Left Coast Sports Babe

RIP Orlando Cepeda, 86, less than two weeks after Willie Mays, 93, passed away. Thinking baseball heaven has added enough SF Francisco Giants to their All-Star roster for a while.

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(And if you want to honor Cepeda, the Cha Cha Bowl at Orlando’s Carribbean BBQ is one of the best things at Oracle Park.)

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As the NBA draft concluded, kind of cool that more Americans probably know big names drafted in the WNBA than the NBA for 2024.

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SCOTUS just ruled six-three that the judiciary, not experts who work in government agencies, should be in charge of making regulatory decisions.

So when those six get sick assume they will ask their fellow conservatives for medical advice rather than going to a doctor?

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Nonpolitical rant: Summer started last week – And this week’s Safeway ad has “Early back to school sale.”

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Asked about Trump’s iie that she was responsible for January 6, Nancy Pelosi responded “He thinks I planned my own assassination? He’s sicker than i thought.”

Madame Speaker Emeritus is, as always, badass.

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Thinking back to 2016, remember media making big deal of Trump bringing Bill Clinton’s accusers to one of Donald’s debates w/ Hillary. They barely mention not only did Melania not bother to show up, but also Trump is a felon in part because jury said he DID have sex w/ porn star.

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Buried lede in NY Times anti-Biden editorial. “It is a tragedy that Republicans themselves are not engaged in deeper soul-searching after Thursday’s debate. Mr. Trump’s own performance ought to be regarded as disqualifying.”

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Remember, the NY Times, who now wants President Biden to step down, earlier this year wanted President Biden to sit down for an one-on-one interview but Joe refused…

They haven’t forgiven him…. Same as Maureen Dowd didn’t forgive Obama for blowing her off once.

All the news that’s fit to be petulant.

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NY Times “Former President Trump’s attacks were frequently false, lacked context or were vague enough to be misleading.” Why is it so hard for them them to say these two words “Trump lies”?

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If you needed reminder that far more important than Biden having bad night are 200+ judges Joe & Dems have gotten confirmed:

Supreme Court overturns 1984 Chevron precedent, curbing power of federal government. Want more Biden judges? Or more judges like Alito & Aileen Cannon?

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President Biden will not be on the ballot in 2028

Donald Trump will not be on the ballot in 2028

Whoever is elected President in November, however, will appoint federal judges between now and 2028 who will have lifetime appointments. Vote accordingly.

Sigh, who else saw Luke Jackson coming in the 10th and thought “game over?” #SFGiants

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Can anyone imagine if SCOTUS were asked to rule on treating a medical emergency of a man taking Viagra and having an “erection lasting more than four hours”? They’d have a decision in mens’ favor within four hours

Yes, President Biden had a raspy voice and seemed like he had a bad cold. Not his best performance. But Washington Post headline. “Biden struggles. Trump deflects questions.” Should have at the least been “Biden struggles, Trump lies.”

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A CNN exec in the control room reportedly said “We are very proud of Jake and Dana. Our job was to make sure candidates were heard so voters can make informed decisions and we are pleased we were able to do that.”

Has someone drug tested CNN executives?

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Now I REALLY wish Dana Bash had skipped the debate to announce the women’s Congressional Softball Game as she usually has done last night… She’s good at it, far better than her softball performance as a CNN moderator tonight.

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President Biden says Trump has the morals of an alley cat. Okay, Joe’s first lie of the night. Alley-cats have far better morals than Donald Trump.

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Can someone remind Donald Trump please during this campaign that the people he is now bragging about firing, he HIRED IN THE FIRST PLACE?

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NY Times “Facing Trump’s Misleading Attacks, Biden Appears Shaky at Times.” They have no problem attacking Biden but can’t say “Facing Trump’s LIES?”

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But hey, anyone still on fence about voting in November?

