Left Coast Sports Babe

Former Trojan football coach Steve Sarkisian, who insisted publicly that he didn’t think he had a drinking problem and didn’t need rehab, is now going to sue USC for $30 million for wrongful termination because they didn’t accommodate his “disability.”
And we wonder why many Americans hate lawyers..

Thinking maybe it isn’t such a bad thing that the ‪#‎SFGiants‬ missed out on a trade for Aroldis Chapman.

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Forget whether or not the Philadelphia 76ers could beat say, Kentucky or Duke. Could they beat the Washington Generals?

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The San Antonio Spurs, without Tim Duncan, beat Philadelphia 76ers 119 to 68. If the 76ers keep up at this pace, the NBA might want to consider a mercy rule.

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Three college football bowl teams this year have 5-7 records. Does this make them honorary members of the NFC East?

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Oops, a woman tried to get away from a hit and run where she hit TWO vehicles, but her car’s 911 Assist system, which automatically calls police after accidents, did its job and gave police details of where to find her. You guessed it, Florida. ‪#‎cantfixstupid‬ ‪#‎thankgoodnessforsmartcars‬

A woman driver was arrested near the Holland Tunnel, allegedly so drunk that she didn’t realize she was in New Jersey. Although to be fair, a lot of sober people try to forget being in New Jersey.

I cannot imagine the horror of having a friend or relative killed in a mass shooting. But 14 Americans are killed in San Bernandino and many want to change our entire way of life. Nine African-Americans were killed in Charleston, and after a while we just shrugged. ‪#‎alllivesmatter‬ ‪#‎toomuchhate‬

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So Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have named their newborn son “Saint.”  Is this part of some grand plan to keep daughter “North” from getting teased for having the strangest name in school?

Or is it just another step in Kanye and Kim’s drive to get full employment for child psychologists?

From my funny friend Alex Kaseberg “Jimmy Carter declares himself brain-cancer free. Such great news it almost makes up for there being another Kardashian.”

Get out the violins. Amongst USA Today’s “Losers” in the last week of the college football season was Illinois, who expected a bowl bid, but due to a variety of other scores look to be left out. The Fighting Illini are 5-7.

So the Fiesta Bowl is now the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl? Say it ain’t so. Now we won’t be able to hear announcers say in the 4th quarter – “This is for all the Tostitos.”

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NY Jets pulled out a win vs the NY Giants today. Can we can we start calling this the “We Suck Less” bowl?

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49ers said they are “open” to bringing Colin Kaepernick back in 2016. Right, except that open door might more like a trap door.

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Meanwhile, if they gave out a trophy for being the least bad team in the NFC East it would have to be a silver hot potato.

Wrap your head around this as bowl selections are announced: After Alabama, the highest ranked team in the SEC is – 9-3 Ole Miss?! ‪#‎howthemightyhavefallen‬

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Big difference between ‪#‎NCAA‬ & ‪#‎NFL‬ football in 2015. College football has more than 4 teams who could actually win a playoff championship.

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#‎Stanford‬ has played so many late night games. many  East Coast #‎Heisman‬ voters had to be wondering – so who is this McCaffrey kid?  He’s not bad.  ‪#‎USCvsSTanford‬

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Now to be fair, while McCaffrey did catch a pass for a touchdown and actually THREW for a touchdown, it did take until late in the 4th quarter for him get his first rushing touchdown.  So maybe a bit of an off day.  #only461yards

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Donald Trump urged his Iowa supporters to do everything they can to get to the caucuses – “Even if you’re not feeling good, if you’re feeling horrible, if you had a horrible fight with your wife or your husband… if you caught your husband cheating the night before, you’ve got to go to the caucus, right? And vice versa.”

So is this what the Donald considers “playing to his base?”

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Finally, on a serious note. Some seem very upset over Clinton and Obama  not using the term, “radical Islam,” Now personally, I am one of the least PC liberals I know. But we live in a world that is both very nuanced and fond of simplistic sound bites.
And if anyone says, oh, of course people understand that only a small minority of Muslims are radical. Right, just the same as everyone understands that only a small minority of Planned Parenthood’s health care is abortions, and that payment for fetal issue is a fraction of that. No, I am not equating the two, but I am equating the rhetoric. ‪#‎timetotoneitdown‬

There are rumors that the wife of the man who named shooter in San Bernadino was the one of the couple who was “radicalized” and a fan of Isis.  Okay, not denying this, but exactly what is the attraction for a heterosexual woman of 72 virgins in heaven.

