Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

T R E 4 5 O N

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

No one could have predicted…

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

“woke” is the new caravan.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

He really is that stupid.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / NFL Open Thread

NFL Open Thread

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It’s ridiculously warm here in central coastal FL, but not too hot to BBQ, so we’ve got the smoker fired up and are awaiting the football games. I’m trying out a BBQ beans recipe based loosely on this from Serious Eats — looks like a good option if you forgot to soak dried beans overnight.

Is it just me, or are the early NCAA bowl matchups uniquely non-compelling this year? I looked at the schedule and couldn’t find anything worth getting excited about until next Wednesday, and even then, it’s mostly “meh” until the playoffs.

Some of today’s NFL contests look kinda interesting. Here are my picks for the week:

nfl dec 27

My upset pick — Atlanta over Carolina — is probably 95% wishful thinking, but the Falcons have shown occasional flashes of competence; it just depends on which team shows up. I would be delighted if the Jets strafe the Pats, the Dolphins down the Colts and the Bucs bag the Bears, but that’s unlikely.

What are you up to today?

PS: Jim Webb strikes me as a slightly more egotistical Zell Miller. If he runs as an independent, will the sub-one percent of the electorate he peels off come from the GOP or Democrats?

Reader Interactions

171Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    The Pats are airing on the side of caution and sitting some players, in order to get them ready for playoffs. I’m not a big Jets fan but without healthy players they won’t last long in the play-offs anyway. I’d love to see the Falcons win but ……………………

    Betty, Let us know how the recipe turns out. Except for the pork and beans, it sounds interesting.

  2. 2.

    feebog

    Heading up to snow country for a day of drinking and debauchery. Well, no. Four couples and we will be playing cards and eating. The heavy duty drinkers will be slugging down Dr. Pepper.

  5. 5.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    David Morse does such a good job of playing creeps. I don’t remember the movie but it was kind of similar to his House role.

  6. 6.

    dr. luba

    So, based on Betty’s past history of prognostications, I can only assume the Lions will lose today…..

    Several years ago my cousin’s son asked for a Lions outfit. They live in Lviv, Ukraine, and he obviously knew nothing about American football. Of all the things he’s asked me for, that was the hardest to fulfil; he was young at the time, and internet shopping wasn’t what it is now. No one had kids Lions clothing, especially not in the summer; probably not the rest of the year either.

    Now, if he had asked for Packers clothes and I lived in Wisconsin……..piece of cake!

  8. 8.

    FlyingToaster

    will the sub-one percent of the electorate he peels off come from the GOP or Democrats?

    In Appalachia, they’re still registered as Democrats, but the last one they voted for was probably Lyndon Johnson. Or maybe Bill Clinton.

    Everywhere else, they’d already changed their registration.

    Break-even, I’d imagine.

  11. 11.

    PST

    I hate to admit it, but before he got into the Democratic race I saw hope for Webb as a VP candidate who might help Clinton and the Democrats reach some of the disaffected white male voters the party has lost even though it would serve them infinitely better than the Republicans. I should have known better.

  12. 12.

    Anoniminous

    No Hope centrist protest candidates usually draw equally from both sides, resulting in no net affect on the election’s outcome. Perot is the exemplar for this.

  13. 13.

    BruceFromOhio

    All the Panthers have to do is what they’ve been doing all along. Atlanta will have to conjure some serious sorcery to notch a win. While certainly in the realm of the possible, the magic has been missing most of the season. Of all the games today, that’s the one to see.

  14. 14.

    Steeplejack

    I’ve been up since before dawn and now feel a sinking spell coming on, just as the early games are within sight. Nap now and rest up for Packers-Cardinals at 4:30 or try to power through the Steelers-Ravens game? Talk about bad clock management.

  15. 15.

    Amir Khalid

    I suspect that the support Jim Webb pulls from other candidates, Democratic or Republican, won’t even amount to a rounding error. The Democratic voters he couldn’t attract as a Democrat, he won’t attract as an independent. And Republican voters have plenty of crazier-than-Webb candidates to choose from.

  18. 18.

    max

    Is it just me, or are the early NCAA bowl matchups uniquely non-compelling this year?

