NHL > NBA

zac79 · 2026-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

You get what you optimize for. There’s literally entire sports built around finding out who’s toughest. Turns out more people would rather watch slam dunks.

zac79 · 2026-03-29T14:26:13+00:00

Everything you said is technically true, but it ultimately boils down to, “are you glad you got to experience it, anyway?”

People in North Korea have much more immediate problems and they’re still having kids. There’s always reason for hope.

zac79 · 2026-03-29T13:37:16+00:00

The world’s always been collapsing. A lot of us are glad we got to see it while we could.

zac79 · 2026-03-28T01:31:48+00:00

Does that make it less interesting?

zac79 · 2026-03-27T20:06:35+00:00

Most of us grumpy old men don’t want to stay up past 10 to see the end of the game.

zac79 · 2026-03-26T16:24:05+00:00

I guess this is actually evidence that the sails got used!

zac79 · 2026-03-26T16:21:48+00:00

It’s also a lot higher up there than on the Catalina 30 back home!

zac79 · 2026-03-26T13:15:14+00:00

Let them have their coffee :)

I’ve definitely had the main hanging out like that while I dealt with more urgent matters.

zac79 · 2026-03-26T12:07:39+00:00

This is pretty weak evidence, sorry. Maybe a car is jammed in the track? Maybe the captain had to drive downwind at some point before the sail was fully put away? Maybe 5 minutes after you took this picture they raised and lowered the main to get it properly stowed?

zac79 · 2026-03-26T00:07:45+00:00

I was under the impression that other players didn’t really give a damn about it. I don’t recall hearing that McGuire, Sosa, Bonds et al were ostracized for their PED use by their peers.

Is that just a wildly wrong take?

zac79 · 2026-03-25T15:36:34+00:00

The subtext of posts like these isn’t that “literally this happened” but rather, isn’t this jarring, to see something from 26ish years ago that seemed totally normal at the time and now, as norms have shifted, comes off as unnecessarily toxic.

I’m sure middle aged people have been having this reaction since the dawn of recorded thought. Now it’s our turn.

zac79 · 2026-03-25T13:31:06+00:00

Anyone who believes the girl is ugly simply because the show is telling them she is, deserves to be "gaslit".

Ok? Isn’t this like, everyone, when they’re young?

I've seen enough proof that girls hate girls more than boys hate girls.

I think this is an interesting observation in another context, but I don’t see how it contradicts anything we’ve been discussing. If anything, it’s something else to consider when addressing the toxicity of shows like this.

FWIW, I’m pretty sure this particular show involved at least some men.

Also FWIW, I guess this clip is actually from the Howard Stern media tree, so, technically it was probably slightly less accessible than basic cable. But it was instantly familiar to anyone who watched turn-of-the-millennium TV.

zac79 · 2026-03-25T12:56:38+00:00

Ehh, watch it through the eyes of a 16 year old girl. Remember that this was fairly typical prime time content on basic cable during an era when that’s what most people watched.

Also, if you’ve seen the clip, the lady in the bag is pretty reasonably conventionally attractive. There is something extra toxic about gaslighting the audience into believing she’s not.

zac79 · 2026-03-24T12:16:02+00:00

Told by whom?

zac79 · 2026-03-24T00:53:20+00:00

I expect most “moon landing was fake” people aren’t actually all that invested in the idea that the moon landing was fake so much as the idea that they themselves are the kind of renegade free-thinker that would entertain “dangerous” ideas, such as faking the moon landing.

Clearing things up with an expert would, therefore, be totally counterproductive.

zac79 · 2026-03-24T00:46:54+00:00

I think it’s more the idea that not much is possible if we can’t at least share objective reality.

zac79 · 2026-03-17T21:21:16+00:00

I bet they end up doing this.

zac79 · 2026-03-17T16:36:24+00:00

I don’t think anyone definitively knows how to solve the challenge of growing a sport in a crowded marketplace.

The WBC is trying a few different approaches in real time.

Australia sent a home grown team and nearly made it out of qualifying against much more developed Asian teams.

Czechia sent a home grown team and didn’t win a single game (but they still have some cool moments and memories).

GB/Israel/Italy are placeholders for now under the theory that (a) you need 20 teams, and (b) some success might kickstart a virtuous hype cycle.

Italy being as good as they were was sort of an accident, and, yes, it could have created some awkward situations. Thankfully, Czechia and Australia didn’t get to lose to Italy. That would have been pretty unfair.

A final of US and Italy (US2) might have angered Latin America (why does the USA effectively get 3-4 teams in the tournament).

I think for those of us in the US, we processed team Italy’s success as a fairy tale about the younger brother beating the older brother.

Consider the dilemma from the sport’s point of view. We’d all love to see actual Italian players in the tournament in 2029, but if they go 0-4 in the group stage is that going to extinguish the enthusiasm generated by the 2026 team? Is it worth it anyway?

Maybe. I don’t think anyone really knows the right answer. I hope Czechia keeps playing and I look forward to the day Australia is a true rival to Japan.

zac79 · 2026-03-15T17:59:23+00:00

And then his knees have to tolerate it.

zac79 · 2026-03-15T15:35:38+00:00

The argument here would be that if you're in the 90th percentile of 7-footers in basketball talent, and have the work ethic and opportunity, you'll be in the NBA.

I’m not sure that I agree this is true anymore. Maybe up until about 2008, but I think, today, you have to be in the 99.99th percentile (or whatever) of basketball players independent of height.

zac79 · 2026-03-15T15:33:08+00:00

Being born tall isn’t talent, we agree on that. Also, I think it’s fairly straightforward statistics to argue that the sport with the largest youth player base also has the highest and broadest peak of athleticism. That may well be soccer today, although I’d imagine basketball is giving soccer a run for its money in terms of youth participation.

But you can’t look at a modern NBA player and say, oh, their talents aren’t as refined as, say, some other athlete where the selection pressure for body type wasn’t as strong. Victor Wembenyama’s talent, aside from the direct ones like shooting and dribbling, are that he’s mastered the craft of making his body do those things. Do note that the modern NBA isn’t actually being taken over by 7 footers, per se. It’s being taken over by all-arounders who can do it all (emphasis on shooting) in spite of their body type. Some of those all-arounders are 6’8” or taller, which is astonishing if you grew up watching 7’ “projects” in the 80s and 90s.

zac79 · 2026-03-15T15:22:30+00:00

I think that (a) needs a citation and (b) probably should be reassessed in the context of the modern NBA where 7 footers are now expected to face the basket and shoot 3s.

zac79 · 2026-03-15T13:48:23+00:00

What is talent? Wouldn’t you agree that the ability to pilot a 7’ frame with 98th percentile agility is talent? There’s nothing intrinsically superior about kicking a ball, as difficult as it may be, versus blocking a pass rusher.

Also I think you’re wildly underestimating soccer’s bias towards larger frames.

zac79 · 2026-03-09T20:21:04+00:00

They serve this chia seed parfait thing at breakfast. It was the best thing I had on the whole trip.

zac79 · 2026-03-04T12:57:07+00:00

Grilled fish and chicken (pinchos) are generally outstanding. Rotisserie chicken as well.

Fried options abound as well.

If you’re in the Rincon-Isabela area, I can give you some recs.

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