I went to go see my buddy, who was in-state because his two sons play for the US national team for field hockey. The US qualifies because it is an Olympic host country. The team is almost exclusively non-resident American high-school age kids who live in Europe and can afford to fly into the country every other month. They barely practice and have the discipline of high school kids. It is the ultimate pay-to-play travel-team
I also got to watch the US WNT play against Duke, which is a top 10 team. I watched the USWNT absolutely demolish Duke because the game is a lot more about experience rather than being good with ball/stick handling. And Duke women's team is better than our men's national team.
The boys are going to get absolutely smoked in every game and they know it. But they're doing it because they can afford it as an experience.
Denver beats Michigan 4-3 in 2OT. Michigan outshot Denver 2x and lost. In OT they kept attacking the net and Denver just did bend don't break and did just enough on D to keep the puck out and found their change and scored.
I saw they were going to start 2OT so I flipped it on and watched.
i thought it was going to end badly since i had only 1 yellow square on the 4th word. luckily so many letters had been used there werent many options left.
I just mean getting the last word by guess 6 or 7. With so many words it's hard to get it in 6. Means you have 2 that are wrong and the rest you get right. I feel it's the same with 7. In order to get 7, you kind of have to have words that share more than a couple of letters to help you out.
XXXXX was a solid guess, and a lucky one. There is just one possible solution left, as far as I can tell. You should solve the puzzle on your next turn.
In the Straw Hat Band we used to designate an opposing player as tuna for the evening, and then drawl out tuuuuuuna whenever he had the ball. Cannot recall the origins of this. I don't know if it continues to this day, back then the band sat at midcourt, best seats in the house.
That's what the first or second poll answer was supposed to be, though I couldn't remember the exact words. I don't think the current band does this.
Lots of traditions have been left behind, especially mic men. I will note in BB, they still do the clap clap clap fist pump until the first Cal basket is made (which means it could be going on for a couple of min), but I don't see the students doing it. Sometimes just a few older alum.
If the A's and MLB hadn't told me and everyone else from the East Bay to fuck ourselves, I'd be asking if you wanted company for Sunday's game. But as it is, I do not accept that such a game is even happening.
Game 80 wrap: Deep Bench Dubs scrimmage Lakers; Bassey, Cryer and Williams make their case; LeBron auditions for Warriors spot next year (Warriors lose 119-103)
Pippen to OSU, back to the B1G. Don't really miss him that much in spite of a decent stat line. His decision making was subpar for a point guard. We can do better (although with maturity, I assume his decision making will improve as well).
Why is this under PRO you may ask? Do I even need to explain?
Yamato Okadome of the California men's swimming and diving team was named ACC Co-Swimmer of the Year, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. Head coach Dave Durden was also named ACC Coach of the Year for the second straight season in the Bears' second year in the conference.
The Lead: After going 1-1 last weekend, the California men's tennis team will wrap up the regular season against its rival Stanford before traveling to Cary, North Carolina for the ACC Championships next week.
The West Region No. 1 seed California rugby team will host eighth-seeded San Diego in the first round of the 2026 D1A National Collegiate Championships on Saturday at Witter Rugby Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT.
California women's water polo freshman Despoina Drakotou is the first Golden Bear to win a major MPSF award since 2014 with her selection as the 2026 MPSF Newcomer of the Year. She is joined by two other fresh faces on the MPSF honor roll in All-MPSF First Team honoree Julia Bonaguidi and All-MPSF Honorable Mention recipient Feline Voordouw. Drakotou also has secured spots on the All-MPSF Second Team and MPSF All-Newcomer Team for her work so far in her first season as a Bear.
The No. 9 California beach volleyball team will look to continue to build momentum for the postseason when it travels to the Center for Effort Challenge this weekend in San Luis Obispo. The Golden Bears (18-7) are on a six-dual winning streak and will be tested against some of the best teams in the country at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex on Friday and Saturday.
I'm unclear about why the NFL can't negotiate whatever TV deal they want. Like, it sucks for fans, but so does everything else about professional sports.
Oh, and haven't seen any article mention this angle, but I wonder if this is just Donald still being grumpy about not being allowed to become an NFL owner.
