Manafort Plea Agreement Weekend Trash Talk

Okay, this post will have nothing to do with Manafort’s plea. But this is the big weekend after the Friday of Manafort, and Trash must be talked. This will be a bit of truncated Trash because , well, I am tired after an early morning yesterday and then spending the rest of the day, and much of the night, trying to settle a couple of things as to the day job.

As to the Joes: I dunno, most of the college games this week look uninteresting. Can Florida State regain their footing and beat Syracuse in the Cuse Dome? You would think so, but FSU has stunk it up so bad to date that you have to wonder. I guess the Irish can handle Vandy at home, but you never know. BYU at Wisconsin could be a lot tougher game than the Badgers want. Probably most think LSU at Auburn is the early game of the day, but Boise State at Oklahoma State may be it. Ohio State may run into a buzz saw visiting TCU deep in the heart of Texas. USC at Texas is getting big buildup, but not sure it is deserved. Washington at Utah may be another curious game. Rice Stadium is not always particularly hospitable (though it sure was when I was there with the Stones in 1994!). Locally, and late, we will be watching ASU at San Diego State. The Devils somehow, miraculously, beat Michigan State last weekend. Can they make it to 3-0 tonight against the Aztecs? I will not bet on that.

As to the The Pros: Cinci already beat the Ravens, and did so rather convincingly. That is surprising. Cleveland is undefeated for the first time in forever, but don’t think they can win a shootout with Brees and the Saints in NOLA. The Chargers will kill Buffalo, which is just seriously bad. The Chefs at Steelers should be interesting. Still no Laveon Bell for the Stillers, but James Connor kicked ass last week. I’ll take the Stillers, but young Mahomes and the Chefs offense look like the real deal.

Miami at the suddenly explosive Jets Jets Jets looks fascinating. I think the Sammy and the Jets keep it going at home. Vikings at the Cheeseheads will be interesting IF Rodgers and Adams are on the frozen tundra at home. If not, then Kirk Cousins gonna win that game. Cardinals going to get humiliated for a second week in a row against the Rams in LA. The Cards billed this as the Year of New Hope, instead is the year of nope.

New England Pats at Jacksonville could be highly entertaining. Brady and the boys were not really in synch last week in a win against the Texans. He hooked up well with Gronk and Dorsett, but the whole effort, especially the run game, looked suspect. The Jags may be without Leonard Founette, but their defense is almost as good and bit as Jalen Ramsey’s mouth. Seattle at Bears is a tossup.

F1: Not a lot of comment from me on the circus this week. They are in Singapore at the Marina Bay Circuit for the famous night race. Personally, I find the night race on the heavily cemented in pit at Marina Bay kind of flakey, but they run it nevertheless. The starting grid is Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen in P1 through P5 respectively. Not easy to pass at Marina Bay, so take your cues from the starting grid.

And, with that, we are off! Also, last week a new commenter by the name of “Bill” suggested a Canadian band called The Big Wreck. I said I would check them out, I did, and they are indeed quite good. Do check them out. So they are this weekend’s music. We are a full service blog here at Emptywheel!

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44 replies
  1. Peterr says:

    The Chefs at Steelers should be interesting. Still no Laveon Bell for the Stillers, but James Connor kicked ass last week. I’ll take the Stillers, but young Mahomes and the Chefs offense look like the real deal.

    The Chefs defense, not so much. If the Chefs win, it will be something like 45-42 and not 10-7.

  2. Bradentucky Bombers says:

    How about journeyman QB “da Beard” having a game for the Bucs last week where he channeled his inner Tom Brady and out dueled the HOF Saints QB in N’awlins?! Can he do it again this week?

  3. Peterr says:

    I’m not ready for this week’s games yet. I’m still shaking my head at the . . . improbable . . . comeback by the Cheese over Da Bears.

