Russia celebrates Victory Day, commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. The event is a major national holiday, often featuring a massive military parade in Moscow's Red Square. It is used to express pride in the country's military strength and history.
Scaled-Back Parade: The 2026 parade in Moscow is heavily reduced, with reports indicating no heavy military hardware—such as tanks or missiles—will be shown for the first time in 20 years.
It's hard to fathom the number of soviets that died in WWII. It's estimated to be 24-27 MILLION. Compare that to the 420,000 Americans that died, which is still a big number. I can't get my head around that number of soviet deaths.
Yeah it is insane, and unfortunately seems to have set the standard (or maybe it was already set) for how Russians wage war: just throw a ton of bodies at the opponent until you overwhelm them.
agreed. Whenever I look up those types of numbers, it is truly staggering.
i was going to say that times have changed, but my impression is that the current war strategy in Ukraine is not that different. it is as if they place a different value on a human life ...
So far they've had countries that I know. I'm waiting for the time when it's a country that I don't know (looking at you new -STANS, Pacific Islands, or African Countries)
Nah, I've literally been staring at maps of that region. I recently checked an old movie set in that region to follow the movement of the protagonists. Cameos included Bob Hope, Terry Gilliam, Frank Oz and B.B. King
Wednesday was Career Day at Oracle Park, a day where students could “learn about careers in sports and media with an exclusive Q&A with San Francisco Giants Front Office executives.” They got to see the Giants lose their second straight to the San Diego Padres, 5-1, a game where the team and the organization were left with far more Q’s than A’s.
I don’t have the hat but my brother sent me a t-shirt from the ‘89 series that had both. I’d been away from the Bay for awhile so he thought I would like it. I still have it but never wear it.
I'm one of a dying breed. My first baseball game was in 1964 - Giants vs. Phillies. I was 4 years old.
I became an A's fan when they moved to Oakland in 1968. Since the two teams were in different leagues and didn't play against each other, I rooted for both teams.
It's a weird position as the rivalry became known with the 1989 World Series. I still don't understand why many A's fans don't like the Giants.
I could understand the whole NL/AL thing. I did like going to a game at the Oakland Coliseum before Mt Davis. And I always did like going to the Stick.
The Coliseum pre-Mt Davis was an awesome place even if it had the largest foul territory in MLB and it was a multi-purpose stadium. It had a great view of the Oakland Hills and was warm. Enclosing the outfield ruined all that.
Similarly, Candlestick was ruined when it was enclosed for the 49ers in '70 or '71. They also took out the grass and put down Astro-Garbage which was an unmitigated disaster. But yeah, Candlestick acquired a weird sort of aura while the Giants and the 49ers shared it. The Giants played up its weirdness with the Croix de Candlestick for extra inning night games. The 49ers ripped out the artificial turf (mercifully) and we got the Sod Squad.
The Giants are not just complicit, but partially responsible for the A's departure. Lew Wolff puts the blame squarely at their feet in his new book, because the Giants denied the A's South Bay territorial rights. During the Haas family's ownership, the A's conceded what had been a shared market to the Giants so they could move there. They didn't, of course, and then when the A's wanted to move there later on, the Giants wouldn't give the rights up.
That argument isn't that meaningful to me because I was an Oakland or nowhere A's fan. But the Giants didn't stop there. They funded and supported many of the pretend groups that popped up to oppose the Howard Terminal stadium.
It worked - the A's left and the Giants now have the largest one-team market in baseball. I'm not saying the Giants are more responsible than John Fisher or Bud Selig or Mayor Thao or any of the other assholes that let it happen, but the Giants are definitely on the list.
That the Giants brass is complicit in the A's leaving Oakland is nothing new. If I let it affect my rooting interests, logically it means that I must give up MLB at some point. Every team has some sort of craven or venal flaw somewhere within its recent history. The only sane thing to do is separate ownership from the players.
That Fisher and Kaval eventually settled on Howard Terminal as the last best chance for a new stadium reveals that it was their intent all along to move the franchise out of Oakland. Howard Terminal has huge amounts of toxic waste in the ground because of its historic uses. Lew Wolff said so when he was the point man for a new stadium site. Fisher always could have built a new stadium at the Coliseum site. Truth is, Fisher wanted a shiny new stadium in Slots Vegas, not Oakland. My guess is that Fisher will sell the A's before 2032.
