After holding a meeting Thursday morning, NBA players have reportedly agreed to resuming the 2020 playoffs, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The three playoff games on Thursday are expected to be postponed, and discussions are underway on when games will be resumed. The meeting came after the postponement of three playoff games on Wednesday, including the Bucks-Magic game in which Milwaukee players staged a walk-out before the start of Game 5. The league's Board of Governors were also expected to have a call this morning to address Wednesday night's walkouts in addition to what needs to happen next.
Several leaders on the Lakers roster, along with some players from other teams, reportedly stayed up into the early morning hours to hash out their issues inside the bubble. As a result of those talks, all players were able to agree to resume the season, per Wojnarowski.
During a meeting Wednesday evening that consisted of players and coaches, the Lakers and Clippers were among the minority of teams that pushed to end the season, according to Sham Charania of The Athletic. LeBron James said in the meeting he wants the team owners to be more involved and take action.
LeBron James can call off his season; he's got his pile. His teammates? Maybe not so much. More importantly, the NBA is an multi-billion dollar business that could disappear tomorrow without a lasting impact on our social fabric.
I don't care about LeBron's thoughts on social justice any more than I care about Ted Cruz's basketball prowess. If they both disappeared tomorrow, it would be a tragedy for their families, but life without them wouldn't require much adjustment.
Old dude, it's looking like Mutual of Omaha around here. We had a fox come through our yard recently, and it was not Blaze the Knox Fox.
Not Blaze?
I'll protect you from the weasels from Monmouth, President Amott!
No, he looked more like this guy:
I'll get that rabbit!
It wasn't this guy?
Not me, ya big dummy!
Sorry, I didn't watch Sanford and Son. I wasn't around for your prehistoric television viewing. But now I'm here to discuss some football, with all the insight and just the right amount of HYYYYYYPPPE! Watch me work!
Big Ten Championship Game: Northwestern Wildcats (+15) vs. A School In Columbus. If you had told me that Northwestern would win the west, I would have said, no way! A School in Columbus is coming off a very impressive demolition of Dad Pants Harbaugh and his eternally disappointing Wolverines. In doing so, Urban Liar and his pals likely wrecked the chances of the B1G getting into the playoffs. Northwestern has had some black magic this year and it's time for A School in Columbus to get rewarded for its failure to fire Urban Liar. Northwestern 42, Fire Urban Liar 0. Uh, no. You realize this is the more likely scenario:
If you enjoyed 59-0 as much as I did, which wasn't much, don't be surprised if we get something of a reprise. The Buckeyes are a ruthless bunch of Ohio-based mercenaries and they'll show no quarter. Ohio State 38, Northwestern 14.
Bear Down Chicago Da Bearz Still Suck (-3.5) vs. New York All Hail The New York Giants. Our friend Gino would like to remind everyone that the Chicago Bears are in first place in the NFC North Division. I would like to remind everyone that the Green Bay Packers beat the Bears in Week 1, despite a 20-point deficit in the second half. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about the game. Da Bearz come in off a nice rest following a surprisingly easy win over the LOLions, even though Chase Daniel was at the controls. Mitchell Trubisky should be back, unless he was part of Kareem Hunt's posse, although we have no evidence of that. The Giants are a mess, but they do have talent, especially one Saquon Barkley. Although I still think da Bearz are the better squad, watch out -- this has got trap game written all over it. Giants 31, da Bearz 17.
Huh. I've seen the Giants play recently. They're bad. Forget Saquon Barkley -- the Barkley one should attend to is this guy, who offers his opinion:
Are the Bears for real? I'm still not sure. But they're real enough to beat these guys. Bears 28, Giants 20.
Raising Arizona Cardinals (+14) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers. For the love of God, could the Packers please win on Sunday? The Old Dude officially gets even older on Sunday and he deserves a win. The Cardinals are a dumpster fire right now. I feel bad for Larry Fitzgerald, who deserves much better, but it's his choice to play with these dead birds. Packers 45, Cardinals 10.
We were able to get some film from the Cardinals practice:
That's about how it's gone for the Cardinals lately. I don't know that they'll show up in Green Bay with a panty on their head, but one never knows. Packers 28, Cardinals 17.
Minnesota Vikings (+5.5) vs. New England Patriots. Meanwhile, the Vikings. Our locals are happy with their win last week, but now comes the reality check. I think it's fair to say the Vikings aren't guaranteed a playoff spot, considering they are visiting two distinct houses of horror in the next two weeks. First, a trip to Foxborough, then a trip to Seattle. It's also fair to say that if the Vikings miss the playoffs, Kirk Cousins will finally get criticized. I like New England in this one. Patriots 24, Vikings 13. I am not sure what to think about this one. I keep waiting for the Patriots to implode, but they never do. I think your instincts are correct about a low-scoring affair, but I think it's going to be close. Patriots 24, Vikings 21.
Enjoy your weekend and look out for foxes. Ben out!
