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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Cubs vs. Mets Open Thread

Cubs vs. Mets Open Thread

by TaMara|  October 17, 20158:21 pm| 137 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Looks like there is some good baseball going on tonight. Go Cubs!

Saw The Martian today. Excellent movie. Haven’t had that much fun at a movie in quite a while. Ate lunch at a funky build your own chopped salad and pizza pub. Pretty good grub.

Consider this your sports-movie-talk about whatever open thread.

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137Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 8:30 pm

    My 11 yr old liked The Martian so much he’s gone twice now.
    Apparently quite a show.

    ETA, and he also asked me to buy the book for him, which he can’t put down and has had multiple discussions with his teacher about.

  2. 2.

    srv

    October 17, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    The Martian was ok up till the ending. I mean, he had plastic wrap that would hold atmospheric pressure for his habitat against eleventy-billiion kph hellwinds for months, tons of duct tape, and used a parachute for a nosecone?

    And orbital mechanics… believe me, it’s hard.

    I’m going to bake some potatoes.

    @Corner Stone: You should buy him some Crichton.

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 8:34 pm

    @srv: He’s a big fan of the Jurassic series.

  4. 4.

    dmsilev

    October 17, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    @srv: The biggest handwave was actually the opening scene. That storm was …not realistic. Mars doesn’t have enough of an atmosphere to support a knock-large-objects-over storm. The author admits as much; it’s basically a contrivance to set up the rest of the story.

  5. 5.

    mdblanche

    October 17, 2015 at 8:38 pm

    I liked The Martian but I could have done with fewer scenes of Matt Damon performing surgery on himself.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    October 17, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Sorry, but unless the Cubs get past the Mets, I ain’t getting excited about a thing. I’ve been here twice before already.

  7. 7.

    Schlemazel

    October 17, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    @srv:

    You should buy him some Crichton.

    you complain about bad science & then suggest Crichton? Oh hell no.

  8. 8.

    Trentrunner

    October 17, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    The Martian was a good movie that missed its chance to be great:

    1) Not nearly enough sense of Damon’s isolation/ennui/loneliness/forsakenness. He was literally the most isolated human in the universe ever, and the movie never attempted to seriously convey what that was like, psychologically. Major missed opportunity. (Cf. Cast Away)

    2) So much excellent science-based drama and story telling that it was truly fucking annoying when we had the Iron Man ending nonsense. Really made the movie worse.

    3) Jessica Chastain is perfectly lovely, but she does not come across like a leader/astronaut at all. (Also problematic for overlapping reasons in Zero Dark Thirty.) Weird casting.

    4) Disco music is AWESOME. Fuck the haters.

  9. 9.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    Let’s get this out of the way: Chicago’s pizza is okay, but they have no clue how to serve hot dogs, which are THE quintessential ballpark food. Even were I not already a Mets fan (since 1968), I’d have to root for the Good Guys From Flushing just for that reason.

    Also to get out of the way: The two science nitpicks about The Martian are the opening scene, which dmsilev notes was an author’s gimmick, and the filmmakers not making it look like the gravity on Mars is lower than Earth’s (which it is). The latter is less of a problem, since the heavy lifting bits from the book are either eliminated or handled by a winch. Overall, it’s a fun romp, and the 3D generally added more than it distracted.

    But I did come out of the theater wanting to ask Mark “would you like fries with that?” :-)

  10. 10.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    No spoilers please!

  11. 11.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    October 17, 2015 at 8:53 pm

    The Gophers have now outscored their opponents 43-4 through six games. Hopefully Minnesota-Duluth puts up more of a . . . well, I was going to say “fight,” but Ohio State actually does plenty of that. It’s the hockey part they aren’t any good at.

    Oh, and their fans can whine and feel butthurt like champs.

  12. 12.

    Jay C

    October 17, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    So I’m just wondering how bad the weather really has to get before baseball teams get to/have to break out the balaclavas,etc: I know it’s a cool evening in Queens, but these guys are bundled up more like Winter Olympics than NLCS…

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    October 17, 2015 at 8:57 pm

    @redshirt: The Titanic sinks, and Darth Vader is Luke’s father.

  14. 14.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 8:58 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    Let’s get this out of the way: Chicago’s pizza is okay, but they have no clue how to serve hot dogs, which are THE quintessential ballpark food.

    Their version of pizza sucks but the Chicago dog is a gatdamb delight.
    That said, I would probably not order one at a ballpark.
    Onions, relish, mustard. Done.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    October 17, 2015 at 8:59 pm

    @Trentrunner: The thing I want to know with the whole disco bit was why didn’t he have his own music collection?

  16. 16.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 8:59 pm

    On another note, stay classy, Tom Brady, Sr.:

    “…I’d like to see them put 60 points on the board, and love to see Tom throw for 500 yards and eight touchdowns. That’s me dreaming. That kind of comes from me.”

