Archive for the ‘nfl’ Category

Under the Fedora Thoughts Mac can’t win, Missing an Opportunity, The Bodies are Piling up, What a difference less than 20 years makes, Missing the Biggest lede of the year

Posted: December 28, 2022 by datechguy in baseball, Blame Biden Administration, covid, culture, nfl, official oppression, war
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Mac Jones can’t win.

Last week he was pilloried by Patriots greats on the air for not doing all he could to stop Las Vegas (had to stop myself from typing “Oakland”) from scoring on that last play that cost New England a game they should have won.

Now a week late he makes a desperate attempt to stop Germaine Pratt from scoring a touchdown on a recovered fumble that if not for the Dolphins falling apart might have ended their playoff hopes and he’s attacked for it and fined by the NFL.

It may or may not be fair but I think that Mac is in a no-win position. He can’t be Brady and will never be Brady.

At least the Redsox Went from the greatest hitter of all time (Williams), to an all time great HOF (Yaz) to a power hitting Hall of Famer (Rice) to a pretty good outfielder (Greenwell) over 25 years easing the blow. No such luck for spoiled Pats fans.

There was a time before Tom Brady when the Redsox ruled this town. Even in the days of Russell, Havlicek and Bird it was a baseball town. Tom Brady made the difference and while David Ortiz kept the flame alive Brady’s timeless success wrenched the city away from the bats and balls and delivered it to the pigskin.

Right now the Patriots are in the lowest point that they’ve been and if the Red Sox ownership was smart they would take this moment to invest heavily to grab back the hearts of the fans from the gridiron and back to the diamond.

The current strategy may be penny wise but it’s pound foolish. The Pats are giving the Sox a huge opening which a wise ownership should drive right through.

However I suspect they are not all that wise.

Just four years ago you didn’t have stories of people “dying suddenly” at young ages. Now it’s so common that if a week passes without such an event it’s a miracle.

The worst of it is that now we have more studies from every inhabited continent that show Ivermectin (.02 a pill) to be effective against COVID. as noted “100% of these have shown positive results.” at the same time the Twitter files have revealed a concerted effort to suppress information and/or opinions from medical experts contrary to the sanctioned positions of the Biden Administration.

These people and those who submitted to their will have a lot of bodies to answer for and they are very lucky that it is no longer considered fashionable for those who have had husbands ,wives, children and parents die from their despicable acts to take personal revenge. It it was, none of those bastards would last a week.

It has been less than twenty years since the Massachusetts Supreme Court by a 4-3 vote legalized gay marriage in the state and then governor Mitt Romney did all he could to keep it off the ballot in order to advance his presidential ambitions.

Now twenty years later we see the results as summarized in a single tweet

All this is by design, the next generation of Jeffrey Epstien’s and the next generation of Prince Andrews and the like who they will serve need to get their fodder from somewhere.

Incidentally I suspect there are more than a few Epsteins out there still serving the same customer base that Ms. Maxwell keeps in her head. Jeffrey just happens to be the one that was caught which makes him the exception.

Finally the single most significant story of the day is likely this one. The drone war in Ukraine and Russia:

In interviews in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, a range of intelligence, military and national security officials have described an expanding U.S. program that aims to choke off Iran’s ability to manufacture the drones, make it harder for the Russians to launch the unmanned “kamikaze” aircraft and — if all else fails — to provide the Ukrainians with the defenses necessary to shoot them out of the sky.

The shift to drones by both sides is a incredibly significant change to the war. The story continues

In fact, one of the Iranian companies named by Britain, France and Germany as a key manufacturer of one of the two types of drones being bought by the Russians, Qods Aviation, has appeared for years on the United Nations’ lists of suppliers to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. The company, which is owned by Iran’s military, has expanded its line of drones despite waves of sanctions.

The administration’s scramble to deal with the Iranian-supplied drones comes at a significant moment in the war, just as Ukraine is using its own drones to strike deep into Russia, including an attack this week on a base housing some of the country’s strategic bombers.

