unclevlad

The difference between what most politicians do, and what Trump does, is that he's much more blatant about it.  His rhetoric is also that of a campaigner, not of a leader, no matter if he's at a rally or from the White House.  

On a side note, anyone else in as much despair over the *glut* of late-season political ads?  Had the baseball game on the TV, Chiefs/Pats streaming off and on.  Carpet-bombed by them, and of course, a HIGH percentage of them are corrosive, pernicious attack ads.  

LOL

Wasn't a fan of the old one.  Saw they were doing a remake, and figured that was 2 1/2 strikes to begin with.  SICK of remakes!  

Apparently reviews are quite mixed.

VIkings had a generally better team.  To Badger's comment...ok, Eli might be better than anything the Broncos have now, but their offensive issues are much more extensive than that.  Next to last in 2017 in TO margin (guess who was worse);  24th this year.  26th in points per game.  Defense is 6th worst in YPG allowed, middle of the pack in 3rd down stops.  This isn't the defense that went to the Super Bowl.

Yeah, looks like it will be a long year.  2 home losses?  Good luck going better than 7-9;  Broncos are so awful on the road that thinking they'll win more than 1 road game is pretty much a pipe dream.

Yeah, I'm sure Mark Davis is SUPER happy with his coach.  (I'm hoping Gruden will have a terrible 2-3 year run then fade into total oblivion, only popping up as a Talking Head on the "analysis" show of your choice.)

Of course the Vikes won.  Come on, at home, and the 2nd or 3rd worst team in the league?  Almost a bye week.

Gotta look askance at that Vaunted Bear Defense.  On the road, sure, but can we assert the Fins to be a powerhouse offense?  With Osweiler?  Over 500 yards, 30+ points, 8/17 3rd down efficiency.

14 hours ago, Pariah said:

How long has Eli got on his current contract, I wonder? Maybe the Donkeys could trade for him. It worked out pretty well the last time they picked up a Manning at the end of his career....

Signed through 2019.  Google it...real simple.

But no one's gonna trade for him.  $23M+ cap hit for next year, for a very mediocre QB who isn't gonna get any better...and generally seems to have regressed.  I'll buy that gunshy is some of it, but he's 21st in rating this year, and looking at last year, it looked like about 24th among QBs with 250+ attempts.  And given that he'll be 38, with a LOT of miles on him, the only role would be as a stopgap for a year.  But I wouldn't want him.  I hate throwing away a season with a Dead Man Walking QB.

The other thing is, I am just not sure where his head is.  How much does he want to be there...or is it that he's just sick of the Giants?  Further, Eli needs to be THE team leader.  Got the years, got the position, got the rings.  Don't got the personality, from everything I've seen whenever I'm stuck with the Giants.  I think there's a good chance OBJ is locker room cancer, but Eli's in a position to at least mitigate the problems.  It seems clear from the pathetic performance against an Eagles offense that's been MIA all year until Thursday, that there's all I, no Team there.

BIggest shocker to me was the ending to Deathwalker.  Which is also one of my favorite episodes, along with Comes the Inquisitor.

Youch.  Postgame comments, Aikman flat out said, "hate to say it but the Giants are just playing out the string."  That might be the biggest rip I can think of, targeted at a team.  Especially this early.  That's a week 15 comment for a 3-10 team, sure, but week 6?

I'm not gonna say Eli is the core problem, but I think there's no point in playing him any more.  Nothing good's happening on offense when he's onfield, so what's the risk?

Wow.  In the NFL, there's bad...lots of that.  There's worse.

Then there's the Giants.  Not including Barkley;  that kid's impressive.

In some ways, what's the worst fate a college athlete can have?  Being the #1 pick.  Godawful team will be the norm for your first few years.  The upside of course is, you *do* get paid rather well.....

3 minutes ago, Doc Shadow said:

 

Most of the high ranking officers had probably been arrested as being involved in the war crimes of the Clark administration. What few were left had to fill a lot of slots. Lochley was probably the best they had available on short notice.

The actress was the problem.  Scoggins just lacks the qualities to make a convincing leader, much less military leader.  

True but not complete.  They were renewed, albeit somewhat late.  However, Claudia Christian wanted some time off during season 5 to make a movie, as that would actually pay her *much* more.  The producers said no.  (That's what I read at the time;  apparently there are conflicting takes as to why.)  So, she didn't sign on for the 5th year.  Yeah, closing out the major storyline was a consequence of the production company jerking everyone around, but certain major storylines got totally re-written because of that aspect.  

