unclevlad

You're a week early with that, I'd think..........

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/could-shohei-ohtani-face-punishment-for-interpreter-gambling-scandal-what-legal-expert-mlb-rules-say/ Yes, it's a 1 year minimum...but the potential criminal issues may be far more serious. None of us want to think Ohtani's involved in actual betting, but the law is such that even paying off his translator's debts can be prosecuted. My gut feeling is, so long as that's ALL it is? California won't prosecute, and MLB won't suspend.

Thank you for taking the time to explain that more fully. And to take it a step further...AP becomes brutal against Takes No Stun, because for the automaton, buying Hardened is expensive. 2 points of hardened, resistant defense is 11 points with TNS in play.

Well of course Putin's gonna blame Ukraine. The sun rose, right?

And the night ends with another one, as #12 Grand Canyon takes out #5 Saint Mary's. I don't treat a 10 over a 7, or a 9 over an 8, as upsets; they're too close to tossups regardless. But that makes the final tally 1 three seed, 1 four seed, 2 fives, and 3 sixes. And, yeah, if ya wanna argue the 11 over the 6 is getting to be too close to be a noteworthy upset...I wouldn't argue strongly against ya... And there was a bit of confusion...ESPN's perfect bracket tracker had 0 perfect brackets after the Wisconsin loss, but the leaderboard had 1 left. THAT one fell when Utah State won. So regardless...22 million brackets, and none survive the first round intact. That's despite only one really big upset...3 seed or higher. I'd kinda thought there might be 2. There were 20 brackets with one miss...but that'll drop considerably once everything's updated.

Excellent seque, Cyg....

But he goes best neat.

I don't question the human race. The race as a whole is not responsible for the derangement, however extreme, of one particular member. The person's site info calls it satire/parody, but it's just moronic IMO. But the git has 1.3M followers somehow. Barnumesque!

We certainly know he's not anti-static......

JUST dropped into my inbox...US believes a branch of ISIS, based in Afghanistan and a frequent critic of Putin, is responsible for the Moscow attack that...last I saw...claimed 40 lives. And, yeah...fearmongering is likely sufficient explanation too. And certainly, BOTH can be true.

FUN STUFF!!!! Colorado goes super-tight and super-conservative in blowing a sizable, late lead; Florida hits a long 3 to tie with about 8 seconds left. Colorado gets it down into the low block...little baby hook bounces a couple times on the rim...and goes in. Florida can't hit the desperation 3. So #10 Colorado advances...so, I think it's 5 double digit seeds. MORE amusing...in a WILD!!!!! ending, Yale beats Auburn. That's a 13 over a 4...can't *wait* to hear Barkley's consternation. Auburn misses 2 FTs, down 2 with 7 seconds, but get the board, and a flurry of shots, in close but contested, but they don't drop.

Uh oh. He's threatening to shed on us again.....

More-original source for Dean's last... https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2024/03/20/tennessee-senate-passes-bill-banning-chemtrails-what-to-know/73027586007/ What scares me is, it's plausible to read this as a separate tactic by Christian nationalists. Attack science to promote the authority of faith. They don't *have* to believe it, they may darn well know it's idiotic...so what? It got through the Tennessee Senate. That means it's not just wild-eyed conspiracy nuts, to me.

Oh man.... https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/22/europe/crocus-moscow-shooting/index.html NYT indicated EDIT: the embassy further explained that "extremists" did NOT refer to Ukraine...that it was something totally separate. They note the owner of the facility is Aras Agaralov, an Azerbaijani billionaire sometimes described as one of Putin's oligarchs, so that could certainly be the motive. We'll likely never know for sure.

That could be taken as damnation by faint praise.

They're still separate notions. I have no issue with rolling a hit location to help figure out the loss the automaton will suffer, but that's in a totally different stage, as determining the effect of the damage. Hit locations affect the amount of the damage. Even the full Takes No Stun does not mean the automaton can't be decapitated or crippled (take out the knee so it can't move). "Desolid" isn't the word you want, but there's several variations so terminology is tricky. Mud men...you have to blow them apart. Cut off a leg? It re-flows. D&D's oozes are quite similar. Gaseous forms are also the same. A key point is...there's nothing special to hit. Then it's got restitution...the ability to return to its preferred state. So it covers gaseous, sure, but also fluid, or colloidal solids, or even some plastics, would make a decent basis.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/22/uk/kate-princess-of-wales-cancer-diagnosis-intl-gbr/index.html

