Left Coast Sports Babe

So just the Rose Bowl we all expected. A USC team that lost to Stanford by 17 against a Penn State team that lost to Michigan by 39.

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Well phooey, I was expecting the #RoseBowl to go at least into quadruple overtime.

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If you’re going to miss two field goal attempts in the Rose Bowl, might as well make the last one. #USC

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Happiest people in Vegas starting about half-time were those who bet the #RoseBowl “over”, which is 62. #Wedontneednostinkindefense #PennState #USC

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Both USC and Penn State offenses in Rose Bowl looked like men against boys. #bustohell

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Give Lane Kiffin credit, anyone can be fired from a losing team, how many people can get fired, or ask to leave early, on an undefeated team one game from the national championship.

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A spokeswoman for Dick Clark Productions says allegations that Mariah Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance was intentionally sabotaged are “defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.”
She’s right; if they wanted to do any sabotage for ratings would have made more sense for a wardrobe malfunction.

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In France, a new law mandates workers’ “right to disconnect.”  The law requires companies with more than 50 employees to establish hours when staff should not send or answer emails
At this point France may need to consider a wall to keep potential Americans immigrants out

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Hadn’t heard of her but like her style: British singer Rebecca Ferguson will perform at Trump’s inauguration on one condition- that she can sing “Strange Fruit,”  a 1937 protest song.

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Trump playing the skeptic re allegations against Russia, “I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else.”
Did Putin tell him to say that?

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The House GOP defied chair Paul Ryan and quickly voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics tonight. Among other things the proposal would would bar the panel from reviewing any violation of criminal law by members of Congress, accept anonymous reports of Congressional wrongdoing, and make any public statements or hire any communications staff.
Right, because we shouldn’t disturb all those fragile new alligators in the swamp?

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In Texas, a homeowner fatally shot a guest at a New Year’s Eve party. KHOU-TV reported that “the owner claimed that a fight erupted between him and the drunken man when he refused to leave, adding that he had no choice but to shoot.”
Your move, Florida.

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T.C’s New Year’s thought  “Happy 2017 Everyone! I see that Donald will be writing his own Inaugural speech… and Mariah Carey will be proof reading it.”

On a positive note, #BettyWhite survived 2016!

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And 49ers, Browns and Rams fans don’t have to suffer watching their teams anymore until Fall 2017.

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A Texas state representative is recovering after being shot in the head by a stray bullet after a New Year’s Eve get-together at a home with friends and family. #GodBlessTexas #Ifonlyhewerearmed

The SF 49ers have fired Chip Kelly. Wonder who Jed York will now sign to a 3-year contract to be the team’s next interim coach?

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A plane is towing a banner today in Santa Clara: “Levi’s Stadium – The House That Harbaugh Built.” Well, the team sucks but at least 49ers fans are still in good form.

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Trent Baalke said his firing was “the right thing to do.” Well, for the first time in years the 49ers GM was correct.

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Just as well #Browns lost, #49ers with #1 draft pick would be like dog actually catching a car – they wouldn’t know what to do with it

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Wonder if Brett Favre is calling the Raiders, who’ve now lost two QBs to injury in two weeks, to say “I’m available.”

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The NY Jets would like to thank both Bills and Mariah Carey for making sure that this weekend they weren’t the most embarrassing thing in New York.

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The Bills gave up a touchdown today against the Jets on a NY kickoff, when both returners became confused and backed away from a live ball in the end zone….which they should have done if it were a PUNT. Well, it’s only week 17 so maybe a bit too early for players to really know the rules?

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The Washington Redskins today fell out of the playoff picture. I’m confused, do we blame Trump or Obama?

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If Dick Clark weren’t already dead, Mariah Carey’s performance last night might have killed him.

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Mariah Carey apparently thinks her New Year’s Eve performance was sabotaged so ABC could get better ratings. Wow, that’s paranoid enough against the media that Mariah maybe really should be singing at the Inaugural.

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Donald Trump’s press secretary isn’t happy with the American public; “instead of trying to mock him or undermine him, it’s time that people started to give him credit for actually getting things done.”
Uh, but okay, Obama’s still President, Trump hasn’t actually gotten anything “done” yet.
But rest assured, the American people are ready on January 21, for better or worse.

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And to end on a cheerful note:  Again, happy new year.  May your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions

Not often as a Californian for nearly 40 yrs, I ever admit any East Coast supremacy. But they did make it to 2017 first.

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Mariah Carey didn’t really melt down during New Year’s Eve Times Square show; she just wanted to send 2016 off in an appropriate way.

