CHARLOTTE -- After a five-way tie for second place put Duke in the ACC championship game over higher-ranked Miami last season, a new tiebreaker policy was announced Wednesday in a move that commissioner Jim Phillips described as getting the league to the "right place" to feature its two best football teams.
Still seems too complicated and hard to understand. Why not just make the CFP rankings the tiebreaker after head-to-head? That's obviously what everyone is concerned about here.
Well, Sardinia was an unmitigated disaster. My wife suffered a detached retina, so we went to two different hospitals for two surgeries in the Sardinia in a public hospital, returned to the US, saw three different doctors, suffered complications, spent the last two days in the hospital, watched my wife OD on a pain killer and stop breathing, begged a dumb-struck resident to do something, she self-revived in my arms, and we finally got discharged. I just slept 12 hours in my own bed finally and feel like the last half a month was a nightmare that aged me a decade. That was the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life.
Driving cross country the 1st week of August to move No 3 to Arlington for PT school. Going to go to games in KC and STL. Wanted to go to a Rockies game but Wed is getaway day so it's a day game and it would involve leaving a day earlier. No 2 is flying out to KC because he wants to see the Negro League museum. He'll be driving the rest of the way with us with a stop in Louisville.
Hong Kong-- spouse is going for a week in Sept, and first time visitor needs all the recs. Where best to stay? Split location stay? Recommended tours? Any food tour recs? Must see things?
Yeah. But, with all the attempts players make to draw a foul throughout the game, this one seemed possibly an intentional move by Lamine Yamal to rush into the Frenchman’s kick plane. No way to prove, of course. The amount of feigning injury in soccer is tiresome, and in the moment I don’t know who to believe. Meanwhile VAR often gets thrust into plays that are judgement calls, or goes several steps back to look at things. Really interrupts the flow of play sometimes. I am trying to like soccer, I really am.
Yeah this stuff is annoying in basketball too, but at least in that sport there are so many scoring plays and so many fouls called in a game that it gets more evened out. In a high-stakes soccer match you could have just one such foul that is highly impactful because it happened inside the box and it feels real bad to have that decide the outcome.
Spain was better in the game and probably should have won anyway, but to have that be the first goal that gives them a strong advantage, that sucks.
Is possible flopping reviewable in the NBA, and is it implemented to reign in this kind of play? Seeking contact is one thing, but lately it’s become a whole genre of skills where Harden, SGA et al maneuver the defender into a place where they can intentionally ram into them. No sir, I don’t like it.
It is, but almost never called. SGA doesn't always necessarily flop. He jumps in to create contact and not take a normal shot motion. There was a video on youtube on all his fouls during the playoffs.
And you're right, Harden did it as well. And one reason he never got to the finals is he never changed his play style and officials never call those fouls in the playoffs. I hate Harden as well.
I wonder if there will be some kind of rule change or an emphasis not to call those shots. Kinda like the kick your leg out when you shoot a 3 to draw a foul. If you're using an unorthodox shooting motion to draw a foul, there is no whistle.
Obviously, I've heard of today's Wordle solution. But it came upon me almost by accident. And when it did, I almost became angry. Because it is a relatively obscure word.
I guessed a few letters that really narrowed it down, especially eliminating vowels. Wordle won't let me complete the guess if the word is not a real word, so I spent about 15 minutes going through all the possible words which didn't use up any tries.
Yeah, you’re absolutely correct: 12 seconds if you count the ill-fated on-sides kick, which was a huge part of the nightmare. I think Russell White, who was one in a series of Bears that tried to cover the ball, could at least have made sure the ball found its way out of bounds. Really interesting about the option to kickoff. I had no idea that was an option.
I wish there were reviews back then. Though if the officials didn't reverse the Targeting call against Miami, they wouldn't have reversed the Roughing call.
I remember Tedford slamming down his clipboard. In the student section we just… sat down, and stayed there a few minutes. There was just so much disbelief, it was hard to process it.
I was in Section EE. That last play unfolded in full view of that corner of the stadium; if you were there, you couldn't mistake what was happening. I couldn't believe that Riley was going to keep it.
That one play probably torpedoed the rest of the season too, because now Tedford didn't trust Riley and kept sending out one-legged Longshore for loss after loss.
went to the Dead Sea this weekend. floated around in the ultra salty water. it has a strange oily feel to it also that is full of all sort of minerals and things.
also smeared the Dead Sea mud all over and let it dry for a bit before washing it all off. felt like a nice expensive spa treatment. (maybe i gave this update already?)
the Dead Sea is dying. it is split into 2 parts and they are extracting all sort of minerals and things from the lower half which is affecting the entire ecosystem.
