Eleven

That ump was actually very funny.

Dammit @Norcal I don't start this thread for men's tennis! But I suppose do with it what you will...

Las Vegas is out of control.

Random city review. Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is the capital of Applachia in the same way that Chicago is the capital of the Midwest. There, the comparisons end. Emerson Etem would be well-schooled if he were in downtown Pittsburgh; there is nothing to do here, just as there was nothing to do in downtown Buffalo back then. I stand by my statement from back then, that downtown is for business and other areas are for fun. (Yes, freeman, we all are aware that NYC has downtown business and fun, and we also are aware that it is the dirtiest and smelliest place in the US.) Food: Just don't bother. Everything is a chain. Even in areas comparable to Elmwood or Hertel, there are Hard Rock Cafe, Joe's Crab Shack, Texas de Brazil, and Bucca di Beppo. You'll find the same dining at the Walden Galleria as you will here. The local "thing" is Primanti Bros., which, if you actually don't know about it already, is an average sandwich with fries in the sandwich. Meh. Putting French fries in an average sandwich does not elevate the sandwich. There seems to be no equivalent of a Tempo or Oliver's here; it's all just chain. Even the high-end places. Frankly, I feel like I'm in Ohio on this one. Beer: Since my friends here are big microbrew fetishists, I expected to see some nice stuff on tap. Nope. And I have been around to enough places this holiday weekend to take note, even if I'm not a beer guy. Yuengling, Iron City, and your standard American macros. People: The people could not possibly be nicer! Everywhere you go, it's just nice after nice after nice. (Well, the customers, anyway. The staff at bars, restaurants, and hotel are kind of surly, but maybe there's a reason for that so I give them a break.) Need directions? Nice. What's good on the menu? (Nothing, but they're still nice.) Everywhere I have been, just nice, friendly people. Church: Had a lovely Mass this morning. Music and everything, a lot better than what we are at back home. And again, so friendly: "Hi, I am new here," "Hi, where from," etc. Ballpark: PNC may be the nicest park I ever have been to. It is beautiful. The sightlines are great from every area (oh, I walked it three times); the seats are so comfortable even in the cheap areas, and the view of the outfield is inimitable: one of the rivers (I get confused among the three) is right there, with a bunch of boats, and then there is the downtown skyline. They designed this park RIGHT. The food is meh (see above) but parking was $3 for a ten-minute walk to the park. That's cheaper than the Bisons-area parking. If you like baseball, or even if you just like baseball parks, you've got to see this one. Drivers: Considerably better than Buffalo. There's a lot of weird stuff to navigate around here, considering the mountains and rivers, and people do it well. Hotel: I can't wait to get home to slam the **** out of this place on every possible website.

You're making my point.

I like that both games are today. I just wish they were spaced out a bit.

And when they refuse to give you their real names? Or when they come back anyway?

It stops there at least twice per day and I have used that station many times for meetings at Turningstone!

The Lightning have abolished their stupid no opposing jersey policy.

I only know this from spending way too much time reading a reddit thread about the situation. That place is a time sink like no other.

It's this one. It's like when Carolina and Nashville decided to sell tickets only to certain ZIP codes. Insecurity.

NYC teams are trash.

Our schools don't do a good enough job of explaining this. And (before anyone jumps in) no, it doesn't matter that the county owns the arena.

In the same way that any human interaction puts lives at risk. Look, let's not extend BLM too far. I'm firmly in favor of it, but I'm not ACAB about it. It's a lot smarter for Tampa to enforce its INCREDIBLY STUPID AND INSECURE policy through the police than for it to take direct action through its security staff.

They're insecure, is what they are. I don't want to live in a world where Leaves and Habs fans don't wear their stuff in Buffalo.

I think analytics has a place, especially in baseball, but you have explained perfectly how the pendulum has swung too far.

This is a blunder, but it isn't his biggest.

Yes, that is exactly what they meant. The twitter post that had the youtube link in it made that clear.

The Lightning aren't the government, though. Me too. These Tampa folks should see what our arena looks like for even a normal regular season game, much less one against the Habs or Leaves!

I think it was this series.

I have a friend who is superstitious and wears the opposing team's jersey for EVERY game, Bills or Sabres, live or on TV. Yes, he has invested a lot of money into this peculiar hobby.

Apparently Tampa has seized upon Carolina's sensitivity about opposing fans, and has taken it up a notch.

Do Tier I and II personnel include players?

He probably would. But *should* he?