Day 414

• We knew it -- Josh Duggar -- child porn.
• Latest word seems to be that Aaron Rodgers will retire if the situation is not repaired to his liking in Green Bay...
• Roberto Alomar has been banned from baseball for life due to a 2014 sexual assault which was investigated.  This SHOULD also mean that Alomar is out of the Hall of Fame, but the Hall has said he remains in.  Wait, wait, WAIT....  But it also seems to answer the question of steroid discoveries after the fact...  And THAT could be a far more important story to this than Alomar himself!
• Nope, THIS MIGHT BE THE MORE IMPORTANT STORY... Two of Alomar's victims now claim they have HIV, and they got it from Alomar!!!
• Pete Lammons, tight-end for the Namath Jets, drowned at a fishing tournament on Thursday.
• And a more probably correct to state as a sacrifice to football:  Courtney Hall also passed.

Day 413

• A Wheel of Fortune event week paid off huge for a sixth-grade teacher -- if the IRS bill allows her to keep her new $375,000 HOUSE she won on the show!
• Tonight is the first round of the National Religion Draft.
• Bryce Harper took 97 to the face last night, and nobody's happy about it!
• The San Francisco 49ers felt the need to attempt to strike while the iron was hot -- they offered the Packers several players, including starting quarterback Jimmy Garropolo, and the 3rd pick in tonight's first round, for Aaron Rodgers.
• Aaron Rodgers is still a Green Bay Packer -- the Packers turned them down.
• The NFL is *REALLY* pushing "Rodgers wants out!" -- it's obvious to me they still want to push Rodgers, but that they will not do it if he's in Green Bay.
• The 49ers deal is apparently a red herring, but the Broncos are now rumored -- as is that he's a front-runner for the Jeopardy! hosting gig.
• Heartwarming story -- dominionist shithead Josh Duggar of "19 Kids and Counting" has been arrested on Federal charges in Arkansas.  No word why yet...  ... but some of us are thinking it's what TLC REALLY stands for...  
• A human-rights group in Kentucky wants the favorite for the Kentucky Derby banned -- as well as his owner, Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai, because the Sheikh has imprisoned his daughter for at least the last three years.

Day 412

• Second shot today -- meaning two weeks from now and I'm full up, at least to the extent currently possible.  GET YOUR DAMN SHOTS, PEOPLE!
• The outgoing champion on Jeopardy! may be in rather serious straits, or it may be nothing --  Kelly Donohue, when he was introduced today, held up three fingers to signify his three victories on the show.  However, he did so in a manner similar to the White Power "W" symbol which has swept Republican parts of the country.  He leaves with almost $80,000 in winnings.
• Logan Paul gets Mayweather, June 6 -- in another "Fuck Your Pandemic Safety" event in Florida.

Day 411

• Geno Hayes has passed away.  He was 33.
• A LeBron James rookie card has gone for a record $5,200,000 at auction.
• In a shock decision, NBC has opted out of the NHL for the new contract.  The second network for the contract will be Turner Sports -- meaning AEW may have to find a new night!
• The timeframe for everyone to get Real ID updates to fly and the like has been extended again due to COVID -- May, 2023 is now the target for the requirement.
• Took seven years, but Jackie Robinson West finally admitted to the use of ineligible players when it won the US Championship in 2014, but got stripped of it soon after.
• Final nail in the coffin, we hope?  Mark Emmert has just been given a four-year extension as head of the NCAA.
• The use of ineligible players (and possible pay-to-recruit violations -- both to college and to the high school) have cost Valdosta High School seven wins from last year, this year's playoffs, and a $7,500 fine.
• It has also cost them their coach, as he was fired by the school's Board of Education a week later.  Rush Propst was recorded needing "funny money" from boosters to support players and families who wanted to come to Valdosta HS -- and also was remarking similar "funny money" from SEC powers to send his players to their schools.
• And the story gets worse.  Propst won five state titles with a school in Alabama, but was effectively fired when it was found out he had a woman and an entire family on the side!!  That also cost him his then-wife, but he then married the other woman!

Day 410

• Major setback in the virus in Japan.  Cancellations of many events as new restrictions have had to be put in place because of a surge in cases.  The Olympics are scheduled to be in about three months.
• Thierry Henry and the CEO of Spotify have joined forces in a bid to buy Arsenal -- several other Arsenal legends are also involved.
• And now we have the great record-book anomaly of the baseball COVID Era:  Madison Bumgartner has thrown a seven-inning no-hitter in a seven-inning scheduled game -- but he's not going to get credit for it in history.  Deadspin is right -- that's an awfully slippery slope.   
• As if LSU couldn't make things any worse...  LSU has just hired the pig who was coaching the Baylor women's program.
• Seven women have now filed lawsuits against the university for their cover-up of the football team and it's sexual assaults.
• At least two NFL athletes are either going to be paid in or will convert their salary into Bitcoin.  You idiots do realize:  1) It's a counterfeit currency.  2) Many conservative punk-ass boys are basically doing the same...  because they do not believe the United States Dollar survives another year or two!  
• Speaking of "conservative punk-ass boys", the state of Arizona is actually performing a Republican-led recount of the 2020 Presidential election.  And no, Mr. Denninger, I have actually read news stories about this effort from at least THREE sites.  But here's the problem:  What do you do if you find out from the recount Trump "won"?   
• Results from the 2020 Census are in, and, starting in 2022, Texas will gain two House seats (and, hence, Electoral College votes) -- California and New York each lose one.
• The recall election of Gavin Newsom (largely over Republican temper tantrums over COVID restrictions) will go forward to a vote by the voters, as the state has confirmed the sufficient number of signatures (about 1.6 million).  Such elections are an immediate two-part process:  First, a yes-no on recalling him outright.  Then, a vote from any and all who choose to candidate for the office if the recall succeeds.  The bad news for the morons is that the latest poll has the question on recalling him losing by sixteen points.   

Day 408

• Social media has gotten so toxic at English soccer that the sport is taking a three-day boycott of all social media.
• Jose Altuve has tested positive for the coronavirus -- but he's between doses of the vaccine.  To my understanding, that is not that unheard of.  The first dose gets you to about 70-75% -- the second dose gets you to 99.  I get my second next week.   
• 
  

Day 407

• Like college football is going to survive in any form approximating present to make it this far...  The CFP is proposing expansion scenarios for after the current contract expires, so we are talking 2025 here.  A four-man committee will look at over 60 scenarios, involving anywhere for six to sixteen teams, for the future of the process.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

First off, for this to even remotely work, the sport of college football in this country has to get beyond the Alabamas and Clemsons of the world.  This is one of the reasons I believe that we are closer to a process equating to soccer's failed Super League than anything approximating a 6-16 team CFP.  Clemson and Alabama have only missed the CFP twice since it started in 2014.  Only three other schools even have multiple appearances.

Second off, there has to be something approximating "college" in the near future, or the entire process fails.

Third off, unless the Group of 5 is actually in the tournament (you can set reasonable conditions, like they have to run the table or one high-level loss or something), this is a non-starter.  The biggest problem (and what they identify) is that 5 conferences cannot go into 4 spots -- so even conference champions-only can't work.