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But really, #2017withMariah.  Was this supposed to make us feel less awful about 2016?

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On a bright note for football fans up in Washington at least today’s loss didn’t come down to an inexplicable and heartbreakingly stupid play call by Pete Carroll.

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And while Washington was widely anticipated not to be worthy of being in the same playoff game against Alabama lost, they didn’t even come close to the most embarrassing performance of the day.

But of course, nothing is  Urban Meyer’s fault.

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49ers are reportedly going to fire both Chip Kelly and Trent Baalke, in theory to clean house. But kind of hard to clean a house that’s still on the same rotten foundation. #JedYork

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Saw a complaint that President Obama has played 66 rounds of golf this year. How long until Americans start begging Trump to go play golf?

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Just trying to imagine what GOP would be saying if a Democratic President-Elect was defending Russia against our intelligence services?

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Really, are there any more surprises w/ @realDonaldTrump & Putin now?. Maybe some wonder what they’ll get each other for #ValentinesDay.

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Reports are that Trump is considering corporate lawyer George Conway as solicitor general. While Conway has little of the usual government experience, he is married to Kellyanne Conway.
Is this another of those moments where we put down the novel or turn off the movie as too implausible?

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The latest fake news on Obama is that he is anti-semitic. Given all that he’s been accused of amazed he’s been elected – twice.

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President-elect Donald Trump ““If you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old fashioned way because I’ll tell you what, no computer is safe.”
Well he and his friends ought to know.

The 49ers voted the most Len Eshmont, for the most “inspirational and courageous” player in 2016, to Colin Kaepernick. Well, it’s not like anyone deserved it for actual play on the field.

Reports are that Trump is considering corporate lawyer George Conway as solicitor general. While Conway has little of the usual government experience, he is married to Kellyanne Conway.
Is this another of those moments where we put down the novel or turn off the movie as too implausible?

Really, are there any more surprises w/ @realDonaldTrump & Putin now?. Maybe some wonder what they’ll get each other for #ValentinesDay.

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Stanford QB Keller Chryst injured his right knee in the 1st quarter of the Sun Bowl. And I am sure Christian McCaffrey both feels both very sorry and very vindicated.

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And yes, Stanford survived by 2 against North Carolina. But can the Cardinal hire a special coach in future just for the fourth quarter?    #Toomanymeltdowns  #RoseBowl #FiestaBowl …..

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Sarah Palin has called on Trump to leave the UN. And she’ll then do her part by keeping an eye on Russia from her house?

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Bristol Palin wrote a blog post attacking “A-listers” who have refused to perform at Trump’s inaugural, and saying Hollywood is chock-full of “sissies.”
Is Bristol really just upset Trump hasn’t asked her to perform a dance?

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After President Obama expelled 35 diplomats, Russia has vowed to retaliate. Wonder they are threatening – to interfere w/ our elections?

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Donald Trump’s tweet on Putin’s decision not to respond with sanctions to Obama’s sanctions “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!”
Or at least Putin can count the days until January 21?

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In California, prosecutor dropped a DUI charge from last year against a man who tested positive for nothing more than caffeine. Based on experience with my friends and family members, the bigger danger is many people driving WITHOUT caffeine.

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In a British plan to cut accidents on the road, new young drivers might be forced to spend 120 hours on the road with supervised practice before getting their licenses.
If they seriously want to cut accidents, how about a plan to have older drivers who are relatively new to smartphones also spend supervised time driving with their phone in the car?

A women singer from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has resigned from the group saying that “Looking from the outside in, it will appear that Choir is endorsing tyranny and racism by singing for this man… and she “could never look myself in the mirror again with self-respect” if she performed at Trump’s inaugural.
Well, yeah, we all know those crazy liberal Mormons.
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Horrible story for any parents. But a Texas couple is suing Apple after their daughter was killed in an accident they say was caused by a driver using the FaceTime app while driving.
Have to wonder, would they sue a gun manufacturer if she was killed by someone accidentally firing a gun?

Okay, we all agree 2016 has sucked in a lot of ways. But in a year when “Loving” is a likely “Best Picture” nominee, nice to know the US has made some progress. Congrats to Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian.

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Robert Hulseman, 84, has died. He invented the Red Solo Cup. Not sure what they will be serving at his funeral, but we sure know in what they will be serving it. #cheers

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Lin-Manuel Miranda, asked by a British interviewer about bringing Hamilton to London in 2018: “It’s a rap musical about the Founding Fathers of America -are you worried that the British won’t know much about the subject? “Can I tell you a dirty secret? Most Americans don’t know either.”

