ThunderLund78 wrote:

The real winner was the sport of Hockey.

Absolutely. Ratings were good and everyone was talking about it. The product on the ice did not disappoint, and I think any casual fans tuning in and seeing the gloves drop, seeing the Tkachuk brothers smash Canadians into the boards, or just seeing all the superstars they may have heard about all on the ice at the same time likely drew a few more to the sport.

It also happened at a time where the All-Star Games/Pro Bowls/Other exhibition games are being exposed for being not worth tuning in to. Ironic that the NBA All-Star weekend took place last weekend as well and almost every aspect of that has been getting hammered as a joke.

Ripjiggen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
What do city people have to do with the regs on ML?

Because we ruin everything. Haven’t you heard?

How were you guys even allowed to create accounts on an outdoor website?

I don’t understand why they couldn’t act if probable cause is evident, that makes no sense.

Very excited for this game, seems like it’s taken forever to get here. Kinda glad our team was humbled a little bit Monday night for some motivation.

All I’ll say about the anthem situation is that I would prefer to see the fans boo the team, boo during the game, but respect their anthem. Being that they were the “home” team first they got a chance to put themselves on display during our anthem, I think it would be more of an adult move to show respect for theirs, then kick their as$ again.

I’d rather win than lose, but now that that game is done and over with, I’m OK with it. It almost felt inevitable. Nothing to play for, coming off such a huge high from Saturday night. Crowd seemed to want to get into it but hit a wall because there was only so much excitement to generate knowing the big deal comes Thursday night. Better to come back down to earth and build back up in a few nights. Plus you can tell that win meant a lot for Sweden.

AJ is an all-time great. Tons of hits.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Tkchuck is hurt now? Fantastic

Yeah…. every fan bases worst fear in this tourney… that sucks.

Michael Obremski wrote:

They booed it today. Find a video. I have never seen a nations national anthem disrespected like that before either.

Yes, I watched it live. You said Canada is extremely un-American. Yes, 15,000 or so fans boo’d the anthem tonight in a hockey setting, but I’m not painting their whole population with one broad stroke over that.

Michael Obremski wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Johnny wrote:</div>
Go Canada. Hard to root for the US with the circus shenanigans going on there.

canada is extremly anti american all u have to do is listen to there crowd during the star spangled banner. The only time i have rooted against the u.s is last year with that creep megan rapino and the womans soccer team.

Between Wild games and Twins games against the Blue Jays I’ve never seen them booing our national anthem before.

I have to keep reminding myself that this isn’t even the championship… sure feels like it.

A few years ago i was driving down one of our very winding country roads that don’t give many opportunities to pass, following a vehicle going about half the speed i would have like to have gone. It was icy but this seemed pretty excessive.

At the next intersection the vehicle went into the right turn lane so I got to see the driver when I went straight. It looked to be a 16-year-old girl scared out of her mine. Kind of made me reflect on my own stupid selfish feelings and I’ve tried to have more respect and patience since.

Ganderpike that’s hilarious. I’ll have to take your word for it though, i have no idea if IDO works on my work computer

Johnny wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>blank wrote:</div>
When will NASA funding be reduced and subsequent contracts with SpaceX be cut?

great question. Musk has billions in contracts with the federal government. Will any of those be trimmed? I’d bet not. Anyone want to take the other side of that wager?

We want to talk about corruption and wasteful spending, it needs to be done on both sides of the aisle so to speak. Reading up on Elon’s conflicts of interest is quite alarming and eye opening.

And that conflict of interest creates a swamp just like everyone else says they hate.

Faber shot deflected in by Boldy. Swedish and American Wild players with a good showing so far this tourney.

Tom schmitt wrote:

One thing no one can deny that ended up being one heck of a hockey game.
I think the all-star game thing will be gone unless there’s a big injury pile up.

I sure hope so. If you enjoy the novelty of this tournament it’s truly must-watch, whereas i couldn’t care less about missing an all-star game. If the league keeps doing something like this they’re gonna have the only showcase exhibition worth watching out of the 4 major sports.

