And the Cowboys can't keep their house in order again...

• Ronald Jones, two game suspension -- for a diuretic or masking agent, under the PED policy.

July 31, 2023 News and Notes

• Pee Wee Herman passed away, Paul Reubens.  70, long fight with cancer.
• G1 Climax Groups C and D
• Group C has three wrestlers eliminated now.  Mikey Nicholls from NJPWoA, Henare and (surprisingly) Tomohiro Ishii are all out of the competition.
• David Finlay can eliminate Shingo Takagi and Tama Tonga can eliminate Eddie Kingston, but there's still a lot to be said with the five other wrestlers within two points.
• Group D:  Toru Yano picked up his first win, and NJPWoA's Alex Coughlin is out of the tournament.
• Zack Sabre Jr. can eliminate Tetsuya Naito with a win in the next cycle.
• Justin Gaethje has accused Conor McGregor of being on steroids.  If that's the case, he pops them every day -- he's on perpetual Roid Rage.   

It's Time For Fandoms To Realize The Gravy Train Is Over

Non-sports, related to two July conventions I've been reading about, including this weekend's Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  I am going to Tweet/X this link and tag the event hashtag.  I do not expect anyone who clicks to stay on this site, but I do think some things need to be urgently addressed now.

These cons can no longer be feasibly held, at least in the US.  I'm sorry I have to state this, but the fact of the matter is, when you look at the two stories I point at, you'll get a very good idea why -- from both ends of the spectrum.

First is the annual debacle of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation -- the industry con, Anime Expo, which basically almost burst the Los Angeles Convention Center four weeks ago.

The picture in this Kotaku article on that debacle should do the trick.  An atrium slammed to the utter gills while the SPJA lauds a new record unique-person crowd of 160,000 -- a crowd THREE TIMES that of the DVD Boom, when the con could be held in Anaheim.

Basically, one misplaced fire alarm (much less an actual event), and you have The Who in Cincinnati all over again.

Now you would THINK Square-Enix in Las Vegas would have the absolute opposite situation.  Faced with a demand of over 100,000 North American Final Fantasy XIV players for their Las Vegas Fanfest, they held a lottery which cut that number to under 15% of that total.

And then they decided to put the convention in the Las Vegas Convention Center -- which, by all accounts, hosts the largest conventions they can find, at least in the United States.

Well, if the reports of the last 36 hours are any indication, their wad has been shot:

• If you want food, it's 1-2 hours.
• And don't think of trying my approach, at least two attendees have told me personally -- that of basically filling up beforehand (which would've meant a 5 AM breakfast someplace and not eating again until sometime after 9 PM (I'll get to why on that in a bit...)) to prevent the (if you can put up with the line) $20 per entree meal situation....
• The water fountains are lined up at least 50 deep.
• On two days, now, which have approached 115 on the thermometer, or a nice chilly 46 Celsius.
• And the policy on not bringing in outside food and drink has been either inconsistent, or (at least by one report) changed three times Friday!!
• And apparently the Las Vegas Police Department has been called into enforce now.
• I'm sorry.  It's 110+ outside.  So leaving the Convention Center (which is an isolated island unto itself set off from the northern part of The Strip) is nearly, if not completely, out of the question.  The line for water is a good 30-60 minutes.  You've already had a report of at least one person collapsing in the lines at the event as it is (before 10 AM Friday!!!)...
• Which isn't inconsistent with Square-Enix events.  I recall a wheelchair-bound Yuna cosplayer at an art/pre-release sale event in Los Angeles for the Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster who nearly collapsed.  And if the visual hadn't been so terrible, I'd have dumped cold water on her to help with the heat!!!
• You are dangerously close -- AND YOU KNOW IT, LVCC -- to a real health crisis out there.  And you're going to stick those attendees that badly??  
• The "Quiet Room" is a complete joke to many.
• Two hours to stand in line for the side quests, no real prize.
• The lines and the organization surrounding the battle challenge were a complete debacle (and, unlike the 4.x and 5.x in-person Fanfests), no shirt was given to the winners.
• And then there's the end of the day after the 8 PM concerts.  The main way to get through the area and back to the Strip (and most of the hotels) is the Las Vegas Monorail.
• That's if you can get on it and not get crushed by the crowd, with a wait time for even that upwards of an hour!
• The merchandise lines were destroyed and the merchandise put up by speculators who attended the event at multiple times the price on EBay...
• Tomorrow, as a non-Fanfest adjunct, the Final Symphony series is holding a show in Las Vegas.  At least one ticket for the event is now on the secondary market for SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.

One Redditor said it perfectly:  They know they're the only game in town, especially of that size.

And remember again:  This is less than 15% of the actual ticket demand.

And that was only part of the LVCC, since a basketball tournament had some of the rest of it.

It is time and far past time to blow up these major events.  There is no venue which could conceivably hold them.  I'm sorry for the reality check for a lot of people, but the fact of the matter is that if you aren't there for companionship with people you've only been friends with online and the like, there is no real point.

• Both major sets of announcements were completely bare-bones.
• It is going to be a very fortunate event if someone is not killed by the deliberate incompetence at FanFest.
• The cut-throat nature of the event, on both sides (organizationals AND fans) is just escalating to a breakneck point.

The size of the FFXIV events is so out of hand, the Japan event is the next event after Wrestle Kingdom in no less than the Tokyo Dome!!!

One official forum poster has said that various major groups are scaling back major events.

It's time for everybody to do the same.  Not even screening out through a lottery is helping anymore, in many cases.

July 28, 2023 News and Notes

• Congratulations to IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA, who, because of tiebreaker considerations, has not only become the first person to qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2023 G1 Climax, he has won Group A, because his 10 points plus victories over the two men with 6 has clinched the victory in the group.
• All seven other participants are still alive for the second spot.  One and only one scenario can allow Ren Narita into a 7-way tie (which would probably have to be settled with a battle royal of some form), and that would actually have to involve a specific double-disqualification (and specifically a DDQ) and a specific draw on the final night, and SANADA has to lose twice.  A double count-out grants each person a point (and they just had one in the last round), a double-disqualification grants no points.
• Group A alone has had three draws and a double count-out.
• Lower-mid-carder Great O-Khan has become the second person (behind comedy wrestler Toru Yano, who is the only one of the 32 in the tournament with no wins) to be eliminated from the tournament.
• All six of the other Group B wrestlers are still in it, and can be in it the final night, though only five of them can technically tie with Okada and Ospreay in a seven-way tie at eight points.
• Square-Enix, in it's biennial North American Fan Festival for Final Fantasy XIV, announced "Dawntrail" as a Summer 2024 expansion.

An additional remark on a recent comment...

He almost got one through me.  Someone posted that I might posit the possibility of Bronny James being "replaced" as well (in the same spirit as Damar Hamlin).  I made a video-game reference which kinda missed his point.

Let's see how and if they present Bronny in public once and if he is prepared to retake the court.

Remember several things regarding Damar:

1. Much of the story surrounding him indicated he was not doing nearly as well as anyone might have wanted him to in the three weeks between cardiac arrest and the divisional game in Buffalo.
2. Much pain was taken never to get a direct, face-full, clear shot of Damar at the latter.  This is the key point.  Even that I can understand he might well have been bundled up outside, there were cameras inside his suite.  I have yet, seven months almost on, to see any face-full picture of Damar from inside the suite that day.  (All photos of the situation were deliberately taken from the side, and the only straight video into the suite was through a snowy Buffalo afternoon that no one could get a clear shot of him through.)  Why?
3. The NFL has a penchant of exploiting tragedies and lauding those who overcome them.  Hence, I almost think it a tautology that you begin this season with the Buffalo Bills as the Super Fraud Super Bowl favorite starting this preseason.  If this was the Heroic Return of Damar Hamlin, the Bills didn't play like it and the NFL didn't rig it like it.  Why??

To more fully answer the commented question:  Let's see what the media is allowed to do with respect to Bronny James going forward.  Remembering that the key point was the secrecy around Damar the day he was in Buffalo (you damn near could've put ME in that coat, sent me out there as "Damar Hamlin", and not that many people would've realized the difference until they tried to release pictures from the suite days later!), let's see what the media and the like does first.

All we are being told, at this point, is that Bronny lost consciousness at some point in the process.  If he "coded" (died), they are being secretive about it -- unlike Damar, when it was clear that night he had coded twice.

As I say, stay tuned.

Today's "Women's Sprots" hypocrisy:

Seen yesterday on MSN after another Katie Ledecky World Aquatics Championships rout:

Is Katie Ledecky transgender?

Knew it!  She's too good -- she has to be!!!

July 27, 2023 News and Notes

• After eight years of trying, Will Ospreay, the IWGP United States Champion, has a win over Kazuchka Okada in the G1 Climax.
• In a state of bigotry, Italy has barred all but those female at birth from becoming Miss Italy, in the face of transgenders.
• So 100 female-to-male transgenders have entered the local qualifying pageants!

