Welp, I never thought I’d be here saying this, but…
OMWC and I, lifetime sports fans, are done with pro sports. Yep, you heard me correctly.
While we still both adored the minor league games, MLB had become increasingly obnoxious. Between the social justice crap, the stadium security theater crap, the price of tickets, the COVID crap, and the final insult from my perspective, designated hitters in the National League (what the actual fuck?!), we’re out.
I mean, is it any surprise the most reviled teams are all American League where they’ve been pulling that “Oh, he’s special, he’s a pitcher, he shouldn’t have to hit too” crap nearly my entire lifetime? If you can’t perform the functions of a player of the game, GTFO of the game.
So, that is to say, we’re done with MLB.
But, while becoming increasingly annoyed with the NFL, we were still holding out hope that we’d have one last year to watch. No such luck.
I have to admit that I sincerely, absolutely, and completely do not GAF about an athlete’s political views. Just as I do not care about any other entertainer’s political views. I give them my money to ENTERTAIN me, not lecture me. When the league decides it is going to go full-on batshit crazy with this crap, too…
Yep, we’re done with the NFL.
Those two sports were the only programming that we watched in real time on a regular television channel. I am already looking forward to the savings we shall realize when I cancel our regular cable next week. (Also, buh-bye Joe Buck!)
If you’re a pro sports fan, how do you feel about the increased politicization?
Not a pro sports fan. That being said, I hate the politicization of freaking everything. It’s very tiresome.
All I can say is, “Thank God for hockey.”
A lifelong hockey fan and I have always said that of al the professional athletes, hockey players are the best. They really are. The culture of the game is different and it bleeds over and makes it less susceptible to stupidity (in my opinion). I was hoping they wouldn’t cave at all, but so far, they’ve kept the political stuff to a minimum and focused on the game.
The quest for Lord Stanley’s Chalice demands no less.
I used to watch all of the rest, too, but they lost me. Fuck ’em. Back to my first love. Circle of life and all that.
Yeah, except for the wussie Flyers management that cancelled their traditional Kate Smith doing “God Bless America” because of some minstrel songs she sang 75 years ago.
We still have NASCAR on, but neither one of us pays that much attention to most of the race. I find it to be an excellent backdrop for napping – I think it’s the drone of the engines.
Somewhat to my surprise, Mrs. Dean has said she doesn’t much care if we watch the NFL this year. She’s been a big fan, and when I dropped the Sunday Ticket after last year for budget reasons, I was worried about figuring out a way to watch her teams (Packers and Steelers, and who doesn’t enjoy watching Mahomes?) every week.
College football hasn’t really come up yet.
I submitted my next post, and put up a couple of robber baron images to go with it. Or not, your call. *tugs forelock*
Should be good for whenever you have a posting hole to fill.
I find it to be an excellent backdrop for napping
Wholeheartedly agree. Perfect for lazy Sunday afternoons.
Done with them all.
Once a huge Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox fan. Finished with the NBA 20 years ago. Lost interest in the NFL over the past few years even as the Pats were winning championships. Done with it now.
I’ve been annoyed at baseball for a while. The loaded balls and tiny parks took away most of drama – now it’s just waiting for the homerun.
They all preach leftist messages nonstop – the core message is they hate me. Good luck and goodbye.
I used to be a baseball fan, Red Sox, from my years in Boston, including their tragic (in the Greek sense) failed World Series. Watched the Braves AAA team in Richmond immediately after, but lost the habit. Great ballpark, a pleasant walk from our house through tree lined neighborhoods. Baseball, I think you need to follow pretty closely to really enjoy. When I was in Boston, the Globe’s sports section was top shelf.
Watched the NBA, mainly from being in Boston for the epic Celtics/Lakers battles in the late ‘80s, but that habit got lost also.
Pretty sure if we skip a year of football, that habit will be gone as well. For me, following a sport is a habit. Enjoyable, but not that compelling once you get a break from it.
Honestly looking at picking up a new sport. We caught a couple of pro rugby games on TV, and they were a blast even though we don’t really know the rules.
Politics ruins everything it touches. I’m a minarchist for a reason.
Growing up on MA, going to the park was easy and cheap. Used to decide on a whim to catch a weeknight game with my buddiea, show up and get bleacher seats for $10.
The Indians for the past couple of years has had a deal called the District tickets. They’re $15, and come with a $5 concession credit. It’s standing room only, and in the left or right field areas. Those were the seats we picked up for games. If you wound up with extra tickets, it wasn’t the end of the world, since you were only out $10 (why wouldn’t I use the concession credits?).
RC – I can’t recommend rugby enough. It has a culture much like ice hockey’s and it is wonderful to watch.
The rules are pretty simple: the ball is the offsides line, much like in soccer/football. To advance the ball you have to run it, by passing laterally or backwards. The only ‘exception’ (consistent with the rule) is that if someone kicks it and you are “onside” when he kicks it, you can go down and catch it in the air. Free rock.
To score, you have to get the ball into the ‘try zone’ (endzone) and “touch it down.” (Yes, the antecedent. It’s also why the ‘forward pass’ was a big deal in football, having come from rugby).
You can’t play the ball on the ground, so when tackled, you have to let the ball go, which is why guys fall and let their mates ‘ruck’ over the top of them. Some fouls result in scrums, with the team that puts the ball in (generally) having a massive advantage because they know when it’s coming in.
Tackling requires rapping up – you can’t launch yourself at a guy, and the lack of helmets forces people to keep their heads up and not use it as a battering ram. (Hello, law of unintended consequences.)
It’s a genuine tough guy sport played by dudes that are in incredible shape and the size of linebackers. It’s a man’s sport, with no apologies made for the term. As they say – “Football [euro] is a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans; rugby is a hooligan’s sport played by gentleman.” I still love that sport and the World Cup is a wonder every four years. (Rugby Union, otoh, I think is an absolutely watered down version/ruleset).
Except for the haka, which is grandfathered in because to remove it would bring up howls of racism.
Played rugby in college and will still watch it whenever pissible. (The real game, not that sevens shit)
Will never catch on as a televised sport here because there aren’t enough breaks for commercials.
“Watched the Braves AAA team in Richmond immediately after, but lost the habit. Great ballpark, a pleasant walk from our house through tree lined neighborhoods”
What street was that?
I swear. the number of Glibs who live or used to live in RIchmond is freaking insane.
I’ve never even drive through Richmond.
Viking, it’s been 30 years. Don’t recall the street names.
Ozy, thanks for the primer. We’re streaming our video these days. Suggestions on how/where to watch?
Well I walked those same streets to that same stadium when I was a kid, to watch the same team. Small world.
Remember the softball field across the street? I dragged a cooler of cold beers there one 4th of July, made about 500 bucks selling him at ballpark prices during the fireworks.
It’s possible I bought one of those beers. Well, two. OK, maybe three.
1987 – 1990?
I have always been a very entrepenurial lad, but no, I was not dragging a cooler of beer before my 2nd birthday. This would have been 2007 or 08.
Damn, I don’t know. I usually found something online and just pay for a subscription during the world cup. There seem to be some streaming services out of europe (IIRC) that carry rugby.
Life long Browns fan, I can’t be disappointed.
I don’t think I have ever paid much attention to the announcers, I know people get pissed about the way this or that ex jock talks and now with the SJW shit, but I simply don’t notice it. We’re usually too busy bitching about play calls, the replay decisions, the quality of the foodstuffs, or that “Shanks” is drinking beer he didn’t bring again to notice the politics of the broadcast. So I’ll most likely still ‘watch’ the games.
I think the only time the bar commented on the announcers was a couple years back when they pointed out that Roethlisberger had more wins in Cleveland then any Cleveland QB since Kosar. Yes, it’s true, but come on man. You’re announcing to the Browns fans.
A very sad stat.
Life long Browns fan
You could have stopped there. It explains a lot.
Hey!
I resemble that statement!
That goes for you too!
In a former city, I’d wear my Browns t-shirt and people would look at it and give me a look of pity. People wouldn’t even attempt to talk shit, they just felt bad for me.
I was on a flight back home once, and someone was wearing a Lions jacket. Some people tried to get me to join in to make fun of the Lions. I said I was proud of the kid, I was from Cleveland, and can respect anyone who stands up for their home team. Detroit and Cleveland are the only non-expansion (depending on the definition of expansion) teams to have never been in the Super Bowl.
But the 1950’s were a good decade to both teams.
Which was 20 years before I was born…
Don’t rub it in.
I’m not a sports fan.
Last night while at a bar in Nashua that is ignoring the Nashua mask ordinance, I saw part of a baseball game on the TV. The empty stands are sad. Cardboard cut-outs in some sections to make it look like there are fans are sad. This is all fucking sad.
I’m not a sports fan, but politicization pisses me off wherever it infects.
