Eli Is Leaving, and Bowl Season For Real Trash Talk

There has been a joke here at Emptywheel from longer than you can imagine. Good Eli versus Bad Eli. There has been so much of both. But Easy Eli Manning is, arguably, going into arguably his last game as a Giant, if not in the NFL, an incredibly important player in the NFL.

It seems there ought be a bit more reflection on that. Eli Manning was controversial when he entered the league. He will be as he leaves. The better question is whether he is a Hall of Famer, or not.

Easy Eli won Super Bowl victories, and Super Bowl MVP awards, over the GOAT, Tom Brady. Eli did that, and deserves credit for it. But, let us put things in perspective. Eli never played for Bill Bel. So, it is hard to compare him with Brady. Fun, but very hard.

But Eli, whether good or bad, has been a staple here. If this is Easy Eli’s last game in the NFL, I, for one, will miss him.

Add them all up, and the Manning brothers still have two fewer rings than Tom Brady. But they have been ubiquitous seemingly forever. And remember that Eli’s two rings came over no less than Brady, Bill Bel and the Pats themselves.

People have been discussing whether Eli gets in the HOF for a while already. Honestly, I’d say no, except than when he made it to the biggest stage in sports, twice, the Super Bowl, Eli Manning showed up in style, and then some. And flat pulled wild things out of his butt both times. If it was just once, then it would be hard to make the case. But twice, and the way he did it? I dunno, there is a case to be made there.

Easy Eli may have never been the flashiest QB, not even the flashiest Manning QB, what with Peyton and Archie, but he had himself quite a career. And he did it all with a large dollop of quiet grace. In New York of all places. The time has come for the Giants to move on, but I have a feeling they are about to realize what good fortune and stability they enjoyed with Easy Eli for all those years.

Two titles, 210 straight starts, one Eli: How Manning conquered New York is a great piece from ESPN:

Eli Manning always drank beer on the team bus. It was a Broadway Joe kind of thing to do, and a fact that might run counter to an image Manning spent absolutely no time crafting. But win, lose or draw, Manning would find someone on the road to buy him a six-pack or 12-pack that he would carry to the back of the bus, on ice, and share with some veterans as they discussed the game on the ride to the airport.

Even then, Manning’s consistency stunned his New York Giants teammates. “It was unbelievable,” said Lawrence Tynes, the kicker who won two championships with the quarterback. “He had a guy in every f—ing stadium in the league to get him that beer.”

Should Eli Manning make the Hall of Fame? As NFL experts putatively cast their votes,
Manning will miss those bus rides as much as he will miss anything else after he dresses Sunday for the final time as a Giant, and likely for the final time as an NFL player. Easy Eli. Say what you will, but the man made 15 years in the hot bed of NYC look, well, …..easy. That is something.

He will not miss the constant dissection of his public personality, or lack thereof, and the fascination with what has been a near-perfect marriage between the world’s loudest marketplace and a quiet child of the South who spent his career projecting that oblivious vibe he wore as clearly as his jersey No. 10.

Eli is leaving. Adios Easy Eli. He made it easy living when it it was almost impossible to do so.

Ahem, the two BCS games are tonight. There are all kinds of “bowl” games on the last few days, mostly because ESPN demands content. But, tonight, the real deal starts. First, Oklahoma takes on LSU in the Peach Bowl in Hot Lanta. The Boomer Sooners are pretty good. Have a hard time seeing them overcoming the Tiger’s defense, much less the offense run by Joe Burrow. And that is not to sell Linc Riley short, he is young, hot on market and really good. Riley has coached the Sooners up, and they are really good.

But the second is right here in Phoenix in the Fiesta Bowl, and that is Clemson versus Ohio State. Thought about going, but it is a seriously long haul from here to the stadium. So, the TV will have to suffice. Both teams are undefeated at 13-0, and it is not easy to say which is greater or lesser. But Clemson is the reigning national champ, and has still gone undefeated so far this year. The Tigers also beat OSU in a similar CFB semi-final game in the Fiesta Bowl in 2016. Think tonight’s game will be far closer, but sleep on Clemson at your own risk.

