by
Surf Maui
As anybody who has been to ATT Park or Candlestick before that, especially when the Dodgers are in town, there is no shortage of entrepreneurial vendors on the streets hawking t-shirts or other Giants stuff often with far more clever or off-color messages than can be had in the ball park.
So one day walking on 3rd Street from my hotel to the ballpark to see the Giants crush the hated Dodgers I came upon the above T-shirt. Even recognizing that the places where I could wear or even display it were limited, the T-shirt and its message was something that conveyed my feelings precisely, and I just had to have it.
Fully aware that the t-shirt would not likely pass muster for admission to the ballpark, I kept it in my backpack until I reached my seat in the Club Level–fortuitously just below the broadcast booth. I donned the shirt and looked up toward the booth. Just before security came to evidence their displeasure concerning the not too subtle and non family friendly message conveyed by the shirt and ask (more like demand) me to take it off, Mike Krukow saw the shirt and gave me a thumbs up sign, telling me “Nice Shirt.” Notwithstanding the fact that technically it did not use any foul language, my protestations concerning the appropriateness of my attire went unheeded, and the offending shirt was removed.
Kruk, with Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jon Miller seated beside him was taking all of this in, so naturally I asked them to autograph it. They were getting ready to broadcast so Kruk told me to go to the press entry door after the game and he would sign it. When I did so, they guard would not let me in or bring the shirt to him, so disappointed I returned to my seat in front of the booth. While they were in a break getting ready for the post game wrap (Giants beat the Dodgers, of course, duh) I managed to once again catch Kruk’s eye. (Perhaps my hangdog, pathetic little boy look worked).
I quickly explained my dilemma, and Kruk told me to hand up the shirt. I did so with a Sharpie, and both he and Jon Miller signed it. I put the Jon Miller HOF pin giveaway–not sure if it was that night or series– on the shirt. It now hangs in a hallowed place (more about that in a future post) where I can’t show it to my grandchildren or my niece or nephews kids. So those of you reading this blog–together with Jon Miller, Mike Krukow, and a security guard at ATT Park are among the very few people who have ever seen it.
Item Number 2 is also pretty unique. It is the ball hit by Barry Bonds for his 725th home run. Considering that there have only been 122 balls hit for home runs beyond 700, and I doubt that many of the 14 that Babe Ruth hit are still around, this ball is somewhat of a baseball rarity. When I saw it at the Giants game used store it was something I had to have.
It sits with my collection of Giants Hall of Famers signed balls (more about those in the future), my Ralph Branca-Bobby Thomson signed ball, and the first foul ball I ever caught– off the bat of Jeff Kent in the 6th inning–of the next to the last night game ever played at Candlestick Park.
Breckeroni knows a lifer when he sees one.
Great effing post!
When I grow up, I wanna be just like Surf Maui.
I’d like to surf in another lifetime and I’ve really enjoyed the Hawaiian islands in this one. Also feel a strong connection to the British Isles.
I’m glad you got your shirt signed, but you shouldn’t have worn it. I swear all the time, but not around anyone I don’t know or who might be offended, and especially not around young kids.
Agree – I wouldn’t wear it in public.
I go to Sharks games in San Jose, and see many fans wear their player-signed hockey sweaters. They don’t give a frack like us memorabilia loving “comic book guy” types.
My wife of 17 years had never heard me swear. She knew I worked outside with a pretty rough crew so she asked me if I ever swore on the job. I replied, “Every f*ckin’ sentence.” She still laughs when I remind her of that.
My kids never heard me swear when they were growing up. I watched my Ps and Qs around them. When they were over 18 and off to college, I no longer filtered my comments. They were shocked when they first heard me cuss.
That’s how I look at it.
I was married for more than 40 years to a wonderful gentle woman. In fact, today would have been her birthday In all the years that I knew her, I only heard her use foul language three times. I don’t remember the other two, but the one time I do remember was that I was was telling how nasty and how very poorly someone had treated me. Out of the blue she came out with “What a p*%$k.”
Padres are going to be a special kind of team this year.
Interested in Doug Fister, Jake Peavy, and Jared Weaver.
Angels, Padres and A’s not interested in competing this year. Yep, MLB is doing great.
Angels are making as good an effort as they can. If everything goes right with their pitching, they should be competitive and could sniff a wild card.
Padres are at a low rung of rebuild. A’s are getting there, could be just as interesting as the Angels, maybe finish within sniffing distance of them.
surf, you are a f#ck’n character. great read..
The livestream options for the NFL playoffs.
http://www.dailydot.com/upstream/how-to-stream-nfl-playoffs/
The number one Netflix streams in 2016, by state. No jokes now.
https://i.imgur.com/mQ0yAyj.png
Proud to be Oregon at heart.
Scary that all the states are in red.
Anybody watching that show ‘The Man in the High Castle’ – or something like that?
i read the book years ago. The world, IMO, has enough of a fascist, dystopic aura for my tastes right now anyway. A, to my mind, even better book on a similar note by a better author is White Lotus by John Hersey. Same premise, but it deals with the Japanese side of the outcome and has a sort of Handmaiden’s Tale aspect/storyline.
Also Fatherland by Robert Harris
Just started watching Season 1 a few nights ago–kind’ve creepy
Look at West Virginia’s choice…. American Horror Story.
I’m torn: Not a fan of Kruk and Kuip but still a great read, SM. Thanks.
All teams have announcers…
We have ours….
Others are terrible …
Ours are not for everybody …
yes that is why they are called homers and the home team likes em…
Duct tape..;-)
Breckeroni says some Catholic Nuns would curse (tee shirt) during games at Seals Stadium and Candlestick until Mother Superior stopped by their seats once yelling at them like a Sailor…although NY Yankee Nuns and Mets Nuns are the toughest with the language.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7d54b754c20f07a9d14e46e99052d73749e2d018e25619ab652e4ff3969eec6.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b21d89659de208af440a5194ab69619a22199fce8d6e06a68dd33e895967d7aa.jpg
I remember seeing nuns at Giants games in Candlestick when I was a kid, they really got into it! I don’t remember any cursing, but they really knew the game.
Nice form by Big Sis https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a64417edad9c33c93343b332ce04481b3bfdc6d253ef210ad038d52a0d719556.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/34615b84b22ce4ab074be26aa0be6e9af9765df9c81dfa3ff6d72ef846cc3d2e.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/113d9d14ded699a284a9e3a065b2e3e0dcbc1dc76e941c7e934ea951338554ae.jpg
We’re officially looking for Dyson Swarms in the galaxy.
http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_01/1854286/dyson_swarm_88944ac68e74a094e886ec7a26e98f80.nbcnews-ux-600-700.png
http://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/hunt-alien-megastructures-n703191
Lane Kiffin. Typical Lane Kiffin. Ugh.
http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/12/28/lane-kiffin-alabama-usc-fau
I’m no Kiffin fan, either, but he has a point about his time at ‘SC. He took over a program reeling from harsh sanctions and went 28-15, including going 10-2 and winning a Pac-12 South title in 2011 (they weren’t allowed to play in the championship game, but they still won the South).
It was a rough period of time, and I’m not sure anyone could have done much better. Sarkisian certainly didn’t, and Helton wasn’t all that in 2015, either. It really wasn’t until this year that ‘SC started climbing back to form after the scholarship reductions, and they’re not all the way back yet.
I also think Pat Haden firing Kiffin at LAX in the middle of the night was cold and unnecessary, but I’m no fan of Haden, either, after he disgraced himself in how he handled Sark’s drunken rampages.
Haden and guys like Bob Griese have had awkward moments. Griese had an “AM” the other night when the two announcers gushing over him were his son and another announcer.
