was in Miami this weekend for a family wedding. took the opportunity to have 2-3 cortaditos every day.
For those who are not familiar, a cortadito is a short serving of coffee, much like a cortado, with the exception that you dump in A LOT of sugar.
La Carreta, down along Calle Ocho, is the best place for a large concentration of these types of places. Cafe Versailles is great too, usually with a longer line.
I'm getting verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. Topic for discussion...A Bruin is neither the #1 public school in the country nor the best University in the state school system.
i usually try to make some guess at a word on round 3 unless there is not enough info. in which case i'll do another "guess 5 new letters" round and try to make sure you have decent chance to get it in 7.
do you give yourself credit for getting it w/o help even if dont get the yellow star?
eg. i solved Sun and Mon and then went back to do Fri and Sat w/o hints or help or cheating.
i think you only get a yellow star officially if you finish w/in a certain amount of time and only if you dont start the next day before you finish the last.
i guess i am just trying to make myself feel better for eventually getting it even though the streak does not conform to the rules.
Cal men's basketball welcomes an all-conference honoree to its 2026-27 roster with the signing of sophomore Michael Cooper. A 6-3 guard, Cooper is set to join head coach Mark Madsen's Golden Bear squad as a transfer addition.
LA JOLLA – The California women's water polo team put forth a ferocious effort in the NCAA title match but could not close the gap in the final stretch to take a 10-9 loss to USC at Canyonview Aquatic Center. It was the Golden Bears' second trip to the national championship game in three years, and Cal kept it close throughout the second half before time ran out. The Bears wrap a tremendous season in which they downed top-seeded reigning champion Stanford in the NCAA semifinals and now finish with a 16-8 overall record.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Despite outhitting the host Hurricanes, the California baseball team could not find a way to get runs across as it dropped its Sunday rubber match with Miami 4-1 at Mark Light Field.
The California beach volleyball team earned its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship on Sunday, earning the No. 8 seed in the 16-team field. The Golden Bears (23-13) will meet ninth-seeded Long Beach State in the first round on Friday at 10 a.m. PT in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - California men's golf sophomore Ziqin Zhou shot a 2-under par 70 in the final round of the ACC Championship Saturday, tying for his first career title with a three-day total of 8-under-par 208. Zhou then won a two-hole playoff against Stanford's Edan Cui and Duke's Ethan Evans to win Cal's first individual ACC title. Zhou is the first Cal golfer to win an individual conference title since Collin Morikawa won the 2019 Pac 12 Championship.
BERKELEY - The California rugby team booked their ticket to the National Championship Saturday, defeating Saint Mary's 59-19 in a heavyweight duel. The Bears scored nine tries by five different players as Nate Comiskey had his third straight hat trick and Talae Tuimaunei had his first varsity game of the season with multiple tries.
REDWOOD SHORES – The No. 2 California men's rowing team saw its varsity eight take its first loss of the season to No. 1 Washington in the 114th edition of the annual rivalry dual between the two programs. In addition to retaining the Schoch Cup, the Huskies won the 2V8+ while the Golden Bears notched three race wins in the 3V8+, 4V8+ and the freshmen eight.
PITTSBURGH – California defensive back Hezekiah Masses was selected 175th overall in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.
Masses is the 259th Golden Bear to be chosen in the NFL Draft. In addition, the Bears have now had a defensive back selected in seven consecutive drafts.
there were no Cal sports to speak of last few days. at least that is how it seems when HAG doesnt post all the updates. i forgot why he is offline today. maybe some doc appt.
Pawlawski is a hero here in Albany, NY. With Mike under center, the Albany Firebirds won ArenaBowl XIII. It was a legitimate big deal here in Albany - the Firebirds were drawing 11,000 a game.
But because Albany isn't allowed to have nice things...the owners of the team thought that if they could make money in a small town like Albany, they could make a lot more money in Indianapolis, so they moved the team. It didn't work out. Greed, man.