July 26, 2023 News and Notes

• And we lose Sinead O'Connor today.  56, probable suicide after the death of her son less than two years ago.
• A viral outbreak, consistent with COVID but not known as to it's origin, has hobbled six teams at the FIBA Under-18 World Championships in Serbia.
• Now word that Bronny James lost consciousness during Monday's heart attack at USC.  Now beginning to ask a few questions...   
• Jim Harbaugh, for not being willing to cooperate with an NCAA investigation against the Michigan football program, will be suspended at least four games of this season.
• The Giants and A's are having their Bay Series in San Francisco -- and BOTH SETS OF FANS want the A's sold.
• New allegations against the coach of the Minnesota football program.  Punitive injurious workouts, coverups of drug tests, etc.
• As largely expected, July tournament winner Hoshoryu has won promotion to sumo's second-highest rank, Ozeki, for the first time.
• Two major Jeopardy! developments:
• The 2022-23 Tournament of Champions has been indefinitely postponed after a number of the players decided to honor the SAG-AFTRA picket lines.
• As of right now, the plan is to start Season 40 with duplicate questions from previous seasons.
• If they can find a host -- both Ken Jennings AND Mayim Bialik are SAG-AFTRA, meaning good luck...
• The current first scheduled tape date is August 15.
• Riquina Williams of the Las Vegas Aces, fired from the team, pending the resolution of nine domestic violence charges against her.
• A Moroccan player had her press conference at the Women's World Cup cut short after being asked how she would feel about a lesbian player on her team.  It is illegal to be LGBT in Morocco.

The fourth round of seven in group play in New Japan's annual G1 Climax has completed.  Top two advance to the quarterfinals:

• Group A:  IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA appears to have smooth sailing to the quarters.  He has won his first four matches.  NOAH visitor Kaito Kiyomiya has 5 points, three back.  Gabe Kidd, Chase Owens, and Shota Umino have 4 each.
• And SANADA has already defeated Kiyomaya two nights ago, just two seconds from the time limit.  Chase Owens, Ren Narita, and Gabe Kidd are all separating SANADA from a perfect group phase.
• A G1 rarity in this group:  No less than three matches in this group have gone the 20 minute time limit.
• Group B:  Two-time defending and four-time total champion Kazuchka Okada has a similar smooth sailing.  He's 4-0 for 8 points.  Will Ospreay has 6.  Taichi, KENTA, and YOSHI-HASHI have 4 each.
• Okada has largely feasted on the bottom section of the group, however.
• Group C:  David Finlay, EVIL, and Tama Tonga have six points.  Shingo Takagi and AEW's New Japan of America STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston have 4 each, in a wide-open group for the two spots.
• Kingston was actually scheduled for Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor main event against rival Claudio Castignoli, but winning the NJPWoA STRONG Openweight Championship gave him a spot in the G1 Climax instead.
• That championship is the top title in the American brance of New Japan Pro Wrestling, but is NOT to be confused with the NJPW United States Championship.
• Group D:  Jeff Cobb is 4-0.  Zack Sabre Jr. has 6 points.  An all-star team and an NJPW STRONG competitor constitute four at 4:  Former New Japan World Champions Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, and Shane Haste.

Add another name of the irrelevant teams to the life-banned for gambling on NFL games...

The next name to be banned for life for illegal betting on NFL games has come down from the league -- and, once again, it's an irrelevant team:

• Denver Broncos:  Eyioma Uwazurike.

Rotational D-lineman, played in eight games.

Still waiting for a large-scale player.  Still waiting for a relevant team.

Yesterday AND Today's examples of the continuing hypocrisy to attempt to get transgenders killed in the name of "sprots"...

Yesterday, it was the continuing din of trying to get the US Women's National Soccer Team thrown out of the country for not being patriotic enough and singing the National Anthem as if guns were put to their backs to do so.

(More like the number of LGBT players on the squad, of which there are at least almost 100 in the 32-team Women's World Cup now ongoing!)

And then, today, word from LSU that famed gymnast sex object Olivia Dunne cannot attend classes at her own university...  for "safety reasons".

Trust me, some of us have you figured out -- you figure that Dunne is the same height as those divers in bed...  And so did all those creeps hounding her at the College World Series.

WE'RE NOT STUPID, YOU FUCKS.

I Pissed Off Somebody!!

My Bronny James "Fuck The Republican Anti-Vaxxers" post got flagged for Sensitive Content within an hour of me posting it!

And Here. We Go. Again.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

July 24, 2023 News and Notes

• Add a Northwestern volleyball player to the hazing lawsuits.
• Lloyd Yates (2015-17 QB/WR) has become the first Wildcat player to identify himself as one of the plaintiffs.
• Kylian Mbappe of France just got a record offer of over $300 million -- another Saudi transfer.

Circa 100 games, here's the kayfabe Road to Cobb County vs. Houston...

AL East:  Tampa has cooled significantly, and it's the Baltimore Orioles at 62-38 leading by 2 (4 games in the loss column) over Tampa.

AL Central:  Minnesota has rode an 8-2 Last Ten to five over .500 and a 3-game lead over Cleveland.

AL West:  Texas, at 59-41, 3 up on Houston.

Best Record in the AL:  Baltimore by 2 over Tampa, 2 1/2 over Texas, 5 1/2 over Houston, 6 1/2 over Toronto.

AL Wild Card:  Tampa first at 20 over .500, 3 1/2 up on Houston, 4 1/2 on Toronto.   Boston and the Yankees are tied for last place in the AL East.  But, at 6 over .500, both 53-47, they are the next two teams in line, and only two games out of the playoffs.  This is what happens when there are only two teams more than 6 games over .500 in the other two divisions.

Oakland Watch:  28-74, they won Saturday.  12-46 would be required for 40-120.

Nine-game homestand:  Swept by the Twins:

• 7,923 on a Friday night for a 5-4 loss
• 10,534 for a Saturday game, losing 10-7
• 9,335 for a Sunday 5-4 loss.

Actually won a series over the Red Sox mid-week!

• 9,987 saw a 7-0 Boston win on Monday
• 10,115 saw a 3-0 Oakland win on Tuesday
• And the series-winner, 6-5 for Oakland, got 15,023

Weekend series with the Assholes:

• 3-1 win for Houston on Thursday drew only 4,757
• A 6-4 Friday loss drew 6,810
• 14,507 saw them win 4-1 yesterday
• and today, 11,231 saw a 3-2 Asshole win.

Oakland has a 1/2 game "lead" on Kansas City (28-73) for worst record in the AL.

NL East:  The Braves have sprinted away, 64-34.  Best record in baseball (by 3 over Baltimore) and the National League (by EIGHT over the Dodgers), and 11.5 up on Philadelphia and Miami.

NL Central:  Milwaukee is 55-45, 1/2 up on Cincinnati.

NL West:  A 7-2 road trip east has the Dodgers at 57-41 and 4 up on both the Giants and the Diamondbacks.

NL Wild Card:  Reds at 55-46, 1/2 up on Arizona and San Francisco (both 54-46), and 1 up on both Miami (54-47) and Philadelphia (53-46).  Five teams for three spots, separated by one game.

Colorado has the worst record in the NL at 39-60, 2 games lower than Washington (41-58), and that hot start for Pittsburgh?  Gone.  43-56.

Three-quarters confirmed (kinda waiting to see where this goes), but this Vic Mignogna thing may be about to explode for real this time! MURDER PLOT????

Another example of the true weight of the "men of God".

It's been some time since I actually had an update on the whole Vic Mignogna situation since he lost his lawsuits against at least two female voice actors and Funimation.

I got a "Like" on a Tweet I posted...  about four years ago, I think it was, regarding that the entire anime industry needed to be put on trial and investigated, because there was no way (including that very fateful letter from Vic's ex-fiance Michelle Specht (who has largely disappeared from the Net herself!)) that it was just him.

That "Like" was from an exposing Twitter account, and from what I can gather, it is from one of Vic's main accusers, MarzGurl.

For those who haven't been following along or need a primer:

Vic Mignogna was THE main anime voice-actor of the DVD Boom era of American anime.  Full-stop.

He was the one guy who could make or break conventions, depending on who could get him and for how long.

He also was able to use that pull to do ministry work for his many fans, the Risembool Rangers.

The problem came from what ELSE he was using his pull for.

In February of 2019, just weeks (if not days) after Kotaku announced the existence of an anime-convention harasser spreadsheet (which was, itself, kept private), came word that Vic Mignogna was fired from Funimation Pictures (shortly after Sony bought the company).

The charges were wide-ranging, including the sexual harassment of voice actresses Jaime Marchi and Monica Rial.

Mignogna sued the pair and the studio and lost with prejudice and damages.  It is unknown as to, at this time, whether everything has completed as far as appeals or the like.

But it's what ELSE came from THAT which really got shit started.

Anime News Network began an investigation (probably based on the spreadsheet Kotaku was talking about), and unearthed an ungodly (not meant to be funny) number of charges of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and (quite probably) rape by Mignogna at various conventions.

• And to say this was a "poorly-kept secret" is probably no joke either:  I recall a convention 5 1/2 years previous where voice actor Greg Ayres absolutely and abjectly threw a major voice actor under the bus, all but understood to be Mignogna.

It turns out that Vic's entire career has been pockmarked with this, even since.  The ANN investigation uncovered three decades of allegations (including ten years before his prominence in the VA community).

Unwanted hugs, sexual comments, etc. and so forth.  But that was just the surface.

The real explosions began when the Risembool Rangers attempted to go after Marchi and Rial at a couple cons, leading one con to basically state that any major Ranger action was going to get EVERY RANGER AT THE CON arrested.

But then came the "divorce" between Mignogna and absolute-knockout-bombshell fiancé Specht.  Specht charged that various buddies of his at conventions operated as wingmen to arrange underage and of-age female cosplayers as sex partners behind Specht's back.

