I humbly suggest the NBA and NHL playoffs for the time being.
172 thoughts on “May 11, 2012: If You’re Into Sports”
I just want to thank the people who participate in the game logs. For a variety of reasons, I'm rarely able to do so. Even when the Twins lose, the logs are a wonderful thing to read first thing in the morning.
even with all of the kvetching? You are a saint, Padre. 😉
(joaking about the former; I've been absent a lot recently too)
I have to concur here. This year has been extremely busy for me and I haven't been able to make the game logs much, but for me they are the backbone of the WGOM.
I am in a similar spot what with the new daughter, which accounts for my lessened game log participation. Keep up the good work, guys who watch and comment.
'Community' get a 13 episode renewal for next year, and have a terrifically funny episode last night. hooray.
But it's a terminal season for next year, so is that happy or sad?
if it gets to leave out on a high note and properly wrapped up (like 'Chuck') then its all good.
(like 'Chuck')
I spent most of the fourth season and a good chunk of the fifth ready for it to end before it slipped any further. Then the last five or six episodes of the season five happened, and then I was all sad that it was ending. I totally agree, though, they did the ending right and wrapped it up nicely.
I should go find the 4th and 5th seasons of that one. I watched the first 3, realized it was starting to slip, and got out early.
Dido. Though pretty sure I didn't notice as quickly.
I thought it was fairly solid (with a couple of missteps) all the way through the third season. It went off the rails pretty quickly during the fourth, though.
I have a feeling I stopped watching in the fourth season. I have the first episode I didn't watch in my queue on Hulu, even though it's no longer available. All I remember is that it's episode ten.
I think I watched 2 episodes of season 4 before giving up.
Did NBC do that with all of it's Thursday night comedies? I was hearing the same for 30 Rock and Parks and Rec.
I believe the Office got a full renewal, but yes, the other three shows got the same swan song plan.
Parks and Community both deserve a full pick up. Sad. I have the feeling that NBC's comedies are unfairly hurt by the Nielsen system.
speaking of ratings, The Boy and I got polled after our viewing of The Avengers. I was asked a bazillion questions, then shown a trailer for Django Unchained, then asked another bazillion questions. I may or may not have paid much attention to the questions, as I needed to pee by that point.
But Django Unchained looks like it will be a fun action flick. My description of it from watching the trailer: a cross between Unforgiven and Blazing Saddles. If I'd had my wits about me, I'd have mentioned Sergio Leone's stuff with Clint and the incomparable They Call Me Trinity
I saw Blazing Saddles in the $5 dvd bin at Best Buy last week.
The Office... got... renewed??
**shudder**
It has had so many misses lately that it's been hard to overlook the hits, but they've been there. Now that Toby Flenderson is out as the lead guy (the dude who plays Toby has apparently been in charge during this whole fiasco), I'm hopeful for a return. What they've done with Nellie - who was easily the stupidest character they ever introduced - was pretty solid, to be honest. They could make that work.
The David Wallace bit is interesting, and the idea that the Robert California character will be disappearing is joyous news, but I don't know if it's enough to save the show.
Maybe not enough to save it, but certainly enough to warrant giving it a new look, along with the bit about some changes in the show's leadership.
Also, yes on those first several episodes. Florida started to turn things around, and they've been off and on since then.
agreed about the Florida episodes. I thought that was going to turn the season around but once the entire gang was back in Scranton it went back to rubbish. I dont know what in more miserable, watching this past season of The Office, or this season of the Twins.
Speaking of you watching comedies... how's Arrested Development going for ya?
It's fantastic. I'm watching more of it tonight.
How far in are you?
I'm seeing three different statuses for three comedies here.
30 Rock is getting a definitely final 13-episode season. Community's also getting 13, but no definitiveness about the season being final, and there seems to be some possibility, however remote, held out for a back-9 order (this is what happened with the fourth season of Chuck, essentially). 13 isn't going to get it to the magic syndication number, so if NBC's new comedies tank and Community does what it does in the numbers it could get that.
Parks and Rec looks like it's getting a full 22, according to Sepinwall.
I'd imagine they'd want Community to make that magic syndication number... we'll see. That one's kind of been teased along 13 episodes here, 9 there, for a while now.
Meanwhile, Parks is the funniest show on television right now, so I'm glad to see it's full pickup.
I happened to catch this weeks episode of Community and I have to say, it re-affirmed my opinion that I find it completely un-funny. I have decided I'm not smart enough to get it, or something.
Now Parks and Rec I'll agree with you guys. Now if damned Netflix would just get season 4 out there.
Community already has a syndication contract thanks to a deal with Comedy Central. Whether it can get enough episodes for syndication for other tv channels is up in the air.
Like I said this morning, Im just happy they get another season.
Denver blows out the Lakers, forces a Game 7, which will mark Metta World Peace's return from suspension.
Redemption?
Go Sixers! Woohoo!!!111!!!
Until the Twins become watchable again, I think I'm going to temporarily switch my allegiances to the Orioles and Nationals. I have a history with the Orioles as I watched them a lot in the late 1980's. Also Washington, DC is the only other city I've ever lived in for more an a couple of weeks so I have a little connection there.
See you in a few years then.
I might be watching the Diamondbacks regularly if I could get them on MLB.tv.
MOVE WIETERS TO THIRD BASE!!!!
FIRE **looks up managers name, then misspells it**
Another option is following the minor league teams. New Britain is off to the best start in team history or you can just keep up with the top prospects. You can get scores and links to each team's website here. Each of the Twins' full-season teams have free audio for each game.
There's also a nifty MiLB At Bat app you can get for iPhones that's just like Gameday, but no streaming audio or video. Not sure if there is a Droid version.
I listened to a lot of MiLB games at my desk at work last year. It was great.
I adopted the Rockies as my NL team several years ago. Unfortunately, they're 6.5 games back and Cuddyer's been regressing to the mean since my birthday. I knew his strong start wasn't sustainable, but it was fun to follow while it lasted.
I wonder if Joe Posnanski still thinks that Ron Gardenhire is the best manager in the game.
Uh, fair point. RT @devil_fingers Noticing a distinct lack of "Ron Gardenhire is awesome" stuff this year. Can we get on that?
A few friends and I are having a "Twins suck!" fair-weather fan discussion. We're talking more about booing the team than disowning the team. I suggested the only time I really boo is when a crappy free agent acquisition sucks (Bautista), and it's to show displeasure with management. The Mauer hater stepped out:
I don't boo the Twins. I boo Joe Mauer. I boo Joe because, in my opinion, he does not feel an obligation to the fans or the team to get on to the field. He wants a day off every time he doesn't feel perfect. And then stubbornly refuses to explain his situation to fans who care enough about the team to watch them every day through a 99 loss season. He takes everything he has for granted. I will boo Joe Mauer winning the MVP in the World Series until his attitude changes.
The only point I can take is the "stubbornly refuses to explain his situation to fans who care enough about the team to watch them every day through a 99 loss season." I know he's just a man and has no responsibility to me, but given his contract and his injuries he could and probably should do better here. Of course, I wouldn't boo him for that one thing.
He's the greatest catcher of our generation, and folks boo him like he's punching a kitten in the face. I'll never understand what the booers think that they're owed.
Why does he have to explain himself?
because he's in the service industry and The Customer Is Always Right?
note: I am firmly NOT a Mauer booer. But we all know that the big contract puts a target on his back (as well as Target). Fans want him to excel in the power categories. He's not That Guy, and the less-knowledgeable fans will never accept that.