*Bows respectfully*
I am a long-suffering fan of some of the worst franchises on earth. The political derp is actually more entertaining than the repeated failures of the Jets, Mets, and Knicks. But aside from that, the social signalling is getting on my nerves.
I hate throwing politics in sports.
First game I remember being taken to see had a relative of mine playing shortstop in the 80’s. Indians vs. Tigers, the Indians got destroyed. I met Bob Feller at one of those games, and he was kind enough to sign my hat and glove. My dad still has a foul ball hit by Thome (which almost hit my grandma in the face) that he got signed by Thome after the game. When I was in Louisville a couple years back, I found my cousins name on their wall of signatures. I still enjoy watching and listening to baseball games. The current push to change the name of the Indians really is getting me pissed off though.
I watched the NBA up through the mid-90’s, remember Ferry getting a technical foul for punching Jordan (after Jordan punched him). Gave up on that when they stopped calling carrying, traveling, and charging.
The NFL has not been good here in Cleveland for a very long time. I remember meeting Bob Golic when he came to my grade school, and meeting Bernie Kosar (the Number 19) at a Beer Fest (he was trying to get into a premium bottled water… it failed). One of the only redeeming qualities of Hot Tub Time Machine (I was bored, and it was free) was a scene where a squirrel ruins Elway’s pass and the Browns get into the Super Bowl. Last season we had hopes, which were immediately dashed in the most Cleveland way possible. If we have the old normal back, I’ll still walk up to a local bar, drink beer, eat wings, and bitch about the bad decisions the coach is making with fellow fans.
“If we have the old normal back, I’ll still walk up to a local bar, drink beer, eat wings, and bitch about the bad decisions the coach is making with fellow fans.”
Hanging out in a bar with fans makes any sport, even soccer, fun. I know zip about soccer, but had a blast in a packed hotel bar a few years ago with a World Cup game on. Sports gives an easy start to conversations with total strangers in bars.
Yep. The one I walk up to used to get a line out the door waiting for them to open on game days (for the early games). Just BS’ing with the fellow fans and setting expectations for the game was an enjoyable time. It also helped that the bar did $.50 wings on Sundays, and had $2/$3/$4 drink specials (Yuengling was $2, Fat Heads Head Hunter was $4, Great Lakes shifted between $4 and $3).
“Gave up on that when they stopped calling carrying, traveling, and charging.”
Yes, but still too many fouls that stop the flow of the game. And that hanging on the rim after a dunk for 15 seconds is annoying as hell too.
They used to call offensive and defensive fouls pretty evenly. The offensive foul is dead.
Carrying and travel calls got looser after the ABA merger, all the special treatment they gave Jordan destroyed those rules.
Now it’s a dude carrying the ball halfway down the court then heaving up a 3-pointer. Rebounds are now just a coincidence. I find it absolutely unwatchable even without thw politics.
I loved sports, but for me, watching was always a social event. If I was alone, there was always something better to do. When I moved up here I had already ditched cable, and having zero team commonality, sports completely fell off my radar.
Pro sports used to be something that brought people together. It transcended race, politics, religion, everythig; if you and I rooted for the same team that stuff didn’ t matter. If you were a fan of a rival it still didn’ t matter. The political crap drives yet another wedge between people. Probably feature, not bug.
It’s a minimal risk tribalism that you can leave at the shit talking level. Fuck, here in Cleveland the amount of gold and black being worn for a while was greater then the brown and orange. But the Yankees are another story.
Fuck the Yankees.
We used to try to get to Fenway when I was in law school for the Yankees games, just for the fights in the cheap seats (where we always sat).
You can unite everybody who matters behind “Fuck the Yankees”. Because fuck those guys (and their fans).
Amen! /Mets fan. Also, saw my first ballgame at Yankee Stadium as a 7 yr old with my mom’s then boyfriend who was a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee hater. Yankee killer Frank Lary was pitching for the Tigers; we were the only 3 people in the park who sat through the 7th inning stretch.
^^^This!!! And the Braves, while you’re at it.
/fan of Cardinals,
then Cubs,
then Reds.
I keep my hatred contained to the Yankees and the Ravens. The Stillerz were a rival back in the day, that may be coming back. Even though the Cubs beat the Tribe, I couldn’t hate them after that World Series (although I did dislike Bill Murray for a bit).
I was glad I’d lived to see the Cubs take it all, and I hoped that somewhere Steve Goodman knew and was happy.
Oh he saw it, and it was all he could do to keep from crying.
: ) I also hope Stevie and Prine are now somewhere jamming together after all these years.
So I was eleven when the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta. So I got to see the Braves play in both places as a youth. The Falcons started at the same time.
Since I never lived in another other big city after that, I stayed an Atlanta fan through all the terrible years.
When the Braves went from Worst to First, I got hooked again. I watched them all the time all the way through wining the World Series.
Then I thought, now what. That seemed like a lot of wasted attention for something that actually had no impact on my life.
That’s pretty much when I stopped watching all pro and college sports.
minimal risk tribalism
one of the keenest of your many many apt observations
Concur. You get the endorphin rush, but shouldn’t need the blood transfusion.
I was slowly losing interest in spending hours camped out in front of the television watching sports. Even the year the Royals won, I only watched pieces. Same with the Chiefs last year. For me, it wasn’t SJW or politics, it was more time. There were other things I preferred to do.
That said, podcasts, youtube, and streaming have enabled me to connect more with lower-division (& non-league) English soccer, domestic (Australian) cricket and such. That’s where my interest mostly lies. No big $$ decision: we ditched cable a few years back. Get a lot of Chiefs games on broadcast in this area.
I hate the politicization, but I need it, man. I need that sweet, sweet Sunday afternoon in the fall.
C’mon, SP, everyone already knows you’re in charge.
Back on point – fu*k pro sports. ‘My’ baseball team installed a massive BLM sign right outside their stadium. I checked the standings, and they’re currently last. They can stay there, AFAIC. Same with football, basketball (see Neph’s point about fouls above), and hockey.
see also Neph’s point…
Heard that, SP. Politics and sports. Ugh.
I listen to the Packer games on the radio (well, the internet feed of the radio). Wayne and Larry are entertaining, with the only drawback being that you can’t see Larry McCarren’s pinky.
The Green Bay “homer” announcers are a blast. I suspect that may be how we do Packers games this year. Takes Mrs. Dean back (she’s a WI native).
Did hear a funny one tonight. Brian Dozier is playing 2B for the Mets. According to the announcers, he was out of baseball due to the ‘vid – was worried about his pregnant wife and 11 month old. After a month at home, his wife told him he had to get out of the house, so he’s back playing.
I heard Nick Markasis from the Braves was going to opt out also and after 5 games decided he was going to come back.
I haven’t watched pro sports on TV for years regularly. I’ve gone to several hockey games, mostly minors.
I’m a big fan of college football and hope it’s coming back in the fall. It won’t be the same even on TV without the crowds.
I wish I still watched so I could stop.
Alright. You get to rename any pro team with a libertarian name. What do you got?
The [insert city here] Orphans.
Stealing it from Brockmire, but I’d run with the Cleveland Colonizers.
It’s one of three names I’ll accept if they take away the Indians.
[City name] polished monocles.
You’d have to play only road games. Open firing on teams for not getting off your lawn is bad for business.
The New York Tammanys.
The Pittsburg Privateers.
The DC Barry’s
The LA Riots
The Philadelphia liberties
The Indy Swansons
The TX Molon labe‘s
New Amsterdam Dykes
New York Statists
The Reardon Steelers.
Nice.
The Denver free agents but if you want to cut hair you need a license’s
The New England Separatists.
The Dallas Debbies
The Albuquerque Ass Sexers?
The Indiana Gunwalkers
The Washington Parliament of Whores
After I0b0t mentioned Talahassee never having been taken during the Civil War, I went to collect some data on why Florida wasn’t that important a theater. I pulled up the tables from the 1860 census. Looking at the numbers, my instinct was “Those have to be in thousands.” because they just felt so small, but the numbers for places like New York and Ohio meant they were absolute values.
It just seems so surreal to see so many states with so few people because I’m accustomed to the modern demographics. And Florida was only about as populous as Delaware or Rhode Island (with the 3/5ths rule for slaves, and not counting the Seminoles).
But then again, it’s just a swamp.
Florida – hell, anywhere south of approximately New Jersey – was absolutely unlivable before the popularization of AC.
There were over a million residents of Georgia in 1860 (3/5ths and Indian caveat applies, so higher actually) Louisiana and Mississippi were not far behind.
Alabama was a smidge under 1mil by the census formula too
Hate the politics in sports but I just can’t give up on baseball. My Tigers are 4-2 and looking okay. And I really want fantasy football this fall.
https://youtu.be/4Cum4NKXnho
One of only 4 home runs hit over the left field roof at old Tiger Stadium. I really miss Tiger Stadium.
