oblong

my favorite is the people who think hospitals get more money by making everything about covid. because "that's what they heard". Simply not true.

Politicians lack the ability to undersrtand nuance and scientific thought. They have no qualms about lying and stating things as fact that aren't truth. A scientist will not tell you the sun will come up tomorrrow because it is possible the earth will stop rotating and we'll all die. So when a scientist says they don't know or aren't sure or the evidence isn't conclusive... well that shit don't fly in campaign commercials and ol' Gymbo and "Dr" Paul can't grandstand and mug for the camera and the half wit media commentators on the right play it up and their gullible followers eat it up.

Thats the sword that conspiracy theorists die on. The same government they decry as being incompetent and all that... are the same ones who can also arrange for these elaborate conspiracies covering many different organizations and thousands of people and keep them all in line.

I always go with the politicians and talk show hosts over the scientists.

When did Fauci say a lab leak theory was absurd?

That's not good for him though. Trumpies hate Bush.

We can address each case of "cancelling" on it's own merit when it happens. There doesn't need to be a mission rule.

I'm not going to give a lab leak theory credibility based on what the likes of crazy people say. That's what you are missing in all of this. The motives. They didn't care about the why. They only cared about the who. These people were throwing shit at the wall and had no basis to make their claims. I have no skin in this game. I will not "win" or "lose" based on what eventually happened if we'll ever know because the idiots will still be the idiots even if they guessed right on this one. You can be correct for the wrong reasons when the outcome is one of two things. If an old wives tale says that you are more likely to have a boy if you have sex in a certain position.... well there's a 50% chance that happens. Doesn't mean it's because of what she said. I'll still think the person is crazy for thinking that.

I don't think baseball was more popular in the 60s because of the time of games. I'm not even sure it was more popular. How do you measure that? How often were games on TV? How does attendance compare. Sure they might have been more aware of what went on but that's because people read newspapers and didn't have so many other options to occupy their mind like today. Pace is what matters but not the overall time of games. I like that approach. Endless pickoff moves, stepping off the mound, pitching changes, extreme cases of batters stepping out and adjustments.... but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have some epic showdowns between a great pitcher and hitter where it simulates an old fashioned western duel. That creates some good drama, especially in the playoffs.

But Steve Crowder and Joe Rogan say.....

The reason it mattered is because people wanted an excuse to espouse their anti china bigotry and needed a reason to beat some of them up here in the US. But carry on the good work. Miguel Cabrera will hit 60 home runs this year, most likely. But I say that with low confidence. Commence with your betting at your own risk.

James out. Gilchrist out. I'm not sure how she loses to be honest so far. Hopefully a D fills her seat.

But think of what a few rallies could do for a local politicans chances to become City Council president or mayor? That's how Dearborn's mayor got elected. Flooded homes. He gave the impression it was the city council's fault (our council president was also running). Now he's not as popular because he is not in favor of banning books in public schools, even though he has no say in the manner, a lot of residents don't like his opinion on that.

They claim it's based on fan feedback. We get surveys but I don't remember if that was a question. I actually prefer 7:15. Still a lot of people strolling in at that point. They did it that way for a few years now for April/September games, maybe the first week or so of May, but I thought that had much to do with the weather. 30 min of daylight can make a huge difference that time of year. It gets cold fast! And attendance. They are low attended games so just get it over with I guess.

I'm still on the fence with the clock. I like baseball and don't want 2 hour games. I know that's the extreme and they'll still most likely be 2:40 or so. I'm thinking purely in terms of going to the games. Not watching on TV. I enjoy my time there. With 6:40 start times for night games Monday Thru Thursday, it could mean leaving the ballpark at 9 pm. I know many people cannot get there until 7 at best, border crossings, work, etc. My other concern is the time it takes players to adapt. Let the kids play. I'm not looking for a Yankees/Red Sox 4 hour marathon. The time between pitches can be ridiculous sometimes. But I admit to being in the minority.

I don't buy that theory anyway. It's a good cop/bad cop situation. Yes they told him but that's only to give him cover. Kurtz has shown he has no credibility repeatedly over the years and he doesn't want to touch this.

If Fox prevents him from discussing that then they should stop that show and related segments and quit commenting on anything related to the media and political angles. Not that they had much anyway but how can you have a show or people discussing the media's role in politics and not cover this kind of lawsuit?

Radio “banned” the Dixie Chicks so I don’t see why newspapers can’t do the same.

I think I’m having sex tonight with Scarlett Johansson. I say that with low confidence though. Which of course with the WSJ says it’s most likely. Woo hoo.

I didn’t say they were. I’m saying if they find out bets are down as a result then they might make a push to extend it.

They are business partners. Managers have to submit their lineups to them before the media so they can set the lines before the general public. That is an arrangement that goes beyond advertising. MLB is actively helping them run their business. I don’t think it’s a leap to think it those companies went to MLB and said “bets during the game are down… make it 20 or 22 seconds” that MLB would do it. Why wouldn’t they?

I didn’t know his history. I started to follow him when the pandemic hit. He was contrarian on all of that and I saw him as a voice on the other side and I wanted to see that point of view. Then I saw some crazy stuff. I’m not sure this is the worst he has expressed. I think he’s legit messed up in the head. Like something physically wrong rather than just being an idiot with bad opinions.

Will the gambling companies like it? Fewer time in between pitches to place bets. Faster games mean less concession sales. I’m not suggesting baseball should consider these factors… but I bet they will. 3:03 was the average time in 2022. Personally I think 2:45 is ideal. I don’t know if I would like a 2:15 normal. With mon-thur night games starting at 6:40…. It would be daylight still in July.

I listened to a few innings and a lot of time I had no idea who was batting or what the situation was. They were carrying on a conversation. Only until the ball was in play did I get a sense of who was hitting. In one at bat they drew a walk and I didn’t know who it was. That could work on TV but not radio. Jim sounds old.

Very interested to hear how the new clock affects the broadcasts. Not a lot of time between pitches to chat I think that’s going to be very noticeable to the listener right away. You give a the call, the pitch, the count.. not much time left to pontificate.