LouisEly

Oh, the pandemic did have an influence on the price drop. It wasn't the only factor, though, and my bigger point was responding to several statements that you made that are just not true. I don't see anything drastic that was not pandemic-related... April 2020 prices were 100% pandemic related. I was pointing out several much larger drops in price over the last 20 years that had nothing to do with any pandemic, and that the overall trend over the last 10 years has been a decrease in gas prices. Gas prices dropped from May to Dec of 2019. Prices were already trending down due to other factors. Oil companies are raking in record profits through price gouging, and without getting too political, are using the Ukraine conflict and the current administration as an easy scapegoat to justify that gouging I was pointing out how the oil market works so that you can understand that oil companies are a small factor with respect to gas prices, and what factors over the last 10 years have been a bigger influence on gas prices. You're complaining about something that dropped in price from 2012 to 2020. (Have you been praising the oil companies for that?) How many other things have dropped in price over that time? If you want to complain about price gouging, complain about the housing market - look what happened to those prices from 2012-2020. That's a much bigger monthly expenditure than gas is.

Just like last year, right?

1) What pandemic was going on from June 2014 to Feb 2016 that caused gas prices to drop almost $2/gallon to $1.872 versus the $1 drop in price from May 2019, when the economy was perhaps booming at it's peak, to April of 2020 when gas was $1.938? B) If prices in April of 2020 ($1.938) were "100% pandemic related", then why were gas prices lower in Feb 2016 ($1.872)?

Did you look at the graph? Gas prices were declining long before the pandemic.

Oil companies are raking in record profits through price gouging, and without getting too political, are using the Ukraine conflict and the current administration as an easy scapegoat to justify that gouging. And many are buying it hook, line and sinker. Supply has been shrinking since 2014. While the number of US rigs has increased over the last year, it still is about 1/3rd of the number online in 2014. Since 2014 the US has been trying to get OPEC to decrease output because oil prices got so low that it was threatening to bankrupt the US oil industry, and sanctions were applied to Venezuela that have reduced their oil production, leading to a global supply decrease. Oil is mostly fixed costs - the costs of exploration, drilling/rigging, and financing are spread out over the life of the well. Every oil producer knows exactly how much it costs them to bring a barrel of oil to market. When prices go too low, oil companies take rigs offline like they did in 2014 because they lose money producing it. Unfortunately when they take rigs offline, it takes six months to get them back online - thus the industry is subject to supply/demand disruptions. And, like Game said, it's global supply and demand, not US. Gas prices have hardly been subject to inflation over the last 30 years. Gas prices in Feb 2016 were less than gas prices in Feb 2005. Hell, gas prices in April 2020 were about the same as April 2004, and gas prices decreased from 2012 to 2020. Oil is predominantly purchased in futures contracts based on market prices, and the contract pricing is driven by supply, demand, and speculation, thus gas prices are driven by oil supply, demand, and speculation and demand is probably the least influential of the three - unless you have a major global event like a pandemic, it's relatively inelastic.

[sarcasm]What if they're not top prospects - does the franchise still get the picks? And who determines if they are a top prospect? Baseball America? MLB.com top 30? Who will be wielding the power to determine who is a "top prospect"?[/sarcasm] (Need to maintain the sarcasm font, Brock.)

Unfortunately, I am not going on vacation this weekend.

His 5th year option salary would have been $24.8M. The list of QBs who are worth that is not a long list. The 5th year option for a top-10 pick is the average of the 10 highest paid players at that position when the option is exercised, and the way QB salaries are going that system is getting pretty stacked against retaining top-10 QB picks. Because of that, I think you'll start to see fewer QBs picked in the top 10 because it is getting very hard to keep even an average QB to a 5th year. Trubisky is obviously not worth $24.8M, but that doesn't mean that he's a major NFL flop. It means that he isn't worth anywhere near $24.8M.

We need some resolution on this whole AROD thing, plus signing the new CBA... could you please take some more time off? Has to be Wisconsin-based, not national. Rodgers - delivered. Adams - delivered. CBA - not Wisconsin-based.

It can sync with your TV though so you can use the Amazon Firestick to turn your TV on/off. Possibly automatically... I don't seem to recall syncing it with my TV but when I hit the power button on the Firestick remote it turns my TV on and off. Since I run YouTube TV via an app on my Firestick, I use the Firestick to turn it off.

Seems like whenever I go on an extended vacation, something major happens involving Wisconsin sports. Somebody noteworthy gets traded/traded for, signed as a FA, fired, etc. Sometimes the Brewers, sometimes the Packers, Bucks, etc. This takes it to a whole new level. Congrats on keeping the streak alive.

I don't know if there is a better NCAA basketball moment in the history of the game than a Coach K humiliating loss at his last home game to UNC...and then a post-game Coach K celebration goes on as planned and he literally tells the crowd to be quiet to explain they had a good season. The only thing better would be for the Badgers to end his career in the tourney just like they ended Roy Williams' career in the tourney last year.