The SEC would never sign off on my 6-team proposal:  5 Power 5 Champions, best Group of 5 champion.

And the only 16-team scenario I could see won't fly with anyone in the Power 5:  All 11 FBS conference champions, 5 at large.

So, non-starter.  The entire process for almost 25 years now is that no one but the elite are in.  

• Justin Layne of the Steelers was arrested this morning -- firearms charge stemming from a speeding stop.
• Steve "Mongo" McMichael has ALS, he revealed today.
• The CEO of Spotify wants to buy Arsenal as the fans are trying to see E. Stan Kroenke off for his role in the Super League boondoggle.
• The LA Galaxy have lost Sebastian Lletget for two matches due to a viral post he made, showing him giving an anti-gay slur in Spanish (and I can think I can guess which one!) to a teammate on the practice ground.
• Having done some research on a YouTube fandom, I think I have my answer as to how Predator Poachers got onto the EDP445 situation -- he'd apparently been on the radar of people looking for child molesters since at least last July!
• Derrius Guice has been banned from the LSU campus for at least FOUR separate domestic violence investigations -- two in 2016, one in 2017, and one in 2020.  (At least one of these allegations is why he was fired from the Washington Football Team.)  This is part of their response to the Les Miles fiasco.  They've also fired their law firm.  The assistant athletic director is banned from any contact with the football team for at least this season for ignoring a 2018 domestic battery complaint.
• Want to see how hard the balls were juiced the last two years?  The batting average for Major League Baseball (according to Deadspin, and as of the start of play today) is a paltry .233.  If (and, admittedly, it's a big IF) this extrapoliates over a season, it will be four points less than what was considered the greatest pitching year of the modern era, 1968.
• Runners in scoring position?  .239
• Why?  Simple.  Strike out or home run.  You are literally seeing 7 or 9 inning games not that dissimilar to Home Run Derby.

Day 406

Couple of clarifications on the rule stuff:

• Two forward passes IS illegal -- but the penalty for a particular play which came up last year did not include the loss of down for a second forward pass.  This rule change gets rid of that distinction.
• The "spot and choose" change to overtime (where one team gets to spot the ball and the other team chooses who gets it there) will continue to be considered (but was, for now, considered an "if it (overtime) isn't broken, don't try to fix it"), as that will probably be something ruminated for at least a couple of years to try to figure out what kind of unintended consequences may come as a result of the change before they get the owners to agree to it.

Other stuff:

• Brett, shut the fuck up, old man, before you have a gun pointed to your face by an angry Black man.  Do NOT think you're immune, especially if this situation with police abuse continues to fester.
• The IOC has said athlete protests will not be allowed in Tokyo, but those who do have been promised legal support by a worldwide activist group.  BLM is one of the disallowed protests.
• Mark Davis, owner of the Raiders, has taken heat from many activists for a tweet reading "I Can Breathe" after the Chauvin convictions.  The brother of George Floyd, however, got the apparent message and says it should not be confused with a similar message made in support of the police by the NYPD last year.
• In the "Oh gee, what a fucking shock" Department:  The Los Angeles Times has an expose on body-shaming within the USC dance team. In one of my schools where I got in trouble, one of the leggy dance team members was a bit curvy.  She was also hot as a pistol, and a goddamn sweetheart to boot!!   
• New Jersey sportsbook auditors have fined MGM $500 for a prop bet error in the Cleveland-Kansas City NFL playoff game.  The error would allow the bet to pay off if either quarterback threw a single pass for positive yardage.  Nine took up on it before the error was noticed, MGM paid off $10,500.  As ESPN Chalk notes, it is ironic -- one of the enticements to get people to sign up is a $1 bet on a prop which would pay $100 (I assume in non-cashable money for bets in this case!) if some absurdly-beyond-easy metric was met -- like the first basket in a game or whatever...   
• Mickie James, one of the 11 talents released by WWE last week, was sent a "care package" of we're not sure what.  She released photos of it on her social media, and it was clear it was VERY DISRESPECTFUL.  Apparently, it was a number of belongings, etc., simply stuffed into a trash bag and stuffed into a box.  HHH has said the situation is being rectified -- the person responsible, fired.  Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano has been terminated.  This is not the first time this has been done to "future-endeavored" talents.

Soccer stories:

• Irate Manchester United fans have broken into the practice ground, trying to force the Glasers out as owners of the club, as, more and more, the Super League boondoggle appears to be owner-led on an exclusive level.
• The first female official at the men's European championships will be on the pitch for Euro 2021.
• After a German Bundesliga club was forced to postpone three matches, the league will quarantine to ensure it's season finishes on time.
• At least two clubs (Real Madrid and Juventus) are being put forward for UEFA sanctions regarding their leadership of the Super League debacle.
• An update:  After nine long months, Wigan Athletic have a new Middle Eastern owner.  Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi now owns the team (as of March 31st), with a five man board of directors.  
• For the first time in ages, 12 points (out of 15 possible) in their last five matches has Wigan Athletic above the cut line to stay in League One for next season.  With three matches to go, Wigan stand at 47 points, four clear of the cutline, however Rochdale has a match in hand at 42, and they are on 10 points out of their last 15 possible to get there.  However, they have only one home match remaining on their last four.

Three sad stories to report:

• Liver complications have left Geno Hayes gravely ill in hospice care.
• Kentucky's Terrence Clarke was a prospect who well could've been drafted in this year's NBA Draft -- he was killed in a car crash.  He was 19.
• And, before he went gangsta, he was known for "The Humpty Dance" in clubs across the nation in the early 90's and a pioneer in psychodelic rap.  Humpty Hump/Shock G passed away today.

Look, someone has to get control over this culture, and has to do so pretty quickfast and in a hurry...

... because the more we are looking at things, the more we are seeing that the entire online culture of YouTube/Twitch/etc. is a harbor for not only pedophilia, but those who will simply exploit it for their own gain.

The latest one is a no-good-guys-at-all story about a sports YouTuber named EDP445 (EatDat... 445) vs. a YouTuber group named Predator Poachers.

Basically, earlier this week, Predator Poachers (after what I can only hope was some pre-investigation on EDP445 (but, given what PP is, there's no guarantee of THAT, either!!!)) Chris Hansen-ed him, successfully, under the guise of that he was going to meet a 13 year old female fan, ostensibly for sex.

This is the type of thing which gets other YouTubers to make videos to effectively say:  "ALL YOUTUBERS ARE PEDOS" (which someone has already posted today).

I won't say every person who's prominent on YouTube is a pedophile, but the fact is that this stuff is ALL OVER THE CULTURE.  I've made several posts on the completely unregulated world of e-sports, and why it will remain unregulated until it is outlawed in this country as a corrupt monetary sham AND harboring pedophilia.

Vic Mignogna and the entire male anime/anime convention culture???  No one can tell me this was just Mignogna and also at least one incident with Todd Haberkorn.  And no one even is deigning to investigate the likes of Gen Fukunaga and, oh, I don't know...  Basically EVERY LARGE-SCALE ANIME CON IN THE COUNTRY for basically backing this guy up...  If there's one good thing about the COVID pandemic, it may finally have either severely wounded this culture or killed it.

