61 thoughts on “May 6, 2014: Strep”

    1. I would trade my visits to Angel Stadium of Los Angeles Anaheim, Dodger Stadium, the Cell, and Miller Park for an opportunity to go back in time and see a game at Tiger Stadium. If pressed, I'll throw in my visit to Wrigley. I'll keep my visit to County Stadium, though; I'm pretty sure that's the only time I ever saw Bo Jackson or George Brett play in person.

      1. I would also trade my visit to angle stadium for just about any other ball park.

        1. I've seen 2-3 memorable events at the Big A, but besides the huge dive-bombing sphinx moths in the upper deck, there was nothing memorable about the stadium.

      2. I'm headed to my first visit to Wrigley for a Brewers/Cubs tilt in about two weeks. Super pumped. Been to Wrigleyville a few times but never been for a game.

        1. the most memorable thing about Wrigley (and about Fenway): the men's bathrooms.

          1. Ha. Fenway was fun, but I hear ya. Nice to know I have a similar experience coming up.

            1. I vaguely recall the smell of the bathrooms at Crosley Field. Old urine-soaked concrete smells different than new.

      3. We moved from Michigan when I was 6, but I have distinct memories of attending maybe a half dozen different games there. It was pretty great. The seats behind home plate were below field level for some reason. The upper deck down the 1B line hung out far enough that you may as well have been in the pitcher's back pocket. There were actual box seats. The smell of sausage and peppers... sigh.

        1. Well, fortunately you can always come here when you have a hankering for a bunch of sausages and a pepper.

          7. I'm not sure which of these is more appropriate as a reaction, but either way bra-effing-vo

  2. Minor Details was delayed, but it's up now. Also, a morning game alert, as Cedar Rapids plays Quad Cities beginning at 11:00 Central this morning.

    1. I'd read about Robot Turtles before but hadn't seen this particular story (nor the awesome stats presented). Thanks. I already have my next two game ideas in the works and will be pursuing them regardless of how the somewhat riskier Rome does.

  4. Wild Playoff Watch: Home Cooking Edition

    8 PM Central - Game 3 (CNBC)

    Once again, the Wild can't afford to lose any home games. They could hang with Chicago in games 1 and 2, but as soon as they opened it up to try and score to tie or go ahead Chicago took advantage and put the game away.

    Neither team in this series has lost a home game so far this playoff season. Hopefully that's still true tomorrow.

    1. The second period of game one was one of the most frustrating periods of hockey I've seen. It's a good thing the kids were asleep by then.

      Russo tweets Nino/Koivu/Coyle. Moulson/Haula/Fontaine is a line. My guess that makes Moulson the third man high every %$#@! time down the ice. Ballard draws in, Prosser out.

      1. I was watching a portion of the second game at XCel Energy Center.

        We took my daughter to Stars on Ice and I was in the bar before it started with my neighbor. It was not good (the hockey game, that is).

        1. No, it was not. The hope for Wild fans is the team just ran out of steam after an emotional seven-game series and a quick turnaround to a team waiting and fresh. At least, that's what this Wild fan is clinging to.

          1. It's really remarkable how different the team looks from the one series to the other. I don't know how much of that is opponent vs. other things, but the difference is big.

          2. My perception is that the Hawks are just a stronger team, more experienced top-to-bottom (as well as on the bench) than the relatively-young Avalanche squad. When they increased the tempo and put more pressure on the defense, Colorado wasn't able to respond consistently. Something Scoggins said in the paper hit home:

            The Wild continues to cling to the fact that it found itself in this same predicament against Colorado, down 2-0 coming home. But the obvious difference is that the Blackhawks aren’t the Avs. They won’t lose patience or poise if the Wild can turn up the heat and extend this series.

            I don't think you'll see the production from Hossa/Toews/Kane drop off like MacKinnon/Stastny/O'Reilly's did when the Wild focused their energy on stopping them. Plus, you've got Seabrook, Bickell, Keith and Saad to contend with.

            Oh, and Pominville, Parise and Moulson* need to score and Koivu, Suter and Granlund** need to be table-setting, or stopping the Hawks' top lines won't make a bit of difference.

            *regular season goals leaders - playoffs: Parise has 3, Pominville and Moulson have 1 each ... P'ville's an empty-netter.
            **regular season assists leaders - playoffs: Koivu has 5, Suter and Granlund each have 3.