Kiffin is a spoiled brat. Born on third base, struts around like he just slugged a bases-clearing triple.
Trashed the Tennessee program in his one year by bringing in a handful of punks who had no business in big-time college football.
Surprised you are defending in any way a guy who cheated on his wife with college co-eds nearly half his age.
I wouldn’t say I’m defending him. Just saying he did a reasonably good job of coaching at USC during a hard time. I was glad when he got fired–it was time–but I thought the tarmac thing was a bit much. But like I said, I’m not a fan of Pat Haden (the AD), either.
Could have OC’d the best game of 17 but had to flap his gums on ESPN.
Announcer: “Lane will you remember all the great times from Alabama”?
Lane: “No but I will remember all of Nicks a$$ chewings”.
Alabama/Saban: See Ya
The best game of ’17 already happened. #RoseBowl #FightOn
Whatever, no one really cares about a game that had no defense. SC was good at end of the year, sure, bit both team lost when it counted, at the early stages of the season as teams were setting up for the long haul.
I grew loving the Rose Bowl, went to Cal and UCLA, but the reality is the now that we have a final four, all the other games are exhibition games, nothing more, because they NCAA has made them so.
Cool you went to SC and all and that is the only reason you think it was a good game and have semblance of interest. If you had not gone to SC you prolly would not give a hoot.
The only thing that matters is Monday – Alabama vs Clemson. That is all.
LOL, what a hater. Everyone around the country talked about what a great game the Rose Bowl was–an “instant classic.” Both teams rallied from sizable deficits, exciting ending–plus both teams had back stories of fighting back from bad starts in September.
Don’t be bitter just because your baby-blue bears didn’t even make it to a bowl game.
(As for “no defense,” I’ll take a 52-49 game any day over that 9-6 snoozer Alabama-LSU had a couple years ago that was billed “the game of the century.” I can’t stand low-scoring, field position footballl games, but that’s just me. I like pitchers’ duels in baseball, sometimes, but I’m not a huge football fan and I like scoring.)
lol trust me there is no hater in me A ) im not into college football that much to care and B) USC nor Penn State is that important.
Either way, the creation of the Final Four system sadly made all other bowl games obsolete. I know you desperately want folks to care but they just do not.
If your school is not in the “final four” there is no reason to make a big deal out of it.
Right. Check the Rose Bowl TV ratings and get back to me. I’ll wait. No one cares about the ROSE BOWL after 103 years because of a three-year-old playoff system? People have been spending New Year’s watching that game (and the parade) for generations. They’re not going to stop just because the NCAA made up a new system. I watch it every single year regardless of who’s in it, and so do a lot of other people.
good post, but my point was never about the ratings. You touched on it in your recent post – while fans still have interest in the bowl games, now that there is a “final four” in so many words, it makes those bowls meaningless to the national championship equation, thus rendering as glorified showcases and exhibition games. Sure they can be fun to watch but they don’t mean as much anymore.
That is why I have no issue with players on some of these non final four teams choosing not to play in those games and avoid the possibility of injuries if the draft is in their future.
Great post, Surf. :o)
p.s. Just for laughs, what does a baseball like that cost? I once bought one signed by Willie #24 for $125.
It was way cheaper than I would have thought
Next time challenge him to a bike race. You’ll kick his butt. ;o)
This made me laugh: “Jon Miller, Mike Krukow, and a ***security guard*** at ATT Park are among the very few people who have ever seen it.”
Great analysis by Marcus Thompson of the Warriors’ adjustment problems and last night’s meltdown. He agrees that the key moment was Durant insisting on playing hero ball late in the fourth quarter. We’ll see if things change after that embarrassing loss.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/07/warriors-have-issues-and-steve-kerr-must-have-solutions/
The Dubs issues have nothing to do with Durant and everything to do with Curry.
No matter what an idiot like Thompson writes.
I missed the disection of any Warriors “Disgrace” last night – but BIG lineups have always grinded down the Dubs by the 4th qtr and last night was no different. 24 points is eight/12 buckets. Throw in turnovers and no injured Bogut to hammer Zach Randolph and Gasol + the ghost of Brandan Wright with Parsons and 84 year old Vince Carter and you have left them “laying in the weeds” for Mike Conley to do his thing,
Korver to the Cavs will be interesting. No D but top three – 3 point shooter in Basketball. Will be interesting up in SAC Town on Sunday at 5pm
Adam on Fastbreak had a great dissection. He always does.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/warriors/
nice long drawn out excuse by a soft Dubs fan.
Face it, the Dubs are weak minded led by a superstar in Curry who IS soft, has always been. He got exposed last season and is not doing anything to make people believe different.
Good Night Allen
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b21d89659de208af440a5194ab69619a22199fce8d6e06a68dd33e895967d7aa.jpg
Grayson Allen sure learned his lesson, yes sir. He’s #3 in white near the top of the screen in this short video.
http://thecomeback.com/ncaa/so-grayson-allen-may-have-just-tried-to-trip-someone-again.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Looks like incidental contact to me. Anything close now, he’s gonna get tagged. After getting disciplined by his coach I doubt he takes another shot at someone. No, he didn’t.
i hoe there is a coach out there with a player at the end of the bench who is willing to take one for the team and punch the shit out of that kid. That will be the only way to get a message across.
here’s kuiper on our deck, during today’s snow. his favorite ball is never too far. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9aff97e0c75815c3db888dbc917cd8e22ef1079c8fd3025a405f874c20449e84.jpg here’s another of him letting himself in..
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ac5169ef2375941998b21a72844dcb86d0a83a13d83b76735af69cae3d12e383.jpg
Where are you? 1st off, I’d say not San Diego.
long island, ny
Awww, he looks so happy! I bet Winnie would love playing in the snow.
Now there’s a beautiful baby too stevie! brrrr!!
What a smart pup! That’s a beautiful backyard, steve.
i hate to brag about my dog, but he really is smart, D. letting himself in is no big deal. he just presses down on the handle, and then pushes the door open, as he’s doing above. the cool thing he does is opening the door from the inside. he jumps up, pushes the handle down, and holds it down, as he takes a few steps backwards, until it’s open enough to walk through. everyone that’s seen him do this has been amazed.
we were lucky to find a house with such a big yard around here. when i first saw it, i knew we were going to buy it. it must sound funny to you, and others like ry, that i consider this a big yard, but, as mr. einstein said, everything is relative.
I had a black lab that could open doors inside or outside by turning knob with his mouth. Pain in the ass; we never knew where he was.
Oh, yea, he never learned to close the damned thing, though.
If he was smart, he would have left a note saying, “The cat did it.”
We had to lock the door to keep him out.
He was more likely to say, “I ate the cat, but I let it out first.”
my guy hasn’t learned to shut the door either. it was a cute trick when it was mild out. with the winter weather upon us, not so cute..
Lock the door and teach him to ring the bell.
http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2017/01/05/san-francisco-giants-watch-video-barry-bonds-dunk-contest/
We welcomed the newest member of the TWGiants family on January 5. Keitaro Jacob, 3.700 kilos. Mom and baby are resting in hospital. In Japan, 5-7 day hospital stays after delivery.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4a89b8c81affdb4bc53d763a5ebbb12fa36b5e7bf9cfa2c31aad5562b3b300cd.jpg
Beautiful baby! Congratulations!
5-7 days in the hospital! How civilized! I got discharged 17 hours after Lefty Jr. #2 was born.
Thanks DocLefty! I’m hoping for a lefty — I’m mostly lefty myself. The long stays are nice. Medical and Dental care is different here.
Attababe, doob. Great picture!
FELICITACIONES, DOOBIE!
Gracias!
Five to seven days, that’s great. Now how long does your wife got to stay in there?