And it was no secret to con chairs this guy was a problem:  Some conventions even had to resort to "Code Vic" to alert female staffers when he was present.

So it's clear that, whatever happened was not his alone.  Others also were involved (and why I think one prominent VActress needs a good divorce attorney!), and criminal charges should be filed against Vic, many of the male VA's otherwise involved, and basically every major con chair of the day.

And then, about a year or so ago, came a quip that, on a conservative women's stream where Mignogna was a guest, they literally caught him with some degree of his pants down!

But now, back to the present day and Marzgurl.  Marzgurl has been one of the main accusers of Mignogna.

It now appears, at least according to her, that there is a criminal investigation against Mignogna going on at the present time.

• Marzgurl IS attempting to finally bring Mignogna to criminal accountability on his "reign of terror" over anime conventions.  To which I again stress, if you are willing to do that, you have to go after his "wingmen" and the con chairs of the day as well.  
• Mignogna is also accused of abuse of Compass Church, a Texas evangelical institution.
• But the biggest charge:  Marzgurl is actually believing (and it is being investigated, as reported in her Twitter) that another anime fan was being used as a plot in conspiracy by Mignogna to kill Marzgurl.

@fatherlesscosplay The case has progressed!!! Vic Mignogna/ MarzGurl, Farah Fatherless murder plot!!! Case number 23-17071 Irving TX PD. Please share spread awareness! The Anime community is done, taking abuse from him and it is over!!!!!!!!! ⭐️🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊 #fyp #breakingnews #viral #anime #truecrime ♬ original sound - Farah Fatherless

Let that process.

The Irving, TX Police Department has taken a case number and is investigating Mignogna for an attempt to murder Marzgurl for being a major player in his Funimation downfall.

Marzgurl and this party are attempting a search warrant on Vic Mignogna's phones.

Oh boy.  To say this is one of those "you better damn well be right (and you doubly better damn well hope they don't invoke Castle Rock on your asses, even if you are!!)" moments is a massive understatement.

I don't think this would be any degree of an understatement at all that if this were found to be true, it would kill anime in the United States.  I do not, in any way, believe that to be an exaggeration.

Stay tuned, I guess...

July 23, 2023 News and Notes

• Sekiwake Hoshoryu will be the only full Ozeki in September.  He won the July sumo tournament in a playoff over Hokotufuji.
• That win, along with the fact his 12-3 record gives him 33 wins in the last 3 tournaments as a Sekiwake, makes the promotion to sumo's second-highest rank a formality.
• Good thing, too:  Kirishima, with his injury, went 6-9 in this tournament, so he's kadoban.
• And Takakeisho never wrestled in the tournament, so he is as well!
• Other prominent results:
• Kotonowaka (11-4) will promote to Sekiwake.  Abi will demote from Komusubi, perhaps as far to Maegashira 3.
• Asanoyama was able to claw out an 8-7 through his injury, so his run slows, but does not reverse.
• The other two Sekiwake, Daiesho and Wakamotoharu, both went 9-6, insufficient for Ozeki consideration.
• Hakuoho, from the lowest rank in Maegashira, nearly won the tournament himself at 11-4 and will move well into the middle-Maegashira ranks.
• Tobizaru and Nishikigi will probably both promote to Komusubi.  Hokotufuji COULD (12-3 at Maegashira 9 does carry the math!), but will probably get only to Maegashira 1.
• Brian Harman put The Open Championship away on Saturday, held his line on Sunday and won by six strokes to become Golfer of the Year in the year's final Grand Slam.

This Blog Should Not Exist, Part 3.09: An open letter to Jason Aldean and the vigilante-lusters on the Right.

I don't know where you come from (and I have asked, publicly, what "small town" you are from so I can at least try my luck and put an end to this stupid MAGA discussion).

I get why you wrote "Try That In A Small Town", because it is one of the great fantasies and lullabies of the American Right:  That anyone who would try a lot of the stuff which goes on in American cities in small towns would get shot rather instantaneously.

The fact I am here today is testament to the falsehood of that statement, because if "small town America" didn't put up with my "shit", I was the type of person who had enough reputations (up to and including rape on a rather significant scale -- note to all here:  I said "reputations".  It's now clear I should have made them reality, even though I am thankful I did not!) my first five years in college that I would have been so shot.

Secondly, if you had an ounce of intelligence (which most of the American Right does not!), you'd realize that the time is long past for a bunch of you gun nuts to sack up, put your clothes on, form a militia, and seize power what you consider the "American Way", by force.

You're not voting your way out of this.  You're not getting out of this under a Constitution which imposes our rights against yours to ensure you wouldn't otherwise kill us.

You need me dead, Mr. Aldean.  You need millions like me dead, Mr. Aldean.

You see, I come from two or three small towns -- been run out of at least two of them.  Let's go over some of your "Hit List":

"Sucker Punch Somebody on the sidewalk":  That was done to the "lessers" in high school where I came from all the time.

"Carjack an old lady at a red light":  Why aren't you bringing a militia for vigilante justice in cities like San Francisco then?

"Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store":  Um, dumbass:  The moment someone pulls a gun on somebody, there's only three ways that ends -- they've already shoved their chips.  Where are you and yours?

"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face":  Done at least the former more times than I can count, and more than a couple in one of the small towns.  You also forget about the ACAB crowd, kid.  

Some of us also understand Castle Rock and "No Desire To Protect".  It cost me my last home and the death of it's landlord to the COVID pot parties going on all over the complex!  Parties which were being reported to and ignored by the cops.

"Stomp on the flag and light it up.":  Elect Trump or DeSantis and you can pick the small town for that one, bitch.  I might still have some FALSE faith, because of the rights imposed against the likes of you.

"Well, try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road.  Around here, we take care of our own.  You cross that line, it won't take long.  For you to find out, I recommend you don't try that in a small town.":  Then I should be long dead already.  I shouldn't have even seen my 19th birthday, and I think even my family will attest that, under those terms, 18 and even lower was evidence that this propagandistic claptrap is a falsehood.

Yes, Jason:  Because of the right wing's cowardice and shit, I am looking for a fight.  And I have no intention, if you have one honest bone in your body, to be alive two years from now if your side wins the election.  (And see above on all of that.)

The only reason I haven't killed a man yet is I have something to lose, plus the grace of God that I am never allowed a gun or the free will to do what I really want to do to a lot of you right-wingers.  The grace of God is at my throat to ensure I never exercise the free will Satan gives many people.

And if you think the only people I would (be seen to as) threaten are 110-pound female pop singers, you can add yourself to that list and I reiterate what I said before:  Where's your "small town", Aldean?

So what's your excuse?

Before I would even do a lot of this, you need me dead in more manifestations than you can count, and your political side is talking a great game...  Hell, see this reported Trump Truth Social screed, via Ron Filipkowski, if you wanna see I'm not the only one looking for a fight:

Trump Truth Social post: “If you f*ck around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before.” pic.twitter.com/YzAB8HQ4Jx

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 20, 2023

I get why radio stations are pulling the song -- I also get why it's #1 on iTunes, because it's appealing to the "vigilante justice" crowd.

Show or go, bitch.  The fact I'm still alive and even saw my 19th birthday is evidence you're full of a lot of shit.

25 years ago, some Debbie Gibson fan claimed "Founding Father Privilege" to kick my ass.

July 4, 2000, a man directly threatened to kill me for the Debbie Gibson incident.  (Could've been 1999, but I don't think I was fully back on the Net then.)

I'm still waiting, Aldean.  MAGA up and bring your vigilante posse so you can actually do something, rather than squawk your trap about it.

(And, Ted Nugent, you too...)

July 22, 2023 News and Notes

• We lost the legend Tony Bennett on Friday.  He did live a full life -- he was 96.
• Faith Kipyegon of Kenya did the unthinkable Friday in Monaco.  Four years after Sifan Hassan incrementally broke the world record in the women's mile run down to 4:12.33, Kipyegon slashed nearly SIX SECONDS off that record to run 4:07.64.
• The last time the women's mile record was taken that far down was in 1973!
• Given consistent pace, which we know does not happen, if you ran Hassan's WR vs. Kipyegon's, Kipyegon wins by THIRTY METERS.
• And here's even a bigger story!
• 4:12.33 to 4:07.64 -- Monaco, July 21, 2023, mile
• Hassan broke a world record which had been set a quarter-century before.
• 3:50.07 to 3:49.11 -- Florence, Italy, June 2, 2023, 1500 meters
• Record was held by Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba, and held it for just short of eight years.
• 14:06.62 to 14:05.20 -- Paris, June 9, 2023, 5000 meters
• That record was held by Ethiopia's Letensebet Gibbey, she held it over three years, after breaking a countrywoman's record which had stood for twelve!
• Kipyegon is the first human being, male or female, to break all three world records at mile, 1500, and 5000 in the same year.  She actually did it in just 50 days.
• And she also now, in fact, is the first woman in history to hold all three world records at the same time.
• You would have to go back to 1945 and Gunder Haag of Sweden for the last time a man held all three world records at the same time.
• A rap video with explicit lyrics has terminated football activities at Florida A&M University.  The rapper was able to access the team's locker room and a number of licensed materials, and had a number of players in the video as well.  The team has been temporarily suspended, pending a preseason investigation.
• Leonardo Messi scored a free kick goal from about 25 meters to win the first match he played for Miami FC in the Leagues Cup group phase over a Mexican side...
• And many people state the stoppage-time goal was scripted.

