Your “Death & Darkness Are Rushing Forward” Thursday Evening Open Thread

Luckily, there’s still The Darkness.

NFL Notes:

• Julian Edelman & the Patriots have agreed on a contract extension. Otherwise, this was the final year of his four-year deal signed in 2014.
  • Also, no one smaller than him is a free agent, so Belichick had no choice – other than scouring the Ringling Brothers unemployment line.
• Speaking of all things dark & evil, here’s Grumblelord on why the Patriots didn’t submit any rule changes to the committee this year:
  • “We love the rules the way they are,” Belichick told reporters. “Yeah, we don’t want to change them.”
• Nick Fairley really wants to keep playing, because he’s trying to find a third opinion on his heart condition. It’s probably the four-year, $28 million contract he signed this offseason driving him.
  • “He’s gotten two professional opinions,” Sean Payton said. “The first one was one that advised that he shouldn’t play football again. The second opinion was a little different,”
  • Let’s hope it turns out better for him than Chris Bosh.
• AP says he wants to keep playing until he’s 37 or 38.
  • Which is easy if you go one-on, one-off like he’s been doing.
  • I’m sure his kids won’t miss him.

Oh Cthulhu, between the Comey hearings and the UK election (bigger news in Canada), there’s little salve in sports today. You’d think teams would release their bad news so it would get buried. Why must this garbage happen during final-round playoffs and/or baseball season?!

I don’t know what to make of the Comey hearings. I grew up during the Cold War, so I was raised on Red-bashing, espionage investigations, and the Cold War. The quickest end to a political career in that era was the merest hint of Soviet influence – especially calling someone a “Commie”. It boggles my mind that doddering old men like Mitch McConnell & John McCain would put any faith in anyone who had admitted Russian ties.

By all rights, and not for circumstances, it should be “President Biden” right now, and Chevy would have a $2 trillion loan to make an electric Camaro.

Also, CANADA HOCKEY 1972 RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry; got wrapped up in the nationalism for a second.

The UK election is a strange thing, because it’s happening as a result of Brexit, and in the face of the recent bombings. Here are your two main leaders, Jeremy Corbyn & Teresa May

Corbyn is the last of the old Labour hard-socialists, and basically wants to re-nationalize everything Thatcher & Major sold off. Teresa May is a hardcore Brexiteer who sees herself as Maggie 2.0 and wants a majority before going into departure negotiations, so no one will try to argue there’s one year left in her term, so the next PM should appoint the Supreme Court judge finish negotiations. Either way, it seems like a choice between a kick in the balls or a punch in the balls.

Interest will come from the influence of regional parties like SNP & Plaid Cymru, and if the UKIP can carry their Brexit momentum forward now that former leader & future Fox News gasbag Nigel Farage is off the scene. Exit polls prior to putting this article to bed give the Conservatives a probable minority government, so it looks like the Pound is dropping before my trip in July!

Most results should be known by about 8:00AM Eastern, but enough of a pattern will develop before bedtime that Canadian news will begin its requisite navel-gazing and questioning of our traditional links to the motherland.

I’ve got three bottle of Crown Royal on the shelf, and I might need all of them tonight.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Game 5: Predators at Penguins – 8:00PM | NBC / CBC
• CFL:
  • Pre-Season: Tiger-Cats at Redblacks – 7:30PM| TSN3
    • Maestro has you covered.
•  MLB:
  • Red Sox at Yankees – 7:00PM | ESPN / TSN2
  • Orioles at Nationals – 7:00PM | Sportsnet360
• Futbol:
  • CONCACAF 2018 World Cup Qualifying Soccer:
    • U.S. vs. Trinidad and Tobago – 8:00PM | FS1
    • Mexico vs. Honduras – 10:00PM | FS1

If you listen to fools,

THE MOB RULES!