    When are early bowl matchups ever compelling? For that matter, when are most bowls ‘compelling’ except when there’s nothing else on?

    PS: Jim Webb strikes me as a slightly more egotistical Zell Miller.

    No, Zell Miller figured out that he didn’t like liberals and should therefore be a Republican. Webb is a Dixiecrat liberal who can’t find a party. (That is, the kind of guy who loved FDR not in spite of FDR catering to white supremacy but because of it – but isn’t a white supremacist himself. The hollow echo of the boll weevils.)

    I would be delighted if the Jets strafe the Pats, the Dolphins down the Colts and the Bucs bag the Bears, but that’s unlikely.

    Well, I’m going for two of three of those!

    7-4, 8-5, 9-6, 7-6, 10-4 last week. 41-25 .621. I’m sick, so this will probably suck.

    Colts over Dolphins. Bucs over Bears. Chiefs over Browns. Jets over Pats. Bills over Cowboys. Panthers over Falcons. Lions over 49er’s. Texans over Titans. Steelers over Ravens. Saints over Jags. Seahawks over Rams. Cardinals over Packers. Vikings over Giants. Bengals over Broncos.

    max
    [‘Blah.’]

  20. 20.

    Corner Stone

    If you believe the spooky DOOOOOMMM saying weather peeps, we’re about to get the shit kicked out of us in the Greater Houston Metro Area.
    If that happens, just know that I love you all.

  23. 23.

    Davebo

    I have Texans Titans on the TV and streaming Atlanta Carolina on one laptop and Dolphins Colts on another. Wondering what game I should put on the iPad.

    Yes, I have a problem.

  27. 27.

    jeffreyw

    That’s a good looking recipe, I’ve been using the Pioneer Woman’s recipe and am happy with it but I think the Serious Eats recipe deserves a shot.

    edit to add: Yay! the comment went through with Firefox, 1st time it’s worked in several days.

  28. 28.

    Corner Stone

    @Punchy: The same storm system that generated tornadoes yesterday in Dallas is now due to sweep through most of eastern TX and parts of AR and LA. It’s been pretty windy since yesterday but just started taking on a darkish tinge in the last hour.

    @JPL: Last count I saw was 11 dead in Dallas area.

  31. 31.

    Bobby Thomson

    @Amir Khalid: It’s a threat to flip Virginia, which does make the math a little harder.

    I’ve assumed he’s looking for a bribe or is motivated by spite. He knows he’s just a spoiler.

  32. 32.

    max

    @Anoniminous: No Hope centrist protest candidates usually draw equally from both sides, resulting in no net affect on the election’s outcome. Perot is the exemplar for this.

    No he wasn’t. Dukakis drew 45% of the vote total against Bush the Elder. Clinton drew 43% against Bush the Elder with Perot in the race. It’s theoretically possible, but wildly unlikely, Clinton would have gotten half of Perot’s 19% if Perot hadn’t been in the race, which would have meant a 52% return from the total vote. More likely is that half of Perot’s voters identified as Democrats – the kind of self-identified Democrats that may have voted for Carter on his first go and then voted for Reagan twice and Bush the first time around.

    The ‘even draw’ thesis was popular with the sort of people pushing for Clinton to go the full conservative route (the kind of ideas Carter was partly identified on his first outing) in the theory he could be a Democratic Reagan. In the time period since, experience has identified those ‘Democrats’ as ‘former Democrats’ who vote Republican the whole way.

    max
    [‘Jim Webb, on the other hand, won’t draw anybody.’]

  37. 37.

    Corner Stone

    @max:

    [‘Jim Webb, on the other hand, won’t draw anybody.’]

    I’ll bet if you ask him nicely he’d probably be willing to draw you like one of his French girls.

  38. 38.

    Brachiator

    “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is estimated to have made $153 million over the weekend, and a total domestic gross of over $544 million.

    At this point, Disney may try to get some NFL team to rename themselves the Storm Troopers.

  40. 40.

    JPL

    @p.a.: Just read that he was carted off the field and likely done for the season. ugh
    I get to watch the Panthers beat the Falcons.

  42. 42.

