As I get older I start thinking about some of these things. Starting to wonder if one of my friends is going through one right now or if he is just losing his shit in general. Any of you middle aged/older folks go through a midlife crisis or know someone that has? If so, what was it like or what happened? By a new red shiny Porsche? Trade in your old wife for a new one? (That’s. What my “friend” is doing) How old were you? Is this even a thing?

Curious.

About 30% of Americans struggle with sleep issues like insomnia.

I read it's normal to wake up 3 or 4 times during the night. I wake up about that amount and will lay in bed and meditate or pray.

I also take Melatonin twice a week if I want to be sure to sleep well.

How many times do you wake up during the night?

Sophie Cunningham, Mercury hope to win Caitlin Clark sweepstakes in WNBA Draft Lottery​

Dec 7, 2023, 11:24 AM

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes drives by Nyamer Diew #5 of the Iowa State Cyclones in the first half at Hilton Coliseum on December 6, 2023 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)


BY ARIZONA SPORTS

The Phoenix Mercury have been hit hard by change in the past two seasons, but the last several months have alluded to a hard reset. The WNBA Draft Lottery on Sunday could set up nicely for a team under new general manager Nick U’Ren and head coach Nate Tibbetts.

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark would be the no-doubt pick if she leaves school. The Mercury own the second-best odds to win the lottery.

“We have been on the struggle bus the past couple years and it has been awful,” Phoenix guard Sophie Cunningham told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Thursday. “We have a new GM, a new head coach and of course the new ownership with Mat Ishbia. There have been changes made over here. So we are feeling good.

“I am a believer so I’m going to leave it up to God’s hand. Whatever good luck or whatever vibes you have, send them our way, because we would love to get Caitlin Clark on this train.”

Phoenix with a 9-31 record in 2023 has a 28% chance at winning the top pick in the WNBA Draft Lottery, behind the Indiana Fever’s 44% odds. Clark has remained the prize through her fourth season at Iowa.

Caitlin Clark is moving up the record books at Iowa before the WNBA Draft Lottery​

On Wednesday night against rival Iowa State, Clark scored 35 points and moved past 3,000 points in her career in a 67-58 victory.

Clark’s performance pushed her career point total to 3,013, making her the 15th NCAA Division I women’s player to surpass the 3,000 plateau. She is the first player in men’s or women’s Division 1 to reach at least 3,000 points, 750 rebounds and 750 assists.

She is averaging a career-high 29.6 points per game in 2023-24. The deadeye shooter is also dishing 7.6 assists per game.

Her competitiveness and aggressiveness have helped grow the college game, especially as she spearheaded the Hawkeyes’ run to the NCAA title game last season. That Iowa-LSU showdown set ESPN platform records across men’s and women’s games with 9.9 million viewers, according to the network.

Part of that coverage was the alternate broadcast on The Bird & Taurasi show, hosted by the retired Sue Bird and Mercury star Diana Taurasi.

Pairing the future Hall of Famer with Clark on the Mercury, Cunningham believes, would be a boon for the sport and the WNBA.

“I feel like if social media and the way that women’s sports is being covered now, I feel like there would’ve been a lot more players like Caitlin Clark,” Cunningham told Bickley & Marotta. “But she has been given this opportunity. She’s a great girl, she’s awesome, she’s an ultimate competitor. I do think she’s going to have that DT effect (like Taurasi did on the sport).

“It’s definitely a different game here in the W, and so it’s going to definitely be a transition period for her. Just the fans that she’s going to bring to the W, the recognition she’s going to bring to the W, I think it’s going to be a great thing for women’s sports. Why not us?”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

What team of 2000 and later Hawkeyes are you putting together? (Credit Birds of Prey on Twitter)

Nice story from one of the Register beat writers. And sorry, @LaQuintaHawkeye , no guard for you!

Iowa men's basketball: Roster plan, offseason development and other notes​

Tyler Tachman
Des Moines Register
May 9, 2024

DAVENPORT — Iowa men’s basketball is still on the market to bolster its 2024-25 roster.

