1984Echoes

He's just a tourist... right?

That is primarily in Crimea, Lugansk and Donetsk provinces (southeast, Russia calls it the "Donbass"); which, Russia already has. I mean, it's also anywhere East of the Dnieper River... except... Since Putin stole Crimea, Lugansk and Donetsk... even Russian speaking or Russian leaning Ukrainians (east of the Dnieper) are enraged at his moves and his current threats. You might get some saboteurs from the area... but the overwhelming attitude is intensely anti-Putin at the moment, even there. I mean, we'll see what happens when the tanks start rolling in...

Yeah... Go ahead and invade Mar-a-Lago... And find all of Trump's missing documents... Much preferred over an invasion of Ukraine and we'll even help you on that one...

But... But... But... The Supreme Court is NOT Partisan Hackery... Right?

I think it's fair to take a wait and see approach with all who remain after Tork & Greene... I'll just be my usual... Optimistic... Self.

Madsen would have been grotesque as Vincent. He lined up the correct actors for first choice (and got them) for Pumpkin and Honey Bunny... Outside of Roth and Plummer would have been a huge drop off...

Point.

Andre Ware 2.0? No thank you. Wait until 2023. Better QB's available.

So... He's turned into Michael Dudikoff v2.0?

This sounds like exactly that: their best bet.

Flipside: Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer spoke to some NFL talent folks after last week's 2022 Senior Bowl, where Willis, Pickett, and Carson Strong all showed off their skillsets in front of decision-makers from around the league. The overall vibe from folks in charge of evaluating pro talent? Meh: "The quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl showed as they were expected to. And that’s not great news. The group, compromised of all the top guys outside of Ole Miss’s Matt Corral, came in perceived to be an average lot. It left Mobile with a lot of NFL folks convinced of that. A couple of veteran NFL evaluators told me late in the week that they don’t believe there’s a single NFL starter in this year’s quarterback class. Not everyone was that harsh, but it was unanimous that these quarterbacks aren’t close to last year’s — and most agreed that all five of last year’s first-round signal-callers would’ve been the top guy at the position in the 2022 draft."

The flipside is that I think it's premature. We have Internationals that were just breaking into the USA... a year, or maybe two, of struggles I don't think is uncommon and doesn't portend the future failure or break-out of Campos or Santana or a few others... It's just too early to tell. Also, we have the type of guys who, if they have a really nice year (Madden, Pacheco, Dingler, Jobe, Campos, Santana, Keith, Workman, etc...) will fly up the rankings. I don't care what Keith Law says. I don't care about #12... the only thing I care about is having several of these guys break out this year and taking, not just higher spots in the rankings but, higher expectations in the Tigers Organization. And showing that our organization is on the right track and CAN draft and develop guys... not just top 10 picks.

Which pushes down other talented guys: WR's and other defenders, to our spots. I'm still on board with taking a QB we like IF he falls to #32 (looking extremely unlikely at this point), and if not, take some combo of WR/ LB/ Safety at #32 and #34. Stick with KT or Hutch at 32, and worry about QB next year. DON'T overdraft a QB out of sheer panic... Let other teams panic and overdraft the QB's...

They were probably hunting an outside shooting big which is what you get from Olynyk and nothing on that end from Plumlee... I'm not justifying the cost of that or anything... I'm just sayin'... And while I do agree on the need for what Plumlee provides... he's not been any great shakes this year either. One placeholder/ part-time contributor with limited skills is not really all that different from the other... I think the real solution is getting someone like Myles Turner from the Pacers (by hook or by crook): a real rim-protector/ rebounder/ rim-runner/ and still has some semblance of an outside game that can make both the starters and bench more dynamic by pushing Stew to the bench. We probably have 0 chance of getting him but I've wanted this dude on our roster so badly from even before his draft.

I have a gas guzzler but I work from home 100% so I go out once or twice a week for groceries or Subway or sushi or whatever... and gas prices are barely registering on my radar. Plus I have the cheapest gas place in town right across from me basically so whatever I'm paying it's at least 15 cents or more lower than everybody else...

Agreed 100%. I'd like to see establishment Republicans wrest control of the GOP out of the Trumpster's hands... but... I think that possibility is pretty close to 0%. I still want to see every broadshot taken against the fascist side of the party. From anyone at all, from any direction...

Horseshit. If the Red Wings or Tigers have the worse record in the league but are now picking 8th because of a lottery that helps them get better? I'm calling BS. I do NOT think losing in a lottery helps a bad team get better. Just the opposite, in fact. Did I mention the fact that... I F'ing HATE lotteries...?

So on this basis... quit trying to institute a lottery. How about... instead: "Licensing" MLB ownership? MLB can "License", or ALLOW an owner to own an MLB team. If over a 10-year period a team is not competitive at all, then MLB can revoke the license and force an owner to sell, or MLB can take over that team in a conservatorship, pay off the owner at an appraised value, and resell to a group that they believe will try to be competitive. Let's say anything over .400 for the decade is a "minimum standard" of competitiveness (some good years, some sub-par, a rebuild...). Anything below that is subject to review by an MLB "Licensing" Board, consisting of NOT-Owners (who may be competitive and love having "losing Orgs" in their division... But instead, HOF'ers, outside legal council, head of MLBPA, the Commissioner, etc... "In the best interests of baseball...". Every 10-year period is a License, and subject to renewal by Board approval. Same thing with non-renewal. The Board can force a rejection of a teams' ownership renewal and force a sale. That will fix each and every single teams competitiveness really, really, fast. And MLB will become even MORE competitive then it is now... and there will be MAX incentive to SPEND money on a competitive team. Amirite? (Not gonna happen but... amirite?)

Undercover woman, in the midst of Fascists in America: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/02/amanda-moore-undercover-maga/?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=vf&utm_mailing=VF_HivePS_020522&utm_medium=email&bxid=5c5b21a42ddf9c2e35797a31&cndid=49460903&hasha=05adedcbe118f772c76e6794cb1d861d&hashb=cca16e819211b15fd7af268d1f4362d9033855f6&hashc=61895f16272cd7ba625b3c6df95dae50b64f58c907319519cc42cbec8714cdb5&esrc=newsletteroverlay&mbid=mbid%3DCRMVYF012019&source=EDT_VYF_NEWSLETTER_0_HIVE_ZZ&utm_campaign=VF_HivePS_020522&utm_term=VYF_Hive

I don't believe Grant necessarily blocks Diallo from playing time. I think trading Grant is more a function of resetting our timeline with more youth and draft assets that fit into Cade's timeline. And he's the only trade commodity we have who can get (possibly) some decent assets in return. Plus, contractually, I think he just misses on that youth timeline... It wouldn't bother me to be able to draft a Jabari Smith at PF, move Grant to SF, and have Cade and Diallo at PG and SG (pushing Bey to the bench as a 6th man). Then we would just need a Real Center to push Stewart to the bench as an energy guy and... we may actually have a team there... So I don't know which direction the Pistons want to go with Grant... but I could go either way with trade/ don't trade him. In the end... based on his iso-play, lack of rebounding, and my desire for more team youth... I do think the team is better off trading him for youth/assets...

Haha! So funny. Bolton kicks Trump's ass.

Today's Republican Party = Fascists. They hate Democracy. They hate the Constitution of the United States. They hate America. Vote them out.

Getting whomped... But one thought I think I'm thinking: Diallo needs to stay in the starting lineup.

Here it is: https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/germany-agrees-to-axe-nord-stream-2-if-russia-invades-ukraine/

IIRC Germany threatened stopping Nord 2 if Russia invaded Ukraine. I'll have to go look if that was real or not now though...