In the Pros, few games are overly exciting. Jets at Buffalo looks boring, but the Jets Jets Jets, once they got Sam Darnold back have been better than you think. I’ll still take the Wagon Circlers, but expect a good game. Scribe’s Steelers at the Ravens, who are sitting all their key players, is another one to watch. Not sure how far the Stillers can go with Duck Duck Go Hodges, but would very much like to see. Titans at Texans is a huge game. Against better judgment, think BOB, the Texans, and Watson are on a real roll, so there you go. Similarly difficult call, but think the Iggles roll the Giants. The Rams are toast. The Cardinals still playing to show that they have a promising future. Right now, the Rams still have a clearly better team. Does it translate to a win at the end of the season? That is a lot better question, and I have no clue, and thus rate it a curious tossup.

There you go folks. Say goodbye to Easy Eli. And enjoy the college semi-finals and the last week of the NFL.

Happy Holidays, and Happy New year, from all of us here at Emptywheel. We truly truly love you, and thank you.

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99 replies
  1. Peterr says:

    There’s a little more drama to the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets game. From CBS Sports yesterday:

    New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell was once again randomly selected by the NFL to complete an HGH blood test, and he is less than thrilled about it. Back in November, after receiving this same notice five times in 10 weeks he said he would no longer be complying with the tests.

    Now we will know for sure if he meant what he said when he informed the NFL via tweet that he will not be doing another test because he was randomly selected once again.

    On Friday, he posted the note from the NFL with the caption, “@NFL I bet I don’t,” suggesting once again that he would not be participating in the mandatory tests.

    “Random”? To borrow from Inigo Montoya, I do not think this word means what the NFL thinks it means.

    • Peterr says:

      The testing regime calls for 8 of the 32 teams to be chosen randomly, then five of the 53 players on each of those teams to be selected randomly for testing. Thus, the odds of a given player being chosen on a given week are 8/32 x 5/53 = 2.36%.

      For it to happen to a single player five times in 10 weeks is 0.0236 to the fifth power (the odds of being chosen on five separate weeks) times 0.9724 to the fifth power (the odds of not being chosen on five separate weeks). This comes to a 0.0000006477% chance that a single player would be selected 5 times in ten games.

      Is it possible? Yes.
      Is it likely? Hell no.

      • e.a.f. says:

        those are the type of stats that we in B.C. refer to as time to purchase a lottery ticket stats. With luck like that one really ought to purchase the lottery ticket.

        its a tad weird that he has been asked randomly for his blood so frequently. perhaps they want is blood for some sort of weird scientific study or………..

    • scribe says:

      Not the first time King Roger the Clown has had his minions pull this kind of stunt. You’ll recall, a couple years back, the No Fun League could not believe the reality James Silverback Harrison, who spent a good chunk of his salary on maintaining and improving his body and conditioning and left us some ridiculous YouTube displays of the insanely great results. King Roger sent out his sample people three times in 5 weeks (IIRC) when Harrison was playing linebacker at very high level, aged 37.
      Two years later, he was still playing linebacker. You’ll recall from the Iggles SB defeat of Cheatin’ Bill and his Cheating Cheaters of Cheatertown, Harrison played the whole game. You didn’t hear his number called very often because the Iggles avoided his side of the field.
      The randomness in the NFL testing program is only random when it comes to who King Roger decides to burden with testing. If he like you or the storyline your playing provides meshes well with the League’s marketing and PR machine, no problem. If not – you get hit, again and again.

      I won’t have much more to write today or likely for the coming month or so. I am packing and moving (to storage) my household goods b/c I lost the lease (so to speak – no need to recount the details, which are boring anyway) on my place and have to find a new one. This will consume time and energy better spent here. But, it is what it is.