Presidents appoint Federal Justices beyond SCOTUS. Biden has now gotten over 200 judges confirmed & would get probably that many confirmed in 2nd term with a blue Senate. Want more Biden judges? Or judges like Aileen Cannon?

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President Biden stutters & at times sounds old.

Joe’s been a great president and surrounds himself with a strong staff & Dem leaders who he trusts and relies on for advice & counsel

Trump blusters & lies at top of his voice. He listens only to himself. The choice isn’t hard.

Big Caitlin Clark fan but hate this headline. “Clark struggles, Boston exits as Fever routed by Liberty.” Fever got #1 WNBA draft pick for a reason. They were bad. And coming off a back to back.

Liberty were 32-8 in 2023, were expected to beat Las Vegas Aces in finals & are 7-2 in 2024. Give NY women their due.-

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But how cool was it that the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever were on National television – ESPN on Saturday?

Thank you Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

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(And even rookie of the year Wemby couldn’t get the Spurs more than the 4th worst record in the NBA.)

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It’s been 31 years since any team from Canada won Stanley Cup.

And Edmonton Oilers are in NHL finals.

There was the usual nice display of sportsmanship with Dallas Stars shaking hands at end of game. Wonder if Trump or one of his Texas minions will call the Stars “losers” & claim the series was rigged?

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Tonight’s Trump fundraising email…. “A jury just convicted Trump! This is SICK!” No, this is justice.

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Mitt Romney actually said Alvin Bragg should have settled the case against Donald. “as would have been the normal procedure,” instead of bringing it to trial.

Uh, Mitt is not a stupid man. Presumably he knows that to settle a case a defendant has to admit SOME responsibility.

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Meanwhile, as Senate returns this week, Politico headline “Eight Senate Republicans vow to oppose all Biden nominees, Democratic legislation.” The far-right Republicans are led by Mike Lee & include VP wannabes J.D. Vance & Rick Scott. So it’s a day ending in Y?

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GOP pretends they care about issues that matter to Americans. What is House doing? Fighting internally, sabotaging border bills, defending a convicted felon & having performative hearings like next’s week’s attack on Dr Fauci.

Democrats are the party that cares about our lives.

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As we approach the 80th anniversary of D-Day imagine if we had today’s Republicans at the time. GOP would have opposed the invasion, claiming that Hitler guy wasn’t really a threat to us, and because it could have helped FDR against Dewey.

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1st: Donald Trump was convicted in STATE not Federal Court & President Biden had nothing to do with the trial. 2nd:

if Joe Biden was both all-powerful & unscrupulous enough to use courts for his personal gain, wouldn’t you think he’d have made Hunter Biden’s charges go away?

In “As Good as it Gets,” Jack Nicholson says to Helen Hunt “You make me want to be a better man.”

Joe Biden inspires us all to be better men and women.

Watching the increasing level of anti-democracy vitriol from Trump supporters, it’s clear he wants them to be worse.

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Today’s GOP: There’s no problem with supporting Donald Trump, a convicted felon with other pending cases, to be re-elected as Presidentf.

Also today’s GOP: Joe Biden’s unconditional love for his son, who is facing charges from his addict days, makes him unfit to be President.-

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Meanwhile, congratulations to Claudia Sheinbaum, who will become Mexico’s first female president. And Mexico becomes yet another country to leapfrog the United States.

Two big leads lost late in three games. Who do the Indiana Pacers think they are? The NY Mets?

Whatever happens this season, the SF Giants at least won’t have fans turning off the game early.

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It’s less that Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever got their first WNBA win yesterday, against the LA Sparks.., with Clark’s late three being the dagger. But that millions of sports fans and media, actually cared. The #WNBA is for real.

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Washington Post Headline “Trump loudly heckled and booed at Libertarian National Convention.

NY Times “Trump Will Address the Libertarian Convention. Some Members Are Outraged.”

Waiting for them to say how this is bad for President Biden.

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Let’s sum it up for today’s GOP. To be considered as a possible VP candidate for the Republican candidate in 2024 election. You have to promise you won’t accept election results unless you win.

