127 Comments

Is that Alex Smith in the cover photo?

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Or Joe Montana, Steve Bono, or Elvis Grbac?

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Doesn't look athletic enough to be any of them.

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Maybe Bono.

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I think someone's been insulted.

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Banking

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I did 1 year of financial services consulting and that means lots of banks etc... Can't do it more than that. I barely slept/had time to spend the cash I was making.

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My first job out of Cal was working for a bankcorp in the city that issued credit cards to individuals and companies. The task was to apply algorithms to further assess credit quality over the machine/computer methods (I wouldn't say AI) then in use. Was pretty boring actually, and the algorithms were tweaked on a weekly basis so continual learning was required. I jumped out and took a higher paying job after about 6 months.

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I did 20 years in sell-side (Investment Banking) and buy-side (pension, hedge fund) banking. It was interesting to be on the frontlines of some crazy good/interesting times. And it was also a horror show of crises that were financial (Asian Currency, Global Credit, dot-com) and physical (9/11, SARS, tsunamis). It was a good career and I got a lot of stories from it, but the industry has fundamental changed. I would not recommend that anybody try to enter this industry now.

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i worked in investment banks and hedge funds for 12 yrs after grad school, including before and after the credit meltdown.

it is a strange industry full of all sorts of misaligned incentives, smart and terrible people all at once. i definitely dont miss it, but i am glad to have had the front row seat for a while.

one funny story. HR comes down to trading floor and openly tells the head of the prop trading desk that EVERYONE cant get a 5 out of 5 on the year end reviews.

he stands up, looks around, and openly says for all of us to hear ..

hey Adam, you are getting promoted this year right? in that case we'll tell HR you are a 4 out of 5, and you will still get the same raise and bonus because of the promotion.

Adam agrees, HR leaves, we all go back to trading esoteric options on mortgage backed securities.

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World's Oldest Bank Mondi del Paschi in financial trouble, may be bought out (have been around since 1472)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/business/days-may-be-numbered-for-the-worlds-oldest-bank.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

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I've been to their headquarters. The older banking institutions from the old city-states of Italy and the Cantons of Switzerland often have their offices in historical buildings - often the grand palaces of yesteryear - but are tiny and rickety in modern terms. It helps convey an image of stability. Usually, you are whisked into a converted sitting room filled with antique/tattered furniture to meet with an older and below-average performing fund manager. They were always arrogant, late on trends, last to get market intelligence, and the most reluctant to ever meet with outsiders. I got the feeling that they were trying not to lose their job while still doing the least amount of work rather than make money for their clients.

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A fascinating wiki wormhole to fall down is the world's oldest companies list

Kongo Kumi is a Japanese construction company that has been around since 572AD and builds Buddhist Temples

St. Peter Stiftskulinarium in Austria claims to the world's oldest restaurant operating since 803 AD and claims to have served Mozsrt, Christopher Columbus and Faust

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Another thing to think about - there is a high possibility that in the summer of 1913 Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, Tito, Freud, Franz Ferdinand and Lenin all could have passed by each other in Vienna's Cafe Central since they were all there in that summer and were known to have been to that cafe.

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Cursed Images

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https://imgur.com/LCjz9MS

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I guess his kids got into their backup schools...

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These cursed images are really bringing me down.

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I don't know how many times GB49 brings that FG to our attention

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Damnit.

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Oh that one again. How pathetic.

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Fashion

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I have worn shorts or khakis and a t-shirt/hoody to work for the last decade (excepting a year at the Mouse House where I had to meet Disney standard dress - biz casual, but I could wear all black sneakers).

On Sunday, I attended a funeral for a friend's older brother (she could not make it because of covid - so she called and asked if I could go - one of only 7 people there, including his ex-wife, her two brothers, one middle school classmate, one army buddy and one other friend of the sister)

I first tried on my largest suit . . . and that wasn't going to work. So I went with black slacks and a black blazer which I couldn't button.

I need to clear my closet out of all of these formal clothes I'm never going to fit again - but I don't want to throw them away in China. I'm going to bring them home and donate to those "suits for interviews" places. But I also kind of want to get them out of my closet now.

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As I hit my late 40's, I had a bout of mild depression, and one of the ways I worked through it was to redo my wardrobe in an attempt to break the funk. I ditched the lazy pants and graphic T-shirt look, and embraced a 'basic bastard' wardrobe. Nothing over the top, but just enough of a difference to help me feel a bit better about myself.

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I like fashion but don't have the energy for it. So I just wear nice jeans and a black t-shirt and my effort goes into the things around them like jackets, watches, and shoes.

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I am not fashionable in the least. typically dockers style pants, a shirt with a collar, traffic vest, and work boots, at work.

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data scientist uniform, jeans and trendy or cool t-shirt.

even when i speak at conferences i try to maintain this vibe ..

