Unseasonably pleasant out here in the Mid-Atlantic. High 70s with very little humidity yesterday. July keeps oscillating between ridiculous heat waves and unusually pleasant weather.
I smoked a corned beef and it was excellent. It's exactly what you'd expect: like a typical corned beef but imbued with smokiness. The edges made for some great burnt ends.
I've rewatched most of the back half (when it hit its stride), but not the first few. Trying to convince my wife to watch it ("soccer? I don't think so"). even sent her a "Ted Lasso nominated for 20 Emmys" article, but no success so far. daughter is back in pre-K day camp, so maybe one of these afternoons, we can watch the first few together...
My 16 year old daughter was extremely skeptical (sports and therefore male oriented, or so she thought) but was won over. Would your wife be swayed by the fact that it passes the Bechdel test?
I think that Richmond is not a very talented team and they were gonna get relegated no matter what. So instead of being a hard ass, Lasso squeezed what he could out of what he had. He delegated strategy to a couple of coaches (or soon-to-be coaches) – granted that was an artistic license stretch – but it worked...they were within seconds of NOT getting relegated.
Similar to a Steve Kerr system of understanding the players and treating them each differently (while generally not enabling asshole behavior), but with MUCH less talent than Steve inherited ;-)
I watched the first two eps of Schmigadoon (AppleTV+) the other night. I'm not a fan of musicals (in general, and 1940s ones in particular), but it was enjoyable. The songs were good (as opposed to Central Park). And good cast.
Tried to watch the 3rd ep – usually they drop the first three at once – but nope. Gotta wait til Friday (make that Thursday at 9pm PDT). Which is also the next ep of Physical...and the long-awaited start of S2 of Ted Lasso :-)
ATV+ is hitting its stride. I actually like that they (1) don't dump the whole season at once and (2) have a (much) smaller library, so that I don't get paralyzed by too much (freedom of) choice. #Devo
Also enjoyed the first two episodes of Schmigadoon, though I don't think it quite matches the excellence of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or Galavant. It's still basically an SNL sketch writ large at this point.
I liked the 1st couple of seasons of C X-G – great songs – but missed Galavant (I think I have the pilot downloaded somewhere). But a good start for Schmigadoon...grabbed me more than Central Park did
The first part of Galavant S1 can be a bit rough in places, with S1E3 in particular being a stinker. But the season closes pretty strong and S2 is quite fun.
It's also the show I showed my now-fiancé to help her get over her previous break-up so it holds something of a special place for me.
thinking about your SNL sketch comment...I recall – and perhaps you had this in mind – that this is a Lorne Michaels production. So curious how much he can flesh things out. 30 Rock was his production company, yes? So that give me hope.
AV Club hardware edition: I replaced a twelve-year-old tv with an OLED tv and it is absolutely glorious. Any source that is HDR looks incredible, and really highlights how much technological advancement has been made recently in color vibrancy and contrast.
[WaPo] Private Israeli security NSO Group has a military-grade phone spyware that forces its way onto phones without a click. The company says it doesn't allow it to be used outside of counterterrorism/counter-criminal work. But it is. It is being used to surveil political rivals, journalists, activists, and 50,000 others. It was used for six months to track down Jamal Khashoggi's wife. It has been linked to other assassinations.
Texas passes law that "allows students to think critically" by banning certain ways to think - including critical race theory, 1619 Project, or current events without giving deference to any one perspective.
No fan of Sen. Cassidy or most Rs (or most Ds for that matter), but I have to agree with him here. Biden promised bipartisanship, and aside from one photo-op meeting with R senators a few months ago, he's done nothing but push hyper-partisan bills, along with many false (and dangerous) hyperbolic narratives.
I don't understand your reply. In the clip Cassidy said better education through an individual's medical professionals is the way we will get higher vax rates -- he said vax or a higher rate of unnecessary death are the choices. His point was why should people trust Biden on vaccines when he talks about "Jim Crow on steroids" and "greatest threat since the Civil War" and other false narratives. Jim Crow was an awful period of murder, rape, threats and intimidation to discourage Blacks from voting. To equate recent voting reform laws to that is dangerous and does a disservice to the victims of Jim Crow and those who fought to end it, ESPECIALLY when you consider that recent reforms (Georgia specifically) result in less restrictive voting rules than in Biden's home state of Delaware.