Today's example of why there's nothing to "protect" in "women's sprots"....

Today's example of anti-trans terrorism by the American Right is another idiot, proving the actual real interest level of women's sports in this country...

Meet YouTube prank stupid bitch JiDion Adams.  Better yet, don't.

From Jezebel, through my anonymous friend (hat-tip):

Adams has been banned from the NBA (period of time unknown) for his latest YouTube prank stunt.

He comes to WNBA games in full pajamas, and, because the games aren't nearly sold out, is able to stretch himself out on several seats and mocks going to sleep at said games.

At least two WNBA games this week, this stupid motherfucker has literally been a walking billboard for male incels everywhere, and evidence that the whole call to "save women's sports" by the American Right is an absolute Trojan Horse.

Finally, after deciding he was so bored with things, when a ball went out of bounds in his general direction, he actually took the ball and shot it at the basket.  Missed badly.

That was the final straw for security at one game in Minnesota, and was tossed from there.

He got the full-league ban in Los Angeles when he repeated the stunt at Staples Center.

And his fans have been letting their true feelings on women's sports out on the WNBA's social-media channels.

And this isn't this punk-ass bitch's first run-in either:

• Arrested for defying a trespass order at the University of Texas in April.
• At least two incidents of getting haircuts at sporting events, getting himself ejected from the US Open tennis tournament for disrupting play as a result.
• And not the first time he's been banned from a tennis Slam.  He got a life ban from Wimbledon for blowing an airhorn during a match!

There's only one way to put this asshole to bed.  He's already been banned from Twitch, and it's time to add YouTube to the list.

• Go to YouTube
• Sign In
• Search "DiJion channel"
• Click the channel.
• Click About
• Click the flag on the right side on the About screen.
• Report User on the drop down menu.
• Pick "Harassment and Cyberbullying" from the list of charges.
• Click as many of his videos as you see fit.
• Add this Jezebel article's link to the 300 characters of comment you get on the report.

July 21, 2023 News and Notes

• 22-year-old South African Christo Lamprecht, a senior at Georgia Tech, has become only the second amateur in 50 years to have at least a share of the lead after the first round of The Open Championship.  Seven birdies and two bogeys give him a 5-under 66, tied with England's Tommy Fleetwood and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
• The big story of the week at Royal Liverpool appears to be the 120ish-yard 17th hole.  
• Lucas Herbert was three-under and in the lead when he made it to 17.
• Tee shot went short and right into the junk.
• His pitch didn't find the right level of the infinite green, and, as such, fed straight into one of the two pot bunkers.
• An awkward attempt at getting out failed.
• A more solid attempt succeeded.
• Two putts and a par on 18 put him even par and tied for 32nd instead of at least tied for 7th.
• Most other players made no real effort to do anything but take their 3 and be good with it -- over 100 pars.  It is expected, later in the weekend, for that to change.
• Many times, it is an eagle-able hole (like, say, a couple at Augusta) to allow people to go forward at the end of the tournament.  It appears, at Royal Liverpool, it may be a 6 or so on the par 3 17th which determines the winner of the Claret Jug and the title Golfer of the Year.
• Of course, that's nothing compared to Taichi Kho, who will be done after the second round after shooting 83 in the first round.
• One of the few birdies on 17 was wasted on him...
• Especially after THIS was his 18th hole, actually one-under for the back nine after eight-over on the front:
• Tee shot went well, avoiding one out-of-bounds problem
• His second avoided that, for the good news.  Bad news:  He found a greenside pot-bunker on the par-5.
• Hack one, no good
• Hack two, no good.
• Decides to turn around and hit it intentionally into the junk
• Puts it right back in the same bunker.
• Rejunks the ball, but finds the grandstand and is lucky for a free drop
• Green to 9 feet
• Two putts
• That's TEN.
• In the Blood Money Dickheads:  Two are 4 out of the lead:  Saudi whores Brooks Koepka and Thomas Pieters both shot 70.  A former LIV golfer, Adrian Otaeugi of Spain, is one out of the lead.
• The Diamondbacks have joined the Padres in having MLB take over their broadcasts after the failing of the Regional Sports Network doing so beforehand.
• Kevin Maxen of the Jaguars is the first NFL assistant coach to come out as gay.
• Entering the final three days of the July sumo tournament:
• Maegashira 1 Nishikigi and Maegashira 9 Hokutofuji are 10-2, and lead the field.
• At 9-3:  Sekiwake Hoshoryu and Maegashira 17 Hakuoho.
• Ozeki Run Watch:
• Hoshoryu is 9-3 and one out of the lead.  That's 30.  So he's close.  Win out, that's 33.
• Daiesho is 8-4 after two straight losses.  That's also 30.
• Wakamotoharu is also 8-4, and can't make 33.
• And the remaining competing Ozeki, Kirishima, is two wins from actually avoiding kadoban.

I'll give Josh Harris credit for one thing starting off:

Harris knows of at least two major parties going on with Commanders fans to celebrate Snyder's ouster from the league.

He's buying at least one beer for EVERYONE AT BOTH PARTIES.

So the Dan Snyder report is out, and let's see how many ways they protected his ass...

As said a post or two ago, Dan Snyder was expelled from the NFL by a unanimous vote of the other 31 owners, forced to sell the team at over $6 billion to a consortium led by Josh Harris.

Now we get to find out SOME of the conduct the league has found Snyder guilty of, and then, before I even start perusing the findings report (PDF file from the NFL), I can basically openly state that the fact this shithead is seeing one penny of proceeds is about the same level of offensive gesture than Donald Sterling and his profit from his racism, incompetence, and other criminal conduct.

The first part of the report goes over allegations against Snyder, the public portion of which include:

• The sexual assault of and attempted forcible sexual conduct by Snyder against Commanders cheerleader Tiffani Johnston.  Johnston, according to the report, was a cheerleader for the team 2000-2008, when she resigned.
• An alleged incident of a nude photo of Johnston being circulated by a senior executive of the team, at Snyder's request.
• These two allegations were given to a House of Representatives roundtable on Snyder and the Commanders.
• They were corroborated by Jason Friedman, who was fired from the Commanders in 2020 and has had his name smeared (even though he received three years of salary as a severence), an employee of the club a quarter century.
• Friedman also, and this is probably the fine-able stuff, reported:
• That for at least five years (2015-16 on forward), a portion of Commanders ticket sales were withheld from required NFL league reports.
• That for over a decade (2009 on forward), security deposits on suites were being illegally kept.
• The genesis of this is laid at the feet of the Finances Department of the team, as well as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer Mitch Gershman.
• Snyder has denied both this and Johnston's claims, even as late as three weeks ago.
• The Federal Trade Commission has also been involved, and they have been similarly stonewalled.

The findings, after 44 witnesses:

• Johnston's claim of sexual assault and attempted sexual battery by Snyder has been sustained.
• Johnston's claim of a nude photo circulating has been sustained, as illegally taken by a former senior executive of the Commanders.
• However, the investigation could not sufficiently determine whether this was done with any involvement by Snyder.
• The improper withholding of numbers on finances of the team to league officials was proven out, specifically at least $11,000,000 kept from the revenue sharing the 32 teams share.
• Additional funds which were supposed to be placed into revenue sharing reports (including ticket, parking, license, etc.) were also discovered, but no concrete figure could be placed on them.
• The league could only determine Snyder was aware of the improprieties, but could not determine Snyder's involvement further.
• The claim that Snyder was involved with the illegal withholding of security deposits was not sustained.
• Snyder and his associates have also been found guilty of lack of cooperation with the league investigation as it relates to the financial improprieties, which is one of the main reasons that neither a second figure could be found for additional pulling of revenue-sharing funds, as well as whether he had actually participated.

The rest of the document goes into the findings in verbose detail.

======================

So CAN ANYONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THE LEAGUE IS ALLOWING THIS COCKSUCKER ONE MOTHERFUCKING CENT OF THIS????

I'll wait here.

These findings indicate rampant financial fraud within the organization going back to at least 2009!

This, on top of a tip-of-the-iceberg sexual assault/attempted battery claim by just ONE of the Commanders cheerleaders (after stories have been coming out of open-faced ogling and groping by team officials and other big-wigs at cheerleader calendar photo shoots, etc.)...

(And, on a side note:  THIS FUCKING SHIT IS "WOMEN'S SPROTS".  This is the reality.  You ain't protecting women from SHIT!)

And this cocksucker gets SIX BILLION to Get Out Of The NFL Free???

This ranks down there with the Donald Sterling decision in the NBA.

You see, if I were Commissioner, we'd be in court!

• The Commanders would cease to exist, at least in Snyder's form.  The league would seize the franchise, part and parcel.
• A new Commanders franchise would replace them, purchased by the Harris group and all monies would be divided by the other 31 teams.
• By Commissioner edict, all continuity of players and roster is retained, and all valid player contracts remain valid.  This is an action against Snyder and the other relevant parties ONLY.
• All relevant parties are banned from any involvement with the National Football League permanently...
• All non-relevant parties remain employed with the Commanders under their valid contracts.
• See you in court.

That's how I would put it down.

There is, of course, the other part of this situation:  The Jon Gruden lawsuit and the Snyder email trove.

What you saw here is rampant financial fraud by the Commanders and ONE sexual harassment/assault/attempted battery claim.