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I'm a shorts/jeans and t-shirts kind of person. Pre-covid I used to wear a button down and slacks to work (and was one of the few who did since most of us are researchers and engineers). Now I do a short-sleeved button down and jeans on the rare occasion I have to go into the office.

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As a software engineer I pretty much dress the same I did in college. Shorts and t-shirts in the summer, jeans and t-shirts in the winter. I bought a new suit back in 2004 when interviewing for a new job. I've probably worn it fewer than 15 times since. Have bought probably one new white dress shirt in the last 5 years when my neck got fatter.

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I used to wear suits to work everyday. Now I don one just for certain meetings.

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I recently (like five years ago) tried to dandy myself up. Nice slacks, custom shirts, stylish shoes, and accent accessories. They are sitting in my closet because I like the idea of being a good dresser, but I lack the motivation to perform the daily work to perpetuate that theater. I've come to terms that I'm going to look more like Pat Morita and less like Ken Watanabe.

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Props to anyone who tries to be fashionable in Ireland. I wore a red beret in waterford once and they called me super mario

(the replies are great)

https://twitter.com/janky_jane/status/1426981976142123010?s=20

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DBD Test Kitchen

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Having Thai curry tonight, but I don't have to do any of the prep work or cooking.

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we made an interesting sweet potato and black bean taco/burrito filling the other day. with cilantro-lime rice. came out very nice. I ate all the leftovers for lunch.

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I made down-market Thanksgiving dinner last night and it was a smash hit with the family. Roasted turkey tenderloins brushed with salt, ghee, pepper, dijon, brown sugar, Italian spices. Mashed potato (from a box) spiked with an unholy amount of butter. Gravy (from a jar). Cranberry sauce (from a can). Green bean almondine. Sautéed mushrooms. Obviously not as good as proper Thanksgiving, but like 95% less effort.

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DBD AV Club

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Oh, and watched the first episode of "What If..." enjoyable. Story 14/19, animation 19/19

The latest Ted Lasso was the best episode so far.

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I just watched the last Ted Lasso. I agree it was the best for this season.

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the xmas one? hmmmmmm...too treacly for me, but I guess that's the point of an xmas ep.

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I keep seeing people say that - but it showed Ted in a pretty dark place, and Jamie possibly heading for a dark weekend with his father and Nate's burgeoning ego and attitude rising up that will be a source of conflict in the future.

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I'll give you that. maybe it's more that things are getting buttoned up too easily this season (Dubai Air? see if it continues as a story line). And the team was close-ish last season, but they got relegated – and there are a lot of new faces – so surprised that they are so much in each others' corners.

But then again #ItsATVShow!

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You saw Higgins grimace at the Dubai Air mention.

I think Rebecca's love life is going to be a source of conflict.

There's both going to be a clash between Dr. Sharon Fieldstone and Ted

Sam vs. jamie isn't resolved

Nate's bullying of the new kit manager and ever increasing arrogance

Roy and his lack of fulfillment in his post-football life

Keeley and Roy's relationship is also in a honeymoon phase

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Finished the 2nd season of Never Have I Ever... was great 17/19; started the 5th season of The Bureau - that show is brutal, and I correctly predicted the crisis based on what happened at the end of season 4.

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@Cugel: I'll pimp it again (since you're a fellow NHIE fan)...Why Are You Like This (Netflix). Only six 22-min eps. Aussie "follow up" to NHIE (in spirit?)

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Watched what's currently out of Reservation Dogs yesterday. Good show, less outright comical than WWDITS but still very funny in parts and with a much more tragic and important focus.

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Yesterday afternoon I watched Ali Wong: Baby Cobra. Hilarious. I need to find some time to watch her next special.

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Love her.

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I had not really watched any of her stuff until I watched Always Be My Maybe.

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when I first saw your post, was gonna rec Always Be My Maybe. Great flick. And, yeah...second special is just ok (per FS). But worth a watch.

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its nowhere near as good, sadly

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Birds of Prey (10/19, WB on a plane, but not elsewhere). I was on a plane, so some mindless entertainment was in order. It was a stylish, well-shot, "pretty" film, but it was a mixed bag in every other way. Didn't love it. Didn't hate it.

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I remember my main complaint being that it kept the eponymous team separate until the very end.

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Today in Covid 19

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Texas governor Greg Abbot tests positive for the 'rona! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/08/17/1028574761/texas-governor-greg-abbott-tests-positive-covid-19-coronavirus

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I hope it's bad for him. Just so that he can't say, we don't need masks because I got it and it was like a small cold. Also, like FS said, he is such trash.