I put that on the team, more than anyone. Bi-lateral leg weakness? They deserve to be mocked for that. Instead, Joe has taken the heat for that ludicrous phrase.
What stick said. Seriously, what other injured player explains their injury to the public on any other team? Mauer didn't do anything different the last couple years regarding his injuries than other players, yet Mauer is the one that take crap for it? I find it tough to swallow that a guy who has been as good as he has at as physically demanding of a position as there is in baseball doesn't put forth max effort. Its ludicrous.
There is so much here I want to object to. None of his premises have any grounding in reality. This kind of thing makes me angry.
The Mauer hatred in this town is over the top. I don't know if I've seen anything like it.
I read the Strib account of last night's game. Criticisms of Plouffe, Komatsu, and others over screw ups in the field and base paths. The first Stribbie lays blame on Mauer for not caring. Huh?
And I still fall in the trap of listening to Barreiro but turn him off once he starts to rant about Mauer. Two days ago his complaint was that Joe shouldn't be a 3 or 4 hitter. I didn't realize that he made out the lineup card.
Yesterday's complaint was that the leftfielder plays Joe in shallow left field near the line. I didn't realize that he positioned the opposing fielders.
Twins' management needs to come out and support Mauer. They created this problem and they need to fix it. They need to explain that he is our best player and he gets on the field as much as he can. They also need to put public blame on their medical staff. I think the reason that Joe doesn't explain the injury situation is that he is trying not to throw management and the medical staff under the bus. They need to step up and say they screwed up.
I'm pretty sure they did say they screwed up last year, it just didn't matter because 1. no one was paying attention by that point and 2. that's not the storyline Barreiro, et. al. were pushing. I'd also agree about Joe not wanting to throw anyone under the bus.
Either way, the guy gets out there, he plays, he's taken on extra positions to be more valuable to the team, and he's obviously very good. I don't know what more anyone could want. And I don't know how to get through to people who have made up their minds to hate. Clearly facts won't work.
They said it, but they haven't pushed it. There needs to be a strong, consistent pushback if they're going to change the attitude.
I don't think it can be changed at this point. There's so much ire in such a focused direction (well, Mauer and Morneau) that I can't see anything the team says changing that atmosphere other than winning a championship (Twins fans seem to be no better than Yankees fans in that regard)....and that ain't happening for a looong time.
I don't know what more anyone could want.
I dunno, an OPS north of .800 would be a start.
It has to be hard to get motivated when your co-workers are shitting the bed night after night.
I guess some folks have a more of a what have you done for me lately type of attitude. I prefer to recognize that even if things aren't especially great right now, there are not more than about four or five players, total that have ever worn the Twins uniform that have had a better career wearing it than Mr. Mauer. He is certainly the best position player the Twins have had in at least the last 15 years -- at least since Puckett retired. And maybe before that, too.
I like this. You're good at this baseball analysis stuff. Point you. It's not a gag, but it's worth it.
In fact, I've created a whole new category of points.
There's a lot of that going on here, so try to reserve points for really good insights.
Also, anyone can edit.
Also, anyone can edit.
big mistake; -1 Philo
I don't see anything wrong with that.
Anyone but Sean can edit?
Don't make me bring out statfreak101 again!
you mean he was YOU all along??!!!
Mauer's career numbers thus far are impressive, indeed. His numbers since his big contract went into effect, decidedly less so. Granted it's a small sample size (112 games), but there are a lot of folks in the "what have you done for me lately" camp.
It's unfortunate that the team bungled the handling of his injuries as badly as they did last year, and he certainly isn't responsible for the ineptitude of the pitching staff (or any of his teammates, for that matter.) But, as doc points out above, that kind of money is always going to lead to heightened scrutiny. And the fact remains that the team is 71-121 since the new deal went into effect. Fair or not, Joe is gonna take heat for that.
Even when Joe Mauer was the absolute best player in the American League, which he was from 2006-09, there were people in this town who were unsatisfied. We all know that. The bald-headed idjit screamed into the microphone all the time about how he wasn't all that, even as he won, count 'em, three batting titles as a catcher.
As for the last year plus, I guess it's all a matter of what you believe. If you believe he's some sort of malingerer/pansy, then go ahead and believe it. You are now in the same group of people that include the likes of Dan Barreiro, who thought and repeatedly voiced over the public airwaves (imagine the amount of spit that was collected in his microphone as he spewed that nonsense) that the Twins should have drafted Mark Prior right up until it became the biggest joke in town.
If you believe that Joe's been hurt and has tried to come back and play, but is physically unable at this point to perform at the level that he did when he was the best player in the league, well jump on the bandwagon. There's plenty of room. You might note that he was hitting .325 this year, albeit with not much power, until the other day when he took a foul ball off his knee. Since then, he's continued to play in every game, save the first one after that, but his production has nosedived. Coincidence? Is it possible that injury can affect performance?
As for the argument that he's underperformed his contract to date: well, he vastly overperformed his previous contract and the Twins are still to the good overall on Mauer vis-a-vis his production versus what he's been paid. When he got his last deal (which gave him financial security for life), he didn't just sit around and rest on his laurels. He played at the absolute highest level. Even still, some people weren't satisfied. See above.
It's quite possible that Mauer will never again be who he was. If so, I certainly would be disappointed. I guess I just refuse to come anywhere near the camp housing those who think his favorite activity is sliding on his wallet. His track record of production is long enough to support the theory that it is a lack of physical health that has been his undoing and not a lack of character or something.
And that is all I'll say on the matter.
Maybe if Joe can go all Nolan Ryan to some pitcher's Robin Ventura, or get ejected or something, some will begrudgingly concede that maybe he cares a little about winning.
Gardy was just on 1500. They asked him about Mauer getting booed. His response was that Joe is scuttling a bit right now and he knows he's got to get going.
Nothing about that response is untrue but it sounds to me like Gardy is basically saying he agrees with the fans. He didn't come back by saying that the starting pitching is a bigger problem than any of our hitters. Or that Joe has been at. 270 at times in his career but he always ends up over. 300.
He had a great opportunity to stand up for Mauer and didn't do it. I don't think changing the manager does much for a team but it is time. I am done with Gardy.
I'd suggest that this is a recent trend (since manager of the year award?) for Gardy. He used to be a "players' manager" where he'd always stick up for the player from those outside the organization. It helped offset his otherwise questionable/poor in-game decision making. He seems to have gone full-time into self-promotion mode. I like that the Twins are all about stability and don't just have knee-jerk reactions, but I too think it's time for Gardy to go. He's doing more harm than good.
That sucks. You're right that it was the perfect opportunity to say something the equivalent of "Joe's the least of my worries right now. We just made changes to address the bigger problems that we've had at other positions."
Eventually, Mauer will go to another team, have a tremendous year, and the Stribbies will call him a trader to are team.
The idea of Mauer going to a different team makes me so very sad. Please take it back.
Exactly. If the Twins had let Mauer go to the Yankees, fans would've been up in arms about that. We'd be blaming our lame start on the fact that we didn't sign Mauer. Either that or we'd be like St. Louis going "Albert Who-jols?"
Pfft. We've traded an underperforming all-star catcher to the Yankmees before, and totally pillaged them.
I knew this would get The Nation riled up. 🙂 I gave him a suitable reply. Basically "you're mad at a guy for reasons you've made up." It felt good.
Everbody bait.
I will once again play a reluctant devil's advocate for booing.
I know how people here feel about the "face of the franchise" concept. It's a ridiculous, contrived notion that doesn't mesh with a sport comprised of individual personalities. But that's not how the majority of sports fans feel. For a large amount of people, Joe Mauer isn't just Joe Mauer anymore. Joe Mauer is the Twins.
