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There's no reason to drop Tork now, none, zero, nada. If he was out of options or about to get expensive, yes. Otherwise you are just selling low out of short-sightedness.

What's wild is that he undoubtedly made this statement without a single thought about Jimmy Carter... Only how it affects him personally. Classic NPD behavior

I guess I don't see the point. The VA is a hospital system paid for by the gov. Medicare is a hospital system paid for by the gov. Both systems are large enough there is probably minimal economy of scale savings to combine them, and each is tailored to the constituency it serves. So what do you get by throwing the vets into the general public pool? If you close all the VA hospitals you are pushing an already limited national hospital capacity. If you convert them into the private system that has a lot of administrative transition cost associated. So just where is the beef here? This reminds me of the horror story I posted not too long ago about venture capitalists who bought a hospital system just to bleed it dry and take the profits on the real estate - IOW someone behind this push is looking at an ulterior profit motive they hope to cash in on and damn the public interest.

Approx $277 Million

That trade is garbage

This one is on me guys. I took Beasley to hit 3 threes as a filler for a parlay. Of course he went 1-10.

and just want to point out again that despite the confluence of these events, it's pretty clear Livelsberger wasn't trying to kill anyone but himself, because he certainly could have if he had wanted to instead of just creating a noisy show.

It certainly doesn't help when our "leaders" (ie. Trump, Speaker Johnson) lie through their teeth about the identity of the actual perps in both New Orleans and Las Vegas.... they weren't from somewhere else, they didn't cross the Mexican border illegally. They were born in the good ol' USA. Their problems, which in both cases seem to point toward mental health (although their backgrounds are different in some ways), are problems that would exist independent of the issue of immigration. Seems wise to maybe focus on these root issues over looking for a convenient scapegoat, but that's just me.

https://champsorchumps.us/records/best-nfl-regular-season-records#tab-most-wins The winner of Sunday's Lions-Vikings game will become the 9th team to win at least 15 games in an NFL regular season. Of course 7 of the other 8 had to do it with just 16 games. 14 win seasons are less rare but still special. I count 20 current franchises (and the extinct Frankford Yellow Jackets who are linked to but separate from the Philadelphia Eagles) with at least one 14-win season, which would mean 12 current NFL franchises have never had a team win 14 or more games in a regular season. The 14+ winners, which has been done 36 times, are New England (5x), San Francisco (4), Kansas City (3), Chicago (2), Minnesota (2), Pittsburgh (2), Miami (2), Indianapolis (2), Washington (2) and the following with one each: Carolina, Green Bay, Frankford, Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia. I spot a couple of times where a 14-2 team was not the conference's #1 seed (Atlanta 1998, New England 2004) but both at least won their division and both ended up getting to the Super Bowl.

S.Tork

Americans need to embrace the bidet. We bought one during COVID and it's over of the best purchases we ever made.

Your morning smile. I have watched this several times. I wonder how many, if any, flags were thrown on the plays in this clip?

I'm guilty as well. Might need to update my NY Resolutions.

This year we’re staying at the Holiday Inn Express Lakeland North. It’s six minutes from the park and the pricing was very reasonable in comparison to other places we saw when we booked in early December.

The last time we put in new smoke detectors I switched from ionization to optical (supposedly more sensitive) and they are definitely prone to dust issues even on the ceiling.

So, basically every retiree who doesn't like living in the crazed hellscape that is Florida moves back somewhere in between Michigan and Florida to live in a semi-crazed hellscape like western North Carolina. The ones with some gumption about having investments keep their Florida property as VRBOs. Others they just sell to holding companies that VRBO the crap out of them. Lots of places to rent in central Florida given Disney/Universal et.al.,

I would not make that trade. I think Carpenter/Vierling is equal to Suzuki and much cheaper. And selling our future SS for this would be silly too.

I remember my checkmate line in the 80s being, “Jesus founded my religion—who founded yours?” That was back when I actually cared about such minor points of difference.