      • NorskieFlamethrower says:

        I wonder about the myth of invincibility of Mr. Rogers being orchestrated quite professionally by the Packers, the NFL and TV.  He’s already one of the top 3 or 4 QB’s in history and unlike Farve, he hasn’t had one of the best teams in the league for the balance of his career so far but unless that team gets something on the defensive side of the ball, this Sunday might expose both the team and Mr. Invincible. Just sayin’…

        • bmaz says:

          Brett’s teams were not always that great, though a couple were. There were just always better than the Vikings!

    • Laura says:

      That was stunning, another Rodgers miracle from the pocket. But if he’s not playing… I give it to the Vikings.

    • Pete says:

      Will the Vikes be looking for a FG kicker?  Of course Crosby missed a big one.

      On the other hadn’t, that’s two weeks in a row Matthews has been tagged with roughing the passer on a key possession change.

      I couldn’t watch the game because the Fins were on in my zone, but my son-in-law said the hit on Cousins was BS.  Anyone see it?

      Hmmm…the Fins might be competitive against the Pats when the time comes.

      Liking the Bucs without the normal starting serial molester.

  4. quebecois says:

    Ferrari signing Leclerc is a master stroke.  This kid is so damn talented.

    Not Trash at all, but now that Manafort is obligated to speak, who’s next for Mueller,  Junior or Stone?

    • Doug R says:

      I know Jr is probably weaker, but Stone’s an old hand, old as Manafort with Nixon connections-I think Stone is next.

      • Bob Conyers says:

        The writeup of Stone’s indictment is bound to be more entertaining. I hope Mueller has dug up a lot more weirdness he can spin off to other prosecutors, for that matter.

  5. NorskieFlamethrower says:

    Ok bmaz, with regard to BYU (who?!!) and Wisconsin: I’m sure that your scepticism about Wisconsin in this game is not based on your evaluation of the relative strength of BYU to the Badgers’ but questions about Wisconsin and the overall weakness of the Big 10.  If this game is at all close it will be because of some injuries to Wisconsin, their youth at a couple of positions and their quarterback. However, the overall talent level on both sides of the ball and Camp Randall Stadium should keep the distance between the two teams to at least 2 1/2  touchdowns in Wisconsin’s favor. If you have ever been to Camp Randall then you understand where I’m comin’ from. (And by the way, even though I’ve lived in Wisconsin for 37 years I’m native to Minnesota and as far as the native Cheeseheads are concerned I’m still just visiting. And two of my three kids got their undergraduate degrees from Minnesota and I am so old that I can remember listening to every Gopher game on the radio the last time Minnesota won a national title in football in 1960.) Thanx to Manafort’s plea, I don’t feel a bit guilty about thinkin’ about college football for a few minutes. Namaste brother.

  6. Skippy says:

    “We are a full service blog here at Emptywheel!”

    I am ready for my servicing. Thank you and please change the batteries.

  7. scribe says:

    In an interview with Austrian radio, Niki Lauda’s brother says Niki is doing well and recovering after a lung transplant.  He did say, though, that the recovery will take some time.  There appears to have been some inner tumult in Team Mercedes this week, though I didn’t catch the news reports when they aired on German radio and F1 kinda doesn’t interest me that much, mainly because (as noted above) the starting grid pretty much determines how things will turn out.  At least in NASCAR, not only do you get passing but you also get crashes, which are a lot more fun.

    Last week’s Stillers-Brahns game has resulted in sightings around the Burgh of a flying, seven-headed dragon-looking thing blowing trumpets while breathing fire.  In other words, the Brahns not losing has unleashed a sign of the Apocalypse.  To be fair, it’s not as urgent as it might have been, had Watt the Younger not gotten his hand in the way of that last-second FG attempt.  Watt misses the block and we’re talking Lakes and Rivers of Fire and not just the Cuyahoga.  Still, I’m left longing for the devastating physicality of James Silverback Harrison and I just don’t see that from my Stillers.  What I do see is a team riven by LeVeon Bell’s greed.  I understand his motives and method and I suspect if I were in his shoes I might see things his way.  But he’s a Bad Teammate (1) and has been removed from the Stillers depth chart (2), so (3) we shouldn’t hear about him unless and until he decides to show up.

