Dutchrudder

I wouldn't overturn that catch, but that's so damn close.

I would doubt it, assuming Texas wins the B12. Top 4 should be SEC winner, Pac12 winner, OSU/Michigan winner if they win the conference, then either the ACC or B12 winner. If FSU, OSU/Michigan stay undefeated, I think Texas will be 5th. It will come down to how they stack up against the Pac 12 winner.

You're talking about some of the more progressive countries though. Most in the region still hate Israel, and it has been that way since it was founded. Let's run down the list of countries: Egypt and Jordan have had decent relations with Israel and the US for a while. Turkey has always tried to straddle the line between gaining EU membership and Western acceptance, and maintaining its role in the Muslim Brotherhood. They have recognized Israel for a long time, so nothing new there. Qatar and UAE have good relationship with Western countries, they know where their money comes from, and they don't seem to worry about the backlash of diplomatic relations with Israel. I would imagine Kuwait could fall in that category too if given the right deal, but they prefer to align with other Arab states. Saudi is a bit like those in the sense that their economic prosperity is largely driven by the US and EU, however I can't make heads or tails of where their future lies. They are slated to join the BRICS on January 1st, and that does align them more with China/Russia and their cohorts. I think Trump's lack of response against Iran in 2019, after Iran sent drones into Saudi and bombed their oil fields, caused the Saudis to take a hard look at what they are going to do in the future and who they are going to align themselves with. If the US protection guarantee is no longer there, then they need a new army to protect them from the next Saddam, or avoid doing anything that would create war with Iran and other neighbors. Normalizing relations with Israel wouldn't really help them unless the US agrees to protect them from Iran, Houthis, etc. I don't know how serious it is that they considered joining the Abraham Accords, unless US protection guarantees were on the table. It would seem like an unforced error to sign it without huge concessions and protection from the US. If China and/or Russia wants to fill that role, then I guess we will have some difficult times ahead for US foreign policy. Morocco signed on to the Abraham Accords in order for the US and Israel to recognize their claim to Western Sahara. A move that nobody else in the UN recognizes, as it's considered occupied territory much like settlements in the West Bank. That was a huge fuckup by Trump's State Department for no real benefit other than adding to the total number of countries in his deal. That's about the diplomatic equivalent of The Coalition of the Willing signing on a bunch of Pacific island nations. Not much of a victory, and now how the hell do we counter any other claims of occupied land in the world when we recognize both of those? Russia wants to keep newly occupied east Ukraine, well we let 2 other countries do it now so... uhhh... 🤷‍♂️ It also complicates the 2 state solution, as the new state(s) would require Israel giving up occupied territory. So who else is going to sign on to recognize Israel then? Who is going to maintain diplomatic relations and a ceasefire? How many are going to stop supporting terrorist groups as a proxy? Are any of these in the region a realistic option? Syria Lebanon Iran Yemen Oman Iraq Kuwait Gaza/West Bank Because if you can't get some of these countries on board (Iran, Syria and Yemen aren't happening), then you will continue to have war in Israel. Creating a state out of Gaza and the West Bank doesn't fix that. It doesn't stop rebel groups from launching rockets at Israel, and if anything, it just increases the ability of those terror groups to acquire weapons to kill more Israelis. The Houthis have been a conduit for Iranian terrorism in the region for over a decade now, Hamas is much the same but more limited due to Israel's control. If you remove the blockades and iron grip on the region, then the next missiles they launch won't be made from sewer pipes. So I understand why Israel wants to maintain control over them, I understand that it's a foreign occupation, and that it's an awful situation for everyone involved, but how else should Israel deal with it? Turn over control to the Palestinians and hope/pray they don't get significantly more powerful weapons? Would you want Israel to make that agreement if you were a citizen living there?

So the Cardinals get Lynn for 10m, Gibson for 12m. Is that fair value for a couple of ~5 ERA pitchers? Are the Cardinals trying to compete or not? I know the market isn't great, but neither of these guys move the needle.

Preventing searches for terms like that isn't a bad thing though. I'm guessing he's banking on MM not having saved evidence and screenshots of their claims.

The Knicks are suing the Raptors lol...

A lot of the usual baseball speculators think Ohtani will go to the Dodgers, but no news from his camp yet. I always wondered about his impact on the Angels bottom line, as that's likely so valuable to them that they don't want other teams to know the extent of it. This video breaks down the insane amount of revenue he brings to the team that signs him, making his projected 50-70 million a year salary negligible aside from tax purposes. Some interesting highlights from it: Every Angels game was shown in Japan last year, and there was even a channel dedicated to focusing on Ohtani the entire game. Shohei made over 40 million in endorsements last year, next highest was Judge with 4.5 million. 21 million people in Japan watched the Home Run Derby this year, compared to 7 million in the US. The World Baseball Classic generated about 480 million in Japan over the 3 weeks they played, thanks to Ohtani. The Angels were able to sellout all their behind-the-plate advertisements, many of which were Japanese companies. The maximum value of those advertisements is estimated at 87 million, but it may not have been worth quite that much. Still a huge revenue generator for whatever team signs him.

