Baseball! Cards vs Cubs happening now, and the Blue Jays are currently whipping the Rangers. (Royals beat the Astros earlier.) The Dodgers and Mets meet again later. Also, NFL action tonight that will probably get its own thread.
Please feel free to talk sports or whatever else — open thread!
Elizabelle
Whacking new thread. Just got back from a great bike ride. Happy Monday evening.
Botsplainer
Cubbies!
Baud
@Elizabelle:
Happy Monday to you too.
burnspbesq
I don’t want any Mets pitchers throwing at Utley. I’d settle for an embarrassing three-pitch strikeout by Familia. 98 mph on the hands. Slider down and away. Bottom falls out of the splitter. Sit down, asshole.
piratedan
well now that the MSM has faithfully reported that the Benghazi committee is simply a GOP front for slinging shit at Hilary Clinton, how long will we have to wait before the NYT comes out with another breathless indictment of HRC’s handling of her e-mails?
What methodology is being used to determine the next Speaker of the House? We know that spin the bottle didn’t work for the esteemed Congressman from California, so what’s next, pin the tail on the elephant? Ouija Boards? Duck Duck Goose? blackmailing Paul Ryan into a pinky swear arrangement that they won’t go all mean gurrls on his patootie?
Will the GOP representatives from flood ravaged South Carolina have a come to Jeebus moment with the realization that yeah, bad disastrous weather can happen even in their state and perhaps, this whole federal government thingy isn’t such a bad idea after all? Or do we expect them to remain the same unrepentant pack of asshats that they have shown themselves to be?
Baud
@efgoldman:
Why?
piratedan
@Baud: probably to remind us of the heady days when the GOP weren’t reprehensible shits… oh wait a minute… maybe they have some Eisenhower footage….
Punchy
Royals didnt just win, they came back from 4 down in the 8th. Thats fuckin amazing.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Did you expect that he had changed over the years? I don’t even trust either of the fake Nixons on twitter.
piratedan
@efgoldman: well that pretty much proves the case for boots on the ground in Syria then….. some one get a hold of Steve Kroft will ya?
Baud
@efgoldman:
I was asking about the story. Thanks.
Interesting story. Too bad Woodward is connected with it.
Germy Shoemangler
@efgoldman: If Nixon had won the presidency instead of JFK, the cuban missile crisis would have ended quite differently.
I’m thinking he would have listened to the hawks and caused some real trouble in the world.
Germy Shoemangler
speaking of Nixon, here’s an interesting short essay on the Beatles, drugs and the right-wing backlash against the ’60s.
http://www.heydullblog.com/books/the-beatles-and-drugs/
A guy
Utley not starting
Calouste
@piratedan: Have they even set a date for the next vote yet?
piratedan
@efgoldman: well post Nixon we have…
the demise of a supposedly impartial mainstream Media
the introduction of “dark money” into politics
the change in the GOP attitude towards governance, essentially if you’re not GOP, you’re perceived as being anti-American, anti-freedom, anti-troops… you’re not trustworthy enough to have a place in governing…
redshirt
I’d love to see what the preserved head of Nixon could accomplish these days. He’d be in political heaven! Lie all you want! Cheat and steal and no one cares! It’s a paradise!
piratedan
@Calouste: They’re probably waiting on the next major catastrophe to give them cover, be it a hurricane, flooding, plane crash, mass shooting or boob exposure to take away the spotlight on their machinations….
Right to Rise
Jeb about to come out with his plan to “Repeal and Replace” the trainwreck that is ObamaCare.
The money quotes:
While other GOP candidates engage in shallow, substance-free posturing, Jeb is proving himself to be quite the policy wonk, bringing market-based, federalist solutions to the forefront.
Just wait until you see his education policy!
Ultraviolet Thunder
I’m suddenly by Toronto instead of spending my day peacefully by Detroit. I’ll be here for 3 days.
Checking into the hotel here, the clerk saw my address and felt qualified to mock the Lions. Thanks, pal. As though I cared.
redshirt
@Right to Rise: Hmm, Betty’s back and so is RTR…..
trollhattan
Alaska’s governor (who has an “I” after his name, whatever that means in Alaskaspeak) believes the onliest way for Alaska to pay for relocating folks having their villages washed away by rising oceans caused by you-know-what, is to increase oil extraction. The irony gods are displeased.
Or, they could just start paying taxes and not living off Uncle Ice Cream, just like every other state.
Calouste
@Right to Rise:
You’re really giving the game away there, DougJ.
Gimlet
@Right to Rise:
Bush’s health care plan, outlined Monday in a two-page document, is light on details of how he’d change a system that accounts for about 18 percent of the U.S. economy.
To help individuals afford coverage, Bush wants to give people tax credits to help them buy insurance. That’s similar to Obamacare, where individuals with low incomes can get government aid to buy policies.
Bush also plans to put forth a separate plan for Medicare, the U.S. program for the elderly and disabled, according to the document released Monday.
trollhattan
@Right to Rise:
Is he a Valley Forge American? We’re all dying to know.
SFAW
@Right to Rise:
Do you mean Jeb! “7 Percent and Falling” Bush?
And how is it possible for a sub-room-temp-IQ moron like Jeb! to come up with an education policy. Oh, right, he can’t. Because no matter what gets presented to him by the hired help, he won’t understand it. Maybe Prof. Irwin Corey can explain it to him.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
I wonder if the openly partisan rags of the past sold themselves as being objective, like Fox “Fair and Balanced” does so today.
trollhattan
@Calouste:
Now “Doug!”
One must keep track, you know.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Right to Rise: Lovely. And for people who don’t have extra money to put in HSAs? Eh. Why should he worry his beautiful mind with that?
How about allowing people to shop across state lines for insurance? I’ll bet money that’s in there. Off to check.
(Fucking parasites, that entire family.)
BillinGlendaleCA
@Gimlet:
Let me guess, tax credits to buy private insurance? That’ll go over well with the Silent Generation. Just a guess, they might just prove to not be so silent after all.
trollhattan
@efgoldman:
Personally think it’s one of the boxers.
SFAW
@redshirt:
Interesting. I recall when there was a rumor that Paul McCartney and Spiro Agnew were the same person. For example, no one had ever seen them together. Is it irresponsible to speculate? etc.
ETA: efg – I’d say that “great minds think alike,” but that wouldn’t explain me
piratedan
@efgoldman: I would agree, that’s the time that I became politically aware… but just like TV, the age where the people who decided what was news and how to present it to inform the public have all changed as corporations believe that any air time has to be revenue generating and as such, the days of actually watching the news and being informed are just a part of the past, although, there was a time where it actually was a good thing to be a journalist, and it still is, just not in our current media machine. Lots of work being done in print and on the fringes these days.
redshirt
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yes, this is the election when old white people will vote against Republicans because of Medicare/Social Security…..
Montarvillois
Blue Jays win 8 – 4.
BillinGlendaleCA
@SFAW: I guess it goes along with the “Paul is Dead” CT.
