Archive for the ‘entertainment’ Category

The Fake Grok Mel Brooks 2000 Year old Man on the rise of Christianity and Bacon

Posted: July 12, 2025 by datechguy in comedy, fun, tech
Tags: , , , , , ,

Scholars Believe Explosive Growth Of The Early Church Was Due To Christians Being Allowed To Eat Bacon (Babylon Bee who thought of it 1st)

AI Generated 1st Century Christians eating Bacon Strips

As a rule I don’t trust Grok for anything actually important or for opinions. The one time I did try to trust it to work on a baseball schedule for me it messed it up completely, when I pointed out the mistakes it apologized and made a new schedule with different mistakes till I just said forget it.

However it excels on stuff that isn’t important that can be funny. A few days ago I imagined Mel Brooks as the 2000 year old man explaining how BACON was the actual secret to the rise of Christianity.

Since Mel is actually nearing 2000 years old I figured he wasn’t up to doing it himself and Carl Reiner his straight man is suffering from a chronic case of death I decided that this was a task that Grok could do.

The result wasn’t perfect. Brooks’ 2000 year old man would never used “the interviewer’s” first name and and some of the jokes were a tad repetitive but what Grok spat out was not a bad first draft.

So if you’re curious (and even if you’re not) here it is:

My question to Grok:

based on the original 2000 year old man recordings staring Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks as the 2000 year man give me the script for a 3-6 minute exchange where Reiner questions Brooks on how Christianity ended so popular worldwide despite early persecution with Brooks final conclusion being it was all because of Bacon and how delicious it was.

Here is Grok’s answer unabridged:

Below is a 3-6 minute comedic script inspired by the style of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks’ 2000 Year Old Man recordings. It captures their playful, improvisational dynamic, with Reiner as the straight-man interviewer and Brooks as the ancient, wisecracking 2000 Year Old Man. The exchange focuses on the rise of Christianity despite early persecution, culminating in Brooks’ absurd conclusion that bacon was the key to its success. The dialogue is written to feel spontaneous, peppered with Brooks’ characteristic Yiddish-inflected humor and Reiner’s dry probing, aiming for a runtime of roughly 4-5 minutes when performed at their typical pace.

Carl Reiner (Interviewer): Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here with the 2000 Year Old Man, a man who has lived through centuries of human history. Sir, you’ve seen empires rise and fall, religions come and go. I want to ask you about Christianity. It started as a small movement, heavily persecuted by the Romans, yet it spread across the world. How did it get so popular despite all that opposition?

Mel Brooks (2000 Year Old Man): (in a thick, gravelly Yiddish accent) Oh, Christianity, yeah, yeah, I was there! Persecution, schmecsecution! You wanna know the real story? It’s not what you think, Carl. It wasn’t the sermons, it wasn’t the miracles, it wasn’t even the “love thy neighbor” stuff—although that was a nice touch, very catchy. No, no, no. It was bacon.

Reiner: Bacon? Wait a minute, sir, are you saying—

Brooks: I’m saying bacon, Carl! B-A-C-O-N, bacon! The greatest food ever invented! You ever smell bacon frying? It’s like God himself is whispering in your nose, “Come to the kitchen, bubbeleh, I got something for ya!” That’s what got Christianity going. Forget the catacombs, forget the martyrs—this was a bacon-based operation.

Reiner: But sir, Christianity emerged from Judaism, which strictly forbids eating pork. How could bacon possibly—

Brooks: (interrupting) Forbidden, shmorbidden! Look, I was around, I saw it happen. Early Christians, they’re hiding in caves, they’re dodging lions, they’re whispering about salvation. But then, one day, some Roman convert—probably a guy named Tony, good guy, big schnoz—he says, “Fellas, I know we’re supposed to stick to the rules, but I snuck some bacon from the market.” And he fries it up. The smell, Carl! The smell! It wafted through the cave like a divine revelation. Suddenly, everybody’s like, “Jesus who? Pass the bacon!”

Reiner: (dryly) So you’re suggesting that the early Christians abandoned kosher dietary laws because of bacon?

Brooks: Abandoned? They didn’t abandon nothin’! They said, “Look, if God didn’t want us to eat bacon, why’d He make it so crispy and delicious?” It was a theological breakthrough! They’re sitting there, munching, and one guy—smart fella, probably a rabbi before he switched teams—he says, “This bacon is so good, we gotta spread this religion to everybody!” And that’s when they started proselytizing. They’d go to a village, hold up a strip of bacon, and say, “Join us, and you get this.” Boom! Converts left and right.

