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Late in the test, Cromwell hits an off-drive to run in a single

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1306238060808613890

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A large percentage of young American adults are ignorant of the Holocaust

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/16/holocaust-us-adults-study

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I’m sure it’s not just American kids. I learned more about it after I moved here from The Netherlands despite having been to the Ann Frank house for a school trip. Mind you in those days it was literally just the house, so you were left to connect the dots on your own. Imagine my surprise when we took the kids (aged 7 and 9) and discovered they’d added a proper set of exhibits including films from the extermination camps.

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This is true. I’ve heard a story on NPR about this same issue with children and student in France. Some of the story mentioned that kids aren’t are only ignorant of the holocaust but question whether it really happened.

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i guess this is not surprising.

on the other hand, living in NYC suburbs w/ a large Jewish population and school closed for every Jewish holiday, our kids get a heavy dose of Holocaust history.

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For some reason one of the teachers at No 1's catholic school taught a lot of holocaust history. They had a trip to the Holocaust museum in DC and there was a local holocaust survivor that came in and gave talks to the class.

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Luc Bequette said BC felt like the Cal of the East Coast. What feels like the Cal of the East to you?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/15/sports/boston-college-transfer-luc-bequette-feels-home-cal-east-coast/

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I'm not sure there is a Cal of the East Coast

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I was going to say Boulder, but that's not on the east coast.

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University of Wisconsin wasn't too far of a stretch, and Bucky is a poor man's Oski.....

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yes it is.

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True, but not a bad choice.

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Agreed. None of the universities I've been to on the East Coast feel at all like Cal.

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No place I have ever been feels at all like Cal/Berkeley.

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I agree.

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That is an interesting claim

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Your favorite beach

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I always used to go to Crystal Cove in Newport Beach, so probably that one.

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Horseshoe Bay Beach, Bermuda. It's pink!

https://www.gotobermuda.com/article/horseshoe-bay-beach-essentials

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i have been there. that is nice

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Limatour

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I thought it was Limantour, not Limatour?

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But yes, beautiful beach.

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I have a soft spot for the beach across from which my aunt and uncle used to live

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=Milsey%20bay

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Rialto Beach in Olympic NP on the coastline part of the park

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Your first grade teacher's name

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Miss Kennedy....she quit the teaching profession after my class and became a stock broker in the City...rumor is I played a significant role in this career-change...

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Mrs. Gilbert. Everyone's grandmother.

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Missus

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Oh, you meant full name. Mrs. Leedom. 1st grade at Cornell School in Albany.

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Mrs. Martin, who busted her foot real bad in the spring and we were taken over by her student teacher Mr. Pardi (maybe?)

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Mrs. Holtz. I ended up having her again in 3rd grade.

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Ms. Lindeman

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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

I have no idea...

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Mrs Kirk. I was in a first/second mixed class with two teachers (and 50 students) but I do not remember the other (2nd graders') teacher's name.

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Mrs Horsely

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Mrs Breece. Camino Pablo. I remember the building I was in for K and 1st burned down the summer after 1st grade.

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Ms. Rutherford. Del Mar Heights Elementary, Del Mar, CA

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Mrs. Uetta.

She was Japanese-American. I didn't know it, but my parents used the Japanese equivalent to "pee-pee" and "poo-poo" with me and my brother (shi-shi/unco). They never used the English equivalent. So early in the first grade, I privately told Mrs. Uetta that I had to drop a deuce. She didn't blink an eye and told me where the "benjo" was.

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I don’t know if it’s still the case but in Glasgow “unco” was a contraction of “uncommon” used in place of the word “unusual,” often for comedic emphasis

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Mrs Donald (i think).

i moved from Richmond (CA) to Moraga in 2nd grade, so my pre-Moraga childhood memories are a little fuzzy.

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What are you drinking these days?

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Nothing. Alcohol has always been entirely social for me, and I love wine. I've basically just replaced alcohol with weed since I'm home alone.

