175 Comments

All of that for Trey Lance? Really?

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That picture is ... disturbing.

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Vaccinated people of the DBD are you _______?

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I have seen a dental hygienist.

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vaccinated?

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supposedly.

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errr....yes?

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Going to a crowded event like the NFL Draft in Cleveland this weekend?

Maybe...on the one hand, I really enjoyed it when that was in Philly in 2017, but that was going with friends and also only having to walk a few blocks to the events. Then again, I got myself a free online ticket for the NFL Experience for Saturday, just in case. Also told them that I am fully vaccinated, which supposedly might get me into the draft itself. Back when it was at Philly, it was impossible to get in for the first round (even though I technically got tickets but we didn't go wait in line for 4-5 hours) but really easy for Rounds 4-7 on Saturday.

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I can't wait for live sports. I was considering flying up for a Warriors game this season now that fans are allowed, but I don't think it'll work with my schedule. Maybe they'll match up with the Lakers or Clippers (if they make the playoffs) and I can go to one down here.

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Going to bbqs? Yes

Going to a wedding this weekend? Yes

Dining in at restaurants? Yes

Dining indoor at home with other vaccinated people? Yes

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Also will be cohosting an outdoor dinner with the lady friend at her house for a small group of friends May 8.

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Remind me—what time did you want us to arrive?

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I'll have no reservations about doing all of the above in about 3 weeks when my 2-week post-vaccination period is over.

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I'd be down for all of these too

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Garth says: party on Wayne

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doing in-person services (eg, dentists, optometrists, massage therapy)?

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Yep. Though have yet to get to the barber. and it shows.

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My unfortunate man-bun is a testament to the fact that I haven't seen my barber in over a year.

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Haircuts are over rated, join the long hair don’t care club!

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Haircuts are great—I used to love going to the barber and getting cleaned up.

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The clean back of the neck feeling is one of those physical sensations I really enjoy.

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I actually do too, I'm just at a point of having long hair for so long that I don't know what I'd do with it should I cut it all off

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I partially don't want to cut it because this is the longest it's ever been—and likely will ever be—so I need to be sure I'm ready to definitively say goodbye to long hair.

As an added side benefit, it's probably long enough to donate, which I assumed I would never be in a position to do. Just a shame that the organization that TBB used to donate her hair to is no longer around.

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Alternately, you can join the DIY club (although that's considerably more difficult to get right if it's been that long since your last haircut)

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I cut down the sides to keep it looking neat, but clearly it's not even because my dad likes to point out all the spots I mess up.

Because Asian parents.

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I've reached the part of middle age where a good haircut doesn't make me any less fugly, so now it's DIY cut + a baseball cap + self-confidence to bridge the gap until full baldness/death.

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Apr 29, 2021
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Minoxidil does work for many people.

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Yes to all of those for me. I avoided the dentist while unvaxxed, but had to go to the eye doctor, got one haircut, and had two massages when I was dealing with my herniated discs this fall. Now I would do any of those unreservedly. I also had my first pedicure in more than a year a couple of weeks ago.

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Need to get a dentist in the new hood now that I feel safer doing it. Also have had a handful of doctor visits (check ups and a dog bite) and have a minor surgery coming up in May

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Dentists, 4-5 times while un-vaccinated, need to schedule the rest, especially a haircut.

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I was already doing this before getting vaccinated. These things are essential and worth the risk IMO.

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I've had 4 dentist appts since covid before getting vaccinated. Two regular cleanings in Aug and Mar and 2 for a crown when one of my molars cracked. Back in Aug they already had many procedures in place including adding UV lights with fans above each chair to sterilize the air, changing gowns between each patient, and having the patient rinse for 30 seconds with some sort of Listerine type rinse. It felt safe.

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i see my therapist once a week.

while Zoom worked perfectly fine, it is SO much better in person.

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I'll have a dentist appointment in June and need to schedule an optometrist appointment. I dislike touching, so no massages.

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Fully, as of yesterday.

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flying?

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unlikely any time soon.

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Flew to my mom's in december for xmas. But by I had already had my first dose

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not yet...at least that's my official excuse for skipping a cousin's wedding in May in Southern California

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Once I'm vaccinated I won't so much be concerned about covid as I will be annoyed at the prospect of dealing with all the covid protocols. I'll probably wait until flying is a semi-normal experience.