I'm sure that if you polled the populace about why they boo Mauer you would get plenty of idiotically specific responses about his injury history and his lack of power and all of the ridiculous "flaws" that members of the media have poked and prodded at for years, but I think the big problem is that he is now a symbol of the shoddy product that the Twins are now selling.
When people boo number 7, they aren't just booing Joe Mauer. They are booing everything that has gone wrong for the Twins in the past two seasons.
Also, what would you prefer, people going to Twins games and booing or people not going to Twins games at all?
That's a false dichotomy.
Perhaps it is, but I think that people going to games and booing shows that they are at least still passionate about how the team is doing. If the team stays this terrible, people will eventually stop showing up. I don't think too many people booed the 1998 Twins, but I don't think anybody wants to go back to 11,000 person crowds.
To me, this reads like an argument in favor of lazy thinking.
I'm not really trying to justify it, I'm just trying to explain why I think it's happening. And I think it has a lot to do with Mauer and the Twins becoming synonymous in people's minds. If the Twins suck, it must be because Mauer sucks. If the Twins are great, it must be because Mauer is great. I don't think it's logical, but I also think it's subconscious for a lot of casual fans.
Sure, that's probably a good explanation as to why the fans boo Mauer, but given that explanation, I still think it's dumb that fans are booing Joe Mauer.
Dumb or not (and it is), it sounds pretty plausible to me.
If Mauer was putting up these numbers on this contract for any other team, he'd be hearing boos at home.
I'd say that Albert Pujols would have been a lot less likely to have been booed after his rough start in St. Louis had he resigned there because he has built up a lot of capital in that city over the years.
That is a guaranteed statement. People would bellyache about Albert a lot, but I just don't see the boo-birds here in StL like Joe is seeing in Mpls.
A World Series title will do that for you.
I would add that St. Louis is primarily a baseball city and has a fairly knowledgeable fan base.
St. Louis would still be a good team this year even if Pujols was there stinking it up. If the Cardinals were as bad as the Twins, I don't think the fans would be as forgiving.
Just because people are dumb everywhere doesn't mean we ought to be happy about Twins fans in particular being dumb.
I think most casual fans just repeat what they hear from the media. When the manager has had a chance to set the record straight, he has not done so.
I can handle the booing of a GIDP much easier than booing a guy as he steps up to the plate.
I don't mind when players get booed for lackluster play or making a stupid mistake.
I just don't buy the "Twins are Joe Mauer" argument. I would never boo Jared Allen and AP because the Vikings are 3-13.
The difference is that Joe Mauer is in the spotlight every time he steps to the plate. He's not just one gear in the larger machinery of a play. Jared Allen and AP might not hear boos, but I think a high-profile quarterback for an under-performing team would hear plenty.
Do you know what the best part about not living in Minneapolis is? Not having to listen to sports talk or hear about people who hate Joe Mauer.
Reading this, list me as someone who thinks it's possible that Amy Senser's conviction, at least on the felony counts, will be overturned.
Yikes. Sounds like the judge screwed the pooch with his jury instructions.
Who said it?
For all of the logical arguments that can be made against publicly funding stadiums, cities are collections of buildings.
I fully expect to be in the minority here, but what the hey. I have no problem with them forfeiting if they feel they can't compete and be in line with their faith. I personally don't agree with their beliefs, but they are not demanding she not play or contesting the legality of having her in the lineup.
What it comes down to, for me, is that just because I don't agree with someone's belief doesn't mean that that belief needs to change. They are not doing harm to anyone outside their organization. If the students or their parents disagree with the decision, they should bring it up to the school or choose not to send them to that school.
Well, count me in the minority, too. Let 'em forfeit.
Assuming the article I linked to is correct, they certainly had no problem previously.
This Yahoo blog post (not the article bS linked) indicates she sat out of the teams' previous meetings to avoid the conflict, but didn't want to sit out of the title game.
So turnabout is not fair play, I guess. It seems clear to me who has more respect for their opponent in this situation. I suppose it's up to the team if they want to forfeit, but it was the 'adults' involved who made that decision for the team, not the players. Personally, if I were on the team that forfeited I'd feel terribly cheated and would look for another school at which to play baseball.
and if I were one of her teammates, I'd feel cheated by the other team. I want to play, not be handed a medal for showing up.
Oh, I'm with you as well. But the belief still angers me. I think separate bathrooms for men and women is am atrocity that makes zero sense to me, but I won't win that argument most places.
I tried one of those bathrooms once, but it really freaked me out when a woman walked up and starting using the urinal next to me.
The employee facilities at the British Museum are co-ed, just fyi.
A buddy of mine took his wife ice-fishing. Nature called, so he created some kind of structure so she could have some privacy. The wind blew it over. She wasn't happy.
I agree that everyone in America has the right to practice the faith of their choice, but I also think if you want to participate in the larger secular society you need to temper your religious convictions as needed to fit the secular rules and norms of that society. For the most part the Supreme Court agrees with that position.
Well, we're skirting the forbidden topic pretty handily here, but I'd say it's almost the other way around - if your faith directs your non-participation in the larger society in select fashion, but not in other ways (so, for example, forfeiting a baseball game), so be it. The school shouldn't be forced into a "play everyone or play no one" situation. They should be able to forfeit whatever game they want for whatever stupid reason they want.
Alright, I'll shut up now.
And I will follow suit.
I agree that the team has a right to forfeit if they wish to. I also believe that they should be mocked and ridiculed for taking that stance. Freedom cuts both ways.
Also, that school better not be taking any money from the federal government.
Ditto. Them not playing implies that their beliefs should be imposed on other teams too. They can have a rule or policy about their own team, but why should that dictate what someone else does?
Yeah, that poor team being forced to win a playoff game. What is the world coming to?
Them not playing implies that their beliefs should be imposed on other teams too.
No idea where that came from. Maybe some people will see it that way, but that's not (necessarily) how it works.
If they have a belief that girls shouldn't compete with boys, then they can make that rule for themselves. The fact that they are not playing in the game because the other team doesn't follow the same beliefs means that they think the other team should observe the same rule.
Did the Univ of Ky bow out of the championship game when Texas Western made it? No, they played the game and got beat. Rupp had his belief, but he didn't duck a game with a team that did it differently.
They DID make that rule for themselves! I don't see how you can say one person's beliefs automatically infers that they think everyone else should have those beliefs. It doesn't work that way.
Do the Amish believe everyone should give up technology and live simpler? I sincerely doubt it. They live that way because it helps them.
I said I'd shut up, but I think Moss is saying more than the team was. They didn't forfeit because the other team followed different beliefs, they forfeited because they thought playing would violate their own beliefs. The former would imply that whether a girl was on the team or not, so long as they were playing a team that would allow a girl, they would forfeit. That obviously wasn't what they did. Heck, they played this same team twice this season, obviously indicating that it had nothing to do with the other team's beliefs.
"Our school aims to instill in our boys a profound respect for women and girls," it added.
It doesn't seem terribly respectful to the girl's wishes if she wants to play against the boys and they won't allow it by taking their ball and going home. Also, I fail to see how playing baseball against someone requires disrespect for your opponent in any way. Do they not have respect for their male opponents?
If it's their choice to not play the game, I'm not going to say they have to play the game, but I don't see how this teaches the boys much of anything. If they run across a woman in a competitive industry, should they forfeit their job?
If they run across a woman in a competitive industry, should they forfeit their job?