Reiner: But sir, the Romans were feeding Christians to lions! Surely bacon wasn’t enough to overcome that kind of persecution.

Brooks: Lions, shmions! You think a lion’s gonna scare a guy who’s tasted bacon? I saw it myself. A Christian gets thrown in the Colosseum, lion’s roaring, crowd’s cheering, and the Christian pulls out a little piece of bacon from his toga. He waves it at the lion—poof! Lion sits down, wags its tail like a puppy. The crowd goes nuts, they all convert on the spot. “We want what he’s got!” they’re yelling. Bacon was the ultimate PR move.

Reiner: (skeptical) So you’re saying the global spread of Christianity—across Europe, Asia, Africa—was driven by… bacon?

Brooks: Absolutely! Look, Carl, you gotta understand human nature. People don’t join a religion for fancy theology or eternal life—that’s all fine, but it’s abstract, it’s meshuggeh. Bacon is real. You bite it, it crunches, it melts in your mouth. By the time Christianity hit Constantinople, they were building churches with bacon stands out front. You think St. Peter’s Basilica got built on prayers alone? No, they had a bacon cart in the square—two strips for a denarius, best deal in Rome!

Reiner: But what about the spiritual aspects? The teachings of Jesus, the apostles, the—

Brooks: (interrupting) Spiritual, shmiritual! I’m telling ya, Carl, the apostles were smart. They knew bacon was their secret weapon. Paul? That guy was the bacon king! He’d walk into a town, preach a little, then hand out bacon samples. People’d say, “This guy’s got the truth—and a side of crispy!” By the time he left, half the town was Christian, and the other half was just waiting for the next bacon shipment.

Reiner: (deadpan) So your final conclusion is that Christianity’s worldwide success is due to bacon?

Brooks: Final conclusion? Carl, it’s the only conclusion! Bacon was the miracle nobody talks about. You wanna know why Christianity beat out the pagans, the Zoroastrians, the whatevers? Because nobody else had bacon. You try converting someone with a bowl of lentils—good luck! Bacon was the game-changer. And let me tell ya, Carl, to this day, every time I smell bacon frying, I think, “Those Christians, they knew what they were doing.” (pauses, dreamily) Mmm… bacon…

Reiner: (sighs) Thank you, 2000 Year Old Man. That’s… certainly a perspective. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be back with more insights from history—or at least, from the kitchen.

With a nod to the Babylon Bee who had the story first:

The Byrds albums, ranked

Posted: December 29, 2024 by John Ruberry in culture, entertainment
Tags: , , , , , , ,

By John Ruberry

The Byrds are deservedly one of the most acclaimed rock bands. However, despite their lasting fame and their membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there are several misconceptions about them.

Formed in 1964, the original members were Chicago native Jim McGuinn (lead guitar and vocals)–he later changed his first name to Roger–Gene Clark (tambourine and vocals), David Crosby (rhythm guitar and vocals), Chis Hillman (bass and vocals), and Michael Clarke (drums).

All but Clarke were songwriters.

This is the “classic” lineup. Gene Clark, arguably the band’s principal songwriter in the early days, left the act in 1966, rejoining in 1967, and then he left for good, that is, until he joined the others for the disappointing reunion album, Byrds, in 1973.

Also in 1967, Clark quit again, and Crosby was fired. The latter gained superstar status after co-founding Crosby, Stills, and Nash–later joined by Neil Young. 

In 2018’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo Live, recorded with Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, Hillman remarked that by the time The Notorious Byrd Brothers was finished, he and McGuinn “were the only two Byrds flying around at that time.”

In 1968, a series of members joined, and sometimes left, the Byrds. They are Gram Parsons, Gene Parsons (no relation), John York, Clarence White, and Skip Battin. 

Gram Parsons was the most noteworthy new Byrd, contributing two songs to Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and co-writing with McGuinn, “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” which appeared on Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde in 1969. By that time, Parsons and Hillman had left the Byrds, forming the pioneering country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers. Over the years, Battin, Gene Parsons, and Michael Clarke later became members of the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Parsons, who died in 1973, released two groundbreaking solo albums after leaving the band he cofounded. 

The Byrds arguably created not only created the folk rock, but also country rock, and with The Band, they birthed the Americana music genre.

While it was true in the post-Sweetheart era, another misconception is that the Byrds were primarily a McGuinn project. Actually, like the Beatles, in the early days each member, except for Clarke, wrote and sang leads on songs. McGuinn, on the other hand, sang lead on the band’s two biggest hit singles, “Mr. Tambourine Man,” a Bob Dylan song, and “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” a Pete Seeger cover.

