The Padres get a reliever, the Jays insist they weren't Ohtani leverage, a call for common sense gambling regulation, fun with the Jeffrey Epstein documents, Nature Boy crypto, weirdos, and movie talk
As a Brit, it's depressing and incredulous seeing the US fall down every pit fall that happened to the UK with regards to gambling. Nothing has been learnt which while entirely believable is still a gut punch to one who struggled with it in the past and found solace in Baseball as a sport where betting wasn't in your face every 30 seconds.
For those who want a more long form here's my tale and a explanation of the UK scene.
Not a one of those movies interests me. Instead I was watching Mr. Monk's Last Case. I am not ashamed of my rather middlebrow tastes. But it's clear that when Peacock made that movie, they knew there are people who like Oscar quality movies, and people who like OCD detectives from fifteen years ago. (It does what it says on the tin, though it's kind of a mess and some of it is really not well done. But Shalhoub is as good as ever.)
So why is paying hush money a crime? I asked that when Trump paid off Stormy Daniels and I ask that now. No, I don't approve of such behavior since it usually goes with worse things. And have no sympathy for a mother who would accept money to look the other way. But should that make it illegal, especially if no crime was committed?
It's always amusing to me how fans are oblivious to how fine the line is between a Ric Flair "woo!" and a Lt. Dangle "woo!" Not unlike the meme of "September" segueing from trumpets to recorders.
I’ve been binging that new HBO series The Bookie, and it’s incredible. I’m usually laughing too hard to care about how cringy some of the dialogue can get. I did think there was a very powerful moment where (minor spoilers) the father (who is a bookie) tries to bond with his nerdy gamer son while watching football, and the father says he’ll double the son’s $1 if the red team wins. If the other team loses, the son gives his dollar to the dad (plus vig!).
The son pretty much asks what the fun is in that, and the dad says for three hours, you’re in for an experience. And that to me is what makes gambling so fun and dangerous. I love the thrill of betting $1.50 to win $2.75 on the under. I would be too stressed to enjoy it if I bet $150 to win $275!
I’m pro-legal gambling and I’m pro-responsible gambling. It’s getting worse. ESPN and news sites will only tell you about the winners. They won’t tell you that A) the guy who rode a four-leg parlay to winning a 250K bet an obscene amount of money, and B) he probably had the money to bet it and not feel the dent.
TL;DR: Watch The Bookie, but don’t spoil the ending in the comments. I have three eps left.
Harking back to yesterday's Jamesapalooza (and probably redundant as it's not really a secret): in a Welcome to Wrexham episode (think it's S1E10), the central figure is a police person who happens to be the daughter of one of the James' musicians. It's just mentioned in passing, and doesn't play any part in the episode, just immediately thought of Craig when I saw that.
(As an aside, some of the episodes, the ones centering on the town and the people and what the club means to it/them, are really really great. Also, the inside stuff on all the side things a football club has to deal with is really eye opening)
Korean names are easy to understand if they are written correctly. The correct syntax in this case is Go Woo-suk, ie Go is his family name. Just like Son Heung-min: family name Son. Sometimes it is written Heung-min Son, or Woo-suk Go but either way there is a hyphenated first name and a separate family name. The problems start, as you identify, when the hyphen is omitted. Then confusion abounds...
I'm confused: is the product that Ric Flair is peddling called Coin (or Coin!) or Wooooo (or Wooooo!)? I know I could answer that question by clicking on the links, but how stupid does he think we are?
It's a shame that we aren't in Spring Training yet. Otherwise, ATL could get a discount on birthday cakes. New acquisition Reynaldo Lopez (1994) joins closer Raisel Iglesias (1990) and backup outfielder Kevin Pillar (1989) on the celebratory list. I know the odds of 2 people out of 26 having the same birthday are surprisingly high. I wonder what the math says about 3 out of 26.
Kris Bryant is only 32. But that 2016 season sure seems like a long time ago. I was only one among many that thought the Cubs had a chance for a mini-dynasty. But their time near the top was briefer than their time giving out World Series rings to anyone who has ever sung Take Me Out or has ivy in their yard. The Rockies will be paying him $27m per year to provide veteran presence through 2028. My recommendation to Kris: spend some of that at Deviation, a bar within walking distance of Coors field where they do classic cocktails right. My recommendation for Coffee Posters: find a link to the YouTube of Greg Maddux, as a television sound man slash BP pitcher pranking Bryant.
Ted Wood (1967) only had a - ahem - cup of coffee in the majors. But with that name, I'm assuming a long career in porn followed shortly after.
Why did Daryl Boston (1963) never play for the Red Sox?
Herman Franks (1914) managed the Giants and Cubs in the 60s and 70s. The former did well, but not quite as well as a team with Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Perry, Cepeda, and other solid players should have. Then there is the cheating: he played a key role in the sign stealing scandal under Coogan's Bluff that was well written in Joshua Prager's "The Echoing Green."