Well, it isn't. But for a few years, it was big here. They've tried to recapture the magic with a couple other teams since the original Firebirds left, but it wasn't the same.
The fact that arena football was ever a big deal in Albany is a function of the fact that we ain't got shit going on. We're 2.5 hours away from major pro sports, and even our college teams are low-major. We're their perfect market.
I ran into a couple yesterday I know from my evening walks. The wife is a fellow Cal grad. Their younger son has been applying to schools. Last week he apparently came downstairs wearing a UCSC t-shirt. Berkeley didn’t accept him but Santa Cruz did. I knew there would be non-resident tuition but had no idea it would be $34,000. Times have changed since I paid $212 a quarter as a resident.
I was wearing a Cal hoodie to my daughter's volleyball tournament in Connecticut over the weekend and I got a hearty "Go Bears!" from a older couple who was visiting family on the east coast. Always love getting a Go Bears.
Anyways, they asked what years I was at Cal. I said I'm just an East Bay kid who grew up a Cal fan and that I went to UCSC. So they brought over their son, who is a fellow Slug (Stevenson, '00). We had a good time reminiscing about Santa Cruz, agreeing that it's almost impossible to believe it happened to us. Fiat Slug, indeed!
Stevenson was my college, also (Class of '85). The proximity to East Field was a plus and the architecture grew on me. The only drawback was that some of my classes were on West side (!), which meant that I had to hoof it once or twice
You and I remember when tuition was something that California residents didn't pay. California residents paid fees, but no tuition. Tuition was for non-residents.
Diego Pavia going undrafted is high comedy. His age (24) and his height (5'10") were knocks against him, but his mouth pushed him out of the draft all together.
win #4 for Pogacar at LBL. at least this time, there was some competition from the 19-yr-old French phenom. Still, Pogacar finished the final 15 km riding solo as he usually does during the dominant streak.
it is the last of the 4 monuments in the spring. nickname is La Doyenne ("The Old Lady") because it is the oldest of the 5 monuments.
The 5th one, Il Lombardia, is in the fall at the end of the racing season. Pogacar has already won that one a bunch of times.
now the race calendar shifts into Grand Tour mode w/ the Giro d'Italia from Mar 8-31.
Did you know that there is no one way to make Kielbasa. It is a generic term for a coarse grind cased smoked sausage in Poland. It is typically made with all pork. However, Top Dog sells kiełbasa odesska - one that is one-third beef. http://www.topdoghotdogs.com/themenu.html
i saw some uncooked kiełbasa at a store the other day. i wonder if i was supposed to boil it or grill it?
i normally get the dense pre-cooked kind. our favorite was when we lived briefly in New Hyde Park (upon moving to NYC area) and there was a small strip of Polish delis that had great kiełbasa and this amazing dark Lithuanian bread.
Coffee talk
was in Miami this weekend for a family wedding. took the opportunity to have 2-3 cortaditos every day.
For those who are not familiar, a cortadito is a short serving of coffee, much like a cortado, with the exception that you dump in A LOT of sugar.
La Carreta, down along Calle Ocho, is the best place for a large concentration of these types of places. Cafe Versailles is great too, usually with a longer line.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PuwAEKa2GtipESMEA
At first I thought Cafe Versailles was the place I went to but it was Versailles Restaurant. Their Cuban coffee was amazing.
maybe that was it and i just hastily typed the name w/o checking. i figured you would like it given that it is 50% coffee and 50% sugar by volume.
I've wanted to try making coffee the way they do it.
That looks really nice.
Are we channeling Mike Myers (as Linda Richman) here? I think that every time I hear or see the phrase, "Coffee talk".
I'm getting verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. Topic for discussion...A Bruin is neither the #1 public school in the country nor the best University in the state school system.
There. It's gone. Who knew?