As it currently stands, the Hawkeyes are looking to add one more scholarship player.

Iowa is targeting a specific archetype, which assistant coach Sherman Dillard described like this:

“I’d like to say a wing forward/power forward, if you will,” Dillard said at an I-Club event in Davenport on Wednesday. “Stretch four would work.”

“We’re looking for a versatile forward. I guess you could put it that way.”

Iowa tried getting that from the portal in UMass transfer Matt Cross, who took a visit to Iowa City. But Cross ultimately committed to SMU, leaving Iowa still on the hunt to fill that spot.

So far, Iowa has seen the departure of four scholarship players from last season’s roster and the addition of three. The transfer portal is now closed, meaning the window for players to enter is over. However, there is no deadline for those already in the transfer portal to find a new home.

• Out: Ben Krikke (exhausted college eligibility), Tony Perkins (transfer portal), Dasonte Bowen (transfer portal) and Patrick McCaffery (transfer portal).
• In: Chris Tadjo (high school signee), Cooper Koch (high school signee) and Drew Thelwell (Morehead State transfer).
• Returners: Josh Dix, Owen Freeman, Brock Harding, Ladji Dembele, Pryce Sandfort, Even Brauns and Riley Mulvey.

But a major part of the roster situation is still in limbo…​

…which makes everything a little more complicated.

After the most productive season of his college career, Payton Sandfort is going through the NBA Draft process while still maintaining his college eligibility. Sandfort was recently invited to the 2024 NBA Draft Combine, which is held in Chicago in mid-May.

Sandfort’s decision about his future is one of the most impactful dominoes of the offseason for Iowa.

If he returns, it would immediately cement expectations for what the Hawkeyes can accomplish in 2024-25. Sandfort, who averaged a team-high 16.4 points per game last season, would enter his senior season among the best players in the Big Ten. Having a core trio of Sandfort, Dix and Freeman inspires some confidence.

But if Sandfort goes through with his professional pursuits, it would be a big hit for Iowa on multiple levels. The Hawkeyes would be losing a primary scoring option and, on top of that, a tremendous leader. That scenario would drop some serious doubt into what the Hawkeyes are capable of next season.

The deadline for Sandfort to decide his plans is May 29.

“We’re not sitting back on our hands and saying, 'OK fine, if he leaves, we’re fine,'” Dillard said. “Yeah, we’ve been thinking about it. But we haven’t done anything in terms of trying to replace him at this point…We’ll have to deal with that when it comes. The old adage I have: It’s not a headache until your head starts hurting.”

As for the players who have participated in team workouts this spring​

Dillard had some high praise. His words carry some weight, given he has been on staff for every season of the Fran McCaffery era at Iowa. Granted, the Hawkeyes haven’t been able to have spring workouts every year that he’s been here. But this is still a notable comment:

“Maybe the best offseason we’ve had in the spring in terms of the energy that the young men brought to the table each and every day we had workouts,” Dillard said. “A lot of times you’re forcing it on them. You’re trying to push them. This group brought it every day on their own. They really did. I saw a difference across the board with everybody in terms of their attitude. They were self-driven and they just seemed so enthusiastic about what they were doing. It wasn’t like it was work to them.”

As for particular individuals who stood out, Dillard was hesitant to give names, but the few mentioned included Dembele and Harding.

That is a good sign, given some of Iowa’s potential success will hinge on the 2023 recruiting class’ development as sophomores. Dembele and Harding showed flashes of potential coming off the bench last season, but it is clear that there is still much more in the tank.

“Shooting the ball a heck of a lot better,” Dillard said of Dembele, who finished the season at a 31% clip from deep.

Similarly, Dillard said of Harding: “He’s improved his shot. He had somewhat of a low release in his jump shot... He’s gotten it up. He’s gotten more lift on his jump shot.”