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not sure why we're supposed to be sympathetic to these assholes. their actions are literally killing people, and they act irresponsibly, so (surprise) they get covid

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fuck that guy, he is such trash

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has anyone seen the saga of the Tennessee public health expert and the mystery Amazon order?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/17/michelle-fiscus-muzzle-paid-credit-card/

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That's screwed up. Someone in the comments said that it was probably someone that had access to the expense reports and created an account with her name but her work addresses. That actually makes sense.

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Our Crumbling Democracy (or other crumbling governments)

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'I stand squarely behind my decision': Biden holds firm on Afghanistan drawdown

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/16/joe-biden-afghanistan-drawdown-decision-505179

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Since he's supposedly a 1 term president, I guess the Republicans can't hold this against him in the 2024 elections.

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What about Boebert showing support for the Taliban?

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I thought it was a good speech and someone is finally stepping up to end the fiasco.

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This ending was inevitable since the moment we stepped foot there without any realistic plans of how we were going to reconstruct the country/region. Question was just how much we were willing to spend before we dropped out. If he follows up with his commitment to humanitarian support instead of bombing the region into a new generation of anti-Western hate, then this was a shitty but necessary first step IMHO.

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Lemme give you a hint - there's no way any outside force is going to reconstruct the country/region. Since the Mongols.

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As Vizzini reminds us, it's the most infamous of the classic blunders.

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I don't know about ending the fiasco, either from the US perspective, or generally, but he is taking steps to move things along to the next major phase. (Which will set the stage for some new fiasco by and for someone.)

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I though the same as well.

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Lauren Boebert (R-COL) tweets a message of support for the Taliban

https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1427275592383205382?s=20

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Unbelievable. While Biden said "the buck stops here" with Trump the bucks ended up in his pockets.

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Pro

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what's great about pro sports fandom ..

was wearing my Giants shirt around town because of the current series w/ the Mets.

i went into some local Italian deli where they are all Mets fans.

we chatted a bit about what era the logo from my short was (late 70s we agreed) and then as i was leaving on guys, "good thing the game starts at 1000p ET, that way i dont have to stay up to watch us lose again!"

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Mets fans expect to be disappointed.

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Pitch clocks, realignment and the end of blackouts: What MLB would look like if we were designing it now

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32008079/pitch-clocks-realignment-end-blackouts-mlb-look-were-designing-now

Congratulations, you've been named acting commissioner of Major League Baseball for a single day.

Assuming you were given unlimited power during your brief tenure, what's the first thing about the league that you would change? And how would it make the game better, whether it's on or off the field? The only rule: It has to be realistic. No expansion teams on the moon -- just changes that could be implemented today.

That's what we presented to ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez, Tim Keown, Joon Lee, Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield -- and we got a range of ideas, from the subtle to the radical.

Here are their eight proposals.

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TL;DR

- Shorten the season (1 month)

- Expand and realign the leagues by geography (East & West, no more NL/AL)

- Add a pitch clock

- Bring in the robo umps

- End streaming blackouts and loosen video rights restrictions

- Allow the trading of draft picks (I think MLB is the only major sport that doesn't allow it)

- Pay minor leaguers a living wage

- Rethink the role of the commissioner (Fuck Manfred)

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I assume universal DH isn't here because its probably coming anyway (unless the NL decides to shoot itself in the ratings foot again).

i agree with ending the season sooner, so fewer important games will not be watched because football is on.

At some point, someone is going to have to intervene when incompetent management decides to burn a franchise to the ground, ensuring a losing team remains uncompetitive for years. The role of the commissioner is to ensure the good of the game and the league(s) is looked out for; unfortunately, not all sport commissioners are competent to do that.

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I would only add, change rules around TV commercial breaks to shorten them/lessen them. They are the entire reason for the length of games being unsustainable.

Also, salary cap with a max and min, all players (major and minor) count towards cap.

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Expanded playoffs. Last year, most teams still had something to play for after Labor Day, and most games were meaningful. This year, we are back to far too many teams with no reason to be competitive post the All-Star break.

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Currently the time between innings is 2 min, correct? Or maybe it's 90 seconds. That gives the pitcher enough time to get to the mound and warm up. I don't think they want to make it so short that pitchers risk getting hurt. I see the time between pitches being the issue. Though I'm not sure a pitch count necessarily will work since the pitcher can just step off after getting the sign. @Maybe they'll start banning throwing the ball around after a K or an out at first@

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The non-TV time is 2-mins for warm up tosses. the TV time is rarely less than mins.

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I can't remember the time between innings but I've definitely seen the clock at the park. Scherzer would often be done early and the ump would have to hold him back from trying to get the inning going.

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Scherzer is so high strung. On Sun Dave Roberts told the story to ESPN that during Max's first game he patted him on the butt at the end of the inning the first few innings. In the 4th or the 5th Scherzer mumbled something as he walked past. DR thought he mumbled "Don't fucking touch me".