    Corner Stone

    I honestly wish Bill O’Brien would go back to coaching in the NCAA and take this QB rotation/platooning bullshit right the fuck back with him.

  44. 44.

    Corner Stone

    Man, how bad a season has it been for Baltimore that they ended up fielding both Matt Schaub and Ryan Mallett?
    I honestly thought Ryan Mallett would never see an NFL roster again.

  46. 46.

    JPL

    @jeffreyw: I haven’t tried canned pork n beans in decades. Maybe they have improved since then.

    Nice to see the Falcons tie it up. It’d be nice if Betty was right.

  47. 47.

    MattF

    I’d guess the only place where Webb might have an effect is in Virginia– and how much of an effect would, I’d guess, depend on the identity of the Republican nominee. If the Republicans go entirely gaga, maybe there’ll be a space for Webb. In any case, I can’t see a lot of people thinking, “Well, I’d have voted for Hillary– but now that I can vote for _____, I’ll vote for him.” But maybe that’s just me.

  48. 48.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @FlyingToaster: Damn Scots-Irish. You look at a map, by county of who voted Dem in 2004 and who voted Dem in 2008, and you see all the Appalachians and Ozarks (heavy Scots-Irish country) voting for Kerry in 2004 and McCain in 2008 because, well, blah.

  49. 49.

    jeffreyw

    @JPL: I buy the brand that has a dog in their commercials trying to give away the recipe. I don’t eat the beans straight from the can, always going with extras as per the various recipes linked to in this post. I have made baked beans from scratch using various dried beans but none of my attempts have been better than when using a canned product as the base. YMMV

  50. 50.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I can’t figure out what the hell Webb’s “vision” is, other than a different twist on the McCain/Graham fantasy that the United States– by action or inaction, especially the right or wrong use of military force– determines what happens what happens in other countries. An idea unfortunately shared in greater or lesser degrees by a good chunk of the electorate.

    Also, I get the sense that Webb is an angry man.

  51. 51.

    Redshift

    @MattF: I don’t he’d draw many Democrats here in Virginia. He was a hero for being the guy in the right place to take out Allen after macaca (and to a relatively small band of liberals who succeeded in winning the primary over a much more corporate Dem), but not a lifelong hero. He did some good work in the Senate, but since he quit after one term and it was widely known that he didn’t much like being a senator, and hated campaigning and fundraising, I don’t even many if then would see him as a plausible president, especially if he’s running from the right.

    He might draw some less-conservative Republicans who don’t want to vote for whichever crazy gets the nom, but not many. First, there the fact that his greatest success was talking out a Republican, and second, if he’s appealing to Hillary-hated, casting a not-for-but-not-against vote isn’t going to be worth much.

  55. 55.

    Redshift

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Also, I get the sense that Webb is an angry man.

    Bwahahahaha! Ohh, yeah!

    I got to talk to Webb at a campaign event when he was running for Senate. There was some issue ii disagreed with him on, and made my case to try to convince him. I was passionate. It did not go well. I got the sense he was restraining himself from slugging me.

    At a later presidential event, I happened to be in line with a buddy of Webb’s from Vietnam. He summed up Webb with, “yeah, he’s pretty tightly wound.”

  56. 56.

    Corner Stone

    @peach flavored shampoo: Not sure anyone ever said, specifically. IMO it’s a case of Terminal Dumb Ass. He showed his ass a few times in a passive aggressive style before they cut him so I’m thinking there’s a heavy dosage of Prima Donna in there as well. He had the whole oyster right in front of him and he bitched, moaned, and basically acted in a childish manner. Must’ve really rankled guys working their ass off just to make a practice squad roster, and they look around and see this multi-millionaire backup “sleeping late”.

  57. 57.

    burnspbesq

    There’s no football today. Everybody in the Premier League played yesterday.

    It’s likely that hardly anyone except students and alumni of the participating institutions cared very much about the Pinstripe Bowl, but Duke and Indiana put on a hell of a show yesterday.

  58. 58.

    Mike J

    @BruceFromOhio:

    Something fun for the weather bugs out there.

    Blue and green over Seattle for the football game. Mother nature and the National Weather Service have made their pick.

