unclevlad

I wonder if Ime Udoka will have sense enough to say No to the Nets at this point. That franchise is a pure, untouched toxic waste site.

Huh. Just realized something. Once the dust settles on the changes that already exist...push comes to shove, the Big 12 is not particularly a football conference. No disrespect to TCU or OK State, but how many teams have long, high-level football histories once Oklahoma and Texas bail? It may well be, much like the ACC, basketball first. In that regard, then, Gonzaga's lack of football is rather less of an issue.

But that begs the question. Why would Belichick BOTHER? The Raiders will do it to themselves with no outside assistance; on that, they've got an ironclad track record. The fact that they were a playoff team last year...that they should have been better...and they looked AWFUL last week against a mediocre at best Saints team, opens the door for a plausible mid-season house cleaning...GM and coach.

I dunno...CBS Sports rankings, they're ahead of BYU. And Michigan St, Auburn, and Stanford. VERY close losses to 2 ranked teams in conference. Now, were you to say Colorado or CSU...I wouldn't argue... Dunno. The Big 12 seems the only real fit for the Zags. Pac-12 has the same football considerations, and after UCLA leaves, very little presence nationally in basketball over the last 15-20 years. Arizona, OK; they've had good years. That's about it, tho. It'd be an upgrade over the WCC, but probably not enough so. The Big 12 has the most depth, and losing Oklahoma and Texas, in basketball, isn't that damaging.

Yes, but what they don't have is a football team. Another story mentioned, they'd want to join up in all sports; there are some that might not work out. Geographically, of course, it's a bloody mess.

That's not lycanthropy, it's just time for your annual shave and body wax.

Yeah, that's the one that's widely cited as almost certainly giving the SEC 2 teams, even if Clemson, TCU, and OSU or Michigan go undefeated. One of em would miss out...and of those 3, TCU is starting from behind. It's also notable that we're not mentioning the Pac-12...in part because they're all 1-loss teams. But they've got to be no better than 6th spot...taken collectively...projecting forward. They'll need someone to win out, and 1 or 2 Good Things to happen elsewhere.

The problem in that scenario: Georgia and Tennessee, and Michigan and Ohio State, are in the same division in their conferences. Thus, the loser in those games almost certainly does not reach their conference championship game. IF!!! Alabama makes it to the championship game...3 way tie right now...and wins it against an undefeated Georgia or Tennessee, then obviously Alabama's in, and there's a HECKUVA case for the loser there. Especially if it's Tennessee, as they'd have wins over *2* strong CFP contenders, if not teams. Plus wins over Pitt, Florida, LSU, and Kentucky, all ranked at the time. No one else will have that. Even if it's Georgia, they'll have a win over the late-season #1...which the others won't have, the early-season win over Oregon is looking better, and presumably wins over Miss St and Kentucky. The big one will be beating Tennessee, tho, if they do. A one-loss Michigan team won't make it, I agree with that. A one-loss OSU? They'd be in the mix, I think, in part because they're up there now. But if they lose to Michigan, again...no conference title game is a significant downside. TCU probably still needs to accumulate style points, and wouldn't want to see K-State or OSU stumble to an unranked team. Fair or not...TCU is not a drawing card, and this *may* play against them.

My oh my oh my oh my!!!! Feel free to hate the Stros all you want, but still.... They just tied the Series at 2-2. 5-0 win. But the real story! COMBINED NO HITTER. ONLY other similar, in the WS, was Larsen's perfect game.

Oh my. Smack me upside the head and hit me with a clue. Took Davis and Smoltz' comments to drive a point home. Tomorrow night is Eagles-Texans...Philly vs. Houston. As in...same as the WS.....

If the Nets go through with hiring Ime Udoka...nah, I hope they don't bail on Irving. I hope he plays all season long and the Nets finish with the worst record in the league. On the other side...just noted that New Mexico State starts its preseason tonight. And surprise!!! The first games start next week. The first preseason tournament is the 11th and 13th; the massive explosion starts the 17th, ending on the 25th, with 10 4-team, 2-day matchups (as opposed to the ESPN events like Coaches Against Cancer, which is 4 teams, 2 games back to back on the same night), and 17 events with 8 teams, most of which are 3-day full tournaments. (There's some odd ones, tho.) The nice thing about them is, there's some decent matchups. Outside of these, the good teams are snacking on cupcakes, for the most part.