Other than maybe never having to deal with housework or childcare again?

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And regarding that rumor that the  San Bernadino shooter was radicalized by his foreign-born wife; waiting for Trump to demand a ban on marrying immigrants….

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George Zimmerman has been kicked off Twitter after he posted nude pictures of an ex-girlfriend, saying “She cheated on me with a dirty Muslim. (The woman’s phone number.) She’ll sleep with anyone.”
Thinking at this point most of America is REALLY REALLY wishing Trayvon Martin had been armed.

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Donald Trump has said this week, “When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.”
Does that include ALL terrorists? Even the Christian or secular American white men? ‪#‎Justasking‬

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he doesn’t think there’s “any question” the ACC should have a team in the CFP.   Even if his team loses to #10 North Carolina.

Well, with all due respect, has there been a coach yet that said, “You know, our conference really sucks, so I can understand if we all end up at lesser bowls?”

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What’s more shocking for NFL fans – Aaron Rodgers’ 61-yard Hail Mary pass to win the game against Detroit? Or the fact that the Packers needed a Hail Mary pass to beat the Lions?

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How to feel old. When you hear that Scott Weiland, 48, has passed away. And you realize – a, he was younger than you, and b, you had no idea who “Stone Temple Pilots” were.

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Although many Dungeness crabs are now testing clean, there is still no word on opening the crab season in California due to toxins still found in some crabs in the Monterey area. This all is evidently due to high water temperatures causing an algae bloom..
Here’s one proposed solution – open the season first on a test basis for those who don’t believe in global warming and/or science.

A FIFA official from Guatemala who was charged with corruption was arrested today as he boarded a Disney cruise ship in Florida. Makes some sense. Maybe federal officials figured, if he could afford a Disney cruise….

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In sad times it’s so good to see our nation’s politicians focused on what’s important – the Senate voted Thursday 52-47 to repeal key provisions of Obamacare and strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood. ‪#‎sarcasm‬

And finally on a lighter note.  As if anything Hunter Pence does isn’t adorable

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/hunter-pence-gets-engaged-at-disney-world-and-it-s-totally-adorable-235742581.html

It is way too soon to draw definite conclusions. But a CNN headline trumpets “Officials – San Bernardino killer in touch with terrorists.”
Thinking, if I were involved in anything awful, even as a victim, can just imagine what “officials” would say based on my varied Facebook friends and blog readers.

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It’s sadly interesting to note that the suspects in the San Bernandino shooting had pipe bombs, along with all their guns and “5,000+ rounds of ammunition.” But the pipe bombs didn’t work. ‪#‎Gunsdontkillpeoplepeoplewithgunskillpeople‬ ‪#‎Otherthingskillpeoplebutgunskillthemfaster‬

Authorities in San Bernadino used a local golf course as a command post after the latest US mass shooting. But apparently this didn’t register with everyone. This from a police dispatcher 90 minutes after the shooting was report “Can you call the golf course office and ask them for people to stop golfing, there are still people out there golfing rounds.” ‪#‎priorities‬ ‪#‎focus

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An ATF spokesman says that the guns used during the San Bernardino shooting were purchased legally in the United States, including two semi-automatic hand guns, and two assault rifles – the rifles apparently could fire ammunition that could pierce bulletproof vests.

But all four legal. Heck, I can’t even get more than one package of Sudafed legally at CVS.

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Not surprisingly Fox News is referring to the shooters as “the Muslim couple who stormed a county social services office.” Maybe accurate, but how come Fox never referred to say, “the Christian man” who shot up Planned Parenthood, or the “Christian young man” who massacred people in that Charleston church?

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Well, okay then, so there was a woman involved in the latest mass shootings. This is not the kind of equality many of us were hoping for.

But while we’re on the bus to hell. Who kills themselves, or goes on a risky “mission,” voluntarily with a baby?  Now parent of a teenager, that’s a different story?

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On a lighter note on another sad night in the USA, today is the 23rd anniversary of the sending of the first telephone text message. Teenagers and 20 somethings are marvelling – it wasn’t that long ago we were in the Dark Ages?

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More on a lighter note: The NBA has revealed the uniforms for the 2016 All-Star game, which are modeled after those worn in the first NBA game back in 1946. Wonder if for accuracy the league got help from the game memories of Tim Duncan?