Rogers’ HOF career, unless something drastic changes, is going to go out on a pathetic note and he’ll be the only one to blame. Pretty epic in that he’s taking an entire organization down with him. Saleh got fired, GM got fired…then Davantae Adams goes even more drama-queen with the Raiders, claims injury so he doesn’t play, forces a trade to NY, now he reportedly wants out.

CaptainMusky wrote:

And yes the aerators powered by the big batteries suck and are noisy as heck.

Spent two nights in an overnight rental last weekend and the constant noise of the batter-powered aerator overnight was annoying haha. We knew we’d be leaving right away in the morning after our second night so for that night I was glad to turn that thing off.

Guess i missed what’s in the gift bag Crosby got? Looks like something my aunt would give at a baby shower.

F*$@, Gus deserved better. He got peppered in OT and looked real good.

Not excited to see Ek take a high stick to the face but he seems fine.

That was a fun game. Easily the best in- or post-season exhibition in years for any of the four major sports.

Michael Obremski wrote:

people have the right to their own choices in most matters including this one

That is correct.

Michael Obremski wrote:

but what was just described was intended from creation.

And that is your opinion, not a fact.

Pailofperch wrote:

Playoffs!!! Playoffs? Really! Playoffs!???

That made my day

At the very most I could see myself going in on a subscription with my brothers and paying 25% of the cost, only because a few of them are likely to want to get it. Personally I don’t want to give a penny to the Pohlads. I know they won’t notice my decision to contribute or not but it’s not something I want to spend my money on. With this package now they’re asking people to part ways with more of their money while they, as an ownership group, part ways with much less money than they normally would/should during an offseason to improve their team and sell their product…like a new streaming service. Please sell this team that’s been such a nuisance to you, Pohlads.

isu22andy wrote:

My question comes from the dental world. Are they just more aggressive these days in fixing problems or is it a profit driving activity ?

If comparing medical to dental, one thing that jumps out at me is that many dental offices are family-run, or at least much more of a small business, compared to bigger medical centers like Allina, Mayo, Regions, etc. In those bigger medical care facilities they obviously want to succeed, but the receptionists, nurses, PA’s, etc. are doing their hourly job and don’t necessarily ever see the profits, revenues, debts, etc.

Compare that to a dental office, where in most of my experiences have been run by a family. Almost everyone you come into contact with there is either part of that family or they work directly for them, meaning the overall dentist him- or herself is the family member running the outfit. Much easier for them to set the culture and over-recommend things, like the $10-a-tube toothpaste I was recommended one time just because it was apparently “better.”

I’ve said many times that healthcare and medical insurance in this country is depressingly messed up. Slightly unrelated to the OP topic but I was wondering recently-wouldn’t it be nice to just have insurance that just took care of overall health? Like, if you have something physically wrong with your anatomy, your ONE insurance company dealt with it…instead of having medical insurance, but if it’s an eye problem you need to deal with your VSP, and you also need separate dental insurance. I’ve known plenty of people in their younger years with jobs that maybe weren’t the greatest who dental insurance was a luxury. Many of them went years without a dentist visit because they couldn’t afford that on top of medical insurance.

To add to my post earlier about how well the Eagles management put a team together, I saw today that they have gotten a contributor from each of their draft picks in rounds 1-3 in each of the last three years, totaling 12 contributors. The Vikings, in that time and those rounds, have one.

I’m not sure what brand mine is but I have something almost exactly like that and I like it.

buckybadger wrote:

That’s a talented, deep roster. Kudos to them.

The Eagles front office deserves a ton of credit for the team they have built and the way they built it.

In 2020 they drafted Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts in the 2nd round when they had a starter in Carson Wentz. Wentz wasn’t exactly the same after his knee injury but was still the starter at the time, that was a calculated move/gamble to draft another solid QB and it paid off very well.