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Not yet. I will probably wait until fall for this. I want the general level of covid to be lower before I start flying again (this is probably influenced by the fact that I'm 99% sure I caught my own covid on a plane).

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Yes, though nothing is planned and I flew a handful of times last fall.

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yep, flying to Alaska in 2.5 weeks

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did you figure out all the places you wanted to visit?

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Yeah, we are going to start in Seward on the south coast, then to Girdwood/Alyeska for a couple nights then up to Denali for a couple nights before final night in Anchorage. Still planning most of the specifics but have a general sense of what we'll end up doing.

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some good eats in case they are open ...

229 Parks of the Parks Hwy, about 10 minutes south of the entrance to Denali Park.

Little Mermaid in Homer

The Cookery in Seward

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Moose-AKa's near Denali - Eastern European Restaurant and Tavern

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yes, but we flew pre-vaccination as well for Feb ski trip to CO.

upcoming trip in Aug to Glacier NP ...

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I'm driving everywhere until my son is vaccinated. But I'm flying to the Cal/TCU game. If Texas has a third wave and in-person attendance is banned, I'm still going to watch it on TV in Fort Worth because my ticket and AirBnB are not refundable.

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My next flight will probably also be Cal/TCU. I guess I'll need to see if United still offers credit if it is cancelled.

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the "problem" i noticed w/ United compared to Delta is that, United will give you a credit for the amount of your ticket if you cancel, but it is not like cash.

- lets say you initially had a $300 ticket and cancel

- if you buy a $250 ticket, you lose the $50

- if you buy a $350 ticket, you pay the extra $50

on Delta when you cancel they just put the money in your account and you can use it incrementally if you want.

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THat's a good point. Luckily it's about 280 to Dallas and I'd guess most flights will be more than that and if it's less, like going to LA I'll just pay that.

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Currently planning to fly to Ohio in August, am not sure I'll fly before that.

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visiting with other vaccinated people indoors?

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we visited the MIL a couple weekends ago. that's probably as much as we need for now.

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Hard maybe? Haven't really thought about it because my nieces are all too young to be vaccinated, so this is just a non-starter.

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This is limited for me (mostly because I have discovered I don't miss people in person). We had a family dinner for my mama's 81st birthday last night, all fully vaccinated and people wanting to hug. I drew the line at hugging.

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Yep!

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Yes. I had dinner with my friend earlier this month. That was first time I saw someone outside of my immediate family in 13 months.

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Yes, we had a belated Easter dinner two weeks ago with other vaccinated family and it was great.

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have mostly interacted with members of the missus's family. Have done so since day 1 pretty much

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yes, went to a legit party last weekend. 25 people, all vaccinated. James Bond theme.

in general, now that the family is vaccinated are doing more visiting than before, which was limited to a handful of people.

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No, but I'll have outdoor dinner with a friend this Sunday (my first in-person, non-family meal since DBD Pi Day)

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Did two in-person visits and it felt so wonderful. Seemed surreal.

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Weird substack behavior

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For a second I thought you meant all the people who are cashing in on the trend for being "heterodox" opinionators.

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On the other hand Ashley Feinberg's substack will be worth whatever she charges in the future. She found ANOTHER secret twitter/instagram account yesterday - this time Jamie Dimon's. (She's also found Josh Duggar's Ashley Madison account, Seb Gorka's Amazon wishlist, James Comey's Twitter/Instagram, DTJ's hunting forum posts and Pete Buttegieg's wikipedia editing)

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You must be referencing something about which I am completely unaware.

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Apr 29, 2021
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💲💲💲

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The controversy over this kind of baffles me. I don't understand why I need to care one way or the other.

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Noticed some double posting for some reason.

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I've seen this since the beginning. And it must all be local because all replies show up in both double posts.

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Has anyone else seen this? Sometimes I go to reply and it seems to work but the browser just hangs. I get the browser is waiting for the server to respond and that I can cancel or wait. I usually have to refresh. I thought maybe it was the substack servers hanging but if I open up a new window and go to W4C it seems to be fine.

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Previously, if I posted a new comment, it would refresh the page, so I needed to make sure I checked all the new comments before I posted (using your ctrl+f trick). Now, it doesn't refresh, so I can post whenever!

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I have had that happen across different sites using Chrome over this week. Buttons sometimes didn't respond.

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I am using chrome so maybe it's something that started happening after an update.