McGuinn’s mastery of the 12-string guitar established the Byrds’ trademark sound. 

As for Dylan, another misconception is that the Byrds’ creative output, outside of their Dylan covers, was negligible. 

That’s absolutely not true.

So here are the rankings of the Byrds 12 studio albums.

12) Byrdmaniax (1971): Terry Melcher, who worked with the Byrds earlier in their career, was behind the boards for this over-produced mess. The Byrds had a hectic touring schedule at the time, the songs don’t have much feeling. Among the better tracks are “”I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician,” “Citizen Kane,” and the oft-covered spiritual “Glory, Glory.”

11) Farther Along (1971): The Byrds chose to self-produce this album and the sound is stripped down. Like Byrdmaniax, the best song is an old spiritual, the title track. “Bugler” and the Vaudeville-esque “”America’s Great National Pastime” standout.

10) (Untitled) (1970): This is a very strange collection. A double album, (Untitled) is half a live LP–the other half our studio tracks. Side two is an insufferable 16-minute long “Eight Miles High.” The studio songs are week, but “Chestnut Mare” is outstanding, it is the only Byrds song from the 1970s that can stand up to their earlier classics.

9) Ballad of Easy Rider (1969): Lots of people probably purchased this album, the top-selling album of the Byrds’ later career, believing it was the soundtrack to the enormously popular Easy Rider film. An acoustic version of the title song appeared on the actual movie soundtrack, sung by McGuinn, and the band’s version is also strong. Three covers, Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos),” Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” and “Jesus Is Just Alright,” which was recorded by the Doobie Brothers in 1972, are memorable.

8) Byrds (1973): The year prior, Creedence Clearwater Revival released its last album, the loathsome Mardi Gras. Dubbed “John Fogerty’s Revenge,” the two other members of the band–John’s brother Tom quit the year before–Fogerty turned the band into a democracy. The far-less talented other members, who has long objected to Fogerty’s dominance, sank CCR’s swan song. Byrds was a reunion of the band’s classic lineup, and this collection could be called David Crosby’s revenge. CSNY was on hiatus and Byrds was produced by Crosby, who believed that his 1960s Byrds’ compositions weren’t given enough respect. Only one of his songs, “Lady Friend,” was released as an A-side single during his first go-around in the band. Byrds, not surprisingly, sounds like a CSNY album. Although McGuinn denies it, the other members of the band, except for Gene Clark, were accused of saving their better compositions for their solo efforts. Crosby’s “Long Live the King” is a stellar track, but it belongs on a CSNY album. Clark’s “Full Circle” is terrific, it’s the opening cut, but it’s downhill from there

7) Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde (1969): With McGuinn being the only founding member of the Byrds left, it was a smart move to have Roger since lead vocals on every track, for continuity. Besides the aforementioned “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” the best cuts are the folk song, “Old Blue,” and a cover of “This Wheel’s on Fire,” which was co-written by Dylan and The Band’s Rick Danko. The original appears on The Band’s Music from Big Pink.

6) Fifth Dimension (1966): From here on in, the output is much more impressive. Shortly after recording of Fifth Dimension began, Clark left the Byrds for the first time. While he’s missed on this effort, there’s some dazzling stuff here, particularly the psychedelic hit “Eight Miles High,” which was written by Clark, Crosby, and McGuinn. The former had a terrible fear of flying. “Mr. Spaceman,” a McGuinn country rock tune, as well as a cover of “Hey Joe,” are the highlights of Fifth Dimension.

5) Younger than Yesterday (1967): McGuinn and Hillman stepped up for this album. The duo co-wrote the often covered single “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.” Hillman’s “Have You Seen Your Face” and Dylan’s “My Back Pages” were deservedly given much deserved attention after they were released as singles.

4) Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965): The Byrds’ second album leads off with the soaring title track. There are two Dylan compositions, “The Times They Are a-Changin” and “Lay Down Your Weary Tune.” A cover of an old Porter Wagoner hit, “Satisfied Mind,” presages the Byrds’ later work.

3) Mr. Tambourine Man (1965): The title track on the Byrds’ debut album was a groundbreaking recording, and like “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. There are three other Dylan covers here, including “Chimes of Freedom.” A Clark song, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” sent word that the Byrds weren’t just a covers band.

2) Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968): Although it didn’t sell well initially, Sweetheart is one of the most influential albums ever. There are only two tracks written by a Byrd, both by Gram Parsons, “One Hundred Years from Now” and “Hickory Wind” (co-written by Bob Buchanan). There are two Dylan covers here, including the opening cut, “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” Some of the cuts are obscure, such as Cindy Walker’s “Blue Canadian Rockies.” Every song is fantastic.

And now, number 1) The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1967): One of only two early Byrds albums without a Dylan cover, the songwriting brilliance of the McGuinn, Hillman, and Crosby is on full display on The Notorious Byrds Brothers with such songs such as “Old John Robertson” and “Draft Morning.” However, the Byrds weren’t afraid to look elsewhere for great songs. “Goin’ Back” and “Wasn’t Born to Follow” are Carole King and Gerry Goffin compositions. The latter tune figured prominently in Easy Rider.

Time has not been kind to most of the members of the Byrds. Of the many performers who played with the Byrds, only McGuinn, Hillman, Gene Parsons, and John York survive. Some, such as Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Gram Parsons, succumbed to the rock and roll lifestyle. Crosby, a notorious substance abuser, lived until he was 81. COVID claimed him in 2023.

Albums by the Byrds can be found on Amazon.com and can be downloaded on iTunes.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Rules for the 1973 Dynasty Draft Baseball League

Posted: October 25, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, entertainment, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , ,

How the league is to be played

We will be playing the 1973 season which was released by Dynasty mid season during our last season. We will be playing under 1973 rules with three exceptions:

  1. There will be at least one interleague home and away series played to allow each player to play each other player at least once.
  2. The DH rule was introduced into the AL in 73 but not the NL. Therefore all games played in AL parks will be played with a DH. No games played in an NL park will have a DH.
  3. The playoff structure will include wild cards (3 per league)

The schedule

If we remain at 20 teams the schedule will remain as it was before as the system automatically migrates the old schedule. This will save a lot of work My goal will be to have the schedule ready before the draft.

Number of games:

We will be playing 162 games Two series (one home and one away 6 games ) against teams in the opposite league and Four series against in league teams. Because of the number of teams there will be a slight imbalance

Six same league teams (Four 3 game series 12 games)
Three same league teams (Two 3 game series, Two 2 game series 10 games)

All those team determinations will be random.

Frequency of games

There will be two scheduled series per week. Most series will be 3 games there will be 6 two game series during the season.

Number of teams

We currently have 20 teams.

Division setup:

Barring expansion with 20 teams we will have two five team divisions in each league. There will be three wild card teams. Both division winners and the wild card team with the best record will get a first round bye in the playoffs.

PREDRAFT AND DRAFT DAY TRADE WINDOWS!

Pre-Draft Trade window:

There will be a 48 hour window before the formal draft where trading will be allowed.

Any player on the roster (rookie or retained player) may be dealt along with drift picks up to the 7th round at this time.

Only draft picks for the upcoming draft will be tradable.

The trade window will end 15 minutes before the start of the formal draft to allow for any updates to lists to be recorded before the start.

Draft Day Trading up or down window.

At the end of each round there will be a 10 minute window for rosters to be adjusted and all the paperwork to be done.

For the first five rounds of the draft During those 10 minutes teams will be allowed to Trade. NO PICKS BEYOND THE 7th ROUND ARE TRADABLE. At the start of the 6th round Trading is closed in the league till after the 5th series of the regular season.

In Season Trades and waivers (Note change in when waivers starts).

After the fifth series of the season teams may trade. Any player on the current roster may be traded along with any of the first seven draft picks for the next season (1974) If a trade is made that increases a roster beyond the 40 man limit a player must be released before the next series is played. Any trades agreed will not be executed until all the teams involved have the same amount of games played.

Waivers takes place after the 2nd series. Teams make waivers picked based on their current record and are made from the undrafted players not on rosters.. If a pick brings a Roster over 40 a player must be released or an injured player not on the DL must be placed there to make room.

NEW Contested, Uncontested and Emergency Waivers

NEW: Contested Waivers

Contested waivers are waivers picks made after week 5 and works like this:

  1. A team submits a waivers pick from Friday to Sunday
  2. Another team may usurp that pick and make it theirs if
    • It has a worse record than the 1st team
    • It has not already made waivers pick
    • It has not already tried to usurp a different pick
    • No team worse than them has tried to usurp it
    • They make the attempt 9 PM EST Monday
  3. If no team makes a counter claim on the pick by 10 PM EST Monday the waivers pick is successful.
  4. If a team successfully usurps the tip go to step 1 as if the usurping team make the pick

New UNCONTESTED WAIVERS

Uncontested waivers picks are waivers picks that take place from weeks 2-5.