Nice win but very lucky. Lots of turnovers, lots of big defensive plays, shitty refs all around. Will Anderson and Stingley were huge on defense today.

I jdon't understand how anyone can support a "2 state solution" to this never ending fued, when we know the newly created Palestinian state would never agree to recognize Israel as a sovereign nation with normalized relations. It's a large part of the reason why every other attempt has failed, and why it won't work this time either. Israel isn't going to "Free Palestine" when they know it would just be creating another Arab nation that wants to destroy it. That new nation would immediately become (or continue to be) a pawn of neighboring Arab states as the primary location for continuing their never ending proxy war on Israel. Nothing has changed in the last few decades, no matter how many people die on either side, you can't force Gaza to try a progressive democracy and use diplomacy to settle issues. And I can't really blame Israel for not wanting to create a more formidable enemy out of Gaza or the West Bank by granting them nation status. So I think this military operation will continue until they are satisfied, but it will "end" with most of Gaza occupied by the IDF, and it will become their Iraq-like quagmire. Their troops will be attacked periodically, some will die in IED blasts, and they will continue to use the never ending sporadic attacks as justification for their military presence forever and ever.

Ouch, that one hurts.

Bill Simmons likes the Rockets and Ime Udoka hire!

Ah I didn't realize there were 3 others that accused him. From what I could read on the web, they all claimed "rough sex" went too far, and he beat them up in the process. None of them filed charges at the time of the incidents, so there weren't any criminal trials, no convictions. Kind of tough for an MLB team to overlook all that though (we know the NBA and NFL wouldn't care), but it might happen if a team is desperate enough and willing to deal with the potential protests. He has pitched pretty well in Japan, and would have a contract this off-season if he weren't radioactive.

The original report said he was treated by EMS workers, but TMZ got his ring doorbell cam showing him coming home with his bike in pain. No mention of his BMX bike in the initial report either. Speculation is he made up the story to cover up doing something stupid.

I thought Trevor was vindicated by the lawsuit against the woman who specifically texted her friends about her plot to extort money out of him with false claims of abuse? Is there some other bad stuff he did, because afaik the domestic violence stuff was bogus.

Happening today, a bunch of pro-Palestine protests shutting down/blocking a few major bridges around the country.

Cole's thoughts on it:

There are lots of doubts around the veracity of the Kelly Oubre hit-and-run story. Police can't find any evidence of it, no cameras or witnesses besides Oubre, and he was not taken to a hospital by medics after being "found and evaluated at the scene." TMZ got his doorbell cam of him and his bike coming home to his apartment after he was injured. Speculation from the peanut gallery is that he hurt himself doing dumb BMX tricks and tried to cover it up with something that won't make him forfeit his salary.

I don't know the specifics of the contract, but now that you mention it, do the 140 innings have to occur in the regular season? Pitching another 20-30 in the postseason should probably count too, but I don't know what the specific language is. Would be nice if postseason is included to give some leeway in the event he misses a few weeks for an injury.

Verlander needs to hit 140 innings to trigger his 2024 option, of which the Mets will pay half. We definitely want that to happen, as he's a bargain at 17.5m and it also fucks the Mets which is always funny. 140 innings is 28 starts with going to the 5th, or 24 starts averaging the 6th. Hopefully he's healthy and good for it, and we can win one more with him before he retires.

I like the premise of the show, but I don't think it's meant to be funny, which is a departure from everything else Nathan has done. Skewering reality TV shows that clearly stage the premises, direct reactions and fake the emotional aspects of their shows is something I can get behind. All of that while the main characters do not care, are in denial or are possibly ignorant of the negative effects of their philanthropy can make for an interesting show. The line of thinking "At least I'M DOING SOMETHING so it must be good!" is on point with the way today's American philanthropic culture operates and its often willful ignorance of the situations and outcomes for the people it's trying to help. Yes the Whitney character probably does want to help the community, and yes she probably does want to make things better for other people, but the real purpose of the show is to make them look good and profit off that image financially and socially. I think Asher's angle is obvious. Anyways, there are some weird aspects to the characters, which leads me to thinking this show will only get darker as the characters spiral downwards into madness. I expect it to get more uncomfortable as they are confronted with the reality and consequences of their actions, but that just makes me interested in where it's going. I have enjoyed everything Nathan has made it in the past, so I'll keep up with the show despite it not being typical Nathan-type funny.