Another manager of note shares a birthday. Charlie Manuel turns 80 today. Happy birthday to the Philly Phave!
And yet one more manager. It is now ancient history, but Ozzie Vitt was the red arse who caused his Indians team to revolt leading to the "Cleveland Crybabies" stories of the 1940 season. It certainly wasn't the last nail in the coffin of the true in-your-face manager as folks like Durocher and Martin successfully and Rader & Rapp unsuccessfully long postdated Vitt, but it was one of the first notable incidents.
Vitt's other claim to fame was as more of a bystander: he was hit in the head by a Walter Johnson pitch and lay unconscious for several minutes before being help off the field. It is said that after that, Johnson never again threw inside.
I can't believe you didn't drop the link for me to improve my Billionaire Brain Waves. As a smart geek in school, kids used to tease me that I might zap them with my Brain Waves. Apparently they were not of the Billionaire flavor as I continue to labor daily at my boring job.
May December is brilliant but probably not for all. Todd Haynes is at or near the top of best American directors of his generation - Safe, Poison, Carol, Superstar, Far from Heaven, etc - and May December is on that level. What he's accomplished working with Julianne Moore across films is amazing. If it's in your area, see Godzilla Minus One. I've grown a little tired of the recent wave of monster updates but went to this because I had heard only great things. I'm glad I went. I was completely surprised that it was a period film and essentially a retelling of the Godzilla story against the end of WWII back drop. Not a Hollywood film, it's a Japanese production made for about $15 million but the FX are great. It's been so popular I've read they plan to release a B/W version.
Also, one film that might give Maestro a run for its smoking money is Good Evening and Good Luck. I think Murrow had cigarettes in both hands.
Once upon a time you had to go to the track or to Vegas if you wanted to gamble legally. Not that people didn't lose their shirts, their homes and even their lives, but so many more will suffer now that you can place bets on your phone while beached on the couch in front of the TV. It should be legal, but it shouldn't be frictionless.
I started reading Dave Parker's autobiography last night. He hasn't made it to the majors in the book yet, but so far it's very entertaining. He had football scholarships from Columbus U as well as many other big time football schools, but hurt his knee his senior year and all the scholarships were pulled, leaving him to try baseball as a 20th round pick. That worked out okay for him and the Pirates.
Come on, you can't tease us like that... Which actress are you hypothesizing?
I haven't seen the movie but from trailer and clips I'll guess Nicole Kidman?
As a Brit, it's depressing and incredulous seeing the US fall down every pit fall that happened to the UK with regards to gambling. Nothing has been learnt which while entirely believable is still a gut punch to one who struggled with it in the past and found solace in Baseball as a sport where betting wasn't in your face every 30 seconds.
For those who want a more long form here's my tale and a explanation of the UK scene.
https://batflipsandnerds.com/2023/09/28/warning-from-a-small-island-the-effect-of-sports-gambling-in-the-uk/
Not a one of those movies interests me. Instead I was watching Mr. Monk's Last Case. I am not ashamed of my rather middlebrow tastes. But it's clear that when Peacock made that movie, they knew there are people who like Oscar quality movies, and people who like OCD detectives from fifteen years ago. (It does what it says on the tin, though it's kind of a mess and some of it is really not well done. But Shalhoub is as good as ever.)
So why is paying hush money a crime? I asked that when Trump paid off Stormy Daniels and I ask that now. No, I don't approve of such behavior since it usually goes with worse things. And have no sympathy for a mother who would accept money to look the other way. But should that make it illegal, especially if no crime was committed?
It's always amusing to me how fans are oblivious to how fine the line is between a Ric Flair "woo!" and a Lt. Dangle "woo!" Not unlike the meme of "September" segueing from trumpets to recorders.
I’ve been binging that new HBO series The Bookie, and it’s incredible. I’m usually laughing too hard to care about how cringy some of the dialogue can get. I did think there was a very powerful moment where (minor spoilers) the father (who is a bookie) tries to bond with his nerdy gamer son while watching football, and the father says he’ll double the son’s $1 if the red team wins. If the other team loses, the son gives his dollar to the dad (plus vig!).
The son pretty much asks what the fun is in that, and the dad says for three hours, you’re in for an experience. And that to me is what makes gambling so fun and dangerous. I love the thrill of betting $1.50 to win $2.75 on the under. I would be too stressed to enjoy it if I bet $150 to win $275!
I’m pro-legal gambling and I’m pro-responsible gambling. It’s getting worse. ESPN and news sites will only tell you about the winners. They won’t tell you that A) the guy who rode a four-leg parlay to winning a 250K bet an obscene amount of money, and B) he probably had the money to bet it and not feel the dent.
TL;DR: Watch The Bookie, but don’t spoil the ending in the comments. I have three eps left.
Harking back to yesterday's Jamesapalooza (and probably redundant as it's not really a secret): in a Welcome to Wrexham episode (think it's S1E10), the central figure is a police person who happens to be the daughter of one of the James' musicians. It's just mentioned in passing, and doesn't play any part in the episode, just immediately thought of Craig when I saw that.