Okay, I  understand why it’s redundant to talk about men in most sports jokes, as they do comprise a high percentage of top level athletes, especially professional athletes.

Alas, it seems even more redundant to talk about “male mass shooters.”

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Understand that Zack Greinke is choosing between competing offers from the SF Giants and LA Dodgers. Now, it’s a big decision. But regarding a bidding war that comes down to money -once you have $200 million, even with California tax rates, can’t you buy anything you ever wanted? And feed your family to boot?

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A new test by the AP shows that waters around Rio are dangerously polluted, in areas where they will do sailing, canoeing and rowing events. One thing for sure, this Olympics won’t have winning coxswains thrown into the water.

(Putin on the other hand, may have new motivation for Russian coxswains to make sure their crews do not lose.)

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So so tired of asking if someone has heard about latest US mass shooting and hearing the response “which one?” ‪#‎tiredofbeingruledbytheNRA‬

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Before the latest shooting, the GOP voted unanimously against bringing a bill to the House floor, the ” Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act,” which would bar gun sales to those on the government’s no-fly list. Land of the free and the home of the not-so-brave where the NRA is concerned?

Fox News not even hinting at color/religion etc of San Bernadino domestic terrorists. So safe to assume they’re probably non-Muslim white men.

Today’s mass shooting took place at a Southern California center for people with developmental disabilities. Waiting for the NRA to say those patients should all be armed

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A miracle has occurred, the 76ers won a game and are now 1-18. Since they play in the NBA’s Eastern Conference that means Philadelphia should be right in the playoff hunt.

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You know how bad it’s been for the Eagles and 76ers when Philadelphia fans are eagerly looking forward to spring training and the Phillies..

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Yahoo is apparently thinking of selling its “core business.” Shocking. Yahoo still has a “core business?”

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On a cheerier note, the November ADP report topped expectations, with private employers adding 217,000 jobs, better than 190,000 forecast. Last month’s gains were also revised up by 14,000 to 196,000. ‪#‎IblameObama‬

Donald Trump now says he won’t show up at CNN’s next debate unless the network donates $5 million to “Wounded Warriors.” Here’s an idea, why don’t Americans collectively chip in $6 million only if he promises to stay home and shut up.

Just wonder, what would Trump say if Hillary Clinton demanded that for her to participate in the next debate, CNN would need to donate $5 million to Planned Parenthood

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A prominent African-American pastor in Baltimore is slamming his colleagues who support Donald Trump by referring to them as “prostitutes.” Prompting an immediate demand for an apology – from prostitutes.

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Apparently retail sales this holiday season are disappointing so far. Can’t imagine why customers haven’t gotten excited about Black Friday, post- Black Friday, pre-Cyber Monday, Cyber Monday, extended Cyber Monday etc. sales…. ‪#‎whydonttheyjustcallthemthecryingwolfsales‬?

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60 years ago today Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. Can just imagine what today’s GOP presidential candidates would have said about it in real time. ‪#‎blamethemedia‬ ‪#‎blameObama‬.

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The Marlins might hire Barry Bonds as a hitting coach. Hate to say it, but had Don Mattingly had Bonds in Los Angeles, maybe the Dodgers’ offseason would have started later.

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QB Josh McCown was injured late in the Browns Monday night loss with a collarbone injury. Given Johnny Manziel’s antics, I think even atheists might be calling for Tebow.

Ted Cruz, asked in Iowa about making contraception available for women. “Last I checked, we don’t have a rubber (sic) shortage in America.”
Am a former resident of Toronto, but is Cruz, 44, on top of just proving he is too stupid to be President, also proving he is too old, or too British/Canadian to be President.

(“rubber” in Canada when I was a kid was slang for condom.”)

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And presumably if Cruz actually paid attention to Planned Parenthood instead of just using them as a political football, he might have seen the PP stats that indicate condoms alone are a long way from the most reliable way to prevent pregnancy.

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LeBron James is saying now that he regrets that he didn’t meet Kobe Bryant in the NBA finals. Well, yeah, who wouldn’t want to have played Kobe’s Lakers lately in the NBA finals. ‪#‎morerings‬

The U.S. will begin screening visa waiver passengers if they have had past travel to anywhere known as a “terrorist safe haven.” So to be safe based on recent history, will that include parts of the southern U.S, and really any state with loose gun laws?

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Donald Trump, who claimed that a number of African-American pastors were going to endorse him, now says that “Black Lives Matter” pressured them to drop their endorsement. Well, it’s better for the Donald than admitting either a- “I was lying,” or b -“I was smoking something.”