I think it's time something similar does in the e-sports and YouTube/Twitch "content creator" situation.

Because now, it's coming out that the guy behind Predator Poachers, an account named Chet Goldstein...  IS A RACIST AND THE LIKE HIMSELF!!

This video, by "penguinz0", does a better job of encapsulating this than I do.

The problem with this is there has to be a baseline of probable cause before one can start something like this, and there's a belief, given how trolly (and violent-trolly) PP is (which see the incident penguinz0 refers to in the first two minutes of the video), Mr. Goldstein needs to show his work.  He has, and probably correctly, a full chatlog of EDP going after a 13 year-old child.  

There's a problem here.  Did you target him because of cause, or did you target him because you felt it would be funny?

Just keep adding logs to the fire, morons.  Someone's finally going to have had enough, and probably sooner than we want!

Day 405

• The Super League has officially collapsed.  Now for the backlash, from both ends...
• Just saying for now...  Man City did win 2-1, but the "1" Aston Villa got seemed to be a very suspicious first-minute goal.
• ESPN Radio host Bob Valvano is taking a leave of absence because he has cancer.
• Sickest fucking irony of this:  Bob is Jim's brother.
• In better news:  By popular demand, LeVar Burton WILL be a Jeopardy! guest host before the season ends.  That will be sometime this early summer.
• Nick Castellanos' two-game suspension was for COVID protocols, creating a possible super-spreader situation.   As Steve Mancuso pointed out, the same MLB which allowed 38000 people at the Rangers opener.  FUCK ROB MANFRED!   
• Antonio Brown has settled with at least one trainer who accused him of sexual assault.
• In better news:  Ronda Rousey is pregnant with her first child, from husband Travis Browne.
• NBA gonna take a look at this one?  LeBron James has just outed the cop in Columbus, OH, who killed a knife-wielding 16 year-old Black girl, by posting his picture and saying "YOU'RE NEXT!"  Now, it was a call-for-accountability issue, but how anyone, in the present sensibilities, cannot see that as a cop-killing threat is beyond me.  I'm no fan of the place exposing this, since James deleted the Tweet 20 minutes later, but he MUST be sanctioned -- NBA, Twitter, AND the law.  That is an incitement to violence.   
• And Jason Whitlock throwing gasoline on this one:  Saying that James and the Tweet are fomenting racial division to turn the US into a communist country.  (MSN)

NFL Rules Change Day.  New NFL rules for the 2021 17-game season:

• The TMO (Television Match Official/"Sky Judge") proposal by the Ravens was rejected.  Why?  You can't twice get through rigged calls more than a few times a season before people figure you out?   
• A compromise was reached -- the current replay judge will be allowed to CONSULT with the officials on certain errors deemed clear and obvious.  Possession, catches, spots appear to be the consultation allowances.
• Offensive position players other than quarterbacks and defensive backs and linebackers can now wear single-digit numbers.
• To give the kicking team a chance on onside kicks:  The receiving team must place at least two players further than 25 yards from the kick.  Onside-kick success ratio in 2020:  3 of 67.  Of the 82 Last Chance Miss games (the losing team had an opportunity (including a missed onside kick) in the last two minutes to tie or win), 27 were at least partially a missed onside kick attempt.  Someone's trying to pump the ratings...   
• It is a one-year experiment.  The Eagles put a "4th and 15" alternative -- one play, where 15 yards have to be gained, in lieu of an onside kick -- forward.  That has been tabled for the one year, but may be considered for 2022.
• Discussion will continue on changing and expanding the area where blocking below the waist is a foul.  Could be re-examined in May meetings.
• Preseason games tied at regulation will be declared draws.
• If, on a single play, two passes are attempted and completed behind the line of scrimmage, it will be loss of down.  I thought that was illegal in the first place!   
• All accepted penalties on extra-point or two-point conversion attempts will now be enforced.
• Efforts to alter the timetables for the postseason hiring of new coaches and GMs so as not to interfere with the playoffs have been shelved, but may return.
• Taunting will be a point of emphasis this season. You could throw a flag, somewhere on the field, probably on just about every play!  It's called "Shut the fuck up and get back in the huddle."   

Day 404

Now the soccer situation has collapsed.  It may be more likely now that the 12 most powerful clubs in Europe may quite literally go down with the ship!

• Chelsea wants out.
• Manchester City is now officially joining them.
• And reports have that, if the entire situation collapses, the Glazers will leave as owners of Manchester United.
• Rumors have Atletico Madrid out as well, and Barca saying they will let the fans decide.  The CEO and President of Atletico Madrid have denied said rumors.
• Andrea Agnelli has been reported to have resigned as the President of Juventus.  Juventus has denied this report.
• Ed Woodward has resigned as chairman at Manchester United.  He was apparently going to leave in December anyway, and it is said not to be because of the ESL -- but I don't believe that for a minute.
• A meeting is being called tonight to call the whole matter off.
• The Super League is effectively finished after the English FA basically told the six English teams that they would have no foreign players, as all foreign work visas would be revoked with immediate effect.

I would be VERY CAREFUL, however, with declaring victory.  I could easily see the next step being that the owners will let their teams rot and tell the rest of European soccer they are on their own.  They MUST be expelled, part and parcel, if anything close to the current model is to survive.  

Other:

• May coronavirus kill Ted Nugent.  PLEASE!!!  Yeah, I said it.   
• The Chauvin verdict IS IN.  State of emergency declared in Minnesota for it.
• Guilty, all three counts.  Unintentional Murder 2 (death as a result of a felony), Murder 3 (creation of a situation which would result in murder), Manslaughter (negligent homicide).

Day 403

Soccer:

• Protests from fans throughout England against the Super Six.  And if you think the owners care about that...   
• UEFA will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to toss the Super League participants from the remainder of this year's Champions and Europa Leagues.  The one major problem:  This would crown the Champions League titlist outright, as three of the four semifinalists are in the Super League.  
• Mourinho has been sacked at Tottenham Hotspur, one of the Super Six.  Which raises immediate questions as to loyalty to the Super League.  This now means Mourinho has been fired from half of the 12 Founding Teams.   
• No word yet on the domestic leagues, but I can't see UEFA allowing the Founding Teams to continue in the domestic leagues, and the hue and cry is that they won't.
  
• Paris St. Germain and Bayern Munich will NOT, as of now, join the Super League.  ... and I believe this would mean PSG would be crowned Champions League champions by default, if I have my brackets correct.   
• One of the Super Six, Liverpool, plays today.  Jurgen Klopp has said neither he nor his players were consulted, but I'm not sure how, with Liverpool resigned, at least effectively, from UEFA, today's game with Leeds United can even go on.  I am aware of sports sanctioning bodies who make it clear that if their players or teams go outside the sanctioning body for unauthorized teams and players, they're banned too!   
• The game went on, and Leeds United got a late equalizer for the 1-1 draw.
• Serie A has already held an angry meeting with respect to the Super League, but the three Founding Teams had very little to say to it.  No decisions have been made yet.
  
