Tempting The COVID Bear

OK, I don't think what I did yesterday was heeding risk of contracting the coronavirus.

I had the day off yesterday because of Chinese New Year.  Oh: It appears as though I will be filling in on Sundays for the time being, so I usually will have Friday afternoons off.  Beyond that, because of the pandemic, I am rolling over a bunch of paid time off, and even though I don't want to use them all now, I figure I should treat myself with a whole Friday off once a month.  It just so happens that I used yesterday because it was Chinese/Lunar New Year.

What I wanted to do was go to Eat Street to get tested.  But I couldn't.  That clinic recently revamped their hours; they will not test in the afternoon.  According to its website, the clinic will end testing at 11.  OK, so I went there before 11, but the guy said they ended testing at 10.  Sure they did.  Did the guy expect me to accept him just tossing out a time to get me to leave?  Well, I did leave, because it's not as if I can barge in and demand a test.  But I don't appreciate the sudden change in hours -- as uncomfortable a swab up the nostril is, it's more accurate than the spit test -- and I think the guy was lying to me.  And this clinic is sending me e-mails asking me for money?  Fuck you guys.

I bought Jimmy John's -- chicken, because of the New Year -- and ate it at the parking lot of Glam Doll before getting out and ordering donuts and hot chocolate from Glam Doll.  I had thought about exercising at the cemetery, but just that walk froze my feet.  And I didn't really have anything to do the rest of the afternoon, so I went to the Mall Of America -- primarily to walk, even though I ate the donuts at the MOA parking lot and brought the hot chocolate into the mall with me.

I wouldn't call it busy.  But I wouldn't call it not busy there.  And I was surprised that I saw more kids there.  Isn't it a school afternoon?  Then again, with the pandemic, maybe they wouldn't be holding classes in person, and if they're not, can parents just decide to take their kids to the mall one afternoon?  Most of the people were wearing masks, but many of them were wearing them incorrectly -- under the nose like men pulling their genitals above and past the top of their underwear, and chin diapers.  And since I was there to walk, I spent 75 minutes doing laps there.  Didn't stop besides taking off my mask to sip my hot cocoa; didn't want to catch corona.

But ... I later went to Wal-Mart because I want to see if I could buy a cable that will allow me to charge my laptop from my battery.  (I went to Wal-Mart because my supervisors got me a $10 gift card for the store.)  And I went up to the cable aisle, and I tried reading all the labels of the cables, and I still was not sure what to get.  So I stood there, opened up the Internet, and tried looking up information as to which specific cable I should get.  And it dawned one me that I had spent, oh, half an hour at that aisle ... in a somewhat-crowded store ... not moving and staying about in one place.  And then I left, because I don't think the cable I needed was there.

Goddamn, I contracted the virus today.  Whether it was at MOA or at Wal-Mart, I got it.

---

I was woken up this morning by Father.  He asked for my help in scheduling a vaccine for him.  He called me out of my bedroom again about an hour later because he found another place in the area where he could sign up for a shot.  I was visibly annoyed at him -- for waking me up, for coaxing me out of my cozy and warm bedroom, for doing something that I was hoping he and Mother could do themselves, for being helpless.

But I understand that this is all coming from an anxiety, and from Father feeling he is entitled to get a shot now.  He's right; he is entitled.  Plus, I want him to get a vaccination.  And so that makes me feel even more guilty that I engaged in risky behavior yesterday just because it was too cold to walk outside and because I want to buy a cable for my laptop.  I really, really hope they don't get COVID-19 just as they're able to schedule an appointment for a shot.

---

And on top of all that, I feel a mass in my chest.  I hope I'm being a hypochondriac, but shit, man, maybe I did get the virus yesterday.  Goddammit. ...

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: Positive Numbers).  Well, their streak of not dropping a Set to begin their delayed season ended this past weekend at Purdue, a proud program that has not come as close to getting over the hump as Minnesota has, but they nevertheless the Gophers take both Games in West Lafayette.  That keeps them on top when it comes to comparing local teams, but I am looking for a reason to knock any Twin Cities club into negative territory at some point in their season -- not every Week can be sunshine and rainbows -- so winning a pair of 3-2 decisions gets them a -1 for this screening Week.  They also rise to fifth in the AVCA Top 25, although they are behind two Big Ten squads (#1 Wisconsin and #4 Nebraska) in this weird season where many BcS schools completed their seasons in the fall.

A huge series coming up.  Prime nemesis Penn St. comes here for Spring 2021, both tonight/Friday night and tomorrow/Saturday night.  Not only can you see this on TV (Big Ten Network), but -- and I didn't know this until recently -- you can now listen to Gopher volleyball Games on the radio, on The Plus, 96.7 FM!