Mike J
@trollhattan: Alaska wants to make up for the low price of oil by putting more of it on the market. That’s sure to work.
SFAW
@redshirt:
I don’t think the Manchester Union Leader tried that, but Bill Loeb was a “special” kind of person.
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt:
Yup, just around the corner.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
I think the Professor is approximately 97, I’m guessing he’s not still lecturing.
Besides: if he were to try to come up with a routine today, he’d look at the Rethugs, realize they make less sense (by a factor of 3 gazillion, so to speak) than he did, and would say “Ah, fuck it.”
David Koch
CNN Poll — South Carolina Oct 3-10
Clinton…….70%
Sanders…..20%
O’Malley……3%
raven
Go Cubbies!
trollhattan
@efgoldman:
Remember the Big Fake Crisis when Obama entered office that he would reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, despite never having uttered the words next to one another in that order?
Some presidential “honeymoon.”
ksmiami
RTR – you mean the ever so compassionate and linguistically able JEB “Shit Happens” Bush? Whatev.
Anyone here going to see the Concussion movie when it comes out about the Nigerian doctor who discovered CTE? Sorry – I’m done with football. Just modern day gladiator games.
SFAW
And, aprpopos of the baseball thing
Go Mets!
I can only hope that, the next time Utley plays, he gets tagged out with a straight right (or left, depending on the fielder, of course) to his jaw, nose, or both. While the fielder is holding the ball in that hand, of course.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
raven
So I have this giant ass Ikea shelving unit that goes in the new closet. I’ve put together plenty of this stuff before but the instructions (all graphic) show the bottom piece to be unfinished. It makes sense but there is no unfinished piece?
dedc79
Let’s Go Mets!
Baud
@David Koch:
Clinton…….70%
Sanders…..20%
O’Malley……3%
Baud……1%
Baby steps.
redshirt
OK I don’t have TV so I haven’t seen the Utley slide though I listened to the game on the radio. So… would there be any outcry at all if Tejada weren’t injured?
dedc79
@redshirt: Yes, but the outrage would’ve been much more focused on the umpires not calling interference, rather than on Utley.
Gin & Tonic
@raven: Rotsa ruck.
burnspbesq
@raven:
If you have an extra finished piece that’s drilled in the right places, use it. Don’t deal with Ikea customer service unless absolutely necessary.
rikyrah
@Right to Rise:
dude,
these are the same GOP proposals from eons ago.
Schlemazel
@burnspbesq:
Thats not keeping with the very ancient and beatified unwritten rules of baseball. He simply must be hit with a pitch or the baseball gawds will not be appeased.
I don’t understand but then I am not much of an American I guess.
David Koch
@Baud:
BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah: Yes, but they have a nice NEW package with a bow on top. See, totally different.
Gian
@burnspbesq:
I wonder if they’ll change the rules on a hard slide to break up a double play. Ruben Tejada isn’t the start that Buster Posey is, but an injury to Posey got the rules changed.
But yeah, they’re gonna throw at Utley. If not now, they’ll do it next year.
BillinGlendaleCA
@David Koch: What? They didn’t poll Handsome Joe Biden(who’s still not running)? That’s not a real poll.
redshirt
@dedc79:
It was that bad?
Second base is weird in baseball. The so called “neighborhood rule” is an absolute joke – it’s an admission that defensive players are not touching the base with the ball in their glove when turning double plays – something that should result in a safe base runner. And base runners have been sliding well out of the base path for-ever into second base to break up the double play. This is generations old, and we’re outraged now?
I think it’s all about the broken leg – which does suck. I highly doubt Utley wanted to break his leg. He wanted to break up the double play, like everyone does sliding into the weird space nebula of second base.
Schlemazel
@Baud:
One of his minions stole a shit ton of classified documents when he left the WH. He gave them to Woodward so that he could clean them up and produce a new book. No idea if there is any useful info in them (not like Bobby would really tell us now) but they were pimping the hell out of it on Sunday Morning yesterday. Nixon was a liar and a phony . . . this is ‘news’ at the dawn of the new millennium I guess.
Baud
@redshirt:
I thought the neighborhood play was kaput in the era of instant replay.
Roger Moore
@burnspbesq:
I agree. That said, he’d better watch out if he’s trying to pivot on a close double play.
Gian
@redshirt:
slide was late and clearly aimed to take him out. Tejada really wanted to turn 2 and left himself vulnerable. The slide looked like something from the 60s or 70s
redshirt
@Baud:
I thought it was actually codified as legit. I could be wrong.
dedc79
@redshirt: The rule may be a joke but it’s the rule tejada was operating under when he made the play (and if he missed the bag with his foot, it was by an inch or less). One reason people are angry at the umps is because they reversed the call after the fact, even though it’s not a reviewable decision. It was made even more absurd because Utley was ruled safe without ever actually touching second base (because of another bizarre rule).
As for Utley – I do think you need to see this one. I’m not saying there’s never been another slide (Honestly, I hesitate to even call it that) that was as nasty and as wide of the bag, but this was a particularly dangerous play and Utley didn’t even pretend to be aimed at the bag.
redshirt
@Gian:
This happens all the time though, that’s why I don’t get the outrage. Except of course for the broken leg, which again, sucks, but is pretty much a freak accident and I seriously doubt was intentional.
The bigger outrage should be over the bad call by the ump – Utley is out.
EDIT: Yeah, I should watch the play.
dedc79
So i’m a mets fan from NJ, but i’ve been living in DC for 13 years now. I was with my family walking over to the lincoln memorial on sunday and I was wearing my Mets hat. I passed a dodgers fan (he had his hat on too) sitting on a bench with his wife. He looked at me and I looked at him. He just started nodding his head dejectedly and completely unprompted by me he says “That was a horrible play and a terrible call.”
piratedan
@redshirt: agreed, #1 he was out of the basepath, #2, his slide was late as such, he was interfering with the play (which you are allowed to do IF you’re in the basepath and not attempting to knock the ball out of the air intentionally).
So not only did the Mets lose their starting SS, they got hosed on the call and the Dodgers don’t have to fear any retaliation because that will be handled as being more egregious than what Utley did anyways….
dedc79
@redshirt: I agree with you that this is a problem of MLB’s own making. They tolerate this stuff until something truly awful happens and then they try to “fix” it after the fact. It’s like they’re the last ones (other than Goodell) to realize that the Goodell method of crisis-management is awful.
burnspbesq
@Gian:
The Arizona fall league is going to use the college rule about plays at second (the runner has to slide directly at the base). I can see that becoming the rule when the CBA is re-upped.
jibeaux
Came home after nearly 12 hours at work, and hear “do you know where my phone is?” Bloody kids.
Right to Rise
@SFAW:
Jeb isn’t falling. Jeb is steady.
He’s describing himself aptly as a “joyful tortoise”-slow and steady wins the race. A marathon, not a sprint!
burnspbesq
Matt Reynolds, who split time at short in Las Vegas this year, is Tejada’s replacement on the roster. Wilfredo Tovar, the other triple-A shortstop, is on the 60-day DL due to a separated shoulder suffered in August.