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More Trump -on Islam “There’s something nasty coming out of there.”

Another of those ‪#‎somestatementsdontevenneedapunchline‬ . But have at it friends and readers.  (use comments 🙂

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Hate speech is dangerous. Not so much the words themselves but because it can incite dangerous people. This is true when the speech is anti-American, anti-religion, anti-gay, anti-police and yes also anti-Planned Parenthood

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Meanwhile back to important unimportant things,  there are  few things are worth being awake from 200a to 500a in a European hotel room watching a computer for…. Stanford-Notre Dame game just proved to be one of those things.

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After the game, which featured only 2-3 punts on each side, have to figure any good HS student who can play great football defense has I think now a best ever chance of getting into Stanford, or Notre Dame.

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Cardiac and Cardinal both start with CARD. ‪#‎areyoukiddingme‬? ‪#‎NDvsStanford‬

Hard to believe but this year it’s an easier call to decide which four NFL teams really deserve a shot in the playoffs as opposed to in college football.

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Ben Carson is now saying Syrian refugees don’t want to come to the U.S. Makes some sense – if they figure the USA might actually elect Dr. Carson President, it might be scarier than staying in Syria.

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This year’s first holiday Darwin?    In a small town near Fresno, California,  a suspected burglar died after he got stuck in the chimney of a home and the homeowner. who didn’t realize he was in there, lit a fire.

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Btw, the above item also doubles as your early Christmas Eve safety message.

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Groupon was sending emails with several suggestions for “Small Business Saturday.” Right. Honor small businesses by buying their products and services at a discount price through a big company website that takes a good-sized chunk of the payment….  SMH

So let me get this straight, ‪#‎NFL‬ rules say SOMEONE has to win the ‪#‎NFCEast‬?

A few GOP candidates are condemning the #PlannedParenthood shooter. Wonder if anyone will demand that guards at the clinics be armed?

Who needs guns. The Germans are arming bears.

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So where are all the GOP governors and candidates demanding that we be kept safe from U.S. terrorists? ‪#‎Charleston‬ ‪#‎ColoradoSprings‬ ‪#‎howmanymore‬

I’m sure I am not the only one that has noticed this. But interesting that any time it’s a white male shooter in the U.S., a certain faction never dubs him a terrorist but instead refers to him as “mentally ill.”

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The Golden State ‪#‎Warriors‬ are now 17-0. And they don’t play the ‪#‎Spurs‬ until January….

Iowa’s college football team is 12-0 but no one takes them seriously. Shame that can’t be said of Iowa’s caucuses.

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Yasiel Puig was involved in a brawl in Miami, and reportedly shoved his sister. And MLB is reportedly looking into the situation under their domestic violence policy. Thinking right about now the Dodgers wouldn’t be too heartbroken if Puig were suspended?

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If Jim Harbaugh could have pulled off a win today ‪#‎Michigan‬‘s state pants would have become khakis. ‪#‎OSUvsMich‬

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Lakers’ coach Bryan Scott said of potentially benching Kobe Bryant. “That’s not an option whatsoever.” Because L.A.’s goal this year is to be able to draft the new Kobe Byrant?”

Apparently more than 18,000 people in Singapore have signed a petition calling for the cancellation of Adam Lambert’s New Year’s Eve concert, saying the openly gay singer does not represent values that align with Singapore, Right. Citizens of the city-state should spend their money on more wholesome things like Singapore’s informal red-light district.

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Seriously, apparently people are upset because Reese’s Peanut Butter  Christmas Tree doesn’t look enough like a Christmas tree.

Think these people should be sentenced only to drink from Starbucks’ blank red cups this Christmas season.  And oh yeah, to have to watch Caddyshack at least five times.

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Avoid crowds. Right. When we are too scared to do things we want to do then the bad guys win. F*ck the terrorists.

Not sure which American tradition better illustrates our love of violence this Thanksgiving weekend – football or Black Friday shopping.

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Thought after NFL week 12: Maybe one reason beyond gambling for the popularity of Fan Duel and Draft Kings, is that with at most half a dozen exceptions, fans in most cities are otherwise stuck with just rooting for REALLY mediocre teams.

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Houston beat Navy Friday, 52 to 31, in a statement game that supposedly proved the Cougars belong in a major bowl game. Heck, some might say they even would be respectable against a team from the NFC Least.

