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Left/right do not matter. We need principled people.

And of course there's this

1876 - All Native American Indians were ordered to move into reservations. 1940 - The first Social Security check was issued by the U.S. Government. 1971 - Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.

Lalonde had an awful defensive system that didn't allow for players to have any sort of agency or creativity outside of this person needs to be here and when you get the puck immediately flip it out of the zone. You could really see it with Seider, any sort of creative plays he used to do with the puck dried up the last two seasons. I also feel that his defensive system seemed to rely more on collapsing into your own zone instead of trying to stop flow through the neutral zone, which I hate. Then on top of that, I feel like the last season and a half he was coaching scared to lose his job and stifled the offense even further. They weren't chasing after dumping and they basically had no way to generate scoring chances. You could tell that the system absolutely crushed most of the players, they didn't seem to be interested in doing more than going through the motions because the system was so rigid and based around not giving up a goal. Todd, while he runs an overall defensive oriented system with players collapsing more into a trap type scenario when the opposition is breaking out, it seems like emphasis is placed on hounding the puck carrier in the neutral zone. On top of that the players seem to be given the chance to actually make plays with the puck, passes or carrying, instead of instantly flipping it out. It seems like guys are jumping up on offense more and possessing more as well. Honestly in the end it all boils down to his "just play ****ing hockey" rant. Lalonde basically coached these guys into being robots in his system which wasn't flexible at all. Todd wants them to rely less on falling back to the system, but work within that system using your instincts and skills to make plays. Plus Lalonde was an absolute moron when it came to deploying people, especially young players. Johansson is playing 20+ minutes a night and he would barely leave the press box under Uncle Fester. Kasper was being shoehorned into a bottom six checking role. The man put Motte on the top line. In retrospect it is kinda crazy what he did to this team, no wonder all the signings looked awful!

Principled means we can eliminate republicans and progressives. I just want a 50 year old Biden and not Hunter. What could have been if Beau were still alive.

The strategy of rope-a-dope isn't going to work if the opposition has nuclear weapons. The key to strategy is figuring out the rules of the game you are playing now. Not in the 1970s or 80s but now. If the stories about the ineptitude about social media are true we may be doomed. Mayor/Secretary Pete is another who knows how the game is played. He might have to be the WWII version of the USS Enterprise of this phase of the struggle.

I see it a little differently, and I'm responding to the whole board here, not just you. I see the Torres signing as a way to get wins from a marketplace in which there is no perfect solution, and in which even the best solutions, at this moment, require exorbitant expense and commitment that will impact decision-making for the next half decade, especially given there are still so many other holes around the roster to fill. I don't think Harris thought we were assured enough of a certain playoff spot in 2025 to where signing such expensive talent would be the difference between crapping out in early October and playing into November. I also don't think Harris merely enny-meeny-miney-moed Torres out of the discount bin at Walmart because he's cheap, and also, wants to bull**** fans and Ilitch into thinking he's doing something when all he's really doing is arranging deck chairs until the Dodgers call with a job offer. Based on his track record so far, I am willing to give Harris the benefit of the doubt that he has a plan to win both now and in the future, until he demonstrates to me that he has no idea what he's doing. When he does demonstrate that, then I will get on board with some of the others here about him. But I don't believe he's at that point yet, especially just because he hasn't signed a particular guy or two yet. I know everyone is sick of the waiting, and yes, the waiting is the hardest part. But some of us still remember how Dombrowski traded away the top of the farm system, and Papa Doc routinely empty the Brinks truck, in a failed attempt to win a ring with a team that was never once the best in the game (2013 being the closest), and how it hamstrung us once he bailed and the torch was passed to someone who was merely Peter-principled into the job and then smashed the franchise into the rocks within seven years. Speaking only for myself, I don't want to see a repeat of that, I'm glad Harris is not working on a repeat of that, and I'm willing to give him a chance to prove he can do the job until, again, he proves to me that he can't. If that makes me a dip**** slappy in the eyes of some, well, can't be helped.