I went to the draft once...

I was just thinking about this earlier today, now it is no longer bugging me at all that I was faced with either a major repair (>$2000) or trading in my 2009 Lincoln MKX three years ago next month. I wanted to get another year out of it, but decided that repair wasn't worth the erratic working/not working of my cooled driver's seat and never working heated driver's seat functions (I know, first world problems). I replaced it with a 2016 MKX bought off of Carvana; initially I was displeased because I had a number of issues with it (almost all covered by the factory or Carvana's warranty) and there was a little more cosmetic damage than they led me to believe, but now I am not regretting that decision at all even though I've only put on ~20k miles in three years because I'm no longer driving to work.

And Gonzaga, and Arizona, and Kansas, and Kentucky. Seven of the top 10 lost yesterday.

That seems to be the case this year. I don't know that the QB class is good enough for Houston to take one 3rd overall, but it might make a lot of sense for Houston to move up from #37 to #28 and leapfrog DET (who has #32 and #34) to get one. Same with Washington at #42, they may want to leapfrog DET and HOU. A trade that might make a lot of sense is for GB and HOU to swap picks #28 and #37, with GB and HOU swapping 3rd round picks (#92 and #68) and HOU adding one or two of their 6th round picks. If GB can move up to #68, perhaps one of those top 60 guys will still be there or GB can give up a day 3 pick to move up into the top 60 giving GB three of those 15-60 picks. A trade with WAS might be GB's #28 and #171 for WAS #42 and #73. That being said, those teams may want to leapfrog TB at #27 too because they will be looking for a QB. But if TB grabs one, that may increase the demand to get whoever is left at #28.

Right now the Packers are only committed to $130M for 2023, and that includes $33M for Rodgers and $20M for Aaron Jones, and only $86M for 2024. Cap space clears quickly.

This, specifically the first two sentences.

As for the TEs in this class, size does not appear to be correlated with blocking skills. Kolar is considered to be a willing blocker but poor technique and pad level and loses leverage quickly and easily. The best blocking TE in the draft might be one of the smallest and someone nobody is talking about - San Jose State's Derrick Deese, Jr., listed at 6'4", 235. Yes, his father is that Derrick Deese, thus why he may be the best blocking TE in the draft. He also caught 47 passes for 735 yards this past season. Second best blocking TE is probably Oregon State's Teagan Quitoriano. Both guys should be available later on day 3. My hope is that the QBs are slim pickings at the end of the first and someone wants to trade up to the Packers spot to get whoever is left, with GB moving down to early in the 2nd and getting a 3rd or couple of 4ths. Then GB takes from whichever of the DTs are still available (Leal, Wyatt, Jones, Mathis, Winfrey) and then goes WR/Edge/ILB/OT. There's a big dropoff in DT talent after the top six, and Barry likes to be able to pressure with his front four and drop seven, so I think GB goes DT no later than their 2nd round pick. A CB will be in there somewhere, maybe two - Douglas, King, and Sullivan are free agents and Douglas may have priced himself out of a return. Edge will need to be in there with Z. Smith likely gone, possibly P. Smith, and nothing for backups. GB will have lots of roster spots to fill, so day 3 draft picks may be based more on roster quantity than quality.

I'm absolutely appalled - but not shocked - at the lack of media acknowledgement/awareness of what Howard said to Gard before Gard touched him. Deadspin has been worthless for about a decade now, and decided to reinforce that today. (Let's not acknowledge what their opinion is and stir that pot for the moderators' collective sake; let's just acknowledge that Deadspin is worthless.)

I'm going to substitute OT for TE. Kelly is a FA. Nijman is a RFA (not exclusive rights) and I think he played well enough at LT that someone will make an offer that the Packers won't be able to fit under their cap. Turner is in the last year of his deal and might have to be a cap casualty if they manage to retain Nijman. And Bakh has questions surrounding his health and ability to get back on the field. Point being, Kelly and I think one of Nijman or Turner aren't back. I don't know if the Packers view Newman as having RT potential, but if they lose Nijman they will need to draft a tackle to develop. As for TE, they have Deguara who was for all intents and purposes still a rookie last year plus Dafney and Davis. I think Tonyan will be back because coming off of the injury and starting the season on the PUP there won't be a strong demand for him as a FA; I think he'll be back relatively cheap on a one-year deal.

Yes and no. For the most part I agree, but I'm thinking of the player that threw Chambliss to the ground and, according to Neath, started punching him. That was the instigation to Neath and the two Michigan players getting into it. It seemed like after Howard hit Krabby they had separated them, but then when Chambliss got thrown to the ground it went to another level. Had that not happened, Neath doesn't do what he did. That guy should have gotten another game or two.

Agreed. Throw punches and you'll only get one game. Doesn't discourage cheap shots at all. I was expecting Howard to get through the end of the season including BTT. Rest of the regular season is weak too.

For some reason, Howard didn't have an issue with the last time that Gard touched him on the arm...