Word(le) Games
Wordle 1,773 6/6*
⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩
⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩
🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩
⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩
⬛🟨🟩⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 77/99
Luck 33/99
all double numbers. 33, 77, 99
🙂 Daily Quordle 1554
5️⃣4️⃣
8️⃣6️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
So-so I guess.
🙂 Daily Quordle 1554
5️⃣6️⃣
8️⃣7️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
first time getting it 6 (i tihink)
🙂 Daily Quordle 1554
4️⃣5️⃣
6️⃣3️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
oh wow that's really good
i usually try to make some guess at a word on round 3 unless there is not enough info. in which case i'll do another "guess 5 new letters" round and try to make sure you have decent chance to get it in 7.
Mon NYT crossword is usually an easy one so tried to speed it up.
7:16 today
5:45 best ever
You have my PR beat, but only just. My best ever is ten seconds slower - 5:55.
Today was my 99th day of the streak, so tomorrow I celebrate a major milestone.
do you give yourself credit for getting it w/o help even if dont get the yellow star?
eg. i solved Sun and Mon and then went back to do Fri and Sat w/o hints or help or cheating.
i think you only get a yellow star officially if you finish w/in a certain amount of time and only if you dont start the next day before you finish the last.
i guess i am just trying to make myself feel better for eventually getting it even though the streak does not conform to the rules.
that's amazing getting to 100.
i keep getting tripped up on Fri-Sat-Sun lately. it was coming more easily for a while and i now i seem to have lost my mojo.
maybe this will help get it back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEYwk0bypY
we saw Steve Miller play this recently in NYC. it was insane.
Wordle 1,773 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜
🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 66/99
Luck 60/99
Shoulda had it in 3.
Wordle 1,773 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 86/99
Luck 47/99
Wordle 1,773 6/6
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟩🟨
🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Bruh. That one was difficult.
4 seemed good given the word today
Wordle 1,773 4/6*
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩
⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩
🟨🟨⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 86/99
Luck 43/99
Cal
[MBB] Cal Signs Michael Cooper As Transfer Addition
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/27/mens-basketball-cal-signs-michael-cooper-as-transfer-addition.aspx
Cal men's basketball welcomes an all-conference honoree to its 2026-27 roster with the signing of sophomore Michael Cooper. A 6-3 guard, Cooper is set to join head coach Mark Madsen's Golden Bear squad as a transfer addition.
[WPOLO] Cal Falls 10-9 In NCAA Final To USC
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/26/womens-water-polo-cal-falls-10-9-in-ncaa-final-to-usc.aspx
LA JOLLA – The California women's water polo team put forth a ferocious effort in the NCAA title match but could not close the gap in the final stretch to take a 10-9 loss to USC at Canyonview Aquatic Center. It was the Golden Bears' second trip to the national championship game in three years, and Cal kept it close throughout the second half before time ran out. The Bears wrap a tremendous season in which they downed top-seeded reigning champion Stanford in the NCAA semifinals and now finish with a 16-8 overall record.
[SB] Cal Loses Series Finale At Stanford
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/26/softball-cal-loses-series-finale-at-stanford.aspx
STANFORD – The California softball team was swept by No. 18 Stanford, falling 5-0 on Sunday afternoon at Stanford Softball Stadium.
[BASE] Cal Bested In Rubber Match By Miami 4-1
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/26/baseball-cal-bested-in-rubber-match-by-miami-4-1.aspx
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Despite outhitting the host Hurricanes, the California baseball team could not find a way to get runs across as it dropped its Sunday rubber match with Miami 4-1 at Mark Light Field.