      Oh, yeah – LSU laid an asswhipping on Oklahoma. I didn’t see it, just read about it in the papers. I’m guessing it was a message to Clemson, who pulled their win out of their ass.

      Just so long as the Owboys lose, so they finish 7-9. The worst my Stillers can do is 8-8. That should feel like an achievement given a 1-4 start and no Ben since sometime in Game 2, but it doesn’t. And regardless, they’re pretty screwed when it comes to the draft, having sent a high pick to Miami for Minka Fitzpatrick. I still support that deal. Not just because Fitzpatrick has done an outstanding job, but also because drafting high-round QB talent is a serious crapshoot. For the Stillers drafting QBs, there have been a lot more snake eyes than anything else.

      Next year.
      Best.

  2. P J Evans says:

    Probably a lot more comfortable in front of the TV than at that Clemson game. (Here in northwest L.A., it was 45 outside at 10 am. Yes, there’s snow on them there mountains, left by the same storm that went through PDX yesterday.)

    • bmaz says:

      Heh, “State Farm Stadium” is climate controlled.

      They keep the natural grass field growing outside in natural sunlight, completely sprinklered, and what not so they can roll it into the stadium for games, as a whole. Like as a whole field, it slides in on rollers. But the inside is totally climate controlled, and the roof is only opened when things are perfect.

      But the living room here at home is good too, and not 30 miles away. Also free. Was not a hard choice!

  3. Peterr says:

    It’s been hilarious to listen to some of the Chefs boosters talking about getting the #2 seed in the AFC and thus a bye in the first round of the playoffs. “It’s simple – we gotta win and New England has to lose.”

    The odds of both those things happening are on par with Le’Veon Bell getting chosen to be tested 5 times in 10 weeks. I give the Chefs a good chance of beating the Bolts at Arrowhead, but the Fins beating the Patsies at Foxboro? It would take a miracle.

    • Peterr says:

      I came home, saw that the Chefs were ahead and halftime, and lay down for my usual Sun afternoon nap, then awoke when The Kid let out a cheer at Miami’s victory.

      Unbelievable.

  4. BobCon says:

    On the one hand, Eli Manning is not one of the all time greats. I doubt his QB rating was ever better than #10 or so in any season he played. He gets some credit for longevity I guess.

    In the other hand, I think halls are generally much too restrictive. If a guy has a long, productive career, or a shorter entertaining career, let him in. Have a rule that someone needs a ton of votes for a first ballot if you really want to differentiate between players.

    So by all means let Eli Manning and Jim Plunkett and Frank Howard and Muggsy Bogues be hall of famers. It’s not a zero sum fame game.

    • bmaz says:

      Plunkett is a very good comparison. Despite a lot of crappy teams he played on, and crappy years because of that in many regards, he ended up with some absolutely huge years and two SB championships that he was critical to.

      Manning has a lot better overall stats. I take no hard position as to Eli and the HOF, and can see both sides of said argument. Do think it is a legitimate discussion though, irrespective of where the verdict ultimately falls.

      • Eureka says:

        I’m not invested in any particular outcome here, but think Eli will get tipped in on the weight of the Manning name (while it still means something), all other things considered.

  5. Pete T says:

    Well for me and I have to think bmaz too the two biggies are Pack at Kitties and Niners at Squawks. Number 1 seed on the line if I’ve navigated the seeding rules correctly.

      • Rugger9 says:

        The top teams are pretty damn good, but the bottom teams were hideous this year: Arkansas losing at home to 5-7 San Jose State (while plucky, Tulsa and Air Force had just steamrolled them the prior two games), Vandy losing at home by double digits to UNLV (who finished 4-8 IIRC) were the lowlights.

        I don’t see Clemson or Ohio State stopping LSU especially since OSU is losing one of their defenders for targeting Lawrence on Clemson’s first TD drive.