• La Liga will not expel the three teams in the Super League, mainly because they have zero belief the Super League ever happens.
• Real Madrid's Florentino Perez believes UEFA is bluffing on expulsion from the Champions League.

Other:

• Closing arguments begin today in the Chauvin trial.  Get ready...   
• The comeback is over.  Alex Smith retires from the NFL.  But at least, it appears, on HIS terms...  
• Aldon Smith has just made himself a wanted man by the police for an assault Saturday night -- up to and including the Wanted poster.  When are some of you motherfuckers going to understand you are giving the KKK White Right in this country ALL THE FUCKING AMMUNITION THEY NEED?   
• Former Vice President Walter Mondale has passed away.

Oh, this soccer story is gonna nail everything for a while...

Today, on a MATCHDAY no less, 12 European superpower soccer teams formally announced they were in plans to create what, for now, will be a mid-week super-competition league for the European superpowers.  The league will be governed by the Founding Clubs:

• Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool from the EPL
• Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona from Spain
• AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter from Italy

That's basically the extent of the EPL, Serie A, and La Liga

• Places 1, 2, and 4 in the current Italian table
• The top three places in La Liga
• And 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9 in the EPL.

There is no way you can tell me this won't DECIMATE three of the four largest leagues in Europe (the Bundesliga powers actually turned the effort down!), up to and including advertising revenue.

The best case scenario is that the teams, because at least $3.5 billion is being placed up front as either grants or loans to the teams and the league, will make this league their first priority.

As for right now, the eventual league (2022-2023 launch) would be 20 teams, with two pools of 10 playing home and away, top three and two playoff winners making quarterfinals.

Hence, the more probable scenario, they leave the domestic leagues and then the value of those three leagues at minimum craters!

And now, late developments:

• UEFA is planning to sue the 12 teams for a stunning 60,000,000,000 Euros (which has to be many times the value of the teams in total -- the aim being that they will put the teams out of business rather than even let them TRY this).
• And, also, late word that there is discussion that if this talk continues, the EPL, Serie A, and La Liga will SHUT DOWN FOR THE YEAR and not award a championship.

I, honestly, don't think any deterrent will stop these clubs, sans the players being banned from the World Cup -- and even THAT could be a dicey proposition.

Because I think the entire intent of the Super League is to obsolete the domestic leagues and relegate the lesser clubs, even at top division, to what would be a DISTANT second division of football.  15 of the 20 teams in the league could never be relegated, with the other five being fed from what is left of the domestic leagues.

And if you want an idea as to why, a Swiss report is indicative that, totaling the 11 teams other than Liverpool, the teams creating this league lost $1.1 billion last season before player sales -- and that was with only three months of it interrupted.  Given that most of Europe has been zero fans all season...

Stay tuned on this one -- this has the potential to be very quickly developing now.

EDIT TO ADD 11 PM PDT:  I didn't catch this til somebody on the soccer reddit pointed it out:  ALL TWELVE TEAMS have resigned from the European Club Association.

Day 402

• It is now official:  15 European teams, including Manchester United and Liverpool, are prepared to talk toward a breakway European Super League -- even though all players, coaches, etc. will be banned from all other world competition once they do.  Simple reason for that:  The moment that Super League gets off the ground, kiss the domestic leagues Good Night.    
• By reports, the NBA claims to be ready for the eventual verdict of the Chauvin trial.  ... which had pretty much better be that they are prepared to shut down until the cities calm down.  I do not see a conviction here, unless the jury knows the truth and adjudicates properly:  A Not Guilty verdict means IT IS ON.   
• Already only about 3:30 Pacific today, and two more mass shootings.  One in Austin, TX -- one in Kenosha, WI.

Day 401

• It appears as if the Entitled Yankee Fan is pissed.  Though there were only 10,000 fans in attendance and no known promotion at Yankee Stadium last night, what was called by Yahoo! "an irate mob of Yankee fans" stopped play several times by throwing balls onto the field.  The Yankees were losing 8-2 to the Rays, and entered play last night a half-game out of last place in the AL East -- TWO FREAKING WEEKS INTO THE SEASON!!!  Ohmygod.... That said, I do think an organized protest is not out of the question here.
• They're already promoting the first battles of San Diego vs. Los Angeles as a playoff-level atmosphere.  It's APRIL, people -- remember that!!   
• All clear for Aaron Donald.  The person who had considered charges against the Rams star mistook him for an attacker.  ... and paid two costly prices for it.  One to his face, one to his reputation.  
• And the Minnesota Twins now have to postpone tonight's (and probably further) game(s) for COVID protocols.
• And in what might be even bigger news, one of the umpires has tested positive for the virus.  League rules and the union mean they can't say who, but...
• The PGA has directed all inquiries to The Masters and the slow-play incident to Augusta National.  Nothing in a week from that side of the equation, sadly.
• And are the Padres getting a bit desperate?  Watch this from MLB.com, and see when the swing, which was reviewed into catcher's interference, actually took place...  Kershaw and the Dodgers had the last laugh -- a bases-loaded walk by Kershaw won it, and a Turner home run in the ninth gave insurance for a 2-0 win.

Day 400

• The Colorado Avalanche are now off for at least 3 games due to COVID precautions.
• The Vancouver Canucks are going to have to play 19 games in 31 days to finish their season, starting Sunday.  Intelligent people are just asking the league to end the Canucks' season -- they're sixth in their division.
• A new report in The Athletic states the toxic work environment in the Mets extends far beyond the GM.
• The Marlins have been forced to admit it...  Barry Bonds was an absolute disaster as a hitting coach.  Gee, no one could've guessed.  Bonds' manner of "hitting coach" would've involved finding sources of The Cream and The Clear.   
• And my anonymous friend gets credit for calling out the bullshit again:  Jake Paul is now having the media purport he was having trouble getting cleared to fight -- because he, of two pro fights (if not just one) and a farce YouTube career, has early-CTE.  OH COME THE FUCK ON!!!!  And how much of this is the ol' "Tourette's Defense" for things like, oh, I don't know...  SEXUAL ASSAULT?   
• Also from my anonymous friend:  The 4.9 million people who watched Dr. Schmozz in his second week on Jeopardy!, was, in fact, the lowest ratings in the show's almost 40 year history on syndication!!! 
• Three Phillies coaches are out due to COVID protocols...
• As is, according to rumor, one of this year's Idol front-runners, who withdrew from the show one week into the live shows.  One rumor has it he was fired from the show for refusing COVID protocols.  Given parts of this country, that would not surprise me.   

Day 399

• At least the beginning of the post-Wrestlemania WWE releases.  About the only one with major question is they cut Raw announcer Samoa Joe, who had actually done more than a passable job on Raw.  Ten talents were released today:  Joe, both of the Iiconics (who, just two years ago, were women's tag champions), Mickie James (a veteran and wife of NWA World Champion Nick Aldis), Chelsea Green, Tucker (the other half of Heavy Machinery), Kalisto, Bo Dallas, Mojo Rawley, and Wesley Blake were all cut today.
• After-effects of a heart ailment ended the NBA career of LaMarcus Aldridge today.
• Today is 74 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball.  Every player, as is tradition on April 15, wore #42.