Yes. If they're dumb enough to follow that example then they probably aren't very good at whatever it is their doing.
I'll say this then shut up. If they were going to forfeit rather than play her team with her on the field, why not allow the team they beat to reach the title game to play in the final? Every athlete I've ever known has wanted to win on his/her own merits, not be handed something he/she didn't earn.
(this doesn't mean that athletes shouldn't take medals when given to them because another competitor was disqualified; but even there it's something of a hollow victory when, say, you get your butt kicked but the other guy is disqualified on a technicality that may not really have made up the difference)
It does seem as though, from the standpoint of the tournament director, you would want to treat this as a team forfeiting its place in the title game, rather than forfeiting the game itself. If the team had forfeited its place in the title game, then presumably it would go to the team that the forfeiters had beaten.
Back in my baseball benchwarming days it would've been great to have a girl on the team.
Also anytime this team gets any good all their opponents have to do is throw a girl on the roster.
Dr. Chop and I are on the verge of buying an Ipad. From what I can tell the upgrade from 2-3 was in the screen resolution and ram. Anyone have experience with either of these models and have an opinion?
I've been testing out a 3 for work, and it works great, but I don't have anything to compare it to, since it's the first I've really done anything with an iPad other than play around with them in big box stores.
My mom just gave me a 3, but I've never used any other version so I also don't have anything to compare to. The 3 is nice, though. If I was buying one, I assume I'd save money and go with the 2, because that's the kind of guy I am.
All I know is that iOS 5 (5.1.1 now, I think) still does not support Adobe Flash. Why that is nobody seems to know. Maybe Jobs took that secret to the grave with him. But I sure wish they would fix it. Rant complete.
Will never, ever happen and that's a good thing. I haven't owned an Apple product since the original iPod, but I did have to suffer through many years of terrible Flash and Job's choice was the right one.
Oh, I remember when Disney converted their whole website to Flash about a dozen years ago or so. Broadband was not yet ubiquitous and on a dial-up connection the bandwidth requirements were just too much. It made for a terrible user experience, just brutal. But the limitations of the technology have not stopped web and app developers from using it, and Adobe has made significant improvement in Flash technology. I guess as a consumer I'd rather make the choice to access Flash content on an iOS device on my own instead of having Steve do it for me.
No, I mean terrible Flash. I've been using Linux full-time for six years and what Adobe shipped was terrible. But had to use it because everyone else used it for everything. Adobe has made a lot of improvements since then so instead of terrible, it's now just crap.
On a desktop system it isn't as noticeable, but on a mobile device it is. The extra overhead slows down everything and eats battery life. Steve knew that if if he allowed Flash on the iDevice and it performed poorly (which it would unless Apple redid it completely), then people would blame the iDevice for being slow. Now, as of late last year, Adobe is no longer even bothering with Flash for mobile devices. Did Apple kill it? Absolutely, and the world is better because of it. Adobe had a monopoly on rich content and it's quickly being supplanted by HTML5, which is faster, more open, and has competition to push it forward.
sean, I guess I will defer to your more informed and experienced opinion here. I hadn't considered the overhead issues on mobile devices or how it might affect consumer opinion and/or adoption of the device. Thanks for filling me in on the history, because I was uninformed on that. But I am aware of the rise of HTML5 over Flash, and I actually favor it for the reasons you cite. I guess my position was flavored more from the aspect of a consumer (why can't I have everything I want?) as opposed to a device developer (how do we optimize consumer perception of this product?).
I agree from the perspective on a consumer, especially one (i.e. many iDevice users) coming from the Windows world. Flash actually works quite well there, which makes the break even harder.
Yep, that would be me on the left.
Here's the "cool" kid on the right.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF_6OfgbF7c
Ha, I hadn't made that. Connection before. Love that movie.
oh, wow. I hadn't made that connection either. He's excellent in that, as opposed to just annoyingly smug as "cool Mac guy".
Yeah, Justin Long worked a lot before those commercials, and has worked a lot since (I guess he was the main sidekick on Live Free or Die Hard, though I've never seen it). I wouldn't necessarily blame the performance in the commercials on him - the advertisers are pretty strict about getting their point across, rather than allowing actors room to create characters.
Can someone explain why Apple is up 50% since Jobs died?
His heirs will surely be grateful for the 6-month window on the step-up basis. (It's amazing to think of how much tax-free growth in assets will have been realized in this case. If Moss says any more, it will be in the forbidden zone!)
Probably because I never bothered to research it. Mea culpa.
I bought my wife an ipad 2 for her birthday. I had the choice between that and the 3. I have a 2. I figured that the difference wasn't worth $100. That's my $0.02.
The difference in picture quality is impossible to miss, so your decision should hinge on how much you'd utilize the video. I don't work in the computer department, but I work right next to it, and from soaking it in I've heard that the other differences are subtle at best.
yeah, part of the function of an ipad is that it'll become a mobile portfolio for me. I'm not entirely certain that the resolution will make or break the reception of my work, but who knows.
I think that the screen is about the only thing. My wife wasn't going to care, so I went with the 2.
That and LTE were the two big features. If neither matters, then there isn't much reason to get it.
We got a wifi only.
We knew we were getting one a couple weeks in advance, so my wife wanted to look at them at Big Blue. I even told that to the kid working there and he still tried to sell me the 4G version. It was the weirdest up-sell attempt, ever.
Miguel Sano not in the lineup today. It's his birthday, so maybe he's just getting a day off, but I'm wondering if he's being promoted to Ft. Myers.
"flu-like symptoms" 😉
So my birthday is next week, and I'm wondering if anyone has any freebies to recommend. For example, I signed up with Noodles and Co. several years back, and they send me a free meal every birthday. Any other ones y'all recommend?
/I work at legal aid, so I'm forced to be cheap.
The only one I use is the Famous Dave's P.I.G. Club. You can sign up on the website and they'll email you a pretty good coupon to use on your birthday.
Hasn't that recently changed to just always a dessert or appetizer now? A couple years ago I got the garbage can lid full of food. _THAT_ was a winning ticket!
I like Noodles & Co. More particularly, I like one dish on their menu. Forget what it is, but I have that every time I go in there.
noodles?
Yeah, that, and some accompaniment.
how'd you like today's grub?
Not too bad. See my comment below.
Red Robin does one.
I just ran my same 4.43K route as yesterday. I knocked a full 2 minutes off my time. Doing the math over a full 5K, today's time is 25:58, whereas yesterday was a 28:17.
If you fast-forward in this video from Česká Televise to 20:00, you can see footage of a rugby tournament we played in about a month ago. At about 20:52, we are on screen. I am the tall, gangly one who scores for the blue & yellow. I know it's not a huge deal, but footage of me scoring a try was aired on national television.
Magoo -- international star!!! We knew you when....
Twins losses have become so routine that I almost find it comforting to look at the box score at the end of the night and see that they lost. Sun rises in the east, Twins lose, sun sets in the west.
With the loss last night, the Twins officially entered 100-loss territory by my stupidly simple wins expectation formula: 62.0 expected wins. A .412 expected winning percentage for the balance of the season. A 5-game winning streak would actually increase their expected wins by 5.1 wins. A 5-game losing streak would decrease their expected wins by only 3.8 wins.
Proof positive that Gardenhire needs to be fired: At lunch today, Moss told me that he's "softened his stance" on Gardenhire.
Just kidding, bud. Good to see you again.
Well, really it was a couple years back...he wasn't getting in the team's way. Now, he's definitely not part of the solution.