(As an aside, some of the episodes, the ones centering on the town and the people and what the club means to it/them, are really really great. Also, the inside stuff on all the side things a football club has to deal with is really eye opening)
Korean names are easy to understand if they are written correctly. The correct syntax in this case is Go Woo-suk, ie Go is his family name. Just like Son Heung-min: family name Son. Sometimes it is written Heung-min Son, or Woo-suk Go but either way there is a hyphenated first name and a separate family name. The problems start, as you identify, when the hyphen is omitted. Then confusion abounds...
I'm confused: is the product that Ric Flair is peddling called Coin (or Coin!) or Wooooo (or Wooooo!)? I know I could answer that question by clicking on the links, but how stupid does he think we are?
Oh...
Birthday thoughts on a cold winter's morning ...
It's a shame that we aren't in Spring Training yet. Otherwise, ATL could get a discount on birthday cakes. New acquisition Reynaldo Lopez (1994) joins closer Raisel Iglesias (1990) and backup outfielder Kevin Pillar (1989) on the celebratory list. I know the odds of 2 people out of 26 having the same birthday are surprisingly high. I wonder what the math says about 3 out of 26.
Kris Bryant is only 32. But that 2016 season sure seems like a long time ago. I was only one among many that thought the Cubs had a chance for a mini-dynasty. But their time near the top was briefer than their time giving out World Series rings to anyone who has ever sung Take Me Out or has ivy in their yard. The Rockies will be paying him $27m per year to provide veteran presence through 2028. My recommendation to Kris: spend some of that at Deviation, a bar within walking distance of Coors field where they do classic cocktails right. My recommendation for Coffee Posters: find a link to the YouTube of Greg Maddux, as a television sound man slash BP pitcher pranking Bryant.
Ted Wood (1967) only had a - ahem - cup of coffee in the majors. But with that name, I'm assuming a long career in porn followed shortly after.
Why did Daryl Boston (1963) never play for the Red Sox?
Herman Franks (1914) managed the Giants and Cubs in the 60s and 70s. The former did well, but not quite as well as a team with Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Perry, Cepeda, and other solid players should have. Then there is the cheating: he played a key role in the sign stealing scandal under Coogan's Bluff that was well written in Joshua Prager's "The Echoing Green."
Another manager of note shares a birthday. Charlie Manuel turns 80 today. Happy birthday to the Philly Phave!
And yet one more manager. It is now ancient history, but Ozzie Vitt was the red arse who caused his Indians team to revolt leading to the "Cleveland Crybabies" stories of the 1940 season. It certainly wasn't the last nail in the coffin of the true in-your-face manager as folks like Durocher and Martin successfully and Rader & Rapp unsuccessfully long postdated Vitt, but it was one of the first notable incidents.
Vitt's other claim to fame was as more of a bystander: he was hit in the head by a Walter Johnson pitch and lay unconscious for several minutes before being help off the field. It is said that after that, Johnson never again threw inside.
I can't believe you didn't drop the link for me to improve my Billionaire Brain Waves. As a smart geek in school, kids used to tease me that I might zap them with my Brain Waves. Apparently they were not of the Billionaire flavor as I continue to labor daily at my boring job.
bsky-social-denky-qvqpz blooski code up for grabs.
I have a couple Bluesky codes, too:
bsky-social-pmoto-vd7av
bsky-social-wcpq5-vltwr
I have long suspected that VS was at least partially a place of ALLEGED trafficking. Especially of Eastern European models.
Also gambling companies can go to hell.
May December is brilliant but probably not for all. Todd Haynes is at or near the top of best American directors of his generation - Safe, Poison, Carol, Superstar, Far from Heaven, etc - and May December is on that level. What he's accomplished working with Julianne Moore across films is amazing. If it's in your area, see Godzilla Minus One. I've grown a little tired of the recent wave of monster updates but went to this because I had heard only great things. I'm glad I went. I was completely surprised that it was a period film and essentially a retelling of the Godzilla story against the end of WWII back drop. Not a Hollywood film, it's a Japanese production made for about $15 million but the FX are great. It's been so popular I've read they plan to release a B/W version.
Also, one film that might give Maestro a run for its smoking money is Good Evening and Good Luck. I think Murrow had cigarettes in both hands.
Once upon a time you had to go to the track or to Vegas if you wanted to gamble legally. Not that people didn't lose their shirts, their homes and even their lives, but so many more will suffer now that you can place bets on your phone while beached on the couch in front of the TV. It should be legal, but it shouldn't be frictionless.
I started reading Dave Parker's autobiography last night. He hasn't made it to the majors in the book yet, but so far it's very entertaining. He had football scholarships from Columbus U as well as many other big time football schools, but hurt his knee his senior year and all the scholarships were pulled, leaving him to try baseball as a 20th round pick. That worked out okay for him and the Pirates.