oblong

I don't necessarily agree with the bolded part. Yes, players focus on playing and all that entails but I don't think they're blind to the process or just go with whatever they're told, especially someone with a life changing contract waiting for them. Skubal will get a deal that sets up his family for generations and puts them on a lifetstyle commensurate with hollywood and business moguls. I don't expect Skubal to cave or give the Tigers a break but he will go where he wants to be if the price is also right because it's his life.

I was going to put this in the History thread but decided to do it here. Happy Anniversary to one of the greatest single episodes of all time.

The thing is... the Tigers and team Boras know all of this. We aren't going to come up with a proposal that they haven't considered, either of the sides. There's no secret sauce or magic. And Boras works for Skubal. I see lots of comments like "No was Boras lets that happen..." all the time. Ultimately it's up to the player. The player has a responsibility to themselves and to his peers and those who follow. But that doesn't mean if Boras wants to be as cuthroat as possible the player has to go along. If there is such a thing as sentimental feelings or 'hometown discounts' that's ok. Boras has to go along with it if that's what his client prefers.

Surprise... I got one space related but its a good one. Today in 1968 we almost lost one of our most celebreated astronauts about a year before he made history. To simulate flying the lunar module, NASA had arranged to build Lunar Lander Research Vehicles (LLRV) and Lunar Lander Test Vehicles (LLTV). These vehicles used a turbofan to simulate the moon's 1/6 gravity so that the astronauts could learn how to navigate the controls when trying to land. on May 6, 1968 Neil Armstrong was flying the LLRV when a malfunction caused it to go haywire and at 200 feet Neil had to eject. He was about a half second from death. And in a vehicle like that which can turn many ways ejection could have been fatal. The video below shows the crash... and it's slowed down a little bit. In real time it looks scarier. He got a busted lip and went back to the office. This was the third time he almost died when flying a space related task. (He flew combat missions in Korea so who knows how many times that happened to him then).

I hate sporting events in extreme conditions. It's not real.

I regret not heeding the call and trying to be an extra. It was the season after Tiger Stadium closed and I didn't want to go back inside. We said our goodbyes after the final game.

I mean... it's a fantasy movie so of course some things aren't going to make sense. As for Robbins... his quirky delivery added to his overall quirkiness as a pitcher.

and McCain and Romney, for different reasons, were not Trump's GOP. Are there voters who would go with Obama and didn't go for Harris? I'd say yes.

I think the electorate has changed... I do think there's a distinct Obama/Trump voter for whatever reason. But I think Obama still wins. He might not win Ohio and Florida.... but he also lost states like Arizona, Georgia, and NC in 2012 so he could pick those up. It wouldn't be a route like he had before but we'd know by midnight.

The backlack against Field of Dreams bugs me. It's like suddenly they thought they were being clever by pointing out the 'flaws'. Bashing it became the cool thing to do. "Hey, look how smart I am!"

On May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard lifted off on Freedom 7 becoming the first American in space (or as NASA called him in the movie The Right Stuff, the first free man in space). It was only a 15 minute suborbital flight but he still went into "space" as defined. Shepard wanted to fly another mercury mission after Gordon Cooper's flight but was over ruled. He was set to fly the first gemini mission but was grounded with ear issues. He stuck around and finally was cleared to fly and was originally assigned to Apollo 13 but lack of training moved that to Apollo 14 so Al got to walk on the moon, and golf, after all.

This is a good book. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004X7TM14/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title You are right about the racial aspect... from memory places like Baltimore and San Fran and Detroit (I 375 in particular). Get all the white people out of town fast... tear down the black neighborhoods while you are at it. But aside from that it was a fun read, it isn't so serious all the time. One tidbit is I've heard people lament the interstates and speak of the joy of the "back roads"... but that misses the point. That joy on the back roads is because of the interstates. Before the interstates that back road was full of trucks.

I know I would....

My friends and I were turning 18 when the first gulf war broke out and we had thoughts they'd reinstitute the draft.

I was thinking over the weekend while at Twelve Oaks doing my old man "It's cold and raining out, let's go to the mall and walk around" thing.... What happens if things don't get ****ed up this year?

One person on twitter says something and it becomes a thing or perception. Then someone uses that to make a point. That guys profile says he’s been a tigers season ticket holder “since ‘22”. Now if he’s proud that he worked hard and can afford that then I raise a toast say “salute”. If it’s to convey some kind of intelligence… my Facebook memories showed me that jn 2010 I posted “Scherzer Schucks”. I’ve been a ticket holder since the mid 90s.

Tigers must have hired a solid researcher because their PR account has been great this year.

Before that. A guy named after a battery. That’s the only ones to do it for the Tigers.

I looked into it and the same thing happens in Dallas and Ft Worth for I35. The reasoning seems to be due to the nature of having two big cities so close like that. In Minneapolis and St Paul’s case it’s the river too. The original design wanted to make use of existing routes. I don’t know if the 3 digit bypass was a thing yet but if it were I suspect it was just politics. Neither city wanted to be given secondary status by having theirs be the bypass. 275 here was supposed to connect to 75 near Davisburg but local opposition blocked it. That would have made trips to Pine Knob so much easier for me.

From 2012-2019, in MVP Voting, Trout finished first 3 times, second 4 times.... and in my opinion should have won it the year they gave it to Josh Donaldson.

From the start of his career until July 3 2015, at age 32, Cabrera had 405 HR. From that point on he had 106 HR, 38 of them coming in 2016. He missed a month in 2015 and most of 2018 with a torn bicep. That was when he fell apart. At a similar point, age 32, Hank Aaron had 442 HR. I started tracking his progress at it related to Aaron's similar timeline.

if you've ever studied or read up on the creation of the interstate system you know that the prestigious routes are those endingin 0 or 5. Last week I drove to TN to visit family and everytime I hit the 75/70 interchange in OH I get a warm fuzzy feeling. Like it's something special. I don't hit 75/40 because my family lives southwest of here whereas 75 starts to go east, but 40 runs right through the town there and when we cross it while driving around down there it's recessed pretty low from the mainland so it feels like some separate pathway to the rest of the country. "Ooh... if I get on that and go west I can get to Oklahoma City and Flagstaff and Alberqeurque.... should I just go?" and it's been confirmed with my third trip down in a year that KY Interstate drivers are the worst when it comes to hogging the left lane on the interstate. Had so many problems with that all 3 times. In OH, when you are on the stretch from Toledo to Dayton and it's only 2 lanes, everybody knows what to do. Let the trucks do their thing if they have to pass.... no problems. But in KY something switches. But it's a beautfiul state to drive in. The roads are nice and shiny and the scenery is lovely. I had about 30 minutes of intense white knuckle downpour/30 mph/hope the lights in front of me are going the right way driving so I missed some of it. I love 500 mile solitary drives.

I went to bed at some point right before the rally. After the Pistons game I was drained and have a 5 am wakeup call on Fridays so I needed to get to bed. A nice surprise when I woke up and saw the alerts.

Considering the state of the division and this team's makeup, if they aren't contending in 2026 in July then something happened.

One of them was for sure. The others I wasn't checking for that.