Harding shot an efficient 37.5% from deep last season, though it was on a relatively low volume. Shooting remains a wildcard for Harding, who is a phenomenal distributor with the ball in his hands. If he can shore up his jump shot, he would become even more lethal in pick-and-roll situations, enabling him to make defenders pay for going under screens.

Speaking of shooting​

Freeman showed versatility in a season that led him to be named Big Ten co-Freshman of the Year. But an aspect that is still a work in progress is shooting, whether that be a 15-footer or a 3-pointer.

Freeman attempted just four shots from deep last season and didn’t make any. Adding that as a consistent part of his skill set would make him even more difficult to guard and would be valuable down the road for his professional aspirations.

“He continues to work on that,” Dillard said. “I’ve particularly had a conversation with him at a workout one day. It’s all about his ball spin. Like the rotation, backspin on the ball. I don’t want to give out too much information but (he) has a little bit of a corkscrew. If he can clean that up and make that pure… I think you’ll see a more efficient shooter.”

More on Iowa basketball transfer Drew Thelwell​

The lone transfer portal addition for Iowa, as it currently stands, comes to the program with a relatively impressive resume.

Thelwell is the winningest player in Morehead State program history. The Eagles won at least 22 games in each of his four seasons there. Last season, Thelwell averaged 10 points, 6.2 assists and three rebounds per game. With the departures of Perkins and Bowen, two ball-handling guards, Iowa found what could very well be a sound replacement.

He has the chance to make a positive impact in the box score and also in less quantifiable ways.

“We didn’t say we wanted a pass-first point guard, we didn’t say we wanted a scoring point guard,” Dillard said. “We just said, let’s find the best fit for this team coming and he checked all the boxes. He’s crafty, he’s shifty, he’s smart, he’s a facilitator, he can score from deep, he’s not a ball hog. I think he’s perfect for how we play. And then on top of that, the intangibles. You won’t find a classier young man in terms of how he carries himself. Terrific leader. I think he’s going to be terrific for our team.”

............................

Follow Tyler Tachman on X (@Tyler_T15 ); contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

If anyone tries to tell you to stop, please do this.

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That’s an odd sentence, but true. It’s kind of exciting because for various reasons myself, my wife, and my son never had the opportunity to attend our graduations, this will be the first time one of us has walked across the stage. I expect tears.

Very sad to hear this. I remember watching his great Long Beach, CA team win back-to-back Little League World Championships. His struggles with drug addiction, regaining sobriety and coming back to MLB were an inspiration.


https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40121064/former-mlb-infielder-llws-star-sean-burroughs-dies-43

Sean Burroughs, a winner of the Little League World Series, a 2000 Olympic gold medalist and a first-round pick in the MLB draft, has died at the age of 43.
The Long Beach Little League based in California said in a statement posted to Instagram that Burroughs "tragically passed away" Thursday afternoon. His mother, Debbie, told the Southern California News Group that the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
According to Long Beach Little League president Doug Wittman, Burroughs was found unconscious next to his car in the parking lot at a Long Beach ballfield after dropping off his son, Knox, for a Little League game.
Wittman said CPR was performed on Burroughs in hopes of reviving him, but he remained unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.
"It was very shocking," Wittman told The Orange County Register. "It's a real sense of family at Long Beach Little League. So when we lose one of our own, it hurts."
In its statement, the Long Beach Little League praised Burroughs as "a legend in LBLL and the baseball community for winning back-to-back Little League World Series Championships for LBLL in 1992 and 1993."
"To say this is a huge loss is an understatement," the statement continued. "... We will have his family in our thoughts and prayers during this time and try to end the season playing the kind of baseball Coach Sean would be proud of."
Burroughs threw back-to-back no-hitters to help Long Beach to consecutive Little League championships then went on to star at Long Beach Wilson High.
The son of 1974 American League MVP Jeff Burroughs was selected with the No. 9 overall pick by the San Diego Padres in 1998. The third baseman made his major league debut in April 2002, recorded the first walk-off hit for the Padres in Petco Park history in 2004 and was out of baseball in 2007 before returning to play from 2011 to 2012.