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Carrie Fisher, who never got an Oscar nomination, “I’ve waited my entire life to get an award for something, anything. I now get awards all the time for being mentally ill. It”s better than being bad at being insane, right? How tragic would it be to be runner-up for Bipolar Woman of the Year?”. #oneofakind

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Explanation for the younger generation about Debbie Reynolds: Once upon a time she was America’s Sweetheart, blonde, pretty and supposedly in a perfect marriage with another celebrity, Eddie Fisher. Except that he left her for a beautiful thrice-married exotic woman, a woman who would later leave him.
Yep, in short, Jennifer Aniston and Brangelina in the late 1950s. (Although Debbie and Eddie had two children, one of them  Carrie Fisher.)

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Apparently @realDonaldTrump is writing his own inaugural speech. Presumably 140 characters at a time?

Trump on Russian hacking -“”I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly “The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what is going on. And we have speed — we have a lot of other things, but I’m not sure we have the kind of security we need.”
Okay, fine, take out the word “computers” and substitute “guns.”

Open note to 2016. There’s still time, you could kill off an actual a**hole or two.

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Cheery words to look forward to at the end of a tough year – “Pitchers and catchers report…”

Some fans are upset that some college football players have chosen to skip 2016 bowl games. Of course, do challenge the average fan at this point if they can REMEMBER any 2016 bowl games.

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QBs often give their offensive lines Christmas gifts, and this year is no exception. Eagles rookie Carson Wentz.gave each of his linemen an engraved Beretta shotgun. Maybe to protect themselves from Philly fans? #whatcouldpossiblygowrong?

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Men/women quotes of the year from the UK Times, following the break-up of Iggy Azalea and Nick Young:
Azalea on Instagram: “Unfortunately although I love Nick and have tried and tried to rebuild my trust in him, it’s become apparent in the last few weeks I am unable to. I genuinely wish Nick the best. It’s never easy to part ways with the person you planned your entire future with but futures can be rewritten and as of today mine is a blank page.”
Young on Twitter: “Single.”

History lesson for those who believe cinematic life began with Star Wars. Yes, Carrie Fisher was Princess Leia. But her father was Eddie Fisher, an incredibly popular pop singer in the early 1950s. Her mother, Debbie Reynolds, a 1950s film star. Both had their own TV shows. But their marriage broke up when Fisher had an affair with Reynolds’ good friend, who he later married, a woman named Elizabeth Taylor….
The breakup was also major news in the days BEFORE social media….. Amazing in some ways Carrie survived as long as she did.

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Thousands of people signed a petition demanding a Hunter College professor be fired after his husband heckled Ivanka Trump on a JetBlue flight..
So to show that in this country we shouldn’t bother family members, we want to fire the heckler’s family member?

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Apparently President-Elect Trump wasn’t very happy with the interview with Obama said he would have won a third term. This tweet “President Obama campaigned hard (and personally) in the very important swing states, and lost.The voters wanted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Okay, whatever you think of Trump, can you imagine his tweets if he had actually LOST? (or if we simply didn’t have the electoral college.)

You know 2016 has been a long year when you wake up and are just glad not to see yet another headline about somebody dying.  And DAMN IT CARRIE FISHER.

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Another thing that sucks about 2016. It is bad enough to lose aging icons. It is worse to lose icons who are more or less your age.

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The NBA now says that LeBron James’ dunk with 1:43 remaining in the Cavs-Warriors game should have resulted in a technical foul for “deliberately hanging on the rim” after the dunk was completed.
So what’s more surprising, that they admitted it at all, or that the league acknowledges a superstar should ever be called for anything?
What’s next, actual traveling violations?

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Some fans chanted “We want Romo,” and “Tony, Tony, Tony,” during the 2nd half of last night’s Cowboys win in Arlington. Presumably the chants were from Lions fans?

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In Santa Monica, a synagogue door was smeared with feces and food in an apparent antisemitic attack on the first night of Chanukah So is it a war on Chanukah now too?

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Thinking for #Hanukkah really to become a major U.S. holiday we need to come up w/ one standard spelling. #Chanukah

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Malls across the U.S. were evacuated due to after-Christmas brawls. Although while police were called there are no reports of serious injury. #Ifonlytheshopperswerearmed

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That “special relationship” is going so well. Headline in London Times “Use Brexit to steal UK trade says Trump aide.” The story notes how “Wilbur Ross, the billionaire incoming commerce secretary” has called Brexit a “God-given opportunity.” for the U.K’s rivals, including the US.
Well, at least we have Russia…. Sigh.