Because this administration is using flat out corruption to grift. A DOJ investigation is part of that muscle to exact a price for simply doing what the law allows.
"That's a nice league you have there. It would be terrible if something should happen to it."
other colleges
I went to go see my buddy, who was in-state because his two sons play for the US national team for field hockey. The US qualifies because it is an Olympic host country. The team is almost exclusively non-resident American high-school age kids who live in Europe and can afford to fly into the country every other month. They barely practice and have the discipline of high school kids. It is the ultimate pay-to-play travel-team
I also got to watch the US WNT play against Duke, which is a top 10 team. I watched the USWNT absolutely demolish Duke because the game is a lot more about experience rather than being good with ball/stick handling. And Duke women's team is better than our men's national team.
The boys are going to get absolutely smoked in every game and they know it. But they're doing it because they can afford it as an experience.
TIL that US has men's field hockey.
Men's hockey Final Four semi-finals.
Denver beats Michigan 4-3 in 2OT. Michigan outshot Denver 2x and lost. In OT they kept attacking the net and Denver just did bend don't break and did just enough on D to keep the puck out and found their change and scored.
I saw they were going to start 2OT so I flipped it on and watched.
Wisconsin beat North Dakota 2-1.
Wordle
Wordle 1,757 3/6*
⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩
🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 74/99
Quordle
🙂 Daily Quordle 1537
9️⃣7️⃣
6️⃣8️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
two in a row w/ 7.
i thought it was going to end badly since i had only 1 yellow square on the 4th word. luckily so many letters had been used there werent many options left.
🙂 Daily Quordle 1537
7️⃣3️⃣
5️⃣6️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
I made the mistake of trying to guess one of the words after 2 guesses instead of possibly using another word to use more letters.
i usually try to guess a word on the 3rd guess in hopes that gives me info and gets rid of a word.
🙂 Daily Quordle 1537
5️⃣3️⃣
4️⃣7️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Still new to this, but seems like a good game this time.
I think 6 or 7 is like getting the Wordle in 2.
Really?
Took me a long time to get that last word.
I just mean getting the last word by guess 6 or 7. With so many words it's hard to get it in 6. Means you have 2 that are wrong and the rest you get right. I feel it's the same with 7. In order to get 7, you kind of have to have words that share more than a couple of letters to help you out.
Wordle 1,756 4/6*
⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛
⬛🟨⬛🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 90/99
Luck 45/99
Wordle 1,756 4/6
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 92/99
Luck 44/99
My third guess reduced my luck score. But my skill score was still >90.
Wordle 1,756 3/6
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 56/99
Exactly the same as Wordlebot today. Not sure why the luck score was low, I think these guesses were pretty lucky.
good skill score!! impressive.
Wordle 1,756 3/6*
🟩⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟨⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 89/99
Luck 83/99
from Wordle Bot after round 2.
XXXXX was a solid guess, and a lucky one. There is just one possible solution left, as far as I can tell. You should solve the puzzle on your next turn.
You and I did well, but I have an FB friend who got it in two today.
politics
not that i am having second thoughts - i am starting a new job on Mon at quantum computing co based in Tel Aviv. will be interesting times for sure ..
classiq.io
Good luck!
tuna
ahi _
a common word in NYT Crossword. i imagine is helps connect things together nicely.
as for NYT Crossword .. 26 day streak. tough Sat hurdle tomorrow.
For sure - any word with more vowels than consonants is a juicy word for puzzle constructors.
In the Straw Hat Band we used to designate an opposing player as tuna for the evening, and then drawl out tuuuuuuna whenever he had the ball. Cannot recall the origins of this. I don't know if it continues to this day, back then the band sat at midcourt, best seats in the house.
That's what the first or second poll answer was supposed to be, though I couldn't remember the exact words. I don't think the current band does this.
Lots of traditions have been left behind, especially mic men. I will note in BB, they still do the clap clap clap fist pump until the first Cal basket is made (which means it could be going on for a couple of min), but I don't see the students doing it. Sometimes just a few older alum.
PRO
A's start a 3 game set w/ the Mets today after playing the Yankees. i'll try to go to the Sun 100p game if the weather is ok.