This is from tvtropes.org:

Perhaps the most infamous example: the original plan for Season 4 was to end with "Intersections in Real Time"; the Earth Civil War arc would be concluded in the first six or seven episodes of Season 5 (much like the Shadow War arc conclusion in the first six episodes of Season 4). But then the network PTEN finally disintegrated, and it seemed like Babylon 5 was going to be cancelled at the end of Season 4 — so JMS, determined to give his show a proper ending, condensed his original plan for Season 4 to make it four episodes shorter and then crammed the resolution of the Earth Civil War into three massively-compressed Wham Episodes followed by the Distant Finale"Sleeping in Light". Then, at the last minute, Babylon 5 was picked up for its last season by the cable network TNT! There was only one problem: Season 4 had already been shot, so there was now a massive gap at the beginning of Season 5 where the planned story had already been told. JMS had no choice but to fill the gap by taking the telepath colony arc — intended to last only three episodes — and stretching it out to eleven episodes over Season 5's entire first half. There's a reason why Season 5 is so unpopular with fans.

That's largely how I remember it too.  And yes, season 5 is a disaster until the whole Centauri/Drakh storyline actually gets played out in the second half.  I actually felt really bad for Londo by the end of things.  OTOH, Tracy Scoggins was perhaps the worst choice for a MAJOR commanding officer I've ever seen.  Babylon 5 is a major, MAJOR posting;  it's at least ambassador-equivalent, as well as supreme commander for a theater (a la head of the Pacific fleet today).  We're talking 3 or 4 star general officer.  Scoggins came across as a bimbo.  

9 minutes ago, Sociotard said:

Did she have a voice recorder going? I can't think of any other way to get those long stretches of text, but I'm surprised the President allowed it.

Have to think so, but remember, Trump set the meeting up, with a pretty clear intent to be recorded.  Why bother going out of his way to draw the people in, if it's off the record?

Ahh, I see.  They're bringing it back.  Cool.  Seasons 2-4 are awesome, altho you can tell the storyline's getting rushed in season 4.  

Interesting article about ratings so far:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-television-ratings-are-up-for-first-time-since-2015-1539255604

The California judge's ruling was based on labor law, as I read it.  He was saying the NCAA was denying employment improperly.  I'd say that logic would apply to every school in the state, not just the state-run schools.

Also, re-read the details anyway.  The case was about a USC coach, so it clearly is *not* limited to just the state schools.

43 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

Left here without comment: My Private Oval Office Press Conference With Donald Trump, Mike Pence, John Kelly, and Mike Pompeo

scary...............

14 hours ago, Badger said:

 

If it was in opposing territory I see your point.   I just hate the whole analytical "you should never punt, ever" idea.  Belicheck was an idiot to go from his own 29 that time, would have been better to punt and hope the defense can do something.  

 

Course, Dallas is irrelevant, to begin with, so I don't care about Jerry Jones' delusions.  

SBNation has an article on coaches on the hot seat...Joseph, Koetter, Bill O'Brien in Houston...and Garrett.  Their comments:

But throughout Garrett’s unproductive tenure, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has supported and defended the coach. Even after missing the playoffs last season — one year after going 13-3 — Jones said Garrett wasn’t on the hot seat.

So that’s why it seems especially notable that Jones chose to publicly criticize Garrett’s decision-making following a 19-16 overtime loss to the Texans. The Cowboys coach played it painfully safe with a punt in overtime that quickly cost Dallas the game.

I think the judge in this case is overreaching.  MInd, I am NO fan of the NCAA, but this ruling feels wrong.  I don't see a "show cause" condition as constituting unlawful restraint.  The guy is found to have broken the rules.  It's an administrative punishment that seems well within the bounds.  

I do agree with rejecting the Pac-12's comments.  Tough noogies, kiddies.  Deal with it.  Besides, if this ruling's upheld, I wouldn't be at all surprised if more challenges start being filed in other states, under any similar laws they've got.  It *is* California, and they do have some unique laws, but this feels like something other states would probably also have.  Oh, and heck, it's not just the Pac-12.  Big West, West Coast, Mountain West for sure.  Div II has a California Collegiate Athletic Association.  Looks like about 25 in Div I and another 20+ in Div II.  

1 hour ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

A Los Angeles judge has found the "show cause" clause in the NCAA disciplinary bylaws is illegal -- at least in California. His reasoning is that California law prohibits "unlawful restraint on engaging in a lawful profession". In this case, it involved a lawsuit brought by a USC assistant football coach whose college career was ruined due to his purported role in the Reggie Bush agent scandal of the early 2000's.

 

The Pac-12 filed a comment against the coach's case in the suit, on the grounds that college sports in California is in jeopardy if they cannot follow the same NCAA rules everyone else does. The judge dismissed their complaints as "speculative". However, the NCAA and its very deep pockets are appealing the decision.