  60. 60.

    Germy

    Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary who now heads a sports communications company and has been hired as an adviser to Manning, told the Denver Post on Saturday night that the report, which was part of a probe into doping in international sports, was “junk journalism.”

  61. 61.

    Doug R

    @Amir Khalid: Webb could draw those disaffected white guys who can’t bring themselves to vote for an open racist loser. A good Ralph Nader, as it were.

  64. 64.

    Ruckus

    If he runs as an independent, will the sub-one percent of the electorate he peels off come from the GOP or Democrats?
    Have a friend from Maryland who thinks Webb is pretty good stuff. Hard to tell what side of the aisle he calls home, but at least he’s not in batshit territory on either side. That’s my friend, not Webb. To me Webb seems like an empty suit, but one with red accents, not blue.

  65. 65.

    srv

    @Cacti: So, it’s not trolling when Bernie does it?

    The PUMAs of 2016 will be BUMAs.

    More Ruh-roh:

    Conservative commentator Bill Kristol says Republican primary front-runner Donald Trump’s candidacy will crumble if he comes out of the gate flat.

    Asked in an ABC News interview to lay out a situation in which Trump loses the nomination, the Weekly Standard editor responded: “Trump loses Iowa, the mystique disappears

    You people are so doomed.

  66. 66.

    PurpleGirl

    @burnspbesq: Re: The Pinstripe Bowl

    That’s the game that was played yesterday at Yankee Stadium, right? It was mentioned on NY1 news this morning.

  67. 67.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Asked in an ABC News interview to lay out a situation in which Trump loses the nomination, the Weekly Standard editor responded: “Trump loses Iowa, the mystique disappears

    The Bill Kristol Kiss of Life

  70. 70.

    Anoniminous

    @max:

    Clinton governing from the DLC was baked-in. He was their candidate from the get-go.

    The affect of Perot has been a matter of discussion since the ’92 election. I think he had no affect and I can assemble a host of people who agree; you think he had and can assemble ditto. There’s only one way to settle this:

    Pillows at Dawn

    It’s a shame it has to end this way but I see no alternative.

  72. 72.

    Germy

    Saying a Donald Trump presidential nomination will bring out “the unusual suspects” at the GOP convention in Ohio this summer, a Republican strategist said down-ticket candidates running for Congress will skip the convention altogether to avoid being linked to the controversial frontrunner.

    Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Ana Navarro — who doubles as a CNN analyst — told host Jake Tapper that a Trump nomination is “going to put a lot of us in a funky mood.”

    “I think you’re going to have a bunch of unusual suspects at the convention if it ends up being Donald Trump,” she explained. “You know I’ve said that a Donald Trump nomination would be very bad for some of the senators, some of folks running statewide in some of the purple and blue states. People like [New Hampshire senator] Kelly Ayotte and [Ohio senator] Rob Portman. I’m not sure how much of the traditional Republican mainstream usual suspects who go to a convention you would see if that’s the case.”

    Pressed by Tapper to predict whether candidates would avoid the convention, Navarro reiterated her point, adding Ted Cruz’s name for good measure.

  73. 73.

    Corner Stone

    For God’s fucking sake, please end this bullshit college scheme QB farce. BJ Daniels has one completion for 7 yards and 3 rushes for 6 yards.

  74. 74.

    BruceFromOhio

    Atlanta is playing to Betty’s wishful thinking, and the Panthers seem to be going along with it. This one is going to be close …

    ETA: OK, scratch that! Holy smokes!

  75. 75.

    Corner Stone

    @BruceFromOhio: So far you’ve been more accurate than the weather peeps. Lots of bursts of high wind and some distant thunder rumbles but so far no cats lying with dogs or Wrath of God type shit. You know, basically the worst parts of the bible.

  76. 76.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Anoniminous: I have a vague recollection that Poppy was personally hurt and confused by Perot’s personal disdain for him. Am I projecting too much of a Trump-Jeb foreshadowing thing there? I do remember he was enraged by the Dems’ bumper sticker “Saddam Hussein still has his job. Do you?”, which also explains the election better than Perot. IMHO.

  81. 81.