I just want to thank the people who participate in the game logs. For a variety of reasons, I'm rarely able to do so. Even when the Twins lose, the logs are a wonderful thing to read first thing in the morning.
even with all of the kvetching? You are a saint, Padre. 😉
(joaking about the former; I've been absent a lot recently too)
I have to concur here. This year has been extremely busy for me and I haven't been able to make the game logs much, but for me they are the backbone of the WGOM.
I am in a similar spot what with the new daughter, which accounts for my lessened game log participation. Keep up the good work, guys who watch and comment.
'Community' get a 13 episode renewal for next year, and have a terrifically funny episode last night. hooray.
But it's a terminal season for next year, so is that happy or sad?
if it gets to leave out on a high note and properly wrapped up (like 'Chuck') then its all good.
(like 'Chuck')
I spent most of the fourth season and a good chunk of the fifth ready for it to end before it slipped any further. Then the last five or six episodes of the season five happened, and then I was all sad that it was ending. I totally agree, though, they did the ending right and wrapped it up nicely.
I should go find the 4th and 5th seasons of that one. I watched the first 3, realized it was starting to slip, and got out early.
Dido. Though pretty sure I didn't notice as quickly.
I thought it was fairly solid (with a couple of missteps) all the way through the third season. It went off the rails pretty quickly during the fourth, though.
I have a feeling I stopped watching in the fourth season. I have the first episode I didn't watch in my queue on Hulu, even though it's no longer available. All I remember is that it's episode ten.
I think I watched 2 episodes of season 4 before giving up.
Did NBC do that with all of it's Thursday night comedies? I was hearing the same for 30 Rock and Parks and Rec.
I believe the Office got a full renewal, but yes, the other three shows got the same swan song plan.
Parks and Community both deserve a full pick up. Sad. I have the feeling that NBC's comedies are unfairly hurt by the Nielsen system.
speaking of ratings, The Boy and I got polled after our viewing of The Avengers. I was asked a bazillion questions, then shown a trailer for Django Unchained, then asked another bazillion questions. I may or may not have paid much attention to the questions, as I needed to pee by that point.
But Django Unchained looks like it will be a fun action flick. My description of it from watching the trailer: a cross between Unforgiven and Blazing Saddles. If I'd had my wits about me, I'd have mentioned Sergio Leone's stuff with Clint and the incomparable They Call Me Trinity
I saw Blazing Saddles in the $5 dvd bin at Best Buy last week.
The Office... got... renewed??
**shudder**
It has had so many misses lately that it's been hard to overlook the hits, but they've been there. Now that Toby Flenderson is out as the lead guy (the dude who plays Toby has apparently been in charge during this whole fiasco), I'm hopeful for a return. What they've done with Nellie - who was easily the stupidest character they ever introduced - was pretty solid, to be honest. They could make that work.
Nellie turned around a bit in the last two weeks. The first four or five episodes each surpassed the previous episode as the new "worst episode ever".
Maybe not enough to save it, but certainly enough to warrant giving it a new look, along with the bit about some changes in the show's leadership.
Also, yes on those first several episodes. Florida started to turn things around, and they've been off and on since then.
agreed about the Florida episodes. I thought that was going to turn the season around but once the entire gang was back in Scranton it went back to rubbish. I dont know what in more miserable, watching this past season of The Office, or this season of the Twins.
Speaking of you watching comedies... how's Arrested Development going for ya?
It's fantastic. I'm watching more of it tonight.
How far in are you?
I'm seeing three different statuses for three comedies here.
30 Rock is getting a definitely final 13-episode season. Community's also getting 13, but no definitiveness about the season being final, and there seems to be some possibility, however remote, held out for a back-9 order (this is what happened with the fourth season of Chuck, essentially). 13 isn't going to get it to the magic syndication number, so if NBC's new comedies tank and Community does what it does in the numbers it could get that.
Parks and Rec looks like it's getting a full 22, according to Sepinwall.
I'd imagine they'd want Community to make that magic syndication number... we'll see. That one's kind of been teased along 13 episodes here, 9 there, for a while now.
Meanwhile, Parks is the funniest show on television right now, so I'm glad to see it's full pickup.
I happened to catch this weeks episode of Community and I have to say, it re-affirmed my opinion that I find it completely un-funny. I have decided I'm not smart enough to get it, or something.
Now Parks and Rec I'll agree with you guys. Now if damned Netflix would just get season 4 out there.
Community already has a syndication contract thanks to a deal with Comedy Central. Whether it can get enough episodes for syndication for other tv channels is up in the air.
Like I said this morning, Im just happy they get another season.
Denver blows out the Lakers, forces a Game 7, which will mark Metta World Peace's return from suspension.
Redemption?
Go Sixers! Woohoo!!!111!!!
Until the Twins become watchable again, I think I'm going to temporarily switch my allegiances to the Orioles and Nationals. I have a history with the Orioles as I watched them a lot in the late 1980's. Also Washington, DC is the only other city I've ever lived in for more an a couple of weeks so I have a little connection there.
See you in a few years then.
I might be watching the Diamondbacks regularly if I could get them on MLB.tv.
MOVE WIETERS TO THIRD BASE!!!!
FIRE **looks up managers name, then misspells it**
Another option is following the minor league teams. New Britain is off to the best start in team history or you can just keep up with the top prospects. You can get scores and links to each team's website here. Each of the Twins' full-season teams have free audio for each game.
There's also a nifty MiLB At Bat app you can get for iPhones that's just like Gameday, but no streaming audio or video. Not sure if there is a Droid version.
I listened to a lot of MiLB games at my desk at work last year. It was great.
I adopted the Rockies as my NL team several years ago. Unfortunately, they're 6.5 games back and Cuddyer's been regressing to the mean since my birthday. I knew his strong start wasn't sustainable, but it was fun to follow while it lasted.
I wonder if Joe Posnanski still thinks that Ron Gardenhire is the best manager in the game.
April 30th:
A few friends and I are having a "Twins suck!" fair-weather fan discussion. We're talking more about booing the team than disowning the team. I suggested the only time I really boo is when a crappy free agent acquisition sucks (Bautista), and it's to show displeasure with management. The Mauer hater stepped out:
The only point I can take is the "stubbornly refuses to explain his situation to fans who care enough about the team to watch them every day through a 99 loss season." I know he's just a man and has no responsibility to me, but given his contract and his injuries he could and probably should do better here. Of course, I wouldn't boo him for that one thing.
He's the greatest catcher of our generation, and folks boo him like he's punching a kitten in the face. I'll never understand what the booers think that they're owed.
Why does he have to explain himself?
because he's in the service industry and The Customer Is Always Right?
note: I am firmly NOT a Mauer booer. But we all know that the big contract puts a target on his back (as well as Target). Fans want him to excel in the power categories. He's not That Guy, and the less-knowledgeable fans will never accept that.
I put that on the team, more than anyone. Bi-lateral leg weakness? They deserve to be mocked for that. Instead, Joe has taken the heat for that ludicrous phrase.
What stick said. Seriously, what other injured player explains their injury to the public on any other team? Mauer didn't do anything different the last couple years regarding his injuries than other players, yet Mauer is the one that take crap for it? I find it tough to swallow that a guy who has been as good as he has at as physically demanding of a position as there is in baseball doesn't put forth max effort. Its ludicrous.
There is so much here I want to object to. None of his premises have any grounding in reality. This kind of thing makes me angry.
The Mauer hatred in this town is over the top. I don't know if I've seen anything like it.
I read the Strib account of last night's game. Criticisms of Plouffe, Komatsu, and others over screw ups in the field and base paths. The first Stribbie lays blame on Mauer for not caring. Huh?
