BSR

I knew I should have waited to hear it from Novak himself. No, Novak does not plan on getting vaccinated, even if that means missing out on playing the Slams. He will almost certainly be locked out of the 3 remaining in 2022 and the AO next year. Who knows if vaccination requirements will change after that.

Such a high end guy should know the difference between "discrete" and "discreet."

What type are you?

How sad, Saget died because he hit his head, thought nothing of it, just went to sleep, but ended up dying of head trauma. It reminds me of Natasha Richardson.

He did it! Nathan Chen wins the gold!! He landed an eensy bit wonky on a quad salchow and he singled the triple flip in his jump series -- two minor blemishes on a brilliant free skate. Kagiyama took silver and Uno bronze. Had Hanyu landed his quad axel, I think he would have edged out Uno for bronze. I've only watched Nathan's free skate so far; I'll watch the other guys later. Phew, what a relief! So happy for Nathan!

Nathan set a world record for highest score in a short program, 113.97! 18yo Kagiyama also had a perfect skate, 108.12. I'm super-impressed with Kagiyama's speed on the ice (don't underestimate how much speed matters to the judges) and flawless air positions. His father, also a figure skater, taught his son well. Uno had just a small error, a slight hand down on his combo for 105.90. The sad news was Hanyu hit a divot on his quad salchow, causing him to pop a single instead and putting him out of medal contention at 95.15. With nothing to lose, I wonder if Hanyu will try the quad axel in his free skate, a jump never completed in competition. I'm sorry for Hanyu, but he can console himself with his two gold medals. If he pulls off the quad axel, it will be a Midori Ito-esque moment of redemption. I'm crossing my fingers for Nathan so hard I hear bones cracking.

If you don't find farting funny, skip this one. But if you do, open this Twitter thread & brace yourself ...

Is that CD or US$? $6.15CD is $4.85US, which is more expensive than most gas south of the border but not that much. But if the $6.15 is US$, yikes, that's a lot.

Eduardo Velasco, 53yo, an actor on a Spanish soap opera. Damn, looks awfully good for 53.

I know this thread is gas prices in your area (no, I don't live in Madrid), nonetheless, I had to post this. Ignore the text* because he's making a sarcastic crack about some Spanish politicians. Focus on the shock at the pump: the top number is euros, the bottom liters. If you convert it to US$ and gallons: 24.745 gallons for $194.13!! OK, 25 gallons is a big tank but common in big pickups and SUVs. I get upset that it costs almost $50 to fill up. If I had to pay 4x that, I'd have a heart attack. * if you're curious: "I just paid this in gas. But happy knowing that Irene takes away our fear of tits, Calviño doesn't debate herself, and Yoli does supercool stuff." Irene Montero is the Spanish Minister of Equality, don't know the other two he's talking about.

I can't comment on the entire situation but do feel I can comment on her text to you. Yikes! That sounds like something a middle-schooler would say. Not only is she an adult, but the president of a company?? If some wet-behind-the-ears 22yo working his first job after graduation sent me that text, I'd still take him to task for his immaturity.

The latest Juan Martín del Potro comeback is from a broken kneecap, caused when he slipped and fell on it at Queens Club (June 2019). He's had four(!) surgeries on the knee since yet has still not fully recovered. Even though he complains of pain and I can't imagine he's fit enough to play an ATP tournament, he still plans to play Buenos Aires (??). In a press conference, Juan Martín del Potro said, "It’s possible that this is more of a goodbye than a comeback." While he didn't say 100% for sure that he was retiring, it sounds like that the official retirement announcement is imminent post-tournament. As many times as he's come back from so many injuries (I've long since lost count), this last one was just too much. JMDP has always been one of my favorites. I liked him for his loveable personality and his monster forehand, and of course he got the underdog support from fans after coming back from one injury after another after another. When it rains, it pours. As if this (likely) career-ending injury weren't bad enough, Juan Martín received a financial shock after his father's death last year. His father had been managing his money, or rather mismanaging it in multiple bad investments. Of the original $30 million, JMDP has only $3 million left, with a number of debts still to be paid. You would hope that the guy would at least be able to retire in comfort and style after an injury-plagued career ($30 million can buy a helluva lotta solace). Now I'm worried the guy is broke or close to it.

You can run, but you can't hide, especially true for something as big as a cruise ship. Crystal Serenity & Symphony fled to the Bahamas but couldn't escape the long arm of the law. Both ships got "arrested" in Freeport. I guess fuel companies get very testy when you fail to pay $4.6 million in past due fuel bills.

Too often after heavy snowfalls, you hear about some poor old man who died of a heart attack while shoveling his driveway. Because snow removal is expensive, seniors on a fixed income have no choice but to try to do it themselves. If this story inspired a few people to lend a helping hand, I'm all for it.

Thanks, I kinda forgot about Deflategate. As a die-hard Patriots and Brady fan, I brushed it aside, but for everyone else, it was a big No-No.

Wow, that was one heckuva short program! I get so insanely nervous during figure skating. I'll be defecating a brick during his short & long for men's gold.

Pic is a bit cropped. Click to see the uncropped version.

Some cruise lines offer A Cruise to Nowhere, short cruises with no ports of call, just a chance to work on your tan and drink yourself into oblivion. When Crystal starts back up again, maybe they can offer A Cruise to God Knows Where. I'm still kinda blown away by the Serenity's world cruise getting cut so short. Imagine planning for a 3.5 month cruise around the world, eagerly anticipating all the exotic, glamorous ports of call. You set sail from Miami and ... end up in the Bahamas??

I know I should wait to hear it from the horse's mouth, but I can't help but get excited to hear that Novak is caving -- he will get vaccinated! This should make the remaining 3 Slams of 2022 a heckuva lot more interesting. Now let's see if he'll be allowed to play Australia in 2023. I'm still not sure if he got slapped with a 3-year ban or not.

I know about the controversy around Aaron Rodgers, but what skeletons are in Tom Brady's closet that complicate his HOF induction?

I must be remembering things wrong. I could have sworn there was some controversy about the HOF and Simpson post-trial, but it's all too fuzzy now. In light of a widespread belief that Simpson got away with murder coupled with his 2008 convictions for armed robbery, kidnapping, and other charges, there was talk of expelling Simpson from the HOF, but the Football HOF rules don't allow it.

No seizure warrant, but Crystal Symphony's sister ship Serenity also owes big fuel bills ($2.2 million). Serenity's 3.5 month world cruise was cut short due to its parent company's disastrous finances. I can't imagine doing all the planning and preparation necessary for a world cruise only to have it aborted almost at the start.

Because NYC neighborhoods have no official boundaries, you can call 432 Park the Upper East Side if you want, but I think most would say it's Midtown, maybe Midtown East. While I love 432 Park as a work of architecture and engineering, apparently it's a nightmare for the residents. The condo owners are suing the developer for $500 million, yikes, because of numerous serious issues like flooding and water damage, unbearably loud building "groaning" in high winds, elevators shutting down and trapping residents in high wind. Here's a video covering just how bad the situation is:

Unless the rules have been changed recently, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, unlike its baseball counterpart, has no character clause. That's why OJ Simpson was quietly inducted despite all his notoriety and how Darren Sharper, a convicted serial rapist, was nominated for the 2017 class.