Catwhoshatinthehat

I'm guessing enough casual fans still go to the stadium to take selfies and play on their phones that Arte's bottom line will be just fine. I'm also guessing most of the people on here who are pissed off that the Angels may not bring in Clyde McBigbat via FA will still tune in and/or attend enough games to help Arte's bottom line.

I didn't go into this off season with any expectations so if they don't do anything big from here on out I'm not going to be disappointed or surprised. I definitely believe Arte wants to win but at the same time it's a business/investment that's been quite good to him and I think from that perspective it will continue to do well next year. I do agree that if they don't do something to help the offense before the season the Simmons trade is a head scratcher considering they gave up their best trade piece.

Part of me envisioned you with your feet up on the desk posting on your phone while saying "quiet you little bastards I'm telling someone how hard I work."

All I could think while Tank was posting is that I hope he's not doing it from school but then I realized it's probably Christmas break. That type of thing doesn't dawn on you right away when you don't have kids, don't work at a school and have been out of school for 10+ years.

Edited based on what they can make.

Congrats to Denver for holding onto the 1 seed in the AFC for all of 3 hours. I was out this morning so I could catch the 12 10am games and figured Denver/Oakland would be on TV when I got home but instead we got GB/Dallas. I realize mathematically Dallas is in the playoff hunt because they're in the worst division in football but without Romo they're pretty much worthless and as much as I like watching them lose their games are un-watchable. I agree right now there isn't a clear cut team in the AFC that's head and shoulders above the rest. When NE gets healthy and gets Edelman back I think they're the team to beat especially since the road to the superbowl should go through Foxboro but they've had a lot of injuries on D. Meanwhile in the NFC Carolina steamrolled Atlanta to get to 13-0 but I still don't see them as being a team that should be 13-0. I'm not trying to take anything away from them but it seems like smoke and mirrors until they do it in the playoffs. Luckily for them every other team in the NFC that's in the hunt is far from complete - GB isn't the same without Nelson, Seattle's offense has been on fire but they're now without Rawls and Graham for the year and need Lynch to come back and be effective while the NFC east winner may not even be .500 in the regular season.

The lower the income the higher the birth rate in the US and I'm guessing that holds true for most of the rest of the world. Level of education as a whole is lower for individuals who come from backgrounds where their parents have at most a high school diploma so the highest birth rates come from people with the lowest level of education while many never break out of that cycle. I think that goes back to what Adam and AngelsLongBall hit on which is the fact that quite a few people applying for jobs don't even have the most basic of skills to get what in some cases is an entry level job. As far as people overproducing as a whole yes the world population continues to grow but the national birth rate in the US is lower than what's considered necessary to grow the population which is one thing that supports immigration. That's something Japan has been dealing with for years and is now seeing the repercussions of with an aging population but I believe their immigration policies are quite a bit different which has compounded their problems. Mathematically speaking even quite a few middle class families who think they're getting more than they put in may not be when they have kids in school. In CA the cost of publication education is just shy of 10K per kid so a family with 2 kids in school is receiving 20K in benefits each year while their kids are in the public school system.

The middle class gets screwed no matter who gets elected or who holds the power. Measures and taxes aimed at the rich who can afford the best tax guys money can buy get passed then when revenues disappoint the middle class gets hit the hardest. Meanwhile those paying nothing in income taxes (note I didn't say taxes because someone will inevitably point out that they pay gas/sales//etc. taxes) which represents over half of what the government brings in any given year have little or no skin in the game and some actually have a negative income tax rate after tax credits. Simplify the tax code, stop squeezing the middle class and reduce the size and funding of the federal government while giving more power to the states to govern. I don't count on the states doing it much better but it sure would be nice if they could try without some of the ridiculous requirements and laws the feds have in place.

This definitely fills a need and was realistically the type of move they needed to make because not every move is signing Clyde McBigBat.

Using that rationale I think the Cubs would be more appealing with Rizzo, Bryant, Schwarber, Soler, etc. Adding Heyward would give them quite a few young guys who are all-star level players and could help them contend for the next 5 or so years. Last year the Cubs and Cardinals both won more games than the Angels and made the playoffs so it's not like the Angels are in the running against some last place team who is throwing a lot of money at a FA.

I think the big OF'ers available have multiple teams that are interested. Once we see the first one sign and set the market then the other dominoes will fall.

I know Santiago isn't the most popular guy around here but he has more value than swing guy out of the bullpen. If that's what the Angels have in mind for him so be it but it would be a waste of his value considering that he can start for other teams.

I think for most people a fitbit or similar tracker helps because it reminds you that you need to move more. I sit in front of a computer screen for a living and when I get busy I can lose track of time. I go to the gym mid-day 4-5 days during the week but sitting for hours at a time isn't good for multiple reasons. Having a fitbit helps remind me to take breaks and go for walks which helps clear my head. It's not the end all be all but it's part of the move more and eat less equation.

I went to a conference some years back where the keynote speaker was a former congress member and he said the best thing any politician could do for the country is act like they're in their last term (some were since one side was about to lose seats) and do what's best for the country. Unfortunately they all just continue to toe the party line to help out the next candidate rather than do what's best for the country.. As to Obama nothing he says instills any kind of confidence in me. I'm not saying someone who's an ahole is the answer but I at least prefer someone who you have some level of respect for when they speak. I think it's because he's the epitome of a politician who's all fluff when he talks.

As boring as some people have found Bran's story up to now (I'm one of them) he's been set up to play a pretty big role in the end. Even with how much it seemed like Martin didn't know how the story would end after his last few books or rather he had too much going on I wouldn't think Bran falls into that category since there's been hints to it from the beginning.