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Water and the occasional diet soda. I don't like the taste of coffee and don't want to get extra calories from drinks, hence the boring regimen.

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have been drinking a lot of light lemonade lately (and eating snacks like gushers) to remind myself of my childhood - simpler days

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Much less alcohol than this time in past years...thanks largely to no social drinking and no Cal Football.

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Two glasses of cabernet savignon with dinner. I eschew hard liquor.

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Coffee and Gatoraid mostly.

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Often smoothies for breakfast, usually incorporating some fruit we get from our local CSA.

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The same as always, coffee in the morning: OXO drip machine, either Peet's or Highwire, water during the day, wine with dinner (last night "Lion Tamer" a Napa blend by Hess) a small glass of 1986 Bas Armagnac with dessert (Champagne strawberry cake my daughter made) and a couple scotches for late night drinking.

Maybe one too many last night.

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Coffee.

While I drank a bunch of booze at the beginning of Covid, it doesn't really interest me now. I bought a new coffee pot (Zojirushi) last month after our third Mr. Coffee machine in five years broke. I can confirm that the new coffee brewer makes a cup of coffee that is, like, twice as good as the old one. It improved the taste of our coffee so much that I bought a Baratza coffee grinder to up our coffee game even more. That improved our coffee by a LOT because I am now using whole beans instead of pre-ground stuff. When that worked, we switched beans to Counter Culture from Pete's and are cycling through their different offerings. Hence, I am drinking a lot of coffee now because it tastes really, really good.

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Mostly water during the day and milk during dinner. We have a lemon tree so I was making lemonade over the weekend when No 3 is here. Sometimes I'll put in some crushed up raspberries or Blackberries.

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Mainly tequila. I usually drink Anejo with sparkling water (sometimes lime or grapefruit flavored) and fresh lime.

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Tons of iced tea, as per usual, with Pimm's cups and Aperol spritzes the current evening drink of choice, once every couple of weeks.

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Lots of coffee. Almost no booze. I’m the only person in the house who drinks, and since I’m 1) a social drinker, and 2) there isn’t a lot of socializing going on at the moment, it’s been pretty dry around here.

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My usual morning large mug of coffee. Morning is still morning. Beyond that, an unprecedented amount of iced tea. With almost no umpiring, the sports drink rehydration has been way down, and its just easy to grab another tumbler of iced tea.

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exactly.

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Pliny the Elder (alone, since my wife does not like it) and Firestone 805 (together with my wife).

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evening - my go to evening cocktail is a double Negroni, ie 2 parts gin, 1 part Vermouth and 1 part Campari.

but i have been enjoying fruity, juicy IPA's lately after my trip to NC last month.

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morning - a lot of espressos.

i just got a brand new espresso machine and since i am not going anywhere during coronavirus times i have 2-3 espressos a day. on top of that the Tour de France is on till about 1100a every day (postponed from Jul to Sep) so i just sit around, watch TV and drink espressos most mornings

it is a spring lever espresso machine built by some Italian guy (Salvatore) in Santa Ynez. still getting used to all the variables w/ grind and dosing.

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I pale to think what my coffee consumption would look like if I had an espresso maker. Aside from the waste, one reason I didn’t get a nespresso style machine is that they make surprisingly good small coffees and I would have been hammering them down all day.

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flyin' high all day...

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i probably make 5-6 espressos a day. some get thrown away, other made for neighbors and visitors

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Al pastor

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Best taco meat.

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would have been great for lunch today

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I recently watched the movie Velocipastor. It's a very silly movie that the filmmakers seem well aware is very silly.

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yes please

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A song about partying

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I love "Anna Sun" by Walk the Moon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDVW81bXo0s

"We tore up the walls we slept on couches

We lifted this house we lifted this house" reminds me of my friends' house during my first year of grad school. It was 8 guys living in a house together, and well, I called it the Pit of Doom. We partied there every week, and I probably saw three drunk driving accidents from their porch that year (no good). In fact, my friends went to help after one of the accidents, and then when the police came, they were rude to my friends and cited them for a noise violation, so, being the Karen that I am, I filed a complaint with the police for their lack of professionalism. They wrote me a letter of apology, which doesn't mean too much.