If the A's and MLB hadn't told me and everyone else from the East Bay to fuck ourselves, I'd be asking if you wanted company for Sunday's game. But as it is, I do not accept that such a game is even happening.
Celtics' Jayson Tatum checks another box with return to MSG
we were at the playoff game @ MSG last year when Tatum went down. nice to see him back. Knicks won.
Sharks lose to the Mighty Ducks 6-1
Game 80 wrap: Deep Bench Dubs scrimmage Lakers; Bassey, Cryer and Williams make their case; LeBron auditions for Warriors spot next year (Warriors lose 119-103)
https://dubnationhq.com/p/game-80-wrap-lebron-auditions-for
Dodgers and Giants meh the off-day
Pippen to OSU, back to the B1G. Don't really miss him that much in spite of a decent stat line. His decision making was subpar for a point guard. We can do better (although with maturity, I assume his decision making will improve as well).
Why is this under PRO you may ask? Do I even need to explain?
CAL
[MSWIM] Bears Claim ACC Swimmer, Coach Of The Year Honors
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/9/mens-swimming-diving-okadome-named-acc-co-swimmer-of-the-year-durden-earns-back-to-back-coach-of-the-year-honors.aspx
Yamato Okadome of the California men's swimming and diving team was named ACC Co-Swimmer of the Year, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. Head coach Dave Durden was also named ACC Coach of the Year for the second straight season in the Bears' second year in the conference.
[WSWIM] Weinstein Named ACC Freshman Of The Year
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/9/womens-swimming-diving-weinstein-named-acc-freshman-of-the-year.aspx
Claire Weinstein of the California women's swimming & diving team was named the ACC Women's Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Thursday.
[MTEN] Cal Hosts Stanford For Senior Day
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/9/mens-tennis-cal-hosts-stanford-for-senior-day.aspx
The Lead: After going 1-1 last weekend, the California men's tennis team will wrap up the regular season against its rival Stanford before traveling to Cary, North Carolina for the ACC Championships next week.
[RUGBY] Cal Opens Postseason Against San Diego
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/9/rugby-cal-opens-postseason-against-san-diego.aspx
The West Region No. 1 seed California rugby team will host eighth-seeded San Diego in the first round of the 2026 D1A National Collegiate Championships on Saturday at Witter Rugby Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT.
[WPOLO] Cal's Despoina Drakotou Named MPSF Newcomer of the Year
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/9/womens-water-polo-cals-despoina-drakotou-named-mpsf-newcomer-of-the-year.aspx
California women's water polo freshman Despoina Drakotou is the first Golden Bear to win a major MPSF award since 2014 with her selection as the 2026 MPSF Newcomer of the Year. She is joined by two other fresh faces on the MPSF honor roll in All-MPSF First Team honoree Julia Bonaguidi and All-MPSF Honorable Mention recipient Feline Voordouw. Drakotou also has secured spots on the All-MPSF Second Team and MPSF All-Newcomer Team for her work so far in her first season as a Bear.
[BVB] No. 9 Bears Travel To Center Of Effort Challenge
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/9/beach-volleyball-no-9-bears-travel-to-center-of-effort-challenge.aspx
The No. 9 California beach volleyball team will look to continue to build momentum for the postseason when it travels to the Center for Effort Challenge this weekend in San Luis Obispo. The Golden Bears (18-7) are on a six-dual winning streak and will be tested against some of the best teams in the country at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex on Friday and Saturday.
GO BEARS!
DOJ opens antitrust investigation of NFL television deals.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/48440303/sources-doj-opens-antitrust-investigation-nfl-tv-deals
I'm unclear about why the NFL can't negotiate whatever TV deal they want. Like, it sucks for fans, but so does everything else about professional sports.
Oh, and haven't seen any article mention this angle, but I wonder if this is just Donald still being grumpy about not being allowed to become an NFL owner.
maybe there can be a govt takeover of team in DC and then he can name the mascot whatever offensive thing he wants.
Because this administration is using flat out corruption to grift. A DOJ investigation is part of that muscle to exact a price for simply doing what the law allows.
"That's a nice league you have there. It would be terrible if something should happen to it."