madbad2000

The question is what are the requirements for a team to have a AAA stadium? These moves all seem to be about cost reduction by removing teams and limiting travel. Do you really need a near MLB quality stadium that holds 15,000 people? If MLB say Beloit is now AAA and playing in the same division as the Iowa Cubs, et al...they are now a AAA club. What if Milwaukee says they want Beloit for AAA and Wisconsin for low A? I don't know if us casual fans can really bet on anything concrete with how things are shaping up in this realignment.

I thoroughly believe that having a local MLB team that you are affiliated with helps both major and minor league clubs. The ideal scenario is something like Baltimore where all of their affiliates are an hour or less away from the parent club outside of Norfolk which is still only 4ish. Millwaukee and Appleton are a great fit. Dayton and Cincinatti are a great fit. Dayton would probably be a better fit for the Indians, Cubs or Tigers before Milwaukee gets in line.

Im ok with Rumble Ponies. It's unique and you can work with it. For these "finalists" I can match up and do better Cheesballs - Cheese Curds Moo - Beloit Bovine Polka Pike - Beloit Strikers, Bass, Bobbers, so many more fishing options Sky Carp - Honkers, Gobblers Supper Clubbers - such a bad idea for a team name, maybe Food Trucks? Taco Trucks?

These are all complete garbage. I am guessing Sky Carp was decided prior to this charade of opening a fan suggestion and voting. If you wanted to go with a goose, just make it Beloit Honkers and sell a bunch of adult play on word gear along with your normal merch.

I honestly had no idea that Skip Bayliss was still around. I have always hated his character that he tried to play on TV. It always felt so unnatural and it was hard to watch him. He does not do the "bad boy" role well at all. Im surprised he and Stephen A Smith have been around so long. I quite literally stop watching whenever either starts talking.

I'll second a good stroller is amazing on so many levels. We have one that has multiple attachments and the bassinet was a life saver for getting my son to sleep. Do not go cheap here. We also have a BOB double stroller with jogging wheels. Also amazing, and you'll have twins so it will be nice Velcro swaddles are also amazing. Pair it with a white noise machine. Do not get caught up in the hype of having to have new, cute or name brand clothes and shoes. Kids don't need shoes until walking well enough and going outside. search out mom/parent groups on Facebook which are incredibly useful for getting cheap or free items and even setting up play dates. Facebook marketplace for clothes and toys. Will save you a ton of money and quality is usually excellent. We love hand-me-downs. We did disposable diapers and love Costco for that. Great price and quality. When getting or requesting clothes, be cognizant of sizing and season. Kids grow up ridiculously quick early on.

I agreed with your point on Iridium and added to it. The USG is not even 25% of Iridium business today as they have really taken off with their commercial business. Look into the sensor market and Iridium is pretty much going to be the leader for good reason. They are also doing a lot in the Aviation industry for onboard data integrated with safety and voice. They have the luxury of a strong, long-term fixed contract with the Government that helps them leverage financing better than a lot of other companies. Going forward though, they are basically niche and not looking to be a global telecommunications provider to the general public. I used Alaska as an example from personal experience. I'm not talking about a single recluse riding moose in the woods. State and federal agencies, mining, oil, fishing, etc are all woefully in need of good broadband outside of major cities and actually present a really solid business case for satellite providers since you don't have to do much at all in terms of investment outside of what you're already doing in populating a constellation. And when you look at the usage of each space vehicle, users in these extreme latitudes are not having to contend with any saturation issues that may eventually pop up in more populated areas. One thing that stood out to me from being in this industry is the amount of places in the United States that are still lacking good coverage and throughput let alone expanding that out to a global scale. Will be interesting to see how it transforms in the next few years.

Something else to consider is that with satellite internet, you can in theory take that anywhere like a cell phone. The antennas are much smaller and I can see people switching from wired and taking it with them in their RVs or for other travel. Not the vast majority, but an interesting use case.. As long as you have power considerations, in theory you should be able to take it anywhere in the world.