​

"I just didn't have the drive or the passion," Burroughs told ESPN in June 2011 of his decision to walk away from the game. "I was spent physically and spent mentally. It just wasn't there. I was emotionally drained. I still loved the game and respected the game, but I didn't have the drive to go to the park every day. I kind of lost the desire."
Burroughs told ESPN that he was a substance abuser living in cheap motels in Las Vegas and eating out of trash cans. It lasted until he looked in the mirror, decided he didn't recognize himself and vowed to turn things around.
He moved back into his childhood home, under the house rules, and worked himself back into baseball shape.
Burroughs played for the Padres from 2002 to 2005 and was traded to Tampa Bay in late 2005. The Rays released him the following August. After a brief stint in the Seattle Mariners' organization, he walked away from the game.
He signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 and ended his MLB career in 2012 after 10 games with the Minnesota Twins. Burroughs played 79 games with the independent Long Island Ducks (2015-16), winning the Atlantic League batting title in 2015.
Chosen for the 2000 U.S. team that won its first-ever gold medal in Sydney, Burroughs played in four games at the Olympics and compiled a .375 batting average.
"We at USA Baseball are heartbroken to hear of the tragic passing of Sean," USA Baseball executive director and CEO Paul Seiler said in a statement. "Sean was a part of one of our most beloved teams, and he represented our country on and off the field in a first-class manner. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Burroughs family during this time."
In his major league career, Burroughs appeared in 528 games, batted .278, hit 12 home runs and drove in 143.

Obviously a spinoff of the military thread.

In The Replacements after a kickoff they took a timeout to stop the clock. That's something if you are doing a movie about football someone should notice.

I flipped onto Pulp Fiction yesterday and wound up watching about three quarters of it. Such an impactful movie.
I'm still not sure I'm a fan of Tarantino's decisions to skip around in the timeline, though.
I have two quibbles, I still don't get why Vincent left his gun on the counter when he went to the bathroom at Butch's apartment. Seems like a big mistake for a pro to make. He should have just stopped going to the can in that movie. Nothing good happened when he went to the can.
Second quibble, how did Butch and Marcellus make it into the basement of the pawn shop and not get followed by cops? There was broken glass, blood, and gunshots for the cops to follow.

Olivia Colman impresses as Queen Elizabeth. I am really looking forward to the interaction with Margaret Thatcher who will is being played by Gillian Anderson.
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Some nice clips here. Jimi was one of a kind.

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good for them!

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An Arizona woman who accused former MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been charged with felony fraud against Bauer and another person, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County.

The indictment, issued by a grand jury in Maricopa County, also charged the woman with felony theft by extortion against the other person, who is not associated with Bauer, his attorney told ESPN.

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An arraignment is scheduled for April 26 in Maricopa County.

The woman, who sued Bauer in 2022, accused him of choking her unconscious, raping her and getting her pregnant in late 2020. The woman also alleged four other incidents during which Bauer physically assaulted her, according to court filings that were initially made in December 2022 and updated in June 2023.

Bauer denied the allegations in court records at the time and countersued the woman, accusing her of extortion and of fabricating her pregnancy. He continues to deny any wrongdoing.

According to earlier court filings, the woman’s attorney sent a demand letter to Bauer in January 2022 seeking $3.6 million in payment. That followed two in-person meetings in which she requested $1 million from Bauer. The filings detailed that Bauer had sent the victim $8,761.09 spread out over five Venmo transactions between December 2020 and April 2021 “for alleged medical expenses accrued by” the woman.

The woman was the fourth person to accuse Bauer of sexual assault. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office declined to bring charges against Bauer last February for claims made by a San Diego woman in 2021. Two other women also alleged similar interactions with Bauer in the past, as first reported by the Washington Post. Bauer has denied any wrongdoing.

The Los Angeles Dodgers released Bauer in January after he served a 194-game suspension, the longest in the history of Major League Baseball’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. The Dodgers had signed Bauer to a three-year, $102 million deal in February 2021. He currently plays professionally in Mexico.