Legit question, but yes, people are testing...principally, I think, only when symptoms warrant. So it's plausible that many very mild cases are slipping past.

Good news is, world-wide new cases are down to about 1/3 of the July peak. US new cases are down to the lowest since summer '21; deaths look to have dropped, but still around 2000 per week.

If you want to diss Clemson...what about Michigan? Non-conference, they've played 3 dread noughts...CSU, UConn, and Hawai'i. CSU and Hawai'i are 4th and 5th in the CBS bottom 25; UConn just drifted out of it this week, after being one of the consistent members for several years. They're listed as 30th. Granted, Clemson is 36th. We've got one of the major showdowns this weekend...Tennessee-Georgia. If Tennessee wins, then runs the rest of the table until the SEC title game (Missouri, South Carolina, Vandy, all under .500 in conference)...they can probably lose to Alabama in the title game and still get in. If Georgia wins, they have Miss St, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech. They'd probably get in, even if they lost to Bama in the title game...but it's somewhat more tenuous. Michigan-Ohio State is Thanksgiving weekend, so there won't be time to recover from a stumble. Michigan probably needs to pick up some style points and smack Rutgers and Nebraska *hard*. Should be entirely feasible, tho. Clemson's got the soft road...again. In what may well be a first for me: I'm rooting for Notre Dame.

In what aspect is Dan Snyder 'healthy'?

The downside is, of course, he'll be pocketing a couple billion dollars in profit, should he sell the whole team...which would seem to be his only move, but no one's sure at this point what he's gonna do.

Half rhetorical...half me needing to scream, because yeah, I know the answer. It is seriously depressing, however, to be slapped in the face with it this badly. Stuff like this is why I can't accept Lord Liaden's mild optimism.

Reputation. As always, it's the hidden element. Elsewhere, the fallout from the Michigan State incident continues; they've suspended 4 more players.

First: what took so long? The testimony in question was over a year ago, and this was one of *multiple* such incidents. Second, from the story: This REALLY needs to be debunked by doctors? They make you MAGNETIZED??? Are there REALLY people that ignorant? In many ways, this is the aspect that disturbs and alarms me, that a claim of such total absurdity can be echoed and not rejected...that it does not cause those who parrot such a claim to be utterly rejected as complete fools. We've really rejected rationality THAT far? Santayana: Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. The violence is going to get worse; the atrocities haven't even scratched the surface relative to the magnitude of this absurdity.

It's an identifiable group, but it's not a designated group under the hate crime laws. It counts as hate violence; political affiliation is a criterion there. https://oag.ca.gov/hatecrimes The Federal criteria are, IIRC, a bit broader, but I don't believe political affiliation is included there. However, attempted kidnapping of a US official, I believe carries a LIFE sentence. I think we might see moves to include political affiliation into the designated groups, at least in some states, when it's this egregious.

Oh dear. The last sentence is perhaps the most alarming. Not surprising, just alarming. In some ways, even more alarming are some of the comments. Be warned: several are...disgusting.

Technically, the rights fees are to use game highlights provided by NFL Films. That the "express written consent." You pay for it. Figure the networks have some sort of deal in place, too. But it is...bizarre, to be sure. And why now? The show started in 2017, according to IMDb. Someone took offense? Just some Herbert trying to make brownie points? I agree with the writer that it really won't hurt the NFL that much; they're Teflon. But it still sounds like a stupid move.

Phillies aren't bombers, they're an artillery battery, firing at will. McCullers goes 4 1/3 for the Stros...giving up 5 home runs.

Oh my gosh, thank God for the World Series. TNF rates to be a SLAUGHTER. Eagles at Texans. The line is Philly -14...on the road, no less...and it looks to moving more in Philly's direction as the game approaches. Philly is generally around -750...bet $750 to win $100. This game might be over before the opening kickoff, it's such a gross mismatch. I don't think that the lack of prep will matter, as a Thursday debacle...Philly can probably just overwhelm the Texans.

Astros need to be talking to Jeremy Pena's agent. Kid's a rookie...at 25...and if you've followed the postseason, you know he's been huge. Well, on top of that, he just won the Gold Glove for AL shortstops. Similarly, the Guardians and Steven Kwan. Another 25 YO rookie. How does a slash line of .298/.373/.773 strike you? 563 ABs, 168 hits, 98 runs. No power, just 6 home runs, but so what? And he won the Gold Glove for AL left fielders. And went 9-30, scoring 4 runs in the playoffs.