I like individual sports Surfing,Snow boarding, kayaking and such, Sportsball is a joke anymore
I try to ignore the partisan and social justice aspects of everything, so ignoring similar affronts in sports is pretty easy for me; I don’t like it, but I cope.
The DH is satanic and a clear metaphor for all that is wrong with America. By that I mean is that there are thoughtful reasons to feel one way and spastic, childish reasons to feel the other. Accordingly, no treatment of the subject is worthwhile: it would never be thoughtfully treated by the infidels. All that I can do in a few words to clarify it is to ask why stop there; there should be only four batsmen who come to the plate repeatedly, forever and ever, amen, and no necessity that any of them field a position or that any fielder ever bat.
But I haven’t divorced baseball . . . because it’s family. When your parents or your kid or your spouse make an unspeakable mistake, even sin grievously against you, you still love them; you forgive even if you can’t forget. It’s a long story: stop here and save yourself!
I’m a fourth-generation Cardinals fan because my family could hear the Gashouse Gang on KMOX, when STL was both the most southern and most western team. I score the games longhand, usually 200 a year, and I have custom cards for almost every team you can imagine: MLB, MiLB, SEC men, SEC softball, olympics, Cuba, Venezuela, Italy, Japan, Dominican Republic . . . pretty much any team I’ve ever watched: the fonts are in their official colors, their favorite jersey script or logo tastefully stolen for not-for-profit use.
These scorecards are built in Excel, and they’re not blank. They current roster is lightly greyed in; I score over that in a luxurious blue, the cheat notes disappearing into background when I’m finished. Outside the print range, the old rosters I’ve carded out are saved by year in columns, going back to the 1952 Dodgers. I watch college, the kids with only a few years in school colors before they move on. In the pros, there’s your team; unlike other sports’ fans, baseball is about love and commitment because we know that on any given day winning is a 50/50 prospect; we buy tickets for the love of the game, not because it’s a sure thing that we’ll win this afternoon (see the decades of commitments by Cubs and Red Sox fans).
So your team is family. You watch spring practice to see who will make the team. You see guys toil in the minors or rocket up to the Show. You see men play for the minimum, get sent back down, be resurrected, hopefully last to sign a big contract, and then, sadly, one day be traded away. And you know the teams you play against and come to love your opponents, these places and guys you see every year. Some guys are stars, but many more you come to know as journeymen, and you see them move from team to team and you’re happy they’re still making a living while their knees hold out.
So there are several hundred guys I “know.” I’m going to try not to let anyone or anything interfere with my joy at watching their best efforts and their arc.
My grandmother would card every game for the Indians for most of her life (she carded the first game I remember going to). She would also (as well as my dad) bring pocket radios to listen to the radio broadcast while watching the games at the stadium.
Is sportsball that important? too many words, not enough substance,
Sports? C’mon
Childhood memories, Bertman’s, foul balls, the seventh inning stretch, tradition.
Yes. It really is important.
To put a more serious spin on it (again), it allows ‘Mericans to engage in low-violence tribalism that’s treated with smiles and trash talk. It helps build communities. It gives strangers something to bond over.
All of this is getting thrown into a gutter to signal to the people who didn’t participate in any of that.
* let’s this one go “
We had tickets to go see the Cubs at Wrigley in June. Really bummed that they stole it from us.
That was one of the first things we did after we moved to Chicagoland. It was iconic. Had to do it. It was a terrific day!
So several years back, Mini Takes the States had a stop in Chicago. The original plan was to go to a cocktail bar, but some parents were complaining. So they switched it to a baseball game. Baseball game in Chicago, where would you pick? It was a White Sox game which had them down by 10 runs by the 4th inning.
On the plus side, we got free concessions for an hour before the game. So we had that going for us.
We had been to a game there each of the past 3 seasons. Last summer a New York Met tossed a ball up to my daughter during pregame warmups. It’s a really cool place.
We went to a few games back in the 90’s when Sosa was playing right field and Harry Caray was singing for the seventh inning stretch.
https://youtu.be/1NiSpQPfmI4
Glen Allen Hill home run onto the rooftop behind left field at Wrigley Field.
Don, this post was a beautiful thing to read. Your love for your hobby is evident and I find that lovely.
I can go either way on DH but either have it for both leagues or eliminate it in the American League.
For me sports are convenient background noise, and I don’t have much difficulty tuning out the wokeness. I think the leagues are making a *huge* miscalculation here, though. If the owners hadn’t handed their balls over to the players, there might be hope – but it’s too late now. Unless the fans – who are wayyyy at the bottom of the list of things the industry cares about – figure out how to rebel.
Coming off of the river at 122 degrees might be an influence, but, go play! have some fun!
Sports is where you go to get away from politics. It pisses me off that they are pushing politics there. That said, as a Bay Area boy my favorite teams have been the Giants, the A’s, the Warriors and the Niners. The Raiders are dead to me and have been since they moved to LA. I can’t give up on my teams that easily, but I’m certainly taking less of an interest due to the politicization of the organizations. I’ve been getting into professional cycling which seems to avoid politics for the most part, maybe due to how international it is.
Try doing, instead of following, start here,
https://www.pdga.com/
One reason I’ve started enjoying professional cycling is because I do ride a bike. I’ll never race. I’m way too slow. But I can be amazed with the effort, appreciate the strategic aspects and enjoy the scenery.
I enjoy riding, and have several friends who do enjoy watching the pros ride. But I can’t do it.
I used to really follow bicycling in the 1970s-early 1990s. After that it was obvious that the best riders were juicing and the sport did nothing but lie about it until they couldn’t. Since then nothing from me.
It is too bad. I was there when Lemond won the Tour de France by 8 seconds after being 34 seconds back on the last stage through Paris. I only saw him a few seconds, but what seconds they were.
I think the Covid was invented just to stop the XFL which was just getting rolling when this idiocy started.
I liked sportstalk radio as a background noise when working in the office. It beat npr or political radio hand down, but it’s been atrocious for many reasons since the ‘rona kicked off. I have it on less and less and have mostly switched over to Pandora for my background noise.
Tom T. & I watched NASCAR consistently – not even just the Sunday Cup race but often the truck series race and the next-level-down from the Cup race. The whole Bubba flapdoodle left a bad taste in our mouths, which is a shame because we liked Bubba very much. We haven’t watched the races for at least a few weeks now. A lot of the Calvinball constant rule changes had already started to spoil the sport for us.
Our other preferred sports to watch on TV were NFL football and, less consistently, MLB, especially if we could catch a national broadcast of a Cardinals game. (Tom T’s a St. L native and lifelong fan.) We haven’t been watching the belated start of the season. Don’t know what we’ll do in the fall. Maybe if I lose that habit – which I very much enjoyed on the weekends – I’ll finally start spending more time at creative pursuits. Or I’ll just spend more time here.
Now that the Blues have finally become contendahs, we may start paying more attention to hockey.
The Blues, or the Blue Jackets?
The Blues. But I hope they get a better theme song – for a team named “Blues,” (drink?) they sure picked a dumb one. Laura Branigan’s “Gloria”?? (Which I won’t link. You’re welcome.) Srsly??
they left me when they did Staged raced, I’m out, Pussies!
Done with sports, and every other form of entertainment that has gone woke. Long years ago, the cost of going to a game (tickets and parking) drove me away from live baseball and football. Soccer is not a sport. As far as hockey, I’d prefer a boxing match since the fights are longer and better. But I gave up on boxing when I saw Benny “the Kid” Paret get fatally injured on the TeeVee one evening. The incessant yammering and commercial interruptions in sports broadcasts bored me to catatonia, The insults from the woke players, owners, broadcasters and such just put the tin hat on my disgust.
I micturate on the lot of them.
Correct, they can Piss off,
I’m tired of people making excuses for wearing masks, I can’t play my games, etc.
Fight the Power! Play your games and Fuck Off Slaver!
Watching baseball has its moments. None of the players are wearing masks on the field, but when one of them reaches first base we are treated to a shot of the (unmasked) player chatting with the (masked) first base coach. Mind. Blown.
Some things piss me off more than others.
https://twitter.com/brinkofill/status/1288977843133784066
Fuck them All
They do that as social media celebrates the death of Herman Cain. Evil is rising.
Are they really?? Sick!
Wouldn’t surprise me. Folks were celebrating, yesterday, the death of one of the Turning Point founders.
Yeah, I’ve seen some out there, but I don’t wanna ruin my day off so I’m not gonna look them up again.
Of course they are.
Craziest thing is, what the fuck did Herman Cain ever do? I mean, understand that in their diseased little evil minds Ronald Reagan LITERALLY KILLED millions of people with his tax cuts. But Herman Cain dropped out before the convention. It’s not like he actually did anything to advance any kind of conservative policy agenda. Like, do you think anyone one the right will gleefully chirp when Howard Dean dies?