But truthfully, you knew the fix was in because Bud Selig did two things to screw over A's fans: (1) he effectively blackballed Joe Lacob by favoring Lew Wolff to succeed Hoffman & Schott as owners, and (2) he would not allow the territorial rights for San Jose that were granted for a Giants stadium vote in Santa Clara to revert to neutral status. Bud Selig is at least as responsible as John Fisher or Larry Baer (who I have loathed for a number of years now).
Diminishing commitment is probably a more accurate way of describing my fandom in all sports over the last 30 years due to all the noise about contracts, territorial rights, stadiums, and outright greed. All that noise is simply incentive for shutting it out because it contributes nothing to my enjoyment of the sport; it only detracts from it. I have found that I have a much greater to commitment to athletic performances and the intangible of playing with heart.
Wolff's argument reads a bit like excuse-making to me, but it is clear that the Giants wanted the A's to leave so they'd have the market to themselves. The Giants didn't absolutely control that process and various A's owners still could have made something happen to stay (it's pretty clear that Fisher's efforts were fake), but I get the animosity.
Plus there is just always some kind of negative feeling from the fans of the secondary team in a market against the most popular team, like how Mets fans feel about the Yankees (while the Yankee fans probably don't think about them at all).
Tyler Glasnow left his start after only one inning, but the Dodgers’ struggling offense picked up the slack in a cathartic 12-2 bludgeoning of the Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon getaway day at Daikin Park in Houston.
first 3 days are in Bulgaria. Jonas Vingegaard is considered the favorite and he is trying to do something to get into better shape to compete w/ Pogacar in the Tour de France. Pogacar has won 4, Vingo has won twice. Pogacar has won somewhat convincingly last 2 years.
On one hand, watching Knicks games is fun because it's the Garden, the stars come out, and New York has such great energy for big games.
On the other hand, the constant and painfully simplistic organ music makes me want to scratch my face off. No other arena has an organist that grates on my ears like theirs. I normally love an organ, but not whoever plays it for the Knicks.
Knicks are gonna roll through this series, feels like, but their chance at winning the Eastern Conference ended when the Magic couldn't close out the Pistons. Detroit is a terrible matchup for the Knicks. Their 3 games this year were not close at all.
California men's basketball welcomes an international addition to head coach Mark Madsen's program with the signing of Lithuanian 6-foot-10 post player Dominykas Daubaris. He will join the Golden Bears as a freshman for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
"Dominykas is one of the most promising young prospects out of Europe this season," Madsen said of Daubaris. "His combination of size and skill make him a threat both on the perimeter and inside offensively. He uses his high-level intuition and length to make an impact defensively. We cannot wait to add Dominykas to the Cal Family!"
BERKELEY- California men's golf will make its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Regional and 27th in program history as it earned an at-large bid to the 2026 Columbus Regional on Wednesday. The Golden Bears will be the eighth seed in the 13-team, 54-hole regional, hosted at the Scarlett Course at Ohio State University Golf Club from May 18-20.
California Football General Manager Ron Rivera was inducted into the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame as a member of the inaugural 2026 Class on Tuesday evening during the Celebración de Fútbol at the Las Vegas Raiders headquarters and Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Fresh off a trip to the NCAA title match, the California women's water polo program continues to prepare for the future with the signing of Spain's Julia Frigola Navarro. Head coach Coralie Simmons and the Golden Bears welcome the international addition, who has been competing for her country and at a high level in the Spanish club system.
The California softball team earned one All-ACC selection for the 2026 season, as junior infielder Anaya Togia was named Third-Team All-ACC, the league office announced Wednesday morning.
A transfer from Long Beach City College, Togia made an immediate impact in her first season in Berkeley under first-year head coach Steve Singleton. The Anaheim, California native emerged as one of the Bears' most consistent offensive threats, leading the team with a .345 batting average while ranking second in hits (40), home runs (7), slugging percentage (.578) and OPS (.964).
Art History
going to the Met tomorrow morning to hear HAG's no 1 talk about the Paris Commune
https://engage.metmuseum.org/events/education/talks/academic-and-research-programs/fellowship-programs/research-out-loud/fy26/research-out-loud-body-politics-new-readings-on-modern-art/
I was thinking about coming out for it but he said that his part is only like 10-15 min. But definitely let me know how it goes.
Oh I just saw there is a Zoom link.
looks for us cheering in the audience. we'll be wearing our Cal gear!