        Maybe not as bad as Georgia Tech losing to The Citadel.

  6. Bri2k says:

    I was supposed to get together with a friend to watch the Steelers game tomorrow. We’ve been trying to do this all season but something always comes up. They called to cancel and said “I feel bad we weren’t able to catch a Steelers game this year.” I replied, “Don’t feel bad, it hasn’t been a memorable season.”

    • Rugger9 says:

      Keep a close eye on the injury report for this one. IIRC both teams have significant losses and the Hawks have one of their guys on suspension. So, it is about depth. I’ll say that if Garoppolo and Kittle play the whole game the Niners will win. LT Staley is fully functional so it will be interesting to see if J Clowney will have as much room to raise havoc like he did in Santa Clara.

      Winner stays home (and if it’s SF, through the NFC playoffs) and the loser is sent on the road until Minnesota visits for the NFC Championship (not gonna happen).

  7. e.a.f. says:

    Eli Manning, even I who do not follow football have heard his name and understand he is a very good player. Regardless of his personality, he ought to be in the Hall of Fame

  8. Molly Pitcher says:

    Niners-Seahawks is very big here in the Bay Area.With all of the injuries the Seahawks have re-signed the retired Marshawn Lynch to a very limited contract. He secretly had a try out with them 3 weeks ago, and has been in intensive workouts with his personal trainer for a while. The game will be fascinating for this reason alone, even if locking up the top spot wasn’t on the line.

    On a more fun, college level, the Cal Bears are playing the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Redbox Bowl at Levis Stadium, home of the Niners, on Monday night. The Bears are featuring LB Evan Weaver, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. Normally a consensus All American just has to get more then half the voters to be honored as such. Evan Weaver got 100% of the voters as 1st place. Consensus indeed.

    • Rugger9 says:

      Weaver is the real deal and will be in the NFL. The only team to slow him down that I saw was Oregon that avoided him but he still got six. He had 3 20+ tackle games (first FBS player since 2000) and no other FBS player had more than one. 173 for the year, 95 solos both lead the FBS by significant margins, double digits on both.

      He also came up big with critical stops at Ole Miss and Stanford that won those games on 4th and 1 plays. Somehow Mel Kiper has him as 4th but for me the instinct and skill to make the critical plays is what makes for a great LB.

      Apparently the #2 tackle leader Dele Harding plays for Illinois. I’m going to the game (I can walk to Levi’s and it’s annoying when the Niners play) so should be able to give a full report Monday night. Since the Raiders are leaving the Bay Area, the Niner fans we’ve seen are apparently filling the void of leather lunged loutish boors. At least we’re far enough away that they can’t tinkle in the shrubbery, it’s too far to hold it.

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        Rugger, I’m driving my husband and son to the pre-game tailgate put on by the athletic dept and game on Monday morning. I unfortunately will have to work. I look forward to you analysis !

        • Rugger9 says:

          It was an interesting game in that early on the Bears really didn’t do well against the Illini run game, and when Illinois went no-huddle late it caused problems as well for the defense. I don’t know why Lovie felt the need to try passing as much as he did but it certainly helped the Bears, all things being equal. The one gap I did see in the passing D for the Bears was in handling the delayed crossing routes. Then again, Peters missed as much as he hit.

          On the O side, Garbers had a field day, and Illinois’ #8 needs to be fitted with asbestos underwear because of the number of times he was burned.

          I don’t know which conference the refs came from but they were OK professionally and the video calls were on target. The only weird one came late when Peters dove for the first down and was ruled short. Video let the call stand, and I will say that if the ball was in hos left hand it was a first down, but the ball was in his right and crossed a half yard short. So, the Illini fans have something to grouse about but by then the 15 point lead was getting too large for the time left. One targeting call in line with the rule, but perhaps the hockey standard for high-sticking might be worth looking at.