This is such bullshit, he's connecting "lack of belief in the government" to the big lie that Biden didn't win the election, a blaming the mistrust that Republican voters have about vaccines to this phenomenon that is 100% created by Trump and his allies in congress and elsewhere. You're a willful fool if you can't see that obvious connection, and also the so-called "reform" laws ARE most definitely and explicitly designed to keep the poors & and Black and Brown people from voting, all based on Trump's big lie that he really won.
And so fucking what? What the fuck does this have to do with not taking the vaccine? It's all bullshit, because he's deathly afraid of calling out Trump's lies.
You need to watch the clip again -- as I just did. There's not even a mild inference of the "Big Lie." I hate Trump, but you've let your Trump Derangement Syndrome get the best of you. Cassidy's answer has NOTHING to do with Trump. It's about the best way to reach the people who haven't/won't/refuse to get vaxxed -- he may have an R next to his name, but he's trying to get citizens in his state to get the vax!
Oh, and even the Washington Post gave Biden 4 Pinocchios for his false claims about the Georgia voting law! I was a Poli Sci major at Cal, and I was trained to analyze all sides of an issue, which I've done. The Ds are pushing the false narrative about the new voting laws only because they think they'll score political points, but I think it will ultimately backfire on them.
Bottom of the article is interesting. If we open our border to travelers from the UK right now we are insane. They have infection rates more than 5x higher than ours right now.
Worried—We are now seeing lots of outdoor-only #DeltaVariant transmission between strangers with no direct contact. These sports attendees weren’t even sitting together—likely fleeting transmission at “pinch points” (bottlenecks) at stadium🏟 gates. This would change everything.
Oops. Given the way this Delta variant is scorching around the country I'm pretty psyched about the "you almost certainly won't die" results for people who have been vaccinated.
Economist/YouGov poll: 29% of Americans will not or are hesitant in getting vaccine. Those who won't get vaccinated also believe that vaccines cause (49%) or might cause (30%) autism. Those who won't get vaccines believe that the government is microchipping the population (49%) or might bee (16%). JFC.
Analysis by an expert on why IOC President Bach called the Japanese people "Chinese people." Already very unpopular among Japanese people for forcing the Olympics amid the pandemic, he now is hated even more.
Nagoya sumo basho ended yesterday. Hakuho took his 45th championship – after not having completed the last 5 or 6 basho – beating Terunofuji, who had won the last two basho (after coming back from demotion to one of the lowest levels due to injuries) and just got promoted to Yokozuna.
I was happy to see the NHK World has daily 27-minute summaries of the previous day's matches. Wish I'd known sooner! Hakuho's tachiai on Day 14 was nuts...
Verstappen experienced an astonishing 51g impact and walked away mostly unscathed. Every year there's an incident that makes me marvel at the safety advances in Formula 1 racing; this was definitely that incident for 2021.
Since Verstappen is okay, I feel all right in saying he was a gigantic fucking crybaby about that. Racing incident, both of them had a part in making it happen, get a grip.
It looked in the replay I saw like Hamilton hooked him, in a way that would get someone not named Hamilton penalized. But its hard to guage; its so close he could have thought there was clearance. At least it was more interesting than the usual F1 race that is decided in qualifying
HOOVER, Ala. -- SEC media days kicked off on Monday with commissioner Greg Sankey announcing that six of the conference's 14 football teams have reached an 80% mark for vaccinations.
"That number needs to grow and grow rapidly," Sankey said. "We have learned how to manage through a COVID environment, but we do not yet have control of a COVID environment."
One thing the conference can control is what it will do if a team is unable to play because of coronavirus issues. Sankey said games won't be postponed and has recommended that the conference removes the 53-man roster minimum that was put in place last year.
The message to schools is "You're expected to play as scheduled," Sankey said.
"That means your team needs to be healthy to compete, and if not, that game won't be rescheduled," he said. "And thus, to dispose of the game, the 'forfeit' word comes up at this point."
Mark Emmert is reckless. His libertarian approach is going to cause unintended consequences. And I believe it won't be good for Cal, the vast majority of the student-athletes, or most universities. And Americans still want it to happen because they worship pro sports.
Emmert may be less reckless and more powerless. SCOTUS stripped the NCAA of its very foundation by eviscerating amateurism via the NIL ruling.
What can Emmert do, really? I agree with Dodd that enforcement of whatever standards devolve to the conferences.
It's possible that FBS membership might change to allow for sponsorship of fewer sports overall. I'm wondering if Stanf*rd's recent PR debacle in trying to cut 10 sports will be seen as an outlier 5 years from now.