Roger Moore
@dedc79:
I think the real problem is that the umpire blew the call. Part of the way any sport tries to deal with dangerous plays like that is with in-game penalties that remove the incentive to play dirty. In this case, the umpire should have ruled that Utley was trying to interfere with the play and ruled both him and the batter out. That wouldn’t have done anything about Tejada’s leg, but it would have made the point that you shouldn’t be trying that kind of play because it won’t help you. The blown call effectively rewards Utley for a dirty play, which is exactly what you don’t want.
SiubhanDuinne
@Montarvillois:
Yay!
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
This.
Tenar Darell
@efgoldman: I’m just old enough to remember Watergate as more than ancient history. Yeah, lying sack of shit is an accurate description. (And actually what most of my relatives thought at that time who were either Republicans or Democrats).
Steeplejack (phone)
@Baud:
You’re surging!
benw
@piratedan:
They already have! They basically allowed the Republicans on the committee to pivot directly to the emails without comment:
I’ve just thrown my hands up with regards to the NYT coverage of US politics anymore.
David Koch
@Steeplejack (phone): I wonder who is on Baud’s shortlist for Veep.
I hope he puts a woman on the ticket – perhaps Katy Perry.
PurpleGirl
@efgoldman: While the NY Post was known as the paper which published the closing stock market prices, it was also known for being a liberal/Democratic paper. Dorothy Schiff, the long-time owner, publisher and editor, had very definite liberal slant. Neither of her children wanted to take over the paper, so she sold it when she decided to retire. I like to think she’s spinning in her grave at what Murdoch has done to it.
some guy
Breaking: Jeb falls to 5th place in Iowa, New Hampshire. remains in 4th place in Florida.
developing….
piratedan
@benw: nothing like being the wholly owned mouthpiece subsidiary that they are…. HRC could save a litter of puppies from a burning building and these fuckers would wonder if she set the place on fire for a possible photo OP or claim that the puppies should’ve been euthanized because they weren’t licensed.
Darkrose
I like Tommy John’s suggestion: Harvey should tell everyone he’s going to throw at Utley…and then not. Let Utley go into every at bat wondering if this is going to be the one where he gets drilled.
My wish for the Mets is that this turns out like Game 7 of the 2012 NLDS. Matt Cain drilled Matt Holliday in retaliation for the slide that took out Marco Scutaro in Game 2. He waited until the seventh, with no one on and (I think) two out in a two strike count, then he hit him on the bicep. Holliday kept his mouth shut and his head down and took his base. Message sent and message received.
Roger Moore
The latest in Benghazi-ghazi is that the fired staffer is accusing Trey Gowdy of “making statements or releasing information that may violate the confidentiality rules for disputes with former congressional staff.” Wait, wait. Trey Gowdy may be guilty of leaking confidential information to make somebody look bad? When did he start doing that?
redshirt
I’m rooting for the Dodgers God help me.
Darkrose
@Gian: The injury to Posey did not get the rules changed. At the 2011 winter meetings when Bochy brought it up, Joe Torre said he didn’t see any need for a change. The change happened three years later after the NFL concussion issues had been in the news. The impetus for the change was more likely liability: MLB didn’t want to get targeted with lawsuits from concussed former catchers.
some guy
Breaking: Jeb Unfavorability numbers highest among all GOP candidates.
Developing….
benw
LET”S GO, CHARGERS!!!!
Roger Moore
@redshirt:
I think you’re going to have to look the other way if you want some help this year.
redshirt
Also rooting for the Chargers.
California is BY FAR the best state in the Union and all her teams should win.
Shana
@efgoldman: While I agree wholeheartedly with your points about the “glory days” of the NYT and WaPo, have you SEEN small town papers in the last decade? Sheesh, even the Chicago papers I’ve seen over the last few years are barely suitable for wrapping fish. They’ve all become the Springfield Shopper.
benw
@redshirt: AGREED EXCEPT FOR THE FUCKING RAIDERS AND DODGERS! WHY AM I STILL SHOUTING?!
catclub
@piratedan:
The brothers Dulles were a huge disaster in the long term. Everything they touched turned to shit … some years later.
I mentioned this article that notes this in passing.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_10/president_obama_a_grand_strate058050.php
redshirt
@benw: I like the Raiders. And the 9ers. And even the Sacramento Kings.
dedc79
@Roger Moore: Agreed. Are you watching this now? What the hell is going on with the umps?
Right to Rise
@some guy:
The Ad Surge is working in New Hampshire. Slowly, but surely.
The donors are staying on board and Jeb is “in it to win it”.
Brinks. Trucks. Fuckers!
Scrooge McDuck money.
SiubhanDuinne
@Right to Rise:
Behold the Joyful Tortoise:
He can’t keep up with Trump!
He garbles simple questions,
And stands there like a lump.
That poor old Joyful Tortoise:
He can’t keep up with Ben!
(Another president named Bush?
No, no, please, not again!)
The Joyful Tortoise can’t keep up
With Marco, Ted, or Carly.
Slow and steady wins the race?
Not even on a Harley!
The Joyful Tortoise might as well
Be carried on a gurney:
He never, ever will catch up
With Hillary or Bernie.
The Joyful Tortoise runs a race
No candidate should copy.
Take my advice, O Terrapin:
Go home to Bar and Poppy.
benw
@redshirt: Sorry, but that’s just Ben Carson level crazytown.
Darkrose
@redshirt: God hates the Dodgers.
Darkrose
@redshirt: And you’re rooting for the DODGERS?
…you’re an A’s fan, right?
Bobby Thomson
@Right to Rise: fourth place can’t be far behind!
redshirt
@Darkrose: It’s a secondary rooting concern, to be sure, but yes, I root for ALL California teams, just as I root against ALL Texas teams.
beltane
@Right to Rise: Sorry, but Brinks Trucks aren’t going to cut it. Jeb needs aircraft carriers full of money. Maybe if he buys a new car or truck for each primary voter who commits to vote for him he’ll have a shot at this, otherwise stick the feeding tube in him because he’s done.
benw
@SiubhanDuinne: Wow. Just wow.
danielx
@piratedan:
Slightly edited:
1. No.
2. Yes.
This has been another edition of Simple Answers To Simple Questions.
Also too, an exchange at Chez X this evening…
Spousal unit: Cubbies fans are going crazy! I want them to go all the way!
Moi: Well, you gotta understand that Cubs fans don’t have a chance to cheer very often; you don’t want to get all emotionally over invested in the Cubs. Plus Cubs fans have a masochistic streak about a yard wide. Cheering is like screaming for them.
Mike in NC
@SiubhanDuinne: Joyful Tortoise has got to the gayest nickname anybody ever gave themself. He really isn’t very bright.
JEBzzz Healthcare Plan: Stuff happens. Get sick and die if you’re not rich.