The picks are automatically successful and are decided on a first come first served basis. If you unknowingly submit a pick for a player who has already been claimed you may pick again.

Regardless of success the player won’t be added to your roster till your Friday games for that week are completed.

NEW EMERGENCY WAIVERS

On rare occasions due to multiple injuries, suspensions or very long extra inning games or any combination thereof a team may not have a pitcher available to start or a player to play a position for their next series. In such a situation a team may contact the commissioner for Emergency Waivers.

If granted said team may make an uncontested waivers pick to either get the needed starting pitching or position player to fill the spot.

Said pick MUST be made at the end of a series or before the next as the Dynasty system doesn’t allow changes to the 40 man roster while a series is active.

If an emergency pick puts the team over 40 players a player must be released to get the roster back to 40.

If an emergency pick needs to be made for a computer team the commissioner will make the pick. Priority will be given to any qualifying player whose card is from the team needing the pick.

NOTE if a player drops out of the league and we have an empty team any draft picks he has traded those trades are still valid and will be picked by the team that received it.

Example: If the Cubs traded the NYY their 3rd round draft pick last season but were not an active team this year then during round 3 the Yankees would get the 2nd pick of the round as if they were.

The DL:

In a change from previous seasons players on the DL WILL count toward your roster but to make up for it we will have a maximum 40 man roster. We will still only draft to 30 players but players may expand their rosters via trade and waivers.

Playing Games.

All games must be completed before the next scheduled series. the Dynasty system will take over and auto play any games that are not completed one hour before the next scheduled game (even if said unfinished game is in progress) Players are encouraged to use the chat room and the Dynasty message system to reschedule games if needed and are also encouraged to make a manager profile in case a game has to autoplay. Instructions on how to do that are here.

Be aware that if you have your team on AUTO and your opponent requests a rescheduled in the system Dynasty will automatically allow it so keep this in mind when or if you turn auto on. Also be aware if both team are on auto and you reschedule the game will be played automatically so make sure your team is not on auto before you do this.

Etiquette for no/call no show

This is a game and real life trumps it so there will be times when people miss their game days. Here is some suggested game day Etiquette:

  1. If you know in advance you can’t play on the scheduled game day and time try to contact your opponent to arrange a different time both through the chat room and the dynasty system.
  2. If gameday comes and your team is on AUTO your scheduled opponent should assume they can play all or part of their series if they choose.
  3. If gameday comes and you haven’t heard from your opponent check your “Friends” list to see when the last time they signed on was. If it is 10 days or more then play the series vs the PC
  4. Give two five minute waits: Wait 5 min for opponent to show periods before starting the game//If your opponent hasn’t shown up by then begin game 1.
    • Once game 1 is done. You have 2 choices. Either if followed is officially considered valid:
      • Give one 5 minutes period for your opponent to show if he doesn’t, Autoplay
      • Exit and let the system auto schedule for 24 hours from now. Then go to step 1
    • If you have to leave in the middle of a game or series your opponent has the right to continue to play. They may choose to agree to reschedule but experience tells me it’s bet to get the games done.
  5. On occasions when you and your opponent are in touch but just can’t seem to find a time when both are available I make the following suggestion.
    • The player who shows up on gameday should play one game (2 game series) or two games (3-4 game series) against the pc.
    • When those games are finished exit the system and put yourself on Auto being sure to check the “Take my team off auto after this series”
    • Then your opponent can finish the series as his or her time permits
  6. Keep in mind that the Dynasty system is designed to keep games moving the default position should always be to get games played when possible.
  7. Be aware if you’re running late you can join a game in progress and take over
  8. If you do show up and take over please let your opponent know via chat.

If you know you’re going to be gone let your opponent know. 

Expansion and Expansion draft

If there is a sudden interest in the league we may have an expansion draft under the following rules:

Selecting a franchise:

New players who do not take an existing franchise will be allowed to select any of the four currently open franchises they are:

AL

  • Chicago White sox
  • Detroit Tigers

NL

  • San Diego Padres
  • Houston Astros

They will automatically gain the rights to any rookies for the 1973 team of that franchise.

If we again have multiple expansion teams they will pick franchises in the order that they confirmed their intent to join the league.