I will be happy as hell when Bill Clinton kicks the bucket, because he murdered a hundred civilians at Waco for no reason at all. But I won’t spread it all over social media. I’ll just quietly hope hes burning in hell, the way those children burned alive in their home.
Didn’t Herman Cain run against Obama?
That’s a mortal sin, isn’t it?
didn’t get that far.
kinnath: I thought he stepped in for the Senate run, after the divorce record for the other guy got unsealed. I wasn’t even talking the presidential run.
I was not aware of that.
kinnath:
Never mind, it looks like I was remembering it incorrectly. It was Alan Keyes who ran against Obama for the Senatorship, and Cain ran for Senator trying to get Zell Miller’s old seat.
I remember Keyes running.
Yep.
Nobody in that room should say a fucking thing about social distancing.
I have the Bruins exhibition game on TV right now.
Thot Thursday is the new spectator sport.
http://archive.li/6u7pC
Excellent
To each their own.
Personally, I don’t understand why someone would enjoy watching somebody else play a game. If you like the sport, play it, don’t watch it. But I’m clearly in the minority.
nope, that.s me, play or shut up,
I can never play football or baseball at even half the levels that the pros can. I played baseball one year in grade school (I got 1 hit the whole year), played basketball through grade school (I averaged 2 points a year), ran track through grade school (this I was decent at, got a couple of medals). Watching people do things I can’t and having them be my team helps to bond me with the community in a way I can understand.
We grew up playing baseball and my family were diehard fans of an NFL team I stopped liking a few years ago when they signed a dog killer to play. So it was just something we did together. It was a great excuse to not have to be doing “productive” projects and I could just hang out with my Dad and brothers and watch and chat about stuff.
I would love to play pro football, and I haven’t ever tried out for a team but I am pretty sure they wouldn’t let me play. I really like watching individual sports like surfing, kiteboarding, mtn biking of which I can’t do or relatively flail at but damn it is fun watching people who excel at any of those endeavors. I like watching people excel because sometimes we need to be reminded people can really do some incredible things in a sport. Maybe it makes me a schlepp but I take joy in others success at an endeavor to become really good at something.
For the same reason people enjoy watching John Lee Hooker play the blues.
But now that I think about it, I suppose one could argue the same would apply to things like music. And I like listening to music, but don’t play it. So, I guess I do understand why
122 today, and come home to this?
Outy
I played 5 sports in high school and I loved them all.
Re: baseball
Don,
I ached to play ice hockey, but I was best at baseball. I barely watched it because I only had eyes for the Bruins, but years after the steroid controversy, it brought me back – via the radio, of all things. Wow, that is a sport meant to be listened to on a radio, preferably on a porch, preferably in the company of older men drinking beer, quietly talking during the commercials, or maybe while fishing. I never appreciated it as a kid, I couldn’t sit still, but as an adult, it’s a great way to enjoy the game. I was driving a lot of miles and listening to Joe Castiglione paint the picture, talk about guys in the minors, connect the whole of baseball over a generational continuum, it was wonderful. Made me love the Red Sox and baseball again and I have a different perspective on America’s Pastime because of it. And fans like yourself – I wouldn’t have gotten it even when I was playing the sport, but I do now.
Thanks for your perspective.
That’s cool.
My kid can skate backwards, a rare think in TX, so he always played the blue line.
Fakies are old school you better be able to,
As a kid, I used to listen to the Red Sox on radio. At least, when they weren’t on channel 38.
One silver lining of the ‘rona could be drastically reducing the scale of D1 sports. The vast majority of the programs lose money and take either directly from student fees or get transfers from the school’s general fund. There’s no goddamn reason some kid working his way through Bowling Green or New Mexico State should have to fork over money every semester for the athletics program. I think the average MAC school takes a semester’s worth of tuition over the course of four years from the average student.
Summer basho is going on right now (well in a couple of hours). Watch some matches with English commentary and it quickly becomes clear sumo is not just two fat guys waddling around.
https://youtu.be/dyWx9eezPzs
Definitely fun to watch. The scandals over the past decade have taken some of the shine away for me.
Still new to me, and the scandals were before I started watching so like Chicago Black Sox. The juicing/home run derby killed my little love of MLB so completely understand. Still like the minor league experience (except when the local team/stadium went to exclusive PBR).
*Wipes oshibori on back of neck like a good salaryman* Back in the day of Akebono (beat him in a game of junken, won a signed t shirt), Musashimaru, Takanohana et al, Sumo was excellent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aFrxuEvQlM&list=PLRyrX0rwEjQqizd6fDdUhvJyGeBVkMfa0
Wow, that is outstanding.
Straffin or Gustave – what’s a kati (katsi?) koshi? A tournament prize or laurel? They apparently get one with 8 wins.
Not sure what you’re asking, but you need to maintain a certain number of wins to keep your ranking of, say, Ozeki or Yokozuna.
That’s it. Sorry, should have Googled it.
This year is a big fat asterisk any way. No fans, rule changes, fucked up schedules. Nothing counts, nothing matters. We’ll see what happens next year.
The kneeling didn’t bother me. It was invidual players, making a statement, whatever, I don’t care either way. I mean, I thought it was pretty dumb to kneel, but it didn’t ruin the game for me.
This full throated embrace of BLM and other SJW stuff pisses me off. They are talking about it on the broadcast, putting it on the courts and fields and jerseys. Fuck that. I’m out.
Plus I was a Redskins fans and not only did they change the name, they didn’t even change it to an actual team. I honestly would probably cheer for the Washington Warriors. It wouldn’t really bother me that much at all. But to go generic, and then in 2021 go to some soulless inoffensive corporate bullshit, nah I’m out.
Craziest thing to me is this is the one media sphere that’s still a male thing, and a right of center thing. The last fucking thing the big media corps had that actually got the eyeballs of the half of the fucking country that isn’t left of center, and they’re actually trying to turn them off. This is the equivalent of the New York Times endorsing Donald Trump for President. It’s like when the Dixie Chicks bashed Bush. Know your freaking audience. You know who donated to Obama? Toby Keith. But you’d never know it from his music, because he knows where his bread gets its butter.
Speaking of which, this oddball ad just popped up on muh twitter.
https://twitter.com/nikejapan/status/1289002843148627974
“If you’re a pro sports fan, how do you feel about the increased politicization?”
It’s the worst thing since Hitler invented cancer.
I thought Mitt Romney invented cancer.
They worked on it together.
OT: Alright… 11 episodes in, and I’m willing to throw out a recommendation for Stargirl (currently on DC Universe, and the CW – where you can stream it for free). Teenage superheroes in a small town that vibes very heavily 50’s. The only part that’s been woke at all so far is the friends who have been selected to become the new JSA (and they weren’t selected for their race or gender). Plus the bad decisions that are made feel true to being a teenager with superpowers.
As a bonus, it has a classic car that transforms into battle armor.
Does compeditive bladesmithing count as a sport?
No, but spelling does.
Nobody watches spelling competitions besides the parents of the participants.
Sure! Why not? I love watching FiF!
I still say J. Neilson is one sadistic mofo.
Season one is on Prime and I’ll say this – I hate flex tests. For some reason it just hurts to watch.
I like watching flex tests from Cold Steel products because they are extreme but also affordable. It’s cool to see what my Laredo is capable of.
Last night they were going for a “super champion” who had to go up against David Baker. When they got to the last two non-judge contestants, they put both their knives on a weighted device with the intention of seeing which broke first. They both broke within a split second of each other, so the maker of the one that held out that fraction of a second longer went to the final round.
Brutal.
That’s just wrong.
I always wondered who made the display weapons, apparently it was Dave.
When he jumped into the final round last night, he started to make a gorgeous Damascus (and san mai?) sword, but he noticed a delamination and flexed the sword to examine it more closely. And the sword broke.
Well, that happens when there’s a flaw in the steel.
I met a guy who won an episode. A few years before before he was on that show I spent a day with him at a regional event while I was shooting footage for a TV show segment that ended up not airing.
Which episode?
season 4 episode 23
Throwing axes?
I guess, I don’t really remember, but the snippet I found said he won with a pair of Viking axes.
We met a blacksmith at a fall festival in SW Ohio who said he was going to be on an upcoming episode. We think we recognized him when that episode ran, but I don’t think he made it past the first round.
I do kinda wonder how many people took up smithing because of the show.
I’d bet there a quite a few. With perhaps a roughly proportional increase in fire emergency calls.
My sister makes stained glass windows. She cuts her fingers a lot. I think I’ll stick with fiber arts/crafts.
Putting the handle on my letter opener made me want to expand the amount of the craft I can do.
I just have nowhere safe to even grind metal. (those sparks can light fires)
If we had room and equipment, I wouldn’t mind doing some small-scale woodworking. I enjoyed woodshop in junior high more than I did Home Ec.
But of course, I can knit or crochet while I’m watching TV and not feel as if I’m a totally unproductive lump.