Call it what you will - you have it at home for security purposes to make yourself feel safer.

Peace of mind. Better to have and not need than need and not have even if the reality is as you mentioned that you couldn't act quickly with it. Ultimately I want one at home when I think of stories I've read like when some drugged out loser was breaking into a house while a wife was home with her children. She was able to get the gun out and loaded and defend herself with the only downside in my opinion being that the guy survived multiple gun shots. I think in most cases you aren't dealing with people who know what they're doing who are organized so that unloaded gun in your safe will suffice.

Because some people are ****ing crazy (terrorists), some have no regard for the lives of others (gang members) and some people have mental issues that aren't properly addressed while they have access to guns that may not even be theirs. I don't own a gun but I've been wanting to take a course, pass the required test and get one that I keep locked up at home. I don't know much beyond what is required in CA and even then I know the bare minimum but I don't think someone should be able to just up buy guns over the internet or at a gun show. Over the internet you can claim to be whoever you want and anyone can walk into a gun show and find someone who will sell to them. I also don't see the need for anyone outside of military or police/swat to have assault weapons. I don't know what the solution is because there isn't an easy or cheap one. I'm not trying to put a value on human lives rather as mentioned there's so many guns already out there that any massive legislation requiring registration, background checks, mental health checks and so isn't really feasible. In the end I think it would just lead to more bureaucratic mess and inefficient government oversight. That said obviously the current setup isn't working.

I'll definitely take the win but that was brutal for both teams as far as injuries. Denver loses Ward, Williams and Vasquez in the first quarter while NE comes in without Collins, Edelman or Amendola and loses Gronk and Hightower. Aside from Brady Gronk is the last guy they can afford to lose. I want to see NE lose in the playoffs at their best and not because Brady is throwing to 5th string guys. Meanwhile J. Graham tore his knee up and has the same injury V. Cruz did and I was reading an article where they quoted a study/report where players with that injury have not come back and played at the same level. Being 29 and that it's almost December meaning he may not be ready for next year the JImmy Graham who was in the discussion before this season as being the best with Gronk is likely not the player that comes back. Watching the Pitt/Seattle game I thought it looked like Ben went limp on a hit like he had a concussion but he just popped up and seemed okay when talking to the ref a few seconds later. Now they're saying he suffered a concussion that he self reported after the game.

The refs tried their hardest to help GB on Brett Favre night and it still wasn't enough. That first TD should have never been considering they called a phantom PI call that overturned an INT on the drive. The GB passing game more often than not this year has looked pedestrian. I drafted Adams in fantasy so after he missed so many games I expected or rather hoped he would come back and the GB offense would get going. The last few weeks it seems like a lot of the times Rodgers throws to him he has a bad drop or he has zero separation from his defender. On the last two plays of the game last night for the GB offense when they showed the replays and showed all the guys in the end zone not one of them was doing much of anything to create space with the lone exception being J. Jones who probably should have caught the ball on third down. This morning I came across an article that pointed out how bad the Rodgers to Adams combo has been the three weeks: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/11/27/aaron-rodgers-has-a-davante-adams-problem/

Thur. Nov. 26 Philadelphia (+2.0) Carolina (+1.5) Green Bay (-8.5) Sun. Nov. 29 Kansas City (-6.0) Miami (+3.5) Minnesota (+1.0) Houston (-3.0) NY Giants (­-2.5) Oakland (­-1.5) Jacksonville (-4.0) Cincinnati (-8.5) Tampa Bay (+3.0) Arizona (­-10.5) Pittsburgh (+3.5) New England (-­3.0) Mon. Nov. 30 Cleveland (-2.5)

I'm sure his personality has something to do with it because it makes him a target but the difference is you don't hear about some of those other young guys over and over again in the news for the wrong reasons. Going back to his college days there were character concerns and less than 2 years into the league he's only made the teams that avoided him look good. He's had multiple incidents involving alcohol since the off season when he went to rehab which points to poor decision making. Gronk is a meat head who doesn't come off as a douche like Manziel and aside from body slamming a friend on a Vegas stage some months after surgery you don't hear too many knocks on him. He comes off as a frat boy bro you'd expect to find at sharkeez but he happens to be a hell of a football player.

If the price is right sure but even looking at his ridiculous stat line for the last 38 games of the year it shows he doesn't take a lot of walks. I understand he was hitting the hell out of the ball but point is when his average goes down he's not the type of guy who makes some of it up by getting on base via walks. Offensively you're talking about a guy who for his career is slightly below league average based on OPS+ and I'm guessing his price would cost more than he may be worth.

It was definitely a pleasure getting to watch Manning play and I wish he got one more win so he could have passed Favre already. That said as a Bronco fan I hope he isn't pushing to come back because even if he heals up Osweiler looks to be a better option. I'm not trying to read too much into one game because I expect growing pains and who knows if Osweiler is the long term answer but his mobility and arm strength are simply things Manning can't match at this point in his career. Osweiler kept plays going that would have ended much quicker as Manning would have just fallen over when pressured.

I'd gladly take a chance on Puig to fill out the OF instead of spending more money on someone that's 5+ years older than him. The FO gave Hamilton 125M and that guy had some real demons that weren't just a matter of him being immature. Even if Puig flames out or continues in douche mode it's nothing compared to what they've paid Hamilton, Wells and GMjr to not play for the Angels. That said I agree that I don't see the Angels having what it takes to get a deal done.