If a current player expresses an intent to leave the league before the expansion draft the expansion players will in the order above be given the option of taking over that existing franchise including their roster and current draft picks (or lack thereof)

Expansion Draft:

If an expansion draft is announced each team will have two weeks to submit a list of protected players currently on their 40 man rosters. These players will not be eligible to be drafted in the expansion draft. There will be a maximum of 7 players on each teams protected list. it is recommended (but not required) to submit an additional twelve players to be protected once a player or two is drafted from their team.

Whenever a player is chosen off a team in the expansion draft said team will be able to immediately protect an additional five players. No team can lose more than three payers to the expansion draft. If a list is not submitted before the draft and not submitted at the time the first player is taken from the team then said team will not have additional players protected until such a list is provided. I will allow a reasonable amount of time in case the player is not in the chat room for me to try to contact said player before another player is takin from his team.

Expansion teams must draft a minimum of four players and may pick up to a maximum of 12 players to their rosters before the regular draft. The number of players picked in the expansion draft by an expansion team will determine where they will draft in the regular draft.

As soon as all expansion teams have completed their drafts two things happen

  1. All teams must submit the list of players retained in the regular draft. The players drafted by the expansion teams are considered to be that list.
  2. All Rookies become property of their franchises and count toward their current rosters. but NOT toward their number of protected players.

Franchise locations and parks

Every team is presumed to have the park their team played in during the season they entered the league.

Franchises whose teams move in real life are not required to relocate their teams. So the Washington Senators are not required to move to Texas but they retain the option to do so at any time.

Franchises are NOT required to build new stadiums and may continue to play in their old stadiums if they wish but they retain the right to move into those new stadiums at any time so another team may NOT select that stadium. If a team chooses to move into their new park in the same city the old park is considered demolished UNLESS said park was still active in the year we are playing. It is considered by be undergoing renovation.

A team may NOT move into a park that in a different city because the Dynasty system bases the weather on the park used NOT the city that a team’s label claims it is in. Thus if the Seattle Pilots HAD to move to Milwaukee to play in Country Stadium.

A team may NOT move into a park in the same city that belongs to a future franchise. Example. If the Washington choose to remain in DC rather than move to Texas they may NOT move into the Nationals park. It is considered reserved for that franchise when it becomes available although I suspect none of us will live long enough to reach that point.

Old parks

A team MAY move into an old park from the same city under the following conditions:

  1. The park was once the home park of the franchise OR
  2. The franchise that once owned the park is now located in another city

Examples,

  • In 1971 the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee the Mariners if taken MAY move into Sick Stadium.
  • The Cardinals may move into Sportsman’s park because it was once their old stadium.
  • The Yankees were able to move into the Polo Grounds for 1972 because that park was in NY and the team was once based there. If at some future date they choose to move back to Yankee Stadium the Mets will be able if they choose to move to the Polo grounds because it was once their home park. If both teams move there and eventually move out then the park is considered demolished.

Rookies

A “Rookie” is define as any player who did not have a card for the previous season.

A rookie is considered to be part of the team listed on their card regardless of who they actually played their first game for (Dynasty lists cards based on who a player finishes a season with thus any rookie that was traded by an MLB team in his first season will have their card listed for the team they were traded to NOT the team they played their first game with.

All teams retain rights to their rookies prior to the draft and rookies for a franchise are not eligible to be drafted in any expansion draft.

A Rookie becomes a part of a team after said team names their protected players for the draft. They count toward the 40 man roster

Any team that doesn’t want to retain a rookie may release them before the draft to open up a roster spot but once release all rights to said player are surrendered.

Players retained list

All teams may retain a number of players based on their finish in the 1972 season.

  • World series winner 4 players (Yankees)
  • World series runner up 5 players (Daytraders)
  • non-world series Division winners 6 players (Bananas, Oakland (formally Giants), Brewers)
  • Wild Card Teams Winners that don’t make the series 7 players (Pirates, Redsox, Twins)
  • Wild Card game losers 8 players (Angels, Reds)
  • Non division winning teams with the 5th and 6th best records 9 players (Cardinals, Indians)
  • Non division winning teams with the 7th and 8th best record 10 players (San Francisco (formally A’s), Expos)
  • Teams with the 3rd-6th worst records 11 players (Senators, Royals, Orioles, Phillies)
  • Teams with the worst and 2nd worst record 12  players (Dodgers, Cubs)

NOTE: If a player on your current Roster does not have a card for the next season due to injury, military service etc but WILL the following year a team may choose to retain the rights to said player but will have to spend a protected spot for it and will have to keep a space for him all season.