#-2: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -6).  This team suffered through a three-Game skid that made me think about taking back my belief they were just about a Stone Cold Steve Austin lock for The Big Dance.  And they were falling down Joe Lunardi's Bracketology, getting close to "Real Last Four In" status, or worse.  So they turned away from the abyss this Week with a pair of important wins at home, over Nebraska by 18 Monday and, probably more importantly, over Purdue by three yesterday/Thursday afternoon.

Liam Robbins and Marcus Carr have become the engine of this team and a formidable inside-outside duo when they're working.  But inconsistent Guard play has hampered this team, and opponents have been able to disrupt, if not shut down, their Big Two.  Recently they've been undone by horrible starts to their Second Halves.  And while I want to credit their team's fortitude in their victory over the Boilermakers, it's accurate to say that they haven't been a consistently clutch team this year, either.  It made yesterday's contest an entertaining nailbiter, though; after Purdue's Trevion Williams made a lay-up put his team up 68-66 with 24 Seconds to go, Carr drilled a Three-Pointer with :14 left.  Williams then was called for traveling with seven Seconds left, Gabe Kalscheur made both Free Throws after being fouled, and the Gophers escaped with a 71-68 win that should arrest the U.'s slide.

Unfortunately, I now see that the Gophers this screening Week face a pair of B1G schools hanging onto tournament hopes on the road, at which they are still winless.  They visit Maryland (the only team to have defeated the Golden Gophers at Williams Arena, and they did so humiliatingly, 63-49) Sunday evening, then travel to Indiana Wednesday.

#-3: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -1).  The U. is ranked tenth, and Illinois is ranked 13th.  I guess it's, uh, encouraging to see that the Gophers overpowered the Illini at Maturi Friday evening by a 25-13 Dual Score.  The U. only won six of the ten matches that count toward the Dual Score (for this season only, teams are allowed to stage extra matches so competitors can rack up records for their personal prospects for NCAA postseason play), but those wins included back-to-back Technical Falls by #6 Brayton Lee at 157 and #15 Andrew Sparks at 165 to take the lead from Illinois and, to add the cherry on top, Heavyweight #1 Gable Steveson's Pin of #6 Luke Luffman just 34 Seconds into their match.

Hmmm, this is odd: They are at Wisconsin this/Friday late morning.  The Dual starts at ... 10 a.m.???

#-4: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2).  It looks as though Minnesota and Wisconsin are the two programs that stand out above the rest this season in women's top-flight college hockey.  Evidence of that was provided last weekend when the Badgers came to Ridder Arena and split a two-Game series.  Each team blew a two-Goal lead and lost, the Gophers Friday on their way to a 4-3 Overtime loss, the Badgers Saturday on their way to a 3-2 Shootout loss.  It's a wash when it comes to the WCHA standings: both clubs took two Points in their victory and one in their defeat.  But considering that the Goofers traveled to Madison and got swept by a combined score of 11-3, it's fair to say that the Badgers have the leg up this season.  That portends bad things in a possible (probable?) tournament matchup, possible in the Frozen Four Final.

Their final home series of the regular season is this/Friday and tomorrow/Saturday afternoon vs. Ohio St., a squad against which they have split a pair of series so far.  Friday's tilt can be heard on The Plus.

#-5: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3).  Finish this screening Week 1-3.  It feels as though they have finished many, many, many screening Weeks 1-3.  The Wolves' sole win was the first Game of a two-Game series at Oklahoma City on Friday, squeaking out a 106-103 result as they finally showed some late-Game grit.  But they demonstrated a lack of said grit the following night, losing 120-118 the next night, and it has been typically downhill from there.  With Wednesday's 119-112 home loss to the Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves now have the worst record in the NBA.

I see a few encouraging signs that leads me to rank the Woofie Dogs above two other teams for the week.  The road win over The Bastard Seattle SuperSonics is one.  Another: Karl-Anthony Towns finally has returned to the team after a month away from the team while fighting COVID-19.  Man, a young man in extremely good health like KAT, and just because his genes and that of his family are such a bad matchup with this virus, he was waylaid for that long -- and probably will need at least several Games before he's back to full strength?  But hey, at least the squad has its leader back.

Four Games this Week -- at Charlotte (tonight/Friday night) and Tampa (versus Toronto Sunday), then home contests against The Bastard Minneapolis Lakers (Tuesday) and Indiana (Wednesday).

#-6: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -4).  A 24-Point loss in Ohio St. Sunday afternoon in which they just had a shitty Third Quarter.  That was followed up with a ten-Point win Wednesday versus Illinois.  Like the men, thin Guard play has hampered yet another season with the women's basketball program.  I mean, 6-9 overall and a 5-8 conference record is barely better than those of squads during the Littlejohn Era.  This Week they host Wisconsin Sunday afternoon (like all women's basketball Games, you can hear this one on The Plus) and play at Rutgers Wednesday.