Congratulations! He looks great!
The wife will be home in a couple days. Her mom is here helping out.
A real beauty.
just beautiful..congratulations!! and already has more hair than a few fellow bloggers i bet..
You got that right.
Congratulations !!!
What a sweet baby!
I sure am happy to be a California taxpayer:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/APNewsBreak-California-funds-1st-US-inmate-sex-10840291.php
Does this come with institution re-assignment or a dance card for the one they’re at?
He’s going to be transferred to a women’s prison. I’m not sure he’s thought this one through completely.
If not California, do you know where you’d live?
“Hawaii” does not count as an answer!
Had never seen it before, but wife picked it up on VHS, and I enjoyed Singing in the Rain. Great visuals, comedic, stands test of time, and the dancing is pretty good too. Two thumbs up. I’m BBQing in the rain…
Is that the sequel?
Agreed. Spent the summer of 96 in Spain and there was a channel that showed classic American movies. Also enjoyed the Matese Falcon, and even got a kick from 7 brides for 7 brothers.
Clockwork Orange ruined the song “Singing in the Rain” for me.
Did Beethoven leave unscathed?
Where did all the Giants-are-showing-interest-in-Hwang rumors go?
Up the Hot Stove’s chimney pipe?
Yeah, I wonder. Until all of sudden Alex announces the podcast interview with Hwang.
It has been a pretty boring off season:
a) everyone knew the Giants wanted a closer
b) Melancon was quickly snapped up
c) the cursed Dodgers didn’t lose any of Hill, Jansen, Turner
d) Melancon wrote an extremely cool story in the Players Tribune.
The best of the rest might turn out to be signing Ruggiano, so we don’t have much more to talk about. Just wierd stuff like trading Panik for Dozier. I am happier about that topic disappearing than the Hwang rumors!
It is time for more cute baby pictures and cute dog pictures! Or one of Ryan’s fences!
…or Haak’s icy gutters!
I’ve been conscripted to build a wall 🙁
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/The_Great_Wall_of_China_at_Jinshanling-edit.jpg/240px-The_Great_Wall_of_China_at_Jinshanling-edit.jpg
“The Great Wall” with Mexico. Wait, Donald. That name’s already taken!
I am fortunate enough to say that I have climbed a section of the wall outside Beijing. Cool experience, but walking through The Forbidden City really took the cake. The movie ‘The Last Emperor’ was in my mind as we went through (really liked that film with Peter O’Toole).
That’s great. Beijing is such an amazing city, so much history, including the old neighborhoods with the alleys snaking through them. Which part of The Great Wall did you visit? Badaling, Mutianyu or Simatai? The 1st 2 are only about an hour’s drive outside the city center, the last about 3 hrs. I climbed the Simatai section in Gucci loafers! (It was a foolish move to not wear sneakers.)
Here is a sports Quiz for all of you ,since no Giants news, From the Warriors death lineup of the last 2 NBA Finals, Curry, Thompson, Green, Barnes, and Iguodala , who has the highest FG% this season ? these are the 5 FG%, put them in order if you can, .473, .470, .469, .456, .452 .
I’ll guess: Barnes, Thompson, Green, Iguodala, Curry.
Close?
Curry is not that bad, Barnes, Thompson, Curry, Iguodala, Green .
Thanks… Yeah, I thought it was a trick question. I want Curry to exert more floor leadership late in games . Friday was a huge example of why he needs to….
I am a big HB fan, I just like that he is proving all the haters wrong, just like Alex Smith has done in Football, 2 guys I root for still even if they left my favorite teams .
With you on both…and hoping Timmy can regain form and make it 3 for both of us.
He’s putting up numbers on a bad team. A lot of players have done that. He proved who he is in last year’s finals.
Ha ha ha!!
As always, a well thought out response that powerfully and persuasively proves your point. I don’t how you do it. Just brilliant.
Lol, you don’t even have an idea what you did! Can’t make this stuff up, folks!
What did I do? Feel free to use a second line, if necessary.
I’d ask you a question, but that would just make you look foolish. I’ve made a new year’s resolution to take it easy on you.
No need for that resolution. Your lightweight one-liners are as easy as it gets. They’re so insignificant that I usually don’t even respond, because it really isn’t any fun exchanging with someone who doesn’t really say anything. You’re fine.
LOL. The Socratic truther.
You’re welcome!
Actually it is harder to have better FG% for him , he is leading scorer on his team so the top target for opponets to defend, in past was 3rd or 4th option with Warriors, more shots, so more points, but has nothing to do with better FG % .
Your a hater, Barnes was the best Warrior player in game 1 through 4, had 3 bad shooting nights in games 5 through 7, he is not the only one, Curry and Thompson were just as bad . you seem to like bad people, and only care about winning, not a loyal person at all .
You’re right about Barnes not being the Warrior most at fault. They biggest reason they lost to the Cavs was that their two-time MVP came up small.
Actually, they just got beat by a better team.
The Warriors set a regular season wins record and were up 3-1 in the finals. They got beat not by a better team, but by a team that wanted it more.
There is a diversity of opinion on that.
https://i.imgur.com/qlP0MqE.png
There’s no diversity of opinion about 73-9 and up 3-1. Those are just facts.
No, it’s about the best team. You really need to look into ‘independent events’ and maybe listen with an open mind to Kahnemans TED talk.
https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory
Hank Ballard? He was great. And I loved the Midnighters.
Gosh, Peej, I didn’t know you were into old time R&R given some of his more explicit songs and your , ahem, reputation. Although he did hit on some great gospel stuff, right up your alley. Did you know he cut a hit with JB around the late 60s? A soul stomper and very timely called “How You Gonna Get Respect? (If You Haven’t Cut Your Process Yet?)”
Awesome, check it out on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/QLZCE7pWaT8
Trust the process vs. Cut the process
Hmmmmm…
Interesting.
I blame Kerr for the Warriors late game performances, he is the coach after all, he can call timeouts, he can call plays, instead of just letting the players figure it out .
I understand that logic. I think Kerr is letting the kids play on the monkey bars and swing set, letting them fall as they experiment in January. He wants them to figure it out on their own….for now. He’ll tighten the reins as the calendar marches on
He did not tighten it up last year in game 7 of the Finals, team went iso settling for bad 3 pointers.
No baseball reports obviously, how about some of those weather reports?
How many inches of rain, sleet, snow did have you gotten, and did the mail make it through whatever was coming down?
Our rain wasn’t too dramatic, but it did tally 1.9 inches, which given the already sodden state, led to the ditches running vigorously; the back ditch running faster than the culvert pipe could drain under a road. From the satellite, it looks like the storm tracked north overnight, leaving us the day to dry out before the tail of the storm gets us tonight for something in the vicinity of two inches. I’m sure there’s mayhem in nor cal, hope all you all are safe from mayhem.
Pouring at my place the last 24 hours or more, in Winters, you have enough rain yet ?
I can handle more. Are streets flooding? Any report on how the Sacramento and Feather Rivers are looking ?
I have not left the house, just did laundry ,but parking lot is flooded pretty good .
So far I’m not that impressed with this storm here. My backyard isn’t even flooded yet.
Per the Sacramento Bee, they expect the Cosumnes River to overflow later today, but the levees and Yolo Bypass will handle the Sacramento/American Rivers just fine. Low-lying areas in Sacramento are encouraged to evacuate.
Tomorrow’s the first day of classes for winter quarter at UCD, so it will be interesting to see if the professors and students can all get to school. On Tuesday, there’s a massive Teamsters strike–12,000 clerical and administrative staff–called for all UC campuses. Gonna be a fun week all around. I wish I could have stayed in Newport Beach. 🙁
“My backyard isn’t even flooded yet.” Yikes, Lefty!
