Your “They Keep Pulling Me Back In!” Thursday Evening Open Thread

Dammit! I keep trying to avoid the NFL, but stupidity keeps bringing it to the fore:

• “Aaron Hernandez’s Attorneys Might Argue That Weed Made Him Violent” – Deadspin
  • At first, this sounded like something out of the Jeff Sessions “War on Drugs” playbook.
    • Or a discarded Crimebeat! post.
  • Actually reading the article, and it’s supporting sources, gives the semi-legitimate option of a “diminished capacity” defence
    • to use the football-pun’d quote from the Boston Herald, “those experts could be used in a Hail Mary maneuver to try to erase the mental state needed to convict Hernandez of two counts of first-degree murder.”

• “Jameis Winston laments ‘poor word choice’ in elementary school speech” – ESPN
  • According to the Tampa Bay Times, “this is a story about a well-intended photo op that had some good in it and some bad”, and then Winston said to a bunch of kids he was trying to motivate:
    • “But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? [snip] But the ladies, they’re supposed to be silent, polite, gentle. My men, my men [are] supposed to be strong.”
    • He’s now defending himself against accusations of encouraging women to “know their role” and be quiet.
  • As a reminder, in December, Winston settled a federal lawsuit filed by the woman he was accused of assaulting at FSU. Florida State also agreed to pay the woman $950,000 in January 2016 to settle a lawsuit she filed against the school for its handling of her Title IX complaint.
    • This is the image he is trying to rehabilitate.

This ties into tonight’s discussion topic, raised by Cuntler in our super-secret discussion forum: “Worst thing you did as a kid or your kids have done.” Anything from regular shenanigans to sibling dick-moves. I believe we need to limit the age-of-responsibility for such acts to 12 and under, because any admissions to acts beyond that age might still – in the US – not have a statute of limitations. Unless you worked at Penn State.

Canada 150:

February 23, 1909 – Canadian John Alexander Douglas McCurdy makes the first powered flight in Canada, aboard his plane, the Silver Dart.

Built of steel tubing, bamboo, friction tape, wire and wood, the aircraft was covered in rubberized silk and had no brakes. The flight departed from Baddeck, Nova Scotia, flew for about half a kilometre, and was the first of its kind in the British Empire, a full 6-years after the Wright Brothers first flight.                      ^(Source)

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Avalanche at Predators – 8:00PM | Sportsnet
  • Coyotes at Blackhawks – 8:30PM | NBCSN
  • Bruins at Kings – 10:30PM | Sportsnet
• NBA:
  • Knicks at Cavaliers – 8:00PM | TNT / Sportsnet1
  • Clippers at Warriors – 10:30PM | TNT / Sportsnet1
• NCAA: best options
  • Memphis at Cincinnati – 7:00PM | ESPN
  • Wisconsin at Ohio State – 9:00PM | ESPN
• Turning Left:
  • Can-Am Duel at Daytona – 7:00PM | FS1 / TSN2
    • Two 60-lap races determine starting positions 3 through 40 for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

In Grade 7, I once deflated all the teachers’ car tires. NOW I’M A TEACHER!