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This happened to me a couple times last week (in Chrome, if that makes a difference). Refreshing the page fixed the issue for me too.

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Economics

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as continuation of yesterday's tax hike and housing market conversation ..

it doesnt seem that the market cares too much about $4T in tax hikes to pay for all the things. normally you see the market at least take a dip if people are seriously considering moving $$ from stocks to real estate or anything else

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True. I may have observation bias because I've talked to four friends who've decided to go into investment property this week because of this. That being said, they're not selling stock to do it.

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Cake

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chocolate sheet cake for desert after big plate of BBQ chicken spaghetti washed down with Lone Star.

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What time shall I be there, Coach Dykes?

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Anything with fondant is an automatic no from me.

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Cheesecake - is it a cake, a pie, or a custard?

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Not a cake - there is no flour in this delectable concoction.

Not a pie - is not baked or served in a pie dish.

Cheesecake is probably a custard - a custard is defined as a pudding-like mixture (usually sweetened) made with milk and eggs. Cheesecake filling has eggs, for sure, and has two ingredients derived from milk - cream cheese and sour cream. Custards are also often served without the baking dish (custard cups or ramekins) in which it was baked.

Creme brulee is an example of a custard served in its baking dish.

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It's a pizza

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pizza is a pie

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thin crust or deep dish?

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CAKE!!!!!!

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My daughter makes some great ones.

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That picture is a good example for the axiom "Just because you can do something, even with great skill, that doesn't mean you should do it".

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My wife makes a particularly good dark chocolate cake with orange marmalade. But, broadly, anything that doesn't have fake frosting, I'll give it a go. Actually even if it does have fake frosting.

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Good policy.

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Good band. I saw them perform in Zellerbach Hall at some point in the late 2000s.

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Seasonal: Strawberry season came early this year ... so it's strawberry shortcake time.

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My mom made real shortcake when it was strawberry season. Yum.

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Red velvet and burnt almond cake from Peter's in San Jose.

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Have become an equal opportunity cake hound since giving up Tito’s...chocolate, yellow, confetti, red velvet, carrot...GIMME

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Chocolate, carrot, lemon, banana, GIMME. You can keep the yellow, confetti and red velvet, which all taste of ennui and nothingness.

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"You can keep the yellow, confetti and red velvet, which all taste of ennui and nothingness."

Fantastic description, Scootie. Absolutely love it.

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I've developed a healthy respect for Scootie's diverse palate and how it differs so much from mine...yet, when speaking of cake, it all sounds delightful.

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I respect this position. You and TBB are aligned on this matter.

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This. I'll take all the cakes. Even carrot.

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Exactly.

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Tuxedo cake - chocolate frosting over yellow cake with cream in the center.

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Our Crumbling Democracy

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Good take, says I.

"President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session Congress was the most ambitious ideological statement made by any Democratic president in decades—couched in language that made it sound as if he wasn’t making an ideological argument at all.

Make no mistake that he was. He called for trillions in new spending in a robust expansion of government’s role in multiple arenas of American life in ways that would have been impossible to contemplate in Barack Obama’s presidency. He plunged into subjects—racial and class inequities, immigration, gun violence—that were rubbed raw until bleeding in Donald Trump’s.

Usually these issues are framed with a question: Which side are you on? Though Biden is rarely described as gifted orator, his speech was a remarkable performance in part because it didn’t soar and largely didn’t even try to. In plain-spoken language, he depicted a breathtakingly large agenda as plain common sense. Instead of imploring partisans to take sides, he projected bewilderment that any practical-minded person of any persuasion could be opposed."

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/29/biden-speech-ideologically-ambitious-484990

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...and that sums up the quiet, unassuming genius of Joe Biden.

Underestimate this president at your own peril. Last night's speech is also remarkably similar to when I saw Biden speak in Philadelphia...in 1979 at the first National Student Congress.

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When he said that it was time to talk about climate in terms of "jobs, jobs, jobs," I felt relieved. Finally, someone said what I felt needed to be said in plain English.

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MTG doesn't like schools because she's an idiot

https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/1387582485748400129

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Republicans do not like preschool funding because advanced education is bad.

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Today in Covid 19

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I thought this was a sound, respectful thread of information

(yes, the data for the vaccines is there) https://twitter.com/tnicholsmd/status/1387531752856440832?s=20

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Bit of a headache today after yesterday's shot. Not that anyone gives a hoot at the macro level.