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RFK Jr actually compared wearing a mask to being a slave, and said he’d rather die of COVID than wear one.

So presume he doesn’t wear a seatbelt either?

Washington Post didn’t cover Alito’s upside down flag when they first learned about it in Jan 2021, because they decided it was just his wife’s doing. But Washington Post has no problem covering & amplifying Trump’s lies about Judge Merchan’s daughter.

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As insane as Donald Trump is sometimes, there’s a way in which his insistence he is winning every state makes sense. Because then when he loses in November he can scream “stolen” and get his cult members to try to overturn the election again.

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Can’t be coincidence that today’s Trump fundraising email is to launch his new MAGA flag.

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My father, a professor at Duke, passed away 4 years ago. We didn’t agree on much politically but he’d have appreciated logical falacy that Democrats’ Biden & Merchan are influenced by their adult children, but GOP judges Thomas & Alito pay no attention to their wives’ doings.

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Meanwhile, would President Biden get more attention for his accomplishments if he promised to talk about them in a press conference where he took no questions

The Giants win a game, the Giants win a game! #BeatLA

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SF Giants had signed Curt Casali to a one-year contract on Wednesday after all their recent injuries, including to three of their catchers.)

(Casali is less 2 years older than Buster Posey. Say, didn’t manager Bob Melvin used to catch? )

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SI reports that on May 24 Joe Buck is set to call his first MLB Game in three years, Cardinals-Cubs, with Chip Caray.

“I’ve really missed hearing Joe Buck calling a baseball game” said nobody.

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Am a San Antonio Spurs fan so haven’t been laser-focused on the NBA playoffs. But in a world where Red Sox-Yankees still dominates baseball, seems a bit odd that we are a game away from Boston-New York Eastern Conference final and sports media so far is strangely quiet.

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More trial news out of New York. We have a jury in the Senator Bob Menendez trial. I’m a Democrat, if he’s found guilty he should go to jail. See how easy that is?

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Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis just signed GOP legislation that will make climate change a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes.

Of course as Florida increasingly suffers from climate disasters DeSantis will demand more federal aid.

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Trump responds to backlash over Noem killing her dog: ‘We all have bad weeks.”

You know who wishes they had bad weeks these days? Cricket.

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After Don’s interview aired, Biden campaign statement, “At the Biden campaign, we are proudly anti-puppy-killing & don’t think those who murder puppies are ‘terrific.’”

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Many GOP Senators on Senate Floor Wednesday talking about National Police Week and memoralizing fallen officers.

For some reason none of them mentioned Brian Sicknick.

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Tuesday Biden hit Chinese electric vehicles & chips w/h higher tariffs.

Asked on Trump’s claim China now “eating our lunch” economically, Dark Brandon replied “He’s been feeding them for a long time.”

Little coverage in national media. Would it help if Joe insulted reporters?

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So will Donald Trump ask Hannibal Lecter to attend the first debate?

Media is all over former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan running for U.S. Senate and saying how bipartisan he supposedly is..

Has anyone asked Larry Hogan who he is voting for for President in November?

Tommy Tuberville says attending Trump trial was “‘Most depressing thing I’ve ever been in’ Did Coach Tubby forget about that 2008 36-0 Auburn loss to Alabama? (It was after that year Auburn paid him $5 million to go away)

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So would Senators J.D. Vance and Tommy Tuberville like to explain to their constituents how they are promoting family values by attending the trial of a man charged with election crimes over paying to cover up sex with a porn star?

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Okay. SF Giants manager Bob Melvin said Luis Matos will “get a good shot here” in center field with Jung Hoo Lee out.

Cue a rousing chorus of “I am not throwing away my shot” from Luis Matos. (Three run home run that at the time gave SF Giants a 3-1 lead.)

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Jimmy Carter is 99 years old and I’ll bet he wouldn’t confuse Donald Trump with Braves catcher Chadwick Tromp.

