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Life update (in which I write a long diatribe):

My paternal grandmother passed away last week. She'd had a variety of health problems over the past several years (diabetes, Parkinson's, shingles, other things) and we're grateful she isn't suffering, but it's hard to be far away, of course. Because of the COVID spike in Taiwan (~200 cases yesterday), travel restrictions are tighter than ever, so only my parents went to Taiwan. They're required to get a negative test before flying (reasonable) and stay in quarantine for 14 days once they arrive (reasonable) IN SEPARATE HOTEL ROOMS. The Taiwanese government published a list of exceptions to the separate quarantine, including little kids being able to stay with their parents or if you have a health condition that means you need to be accompanied.

We messaged my dad's doctor asking for a note, as she recently treated him for gout and was concerned about his blood pressure and some other factors. We explained that on top of the physical health conditions, we're worried about my dad's frame of mind, given that he's grieving his mother, so having to isolate in a hotel room (can't cross the threshold once you go in) for 14 days could be traumatic for his mental health. Given the complexities of arranging international travel during a pandemic and after a death in the family, we didn't message my dad's doctor until after hours on Monday (parents' flight was in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday and they landed in the early afternoon California time). This didn't give the doctor very much time to respond, since they would need the documentation before they left the airport, but obviously it's not like we'd been planning this trip for ages. It was a rather sudden situation.

I called the advice line Tuesday morning to see if I could expedite things, and the person said they would pass along the message to the doctor's office, but that normal messages (like mine and the one from the advice line) would normally be responded to within 24 hours. Checking my dad's messages obsessively, I hadn't seen any response from the doctor, so I called again an hour before they were due to land in Taiwan. The advice line person was really nice and said they would try to convey the urgency, but that the doctor's office was on their lunch break then, so unlikely to answer the phone. They also said I could call back if I continued to not get a response and also told me good luck. I tried again 10 minutes before my parents' flight was due to land, and the advice line person tried to call the doctor's office directly, but got no response. My parents are now quarantining in separate rooms.

This morning, the doctor's assistant called me and said, "I see that you were asking for a note from the doctor. I'm calling to see how that's going." I explained that the note was for my father, why we requested the note, why it was an urgent request yesterday, but now it was too late. The assistant told me that the doctor said she wouldn't be able to write a note for my dad because he doesn't have a serious medical condition. I told her that I understood, but I wish I'd been able to speak with someone in the office yesterday, because it's not just about my dad's physical conditions, it's also the fact that HIS MOTHER DIED AND HE HAS TO SIT IN A ROOM BY HIMSELF FOR FOURTEEN DAYS. She said that the file indicated that another assistant had "conveyed the doctor's message to the patient's daughter."

THAT WAS FALSE. I never received a call from them. I didn't speak to anyone in that office yesterday. I didn't have any voicemails. (At one point when I called the advice line and left my information, they asked if it would be acceptable to leave a voicemail, and I said yes.) I just messaged the doctor again and will give her some time to respond, but as I said: I would have appreciated more compassion, but I'm particularly upset about the outright lie in the medical record.

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First off, my condolences to you, your family and especially your father on the loss of your beloved grandmother.

As a Kaiser patient, sadly this hits home. Not in all instances in my own care, but just enough that it resonates. The quarantine imposed by the circumstances should never happen to anyone. I'm sorry to hear that your dad, grieving for the loss of his mother, is forced into isolation because people got bureaucratic and worse, LIED about their response. To be fair to Kaiser, they probably didn't understand the import of the request and the urgency. That's also damning to Kaiser.

No winners here.

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Concur with all the condolences and the Kaiser comments.

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Thank you

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I'm really sorry to hear that you're going through this TBB. I hope things will be ok in Taiwan. Non-hugs.

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pqtm

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Thank you

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may your grandmother's memory be a blessing, and I hope your parents are able to get through the next couple of weeks.

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Thank you

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I'm sorry TBB. Whole situation sounds awful.

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Thank you

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So sorry. Hopefully you're able to talk to both your parents everyday as you all work through this sad time.

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Thank you

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TBB, so sorry for your loss and your frustrations. I hope your father and mother do as well as they can, and you as well.