The “social on our terms” part has occurred to me before, and I have contemplated my own a situation in terms of that. Social media has been a huge boon for me because it has allowed me to connect, and reconnect, with people who probably would have permanently receded into my dim and distant past. People I went to school with, I used to work with, I used to play ball with, I belong to the same clubs as—it’s so easy now to connect online just to connect. Drop a line, they (probably) drop one back, you’ve caught up. On the other hand, it’s so easy to do so online that doing more seems like a huge pain. It’s easy to write a couple texts saying hey how ya doin’ for a couple minutes—it’s much harder to get together someplace for an hour, or hour and a half, and have deep conversations with people about every topic on your mind. Plus, working at conversing for 60 or 90 minutes running just sounds daunting, and borderline exhausting. You almost relish bathroom breaks so you can catch your breath for a couple minutes before going back to the table or bar and diving back into it. So on the one hand, I’m connected to, and on friendly terms with, more people than I have ever been, which astounds me because I was such a reclusive loner as a kid and young adult. On the other hand, I wouldn’t count any of the people I’ve met online as actual friends, people I could reliably call at an odd hour of the morning to help me through a big problem. I do have a beautiful wife and a good brother close-by I could rely on, but beyond that, if they were gone and something were to go upside down, despite my dozens and dozens of “friends”, I’d really be all alone. I’m in an online community, but I don’t live within an actual community. That’s sad because we have this ideal of a community that I don’t have in my own life. But then, it’s also great because even though I can fulfill my social itch by connecting with people online, I don’t have a whole community of people close by hovering over my business and then gossiping about it all the time. In the end, I’m not sure whether I’d change anything about it. It’s not perfect, but I’m happy with it, I guess.

Got to give him credit for not being scared of being posterized also. I have seen that happen to him and I bet there are guys in the league that back down because they are afraid of getting dunked on.

None of this is exactly true. He’s shown periods, flashes, of being able to hit major league pitching. He’s also shown the ability to be an average or better fielder, but again, not consistently. He’s also a better runner than you think. It just takes some players longer to figure it all out. Will he? It’s worth waiting to find out.

You're not good at this.

Start Stewart.

ISIS is 10,000 miles away and there are 2 billion Muslims on the planet. If America cannot find a way to inoculate American born citizens culturally, emotionally, logically against ISIS's appeal or close the US to the existence of ISIS on the web, then I would submit that is 100% an American problem - because there isn't anything in the world we can do to get rid of Islamic radical theology (anymore then we can 'get rid' of US evangelical fundamentalism - ). So there we are.

Big Stewart block leads to a big Thompson dunk.

'My citations can be biased because theyre not journalists' is hilarious. More like Tigerahypocrite1. Yet another standard they hold everyone but themselves to.

Bridges beat that buzzer like he was married to it.

Cat Turd and End Wokeness are accounts that point to media ineptitude they are not journalists.

Before the game he said they’re going to keep that spot “fluid”. I guess they wanted to prove that point by playing a guy who has no business in the rotation let alone starting. Dumb. You have 2 guys who should’ve been starting regardless of Ivey’s health in Beasley and Ausar. Even Sasser or Holland would have been interesting options if you wanted to go a different way and try some things out. Starting Moore is idiotic.

Heat Suspend Jimmy Butler For Seven Games, Will Listen To Trade Offers

Weird.

https://bsky.app/profile/brandonfriedman.bsky.social/post/3leurajgcds2h It's not really the military's job. It's the job of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is not only regularly targeted for cuts and privatization by Republicans, but also specifically mentioned by Musk and Ramaswamy as part of their DOGE project. ‪Jonathan Cohn‬ ‪@jonathancohn.bsky.social‬ · 24m An indictment of the military's failure to support people in successfully reintegrating into civilian life -- as well as a failure to spot extremism early theintercept.com/2025/01/02/m... U.S. Military Service Is the Strongest Predictor of Carrying Out Extremist Violence The mass murder in New Orleans and Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas fit a troubling pattern among U.S. vets, research says. theintercept.com 1 16 38 Brandon Friedman ‪@brandonfriedman.bsky.social‬ Follow Send people to war for 20 straight years, then cut their healthcare and benefits in the name of government efficiency, I can assure you that you will see some pretty terrible outcomes. January 3, 2025 at 6:40 PM

