Vancvillan

Don't bookmakers use models for base spreads but leave total of all outcomes under 100% and then adjust based on what people bet on? Genuinely curious, no idea how it works.

I think I get the story you're trying to tell but it took six reads and now my head hurts.

Toughest game we've had since the Man City / Arsenal week. Don't think they have the talent of those two, but very well drilled and they're not 3rd for nothing. That said, we've beaten similar opposition since Emery arrived, so if we're on it we could get three points. Would happily take a draw though. Wish Isak was still injured tbh, though CW loves to score against us. A win here would be a great result.

I've got no love for Charlton Heston, but he said that in North Carolina at an NRA convention more than a year after Columbine. Michael Moore can probably be credited with spreading that popular misconception. Doesn't make it less gross, but didn't happen how it's often reported.

Would be happy with a draw. They aren't where they are because they're shit, that's nonsense. I think we can get at them as their defence is vulnerable at times - only problem is so is ours. Toughest test we've had in a while for sure.

Be really interesting to see if he gets a call up when slabhead is playing for West Ham next season.

Imagine the shock when fans see a player told to focus on the things he's best at that are also positive EV for the team. Same applies to SJM and others. But still we had "established" posters bemoaning the fact that it was impossible that any manager could get more out of this squad than Stevie G could, because "the fight wasn't there". Think Ollie has shown enough to shut them up.

Frank Lampard's Chelsea have a genuinely tough run. Could see them picking up very little until the last couple of games. Which would be objectively hilarious.

Garth Crooks somehow manages to make himself look more stupid each week. I love SJM and his form post-Gerrard, but this is brain injury level nonsense. "He hadn't scored a goal for Aston Villa since November 2021. Another one of those wretched football statistic that doesn't tell the whole story of a player's contribution to the team. McGinn has arguably been Villa's most consistent performer for the last two seasons. " https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65170383

This is probably bigger news in terms of potential impact on US citizens than the Trump indictment. The bill makes it illegal to US a VPN to do anything the US considers unauthorized, with steep potential penalties including jail time. Obvious implication for Tik Tok, but questionable on freedom of information for journalists, and a huge blow for anyone in the US involved in crypto, where most financial service protocols (derivatives / perps / options exchanges, etc) have already geo blocked US-based IPs due to fears of legislation. Even if you hate crypto, the US not being involved at this formative stage is going to leave them lagging - because digital currency of some form is written into the future, and the amount of innovation happening right now is something they need to be a part of.

Respectfully nick, you quoted my first sentence without including the second, which is pretty important in terms of context. By "weak" I mean that given what has been reported so far (including what was in the rest of my post), I wouldn't exactly call it a slam dunk.

I guess we'll know more next week, but right now it feels weak based on what we know. I read the NYT post above, but the BBC reporting suggests it isn't as clean cut. That last paragraph really jumps out. Trying to see it from a moderate Rep's perspective, it's easy to see how if there isn't much more than covering up a hush money payment, they are going to compare that to Hunter Biden's laptop, Nancy Pelosi's insider trading, etc and see it as electioneering. Not saying it's right, but right is pretty subjective in US politics atm. What is Trump accused of? Anthony Zurcher BBC North America correspondent ReutersCopyright: Reuters In 2016, adult film star Stormy Daniels contacted media outlets offering to sell her account of what she said was an adulterous affair she had with Donald Trump in 2006. Trump's team got wind of this, and his lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels to keep quiet. This is not illegal. However, when Trump reimbursed Cohen, the record for the payment says it was for legal fees. Prosecutors say this amounts to Trump falsifying business records, which is a misdemeanour - a criminal offence - in New York. Prosecutors could also potentially allege that this breaks election law, because his attempt to hide his payments to Daniels were motivated by not wanting voters to know he had an affair with her. Covering up a crime by falsifying records would be a felony, which is a more serious charge. Even advocates for prosecution acknowledge that either way, this is by no means a clear-cut case. There is little precedent for such a prosecution, and past attempts to charge politicians with crossing the line between campaign finance and personal spending have ended in failure. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-64993429

It's ironic that the economy is the biggest topic at the moment but it's one of the things that presidents have the least control over. Sure, they can bring in programs and spend money on different things, but many of those won't bear fruit in their term, and the ones that do can still be overwhelmed by external factors. Fwiw, running a deficit is one of the few non-partisan things left in the US. Every president in the last 20 years has done it, and the total is about equak between Reps and Dems. They just spend money on different things. Jerome Powell has more influence in the economy right now than either party.

As long as we don’t have Buendia marking Billing at corners I feel pretty good about this one.

Wait, what? It’s the one thing I’d say we’ve done well - a lot of our signings come out of nowhere.

Haha, got some family down there so can't resist a cheap shot. Yeah, would be great to see them come up and Azaz to go back for another season. Can't be easy hopping around teams in loan spells.

Most teams like to claim their fans are one big family but for them it's true.

Classical example of a player who gets turned into a scapegoat because what he does well doesn't make a great YouTube reel. He's fine, and not nearly as shit as is being suggested.

I had to read the first two on that list maybe eight times before my brain understood what was being implied. Reading the full list gave me a brain injury.

Imagine reading this as the person who went to the pub with Robby B in 2004 and seeing yourself described as a "colleague". What a gut punch.

This, along with Florida **** up the vote are the only two sure things in the next election cycle.

They need DCL back to play Dyche-ball. Smashing high balls into the box for Maupay to get in the end of is never going to work. It's funny to watch though.

From an outsider's perspective, Trump vs DeSantis sounds like an ok matchup on paper, but once the Trump war machine powers up and they face each other in a few debates it'll be a massacre. DeSantis is pretty bad in debates when confronted, and lacks charisma and charm. I'm not saying Trump has any of the latter two but he will absolutely steamroller DeSantis in a debate. It'll be borderline Jeb Bush embarrassing. If I were a betting man, Trump at evens for GOP nominee looks like free money to me. And just for clarity, I don't like either of them.

Nine month ban? Adrian Mutu's lawyers will be watching this.

Difference is if Man City win the league, we still have to compete with them next year. If they do a great job with Wrexham then most teams only have to challenge them for a season or two anyway.