    JPL

    I can’t watch the Pats game but on the twitter, I must admit, there are a lot of names that I don’t recognize.

  83. 83.

    Corner Stone

    @Davebo: The Titans are awful so the score is misleading. Yes, I hate this college mentality Bill O has, and have said so all season. He has probably cost us two games all by himself.
    He’s an abomination and he needs to go back to college gigs.
    If we take care of business and make the playoffs who are we going to face? We’ll need to put 25+ points on the board to make it out of the first round against either Chiefs or Stillers. Let your throwing QB freakin throw.

  87. 87.

    Xantar

    In this game Steelers-Ravens game, we see a struggle between two titanic forces:

    Interceptions thrown by Roethlisberger vs Penalties by the Ravens

    Which will cause more self-inflicted damage to lose them the game? The suspense is killing me!

  91. 91.

    BruceFromOhio

    Hats off to the Queen of Wishful Thinking – Falcons are hanging up a Panther skin today, and notching a win over the last undefeated team in the league. What a crazy game!

    Big props to Atlanta defense for containing the Carolina scoring machine.

  93. 93.

    raven

    Made it home to see the end of the Falcons. . . hang on.

    Yes, that’s what happens when you have nothing to lose!

  95. 95.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Cacti:
    That Sanders is committed to the idea that race hate is only a subset of economic insecurity is a big reason I do not support him. He is blind and a fool if he thinks he’s competing for a statistically significant amount of voters with Trump. The absolute least racist you can be as a Trump supporter is ‘It doesn’t matter to me if my candidate calls for the internment of Muslims and says Mexicans are rapists and murderers.’ That is not a small amount of racism itself. No Democrat is getting Trump’s voters, and they are not secret liberals looking for an anti-establishment option.

  98. 98.

    JPL

    Doesn’t matter.. Newton fumbled… whew
    Still curious how they got the ball back after fifteen seconds

  100. 100.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Villago Delenda Est: Betty’s picks are entertaining, and that one had me snorting… “Are you fucking kidding me?” or something to that effect was the initial comment. But she ‘fessed up in her comments, and it was fine. Now, though, wow, Falcons defense pulled off a major coup, and even now are still putting a major smackdown on the Panthers offense. Nicely done, BC and the Atlanta Falcons.

  101. 101.

    Mike J

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    That Sanders is committed to the idea that race hate is only a subset of economic insecurity is a big reason I do not support him

    That and the fact that he hired his campaign staff from people who hang out by the black mailbox in Roswell, NM. The past two weeks have really demonstrated that they aren’t qualified to run a cub scout weenie roast.

  105. 105.

    WaterGirl

    I am here at union station in Chicago with about an hour before my train leaves for home.

    Went to see The Lion King yesterday afternoon and then had dinner at the Brazilian steakhouse afterwards. One person in the family treated all 13 of us to the performance and the first $300 of the dinner bill and then someone else treated all 13 of us for the remaining $700 of the dinner bill.

    So I got to see how the other half lives. It’s wonderful to see people who are generous with their money. Seems like so many people with money just want to sit in a corner and count it. So now we all have these lovely memories of a wonderful day together. Two of the kids were 4 and 6 and were entranced by the show. I am slightly older than that, but I was amazed and delighted by the artistry and the beauty of the whole thing.

    A great Christmas, but happy to be on my way home to my guys.

  107. 107.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    One person in the family treated all 13 of us to the performance and the first $300 of the dinner bill and then someone else treated all 13 of us for the remaining $700 of the dinner bill.

    Just the type of whale Baud! 2016! needs. You’re the best, WG.

  109. 109.

    Corner Stone

    @Davebo: A “bid” is all it is at this point. But he’s clearly a college coach. In two years he has only served to make the QB position in HOU worse. This is not the NCAA, where you can work a system and plug any reasonably athletic kid in and have a chance. He has no business being a head coach.
    We have to now focus on beating a freakin JAX team because the Colts are going to certainly beat down a hapless TEN team.
    And after that we can only hope to match up against a Jets team instead of Stillers.

  110. 110.

    raven

    @Mike J: More like Ridin on the City of New Orleans. . .