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Thank you

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A family tragedy is hard enough without all those extra hurdles stacked on top of it. You all have my condolences. I hope your dad stays strong during the quarantine period.

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Thank you

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sorry to hear all this. losing someone is hard enough, not to have it be additionally hard because it was bungled by bureaucracy.

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Thank you

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Jun 9, 2021Liked by SGBear, TD_24

This sounds like Kaiser

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I have heard nothing but negative things about Kaiser's actual care (this is typical).

A former co-worker long ago, head terrible migraines. Went to her Kaiser Drs. multiple times, they had her do some MRIs etc. it wasn't until she was in for something else that one of the DRs actually looked at the several MRI results and saw the enormous brain tumor. Then when it came time for Kaiser to do the surgery, they operated on the WRONG SIDE OF HER BRAIN, and didn't remove the tumor. Needless to say, she was unable to work after that.

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jfc.

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First, sorry for your loss TBB. Second, I have heard too many medical mishap stories from friends who have kaiser to have ever considered them when I enrolled in my company insurance plan last year

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Thank you

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Not that I defend Kaiser very much, but years ago I called them the day after my wife died (not from Kaiser care). I was sobbing through much of the call, and the Kaiser person was not only very sympathetic, she started crying as well.

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Ding ding ding. I will say everyone on the advice line was really kind.

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I am sorry for your loss and the troubles that happened around it.

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Thank you

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Sorry to hear about your paternal grandmother and that you can't be there.

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Thank you

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In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash

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In the Gods We Trust, Pagans Eat for Free

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By God Mississippi

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For those who don't know what my text in the title meant...

A bus stops and two Italian men get on. They sit down and engage in an animated conversation. The lady sitting behind them ignores them at first, but her attention is galvanized when she hears one of the men say the following:

"First, Emma come. Den I come. Den two asses come together. I come once-a-more. Two asses, they come together again. I come again and pee twice. Then I come one lasta time."

"You foul-mouthed sex obsessed swine," retorted the lady indignantly. "In this country....we don't speak aloud in public places about our sex lives.... "

"Hey, coola down lady," said the man. "Who talkin' about a sexa? I'm a justa tellin' my frienda how to spella 'Mississippi'."

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Newellbany & I were there for the ballgame, and I have spent plenty of time over the years with friends that live down in southern Mississippi near the Gulf in a delightful town called Diamondhead. If a gun were held to my head & I were forced to live in the South, Diamondhead/Bay St. Louis/Pass Christian would probably be my desired spot, though if you lived there long enough, you’d lose your house to a hurricane. Being 70 minutes from New Orleans is a draw, tho, as I do love me some Big Easy....

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Houston Texas and Atlanta Georgia and Charlotte North Carolina.

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Been there for the Ole Miss game. that's enough of MS for me. Also drove across the bridge to Arkansas to the first or 2nd exit, and turned around. That's enough of Arkansas for me.

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Arkansas will pay you $10,000 to move there

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/arkansas-remote-worker-initiative

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I'm gonna need them to add a couple of zeros in the middle.

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During my cross-country move Arkansas was the worst state to drive through. Roads were in horrific condition, open-bed gravel trucks were lobbing rocks at everyone on the interstates, and in between the flying gravel were loads of bugs the size of small birds.

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Hmmmm.... I have tenants moving to Ar-kansas because they know they can't afford to buy a house in the Bay Area. City where Walmart is HQ, supposedly has good mountain bike trails.

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Bentonville? Quaint downtown area and then lots of hideous tract homes. Fayetteville is 20 miles down the road and is an attractive college town. We did a fam driving vacation to NW Arkansas a few years back (the missus has deep family ties to the state). The hiking and nature activities are spectacular and a few towns held some interest (Hot Springs and Eureka Springs primarily). The poverty there is pretty soul crushing though and one does get tired of seeing yet another quarter mile long chicken house go by as you drive

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Spent a morning in Hot Springs last summer on the Coast to COVID road trip...Oaklawn Park Racetrack and the National Park are solid sights and that Arlington Hotel is pretty cool, as is the row of historic spas...but agreed, there is so much poverty. Compared to California, it's an entirely different world.