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An interesting side note from President Obama’s news conference about the election, and one I hope future Democratic nominees might heed. (I HATE HATE HATE the prevent defense.) :
“If you think you’re winning, then you have a tendency, just like in sports, maybe to play it safer.”

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John McCain, showing signs of why he used to be every Democrat’s favorite Republican, on the alleged Russian hacking: “If they are able to undermine an election, they’re able to undermine democracy”
Of course to be fair, perhaps there is a bit of sour grapes that the election they didn’t hack was 2008?

Happy boxing day. To those who observe. And to those who don’t. Happy after-Christmas sale day.

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So at the malls are the Valentine’s Day decorations up yet?

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Steve Kerr last night after #Warriors loss to #Cavs – Curry “could make better decisions.” @NBA version of #Firstworldproblems

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Defensive tackle Dontari Poe just threw a TD pass last night for the Chiefs.  No it’s not just that you’ve had too much eggnog. #DENvsKC

You know 2016 has been a long year when you wake up and are just glad not to see yet another headline about somebody dying.

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Oops, Sarah Michelle Gellar tweeted out “Do u really want to hurt me? I guess you do 2016 – #ripboygeorge” Guess these 50 something English white boy rockers all look alike?

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The Cavs’ Richard Jefferson got a technical foul yesterday for winking at the Warriors’ Kevin Durant yesterday. Winking?! Even the No Fun League thinks that might be overkill.

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Best wishes to Queen Elizabeth II, who has a bad cold and was unable to make the traditional Christmas morning service near her Sandringham estate, which gives locals a rare glimpse of their Queen. Alas there wasn’t time to call Elton John to substitute.

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On a brighter note,  while  we’ve lost so many in 2016. But Keith Richards has announced he is just going to live forever.

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The latest RIP is #GeorgeMichael. Never was a huge fan but so ready to be done with 2016. #toomanylosses

Six NBA games on Christmas. Well, at least it makes it easier for players, who don’t have to decide about spending the holiday with which mother of their children.

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And the Spurs won. But in  his usual spirit, wonder how tempted Gregg Popovich was to give half his team the day off? #Bulls #Spurs #SpursXmas

Weird Christmas good news. Residents of city of Augsburg, near Munich, were able to return to their homes on Christmas night at 7p after being evacuated at 10a so experts could defuse a bomb.
Sign of the times we live in? Well, not exactly; the bomb was from World War II.

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So now we are FINALLY done with the “last chance for Christmas” marketing emails.  The post-Christmas sales start tonight.

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In all seriousness for a change, hope all my friends and readers have had a merry Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate. One of the things I most celebrate this year is friendship, and connecting with people of all kinds of different views. If you are reading this,  you probably agree with me on some things, and disagree on others. And you probably think sometimes that I am crazy.  But I value you all and am grateful you take the time to read and interact.

And oh yeah, happy humbug from Xena, aka the Voodoo Cat

Santa’s on his way. Let’s hope next year that a bearded guy from overseas with an announced plan to invade the houses of all Americans with children isn’t put on the no-fly list. #sleightohell

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At a Jersey City Mall, apparently a wild brawl broke out between shoppers last night, with Santa and kids waiting to see him nearby. Police were called, although there are no reports on arrests. #Ifonlytheywerearmed

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Christmas miracle for @49ers could be a number 1 draft pick. #Browns win! Browns win! Browns win!

So the @49ers can’t even accept the gift of a #1 draft pick?

Makes a certain amount of sense, neither Chip Kelly nor Colin Kaepernick is likely to be with the SF 49ers next year, so they might as well keep the team from getting the #1 draft pick on their way out.

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Presumably Los Angeles is calling St. Louis asking if they want the Rams back.

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So how did this @Rams team ever win four games? #SFvsLA

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Michael Floyd, who now says he has “learned” from his DUI, is active today for the Patriots. So what has Floyd learned? If you can play Bill Belichick doesn’t care what you do off the field?

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Okay, really? The guy who harrassed Ivanka Trump on a plane was wrong. But so now her supporters are slamming his husband’s book on Amazon as revenge. Can folks just grow the f*ck up?

Sidney Drell, 90, a long-time advisor to Presidents on nuclear weapons, has died. Let’s hope it wasn’t Trump’s tweets this week that killed him.

Donald Trump said today he is dissolving the Trump Foundation. I’m sure the fact that the foundation was under investigation by the NY State Attorney General’s office had nothing to do with it.