I was looking forward to this week, my kids go back to school, after being home for 2 and a half weeks, but the forecast is not looking good , rain all week except for Wednesday and my older son does not go back to school until Wednesday, so might not get much done .
Our friends are taking their UCD daughter back to school today, yesterday they were worried about the travel but I think they will be fine.
I am so holding you responsible if the storm gets bad.
and speaking of Singin’ in the Rain, the sequence where the musical idea is pitched and imagined in a dream like projection was quite dynamic with elements of titillation by the woman in green; then the long flowing silken cloth in the wind. And what’s with the coin flipping? What’s the deeper meaning of these scenes?
http://www.pophistorydig.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/1950s-cyd-gene-350a.jpg
The deepest meaning I could think of was getting a really good look at the million dollar legs (insured by Lloyd’s, I’m told) of the heavenly Cyd Charisse.
When I saw this scene as a kid, I knew I liked girls.
I’m sure there’s deep internet analysis somewhere, but that’s a good take.
Id say it’s pretty deep. Based on my own personal experience. One word – wow!
It snowed overnight. Looks like 2-3 inches but I haven’t been out there, and I have to get out there to shovel and sweep snow. Nothing stops mail delivery in Montana. We always shovel a wide path in the boulevard grass to the sidewalk for our postman/postwoman and he/she always parks there and doesn’t have to trudge through foot-high snow. We’re happy to do it for them.
We’ve been getting snowstorms every 4-5 days, which gives us a reprieve from shoveling and snowing every day, but there’s a winter storm watch until tomorrow night and snow predicted every day this week, so doesn’t look like much of a break.
Keeping your core muscles in tip-top shape. We need an instagram of this! 🙂
What a pain in the ass.
Here in Pinole this storm has underperformed all of the bluster coming from the weather folks on the local stations. We’ve had some moderate rain since early in the morning but nothing that significant. I haven’t been out to check on the drainage around our house and court. We live at the base of a hill and the drainage runs under the road and right behind our back fence and down to the creek. I had already cleared out that stretch a few weeks ago. We’ve only had flooding in to our yard maybe twice in 27 years. Yesterday morning I had the rake out and pulled out lots of waterlogged tree debris and buckwheat pods so that the water would flow better (from across the street). Try doing that with no bicep on one arm and tendonitis in the other elbow. Ugghh. Anyway, am going to check it out shortly but I’d assume it’s all flowing pretty well.
Check that – it’s pouring pretty darn hard right now here in the Northeast Bay.
time to get out the canoe – ride it out to McCovey Cove.
Don’t own no canoe, think one of those plastic snow disks would work?
The drainage or the muscles and tendons?
Down here in Atlanta it’s 15 degrees, with single digit wind chill. Most of the snow missed us, but ice is prevalent. Gotta go out tonight as well.
we got between 8″-10″ of snow yesterday, and yes, the mail was delivered. it’s very cold out there. temp is in high teens, but feels like single digits with wind chill.
we’ve got tickets to see your guy, sonny landreth tonight. it was a christmas present from my honey. sonny should be able to warm things up with his slide guitar.
Dude’s got an awesome sound. Want to hear all about it.
My house is in a low spot in an area that historically floods. This is the first time I’m seeing how the flooding really looks.
we’ll just have to check in on you. good luck, hope nothing historic happens.
I’ve got boots, a shovel, and a big pile of gravel. As an Oregonian I love this weather.
Are you familiar with Wilhelm Reich and his orgone collector? Collect that good stuff!
Not sure how to take this Ryan, but 2 google searches in 1 post is good work.
This really is some out there stuff. I could put the orgone energy accumulator in the pyramid room with the sensory deprivation tank.
Bob — As an Oregonian I fell out of love with that weather. I ran out of “unstoppable.” Moved to France. Got a pair of wellies, and that’s it. C’est la vie.
“Wellies”. Another google search. Gotta love TWG. (wellies are rain boots)
Sunny. 79℉. Clear. Wind WSW @9 mph.
What’s with all you people? It’s fine here.
Rather boring, actually.
The NFL action seemed pretty crappy yesterday. Anything with promise today?
Where’s Chef? I could use a Chef Scott preview.
Giants vs Packers is the game to watch, it matters what Eli Manning shows up, the one that beat the Packers twice in the playoffs on the way to winning Super bowl titles, are the Eli that throws key interceptions that kills his team .
Thanks. I will take a Peter Podcast in lieu of a Mike Memorandum. Who’s playing in AFC game?
Dolphins @ Steelers
A couple of throwback games. Are Steelers supposed to pound the Fish?
Yes, I hope they lose, so the Chiefs play the Texans next week, if Steelers win , they play the Chiefs next week, and Patriots play the Texans .
Pitt-NE AFC championship game.
Hope not, but you seem like another Alex Smith hater, lots of doubters in bay area, by the way Alex smith is 61-25 in his last 86 NFL starts .
Hate is a strong word Pete. I’d prefer, wary. I just want the strongest opponent to face Tom Shady and the Pats.
Love trumps hate.
Talk about a boner of a Clinton slogan. Right idea, but…
Yeah doubter was better, Smith also has thrown 11 Touchdowns and only 1 interception in the playoffs in his career .
KC lost one of their best defensive players (a linebacker) in the Denver game.
In the Raider game they lost Johnson best Inside Linebacker on team, Houston who I think you are talking about, should be ok for playoff game, the bye helped them get healthy .
I think Pitt also has better off. weapons to press a less talented NE defense than KC has. KC’s off. would be less of a problem to scheme against than Pitt’s for Bill B.
Are who? Than what?
I feel for the Raider fans, it’s been so long, they are so in to it and the team might be leaving soon, I was pulling for them to do well but no chance without their ace QB. That game was a snoozer.
Raiders fan here…
They were ahead of schedule by 1 year and their defense isn’t chamionship-level yet. On the bright side, Carr is expected to make a full recovery, Cook got some needed experience (current backup is a FA), no additional injuries will occur via a meaningless 2nd round game, and Reggie can evaluate players that didn’t step up in Carr’s absence. They may not win 12 next year, but they’ll be a better team.
You might get some ideas from this map.
http://www.businessinsider.com/this-map-shows-which-netflix-show-was-most-popular-in-each-state-in-2016-2017-1
I strongly recommend, Bloodline.
The QB for the Dolphins today is Matt Moore. I didn’t know he was a 2-sport athlete. 🙂
lefty? did he get some pigment over the fall ?
Casual fan , He was the Dolphins starter a few years ago, and did well .
Don’t ever change, PJ!
The regional weather rainfall situation as of 11 AM today.
https://i.imgur.com/a4HFDwY.png
At the web location the cursor reveals site specific info. http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/
Some see rain, I see mud.
Especially in areas that have had a burn. I wonder how Chef Mike is fairing?
Me too. If not one thing, another.
60+ days without a single drop of rain here in the north-east of Italy. I’m becoming a little nervous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_sf8XFkmUg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-af9Q-zvQ
Apparently Cal has ditched Sonny Dykes. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/pac12/2017/01/08/california-fires-sonny-dykes/96316490/
Chip Kelly, where are you?
Brandon Phillips has blocked his trade from the Phillies to the Braves. Since they have expressed an interest in Dozier along with the Cards, Giants, and Dodgers, I wonder how that effects the trade dynamics.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2017/01/05/phillips-blocked-trade-braves-november/96228092/
Thanks to PJ for sharing his admiration for HB earlier, I thought this would make for some lively snow shoveling music.
https://youtu.be/QLZCE7pWaT8
Produced by JB
The Atlanta Falcons. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-the-atlanta-falcons-offense-went-from-good-to-great/
Here’s nearly an hour’s worth. Put you buds in and get your shovel out. Groove.