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Jun 9, 2021Liked by SGBear

FS and I, along with our better halves drove to podunk Arkansas to have lunch at the US's oldest black owned restaurant. Pulled pork sandwiches on wonder bread. It was very disappointing.

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Arkansas is pretty dreadful

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it seems like there's a lot of very pretty scenery, but there are a lot of states with very pretty scenery.

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We saw actual prison chain gangs in Arkansas.

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DBD AV Club

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After finishing the Kominsky Method on Netflix, I decided to throw on a classic from my childhood, Romancing the Stone...great movie, complete with the quality, synthesizer/saxophone-heavy '80's soundtrack. Good to see Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in their youths, esp after Kominsky.....

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I love the actor who played El Guapo in The Three Amigos.. "Joan Wilder? THE Joan Wilder? You are Joan Wilder the novelist? I read your books!!! I read all your books! Come in!" Dany Devito also has some good scenes.

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"damn it man, the doobie brothers broke up. when did that happen?"

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ha good one

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This turned out to be one helluva morning...

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I remember liking it quite a bit when it came out... seemed like Hollywood tried to recreate the vibe in other movies, but couldn't quite pull it off.

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DBD Test Kitchen

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DCT - I think it was you that was talking about Utz "The Crab Chip" potato chips. They are not normally stocked down here, so I bought one remembering that it was recommended by someone. Perhaps I lived in Asia too long, but I was disappointed to find that it wasn't crab flavored, even though there is a crab right on the front. It is Old Bay flavored. That's some wypipo shit right there, man. Boooooo!!! Only a Marylander would think that fine.

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two years ago hong kong . .. and then shanghai went through a phase of salted egg yolk fish skin snacks - and let me tell you buddy. I rank those right below Cool Ranch Doritos and Sour Cream & Onion Lays as "serving size: entire bag"

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also what do you think crabs are steamed in (other than water obviously)

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I'll be sure to let them know they need to put a disclaimer on the bag during the next Maryland food branding meeting

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It's like how pumpkin spice refers to the spices typically used in pumpkin pie, rather than spices that taste like pumpkin (which is not a spice).

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And fish flavored eggplant is the same - it's about similar flavors used to cook fish as egg plant!

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that would be me. The former mrs goso is from Annapolis and Utz crab chips were always a must have when visiting the inlaws.

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Our Crumbling Democracy

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FET: My buddy who is in the Secret Service got called to protect Drumph when he visited Greenville NC on Saturday. He was free since his wife and my wife were hanging out at the lake. When he showed up, local police were running around because somebody called in a threat and they didn't know what protocol to follow. He asks if anybody called the number back and nobody was willing to do it because it wasn't in any manual. So he picks up his own phone, calls the number and gets a guy in Oregon. The guy admits that he called but said that he didn't make a threat because he is in Oregon and just happened to wonder out-loud on the phone what would happen if someone were to have an explosive. My buddy then yells at the guy to stop making b*mb threats and never do anything like this again or else the Secret Service will make him very sorry. He hangs up, then says THAT IS HOW YOU FIX A FUCKING B*MB THREAT.

Funny enough, he also solved a threat at his daughter's high school. Something similar with local police freaking out rather than doing anything because they're not trained for these types of actions. Predictably, that one was a kid who didn't want to do a test.

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pltm

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Is Rudy Gohmert incredibly stupid or trying to make a joke based on his view that global warming not being man-made?

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1402581784555044864

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to be fair, the district he represents is not exactly a hot bed of education and/or free thought so...its entirely possible they think this is actually possible there.

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What a straight up moron.

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Goehmert is very smart. He's playing to his base which, unfortunately, is not very smart.

Goehmert, however, is a cynical bastard. So, there's that.

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[Yahoo News] OAN didn't just cover the AZ Cyber Ninjas recount, it helped create it

https://www.yahoo.com/news/oan-correspondent-covering-arizona-election-025519874.html

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Thanks, Trump:

Many of those charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have blamed former president Donald Trump for their actions, saying he riled them with his claims of election fraud and his promises to join them in fighting it.