WWII in Europe
Normandy beaches and Allied cemeteries
was a very sobering trip and reminder of things past in an otherwise beautiful part of the world.
i was not expecting to see the Jewish stars at the cemetery
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ogMpaEEc5uhcupqA9
may 7 - germans surrender
may 8 - VE day
may 9 - Victory Day
Russia celebrates Victory Day, commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. The event is a major national holiday, often featuring a massive military parade in Moscow's Red Square. It is used to express pride in the country's military strength and history.
Scaled-Back Parade: The 2026 parade in Moscow is heavily reduced, with reports indicating no heavy military hardware—such as tanks or missiles—will be shown for the first time in 20 years.
It's hard to fathom the number of soviets that died in WWII. It's estimated to be 24-27 MILLION. Compare that to the 420,000 Americans that died, which is still a big number. I can't get my head around that number of soviet deaths.
Yeah it is insane, and unfortunately seems to have set the standard (or maybe it was already set) for how Russians wage war: just throw a ton of bodies at the opponent until you overwhelm them.
The middle of that range (25.74 million) is THREE TIMES the current estimated population of New York City.
Put it another way: Florida's current estimated population is 23.66 million, less than the low end of that range.
War is such an incredible waste of people, resources, and effort.
agreed. Whenever I look up those types of numbers, it is truly staggering.
i was going to say that times have changed, but my impression is that the current war strategy in Ukraine is not that different. it is as if they place a different value on a human life ...
Wordle games
Wordle 1,783 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 91/99
Luck 33/99
Globle
ok, what country was it?
I think yesterday's was Poland
Oh, fer cryin out loud, I was doing it backwards. I started in Switzerland and ended up thrashing around in the South Pacific.
I can’t even get it cheating. They don’t have an “I give up” button?
at least they help you out w/ the spelling
So far they've had countries that I know. I'm waiting for the time when it's a country that I don't know (looking at you new -STANS, Pacific Islands, or African Countries)
🌎 May 7, 2026 🌍
🔥 1 | Avg. Guesses: 4
🟥🟥🟥🟥🟩 = 5
https://globle-game.com
#globle
lots of countries in that area ...
🌎 May 7, 2026 🌍
🔥 1 | Avg. Guesses: 6.5
🟧🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟩 = 7
https://globle-game.com
#globle
Worldle
Been thinking about going there
#Worldle #1567 (07.05.2026) 1/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 1 days
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
i want to go to. it is supposed to have amazing Silk Road culture and history.
Damn...Mic drop.
Nah, I've literally been staring at maps of that region. I recently checked an old movie set in that region to follow the movement of the protagonists. Cameos included Bob Hope, Terry Gilliam, Frank Oz and B.B. King
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby should've made a Road to XXXX movie.
I think that was the implied joke in that cameo. I haven't seen any Road to XXXX movies, but I think this movie was a play on that theme.
#Worldle #1567 (07.05.2026) 3/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 1 days
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜➡️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜↖️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
failure.
i thought that country looked different and was pretty sure that was not it even though i was in the right area
#Worldle #1567 (07.05.2026) X/6 (97%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 0 days
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜↗️
🟩🟩🟨⬜⬜↖️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜⬆️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨⬅️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨➡️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨↗️
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
Octordle
Daily Octordle #1564
🟥5️⃣
🕚🟥
9️⃣8️⃣
6️⃣🕐
Score: 80
Quordle
🙂 Daily Quordle 1564
4️⃣8️⃣
6️⃣5️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Not good, but it seemed trickier today.
🙂 Daily Quordle 1564
6️⃣5️⃣
7️⃣9️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
well at least i got it. not pretty
🙂 Daily Quordle 1564
4️⃣9️⃣
6️⃣7️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Wordle 1,783 4/6*
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩
⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 92/99
Luck 36/99
tied wordle bot. i feel like i got a lucky guess on #4
Wordle 1,783 4/6*
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨
⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 82/99
Luck 43/99
Wordle 1,783 5/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜🟨🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 66/99
Luck 33/99
Bleh
Pro
San Antonio beat the Timberwolves 133-95.
I'm starting to think that lanky French kid might be pretty good
Padres silence Giants’ bats in 5-1 win
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/san-francisco-giants-scores-standings/106264/padres-silence-giants-bats-in-5-1-win
Wednesday was Career Day at Oracle Park, a day where students could “learn about careers in sports and media with an exclusive Q&A with San Francisco Giants Front Office executives.” They got to see the Giants lose their second straight to the San Diego Padres, 5-1, a game where the team and the organization were left with far more Q’s than A’s.