God, I don’t need this, Peace out!
The politicization of _everything_ is kind of destroying my life. Everything I like to do is now illegal, we’ve got to walk around with symbols of obedience attached to our faces. It seems exceptionally unlikely I’m ever going to date again (dating apps right now area no go zone) and most of my avenues for personal autonomy and self-improvement are _again_ illegal. And the media covering the sport of baseball are actively rooting for and advocating for it to be shut down.
Where do I go to just be left to my own devices?
The same sports media that were in righteous indignation over Richie Incognito and his bullying are leading the bullying over the coronavirus response.
I mentioned it in the morning thread the other day, but when the Astros and Dodgers had their brawl, the commentary I heard when i turned on sports talk was bitching that the teams weren’t social distancing.
Neph,
For some reason, I have a 1986 Mel Hall baseball card on my mantle. I have no idea how I still have it after moving 15+ times since then. Or why I have it.
Back from my baseball card collecting days, I had an Oral Hershiser rookie card. It skyrocketed in value up to $2.50 when he started playing for the Indians.
Nice typo. You saying he had a nasty slider?
Hahahaa
*sigh*
I have no one but myself to blame. I even double checked the spelling of the last name.
Was he a spitter?
There is no pro team within 500 miles of my home so I have no regional loyalties.
That said. . .
The DH killed baseball for me. I could root for the Rockies because they were the closest team. Done.
Of all the NFL the GB Packers are the only team to rely on fan revenue rather than stealing (taxes) from the locals. They became my “favorite team”.
The Woke NFL killed that. Done with pro football.
I’ve long argued that the NBA should adopt the following rules: 1) All games are 5 minutes long. 2) Each team gets 100 points. 3) All players have one foul. Get it and you are out. Since all NBA games are settled in the last five minutes this is no huge change. (BTW: hate the NBA)
You hockey fans can do what you want.
Of all the NFL the GB Packers are the only team to rely on fan revenue rather than stealing (taxes) from the locals. They became my “favorite team”.
Go Green bay!
Uh, there was a stadium tax to renovate Lambeau Field.
They’re putting a tax on stadiums?
.5% sales tax in Brown County to help pay for early 2000s reno. It was supposed to go away when the stadium was paid off, but I think they ended up just keeping the tax for an undefined purpose, can’t lose that revenue.
*whispers*
I know.
*/whispers*
“It’s not a tax increase!”
–Every fucking pro tax extension issue ad
The Jonestown Flood Relief Tax has to be my favorite.
Thicc
I’m going to give the NFL one last chance. I don’t have my hopes up for lasting past the second game.
I’m sort of planning to watch after the first week.
Except for a couple, brief periods in my life when I had co-workers who were into the local university team I have never been a follower of team sports. My dad was that way so I guess I take after him.
In high school I did Tae Kwon Do and was on the wrestling team. So I do sometimes like to watch fighting sports but I don’t go out of my way to do it. With the Rugby world cup being played here last year – and me having some work ties with a few South Africans – I did make a few chances to watch that.
And now that my oldest has been on a local baseball team (not sure what it would be called in the US for 6th grade) I have learned most of the rules for that sport and like to watch him play.
But when some guy who gets paid a king’s ransom to “play” get up on a soap box about politics I want him to start by explaining his real world academic qualifications to support his opinion. I think it’s pathetic that anybody would take him seriously. If he is allowed to pontificate on politics then political analysts playing sports should be given equal air time.
As for kneeling during the national anthem – stop playing the national anthem if it bothers them so much. It isn’t a requirement. It isn’t even appropriate anymore when it’s been hijacked like this.
Like I mentioned before, it’s not just – or even mainly – the anthem. It’s signs, patches, name tags, constant fucking signalling bullshit from every player, every staff member, every announcer throughout every game… all of it is a turnoff.
I guess pro sports management is betting that enough people are tied strong enough to whatever team they support that they will hold on even with this woke BS. As long as the fans can/will tell themselves “it’s normal” they won’t stop watching.
That’s a bold move, Cotton….
I honestly didn’t mind kneeling during the anthem. I thought kneeling was a respectful way to protest. It didn’t really bother me. It is, as you said, the constant everything. It’s propaganda. Bob Costas talking about gun control, the constant bullshit of every fucking thing.
Oh, and it never goes both ways. The Steelers refused to come out for the anthem, and Alejandro Villanueva their left tackle came out anyway, because he’s a former Army Ranger and he stands for the flag. He was raked over the coals because apparently “the team decided to remain in the locker room.” The SF Giants last week all knelt, except one pitcher because hes a Christian and he kneels only to God. Cue a dozen fucking articles shaming him. Drew Brees was absolutely blasted for daring to voice his opinion, because he wasn’t complying with the narrative.
It’s not like it went from “keep politics out of sports” to “let all your opinions fly”. No, it’s “You can speak loudly and proudly for whatever the leftist culture war of the day is.” Fuck that. I don’t watch State TV.
Yup. It’s disgusting. Maoist bullshit.
Maybe I am not seeing it properly but it seems to me that when they kneel during the anthem they are protesting against the USA. Not against the politicians or bureaucracy but the nation itself. Eff that. Time to get “patriotism” out of their game since they are not patriotic. They don’t want to hear the anthem so just stop playing it.
I might be unusual as a retired military member but my patriotism is deeply personal. I don’t like huge displays of “patriotism” – seems crass and cheap. I really didn’t like hearing the anthem being played at games before this – WTF does a baseball/football/XXX game have to do with the USA? When it seemed like everybody there was on the same page with doing it I figured it was OK. But now it seems like playing the Marine Corps Hymn before a staff meeting – what the Eff is this for and how is it appropriate when some people are obviously uncomfortable with it. Just stop it.
The wokesters taking it away from whatever slim majority likes hearing it makes me want them to play the anthem louder.
Anyway, stopping it isn’t going to solve anything.
I don’t care about sports so I don’t care if it solves anything. I’m sorry for those for whom it was a big part of their lives but there’s nothing I can do about it. Pro sports management seem intent on turning their sports into a political sideshow. It’s their sport so I guess they can burn it to the ground if they want – what they’re planning on doing for a living after that isn’t my problem.
But the anthem isn’t theirs. That belongs to us. It isn’t required by any rule – theirs or ours – it’s just a tradition, one of many they want to take a big steaming dump on. It doesn’t belong anymore so I’d prefer they stop playing it.
They should just play this before the games
Well done
*bows*
*bows (a trifle less deeply), adjusts feet, rests back of right hand on katana handle*
Relevant: https://www.bbc.com/sport/basketball/53556565
The BBC asks the big questions: “The NBA wants to talk about race. Is the US ready?
Is the NBA ready?
Where are all the White Players? The Asian players? Why is it all tall black men?
The NBA is certainly not ready to talk about China.
The BBC can go fuck itself.
And here’s the reporter
https://twitter.com/boerdeng?s=21
About 30 years old, and was a science reporter before job hopping around whats left of the journalism world. Glad she’s here to school the public on sports. She also did an expected covid causes racism against Asians in the USA story.
Yao Ming?
Linsanity!
I find it hilarious that anybody from the UK can even whisper negatively about racism in the US.
I was having lunch yesterday with an associate from India. He was telling me how dangerous it is to be Indian anywhere in the UK outside of downtown London. Not just his experiences but practically every Indian he knows who has been there has constant issues with the locals – physical assault being common.
Even as I was being paid to watch Packer games the last few years my interest began to wane as the NFL kept fucking with the rules and getting more politicized. It used to be the only things I’d watch on TV were NFL games, NFL Network and ESPN. I dropped NFL Network and ESPN a couple of years ago as the quality of their programming went down.
The way the NFL has declined, how it is handling the current climate, the inability of players to not interject politics and the way my current work schedule is, I’m not sure I’ll watch any games this year.
Yeah, in recent years I have increasingly only paid attention to the Giants and ignored the rest of football.
And the bloodletting begins.
My wife’s facebook feed has 7 co-workers who were walked out the door today without warning.
Rumors of whole programs being RIF’ed are running around.
The company com channels remain silent at this point.
Man, I’d almost rather have my job on the block than Mrs. Dean’s. And the “almost” is purely based on the size of my paychecks.
Sorry that your day is getting worse. May tomorrow be a better day for you.
Sorry.
No one called me at noon to bring my computer and badge into the office and to sign papers.
So I am good.
My boss and I were talking about the inevitability of a RIF happening one way or another. As of two days ago, he had been assured nothing was in the works.
Our org is good (I think), but there are some orgs that are clearly tied to a chunk of the market that has completely collapsed.
I mentioned my previous employer in the morning thread. They furloughed almost half the hq employees this spring. My current company, on the other hand, hasnt cut anything. There is a hiring freeze and annual raises are probably not happening, but no benefit cuts, no layoffs.
Getting laid off last year was actually a blessing.
