Your “Dull Sideshow Full of Quacks and Clowns and Philistines” Thursday Evening Open Thread

Reminder: the Draft is three weeks today.

NFL News:

• 

  Beastmode will become a Raider, probably sometime before the draft.

  • John Schneider says his relationship with Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie – from their collective time in Green Bay – will ensure things are handled “in a smooth manner,”
    • either by release or minimally-invasive trade of a late-round pick
  • Should Lynch come out of retirement, he is in line for a salary-cap hit of $9 million in 2017 and a base salary of $7 million in 2018.
    • if he’s released rather than traded, then the Raiders can negotiate a cheaper deal against their cap
      • their preferred option is release
    • currently, the Raiders have $33 million in cap space for 2017

• If the Seahawks do trade Richard Sherman, the price is expected to be a player & a pick
  • the player will have to cost less than the $13.6 million Sherman now costs on the Seattle cap
    • because the Seahawks only have $10 million in cap space left for 2017
    • Seattle has 10 players taking up 61 percent of its cap space, counting for a total of $101.26 million on the ’17 cap

• As expected, Aaron Hernandez did not testify in his own defence, and his lawyer wrapped up his case Wednesday.
  • Closing arguments today came down to:
    • Prosecution: Hernandez killed two men because he had “an illogical sense of being disrespected.”
    • Defence: Hernandez’s former friend, Alexander Bradley, killed the two men over a drug deal.

Finally, Florio has started the idol-worship of the now non-retired-but-released Tony Romo by positing “The Romo 13”, in the vein of “The Brady 6”. Here are some of those names:

• Carson Palmer (drafted #1 overall – Bengals)
• Byron Leftwich
• Kyle Boller
• Rex Grossman
• Chris Simms – son of the man he’s replacing at CBS, and likely the reason Florio put this list together

Your long-form read of the day comes from The Economist and the New York Times, and marks the 100th Anniversary of the US joining World War One – April 6, 1917. They draws parallels to today’s presidential administrations, and discuss how that war marked the emergence of the modern American state, setting the stage for the 20th century being the age of America.

The war is a pretty big deal up here right now. Canada begins commemorating the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge this weekend. The battle, between April 9-12, was 6-months in planning by Lord Byng, and was fought by all-Canadian forces. It took in a weekend what the British & French hadn’t conquered in two years, and set the stage for Canada to begin truly emerging from its colonial status. This memorial

stands at Vimy Ridge, on land ceded by France to Canada in tribute to the men who sacrificed their lives in that battle. You can’t go too far off to the sides, however,

as it’s estimated it will take 700 years for all the ordinance to work its way to the surface.

Here’s a pretty good gif of the conflict as it escalated. Note how Canada is not considered an independent country at this time.

Maybe spend part of your evening, or weekend, reading a little history.

I realize “Sexy Friday” is both not my topic and on Fridays, but it’s been a long day. I was supposed to get layoff notice at 10:45 AM today, which will cost me the job that’s allowed me time to do these daily threads, but the announcement was instead changed to “the three sites will be amalgamated into one”. The best-case is that I still get the lay-off and one-year’s pay; the worst-case is that I don’t get it & get sent to the remaining location to teach courses I don’t know, and if I quit I get nothing.

So forgive me for crossing a line before I go home and spend the weekend emptying my liquor cabinet. But the first images of Netflix’s “G.L.O.W” series were released today, and that’s just too important to pass up.

In case you’d forgotten what the 80s looked like, gaze upon its full majesty:

The show stars Alison Brie.

and I don’t care after that. Also, I’m throwing in these two just to feel a bit better.

The defence rests. It premieres June 23rd.

Don’t forget to pour one out for Don Rickles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv4OMsTUptA

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Penguins at Devils – 7:00PM | Sportsnet360
  • Senators at Bruins – 7:00PM | NBCSN
    • possible first-round matchup
  • Blackhawks at Ducks – 10:00PM | NBCSN
  • Flames at Kings – 10:30PM | Sportsnet

• NBA:
  • Celtics at Hawks – 8:00PM | TNT / Sportsnet1
  • Timberwolves at Trail Blazers – 10:30PM | TNT / Sportsnet1

• NCAA:
  • Men’s hockey – Frozen Four semi-finals:
    • Harvard vs. Minnesota (Duluth) – 6:00PM | ESPN2
    • Notre Dame vs. Denver – 9:30PM | ESPN2

• Soccer:
  • Women’s International Friendly Soccer: U.S. vs. Russia – 8:30PM | FS1

COME TO ME, MY ALCOHOL!