Day 398

• The UFC is planning a full house at the T-Mobile Center on July 10 for their UFC 264 pay-per-view -- featuring thug Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier. The only defense I can feasibly have for even THINKING this is that even the Biden Administration is trying to target July 4 as a "Declaration of Independence" from this virus.  Otherwise, this sounds like a BAD IDEA on every conceivable front!   
• Jake Paul has a sexual assault allegation against him, as the YouTuber-turned-fraud-boxer has been accused of forcing a female TikTok "star" into sex acts.
• If any NFL team employee wants to keep their job, they best either take a COVID vaccine or have a very good reason not to:  The NFL is going to restrict team-facility access to those who won't.
• An incident Sunday morning has left a Pittsburgh attorney busted up in the face, and he claims the assailant was Aaron Donald of the Rams.  Charges will be pursued by the victim.  Donald lives in Pittsburgh, and the alleged assault has closed one of the attorney's eyes completely.
• And at least one DeShaun Watson accuser, one day after she would have to reveal who she is, is dropping her claim.  Most of the others are accepting the ruling and attaching their names to their lawsuits.
• Yasiel Puig is taking to social media to decry and deny sexual-assault claims made by a woman who stated she was assaulted by Puig in 2018 -- an incident which has, admittedly, been a large part of the reason that Puig is no longer in Major League Baseball.
• There is at least a murmuring that one prospective future owner of the Timberwolves wanted to move the team to Seattle, but was told the NBA would never allow it.
• And now the first of the post-Wrestlemania positive tests have been recorded.  Nice...  job...  dumbasses.  Looking right at you, Vince!   
• And speaking of COVIDiocy:  Andrelton Simmons of the Twins declined the COVID vaccine when the team went to get it.  He's now out...  positive test for COVID-19.
• And it looks like we have an outbreak on the Astros, with up to 7 possible cases -- 5 players have gone on the injured list for protocols.
• The dates and guest host of the 2020-21 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions have been announced.  May 17-28 for the quasi-annual $250,000 event, and 2017 Tournament of Champions winner (and wildly popular) Buzzy Cohen will proctor the tournament.
• And the ratings are in for Dr. (Schm)Oz(z).  Second week of his idiocy on Jeopardy! got the lowest ratings in a very long time.  The show shed over a million viewers between Ken Jennings' run and the 4.9 million Dr. Idiot got.
• Heath Streak, one of the greatest cricket players in the history of Zimbabwe, has been banned for eight years by cricket organizing bodies for taking money from possible match-fixers, as well as other offenses.  (Brian Tuohy gets the hat-tip on this one.)
• In what I can only describe as a tragically bizarre story:  Barney Dale Harris was the boys' basketball coach and Spanish teacher at Union Academy Charter School in Monroe, NC.  Harris was killed and his body was found last week at a North Carolina home of a major Mexican drug cartel, the Jalisco New Generation.  The JNG cartel prides itself on being the most powerful and ruthless drug cartel in Mexico.  Apparently, Harris was trying to ROB them!!!  And, not only that, word was that this wasn't meant to be a singular attack -- Harris and his brother were actually casing houses apparently wanting to rob a number of JNG locales.  Wow.  That's not only having a deathwish -- that's basically having a deathwish to everyone around you as well!  I would be more than surprised, especially if there is a network of JNG houses in that part of North Carolina, if they don't try to kill his entire family.  And I would not rule out them blowing up the school too.  Wow.   

On a far lighter note:

A second meme-worthy moment has emerged from Aaron Rodgers' two-week stint as the host of Jeopardy!...

Seems both he and the show forgot that many Jeopardy! contestants do not know a damn thing about football.

Hilarity ensues...

pic.twitter.com/zq40SBoMBm

— no good car ideas (@car_ideas) April 13, 2021

UEFA shits the bed again.

If it's not clear that world soccer is about 1-2 steps above the gladiator games of ancient Rome, here's another piece of evidence to that effect.

A Slavia Prague-Rangers Europa Cup tie exploded in the tunnel as Slavia Prague's Ondrej Kudela racially abused Rangers' Glen Kamara by whispering racial slurs in his ear.

A brawl developed there.

Kudela denied the allegations, but UEFA confirmed them -- 10 match ban.  Rest of the season and he's out for Euro 2021, where he was expected to play for the Czech Republic.

But Kamara got three for sparking the brawl.

And a Ranger teammate got four for getting sent off with a skull-fracturing tackle.

WHEN ARE PEOPLE GOING TO LEARN THAT THERE ARE TEAMS IN EASTERN EUROPE WHICH ARE THINLY-VEILED RACE WARS READY FOR THE BREWING???

It's not just the fucking ultras in the stands, people.  A lot of this stuff you see on the pitch is what these people actually believe.

Some are calling for Kudela's permanent ban from soccer, but they're not going to get it.  People need to realize that much of central and Eastern Europe is boiling cauldron of this shit -- and it's probably not going to get addressed until a major match is stopped because someone got killed because of this abuse.

Day 397

• Luke Bryan has tested positive for the coronavirus.  In what will make people groan, he's an American Idol judge -- and has been replaced for whatever duration necessary...  by original judge Paula Abdul.
• The Masters, to I think no one's surprise, garnered it's lowest ratings since 1993.
• Wow.  Gary Player's son was caught trying to advertise golf balls during his father's honorary-opening ceremony last Thursday.  He won't do it again -- he's been banned from Augusta National Golf Club.
• Hell just froze over.  I have to agree with Joe West...  One time.   

Joe West was accused by former major-leaguer Paul Lo Duca of rigging the strike zone -- stating he would give Lo Duca's team preferential treatment while Lo Duca was behind the plate and West was calling balls and strikes if he would have the pitcher, the Mets' Billy Wagner, give Lo Duca access to his 1957 Chevy.

Only one problem with that story, Mr. Lo Duca...  And my anonymous baseball historian friend also pointed it out as it was also looked up...  No such game ever happened.  Looking up on Baseball Reference, it never occurred that Wagner was pitching, Lo Duca was catching, and West was calling balls and strikes.

(Closest it ever got, to my friend's research:  West was the 2nd base umpire in a game of that ilk.)

That error has cost Lo Duca half a million dollars in a lawsuit West rightfully filed.

Eugh.  I feel dirty.

"You're a fucking asshole, JOE WEST..."

That's better.  Carrying on...   

• More anti-Asian racism and more threats because "MY TEAM LOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  After making a key error in the final play in a Cleveland loss to Chicago last night, Yu Chang received a number of both threats and Asian-racist messages on his social media.  MLB Security is investigating.
• A Moline High School Black football player was hazed with racism earlier this season when he was forced, for pain of having his knees smashed if he didn't, to sit near banana peels.  He says he wants to be treated as a human first and not a victim, and would much rather us not talk about it.  Your stand is admirable, sir.  I cannot, in good conscience, comply.  Because this has to stop.  Period-freaking-end.  I see the effects every day of similar.  Trust me on this one.    

Day 396

• Here we go again -- another bullshit-circumstances officer-involved shooting in the Twin Cities, and the riots are about to go up again.  Tonight's Twins game, Timberwolves game, and Wild game are already off.
  