Example: Rico Carty was out for all of 1971 due to injury. Boston could have decided to hold his rights playing 1971 with 39 players and thus hold the 1972 rights to Carty. If he had done so and then at any time he chooses to release him Carty would have been considered a rookie for Atlanta Rookie because

  1. He had no card the previous year
  2. No team held his rights
  3. His 1972 card says “Atlanta”

Boston choose not to retain so Carty was considered released. Carty’s 1972 card was with the Braves thus they did not have to put him on the retained list as he was considered a rookie for the team.

The draft order of teams has been posted here and will be repeated below taking into account the possibility of expansion teams. Any team that is not retained will of course not be drafting BUT If a team holds the draft pick of a team that is no longer in the league he will draft those picks as if that team was still in the league in the round that he holds them. Naturally if there is expansion this wouldn’t apply.

  1. Worst team (12) Los Angeles Dodgers (Bad News Bears)
  2. 2nd worst team (12) Chicago Cubs
  3. 3rd worst team (12) Baltimore Orioles1 (if an expansion team picks only 4 they draft ahead of the Orioles)
  4. 4th worst team (11) Kansas City Royals
  5. 5th worst team (11) Washington Senators (if an expansion team picks only 5 they draft ahead of the Senators)
  6. 6th worst team (11) Philadelphia Phillies
  7. 7th worst team (10) SF Giants (formally Oakland A’s) (An expansion team that picks only 6 drafts ahead of the Giants)
  8. 8th worst team (10) Montreal Expos
  9. 9th worst team (9) Cleveland Indians (An expansion team that picks only 7 picks ahead of the the Tribe)
  10. Best non playoff team (9) St Louis Cardinals 
  11. Wild Card game loser with worst record (8) California Angels (An expansion team that picks only 8 picks ahead of the Halos)
  12. Wild Card game loser with best record (8) Cincinnati Reds
  13. Divisional round loser with the worst record (7) Minnesota Twins (An expansion team that picks only 9 picks ahead of the Halos)
  14. Divisional Round loser with the 2nd worst record (7) Boston Red Sox
  15. Divisional Round loser with the 2nd best record (7) Pittsburgh Pirates (An Expansion Team that picks only 10 picks Ahead of the Bucs)
  16. Divisional Round Loser with best record (7) Atlanta Braves (Bananas)
  17. Worst Team that made it to the Pennant Series (6) Milwaukee Brewers
  18. Best team that made it to the Pennant Series (6) Oakland A’s (formally San Francisco Giants)
  19. World series loser (5) Mets (Daytraders) (An expansion team that picks only 11 picks ahead of them)
  20. Word series winner (4) Yankees Expansion Team(s) if any that draft 12 players pick after them

NOTES:

  1. The Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles has identical 62-100 records but the Royals went 7-5 vs Baltimore therefore the Orioles are considered worse and pick ahead of them. If their head to head records had been identical then Kansas City would have picked 3rd as they picked 19th in last years draft so had a worse start.

The first tiebreaker for non-playoff teams with identical records is head to head matchups The 2nd tiebreaker if teams had identical records AND split their season series is draft order for the previous season,

If two or more expansion teams draft the same number of players their draft position will be determined by a dice roll

When all teams have drafted that will be considered the end of a round and the next round will commence.

NEW DRAFT ENDS AT 30 PLAYERS

Teams must continue to draft in this order until their team reaches 25 men a team with 25 or more players may leave the draft at any time.

Once a team has dropped out of the draft they may not re-enter it and must increase their roster either through trades or waivers.

Teams who do not drop will will draft till they reach 30 men.

Formal & Informal Draft

Draft on designated Draft day(s):

A date and time will be set for the initial rounds of the draft. It will almost certainly be a Saturday or SUNDAY as those are the days I currently have off. All teams will be expected to be either:

  1. Available in the slack chat room (preferred)
  2. Available by phone
  3. With me in my home at the time of the draft
  4. Have a list of players to be drafted submitted

All current players are presumed to have looked over the card(s) for 1973 online or at least looked up stats by draft day. All expansion teams (if any) encouraged to start doing so at once.