"Don't be a Giants fan, kid!"
My dissatisfaction with this team grows.
Have you always been a Giants fan? I thought you were an A's fan, when they were still in Oakland.
Wait a minute...I've always wondered who buys those hats that were half A's, half Giants...is it you?
I don’t have the hat but my brother sent me a t-shirt from the ‘89 series that had both. I’d been away from the Bay for awhile so he thought I would like it. I still have it but never wear it.
There is a guy from my HS that had that hat back in the 80s. At least pick a side!
I'm one of a dying breed. My first baseball game was in 1964 - Giants vs. Phillies. I was 4 years old.
I became an A's fan when they moved to Oakland in 1968. Since the two teams were in different leagues and didn't play against each other, I rooted for both teams.
It's a weird position as the rivalry became known with the 1989 World Series. I still don't understand why many A's fans don't like the Giants.
I could understand the whole NL/AL thing. I did like going to a game at the Oakland Coliseum before Mt Davis. And I always did like going to the Stick.
The Coliseum pre-Mt Davis was an awesome place even if it had the largest foul territory in MLB and it was a multi-purpose stadium. It had a great view of the Oakland Hills and was warm. Enclosing the outfield ruined all that.
Similarly, Candlestick was ruined when it was enclosed for the 49ers in '70 or '71. They also took out the grass and put down Astro-Garbage which was an unmitigated disaster. But yeah, Candlestick acquired a weird sort of aura while the Giants and the 49ers shared it. The Giants played up its weirdness with the Croix de Candlestick for extra inning night games. The 49ers ripped out the artificial turf (mercifully) and we got the Sod Squad.
The Giants are not just complicit, but partially responsible for the A's departure. Lew Wolff puts the blame squarely at their feet in his new book, because the Giants denied the A's South Bay territorial rights. During the Haas family's ownership, the A's conceded what had been a shared market to the Giants so they could move there. They didn't, of course, and then when the A's wanted to move there later on, the Giants wouldn't give the rights up.
That argument isn't that meaningful to me because I was an Oakland or nowhere A's fan. But the Giants didn't stop there. They funded and supported many of the pretend groups that popped up to oppose the Howard Terminal stadium.
It worked - the A's left and the Giants now have the largest one-team market in baseball. I'm not saying the Giants are more responsible than John Fisher or Bud Selig or Mayor Thao or any of the other assholes that let it happen, but the Giants are definitely on the list.
That the Giants brass is complicit in the A's leaving Oakland is nothing new. If I let it affect my rooting interests, logically it means that I must give up MLB at some point. Every team has some sort of craven or venal flaw somewhere within its recent history. The only sane thing to do is separate ownership from the players.
That Fisher and Kaval eventually settled on Howard Terminal as the last best chance for a new stadium reveals that it was their intent all along to move the franchise out of Oakland. Howard Terminal has huge amounts of toxic waste in the ground because of its historic uses. Lew Wolff said so when he was the point man for a new stadium site. Fisher always could have built a new stadium at the Coliseum site. Truth is, Fisher wanted a shiny new stadium in Slots Vegas, not Oakland. My guess is that Fisher will sell the A's before 2032.
But truthfully, you knew the fix was in because Bud Selig did two things to screw over A's fans: (1) he effectively blackballed Joe Lacob by favoring Lew Wolff to succeed Hoffman & Schott as owners, and (2) he would not allow the territorial rights for San Jose that were granted for a Giants stadium vote in Santa Clara to revert to neutral status. Bud Selig is at least as responsible as John Fisher or Larry Baer (who I have loathed for a number of years now).
Diminishing commitment is probably a more accurate way of describing my fandom in all sports over the last 30 years due to all the noise about contracts, territorial rights, stadiums, and outright greed. All that noise is simply incentive for shutting it out because it contributes nothing to my enjoyment of the sport; it only detracts from it. I have found that I have a much greater to commitment to athletic performances and the intangible of playing with heart.
Wolff's argument reads a bit like excuse-making to me, but it is clear that the Giants wanted the A's to leave so they'd have the market to themselves. The Giants didn't absolutely control that process and various A's owners still could have made something happen to stay (it's pretty clear that Fisher's efforts were fake), but I get the animosity.