    But, still, the Brahns not losing is the ultimate cause for the FBI shutting down that observatory in New Mexico.  (Which has gotten worldwide press, BTW.)  Not some aliens landing or whatevs.  Brahns don’t lose -> signs of the Apocalypse start showing up.  One step.  Can’t be avoided.  Go to the End of the World, Directly to the End of the World.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200.  So, shut down the observatory, let Cleveland travel to face Drew Fookin’ Brees, watch the Saints break out their whuppin’ stick like they did last week, by Tuesday the dragon thing goes away and the FBI can let the solar scientists get back to whatever it was they were doing before.

    Finally – the frickin’ UPS guy got here after making me wait all afternoon.

    As to EW’s Kittehs, the talkers were going on about how that article in the Dee-troit paper early this summer – re how Patricia had lost the locker room by being hard on the players – was somehow presciently vindicated by the Kittehs pitiful showing against the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS.  Or something.  Mind you, the author of that article also does some level of sports-talk yakking in Motown and his buddies at the station were saying then he was full of shit.  I agree with the buddies.  What Patricia has to do is blow up some player for screwing up:  cut him or something.  Right now the inmates think they run the asylum and they’re going to show up and go through the motions unless and until they get a good dose of fear with their cornflakes.  Remember, even Brady is afraid of what Cheatin Bill might do (or at least he was until the owner sided with TB12 over that trainer thing).  And the Detroit fans were right to take a page from Philly’s Boobirds.  Monday night those were their entertainment dollars going up in that dumpster fire.  I mean, the audience at La Scala still throws shoes – which, given the strong Italian-American character of South Philly leads me to believe that the same mindset crossed the Atlantic to land in the stands at Franklin Field, the Vet’s 700 level, and now The Linc.  Hell, Serie A fans sometimes bring highway flares, Roman candles and such to games, and aren’t afraid to use them.  You thought booing Santa was badass?  Go to Italian soccer games when the crowd is angry.

    Speaking of the Cheatin’ Cheaters of Cheatertown, Gronk’s first TD was … not a TD.  He stepped out just short of the goal line.  And that one catch … not a catch.  Just that the Patsies got to the line quickly enough to get the next play off before anyone could stop them.

    Anyway, that’s enough for today.

      • liberalrob says:

        Rutgers just really laid an egg.  6 turnovers!  I don’t trust the Hawks yet.  Much as I want to…next week in Waco will be the true test.

    • Bob Conyers says:

      Regarding Patricia, head coaches don’t lose players by being tough, they lose players by being tough for no good reasons.

      I hate Belichick, but he succeeds in part because he demands production, not obedience. It’s too early to write off Patricia, but he’d better show he knows the difference.

      Actually, even if he turns into another Marty Mornhinweg or Rod Marinelli, he’ll still have a long career ahead of him as a coordinator, just like they managed to pull off.

  8. koolmoe says:

    Football-college: Being in Maryland, I somewhat follow Navy football. Solid game today against Lehigh! Especially after the rough start and drubbing from the Rainbow Warriors (love that name) last week.

    Football-pros: Poor Ravens. Ah well. Go Iggles! :)

    Investigation: I think Stone is next. He’s been begging to be indicted for months, bring it to him Mueller! Or…make him sweat longer. Either way :)

    Music: Gotta check out Lake Street Dive. Fantastic stuff:
    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lake+street+dive

    One of my fav songs:
    https://youtu.be/0LhsE-uqqE0

  9. mister bunny says:

    “BYU at Wisconsin could be a lot tougher game than the Badgers want.”

    Wow, nailed that. Here’s hoping the other UW does a lot better against the other Utah team later on tonight. ;)

  10. Sabrina says:

    On the music side (since I can’t really compete in the sports arena!):
    – Big Wreck is a great band, employs a lot of the “East Coast” sound, which as expected is midtempo, folksy-sounding, utilizing fiddle parts and generally easy listening.