          Now, will Justin Wilcox use this as a springboard to the NFL? That seems to be the price of success in Berkeley, all the way back to Mariucci in his one year before the Niners snapped him up.

        • Rugger9 says:

          Weaver and Harding were both active as expected, but not so much on the stat sheet.

          One thing that made a difference was Wilcox’s decision to go for it on 4th and goal after getting stuffed 3 times (it was 14-10) which is the kind of moxie he brings and it paid off.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          Agree with your assessment, as do my husband and son. They had a great time at the game but now they agree with the Niners season ticket holders who are griping about the sunny side of the stadium. They were warm, but blinded.

          Interesting tidbit from Starkey and Pawlawski on the radio coverage, Peters, the Illini QB was Harbaugh’s first QB recruit at Michigan and started for him until he got a concussion. While out on protocol, he lost the starting position so he transferred to Illinois.

          Go Bears ! What a great start for next season !!

        • bmaz says:

          The Wilcox speculation is interesting. He has coached both sides of the ball, OC and DC, in the past before becoming head coach at Cal. He certainly has the makings of a promising NFL coach.

          I’d guess he stays as HC at Cal, which is kind of home for him and a great gig, for another season or two, but who knows? Sure looks good to step up to the pros at some point though.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          I think his future in the NFL is going to be very dependent on his ability to make the right hire at OC. Baldwin has been a disaster and that has been reflected in games lost which should not have been.

          If he can’t make a really solid hire this time around, his future in the NFL will be for the lesser teams, not the bigtime.

          In a postgame interview on the radio he said he expected to make a decision in the coming days, which sounded like a week-ish. He said they are speaking to several candidates from around the country.

          I sincerely hope it is not another situation like when Mooch left. A lot of respected coaches have used Cal as a stepping stone. We deserve to be able to put together a longer term program.

          Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl

        • bmaz says:

          As a Sun Devils fan, just have to note that ASU has been to the Rose Bowl twice since the last Cal appearance, and won one of them (over that pretentious jerk Jim Harbaugh and Michigan).

        • Jim White says:

          I presume you’re getting ready to watch your Forkers play the Seminoles in the Cereal Bowl. I’m really not sure how the bowl folks had the genius to bring the forks to cereal, but it should be entertaining.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          bmaz, I hafta say the Cereal Bowl ASU unis are….unusual. Are they black ? Um, they sort of look like interpretative dance costumes !!

        • bmaz says:

          Molly, you MUST go. Even if Cal doesn’t. The Rose Bowl is the most spectacular sporting event you can imagine. It is beyond stunning. I have been to two Super Bowls, and they are not even close.

          Honestly, words cannot describe it. Go. You will never regret it. When Keith Jackson used to call it “The Grandaddy Of Them All”, he was not joking. It is seriously that good, and the setting in Pasadena beyond that spectacular.

  9. PhoneInducedPinkEye says:

    I will not miss seeing Eli’s face on TV. To my eyes he always looked petulant and on the verge of angrily crying. The guy just rubbed me the wrong way.

  10. Bay State Librul says:

    Power cord?

    The over and under for the LSU-Oklahoma semi was +76.
    I was tempted to go under.
    Loser at 91!

  11. dakine01 says:

    Hilltoppers going against Western MI tomorrow afternoon. Cats against Va Tech on Tuesday afternoon.

    Not a real big Clemson fan but glad to see the Nuts lose (and saw a bit of a Ryan Day whine this AM on the calls)

    But as Jim White has noted, it is now time for Clemson to tangle with the Bayou Bengals. Ess Eee Cee Bay-Bee!

    • bmaz says:

      Clemson seriously underperformed last night, despite pulling out the win. But, man, even if they play their best, LSU looks like such a juggernaut, that it is hard to see how they win.

    • scribe says:

      Another game when the Owboys prove themselves the champions of Fantasy Football and running up their own stats, in meaningless games when they could have used a couple of those TDs in other games to have avoided a lonnnnng offseason.
      I can’t wait for Mount Jerry to erupt. Tonight??