Mike Johnson's days as Speaker could be coming to a close. House passes the spending bills, but The Usual Suspects have smoke coming out their ears, and are starting to talk about ousting him. I'm NOT a fan of the damage the MAGA Clown Show does...but the potential upside is, the longer they continue their posturing, and the closer it gets to election day, one has to believe, the more this will negatively impact them in the elections. OK, most of the clowns are pretty much immune to election-time pressure; their individual districts are too safe for them to be voted out. It remains to be seen how it'll play out in the broader electorate. The deadline to avert a partial shutdown is midnight, with a big question remaining...whether someone like Tuberville will block it. If it passes, especially before the shutdown? I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson's ousted next week. The vote to pass the spending bill was 286-134; all the Democrats voted to pass, so we're talking about 2 out of 3 Republicans voted No.

Another point. And from the "demons are real" post from Wolfe: The oath of office is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet, there's this: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof Huh. Can we really feel that people with beliefs like the above, will honor their oaths?

They also both make tonic waters and club sodas. Yeah, it's bizarre. Oh, and to make it even MORE confusing? The Schweppes brand name is owned by...COKE!!!....in much of the world, outside North America. Corporate games.... My personal favorite soft drink was Hires...it was quite popular, but it was killed off. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hires_Root_Beer Which also points out why keeping both Canada Dry and Schweppes in the corporate stable is odd...unless it's a denying move, to keep Schweppes OUT of Coke's hands. I vaguely remember thinking Schweppes was sharper...Canada Dry sweeter...but it's been years.

It was, but in fairness, at live speed I was wondering if they're review it for a flagrant. The driver lost control, so the optics are...hey, he had to be hit. But...no. The defender got all ball...and the is what led to the driver going off-balance. A drive like that OFTEN leads to the driver catching himself on the rim for control anyway. And it's too bad, because Samford clearly had the ball, and were gonna be able to bring it up for, at worst, a 4 on 4, down 1, against a defense that would've been rattled...their breakaway broke. And this was the post-game discussion...Clark and Kenny mostly. PS: The Athletic wondered if Calipari might be in trouble at Kentucky...perhaps the highest-expectations basketball program in the country. The last 4 years...no tourney, then very early exits...first, second, first round. 3rd, 3rd, and T-2nd in the conference they feel they should OWN. The model of mostly one-and-done type players is tricky inherently, but with the transfer portal and NIL, it's even harder.

I think a big marketing problem for 7up is, they're part of Keurig Dr. Pepper, which is a serious hodgepodge...in soft drinks, they also have Squirt, Crush, Sunkist, Canada Dry, and Schweppes. None of them have any connection to any of the others. They also have, I think, *extremely* limited exposure in fast-food soda machines...Dr. Pepper gets in decently often, but let's face it, most dispensers are dedicated to either Coke or Pepsi...never the twain shall meet. That issue carries over to store shelves...where the Coke distributors can leverage/compel stores to carry a wide array. Dr. Pepper? Canada Dry and Schweppes aren't considered soft drinks, so much as *mixers.*

CRASH!!!! Hope you had your ear plugs handy. Big Blue Nation is in shock. Oakland beats Kentucky, 80-76. It's a 14 over a 3...but as far as bracket busting goes, well, Kentucky fans are...mmm...single-minded, shall we say. So, first stunner to this point. LIKELY not the last. EDIT: 6 seeds have clearly been cursed. 0 for 3 today. So, take solace, Mr. P; once they got slotted into the 6 spot, your team never had a chance. EDIT the last for the night...Samford gets hosed. Down 1, 15 seconds left, Kansas gets a leak out and a long pass...player's driving for a slam, but he gets run down from behind, and the Samford defender executes a BEAUTIFUL block. All ball. No lower body contact...but it's called a foul. Kansas makes both, and harasses and defends Samford into a tough 3 that doesn't go. Kansas gets the ball, gets fouled (altho they almost turned it over)...hit the first FT to ice the game.

Huh....Texas needs to be concerned; first half offensive ineptitude could be contagious. Virginia only manages 14 against CSU Tuesday. Today? CSU only manages *11*. They were up 8-2, 5 minutes into the half...then got dipped in liquid nitrogen. 3 points over 15 minutes. Texas was pretty bad too...like CSU against Virginia. It was only 27-11 at the half, and the final was only 56-44.

Arsenal has banned 3 fans who pled guilty to tragedy chanting...a crime in England. The BBC describes it as The applicable law: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64/section/4A The ban is for 3 years.