Mark80

I hate surveys like this. It has no indication on how much they follow/watch their "non-favorite" sports.

Could also be that its impossible to know how every single guy in the NFL actually is "culture fit" wise. And getting him on a 1 year trial period before having to commit big money is exactly the right move. If he fits in, then you pay him the big bucks. Sure, you risk losing him but the bigger risk you protect yourself from is way overpaying for someone who is not what you hoped for.

Fast cars - driving, going to shows, watching videos Expanding vinyl collection Expanding original art collection - try to buy 1 or 2 nice things a year from local shows or local artist galleries on vacations Visiting different MLB stadiums

Nice. My uncle has the CTS V sedan that he never drives and my cousin has the STS V. I've never seen another CTS V on the road besides his.

Agree on everything you said. Alfa and Mass are jokes (the quadrifoglio models have been especially disappointing reliability wise). That M5 V10 is notorious for burning oil (similar to Audi's in that time frame too - I had same problem with a 2007 Audi). The M3 V8 in that time had its fair share of issues as well. I'm was referring specifically to the new B58 engine in the "M lights" and the S55 in the new "True Ms" M2, M3, and M4s. 100% agree with your assessment of Mercedes and their drivers! F-Pace SVR is pretty fast SUV for sure and the SVR models are really the only Jags I would ever consider, but I'm still taking the X3 M Competition over it but its really pretty much a wash. Even with less HP and torque, it has slightly better splits. I'm sure you'll have a blast with it. Admittedly, I currently drive an M240xi so I am a bit biased here.

Ipod Classic.

Have these dudes been put in the thread yet? Like Black Keys, Nathaniel Rateliff sound? How about a stunning woman doing cool stuff? What about great scenery? Well, enjoy then.

I'm in the Collins boat, but my favorite song of theirs may be a Gabriel one. Really dig The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I'm just not into the progressive rock that much and Collins had a more mainstream sound when he took over.

Actually, the last handful of years BMWs has improved dramatically. The B58 engine, for example, used in M140, M240, M340, Z4 M40, X3 M40, X4 M40, any other "40" in the current lineup and even the new Toyata Supra, has won awards for the best 3.0 engine in the market in 2016 and 2017 (Wards top engines). This year it finished 2nd to the Porsche 2.5 litre turbo in its category for International Engine of the Year award. You'll be hard pressed to find any Mercedes engines on any of the lists at all, much less winning anything. Personally, I'm not a fan of Mercedes unless its an AMG or one of their beautiful coupes/roadsters that are well out of my price range into the 6 figures. I'd take most "M" versions of BMW models over their "AMG" Mercedes counterparts. I'd probably take "RS" Audi's over them too. But who cares in the end, right? They are all amazing cars in reality.....but Jaguars, not so much. They are like Maserati's, cars that people who know about cars laugh at because we know that person just bought it because they wanted a Jag or a Mas for name recognition, not because they are even close to worth what they cost.

I would take the BMW version of any car over the Jaguar version of a similar car any day of the week. Jaguar reliability for the money is horrendous.

A rule of thumb I like for situations like this. If their number is retired any jersey. If not, has to be a time period appropriate one. I don't know why, just makes sense to me that way.

Groins and hamstrings. Once they go, you never really fully recover and they are always vulnerable to re-injury. Sorry to say, I think its time to move on from EJ. Just cannot stay healthy consistently. Its a shame, he plays well when he actually plays.

I'm going to preface this comment by saying that I am all for stricter gun laws and banning certain weapons completely. But, in the grand scheme of things, this really isn't that many people. If you consider a current US population of over 300M that is only 0.0003% (1 out of 333,000) of the population. That figure is actually high though considering all the people that have come and gone since 1966. These stories are tragic, no doubt, but they are so dramatic and sensationalized that their actual impact gets blown way out of proportion IMO.

I have literally bought Madden every year since 2001. This may very well be the first time I don't. Online play has been terrible for years. Their focus on trying to get players to buy MUT packs to make extra money has ruined the rest of the game. MUT mode sucks. I'm sorry. It does. People run the same 3 plays over and over and over again. All game. How is that possibly fun? And franchise mode? I can't even list all the features of franchise mode that have been taken out over the years only to come back again (or not) as some sort of "new" feature. Basically, it's paying $60 every year for a roster update at this point. Sad really. Very sad.