Another Black Mirror episode bordering on reality

California is grappling with a severe financial crisis in its unemployment insurance fund, a situation described by experts as “structurally insolvent” due to the staggering amount of fraud and overpayments during the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis has forced the state to confront a daunting $21 billion loan from the federal government, an obligation it currently lacks the means to repay.

Efforts to address this financial quagmire have led to proposals from California Democrats to enact sweeping changes, including quintupling unemployment insurance taxes and nearly doubling unemployment benefits. These proposals reflect the urgency of the situation, as the state’s unemployment insurance fund faces unprecedented strain.

The magnitude of the challenge facing California’s unemployment insurance fund is underscored by the numbers. In 2020 alone, the state borrowed a staggering $17.8 billion to sustain unemployment payments, a figure projected to balloon to $20.8 billion by the end of 2024 due to insufficient payments. Compounding the issue is the anticipated rise in unemployment, with projections indicating an increase from 804,000 Californians in 2022 to 930,000 by 2025. As a result, benefit payments are expected to skyrocket from $5 billion in 2022 to $6.8 billion in 2025, further straining the already burdened fund.

The root of the problem lies in the rampant fraud and overpayments that have plagued California’s unemployment insurance program. To put this into perspective, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office has labeled the program “structurally insolvent” due to an imbalance between benefit payments and state payroll tax contributions, a gap projected to reach $1.6 billion annually by 2024 and 2025.

Under federal law, if a state’s unemployment insurance fund remains indebted to the federal government for two consecutive years, an escalating tax increase on employers is automatically triggered to repay the loan. While these tax increases are expected to generate an additional $400 million per year, they are insufficient to alleviate the fund’s financial shortfall.

To address the crisis, California is exploring various options, including seeking debt forgiveness from the federal government and implementing significant increases in unemployment taxes. However, the fate of these measures remains uncertain pending federal approval and legislative action.

The Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su’s office has hinted at the potential waiving of state repayment obligations to the federal government for ineligible benefits, pending approval. Nevertheless, if federal forgiveness is not forthcoming, California may proceed with plans to raise unemployment taxes and increase weekly maximum benefits, contingent upon legislative approval. However, recent developments, including the cancellation of a bill’s first hearing, suggest ongoing uncertainty surrounding the state’s response to this unprecedented financial challenge.



Poorly managed shithole state is eventually going to cost all U.S. taxpayers big bucks.

I’ve always said more guns make things safer. Let’s rush them into the hands of convicted felons now.

Thanks Supreme Court.

Ninth Circuit:

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Have officially been filed against biden.

Is this going to he a reap what you sow moment for the left?

So many gif options for this one, I'll go with the one below. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs! AMIRITE @Phenomenally Frantastic?!



The first Neuralink implant in a human malfunctioned after several threads recording neural activity retracted from the brain, the Elon Musk-owned startup revealed Wednesday.

The threads retracted in the weeks following the surgery in late January that placed the Neuralink hardware in 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh’s brain, the company said in a blog post.

This reduced the number of effective electrodes and the ability of Arbaugh, a quadriplegic, to control a computer cursor with his brain.

“In response to this change, we modified the recording algorithm to be more sensitive to neural population signals, improved the techniques to translate these signals into cursor movements, and enhanced the user interface,” Neuralink said in the blog post.

The company said the adjustments resulted in a “rapid and sustained improvement” in bits-per-second, a measure of speed and accuracy of cursor control, surpassing Arbaugh’s initial performance.

While the problem doesn’t appear to pose a risk to Arbaugh’s safety, Neuralink reportedly floated the idea of removing his implant, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The company has also told the Food and Drug Administration that it believes it has a solution for the issue that occurred with Arbaugh’s implant, the Journal reported.

The implant was placed just more than 100 days ago. In the blog post, the company touted Arbaugh’s ability to play online computer games, browse the internet, livestream and use other applications “all by controlling a cursor with his mind.”

Anticrypto. Genzler is the front man.