Also, Walk the Moon named the song after a professor they had at Kenyon College in Ohio.

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did someone ask for a party in the usa?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11SvDtPBhA

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Sep 17, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

It is a damn catchy ditty.

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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

I am not embarrassed to say that I love this song.

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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

It's very catchy

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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

Fight For Your Right - Beastie Boys

"Kick it!

You wake up late for school, man you don't want to go

You ask you mom, please? but she still says, no

You missed two classes, and no homework

But your teacher preaches class like you're some kind of jerk

You gotta fight for your right to party

Your pops caught you smoking, and he says, "No way!"

That hypocrite smokes two packs a day

Man, living at home is such a drag

Now your mom threw away your best porno mag (bust it!)

You gotta fight for your right to party

You gotta fight

Don't step out of this house if that's the clothes you're gonna wear

I'll kick you out of my home if you don't cut that hair

Your mom busted in and said, what's that noise?

Aw, mom you're just jealous it's the Beastie Boys

You gotta fight for your right to party

You gotta fight for your right to party"

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Party hard party hard party hard party hard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WccfbPQNMbg

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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

Oh we had a little party down in Newport

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Elsewhere in college

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Big10: relaunch via 8 game season & championship

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1306222848382570496

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Seems like the Pac-12 will have to get started at some point too.

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Peer pressure.

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I never understood the recent Big Ten and Pac 12 brotherhood. Is it just a nerd thing?

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More than recent, I think. The Rose Bowl always linked the two conferences together.

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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

In a way, land-grant state universities with significant research credentials (not all, but many).

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Go nerd squad! Our equals!!

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Yeah I agree. I think the Pac 12 starts in November. They probably could start on October 24th with the Big Ten but I think the fires and air quality are the bigger impediment right now.

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If Pac12 has a fall season, can Bynum play?

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If he desires, tho it will likely depend on his level of involvement with an agent...

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Yeah I hope he hasn't hired one yet

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Today in Covid

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CDC: If a vaccine is created now, it won't be available to everyone until late 2021

Mark Meadows: yeah, we might have a vaccine within two weeks.

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1306277739419389952

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Where is Michael Caputo when you need him?

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Barricaded in his office crying

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Why you should take this seriously: #199,999

"Only about 65 close family members and friends were on the guest list for a bride and groom’s rustic wedding celebration in a small Maine town in early August.

But the nuptials began an outbreak now traced to more than 175 reported novel coronavirus infections and also to the deaths of seven people, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

The cluster of coronavirus infections that originated from the Big Moose Inn outside Millinocket on Aug. 7 continues to grow in Maine, state health officials said, after guests flouted social distancing and mask guidelines. Now people who have no association with the party have died, including six residents of the Maplecrest Rehabilitation and Living Center in Madison, Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said in a news briefing Tuesday."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/15/maine-wedding-covid/

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USA Today had a story yesterday about a local family who needed a test for their daughter who plays collegiate soccer. Went to a local pharmacy and paid $35 for a swab. Later got the bill from the lab that processed the analysis - $865. Their insurance paid in full but WTF.

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xkcd comic ...

i posted this on FB a few days ago as it was associated w/ an article about how the U of Illinois underestimated coronavirus cases on campus.

"they had indeed taken into account college partying and quite a bit of it — more than 7,000 students partying three times a week in their model.

What the scientists had not taken into account was that some students would continue partying after they received a positive test result. "

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/health/university-illinois-covid.html

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As someone with physics degrees, I was invited to a number of parties in college...they are mostly LAN parties though (and slightly predates when everyone had a laptop...so you're tethered to your desktop in your dorm room).

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I miss Big Bang Theory. Though it had run its course.