Keith probably could have done that. I'm not upset that they signed Torres. It was a surprisingly good contract for the Tigers and he has offensive upside. It was just odd because he doesn't seem like a great fit defensively. He not a good fielder, not versatile, not even willing to move to change positions. It seems to me like he was a good value, so they decided to jam him into the roster somehow.

I see your LGJ and give you Barry Goldwater Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.

Lying doesn’t matter. Proof doesn’t matter. Pictures don’t matter. Videos don’t matter. Congressional hearings don’t matter. Swearing to tell the truth at these hearings doesn’t matter. What part of this isn’t anyone understanding anymore?

and she's going to direct national intelligence LOL or make a coat out of some dalmatians

I get the feeling Chris wouldn't know who Torres was. It's not like he is a big name. my hope is that Harris sees something in him where he thinks they can get him back to the level he was in his good years. If they can do that, he can either give them a really good year in a playoff run or a half season before flipping him at the deadline. I am kind of done with flipping players at the deadline though even if it worked out last year.

“Mesdames et monsieurs, bienvenue au Centre Bell”. Am at Wild @ Habs. My first Habs home game attended since 1989. Btw, they are back to booing the U.S. national anthem again, lame. Surprising, too, as they are usually thrilled when someone tries to stick it to Anglo-Canada.

It seems that you have no idea what average actually means.

I’m not surprised that he’s turned the team around. Todd is a highly respected NHL head coach. Great system, players love him, great with young guys (he’s the anti-Torts!). You have to be pretty good to get 4 NHL jobs. There’s one knock against him. He hasn’t won enough in the playoffs. He had some really good teams too. That’s not a factor for the Wings at the moment.

You can make a good argument no star does more with less than Cade does. He goes out there every single night with 4 guys who are not starting caliber players. This years improvements are mostly to do with how Cade is playing.

Right now, it's an open question and there is speculation among the chatter class that this is a bluff and that they may be looking for some kind of outcome similar to Colombia that can be spun politically. But the accumulation of these events over time will damage this country and we will be seen a less than reliable partner. Which is a gift to countries like China.

When will society understand the danger to us all are these men who have been abused and their minds are warped by violence and they become predators who victimize everyone they can? Nope. Let's deport pregnant women. I believe free mental health care would help prevent so many of our problems with drugs and violence and would save so much money overall.

This western trip came at a good time for me to be able to stay up late again to watch them. I miss that to be honest. I still find myself saying "We're playing Montreal again? We just played them 2 weeks ago..." Last night was fun to be up by myself in a quiet house, drink in hand.

I don’t think age is that much of a factor because quarterbacks are playing well into their 30’s. What teams care about is can they run an offense, read defenses, efficiently distribute the ball, etc.

Just go to share and copy the link.

Yes, it is. Michigan Public mentioned it several times this morning, they said it's 25% on Mexico and Canada, 10% on China, and apparently he's considering exempting oil from Canada to keep gas prices down. Of course, we all remember he said consumers don't pay tariffs which if true wouldn't need to exempt oil to keep gas prices down.

The media has a lot of issues and I've criticized it plenty, but to at least some extent, I've come around on the idea that Democratic electeds bear some of the blame in the sense that they are not nearly quick enough to get in front of a camera and let it fly whenever various things happen. They are very different people with very different personas, but this is why AOC and John Fetterman are both very effective: they put it out there, it isn't airbrushed or combed through by consultants. And if they **** up when putting it out there, they are quickly pivoting to putting more stuff out there that will get at least some coverage. Aside from these two, I think we've seen some spines from Democrats outside of Washington (ie. JB Pritzker, Gavin Newsom, other Governors and AGs mostly), but the Washington set, particularly in the Senate, have been really ineffective in this moment. To that end, I don't know that it makes much of a difference, but I've called and emailed by blue state Senators multiple times in the past 10 days to plead for them to use their platforms more effectively and rise to the occasion. Even if we agree more with them, there's still value in holding their feet to the fire and demanding more effective representation.