Kimbrel, are you trying to give me a heart attack?????

I mean, come on, 2 of the sweetest words in the language are 

YANKEES LOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Yes, I loathe John Sterling as a broadcaster.)

'sokay.  It's much more fun to watch expectations grow and grow, only to be blasted apart.  WAY more fun kicking someone just as they think they'll make it to the top, than when they're groveling in the mud.  Let them taste success THEN send them back down to where they belong.

Can't be considered a surprise Stoops got booted.  Sooner D has been really horrid, and now of course there's a new-ish HC with less of a vested interest.  And some of the numbers in that CBS Sports story are scary...40+% 3rd down conversion rate, HORRENDOUS red zone scoring and TD rates.  So it's bend AND break.

14 hours ago, Badger said:

depends on where they were on the field from 4th and 1.  

Cowboys drafted to run the ball.  They've emphasized it.  Tie game in OT, 4 minutes left, ball's on Houston's 42.  Punt is extremely passive;  several things have to go right in order for you to actually *win* after that.  And it's something you are expected to be able to do.  Texans stuffed the run the play before, but if running is expected to be the strength of your team, then you line up and do it again.

But you missed the point.  JERRY called it out as a bad decision by his coach...and Jerry is practically the only person who thinks Jason Garrett can be a good head coach.  That's why it's more interesting.

I remember the Vietnam era, which also overlapped good chunks of the civil rights era.  You're wrong, by and large.  Things are much worse now. 

--Trump is eviscerating senior leadership and expertise by driving them away, or appointing dismantlers (EPA).  

--Fake news has been a political weapon for a while now, but Trump has sanctioned it by giving it Presidential legitimacy.  This has, IMO, severely increased the polar segregations.

--On the world stage, the damage done to our alliances, and to our trustworthiness, is incalculable.  We have no moral standing in the world at all.

--As someone pointed out, Trump's brought the radical racist factions back into the game.

--Neither Johnson nor Nixon ever publicly sank to the trash-talk radio levels Trump routinely uses.  Trump's a sewer and every so often he has to find a wind tunnel to use as he flushes himself out.

I'll agree to a point that things may not be irreversible *yet*.  As I mentioned, I think we have 1 last chance in a month.  If the election doesn't repudiate Trump and the entire Republican Party...if they keep both houses...then there's 2 more years where they *also* have the Supreme Court.  I am *seriously* worried that in 2 more years, the economy will be crushed from the consequences of his trade war.  Immigration policies will only be more punitive.  Race hatred will only grow.  

The Vietnam protests were arguably healthy...divisive, yes, and the vets of that era were major victims.  You could call them knife cuts.  Trump's poisoning everything...the damage isn't as visible but it's a heckuva lot more extensive.

Last point:  a side aspect of the damage is that, even once he's gone, the fight to undo any of this is going to be equally vicious.

My, my.

Jerry calls out Garrett for punting on 4th and 1 in the OT.  Is this, perhaps, a first warning sign?  Granted, I suspect most of us think the only way to fix the 'boys' core problem is to oust Jerry, but that doesn't mean his boy can hold on forever.

Oh, I think both Dalton and Stafford are grossly overrrated;  love to know just how many of Stafford's yards came in garbage time, and the only trust I have in Dalton is that he'll choke in the big moment.  AMPLY confirmed, I might add.  I'm just saying that Brees is probably the most under-the-radar *major* record holder I can think of.

So Brees passes Favre with a TD pass.

Then goes one-up by passing Peyton on a 62 yard TD pass.

All time passing yards leader.  Who'da thunk it?  It's not like he doesn't get talked about, but considering....?  He doesn't.  Rodgers, Tommy Brady, any Manning, Big Ben...they all get more.  Feels like Dalton, Stafford, and Russell Wilson get more love.  Maybe it's just playing in New Orleans.  Maybe it's a Big 12 QB Syndrome issue...the system's setting him up for the yardage.  

He should leave the mark on an entirely new level, barring bad injury.

34 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

What I find ironic is that many of Trump's supporters ardently advocate getting government out of ordinary citizen's lives.

Oh, but these aren't ordinary citizens.  They're clearly subversive factions intent on destroying American values.

st barbara, NO ONE is ever surprised here when Trump attacks anyone who in any way is opposed to him.  His sycophants consider it only what such traitors deserve;  his abettors wish he'd shut his damn mouth but refuse to sanction him in any way, and his opponents just hope there's something left when his era is over.   

If he thought he could get away with it, the jackboots would be out on the streets, never doubt that.