[BVB] Bears Earn Fifth Straight NCAA Championship Bid
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/26/beach-volleyball-bears-earn-fifth-straight-ncaa-championship-bid.aspx
The California beach volleyball team earned its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship on Sunday, earning the No. 8 seed in the 16-team field. The Golden Bears (23-13) will meet ninth-seeded Long Beach State in the first round on Friday at 10 a.m. PT in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
[MGOLF] Zhou Wins ACC Championship Individual Title
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/25/mens-golf-zhou-wins-acc-championship-individual-title.aspx
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - California men's golf sophomore Ziqin Zhou shot a 2-under par 70 in the final round of the ACC Championship Saturday, tying for his first career title with a three-day total of 8-under-par 208. Zhou then won a two-hole playoff against Stanford's Edan Cui and Duke's Ethan Evans to win Cal's first individual ACC title. Zhou is the first Cal golfer to win an individual conference title since Collin Morikawa won the 2019 Pac 12 Championship.
[RUGBY] Bears Advance To National Championship
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/25/rugby-bears-advance-to-national-championship.aspx
BERKELEY - The California rugby team booked their ticket to the National Championship Saturday, defeating Saint Mary's 59-19 in a heavyweight duel. The Bears scored nine tries by five different players as Nate Comiskey had his third straight hat trick and Talae Tuimaunei had his first varsity game of the season with multiple tries.
[MROW] No. 2 Bears Drop Battle With No. 1 Huskies
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/25/mens-rowing-no-2-bears-drop-battle-with-no-1-huskies.aspx
REDWOOD SHORES – The No. 2 California men's rowing team saw its varsity eight take its first loss of the season to No. 1 Washington in the 114th edition of the annual rivalry dual between the two programs. In addition to retaining the Schoch Cup, the Huskies won the 2V8+ while the Golden Bears notched three race wins in the 3V8+, 4V8+ and the freshmen eight.
[FB] Hezekiah Masses Selected In 5th Round Of NFL Draft
https://calbears.com/news/2026/4/25/football-hezekiah-masses-selected-in-5th-round-of-nfl-draft.aspx
PITTSBURGH – California defensive back Hezekiah Masses was selected 175th overall in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.
Masses is the 259th Golden Bear to be chosen in the NFL Draft. In addition, the Bears have now had a defensive back selected in seven consecutive drafts.
there were no Cal sports to speak of last few days. at least that is how it seems when HAG doesnt post all the updates. i forgot why he is offline today. maybe some doc appt.
At the oral surgeon to get the screw post put in for my implant. Knocked me out so I needed a ride and took the day off.
CAL HEADLINES
WWP Falls in National Championship Thriller to USC (Women's Water Polo)
#1 Rugby Trounces SMC to Advance to National Championship (Rugby)
#8 Beach VB Earns 5th Straight NCAA Tournament Bid (Beach Volleyball)
Here's an article about Mike Pawlawski's time in the XFL
https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/xfl-demons-giants-ballpark-22224300.php
Pawlawski is a hero here in Albany, NY. With Mike under center, the Albany Firebirds won ArenaBowl XIII. It was a legitimate big deal here in Albany - the Firebirds were drawing 11,000 a game.
But because Albany isn't allowed to have nice things...the owners of the team thought that if they could make money in a small town like Albany, they could make a lot more money in Indianapolis, so they moved the team. It didn't work out. Greed, man.
I had no idea arena football a big deal anywhere
Well, it isn't. But for a few years, it was big here. They've tried to recapture the magic with a couple other teams since the original Firebirds left, but it wasn't the same.
The fact that arena football was ever a big deal in Albany is a function of the fact that we ain't got shit going on. We're 2.5 hours away from major pro sports, and even our college teams are low-major. We're their perfect market.
Seems like Albany, Utica and Syracuse keep getting and losing AHL teams. They might even be rotating through the same ones.
I ran into a couple yesterday I know from my evening walks. The wife is a fellow Cal grad. Their younger son has been applying to schools. Last week he apparently came downstairs wearing a UCSC t-shirt. Berkeley didn’t accept him but Santa Cruz did. I knew there would be non-resident tuition but had no idea it would be $34,000. Times have changed since I paid $212 a quarter as a resident.
I was wearing a Cal hoodie to my daughter's volleyball tournament in Connecticut over the weekend and I got a hearty "Go Bears!" from a older couple who was visiting family on the east coast. Always love getting a Go Bears.