After fighting with the website, renewed my Cal MBB tix over the weekend. I've only been to like 3 games over the last few seasons – part young child, part work busy, part Covid, part "who are these people on the court" (which is my issue with the Giants now) – but hoping to make a few games this season. The games I went to were with daughter, so hoping to get her sucked into the roller coaster that is Cal sports. She was excited/enjoyed watching the championship bout of the just-ended sumo basho.
There's 14 right now. (4:07 pm EDT). I don't know why I thought that all those videos of bears catching salmon in their mouth was uncommon. I didn't know it was actually the norm.
Who is the loudest person you know?
I can actually be very, very loud, but normally I'm not.
Ken Montgomery
Uh huh.
First name to come to mind, also.
louder than me? I am pretty damned loud
i have been told i have the loudest sneeze.
AND
i used to have the loudest laugh
but otherwise i am relatively soft spoken ...
I have a loud sneeze as well. Asian Dad sneeze. My nephew is 9 and also has an Asian Dad sneeze.
I've had the loud Asian Dad sneeze long before I became a Dad. I think I was louder than my father. But, my Jewish GF is pretty competitve!
My wife has Asian Dad sneeze (even though she's an Asian Mom!)
AV Club
Saw the first episode of White Lotus. Left me with many bizarre feelings.
As did the 2nd episode....
Biz Markie died this weekend, RIP you goofy king
MiB II: <spoiler text> When Agent J shows Agent K that the Post Office is full of aliens through a conversation with Biz Markie </spoiler text>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl9kWE-7aGU#t=81s
I never realized that was Biz Markie.
Neither did I!
Weather
Warm, but not overly hot, nice summer weather west of the Cascades. Hot and dry on the east side. Pretty much summer as usual.
Bone-dry in July is summer as usual?
Drove to LA weekend before last and it was 117 in Bakersfield
our forecast says only 98 today. I'm skeptical. feels like it's going to be hot.
Unseasonably pleasant out here in the Mid-Atlantic. High 70s with very little humidity yesterday. July keeps oscillating between ridiculous heat waves and unusually pleasant weather.
Opened some doors and windows this morning and of course someone starts using a leaf blower 5 minutes later
The dry lightning event for the Bay Area last night and this morning and red flag fire warnings have been canceled by the NWS.
The Sunshine Patriot and the Summer Soldiers
Sunshine Pumpers
That Mr. Sun has his hand on a really big thermometer.
*nudge nudge, wink wink*
"Say no more! Say no more!"
I think there is a non-zero chance that Cal will go to the Rose Bowl this season.
@Of course there is. We play there on November 27th.@
DBD Test Kitchen
I smoked a corned beef and it was excellent. It's exactly what you'd expect: like a typical corned beef but imbued with smokiness. The edges made for some great burnt ends.
DBD AV Club
Rewatching Ted Lasso with my daughter (who hadn't seen the first season) in advance of season 2; very rewarding rewatch, great show.
I've rewatched most of the back half (when it hit its stride), but not the first few. Trying to convince my wife to watch it ("soccer? I don't think so"). even sent her a "Ted Lasso nominated for 20 Emmys" article, but no success so far. daughter is back in pre-K day camp, so maybe one of these afternoons, we can watch the first few together...
My 16 year old daughter was extremely skeptical (sports and therefore male oriented, or so she thought) but was won over. Would your wife be swayed by the fact that it passes the Bechdel test?
I hated it and thought is was just a celebration of mediocrity.
I can't tell you should like it, but I can tell you are wrong about what it celebrated: It celebrated decency.
[sadly removes Scootie from the season premiere watch party invitation list]
Do you hate Clarkson’s Farm too? (It’s on Prime). I thought it was as good as Ted Lasso.
I haven't seen this (I watch very little visual entertainment).
WTF
Remember, she thinks the Beatles are trash, along with Led Zep and nearly every other classic rock band.
Such a hot take, so not surprising in you.
Soooo...I didn't really need to type that much in response? ;-
)
I think that Richmond is not a very talented team and they were gonna get relegated no matter what. So instead of being a hard ass, Lasso squeezed what he could out of what he had. He delegated strategy to a couple of coaches (or soon-to-be coaches) – granted that was an artistic license stretch – but it worked...they were within seconds of NOT getting relegated.
Similar to a Steve Kerr system of understanding the players and treating them each differently (while generally not enabling asshole behavior), but with MUCH less talent than Steve inherited ;-)
Enough psychobabble about a sitcom!
It tries to make a hero of an unqualified white guy who falls into a job he has no business having and really doesn't try that hard to get good at.