JEBzzz Education Plan: Stuff happens. Forget about college if you’re not rich.
JEBzzz Anti-Crime Plan: Stuff happens. Buy a gun and stand your ground.
Etcetera ad nauseum.
redshirt
Jeb!: Stuff Happens
JMG
As a Phillies fan, Utley is one of my faves. All the same, that was a slide to make Ty Cobb blush. But the suspension is weak tea, clearly designed to be appealed so that the series can play out. Suppose the suspension is upheld just before the Series and the Dodgers get that far (both highly speculative propositions)? How would that give the Mets justice?
JPL
The President interviewed Marilynne Robinson, the author Gilead. The first part of their discussion is on NY Review of Books
catclub
@redshirt: SF Giants versus Texas Rangers was a joy. Culture war was played up between the two stadiums. Sushi eaters won.
raven
@efgoldman: I got it all together except the bottom. It’s really heavy so I’ll wait for the dudes to get here in the morning. I wouldn’t have tried to hoist it up off the floor anyway.
Roger Moore
@Mike in NC:
Isn’t that pretty much the Republican platform? Republican dogma is that government is not just useless, it’s actually counterproductive, so the best thing to do is to shut it down and let people fend for themselves. It’s exactly what Obama was saying when he said that “The Ownership Society” really meant that you’re on your own.
redshirt
@catclub: That’s what I’m talking about. Especially the Bush tainted Rangers.
raven
@danielx: I’ve been a Cubbie fan all my life but I paid no attention to baseball at all this year and I don’r know who any of them are.
PaulW
Go Bucs.
Go Bolts.
Who are you rooting for in the Democratic debate tomorrow night, kids?
Right to Rise
@beltane:
That’s what you idiots used to say about George W. Aren’t you “misunderestimating” a Bush Brother yet again?
Right to Rise
@Mike in NC:
Democrat Education Plan:
You’re in a failing urban district controlled by Teacher’s Unions. Stuff happens. No vouchers or school choice or charters. If you don’t have money for private school (like Obama does for his daughters) go to Housin’ Projek Centroh Hi-Skoo.
Betty Cracker
@redshirt, et al: I’m kinda insulted that y’all so underestimate my powers of imagination! If I ever turn to the Troll Side, I hope I’ll be more interesting in that role than a JebPAC automation script.
@trollhattan: Now I wouldn’t put it past them…they lick their own butts all day, after all.
JPL
@Right to Rise: haha One of the governor candidates running several years ago said the same thing. His plan would take funding out of public education and give vouchers to Buckhead families already enrolled in expensive but excellent private schools…. hahahahahahahahahha
I think one of the things that is true is that many Americans on every side of every issue, they think that the worst thing they can say is the truest thing, you know?
Must give credit to Marilynne Robinson
Shana
@raven: Do you feel a sense of accomplishment? I always do after projects like that. Love putting stuff together, did our grill a few years ago, also IKEA-type furniture. I suppose it’s why I like sewing too.
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: I of course do not think you are RTR. I’m just memeing.
I think RTR is RTR and he’s all real, and fabulous. Also, not getting paid.
beltane
@Right to Rise: It’s the voters on your team that don’t like Jeb. I was driving around NH this weekend and I didn’t see a single sign for your guy. If you want to win these voters over, the cash had better start flowing from the Brinks trucks into their bank accounts. There is no other way.
trollhattan
@Right to Rise:
Who, Neil? Maybe. The others not so much.
My NH bro OTOH is awaiting some kind, any kind of surge, truck-propelled or otherwise. Reports none as of tonight.
Right to Rise
@JPL:
A great plan for Georgia would be charters for all. Have every new suburban development come with its own charter school, sponsored by the local primary employer. Florida did this under Jeb–google “Ryder System Schools”. As in Ryder Trucks.
trollhattan
@redshirt:
That particular Brinks Truck is stuck in traffic. Heavy traffic.
redshirt
I’m like 30 miles from the NH border and I can’t sense any kind of surge at all. I’ve got a telescope too.
raven
@Shana: Ha, this has all been really interesting. We are days away from a 2 1/2 year project being done. The actual work on the house has been going for 6 months and I’ve worked at home through it all. I’ve really done my level best to stay out of the work but we’re getting down to the point where I don’t want to pay labor for little stuff that I can do. This piece was one of the first things I’ve done during this project but it is just dummy work so I don’t feel all that great about it.
Mike in NC
@Roger Moore: There’s an excellent reason why JEBzzz struggling to maintain a distant 4th place in Florida, where people have cause to despise him. After his dismal run as governor, he couldn’t get elected dog catcher today.
beltane
@trollhattan: I love going to NH in the months leading up to the primary. It was more fun in 2008 but it is always an interesting experience.
ThresherK
@efgoldman: Springfield has a Republican (perhaps still), St. Louis the Globe-Democrat, and Rock Island its Independent. Can’t remember when they were named, but it was honest.
seaboogie
@Right to Rise: Go upstairs, son – your Momma has the tuna casserole out of the oven, and it’s better when it’s warm….she even has crunchy potato chips on top – just like you like it.
“Honey – I’m worried about you and your sugar-blood…just put those poll numbers down and eat something – you look kind of pasty, son….”
beltane
@redshirt: We all need to go on a reconnaissance mission and search for that surge. It may be hidden under a pile of leaves on someone’s lawn. That would be a shame.
Mike in NC
@redshirt: JEBzzz about to surge like an Olympic swimmer who has a couple of cinderblocks chained to his ankles. Any day now, any day.
JPL
@Right to Rise: I think one of the things that is true is that many Americans on every side of every issue, they think that the worst thing they can say is the truest thing, you know?
Right to Rise
@seaboogie:
LOL, love the projection of liberals failures and jealously on to the lives of others. I make quite a good living, I’ve always been pretty good at ferreting out ways to make money. I take the initiative rather than whining about “the rich” and expecting Daddy Government to pay my way.
Why don’t you try it for a change?
SFAW
@Right to Rise:
Moron. Nobody thought W was anything but the Anointed One for you assholes, as early as January, 1999.
Meanwhile, regarding your latest lie-of-the-day: Jeb! is only “holding steady” if you don’t look at the numbers. Of course, if you look at the RCP charts – the same charts you referenced three weeks ago, to “show us” how well Jeb! was doing – your idol has dropped from 9.8 percent (National) on September 24, to 8.4 percent on October 9, to 7.1 percent on October 11. Yeah, that’s holding about as “steady” as the Economy did during W’s Reign of Error.
So, the only question I have is: does Reince pay you per-lie, or per-head-up-the-ass-statement? Either way, you make a killing, I guess.
Thanks for the comic relief, imbecile.
raven
@Right to Rise: You’re a shit eatin dog fucker.
JPL
@Right to Rise: I think one of the things that is true is that many Americans on every side of every issue, they think that the worst thing they can say is the truest thing, you know?
