Have a couple random thoughts as I was scrolling through all the posts from this past weekend.......
First, anyone else get disgusted with all these fights in the stands of sporting events these days? Kirk Herbstreit alluded to this recently, how there just seems to be an epidemic of people wanting to get into trouble in the stands, almost as if they're looking for it or want their 15 minutes of fame. I just find it so trashy and the sign of a trash culture that so many people's first thought nowadays is to pull out their phone and record something rather than to try and help someone or diffuse the situation. Many times they're even cheering it on and can't wait to get it posted to "World Star" or some other garbage site. Also, seeing that woman in the Steelers video smack that guy got me to thinking how there are too many women out there who are far too comfortable hitting a man, for they don't fear any repercussion. The lesson is, don't put your hands on someone unless you are okay with them retaliating. Personally, I don't condone the hitting of a woman even in retaliation, but man everyone has a breaking point and all bets are off when you strike first. I digress.
Lastly, I see our good friend 'Ol Joe Bastardi has come up in conversation quite a bit the last couple of weeks haha. I understand Joe can rub some people the wrong way, and is often seen as quirky or goofy, but I also believe him to be one of the best out there at what he does. He's great with large scale patterns and especially historical analogs. Eric Horst even gave him a shoutout a few days ago, calling him one of the best tropical cyclone forecasters in the world. Now, even the most well-versed people in this business will end up with egg on their face from time to time. Heck, sometimes all the predictive variables can be pointing solidly to a particular outcome and Mother Nature will still do something completely different. Such is this goofy game we all enjoy. I was at a work conference one time and was fortunate enough to get to see Joe deliver one of his presentations. The guy has a borderline photographic memory about historical storms and I'm not sure anyone is more passionate about the topic. Again, I understand he can rub some the wrong way with his takes, but all in all I view him as a pretty harmless guy who's good for a laugh now and then but also knows his craft, albeit with a bit of cold bias thrown in at times ha. Also, he seems to be pretty tight with many in the Penn State wrestling community, so that's good enough for me haha. To each their own. Live on Eskimo Joe!