Other Colleges
ACC implements new tiebreaker policy for football title game
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49366844/acc-implements-new-tiebreaker-policy-football-title-game
CHARLOTTE -- After a five-way tie for second place put Duke in the ACC championship game over higher-ranked Miami last season, a new tiebreaker policy was announced Wednesday in a move that commissioner Jim Phillips described as getting the league to the "right place" to feature its two best football teams.
Still seems too complicated and hard to understand. Why not just make the CFP rankings the tiebreaker after head-to-head? That's obviously what everyone is concerned about here.
Or the "it's embarassing that one of the two best teams couldn't do better than a lower tier team" rule so let's tweak the rules.
PRO
Valkyries visit Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever tonight
Ballers lose to the Long Beach Coast, 12-4
Once again the NL loses the All-Star game. 3 measly hits.
This one is kind of weird since the NL is clearly better this season.
Travel
Well, Sardinia was an unmitigated disaster. My wife suffered a detached retina, so we went to two different hospitals for two surgeries in the Sardinia in a public hospital, returned to the US, saw three different doctors, suffered complications, spent the last two days in the hospital, watched my wife OD on a pain killer and stop breathing, begged a dumb-struck resident to do something, she self-revived in my arms, and we finally got discharged. I just slept 12 hours in my own bed finally and feel like the last half a month was a nightmare that aged me a decade. That was the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life.
That's terrible. I hope your wife will recover her eyesight.
I can't imagine the sheer terror of those events.
That’s so terrible!
HOLY SHIT!!! Wow that does sound like a nightmare. I assume if she's discharged she's doing better. Is her eyesight back to normal?
No. We are battling to save her eyesight.
Oh my goodness, I am so sorry to hear this. Best wishes to you and your wife, SGBear.
Ugh.
Driving cross country the 1st week of August to move No 3 to Arlington for PT school. Going to go to games in KC and STL. Wanted to go to a Rockies game but Wed is getaway day so it's a day game and it would involve leaving a day earlier. No 2 is flying out to KC because he wants to see the Negro League museum. He'll be driving the rest of the way with us with a stop in Louisville.
Hong Kong-- spouse is going for a week in Sept, and first time visitor needs all the recs. Where best to stay? Split location stay? Recommended tours? Any food tour recs? Must see things?
I liked staying in the Central District, near the mid-level escalators. Lots to see, easy access to transit.
High places
The second highest I've been is Vinicunca (16,400), the Rainbow Mountain in Peru.
Santa Cruz on 4/20...oh wait you mean elevation...
Copa Mundial
Spain puts on a passing clinic and manage to put France away 2-0.
was great to watch 2 really solid teams go at it. i felt that the early (questionable) PK for Spain tweaked the game in an unnatural way.
The foul was cheap/casual/unintentional and felt wrong, but it was literally a foul.
Yeah. But, with all the attempts players make to draw a foul throughout the game, this one seemed possibly an intentional move by Lamine Yamal to rush into the Frenchman’s kick plane. No way to prove, of course. The amount of feigning injury in soccer is tiresome, and in the moment I don’t know who to believe. Meanwhile VAR often gets thrust into plays that are judgement calls, or goes several steps back to look at things. Really interrupts the flow of play sometimes. I am trying to like soccer, I really am.
One reason why I don't like SGA.
Yeah this stuff is annoying in basketball too, but at least in that sport there are so many scoring plays and so many fouls called in a game that it gets more evened out. In a high-stakes soccer match you could have just one such foul that is highly impactful because it happened inside the box and it feels real bad to have that decide the outcome.
Spain was better in the game and probably should have won anyway, but to have that be the first goal that gives them a strong advantage, that sucks.
Is possible flopping reviewable in the NBA, and is it implemented to reign in this kind of play? Seeking contact is one thing, but lately it’s become a whole genre of skills where Harden, SGA et al maneuver the defender into a place where they can intentionally ram into them. No sir, I don’t like it.
It is, but almost never called. SGA doesn't always necessarily flop. He jumps in to create contact and not take a normal shot motion. There was a video on youtube on all his fouls during the playoffs.
And you're right, Harden did it as well. And one reason he never got to the finals is he never changed his play style and officials never call those fouls in the playoffs. I hate Harden as well.