The widespread use of drones in warfare and the Islamic state of Iran’s ability to produce “Kamikaze” drones should be of great worry to us as that is likely going to be the next tool of international terrorism and it goes without saying the next phase of warfare in general. After all consider the cost of maintaining a single destroyer vs the cost of a drone that can be programed to hit a specific geographical location.

If that doesn’t put a shudder in your spine nothing will.

Under the Fedora Thoughts: Hey Elon What about Robert Stacy McCain? Business returns to as Usual, Lauren Boebert nails it, What a difference One pick makes, My Popular Day

Posted: December 23, 2022 by datechguy in congress, in Ukraine, nfl, personal, Sports, tech, twitter, under the fedora, war
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A lot of accounts have been restored in to twitter over the last several months under Elon Musk from Donald Trump to Project Veritas to the Gateway Pundit and I cheer the return of these accounts and for a semblance of free speech for conservatives to come back. I must say frankly that I’m getting sick of waiting for the folks at twitter to restore the account of Robert Stacy McCain.

He was one of the first conservatives to be targeted by the twitter cancel crowd because like Libs of Tictok he dared to quote feminists directly using their own words against him to make his point.

I keep seeing these other worthy folks come back but there still remains no sign of Stacy’s @rsmccain account being restored. He had over 80K followers when he was tossed and as a writer no longer connected with major media the loss of such an account had I suspect a real effect on his reach and potential income which was the entire point of kicking him off.

I understand Elon Musk is a busy man but I urge him to take a few minutes out of his schedule and end this injustice against a reporter with thirty years of print media experience behind him and #freestacy

It’s the right thing to do.

A lot of GOP voters are rightly upset about the omnibus spending bill that just passed and the number of GOP senators who voted for this goody package for the left to make it happen.

While it outrages us it should not surprise us as I’m sure this bill contained a bunch of goodie packages for these individual senators and/or their states and/or contributors.

Unfortunately this has been the norm in congress for a very long time, it was the removal of earmarks that was a change from the routine and the people who paid a lot of money to get these folks elected expect to get their dough.

And if it means funding a bunch of stuff that helps the left in their culture war against the country, what do their care as long as they get their cut?

Lauren Boebert’s statement on Ukrainian president after his speech to congress was spot on.

She correctly acknowledged that Zelenskey is doing all he can to save his country from the Russians but also noted that it is our duty to make sure the billions we are sending to him to defend his country actually go toward that goal.

I don’t blame Zelenskey one bit, Ukraine was a land of graft and grift before the Russian invasion and if I was in charge of Ukraine and the US offered me dough but the big guy & his pals wanted their 10% or more I’d not care if thousands of grifters got their share as long as I got kept getting the dough and weapons that I needed to save my country from the Russian hoards. That’s got to be his primary goal.

But it damn well should the goal of a representative of the United States to make sure that the taxpayer dollars of Americans that are being spent to save Ukraine isn’t all about making the rich and connected richer and even if my own rep doesn’t care about it it’s nice that SOMEBODY in congress does.

We got out of work a couple of hours early yesterday so I had a chance to watch the 2nd half of the Jets Jaguars game which pitted Trevor Lawrence the 1st pick overall in the 2021 NFL draft starting for Jacksonville against Zach Wilson the 2nd overall pick in the NFL draft starting for the Jets. In two Seasons Lawrence has taken a bad team and put them within a game of their division lead and a game and a half away from the final wildcard spot this season.

Meanwhile Wilson in a year marred by injury got himself pulled shortly after the start of the 2nd half after taking a Jets team that had a lot of promise nowhere. It makes the 2nd time this season that Wilson has been sat down for poor performance but subsequent injuries to his replacements pressed him back into service.

This goes to show you how thin the line is between success and failure is in the NFL. Both of these two young men excelled in college and have physical tools to make the NFL, tools that 99.99% of the population don’t come near to. Yet one of them has the stuff to make it in this league and one did not. Meanwhile in San Francisco the # 3 pick in that draft Trey Lance is recoding from injury while Brock Purdy the 262nd and final pick in this years NFL draft Mr Irrelevant is about to lead his team to a playoff bearth.