Anyways, they asked what years I was at Cal. I said I'm just an East Bay kid who grew up a Cal fan and that I went to UCSC. So they brought over their son, who is a fellow Slug (Stevenson, '00). We had a good time reminiscing about Santa Cruz, agreeing that it's almost impossible to believe it happened to us. Fiat Slug, indeed!
Stevenson was my college, also (Class of '85). The proximity to East Field was a plus and the architecture grew on me. The only drawback was that some of my classes were on West side (!), which meant that I had to hoof it once or twice
I love that place.
$34K for a non-resident? Holy moly! Giving new meaning to the fill-in-the-blank phrase, "My kid and my money went to [name of institution here]."
EDIT: Congrats to your acquaintences' kid getting into UC Santa Cruz. Fiat Slug!
Looking back at my post I’m not sure I made it clear that the 34K is in addition to the regular tuition everyone pays (17K).
The out of state costs are insane.
You and I remember when tuition was something that California residents didn't pay. California residents paid fees, but no tuition. Tuition was for non-residents.
PRO
Niners traded their 1st round draft pick for other draft picks. So their first draft pick was 2nd rounder WR De’Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss
Raiders draft Nando #1 overall.
Giants beat the Marlins, 6-3
Justin Wrobleski keeps on rolling as Dodgers shut out Cubs
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/114412/dodgers-cubs-game-recap
The Dodgers took the three-game series from the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, as Justin Wrobleski and the bullpen held the Cubs silent in a 6-0 shutout win.
Diego Pavia going undrafted is high comedy. His age (24) and his height (5'10") were knocks against him, but his mouth pushed him out of the draft all together.
No 2's GF is from Vandy and lamented that he didn't get drafted. We just told her that teams don't want to deal with him and that he's short.
No 2 is also from Vandy. But he wasn't surprised Pavia wasn't drafted.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
win #4 for Pogacar at LBL. at least this time, there was some competition from the 19-yr-old French phenom. Still, Pogacar finished the final 15 km riding solo as he usually does during the dominant streak.
it is the last of the 4 monuments in the spring. nickname is La Doyenne ("The Old Lady") because it is the oldest of the 5 monuments.
The 5th one, Il Lombardia, is in the fall at the end of the racing season. Pogacar has already won that one a bunch of times.
now the race calendar shifts into Grand Tour mode w/ the Giro d'Italia from Mar 8-31.
Rockets cruise and stay alive in playoffs w/o KD. still down 3-1
Addition by subtraction?
i was watching LIVE TV on Delta flight. seems like a somewhat new thing for Delta
Top Dog
discussion of other hot dogs will be grudgingly permitted
spoiler alert!
Did you know that there is no one way to make Kielbasa. It is a generic term for a coarse grind cased smoked sausage in Poland. It is typically made with all pork. However, Top Dog sells kiełbasa odesska - one that is one-third beef. http://www.topdoghotdogs.com/themenu.html
i saw some uncooked kiełbasa at a store the other day. i wonder if i was supposed to boil it or grill it?
i normally get the dense pre-cooked kind. our favorite was when we lived briefly in New Hyde Park (upon moving to NYC area) and there was a small strip of Polish delis that had great kiełbasa and this amazing dark Lithuanian bread.
Boil first; finish it on the grill. At least, that's how I'd do it.
According to my Polish in-laws, this is the way.
the hot dog photo reminded me that we have not had our quarterly discussion about the best (your standard) Top Dog order.
One Kielbasa and one bockwurst for me.
Hot and Kiel
1 garlic and 1 hot, eaten in that order with just a line of yellow mustard on each. Yum!
I'll take a Kielbasa with kraut & grainy mustard, plus a Calabrese with hot russian, onions, and some relish, please.
Mmmmmm....love the Calabrese. I dabble with other dogs, but I always come home to it.
Need to get a place with a grill for the Syracuse game...