"After the game, he goes seven, and I go 'hey man, did you just mumble something like don't effing touch me?" Roberts said. "And he [Scherzer] goes 'yeah, and I gave you the tempered, most respectful way I could say it, because this is my job. I don't need any kind of congratulations or support. That's my job.' So tonight, I won't be patting him on the butt."

I think I'm starting to like Scherzer in Dodger Blue. Give him the money that Bauer won't get next year.

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Also shortening the time between innings will get a lot of push back from broadcasters since it is less time for commercials.

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Tim Tebow released from Jaguars

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Game #119: White Sox put on clinic in manufacturing runs

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2021/8/16/22628300/oakland-as-game-119-chicago-white-sox-score-result

Monday was everything we want to see more of from the Oakland A’s, except that it was the Chicago White Sox doing it.

The White Sox scored in five different innings despite recording only one extra-base hit, and their bullpen shortened the game with a barrage of strikeouts, leaving the A’s on the wrong end of a 5-2 decision at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Chicago didn’t rely on power, and they only went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. But they reached base 14 times, between 10 hits, three walks, and a HBP, and once aboard they forced more action by hustling and continuing to make contact. They never extended a rally long enough to score twice in an inning, but they still pieced together five runs.

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Kris Bryant is everything, Giants win

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2021/8/16/22628303/san-francisco-giants-mets-recap-kris-bryant

The San Francisco Giants tried to win the old fashioned way. They tried to beat the New York Mets with a good old fashioned rally, like in olden times.

Sure, dingers may run in the team’s DNA, but they needed just 162 of them in 2010, 103 of them in 2012, and 132 of them in 2014.

So they tried a throwback game.

In the fourth inning of a scoreless game, the Giants went to work with their rallying ways. With one out and the bases empty, the Giants rattled off five straight hits: a Buster Posey double, followed by singles from Darin Ruf, Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, and Wilmer Flores.

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Max Muncy and Billy McKinney go deep in LA’s 2-1 win

https://www.truebluela.com/2021/8/16/22628099/max-muncy-billy-mckinney-los-angeles-dodgers-mlb-news-pirates-andre-jackson

It was closer than you’d like, but a win is a win as the Dodgers picked up the close 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Earlier today, I wrote about Max Muncy staying hot after an incredible series in New York. Well, he must have done some pregame reading. With one out in the eighth inning, Muncy connected and launched the go-ahead home run deep into the right field pavilion, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

For the Dodgers, they only scored two runs on the night, both of which came late. Luckily for them, that was all they needed on Monday night.

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Other College

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JT Shrout's injury is "significant". He redshirted the 2018 season, played 2019, 2020 was a mulligan year, possibly injured 2021, we don't play CU in '22, so '23 is the earliest we'll see him - and only if he applies for a medical exemption to have a sixth year.

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Cal

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Repeating this from yesterday regarding tickets to the Bill Moro Classic aka the TCU game. FS and I are trying to coordinate a group ticket purchase through the TCU ATO: $25 group tickets (minimum 20 ppl). The Cal ATO has them listed at $45 ea which would put Cal fans in the visitor sections 226-229 and 312-316. If you're interested in joining our group, eave your info here. Thanks and Go Bears

https://www.amoncarterstadium.com/seating-chart/

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Me.

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Me & my son, for sure

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wish I could this year. I'm pretty stoked about Auburn and I really hope I can make it to ND next year

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ND is next year already? it always seemed so far away ..

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yeah should be next Sept. Late enough that No 3 can't go with us.

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I'm hoping Auburn and Florida don't cancel on us with the whole SEC super conference stuff going on.

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Kind of hard to cancel those games due to our pending invite to the SEC super league so they will just change from OOC to a conference game!

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pqtm. <<sunshine pumping.gif>>

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I'd be livid if Auburn cancels on us. I've had that one circled for years

trying to get my sabbatical be a fall semester to line up with football season... we shall see

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If they hadn't pushed to 2024, @Auburn would've been last year, which would have been even worse. We wouldn't have played there at all.

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HSB and I are in. Do you know what section the TCU ATO tickets are in?

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wherever we want. Question is, do we want to be around Cal fans or best seats available for the price? As it stands, we're in the corner end zones and up a bit. That said, I dont remember a bad seat in that place, its a small, intimate setting sol if corners are cool, ok. Or I can look closer to midfield if the price is decent.

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Newellbany & I, plus 6, for a total of 8. I was adding up from yesterday DBD and had this in addition:

g.oso +1

Fire Starkey +1

SGBear

hag

HSB

Cugel +1

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So we're at 17 if I counted correctly. Actually we'd still come out ahead if we bought 20 TCU tickets.

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I bet those 3 tix would get used as well...some other Cal fans that aren't on DBD would like to sit in a mini-Cal section.

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Go Bears.

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