Now you see why it is being said that Jon Gruden wants to burn the NFL to the ground?

If there is one piece of evidence which indicates that he has the dirt to destroy the NFL, it's the fact he gets six billion dollars out the door.

ESPN's Three Year Power Rankings Are Out For The NFL

To further salivate the baying Football Nation America as training camps open, ESPN published their annual list of the teams in the order of the belief of the teams' positions in league hierarchy the next three years.

Stop me if any of this top part surprises you:

1. PHI
2. KC
3. CIN
4. BAL/BUF

The first real surprise is Baltimore at tied-4th.  There's no secret the league would like to push Baltimore and it's athletic quarterback, but his health is the key, especially given the league's penchants -- not only for the passing game, but the person at the helm being a marketable name.

Which makes Seattle at 6 and Pittsburgh at 7 awfully surprising.  Both are experiencing some degree of rebuild.

This ranking appears to indicate the door is closing on the likes of the 49ers (T-8th) and Cowboys (10th).

None of the other end of this should surprise anyone.  Here's your bottom nine (MIN at 23 is quite a surprise, but indicates they are lacking at least one key piece (see above):

24.  ATL

25.  NO

26.  IND

27.  WSH

28.  LAR -- makes you wonder how much they mortgaged to get the one NFL Showtime title.

T-29.  HOU

T-29.  LV -- you can investigate the league's future and the Raiders franchise any millennium now...

31.  TB

32.  ARI

In fact, the list forecasts the NFC Suck is going to Suck for a while.  Top team on the list from that division is Carolina, and they're only #20.

The NFL Owners Went Through With It: Dan Snyder Has Been Expelled From The NFL

Justin Snyder of the Jacksonville Journal, an NFL "scoops" person, has reported that the owners have approved the sale of the Washington Commanders to the Josh Harris group.

Shithead gets $6 billion when he should get nothing.

It has been nearly two hours since this Tweet...

Per source in the room, I’m told the NFL owners have approved the sale of the Washington #Commanders to Josh Harris. The Dan Snyder era is officially over. #HTTC pic.twitter.com/n3AXbI9Plj

— Justin Cohen (@BadBoyOfScoops) July 20, 2023

There is still no confirmed word from the NFL as of yet.  The longer this goes, people...

And there it is at 1:50 PM.  Dan Snyder is out, vote was 31-0.  Per Adam Schefter.

Snyder has also been fined $60,000,000 by the NFL, and a 23-page findings report from the investigation was also made public today.

Not only with his conduct, but, as Schefter notes, in Snyder's 24 years running Washington into the ground:

• Two playoff wins
• Six playoff appearances
• 10 head coaches
• 27 different starting quarterbacks
• And the sixth-worst winning percentage in the league

Detroit Lions Match-Fixing (?): I'm not letting this one slide...

Just yesterday, an official team writer, Tim Twentyman, wrote that to-be-sixth-year kicker Michael Badgely was the favorite to retain his position as the kicker of the Detroit Lions.

Today, the Lions released Badgely.

Remember:  The Lions lost five games last year by one score, and 4 in a 1-6 start.

And then you have the NFL gambling investigations falling hard on the team.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM......

July 20, 2023 News and Notes

• A couple of popular soccer entities were smacked down to Earth Wednesday night in large victories for the English Premier League's near-best.
• Wrexham got an education of the difference between League Two and the top of the Premier League.
• And the MLS All-Stars got shown why no one should take their league seriously, as the Arsenal summer touring squad slapped them in the head...
• FIVE-NIL in both cases!!!
• The Women's World Cup begins today with matches involving hosts Australia and New Zealand.
• The Americans had a scare in Auckland, site of their first match vs. Vietnam.
• A gunman shot up downtown Auckland Thursday (Australia/NZ time) morning, killing three.  The team and other Americans, including the Second Gentleman (the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris) have been in lockdown ever since.
• The 2023 Open Championship, the final golf major, begins in the UK Thursday morning their time.
• Some talk of the position of the Royal and Ancient, vis-a-vis Saudi funding, given what has happened over the last year and a half.
• Jordan Addison, first-round draft pick, less than ten days before training camp:  His luxury SUV in Minnesota, clocked for A HUNDRED AND FORTY MILES AN HOUR in a 55 mile per hour zone.
• This requires a six-month license suspension in Minnesota as a civil penalty (and that penalty is for speeding over 100 MPH).
• If the Minnesota State Patrol rules he was doing so in a manner to damage property, he's in jail for 90 days.
• Only reason he's not gone is that he's the first-round draft pick.

July 19, 2023 News and Notes

• Perrion Winfrey has been fired from the Cleveland Browns after at least two major scrapes with the law.
• A battery charge with respect to a woman he was dating in April -- Winfrey served a diversion program.
• An aggravated robbery incident this week.
• He also was robbed himself with another Brown last month.
• As well as suspended from last year's Week 2 game by the team for disciplinary reasons.
• Tomorrow is supposed to be the meeting to oust Dan Snyder from the NFL.
• It is becoming increasingly evident we may have to have the entire athletics program at Northwestern University shut down.  At least one team of civil rights lawyers now reports they have hazing and sexual violence allegations in both the baseball and softball programs, adding at least a third program to the list.  At least two lawsuits have already been filed, dozens more on the way.
• Riyad Mahrez is the latest soccer star to take the Saudi blood money.  Heads to Al Ahli after winning four titles at Manchester City in his five years there.
• Fulham's Andreas Pereira appears to be next.
• And yet another example of the only other use of women in sports, other than to grease the killing of transgender people:  Italy's RAI broadcasting service had to suspend two of it's commentators at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan for sexual comments about women synchronized divers, basically stating they were all the same height in bed.
• Hey, Bigot Gaines, paying attention, BITCH??   

July 18, 2023 News and Notes

• Keith Olbermann, pointing out some of yesterday's record heat:
• 131 at Death Valley
• 109 in Rome
• 110 in Miami -- actually got an Extreme Heat Warning
• 126 in Sanbao, China
• And an Iranian airport near Dubai hit 152.
• The Australian state of Victoria is planning to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to the inability to hold them within any kind of workable budget.
• The Supreme Court of the state of Georgia is allowing the Grand Jury report of the fake electors scheme in Georgia to go forward, probably meaning another set of indictments for The Orange Defendant.
• Oops.  Ronaldo has been substituted off in a match in his Saudi team, al Nassr.  18 minutes later, the team has conceded five goals since.  They lost 5-0 at home.
• Civil-rights lawsuits are coming against Northwestern University.  At least eight players have hired a prominent Chicago civil-rights law firm for hazing charges against the school.
• Daniel Weinman, who won a championship bracelet last year in 8-Handed Omaha poker, won the World Championship and $12,100,000 of the World Series of Poker on Monday.
• Funny Cide, the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, died of colic on Monday.  The horse did make it to 23 years old.
• After an appearance in Mexico where Kenny Omega lost at one of the annual TripleMania AAA cards, Don Callis was injured when a post-match AEW angle they shot at the press conference afterward went awry when a cameraperson, thinking it was a fan attack and not clued in that it was the extension of an American angle, attacked Callis as he was trying to attack Omega and Callis ended up in the hospital.
• An angle for what, you may ask???  This week on AEW Dynamite, Omega reunites with "Golden Lover" Kota Ibushi to join the Young Bucks and Hangman Page to oppose the Blackpool Combat Club (led by Callis on the outside) of Jon Moxley, ROH World Champion Claudio Castignoli, PAC, Wheeler Yuta, and Takushite Takeshita in the annual two ring Blood and Guts match.
• Damn WWE owning the trademark.  It's War Games!!  Two rings, cage, the whole shooting match. 
• In other AEW news, last weekend at the Calgary Stampede, AEW crowned Absolute Ricky Starks and New Japan of America STRONG women's champion Willow Nightingale as the second winners of the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament.
• The Cavaliers summer team is the NBA Summer League champions.

This Blog Should Not Exist, Part 3.08: No Reason Otherwise + Personal Agency = Shoot Me, Karl Denninger, You Fucking Coward

He did not last long, but someone finally called out the bigot Karl Denninger on his The Market Ticker forums.  I would openly suggest that anyone not believing in a God (except for Denninger himself, because the point I want to make is to him) avert from this one.

But Karl has finally been caught out.  He was done so by a now-banned after three posts user who Karl renamed.  Here's the problem:

Poster:  To Karl's:  "Vox claims that this is about Satan or some other form of supernatural influence. My retort: Nonsense, and further, such a statement is clear evidence of refusal to take personal agency for that which one has, in fact, full control over."

The response...

"With respect, that sentence is nonsense, almost a non-sequitur.

[...]

In other words, to say that identifying Disney as Satan means that Christians are then motivated to personally sit back and do absolutely nothing about that, or only pray about it, is simply upside-down.

Weirdly so."

Exactly.  Unless you understand something I will get to in a second or two.

Karl says that these people even talk about the Devil as to AVOID their personal agency.

The poster responds more specifically with respect to Disney:

"So Bob Iger is going to allow the programming in all of Disney's considerable sphere of influence to, not just tolerate, but DRIVE the revolution of gender erasure among children, including the promotion of sexually deviant males to dress as women and twerk their gonads at them. To support widespread sexual mutilation and sterilization of children. Because he is lazy and/or personally greedy.

WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT IF NOT EVIL?"