    Riding on the city of New Orleans
    Illinois Central, Monday morning rail
    Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
    Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail

    All along the southbound odyssey
    The train pulled out at Kankakee
    And rolls along past houses, farms and fields
    Passin’ trains that have no names
    And freight yards full of old black men
    And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles

  112. 112.

    JPL

    @Corner Stone: yup.. Pats win the toss and give the Jets the ball. They defensive player gets hurt and that’s the story and I am sticking to it. At least that’s what twitter told me.

  113. 113.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Mike J:
    I can almost understand the victimization complex, but the conspiracy theory thinking around the database theft event has been freakish. I sincerely believe that most of Sanders’ supporters are focused on economic inequality over other issues, and find his aggressive Us-vs-Them descriptions of the problem appealing, suggesting he will get to the root of the problem. I may not think this is the best approach, but these are good liberal priorities. Unfortunately, he’s drawn the bellowing protest-vote fringe in the process, and the same zeal that makes them unreliable and unhinged guarantees many will end up working as his agents.

  114. 114.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: I didn’t see the OT toss but just heard Fitzy went 3 for 3 for 74 yards on that winning TD drive. Saw Decker absolutely burn M Butler for the TD. Perfect throw by Fitzy.

  118. 118.

    WaterGirl

    @Mike J: Love that song!

    @Baud: Too bad I just said goodbye to one of the big treaters!

    It was exactly 8 years ago today that I left for Iowa to work for Barack Obama in the run up to the caucuses. I get choked up remembering what it was like to believe in someone like that and to go to 4 different states to help. Such a thrill to have been part of that and to get to meet him. It’s so sad for me to be looking at the current candidates who can’t even begin to compare, except for Baud, of course. I had so much HOPE.

  119. 119.

    FlyingToaster

    @Villago Delenda Est: It’s pretty clear to me that Jim Webb doesn’t want to be the President of the rest of us, just “his people”. I’m about to burst out singing “Go down Moses”. Yeesh.

    I may not be the biggest fan of Hillary Clinton, but I’m pretty clear on the difference between her — actually pulling out the stops to try to address everyone’s issues — and One-Note Bernie (hint, dude; economic fixes won’t work w/o social fixes to structural racism and misogyny, and certainly won’t fix BigOil or BigPharma) and Tim Carcetti. And the difference between all 3 of them versus the GOP Klown Bus — now running for America’s ID.

    If Webb wants to represent “his people”, he should go back to a legislative office. Elizabeth Warren should be his example.

  121. 121.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: Honestly, if I am the Pats the last team I want in the playoffs is the Stillers. Whether they actively worked to get the Jets in is a horse of a different color.

  122. 122.

    different-church-lady

    Putting down my marker: bizarre ref mistake notwithstanding, the Patriots did not deserve to win that game. Jets were the better team on the field.

    That being said: what… the… EFF… is wrong with the officials in this league? And just how the hell is making them full time supposed to solve it?

  123. 123.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    Aw, you did good and made history. You should be proud. Realistically, the chance that we would have candidates this time around that would compare to how you felt in 2008 was always next to nil. It just doesn’t work that way. And apart from Obama himself, 2008 was a unique time in history. No way 2016 was going to match that.

  124. 124.

    dr. bloor

    @Corner Stone:
    Absent Edelman, Amendola, Lewis, Blount, Stork, Volmer, McCourty, Chung, Solder and Easley, a six point loss in their house–in overtime–suggests that they weren’t actively working to make the JESTS job easier.

  125. 125.

    JPL

    @dr. bloor: Just read that Belichick decided to kick off in OT. Guess he thought the defense was healthier.

    I still think they beat the Dolphins..

  126. 126.

    Corner Stone

    @dr. bloor: True, playing for home field advantage is more important, most likely. Just noting the time that the PIT loss became official.
    I personally think BB would rather have had the win. But a Superbowl winning captain not knowing how they want to call the play if they win the toss….shit happens, I guess.

  127. 127.

    buskertype

    soaking beans is a myth… If you start the beans off at a rolling boil for 20-30 minutes before you turn them down to a low boil they’ll cook in about two hours and you’ll never have to soak another bean.

  129. 129.