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Donald Trump was attacking President Jimmy Connors. How long until he starts ranting about Senator Chris Evert and DOT Secretary Pete Sampras?

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KC Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker attacked Biden in speech at Benedictine college for being Catholic but pro-abortion. As Trump courts evangelical voters while on trial for paying illegal hush money over sex with a porn-star & his Playboy bunny mistress.

NY Times & other major media love to write about young people being upset with Biden over Mideast. Shame they don’t have time or space to cover Trump’s regular promises to institute Muslim ban, arrest & deport pro-Palestine protesters & his absolute support for Netanyahu.

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New York Times/Siena College nationwide poll last month found that 31% of registered women voters think Trump respects women. Uh, what would Donald he have to do to convince them he doesn’t respect women? Sexually assault someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue?

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Maybe he just went about it wrong. If Bill Clinton had tried to pay hush money to Linda Tripp and others to cover up his affair with Monica Lewinsky would the GOP have supported him?

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Even Stan Barnes, an Arizona GOP strategist gets it on Kari Lake. “She regrettably, has been on record on all sides of abortion issue. And the 1 thing you cannot do in the pro-life, pro-choice argument as a political figure, is to be on more than 1 side.”

Ruben Gallego is an easy choice for Arizona

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Trump fundraising email. “The FILTHY BIDEN JUDGE could throw me in jail at any moment. So before I step back into that New York courtroom tomorrow & face possibility of LIFE IN PRISON, I need to know: Are there any final words you’d like to share with me?” Should we tell him?

Hunter Wendelstedt warned Aaron Boone after the Yankees manager claimed he missed an Oakland A batter swinging at a pitch: ” You got anything else to say, you’re gone.”

Next pitch, a fan behind the dugout yelled at the umpire and Wendestedt ejected Boone.

So Hunter is hard of hearing as well as maybe losing his eyesight.

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Reminds me of a story I read as a child, I think it was about Casey Stengel. When an umpire told his team to zip it and then someone from dugout yelled one more thing. Ump said “You’re out of here.” Stengel said who did you toss? Ump named the player. Casey said ‘Better yell louder than that, I sent him to AAA last week.”

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76ers blew game to Knicks after taking a five-point lead with 47.3 seconds to go.

Hold our beer, said Lakers, up 20 over Nuggets in the 3rd quarter.

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The lawyer for a known liar is basing his defense on calling the defendant’s previous lawyer a liar. Got it.

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Travel agent PSA Trump claims he cannot campaign due to trial. His NYC trial adjourned 1230p. He has 757 plane. Means several important states within 2 hour flight. NH, OH, PA, VA, NC – for starters If Donald weren’t so lazy he could campaign in one & be back tonight.

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Hey CNN, You’re talking this am about Donald Trump not taking opportunities to campaign (he has all afternoon and evening today, plus his own plane) while President Biden is out on the campaign trail. But you don’t COVER Joe Biden on the campaign trail.

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Ditto

No-name Dem Rep. from Minnesota (Dean Phillips) primaries Pres. Biden. Nonstop national coverage.

Senate leader & 2020 Presidential candidate (Amy Klobuchar) is top Biden surrogate again in 2024. and spent much of last weekend opening Biden-Harris field office in New Hampshire

-Crickets from major media.

World according to today’s GOP.

It is critically important that President’s son, who was never elected to office, and admits his mistakes, is former addict who used prostitutes.

But the former President paying off a porn star and paying to kill stories about his mistress – move along, nothing to see here.

Alina Habbas, trying to say Trump did nothing criminal in paying off a porn star. “You hire lawyers to solve problems, lawyers solve those problems. That’s it.” Shame Henry II didn’t have Alina around when he asked about Becket “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”

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Has any media outlet covering the anti-Israel student protests also including the rather important sidebar that Donald Trump has promised, besides his Muslim ban, to revoke student visas for protesters and DEPORT THEM? I’ll wait.-

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Okay who else saw Donald Mustard trending on Twitter today and thought Trump had run out of ketchup bottles?