• Aaron Hicks of the Yankees is sitting out tonight's game as well.
• Over 50,000 fans over two nights watched Vince McMahon crap all over them with Wrestlemania 37 and show them who REALLY is in charge.  Just like Vince McMahon enforcing his will on the talent defeated WCW -- with Vince losing to AEW, is he willing to try to do the same to the fans to win that battle?   
• It appears the equal pay situation between the US Women's National Team and US Soccer has been partially resolved.  If you ask me, the women should be paid MORE -- they, unlike the men, are actually COMPETITIVE!!!   
• Seems to be a rising drumbeat to get Aaron Rodgers out of Green Bay for some reason.  Perhaps the reality that the Packer model is incompatible with the state of American professional sports??   
• Speaking of fan-owned teams:  You may be seeing ads going up for a unique professional fantasy-football league, set to launch this Fall.  The league is looking for people to put money behind one of ten professional fantasy football teams.  Those stakeholders will then be able to converse and have a voice in trades, acquisitions, etc. and so forth.  The winning team of the ten returns the stakeholders' stakes six times over.  Second place:  3X.  Third place is a straight return.
• Britt Reid, son of Andy, was charged with felony DWI today.  One of the reasons I am beginning to gravitate to Brady vs. Belichick for next February in LA.   

I will eventually need to do some more research on both this final round and the rule, but Augusta National is way too hasty in giving that green jacket to Matsuyama...

One of my anonymous friend's favorite pastimes is watching major golf, especially when it does not involve major-network Tiger/Bryson jocking.

So, of course, The Masters, which just (ostensibly) wrapped up about three minutes before I started this post, is a great weekend of golf.

Too bad it has now been wrecked by all-but-certain controversy about who will be awarded the championship, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama.

Matsuyama is a notorious slow player.  So much so, he has been penalized several times in a more lenient time on the Tour regarding slow-play rules.  In 2013, Matsuyama was penalized while in contention at the Open Championship, a penalty which eventually cost him $130,000 in prize money -- and he was not happy.

He's been warned several times regarding his pace of play, and the PGA Tour decided to use technology to start timing shots in more closely enforcing slow play.

Now, you do get warned first before you take a penalty, but Matsuyama, in the final group, was warned somewhere on the front nine -- we believe the 5th or 6th hole.

It didn't help.  Their group fell an entire group (or more) behind.  The second-to-last group putted out on 18 before the Matsuyama group putted out on 17.

Now, some of the travails Matsuyama and his playing partner had didn't help matters -- but the facts are simple...  When he bogeyed 18, he put himself in jeopardy of that there should be a sudden-death playoff with Will Zalatoris.

Augusta, you've got some 'splainin' to do.  Start talking.

Day 392

• The slog is going well, almost a day after the first shot.  Tired, pain at the site, nothing much else.  Posts, etc., will come as energy, etc. permit.
• There does appear to be some serious discussion of boycotting the Beijing (2022 Winter) Olympics by the Biden Administration.  Both Biden himself and the State Department have announced, in the last couple of days, that they are open to discussing it.
• The Masters began today -- and the third honorary starter with Nicklaus and Player was the first Black man to play Augusta in the tournament, Lee Elder.  It is openly accepted that the blatant racism of the PGA Tour was all that prevented Elder from being a superstar on the level of Nicklaus, Palmer, Player...
• It appears as if the Dodgers' Trevor Bauer was one of the first to get at least a look at the baseballs under new enforcement policies on substances on the baseball -- several balls from his game on Wednesday in Oakland were confiscated.  
• And my baseball historian friend (who does NOT believe the Dodgers should've acquired Bauer!) notes this has been a suspicion on Bauer, even from his Cy Young year.

And you can probably put six more sacrifices to the altar of football...

Another mass shooting in South Carolina yesterday.  5 killed.

Then, this morning, the gunman took his own life.

He has been identified as former NFL player Philip Adams -- murdering 5, including an entire family of a prominent doctor in the area (with 5 and 9 year old children in the victim count), plus someone working at the place.

This isn't only far past time to #RepealThe2nd -- but even Adams' father has already come out and all but announced Adams was sufficiently fucked up by football to serve himself and five others to the altar of the sport through a crazed mass shooting.

A six year NFL career ended in 2015, and it's clear that a crazed combination of the sport and it's complete reliance on the disregard for the human condition has now killed 5 innocents.

But that's all right, right???  That's 5 less we have to worry about because of FOOBAW!!!

Day 391

• Dovetailing off my post:  At some point today or tonight, the vaccine will probably create me not feeling so hot for some period of time.  I will continue to post if and as needed and if I have the energy to do so.  My health comes first, though.
• DeShaun Watson has been dropped by Nike.  The number of lawsuits is up to at least 22, and at least two of the plaintiffs have begun to speak out.
• Atlanta and Washington are playing 2 7-inning games today in a "new traditional" doubleheader.
  
• Early injury scares for the two NL front-runners.  Cody Bellinger is day-to-day with a calf injury, while San Diego's superstar, Fernando Tatis Jr., is in more serious straits with a dislocated shoulder which could have him out weeks!
• The NBA has joined other sports leagues in believing they can have full arenas by the Fall.  We'll see about that -- it could be more getting these QOP idiots vaccinated, though.   
• Wrestlemania Week in the WWE this week.  Last night:  A DOUBLE Hall of Fame ceremony, as the WWE inducted TWO sets of honorees.  Last year's class finally got to give speeches, including Jushin Thunder Liger, Rob Van Dam, and the NWO.  This year's class was headlined by Kane.  Celebrity inductees were William Shatner and Ozzy Osbourne (a rumored induction of The Muppets did not occur).  Ten individuals, including several prominent bookers/promoters like Gary Hart, Paul Boesch, Ray Stevens, and Dick The Bruiser, were put in the Legacy Wing.
• Moved to Tuesday because of two NXT nights tonight and tomorrow and Smackdown (which will have some of the Mania trappings) on Friday before another two-night Mania in a 25,000-limit Raymond James Stadium this weekend.
• It appears as if the nationwide model for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament may be about to be a thing of the past -- that the entire tournament would be held in one particular set of sites.
• The Masters is this weekend -- no word on how the whole Georgia controversy will impact it.  Some gallery will be in attendance.
• After two weeks of large-scale boycott, Aaron Rodgers has brought some semblance of quiet to Jeopardy!  Except for one outgoing champion who was, in a runaway game against him and not knowing the Final Jeopardy answer, slagged Rodgers and the Packers for not kicking a critical field goal in this year's NFC title game.  Psst...  Yo, dude...  Game was rigged.  And, the more it's looking like it, the Packers aren't gonna get a shine anytime soon -- as this REALLY is beginning to smell "Brady vs. Belichick Super Bowl" here!   
• I KNEW I MISSED SOMETHING I SAW THIS MORNING!!  Steve Waithe, a former track coach at Northeastern (and Tennessee, as my anonymous friend points out -- the original story I had only mentioned Northeastern) is now in Federal prison, arrested this week on charges of cyberstalking and wire fraud.  Waithe is alleged to attempt to use various schemes to get female tracksters at Northeastern to send him nude photos.
• And, oh, let's add this to the pie:  Where was this shithead a three-time All American?  PEDO STATE!!!  Apple does not go far from the tree!
• If I'm missing anything, I apologize...  Been getting a lot of stuff together to get the vaccine taken care of.  If I have the energy, I'll keep you abreast as to how I'm doing.
• Back.  Small tingling in the hand and arm where I got the shot so far.  We'll see how it goes.
• Not going well for the Canucks, though -- now up to 21 player positives.
• And the yawning kicks in hard at about 90 minutes after the shot...

