Iuz the Evil

That’s a dang shame…

Once again. Prep time. Nice job, Batman. The Vols are a thing again. 

Clearly, he had prep time

So a ten point win over Kansas is probably the best of the season by Oklahoma. Looking at the rest of the schedule there are winnable games against Iowa State, West Virginia, and Texas Tech left. Oklahoma State is going to be unpleasant, and Baylor isn’t looking great either. So that’s maybe a 7-5 season (currently 4-3). 
 

Could be 6-6, don’t think it can be 8-4. Oklahoma needs the bowl game to continue the rebuild with the extra practice days.

 At least we didn’t lose at home to Kansas. That would’ve been rock bottom right there.

OU is up by 14 at the half at home against Kansas at the half, and I am still very nervous about the game. And should be.

These are dark days. The “Unity” uniforms do not help.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/fivethirtyeight.com/features/betting-markets-are-treating-the-midterm-elections-like-its-a-presidential-election/amp/
 

Vegas thinks the Senate is a push right now. That’s not great, but the DNC is in a better shape than they might otherwise be without the abortion issue.

 I’ll cross my fingers that they only lose the House.

 As to the impact of demographics. Well I’ve been hearing that for decades. Here’s an article on the subject.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/us/census-news-republicans-democrats.amp.html

 Non Hispanic White Voters are going to be an absolutely huge demographic block for the rest of all of our lives. Currently nationally 57.8% or 191 million people. And people of color are not exactly a monolithic voting block. It will be interesting to see the changes that come from shifting demographics, but I wouldn’t personally be willing to wait for demographics to result in a political sea change. That’ll take many, many years if it happens at all.

1 hour ago, GM Joe said:

Looks like the Supreme Court ruling on abortion wasn't the Republican electoral disaster the pundits told us it would be. 😞

I think it was, actually. Democratic polling went up in direct response to that issue. It’s just not the only issue on the minds of the electorate, and is fading as time progresses.

It’s not looking good, generic polls have shifted and I don’t understand the strategy from the DNC at all. Is it too late to pull James Carville out of retirement? 
 

It went back and forth the past couple months, but 8.8% CPI, $6/gallon gas, and average household costs increasing $450 year over year… that’s no bueno for the party in power. Yeah yeah, they can say “Pandemic recovery economy” but people are hurting badly. Social policy is what you get to lean on when you manage these very issues, at least historically. We are terribly divided as a nation, and still it’s going to be about individual experiences for the middle class in my opinion. 
 

These are dark days. I’m a classic liberal, the red meat issues are very much on the back burner with regard to wealth disparity, declining incomes and organized labor. Universal healthcare is pretty much over at this point for a decade or more (we “won” that issue in the collective zeitgeist). I’m guessing those aren’t sexy anymore. Abortion rights gave the party a shot in the arm, to be sure. Otherwise? I expect reduced voter turnout, which is going to be rough coupled with the economic pain so many families are feeling.

 We will see if I’m right in a couple weeks. I’ll still vote, but I find the recent areas of focus disheartening and in some cases poorly articulated or intentionally divisive.

2 hours ago, Pariah said:

 

In a little bit of inspired trolling, I saw an article saying that after seeing Oklahoma struggle against K-State and TCU, the Texas Longhorns had decided today that they were going to wear purple instead of burnt orange. Turns out they don't need the purple after all. Texas is up 28 nothing on Oklahoma at halftime in a result that I absolutely did not see coming.

Seriously? With the OU starting QB out due to concussion protocol and at least the other starters due to injuries? After the departures last year?

I assumed this would be the outcome, didn’t even bother to watch the game. Until Gabriel is back there’s not much to be done, and he’s not a world beater by any means. It’ll be a long season, but frees up my Saturdays for more entertaining activities.

 Going to see Elton John tonight. Should be fun!

13 hours ago, unclevlad said:

 

Is that a comment about Nathaniel Hackett?

Merely acknowledging an instance where Churchill was correct

3 hours ago, wcw43921 said:

Churchill was right after all.

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.

27 minutes ago, Cancer said:

Funding for US research on various causes of death

 

(Link to an article in Nature.)  Guns became the leading cause of death for children in 2020.  Average funding for research into gun homicides: $63 per death.

 

Of course, I'm not sure any of the other causes of death have political entities actively advocating expansion for the cause of death the way guns does.

I wholeheartedly concur that restrictions on research for political purposes (as demonstrated with regard to firearms) is unacceptable. Research should not be limited because we don’t like the implications.