    • bmaz says:

      Still first half, but Niners are raking so far. As I pointed out in previous Trash, the Cardinals have done incredibly well in Seattle. Nobody knows why they just have (the Squawks usually win here in Phoenix, so it is kind of a wash). But the Cards have more than double the wins up there than any other team over the last decade. Truly bizarre. But SF is taking it to them tonight when it really counts. Kind of surprising…..so far at least.

  12. Eureka says:

    This is my favorite memorializing tweet-set because it reminds me of Merrill Reese’s announcing (I watched most of Eagles@Giants, but was in and out of visual range. Pretty much every time I went to the kitchen (and radio), Boston Scott scored a TD). Merrill said the last time he’d seen a move like that was in Ice Capades; I ran to the living room to see the replay:

    Philadelphia Eagles: “There really is an Office reference for everything. [clip] ”
    https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1211480448045604864

    Quoting:

    Boston Scott: “Sorry bout the spin move WiFi made the game lag”
    https://twitter.com/BostonScott2/status/1211459710551052288

    Glad he’s getting his props. Last game he didn’t get much shine (Goedert, quite rightfully, was the focus), yet made one of the most important plays — leaping catch of a Wentz high-rear toss for a run (Scott is 5’6″). Would’ve been a disaster yards loss instead of a nice gain. (Similar sideline one-handed leaping catch today.)

    Also, he was our only RB left after Sanders was out.

    Fox is a bag of dicks: our game barely started to hit 00, they flashed Doug P’s face for a microsecond, and then SLAM they changed broadcasts: Oh, lets watch the Owboys clock go to zero and Jason Garret shaking hands. SMDH. I am so sick of the media bias.

    Deontay Burnett was that promising talent I’d mentioned, signed to the PS two weeks ago.

    IT’S THE WHOLE TEAM.

    If 9ers finish their business, we’ll see you next week, Seattle.<<<——- or maybe I should start backspacing…

    • Eureka says:

      ^ for those who might be unaware, the Owboy’s game was : already won; already meaningless; and already broadcast to most of the continental US. Our game was on in New England/Mid-Atlantic, North Dakota+, spotty Midwest. Our game was also the more important game and the NFC East championship winning game. And maybe we’d have like’d to have seen OUR coaches and players shake hands, slap backs, exchange jerseys, whatever it was they did.

      Adding: Cheers to the Eagles fan lurkers.

  13. P J Evans says:

    Final: Niners 26, Squawks 21. It went down to the last seconds, when the Squawks had the ball at the 1 and couldn’t get it in.

  14. P J Evans says:

    Oh dear Ghu:
    https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/1211781268922359810

    As president, I’ll turn the East Room into an open office plan, where I’ll sit with our team.

    I’ll use the Oval Office for some official functions – never for tweeting – but the rest of the time, I’ll be where a leader should be: with the team.

    Does he have any f*cking clue what this makes him sound like? (I worked in open-plan offices: depending on the kind of work, they could be too loud or very quiet. But upper management worked in offices of their own, even when they were fairly accessible.)

    • scribe says:

      That’s so he can more easily throw coffee cups (full, empty, doesn’t matter) at whatever minion in his cubicle farm dares tell him “no” or “illegal” or anything else displeasing.

      You can look it up. He is said to have done that in 2016 when he backed off of declaring as a third party candidate (the ads, logos, etc. were all ready to go) when his polling showed that with him in the race it would guarantee a Trump win.

      On Wall Street (or anywhere else) you don’t turn $10 mil (his severance from Salomon in 1981) into $30 billion in 35 years without being a ruthless son of a bitch who’d do that and worse at the drop of a hat.

      • P J Evans says:

        Oh lovely. Another Very Bad Boss.
        (Most of mine were good. Some weren’t so good, but none were like that. I’d have walked out the first time they did that.)