#-7: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: 0).  The worst Week, by far, goes to the U. male icers.  It actually was an embarrassing Border Battle for both Minnesota hockey programs.  Both the male and female Wisconsin teams came over.  And while Minnesota at least managed to win in a Shootout to save some face, the young men did nothing of the sort, losing badly and looking horrible in the process, by scores of 4-1 (courtesy of a brainfart in the middle of the Third Period when they were tied at 1) and, fucking Christ, 8-1.  A high-flying offensive juggernaut somehow only scored two over the weekend.  Meanwhile, the weaker part of this team, defense, got exposed time and time again by Bucky Badger.  Therefore, the U. went from second to fifth in both men's college hockey polls.  I am getting the feeling that these Goofers can just pepper teams with Goals, and they can get peppered by Goals in turn, and that's not a good feeling to have for a team when you want it to go far in the postseason.

Another team that depantsed the U. at home is Notre Dame, and Minnesota visits South Bend for a two-Game set tonight/Friday night and tomorrow/Saturday late afternoon.  As always (and has been the case for the past few Years), you can hear these tilts on The Talk, also known as 103.5 FM and AM 1130.

Hottest Babe In The Hooters Calendar: January

I think I will be getting Hooters calendars till the day I die.  While Hooters is being battered, both by the pandemic now and by the whims of the restaurant industry and upstart "breastuarants" nipping at its heels in non-pandemic times, I still believe that Hooters is the pre-eminent restaurant chain (if "pre-eminent" is an appropriate word to describe a "breastaurant"), and I think its still-popular calendar is a sign that, at least as far as they are concerned, things are still full speed ahead.

And as for the calendar, I think that aesthetically, 2021 represents a new dawn.  I have snuck peeks at the months ahead, and I believe that Hooters is taking more risks with the photographs of their waitresses.  OK, what I mean by that is they're putting more of them in bare-ass bikini bottoms.  That alone represents something new, something risque, and something pornographic -- and I don't mind that at all!

January 2021 does not have any of their ten chicks showin' ass.  I don't mind it, however, because the overall vibe I got is a positive and promising one.  I will only point out five, but the five I don't point out still have some pop to them.  I think this month is good, and I feel the next months will be even better.

Of the five I point out, I will group three of them in a joint third place: Somer from Clearwater, Fla.; Alexis out of Naples, Fla.; and Las Vegas' Hannah.  They are sporting nice, hot bodies.  The only drawbacks I see with each of them are ones that I think originate from choices made by the photographer and editor -- respectively, her right hand is placed on the top half of her stomach; her arms are inexplicably and distractingly bent for no natural reason; and her eyeshadow is way too dark.  But I would not be upset if they were serving me for dinner.

In second place is Michaela, hailing from Wesbank, La.  She's a long, dark-haired beauty sporting a black two-piece bikini, the bottom of which is scandalously tied on the side!  She's got a radiant smile and she's holding both her arms over her head, which is a pose I think more women should utilize.  I only have two minor quibbles with her picture.  One, her overall vibe screams young college age girl, and my #1 choice looks to be all woman.  And two, Michaela is posing in front of a corrugated door that I see enclosing 25x25 storage units where I have my stuff.  Just a tad incongruous.

My award for top woman goes to someone who I think has posed in previous years, and who I may have selected in previous years: Angela, who, like Alexis, waitresses out of Naples, Fla.  She is only holding her arms partially up, but they're grabbing onto -- something ... well, I can see that the right hand is grabbing onto what looks like straw, so I'm going to pretend that her left hand is grabbing onto my dick.  She is wearing a patterned two-piece.  The bottom, like with Michaela, is tied on the sides, making me think it's very easy to just reach out, untie them, and expose Angela's pussy.  She has long, dark hair, and she's posing fully in front profile, showing off her totally banging body.  Angela is lit from the back; you can see a light that peeks just a bit around her beautiful mane.  She has a come-hither look that is devastatingly mature, like she's down to fuck.  Oh, and you can see that her tits are fake, but they're big, so big that her bikini top is barely holding them in.  So fuck yeah, congratulations to Angela!!!

And I will find the time to masturbate to these babes soon!

Do Better, Xorge Olivares!

Xorje Olivares is a media personality, radio producer and host on SiriusXM Progress.  I listen to the channel's morning show (which is actually a syndicated radio show that is heard on terrestrial radio), The Stephanie Miller Show, and a part of the show before it, Signal Boost, for which Olivares I think is the producer.

So what I am saying is that I have not heard him a whole lot.  But from what I have heard, he is smart and has solidly progressive views.  No problem there.  He has his own show on Saturday mornings, which I do not have time to listen to.  But a network commercial for that his show, Affirmative Reaction, usually airs once or twice a day during Miller.  And I need to get this off my chest: Those spots promoting his show are fucking terrible.

I don't know if this is how all talk show ads are formatted, or if it's just the ones for SXM Progress.  But in the 30 seconds, there is a voiceover that says the title of the program, then there is a clip from a recent show to give a flavor of what that program is about and what you can expect from the host, and then the VO comes back to slate the title of the program again, give its timeslot, then finishes the spot with, "... on SiriusXM Progress, 127!"