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I had a headache for about 24hrs after each Pfizer does

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Pfizer or Moderna?

I'm going to guess Pfizer. A coworker that got Moderna yesterday got body slammed later that day.

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Pfizer

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Orioles and Yankees are playing a day game and I have it on in the background. The O's closer is not your typical closer. He threw four fastballs to his first batter, all in the low 80s. He ended up throwing 29 pitches and only two more were fastballs. The rest were all changeups in the upper 70s. Yanks tied it and Chapman is now in throwing 101.

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ESPN's Shefter: Aaron Rodgers does not want to return to Packers. Internet loses its mind speculating what that means.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1387848942432489478

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[Pro Football Talk] From unimpeachable source: As of last night, Aaron Rodgers’ wish list was 49ers, Broncos, Raiders (not necessarily in that order). He wanted Packers to take the 49ers’ offer. Next move by Rodgers is TBD.

https://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk/status/1387863372541083651

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I guess we know where the draft picks are going.

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GB offers contract extension to Rodgers. Piotr nails it.

https://twitter.com/PiotrLe/status/1387857883866583042

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Can't see the tweet. "This account owner limits who can view their Tweets. "

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Vietnamese Polak Piotr @PiotrLe

Spouse 1: I’m asking for a divorce

Spouse 2: I think having another kid will salvage our marriage

Quote Tweet

NFL Update @MySportsUpdate

The #Packers have offered to extend Aaron Rodgers' contract, per @AdamSchefter.

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pqtm

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Ian Rapoport: Cal's Jake Curhan likely undraftable after physical finds heart defect. However, this won't stop him from being an UDFA.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1387824738093907970

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brutal

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Ian Rapoport: Update on a former first-round pick: Tim Tebow recently worked out for the #Jaguars, source said, and there has been at least some discussion of him signing. Oh, and he’s a tight end now. https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1387839572680265737

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Hmmm.... I always thought the best position for him was fullback, with a half dozen passes thrown in to keep the D guessing, but few NFL teams use that position - this could work as well.

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For every Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, and Collin Morikawa - there are hundreds - maybe thousands - of other professional golfers struggling. Behold: Michael Visacki sinks a 20 footer on a local course to qualify for his first PGA Tour start after seven years of being a professional golfer.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1387057919183761412

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NFL Draft tonight. In honor of that, here's an article about where the 23 players drafted ahead of Aaron Rogers. Spoiler: none are in the league anymore after the last 2 retired after last season.

https://www.insider.com/2005-nfl-draft-where-are-they-now-aaron-rodgers-2021-1

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I am still surprised that fans will spend hours and days of their lives following a draft.

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I enjoy it when Cal players are involved. So not watching today. I also watch a live broadcast of the draft of Japanese baseball league every year and it starts at 2am.

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I enjoy the chess game aspect of it. The trades, the philosophies, the priority picks, etc. Do I live and die with it? No. Is it solid background noise while I do something else and I can sneer and hoot in disbelief every 10 or 20 minutes? Sure.

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Also, the fashion choices are always good entertainment.

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No joke, never understood this.

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Nah, I love a good draft. It's fun - after Cohan ran the Warriors into the ground and they were always the most inept franchise in the NBA, Clippers included, it was the only exciting thing in the whole shiitty franchise...

NBA and NFL Drafts have been fun ever since...love listening to the idiot analysts miss year in and year out on players...

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How perfect is it that at the same time Alex Smith retires after a solid but unspectacular career, Aaron Rodgers is the reigning NFL MVP....again.

Nice work, Mike Nolan...you f-ing boob.

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True, OTOH Nolan didn't do Alex Smith any favors.

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Nolan is awful. It was such a delight seeing him get shirt-canned in DAL after his defense was so embarrassing.

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Alex Smith was never going to be a Hall of Famer, but when Harbaugh came in it was clear how badly the previous coaches had done with him.

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Sure, a lot of it's hindsight, but the entire Niner organization screwed the pooch on that one.

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St. Louis relief pitcher has a brutal outing lasting only 5 pitches: HBP (97 mph to Bryce Harper's face), HBP (95 mph to Gregorius' ribs), H (Loss). Girardi ejected. A Jomboy breakdown.

https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1387587083737485317

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This was a brutal call and the ump had the nerve to say after watching the replay from many angles he still thinks he got it right.