    The eight months of Deflategate were difficult on Brady’s family. It’s not easy to hear your son called a liar and cheater and have his legacy questioned when you believe he did nothing wrong.

    Even though he’s a liar and a cheater and should have been suspended for destroying evidence in the investigation, regardless of any other reasons.

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    @dmsilev: Good Christ but you are one evil son of a bitch. You going to tell him who was behind the curtain the whole time in Oz now too? Or what color is the new black?

  18. 18.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    @Corner Stone: We can disagree on hot dogs, since I think all that piled-on stuff is a nuisance and a distraction and rarely adds to the experience (I’m not a relish guy, so for me, it’s straight liquid condiment, generally ketchup). Though I do prefer grilled to dirty water dogs.

  19. 19.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    October 17, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Rosebud was the sled.

  20. 20.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 9:03 pm

    @mdblanche: You just convinced me not to see it. Husband kitteh seems interested in going.

  21. 21.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:03 pm

    @dmsilev:

    The Titanic sinks, and Darth Vader is Luke’s father.

    NOOOOOOOOOO!

  22. 22.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    @Trentrunner:

    Disco music is AWESOME. Fuck the haters.

    We are done here, sir. DONE.

  23. 23.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    Even though he’s a liar and a cheater and should have been suspended for destroying evidence in the investigation, regardless of any other reasons.

    He’s neither a liar nor a cheater. What he is the greatest QB of all time.

  24. 24.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    October 17, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone): Next you’ll tell me there’s no Santa.

  25. 25.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    October 17, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    @Bruuuuce: The funny thing is that the NFL has a rule about tampering with the footballs, and it specifies the punishment for it: a fine to the team of $25,000. We know that Roger Goodell knows this rule, because when the Vikings were caught tampering with the football (in their case by keeping them under the heat lamps on the sidelines, which is explicitly a violation), they were fined $25,000.

    Everything beyond that fine in the Ballghazi case was Goodell ignoring the league’s rules and making shit up as he went. I don’t blame anything the Patriots or Brady did to stymie that investigation because the entire thing was kangaroo justice.

  26. 26.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 9:05 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    (I’m not a relish guy, so for me, it’s straight liquid condiment, generally ketchup).

    Wait….what?
    I’m not a purist or anything but that’s…remarkable?

  27. 27.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    @Trentrunner: You can add Interstellar to that list also, where Chastain was utterly unconvincing.

  28. 28.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    @Corner Stone: Romeo and Juliet both die.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone): Yeah right! Next thing you’ll be trying to tell me Keyser Söze was the gimp!
    Go on, pull the other one!

  30. 30.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Have you seen all the leaked Brady emails? I wonder why he didn’t want to turn his phone over – which he was under no obligation to do so regardless.

  31. 31.

    dmsilev

    October 17, 2015 at 9:09 pm

    @Corner Stone: The sled was Rosebud.

    Edit: Damn you Steeplejack!

  32. 32.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 9:09 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    Though I do prefer grilled to dirty water dogs.

    Oh, and if you’ve never had a ripper, or a ripper with bacon wrap then you have not lived. Have.Not.Lived.

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 17, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    @dmsilev: and Rosebud was the Tijuana hooker, the only woman Kane really loved.

  34. 34.

    Elie

    October 17, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    I loved the Martian. I thought it was fun as well as inspiring. It reminded me of why I was originally into science — the damned AWE of it. Yeah, you can pick apart some things, but this was not a movie about the one on one relationships or background of the key players. The “family” in this movie were the many many folks who “solved the problem” right along with Matt Damon. Does every piece match up — does everyone say and do exactly the “right” thing. Well — no — but isn’t that frequently true in real life? Esp on BJ, there is absolutely no leader, policy, decision or whatever that is EVAH perfect (like we want anyway). At some point, with your entertainment anyway, you have to allow yourself to be transported and to feel the pleasure of it. I did with this movie, though I could pick nits endlessly. Just no reason to — sit back with your popcorn and enjoy is what I say. (I own up to totally enjoying the first Jurassic Park and the early Star Wars series as well as Close Encounters and ET). I also loved the first Alien.

  35. 35.

    Shana

    October 17, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    @Corner Stone: I’m sorry but Chicago pizza is terrific. Properly made, it’s deep dish not thick crust. Yes it has no relation to New York pizza, which is also terrific, but different.

    Chicago hot dogs are wonderful. The thing I miss most about not living there anymore, and one of the very first things I get when I’ve gone back.

    Having grown up in a long-suffering Cubs household, Go Cubs!

  36. 36.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    Is anybody besides me watching Indian Summers? Here is my review of episode 2
    Warning: It is full of spoilers.

    ETA: I have also included a photo of what used to be the Viceroy’s Lodge in Shimla.

  37. 37.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    October 17, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    And another thing: Bruce Willis was the one who was dead!

  38. 38.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    @Shana:

    Chicago hot dogs are wonderful. The thing I miss most about not living there anymore, and one of the very first things I get when I’ve gone back.