Better, turn the tv on for your football, and turn this up loud on your speakers. You don’ need no steenking announcers.
https://youtu.be/Fq-Dl31BPVE
This deserves more than an upvote. Thank you JStreet.
Here’s a cherry on top.
Note: best seen through large screen, with good sound.
https://youtu.be/ZF_rZrH4yBY
45 minutes left on this treat, but thx
Glad you like it. Inspiration’s where you look for it. Sometimes it just lands on you, serendipitous.
It’s when I started loving this music as a white kid in the burbs that I discovered racism.
Going with the Flo and Packers today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnggjTJfk
She’s got some pipes. This is a good one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HmAvRbnI40
She’s iPod worthy.
The rise of the manfant in sports and society.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/08/once-the-baby-man-was-a-figure-to-be-mocked-now-manfants-such-as-donald-trump-are-taking-over
Interesting weather discussion below. All I get is cold, this last week was mostly between 0 and 10 degrees, but dgg is hogging all the snow! Almost no precip in the last month.
A couple of years ago, I would hear of CA’s reservoirs running low, and excess water usage fines on guys like Matt Cain. Is that problem taken care of already, or is the current storm actually still helping you out in the long run (once you are past flooding and mud slides)?
It could/would be if the snowpack in the Sierra recovers. That snowpack ‘reservior’ is the big issue in CA. Even with all this precip, it’s still only 70% of normal. Rain in the high country is sort of a waste. We need snow, lots of snow up there.
The problem runs deep, as it would take years of rain to recharge the underground aquifers.
Snowpack is the ideal and warm rain melting the snow, and running water through the dams and out to sea is the farmer’s bane – how could we let this water go to waste! Build more dams! (but aren’t dams trouble in themselves?)
It’s hard to get just the right medicine.
The sound of cognitive dissonance. I think individuals putting in private, underground cisterns might be a good idea.
this sounds familiar. the process to capture a useful volume would be quite an undertaking, which could affect what’s above as well.
But with a cistern, rain is made a saved item. Making 10-20,000 gallon cistern is equivalent to a backyard pool, but you don’t have to clean it. Good use fr dynamite.
Agree with cc about snowpack, but I’m thinking about groundwater recharging.
we’re all on the same page, how about that?
There could be an ad : Big Ag Sucks! (groundwater that is)
why aren’t we seeing groundwater recharge during current high flow?
Turbines in rivers to directly inject into groundwater.
there are some areas in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, west of Fresno that supposedly have this infrastructure in place, but don’t know how much is being practiced and to what effect. Farmers can have their dormant permanent crops flooded and recharge those areas.
You need slow melt from the snowpack to refill the aquifer. Most of that aquifer originates from Sierra melt, not rainfall so much.
This storm is warm so it’ll melt the snow at higher elevations, not good. Another problem here in California is that while we have about the same reservoir capacity as we did 30 years ago we have many millions more people. Fortunately this drought the past five years or so hasn’t been as bad as the one we had in the 70’s. We’ve been fortunate that it eased up last year and apparently this year.
That one in the 70s was a forgotten nightmare. One warning about your exceeding your consumption limits and they began cutting peoples water off. Lumberyards ran out of bricks from people buying them to put in their toilet tanks. Produce was awful in grocery stores because all the good stuff was exported out of state to sustain the farm economy.
I noticed that in the past few years when we had to cut back usage by 30% or whatever that the authorities never mentioned the whole cutting back on toilet flushing deal we had in the 70’s. I would think that it’s because of all the toilets being 1.5 gallons instead of five per flush, at least modern technology helped with that. 610 mentioned Cain, that is a sore subject for many, the wealthier folks with big real estate in hotter areas using up so much more water and it’s the same in Socal, even in that 70’s drought I remember touring Beverly Hills and it was like a tropical rain forest. I assume that is still the case today.
I remember being proud that our household was down to 35 gallons per day. We saved shower water to flush the toilet.
I think it got down to somewhere around 9000 gallons a month?
We do much the same thing, installed low flow toilets and saved shower water to water the garden. They did not tell me my savings by gallons but only said I was down 30% usage. Doing my small part.
That’s pretty incredible but it does make it easier for Cain and the other guzzlers to use 10,000 gallons a day. Good job.
Yeah, it’s a public outrage. But just open, non drip water of almond orchards uses more water in CA than any other application. If they converted to drip irrigation that would yield the a multiple of that savings savings. As I recall it takes about 30 gallons of water to produce 1 lb of almonds. An attorney I know that works for Cal Water said, for instance, the biggest single consumer of power in CA is that used to pump water to Southern California over the mountains. 30% of the states consumption.
Such is the nature of the public politics of us all pulling together in a lobby intense environment.
and dams lose storage capacity every year because of silt accumulation. even worse following forest fires 🙁
You have more people but you have less water consumption per person. People use 20% of the consumed water while farming use 80%. Of the 100% of water use, 50% is left to the rivers and streams untouched to foster fishing etc. Farming using 80% of the allocated water yet drive 2% of the CA economic activity.
http://www.ppic.org/main/publication_show.asp?i=1108
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/04/03/agriculture-is-80-percent-of-water-use-in-california-why-arent-farmers-being-forced-to-cut-back/?utm_term=.fb20744410fc
We’re having a real winter. Which is good. Montana needs the snowpack.
your snowpack ultimately feeds which watershed? Colorado? Columbia?
Ogalala Sandstone, I think. I have no idea how to spell that, btw.
sounds right, but I thought dgg was on this side of Rockies. If on other then they’d be feeding the Missouri and Mississippi and yeah, some of that great aquifer I suppose.
The mighty Mo, and the Yellowstone. Water is very important in the west, and I appreciate all the interesting comments here.
We’re on the east side of the Continental Divide.
The Continental Divide separates the watersheds in Montana (and in the country). We’re in the Upper Missouri River Basin.
http://www.scenicusa.net/images/NV13UpperMissouriRiverPD.jpg
Got it. The Rockies are stacked on the western flank. Just on the other side is the Columbia watershed:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cwp/images/dams_columbia.jpg
I like snow a lot, its both pretty and lets me go cross-country skiing. I’m starting to wonder if this is the 2nd winter in a row where my skis stay in the garage. Bummer! Even Kuiper gets to play in the snow, why not me?
We have neighbors who have been skiing down side streets to go to work. Then there’s the guy riding his mountain bike all winter. Then there’s the high-school and middle- school boys wearing baggy shorts, hooded sweatshirts, sneakers, and no gloves walking to school in 0-10 degree temps. I wear shorts in 40-degree weather, but shorts below 20 degrees? that’s nuts.
In Baraboo, WI there is a place called Devil’s Lake State Park that climbers frequent because of the quartzite rock. The boulders and rock formations cleave in flat planes, so many of the rocks are flat on top. In the dead of winter on an atypical day when it’s clear, you’ll see nude or near nude people sunning like lizards with it near zero outside, snow and frozen everywhere but on their on private sundeck/solarium. You wade through knee to waste deep snow to get to the rocks, but it’s worth it. Beautiful place. A pic in winter, where you can see the flat cleavage surfaces and the lake behind.
https://www.mountainproject.com/images/84/91/106118491_medium_870feb.jpg
Wow. I love big boulders and rocks.
Wisconsin is littered with big rocks deposited from the last glacial retreat. The entire Dells region is constructed from ‘dropped’ glacial debris and gouged surface features.