What I have noticed when it comes to ads for Affirmative Reaction, and I think I have noticed this ever since his show started several years ago, is that this clip that fills the "donut" of the spot rarely, if ever, is him talking about the issues of the day -- no Trump, nothing about an LGBTQ+ case in front of the Supreme Court, nothing about the kids being separated from their parents at the border.  The overwhelming majority of these clips features, and this is not a joke, him introducing a guest, and that guest complimenting him.  It literally is, "We welcome our guest, so-and-so. ..." "Oh, thank you so much for having me, Xorge, you're awesome!"

First of all, I find the repeated ass-kissing weird.  The same clip appears to run for a couple weeks before it's swapped out for a fresher one, and yet they just use a sound bite of another guest thanking him.  But the main sin is that these promotional ads are absolutely uninformative.  How are you supposed to promote the show and encourage someone to tune in and try it when we can't hear the host spouting off on the issues his talk show theoretically covers?  I have heard, at most, two rants where Olivares gives his opinion on a hot-button issue of the day, and neither of them were particularly information-filled nor, well, ranty.  These guests we hear him introduce are never heard talking about an issue, either.  It is quickie radio fellatio.

I could, could, buy into an explanation that someone else is cutting these spots, and that person either has no idea how to promote a radio show or is out to make Olivares look bad.  If that's the case, and regardless of whether Olivares is a jerk or not, it behooves him, his show and the channel to find someone who can do a better job.  But if you want to be less charitable and believe Olivares has direct control of what clips are used for these ads, the only logical conclusion one can arrive at is that Xorge Olivares is a thin-skinned narcissist who should care about progressive issues but really is only about promoting himself.

Like I said, I don't have time to listen to him.  And I want to believe that everyone who's on SiriusXM Progress has a brain and good intentions.  But shit, man, these spots aren't doing him any favors.  And I understand it is very weird for me to go off on shitty promotional ads on satellite radio.  But that should be a sign of how conspicuously execrable these are.  Man, I haven't done a radio spot in two decades, and I know I could find a better clip for these promotionals than the ones I routinely hear for him.  Xorge, the people who work for him, someone at SXM Prog -- jfc, step it up!

Expenses Without Receipts

Starting from Monday, February 8:

• Actually I really need to start Friday the 5th, where I had the afternoon off and made it to Glam Doll to eat a Valentine's Day-themed donut.  Text written in icing: "Send Me Dog Pic."  With tip: $5.32.
• This time around I used a lot of cash because I bought a lot of lottery tickets because of the twin megajackpots in January.  Case in point: Friday, January 22, where, while I was waiting for The Mechanic Around The Corner to fix the faulty valve stem core in one of my tires, I decided I was going to get my sister the Mega Millions tickets she wanted.  And it was time I used the small winnings from one of her earlier tickets to defray the cost.  Now, I have blog posted about the ticket I bought here; I can't find it, and even though it's probably a loser, I'm scared that I somehow left the ticket at the counter and that mean, rude bitch who cashiered me didn't tell me and just kept it to herself, pocketing the hundreds of dollars that ticket might've won.  Hate her.  Anyway, the ticket cost me: $8.
• And I went to Glam Doll afterward.  Charged a donut and hot chocolate.  But I tipped in cash: $1.
• Later that evening Father paid me back for buying those tickets I got for him, an Infusion of: $14.
• On Thursday the 21st I anted up my contribution to a pool for the remaining humongous Mega Millions jackpot at work.  Did not know until these megajackpots that there was a pool at work.  Gave: $2.
• And after I got home Father again paid me back for all those times I got those lottery tickets for Mother and him, an Infusion of: $50.
• Tuesday the 19th: Work pool for the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots: $4.
• Did the same Friday, January 15: $4.
• And once again, once I got home from work, Father paid me back for buying all those ... OK, I honestly don't know if this was the day when he paid me back for buying all those lottery tickets for them.  I just decided to write it for this day because I know I used cash to spend on another thing on this day.  It's an Infusion of $40.
• To Sunday the 10th ... after work I bought Subway to eat at work the next day.  Charged the submarine to my credit card, but used cash for tip ETA at 12:51 a.m. on February 11 that it turns out that I did not charge the sub, and that I in fact used cash to pay for the whole thing.  Since I apparently have a receipt for the submarine (I wrote it down in my day planner), this EWR reflects only the tip, for which there obviously is no receipt: $1.

Good through February 8.

Beer Powder? I'll Get Right On That, Father

Popped out to the dining room after the Super Bowl (woof, what a debacle) got over to watch The Equalizer.  Just wanted to get out of my bed and out of the heat in the bedroom.