So, we are judging a 2nd round draft pick after 1 week of training camp. Awesome stuff. My lord. Worst post in a while. Congrats.

If I'm here for only one day or so from far away, there's only one must do and it's Niagara Falls. Do the maid of the mist. It's something that you can't really do anywhere else in the entire world. It's amazing. And as locals we take it for granted way too much. Everything else mentioned is just filler.

I could have been the 53rd man on the Pats roster for the last 20 years and they would still have 6 titles.

1. It may not be "too hard" to prove just cause. However, you have to go through negotiated discipline levels where a "just cause" firing in a non-union world would not. They could be contractually obligated to be a verbal warning 1, verbal warning 2, then a written warning, then a written warning 2, then a meeting, then a suspension, then a longer suspension, then, finally, a firing. These rungs on the discipline ladder can mean it can take 5-10 offenses to fire someone sometimes. Not to mention that previous actions tend to have a time limit, so they come off the ladder. And add to that the extra cost of doing so with grievance hearings and appeals, etc. When, in the non-union world this person would be gone after 1 or 2 offenses with no extra expense. 2. Very true. This is not the point. The point I was going for is that in the contracts they make it too hard to get rid of bad employees because of the things I already mentioned. I remember visiting an auto factory once for one of the big makers. I noticed a handful of guys sitting around in an area every time I went there. Finally I asked, what is up with those guys always just hanging out over there? I was told that their union jobs were in the contract. Since the company moved their machines out they couldn't work on them. And instead of re-assigning them to another machine, they went to the union and said this job is in the contract, if the machine is not there to do the job anymore that's not my fault. They we being paid a full union job salary for literally sitting around all day long not doing anything because they refused to move to another machine. Absolute insanity. 3. This comment was meant to reflect keeping the actual dues-paying members high, not the dues themselves high. Yes, the corporate world is BS wage wise, but I would think a stronger union (as described above) would be able to get more out of the company than one that is always fighting them and protecting their problem childs.

Paul McCartney - In Red Square. You get a great concert and a great back story about The Beatles in the USSR during the Cold War. Not really fitting your description, but still a very good watch.

No, it does not mean that at all. It means SOME are run badly. There are plenty of decent ones out there.

Unions are most certainly not a cancer. Their main problem is that they make it too hard to fire a crappy worker. Grievances, 10 strike and your out discipline plans, only willing to work at a certain station or certain job, things like that. It would seem obvious to me that a well run union would be open to easily getting rid of the "bad" workers. It would improve the operations of their companies, potentially leading to more revenues/profits, higher pay/benefits, less offshoring, more jobs. Instead, they are mostly too consumed with keeping their dues high, to the detriment of their "good" worker members. Unions are a good idea, that is often executed very poorly and with some obvious corruption. As far as this article goes. I studied unions at undergrad, took many labor law courses there as well as in grad school. I never came across a scenario where a company was punishing someone for talking unionization while they were working there AFTER they were no longer employed there. I'm not sure if that is illegal or not, really. Certainly it would be if they were working there and were retaliated against, but AFTER, that's a different animal that I have not heard of before.

Mel Torme

More like 100k.

Current ride - 2018 BMW M240 xDrive. Small, fast little coupe. 0-60 in 4.2 stock with phenomenal handling and balance. Uses the same engine as the new Z4 and the new Toyota Supra (believe it or not). Have had it since April 18 and have seen exactly 1 other one on the road. That's why I like it so much, it's a sleeper and you don't see any around. I see a Camaro or Mustang or Challenger every time I go out for a drive. Now, rarely do you see the high end ones of those, but you see a ton of SS's, GTs, and SRTs. Cool, and fast, but too common for me. On the M240 I will be modding intake, exhaust, mid-pipe, and do a performance tune to start, but going to wait until after warranty. Desired rides: 2011 BMW 1M 2019/20 BMW M2 Competition 2007 Audi RS4 1978 Corvette Desired side rides: Toyota 4Runner Jeep Cherokee XJ

My "odd" jerseys: London Fletcher - Dark Blue Sam Cowart - Medium Blue CJ Spiller - White throw back #21 (only wore rookie season) Got one.