Eh, it's more character driven than that, that's mainly a side issue, almost, but not quite a MacGuffin.
It kinda was the Major League of soccer.
might help ;-)
I watched the first two eps of Schmigadoon (AppleTV+) the other night. I'm not a fan of musicals (in general, and 1940s ones in particular), but it was enjoyable. The songs were good (as opposed to Central Park). And good cast.
Tried to watch the 3rd ep – usually they drop the first three at once – but nope. Gotta wait til Friday (make that Thursday at 9pm PDT). Which is also the next ep of Physical...and the long-awaited start of S2 of Ted Lasso :-)
ATV+ is hitting its stride. I actually like that they (1) don't dump the whole season at once and (2) have a (much) smaller library, so that I don't get paralyzed by too much (freedom of) choice. #Devo
Also enjoyed the first two episodes of Schmigadoon, though I don't think it quite matches the excellence of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or Galavant. It's still basically an SNL sketch writ large at this point.
I liked the 1st couple of seasons of C X-G – great songs – but missed Galavant (I think I have the pilot downloaded somewhere). But a good start for Schmigadoon...grabbed me more than Central Park did
The first part of Galavant S1 can be a bit rough in places, with S1E3 in particular being a stinker. But the season closes pretty strong and S2 is quite fun.
It's also the show I showed my now-fiancé to help her get over her previous break-up so it holds something of a special place for me.
thinking about your SNL sketch comment...I recall – and perhaps you had this in mind – that this is a Lorne Michaels production. So curious how much he can flesh things out. 30 Rock was his production company, yes? So that give me hope.
AV Club hardware edition: I replaced a twelve-year-old tv with an OLED tv and it is absolutely glorious. Any source that is HDR looks incredible, and really highlights how much technological advancement has been made recently in color vibrancy and contrast.
My HDTV is about 4 years old. Need to replace it with one of the giant screen TVs now on the market, hopefully before the TCU game.
Or...go to the TCU game and experience HD in person.
We did this recently also. And that it looks good from any angle is a nicer feature than I expected.
Yup, did that last year; got the 4K Apple TV a month ago for streaming.
listened to some (new to me) EPs / albums by Scowl and Drain this weekend, thought they were pretty good.
Our Crumbling Democracy
[WaPo] Private Israeli security NSO Group has a military-grade phone spyware that forces its way onto phones without a click. The company says it doesn't allow it to be used outside of counterterrorism/counter-criminal work. But it is. It is being used to surveil political rivals, journalists, activists, and 50,000 others. It was used for six months to track down Jamal Khashoggi's wife. It has been linked to other assassinations.
This is bad.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2021/07/18/takeaways-nso-pegasus-project/
is anyone surprised?
Texas passes law that "allows students to think critically" by banning certain ways to think - including critical race theory, 1619 Project, or current events without giving deference to any one perspective.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/texas-senate-passes-bill-remove-173000390.html
Everyday the past few weeks has been another reason not to have anything to do with Texas.
between this and the "anyone can sue over abortions" nonsense, they're really leaning into "everyone snitches" mode
Sen. Cassidy (R-LA) blames Joe Biden for shitting in Cassidy's pants.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1416757500641226753
No fan of Sen. Cassidy or most Rs (or most Ds for that matter), but I have to agree with him here. Biden promised bipartisanship, and aside from one photo-op meeting with R senators a few months ago, he's done nothing but push hyper-partisan bills, along with many false (and dangerous) hyperbolic narratives.
Like you can trust the FDA's approval of the vaccines? Is that hyper-partisan?
I don't understand your reply. In the clip Cassidy said better education through an individual's medical professionals is the way we will get higher vax rates -- he said vax or a higher rate of unnecessary death are the choices. His point was why should people trust Biden on vaccines when he talks about "Jim Crow on steroids" and "greatest threat since the Civil War" and other false narratives. Jim Crow was an awful period of murder, rape, threats and intimidation to discourage Blacks from voting. To equate recent voting reform laws to that is dangerous and does a disservice to the victims of Jim Crow and those who fought to end it, ESPECIALLY when you consider that recent reforms (Georgia specifically) result in less restrictive voting rules than in Biden's home state of Delaware.
This is such bullshit, he's connecting "lack of belief in the government" to the big lie that Biden didn't win the election, a blaming the mistrust that Republican voters have about vaccines to this phenomenon that is 100% created by Trump and his allies in congress and elsewhere. You're a willful fool if you can't see that obvious connection, and also the so-called "reform" laws ARE most definitely and explicitly designed to keep the poors & and Black and Brown people from voting, all based on Trump's big lie that he really won.