Minnesota Vikings had a fine flight today but then plane landed and slid off the taxiway. Perfect metaphor for the team’s season.

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Tiger Woods playing golf today w/h Donald Trump. So even President-Elect couldn’t help Tiger make the cut to play on a weekend?

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A Virgin America red-eye flight from San Francisco to Boston almost made a emergency landing when it was discovered one passenger had named their wi-fi hot spot “Samsung Galaxy Note 7_1097”
Someone, who didn’t have an actual Galaxy Note 7, finally fessed up after the captain made announcements, including “This isn’t a joke. We’re going to turn on the lights (it’s 11pm) and search everyone’s bag until we find it.”
Can you be put on the no-fly list for being stupid?

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Grinch alert: Starting in January, British Airways will charge for all food and drink on short-haul flights in economy class. Passengers who hope to get around this by bringing their own instant coffee or tea bags will be out of luck, however, as the airline WILL charge for hot water in a cup.
Most people’s reaction “That’s absurd.” U.S. airlines’ reaction: “How do we do that?”.

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Uh oh, the Airtrain connector from Newark Airport broke down this afternoon so many people couldn’t make their flights. Did someone connected with the airport piss off Chris Christie?

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The Rockettes have reportedly been ordered to perform at Trump’s inaugural, and those who refuse will be fired. Makes a certain amount of sense – showcasing women who are being told what they MUST do with their bodies.

Now @realDonaldTrump is furious that his son Eric cannot have donors “pay to play” for his foundation. Does this even need a punchline?

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Trump’s latest tweet. “Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: “In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity.” So true!”
So being dignified would be for Hillary to have said up front she might not have accepted the results of the election?

In Kentucky, Ken Ham, the founder of the Ark Encounter, a life-sized Noah’s Ark replica, lit it up in rainbow lights, and said “Sadly, people ignore what God intended the rainbow to represent,” which was His “covenant with Noah,” and not “freedom, love, pride or the LGBTQ movement,”
Chris Hartman, director of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign, decried the statement, but added “It makes the ark look incredibly gay.” #GodBlessAmerica

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Well, damn, reports are that #CarrieFisher suffered a massive heart attack on a flight from London to LAX. May the force be with her.

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One more comment on the Ivanka plane issue. Here’s my feeling, if someone is acting in a political capacity at a speech or fundraiser, then civil protest is reasonable. If someone is “off-duty,” then we should just all be nice.
Quite an old story but I once was a waitress at Stanford for a dinner that Casper Weinberger was attending. We were all vetted by Secret Service in advance. At the time I hated everything he was doing. But as a friend and I discussed, we were students but we were also professionals, and we treated him nicely. Funniest thing in retrospect, here there were half a dozen agents at the dinner, plus the vetting, but when I went around with coffee, Weinberger asked “could I have tea, if it’s not too much trouble.” Nice man. Horrible policies. But I did my job, and felt good about it.

The college football bowl season statts today, December 17. And if you are not an alum of one of the teams playing today, and you REALLY care, you just might have a problem.

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Former NFL V.P of officiating Mike Peirera insists now that refs regularly get assistance and advice from replay officials via their wireless headsets, before any challenges might be issued. This would be a violation of league rules. The NFL is less than transparent and honest? I am shocked. Next thing Periera will allege is that there is gambling in Las Vegas.

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Many Stanford fans were upset because the Holiday Bowl bypassed the higher rated Cardinal for Washington State, mostly because they expected more WSU fans to travel to the game. (Even though San Diego is an attractive destination and Stanford has never been.)
Now the bowl is facing a potential boycott by Minnesota players over the suspension of 10 teammates.
I suppose it would be wrong to enjoy this mess just a little

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So can anyone tell me real difference between a business sending you an e-card & sending other ad spam? Yeah, me neither.

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That moment when you shudder to hear as a now Northern Californian that the temperature is going to drop into the low 40s. And then you remember why you decided never to move back to the east coast.

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Trump tweet this morning “Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?”
Leaving aside the veracity of the accusation, so if someone can hack into any emails and discover something potentially untoward, that’s okay then? Is Trump issuing a challenge to liberal hackers?

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Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced yesterday in a press conference that a 5-year investigation “proved” that President Obama’s birth certificate is a fake & highlighted what they called “9 points of forgery” on the document, which focused on the angles of date stamps, typed letters and words.
What’s Arpaio trying to do, get an appointment in the Trump administration for making the President-elect look sane by comparison?