I knew from an interview that Lukas Forschammer wrote this as an homage to his father , who died when he was young and missed his becoming successful. Odd the video producer made it a romantic lament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC-bSbXZBcU
It has a good beat and I could dance to it
It’s the only thing of his I’ve heard. He was interviewed on NPR this morning. Dutch kid.
In other baseball related news, pitchers and catchers report in 36 days.
In football related news, Odell Beckham, Jr. buys pizza from his sofa tomorrow
Was there ever a doubt?
Nope!
I’m anticipating an epic Odell melt down should the G-men lose today.
Bingo! You called it!
Odell Beckham Jr. bangs head on door, allegedly punches hole in wall
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18433973/new-york-giants-odell-beckham-jr-punches-hole-wall-bangs-head-door-loss-green-bay-packers
For all the discussion of how Harbaugh botched the Smith/Kaepernick transition, it pales in comparison to the absolute botch job of Mike Nolan choosing Smith over Aaron Rodgers.
what idiot thinks there was an issue with the Smith / CK transition?
Of course Nolan F’d up the Rodgers thing.
Smith should not of been demoted
Kap=athlete
Smith=QB
In the short team Kaepernik exceeded what Smith could have done but obviously it did not turn out well in the longer term. Pretty shocking how far he fell, for a year or two he looked like a superstar in the making with all those beautiful throws and runs, now he can’t even hit routine passes.
Funny enough, he was vastly improved this season: his reads were much better, and his accuracy. But, it’s too late here…he needs to move on
His challenge will be finding a system that fits his skill set and a franchise willing to deal with his kneeling.
I mentioned this before, but NFL Films’ Greg Cosell said that Chip’s offense fit #7, because it requires him to go with first read and release the ball. It doesn’t require him to go through progressions; which is not a strong point for #7. He also said that Chip seemed to have simplified his offense for #7 too.
I’m not sure there’s an offense out there that does what Chip did, but there’s always someone out there that feels they can “fix” a player that showed some skills in the past. We’ll see who that might be *and* we’ll see if anyone wants to deal with the kneeling issue…especially those franchises that only see him as a back-up.
3 franchises that are strong enough to take him on with all the “challenges” are New England, Seattle, and Pittsburgh. I might be wrong, but I don’t see him sniffing the $$ he would get with the 49ers.
Cosell, like others, seems to stubbornly stick to his original stances…the fact is that Kap’s progressions through reads was much improved…
I think you’re spot on as far as his $$…he might not get half of what he was slated for in 2017.
I disagree. Smith had just won the NFL Player of the Month award and self reported his concussion. Kap’s opening start was vs the Bears and the 49ers demolished the Bears and much was read into that. The 49ers on defense were superb and the offensive group around Kap was good/decent. Many fans hung their collective hats on the Kap performances that followed. Smith WOULD HAVE lost some games that Kap won but in the total big vision picture – Smith would have continue to do better and get better. Smith would have audible out of Romans consecutive play calls that Roman sent down through Harbaughs head set. Smith clearly would not have thrown three straight fades to Crabtree.
IMO Kap is a great athlete (trying to) play NFL QB. Smith is less athletic but plods along winning games in crunch time situations. As KAP matriculated down his field from Turlock to Nevada Reno – it would have behooved some/any coach along the way to convert him into a wide receiver. His throwing motion mechanics parallel that of Jeff Samardzija and there is nothing wrong with that UNLESS one is trying to reach the higher echelon of becoming an NFL QB.
Not me, but the handling was awkward and the locker room was affected. Sorry , but that happened.
It was his OC Mike McCarthy who chose Smith
OC’s have input…at that time, Nolan owned that roster. Kinda like “Rags and Gardy have input…” There’s only one captain, Captain!
CU is no Harry Truman. On his desk, if he had one, I imagine there was a sign that read “Hey, don’t look at me. That wasn’t my idea.”
In your world, the guy in charge isn’t really in charge.
Malloy, you must be looking at this through the lens of a tactical squad leader in the law enforcement field because within sports this is common and happens all the time. Case in point is Del Rio had made up his mind to bring McGloin in for Cook. When he told his OC and his QB to get him “hot” – both the OC and QB coach had a different ‘take’ and “talked Del Rio out of making that decision and thus Cook remained as the QB. I am disappointed in your acumen but will continue to help out whenever you need guidance.
What you don’t get is that no matter how many others they listen to, or what advice they are given, the person in charge ultimately makes the decision, and they are responsible for that decision. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in charge of directly supervising anyone, but if you were, you must’ve been some dynamic leader.
No, I get it, because I’ve done it on a lesser level, but one guy does not MAKE the decision – ONE guy takes credit or takes the blame for it. IF you had only bettered yourself within any coach fraternity I would not have to keep telling you this. I’ve been in charge of many teams. My greatest assest stated from those I supervise is that I “allow my coaches to coach” – UNTIL they prove me otherwise that they can’t handle it. As a head coach – surrounding yourself with talented coaches shows and proves that (1) the coach is secure and (2) that the coach knows what he is doing and knows how to coach.
To do otherwise would mean the others style coach would be coaching by himself.
Yes, that was a monumental blunder. At least Nolan was smart enough to draft Patrick Willis.
There’s no guarantee that Rodgers wouldn’t have been broken in 2005 or 2006, never to have played again.
I dunno about that. Rodgers for all his acclaim has only won 1 Super Bowl. From my perspective, if Harbaugh had stuck with Smith he would have at least one too……
Rodgers is HOF good. McCarthy is not.
you are kidding right? Rodgers is HOF good as Matthew states. Smith will never come close.
Thats not what many of his former recievers say. Jus’ Sayin’
The NFL’s abandonment of the concussion protocol today.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/dolphins-steelers-matt-moore-hit-video-concussion-protocol-wild-card-playoffs/19o0eoiigwbmf18g3o8vjc865h
Great interview with Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball.
https://charlierose.com/videos/29545
Excellent writer.
did he direct the movie?
No, he neither directed it nor wrote the screenplay (Aaron Sorkin and another guy co-wrote it). The book is great.
OK because the movie had many in baseball puking due to who played who in the movie. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe was silly. Washington was portrayed as a doofus, the A’s Scout Grady Fuson moment in the movie never happened and they never forcused on the Big Three.
He’s reviewing his book about Amos Tversky and Daniel Khaneman called The Undoing Project. In reviewing Amos Tversky’s correspondence he found Bill James had used Tversky’s ideas about human judgement and it’s flaws to assemble the ideas that became Sabrmetrics. It’s a fascinating interview and I might add incredible book.
Sigh, I’ve got in on hold at the library and 130 or so are ahead of me. Might have to breakdown and buy it.
It is simply the best non fiction book I’ve read this year. Peter Brand (the Jonah Hill character in Moneyball) used Tversky and Kahneman as the model for what the A’s did in Moneyball. If you want to understand the flaw in human reasoning that made sabermetrics possible, The Undoing Project is a good place to start.
Awesome. Kindle app, here it comes. Thanks, CC (Coolest Concierge).
The fangraphs folks have shown that advances are advances but they bring new biases.
Great interview. Second interview on this book I’ve seen Lewis do. Sometimes Charlie gets in the way of his own interviews, but good, nevertheless. I’m even more interested in this book than I was when I first heard of it.
And right on schedule, a fourth-quarter choke by the Warriors in progress.
It’s just a weird year. All they can do is wrong. If they won, it’s expected and not by enough. If they lose, it’s a choke job.
I agree with the Bay Area Sports Guy: This may be the worst 32-6 team in history. When they actually beat a good team (they’re 0-5 against San Antonio, Cleveland, Memphis, and Houston), maybe people will stop criticizing them. I don’t think they’re hopeless at all, but they have a ways to go.