Plus there is just always some kind of negative feeling from the fans of the secondary team in a market against the most popular team, like how Mets fans feel about the Yankees (while the Yankee fans probably don't think about them at all).
Andy Pages homers 3 times, Dodgers bullpen wraps up rout of Astros
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/115106/andy-pages-3-home-runs-bullpen-game-tyler-glasnow
Tyler Glasnow left his start after only one inning, but the Dodgers’ struggling offense picked up the slack in a cathartic 12-2 bludgeoning of the Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon getaway day at Daikin Park in Houston.
Giro d'Italia starts tomorrow. May 8-31
first 3 days are in Bulgaria. Jonas Vingegaard is considered the favorite and he is trying to do something to get into better shape to compete w/ Pogacar in the Tour de France. Pogacar has won 4, Vingo has won twice. Pogacar has won somewhat convincingly last 2 years.
Knicks win a close one to go up 2-0.
no Embiid but the game was much more tense than game 1. until the end NY's largest lead was only 2-3 points and it was close throughout.
On one hand, watching Knicks games is fun because it's the Garden, the stars come out, and New York has such great energy for big games.
On the other hand, the constant and painfully simplistic organ music makes me want to scratch my face off. No other arena has an organist that grates on my ears like theirs. I normally love an organ, but not whoever plays it for the Knicks.
(This is a weird pet peeve, I know.)
Knicks are gonna roll through this series, feels like, but their chance at winning the Eastern Conference ended when the Magic couldn't close out the Pistons. Detroit is a terrible matchup for the Knicks. Their 3 games this year were not close at all.
that will be a tough one for the Knicks. still, conference finals is good to be in and have a shot at the Finals
Cal
[MBB] Dominykas Daubaris Comes To Cal From Lithuania
https://calbears.com/news/2026/5/6/mens-basketball-dominykas-daubaris-comes-to-cal-from-lithuania.aspx
California men's basketball welcomes an international addition to head coach Mark Madsen's program with the signing of Lithuanian 6-foot-10 post player Dominykas Daubaris. He will join the Golden Bears as a freshman for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
"Dominykas is one of the most promising young prospects out of Europe this season," Madsen said of Daubaris. "His combination of size and skill make him a threat both on the perimeter and inside offensively. He uses his high-level intuition and length to make an impact defensively. We cannot wait to add Dominykas to the Cal Family!"
[MGOLF] Cal Selected To Columbus Regional
https://calbears.com/news/2026/5/6/mens-golf-cal-selected-to-columbus-regional.aspx
BERKELEY- California men's golf will make its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Regional and 27th in program history as it earned an at-large bid to the 2026 Columbus Regional on Wednesday. The Golden Bears will be the eighth seed in the 13-team, 54-hole regional, hosted at the Scarlett Course at Ohio State University Golf Club from May 18-20.
I think that was my grandfather's home course.
[FB] Ron Rivera Inducted Into Hispanic Football Hall Of Fame
https://calbears.com/news/2026/5/6/ron-rivera-inducted-into-hispanic-football-hall-of-fame.aspx
California Football General Manager Ron Rivera was inducted into the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame as a member of the inaugural 2026 Class on Tuesday evening during the Celebración de Fútbol at the Las Vegas Raiders headquarters and Intermountain Health Performance Center.
[WPOLO] Cal Welcomes Julia Frigola Navarro From Spain
https://calbears.com/news/2026/5/6/womens-water-polo-cal-welcomes-julia-frigola-navarro-from-spain.aspx
Fresh off a trip to the NCAA title match, the California women's water polo program continues to prepare for the future with the signing of Spain's Julia Frigola Navarro. Head coach Coralie Simmons and the Golden Bears welcome the international addition, who has been competing for her country and at a high level in the Spanish club system.
[SB] Cal’s Togia Named All-ACC Selection
https://calbears.com/news/2026/5/6/softball-cals-togia-named-all-acc-selection.aspx
The California softball team earned one All-ACC selection for the 2026 season, as junior infielder Anaya Togia was named Third-Team All-ACC, the league office announced Wednesday morning.
A transfer from Long Beach City College, Togia made an immediate impact in her first season in Berkeley under first-year head coach Steve Singleton. The Anaheim, California native emerged as one of the Bears' most consistent offensive threats, leading the team with a .345 batting average while ranking second in hits (40), home runs (7), slugging percentage (.578) and OPS (.964).