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Bartles

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Bartles

  1. So many Abe Simpson takes on these seven pages Too many bowls / bowls are meaningless: This is decisively swatted down every single year by TV ratings (sometimes attendance too) Ratings are down: Yes, for everything that's televised. Sports in general and CFB in particular still do incredibly well Best teams spend money and cheat: Yes, for many decades now. Bad teams do it too Conference champions should get in: I thought we were trying to REDUCE blowouts? ESPN ruining sport: The two best games of every week tend to be on Fox and CBS. Their commentators say the exact same BS. And don't blame SportsCenter, PTI, etc., not enough people watch that stuff to affect opinion of the sport overall. Note the recent Clemson, Ohio State and OU ascensions all took place in the SEC Network era. Yes, it's a business, but at least that is being acknowledged now. It's not the end of the world if the whole sport gets broken up so the top of the pecking order doesn't have to keep bowing to the will of the 60s-70s-80s nostalgists.
  2. The two best teams will meet in the championship, as has been the case every year in the CFP era (maybe not 2014) and most years of the BCS era. It is stale and boring, but you can't legislate it away. Especially with middle age and elderly white guys in charge of everything...none of us can explain why it's better to be the No. 5 WR at Bama or Ohio State as opposed to the No. 2 WR at Texas or OU. NIL and the transfer rule should open things up for a few others including UT. But the top tier of the SEC is basically the Lakers/Warriors/Nets right now, recruits/free agents aren't looking much further than that.
  3. Coaches and ADs can still say they made a bowl, often getting salary bonuses. That said, I believe UCLA and others who bail last minute...they test day of game and have to abide by the protocols. And for people saying they should bring another team in, who pays for that and who's to say the new team won't have cases upon arrival?
  4. I was in Sarah Weddington's class probably in '91. It must have been an elective because I sure as hell wasn't a law student. She was in the midst of writing a book about her Roe experience, and one of our assignments was actually to proofread/critique a draft of it. I remember really marking it up - lots of typos and just amateurish writing. But she thanked me for being so thorough. I wish I remembered more of her stories, because the class was Roe-focused even though it had a generic women's studies title (which I also don't remember). I definitely took away her view that Jane Roe was never meant to be the perfect client, and the court's trimester focus was never meant to be read as perfect science...but they were the methods that in the moment could get the votes and get the law on the books. While I haven't followed her later years, I assume she was smart enough to see what was coming once Obama failed to replace Scalia. Still a great feat to be part of a monumental piece of women's rights which held for half a century, and still has a strong majority of public support.
  5. New York Mets of college football. Money and name recognition, completely mismanaged, so easy to beat and laugh at afterwards.
  6. OK State appeal denied, banned from 2022 postseason
  7. I trust this guy, he sometimes airs politics but is obsessive about all things air travel. Good thread:
  8. The WR crumples because he's already dropped it. No way the DB led with his shoulder.
  9. Good odds on another pre-snap penalty now that we're in front of OU crowd
  10. I'd say this show was worth the buzz. The first 7 episodes are very compelling, the last two were more like just show us what happens. So much of the plot was really far fetched, from the premise itself to some of the strategies ("Why didn't he/she just _____ instead of causing unnecessary deaths" in various games.) But the main thing that stuck out to me was the cardboard cutout dialogue of the Americans. I assume it was written by Koreans who don't really know how we talk, and I'm sure the same thing happens in reverse all the time. Those guys were written and performed as such morons it's not believable they had any money.
  11. Love the Miami guy tagging him down two yards in the end zone
  12. Terry Bradshaw narrated over the 66 FG highlight with no idea what happened. "Baltimore hangs on to beat Detroit." Then I'm pretty sure the Fox crew talked another 5-7 minutes and never once mentioned that game again. Are network studios always this awful? Do execs know everyone watches Red Zone or Twitter? Aren't there like 12 nerds sitting just off stage who screamed their asses off when that kick went through?
  13. We saw Outlaw Festival in Philly. I didn't realize it was a rotating lineup, so we didn't get Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucinda Williams or Ryan Bingham. But we did have Sturgill and of course Willie. Heard some of Government Mule as we walked in. Be advised, Sturgill is just doing around an hour acoustic bluegrass. It was terrific of course, but there are no rocking-out moments like his previous shows. No material off the Sound & Fury album, which is what his 2020 tour was supposed to be. Willie as usual put on a great show even at age 87. You can still hear his voice and Trigger play, plus his personality comes through as well.
  14. I've been to a couple shows so far here in Philly. Japanese Breakfast (venue similar to Bomb Factory) and Wilco/Sleater Kinney (venue like Starplex). In both cases, the artists required proof of vaccination and the venues asked for masks to be worn. Enforcement of the latter is basically impossible, but most people were compliant. It was great to be back at shows, especially since I had never managed to catch Wilco before. But it wasn't as cathartic as I would have expected back when nothing was happening last year. Knowing COVID is still everywhere is kind of a downer, even if you trust the crowd you're with.
  15. Yep. The most Fox-dependent conference (Pac-12) just happens to be the one who wants to tap the breaks and let the current TV contract play out so Fox can bid on the expanded playoff too.
  16. Damn, have to wait til late tomorrow for Gundy's COVID takes
  17. Checking some school web sites, Vanderbilt (private) is requiring all students be vaccinated for 2021-22. Other SECs are "strongly encouraging" the vaccine, and Mississippi State straight out says they can't require it due to state law at this time. There's gonna be pressure within most power football conferences to scrap all COVID testing, with NCSU baseball being their Exhibit A. I have no idea how that will play out.
  18. I think part of the point of still having testing/protocols is so that the self-interested players and coaches don't spread COVID to unvaccinated workers at Omaha hotels, restaurants, etc. The first group used "personal choice" not to be vaxed, the other group is rightly worried about getting fired for missing work, haven't been told how simple the vax process is, or simply can't afford to miss out on the paycheck if they get symptoms from the vaccine.
  19. Something is off with that latest twist. You shouldn't have four vaccinated people testing positive out of 30ish samples. I don't think that is happening anywhere. It could be PCR tests picking up old COVID, but even that is really unlikely assuming they were vaccinated weeks ago. If true, the NCAA needs to reveal the test results (with no player names attached) because that would be an important scientific trend. But maybe it's just disgruntled bullshit from NCSU sources.
  20. Bowlsby always goes that extra half-step with his quotes, throwing shade on East Lansing. I guarantee you if #4 Iowa State has to face #12 Miami in Tampa or something, he'll do a full 180. (EDIT: I read it wrong, 6 vs 11 would be in Ames. But point remains
  21. Yes, about 7 episodes in. A review I read before starting implored viewers not to binge and I agree. Each story is pretty heavy. I haven't looked up how true to reality the plot is, but in terms of day-to-day slave life, it sure feels authentic. Joel Edgerton and Thuso Mbedu are outstanding.
  22. This gimmick didn't work, but Embiid's obvious love of early 2000s WWE is always entertaining
  23. That's not an easy voting process for most blacks, Mexicans and poor folks. Don't call people lazy when you have no idea what they go through day to day. A huge amount of people can't get even 30 minutes off their job without getting fired. And/or have no means to get to any polling place regardless of district.
  24. Aggressive lineup by Pep. City has been much less vulnerable to counters than in past years, I assume mainly due to Dias. But this group is very offense-oriented so we may see some chances for Chelsea.
  25. Whether you're following the Austin homeless situation or just curious, this is a non-scientific first person description of homeless life in Colorado. Very easy read, and I learned a ton despite living in high-homeless-populated cities my whole life.
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