An evaluation of Kash Patel, and what qualifies Kash Patel for a job, rests solely on Kash Patel's record. If someone is pivoting/whatabouting to an administration 45 years ago to launder some sort of defense of Patel's record, at least to me, it reads more or less an admission that Kash Patel's record sucks and that he's not qualified for the job.

That's not the flex you think it is.

Just a note, the roots of the Protestant Church came about because an English King just wanted to divorce one of his wives...

With another year in the books, here's a look at the people associated with the Tigers who passed away in 2024. Jim Hannan pitched for the Tigers in 1971, going 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 7 games, all in relief. Acquired in the offseason as part of a blockbuster, 8-player trade with the Washington Senators that netted the team Aurelio Rodriguez and Ed Brinkman, Hannan was again traded six weeks into the ‘71 season, this time to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for John Gelnar and Jose Herrera, neither of whom ever played in a game for the Tigers. Hannan also appeared in the majors with the Senators and Brewers. He died February 8 at the age of 85. Chuck Seelbach pitched for the Tigers from 1971-1974, compiling a record of 10-8 with a 3.38 ERA and 14 saves in 75 total games, with the vast majority coming in 1972. He debuted as a September call-up in 1971, was a heavily used bullpen arm in 1972, and then spent most of the 1973 & 1974 seasons injured. Becoming a history teacher at an all-boys school in Ohio after retiring, Seelbach did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died March 27 at the age of 76. Ed Ott was the Tigers’ bullpen coach from 2001-2002, serving under manager Phil Garner before being fired along with Garner and three other coaches by Dave Dombrowski after the Tigers started the 2002 season 0-6. As a player, Ott appeared in the majors with the Pirates and Angels, and also coached in the majors with the Astros. He died March 3 at the age of 72. Whitey Herzog played for the Tigers in 1963, batting .151 with 7 RBI in 52 games as a backup utility player, used mainly as a pinch hitter. Acquired from Baltimore in a 3-player deal after the 1962 season, he spent the entire season on the major league roster before retiring as a player to concentrate on scouting, coaching, and managing. Elected to the Hall of Fame as a manager in 2010, Herzog also appeared in the majors with the Senators, KC Athletics, and Orioles, and managed the Rangers, Angels, Royals, and Cardinals. He died April 15 at the age of 92. Hank Foiles played for the Tigers in 1960, batting .250 with 3 RBI in 26 games as a catcher, one of three teams Foiles played for in 1960 alone. Acquired from the Indians on July 26, he spent the remainder of the season with the Tigers as the team's backup catcher before being drafted by the Orioles after the season. Usually a part-time player, he was only a starter for two years with the Pirates, but made the most of it, being named to the 1957 NL All-Star team. Foiles also appeared in the majors with the Reds, Indians, Pirates, KC Athletics, Orioles, and Angels. He died May 21 at the age of 94. Mike Brumley played for the Tigers in 1989, batting .198 with 1 home run and 11 RBI in 92 games as a utility player, spending time at second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions. Acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres in spring training, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the 1989 off-season in exchange for outfielder Larry Sheets. Brumley also appeared in the majors with the Cubs, Mariners, Red Sox, Astros, and Athletics. He died in a car accident June 15 at the age of 62. Jimmy Hurst played for the Tigers in 1997, appearing in 13 games as a September call-up and batting .176 with 1 home run, his bomb coming off of David Wells in a 6-1 loss to the Yankees. Hurst did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died July 6 at the age of 52. Jerry Walker served as the Tigers general manager in 1993. Among his achievements were signing Kirk Gibson and David Wells as free agents and acquiring outfielder Erid Davis in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Walker pitched in the majors with the Orioles, Athletics, and Indians, was a pitching coach for the Yankees and Astros, and also worked in the front offices of the Cardinals and Reds. He died July 14 at the age of 85. Doug Creek pitched for the Tigers in 2005, appearing in 20 games, all in relief. He compiled a record of 0-0, with 0 saves, 18 strikeouts, and a 6.85 ERA in 22 ⅓ innings pitched, receiving his release on July 22. Creek also appeared in the majors with the Cardinals, Giants, Cubs, Devil Rays, Mariners, and Blue Jays. He died July 28 at the age of 55. Billy Bean played for the Tigers from 1987-1989, batting .216 with 4 RBI in 45 total games, many of them as a defensive replacement at various positions. He spent much of his time in the Tigers organization with AAA Toledo, coming up to the major league club as an injury replacement or September call-up. Following his playing career, he became the second MLB player to publicly come out as gay, after which he worked as an inclusivity ambassador for MLB. Bean also appeared in the majors with the Dodgers and Padres. He died August 6 at the age of 60. Jim Brady pitched in 6 games for the 1956 Tigers, surrendering 20 