Today is the day I do my part, and the Republicans can fuck off.

If you see this as a production number, I apologize in advance.

Today, this afternoon to be precise, I get my first shot for the COVID vaccine.

And, even though I am a conspiracy theorist, I am quite OK with this.

The reason I am is quite simple, and it goes back to what I viewed this as as I was listening to a bunch of conservatives on a conservative economic blog I am no longer allowed to post at.

It was January of last year (almost a lifetime ago, when you think of it!), and the virus was largely contained to China.

And I heard many of the general "fake virus" "jusdaflu" shit as I did now.

And I drew one and precisely one conclusion:  If these people are right, then what this actually is would be a function of that the Chinese would be using this as a cover for (at least a pilot project of) the elimination of those with low social credit scores.

The problem with a lot of these QOP fucks is simple:  That extrapolates here.  If their belief that this virus is fake and being engineered to mask the takedown of the American economy, etc. and so forth and so on is factual -- I'm done anyway.  If the vaccine wouldn't kill me (and there are those who have actually claimed in conservative circles they have witnessed loved ones dying to the vaccine...), then my "social credit" would be low enough that, if such a program existed, I would be offed!!

Karl Denninger, if half the shit you post about the belief on the virus and the vaccine were remotely true then, as I believe I said a few days ago, I am the poster child for the type of person you need GONE and GONE NOW.  And eaten.

Just remember, kid:  "All after the first are free" cuts both ways, big boy.

That out of the way:  There are basically two major reasons that we all need to get this vaccine as soon as we are eligible to do so -- and I'll even exclude large crowds, packed stadiums, whatever the Hell have you, from the equation:

1) It's time the adults in this country rise up and force these fuckers who believe they have the freedom to infect the unfit and kill them (at which point, what difference would it make for you QOP fucks to kill us outright, you stupid shits?) to understand that there are other people in the country than themselves -- and that they either will do something for other than themselves or they will be MADE to!!

I am in full support of whatever limitations are needed that you WILL get the damn vaccine or you WILL NOT be part of America going forward -- the alternative is that I would not in your America going forward, so I'll take the chance with the two jabs and probably getting a bit wiped out over the next few weeks as a result.

2) It's also time to give back, in recognition of all the people who decided, given the pandemic and that a lot of people had a lot of things taken away from them, and do our part that this virus (which still, as Olbermann maintains, is the most powerful being on Earth right now) will not dictate us much going forward.

Early on, in answer to the "Mark of the Beast!" crowd, I talked to my religious brother about it -- and he said to remember that part of the Mark is an allegiance to The Beast.

And, besides:  You QOP fucks have a cellphone?  You're being tracked.

Get on the Net?  You're being tracked.

Smart TV?  Don't get me started!!

Any real involvement you have in society (Hell, even the "store cards" you have...) will track you in some way, shape, or form.  And you won't be able to hide from it without becoming the Unabomber.

So fuck off.

I urge everyone that, if they want to get back and go to sporting events and see their families more often, etc. and so forth -- get the vaccine as soon as you are able to do so.

Now, back to sports.

The NCAA Outs Itself Again As Misogynistic, Pro-Rape, Pro-Pedophilia, and Pro-Cis-Male...

Somewhere, tonight, Bobby Knight is smiling.

Somewhere, tonight, Joe Paterno is high-fiving everybody.

Mark Emmert pats himself on the back for a job well done.

Ken Starr smiles as the QOP bitch he is.

ESPN basically has it's role in glorifying all this shit.

Why?

Because the NCAA, once again, has shown it's true colors and shown that the only value in women in THEIR SPORTS is as a sexual play (in their case, both to the fans and to prospective recruits!!!) for men, the only fans of sports who count.

Look, I knew Gonzaga was not going to be allowed to win the National Championship.  

But RAPELOR???  A school which SHOULD NOT FUCKING EXIST???

If we had laws in this country, Rapelor would not only not exist, but the entire administration thrown in prison.

The entire rise to national prominence in college sports (at least three of them on the major scale) of that supposed "institution" is on the backs of the women who've been raped, assaulted, pillaged, and now ordered SILENCED in the wake of that it might embarrass the NCAA and the entire institution of college sports.

My original thought on this subject goes back to Bobby Knight:  A pro-rape Army bitch who basically is the epitome of a lot of the reason there are far more than just economic reasons to abolish college sports.

Not only is tonight's "championship" an endorsement of "If it's inevitable, lay back and take it!", it also continues his glorification of being the last coach to run the table and finish an entire season undefeated.

Then, thoughts turn to Joe Paterno and his pro-pedophilia stance, up to and including the murder of a district attorney who got too close.

And if anyone wants an idea of why ESPN is so married to all of this:  They probably cease to exist without the money college sports brings them -- not only on the backs of the regional college networks, but the number of college events to fill their schedules...  All on the backs of victims like Baylor's women...

Ken Starr?  Fucking QOP bitch wants to be the arbiter as to who can rape and who cannot -- not only trying to nail Bill Clinton, but he was one of the parties most instrumental in covering up the whole situation at Baylor for being unsavory to Texas men and college sports.  

Hell, he then one-upped himself as to try to say who can even have a relationship and who cannot...  He tried to tell 18,000 LGBT couples they weren't married before Obergefell took the situation and enforced the rights on these little snowflake CHILDREN.

But it gets back to the NCAA, in the end -- an organization which should not exist.  And, unlike Brian Tuohy, it's far more than just financial corruption.

Anyone who, after that situation in the women's quarterfinals and then seeing the men win for Rapelor, does not believe this was a clear serving of "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" to the women who are being raped and assaulted and whose speaking out "embarrasses" the NCAA... 

I don't know what to tell you, because there is no other way to put all this.

Oh, and do I forget the Oregon State pedo pitcher who was glorified by the NCAA and ESPN and made a champion (with a highly-suspicious play by the other team in Game 2 of their championship series being a MAJOR FACTOR) in the College World Series?

This is a fucking school (more like sports and rape factory) who has basically made it's hay in football and both genders of basketball on the back of this culture.

And this (along with Epstein, Weinstein, Mignogna, etc. and so forth and so on) is one of the reasons I think that the situation which has allowed this to go on is not going to be allowed to go on if God (or whatever you do or do not believe runs the show) has anything to say about it...

Yes, up to and including COVID-19.

The Madness and Idiocy of Major League Baseball

Three stories which indicate it might well be a very good thing if this season IS, in fact, the final season of Major League Baseball as it is currently known or (at the very least!) administered.

• We've had our first base-brawl of the year, and only one player got suspended for it.