    The pizza there is a mistake of history. Just an abomination. They should stick to excellent beef and cured meats.
    However, everytime I go to Chicago I have a South Sider friend who I always skip working lunches to go grab a hotdog or three.

  39. 39.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    @redshirt: Never said he wasn’t talented. Which makes him a talented liar and cheater.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 17, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    @Bruuuuce: Ketchup on hot dogs is against the law.

  41. 41.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    October 17, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    @redshirt: Yeah. I had a long rant on a different forum using this as an example of why you can’t assume that someone is guilty of the crime you’re looking at just because they don’t want to turn over personal communications. I was also thinking of Clinton’s deletion of private emails. They don’t turn them over because no investigative team ever takes its ethics seriously enough to prevent those private communications from leaking to the press.

  42. 42.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    October 17, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I’m not watching it because you convinced me it’s bad. You’re a victim of your own success.

  43. 43.

    Corner Stone

    October 17, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone): Did he at least…Die Hard?
    /glasses

    YEEEAAAAAHHHH!!

  44. 44.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    October 17, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: And don’t confuse that yellow stuff restaurants have with mustard.

  45. 45.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:18 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    I’m not a purist or anything but that’s…remarkable?

    Actually, kind of juvenile, but I grew up eating them like that, and find that the taste of mustard overpowers everything else (yeah, so too does ketchup, but less so), so it’s mostly not my thing.

  46. 46.

    dmsilev

    October 17, 2015 at 9:18 pm

    And, on the off chance that anyone cares about the game, Cubs just tied it.

  47. 47.

    mdblanche

    October 17, 2015 at 9:19 pm

    @Corner Stone: Soylent green is people!

  48. 48.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    @Bruuuuce: Colts fan?

  49. 49.

    01jack

    October 17, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    Just saw Bridge of Spies. Enjoyed it very much. A fairly quiet, predictable plot but it was all so well-crafted visually and well-acted that it was a joy to watch.

    Spoiler: Once, again, Tom Hanks’ character manages to go home.

  50. 50.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    @Shana:

    I’m sorry but Chicago pizza is terrific. Properly made, it’s deep dish not thick crust. Yes it has no relation to New York pizza, which is also terrific, but different.

    Is Deep Dish really pizza? Isn’t it more of a casserole? Or an actual pie?

    And the sauce is on the outside.

    I’m not sure. Any pizza experts here?

  51. 51.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Especially given the NFL’s behavior, which is literally leak everything, even lies.

  52. 52.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    And Cespedes fires a strike to home plate, cutting down a run! His free agent contract this winter gets bigger with each game

  53. 53.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I got half a pound extremely tiny black mustard seeds when I went to India last year. They look so pretty and taste heavenly too. They were grown on my friend’s farm in her ancestral village in Gujarat. I have never seen that variety in stores ever.

  54. 54.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: No, it’s just not the “grown up” way to eat them. I’ll admit to it as a culinary quirk, and move on to adult food.

  55. 55.

    Elie

    October 17, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    I also truly loved Gravity, which deserves a hat tip. Anyone who has been in a situation where you had to keep your wits about you to get through it, and kissed the ground when you were able to, should find Gravity to reflect that — which I did. My event (though nowhere near as harrowing as the protagonist) was crossing a field of crevasses on Mt Baker in the very early morning roped up with three companions and our guide. No falls or slips, but it was pretty attention focusing to make it past some very dark and deep breaks in the glacier. Also, most ice climbs on vertical ice. Focusing on what you need to do and trying to stay loose enough to access your intelligence but avoid the distraction that your adrenaline can introduce… In a hazard like space, dealing with prolonged isolation, it is a zillion times more important so I admire and recognize (even in fiction) what that represents. I admired Matt Damon’s character’s sense of humor, resilience and resourcefulness. In real life it would be a huge challenge to do.

  56. 56.

    mdblanche

    October 17, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    So the question I have for anyone who read the book is does it explain why they sent a botanist to a planet without any plant life in the first place?

  57. 57.

    Elie

    October 17, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    With the bright green relish I hope? (that shit looks alien)

  58. 58.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: No question that Goodell went way too far in the initial suspension. No angels here, either in the NFL offices or in that culture of cheating fostered in New England.

    Whether Brady was guilty (as most of the world believes) or not (which my deluded Boston friends insist is the case), the destruction of evidence makes it appear that he had something significant to hide, I wouldn’t bar him from the Hall of Fame a la Pete Rose, but in my eyes (and many others’), his legacy is at least stained.

    If he DOES run up the score, there’s at least one of me who’ll be willing to see him sacked for the season by the almost-equally disliked Jets.

  59. 59.

    Elie

    October 17, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    @mdblanche:

    The scientists are sent to do experiments, not necessarily find specimen on the planet. A botanist however, might be able to assess existing weird lichen or other life forms that might grow in the Martian soil or environment. Its not just green plants like we would identify.