PaulW
@Right to Rise:
Except charter schools in Florida don’t work.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-charter-schools-financial-audit-20150626-story.html
Just One More Canuck
@SFAW: I looked – 101 – he was born the day after World War I started
Darkrose
@catclub: Best thing about the coverage for that series was the reporter for the local Dallas TV station shocked that people in San Francisco were smoking weed.
SFAW
@Right to Rise:
Better idea: why don’t you try something that doesn’t require you to grift money from people far more deserving than you.
Ferreting is right, you’re a fucking weasel, alright. Except weasels don’t lie, unlike you.
Nighty-night, moron.
James E Powell
@catclub:
Excuse me, but don’t you mean godless sushi eaters?
JPL
@Betty Cracker: I never thought it was you. The reason that I thought it was a paid troll is his arguments are weak. Doug is certainly better than that.
SFAW
@Just One More Canuck:
Amazing.
Shana
@ThresherK: Rock Island, IL? My home town? Their paper is (or was) the Argus.
raven
@Shana: As is the Villa Park, Ill rag.
beltane
@Right to Rise:
So you don’t have a real job. I’m sorry to hear that. You’re much nicer than that other troll who hangs out here and it would be nice if you found a career that suits you.
piratedan
@PaulW: they work fine for folks that are inclined to get a paycheck and teach their own brand of psuedo-scientific crap wrapped with a side of theocratic bullshit. You can pump out little ideologues and never have to answer to damn near anyone and you can treat your staff like the indentured service plebes that they are and keep all of that glorious overhead for yourself.
catclub
@James E Powell: Yes.
catclub
@beltane: There was a thread about MLM schemes and republicans, just a bit back.
Worked for Jason Chaffetz.
Shana
@raven: I’ve been following your home improvement when you give us updates since we went through our own hell on that front. Done now, thank god, and we may still end up in court with the original contractor. Glad to hear you’re almost done.
redshirt
Trolling’s good work if you can find it these days (a lot of it has been outsourced to India). Trolling used to put dinners on Kitchen. Tables. Now you’re lucky to get a part time trolling ad job.
Darkrose
@redshirt: Ah. As a die-hard Giants fan, my rooting interest going into this postseason was Anyone But The Dodgers. (And to a lesser extent, Anyone But The Cubs because they broke Pence and Aoki, plus my AL team is the White Sox.)
After the last Mets-Dodgers game, though, I’m actively rooting for the Mets. I don’t want to see the Dodgers rewarded for the slide, or for their classless response after it happened.
raven
@Shana: We’ve certainly been lucky in that sense. The sewer work cost the city 330K so we can’t complain.
Darkrose
@redshirt: I live in Sacramento and I don’t root for the Kings. I just shake my head and grumble about not wanting to pay for their damned stadium.
seaboogie
@Right to Rise: Well bless your heart….I know it’s late – and momma has the hot chocolate with those miniature marshmallows that you like so much….and you shouldn’t hold the kitty’s neck quite so hard son – it is a child of god just like you….
redshirt
@raven:
Wow. You must be a big swinger in town.
Right to Rise
@SFAW:
U mad, bro?
redshirt
@Darkrose:
I don’t really cheer for the Kings, of course. But if some circumstance arose and it was the Kings V. Rockets, and I was forced to root, well I’d root for the Kings, gladly. Because, Go California!
jl
@Roger Moore: The whistle blower is accusing Gowdy and his team of violating federal law.
Sounds like fun.
I posted a comment late last week on how Gowdy and his Behghazimates were not responding at all to any questions about the whistle blower’s charges for fear of compromising the precious confidentiality required for resolution employee disputes.
So, these latest charges would mean that they are liars who were saying that they couldn’t respond just as they shoved confidential dirt out the back door.
Sounds plausible to me. Maybe too good to be true. It is almost Issa-worthy.
Betty Cracker
Cubs win! Cubs win!
redshirt
@Right to Rise: Are you a Seahawks fan?
Tough loss yesterday. Your team is brittle this year in a tough NFC West – Cardinals and Rams are ahead of you now.
PaulW
Betty! OMG Steve Spurrier is retiring! :( :( :(
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/10/12/9016595/steve-spurrier-retire-south-carolina-football
MomSense
I’m fighting with my dog. I have a terrible cold and she is stalking me to steal my tissues. I woke up from a nap to her rooting in my fleece pocket for Kleenex.
She is also making it impossible to do the laundry because she is stealing the clothes out of the basket faster than I can load them in the washer. She is living this game where i chase her around trying to get my clothes back.
JPL
@PaulW: Just saw that.. Wow
trollhattan
@Right to Rise:
You have projection exactly backwards, but thanks for playing. Here’s your home game version of this show, which you’ll be free to master very, very soon.
Betty Cracker
@PaulW: The Ol’ Ball Coach. There will never be another like him.
trollhattan
@redshirt:
Hey naooooowwww!
Mnemosyne
@Betty Cracker:
I am very deliberately avoiding any and all Cubs games, because as soon as I get interested and start watching, the bastards lose. So I am doing all Cubs fans everywhere a favor and completely ignoring them.
“A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request” sung by the late, great Steve Goodman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HTRxAHfwPY
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: Cubs v Dodgers; Royals v Blue Jays.
Cubs v Blue Jays world series, Blue Jays win in 7.
MomSense
@jl:
Did I read today that the committee members (?) staffers (?) were spending their work time and our money drinking and designing custom guns?
SFAW
@Right to Rise:
That your best? Figures, since you got nothing else.
Mad? No, it’s just that I need to do a better job to not respond to morons. Such as you.
U clueless bro?
trollhattan
@Just One More Canuck:
Guy at work attended his granny’s hundredth birthday last weekend, which puts her birth date within two weeks of my mom. Holy moly.
JPL
@MomSense: Used tissues are a treat for dogs. I’m not sure why but they are. Finch did the laundry thing once but didn’t like my reaction. Now he just climbs into the basket to sleep.
Hope you are feeling better soon.
raven
@redshirt: Nope, they granted both a building and historic permit. They didn’t know that the sewer ran right through our yard(s) and under the house next door. They also did not have an easement that could be found. We kept our cool and pursued the situation calmly and with purpose. It cost us 2 years and a couple of grand but it could have been worse. Now we have to see what the bill is for the acl surgery on our cocker this morning. You know what Roseanne Roseanna Danna said. . .
MomSense
@efgoldman
Google “Ikea job interview cartoon”
Betty Cracker
@redshirt: Maybe. But the Cubs have the best damn manager in baseball. That should count for something.
raven
@JPL: LIl Bit likes those dried cow peckers.
seaboogie
@MomSense: Ahhh…but she’s a beauty, and a great dog…must. have. patience.
Right to Rise
@redshirt:
Foles and Palmer? They’ll collapse in November.
MomSense
@JPL:
Thanks. Hope my pup switches to cute uses for laundry baskets. She is 11 months today and I’m pretty sure this is like age 15 for male humans.
