this dude; not sad, not happy.

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Sad news.

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Condolences to his family and inner circle.

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Colorful individual. He leaves quite a legacy.

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Dead at age 61. He passes on to the great gridiron in the sky.

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On to the Great Air Raider in the sky.

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He was only 61??

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That's a reminder for those of us who have now entered into our 50's need to watch our diet, shed the fat, exercise, and eat right. I'm still hauling around some extra weight from the Covid era. Lost 10 pounds but a bit more to go. People seem to start disappearing by the mid to late 50's - including Prince, George Michael, Steve Jobs, etc.

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Younger than Cugel, apparently.

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Yes

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CAL

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City of Berkeley: "Pay your fair share"

UC Berkeley: "We park and poop for free. It's in the constitution, bitches"

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BERKELEY-City-hits-university-with-back-tax-2724487.php

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That article is now a high school senior. Two tipoffs - Nadesan Pemaul is the Director of Parking and Transportation at Cal and Tom Bates is the Mayor of Berkeley,

The article is dated March 9, 2005.

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Due diligence is for suckers.

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It’s so overrated.

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Um, how is Mark Fox still employed?

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

Because Jim Knowlton can't find the money to pay Fox for the remainder of his contract AND a new head coach at the same time. And Chancellor Christ has signaled that she doesn't hold the same emphasis on football and basketball that many alums do. Here's her quote from The Athletic -

“So I’m going to change your metaphor,” she says. “We really have a wraparound porch. We have 30 sports, and it’s extraordinarily important to me that our athletes, and there are over 900 of them, have opportunities to compete at the highest level. Last year we had three national championships, in men’s water polo, men’s swimming and diving, and men’s crew. I understand that football and basketball are revenue sports, but I don’t see them as the sole measure of athletic success.”

She casually stated that she has, at best, only a casual interest in football and basketball. That's where things are. The status quo in MBB is an accurate projection of the Chancellor's priorities in athletics.

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"have opportunities to compete at the highest level"

Basketball is definitely not competing at the highest level

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That's unbelievably unbelievable for her to say that (I can't come up with a better word it's so unbelievable). As much as I hate it with every fiber of my being, college athletics cannot exist without funding. By and large, college athletics cannot get funding without football and men's basketball. It's very nice to believe that alumni will donate big bucks to sustain the non-revenue sports so we can continue to win national championships in those sports, but at some point, the big money sports (which also CONSUME a ton of money to operate) must carry their weight.

I think all of us on this board have actually seen what happens when men's basketball and football are successful. I fondly remember seeing Memorial 70-90% full on ordinary Fall Saturdays and going almost deaf at Harmon/Haas because the crowd was so excited. The reality is that, IF athletics are important at Cal (something that I realize isn't a given), then far greater attention must be paid to the two revenue sports. If not, the rest of the 900 student athletes risk losing the "athlete" part of that term. I, for one, find that sad.

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Fox’s contract buyout is actually rather manageable, especially when compared to Wilcox, who the incompetent Knowlton gifted a $20M+ guaranteed contract to.

Fox is only due about $1M upon termination now in year 4.

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How long Fox's contract?

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This is year 4…he signed a 5-year deal, and Knowlton handed ALL coaches an extra year because of COVID…

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I would have hired you in an instant, dude. You kept your portion of that Air-BnB in Oxford pretty tidy - Newellbany was the real pigpen of the crew - his two nights in town single-handedly tanked property values in the complex. You also paid a visit to the Grotto in South Bend…shows proper respect. It’s not too late….

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"she doesn't hold the same emphasis on football and basketball that most alums do"

This is an interesting assertion. Do you really think most alumni of the University of California hold an "emphasis on football and basketball?"

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Okay, I made an edit. Changed it to "many alums", which understates the popularity of football and basketball among alums who follow Cal athletics.

I believe that a plurality of alums who do follow Cal athletics do follow football and basketball more closely than other sports. If that weren't the case, other sports would be revenue sports as well.

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I was going to call out the same thing. I suspect she has exactly the same interest in football and basketball as the majority of alums.

How many students as a percentage of the student body go to games? It's in the very low double digits for football, in the very low single digits for basketball.

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But, but, but - if we be good, they'd be full = $$$$

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This. Interest ebbs and flows with the quality of the teams.

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I think it is maybe just cheapness? Like if we fired him we’d have to pay some Joe to be the HC, and don’t want to do that. I can’t think of any other reason, other than just pure inattentiveness/negligence.

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I think if we had no coach and the kids just played street ball they'd do a lot better.

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Fox must hold some secret about Jim that he has a leverage and Jim can't fire him.

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Wouldn’t we just elevate an assistant coach for the remainder of the season.

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Dec 13, 2022·edited Dec 13, 2022

Yes, though these clowns are pretty loyal to the big clown…the coaching staff has been completely intact for 4 years…tells you really all you need to know about these stiffs…normally, a coach makes a move in the upwards direction at some point. These guys have been stagnant for 4.

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Probably, but it would be a promotion so he might be due a raise. I just can’t really understand why Fox is still there. I guess the only other possible reason is inattention/negligence. Or, maybe, bureaucracy. Like Knowlton and Christ have discussed this, but Christ said give me a detailed memo on all of our options, and some flunky is writing that up.

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Do interim HC typically get a raise? I am sure they get some sort of salary increase but it probably isn’t much.

We are beyond dead man walking with Fox and have entered the zombie universe with his employment.

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Yeah we are in professional negligence land for Knowlton. If I were him, I would honestly be kind of embarrassed to have done nothing by now.

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Foxes are sly.

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Incompetent leadership

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Go Bears!!!

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We've got the Axe!!!

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