I don't have a lot to say about Trump going to Mosinee -- to a large extent, a Trump rally is the same no matter where it is -- but I do find it amusing. I grew up in a town with a lot of paper mills. They can be foul-smelling places. Mosinee is about 90 miles northwest of my home town and it has the reputation of being the town with the nastiest smelling paper mill of them all. I pass through there on my way home and it can be just awful. For his sake, I hope the wind was strong and out of the west yesterday.
I hold no brief for Tomi Lahren; the next time I see her on television will be the first time. I hear she shows up on Fox News. Don't know.
I do know this: throwing drinks at people you don't like is never an acceptable practice. I can think of dozens of people in public life who are despicable. I would never throw a drink at any of them.
Get your Götterdämmerung on. And getcha popcorn. If anyone deserves a trip through the sex creep spin cycle, it's our self-satisfied, sanctimonious junior senator. In the meantime, forgive me for a post with more tags than text.
Two weeks ago, Puerto Rico was spared a devastating hit when Hurricane Irma ripped up the Caribbean. This time, it may not be so lucky.
The bankrupt island, already contending with the aftermath of a storm that left as much as $1 billion of damage and hundreds of thousands still without power, faces even more upheaval with Hurricane Maria set to hit as soon as Tuesday night. The government ordered rationing of basic necessities, including water and batteries, although those items were already gone from some San Juan store shelves as residents prepared for what could be the worst storm for the U.S. territory in decades.
The Caribbean island nation of Dominica sustained “mind boggling” damage from Hurricane Maria, its prime minister said on Tuesday, after the storm hit with maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 miles per hour that ripped roofs off buildings, including his own home.
There was no immediate word of deaths or injuries on the island from Maria, the third in a string of devastating hurricanes to sweep through the region in recent weeks.
The National Hurricane Center said just after 5 a.m. that the storm, now moving away from Dominica, had regained Category 5 strength, after briefly dropping to Category 4. It is expected to remain “extremely dangerous” as it approaches the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday night and Wednesday, the center said.
Roosevelt Skerrit, Dominica’s prime minister, wrote on Facebook earlier Tuesday that the island nation of 72,000 had experienced “widespread devastation,” based on initial reports.
Maria may stay away from Florida, however:
Stay away
Hoping things don't get any worse for Puerto Rico, as they have problems enough these days, but it doesn't look good.
I have a long commute, from New Brighton to Burnsville. It's about 26 miles each way. My travel path takes me around downtown Minneapolis on 35W and not into it. Good thing, too:
Wednesday's commute into downtown Minneapolis was even worse than many had feared.
Express buses took hours to arrive and downtown streets were parking lots well into the day.
Emily Zieska, an accountant with the Dougherty & Company LLC, said she was late to work Wednesday after her commute up Interstate 94 was stalled for an hour and a half.
I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to simultaneously shut down parts of the Lowry Hill tunnel on I-94, and Hennepin Avenue, and the light rail line, but it shows a stunning lack of coordination and communication. And people were, well, pissed. Here's a commuter I know pretty well:
Dear Powers that Be in Downtown Minneapolis,
Next time you plan simultaneous construction projects that close major thoroughfares and close light rail, all while traffic on I-94 is routed through one side of the Lowry Hill Tunnel, you should do it when the Twins are in town. I don't think we've even come close to reaching the true gridlock potential we have, but with a Twins game thrown in the mix, I really think we could get there. That's how we become a real world-class city!
That's from our sometime contributor Stinger, who had a dandy time in his trip from Nordeast into downtown this morning. I would also suggest a presidential motorcade, just to really get people going. Or not going.
The list of construction projects weaving through the Twin Cities is about to get even longer.
Starting in August, Interstate 35W will be under construction between I-94 in downtown Minneapolis and 46th Street. The tough part for drivers and neighbors is the estimated $240 million project should take more than four years to complete.
And during construction, nine lanes of highway will be reduced to just five.
Bumper to bumper and side to side, rush hour traffic on I-35W can be a pain. And that’s with nine lanes and every ramp and bridge over the highway open.
When asked what it will be like to know a more than four year construction project is on the way, one commuter said exiting off the highway near Uptown said, “It’s a good thing I bike to work in the summer for the most part.”
Emphasis mine. I'm going to guess that a lot of traffic in that stretch is going to move to Hiawatha and/or 35E, and even Highway 100, so the nightmare will extend into other parts of the city and St. Paul. And it will be going on for four years. Yay.
Events have made it difficult to maintain a normal blogging schedule for at least the past week, but I'm hopeful we'll get better about it in the coming days. For today, let's consider the latest nonsense coming out of Berkeley, California:
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter has canceled her speech planned for this week at the University of California's Berkeley campus after a dispute with university officials, who feared violent protests, over whether a safe venue could be found.
"There will be no speech," she wrote in an email to Reuters on Wednesday, saying two conservative groups sponsoring her speech were no longer supporting her. "I looked over my shoulder and my allies had joined the other team," she wrote.
Ann Coulter has been doing her shtick for nearly 30 years now. We've heard it all before and one would ordinarily think the reaction to her appearance in any venue ought to be boredom, but here we have the battle joined.