True but they did beat some good teams – Clippers, Raptors, even Jazz and Celtics – but they don’t get credit for those because they are supposed to beat everyone. I realize San Antonio, Cleveland, and maybe Houston are better than those teams but they did lose to the Cavs by 1 point and the Rockets in OT.
I’m not saying they’re great, but I think at times they can’t do anything to prove that to us, only disprove it.
OK, they haven’t beaten the TOP teams, then–the Clippers and Raptors are good but not the top echelon (at least so far this season). And the Dubs had to fight pretty hard to beat Toronto–didn’t they fritter away a fourth quarter lead and barely hang on in one of those, too?
I know the Houston, Cleveland, and (the second) Memphis losses were all close (two in OT, the third by one point), but those games trouble me the most because the Warriors had healthy leads in all of them and just froze in the fourth quarter (and two of three at home). I’m less worried about blowout losses (San Antonio and the first Memphis game) because anyone can have an off night. But when you have a game under control and you yak it up late, that’s a bad look.
Agreed – not only is Toronto not in the top echelon, but like the Warriors haven’t beaten any of the great teams and just blew their own 14 pt lead last night! And yes, you’re right, the Warriors almost blew a lead to the Raptors pretty much right after the Cavs.
But it’s hard to tell how much of this is real, and how much is effort and some of Kerr’s tinkering. Kerr isn’t always using his best lineups so he may be letting these leads slip because it’s a good time to experiment.
Let’s not forget the Warriors faced and beat every challenger last year…. only to eventually not win the Championship. So I’m OK with where they are right now.
The biggest difference with the Warriors this year is that Iguodola has slipped and Thompson and Curry aren’t shooting threes nearly as well (38.3% and 40.1% vs. 42.5% and 45.4% last season).
Ergo the weakness of the team, when it won the championship, with all the offense, it was Iggy and his D that turned the tide in the finals. Last year even during all the streak the team just never seemed to dominate defensively, and with Iguodala not the same guy in the finals, they got beat. This season, with the 2nd unit not locking down defensively, the team just seems to float along never being dominant. I keep saying it, but as great as Curry a player, is he weak minded. The Dubs have to rely on other players to take over at crunch time, unlike the Cavs who have LeBron to do it alone. It’ an iffy situation to have the best player one your team not be able to be the one you can trust at crunch time.
Curry is NOT “weak-minded.” How many games, including playoff games, has he taken over and won with clutch shots over the years? The answer is quite a few. You don’t get to be two-time MVP without actually, you know, HELPING your team. The way you and TO go on about him you’d think he was a liability. And that’s just silly.
Curry is who he is. He didn’t win the genetic lottery like LBJ or KD. He’s a short, skinny guy who’s worked extremely hard to accomplish what he is and maximize his abilities. He’s incredibly good at some things and less good at others–and surprisingly good at some (e.g., rebounding). Most players, even stars, have their strong areas and weaker ones. The only guy I can remember who didn’t really was Michael Jordan.
He is. We saw it in the finals last year and you see it in the 4th quarter choke jobs this season, no matter if he starts hot and is obviously always one of the best players in the quart, he just tends to fold under pressure. Curry is who he is as you state.
He sure didn’t tend to fold under pressure in game 7 of the WCF last year.
every dog has his day. I never said he was not capable, and yes, he has late game heroics, but last years finals and this season are telling.
This season isn’t telling at all. I see a guy unselfishly deferring more so Durant can transition in the offense. Steph sees the big picture.
I didn’t see any such thing in the Finals. I saw a guy playing through several injuries who was clearly not himself and who also had to try to compensate for Draymond Green being an idiot and the league catering to King James. (Now, that’s my definition of “weak-minded”–getting yourself in a situation to get suspended during the Finals.)
As for this year, the Christmas game in Cleveland was bad, but Steph played a great game against Memphis the other night, and that loss certainly wasn’t on him.
I agree with Hopper that KD and SC are still trying to figure out who’s “the guy” in crunch time, but I don’t think that says anything about Steph’s “weak mind.” If anything, it shows what a team-first, unselfish guy he is. Hopefully they’ll figure it out or the coaches will, because someone needs to.
much better than being the best 6-32 team
Columbia Basin below, here’s the Colorado:
http://gcdamp.com/images_gcdamp_com/9/98/Colorado_River_Basin-_MAP-_CRBC-_Chris_Harris.jpg
And, we’d be remiss to not include the watershed of “The Mighty Mo'”:
http://source.sdsu.edu/source_of_missouri_river_missouri_basin_map-1200.jpg
There is a theory, and it seems quite good to me, that the Mississippi basin’s reaches above STL are just a big tributary, and the true river system is the Missouri.
The Platte (branching off into Nebraska) is famous as “too thin to plow, too thick to drink”.
LUV these maps!
(They just make me want to throw a pipeline full of toxic sludge across them rivers!!!)
With the CFB national championship game tonight, I was musing about Efrain’s contention that nobody cares about the other major bowl games other than the top four playoff teams’ games. Putting his biases (USC won the Rose Bowl and he went to UCLA) and mine (I went to USC) aside, here’s what occurs to me.
The CFB four-team playoff system is still pretty new. Like the “BCS Bowl” system it replaced, it’s controversial and subjective. Should Ohio State, which didn’t win its conference and lost to Penn State, have been in the top four? The way they got smacked by Clemson in the semifinal (31-0) suggests they weren’t deserving. Washington won its conference, but their only loss was to USC. Meanwhile, Michigan beat Penn State easily and barely lost to Ohio State in OT, so where does that leave them?
Since there are different conferences and teams play different non-conference games, you’re never going to easily get a sense of which teams are comparable to each other. I don’t think there’s a solution to all of this–I just think the whole “national championship playoff system” is always going to be a bit suspect in fans’ eyes.
As for the major bowl games–Rose, Orange, Cotton–I think people still value those. With CFB, people tend to follow their own loyalties. So for me, I cared more about the Rose Bowl because my school was in it. Other people, if they don’t have a dog in the fight, just want to see a good game. The Rose Bowl was a very exciting game. The Michigan-UNC game was close and exciting. The two playoff games on New Year’s Eve were not exciting games even though they “meant more.” I suspect your basic college football fan will remember the Rose Bowl and the Michigan games more than they’ll remember what Clemson did to Ohio State in the semifinal. That was an ugly, boring game–unless you went to Clemson, of course.
In short, college football playoffs are not like the World Series or the NBA playoffs or even the March Madness basketball tournament. They’re just not set up to where you can be sure the most deserving teams are in it (OK, Alabama obviously deserves it. They probably deserve to be in the NFL.)
That said, I hope for a great game tonight and I hope Clemson wins, because I’m so over Nick Saban and the whole SEC.
I think you meant Michigan and Florida State 🙂 Stanford and North Carolina was a great game too!
I personally would like to see an 8 team playoff *and* the only way non-conference winners get in is *if* their conference winner is already included.
My interest in other bowl games were because of matchup, team interest (Stanford and USC), and fond memories as a kid (Rose Bowl). I think 2 of my 3 will apply to younger generations, but CFB Playoff will…in my opinion..take away the “fond memories as I was a kid” that many of us older folks experience today.
The Rose Bowl will always be a part of my family memories as NewYears Day was usually game watching and dinner with my Dad’s cousin and family. Both men went to Cal, my Dad also attended UCLA prior to WWII. Yet they were total USC fans as my Dad’s much older brother had played football and baseball there in the 1920’s. To me it should always be a Big 10 PAC whatever matchup.
Thanks–fixed. Those games were the same day, I think, so I got them mixed up.
I think the eight-team playoff is as far as they can go, considering timing and that the players need to go back to school.