Iridium is still active. The Government basically bailed them out for some exclusive access. They have since rebounded and completed an entire refresh of their constellation last year. Iridium didn't take off initially for quite a few reason with cost of equipment, cost of service and lack of data capability all contributing along with the rise of cell phone competitors who offered cheaper, better and more flexible options. They will be a player going forward in their current niche with aviation/maritime and government customer base. I dont see them as a player in a broad option to general population. We are reaching an interesting point where a user in the city will be able to choose between wired internet, cell phone (4g/5g) or satellite options that should all be at broadband speeds. Since cities are a major draw for user base, there will be a lot of competition and you should see corresponding prices reflect that. I would assume that cell phone probably wins out for most, especially as you start seeing more 5g hotspots for other devices in your home. Wired internet dominates home setups for good reason with the ability to connect all your wifi devices, but once cell phones start meeting people's needs for throughout, its on. I wonder if cable and internet providers will see a drop from those that are fed up with the customer service and experiences. I went out of my way to switch from Verizon Fios in Maryland because I hated the way they operated and their customer service. To the point that I had a competitor run a new line just to get rid of them. And after all of the hassle, I still enjoyed a 50% reduction in bill with faster speeds and much better TV packages. It will also be interesting because users in more remote areas will have either some alternate options or even a 1st time option for broadband without really increasing costs. If I'm a user in the middle of Alaska, my cell coverage is already spotty and "high speed" internet could still involve a kbps in the package. Not a great option for tradional GEO satellite service due to the extreme angles/latency and a LEO provider like Starlink could change my life in extreme ways. The cost to add me as a new satellite user is essentially $0. Whereas if I wanted 5G or wired internet at that speed, no telecom is looking to invest the cost of setup and maintenance in rural Alaska to capture my small monthly fee.

It will provide a better signal and have lower latency. The problem we have with current higher orbit constellations such as GEO is the distance it takes for your signal to travel from end-to-end. You're seeing a lot of loss and most small devices can't produce enough power to transmit and have a large enough receiver to catch the signal on the download. LEO is significantly closer and the small form factor devices out there even today is impressive. You don't really have a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation that is built and marketed for home use. Iridium has the best one, but does not have the capacity for wide-spread use. It's pretty much for Business and Government who can pay the rates required. O3B has a MEO orbit and has already proven to meet current speeds, but again that is expensive due to the terminal requirements to access the constellation. Starlink is the front runner right now for a global, LEO constellation that is accessible for normal commercial use. Once they get a satellite receiver at a price point that is palatable for the general public and get their infrastructure in place, I think people will be impressed. I like what I've seen on it so far and having Amazon enter the game only makes it more likely that prices stay down due to competition.

Satellite internet is still very hit and miss (mostly miss) on the speed and connection. It is great if all you are using it for is surfing the web and getting emails. If you are doing anything like working from home good luck with that as your connection will be dropped a lot it will also feel like you are on dial up when doing conference calls and forget video because that is not going to work all that well. If you want to stream movies or shows satellite internet is also going to be a huge let down as you are going to be luck to get 480p from it. Also if you like to play video games online this will also not work as you will have a high ping and latency is going to be an issue. Elon Musk's starlink I believe it is called also has the same issues though once the technology gets worked more this should improve though plugging into a line will still be the fastest and most reliable way to get onto the internet. It really depends on what you are using. The upcoming constellations should be pretty solid once the constellations are mostly/fully populated. The current offerings at high speed are still a premium in terms of cost and not "high speed" if you're used to current home internet rates. I've tested some of the stuff out there right now/upcoming and it hits all of the marks. This is especially true if you're already in a disadvantaged location where it will be a complete game changer. With the capability, design and backhaul already being built you should have no issues doing video calls, streaming or gaming. But that is all once fully populated and gateways are in place to handle that traffic. It's also important to realize too that there is a large corporate social responsibility for these global constellations to bring internet access to the globe in areas that have nothing at all. So anything that they can pull will be amazing to them. Will be very interesting to see how it all plays out.

After having completed my 1st bachelors in person, 1st masters online, MBA through a hybrid in person/online and 2nd bachelors online..it really depends on course, how student learns and time commitment available. My history degrees, online was perfectly fine and preferred. Some of my business classes were much better in person whether through discussion/interaction or the feedback of immediate questions and answers/examples. Since these athletes get the advantage of tutoring assistance, I would assume they are going to be fine.

The least flexible people I encounter are those who a) Loved being homebodies before COVID and b) Haven't sacrificed anything whatsoever and are still drawing paychecks. The irony of it is that they are the first to say their beliefs are dictated by doing what's best for our society, yet they show the least empathy of anyone. Thats an interesting observation. I would say my experience differs from that dramatically in that those that have maintained work are very flexible, understanding and grateful for still having a job and certainty during these difficult times. My observations go closer to the red/blue narrative in that where you track politically and how far to the edges on that spectrum correlates with how inflexible you are on your own beliefs.