Karl then responded as follows:

"What NEVER ceases to amaze me is the people who think "God" is the answer if we just pray harder.

Well, no. Like, never. Ever, in history."

If there's no God, there's no reason.  And if you then add the concept of personal agency, you REQUIRE a fatal immediate outcome for all who oppose you and your concept of libertarian responsibility.

You are a goddamned coward, Karl Denninger.

You, first, lose the concept that should be the center of many Christian discussions:  The concept of "God Says No".

And it's not because you're not holy enough, don't give enough to the church, etc.  He simply says "No" because of His own will, which is often capricious to the layman.

You do, correctly, bring up the child diddlers in the Roman Catholic Church -- but then why have you not shot up every one of those priests?  Or is it that you don't believe in God and, hence, it doesn't matter to you?

Coward.

You say yourself later:  "Only personally MAKING THE EVIL THING DIE and thus, as you believe, go meet Satan in person counts."

Then DO IT, motherfucker.  The problem is that you know, at the end of the day, you won't get many people to join you.

This, unironically, is why you openly cheer on COVID and want the destruction of the entire medical industry, figuring it allows too many irresponsible people NOT to die and to "meet Satan", etc., without you having to fire a shot.

The fact of the matter is this:  Without God, this blog does not exist, because I'd have been one of those mass shooters a lot of people talk about.  You best thank the grace of God I am not allowed to own a firearm through the Debbie Gibson incident, and you best pray that is not reversed in the courts.

(And the American Right is trying, as if to arm the domestically violent to kill their spouses, etc.)

Because, as a military exercise, there would be any number of military-level opponents I would wish seen eliminated -- and more than a few of them, persons in power.

(None, for the record, named Gibson or anyone in her circle.)

And if there's no God, there's no reason for that not to happen.  And, if on top of that, personal agency/freedom comes into play, then it FORCES that result.

Another problem, however:  It forces that same result on the other side of the political spectrum.  For example, on everyone who believes Disney is Pedo World, etc. and so forth and so on.  Why has some paramilitary right-wing group in this country not blown up Disney World and every Disney property in the state of Florida as pedophilic, etc.?

Cowardice.  Because, if there's no God, there's no reason not to.  And if personal agency forces responsibility to that level, it forces that action.

What finally got the poster banned was a post that started thusly:

"So tell us about the EVIL THING YOU MADE DIE. Tell us about how you sacked up and straight murdered a pedo."

And he didn't like being called out on that.  The only thing is that I would not have said that Karl hasn't even cancelled Disney+.  I think that actually pollutes the message.

Karl, if you have any balls between your legs, you start killing us on the Left.  And you get a lot of help, so that there's no discussion here of lone wolves or sole insane parties, etc.

But stop the goddamned (literal here) cowardice.  Freedom, of it's own merit, is Satanic because it allows those who believe others should not exist for their Earthly and mortal snowflake souls to state they have freedom from the same things the Constitution imposes against them (and has for 150+ years) regarding and protecting Blacks, gays, Jews, transgenders, women, immigrants, the poor, I could continue if you like...

If there's no God and personal agency is forced, you are, in fact, forcing a call to lethal action -- whether you choose to admit it or not.  And I'm directly calling you out.

Because if you read this blog, you know of some of my history -- and you do have a fairly good-looking daughter...

Just saying....

July 17, 2023 News and Notes

• Mexico defeated Panama 1-0 to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup.  Now do we get one of those SuperCup situations like a couple of years back?   
• Santiago Gimenez won it with an 88th minute goal.
• The summer teams of the Cavaliers and Rockets will play off for the NBA Summer League Championship.
• There is a stressed unconfirmed report of a surface temperature of sixty degrees Celsius, 140 Fahrenheit, in Spain.  The verified world record is in Death Valley at 56.7 Celsius or about 134 Fahrenheit in 1913.   

July 16, 2023 News and Notes

• And Asanoyama's run to return to Ozeki has been derailed, but this time, due to injury.  Partial tear in his arm/elbow ligaments.
• What does Mike Dean know and when did he know it?  Dean was forced to retire from English football officiating after almost three decades (at least the last year being in VAR) after "showdown talks" with the appropriate body, and then being found "unfit for duty" for officiating.
• Speaking of The (Less Than) Beautiful Game: Ireland is charging Colombia's soccer federation with attempting to eliminate their women's team, forcing abandonment of a women's "friendly" between the two teams where, after 22 minutes, one Irish player went to the hospital with a leg injury and there was real fear of more injurious conduct.  In short:  Welcome to the South American game, ladies.  Only loosely is it called "football".  
• The Speed Gamers are holding their annual (almost-)week-long event for St. Jude's Children's Hospitals.  As of 77 hours in, they've raised just over $9,000 -- and, after taking a year off, they have announced a return to their quarterly schedule as they try to use the last of their time together (this is their 15th anniversary marathon, so many of the originals are well into their 30's) to get to a million dollars raised lifetime.

July 15, 2023 News and Notes

• And global warming is a "myth"...  Make it 11 days in a row past the previous record for the hottest day on Earth.  Peaking on July 6th, scientists are reporting the last week and a half, over the entire planet, appears to be the warmest in at least 100,000 years.
• Russian Agent Tucker Carlson has turned a Christian Conservative forum into a showcase for Vladimir Putin.  This, the same week that shithead did a nearly 3-hour Twitter interview with international misogynist shithead Andrew Tate.   
• The Phoenix Coyotes fired Alex Galchenyuk today after a slur-filled traffic stop with Arizona police last weekend -- threatened to kill the two officers too.
• Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic has won the women's Wimbledon title unseeded.  6-4, 6-4 over Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.
• In another example of the only other purpose for women in "women's sports":  It has now come out that the German edition of Playboy wants German Women's World Cup player Guilia Guinn.  She has refused.
• The 2023 New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax has started, with the first eight matches of group play.
• It featured a small-scale upset, as Taichi defeated Will Ospreay to snag two unexpected points.
• But the bigger rarity is a split of the points between former Young Lions Ren Narita and Shota Umino, who went the full 20 minutes without a fall.
• The other two groups start tonight, including AEW's Eddie Kingston, who -- before this tournament started -- won his first major singles championship, the New Japan of America STRONG Openweight Championship.
• In unscripted Japanese (sumo) wrestling:
• The last undefeated fell in Round 7.
• Four now share the lead at 6-1:
• Sekiwake Hoshoryu, on Ozeki Run Watch.
• Maegashira 1 Nishikigi, suffered his first loss to Kotonowaka
• Maegashira 7 Tamawashi
• and Maegashira 9 Hokotufuji
• Ozeki Kirishima is three losses from kadoban, as he struggles to retain the 8 wins so that there will be no non-kadoban Ozeki in September.
• Asanoyama is 4-3, gets Sekiwake Daieisho (5-2) in what could be a key match.
• Wakamotoharu is also 5-2, he gets Kotonowaka.
• Additional meaningless penalty:  All wins vacated for 2019 and 2020 for Tennessee.

Commanders Sale, Part Two: Why do I get the feeling Jon Gruden is about to be whacked?

Split this into two parts because of unexpected length.

And yes, the same seriousness and mafia-style I believe Snyder may go with.

The complications, apparently, placed into the sale of the Commanders are stemming from Jon Gruden's 2022 lawsuit against the NFL for his firing and the role of the Snyder emails in so doing.

And if you read the post just below, you can see why Gruden would also have an interest in nailing the NFL.

Gruden has basically won every step of the way so far.  The league is now trying to direct it into it's preferred legal avenue of litigative arbitration, something Gruden is refusing -- going so far this week as to state he wishes to "burn it all down":  that if he's going down, the entire league is going with him.

Oh, if he only were to succeed.

And as I said when this situation first came to light, I don't even think you have to get to the lawsuit itself.

One of the things they always say in court:  Discovery is a bitch.

If the NFL is forced to even discovery-level on this, those emails become public record and will be perused.

Do I have to state (not just on the Gruden firing and the Snyder forced sale) the nuclear bomb which could well be set off against the NFL if that occurred?

Remember, Gruden has full understanding that he believes the NFL is rigged (one of his major contentions with the league has been "inconsistent officiating") and a tentacle in a half-century grudge between Raiders ownership and the NFL (one of the reasons I think it might be in best interest to permanently get the Davis' out of NFL ownership good and quickfast).

If that email trove ever becomes public, it could end the NFL -- and that is what it appears Gruden WANTS.  He has stated he wishes not to settle at ANY PRICE.

And this has an impact on the Snyder sale to the Harris group.  Snyder is prepared to pull the plug on his part of the deal, stating that, in exchange for allowing the deal to go through, he is not to be held responsible in any way for illegalities the NFL committed and any share of a payment Gruden would eventually receive.

"Stay Tuned" would put it lightly on this one.  The meeting at which the sale is supposed to go through is scheduled for next Thursday in Minneapolis.

Commanders Sale, Part One: Why do I get the feeling Dan Snyder is about to be whacked?

Seriously.

Killed.  Mafia-style.

Several reports have come out this week about Dan Snyder's conduct in the weeks leading up to the NFL punishment, which, if all goes right, will result in the forced sale of the Washington Commanders to an investment group led by private-equity billionaire Josh Harris (for $6 billion) next Thursday in Minneapolis.

(The owners meeting there will probably be so contentious, it will not cover two other needed league business items:  A new contract for Der Kommissar Goodell, and a plan to make Tom Brady a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.)