The massive spike in suicide is worth research separate and apart from gun violence. We’ve seen our hotline calls more than double in the past two years, with much younger demographics (although still predominantly male). I would like to see greater focus on causal factors and potential interventions. I realize that’s complicated and likely political in nature, but without good research it’s very hard to craft interventions (which is literally my job). I know a lot of the historical reasons, they have been stable for 30+ years. Recent increases are likely attributed to social isolation, and other negative impacts of the necessary pandemic response, but interventions have lagged well behind the skyrocketing rates… with mobile response implementations delayed in California until at least 2025. While I understand the reticence to delve into the potentially negative impacts of our other health interventions, the opportunity through the nation wide “988” number shouldn’t be missed. 
 

Anyway, more research and support for social policy based on data is typically a good thing and I would hope for more of it (rather than additional restrictions).

 Edit: In case anyone’s interested in a reputable data source. https://suicidology.org

I think it says “be a good enough candidate to earn my vote“ given the alternatives but that’s just me. 

Missed most of the game, it was clear by the second quarter what was going to happen… so I fixed the deck at the cabin and went shooting. Having a drink on the stained (last trip), tightened up deck looking at the American River. Football is supposed to be the pleasant distraction from the more important things in life, but I have other good ones.

Pot Roast tonight, Apple Hill and Pathfinder tomorrow. Good times

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/09/27/world/russia-ukraine-war-news
 

Dang. Nordstream 1 and 2 are toast. Russia cannot sell gas and oil to Germany using that mechanism now even if mutually agreed on. 
 

Looks like a “hey, maybe stop talking about use of nuclear weapons” to me, but what do I know?

I will NOT miss playing Kansas State. They are our purple kryptonite and have been for years. 
 

That 2003 Big XII Championship game, ugh. Tonight feels like a KState versus OU game.

That Texas-TTech game…

13 hours ago, Pariah said:

Would you subscribe to Amazon to watch Rutgers-Nebraska, Houston-Texas Tech, or Washington State-Arizona?

 

Conference realignment: Amazon interest may affect Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 composition as talks continue

Nope, but I’d maybe watch a game from time to time on my existing subscription.

They’ll need to double their pay at least if their coach is pursued by football schools, including Nebraska. It’s a job, double pay is a thing. 
 

Pretty much sums it up. What’s the buy out?

Kansas head coach contract $16.5M for 6 years (averaging $2.75M per year). Nebraska paid Frost $5M per year. They may go higher in the current climate.

1 hour ago, unclevlad said:

 

If they choose to blow an extra $7M rather than wait 3 weeks, firing everyone else on the staff would be nothing.

That said, I suspect Meyer would laugh in their faces.  He's not gonna touch a near-hopeless situation like that, if he wants to go back to coaching at all.

 

And I can't see

a)  Meyer in particular taking the job during this season, with no time to get his systems (and people) in place

b)  Nebraska waiting that long.  Granted, that arguably supports cutting the deal with Meyer, so they can announce the change even if the current staff's left as a lame duck for the rest of the season.  What wouldn't shock me is if they try to poach a coordinator.

 

To be sure, *finding* someone worth hiring before Thanksgiving is...pretty darn tricky.

I would keep an eye on Kansas in terms of a hot hire. Liepold is killing it, they could do a lot worse.

https://m.kusports.com/news/2022/sep/17/matt-tait-dont-look-now-kansas-football-offense-wh/

3 hours ago, Pariah said:

I'm old enough to remember when the Oklahoma-Nebraska game was a big deal. It was a real rivalry, because both teams were good and the outcome of the game meant something. Usually there was a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line.

 

Today's game was just pathetic.

I attended the debacle in Norman under John Blake’s “stewardship” (73-21 Huskers). Today was merciful, we had the second string in for 24 minutes and practiced the dive run throughout the fourth quarter. 

They’re not Nebraska of old, but it’s a long series. Given Wisconsin, Iowa, and others it’s possible they could be back. They need a home run hire. 
 

I did laugh at one of their fans asking “if you hire Urban Meyer, do you sell your soul to him and he gives it to Satan OR do you sell it to Satan and he credits it to Urban Meyer’s account?” 
 

I don’t think he’ll end up there. Even entertaining that is a symptom of desperation, not a real fit for their coaching staff. 

That was fun. Big drop off between the starters and backups, OU is very thin on depth. Couple injuries and this team is going to fall apart, yikes.

The Oklahoma defense kinda looks legit though. 30 points allowed in 3 games, couple forced fumbles and an interception. Haven’t seen that in more years than I can count on one hand, for sure.

 Going to need Gabriel to stay healthy. There’s nobody behind him from what I was watching today. He’s not as good as our recent QB history but if the defense keeps playing well he won’t need to be.

 Still need to grow, develop. The schedule has been about perfect for that. Kent State/UTEP/Nebraska at Lincoln ease them into the season. Big XII schedule starts next. Kansas State in Norman, then at TCU. Here we go.

God forbid Netflix attempt to appeal to a large demographic swath. It’s almost like they’re operating with some sort of profit motive in mind. Shocking. 
 

I just wish they’d do a better job of pandering. Top Gun redux was awesome. More like that works.