Beech27

That utility belt is even more illegal than the flak jackets always probably should have been.

I expect you're right, but have managed to convince myself otherwise.

I've heard as many as 15,000 were on hand to watch in Kansas City's downtown viewing party. Being among them, it was certainly hard to tell. Amazing atmosphere, in any case. Predictably nuts for the final goal, given the delivery by Zusi. A great time, and a great result. Not at all a great performance, but oh well. On to Sunday, when we'll hopefully have more of the ball.

I'm 26. Few things make me feel older than shows with opening bands that attract the high school crowd. The moshing confuses me. As does the techno/pop infusion. But I can't complain. I was one of the metalcore kids a decade ago, going to see Darkest Hour, Black Dahlia Murder, etc.

I think it depends also on what they consider failing. I mean I reached my peak weight back in 2009 and even though I have yo-yoed a bit since then I've never come even within 20 pounds of that peak weight. Currently I am 70 pounds under it, but if I gain say 10 pounds back does that count as a failure? I think that more than the percentage they mention lose weight overall, even if they don't maintain their lowest weight. I think it's also worth noting that basically all relevant health markers improve when the usual diet/exercise tandem is usefully deployed. There are benefits beyond the aesthetic.

Saw him in Lawrence, at a much smaller venue. Worth it, if he's in the mood to please. For us, he was - although a few other tour stops haven't been so lucky.

Something I'd be curious to know: Do NBA teams use default sports drink formulations? Or do they customize the electrolyte balance and osmolarity by player? I'd think that they must. Given that, it seems odd to me that his cramping problems persist, since it would be the easiest thing to create a customized sports drink for Lebron's sweat rate. Leg cramps do also frequently arise from muscle damage, which is why we see them at the end of endurance races, even when the temperature isn't extreme. Possible Lebron just plays so much - and always with so much "fast twitch" emphasis - that his leg muscles give out sometimes? Can't say. The exact mechanisms behind cramping are still debated and studied intensely. Certainly Miami isn't lacking in resources or motivation to find a solution, however. An aside: I've had 3 stress fractures, and a few other of the usual assortment of runner's injuries. By far the most painful and debilitating of those, however, were calf cramps I suffered at the tail end of a trail 50K (in Kansas, in July). You can "play through" a lot of painful things. But when severe cramps hit, no amount of "grit" will fix the problem. When your muscles quit, they quit. That's it. You're done. I'm pretty confident all the twitter warriors out tonight haven't experienced a similar sensation.

DB is now the first athlete for whom I'll openly advocate steroid usage. The true recovery secret of star athletes everywhere.

On one hand, I understand that the narrative utility of The Shield, as a unit, has been all but exhausted. On the other hand...

I didn't hate the story of the cage match; I hated that the story had one major beat, and repeated it seemingly ad infinitum.

Sam Elliott, you guys, Sam Elliott.

I was, somehow, disappointed that RVD didn't spike himself more severely on that impromptu Tiger Driver '91. This makes me a bad person, probably, but I'm okay with that.

Walking down Mass St tonight, bumped into Ricky Rubio. I'm impressed with Bill's response to our Naadir Tharpe problem.

Frankly, as a gay guy, I was relieved to learn that queering didn't make the world work. That's a lot of pressure I don't have to deal with.

Screamed like a 14-year-old the whole night, with several especially shit-losing moments. Got high fived by Bryan post-match, and flipped off by Batista right before that. Don't expect I could have more fun at a show.

More than anything he's done in-ring, that post match promo showed Reigns' star stuff. Just magnificent.

I'll be driving down for 'Mania. Although I've been to New Orleans, that was in 2003, when KU went to the Final Four. I was 14 then, so the city has a fair bit more to offer me now than it did then... in theory. I do recall my friend and I getting buzzed to hell on Red Bull and the Folgers in our hotel room, then heading out to Bourban Street and easily buying beer, getting crazy drunk, puking in the hotel room, and then, the next night, watching Gerry Fucking McNamara ruin everything. So... probably a more tame time, at 25, actually, though I am going with the same friend.

Here's a scholarly journal on black metal theory.

I don't think Wichita State is undeserving of their ranking, or of a number one seed, should they get it. And I seriously doubt they'll get trounced by a so-so team from a major conference; they defend too consistently for that. I wouldn't mind seeing them get knocked out early, however, since I'd really rather KU avoid them. Wichita St would have ample motivation, given the perception (which just so happens to be true) that KU is ducking them, while Self basically gives the "B+ player" speech. Plus, you know, we've got a bit of history with Missouri Valley teams, which I don't want to talk about.

I'm not sure I can describe how much that quote makes me laugh. Funny thing though, in basically the next breath, he said Manziel is the best college quarterback he's ever seen.

At this point, I hope they just go through with the world title match as is, and we get some good trainwreck TV. Short of Bryan winning the title - which I've given up on - that's my preferred outcome. Because I'm spiteful.

Oh, and FYI, 7 years ago, Jack Burkman was named as one of the DC Madam's clients AND was named by 2 prostitutes who use Craigslist. Every mom in the country? Good to see fundamentalist dickwads are still so in touch with what all women believe... just don't, you know, ask them. Better to let a bitter old WASP tell us. Also, presented without comment: KU is the only BCS team without a single player at the combine. Okay, well, one comment: Fuck. We're terrible.

Isn't that basically the case for every high first round pick though? The goal in that range is always "special", regardless of position. Not the best example, given the lack of media focus on either player, but: Living near Kansas City, I've been exposed to endless hand-wringing by the local media about how you can't draft a defensive/offensive tackle "that high" unless you know he's going to be great. Both Poe and Fisher also raised the "workout warrior" and "weak competition" red flags. Manziel has his supposed maturity issues and sub-optimal size, which to be sure, people will harp on if he isn't great. They'll forget about them if he is. Same goes for every quarterback, and every player. If Bortles or Clowney are awful, no one will forgive the GM that drafted them just because they have great size and measurables.

I... feel kinda good about Missouri now? This is weird.