  60. 60.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone): Its actually getting better. I liked episode 3, review coming up shortly. While their details are fuzzy, the show captures the utter disdain and callousness with which the British treated Indians, accurately. One of my grandmother’s sisters was a freedom fighter, Gandhian. She never wore jewelry and wore home spun khadi sarees till she died. She also went to jail several times. The last episode gave me a glimpse of what it must have been like for her and the courage it must have taken to do what she did.

  61. 61.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    @Bruuuuce: He didn’t destroy evidence. The NFL had all relevant communications. Unless you think it was Brady himself nefariously deflating those balls.

    But please, can we stop talking about this? Can’t we just enjoy the Pats going 16-0 and destroying every other team? Which I’m sure is due to some cheating we’ll find out later, right?

    Kiss the rings.

  62. 62.

    dmsilev

    October 17, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    @mdblanche: Yes. First off, he was both a botanist and a mechanical engineer; all of the crew members were cross-trained. Secondly, he was there as a botanist to do some experiments on seeing if Earth plants could be made to grow on Mars. The samples he had, however, were all grasses and the like, so no help for his food troubles.

  63. 63.

    Elie

    October 17, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    I like Chicago style pizza but don’t drool about it. Prefer NY style thin crust. Its the hot dogs for me. Has anyone had Chicago’s Garett’s Popcorn!? Now that is some caramel and cheese popcorn! About 5000 calories, but very tasty treat!

  64. 64.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 17, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    Legend has it that Carol Moseley Braun lost her Senate seat to a Republican because she said in a newspaper survey that she liked ketchup on her Chicago dog.

    It probably had a lot more to do with the various corruption accusations, but it’s possible it was the ketchup scandal that put Peter Fitzgerald over the top.

  65. 65.

    01jack

    October 17, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    @mdblanche: According to the book, as I recall it, each astronaut had two specialties – he was also a (mechanical ?) engineer. For botany, they brought along some experiments to do with earth seeds in Martian soil.

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 17, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    This inning is not going well for the Cubs…. but two out.

  67. 67.

    Jay C

    October 17, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Both teams seem to having a lot of fielding trouble tonite: maybe the cold IS getting to them?

  68. 68.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone): Its actually getting better. I liked episode 3, review coming up shortly. While their details are fuzzy, the show captures the utter disdain and callousness with which the British treated Indians, accurately.

    One of my grandmother’s sisters was a freedom fighter, Gandhian. She never wore jewelry and wore home spun khadi sarees till she died. She also went to jail several times. The last episode gave me a glimpse of what it must have been like for her and the courage it must have taken to do what she did. Gandhi inspired many like her, I also knew another friend’s grandmother who was a freedom fighter.

  69. 69.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    @redshirt: I’ll believe he didn’t destroy evidence when he produces the phone and all of its communications, intact. Until that happens, you can’t be serious in suggesting that every communication was accounted for.

    And no, we can’t enjoy the Pats winning any games, much less your dreamed-of (and admittedly, still possible 16-0 — which I will concede, if it becomes 16-1 in the postseason). But that’s just the way it is here in NYC (even when one is a Giants fan who dislikes the Jets).

    Kiss the rings? Sure, if you mean Eli’s pair.

  70. 70.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    @Bruuuuce: What do you think this is? A criminal investigation? Do you even know anymore what the so called “crime” was? I bet you don’t.

  71. 71.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 17, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I’m more familiar (and even that’s not much) with the earlier parts of England’s history in India, but it always seemed like the British were all in favor of enforcing the caste system so that, say, a British officer could marry a high-caste Indian woman without a huge amount of scandal (especially if they were discreet enough to stay in India) but middle and lower castes were treated worse than the English lower classes. But I’m thinking of the early 1800s/East India Company days and may not be remembering correctly.

  72. 72.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:51 pm

    @redshirt: The violation of NFL rules was that Patriots employees deflated the game balls below the league-prescribed pressure. Come on, even my CATS know that.

    It was an investigation, not criminal, but of a rules violation in a playoff game (and apparently an unnecessary violation, given the teams involved and the result of the second half, played with legal balls). Criminal or not, the same principles apply: the investigators need to be fair and scrupulous, and all evidence available needs to be considered. Impeding the investigation by apparently destroying evidence places Brady in a bad light, and given the apparent disregard for the rules and the authority of the league his team and coach have displayed, it’s in no way unreasonable to view that destruction in the most suspicious possible light.

    It’s my personal opinion that Brady is a liar and a cheat, and I hope he gets EXACTLY what’s coming to him.

  73. 73.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    @Bruuuuce: LOL. Whatever champ. Keep stewing in those juices.

    All this “cheatriots” stuff that’s come out lately has only aided the Pats cause. Teams are so paranoid now that they’ll shoot themselves in the foot in an attempt to stop the Patriots from “cheating”.

    They’re in your head.

  74. 74.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    October 17, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    Criminal or not, the same principles apply: the investigators need to be fair and scrupulous, and all evidence available needs to be considered.