      • Geoguy says:

        It has been said on NYC radio that the Central Park Five kids were treated so unfairly because the victim worked for Solomon where Bloomberg also worked. (10 years in prison before exonoration and more than 10 years after that before the city settled the lawsuits. The suits weren’t settled until after Bloomberg was out of office because Bloomberg thought the city could win the suits.) Never mind his “stop and frisk” policy but only if you are brown.

  15. punaise says:

    Oh, FFS Joe (CNN):

    Joe Biden told voters in New Hampshire on Monday that he would consider choosing a Republican as a running mate, but added, “I can’t think of one right now.”

    Biden discussed the possibility after a woman told the former vice president that if he is the nominee, he will “have to pull out all the stops.”

    • bmaz says:

      I would like to point out that, contrary to Kerry Eleveld’s hyperbole, that was NOT a victory for the House Dems.

      In fact, just the opposite, it was a they shot their own foot loss. The House Dems just gave up and walked away in Pelosi’s “laser focused” determination to be done with everything. This type of thing is exactly why I laugh every time somebody waltzes in to proclaim what a genius Pelosi is. The House Dems were going to win that case, and it was an important one. And they just walked away like cowards. That is not a win by any measure.

      • P J Evans says:

        I was more interested in the fact that the ruling was out, than in opinions about it. (There are a few legal types there, but they’re generally commenters rather than diarists.)

      • P J Evans says:

        Here’s another very uniformed opinion, from 11:41amPST. It’s Trmp, whining again.

        “It’s my opinion as a lawyer that the Articles of Impeachment are defective on their face, which means I would like to see a Motion to Dismiss and have this disbursed without the necessity of a trial. I don’t think there should be a trial. I think it should be dismissed….
        …on 51 votes, which is procedural. You don’t need two thirds.” Brad Blakeman @FoxNews A great lawyer & person. Thank you Brad!

        You can’t do that in an impeachment, I don’t think. And if you’re going to claim they’re defective on their face, you should be prepared to show how they are, in a court of law (which an impeachment trial is not).

        • scribe says:

          You can make all the motions you want. It’s a matter of whether the rules will permit the motion, whether the subject matter of the motion is cognizable in the Senate, whether there’s a standard to measure whether the motion can/should/must be granted/denied, and whether the Senate or the Chief Justice (trial judge) will have the power to decide to grant/deny it.
          That said, 12(b)1 and 12(b)6 motions (on the civil side) and defective indictment motions (on the criminal side) are both notoriously hard to win.
          This is so much working the refs and not much more.

        • P J Evans says:

          Not having a TV, and especially not watching F-x “News”, I have no clue whether Blakeman is actually a lawyer, or if he is, whether he’s competent. But I think it’s safe to say that all the lawyers on the House committees looked those articles over, and they had prior examples that, in at least one case, were drafted by very competent people.

    • P J Evans says:

      They did – and Stanford lost to Kansas in basketball – though KU’s plane had to make an unscheduled landing at San Jose on the way home (they lost an engine).

    • bmaz says:

      The Bears looked good! Always sweet when a Pac team clobbers a Big 10 (okay B1G) team. It is a tradition going back to the glory years of Bo and Woody losing Rose Bowls.

  16. Mister Sterling says:

    Hey bmaz, bmac here. I thought only Wall Street Dicks liked the Giants. Hey, it’s your choice. But choosing the Giants as one’s team takes a certain amount of Wall Street and Yankees loyalty that I could never comprehend. Also, it’s a New Jersey club.

    But why dwell on the Giants when for all we know, tonight is the night that Rudy is arrested?

  17. P J Evans says:

    In the 3rd: Oregon 21, Wisconsin 17
    I guess they don’t need Cal Tech to liven it up this year.

      • P J Evans says:

        He certainly should retire from trying to be a lawyer, especially a Big Name Lawyer. (I’m surprised his license(s) haven’t been pulled, after the last year.)

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