    May I humbly suggest some other Canadian acts (and I don’t think the Canadian music scene is particularly consistently good, but some artists are amazingly talented!).
    My favorites:
    -Matthew Good (or his earlier work with the Matthew Good Band)- hands down one of the best lyric writers in music today. I cannot overstate how much I love his songwriting and existentialist lyrics- maybe give his Avalanche album a listen if you’re new to his music;
    -The Tragically Hip: their lead singer very recently passed away due to brain cancer and performed a very sad final tour. Though I’m not familiar with their entire discography, their radio hits (Music at work, Vaccination Scar) are a good place to start- another lyrical powerhouse.
    – Arcade Fire- their Funeral album in particular is solid, though their stuff afterwards can be a bit hit or miss.
    – Metric is consistently good, a lot of up-tempo songs, though the standout is their lead singer Emily Haines who just released a solo album which is astonishingly good and fairly depressing.

    As you’ve probably guessed, my music tastes tend to run towards the sadder stuff. Just some other suggestions in case anyone is very into music and would like to check them out. If anyone has any other Canadian music suggestions, I’m always open to listen to new music!

    Thanks for the topic bmaz! Music is one of those things that I could talk about for hours so I’ll just leave it at this. EW really is an all service blog- you have music, politics, legal info, and economics posts all in one place!

  11. Kick the darkness says:

    I was surprised at myself for not taking as much pleasure as I thought I might in the Manafort plea and cooperation agreement.  Justice strips the truth naked it seems, and it is hard not to flinch.  A necessary but somber moment. It is also possible that I am just getting soft.

    Trash 1. Unless the QAnon crowd are correct, Manafort’s cooperation could tee up Jr. and Kushner quite nicely.  Milquetoast Kushner somehow fades into the background .  However,  Jr. merits a tune of two of his own on the “day Trump leaves office playlist”.  So he gets Zevon/Lawyers, Guns and Money.  A bit obvious, but fits to a T and it rocks.  Also, if Daddy enjoys the pungent pleasures of a golden shower, it stands to reason Jr. would appreciate some  Silver Rain.  So he also gets the Stones/Silver Train.  This to me could have come straight from his senate judiciary testimony.  And it has the added benefit that you simply cannot turn it up too loud.

    Silver rain is falling/falling up around my house/oh yeah/oh yeah/and I did not know her name/no I did not know her name/but I loved the way she laughed/When she took my money.

    Trash 2.  casting call.  If we have in fact turned the corner on this thing (and indeed we may have not) it’s not too early to start thinking about casting call.  I don’t think we can cast Trump until we see him in the analogous picture to the one Marcy always shows for Manafort.  The eyes will look very different and we need someone who can do that.  But we should be able to cast Mueller at this point.  The internet, of course, is all over this, and the glitterati seem to think James Cromwell should do Mueller. But I guess I’m leaning toward a mature Jeff Bridges.  Other thoughts?

    Trash 3.  Recommendation for Sun AM jam.  Kid has an early morning match and for getting out the door it helps to have everything ready.  A clean sheet with a bit of luck.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBsixsW_vUM

  12. Bay State Librul says:

    Scribespeak:

    “Speaking of the Cheatin’ Cheaters of Cheatertown, Gronk’s first TD was … not a TD.  He stepped out just short of the goal line.  And that one catch … not a catch.  Just that the Patsies got to the line quickly enough to get the next play off before anyone could stop them.

    Comment: I’ve issued a harassment prevention order against The Pittsburg Pitchman.  He is right about the Gronk’s controversial catch. It would have been overturned.

    The TD however is a different matter. It was ruled a TD, and it was a TD.  He hit the Pylon.

    Based on the evidence, Scribe has committed a willful and malicious act against the Gronk.

    According to 50,000 witnesses “Rob Gronkowski  was being double-covered by Houston as he ran to the front pylon on the left of formation. Gronk made a great adjustment on the ball and a fantastic catch before keeping both feet in bounds to finish the scoring play.”