I’ve been through 4 major contractions in my career (92-93; 02-03; 08-09; and this one).
I can read the news. Parts of our business are totally fucked. I don’t work in those areas. And I have an extended career with above average performance reviews. The issue for me isn’t getting RIF’ed, it’s dealing with all the work that still needs to be done.
Worst case scenario is that I file for retirement, take a break, and then look for contract, work-from-home work.
You’re having a tough couple of days, K. Hang in there.
It gets better.
I moved my brother into the basement last weekend. He’s been out of work since the beginning of COVID. Since he was a temp, no Fed 600 bucks a week.
My daughter informed us yesterday she is getting divorced.
My dog died a week and a half ago.
But,
I’m healthy, the wife is healthy, both our bosses have quietly let us know we are secure. It’s just a daily game of Surprise!
“Answers to the name of Lucky.”
Awesome.
Thanks for that.
I was thinking of this guy yesterday.
I’m here all week!
Stop taking my lines! I was just about to type that, but refreshed first, and you, a slow, slow, very old man, actually beat me to it.
But only because I had to take a break to cook dinner. 😉
So many great sports memories: watching Brooks and Frank and Boog as well as Johnny Unitas, Art Donovan, and Lenny Moore, all at Memorial Stadium which was… not fancy. But wonderfully blue collar. Every Sunday at Spudalicious’s place to watch the Niners, cook lavish meals, and drink first-rate wine; a fantastic outing with SP to see the Ravens playing at Lambeau; checking Wrigley off my bucket list; seeing rookie Mike Mussina at my first trip to Camden Yards; being at Candlestick for Bonds’s #500 and #756…
And now it’s over. Thanks a fucking lot, NFL and MLB.
My dad once played a round of golf with Brooks Robinson. Dad said he was a wonderful, friendly guy. After the round, he asked dad for our address so he could send me an autographed photo. I hated the Orioles, but I had that hanging on my wall for the rest of childhood.
I met Brooks several times. Engaging, friendly, not a hint of pretense. Just a great, great guy and I’ve never seen another third baseman- hell, any sort of fielder- who could play like that. It was otherwordly.
LOOKIT THIS!
I lived in a dorm with Nomar one year. I didn’t know him well, but a friend of mine from MA lived next to him.
Nomar’s first game in Boston, my friend went, sat behind third. Yelled “Nomar” when they came out on D. He said Nomar kept scanning the crowd between plays. At end of the first, as he ran off the field, Nomar spotted him, pointed and waved.
He received a Christmas card from Nomar and Mia for years.
Live sports are the best. I was able to be here. First title, on the halfway line about 10 rows back.
https://youtu.be/JqLZxquKglc
I was in section 101, camera side sideline end zone seats. The recovery was right in front of me.
Cool.
Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmyVIiXyx64
At 8:33, I’m the nerd standing up with the white t-shirt and jeans applauding.
Early 90s, I worked with a German guy who was about 6’6″. His brother played pro basketball in Germany. “They arent a good team, they cant afford an American.”
That video reminded me of that.
Hah!
Yep, a lot of US college players who didn’t quite make it to the NBA end up in the NBL.
I went to see the Reds for Concepcions number retirement ( only non-HoFer they have retired). In that game, Larkin had the best single game of his career.
Sometimes reality is fucking weird.
Don’t give a crap about sports 95% of the time (other than catching a game in a restaurant or having something else to listen to folks talk about at work). Seriously though, I think a lot of this protest crap has dragged on for months due in part to the lack of any other outlet – not even anything playing on TV, etc.
Side note though – re: the creepy Joe coloring book in the last thread. I think this coloring book is much more in line with the avg glib.
Welp, that’s in my amazon history now, so, uh, thanks for that, sir.
It’s not like amazon’s recommendation system works all that well.
I fucking despise it…..but I can’t quit. It’s been the one constant in my life stretching back to my earliest memories. I’m not going to just stop following the Yankees. I may not spend any money on them, but I’ll still watch games on TV and follow along on Gameday when they’re not on the air.
Fortunately, the Knicks are straight garbage so I can drop them very easily.
So to kind of coalesce my thoughts on low risk tribalism. I’ve never really fit in anywhere. Not really that good in most team sports, not fashionable, not religious, never a popular kid, etc. First places I really felt like I fit in were the punk, 2-tone, and rockabilly communities. Going to those shows, I understood the culture, the rules, the bands, and for a brief shining moment in my life felt like I belonged. Watching the local sports teams and keeping up with that were a way I could feel that feeling of belonging with normal people. All of those outlets have been taken away from me for the past 4 months, and I don’t see them coming back anytime soon (I have a feeling that there will never be social distancing at a punk show).
Here… here I feel like I belong. Thank you all.
Fuck off Tulpa.
Yes!!!
I’m getting worried by all these people thanking the sense of “community” around here.
*Shanks UCS* Feel better?
Ah, the inevitable betrayal.
It’s always there if your plot is at a dead end.
Just a hint of foreshadowing retconned in, and you’re golden.
This has probably been the longest I’ve been without going to a concert and being able to jump into a mosh pit since before I could legally drive. For those who think it’s just violence, it isn’t. There are rules in the pit, and in good pits they are strictly enforced. It’s very rarely about inflicting injury on someone, but it is about building a sense of community by sharing space, bruises, sweat, pain, and music with a bunch of fucking randos.
No Karate In The Pit!
I can’t get physically that close to that many people.
I’m phlegmatic most of the time, but crowds get to me.
The mosh pits were one of the first places I felt like I belonged. I was one of these freaks, geeks, and punks. I’ll never force someone in, but I will act as a sherpa to yutes trying to go in for their first time.
I remember guiding a girl half my age into her first pits. She wanted to go in, her mom was concerned. Her mom was a friend of my friend who got us tickets to the show, and convinced her that if I was there too, the yute would be safe. The kid had the time of her life. This song probably comes the closest to explaining it. If you’ve never felt like you fit in, there are far more dangerous subcultures to get pulled into then punk.
I get what you’re saying. What I’m saying is a concert in and of itself is the last place I’d be found. Loud noises, lots of people, someone else’s schedule, and so on.
I was lucky enough to see Dick Dale multiple times, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Straycats, the last surviving Coaster, Dropkick Murphys in Dublin, the Specials, the Selector, the Skatalites (when half of them were alive), Toots, the Wailers, Ozzy, Sabbath, Morbid Angel, BBVD, Tool, Motorhead, the Pilfers, the Toasters, the Slackers, the Articles, Kind Django, Dr. Ring Ding, and many others.
I’m somewhat surprised I still have good hearing after all of that. Back in the mid-90’s, every weekend we’d go to a local club to see who was playing. It was the height of the ska-punk third wave, and we were close enough to get a lot of really good bands come through on the cheap ($20 was considered expensive for an under 21 ticket then).
Now with the extended shut down, most of these venues are in real financial trouble. Most managed to scrape by for years on alcohol sales. Now, no concerts, no guests, no sales…
Brother!
Brentford-Fulham promotion final is worth approximately 170 million pounds to the winner. I think that makes it the most valuable single game in sports. Anything else remotely close?
That is the difference between being in the english premier league and english championship league.
Oh I forgot about those playoffs. I didn’t notice if they were even televised here.
I suppose I’ll root for Brentford since I’ve never seen them up, although I like Fulham too.
1947 for Brentford, so few have seen them up.
Fuck the Yankees. Even the Little League Yankees had a major attitude in Tucson in the 1970’s. I have seen MLB games in about half of the stadiums, and I am glad I had a chance to watch the Cubs win the WS since my grandfather who worshipped never had the chance. But MLB is dead between the H and the politics. Plus the insult of MLB TV considering Hawaii to be part of the west coast and blacking out the games.
NFL is making it harder and harder for me to watch. I will try this year, but I think they’ll kill it for me as well. GB has been my team since 1966 when my grandfather took me to the game against the 49’ers in Milwaukee. But if the Packers go woke, I am gone.
I participated in team sports as a youth, and kept some fun play of football and softball until 2012.
I really followed climbing and bicycling since I do (did?) both. I bitched about cycling above. For climbing I still love to do it, but my time for the heroic mountains have passed. can read about what the young are accomplishing, but will enjoy myself on the classics.
I am a lifelong Cubs fan. I absolutely detest the NL getting the DH. It’s retarded. I played for about 12 years growing up and although I pitched and assuredly played every position, I was usually a 2nd baseman before I moved to catching.
Being a catcher is the hardest position in all of sports. (I especially mean this when they have to by a psychologist for their pitchers and call the game, but even when you don’t entirely have to do that it’s damn hard.) It’s hard! Why not have a DH for catchers? Why not for shortstop and/or center field? Psh. Why not just have separate offensive and defensive teams?