    JPL

    According to Ben Volin of the Globe

    Belichick on the coin toss: “Thought it was the best thing to do.” Don’t think we’re going to get an explanation out of him

  130. 130.

    Cermet

    Poor Cole – the Steelers went down to the Ravens – that has got to hurt; they now have to depend on someone else to get in … . Sorry John but a sweep is sweet against the Steelers (Yes, a Ravens fan who’d been happy if the Steelers won since I have nothing against them. Still, one of the best rivalry’s in all of football.)

  131. 131.

    dr. bloor

    @JPL: Either that, or he thought they could at least hold them to three, and then get the ball back with four plays to make every first down all the way down the field.

  132. 132.

    Corner Stone

    @efgoldman: Those two LT’s didn’t call the toss or let the Jets knife down the field with Fitzy going 3 for 3 and 74 yards with a TD. Malcolm Butler was 4 yards behind Decker on the game winning TD.
    Listen, the Pats are beat up, sure. Who isn’t in the final couple weeks of the season? We just started Brandon Weedon at QB.

  133. 133.

    Redshift

    @Baud: We should all be happy that we had one chance in our lifetime to be involved in a campaign that special, and to help make history in the process. It would be great if it happened more often, but in the meantime, working for “good enough” and continuing to save the world isn’t bad.

  134. 134.

    Heliopause

    I complained last week about my local affiliate giving me a Titans game but this week I got two good ones; Panthers-Falcons and Patriots-Jets. Not sure what I make of the Panthers at this point. Sometimes they look unbeatable but others they’re eeking out close wins against crappy teams. Frankly they were dominated today by a mediocre team and the only reason it was close was because of repeated unforced errors by the Falcons. Still, it will be awfully hard to bet against them on their home field.

    Jets beating the Patriots made the AFC playoff picture more interesting, if nothing else.

  137. 137.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I have always known there would never be another candidate like Barack. But I have never liked Hillary, so that’s a big fall for me.

    I could have been excited about Sherrod Brown. I guess I go for authentic, trustworthy, steady, progressive and capable above all else. For me, Hillary is a big miss on the first two, so it’s sad to be voting for someone I don’t believe in after such high hopes last time. I will, of course, put on my big girl pants and vote for Hillary.

  138. 138.

    Debbie

    @JPL:

    I just read somewhere that someone “accidentally” elected to do a kickoff. Bellachik accidentally doing anything? I don’t think so.

  141. 141.

    Baud

    @Redshift:

    working for “good enough” and continuing to save the world isn’t bad.

    Evil never sleeps, so neither can we.

    @WaterGirl:

    I knew you didn’t like Hillary, but I assumed from your comment above that Sanders and O’Malley don’t do it for you either.

    I don’t know that much about Brown, but he would have been interesting had he thrown his hat in the ring. The biggest negative would have been that I’m not sure his replacement in the Senate would have been a Dem. I think someone said (Kay?) that he simply would not be interested in the top job.

  143. 143.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: When the time comes, I’ll be excited to vote for Hillary. The odds are she runs against either Trump or Cruz. Imagine the alternative.
    Your holiday sounded wonderful.

  146. 146.

    Redshift

    @FlyingToaster:

    If Webb wants to represent “his people”, he should go back to a legislative office. Elizabeth Warren should be his example.

    Except he hated being a senator. He’s not really temperamentally suited to negotiating and deal-making; he knows what’s right and wants to be able to give orders.

    Fit me, the most laughable moment from Webb this year was when he criticized Obama for not using an executive order to establish the commission on sentencing that he tried to create as a senator. I mean, dude, you had six years to get a bill passed just to study sentencing and make recommendations for reform and you couldn’t get it done, but somehow it’s Obama’s fault it doesn’t exist?

  147. 147.

    Baud

    @redshirt: Me too. Although I was a couch potato up to and including 2008. I didn’t do anything active until the 2012 reelection campaign. Man, I will remember the night Romney lost until the day I die.

  148. 148.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Yeah, it was clear that Sherrod Brown was not interested, and after Kay’s comments probably over a year ago, I didn’t have high hopes. But I could have been excited about him.