After the show got over and I was still on my laptop, Father came up for one of his usual late-night snacks.  He came up to me and said something like, "Well that Game was boring, huh?"  And then he launched into one of his non-sequitur ideas he has not talked to me about in many, many years.  He did that from time to time in the past, when I was younger and he saw in me potential to take his weird ideas and put them into practice, somehow envisioning a lucrative, world-changing future for me because of him.  That has never happened because I usually don't think anything of it.

At any rate, he said something like, "Hey, I have an idea: Beer powder.  It tastes like beer, but it's powder form.  You add water to it or something, put it in, like, water or on top of food like a dressing, but without the alcohol.  Good idea?  I'll give you money so you could. ..."  So, I could, what?  I think he suggested either investing in companies who make beer powder or, if such a thing somehow doesn't exist (and in this day and age everything exists), inventing it ... I guess ... ?

He hasn't talked this crazy in a long time, so maybe he's due.  But blog posting this is my attempt at even trying to remember his suggestion after tonight.  I'm not mad at Father, I'm just ... huh?

Super-Specific Super Bowl LV Predictions And What To Bet

Since becoming an analyst, Tony Romo has become somewhat of a seer, predicting plays well before they happen.  But this prediction, made back during the NFL's regular season, is downright eerie:

If he was right about this, what to make of his current prediction -- that Super Bowl LV will be considered one of the all-time best Games ever?  I shouldn't bet against him now.  But while I'm not saying that this Game will be a blowout (I don't think it will be), all-time classics usually have a lot of offense, and I keep thinking there will be less scoring than most people think considering the main storyline of this Super Bowl is the GOAT, Tom Brady, going up against The Best Quarterback Right Now, Patrick Mahomes.

I will say that right now, I am way more intrigued when Brady has the ball.  He has seen it all, and his instincts remain sharp.  But advanced statistics have shown that he is very, very susceptible against blitzes.  Also note that the Kansas City Chiefs' Defensive Coordinator is Steve Spagnuolo.  He was the DC for the New York Giants when they beat Brady and the New England Patriots -- and ruined their perfect season -- in SB XLII.  Saying that, the big factor in the upset was the Giants being able to generate pressure with just four Defensive Linemen.  It looks as though Spagnuolo is going to bring the house in order to force Brady into mistakes.  Will that scenario play out?

But it's not as if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to let Mahomes walk all over them -- at least I don't think so.  The Chiefs are far from the high-flying Offense of last Year.  Moreover, their Offensive Line is a hurting unit.  In particular, both Chiefs Tackles are replacements.  One wrinkle in all of this is that Mahomes has been spectacular throwing against blitzes.  But, if the Bucs can generate pressure with just four guys, that will force Mahomes into improvising against blanket coverage.  Will that scenario play out?

I am as unsure about this Game as I have been about any since I started blogging.  Because of that, I don't think I'll get into too many super-specific predictions.  (Not that they ever came true anyway.)  But I have an image about how I think Super Bowl LV is going to go.

1) The Buccaneers have not utilized much of their running game, but sabermetrics say that they have a lot of success using it, especially in short-yardage situations.  Since the best way to defend a star Quarterback is to keep him on the sideline, Tampa Bay is going to play the possession game, using Leonard Fournette mostly to pound the ball on the ground.  Fournette will finish with 75 Yards rushing.

2) On the flip side, The Bucs' Defense will succeed in blowing up the K. C. Offensive Line, flustering Mahomes and (somewhat) stymying the Chiefs attack.  T. B. will finish with more Sacks than the Chiefs -- I will say, oh, three.

3) To counteract the Buccaneers' success in infiltrating their backfield, Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid will shift to using a lot of jet sweeps to take the heat off and to force Buccaneer linemen to back off.  Tyreek Hill will finish with more Yards rushing than receiving, and Mecole Hardman is going to break off one run of at least 30 Yards.

4) Analytics also state that Tampa Bay, for all their opportunism in defending and in hawking the ball, oftentimes leaves the middle of the field open, and allows Tight Ends to run wild.  Travis Kelce may be needed to chip onrushing linemen, but he will get his targets, and I think he'll make the most of them.  Kelce will finish with at least 100 Yards and one Touchdown.

5) The Bucs are also vulnerable against two-TE sets.  I can see either back up K. C. TE, Nick Keizer or Ricky Seals-Jones, catching a short-yardage ball in the End Zone for a Touchdown.

6) Still, both Defenses are going to dictate much of the play through the first three Quarters of this Super Bowl.  And while Mahomes will finish with around 300 Yards passing, some time between the First and the Third Quarter he will throw an Interception.

7) However, Mahomes will pass for more Yards than Brady once this Game is over.  While the running game and Brady's timely throws will help in matriculating the ball, he will wind up passing for around 225 Yards and will conspicuously have a hard time completing a pass that goes for 20 Yards.  And in a repeat of how the tide turned in the Fourth Quarter of last Year's Super Bowl, Brady will throw a pick in the Fourth that will be seen as a momentum-shifter.