  1. There will be one designated draft day per week.
  2. On a designated draft day a strict 5 minute limit will be allowed to make a pick.
  3. If a team misses their pick will be moved to after the next player on the list who will be considered on the clock and allowed to pick. Example Philadelphia misses their pick and Washington is next, Washington is allowed to pick and Philly picks after them
  4. If a team who has been skipped has to be skipped twice their pick can be made any time before the end of the round. Example Washington is scheduled to pick 10th They miss their pick If they figure out who they want they can make a pick or submit a list any time before the end of the round and that pick will be valid.
  5. If a team that has been skipped has not picked by the end of the round then a pick will be made for them by me. Said pick will be the player from your franchise who played the most games that season based on their card. Example: Boston does not pick or submit a list for round 5 I will look at the Roster for the actual 1972 red sox to see who is available. If Billy Conligiliaro has the most games played among unpicked players he will be Boston draft pick. If Boston already has 6 outfielders that will not matter Billy C becomes the pick.
  6. As soon as a round ends there is ten minute period to update rosters and list and confirm players. During that period Draft day trades may be made as per above.
  7. The opening Scheduled draft days will go on for 100 picks. Other scheduled draft days will be 60 picks. Once the number of picks is reached the clock is turned off
  8. The Formal Draft generally begins at either 11 AM or 1 PM EST to give west coast folk the time to be awake. Be aware of that if you are scheduled to pick

BE AWARE THAT EVEN WITH A FIVE MINUTE LIMIT THAT CAN MEAN 100 MINUTES FOR 20 TEAMS TO PICK IN ONE ROUND. PLEASE DO YOUR BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DRAFT TO CUT DOWN ON THE TIME REQUIRED. The more prepared everyone is the faster things will go.

Picks off the clock and on non-draft days

As soon as the initial draft ends the “informal draft” begins

During the informal draft a team has 24 hours to make a pick. Picks can be submitted in the draft room or via the Dynasty message system or in person if the person picking is local or via the phone to me. If there is an existing list from the formal draft it will be used to continue the informal draft.

Once the pick is made and recorded on the draft sheet and the player moved to the roster I will announce the pick in the slack chat room and inform the person up, the person on deck and the person in the hole to be prepared to pick. Until you see that announcement the pick is not official.

The Informal draft ends when:

  • All teams have either 30 players or have dropped out OR
  • The next formal draft begins

The informal draft resumes after any formal draft that still has teams picking.

Be aware that trading can be made at any time during the informal draft until:

  • round seven is complete
  • 15 minutes before a formal draft that has not completed round 7

IMPORTANT: Once round seven of the draft is complete trading is finished until the end of week 5 of the season.

The season will begin one week after the draft is complete.

Finally be aware that the period from Black Friday till Christmas is the busiest time of the year with my employer and I may have mandatory overtime so the date of the formal draft might be affected.

Also be aware that during world hours (Mon-Fri 7 am-3:30) PM I have no access to the net nor do I own a cell phone if an issue comes up during that time which can’t wait refer it to the assistant commissioner

Important Update: The SF giants and the Oakland A’s switched teams so they have switched their spots in the draft and keeper list as well

If you have any questions not covered here please let me know.

Must See Movies: All Through the Night (1942)

Posted: September 24, 2024 by datechguy in entertainment, fun
Tags: , , , , , ,

The first in a series of occasional posts on forgotten movies that you should watch.

When you think of the names of Humphrey Bogart , Peter Lorie and Conrad Veidt in a motion picture naturally the classic movie Casablanca (1942) is the first picture that comes to mind and rightfully so as it is one of the greatest movies of all time. However if you go back to the beginning of that year, you will find another movie where the three of them appear that is worth your time to see. All Through the Night

Bogart plays “Gloves” Donahue who in addition to fixing bets and various swindle is known for his love of cheesecake and not just cheesecake but Miller’s Cheesecake. So when Mr. Miller disappears and turns up dead and a strange alluring woman (Karen Verne) turns up and disappears shortly afterward looking for him Donahue finds himself on a 24 romp that cumulates in murder, manhunts and finally reveals a Nazi 5th column in the heart of NY run by a man named Ebbing (Veidt) assisted by aides Pepi (Lorie) and Madame (Dame Judith Anderson).

The movie moves quickly and features a who’s who of soon to be comedy greats from William Demarest (his Lieutenant) to Jackie Gleason (one of his men) to Phil Silvers (The waiter) ably assisted by Frank McHugh whose attempt to enjoy his wedding night are stymied at every turn and Jane Darwell one of the grand dames of Hollywood who plays Bogart’s character’s mother who constantly has a feeling about things.

They’re plenty of fun, chases and suspense with a fair amount of danger thrown in. The writing is crisp and acting is strong and the one liners are very solid.

This is a movie that deserves to be watched and enjoyed by more people. I suggest you become one of them.

Older Entries