  5. A good friend of mine is selling this on ebay. A must have for any fan of grumpy cat and cut off jean jackets.

      1. I knew your brother was an architect and I saw the name Madson associated with the architectural firm LHB and wondered if there was a relation to you and your brother. LHB is a good firm, btw.

        1. He's a talented guy, just like his dad. Actually, his younger brother is also an architect (and the nephew who has hipped me to some excellent new music over the years.)

      1. 'Spoiler' SelectShow

  8. Evidence suggests that helmets don't protect their wearers against concussions.

    Nevertheless, there are a few hints. For one thing, concussions typically develop after lower-impact head hits—ones that aren’t as forceful as those that crack skulls. Research suggests that concussions are also caused in part by impacts that cause the brain to rotate inside the skull, or what is called rotational acceleration. This kind of acceleration is believed to damage nerve fibers called axons, leading to concussion symptoms. So in theory, a helmet that mitigates this kind of acceleration at lower-than-lethal impact forces might help prevent concussions—and would be especially great for young athletes, considering that the many common blows to the head endured by high school football players induce rotational acceleration and are usually these lower-impact hits.
    Problem is, current helmet standards—both for kids and adults, and for all sports— totally ignore rotational acceleration. As a 2013 paper by Virginia Tech researchers put it, “there currently is no federal or industry head injury safety standard that considers rotational acceleration, even though there is strong evidence linking it to injury.” Indeed, today’s sports helmets are designed to attenuate high-impact linear acceleration forces, which occur in a straight front-to-back line, like “if you hit the head through the center of gravity,” explains Robert Cantu

    1. Probably unsurprising, but a few minutes with Google suggests that helmets that mitigate rotational acceleration is an area of interest for DoD and the defense industry, too. There was a night and day difference between the helmet I was issued at the beginning of my tour and the end of my enlistment, both in terms of comfort and protection (how I wish I'd had the newer model in Iraq), but there's still plenty of room for improvement as far as TBI is concerned.

  9. NBA:

    1. Durant wins the MVP. Well-deserved, and perhaps the first of many.

    2. Clippers beat the Thunder. There is a non-zero chance that the Clippers win it all. I think they can get out of the West and presuming Miami wins the East, the Heat will have a tough time with that interior game.

    3. Wizards down Washington. I watched a fair amount of this game. Down the stretch, the Wizards tightened up, but Indiana is just adrift on offense right now. I think Washington has to be a big favorite in this series now.

        1. For those of us that hated both the Lakers and the Celtics, this was a sweet victory. Plus, I loved the Dr.

          1. I first became a Sixers fan because my intramural basketball team in 5th grade was the Sixers. We got to choose our name, and I asked the guy who proposed the name why. He said because they have Dr. J! At the time, he was probably the only non-Laker or Celtic that I knew by name. When playoff time came, I started watching games and of course I started cheering for the Sixers, who ended up winning it all. That pretty much cemented my fandom. Of course, it's been a loooooong drought since then. The Twins are still the last of my favorite pro teams to win a championship. Of course, that's true for most of the WGOM, who mostly cheer for all things Minnesota.

    2. Sir Charles has already declared that Washington is going to win this series. I think that's a premature conclusion, but, yea, Indy is off its feed.

    3. Ugh, I badly do not want the Clippers to move on. Sterling aside, I saw the Ibaka "technical" that was called last night and it is a very good example of why I dislike watching Griffin. I'll root for Dwayne Wade to win another ring over Paul/Griffin, but I'm petty with this stuff.

      Also, Randy Wittman possibly moving to the conference finals is frightening.

      1. I'm thinking the Sterling thing has become a rallying point for the Clippers in sort of the same way the Boston Marathon bombing was for the Red Sox.

        1. Yeah, maybe sort of, but the Clippers are a good squad and OKC looked a little exposed in the last round.

    4. I know the media had been speculating for weeks, but what the hell is going on with Warriors? I don't get firing mark jackson unless there was some serious shit going on behind the scenes.

  10. Remember that OOTP league Dread Pirate always talks about.

    My first season and I'm in the championship this week. They know how to treat a newbie!

    1. Congrats! If a relocation or expansion opens up I look forward to the same treatment.

  11. Considering how polarizing discussions about distribution of wealth and income inequality can be, I'll spoiler this bit ... but holy hell!

    'Because $$$' SelectShow
    1. 'Spoiler' SelectShow
    2. 'Spoiler' SelectShow

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