Testing. Testing. Testing.
redshirt
@raven: “Baseball been berry berry good to me”?
raven
@redshirt: Foooball, I don’t know. . . .
redshirt
@Betty Cracker:
Agreed. Best GM too. I’m just evilly wishing for maximum Cubs suffering, and losing a game 7 to a Canadian team has to be up there.
Mnemosyne
@efgoldman:
I don’t have trouble with Ikea. If you follow the pictograms, you can do it, but people try to outguess the designers.
If you really want to see shit furniture with shit directions, buy something from Target. Their crap is FAR worse than Ikea’s, and their factories routinely forget to do stuff like drill holes where the screws are supposed to go.
MomSense
@seaboogie:
I love her. She’s really bored today and that is never good.
redshirt
@raven: You ignorant slut. :)
MomSense
@raven:
Dried cow peckers? And I thought pig ears were bad.
Mnemosyne
@redshirt:
Nah — Chicagoans don’t have any problem with Canadians. They’re always nice when we go up there on hunting trips. Losing to New York would be much more heartbreaking.
Not that it matters, because the Cubs are going to lose the pennant. There, I said it.
raven
@Mnemosyne: My only problem was with that last piece, the bottom. I couldn’t get the 8 dowells to match up, tried tapping it WITH a thick piece of cardboard between the piece and the hammer and put a hole in it anyway. It won’t really matter but it pissed me off.
raven
@MomSense:
raven
@MomSense: Look up bully sticks.
burnspbesq
Jordan. Mia Hamm. Matt Harvey. The only three Tarholes that any right-thinking person can root for.
redshirt
@burnspbesq: Matt Harvey? The drunk who’s late for practice?
Schlemazel
@raven:
There used to be a place that sent me catalogs & one of the items was dried and shellacked bull peckers made into walking sticks and gavels. Thats some real classy merch right there.
burnspbesq
@redshirt:
Drunk? Hard to confuse Matt Harvey and Steve Sarkisian …
seaboogie
@MomSense: I saw that intelligence and young energy in her in your recent pics, and you just have to respect all that they bring, dog-wise. Great dogs require a meeting of energy and engagement. Hold onnnnn…….
Mike J
@redshirt:
More likely on the credenza.
Darkrose
@redshirt: I’ll grant that Maddon is one of the best managers, but as much as he drives me nuts sometimes, I’d still take Bochy. As far as GM’s go, Sabean wins. It’s not just the three championships in six years, but the way he did it: taking fliers on little-regarded veterans and quietly building one of the best bullpens in the game.
dedc79
This has not exactly been a pitcher’s duel at Citi Field.
ThresherK (GPad)
@Shana: Really? Sorry. Never an Independent?
At least tell me that the Rock Island Line is still a mighty fine road.
redshirt
@burnspbesq:
The rumor is he was out partying late the night before.
dedc79
Baseball could realistically outscore football tonight the way things are headed.
Darkrose
@efgoldman: Yet when the Cardinals retaliated after Dan Haren hit Matt Holliday in the head, Maddon accused Matheny of being like Tony Soprano. The Cubs have been pretty cavalier about hitting people this year, but Maddon gets all pissy if someone has the nerve to retaliate.
redshirt
@Darkrose: You’re probably right but somehow the SF Giants get no national run and so despite recent dominance, no one outside of SF knows about the team. It seems.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
Also another drink.
burnspbesq
Gotta love Mets fans: Wood goes inside on Granderson, and the chant is “Utley sucks.”
BobS
@Gian: Utley’s ‘slide’ was from the 60’s or 70’s, however the sport was football, not baseball — it was called a cross body block and not too surprisingly it was a major cause of knee injuries.
dedc79
@burnspbesq: I think it’s a New York thing, more than a Mets thing.
NY Rangers fans have a “Potvin sucks” chant that you’ll hear at every single home game at Madison Square Garden. Potvin played for the Islanders in the 70s and 80s. He hurt a Rangers player in the playoffs and the fans never forgot.
ThresherK (GPad)
@Shana: Here we go, I’m crossing up my newspapers with my ancient NFL teams:http://rockislandindependents.com.
MomSense
@raven:
They even braid them. Never would have known what they were.
Darkrose
@redshirt: I am still amused that Matt Williams won Manager of the Year last year instead of Bochy. Williams was essentially given the keys to daddy’s Porsche and didn’t crash it; Bochy was desperate enough at one point that he started Dan Uggla in a real game.
I wonder if the BBWAA members who voted for him are now saying, “D’oh! What was I thinking?!”
redshirt
@dedc79:
Back in the day (2003-2009) you’d hear a “Yankees Suck” chant at any large gathering in New England, regardless if any New York team was involved.
burnspbesq
@BobS:
Richard Sherman would love to be able to hit WRs the way Utley hit Tejada.
redshirt
@Darkrose:
I doubt it. People who vote for baseball awards seem to be the sports version of Republicans.
dedc79
@redshirt: I was once at an Orioles-Phillies game at Camden Yards in Baltimore. There must’ve been 15,000-20,000 Philly fans there. They broke out a “Let’s Go Eagles” chant in the middle of the game. And they booed one of their own players. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Mnemosyne
@ThresherK (GPad):
One of my co-workers goes to seminars where Rock Island is the closest “big” city — and you still have to drive 90 minutes to get to where the seminars are held.
Or, as we called it when I lived in Chicagoland, “Bumblefuck.”
redshirt
@dedc79:
LOL. That’s really funny.
Are Eagles fans the worst fans in America?
MomSense
@efgoldman:
Finally caught The Muppets. That is a funny show.
dedc79
@redshirt: Ha! The announcers just mentioned the Potvin chant. Ron Darling was a Met, so he knows.
redshirt
@MomSense:
I’ve really enjoyed it so far.
I hope we get some back story on the two old guy critics.
Darkrose
CESPEDES!!!
I was about to use his nickname, but then I realized WP wouldn’t like that.
Betty Cracker
@efgoldman: If we’re talking about the same series, Puke-lis got beaned because he stomped on Kotchman. No mystery there.
PS: Mets take a he-yoodge lead!
Darkrose
@redshirt: Philidelphia fans seem to be generally acknowledged as the worst, regardless of sport.
Jay C
I don;t think the Mets are going to have to wait for Chase Utley to come back on the field to get their own back, they seem to be taking it out well enough on his teammates : 10-3 in the bottom of the fourth on ten hits. If Harvey keeps it together for another inning or two (cross fingers: he’s been less-than-stellar tonight), it’s all up for LA.
oldgold
The smart brother strikes again.
“It just doesn’t work,” Bush said about Congress. “There was a big argument about the Washington Redskins, the Redskins being a pejorative term. I think Washington is a pejorative term, not the Redskins, so they’ll get through it, they’ll figure it out.”