8) A lot is being made about the diverging philosophies of both Head Coaches in the area of Fourth Downs.  Reid frequently goes for it; Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians has largely either punted or gone for the Field Goal.  Reid, comfortable in his element, will go for it on Fourth three times and succeed all three times.  Arians, getting caught up in the Big Game while also subconsciously attempting to beat back his cowardly conservative reputation, will also go for it on more than one occasion on Fourth Down -- and, in the Fourth Quarter, the Bucs' Offense will be stopped on a critical Fourth-and-short.

9) After K. C. marches down the field for a go-ahead score with five Minutes to go, Brady will get yet another chance to lead his team on a Game-winning drive, this time in an attempt to win his seventh Super Bowl ring.  But after converting one Fourth Down and reaching midfield, Spagnuolo finally just brings the fuzz.  The second of two K. C. Sacks comes on this drive, putting Tampa Bay into an early long-Yard situation.  The Chiefs will continue to blitz ... and Super Bowl LV will for all intents and purposes end with a turnover on downs after Brady throws to the flat short.

10) Quarterbacks usually are named Most Valuable Player, so I'll say it's probably going to go to Mahomes.  But Kelce should not be a bad alternate candidate.

So, my Super Bowl LV Prediction: Kansas City 29, Tampa Bay 25.  That would mean the Chiefs cover; the line has been them giving three or 3 1/2 Points.  I'm not confident about the margin of victory, and I'm really not confident about who is winning the Game.  But if I am picking anything to bet on, I will wager ...

1) Kansas City - Tampa Bay Under 56 (I think bettors are dazzled by the QB matchup while not realizing both Defenses are very good and have played very well in the playoffs.  You can't keep two bleeping good Quarterbacks down all Game, but football fans who love defense should love SBLV) $?

Now let's have a good Super Bowl!

So What Size Hole Is This?

OK, there's one good thing that came out of My Fucking Father going through my bedroom: I found my power bank/charger.  I've been looking everywhere for it, and apparently it was under the pile of papers on my dresser, even though I had looked through there before.

Now, I'm kind of obsessed with getting this bank to charge my laptop.  I tried that, but I kind of forgot (it's been months, if not years, since I used it) that I don't have the cable for it.  So I have spent a lot of the afternoon trying to find the right cable -- except that it took me many, many minutes to find what the hell kind of cable I need because I don't know what hole the outputs on my charger are.  I tried to look up illustrations, but look at this one; does this look simple to you?

Finally I was looking through Amazon, and one answer for the power bank seems to give me the answer: Those outputs are USB-A.  So I need to order a USB-C to USB-A cable ... and that still might not matter, because this charger might not have the wattage to properly charge up my particular laptop.  Friggin' Christ, this is so confusing. ...

To Beg At A Door At Work

You know, I gotta admit that I'm still not over that woman yanking the sign-in book from me.  In fact, I think you can rightly say that I'm triggered.  That hasn't happened since my brother was an asshole to me in Hong Kong for Grandmother's cremation.  (I don't know if I spoken about this incident specifically, but he ripped something out of my hands while in HK, because he's a dick.)

There was a meeting on Tuesday to address a situation that led to this incident.  It appears that one factor of this person's frustration was the rolling series of people from our department that was sent en masse into the laboratory.  We all got an e-mail to stop doing data entry and go into the lab to enter forms in there into our database.  However, we didn't go in all at once; some of us needed to get lab coats, and some of us (well, OK, me) were lollygagging because we wanted to use the bathroom before we headed in because the lab doesn't have a restroom.  So what happened was people in the lab continually had to get up from their workstations, head to the door and use their key codes to let people in.  So we were told to, like, bunch up from now on.  Or something.

But there is an obvious solution: Allow access so that we could use our key codes to get into the lab.  I don't know why in the hell we can't go in there ourselves, especially since we go in there on a regular basis.  The only theory I have is that we mainly, if not first, start our day out where we are, and so we cannot just be given access to a second area of the building, especially if that second area needs to be secure because it contains the samples of piss and blood that cannot be tampered with.  But that brings us to our current stupid situation, where every time I need to get in there, I need to knock on the door, loudly, and wait for someone on the inside to let me in.  And once I am done working in there, I usually loiter around the door, hoping someone sees me moping like a stray dog in the rain and allows me to leave.  Sometimes, after waiting around for a few minutes for help that doesn't come, I have resorted to shouting for someone to get me out of there.

This pathetic cycle embarrasses me.  Imagine being at the mercy of someone's key code in order to do your job.  It's infantile; I am being treated like a child when I have a job to do.  And now I got someone pissed at me because she didn't want to sign me when I needed to be signed in?  This is ridiculous.  And I can't fucking take this anymore.