And I still fall in the trap of listening to Barreiro but turn him off once he starts to rant about Mauer. Two days ago his complaint was that Joe shouldn't be a 3 or 4 hitter. I didn't realize that he made out the lineup card.
Yesterday's complaint was that the leftfielder plays Joe in shallow left field near the line. I didn't realize that he positioned the opposing fielders.
Twins' management needs to come out and support Mauer. They created this problem and they need to fix it. They need to explain that he is our best player and he gets on the field as much as he can. They also need to put public blame on their medical staff. I think the reason that Joe doesn't explain the injury situation is that he is trying not to throw management and the medical staff under the bus. They need to step up and say they screwed up.
I'm pretty sure they did say they screwed up last year, it just didn't matter because 1. no one was paying attention by that point and 2. that's not the storyline Barreiro, et. al. were pushing. I'd also agree about Joe not wanting to throw anyone under the bus.
Either way, the guy gets out there, he plays, he's taken on extra positions to be more valuable to the team, and he's obviously very good. I don't know what more anyone could want. And I don't know how to get through to people who have made up their minds to hate. Clearly facts won't work.
They said it, but they haven't pushed it. There needs to be a strong, consistent pushback if they're going to change the attitude.
I don't think it can be changed at this point. There's so much ire in such a focused direction (well, Mauer and Morneau) that I can't see anything the team says changing that atmosphere other than winning a championship (Twins fans seem to be no better than Yankees fans in that regard)....and that ain't happening for a looong time.
I don't know what more anyone could want.
I dunno, an OPS north of .800 would be a start.
It has to be hard to get motivated when your co-workers are shitting the bed night after night.
Career OPS, Twins franchise history:
1. Harmon Killebrew, .892
2. Joe Mauer, .870
3. Shane Mack, .854
4. Justin Morneau, .850
As we all know, OPS overvalues slugging as compared to OBP. Most people say that the proper ratio of OBP to SLG is about 1.4:1.
Career OBP, Twins franchise history:
1. Joe Mauer, .402
2. Rod Carew, .393
3. Chuck Knoblauch, .391
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I guess some folks have a more of a what have you done for me lately type of attitude. I prefer to recognize that even if things aren't especially great right now, there are not more than about four or five players, total that have ever worn the Twins uniform that have had a better career wearing it than Mr. Mauer. He is certainly the best position player the Twins have had in at least the last 15 years -- at least since Puckett retired. And maybe before that, too.
I like this. You're good at this baseball analysis stuff. Point you. It's not a gag, but it's worth it.
In fact, I've created a whole new category of points.
"Right Baseball Thinking."
There's a lot of that going on here, so try to reserve points for really good insights.
Also, anyone can edit.
Also, anyone can edit.
big mistake; -1 Philo
I don't see anything wrong with that.
Anyone but Sean can edit?
Don't make me bring out statfreak101 again!
you mean he was YOU all along??!!!
Mauer's career numbers thus far are impressive, indeed. His numbers since his big contract went into effect, decidedly less so. Granted it's a small sample size (112 games), but there are a lot of folks in the "what have you done for me lately" camp.
It's unfortunate that the team bungled the handling of his injuries as badly as they did last year, and he certainly isn't responsible for the ineptitude of the pitching staff (or any of his teammates, for that matter.) But, as doc points out above, that kind of money is always going to lead to heightened scrutiny. And the fact remains that the team is 71-121 since the new deal went into effect. Fair or not, Joe is gonna take heat for that.
Even when Joe Mauer was the absolute best player in the American League, which he was from 2006-09, there were people in this town who were unsatisfied. We all know that. The bald-headed idjit screamed into the microphone all the time about how he wasn't all that, even as he won, count 'em, three batting titles as a catcher.
As for the last year plus, I guess it's all a matter of what you believe. If you believe he's some sort of malingerer/pansy, then go ahead and believe it. You are now in the same group of people that include the likes of Dan Barreiro, who thought and repeatedly voiced over the public airwaves (imagine the amount of spit that was collected in his microphone as he spewed that nonsense) that the Twins should have drafted Mark Prior right up until it became the biggest joke in town.
If you believe that Joe's been hurt and has tried to come back and play, but is physically unable at this point to perform at the level that he did when he was the best player in the league, well jump on the bandwagon. There's plenty of room. You might note that he was hitting .325 this year, albeit with not much power, until the other day when he took a foul ball off his knee. Since then, he's continued to play in every game, save the first one after that, but his production has nosedived. Coincidence? Is it possible that injury can affect performance?
As for the argument that he's underperformed his contract to date: well, he vastly overperformed his previous contract and the Twins are still to the good overall on Mauer vis-a-vis his production versus what he's been paid. When he got his last deal (which gave him financial security for life), he didn't just sit around and rest on his laurels. He played at the absolute highest level. Even still, some people weren't satisfied. See above.
It's quite possible that Mauer will never again be who he was. If so, I certainly would be disappointed. I guess I just refuse to come anywhere near the camp housing those who think his favorite activity is sliding on his wallet. His track record of production is long enough to support the theory that it is a lack of physical health that has been his undoing and not a lack of character or something.
And that is all I'll say on the matter.
Maybe if Joe can go all Nolan Ryan to some pitcher's Robin Ventura, or get ejected or something, some will begrudgingly concede that maybe he cares a little about winning.
Gardy was just on 1500. They asked him about Mauer getting booed. His response was that Joe is scuttling a bit right now and he knows he's got to get going.
Nothing about that response is untrue but it sounds to me like Gardy is basically saying he agrees with the fans. He didn't come back by saying that the starting pitching is a bigger problem than any of our hitters. Or that Joe has been at. 270 at times in his career but he always ends up over. 300.
He had a great opportunity to stand up for Mauer and didn't do it. I don't think changing the manager does much for a team but it is time. I am done with Gardy.
I'd suggest that this is a recent trend (since manager of the year award?) for Gardy. He used to be a "players' manager" where he'd always stick up for the player from those outside the organization. It helped offset his otherwise questionable/poor in-game decision making. He seems to have gone full-time into self-promotion mode. I like that the Twins are all about stability and don't just have knee-jerk reactions, but I too think it's time for Gardy to go. He's doing more harm than good.
That sucks. You're right that it was the perfect opportunity to say something the equivalent of "Joe's the least of my worries right now. We just made changes to address the bigger problems that we've had at other positions."
Eventually, Mauer will go to another team, have a tremendous year, and the Stribbies will call him a trader to are team.
The idea of Mauer going to a different team makes me so very sad. Please take it back.
Exactly. If the Twins had let Mauer go to the Yankees, fans would've been up in arms about that. We'd be blaming our lame start on the fact that we didn't sign Mauer. Either that or we'd be like St. Louis going "Albert Who-jols?"
Pfft. We've traded an underperforming all-star catcher to the Yankmees before, and totally pillaged them.
I knew this would get The Nation riled up. 🙂 I gave him a suitable reply. Basically "you're mad at a guy for reasons you've made up." It felt good.
Everbody bait.
I will once again play a reluctant devil's advocate for booing.
I know how people here feel about the "face of the franchise" concept. It's a ridiculous, contrived notion that doesn't mesh with a sport comprised of individual personalities. But that's not how the majority of sports fans feel. For a large amount of people, Joe Mauer isn't just Joe Mauer anymore. Joe Mauer is the Twins.
I'm sure that if you polled the populace about why they boo Mauer you would get plenty of idiotically specific responses about his injury history and his lack of power and all of the ridiculous "flaws" that members of the media have poked and prodded at for years, but I think the big problem is that he is now a symbol of the shoddy product that the Twins are now selling.