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched for an ERA of 28.42. His contract status as a “bonus baby” meant that he had to spend the entire season on the major league roster, though he was used only 6 times. Following his brief baseball career, he became a college professor of economics and was eventually named president of Jacksonville University. Brady did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died August 18 at the age of 88. Don Wert played for the Tigers from 1963-1970, batting .244 with 77 home runs and 363 RBI in 1,090 games as an infielder, mainly a third baseman. An American League All-Star in 1968, he batted just .118 in the World Series against the Cardinals that year but played in 6 of the 7 games as the team’s starting third baseman. Also in 1968, Wert was hit in the head with a pitch from Cleveland’s Hal Kurtz, shattering Wert’s helmet and knocking him unconscious. He was carried off the field on a stretcher, spending two full days in the hospital recovering, and batted .200 after his return. Traded to Washington after the 1970 season in the Denny McLain-Ed Brinkman deal, Wert also appeared in the majors with the Senators. He died August 25 at the age of 86. John Baumgartner played in 7 games for the 1953 Tigers, batting .185 with 2 RBI in 27 plate appearances as a third baseman before being sent back to the minors for good. Of his 7 major league games, 6 of them were losses. Replaced by Ray Boone at third, Baumgartner did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died September 25 at the age of 93. Ozzie Virgil played for the Tigers in 1958 and from 1960-1961, batting .228 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI in 131 games as an infielder. The first African-American player in Tigers history, he was also the first player born in the Dominican Republic to play in the majors when he debuted with the Giants. After splitting the 1958 season between Detroit and the minor leagues, he played all of 1959 in the minors before again shuttling between the major and minor leagues in 1960, finally being traded to the Kansas City Athletics midway through the 1961 season. Virgil also appeared in the majors with the New York Giants, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants. He died September 29 at the age of 92. Ray Semproch pitched for the Tigers in 1960, going 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA in 17 games, all of them in relief. Acquired from the Phillies in the off-season, he was traded to the Dodgers on June 21 in exchange for fellow reliever Clem Labine and was assigned to LA’s AAA team in Spokane. Semproch also appeared in the majors with the Phillies and Angels. He died October 27 at the age of 93. Merv Rettenmund was the Tigers’ hitting coach in 2002, one of the only coaches to survive the housecleaning after the team’s 0-6 start. He was dismissed following the season as new manager Alan Trammell brought in his own coaching squad. As a player, Rettenmund appeared in the majors with the Orioles, Reds, Padres, and Angels, and he also coached in the majors with the Rangers, Athletics, Padres, and Braves. He died December 7 at the age of 81. Rocky Colavito played for the Tigers from 1960-1963, batting .271 with 139 home runs and 430 RBI in 629 games as an outfielder, mainly in left field. He was acquired from the Cleveland Indians in a blockbuster trade just before the 1960 season in exchange for outfielder Harvey Kuenn, with Colavito, the 1959 home run champion swapped for Kuenn, the 1959 batting champion. Colavito responded by hitting 45 home runs with 140 RBI in 1960, easily leading the team in both categories. A five-time All-Star (twice with the Tigers), Colavito also appeared in the majors with the Indians, KC Athletics, White Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees. He died December 10 at the age of 91. Gary Sutherland played for the Tigers from 1974-1976, batting .251 with 11 home runs and 94 RBI in 320 games as an infielder, mainly at second base. Known for his prowess at turning double plays, he was acquired from Houston in a 3-player deal after the 1973 season and became the starting second baseman for the 1974 squad. After struggling defensively in 1975, he was diagnosed with diabetes after complaining of headaches and dizziness and adopted a custom diet in which he ate peanut butter, saltines, and raisins three times daily. Traded to Milwaukee in exchange for infielder Pedro Garcia midway through the 1976 season, Sutherland also appeared in the majors with the Phillies, Expos, Astros, Brewers, Padres, and Cardinals. He died December 16 at the age of 80. Charlie Maxwell played for the Tigers from 1955-1962, batting .268 with 133 home runs and 455 RBI in 853 games as an outfielder. An excellent defensive outfielder, he led the American League in fielding percentage as an outfielder in four of his seven full seasons with Detroit and was twice an All-Star, in 1956 and 1957. In 1959, Maxwell hit home runs in four consecutive at bats during a Sunday doubleheader, and hit 12 of his 31 home runs overall on Sundays, leading to the nickname “Sunday Charlie” - to go along with his nickname of “Paw Paw” Maxwell, derived from his hometown of Paw Paw, Michigan. Following his playing career, Maxwell returned to Paw Paw and opened a successful auto parts business. Maxwell also appeared in the majors with the Red Sox, Orioles, and White Sox. He died December 27 at the age of 97.