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/marlins-vs-brewers/2021/04/28/634317#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=634317

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If you're referring to the play when the pitcher picks up the dribbler and underhand tosses it to first, I have to agree. What was the umpire thinking? The batter/runner should have been out for failing to run in the runner's lane alone. The pitcher, in the act of fielding the ball, has an absolute right to field the ball in *fair* territory.

Indefensible call.

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Yeah that was also my thought. He ran inside the line into fair territory. This isn't like establishing your line evading a tag or anything like that.

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In fact, the runner is supposed to avoid him trying to make the play. Otherwise it's runner's interference.

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Exactly.

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Yeah that was horrible. I guess runner running inside the baseline down first is only when the throw is from behind. He's already established his line but the play was in front of him.

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the Mets lost 1-0 even after deGrom struck almost everyone out

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So far he's having a historical year. I wonder if he can keep it up.

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Game #25: A’s shut out for first time this year in quiet loss to Rays

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2021/4/28/22409030/oakland-as-game-25-tampa-bay-rays-score-result

Not much to see here.

Sometimes you get a slow game, and that was Wednesday night for the Oakland A’s, in a 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The A’s weren’t completely dominated, getting a couple good chances to score, but they couldn’t come through with the big hit whereas the Rays did for one inning. It’s the first time the green-and-gold has been shut out this season.

Continuing the theme of this series, both starting pitchers were strong. Cole Irvin went six innings for the A’s and struck out a career-high eight batters, while Tyler Glasnow upped the ante for Tampa Bay with seven innings and 10 Ks. Neither was perfect, and Irvin allowed his share of hard contact, but they generally punched their way out of trouble when needed.

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Giants walk their way to a series win

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2021/4/28/22408960/san-francisco-giants-rockies-recap-alex-wood

The San Francisco Giants did not have an extra-base hit on Wednesday. Not one double, though they would have had one were it not for the mystical powers of the TOOTBLAN. Not one triple. Not even one of those home run things they’ve been so good at this year.

And yet despite not utilizing the tools most frequently associated with good offense, the Giants managed to have a good offense. A really good one, at that.

They put up four runs in a single inning. They had the Colorado Rockies bullpen in action in the second. They knocked Germán Márquez out of the game after four innings. And they scored enough for a smooth 7-3 win.

But they didn’t have an extra-base hit.

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If the 4th place Arizona Diamondbacks were in the NL East, they'd be in first place at 0.500.

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It's early but both wild cards could come from the NL West.

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Padres vs. Dodgers in the wildcard? I'm in

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The Beat LA chants at that game would be loud.

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Clayton Kershaw gives vintage performance as Dodgers win

https://www.truebluela.com/2021/4/28/22408575/clayton-kershaw-los-angeles-dodgers-mlb-news

Clayton Kershaw delivered yet another classic performance, as the Dodgers got back in the win column as they took down the Reds, 8-0.

The offense was quiet through the first seven innings. Then in the eighth, they exploded for six runs, all coming with two outs. The first run on the afternoon came in the second inning. With runners on the corners and no outs, Luke Raley grounded into the double play. More runs would have been welcomed, but the go-ahead run was still nice regardless.

An inning later, Justin Turner doubled the lead with a solo shot for his sixth home run of the season. Turner continues to have an incredible April, and now I’m pretty convinced it’s all because he gave up dairy.

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Panthers trade Teddy Bridgewater to Broncos for 6th-round pick on eve of the 2021 NFL Draft

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/panthers-trade-teddy-bridgewater-to-broncos-for-6th-round-pick-on-eve-of-the-2021-nfl-draft/

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Good pickup for DEN. Teddy can run that offense better than Lock.

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I didn't realize the Panthers got Darnold. I was wondering why the Panthers would let Bridgewater go. He seems like an expensive backup but I guess he's going to complete with Lock.

In other UofL QB news I wonder if the Ravens are going to give Lamar Jackson an extension. He wasn't as good last year so the question is if teams figured him out or he just isn't as good as his 2nd year. In college I always thought that he wasn't very accurate. There are Ravens fans that don't think he's worth 30-40 mil a year.

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Other University

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2021 NFL Draft: 10 underrated sleepers who won't be picked early but will turn into quality players

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2021-nfl-draft-10-underrated-sleepers-who-wont-be-picked-early-but-will-turn-into-quality-players/

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Cal

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go bears

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