When people boo number 7, they aren't just booing Joe Mauer. They are booing everything that has gone wrong for the Twins in the past two seasons.
Also, what would you prefer, people going to Twins games and booing or people not going to Twins games at all?
That's a false dichotomy.
Perhaps it is, but I think that people going to games and booing shows that they are at least still passionate about how the team is doing. If the team stays this terrible, people will eventually stop showing up. I don't think too many people booed the 1998 Twins, but I don't think anybody wants to go back to 11,000 person crowds.
To me, this reads like an argument in favor of lazy thinking.
I'm not really trying to justify it, I'm just trying to explain why I think it's happening. And I think it has a lot to do with Mauer and the Twins becoming synonymous in people's minds. If the Twins suck, it must be because Mauer sucks. If the Twins are great, it must be because Mauer is great. I don't think it's logical, but I also think it's subconscious for a lot of casual fans.
Sure, that's probably a good explanation as to why the fans boo Mauer, but given that explanation, I still think it's dumb that fans are booing Joe Mauer.
Dumb or not (and it is), it sounds pretty plausible to me.
If Mauer was putting up these numbers on this contract for any other team, he'd be hearing boos at home.
I'd say that Albert Pujols would have been a lot less likely to have been booed after his rough start in St. Louis had he resigned there because he has built up a lot of capital in that city over the years.
That is a guaranteed statement. People would bellyache about Albert a lot, but I just don't see the boo-birds here in StL like Joe is seeing in Mpls.
A World Series title will do that for you.
I would add that St. Louis is primarily a baseball city and has a fairly knowledgeable fan base.
St. Louis would still be a good team this year even if Pujols was there stinking it up. If the Cardinals were as bad as the Twins, I don't think the fans would be as forgiving.
Just because people are dumb everywhere doesn't mean we ought to be happy about Twins fans in particular being dumb.
I think most casual fans just repeat what they hear from the media. When the manager has had a chance to set the record straight, he has not done so.
I can handle the booing of a GIDP much easier than booing a guy as he steps up to the plate.
I don't mind when players get booed for lackluster play or making a stupid mistake.
I just don't buy the "Twins are Joe Mauer" argument. I would never boo Jared Allen and AP because the Vikings are 3-13.
The difference is that Joe Mauer is in the spotlight every time he steps to the plate. He's not just one gear in the larger machinery of a play. Jared Allen and AP might not hear boos, but I think a high-profile quarterback for an under-performing team would hear plenty.
Do you know what the best part about not living in Minneapolis is? Not having to listen to sports talk or hear about people who hate Joe Mauer.
Reading this, list me as someone who thinks it's possible that Amy Senser's conviction, at least on the felony counts, will be overturned.
Yikes. Sounds like the judge screwed the pooch with his jury instructions.
Who said it?
I thought cities were places were, you know, people lived.
What, they don't live in stadiums?
Well, they tried it in once city, but it didn't work out so well.
Baseball meets the Forbidden Zone. 🙁
A different article about it mentions they already played twice during the season.
I fully expect to be in the minority here, but what the hey. I have no problem with them forfeiting if they feel they can't compete and be in line with their faith. I personally don't agree with their beliefs, but they are not demanding she not play or contesting the legality of having her in the lineup.
What it comes down to, for me, is that just because I don't agree with someone's belief doesn't mean that that belief needs to change. They are not doing harm to anyone outside their organization. If the students or their parents disagree with the decision, they should bring it up to the school or choose not to send them to that school.
Well, count me in the minority, too. Let 'em forfeit.
Assuming the article I linked to is correct, they certainly had no problem previously.
This Yahoo blog post (not the article bS linked) indicates she sat out of the teams' previous meetings to avoid the conflict, but didn't want to sit out of the title game.
So turnabout is not fair play, I guess. It seems clear to me who has more respect for their opponent in this situation. I suppose it's up to the team if they want to forfeit, but it was the 'adults' involved who made that decision for the team, not the players. Personally, if I were on the team that forfeited I'd feel terribly cheated and would look for another school at which to play baseball.
and if I were one of her teammates, I'd feel cheated by the other team. I want to play, not be handed a medal for showing up.
Oh, I'm with you as well. But the belief still angers me. I think separate bathrooms for men and women is am atrocity that makes zero sense to me, but I won't win that argument most places.
I tried one of those bathrooms once, but it really freaked me out when a woman walked up and starting using the urinal next to me.
The employee facilities at the British Museum are co-ed, just fyi.
I certainly hope that woman was using one of these.
A buddy of mine took his wife ice-fishing. Nature called, so he created some kind of structure so she could have some privacy. The wind blew it over. She wasn't happy.
I agree that everyone in America has the right to practice the faith of their choice, but I also think if you want to participate in the larger secular society you need to temper your religious convictions as needed to fit the secular rules and norms of that society. For the most part the Supreme Court agrees with that position.
Well, we're skirting the forbidden topic pretty handily here, but I'd say it's almost the other way around - if your faith directs your non-participation in the larger society in select fashion, but not in other ways (so, for example, forfeiting a baseball game), so be it. The school shouldn't be forced into a "play everyone or play no one" situation. They should be able to forfeit whatever game they want for whatever stupid reason they want.
Alright, I'll shut up now.
And I will follow suit.
I agree that the team has a right to forfeit if they wish to. I also believe that they should be mocked and ridiculed for taking that stance. Freedom cuts both ways.
Also, that school better not be taking any money from the federal government.
Ditto. Them not playing implies that their beliefs should be imposed on other teams too. They can have a rule or policy about their own team, but why should that dictate what someone else does?
Yeah, that poor team being forced to win a playoff game. What is the world coming to?
Them not playing implies that their beliefs should be imposed on other teams too.
No idea where that came from. Maybe some people will see it that way, but that's not (necessarily) how it works.
If they have a belief that girls shouldn't compete with boys, then they can make that rule for themselves. The fact that they are not playing in the game because the other team doesn't follow the same beliefs means that they think the other team should observe the same rule.
Did the Univ of Ky bow out of the championship game when Texas Western made it? No, they played the game and got beat. Rupp had his belief, but he didn't duck a game with a team that did it differently.
They DID make that rule for themselves! I don't see how you can say one person's beliefs automatically infers that they think everyone else should have those beliefs. It doesn't work that way.
Do the Amish believe everyone should give up technology and live simpler? I sincerely doubt it. They live that way because it helps them.
I said I'd shut up, but I think Moss is saying more than the team was. They didn't forfeit because the other team followed different beliefs, they forfeited because they thought playing would violate their own beliefs. The former would imply that whether a girl was on the team or not, so long as they were playing a team that would allow a girl, they would forfeit. That obviously wasn't what they did. Heck, they played this same team twice this season, obviously indicating that it had nothing to do with the other team's beliefs.
It doesn't seem terribly respectful to the girl's wishes if she wants to play against the boys and they won't allow it by taking their ball and going home. Also, I fail to see how playing baseball against someone requires disrespect for your opponent in any way. Do they not have respect for their male opponents?
If it's their choice to not play the game, I'm not going to say they have to play the game, but I don't see how this teaches the boys much of anything. If they run across a woman in a competitive industry, should they forfeit their job?
If they run across a woman in a competitive industry, should they forfeit their job?
Yes. If they're dumb enough to follow that example then they probably aren't very good at whatever it is their doing.