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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HHS asst sec Caputo ducks out until the election is over.

https://twitter.com/DWUhlfelderLaw/status/1306280776439394305

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Trump once again pushes herd mentality [sic] as a way to push the Covid 19 "magically go away" narrative. That's hundreds of millions of Americans infected. That's millions of dead Americans.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1306040312872214536

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He is confused once again.

Herd mentality is what his cult followers currently have.

Herd immunity is what he is hoping for when he says Covid will magically go away.

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Trump tries to counter the Woodard tapes by saying the opposite

https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1306022712679292929

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He has no shame, even with documented proof in his own words.

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Rassmussen poll has Trump leading Biden by one point. In other news, I am selling the new Pensacola Bridge

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2020/white_house_watch_sep16

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I think they just make stuff up sometimes to generate clicks/business.

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Their models always lean right - they’re consistent if nothing else

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Good old Rasmussen.

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Report that claims that CV19 was manufactured in a PRC military lab was created by a) careful investigation based upon facts and citations or b) a group created by Steve Bannon?

https://twitter.com/itsbirdemic/status/1305711999582695426

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like this is a surprise?

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DOJ has a criminal investigation against John Bolton for publishing his book

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54171941

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Of course they fucking do.

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If Trump wins (or refuses to step down) then we may see the rise of "informers" who report on disloyal citizens. (An activity which plagued the days of the very worst of the Roman emperors). An action that led to the confiscation of Senators' estates and sometimes imprisonment and execution.

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We’ve already got the petty stasi of social media and that’s a bit “both sides,” but if this becomes legally punishable then only one side is going to be getting jailed.

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PRO

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Denver keeps rolling in elimination games, defeat Clippers in Game 7

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1306238973115871232

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My son was saying a week ago that Doc Rivers is the most overrated NBA coach.... and I think he's on to something.

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I saw a tweet earlier today in which the poster postulated that Rivers is the Marvin Lewis of the NBA. I think there's something to that.

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He wins, so he's clearly not bad, but . . . I was baffled at the lack of adjustments in these games, as the leads slipped away after halftime, every time. They kept springing the same double-team on Denver and got picked apart time and time again.

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He wins, so he's clearly not bad, but

The Clippers have a ton of talent. Is he making the most of it?

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He's had winning records with multiple teams.

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Miami takes a 1-0 lead over Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1306220073959526402

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Commissioner Rob Manfred expects MLB's expanded postseason format to remain beyond 2020

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/commissioner-rob-manfred-expects-mlbs-expanded-postseason-format-to-remain-beyond-2020/

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced the logistics behind the 2020 playoffs. This year's postseason will be unprecedented for two reasons: 1) the games, by and large, will be played at neutral sites; and 2) the field will be expanded, from 10 teams to 16, or more than half the sport. If the franchise owners get their wish, the second part will become the new norm.

Commissioner Rob Manfred told Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post that "an overwhelming majority" of owners had endorsed the expanded postseason even before the pandemic, and that he expects the format to stay beyond the 2020 season.

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Like it. Probably the majority of games will matter deep into the year. One of the big problems with MLB in recent times is on any given day, more than half, and sometimes easily 3/4s, of the games on any day after early August are meaningless scrimmages.

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I don't think that's true. It just creates what currently happens in the NBA: the very best teams just phone in the last couple of months because they know they'll make the playoffs, and all the drama is with the mediocre teams battling for the 7 and 8 seeds.

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Nope.

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WTF, that's a terrible idea.

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Currently, 3 of the top 16 teams do not have winning records (Astros, Giants, Cardinals)

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which means it's a done deal.

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Baseball hasn't had a decent commish in what, three decades now?

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Not since Fay Vincent, although some would argue Bart Giamatti was really the last decent commissioner. Too bad he died of a heart attack early on.

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Giamatti, that is.

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This is bullshit. too many teams. If they do do this they need to have a bye for either the division winners or the top 2 teams or something like that. a 3 game series for the first round sucks.