The worst part is that it will NOT ever go away. People who don’t closely follow baseball usually don’t grasp how much the DH affects the strategy of the game. Let’s say it’s 2-1 in the sixth inning or so. Pitcher’s up to hit. He’s been strong and effective. Do you pinch hit for him to see if you can get another run or so, or do you ride his reputation and his day’s efforts? In the AL you never ever have to make that decision. In the NL it’s a fundamental part of the game. It makes the game more chess-like. Where and when do you move your pieces/players?
It’s fucking bullshit. However. Baseball is one of the things that gives me the most pleasure in life. I watch every Cubs game. I still will. I’m too invested to bow out. But it does infuriate me. I’m glad my dad, one of my many coaches in my time, agrees with me.
Nine players play on each team at once. It simply isn’t that fucking complicated. You play defense AND offense, and if you get pulled then you are subtracted from the rest of the game. I ain’t reinventing baseball theology here.
I had the Bench autobiography when I was little. It was entirely not age appropriate. But the thing I remember was him as a rookie cussing out a veteran pitcher on the mound for shaking off his signs. After that, pitchers listened to him
At least once, when he thought the pitcher wasn’t throwing hard enough, he caught the ball in his ungloved hand. That got the point across effectively.
DH In the NL and traveling in the NBA. And the people pushing it say get over it, it’s changing. Screw you, those rules are what makes the sports interesting and unique.
Fellow former catcher nods in agreement.
I was never a fan of watching other people do stuff, so never got much into sports. What little I did watch was motorsport related. I would watch NASCAR if it was on and have attended several F1 races in Austin. Done with all that shit now. Likely going to treat myself to more track time for myself. It’s not competitive (but can be if I want it to be), but it’s fun as hell without being preached at.
Alright all. About time for me to head to bed. I’ll be offline for the weekend while staying on a Lake Erie island for the weekend. I’ll do my best to take pictures to document the ferry ride over, the potential parasailing with the girlfriend (she was worried she would hit a building… until I showed her the pictures of where it took place), the longest bar in the world, hopefully live music, someone getting arrested for a DUI on a golf cart, and more walleye and perch then most people would want to eat.
I managed to find some earbuds with a mic, so for who ever is hosting the chats this weekend, I may be able to join from the island. If nothing else the girlfriend wants to yell “HI!” (which will probably be directly into my ear).
Have a wonderful trip!
Thanks GT. That’s the hope. I may have even found a place that is still renting out kayaks to paddle around Lake Erie.
There’s a greater than 50% chance I’ll be turning off my newsfeeds after learning if the bars have to do last call at 22:00.
Drink they way they vote in Chicago – early and often.
I did have to laugh at the girlfriend. She asked if she needed to bring “dressy clothes” to go out some night. The fact I’ll be more likely to be wearing pants then shorts will put me in the running to be the best dressed person on the island. And Parasailing! The girlfriend really wants to squeeze in a trip to Kelly’s Island and Cedar Point as well. I’m holding strong that for once, I’m not planning anything. I can sit and drink all day and eat walleye.
For those not in the area, the easiest description of Put-In-Bay is the blue collar Hawaii. It’s an island, things are slightly more expensive there, it’s highly dependent on tourism dollars, and there’s local things that get outsiders caught (in PIB, it’s the golf cart DUI’s).
/checks number of links…
So… OMWC/SP/Spud should I stock up on PIB wine for you? I mean… isn’t Ohio known for it’s excellent wines?
That shit looks painful.
And they just cancelled the boating regatta that was supposed to happen this weekend.
SERENITY NOW!
Putin Bay? I knew you guys were Russian bots!
They must have added the hyphen after the election.
Please be true.
https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1289030721617580032
Most people really don’t understand technology.
“But I made the background black. How can they possibly get the letters out when they’re the same color?”
“I double ROT_13’d it!”
Most people, including us, don’t understand a whole lot of things.
/looks at $100 bill for a clogged drain.
What do you mean?
However, if your job is centered around preventing people from finding out information, you should know the basics of data destruction.
That is true.
Hell, I make it a point to wash the photos I share here between multiple accounts, and download them to a neutral machine. But I also spent some time in the cypherpunk worlds.
Yet I once joined a work meeting with my handle here showing (for ~20 seconds before I dropped and rejoined).
Still works. I can see the entire document #143.
Slick Willy got named. This might undermine the idea that she could get a fair trial.
well, this may just be the beginning.
So… I’ve still got over half a beer in front of me, and found this article about “The Greater Good” from Hot Fuzz. Don’t read it if you never saw the movie and are worried about spoilers from a movie that’s over 10 years old. I rewatched The World’s End today, and think I’m willing to put Edgar Wright into the potential libertarian camp. Of course Whedon was there for a while, and we all learned how it was all accidental.
*echoed chant*
The Greater Good.
*/chant*
If you haven’t seen it, watch the World’s End. It has an amazingly libertarian rant against the greater good. Any sharing of it will lead to spoilers.
I’ve seen it.
I disliked it.
Worst entry of the trilogy.
Fair enough. I’ve known several Gary King’s in my life. None have had as happy an ending.
I agree it’s the worst of the three but it’s FUCKING EDGAR WRIGHT and that makes it better than most movies.
So. Sportsball, bars/restaurants, Disneyworld/land, concerts, in-person school—
Life as we know it is over. We’re done. Economy tanked. Never gonna be the same and I’m in mourning.
Thanks for that ray of sunshine Mojeaux.
/island tomorrow.
My bad.
No worries at all. I’m planning on shutting off all of my newsfeeds tomorrow after the liquor board vote. I think it will make my vacation better.
Walmart closing at 8:30, talismasks, breathlessly melodramatic reporting on new cases and a human-interest story on every death that is out of the at-risk demographics.
It’s possibl ethat, the economy aside, I resent stores closing so early the most. I want 3:00 a.m. shopping back.
03:00 is when you go to the coffee shop (run by the mob as a money laundering front) to try to sober up for the drive home!
Seriously, they had Jamaican Blue Mountain (probably counterfeit) for $7.50 a pound back in the late 90’s, and $2 a cup with free refills.
/slowly realizes that none of this makes sense to Mojeaux
3am was when I went to the grocery store. Only people there were the stockists and one night cashier. I could take my time, pick up the newest stock, and not get stuck in a crowd.
In general, I got into that habit of going to bed at 22:00 when I had to go into the office every day and be there at 08:00 (it was about an hour drive). I kept the habit when I went down to going into the office two days a week. It’s stuck with me since. It takes an actual effort of will for me to stay in bed past 08:00.
Tomorrow the only thing I need to be up for is to drop my car off at a mechanic at 10:30, then me and the girlfriend will head out island way. Stopping at potentially two breweries on the way to the ferry. Then the worst part, walking ~2 miles to the B&B (or we can get a cab for ~$6, or a golf cart for ~$60).
I’m a chronic insomniac. Not helped by the fact that I’m naturally a night owl but work the morning shift.
Me too. I’m now happy when I get 7 hours of sleep a night (as measured by my Fitbit).
/looks through my history to find several nights of less than 4 hours of sleep
Zabar’s or GTFO.
/remembering the passionate love a coworker had for Zabar’s
How late are the QuikTrips open?
I worked graves at a convenience store/gas station my last year of college. All the people browsing a convenience store amused me.
Long way of saying, I don’t go to QT for a middle-of-the-night office-supply run. ?
Has anyone come up with even a bullshit explanation for how Walmart closing early has anything to do with the virus? Supposed to be extra cleaning time or something?
Does ANYTHING that has been done/ordered help?
All that stuff can be rebuilt, restored. It’s the freedom that is lost that bothers me.
The loss of the freedom is at the heart of my complaint.
Gov: Shut down your business.
Biz: No.
Gov: Don’t make me come down there.
Biz: Okay.
I don’t believe it. This virus will pass. It may take a year or two. But people like to gather. Much of what we had before will return.
My doctor insists that I’ll be vaccinated before 2021
Voluntarily? With a Covid vaccine? That’s effective?
Voluntarily? Yes, absolutely.
I tried to get into the Phase 3 Moderna trial, which has already started, but I didn’t meet the initial criterion.
The vaccine is likely >90% effective after a prime and a boost.
I’ll believe when I see it. This would be the first humanity created a vaccine that effective against a coronavirus.
There was no need until now.
I am sure the next one will come around
Oh… and Ozymandius (you were the one who appreciated the 3rd wave ska and thought it was all happy), I’ve been really fighting going to this song for the past several months.
/warning, not a happy song
So the beer is done, and here’s an antidote to the previous song.
http://archive.li/jnGQa/cdf30c48a33531f22c7925c3b3f254df6efa4ba0.jpg
NSFW.
http://archive.li/lLJVU/f76786fc85b50277f10a353332ee8d6b245c285f.jpg
NSFW.
http://archive.li/b43Lj/c167dbdd64a9e43cbfa03a675eb689d5aed6f612.jpg
NSFW.
http://archive.li/J3Ggd/2c647050cfde4487663906efe7d23fa1c1836d7e.jpg
NSFW.