I'll say this then shut up. If they were going to forfeit rather than play her team with her on the field, why not allow the team they beat to reach the title game to play in the final? Every athlete I've ever known has wanted to win on his/her own merits, not be handed something he/she didn't earn.
(this doesn't mean that athletes shouldn't take medals when given to them because another competitor was disqualified; but even there it's something of a hollow victory when, say, you get your butt kicked but the other guy is disqualified on a technicality that may not really have made up the difference)
It does seem as though, from the standpoint of the tournament director, you would want to treat this as a team forfeiting its place in the title game, rather than forfeiting the game itself. If the team had forfeited its place in the title game, then presumably it would go to the team that the forfeiters had beaten.
Back in my baseball benchwarming days it would've been great to have a girl on the team.
Also anytime this team gets any good all their opponents have to do is throw a girl on the roster.
Dr. Chop and I are on the verge of buying an Ipad. From what I can tell the upgrade from 2-3 was in the screen resolution and ram. Anyone have experience with either of these models and have an opinion?
I've been testing out a 3 for work, and it works great, but I don't have anything to compare it to, since it's the first I've really done anything with an iPad other than play around with them in big box stores.
My mom just gave me a 3, but I've never used any other version so I also don't have anything to compare to. The 3 is nice, though. If I was buying one, I assume I'd save money and go with the 2, because that's the kind of guy I am.
All I know is that iOS 5 (5.1.1 now, I think) still does not support Adobe Flash. Why that is nobody seems to know. Maybe Jobs took that secret to the grave with him. But I sure wish they would fix it. Rant complete.
Will never, ever happen and that's a good thing. I haven't owned an Apple product since the original iPod, but I did have to suffer through many years of terrible Flash and Job's choice was the right one.
Oh, I remember when Disney converted their whole website to Flash about a dozen years ago or so. Broadband was not yet ubiquitous and on a dial-up connection the bandwidth requirements were just too much. It made for a terrible user experience, just brutal. But the limitations of the technology have not stopped web and app developers from using it, and Adobe has made significant improvement in Flash technology. I guess as a consumer I'd rather make the choice to access Flash content on an iOS device on my own instead of having Steve do it for me.
No, I mean terrible Flash. I've been using Linux full-time for six years and what Adobe shipped was terrible. But had to use it because everyone else used it for everything. Adobe has made a lot of improvements since then so instead of terrible, it's now just crap.
On a desktop system it isn't as noticeable, but on a mobile device it is. The extra overhead slows down everything and eats battery life. Steve knew that if if he allowed Flash on the iDevice and it performed poorly (which it would unless Apple redid it completely), then people would blame the iDevice for being slow. Now, as of late last year, Adobe is no longer even bothering with Flash for mobile devices. Did Apple kill it? Absolutely, and the world is better because of it. Adobe had a monopoly on rich content and it's quickly being supplanted by HTML5, which is faster, more open, and has competition to push it forward.
sean, I guess I will defer to your more informed and experienced opinion here. I hadn't considered the overhead issues on mobile devices or how it might affect consumer opinion and/or adoption of the device. Thanks for filling me in on the history, because I was uninformed on that. But I am aware of the rise of HTML5 over Flash, and I actually favor it for the reasons you cite. I guess my position was flavored more from the aspect of a consumer (why can't I have everything I want?) as opposed to a device developer (how do we optimize consumer perception of this product?).
I agree from the perspective on a consumer, especially one (i.e. many iDevice users) coming from the Windows world. Flash actually works quite well there, which makes the break even harder.
Yep, that would be me on the left.
Here's the "cool" kid on the right.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF_6OfgbF7c
Ha, I hadn't made that. Connection before. Love that movie.
oh, wow. I hadn't made that connection either. He's excellent in that, as opposed to just annoyingly smug as "cool Mac guy".
Yeah, Justin Long worked a lot before those commercials, and has worked a lot since (I guess he was the main sidekick on Live Free or Die Hard, though I've never seen it). I wouldn't necessarily blame the performance in the commercials on him - the advertisers are pretty strict about getting their point across, rather than allowing actors room to create characters.
Not sure why you think Jobs is taking it to the grave...he wrote an open letter on the subject.
Speaking of Jobs and the grave...
Here's an ad for Fun Factory!
Can someone explain why Apple is up 50% since Jobs died?
His heirs will surely be grateful for the 6-month window on the step-up basis. (It's amazing to think of how much tax-free growth in assets will have been realized in this case. If Moss says any more, it will be in the forbidden zone!)
Probably because I never bothered to research it. Mea culpa.
I bought my wife an ipad 2 for her birthday. I had the choice between that and the 3. I have a 2. I figured that the difference wasn't worth $100. That's my $0.02.
The difference in picture quality is impossible to miss, so your decision should hinge on how much you'd utilize the video. I don't work in the computer department, but I work right next to it, and from soaking it in I've heard that the other differences are subtle at best.
yeah, part of the function of an ipad is that it'll become a mobile portfolio for me. I'm not entirely certain that the resolution will make or break the reception of my work, but who knows.
I think that the screen is about the only thing. My wife wasn't going to care, so I went with the 2.
That and LTE were the two big features. If neither matters, then there isn't much reason to get it.
We got a wifi only.
We knew we were getting one a couple weeks in advance, so my wife wanted to look at them at Big Blue. I even told that to the kid working there and he still tried to sell me the 4G version. It was the weirdest up-sell attempt, ever.
Miguel Sano not in the lineup today. It's his birthday, so maybe he's just getting a day off, but I'm wondering if he's being promoted to Ft. Myers.
"flu-like symptoms" 😉
So my birthday is next week, and I'm wondering if anyone has any freebies to recommend. For example, I signed up with Noodles and Co. several years back, and they send me a free meal every birthday. Any other ones y'all recommend?
/I work at legal aid, so I'm forced to be cheap.
The only one I use is the Famous Dave's P.I.G. Club. You can sign up on the website and they'll email you a pretty good coupon to use on your birthday.
Hasn't that recently changed to just always a dessert or appetizer now? A couple years ago I got the garbage can lid full of food. _THAT_ was a winning ticket!
I like Noodles & Co. More particularly, I like one dish on their menu. Forget what it is, but I have that every time I go in there.
noodles?
Yeah, that, and some accompaniment.
how'd you like today's grub?
Not too bad. See my comment below.
Red Robin does one.
I just ran my same 4.43K route as yesterday. I knocked a full 2 minutes off my time. Doing the math over a full 5K, today's time is 25:58, whereas yesterday was a 28:17.
If you fast-forward in this video from Česká Televise to 20:00, you can see footage of a rugby tournament we played in about a month ago. At about 20:52, we are on screen. I am the tall, gangly one who scores for the blue & yellow. I know it's not a huge deal, but footage of me scoring a try was aired on national television.
Magoo -- international star!!! We knew you when....
Twins losses have become so routine that I almost find it comforting to look at the box score at the end of the night and see that they lost. Sun rises in the east, Twins lose, sun sets in the west.
With the loss last night, the Twins officially entered 100-loss territory by my stupidly simple wins expectation formula: 62.0 expected wins. A .412 expected winning percentage for the balance of the season. A 5-game winning streak would actually increase their expected wins by 5.1 wins. A 5-game losing streak would decrease their expected wins by only 3.8 wins.
Proof positive that Gardenhire needs to be fired: At lunch today, Moss told me that he's "softened his stance" on Gardenhire.
Just kidding, bud. Good to see you again.
Well, really it was a couple years back...he wasn't getting in the team's way. Now, he's definitely not part of the solution.
And you too...how 'bout that Vikings stadium?
Dude.