That is, until the shit hit the fan this week.

First, an extensive ESPN article into the links between the firing of Jon Gruden as coach of the Raiders for vitriolic email communications and the Dan Snyder trove of league e-mails, and a larger question as to who actually leaked the emails to begin with.

In it are a treasure trove of charges and countercharges, including:

• That, to be allowed to dictate the terms of whatever "punishment" he was to receive, Snyder showed the league a "Blackmail Powerpoint" of various and sundry NFL dirty laundry.
• Which Snyder would release unless he got what he wanted.
• That the racist diatribes of the likes of Snyder, then (10 years ago)- Washington GM Bruce Allen and Gruden (who was working for ESPN on Monday Night Football at the time) provided the tipping point for the reelection of DeMaurice Smith as head of the NFLPA, as a partner for the owners -- NOT to look out for the players!
• Mark Davis, owner of the Raiders, did not want to fire Gruden as head coach of the team -- forced to by the league, in an impassioned call from Goodell and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash the Friday before he was fired.
• If you want an idea of why the Las Vegas Raiders have not enjoyed the level of success a number of other relocated teams have in the last number of years, here you go:  Once a second bunch of e-mails hit the table (including homophobia), forcing Davis' hand, this was his quoted reaction to Gruden, according to ESPN:  "Fuck the NFL.  And fuck Dan Snyder."
• Two weeks later, Goodell denied any and all involvement in leaking the emails.
• In October of last year, the league stated it felt that Snyder had.
• The ESPN investigation, however, has come up with any number of possible leads:
• Four owners believe Goodell was directly involved.  A number of parties believe the league did have a hand in it.
• An associate of DeMaurice Smith said Smith actually had bragged about leaking the racist diatribe, the same day he was facing a union vote to retain his position.  Smith, reportedly, believes that leak got him the one vote he needed to stay NFLPA head.
• Legal wranglings by Snyder, in concert with Roc Nation, the Jay-Z founded entertainment corporation with a small contract with the NFL for "social justice issues".  Snyder's New York legal firm denies this.   
• They were contacted by Patriots owner (and ersatz Deputy Commissioner) Robert Kraft in 2018 to try to deflect the Colin Kaepernick blackballing.
• Gruden had an enemies' list, cultivated beginning when Gruden first coached the Raiders in 1998 (Al Davis began that list with the NFL league office, a rivalry which began when Davis wanted to be AFL-NFL Commissioner upon the merger, rather than Pete Rozelle...)
• One rigging theory of Al Davis was that the league personally nixed John Elway being traded to the Raiders in 1983 -- the league fearing that, with such a generational talent, the Raiders would be one of the prominent teams going forward, something Davis (and a lot of us) felt the NFL did not want!
• Gruden let that boil over on Monday Night Football in a late-2011 game between Atlanta and New Orleans.  A flagged helmet-to-helmet hit drew the ire of Gruden, and he made no secret of telling the audience.
• That got a visit to the principal's office.  They wanted to teach him about player safety.  He never went, because the people the league were putting in front of him were responsible for some of the dirtiest play in the game's history.
• This was not forgotten years later when Gruden wanted to talk to Goodell directly about league youth initiatives.  Goodell sent an associate instead.
• COVID fines also infuriated Gruden, especially when Sean Payton said Gruden was the only coach who actually paid his fine.
• Dan Snyder was also on the list of enemies, as the firing of Bruce Allen and legal wrangling over his contract still loomed large.

And, as late as a previous 2023 owners' meeting, the league still expects the sale to go through as demanded.

Jon Gruden and Dan Snyder may have something to say on this.

Two further reasons we need the death of the NCAA...

First, does anyone still think we need to have the Northwestern athletic program still in existence?

Hazing allegations have gotten both the football and baseball coaches fired.  One can only wonder who is next...

Second, the NCAA just dinged Tennessee.

18 Level I violations, and over TWO HUNDRED total violations from 2018 to 2020 under old coach Jeremy Pruitt.

The penalties include:

• Pruitt, who is out of coaching and went to the NFL afterward, is banned from coaching for at least one year.
• Show-causes for Pruitt (six years) and three assistants (not reported).
• Though Tennessee avoids a bowl ban (snork), Tennessee was fined $8,000,000 to essentially nullify any and all financial benefit from SEC bowls for the next two years.

The NCAA has tried not to punish uninvolved players, but what do you do when the entire program is hopelessly dirty?

Get out of the sanctioning business, NCAA.  You have nothing left to offer.

This Blog Should Not Exist, Part 3.07: Kiss Your Entertainment Industry Goodbye

(Before anyone disputes this, I am in full support of the actors and writers, and believe that a strike is the only way they get heard...)

There's a problem with that -- it needs to matter that they are heard.  And I'm not sure that it does matter or can matter, outside of one and only one recourse.

For those not following along:  After a 12-day cooling off period and the (false) hopes that there was an ounce of desire for negotiation, SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, went on strike this morning for the first joint writers and actors strike in Hollywood and New York, etc. since the 1960's.

And many understand openly that this is an existential fight.

I agree, and that's why I am not optimistic about them going forward, sans an immediate court fight.

There has been no material desire by the studios and their chiefs to negotiate with the Writers Guild of America, their strike now entering it's 12th week.

There's a very simple reason -- and it's not all of the other issues such as streaming residuals for the fast-growing Free Ad-Supported Television streaming services (FAST -- like Pluto, etc.).  Those numbers can be eventually figured out.

What is different about this is that, to many of these studios, etc., the day is rapidly approaching, if not here already, that neither the writers nor the actors will be further required.

And what could do this?

Artificial Intelligence.

I have spoken several times of AI, starting with what I felt was a rather innocuous and entertaining nature of AI, from an America's Got Talent act Metaphysic.

I would like you to (re)acquaint yourself with that before we continue, because that was over a year ago, and you can see the available technology there and then.

Between ChatGPT for the writers and this for the actors, there may be no further material need for either in the immediate future of the entertainment industry.

One of the proposals that the studios have placed on the table is that a background actor need only appear for one more day (to be scanned into AI databases), and, for that one day's pay, be used in perpetuity as an artificial situation.  The concept of an "extra" (which many in the industry only see as a prop which can eat...) would be a thing of the past.

But I think the studios and the like are far, far more nefarious.  Consider the following:

• A market in which all of the "Fast And Furious" types who turn the roads and streets of this country into their personal playgrounds in "real life" now have the opportunity, through AI, to be placed, through digital replacement, into a "Fast and Furious" movie (my anonymous friend, in a very prescient manner, would call this "Fast You").
• Another market in which, with one replacement or both, a fan, "stan", or stalker could (at least in AI) sleep with any celebrity of his or her dreams.  Extrapolate that, in the last case, as you see fit.  Forget creepy -- we're getting to downright dangerous here.   
• One thing which came up yesterday in discussions on the subject as the strike began:  There would be no material such thing, anymore, as a celebrity's reputation.  You can put any celebrity you choose, on video, into any compromising, dangerous, or oppositional situation you choose.
• A Jew supporting Hitler.
• A Democratic woman espousing the virtues of MAGA...
• I could go on for some time.

And here's the two worst parts of it...

• I believe they already have enough "material", even on the famous, to do everything they need to do.
• And, as I've said before on this blog, I already believe major portions of Americana (the NFL with Damar Hamlin cough) are already using this technology.

And that's why I believe the actors have only one real recourse:  To lawyer up and sue the studios now to prevent the usage of this material for not only what the studios would get from them in the future, but for what they have now.

Otherwise, I don't see this getting settled.  Now, in the near future, or ever.

This, to me, is not unlike the 1994-95 baseball strike or the attempted 2011 NFL lockout -- both, I believe, fully orchestrated for a long time to rewrite the system in the owners' favor and only stopped, in both cases, through the courts.

Under the radar: Soft Russian/Belarussian DQ from Paris 2024?

It is an International Olympic Committee tradition to formally invite the youth of the world of every National Olympic Committee one year before an Olympic Games.

The IOC announced on Friday it will NOT extend the olive branch to the instigators of the war in Ukraine, so it appears, once again, Russia and Belarus will be disqualified, with the caveat of individual athlete participation case-by-case.

A third country has also been disqualified from the Games:  Guatemala, for governmental interference.

July 14, 2023 News and Notes

• For the second time in four events, Richard Seymour, the former NFL player, went deep in the $10,000 main event of the World Series of Poker.  He got bad-beat on a superior pair of hole cards today to finish in the top 600 and win a little over $50,000.
• Nate Silver, formerly of 538, finished 87th, $92,600 -- when three players had pairs leading to the flop and he ended up with the lower set when he and the one above him got to three of a kind.
• The field is a record of over 10,000 people who either won satellite tournaments or paid a $10,000 entry fee.
• The winner will win a record $12.1 million as a result.  They actually have barely beaten the height of the online poker scene back a decade ago with this field.
• By the end of tomorrow, the field is winnowed to the final table of nine.  The champion is crowned Sunday.
• Add the baseball coach to the growing problems of the Northwestern hazing investigation.  He's been fired too, same reason as the football coach.
• Six days now into the July sumo tournament in Japan.
• Nishikigi is the only 6-0 wrestler out there.  Six follow him at 5-1.
• Ozeki Run Watch:
• Hoshoryu is one of the six at 5-1.
• Daieisho lost to Komusubi Kotonowaka, and is 4-2.
• Wakamotoharu is also 4-2.
• Kirishima is trying to accumulate wins through his injury.  He's 2-4, needing 8 to prevent kadoban.  The other Ozeki and the Yokozuna are both out already with injury.
• Brian Tuohy's appeal to the US government for records pertaining to the fixed 1972 Men's Olympic Basketball debacle has been denied -- a two-year process.