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Today even Cowboys fans will be chanting ‪#‎DallasSucks‬

Cleveland coach Mike Pettine, asked about Johnny Manziel, “When I say I’m sorry to disappoint, I’m not really. But I’m just not going there today.
Making the Browns coach if nothing else, smarter than his erstwhile QB.

Retailers were expecting  disappointing Black Friday receipts this year. And not just in Dallas and Green Bay where fans had money on the Cowboys and Packers

From Bill Littlejohn “Relatives of Frank Gifford say that CTE was found in his brain.Preliminary indications are that 80% was due to football and the other 20% due to working with Howard Cosell

(or maybe Kathie Lee…)

At Katz’s delicatessen on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.  And yep. they got it in one sentence.

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Kobe Bryant, after last night’s blowout loss to the Warriors. “My shooting will be better. I could’ve scored 80 tonight. It wouldn’t have made a damn difference. We just have bigger problems.” Uh, if Kobe thinks he could have scored 80, add a possible concussion for him to the Lakers list of problems.

The NCAA has ruled Kansas freshman Cheick Diallo, who arrived in the US in 2012 from Mali, will be eligible to play after a long review of his high school coursework. And at Kentucky they’re going “coursework?”

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Some are now questioning whether Johnny Manziel will ever quarterback in the NFL again. Not just because of his off-field antics, but because he forget the Namath rule – you only get to party that hard when you WIN.

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Red Lobster says they will increase the size of shrimp in some of their dishes. Shocking. Red Lobster uses real shrimp?

The NBA Philadelphia 76ers tonight fell to 0-16. How much longer does the streak have to continue until the 76ers receive at least an invitation to the NIT tournament?

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Dancing With the Stars ‪#‎DWTS‬ crowned a new champion last night. So now America is left with the 2016 Presidential Campaign, aka- Dancing with the Truth.

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The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party proposed a legislative special session on joblessness and poverty in the black community. And a GOP manager tweeted out “MN ‪#‎DFL‬ now propose a ‘special session’ to deal with their self-created ‘‪#‎negroproblem‬.”
The head of the Republican party in the state has apologized. And the tweeter has ended up creating one job, his own. ‪#‎cantfixstupid‬

So the Golden State Warriors broke the NBA record by starting 16-0, with a game against the Lakers. Of course to be fair the Warriors should have been faced with a more difficult chance -like shooting fish in a barrel.

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Stanford is undefeated in these late night games that finish in the wee hours on the east. Time to change the school song to “After midnight?”

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Arizona’s Carson Palmer has been fined $11,576 by the NFL for what he said was a pelvic thrust just to entertain friends in the stands. On a brighter note, Palmer’s just been named the honorary QB of Rocky Horror Picture Show. ‪#‎letsdothetimewarpagain‬

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Early days, but ‪#‎Stanford‬ may lose out on a playoff berth because of fumbled snaps, and ‪#‎Michigan‬ may lose out because of a fumbled punt. I thought baseball was supposed to be the funny game? ‪#‎Thatsfootball‬

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The Michigan Wolverines were 5-7 last year, so far they are 9-2, even with that disastrous game ending punt against MSU. The SF 49ers were 8-8 last year….. ‪#‎MaybeHarbaughcancoachalittlebit‬

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Colin ‪#‎Kaepernick‬ apparently will have shoulder surgery and his year will be over. Making him luckier than ‪#‎49ers‬ season ticket holders.

Good for the Citadel in beating South Carolina, and for FAU almost to beat Florida. The only bad news for both schools, they may not get many futures next year to be a high-priced SEC cupcake.

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I just love watching ‪#‎UrbanMeyer‬ lose. That is all. ‪#‎MSUvsOSU‬

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Some Americans are now apparently fearful of going to Europe and will stay home this year. Where about 100 of us will die every day on the nation’s highways.

Adele apparently has a good marriage and a healthy 2 year old son. So,anyone who bet she’d do happy songs once she got her life together – pay up.

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In New Jersey, a woman leaving a bar drunk spotted a nearby police car, and made a fake 911 call to divert them so she wouldn’t get a DUI. It worked, until she got home and posted about it “lmao.. 2 mins later the cop peals out..silly piggies tricks r for u”
Now that’s snatching a ‪#‎Cantfixstupid‬, and an arrest, out of the jaws of victory.

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Alaska, in the process of legalizing recreational marijuana, is apparently going to allow to people to use pot at stores that sell it – “Dude, is that Russia over there?”