    I thought I was going to like O’Malley but I have not been all that impressed. I like Bernie on domestic issues, but I don’t see him as knowledgable or a particulalrly steady hand I foreign policy. I guess I would have felt safe with Sherrod Brown at the wheel, not so much with any of the current options. If that makes any sense.

  150. 150.

    WaterGirl

    @redshirt: Me, too. I am goiNg to try to be grateful every single day that Barack Obama is our oresident. I truly love the man. I’m just sorry that we have wasted so many of his talents because of hate and obstructionism. History will not be kind to us. But I believe it will be kind to Barack Obama.

  152. 152.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl: Makes perfect sense. Going into this thing, I expected to have to choose between O’Malley and Clinton. In my view, O’Malley has had an impressive story to tell, but it just hasn’t clicked. Kudos to Sanders for putting together the organization he has up to this point, but I feel like he’s stalled for a while now. But his supporters are passionate, so who knows in this crazy cycle?

    Anyway, that’s why I decided to run myself. If Alaskans were able to write in “Murkowski,” surely “Baud” will be a piece of cake. ;-)

  153. 153.

    Davebo

    @Baud: Don’t kid yourself. You couldn’t get elected dog catcher!

    Mainly because dog catcher isn’t an elected office.

  154. 154.

    redshirt

    @WaterGirl: Same. Despite all the BS, Obama has accomplished so much – if nothing else, he took America and the World out of the tail dive that Bush sent us in. He saved the world – for the time being.

    I’m confident Hillary can continue the trend. But FSM help us all if a Repuke takes the White House.

  155. 155.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: The train has left the station! I should be home in a couple of hours. Nice to be away, nice to be home!

    P.S. I try not to say much in the Hillary threads these days. I don’t want to rain on the parade, and what’s the point, it’s pretty clear at this point that she will be the nominee. But I cannot be excited about it and today I’m just sad about it.

  157. 157.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Everyone can remember ‘baud’, at least the oldsters. You might inquire as to whether 300 baud or 1200 baud will count as votes for you! :-)

    You know, I believed that Obama wou.ld win the nomination even back when almost no one else did. That’s why I worked so hard for him, I felt like I had to get him to the point that other people would believe, too.

    So good on the people who believe in Bernie and are working their butts off for him. I just don’t feel it. He will get my vote in the Illinois primary, though!

  158. 158.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: Well, if voting against trump doesn’t get the base to the polls, we are well and truly fucked. (As the saying goes.)

    Not to mention the Supreme Court. I was so devastated by the Supreme Court shenanigans with bush v. Gore that I stuck my head in the sand for a goodly number of years. I surely don’t want that to happen again.

  160. 160.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @efgoldman: Besides, who needs Bill? Obama is going to be out there campaigning for Hillary and he’s going to be great. After all, he’s got a legacy to protect.

  163. 163.

    p.a.

    @efgoldman: The Rethugs will attempt to smear Hillary w Bill no matter how low-key he remains. They’re too stupid to realize that except among their mouth breathing followers Bill has a huge reservoir of popularity*. They forget nothing, yet they learn nothing.

    *in fact, probably a greater degree of popularity among the general populace than with progressives; Sister Soulja, DOMA, Welfare ‘reform’, Rubinism & deregulation, the whole DLC shitshow.

  164. 164.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Packers looked a little bewildered in the first half.

    And the fumble doesn’t help.

  165. 165.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Baud: Oh, for sure, but at the very least, both Barack and Hillary will be working together, because they both have their eyes on the prize and they understand how important it is to have a Democrat in the White House. It won’t be like Al Gore, who pretended that Bill didn’t exist.

  168. 168.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL:

    She is not a good campaigner but maybe Bill can help excite the base.

    She is a middle run OK retail politician. Nowhere close to the orator WJC was and not even in the ballpark for BHO. But, damn. We may run another 50 years to get our second place JFK or cum-lately WJC. We will probably not see a speaker with PBO’s skills in my lifetime, and if we do I fear for what policies that person may be orating for.
    The “base” has been all over the map this D primary. Guess we’ll see what kind of turn out we can get.

    #EARNTHISDAMNVOTEORLOSE

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