    I call on Judge BMAZ to issue a 5 yard penalty.

  13. scribe says:

    Re: the Cheating Cheaters of Cheatertown and Gronk’s not-TD: I think too highly of my ass than to tell you to kiss it.

    That TD was every bit as much a TD as the one Jesse James caught in the season finale v. Cheatin’ Bill and his Cheaters.

    This Stillers game is ugly, early, and shows no sign of improving.

    • Peterr says:

      My prediction above . . . “If the Chefs win, it will be something like 45-42 and not 10-7.” . . . about the quality of the Chefs defense turned out to be pretty good.

      Chefs win 42-37 on 6 TD passes by Young Mahomes, whilst Big Ben goes 39 of 60 for 452 yards in a losing effort.

  14. Warren Peese says:

    Rodgers is playing heroically, which pisses me off because I picked the Vikings.

    My Washington Huskies won by two touchdowns but the game was a lot closer than the score. The O line needs to get better, and fast.

  15. AndTheSlithyToves says:

    In response to your question about FSU over ‘Cuse at the Dome: lolol….   https://www.nunesmagician.com/2018/9/15/17864378/final-score-syracuse-30-florida-state-7-orange-football-recap-seminoles-recap-review-devito

  16. scribe says:

    Business casual is OUT, ties are IN.

    Vontae Davis quit at halftime. So did the Stillers D.

    At least Vontae made it clear he knew he didn’t belong out there anymore.

    • Rayne says:

      Sorry about that, it’s okay. I should explain that ‘Trash Talk’ is a long-running feature at emptywheel. It’s dedicated to sports-related content giving both the site’s contributors and community members a change of pace from the intensity of the regular fare.

      Not all weekend posts are Trash Talk nor is there Trash Talk all year long, but at least now you’ll know to watch the headline and content to avoid the sports trash. LOL

  17. tinao says:

    Jebuz, I don’t know where else to put this but here. Here goes to see if it goes through! Weekly Horoscope For Dragon
    Date: Sep 17, 2018 – Sep 23, 2018

    You have a mixed fortune in this week. In terms of career, it takes a lot of brainpower to solve problems. In order to complete tasks quickly, you have to deal with people you are not familiar with. It is most important to prepare for everything. In terms of wealth, you can maintain a balance of income and expenditure. The positive income is directly proportional to your hard work. In love relationship, your expectations for lover are a bit too high. You should do yourself well first; Singles are prone to ambiguity. It is necessary to know whether the other party is suitable to you.

    It’s Up against the wall red neck fucker. Oh, excuse me, mr. putin. Then again, my mother was a dragon and guess what I’m a dog. Imagine that, I’m your opposite that has a bead on you. You sir, are not only up against the non-Russian corrupted, but the universe itself. Take care to reimagine what can be.
    TinaO
    post script putin’s bday is 10/07/52

  18. tinao says:

    I hope the people who i got this chinese horoscope will see fit to forgive me cuz i closed out the screen and site i should have quoted. So sorry, i tried to go back and quote you.

  19. tinao says:

    Aha, found the attribution.

    https://www.yourchineseastrology.com/horoscope
    And to be fair mr. putin, here’s my horoscope for the week:

    Weekly Horoscope For Dog
    Date: Sep 17, 2018 – Sep 23, 2018

    Your fortune in this week is good. In terms of work, you may have some frictions with other which may mostly appears during the cooperation work. But you still could work efficiently. What you should learn in this week is mainly to cooperate with others. In financial aspect , this week’s direct wealth fortune is better, but there is no indirect wealth fortune to you. Don’t be greedy and covet little advantages. In love, you have the luck in having romantic encounters. The singles are suggested to attend more gatherings to know more opposite sex.
    Fortunately, both my husband and I are widows and have no need to check out gathers of the opposite sex. LOL!

    OK, finally remembered to copy and paste my post into a document so here goes again. If I get the forbidden notice again, I believe its because how I am linking an article, but there was no question mark at the end of it, so what is going on?

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