July 13, 2023 News and Notes

• Panama eliminates the United States from the Gold Cup.  Penalties after a 1-1 draw.
• Panama will play Mexico in the final.
• Jamaica and the United States will rematch, but for third place.
• ESPY Awards:
• Male Athlete, Best Team, NFL Player:  Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.  
• Female Athlete:  Mikaela Shiffrin
• College Men:  Caleb Williams, USC Football
• College Women:  Caitlin Clark, Women's College Basketball Iowa
• Disabled Athlete:  Zach Miller, snowboarder
• Breakthrough:  Angel Reese, Women's College Basketball LSU
• Comeback:  Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets.  A year down with an ACL.
• Championship Performance:  Leo Messi, World Cup
• Play:  Justin Jefferson, super (magnet) catch vs. Buffalo.
• Record-Breaker:  LeBron James and the NBA scoring record.
• MLB:  Shohei Ohtani
• NFL:  Connor McDavid
• NBA:  Nikola Jocic
• WNBA:  A'Ja Wilson, Las Vegas
• Boxer:  Claressa Shields
• UFC:  Jon Jones
• Golfer:  Scottie Scheffler
• Tennis:  Novak Djokovic
• Driver:  Max Verstappen
• Muhammad Ali Humanitarian:  Jrue Holiday and his wife Lauren.  At the restart of the NBA in 2020, Jrue set up the Social Justice Impact Fund for African-American nonprofits.
• Pat McAfee used the opening monologue to blast Skip Bayless' beliefs on the playoff implications of the cancellation of the Damar Hamlin game.  You think that the game was cancelled, when even games like when Ryan Shazier was permanently paralyzed were allowed to continue, tells you something?   
• The SAG-AFTRA strike is officially on.  Hollywood is now completely shut down.  And people are going to find out how little both the writers AND the actors are going to be needed in an AI-driven entertainment industry.  (Speaking of AI with the news point above...)   

DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Dick Vitale.  Surgery for a third round of cancer, this vocal cord cancer.  6-8 week recovery.

July 12, 2023 News and Notes

• Pat Fitzgerald has been fired for overseeing a hazing program in the football program at Northwestern University.  Worse for him, it appears as if the firing has been declared "for cause" -- not only no money, but the very real specter of criminal charges.
• Slowest four days of the sports year.  All-Star Week in MLB.
• Vlad Guerrero Jr. won the Home Run Derby in Seattle.
• It is official: The process to move the A's out of Oakland has begun, according to Fuck Rob Manfred.
• The National League won the actual All-Star Game 3-2.
• Their first All-Star victory in ten games.
• Elias Diaz of the Rockies hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the winning runs, becoming the first rookie to be named All-Star MVP.
• Diaz is 32.
• The official numbers are in with respect to the pitch clock:  Twenty-six minutes a game off this season so far.  Games, on average, have not been this quick in 40 years (1984).  The average MLB game is two hours and forty minutes.
• Runs are up 18% year over year.
• Attendance is up 9%, even with the disaster in Oakland. (Source:  Sports Illustrated.)
• More good news for game-show fans -- the Tom Bergeron era of Hollywood Squares gets a streaming channel on Pluto starting on the 11th.
• Earlier this week, the NBA announced their in-season tournament.  Six groups, five teams each, winning teams get monetary bonuses.  (There was discussion as to an automatic playoff spot for the "NBA Cup" winner, but that was shelved.)
• The new anti-flopping rule (a team technical, one free throw) and a second coach's challenge if the first one is successful have been approved for next season for the NBA.
• Dunno if I already put this on a Daily, but a second source now says the Aaron Rodgers saga will be front and center on the NFL's Hard Knocks series:  The Jets are the chosen team.
• The last American woman is out at Wimbledon in the quarters -- the last American man is facing the 3-seed, one set all as I type.
• All Americans are out of the Wimbledon singles draws.  The last American man, Chris Edwards, took Medvedev to five sets, up two sets to one, before running out of gas.
• It appears that Medvedev hit a cameraman with a ball in frustration.  That could have gotten him disqualified.
• As expected, Yokozuna Terunofuji has withdrawn from the July tournament -- a lumbar disc situation has become a full hernia!

Follow-Up: The Line Between Stalker And Fan Further Blurs

On this blog, after the Super Bowl, I wrote the beginnings of the story of Xavier Babudar, the wolf-clad ChiefsAHolic, arrested in Oklahoma for robbing a bank.

Add Federal charges to the result now.  Casino fraud:  Three states worth of casinos allege over $1,000,000 in purchased and redeemed chips.  Now the question of where he got the money to at least start the process, and what the process actually was (was it cheaters who could not cash their chips, so they sell them at a cut rate, etc. and so forth...).

I want the whole story on this guy.  I get the feeling there may be very literal skeletons in this closet.

July 9, 2023 News and Notes

• Unless one or more of the Sekiwake do well in this tournament, the Sumo Association may be back in the same problem in September it had in May.  Both Ozeki will now be kadoban for September, as new Ozeki Kirishima (the former Kiribiyama) announced withdrawal today before Day 1 due to back pain.
• All three Sekiwake have realistic chances of promoting to Ozeki in this tournament.
• Hoshoryu probably needs twelve wins.  But that would get him promotion, 33 in 3 at Sekiwake.
• Daieisho is an interesting call.  He may need to win the tournament, or get at least 12-13 wins, as this is only his second Sekiwake tournament.
• Wakamotoharu is about in the same boat -- there is some belief he or Daieisho must win the tournament, and 12-3 or better, to promote.

July 8, 2023 News and Notes

Starting with two MLB feats over a century in the making:

• Three Detroit Tigers combined on a no-hitter today, 2-0 over the Blue Jays.
• And the Elly de la Cruz show continues:  The rookie phenom, after an RBI single, became the first Cincinnati Red in over a century to steal all three other bases on the diamond -- and he only needed two pitches to do it!!  This is the effect of the new Pace of Play rules too!   

Other stuff:

• Megan Rapinoe is retiring from soccer after this year.
• A fighter on the UFC pay-per-view tonight had to be quickly pulled, as it was found out he had a rare brain condition which could cause blockage of arteries to his brain.  He's a rookie to the circuit and was never checked fully for a CAT scan in any of his previous fights.
• 50,000 marched on London today for transgender rights...
• ... on the same day the Sixth Circuit reaffirmed Tennessee's material ban on the practice
• and Ron DeSantis gleefully signed the most restrictive bathroom bill in the nation.  Gee, any surprises at all that the three main teams in MAGALB this year appear to be Tampa, Cobb County, and Houston?   
• A BBC host has been yanked from the air after discovery of a $30,000 payment for apparent underage nudes, according to The Sun.
• And, according to tomorrow's howling from the British tabloid, returned the favor in his underwear.
• There is now an early-development report on a sixth movie in the The Purge horror series.  The producer of this movie is actually going to remap America based on ideological differences, not unakin to that which currently exists in the real-life United States.  This is one of the reasons I've referred to the series a number of times on this blog.  I do believe it is a desired reality of the future of America, especially on the Nazi White Right.   

July 7, 2023 News and Notes

• Britney may be in trouble.  Tried to grab #1 draft pick Victor Wenbayama in Las Vegas, and got a response from his security -- now lawyers are getting involved.
• It now appears the police are saying Britney struck herself.  Ruh-roh.
• A hazing investigation at Northwestern finds enough evidence to suspend the head coach for two weeks -- but not to fire Pat Fitzgerald???
• Scary moment for Madonna.  It now is becoming clear that Narcan was needed to reverse sepsis shock which would've killed the pop icon if someone hadn't been alert to it a number of days ago -- she's still bedridden.
• There is a report that Narcan was administered to revive her after an overdose (which is the common parlance of the use of the drug), but the initial reports did indicate bacterial infection and sepsis shock, which is another use of the drug.
• Ozeki Takakeisho will be kadoban again in September.  He's out with his recurring injuries for the July tournament after needing 13 days to save his Ozeki status (and the Sumo Association's neck!) last tournament.
• More evidence that either COVID is not over or someone needs to start shooting NOW.  According to right-wing pig Karl Denninger, the Bureau of Labor Statistics buried, this month, a 400,000-person reduction, month over month, in the total 16+ non-institutional population with a Bachelor's degree or better.  Which means, if you believed it, a NET 400,000 people Bachelor's or better died.  Last month.  Meaning June, where quite a number of Bachelor's degrees were handed out!
• In stark contrast, alarm is being sounded in the anime community over the crowd crushing which was occurring last weekend at the annual Anime Expo in Los Angeles.
• The event has now officially outgrown Los Angeles.  160,000 people crushed the LACC over the weekend.  And, again, that's a unique-person count, not "one each time you go in".
• Some of the pictures are utterly frightening.
• At least the 11th motor-vehicle violation in the Georgia football program this offseason.  Samuel M'Pemba got busted for 88 in a 55.
• This after Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint actually was briefly placed in a holding cell for large-scale speeding, 90 in a 45.