    The bolded part was violated from the word go. And the NFL has demonstrated why you can’t use the destruction of the phone as evidence of guilt; Bradyt knew damned well that they would fail to keep confidential the personal information collected, and so properly refused to hand it over.

    As long as the NFL continues down the path of behaving completely unethically in its investigation process, no one is being unreasonable when they refuse to cooperate. No one in their right mind would cooperate with Goodell.

  75. 75.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym:

    No one in their right mind would cooperate with Goodell.

    Except BRUUUUUCE, who’s taking the NFL completely at their word. As he knows that enterprise is completely above board and never ever does the wrong thing.

  76. 76.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 17, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    Just had a yummy dinner of pork wonton soup and chicken with string beans and will soon be walking home on the mean streets of Magnolia Park. Fortunately, I have a bag full of canned cat food to defend myself if necessary.

    (LA Locals will understand how funny it is to put “mean streets” and “Magnolia Park” in the same sentence.)

  77. 77.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    @efgoldman: Sure, 4>2. But the 2 were the 2 losses on TB’s Super Bowl resume. So I’ll take them over the 4, as a personal preference.

    @redshirt: Actually, I’m mostly convinced that the cheaters are Belichick and Brady, and just dislike the rest of the team as arrogant. But whatever; my team is 3-2 and lucky to be there (and also unlucky that they’re not 5-0, giving away big leads in the 4Q in their first two games. Let’s see if Brady does in fact run up the score, and if he does, especially blatantly, you can argue with all the folks (not me, at that point) who talk about “sportsmanship”.

  78. 78.

    Debbie

    October 17, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    @Elie:

    How could Sandra Bullock have gone through all that banging up against hard objects and be totally unbruised?

  79. 79.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): It didn’t matter what your caste was or how educated you were, if you were Indian you were treated as a second class citizen. It was an apartheid regime, with strictly enforced segregation. There were brief periods of harmony in between but usually they were short lived. The political prisoners were treated quite badly, Congress leaders were usually imprisoned and jailed for years at an end without due process. Trials were usually show trials. There was no freedom of assembly.

    The Raj was much worse than the Company rule in this regard.

  80. 80.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    @Bruuuuce: What’s your team?

  81. 81.

    Elie

    October 17, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    @Debbie:

    Good point, but why do I care? Does it make her struggles (which were largely the ability to stay focused and to have confidence in her decision making to resolve her predicament), any less? This was not largely a physical struggle. To me it was first her mental and cognitive hurdles, made worse by the space environment. Bruises just don’t seem to be all that important — her heroism was to take command of the physical challenge with her BRAIN.

  82. 82.

    dedc79

    October 17, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    A lot of football chatter for a baseball thread. Let’s Go Mets!

  83. 83.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    @redshirt:

    What’s your team?

    I’m a fan, in order, of both NY baseball teams (my family were Mets fans, my friends, Yankees fans, and at age 8, who can choose?), the Knicks (last year was awful, but I like what Phil has done so far, except for re-signing Loser Anthony), the NY Giants (Jets? twitch, twitch), and the Islanders (hey, I grew up on Lawn Guy Land during their dynasty, and also had to commute with Rangers fans on the LIRR; Rangers fans are as bad as anything Philadelphia has ever produced).

  84. 84.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    @Bruuuuce: Did you know the Yankees suck?

  85. 85.

    dedc79

    October 17, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    @efgoldman: The “lesser” Manning has one more Super Bowl than his brother and is 2-0 in the big game against Brady.

  86. 86.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    @efgoldman:

    the lesser Manning

    Hey, I was not an Archie fan, then or now! :-)

  87. 87.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    At this point, Peyton is clearly the inferior Manning. Heck, Peyton is a bottom 10 QB and it’s only Denver’s best in the league defense that’s given them every one of their wins so far.

  88. 88.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    @redshirt:

    Did you know the Yankees suck?

    So I’m told. It has even been true, from time to time. But not this year. They just weren’t good enough.

  89. 89.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 10:25 pm

    @dedc79: 4-1, Amazin’s, bottom 7, and Lester is gone. LGM!

  90. 90.

    Jay C

    October 17, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    Pretty good game so far (unless you’re a Cubs fan, of course) – it’s great how the runs have scored on a variety of plays; HR, solid hits, slide at home: also a HBP, HBtossed ball – keeps things

    ETA: OK, seven in the books: let’s see if Matt Harvey can keep it together for one more (though why he’s still in seems odd: hope this isn’t a mistake)

  91. 91.

    dedc79

    October 17, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    @Bruuuuce: i really don’t want to see Addison Reed. It’s a shame Clippard has been so unreliable of late.

  92. 92.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    @Bruuuuce: A Yankees AND a Mets fan? Seems blasphemous.

  93. 93.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 10:35 pm

    @dedc79: Fingers crossed, thumbs pressed. One down.

