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Bartles

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Bartles

  1. As a fan living in Philly, most people really supported the process although a lot of season ticket holders were upset (and left). Others rallied behind the guys like TJ McConnell and Robert Covington who we knew deserved better, and eventually got to enjoy some success. I mainly argue that what Hinkie started, within the rules, worked out almost exactly as planned in terms of collecting picks staggered over time to also allow financial flexibility. It should have resulted in a multi-year shot at the finals, instead they continually flubbed personnel decisions and the 2019 game 7 loss to Kawhi is probably as far as Embiid/Simmons will ever get with this team. I agree season-long tanking is not good for the game, and don't want to see it again to that extent. Obviously the current powers who either paid and/or developed their way to the top are a better model for others.
  2. This will send some people to their fainting couches, but I think it's a good move. They can broadcast in the corner of an empty stadium without disrupting the pregame. Bring some coaches, etc. over for distanced interviews. Use zoom to still let people hold up signs. Corso can still do the mascot hat thing, assuming he's good with traveling (private plane I assume).
  3. The process was a clear success, it's just that they made massive mistakes with some of the lottery picks that they tanked so hard to get. Jahlil Okafor, Markelle Fultz (plus the #1 pick we gave rival Boston for him) and Zhaire Smith provided nothing. Now this year they blew it on the contract side. But all that tanking put them in a great spot to build a contender for several years.
  4. Sixers getting humiliated. Was gonna be tough without Simmons, but this has really shown the drop-off from last year's team, mainly letting Butler go and maxing Horford in his place. Probably have a new coach/GM next year, but it's hard to see them making much of an inroads against the top 3 in the east, not to mention some other improved teams.
  5. They had to do that. Can't ask these guys/girls to endure all this shit with no reward. Next year will be messy either way, with high school kids not having full seasons, etc.
  6. I want to ask people stop posting fringe nut jobs like Deace and C Travis, but I guess it's kind of instructive. This drumbeat of how it's all about fear of organizing is likely coming from a certain type of "believer". I won't cloak room this, just point out that I don't see a lot of very qualified local and national journalists touching the player organizing angle as a reason for not playing right now. The organizing issues are real, but: some issues (revenue sharing) have been around for decades, so buying a few months time is pointless; some like NIL are already well underway and postponing fall football does nothing to prevent their progress; the players themselves are mainly demanding health protocols that are being addressed for the most part. Also wish someone kept an accuracy rate of "little birdie told me" tweets, most are forgotten pretty quickly
  7. I wonder if this mess is an indication that some presidents weren't happy about Warren as Jim Delany's replacement and are using COVID as a power play, either to set him up to leave at some point or at least to assert themselves in future shaping future Big Ten policy. Kind of like Beebe never really had control of the Big 12 presidents.
  8. A few weeks ago, I posted pretty much exactly that plan laid out by SI (football on campus with other "essential" students only) and people here got quite huffy about it. Was called something like "the dumbest thing ever posted on a message board" as I recall. I don't see it happening though, there are good reasons people would be upset.
  9. Those are great article clips by @Hurtlocker and @Sbbruin on this page. Thanks for pasting. Between them they clear up a lot of the misperceptions that ordinary fans have about this is all playing out. I know it wouldn't be college sports if we didn't get mad and insult other teams/conferences (and even each other), but everyone has to navigate COVID USA based on their own circumstances. Those articles do a great job explaining that challenge.
  10. SEC opening week promises at least six of seven games will be snoozer blowouts. How exciting! I know, maybe UKY hangs with Auburn but who cares.
  11. It's contagious as fuck. I don't care how ignorant, liberated, or "non-compliant" Americans are, we can't march tons of people into certain sickness. A college and its town can't function without adults doing maintenance, food service, security, IT, office administration, transportation...basically every job that exists. Even Tuscaloosa isn't gonna stay open if everyone is going around infecting each other.
  12. Multi-page obsession over BYU, Nebraska, Astros cheating and now open COVID denial
  13. Just getting ready for their Chi-O-carditis mixer
  14. Dallas tossing in 5K new cases due to "coding error" may not help the stats. Clay says they're mostly from July
  15. At least that group is outdoors. (there are probably twice as many indoors we can't see) This is a good read from Julia Marcus, another really steady voice throughout the pandemic. College age kids are at the age most likely to take risks anyway, and they also are most at risk for mental setbacks from lack of socialization. Their government didn't curb the pandemic for five months, their school still charges them full rate and invites them back to campus, their local community allows bars to stay open. There will be individual acts of idiocy, but we shouldn't blame them when teams have outbreaks and campus closes down.
  16. It's everywhere, even Villanova had like a thousand kids partying (outside) with no masks this week. Unfortunately those aren't one-off events, that will be every weekend everywhere. Not much chance FB players can avoid those kids for very long. You can do instagram searches for campus bars and look for their recent tags. I did it a little bit in Auburn and Baton Rouge and see some obvious violations. Not sure where to look in Austin, the 6th Street places actually show people with masks for the most part.
  17. August is the month of outbreaks to be sure. If campuses have to start re-closing or even "pausing", it's not gonna matter whether the players are getting it. Quite a shame with this SalivaDirect testing news. Speaking of which, anyone want to be the person answering phones or checking emails at Big Ten, Pac 12, Nebraska, Ohio State, etc. on Monday? That story is getting major play even with headlines like: ...did the Big Ten and Pac-12 act too soon in canceling fall football?
  18. I think because symptoms don't start until 4-6 days after infection, the 10 day mark should be plenty to no longer be infectious. You could still test positive for a while as the dead virus hangs around for weeks.
  19. As always a great @aslavitt thread down below. Really hopeful news regardless of sports implications. Also note the NBA played a role in funding and development of these tests. So where does Adam Silver go for his apology! (idk who needs to apologize, just haters in general I guess)
  20. Is this as big a deal as @aslavitt suggests? Having affordable, frequent testing any time in 2020 America just seems impossible. But Andy has generally been cautious and accurate in his assessments
  21. The SEC leadership has been smart about all this. They haven't actually said "We're playing!" Their medical team isn't looking a month ahead, they are simply judging current conditions and so far they feel it's safe to proceed (Athletic interview with an LSU medical task force doctor). They are waiting to see how NFL camps go, as well as campus reopenings. The fact the SEC hasn't released a specific schedule is also pretty telling. They don't want to appear reckless, even though their students are probably planning myocarditis parties for Labor Day weekend. I think they privately realize it's still a long shot to play, but politically they can't pull the plug until COVID hell breaks loose again in their markets.
  22. Doing the math on the postal service hustle Whole link is a scathing but very simple analysis of what's happening
  23. This potentially frees up resources - money and testing - for the fall football schools as they can slow things down for soccer and volleyball for a few months. Same can be said for prepping the basketball teams when that time comes. It's cynical favoritism but these are desperate times.
  24. Baseball is doing great for the moment. To borrow Dan Wetzel's analogy, if you have to drive 20 miles in a snowstorm, you don't start celebrating after mile 5 or even mile 18. But what baseball has done is shown that the 28 teams who have successfully followed protocol can have a fairly normal season (they're like 30 percent done). There is hardly any comparison to college football, I understand. But I think it's fair to make the narrow point that all sports that decide to play need to be prepared to hold steady when they see some positive tests in the beginning. Can they stop occasional positives from turning into outbreaks? At most colleges, probably not. Imagine if it was 4-5 teams instead of just Miami and St. Louis...that probably ends the season.
  25. Bartles

    2020 MLB thread

    Strasburg ejected...from the stands
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