I just don't see the federal government intervention for something like that. While the cell providers may like having the initial fed dollars to establish the coverage, they are likely to be stuck with the maintenance once done. And for the chance at a very small amount of additional revenue. They will also face stiff counter lobby from the satellite industry who have really taken aim at global internet on their LEO constellations. You're looking at 2-3 competitors right now who will be up and running in space probably before you could get a cellular lobby approval on that upgrade. And even then you're talking probably years before you could start to populate these northern dead spots with multiple years to get that coverage finished in just Wisconsin. All for how much more revenue? The cell companies are likely happy with their current infrastructure covering the major roadways and decent sized towns. They need their money for 5G upgrades which is going to put them in competition with current Internet providers and potentially a lot more revenue. The satellite providers are playing a numbers game globally, so I would bet their costs are going to beat cell plans currently without having a huge investment in hardware for the consumer.

I would guess that the cell companies are less likely to expand coverage for the few it would help. Cost/benefit not really there for them honestly. Upgrading speed capacity in congested areas is big. The better option is probably going to fome from satellite internet and then connecting via wifi to that connection.

I actually don't mind this at all. I like the look and glad they stuck with the color scheme. Numbers on the helmet is a nice touch. Taking the time to vet a strong name and logo while working through trademark issues is actually pretty smart.

Pretty sad that I have better (cheaper) viewing options for the Brewers outside of the local market than most of you inside of it.

Looks like you have until August 4th to redeem. I did it last year and glad to see they brought it back. Also has a 1 year subscription to the Athletic which I tried out too. Just be aware it will auto-renew after one year at $59.99.

I agree Reilly. I think those that are anti mask are more vocal than active while those that are promask seem to be both vocal and active. Living in Alabama, we lean towards the anti mask side, but you'll still see them pull their vehicles up to Walmart today and face mask up. They will complain to any and everyone, but they will do it. Promaskers will go out of their way to avoid shopping at places that don't require it. I'm glad Costco jumped on the mask policy early so I could still shop there during this time period and keep the wife happy.

I would love the Brewers in Nashville. Puts them about 2 hours away and I selfishly can get to a few games. I would love for Brewers AA to be Rocket City. Facilities are second to none and minutes away. Thats a pipe dream though as Angels and Rocket City have a strong relationship despite geography.

Too bad Bills is already taken. I like Redtails since that is a quick transition with color scheme. Washington Monuments Washington Ambassadors Washington Delegates You could also go more regional naming with Potomac or Capitol Capitol Police Potomac Rangers

Really? With soon to be 32 year old Jedd Gyroko (.174/.248/.250 in 2019) as the starting 3B? You're right, will probably have to settle for 69-1. I'm not betting against 70-0. They have already made it to June 18th without a loss and I'd bet that continues on into July.

I agree with a lot of posters in that this hiatus has really put a change in how I spend my time and money. I love baseball and will be glad to see it come back in some form. I won't be tuning in to every game or going out of my way to see a game in person. I was already at my limit from a cost/benefit ratio in terms of the price of taking my family and the yltravel effort required. I am lucky enough to have a beautiful minor league stadium within minutes from my home and my son already loves going there. So I will likely just fill the void through that avenue while checking in from afar to see how the crew is doing.

This topic is easier to discuss without getting into the politics of it because this is not a red/blue issue persay which can get heated quickly in the current environment. But as with most topics nowadays, far too many people want to make it that way for reasons of political clout. I personally have no issue with people kneeling. 1st amendment right, exercised peacefully. When I raised my hand and put a flag on my shoulder, I meant the words I recited and tried to support that during my whole military career. I personally could care less about the national anthem being played at sporting events outside of the Olympics or any other National team event. It is completely unnecessary to be played during an entertainment event. I dont want it before a movie, a concert or anything similar. I feel it truly cheapens the experience and meaning of what the flag represents and how it should be used. That is my personal opinion and I respect the opinions of others for how they view it. No need to get worked up over it honestly.

One way you fix it is to have hard slot values. It eliminates the gamesmanship of underslot deals to try to boost value later with a tougher sign because that later pick has a slot the player will get. In theory this should also put the top "talent" to the teams that need it based on draft slots. You will also see less senior signs because if you take that senior in round 5 you pay the slot bonus regardless. The owners absolutely have increased power this year due to the shortened draft and take it or leave it undrafted pool. It wouldn't surprise me to see teams not use their full bonus pool and go 3 rounds of normal value and senior sign below slot for 4 and 5. And that only benefits the richer clubs that can afford to spend everything in their bonus pool including overages to get even more talent. I also read reports of some teams may punt on their first round pick until next year. Draft someone, offer the minimum lowball slot value and take another 1st rounder next year as compensation. Now that would be terrible for those players good enough to be a 1st rounder and then shuffled back into a bad situation next year potentially as a senior player. Unsigned draft pick compensation goes through first 3 rounds I believe, so that is something to watch.