Jeffro
@benw: Because ITS THE RAIDERS, THATS WHY
(omg I hate the Raiders, but not as much as I hate the Cowgirls and the Cheatriots)
BobS
@dedc79: Denis Potvin pretty much ended Ulf Nilssons career in the 1979 playoffs. It wasn’t the last time Potvin laid someone out — he was one of the best body checkers in NHL history.
burnspbesq
I wonder how much IBM paid Dylan to do that commercial.
dedc79
@redshirt: My college roommate is an Eagles season ticket holder. Freshman year of college (1997) he let me join him for an Eagles-Giants game at Veteran Stadium. I was told not to wear any giants gear and to keep quiet. They had a mini court house set up at the stadium to hand out citations to fans for fighting and stuff. The Giants crushed the eagles, and I sat their in silence the whole game so as not to draw any attention to myself. We get to the parking lot after it’s over, and a drunk eagles fans is standing on the door of an open convertible with a Giants license plate on it, and he’s pissing into the front seat of the car. Does that answer the question?
Jay C
@Darkrose:
Can you spell it out, or use the usual FYWP circumlocutions?
burnspbesq
¡La Potencia!
redshirt
@burnspbesq:
A lot, I hope. Like more than he made for his first 10 albums.
MomSense
@redshirt:
Statler and Waldorf! I loved the words the eagle (now censor) challenged.
The whole show is great.
Jeffro
Way OT (or not) but give me a break:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/12/paul-ryans-big-speaker-hangup-is-reportedly-his-family-for-a-male-lawmaker-thats-unusual/
Yes, I’m POSITIVE that Paul Ryan’s hesitancy to take on the Speakership has EVERYTHING to do with his (atypically, for a male) concern for his family. FER SURE.
Is this Jen Rubin writing under a pen name or something?
If this is the kind of fawning coverage Speaker-Elect Ryan can expect, heck, GRAB THE BRASS RING, PAUL!!! They can’t do any worse than get excessive drool going and use it to shine your shoes…
redshirt
@dedc79: Yeah but you see crazy shit at every team’s games. People are getting shanked at 49ers games. The Bills tailgate sounds like a Mad Max wasteland. I know from spending many hours at Patriot tailgates, there’s little mercy for foreigners. I saw loud mouth Jets fans get literally devoured. Like they ate the marrow from his bones.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
Crazy fans are better than lazy or blase fans 99 times out of a hundred.
So, by definition, Philly fans can’t be the worst. It’s probably Miami fans – all sports.
Mnemosyne
@efgoldman:
It’s not just baseball, or sports. When we went to see “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Hollywood Bowl with live orchestral accompaniment, the same goddamn thing happened.
benw
GOD DAMNIT, CHARGERS
burnspbesq
As a Mets and Rangers fan, I tend to think of Yankees and Islanders fans as sub-human, but the worst fans in the NY area, beyond dispute, are Rutgers football fans.
MomSense
@Jeffro:
Wish he would care more about our families (atypical for a Republican).
dedc79
@redshirt: True. Deadspin has been running a series of clips of drunk Bills fans deliberately leaping onto and breaking tables during pre-game tailgates.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
Oh, I know all about S&W. I just want to know more – like seriously I hope the new show goes into some back story about them. Why not? Are they married? Divorced? Widowed? Gay? What’s their favorite restaurant?
Also, thanks to your Wiki link, I now know S&W fought the Silver Samurai, which is cool.
MomSense
@efgoldman:
Named for two famous NY hotels. They have moved from the balcony but they still heckle.
burnspbesq
The worst fans in SoCal? USC basketball fans. Both of them.
redshirt
@burnspbesq:
Bill Belichick is apparently the number one fan of Rutgers football.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
I’m glad I had already swallowed my coffee before I read that.
burnspbesq
@redshirt:
Belichick is a huge fan of Johns Hopkins lacrosse. He and Dave Pietramala are best buds.
Belichick’s daughter is the new head coach of women’s lax at Holy Cross.
redshirt
@MomSense: I really like the new characters too, like the giant bear and the weaselly small guy. Is he a weasel? Is he a he?
BobS
@Darkrose: Flyer fans deserve that reputation — worst place in the NHL for visiting fans.
SFAW
@burnspbesq:
As well he should be. His only problem re: LAX is that he grew up in the Triple-A lax area for the country, instead of the Bigs.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
I don’t know if this is the reason, but Daubach was a scab who played during the player’s strike long ago.
Also, I literally bumped into Daubach as he was moving his car which was not parked in the players lot but just outside it on the street – the public street I was walking on as he came out to move his truck. I said “Hey”.
MomSense
@redshirt:
All the other new TV shows are conspiracy, terror and police shows. Refreshing to have a smart comedy.
Mike J
@redshirt:
The bear isn’t really new, just a minor character. Is what you’re calling a weasel a shrimp? He’s also been around.
dedc79
@efgoldman: Loved the Cam Neely commercial for ESPN News.
“You guys want to kick my dog while you’re here?”
El Caganer
If Jeb! is a joyful tortoise, where does that leave Mitch McConnell?
BobS
@efgoldman: You’re thinking of Ulf Samuelsson — about 12 years later.
redshirt
@Mike J:
I don’t recall the bear, and yes, the prawn. He’s pretty funny. Everyone’s funny, actually.
burnspbesq
@SFAW:
Tell it to John Danowski, who has won three championships with teams made up almost entirely of players from LI, NJ, and Philly (with occasional reinforcements from New England). There wasn’t a single Baltimore-area player on the 2010 roster, and only one (Deemer Class) who contributed to the 2013 and 2014 championship teams.
I don’t think Bill Tierney even knows where Baltimore is.
Hop:lax::UCLA:basketball
redshirt
We’re gonna hit a T-Bogg here folks.
leeleeFl
@Mike J: I don’t think the “I” Gov understands supply and demand even a wee bit. Not surprised, mind, just sayin.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
My brother has been a Raiders fan since the 1960s. He recently told me that he did so as a kind of Cleek’s Law variant (I was a Jets and Giants fan). I don’t think he had a lot of love for Jack Tatum, however.
Mets update: Terry “I’m as Clueless a Manager as They Come” Collins pinch-hits Cuddyer for Harvey. The last time Cuddyer had a clutch hit, Luis Aparicio was still playing shortstop. Now, I realize that Harvey is allegedly innings-limited (thanks Scott, you evil prick!), and they should PH for him, even with a 10-3 (YAY!) lead, but where’s Conforto? So what if Wood is a lefty? I hope Alderson tells Collins that he and Matt Williams will have a lot of time on their hands next season.
benw
I’m not sure that either the Steelers or Chargers are good at, like, football.
SFAW
@redshirt:
By the way: I believe he now blogs under his real name.
Keith P.
I discovered the magic of the HOSTS file last night, and for the first time in MONTHS, browsing the web is tolerable (I’m using Edge, which lacks extensions so no adblocker). I’ve even added Wonkette and TPM back to my favorites. Glory glory!
And if JMM is reading this, I feel not one iota of guilt over bypassing ads; they were overdone several times over.
burnspbesq
@efgoldman:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2007-09-11-3871363466_x.htm
redshirt
@SFAW: Who?