I'm supposed to have my annual review with my boss soon, and even though I have talked about this with him in the past, I have to raise my frustration with this again.  I want access into the lab.  I want to not need somebody's help to go to an area of the building I am told to go into.  I will assume more responsibilities in the lab if that gives me clearance.  I, for right now, however, will not take a different job in order to do so.  But dammit, I'm thinking about it.  Because what's happening now is bullshit.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

Positive Numbers: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: 0).  No, sweeping a pair of matches at Maryland, a school that I don't believe the university invests in, isn't spectacular.  But I have to note that through two series and four Games the U. has won 12 Sets and lost zero.  Plus, I'll be honest -- with eight local teams playing this Week, I feel pressure to push some of them upward.  So, going 4-0 to start the season is, at least for this WMNSS, good enough to push this team up to Positives.  This weekend they visit Purdue for a pair.

#0: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: Positive Numbers).  Scoring 30 Goals in the past four Games?  Not too shabby.  Swept Ohio St. in Columbus last week by scores of 5-1 and 5-2.  Those wins float the U. up to second in both polls, behind only Boston College.

Quick notes on the tournament ... in case you haven't heard, the city of Manchester, N. H., has backed out of hosting its Regional.  No word yet on a replacement site or replacement plans, but for all I know, the NCAA is forging ahead with their regular tournament schedule and format.  Meanwhile, the main metric used to select which teams get into the 16-team tourney, the PairWise, is useless this Year.  The PairWise only works when there are inter-conference Games, and because of the coronavirus pandemic, all the teams are playing league Games only.  So, similarly, the NCAA has not come out with a plan on how to seed the field, let alone rank them.  Will they still do the PairWise (which would work when comparing teams in the same conference, will they only say so many teams for each of the six conferences will get in, a hybrid of both, or something else entirely?  The tournament is less than two months away, so I hope the NCAA comes out with a plan soon.

Border battle tonight/Friday night and tomorrow/Saturday night; Gophers host Wisconsin.

#-1: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -5).  In the second and final of these pandemic-created "tri-meets," the squad went to New Jersey, octupled Purdue, 32-4 Sunday morning, then outlasted host Rutgers in the early afternoon, 21-18.

I should talk about that great escape vs. the Scarlet Knights a bit.  Two ranked Gophers -- #17 Michael Blockhus at 149 lbs. and #16 Jake Allar at 174 -- were upset by unraked Rutgers rasslers, the latter via Technical Fall by the Knights' Jackson Turley.  So it was a good thing that 125-lb. #9 Patrick McKee started the Dual with Rutgers by pinning #15 Nic Aguilar and #15 Andrew Sparks got a Major Decision on Brett Donner at 165.  Still, the Scarlet Knights were leading, 18-16.  Thank goodness the U. has as good a closer (in Heavyweight) as any school can in top-flight wrestling; #1 Gable Steveson racked up a Technical Fall on Rutgers' Boone McDermott for the three-Point team victory.

They host Illinois this/Friday evening.

#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Re-Entry!).  A disquieting split at Ohio St.  Won Friday's match, 7-4, but lost to the Buckeyes on Saturday, 3-1.  The squad now has lost three of their last four Games.  Sure, they're still second in the USCHO.com poll, but still.

Wisconsin is #1.  And it just so happens that the Badgers, like their male hockey counterparts, will be coming to Dinkytown for a two-Game series.  When was the last time both Badger hockey teams played here on the same weekend?  Man, if times were normal, this would be the only thing sports fans in town would be talking about -- #1 vs. #2 on the women's side, the resurrected Gopher men trying to introduce the Wisconsin men to a little bit of prison sex ... I gotta think tickets would be at a premium!

#-3: Timberwolves (Last Week: -4).  This is damning with faint praise, but the Woofie Dogs may not ever be this high up in the survey the rest of their season.  That is mostly due to the fact that the four clubs below them all had worse weeks.  And even though they lost to Philadelphia, Cleveland and San Antonio this past screening Week (the last two by only two and three Points, respectively, but they can I fucked up at the end of both Games, so whatever), a win Sunday over the Cavaliers gets the Wolves here.  In the meantime, D'Angelo Russell continues to be a high-volume, inefficient shooter.  And by the way, Karl-Anthony Towns is still out because of COVID.  It's been a long time.

Tonight/Friday night and tomorrow/Saturday night begins the first of what probably will be several pandemic-influenced two-Game series, these in Oklahoma City.  They then travel to Dallas before coming home for the only contest at Target Center in a stretch of eight tilts, Wednesday versus the Clippers.

#-4: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -2).  Got destroyed at home by 26 to Iowa Sunday afternoon to snap their winning streak at three.  The team was supposed to play in Michigan last/Thursday evening, but the entire Wolverine athletic department has been shut down for two Weeks due to an outbreak of cases.  (This will be a theme for the rest of the survey.)  This Week: At Ohio St. Sunday afternoon, then Illinois in The Barn Wednesday.