I wonder if there will be some kind of rule change or an emphasis not to call those shots. Kinda like the kick your leg out when you shoot a 3 to draw a foul. If you're using an unorthodox shooting motion to draw a foul, there is no whistle.
Cal
Digital Diversions
Quordle
🙂 Daily Quordle 1633
6️⃣7️⃣
5️⃣4️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Worldle
#Worldle #1636 (15.07.2026) 2/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 1 days
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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
Wordle
Wordle 1,852 6/6
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WordleBot
Skill 48/99
Luck 56/99
Obviously, I've heard of today's Wordle solution. But it came upon me almost by accident. And when it did, I almost became angry. Because it is a relatively obscure word.
i agree. not a word you think is a word
Wordle 1,852 X/6*
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WordleBot
Skill 25/99
Luck 63/99
I'm stuck trying to figure out the word. given other people's comments, I may not get it.
i gave up
ugh.
Wordle 1,852 6/6*
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WordleBot
Skill 44/99
Luck 61/99
Wordle 1,852 4/6*
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I haver never heard of and have no idea of this word.
And yet, you got it. Did you get some help?
I guessed a few letters that really narrowed it down, especially eliminating vowels. Wordle won't let me complete the guess if the word is not a real word, so I spent about 15 minutes going through all the possible words which didn't use up any tries.
Well, that is a sort of help, though not likely to be used by many folks.
That's what I was thinking of doing here, but I still have a lot of letters left.
Wordle 1,852 5/6
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WordleBot
Skill 60/99
Luck 55/99
I thought about today’s word a couple rows earlier but wasn’t sure how legit a word it is.
I thought, this is the only thing that can possibly fit, but how is that an acceptable word??
Low places
Final nine seconds of Big Game 1990.
9 seconds? It was 12 seconds by the scoreboard.
Bruce Snyder missed an opportunity, though, after the failed 2 pt play. The rules at the time allowed the team scored upon to kick off.
Knowing that Stanf*rd would try an onsides kick, a forced touchback would have given Stanf*rd a longer field and set up a Hail Mary scenario.
Yeah, you’re absolutely correct: 12 seconds if you count the ill-fated on-sides kick, which was a huge part of the nightmare. I think Russell White, who was one in a series of Bears that tried to cover the ball, could at least have made sure the ball found its way out of bounds. Really interesting about the option to kickoff. I had no idea that was an option.
ugh...Too soon! Pat F'in Flood.
No way did John Belli hit Palumbis late. Arm was already in motion when Belli launched.
I wish there were reviews back then. Though if the officials didn't reverse the Targeting call against Miami, they wouldn't have reversed the Roughing call.
And replay would have overturned that thing that, um, happened in 1982….
Call on the field was a TD. Call stands, not confirmed. Too many band members on the field!
The lowest place on earth was Cal Memorial Stadium on Oct 13, 2007 after Kevin Riley unsuccessfully scrambled with the ball.
Unfortunately I was there for that.
Same.
It was so damn exciting until that last play which was like, "What, that's it?!"
I remember Tedford slamming down his clipboard. In the student section we just… sat down, and stayed there a few minutes. There was just so much disbelief, it was hard to process it.
I was in Section EE. That last play unfolded in full view of that corner of the stadium; if you were there, you couldn't mistake what was happening. I couldn't believe that Riley was going to keep it.
That one play probably torpedoed the rest of the season too, because now Tedford didn't trust Riley and kept sending out one-legged Longshore for loss after loss.
Too soon!
Death Valley
it has been a long time since i have been. i remember my dad wanting to take photos of the sunrise and so we were all up really early to see it.
We went way back in 77 or 78. Don't remember too much.
i was a little surprised by this
The highest point in Death Valley National Park is Telescope Peak, in the Panamint Range, which has an elevation of 11,043 feet (3,366 m)
went to the Dead Sea this weekend. floated around in the ultra salty water. it has a strange oily feel to it also that is full of all sort of minerals and things.
also smeared the Dead Sea mud all over and let it dry for a bit before washing it all off. felt like a nice expensive spa treatment. (maybe i gave this update already?)
the Dead Sea is dying. it is split into 2 parts and they are extracting all sort of minerals and things from the lower half which is affecting the entire ecosystem.
the water level drops significantly every year.
Are there rivers still supplying water to the Sea?
And, what makes it a sea vs a very large lake?