LA Dodgers have 1/2 billion dollar payroll & will spend more before trade deadline to win.

But for non-Dodgers fans isn’t it fun right now their record is worse than both Milwaukee Brewers & Pittsburgh Pirates? Whose combined payroll is less even without Ohtani deferral. #BeatLA

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Meanwhile, in the most watched WNBA draft ever. (okay, until this year who knew WNBA televised their draft, Caitlin Clark went of course to the Indiana Pacers.

But then the Chicago Sky took both South Carolina center Kamilla Cardose and LSU’s Angel Reece.

Wonder how much Sky-Fever tickets will go for in 2024?

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CNN Breaking News headline “President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have released a joint tax return that shows they made almost $620,000 in 2023.”

Fixed it for them

Wrong headline CNN. Fixed it for you.

“President Joe Biden & Dr. Jill Biden released their 2023 tax return. While former President Trump still refuses to release any tax returns..”

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And yes, your serious reminder at the end of April 15, tax day, that Donald Trump has still never released ANY of his tax returns.

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As Donald Trump whines about his hush money trial meaning he is not able to go to his son’s graduation can some reporter ask him in real time on camera what school Barron attends?

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Has anyone asked Barron Trump if he WANTS his father at his high school graduation?

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We shouldn’t repeat this but sounds like Donald Trump’s nap today lasted longer than what he paid Stormy Daniels for..

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now says that Donald Trump asked him to be his running mate, and he declined. Clearly RFK Jr. has decided to challenge Trump for the votes of those who admire the biggest liars.

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Meanwhile, though it didn’t get the headlines. Few issues are more bipartisan than fairness in pricing and availability for concert/event tickets.

Senator Amy Klobuchar even has Mike Lee on her side against Ticketmaster’s monopoly. And now Biden’s DOJ has clearly beens listening as Ticketmaster will face federal antitrust lawsuit:…

Competence isn’t clickbait.

Thinking only four games into the MLB season and Houston Astros fans are missing Dusty Baker already.

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SF Giants gave Joey Bart plenty of chances. Having said that Bart might have been forgiven for smiling just a bit at the result from the man who took his roster spot today. Ugh.

“Joey Bart designated for assignment, RHP Daulton Jefferies added to 40-man roster.”

Jeffries was the SF Giants starting pitcher today. Gave up 9 runs, 6 earned, in 2 innings….

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The NCAA has announced 3-point lines in Portland for the regional women’s basketball tournament were “not the same distance.” They declined to say how far off.. And four games were played before it was announced.

SF Chronicle, however, reported that one was the correct distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches that was adopted for the 2021-22 season, and the other was the old 3-point distance of 20 feet, 9½ inches. Over 16 inches difference.

If only the NCAA were an organization that could afford to hire people to get details right. #sarcasm

–https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/impact-divergent-3-point-distances-portland-19378182.php

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Trump violates gag order in hush money case by REPEATED attacking judge’s daughter, with pictures which make her a MAGA target: Fox News headline is all about Nicole Wallace: “MSNBC host angrily throws her script during show in reaction to Trump calling out judge’s daughter.”

Republican Mark Esper, Trump’s former Sec of Defense told Bill Maher “There’s no way I’ll vote for Trump, but every day that Trump does something crazy, the door to voting for Biden opens a little bit more, and that’s where I’m at.” It’s a start.

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House and Senate on vacation for Easter. But has a single GOP member of Congress condemned Trump posting a picture of a kidnapped and bound President Biden. Getting tired of using the line – “I’ll wait.”

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CNN actually gets a headline right. This shouldn’t be that much of a shock. “Republicans slam Biden for proclaiming Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter, though it’s yearly observed on March 31.”

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So next year Easter, April 20, is on Hitler’s birthday. Waiting to see how GOP will blame President Biden for that too.