    @redshirt: It was a lot less so before the unending disaster that is in-season interleague play was instituted. At that time, the teams met only in the World Series, or the annual exhibition (the Mayor’s Trophy Game). Also, I find it’s looked down on a lot more by Yankee fans than by Mets fans, who are, in too many ways, second-class citizens here.

  94. 94.

    benw

    October 17, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    Come on, Mets!

  95. 95.

    Jay C

    October 17, 2015 at 10:38 pm

    @Jay C:

    Oops!

  96. 96.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    @efgoldman:

    When I was a little kid, and the Braves were still in Boston, there were many fans of both.
    Of course there was no interleague play then (for the better, if you ask me) so there wasn’t a conflict – unless they played in the series, which given the state of both teams, was unlikely.

    I tried to like the Braves on TBS for this reason, but it never stuck. NL baseball sucks.

  97. 97.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    It was a lot less so before the unending disaster that is in-season interleague play was instituted. At that time, the teams met only in the World Series, or the annual exhibition (the Mayor’s Trophy Game). Also, I find it’s looked down on a lot more by Yankee fans than by Mets fans, who are, in too many ways, second-class citizens here.

    Is there a geographical base to Mets fans? I’ve always assumed Long Island for some reason, but I don’t know.

  98. 98.

    burnspbesq

    October 17, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    Lagares’ steal looms large.

    That was a great at bay by Bryant. First guy to reach base against Familia in the playoffs.

  99. 99.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    @redshirt: There’s no area of county size or larger that’s predominantly Mets fans; all NY dominated counties are majority Yankees rooters. Here are two maps showing that: Facebook baseball fan map and a NY Times article that focuses on borders, including a closeup of NYC, showing it completely majority Yankees fans. I grew up in Commack (Suffolk County), and neither there nor in Brooklyn (where my grandparents lived) were there a majority of Mets fans, though there are a good number.

  100. 100.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    October 17, 2015 at 10:53 pm

    Baseballs are scared of Kyle Schwarber.

  101. 101.

    burnspbesq

    October 17, 2015 at 10:57 pm

    Dumbest line in a commercial this decade:

    “Honey, you’re embarrassing me in front of Buster Posey.”

  102. 102.

    benw

    October 17, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    Two outs to go. Mets fans in the park look awfully stressed out.

  103. 103.

    dedc79

    October 17, 2015 at 11:01 pm

    I expect Cubs and Mets fans aren’t gonna agree on much this series, other than that the TBS broadcasts are awful.

  104. 104.

    Jay C

    October 17, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    Well, it ain;t over til its over — NOW!!!!

  105. 105.

    benw

    October 17, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    WOW! Watta play!

  106. 106.

    dedc79

    October 17, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    MURPHY!!!

  107. 107.

    burnspbesq

    October 17, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    Murphy is still a defensive liability.

  108. 108.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 11:05 pm

    Mets win! And NYC breathes a sigh of relief, but not too deeply.

    @efgoldman: Dodgers/Giants fans did gravitate to the Mets; that’s how my family rooted for them. I suspect time got a bunch of them, and so did the Yanks’ success in their several runs in and at the World Series.

  109. 109.

    MoeLarryAndJesus

    October 17, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    Why does Bruuuuce think Tom Brady destroyed evidence when Brady had been told by attorneys for the league that his phone wasn’t needed?

    It’s because Bruuuuce has his head up his anuuuus.

  110. 110.

    different-church-lady

    October 17, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    Let’s get this out of the way: Chicago’s pizza is okay, but they have no clue how to serve hot dogs, which are THE quintessential ballpark food.

    You are in CHICAGO: you order a brat or a sausage at the ballpark.

  111. 111.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 11:18 pm

    @different-church-lady: Do they get treated with more respect than hot dogs, or do they also get the entire pantry piled on?

  112. 112.

    different-church-lady

    October 17, 2015 at 11:22 pm

    @Bruuuuce: If you want to kiss Eli’s “pair”, that’s your business, I suppose.

  113. 113.

    different-church-lady

    October 17, 2015 at 11:23 pm

    @Bruuuuce: I believe the customer has a say in the matter. I did during my one trip to Wrigley years ago.

  114. 114.

    different-church-lady

    October 17, 2015 at 11:25 pm

    @dedc79: And yet somehow Mr. Brady has two more rings than all three Mannings combined.

  115. 115.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    October 17, 2015 at 11:26 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I found a link to the story I was thinking of — it’s from the Guardian. Most of what British people are finding out about their hidden Indian ancestry seems to date to the early 1800s and earlier, so I’m guessing there was some kind of crackdown by British authorities to keep Brits from “going native,” marrying Indian women and even, in this case, converting to Islam:

    http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/dec/09/britishidentity.india

  116. 116.

    Bruuuuce

    October 17, 2015 at 11:26 pm

    @different-church-lady: I’m not really a ring-kisser, but I’ll kiss Eli’s over Tom’s any day. And Pope Francis’s one, over either of theirs (out of respect, since I’m not even CLOSE to Roman Catholic, but think well of this Pope, with some exceptions).