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They were showing the brackets on the A's telecast and there's actually a chance we'll have to play the Asstros in the 1st round. Great reward for winning the division, which I believe the A's still will.!!! 😡😡😡

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Oakland A’s Game #49: Exhausted A’s fall 3-1 to Rockies

https://www.athleticsnation.com/2020/9/15/21439252/oakland-as-game-49-colorado-rockies-score-result

The Oakland A’s have been put through an intense schedule lately, and it showed Tuesday night.

The A’s had their chances but couldn’t quite climb to the peak in a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies, marking their third defeat by the Rockies in three tries this year and their sixth straight dating back to 2018.

After missing a week of play to multiple different postponements around the beginning of September, the A’s have hustled hard to make up for the lost time. Starting last Tuesday they played 10 games in seven days thanks to three makeup doubleheaders, and half of those contests came in just the last three days from Sat-Mon. Their matchup in Colorado marked their third city in three days, after using a scheduled off-day Monday to make a pit-stop in Seattle for a twin-bill.

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Giants and Mariners will now play Wednesday and Thursday

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2020/9/15/21438745/san-francisco-giants-mariners-air-quality-postponed

The San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners will now play each other on Wednesday and Thursday at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The teams were scheduled to play Tuesday and Wednesday at Safeco Field in Seattle, but horrible air quality in Seattle made it unsafe to play. So the teams headed to San Francisco, which doesn’t exactly have good air quality right now, but is certainly better than in the Pacific Northwest.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the teams would just push the series back a day, or play a Wednesday doubleheader. But with both teams having Thursday as a scheduled off day, it made sense to just move the series back a day. That’s doubly true since the teams don’t have far to travel for their Friday games (the Giants are set for a road series against the Oakland A’s, while the Mariners are scheduled to host the San Diego Padres, but will probably move the series to Southern California).

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Tony Gonsolin has the Dodgers in 7th heaven

https://www.truebluela.com/2020/9/15/21439141/tony-gonsolin-justin-turner-dodgers-recap-padres

Tony Gonsolin pitched the longest outing of his career, shutting down the Padres over seven innings in a 3-1 Dodgers win.

The Dodgers widened their advantage in the National League West to 2½ games over San Diego, and lowered their magic number to clinch the division to nine.

Gonsolin only struck out two but was efficient with 90 pitches in seven innings, matching the longest start by a Dodgers pitcher this season. Gonsolin induced ground ball outs, included two he fielded himself and recorded the out at first base unassisted, plus an infield pop up that Gonsolin caught.

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Caleb Ferguson suffers elbow injury, heads to Los Angeles for MRI

https://www.truebluela.com/2020/9/15/21439280/caleb-ferguson-elbow-injury-dodgers-mri-exam

Dodgers left-hander Caleb Ferguson suffered an elbow injury in Tuesday night’s win over the Padres in San Diego, and is headed to Los Angeles for more testing.

Ferguson struck out his only batter faced on three pitches in the eighth inning, but felt something in his elbow and called for a team trainer to come to the mound. After exiting the game, X-rays and an ultrasound were inconclusive.

“We’re going to get an MRI tomorrow in Los Angeles. Right now we’re just going to remain in a hopeful state,” manager Dave Roberts said on a conference call after the game. “The tests, everything as of right now, didn’t present as a UCL, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Caleb.”

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Ugh I think it's Tommy John surgery in his future. He had it sr year of HS. He had been 97-98 on his FB and he threw one 91 and then immediately called out the trainer. He twisted a little funny on landing so the announcers thought (probably hoped) that it was lower body. But you did see him flex his fingers once or twice and he wasn't limping when walking off.

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CAL

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Larry Scott: "We can't play because CA and Oregon laws prevent practice:

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1306255817847570438

Gavin Newsome: "That's not true"

https://twitter.com/johncanzanobft/status/1306320882713817088

Avi, with a speculative scenario that is sadly possible

https://twitter.com/avinashkunnath/status/1306324120154509313

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IS THE BEST

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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

GO BEARS!

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