A few years ago Jalen Carter was projected as a top-3 pick but was an accessory to a bit of trouble and “fell” (relatively speaking) to the Eagles at #9. So they got possibly the top D-lineman of the draft at #9 and Carter has been a force since then.

AJ Brown wanted out of Tennesse and the Eagles executed a trade (giving up a 1st-rounder I believe) to get a very solid franchise WR.

Cooper DeJean showed some promise as a NFL CB and the Eagles hit on him in the draft. The guy has a great future ahead of him and for some reason I love the concept of a good CB returning punts.

Then there’s the Saquon Barkley situation. This one is crazy to me because he’s probably the best, most versatile all-around RB threat in the league and any team could have signed him (obviously, that’s how free agency works).

So in just four examples there you can see how the Eagles built some parts of their team through good drafting of quality future contributors, executing trades that returned positive value, and pulling the trigger on a major free agent signing. And it’s crazy to think, as we all know, that this team could have Justin Jefferson if they hadn’t drafted Jalen Raegor over him. I just continue to be amazed at how well this team was assembled.

And to beat a dead horse we’ve all went around on…yes, the Vikings had a pretty epic free agent offseason last year. I firmly believe you have to include all the GM decisions, not just signings, and that includes letting Cousins and Danielle Hunter go, and using that money for the many free agent contributors they got. Still, imagine if the Vikes had 2, just 2, contributors from each of the past 3 years of drafts on this team. Addison is the outlier, and JJ McCarthy and Dallas Turner have hopes but are unknown. I love how much ground they’ve covered with free agents and they should be able to do that again this offseason, but that builds an expensive and somewhat older team that isn’t sustainable beyond 2-3 years or so. The Vikes need to start hitting at a high rate on what little draft capital they have.

Hot take, but i REALLY like that angle from behind the net that ESPN was using. I’ve always enjoyed the play- calling aspect of sports and watching plays develop and IMO you get to see that a ton better from behind a net or and zone in football.

USAID is the shiny object at the moment but it’s not that far off from any other department or government program.

I happen to have a more vested interest in the Department of Defense because of my army time. Typically calls to cut defense spending cause outrage from a certain group, labeling it unpatriotic and accusing others of not supporting the troops. The reality is there are billions upon billions wasted annually under the guise of “defense.” This includes contracts for weapons, programs, and equipment that will never help our country out. Often contractors will pretty much make s**t up just to make a new aircraft or armored vehicle that the military doesn’t want or need, but the head of that contract company is friends with someone in the government and they spend more on lobbying in one year than any of us will see in a lifetime.

I’m all for eliminating BS spending…. let’s make sure it’s everywhere. And please, don’t turn your back on cutting spending just because it’s labeled “defense. ”

“Drain the swamp” sounds great but it needs to be more than just DC or who your favorite podcast host or Twitter account brings up. Stop giving contacts to family and buddies who are getting filthy rich off our tax money. I haven’t seen anything yet from either party suggesting they’re interested in doing that.

If I remember right Rip, your last home game was that Oilers game on national TV that didn’t start until after 9. If the 6:30 puck drop sticks you’re gonna get home plenty earlier this time!

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
Why isn’t Hartman announced yet, I thought his hearing was today? Guessing 6 games

And something like $487,000 fine

10 games

I agree with a lot of what you said Werm. Taxes are an interesting topic because none of us want to pay them but they’re needed if we want to use a lot of things. I laugh when I see the “taxation is theft” images online. Taxes are as old as time, and if you don’t want to pay taxes then don’t plan on using roads, emergency services, etc. I agree that, when possible, usage taxes are preferrable because there’s more direct involvement and contribution to subsidizing. For some people it’s frustrating to pay property taxes that contribute to the local school that they have no connection to, or pay additional taxes in a metro area that subsidize a new stadium they have no interest in. Tariffs could go down that road but I don’t see any way they’d eliminate federal income tax; that just seems like an empty campaign promise telling people what they want to hear.

Rand Paul even said recently (I’m paraphrasing/summarizing) that historically Republicans have been against new forms of taxation and that this tariff push is just a new form of taxation.