And so fucking what? What the fuck does this have to do with not taking the vaccine? It's all bullshit, because he's deathly afraid of calling out Trump's lies.
You need to watch the clip again -- as I just did. There's not even a mild inference of the "Big Lie." I hate Trump, but you've let your Trump Derangement Syndrome get the best of you. Cassidy's answer has NOTHING to do with Trump. It's about the best way to reach the people who haven't/won't/refuse to get vaxxed -- he may have an R next to his name, but he's trying to get citizens in his state to get the vax!
Oh, and even the Washington Post gave Biden 4 Pinocchios for his false claims about the Georgia voting law! I was a Poli Sci major at Cal, and I was trained to analyze all sides of an issue, which I've done. The Ds are pushing the false narrative about the new voting laws only because they think they'll score political points, but I think it will ultimately backfire on them.
This is above average trolling. Twist would be proud.
https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1416823324617834496
How is this guy still a congressman?
most of them, regardless of political stripe are ignorant attention hoors. They are comically easy to troll in such a manner.
Biden’s Pentagon transfers first detainee from Guantanamo Bay
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/19/biden-pentagon-detainee-guantanamo-bay-500115
Today in Covid 19
Don't get in a kerfuffle, eh. Grab yer runners and some loonies, then come up north for some Timmies starting on the ninth.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/19/world/us-canada-border-opening/index.html
Bottom of the article is interesting. If we open our border to travelers from the UK right now we are insane. They have infection rates more than 5x higher than ours right now.
Worried—We are now seeing lots of outdoor-only #DeltaVariant transmission between strangers with no direct contact. These sports attendees weren’t even sitting together—likely fleeting transmission at “pinch points” (bottlenecks) at stadium🏟 gates. This would change everything.
https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1416962059967860738?s=10
For children and immuno-compromised adults in any case.
Five of the 60 Texas state democratic legislators who fled the state have contracted Covid. They were all vaccinated.
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2021/07/18/texas-democrats-covid-washington-dc-two-more-test-positive/8008398002/
Oops. Given the way this Delta variant is scorching around the country I'm pretty psyched about the "you almost certainly won't die" results for people who have been vaccinated.
KFF polls: Interesting to see vaccination beliefs modestly shift over time.
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1417108962416148482
Economist/YouGov poll: 29% of Americans will not or are hesitant in getting vaccine. Those who won't get vaccinated also believe that vaccines cause (49%) or might cause (30%) autism. Those who won't get vaccines believe that the government is microchipping the population (49%) or might bee (16%). JFC.
https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/07/15/why-wont-americans-get-vaccinated-poll-data
I know someone who believes that vaccines cause autism, but does anybody know somebody who thinks they are getting microchipped?
I'm sorry I can't hear you over the 5G waves coursing through my body.
I'm annoyed that this supposed chipping isn't giving me a heads-up-display to keep track of things.
That would be worth it for sure.
I know: free upgraded cell speeds??? sign me up!
dude I don't live in Arkansas or Santa Monica
More likely Topanga Canyon
Pro
First NHL player who is under contract and come out as gay. Good for him.
https://twitter.com/lukeprokop_6/status/1417114803118563332
More of this please. I think pro athletes coming out can have such a beneficial impact on teens especially.
Analysis by an expert on why IOC President Bach called the Japanese people "Chinese people." Already very unpopular among Japanese people for forcing the Olympics amid the pandemic, he now is hated even more.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/13/olympics-bach-gaffe-japanese-chinese/
Nagoya sumo basho ended yesterday. Hakuho took his 45th championship – after not having completed the last 5 or 6 basho – beating Terunofuji, who had won the last two basho (after coming back from demotion to one of the lowest levels due to injuries) and just got promoted to Yokozuna.
I was happy to see the NHK World has daily 27-minute summaries of the previous day's matches. Wish I'd known sooner! Hakuho's tachiai on Day 14 was nuts...
I have a friend (fellow alum) who is a big sumo fan and until recently didn't have a TV. He used to sometimes come by to watch the highlight show.
Have them check out the NHK World app...only highlights, but better than hit used to be, which was almost nothing being available
there was a shooting outside Nationals park in DC on Saturday, which is a little spicier than usual https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/07/17/nationals-park-gunshots/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_8
USA 1, Canada 0; I can't remember a US game with so many players lying prostrate on the pitch.