SFAW
@burnspbesq:
Hey, I’m an LI boy, you’re preaching to the choir. Grew up near Manhasset. They once had a half-decent player, guy went to Syracuse in the early 1950s, I think he was a middie. His name was something like Braun or Brown.
Jeffro
@efgoldman:
Both, perhaps? Until they inevitably get better/good/great again, and then you can ‘just’ hate them.
SFAW
@redshirt:
TBogg.
I went over to read one of his pieces the other day, saw he was using his real name. Don’t know if that was a one-off, the way Digby sometimes writes for >mumble< (as in, I can't remember for whom she sometimes writes), or if he's made it permanent, now that he's hit 60.
dedc79
Bartolo Colon – who just struck out the side for the Mets – drafted in 1993.
Joc Pederson – outfielder for the Dodgers – born in 1992.
MomSense
@efgoldman:
Of course! I just always liked the names. They remind me of some of the characters who lived in the old hotels when that was still done.
Jeffro
@MomSense:
Yes…or perhaps be more sympathetic to understanding that sometimes people need a hand up (like the SSI he & his family received when his dad died, his college loans/grants, his lifelong government jobs/paycheck).
Ben Carson seems to have the same problem.
Everyone’s good at pulling up the ladder after they get ahead, it seems. Everyone on the GOP side, anyway.
Betty Cracker
@efgoldman: The animosity took on a life of its own and definitely went both ways. If you can’t see that, I’ll say no more because it would be pointless, but such behavior is not unique to Maddon — surely you can’t disagree with that?
@redshirt: Went to a Dolphins game in Miami once with a drunk, mouthy Jets fan. He was obnoxious throughout the game (which the Jets won), but no one got in his face about it because he is an exceptionally large dude.
Until he visited a Port-o-Let after the game, that is. At that point, a group surrounded the Port-o-Let and started rocking it. My friend later said he was bracing himself upright with his feet and hands against the walls, praying the fans wouldn’t knock the toilet over. He escaped with nothing more than a good splashing that left permanent blue stains on his “J-E-T-S Jets!” shirt…
redshirt
@SFAW: Cool. I’m sure he’ll now get stalked in real life by right wing nut jobs.
ThresherK (GPad)
I like how The Muppets are giving us Kermit as the Only Sane Man, and with this iteration, not sparing the pandemonium around him. The humor is reminding me more of the better movie bits than the old Show, more adult and sly.
benw
ANTONIO GATES YOU STUD MUFFIN
SFAW
@redshirt:
His name was not-that-hard-to-find before now. I knew it five years ago, and I’m neither a stalker – well, not of him, at least – nor an especially-good-finder-of-info-like-that.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J: I don’t have a fax machine right here. Can I send it from work tomorrow?
redshirt
@Betty Cracker:
LOL. Great story. Tailgates are hell and even sometimes fun!
I saw a Jets fan run from the cops, climbing a giant snow bank and throwing down chunks of snow for a few minutes like Donkey Kong before he relented and slumped down into custody.
burnspbesq
I love watching Colon. He is an inspiration to all fat old guys.
magurakurin
@efgoldman:
“you’ve been away a long time. I dunno, maybe you haven’t heard, I don’t boo Santa Claus nomore.”
“What, I’m just busting you’re balls a little here…..now go home and get your snowballs!”
burnspbesq
The Fat Man in action.
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/new-york-mets-bartolo-colon-behind-the-back-toss-to-first-video-090715
J R in WV
@benw:
But this:
is just a lie. It wasn’t unusual, Powell and Rice both used private email servers, didn’t they?
In my book that makes it standard operating procedures.
But they’re Republicans, so of course they lie. SOP.
Grrrr.
Betty Cracker
Dog Murderer tossed a really lovely TD pass awhile ago. C’mon Rivers & Co!
AnotherBruce
@redshirt:If you’re wishing for suffering, you’re doing a terrible job. If the Cubs were to play Toronto, it would mean that they would be in the World Series for the first time since 1945. Given that this team starts 4 excellent rookies, that would be a great outcome. I don’t think too many fans would be broken hearted. Maybe a tad disappointed but not despairing by a long shot.
SFAW
@burnspbesq:
I didn’t see it when it actually occurred, but watched the replay the next day, more than a couple of times. Pretty amazing.
redshirt
@AnotherBruce: Yes, and a game 7 tragic loss would be all the more painful because of this. Especially to Toronto.
SFAW
@AnotherBruce:
Yeah, my brother says they’re going to be pretty damn good for the next few years – Maddon plus the rookies (and I think he said they have a couple of strong Triple-A prospects.
All this pisses off my brother, because he hates the Cubs. But he knows quality when he sees it.
benw
@J R in WV: Yes, they used their own servers. If I remember correctly, they just deleted the servers and we all shrugged and moved on. Let’s not look back.
dedc79
Dear Mets,
Please save some runs for tomorrow’s game.
Sincerely,
Me
Tenar Darell
@SiubhanDuinne: Do you perchance, filk? Because when are you at a convention in the Boston area, I shall make a point to attend the Filking track.
Betty Cracker
Well, damn. Gotta give the Dog Murderer credit; he orchestrated an impressive comeback. If I were Date McRapeyberger, I’d be worried about reclaiming my gig.
Gian
@redshirt:
the spanos family (owners of the chargers) were Bush Pioneers.
in their stadium deal with the city, where the city had to buy tickets for anon-sellout and the city wanted to donate said tickets to something like the boys and girls club, they refused.
the team may be in cali, but the owners are living in Wyoming and texas
Darkrose
@Jay C: S X P N I S
randy khan
@efgoldman: It’s much stranger than that. There is no “neighborhood rule” – you won’t find it in the rule book because the rule requires the base to be tagged. Instead, they’ve codified an exception to the replay rule, which is that if the umpires conclude that the neighborhood play might have been used to avoid getting hit by a baserunner, then the question of whether the fielder tagged the base is not subject to replay. On Saturday, the umpires concluded that it wasn’t a neighborhood play because the question was whether Murphy’s throw had pulled Tejada off the bag, so a replay challenge was allowed.
I warned you it was strange.
catclub
@benw:
There were servers hosted at RNC for lots of WhiteHouse officials. Rove and the Mayberry Machiavellis.
Designed to avoid FOIA requests.
Also, Governor Romney somehow ‘bought’ his email servers and then wiped them.
catclub
@redshirt:
Statler and Waldorf!
seaboogie
@Omnes Omnibus: It’s on the credenza at work, yes?”
pseudonymous in nc
I think we can say that today was a good baseball day, in that all the teams that ought to have won won, even if you support the teams that didn’t win. You get two game 5s on the AL side — and frankly, if you want an all Texas ALCS, you are wrong and all of your beliefs are wrong — and you get two perennial gangs of losers leading the way on the NL side.
Chiefs-Jays and Cubs-Mets is so much better a prospect than Astros-Texans and Cards-Dodgers. It just is.
jackmac
Greeting from Wrigley Field where baseball is being played on a sunny afternoon — the way God intended!