Now, Trump’s continued refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election is helping to keep some of those supporters behind bars.

“The steady drumbeat that inspired defendant to take up arms has not faded away; six months later, the canard that the election was stolen is being repeated daily on major news outlets and from the corridors of power in state and federal government, not to mention the near-daily fulminations of the former President,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote recently in denying bond to a Colorado man. The man is accused of driving to Washington with two firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition after threatening to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/trump-election-claims-capitol-breach-defendants/2021/06/08/036f57ee-bf22-11eb-9c90-731aff7d9a0d_story.html

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Biden revokes Trump’s TikTok ban, creates framework for guarding U.S. data

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/09/biden-trump-tiktok-ban-us-data-492519

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Today in Covid 19

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Today we have a 'town hall' zoom for county employees to hear what the 'back to normal' plan is. I expect a lot of blathering about all the 'good work during this difficult time' and no organized plan.

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!

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I was mostly correct. The 'back to the office' plans are very dependent up on what Cal-OSHA decides at a special emergency regulation meeting tonight.

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cf-98 came home from daycare the other day with a stuffy nose. The missus caught that cold and now I have it. It's pretty mild: a bit of congestion, and that's about it. First time I've been sick since covid.

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My older daughter was out with some friends yesterday and one of them (the one who caught the 'rona last fall at Wisconsin because it was a complete shitshow) was wearing a mask because she'd caught a cold and was trying to avoid spreading it. But it's very important to remember that masks are tyranny.

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youngest (22) almost never goes outdoors without a mask on, even though she's been Vax's for months now.

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Pro

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WFT's Montez Sweat is vaccine-hesitant.

https://twitter.com/Sam4TR/status/1402662191992610824

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Also apparently not very smart.

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Philly evens the series with Atlanta behind Embiid's 40 points

https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1402451528808648712

Embiid was a monster out there and Atlanta continues to have no answer for him. Atlanta fell behind 18 early and rallied to close the half, but they were unable to rally again in the second half. The offense went stagnant in the same way it did late in Game 2 of the Hawks-Knicks series: focusing too much on making up the deficit with 3s rather than their usual mix of attacking the basket and dishing 3s (which can produce huge volumes of points in short periods of time--as they've demonstrated throughout the playoffs).

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Game #62: A’s breeze past D’Backs at windy Coliseum

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2021/6/8/22525234/oakland-as-game-62-arizona-dbacks-score-result

On a windy night at the Coliseum, the Oakland A’s only needed one gust of offense to take control.

The A’s did all their scoring in the 4th inning and breezed to a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, using all singles and walks and no extra-base hits. Oakland only put three other runners on base the entire evening outside of that one rally, their pitching staff faced just six batters over the minimum on the other side of the ball, and the whole thing was done in a brisk 2:44.

This game pretty much boiled down to that 4th inning. The A’s were in an early 1-0 hole, but they brought 11 batters to the plate and sent home a flurry of runs. The first six hitters reached base safely — they loaded the bags, then Sean Murphy walked to force one in, and Chad Pinder and Matt Chapman each delivered RBI singles.

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Khris Davis DFA'd by the Rangers. Who will pick him up???? A 33-year old former slugger.

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D'backs have lost 18 straight road games.....last win was Mad Bum's 7-inning no no in April...brutal.

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Mike Tauchman grand slams and Brandon Crawford states his MVP case: the story of another Giants win

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2021/6/8/22525355/san-francisco-giants-texas-rangers-recap-brandon-crawford-mike-tauchman

I used to write for a newspaper. Not full-time, mind you, but I spent a summer covering the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks for the Los Angeles Times.

It was fun, in that way that passing someone on a two-lane road is fun when you get to that critical point where you’re fully committed but no longer sure that it was a smart or safe idea.

My first deadline was five minutes after the game ended; my second was usually about 15-20 minutes after that, which, if everything happened smoothly, was enough time to ask a question or two, record a quote or two, transcribe a quote or two, and have a nice game story.