    @different-church-lady: I suppose my real question is, what’s the custom? I know hot dogs get smothered, and wondered if ballpark sausages (including brats) generally were, too, absent special requests.

  117. 117.

    burnspbesq

    October 17, 2015 at 11:26 pm

    Dark, spicy mustard, omions, and jalapenos. Tofu “dogs” need all the help they can get.

  118. 118.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 17, 2015 at 11:30 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): The British crown took over from the East India Company after the First War of Indian independence (the British call it a mutiny, of course!)

  119. 119.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 11:34 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    I’m not really a ring-kisser, but I’ll kiss Eli’s over Tom’s any day. And Pope Francis’s one, over either of theirs (out of respect, since I’m not even CLOSE to Roman Catholic, but think well of this Pope, with some exceptions).

    Eli’s first ring was pretty lucky, you have to admit? A 9-7 team sweeping the playoffs and then scoring a most improbable touchdown to end the game with a W? Against an undefeated team, no less.

    The second was less luck based, but still damn lucky.

    The two losses add to Brady’s resume, not detract.

  120. 120.

    different-church-lady

    October 17, 2015 at 11:38 pm

    @Bruuuuce: Rings were not to what I referred.

  121. 121.

    redshirt

    October 17, 2015 at 11:40 pm

    @different-church-lady: I got it. Twas a hot burn.

  122. 122.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    October 17, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    AKA the Sepoy Mutiny? I will freely admit that most of the Indian history I know from the 1800s is through the British lens (though I know better than to take their version at face value) so I usually know events by the names the British gave them.

    It’s weirdly interesting to me that people who live in these former colonial powers and assume they’re (for example) pure Anglo-Saxon tend to find out with a little digging that they have a few ancestors from the former colony who got hushed up as times changed and “scientific” racism took hold (meaning the eugenics-type stuff that “justified” the same old racist beliefs).

  123. 123.

    Bruuuuce

    October 18, 2015 at 12:06 am

    @redshirt: A loss is a loss, in the books. A bloop looks like a liner, and Brady has had his share of luck (though not two game-saving catches such as Eli got; but hey, that’s part of the game — throw the ball where it needs to be and the receiver does his part).

    Sorry, losses aren’t moral victories in games where it’s all or nothing, like our major team sports. 4-2 isn’t as good as 5-1 or 6-0 coulda, woulda, shoulda been.

    @different-church-lady: I know. But chose to stay on message :-)

  124. 124.

    redshirt

    October 18, 2015 at 12:12 am

    @Bruuuuce:

    A loss is a loss, in the books. A bloop looks like a liner, and Brady has had his share of luck (though not two game-saving catches such as Eli got; but hey, that’s part of the game — throw the ball where it needs to be and the receiver does his part).

    Of course. A W is a W. Bill Belichick said something similar, I think. But even in your response you recognize how fluky is was. The 86 Bears beating the Patriots was not a fluke. That was a superior team dominating a weaker, luckier one. You can not say the same for either Giants win over the Pats. But yes, a win’s a win and rings and all that.

    Sorry, losses aren’t moral victories in games where it’s all or nothing, like our major team sports. 4-2 isn’t as good as 5-1 or 6-0 coulda, woulda, shoulda been.

    Obviously losses aren’t as good as wins. Brady at 6-0 in the Superbowl and there would be no debate about GOAT. However, losses in the championship game mean more than not making it to that game. Especially losses like to the Giants, which, as described above, were rather fluky affairs.

    Still, no one’s won more than 4. Is Bradshaw’s or Montana’s 4-0 better than Brady’s 4-2? I’ll take the 6 appearances. With more to come.

  125. 125.

    Bruuuuce

    October 18, 2015 at 12:17 am

    @redshirt: One could argue that Bradshaw and Montana have superior records at 4-0 because undefeated beats .667. One can equally validly argue that Brady’s six appearances is a better record. It all depends on the smoke and mirrors you want to use.

    You forgot a couple of words at the end, there, though. “With luck” (because NO team ever makes it there without luck, even if it’s just the luck of staying relatively healthy)

  126. 126.

    redshirt

    October 18, 2015 at 12:25 am

    @Bruuuuce:

    One could argue that Bradshaw and Montana have superior records at 4-0 because undefeated beats .667. One can equally validly argue that Brady’s six appearances is a better record. It all depends on the smoke and mirrors you want to use.

    That Young came in and won championships in the same system tells me Montana was something of a system QB in an era of very little player mobility (no salary cap). Brady is also a system QB, as it were, but in an era of substantial player mobility and a league wide mandate of “parity”. It’s true that Matt Cassell went 11-5 with the 2008 Patriots, but alas, he didn’t even make the playoffs.