#-5: Wild (Last Week: -3).  They were 1-2 versus The Bastard Quebec Nordiques in what essentially was a four-Game regular season series (and by the way, that win happened when they were wearing their "Reverse Retro" jerseys of the Wild logo in North Stars colors -- coincidence?) before the team got shut down because of a COVID-19 outbreak.  Five or six players for Minnesota have come down with it, and so on Wednesday the NHL forced the entire organization to shut down for a Week.  That means that the last Game in Colorado, a two-Game set at Xcel vs. The Bastard Winnipeg Jets this weekend, and the first of two against St. Louis at home will now have to be rescheduled (and let's see if they're able to play the Blues Thursday).

This is leading age of what appears to be a bad storm for the league.  Right now, technically, there are five teams that are ceasing operations; Colorado, New Jersey, Buffalo and Las Vegas have all been mandated to shut down, although the Golden Knights appear ready to resume their schedule tonight/Friday night.  These teams have crossed paths; earlier this week, the Devils and Sabres played each other, and later, Buffalo officials were pissed that they played the Devils when they learned a Devil had a positive test.  The Sabres were shut down shortly thereafter, and you cannot tell me that team didn't catch the virus from Jersey.  Similarly, the Avalanche were told to shut down shortly after the Wild were told to shut down, so it stands to reason a Wild player or players infected Colorado during their series.

Such is the problem with not playing in a bubble.  The NHL, NBA and MLS, after some early rough patches, were able to complete the previous seasons after hermetically sealing all the players in a venue.  (The NWHL, not so much; see below.)  But reports are that the players were lonely and getting very homesick.  They were not going to go through a bubble situation again, so the leagues are trying to play in venues as normal, and you can see that acting as if things are normal has not stopped this virus at all.  Was it worth trusting players to be careful on their own?  The league is tightening protocols in the face of this rash of coronavirus spread, but now they'll have to find a way to shoehorn all these missed Games in the back half of the season.

#-6: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -6).  OK, we now need to start worrying about this team.  Their losing streak now is at three with losses at Purdue and Rutgers.  The defeat to the Boilermakers Saturday was a familiar one: The U. hung tough at Halftime, but then the opponent started to pull away at the beginning of the Second Half and the Gophers could not respond.

The loss to the Scarlet Knights last/Thursday night was much more troubling, and part of the reason I have them ranked this low.  This was an extraordinarily tight Game at the end, but within the last, oh, 90 Seconds or so, the U. stopped making their shots while Rutgers made theirs.  And then, with about a dozen Seconds to go and the Knights up by four, they missed a Free Throw but got the Offensive Rebound.  Now again, it was a two-possession Game at that point.  But shit, man, couldn't anyone muster up the energy to grab the loose ball?  And even when they didn't, wouldn't the game situation require you to foul again, even if the possibility of tying the Game was remote by that point?  I heard the end of the Game on the radio, and the way the club just ... gave up is very, very disturbing.

These Goofers host Nebraska Monday and Purdue Thursday.  This was supposed to be the easy part of the schedule, and they're now in danger of throwing their whole season away because they're underachieving against it.

#-7: Whitecaps (Last Week: -1).  Well, that turned to shit in a hurry.  The Whitecaps were supposed to play Buffalo.  Then the NWHL rejiggered the format because the Metropolitan Riveters left the bubble/tournament/season.  Then the Connecticut Whale pulled themselves out.  The Rivs left because of an outbreak of COVID-19; the Whale did not say that was the reason they exited, which made me wonder then just why the hell they were leaving.  (The team later said they took off out of an abundance of caution for the wellbeing of their players.  OK. ...)

With four teams, the league just decided they were going to have Semifinals and Finals (the former set to be played today/Thursday), the 'Caps going up against the Boston Pride in what would have been the 2019-20 Isobel Cup Final, and both Games (and the Final) airing on NBCSN, the first time professional women's hockey would be broadcast on television.  But then even more positive tests popped up, and so on Wednesday the NWHL said they were "suspending" the season.  Unfortunately, well-placed sources, on condition of anonymity, have said that this Year, and this experiment, is over.  And that will mean this fledgling league, which had just picked up two major sponsors (and some shit over playing footsie with the alt-right sports media organization Barstool), will not have crowned a champion the past two Years.

I feel bad for the Whitecaps, who, as far as I know, is not a source of the coronavirus.  (They lost in a hastily-arranged match vs. Toronto, where they dropped to the second seed and were going to play the third-seeded Pride.)  But it does bring into question how in the hell did an environment supposedly in a "bubble" get riven with the virus?  It apparently wasn't a "bubble" in the strictest sense; some players were brought in to Lake Placid, N. Y., while the tournament was going on, and the NWHL still hasn't fully disclosed what health protocols were in place to keep out the virus.  Those disclosures should result in an embarrassing black eye for the league, but they now have to worry about how to maintain visibility in the midst of failing to complete a second straight season.  And considering a rival startup league is trying to get an exhibition Game off the ground in the hopes of providing a replacement for the NWHL, professional women's hockey may be in a very precarious spot.