Nick Castellanos (he, of the famed "long fly to left" meme), was banned for two games (and is appealing) for the incident.

On surface, it's the clear "unwritten rules" stuff.  Castellanos goes deep in the first and basically breaks the old "unwritten rules" and pisses off the pitcher on Opening Day.

The next day, Jake Woodford, on the first pitch of Castellanos' second at-bat, plunks him.  Obvious and deliberate.

Now, I agree with a lot of announcers on something:  If it's that clear and obvious what the problem was, toss the pitcher -- it's clear he plunked the guy.

That said, that's not the incident in question.

After taking his base (and a discussion with Yadier Molina), a hit gets him to third and the bases are eventually loaded, and a wild pitch forces Molina to go for the ball and Woodford to have to cover home plate -- where Castellanos is bearing down.

Hustle play, Castellanos is safe, but Woodford clatters on top of him and takes a knee in the back in doing so.  When they separate, Castellanos has a few words (and a flex) for him, Molina has a few words for Castellanos, shoves him in the back as Castellanos is walking away, and we have an incident!

Yada-Yada Molina, as I like to call him, is one of baseball's notorious hotheads.  This is part of long history of Molina's abuse of pretty much anyone who's not wearing Cardinal colors.  There's an incident on YouTube of him all but accosting an umpire in a game against San Francisco -- one-game suspension.

But Castellanos is the only player tossed.

I have no argument for him being tossed -- it's a great example to tell some of these pro-taunting fans of two things:  What constitutes taunting and why the rules are there.

But then you suspend him two games for taunting.  Because that's the only thing you could've suspended him for -- the lollipop in the first game and then the flex 

So why then:

• Was Molina not tossed and suspended for escalating the situation, like the hothead he is?
• Was Woodford not tossed and suspended beforehand for throwing at Castellanos?
• Was the umpiring crew not fined or suspended for screwing this all up and causing this in the first place?

Oh, and my anonymous friend makes a great point to me:  Nick Castellanos has now been punished more severely for taunting than any Houston Astro for basically rigging a world championship.

Or is it OK when it's "Fuck The Dodgers" and it's the meaningful opposite of the Black Sox?

But we're a week into the season, and that's not the only idiocy in Manfred-Ball...

• The other two stories come from Texas and today's Opening Day there, where Texas Governor Greg Abbott has made not only an ass of himself, but a complete mess of things.

Abbott was supposed to throw out the first pitch today for the opener in Arlington -- the first game with fans in the new stadium in Texas which was used for the World Series last year.

Abbott refused, citing MLB's decision to yank the All-Star Game from Georgia.

Oh, so we want to be a little bitch about it...  Look, it's clear that the QOP wants to go back to White, (cisgender-)male, Christian landowners being the only ones with any rights and the ability to vote.

I've had to listen to members of the QOP basically call women every derogatory name in the book and saying they are unfit for basically any rights which have been imposed upon men (please note my statement as the QOP's belief) in the last 100 years.

But then, we get the result of his misguided "Open Everything!" method.

I made reference to the fact that Australia and New Zealand earned the right to have a full-stadium rugby match by their adherence to protocols, etc.  (Which has largely been reversed because of the re-emergence of COVID-19 in that geographic theatre.)

Today was the first full-stadium large crowd in American sports since March 11, 2020.  38,238 paid for the game.

We haven't earned any of this.  Hell, even Gavin Newsom is far too soon as it is!!!

But Governor Abbott of the QOP seems to think he wants to see anyone not fit as a fiddle fall over on the street to this as "Another One Bites The Dust".

I'll have more to say on that, time permitting on Wednesday, before I head out for my vaccine.

Day 389

• If you need any other understanding as to why the numbering is continuing, here's two stories...  
• The Washington Nationals are still unable to begin their season -- the Monday game with Cobb County is now off.
• However, word from Yardbarker is that they are cleared to open on Tuesday.
• And word early Sunday is now at least half of the Vancouver Canucks organization has a more virulent strain of the coronavirus...
• Wrestlemania Week this week -- some fans at the main show, most other shows will have very limited fans, if any at all.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to fire one of their cornerbacks:  Carlton Davis dropped an anti-Asian slur about Asians in Miami and that they shouldn't be there...
• Speaking of racism, a La Liga match yesterday was disrupted when Valencia defender Mouctar Dikhaby apparently received racial slurs from Cadiz player Juan Cala.  Valencia left the pitch, held a meeting, came back on the field, but Dikhaby was removed from the match.
• Stanford, long seen as a women's college basketball powerhouse, has won the national championship over Arizona for it's first title since 2001.

Day 388

• More than half of the Vancouver Canucks have COVID -- and it's apparently a far more virulent strain than most of the normal ones.
• Possible blog vacation Wednesday to who knows when -- I get my first dose then.

Day 386

• In a move which, given MLB's apparent recent political leanings, surprises me, the 2021 MLB All-Star Game was yanked from Cobb County today and will instead take place at a to-be-determined site.  At least one sow on Denninger's site and one on a conservative blog I read says 70% of the MLB fan base is Republican -- only reason I want proof of that is that I can't see that many Black players in a league which would have those demographics in their fanbase...
• And a lot of these people forget exactly what it was which incentivized Braves officials to move the stadium from downtown Atlanta to Cobb County...
• The entire weekend series Mets vs. Nationals is now off due to COVID.
• Looks like an outbreak on the Vancouver Canucks as well.
• And the Senators and the Jets will move their game to Monday as part of a rearrangement to deal with the Canucks sitaution.
• Now, a first criminal report on DeShaun Watson...

Day 385

I hate the Internet today.  I think you all know why...   

• There will officially be a Botball Season 2!  Will the Twins defend their championship?   Starts on Monday.  Probably is going to be significantly scaled back, with it happening alongside a RL full season.   
• One rainout already:  Baltimore at Boston is postponed.
• Probably some point next week:  Don't expect to hear much from me.  Later today, I make my vaccine appointment due to that I am now eligible to get it from the state.
• Scheduled for next Wednesday afternoon the 7th.  Sounds like I'm not enjoying much of the Masters.  :)
• DAMMIT I'VE BEEN RICKROLLED BY BOTBALL.  No Season Two.
• And the MLB season's first COVID casualty:  Mets-Nationals, as previously supposed, is off for tonight. Now up to three COVID positives on the Nationals.
• Massive Counterstrike match-fixing ring, and apparently this e-sports fixing ring has made it to the United States, as the FBI is involved.
• Roy Williams has retired after a lackluster season in North Carolina.
• And it's official -- with fans coming back into stadiums, the Shame The Astros Tour is now on! Getting booed mercilessly in Oakland tonight.
• Great proposal by Keith Olbermann:  Either MLB moves the All-Star Game out of the Cobb County stadium by April 15th, or the players should boycott April 15th -- Jackie Robinson Day:

OLBERMANN VS. APARTHEID GEORGIA:

If baseball owners will not boycott racism by moving their All-Star Game out of Atlanta, the players must boycott Jackie Robinson Day April 15.

Robinson was BORN in Georgia.

Players cannot condone its new laws to deny People of Color the vote: pic.twitter.com/AI1pOHCW7i

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) March 26, 2021