ALSO, El Salvador really earned a draw vs Mexico with their play, but alas, not to be; Mexico wins their group 1-0 against El Salvador.
Formula 1: Wild opening lap at the British Grand Prix leads to a collision between championship contenders Verstappen and Hamilton.
https://twitter.com/F1/status/1416796423195070472
Verstappen experienced an astonishing 51g impact and walked away mostly unscathed. Every year there's an incident that makes me marvel at the safety advances in Formula 1 racing; this was definitely that incident for 2021.
Since Verstappen is okay, I feel all right in saying he was a gigantic fucking crybaby about that. Racing incident, both of them had a part in making it happen, get a grip.
It looked in the replay I saw like Hamilton hooked him, in a way that would get someone not named Hamilton penalized. But its hard to guage; its so close he could have thought there was clearance. At least it was more interesting than the usual F1 race that is decided in qualifying
Hamilton could have backed off and Verstappen would not have cut him off so dramatically- he was the one who came acrosss the track 🤷🏼♂️
Sandwich is Bear Territory.
Big baby cries about it.
https://twitter.com/mikeysmith/status/1416429020158246919
"why won't you validate me??????" what a gigantic turd
Other College
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey says COVID-19 concerns won't lead to rescheduled football games
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/31844202/sec-commissioner-greg-sankey-says-covid-concerns-lead-rescheduled-games
HOOVER, Ala. -- SEC media days kicked off on Monday with commissioner Greg Sankey announcing that six of the conference's 14 football teams have reached an 80% mark for vaccinations.
"That number needs to grow and grow rapidly," Sankey said. "We have learned how to manage through a COVID environment, but we do not yet have control of a COVID environment."
One thing the conference can control is what it will do if a team is unable to play because of coronavirus issues. Sankey said games won't be postponed and has recommended that the conference removes the 53-man roster minimum that was put in place last year.
The message to schools is "You're expected to play as scheduled," Sankey said.
"That means your team needs to be healthy to compete, and if not, that game won't be rescheduled," he said. "And thus, to dispose of the game, the 'forfeit' word comes up at this point."
In other words, don't blame the conference if your team or star players are not vaccinated. You've been warned.
Top programs. I'll take it.
https://twitter.com/kyleumlang/status/1416898878620807175
I can't tell exactly what the criteria are here, but hey, 35th!
New AD at Bethune-Cookman goes nuclear on athletic department - fires all senior administrators.
https://hbcugameday.com/2021/07/17/sources-massive-admin-change-at-bethune-cookman/
Even if it was the right solution, and fully justified, it was not well-handled.
With the NCAA's authority quickly eroding, significant change is ahead for major college sports
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/with-the-ncaas-authority-quickly-eroding-significant-change-is-ahead-for-major-college-sports/
Mark Emmert is reckless. His libertarian approach is going to cause unintended consequences. And I believe it won't be good for Cal, the vast majority of the student-athletes, or most universities. And Americans still want it to happen because they worship pro sports.
Emmert may be less reckless and more powerless. SCOTUS stripped the NCAA of its very foundation by eviscerating amateurism via the NIL ruling.
What can Emmert do, really? I agree with Dodd that enforcement of whatever standards devolve to the conferences.
It's possible that FBS membership might change to allow for sponsorship of fewer sports overall. I'm wondering if Stanf*rd's recent PR debacle in trying to cut 10 sports will be seen as an outlier 5 years from now.
Cal
After fighting with the website, renewed my Cal MBB tix over the weekend. I've only been to like 3 games over the last few seasons – part young child, part work busy, part Covid, part "who are these people on the court" (which is my issue with the Giants now) – but hoping to make a few games this season. The games I went to were with daughter, so hoping to get her sucked into the roller coaster that is Cal sports. She was excited/enjoyed watching the championship bout of the just-ended sumo basho.
Ironically, Twist is probably the most regular MBB attendee. Well, him and Rob.
Go Bears!!!
Alaska bears. Activity at Brooks Falls has picked up.
https://explore.org/livecams/currently-live/brooks-falls-brown-bears-low
watching them sit in the stream waiting for a fish is mesmerizing.
There was a bearapalooza a few days ago with 17 bears at once. It's was awesome. I think there's a link to it on explore.org.
there were like 9 or 10 just now.
The most I saw when I checked in was 13.
There's 14 right now. (4:07 pm EDT). I don't know why I thought that all those videos of bears catching salmon in their mouth was uncommon. I didn't know it was actually the norm.
I think it's pretty cool that the Salmon can jump up falls.