Covid couldn’t stop those fine ladies.
3 1 4 2
Got a virtual vacation day tomorrow – the boss is off. But I still have to show up and have enough consciousness to sort the mail. Bonus points if I’m coherent enough to write up the minutes of today’s Asset/Liability Management meeting.
Sooo…I guess I should get at least a LITTLE bit of sleep. Nighty-night, Glibbies!
MLB lost me after the second strike. Never got into hockey. I only rarely watch the NBA. I love football. It’s more than the games. It’s mentally disengaging from everything else. It’s the promise of a lazy Saturday. If wokeness spoils the NFL for me I’m going to be angry.
It’s fun to be a Dodgers fan right now. Joe Kelly was a complete asshole and I loved every minute of it.
I hate the Dodgers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn8EbgzYFw0
Even if you hate the Dodgers, this is still pretty awesome
https://twitter.com/BlakeHarrisTBLA/status/1288639440613564416?s=20
My 3rd favorite team, behind the A’s and the Giants, is whoever is playing the Dodgers.
Even when the Dodgers are playing the Astros?
That was a good call. I can’t deny it.
But the Dodgers hate runs deep. I grew up going to cheap games at the Stick, it was half the price of a movie. Watching the first game of the season on ESPN was shitty beyond belief, and least of which was because the Giants lost.
Have you considered college football?
I never got into it. I’m not sure why.
I’m too old and not athletic enough.
There’s no shame in being an equipment manager.
I am not really a true sports fan but I did enjoy watching the NBA. I am not sure I care anymore. Empty social signaling pisses me off to no end. It is not only not virtuous to take a stand when it does not cost you anything, it is quite the opposite when you take that stand while refusing to stand for justice when it costs you money.
So much your last sentence. I could stand it the signaling if the NBA at least let the players talk about China. But they don’t. They are so transparent.
Stupid warm night I had to start the AC while I slept I hate doing that.
Think of being able to sleep on a summer night as America’s gift to you.
At 10 minutes to midnight, it’s finally dropped below 100F here.
All hail St. WH Carrier!
So this afternoon, Oregon State Police is taking over exterior security at the federal courthouse in Portland. They plan to wear normal uniforms without helmets or riot gear.
Meanwhile, Wheeler had the city police close the park across the street, evict everyone, and picked up the trash this morning in a surprise raid. Supposedly at the request of OSP. After weeks of allowing it to be a base of operations against the courthouse. I wouldn’t say city and state officials were orchestrating it at this point, but they certainly were allowing these riots to fester.
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/07/portland-police-clear-parks-across-from-federal-courthouse-in-early-morning-sweep.html
Still early for fireworks. Weekend will be the acid test I think.
I wonder how much authority the governor has to try and make OSP stand down when they start getting attacked.
Complete. The OSP Superintendent works for her.
I don’t understand how OSP is the solution. It seems like PPB could have handled the protestors/rioters but wasn’t allowed to. Is this Wheeler the governor doing what Wheeler wouldn’t?
Crap. Is this the governor doing what wouldn’t?
FFS. What Wheeler wouldn’t?
The Governor really wanted the feds out.
That evil Trump oppressed the locals but the brave LE officers of Oregon solved the troubles?
I guess we will see how smart the protesters are.
Just carped bomb Portland?
Sounds like a waste of fish.
Way back in January or something I put a stupid £1 bet on the Rangers winning the WS this year. Since MLB has returned I’ve not so much as checked any scores, but if there is a WS, and Rangers do win, I at least get something like £80, assuming I can remember my password and log in to collect it. I suppose it would suck to have the first WS win as the covid season win.
and assuming that somehow my original bet isn’t voided somehow by the change in circumstances.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/ilhan-omar-funnels-another-600000-husbands-consulting-firm-just-three-weeks-bringing-grand-total-1-7-million/
Seems legit.
Crickets from the MSM. Erdogan’s representative in Congress knows she’s got a pass to do whatever, really.
ps! – g’mornin’ Sean
?☕
G’…afternoon? JD.
So much evil in such a tiny, smiling package. Only in America…
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/30/deleted-biden-video-sets-off-a-crisis-at-voice-of-america-388571
Infuriating. And the people involved in making that video only get a slap on the wrist.
But the worst part
Gee. Violating federal law and producing a blatantly partisan video is also out of the ordinary, shitbird. That you don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, or with anonymously leaking means you too need to be defenestrated. There is zero reason that the VOA should be running a video urging people to vote. That is reserved for US citizens and the VOA is supposed to be broadcasting to the rest of the world, not internally.
S.O.P.
Mornin’ glibs.
Mornin’, UCS. The rain we had yesterday cooled things down considerably. Did it make its way to you?
We had torrential rain yesterday when my grocery delivery arrived. It proved the folly of paper bags, because in just the distance from the curb to my door (there’s no lawn, so the width of a sidewalk) the bags were soaked, and would have disintegrated if the distance were any longer. It’s 59 right now and supposed to get up to the mid-80s.
Does that mean the plastic bag ban is back, at least for delivery?
I don’t know.
I add my greetings and salutations! It finally got hot here this week and it seemed to mess with my brain. I made dozens of mostly inconsequential but time sensitive mistakes at work last night. Tiny aberrations in the Force. The best one was almost leaving the door unlocked at the end of my shift but the most frustrating one was taking my specs off to wipe my brow and spending ten minutes trying to find them again. Jesus. I was just hopeless. Is that the way that dumb people navigate their day-to-day? Humbling…
Did you end up finding them in your hand?
No, he slid them up above his forehead.
As me how I know.
You just checked and found five pairs of eyeglasses on your own?
Well, actually three pairs of eyeglasses and two pairs of sunglasses – but who’s counting?
Sloper at work trying to fix something small:
Sloper: What the fuck did I do with my glasses?
Coworker: *looks at sloper* they are on your head dumb ass.
Has happened but not last night. I set them down and just walked away. Now I know what it truly means to be a woman.
::declines to take bait::
J/k I’ve been watching Judi and her daughters’ plans for this weekend’s getaway to Kelowna being ham-strung by sibling rivalry and spite. Two of them are at the point of not talking to each other but they still want to go ahead with “Operation Citadel”. Four women, trapped together in a B and B. One won’t go to establishments because Covid and her younger sister has a chip on her shoulder the size of a Sequoia. Here I thought my weekend would be bad.
Mornin’, Fes. Hope today is better.
Mornin’! Today I am off and will be drinking. Pray for Festus?
Mornin’ all
Positive, sexy custodian vibes to you, Good sir!
Mornin’, Sean.
enough of this gay banter
If you want to be unhappy, that’s your choice.
Gay banter is all I have left!
You could try gay muttering.
I am not exaggerating, either. Five or six dumb fuck mistakes per hour. This is a job that I could do in my sleep and I’ve whittled the labor quotient down to the most razor sharp edge that I can. I couldn’t have have fucked up worse if I showed up half in the bag. Stressors, I suppose.
Netherlands refuses to mandate masks in public due to unproven effectiveness (except on public transport):
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/there-no-proven-effectiveness-netherlands-refuses-mandate-mask-wearing-public
The stupid Dutch, what good is government if it isn’t arbitrary and capricious?
They are on average the tallest people on Earth. They must have been doing something right for the last few thousand years.
The again the gyms will not reopen this year
https://www.newsweek.com/bill-clinton-went-jeffrey-epsteins-island-2-young-girls-virginia-giuffre-says-1521845
Newsweek?
he did not touch them though
All that I’ve seen so far has been about Derschowitz from the twitter mob. This is the comeuppance that these assholes deserve. If true it lays bare the lies and deceit of the Clinton machine. Here’s me in the corner, holding my breath.
This seems to be one of those things that will either get handled according to how TPTB want to see it handled, or it will burst open and a huge number of the high and mighty will be dragged down into the pit.
As much as I would like it to be the latter – to somehow have some upside that could balance all the downside the year so far has brought us – I’m not ready to bet on that horse.
will either get handled according to how TPTB want to see it handled – I don’t think glibertarians founders have that much influence
NYT is apparently identifying everyone by skin color in their stories now
https://twitter.com/NoahPollak/status/1288305706274131973
Progress?
Y’know, Pie, this kind of racialized nonsense was unthinkable in North America just twelve short years ago. People my age and younger grew up believing that people were inherently alike, small differences like melanin content and local customs were easily overcome by our shared humanity. Turns out we were wrong, apparently.
The WSJ has gone even more racist. A few weeks ago, I read an article about one of these cars hitting protesters/rioters in some city. The recent journalist grad penning the article made sure to add “white” before the car in multiple places throughout the story….things like “the white vehicle slammed into the crowd.” It was so bizarre.
I looked through a few other articles about other stories involving vehicles and noted the color of those vehicles were not provided.
Bring back Octaroon!