Over time, the interest in other major bowl games may diminish, but I don’t think it has yet. I think there were a lot of people watching those Jan. 2 bowl games. People are in the habit of spending New Year’s doing that, and with the national championship more than a week later, what else are they going to do?
Now, the ridiculous bowls on Dec. 22 with two teams with losing records–I don’t think anyone does care about those.
To me, the money grab that is Conference Championships is doing great harm to the playoff system…
It’s deeper than that, of course, but that seems one very simple improvement if the NCAA wants a true playoff system
As a Gator, I found Florida’s demolition of a good Iowa team in the Name Your Smarmy Corporation Bowl in Tampa to be utterly thrilling! Thanks for your summary Lefty. I think the playoffs will have to expand to a final 8 and they will need to play some games in December during the dead season after the conference championship games and before New Year’s.
LOL–that “dead season” is known to us college professors as “finals.”
I’ve thought that too Greek, but the powers that be are in a tricky situation. With all the criticism about taking advantage of the kids (I’m not really into the pay for play propositions out there) still extend the PO system smells of big money (which it is!) and would basically tell people “screw academics, this is a semi pro system”. I don’t think they can go there.
I am for getting rid of so many stupid “fill in the blank” bowl games. Stick to the traditional ones and a few others and instead of extending the season, just start a PO system a few weeks earlier. Do we really need a New Era Pinstripe bowl in Yankee Stadium or a Foster Farms bowl in Levi’s Park? That would be no. Let the top 20-24 schools have a bowl experience. There is no need for 50+ schools in a bowl with some hovering around .500 records. Celebrate excellence and not mediocrity.
Yo, Doctor–take it easy on our SEC! I get it–if I didn’t live in the south I’d feel the same way, even though I’ve always been a Tennessee Volunteers fan no matter where I live. The thing that makes it special IMHO is that the schools are relatively close geographically, and Atlanta is the major cosmopolitan center of the south, so we see every football weekend colors from 8-10 SEC schools no matter where we are. Roll Tide, although I must say I like Dabo and what he’s doing at Clemson as well. Should be a great game.
The players used to be student-athletes, and some of them (the vast majority, right?) still are. So we can’t keep piling up their schedule, adding games, adding playoff rounds, just so we have something to watch in mid-December, can we? I think by having four teams in the playoff, you’re for sure getting the best two, and somewhere along the way, they’re going to have to play each other. So I’m happy with it the way it is.
Surf’s guest post topic reminded me, when I was about 17 my boss (part time job, still in HS) gave me an Eff the Dodgers bumper sticker (not censored). I stuck it on my bumper and within a week it had been torn off. Mom said some kid at school probably did it but I knew it was her, too vulgar for her. At least she let me wear my Bill Laskey “I hate the Dodgers” tee shirt.
I know I’ve seen “Duck the Fodgers” shirts at AT & T. I guess that passes muster.
Tuck Fommy!
Argo F yourself! (maybe my favorite recent movie line)
Loved that movie and that was the best line, by far.
That sounds like your Mom disagreed only with the phrasing, not the sentiment.
Is it spring yet? The G’s are done unless some mysterious swoop for Joey Bats happens. I think the FO hopes to catch that with Morse, Morse, Morse helping Young Mac. All the power, none of the primadonna attitude. From what I read, Joey would NOT fit into the G’s clubhouse.
So if all the haggling is over, while we wait the Bum and Moore extensions I’m ready to go. Let’s play ball……
Pitchers and catchers report in 35 days…. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c60a55226becbf6ccbfc10818898a125f4cba3a5837f25dc5a7b5d3a8a64a4f5.jpg
Beauty just fainted
He’ll become a third sacker some day if he continues to thicken up some but not for awhile. Chasing his kids around and his Beauty will keep him in fine fettle.
Maybe the Giants SS of the future is currently a 16 y.o. in Venezuela, or from the Richmond RBI program…
Or Arroyo
That’s a big drop off
We don’t know for sure
We have a very good idea…
Just when you think Evans and G’s are done….
… BOOM! They rock your world with ____________ !
35 days till pitchers and catchers!
One of my favorite parts of spring training is heading to the stadium during those first spring training work outs. You just meander into the stadium for free, hardly a concession worker or security guard in sight, and take a seat about 10 feet away from the players as they do their thing. The crowd is quiet, with the occasional cheer for a new player, long hit ball or nice pitch thrown. Sometimes the players just strike up a conversation with someone sitting in the seats. Autographs afterwards are easy pickings. Basically its the closest i’ll ever get to feeling like i’m actually on the team, which is pretty cool.
I’m going.
When I go to Spring Training games, I like to get there when the gates open, find my seat, then just soak it all in. The fresh smell of cut grass, the occasional ball slapping into a mitt, the crack of the bat from the batting cage. Mmmm, there’s nothing quite like it.
Captain Steve! How was the Sonny Landreth show???
I’ve been playing the Sonny Landreth Pandora station while I toil away in the lab with funnels and beakers and solvents and stuff. It’s good to rock out and make the time slide on by.
Can’t wait for the review.
hey bud, my pt just got here..review in a few hours..one word till then…amazing..awesome..ok, 2 words
How ya doing Goldstein-Burriss-Ryne-Ryno-Ryan-Footy-Footskie-Foothills?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HmLFyvFxTc
Our big watershed, which floweth pretty good, out to sea (as nature intended)…
http://www.gfredlee.com/images/sacrv_wshed.gif
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV2pyWoTXs4
I’ll def have to give this a listen – Buddy’s My Guy!!
Putah Creek had spawning salmon in it this year, I read. It’s been a while.
Cool. The rivers in the south San Joaquin Valley have no natural outlet – which is why the Tule Lake and another one further south would historically rise and stay put.
Sonny Dykes Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQwTrplDxVY
Dedicated to JStreets Bride Lady Diane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QqsRKxHpIc
Every time I read about Corey Seager, I ask myself if i would trade him even up for Crawford right now. And leave it at that.
Seager looked awfully good to me. I know it’s only one season but for a 22 year old to put up those numbers? Wow.
One way to look at it: from the Giants perspective, would they do it (in the proverbial heartbeat)? Maybe to yes. Would the Dodgers? Absolutely not.
Heck of a year for Craw, generating 5.8 WAR, mostly with the glove.
Seager just did 7.5 WAR in his rookie campaign, mostly with the bat.
Crawford is a Gold Glover. team leader, and clutch hitter, Seager is a superstar (arrived and in the making you could say).
I wonder where Crawford stands, if you were to rank the top shortstops, considering glove AND bat.
Lindor
Seager
Correa
Crawford
Bogaerts
Russell
Simmons
Gregorius
A. Diaz (STL)
Story/Semien
???
Good stuff. The age part of it is really compelling for Seager. He still has lots of room to grow. Crawford is at his peak now. Tough one for a Giants fan.
Hopefully Crawford can maintain that peak – he’s been steadily summiting since rookie year:
AVG
.204, .248, .248, .246, .256, .275
OBP
.288, .304, .311, .324, .321, .342
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/sport-pitcher-baseball-baseballers-baseballs-baseball_players-smb050902_low.jpg
Fair question whether G’s should try and upgrade the backup catcher. How much improvement can be expected from Brown?
FA’s include Chris Iannetta, Nick Hundley, Kurt Suzuki and Jarrod Saltalamacchia among others.
But with budget/tax situation, not sure they want to spend much if anything now or they are going to wait and see if one can be had at a rock bottom price.
I forget who the 3rd string option is right now. I’d say any of the 4 you mention except Salty.
They also have Tony Sanchez on the 40
They signed that Fed Ex guy who used to be on the Dodgers.
Hey Clutch, this is from a Buddy of mine, goes out to Stevie…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e3l1g3soc0
THANKS Foots!
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