The Left is not winning the argument these days. From what I can tell, they aren't even trying to win. The prevailing mode of discourse is you should shut up now.
Hateful speech isn't something directing other people to hate. It's whatever the bien pensant left would rather not contemplate. And in the end, all this nonsense at Berkeley is less about a conflict of visions (to use a phrase from Thomas Sowell) and more about turf. The Left has its redoubts and academe is a key one. It's bad enough the ravening hordes of Trump Nation are on the prowl in small towns and exurban enclaves, but they'd better stay the hell away from Sproul Plaza. Otherwise you get to meet these freedom fighters:
Love is in the air
They love you and have a wonderful plan for your life, so long as you get in line.
Old dude, for the Packers and the Vikings, it is time for the real versions of those teams to finally step up and play well in games that they have to win. Make no mistake, both teams have really been terrible the past two weeks.
Or as America's Greatest Living Philosopher would have it:
And it has been as fun as watching a small child try to ride a bike. You are just looking for when the other shoe drops.
I remember getting my bell bottom pants legs caught in the bike chain. Lost more than my shoe on a few of those adventures.
I've seen the pictures, Geritol Fan. You didn't have a bike; you were riding on the back of a Conestoga wagon.
Actually, it looked more like this:
Nice ride, old dude!
Man, that's uglier than your won/loss record in this feature!
But not uglier than our featured teams have been playing!
I might agree, I might not. It is time to pick these games, and next week I am home and we can do Benster and D old school style. The HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPEEE! will be unreal. Watch me work!
Northwestern Wildcats (-2.5) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers. This line really makes no sense. The Gophers have been a good team and still have a faint hope of getting to Indy to play for a conference title. Northwestern certainly isn't a bad team by any means, but the Gophers are a much better team. Once again Vegas shows a bias that has no reasonable answer. I expect the Gophers to win, though I am sure that they are looking forward to getting the Axe next weekend for the first time since Glen "Mase In Your Face" Mason was the head coach. Gophers 21, Wildcats 10. It's been a long time since the Axe stayed in Minneapolis. The larger issue for the Gophers will be stopping Northwestern's running attack. I think they will, but it won't be easy. Tough one, but the Gophers prevail. Gophers 20, Wildcats 16. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (-28) vs. Purdon't Boilermakers. The Badgers were a team given no chance to win. Colin Cowherd even proclaimed that the Badgers were going to be lucky to get an invite to the Quick Lane Bowl by going 6-6. Well guess what, Colin? Never underestimate that Wisconsin is well coached, and always will play at a high level. If the Badgers win at Purdue and beat the Gophers, they will play either Michigan or Penn State, meaning that at worst Wisconsin might go to either the Rose Bowl or the Orange Bowl. With Louisville already losing on Thursday to Houston, with a win Wisconsin should be no worse than 6th in the next rankings. Purdue is not going to be an issue, since they are, what exactly, Sir Charles?
I thought so. This game should be a good way to have the Badgers establish themselves as a legit threat to sneak in the back door to the playoff. Badgers 49, Purdon't 13. The largest challenge for the Badgers will be physically getting to the stadium. That wind is nasty tonight! But assuming the Badgers don't travel to West Lafayette on the Edmund Fitzgerald, it should be pretty easy. Badgers 38, Purdue 7. Arizona Cardinals (+1) vs. Minnesota Vikings. As is the tradition here, whenever the Purple plays the Cardinals, we can't resist playing this. As always, if you are a Vikings fan, I suggest that you do not click this video.
That call never gets old. And funny enough, the Vikings are in danger of having what happened that year repeat, since they have looked terrible since the bye week. Mike Zimmer looks like he is not figuring things out fast enough, and you have to wonder if the Vikings players have been giving their best efforts. The Cardinals have not had a good year, but they have been improving in recent weeks. Local guy and Holy Angels alum Larry Fitzgerald should be a huge factor. If the Vikings struggle early, then they can't go in the tank and the fans need to back them and give them energy. Thankfully, Vikings fans are among the best in the league at doing that. Cardinals 21, Vikings 17. Can the Cardinals rush the passer? Historically, yes. Do the Vikings block well? No. This could get ugly. Cardinals 31, Vikings 14. Glorious Green Bay Packers (+2.5) vs. Washington Gridlocks. The Packers really looked about as terrible as I can remember last week in Nashville. The offense played decently well, but the defense looked like they had gotten the wrong sort of film. This game is mission critical for the Packers, who need to avoid getting in an early hole. Thankfully, the Packers did play very well last time they came to suburban D.C., and I expect that this is the week that the Packers finally put a complete game together. Packers 24, Gridlocks 14. You are fortunate enough to have not lived through the dark ages, young fella. It was brutal stuff. Here's an example from 1980:
Did you see the Packer defensive back? He looked like he was hailing a cab. Awful. Can the Packers get it turned around? I hate to say this, but. . . Redskins 27, Packers 23.
I know that we are only picking the four games this week, but really those were the only interesting games this week that I actually care about. I can't prove da Bearz are still in the league. We'll research the matter for next week. Ben out!