Until the iron comes out of the forge you don’t know where it’s been.

Finally as I did last year at work I came in wearing a full Santa Suit for the final work day before Christmas. Given I have both a real stomach and a real Santa beard (that I will shave shortly after Christmas to the delight of my wife) which causes little kids to gasp when I walk into restaurants this time of year it’s very effective.

I could practically not punch in as about half of the woman (and a few men) punching out for 1st shift wanted a picture and my first hour on the job while I was in theory trying to pick orders was in fact spent taking pictures with groups of very attractive women, many dressed for the season, who all wanted a picture with Santa Claus.

It’s slightly ironic, As I’m one of only 4 white English speaking white Americans on my shift and with very few exceptions old enough to be the father or grandfather of just about everyone in the place it often makes for a lonely & silent work day (the “silent” bit will shock folks who know me) since I have few conversations during the day and can’t understand the conversations around me in Spanish, Portuguese (Cape Verde) , Creole or French (Haitians you know) everyone knows who I am and says hello but I’m generally left alone

But one day a year, for just a few hours when I come in and during the Christmas party I become the most popular person in the place.

Five Sports Thoughts Under the Fedora The Five Minute Solution, Ime Who? As Expected in Foxborough, Winning in a Vacuum and the Price of Success

Posted: December 4, 2022 by datechguy in baseball, nba, nfl, nhl, Sports, under the fedora
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With apologies to John Cleese If you want to understand why Soccer/Football is a sport that Americans on the whole reject go to youtube and compare the highlights of the game for any NFL game vs the Highlights of any of these world cup matches.

You will not that it takes 10-12 minutes for them reviews of the 60 Minute NFL game but only about 6 minutes for a 90+ minute World Cup match.

For the other 80 minutes it’s the Simpsons

Was it just two months ago that Celtics fans were worried about how the injury to Robert Williams and the suspension of Ime Udoka would mean doom to a team that was just two wins away from a championship last year?

Joe Mazzulla has made them forget all about Udoka but his answer to the question if he met with “the Royal Family.” when the Prince and Princess of Wales means they won’t forget him

They’ll never forgive him for that

Patriots fans seem to have very short memories.

Just 14 weeks ago everyone was noting that while the Patriots have pretty much the same team that they had last year, that all of the teams in their division and many others in the in the conference had improved.

So is it so strange that they sit in last place in their division while still having a ..500 record when in the previous season they made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth?

20 years of Tom brady success really has spoiled the fan base here.

Speaking of success have you ever seen a team as successful as this year’s Boston Bruins that has gotten less attention from the media and the fan base of a city.

The Bruins have set a record for consecutive home wins, they have dominated their sport and they can’t buy any press. All people want to do is to talk about how bad the Patriots have been.

Again I blame Tom Brady. In the days before his time the Brins would be THE story in the city.

Finally the Red Sox seem poised to lose Xander Bogarts. He is the link to the David Ortiz days winning and the Mookie Bettis days of winning.

They will not get a player as good at him at short or second (they can always move Story to short which I suspect was the plan from the beginning) but this tells me they are going full rebuild mode.

If they figured on losing him I can’t see why they didn’t trade him while they could, Better to get something for him than nothing for him, particularly if the plan is to rebuild.

Again success makes it difficult. 20-25 years ago when winning was practically not in living memory they could have gotten away with it, but now with four titles in under 20 years the fan base may not be as patient as they once were.

Under the Fedora Sports Thoughts My 5% Bruins Solution, Kyrie Decades in the Making, A big Spread, Rational Natural Selection , No Hitters Larson and Marketing

Posted: November 5, 2022 by datechguy in baseball, nba, nfl, nhl, Sports
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Yesterday the talk of Boston Sports Radio was the Bruins signing of Mitchel Miller who was apparently quite an ass as a youth when he was 14.