The result was that I always crossed my fingers for straightforward games, so I could write my article while the game was happening, adjust a few pertinent details post-buzzer, and smoothly move on with life. Fourth quarter shenanigans were my nemesis.

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Dodgers take everything the Pirates give them, and need it

https://www.truebluela.com/2021/6/8/22525294/walker-buehler-chris-taylor-dodgers-pirates-kebryan-hayes-non-home-run

The difference between the Dodgers and Pirates is vast — their run differentials are the best and worst, respectively, in the majors — and that played out in Los Angeles’ 5-3 win in the series opener on at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Tuesday night also featured the Dodgers taking advantage of most opportunities provided them by the home team, and might have provided the winning margin.

Ke’Bryan Hayes provided the most obvious example, the one that will make highlight films. His home run in the first inning should have given Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead, but instead he became the second notable Pirate to fail to touch first base in the last two weeks, albeit by only costing them one run it was the least egregious of the two misplays.

It was catcher Austin Barnes who first spotted that Hayes missed the bag.

“Austin and Clayton [Kershaw] were more down at the end of the dugout, so they had a better vantage point,” manager Dave Roberts explained. “Those guys — Austin, in particular — get credit for getting Chad Chop, the replay guy, on that one. That was a big play.”

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The Pirates 2nd batter lost a home run because it was a line drive down the line and he was running hard looking at the ball because he wasn't sure if it was going out and going to be fair. He didn't notice that he missed first base. Dodgers threw over to first after the pitcher got a new ball, asked for a replay, the review showed he missed first, and the runner was out 1-3.

An ESPN article on bad baserunning: 'Sorry you had to see that' -- How baserunning has become an embarrassing problem in Major League Baseball

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31551774/sorry-had-see-how-baserunning-become-embarrassing-problem-major-league-baseball

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I remember No 3's varsity team his freshman year had a kid that was super fast, not the smartest base runner. No 3 was a better baserunner than he was.

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The TBLA article above has this:

Home runs: Chris Taylor (8); <strikeout>Ke’Bryan Hayes (3)</strikeout>, Bryan Reynolds (9), Michael Perez (4)

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pqtm

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Other College

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Bo Schembechler's son - Matt - is planning to reveal evidence tomorrow that his father knew of abuse by the team doctor. Matt says he was abused by that doctor too. This comes on the heels of Harbaugh defending that doctor and Bo.

https://twitter.com/AfternoonsWWJ/status/1402686515524915204

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jfc.

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Dixie State votes to officially change their school name. Future name not yet decided, but Utah Tech and Utah Poly are two of them.

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/dixie-is-officially-dumped-in-vote-over-university-name-change

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Who is to blame for the Pac-12s underperformance? Not Larry Scott, according to Larry Scott. He's apparently a humble guy and the Pac 12 schools are dolts who wouldn't follow his visionary leadership.

hthttps://www.yahoo.com/news/ap-interview-scott-says-final-211145690.html

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"don't let the doorknob hit you where the dog shoulda done bit you"

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Luke McCaffrey - the younger brother of Christian - has left Louisville just after transferring from Nebraska. He lasted less than 10 Scaramuccis in L'ville.

https://twitter.com/ericcrawford/status/1402601706077179913

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This sounds vaguely like that linebacker (?) Cal got who was supposed to be super great at his position and then ended up leaving shortly after enrolling and bouncing around from program to program. Late in the Tedford era, IIRC.

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Update: he lasted less than a week (<1 Scaramucci) because he thought he could come in and somehow be gifted the starting role vs. an incumbent 2-year starter. What Coach would take the next Tate Martell?

https://www.si.com/college/louisville/football/luke-mccaffrey-enters-transfer-portal

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white privilege much?

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What big-ish time team is going to want him after all this?

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USC's Jay Toia announces his transfer to UCLA in a tweet that also highlights that area's traffic and smog

https://twitter.com/JayToia_102/status/1402490065268338691

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rude imo

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Cal

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In a couple years Cal's D-line depth issues will be a distant memory. This class is getting stacked on the D-line.

https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/2022-jaxson-moi-joins-the-dl-party

https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/34-2022-dl-nate-burrell-commits-to

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