I don't mean this to be the scene in the war movie were the sgt slaps the guy panicking in the trench who then becomes a monster and wins the Medal of Honor or the Victoria Cross (for our Canadian friends). You in particular are not expected to do anything. You'd hope the media would cover him accurately and opposition pols would do the necessary. 1. we get it...he's a tough nut. 2. he's a lame duck. We can't make him into a king.

5 will get you 10 he exempts oil.

To be honest, that sounds a lot like what 84 was saying. The best player on their board that they love. The right fit-ie lives and breathes football. And we’ve seen how best player for them is completely different than other teams.

What’s with this midnight hockey? I’m used to dinnertime games.

A theological debate older than the selection of what went into the NT. You have Paul 'saved by faith' who got a lot coverage by Athanasius (who is believed to have suggested the current 'canon'), but James "Faith without works is useless" only got one short letter. 🤷‍♂️ For me the problem with Purgatory theology is that it comes too close to justifying torturing people on earth "for their own good."

I'm guessing less than 14 starts for Cobb and Torres hits about .235/.300/.650, OPS+ of 90, a WAR of 0.3 and 10 Home Runs. He doesn't have all those big bats around him now. And he'll be in the bottom 3 fielding 2b in MLB. This offseason sucks.

I remember reds back in the early mid 90s. I like the font on these and the slight acknowledgement of teal in the more recent ones. "We're red. We're blue. OK, yeah, we also had a teal phase that we'll admit to."

More of this, please...

Like holic, they realize that he's made a fool of them and they'd rather run away than admit they were duped.

The mountain is only so big.

Myles Turner still plays with Lego’s

Phil Lewis: "Checking in on Kash Patel’s confirmation hearing:" — Bluesky

OK Scott 😃

confirmation hearings are a total waste of time - the appointees just lie through their teeth. Until a Congress is willing to impeach or judge or cabinet officer for having lied at a confirmation, it will just continue to get worse. There is no accountability.

Wow. Shouldn’t they have spent that on a roof?

The Gambler by Billy Walters

Speaking of which, this article just dropped on MLBTR: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/mlb-mailbag-bregman-red-sox-kelenic-tigers-marlins.html It's a subscriber-only article, but if you don't subscribe, I can share a little of it with you. They write that despite owner Jim Crane saying he is unwilling to pay the luxury tax for a second consecutive season, the 6/156 offer is still open to Bregman, per GM Dana Brown, and if you take them at their word that it is still an open offer, it would most definitely put the Astros over the threshold again, and all Bregman has to do is say the word in the next sixty seconds and he's back: I don’t see why Scott Boras wouldn’t just accept the Astros’ offer. It’s true: if he finds Bregman a bigger offer elsewhere, he wins. I’m not sure Bregman would be happier; I don’t know what’s going on in his head. But accepting $156MM to stay in Houston would hardly be a disappointment, and it’d still be more money than Matt Chapman received on his recent extension. Here's the Tigers' portion of the article: The only reason for the Tigers to sit this one out is not liking the value presented in signing Bregman at whatever price would get him there. The guy turns 31 in March and his walk rate fell off a cliff last year. As nice as the fit is in Detroit and as much as they can afford him, it’s still not necessarily a good signing if it’s in the $175MM range. I decided to subscribe for a month basically to get this article. I got a reward card from DirecTV and it's kind of free money, so why not.

I'm not a fan of the 6:40 start times. I feel too rushed to get there. I didn't think I would like the pitch clock and rules but I quickly forgot about it so I guess I can't say anything. Given that times are around the 2:36 mark I think going back to a 7:00 pm start is fine. It matches Red wing games and those are in the middle of winter. Those start around 7 and end around 9:30. Feels strange still going to a "night" game and leaving when it's daylight out which happened a lot this year at Comerica Park. The Tigers are going back to 7 pm start times during the May-August stretch for Friday and Saturday games.

I know there are some folks who are frustrated with how much faster games are going, but speaking as an old man, I approve this trend.

Big 70 today. Who'da thunk.