Out: Tork bomb. In: Spencer Over The Fencer

we're connected but only within our bubble and on our terms. Think about sports bars. Even 15 years ago it wasn't uncommon for me to meet up with friends at a bar somewhere to watch a game on a big screen. Now we've all got big screens and we can text and post to social media, and meet up on sites like this one. Why would I need to go out and spend money and worry about drinking and driving?

Let me take it a step farther. We live in a relatively new subdivision. It's part of a planned development. We were one of the early group of buyers in this particular section. In four years we've only met maybe 15 residents who live around us and only see about a handful of people when we're out and about. I'm old enough to remember when you knew just about everyone who lived in the neighborhood. You may not have agreed with them on everything, but you knew their names, their kids, and would occasionally share a drink on a front porch. Porches have been replaced by backyard patios that are surrounded by fortress like fences. The local "social committee" has a hard time getting folks involved in activities. Unfortunately most of us live on social media where it's extremely easy to air our grievances anonymously. And in doing so seldom allow for civil discussion over sometimes trivial issues. Especially ones where they usually have no real insight on the reasoning behind the decisions, only they don't like it.

Regarding Charlie Maxwell, on July 29, 1962 my dad’s Elks Club drove all of us kids from Auburn, Indiana in a rented school bus to Chicago to see a doubleheader vs. the Yankees, where the Sox’s player Charlie “Paw Paw” Maxwell hit three home runs in the split. I clearly remember him hitting at least one in each game and of my dad remarking upon it but I guess I lost interest and didn’t realize he’d actually hit three because I was 10 years old and I had to pee the whole time so my attention was somewhat scattered. I did get to see Mantle and Maris, which was a big deal although neither of them did anything memorable aside from batting practice, but I was pretty disappointed that my first game was not at Tiger Stadium and some woman sitting on the first base side constantly ringing a loud bell was extremely annoying, especially because I had to pee.

Like I need another reason to dislike the French.