The thing that really clinched the anger was the sudden “apology” just before the signing and the fellow insisting it had nothing to do with Hockey, which confirms he’s still an ass.

The whole principle of a juvenile court system is so people aren’t punished as adults for things they did as kids but re is a reason why we have a juvenile court system on the other hand you also want to provide an incentive for folks to avoid this kind of thing in the future so here is what I’d do.

He wants to play in the NHL fine, 5% of his contract should go to the kid in question and since he waited six years to apologize, that 5% should continue for the first six years of his career. And since the Bruins decided to make the signing let them match that 5% as well.

You can’t make a person virtuous who is not but you can provide incentives to make virtue less expensive than vice. I guarantee if a young jock figures this kind of thing will cost him real money it will at best stop cold or at worst produce the required contrition without a six years wait.

Kyrie Irving has been suspended five games for tweeting out a link to an Holocaust denying documentary.

Given the left’s embrace of this kind of thing and the NBA’s embrace of the left it’s almost a shock Brooklyn punished him even if the team does reside in one of the most Jewish sections of the nation.

The NBA itself has decided to leave him alone and leave things to the Nets. After all as far as the NBA is concerned he didn’t do something really horrible in their eyes, like hitting China for slave labor etc. If he had Irving would have gone the way of Enes Kanter Freedom and not see the inside of an NBA court again. Irving cost him embarrassment, Kanter cost them money.

One more thought. The idea that Kyrie actually might have bought the idea that the black race are the actual tribes of Israel is no surprise to me. It’s been 25 years since Mary Lefkowitz warned us about this stuff in Not Out Of Africa: How “”Afrocentrism”” Became An Excuse To Teach Myth As History With 25 years of this going on since the release of this book without any pushback the wonder is that it isn’t more prevalent.

Boston sports radio is all over the place on the New England Patriots. Nobody seems sure about anything except that they’re not good enough to beat Buffalo. Here is their remaining schedule:

  • vs Colts
  • vs Jets
  • at Vikings
  • vs Bills
  • at Cardinals
  • at Raiders
  • vs Bengals
  • vs Dolphins
  • at Bills

With the exception of the Bills there is not a team on the list they aren’t capable of beating nor any time not capable of clearing their clock. Given the parity in the league, the quality of their roster and the uneven play of everyone. I’d not be surprised to see them finish anywhere from 11-6 to 4-13.

It’s bad for the nerves but good if you want some mystery in how a game will go.

There has been a lot of fuss about the fact that there are no American born black players on either roster in the World Series this year. This is being pushed as a stain to baseball, but frankly it’s not a stain in terms of racism but a stain in terms of marketing.

Part of it is cost you can play football or basketball with a single ball and a small group, but you need at least 10 or 12 for baseball, plus bats gloves but more importantly both the NFL and the NBA have done a much better job of marketing of both marketing its stars, both in general and to the black community in particular. Meanwhile the Latino stars from central and south America are huge in their countries and within the communities.

Personally I think it’s crazy. MLB besides being a better game has guaranteed contracts, less physical punishment in terms of contact and the potential for a longer career if you can’t sell that and the players to kids dying to become athletes then you need another career.

A great example of this lack of marketing is the current world series. It’s been a great playoffs and a spectacular series but game four illustrated exactly why.

The Astros put together five runs in the fifth to give them a 5-0 lead in a game they desperately needed to win. Meanwhile Christian Javier pitched six no hit innings, and then was pulled with a five run lead.

Now I understand priority one is to win the game and the Phillies have a history of coming back. But there is no reason why the Astros could not have had Javier pitching in what is likely his final start of the year and a five run lead could not have come out for the 7th with Bryan Abreu ready in the pen if he gave up a hit.

There is a reason why Don Larson is remembered 66 years after his perfect game in the 1956 World series, but I had to look up who the starter was to see who pitched in the Astros no hitter.

Personally I think MLB should fire their entire PR staff of the league and start again.

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