  127. 127.

    dedc79

    October 18, 2015 at 12:28 am

    @redshirt: Those Super Bowls weren’t the Mich-Mich St game today. It wasn’t like the Pats dominated; in fact, the Giants outplayed the Pats for large stretches of both games. The Pats offense never really got going in either game. And even after the crazy catches in both games (if you want to include manningham’s sideline grab in the 2nd super bowl) the Pats still had chances to stop the Giants and still couldn’t.

    And if the Pats somehow ended up in a thirds super bowl against Eli and the Giants, most Pats fans would be sick with fear about it.

  128. 128.

    different-church-lady

    October 18, 2015 at 12:32 am

    @dedc79: Coughlin.

    He may not be a better coach than Belichick overall, but he might be the only coach in the league who has Belichick’s number in a direct match up.

  129. 129.

    redshirt

    October 18, 2015 at 12:36 am

    @dedc79:

    Those Super Bowls weren’t the Mich-Mich St game today. It wasn’t like the Pats dominated; in fact, the Giants outplayed the Pats for large stretches of both games. The Pats offense never really got going in either game. And even after the crazy catches in both games (if you want to include manningham’s sideline grab in the 2nd super bowl) the Pats still had chances to stop the Giants and still couldn’t.

    And if the Pats somehow ended up in a thirds super bowl against Eli and the Giants, most Pats fans would be sick with fear about it.

    No doubt. The Giants defense made them games each time. The Giants did indeed control portions of each game. But in the end, it was a very lucky play that secured the Giants victory.

    Very similar, ironically, to the Pats victory against Seattle last year. Pretty lucky win all things considered, but still with epically bad luck against the Pats (that helmet catch to set up first and goal). Just this time the Pats got an equally lucky play.

  130. 130.

    redshirt

    October 18, 2015 at 12:41 am

    @efgoldman:

    Whichever Harbaugh it is who coaches the Ravens.
    But not this year.

    John. The one who Brady suggested should read the rulebook.

  131. 131.

    different-church-lady

    October 18, 2015 at 12:46 am

    @efgoldman: After ineligible-gazi last season, I’d don’t think Whichever Harbaugh has a case in the manner I’m talking about.

    The Ravens are historically tough on the Pats, but it’s not because of the coaching.

  132. 132.

    different-church-lady

    October 18, 2015 at 12:48 am

    @redshirt:

    Just this time the Pats got an equally lucky play.

    Point of order: there was nothing lucky about it. It was the result of preparation.

  133. 133.

    redshirt

    October 18, 2015 at 12:55 am

    @different-church-lady:

    Point of order: there was nothing lucky about it. It was the result of preparation.

    While I agree in principle, luck certainly played a part. 1. Lucky the Hawks decided to throw rather than run Beast Mode. 2. That Butler could so perfectly execute. If he just breaks up that pass the Hawks probably still win. Of course this is preparation, but luck is also a part of results.

    Luck is part and particle of every event, no matter the level of preparation or genius or skill. Now, there’s odds, which say the prepared or genius or skilled will win more times than not, but luck is still always a factor. It has to be. Luck = random occurrence and as such always happens.

  134. 134.

    redshirt

    October 18, 2015 at 1:41 am

    @efgoldman: Luck goes any and all ways. Bad luck for someone is good luck for someone else, sometimes?

  135. 135.

    redshirt

    October 18, 2015 at 1:45 am

    @efgoldman: When that catch happened I literally went WTF? R U KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! Because it was so similar to the helmet catch of 2007. Just this completely lucky bounce and stick that so happens to be the deciding factor in the championship game.

    But this time the Pats got Lucky. It could have so easily gone for the Seahawks.

  136. 136.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    October 18, 2015 at 2:16 am

    @redshirt:

    1. Lucky the Hawks decided to throw rather than run Beast Mode.

    This wasn’t luck. In fact, it was the right call for the Seahawks. It was second down and they only had one timeout left. The only way they could use all three remaining downs to try to get into the end zone was if they passed on either second or third down; otherwise the clock would have run out before they could get set for fourth down. It’s mystified me how no one seems to really analyze the situation and what the real choices for Seattle were, rather than just screeching that they should have given Lynch the ball. You can argue that it was a mistake to pass on second down, but if they run, don’t make it, and call their last timeout, the Patriots would have known that a pass was coming.

    The criticism I have isn’t that Seattle tried a pass; it’s that the specific pass they tried wasn’t a smart one. That’s not because of an interception, but because it was possible that the receiver could have been tackled short of the goal line, thus defeating the whole point of passing rather than throwing.

  137. 137.

    schrodinger's cat

    October 18, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): The same. The 1857 uprising did start with the sepoys or the Indian soldiers recruited by the British but that’s not the whole story. Most of Britain’s India policies were a direct reaction to the rebellion. Including among other things organizing the army on caste and religion based lines. Fanning the divisions of caste, religion and region that already existed became the official British policy. The rebellion saw former foes like the Mughals and the Marathas, Hindus and Muslims fight together toward a common cause, throwing out the British. Victorian administration wanted to make sure that never happened again.

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