Whiskeyjack

I'm good for the 27th or 28th.

Is everyone good ending the season on July 31st again? Also, when should we draft? Should probably aim for a date prior to opening day. Some options - Tuesday March 21st Wednesday March 22nd Thursday March 23rd Friday March 24th Saturday March 25th Sunday March 26th Monday March 27th Tuesday March 28th Wednesday March 29th @[email protected] [email protected]@JJ [email protected]@Bronn [email protected]

I get why people are debating ethics, but at the end of the day, doubt Joel was thinking about any of that. There was no debate for him. Like Kal said - Its not like he was taking the time to go back and forth and weigh the pros and cons of different paths. He wasn't going to lose her, end of discussion for him. Also - I guess where we differ is that, while I know that robbing Ellie of her choice is probably wrong and unfair to her, I also understand Joel and think I would have done the same thing as him if it was one of my kids. I don't know, its pretty complex. In the end, he's both the hero in some ways and the villain in others. All I can say is that I get why he did it, and my inclination would be to do the same, regardless of the consequences. Curious what you mean here. I don't think it was inadvertent - seems pretty intentional.

That was near perfect. So good.

Spoken like somebody who doesn't have fantasy football drafts in August. You guys should decide independently of me. But I'd say I'm like 75% in if the last day is end of July. If not, no worries, but don't think I'd play this time around.

Are you thinking full season or end after July?

I don't think there was really any question about Joel surviving his injury in the game. I mean, yeah, he wasn't doing well. And its a surprise when you switch over to Ellie. But I don't remember ever thinking he was actually done, or that the remainder of the game would be focused on Ellie with David's group. In the game, there is a sense of David being kind of suspicious from the start, but you're not sure if its legit or if you're just being paranoid. A major difference is that there's an entire section (while you're waiting for James to come back with the medicine), where you have to team up with David to battle a bunch of infected. Its probably one of the more difficult parts of the game, because you're kind of starting from scratch with Ellie. And also, the final battle is just extremely tough (or at least I thought it was until I figured out a strategy for it). So you start to build a bit of trust and rely on him in spite of your suspicions. . . and then James comes back, they reveal that the people you fought at the university were part of their group, and things proceed from there. The other big difference, from my perspective, is that the interaction between David and Ellie when she's in the cage is a bit more subtle in the game. It's not really clear that he's the leader of the whole community, he's not a pastor (which seemed generic and unnecessary), he doesn't say anything about her being his equal and how they should run things together. He's super creepy and its at that point that you find out why he's really interested in her, but it doesn't go quite as far as the show. I actually liked a lot of the episode. There were some great parts to it. But I do feel it was rushed, largely because they skipped the section where Ellie and David have to work together against a common enemy. And also feel like they went a little over the top in having David talk about them ruling the community together, or whatever he said. The issue of things going too quickly has been my concern from the beginning, once I read that the entire first game would be done in 9 episodes. I think they've done a really good job making it work up until now. But the university and now the interaction with David are the first time where I wish they'd taken more time with it. Adding another episode would have helped. Or if that wasn't an option, then maybe restructuring the Left Behind episode so it was half flashbacks and half present day, so Ellie could start the section with David earlier. Just something to let it build up more.

Awful from Tomiyasu, such a huge mistake.

Great game up until the end. Pretty awful call.

Real question is, did the bloater have an accent?

Awesome episode. Probably my favorite so far.

Same here. I haven't been able to watch episode 4 yet, but think Bella Ramsey has been great as Ellie from what I've seen so far.

I only know Max Richter from his work in The Leftovers. Think The Departure Suite is probably my favorite piece of music I've ever heard in a television show. The music in this episode was also really good. Didn't recognize On the Nature of Daylight when I heard it, but I do also love Arrival, so I guess I've heard it before and just didn't remember. Anyway - credit to him for contributing to so many great shows/movies.

Yeah same. The preview shows that the next episode is going to be the start of the Pittsburgh arc, which should be pretty intense. Need some downtime in order to make the action and danger stand out. Plus, Bill + Frank was a great story, in and of itself.

Yeah, my impression from the game was definitely that Bill and Frank were a couple. I thought the episode was good. Definitely way different from the game. But I don't think they skipped anything super important. I might have wanted to see Joel, Ellie, and Bill together. Was looking forward to one scene in particular. But I liked this too. For what its worth, my wife - who knows nothing about the game aside from random things I've told her - thought it was great. Anecdotal, but guessing there may be different reactions from people who went into this episode with certain expectations vs. those who didn't.

So I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that season 1 is going to cover the entire first game. Kind of having a hard time seeing how they manage it. I love the show so far. But hope they don't rush some of the major things that are going to happen the rest of the way. Judging by the episode titles, I guess they might do something like this? Episode 3 - Long Long Time - This will be Bill's Town. Reviews have said that it will include the stuff from the game, but also flashbacks. Which is also pretty apparent from the preview after episode 2. Episode 4 - Please Hold My Hand - I think I read that they are changing Pittsburgh to Kansas City? Either way, this is probably the start of that arc and meeting Henry and Sam. Episode 5 - Endure and Survive - They have to spend 2 episodes on that section, right? If they just do it in one episode, then they're going way too fast. Guessing this ends with them going through the sewers, the part in the town with the sniper, etc. Episode 6 - Kin - Judging by the title, would make sense for this to be when they make it to Jackson / the power plant and find Tommy. Episode 7 - Left Behind - Its the title of the DLC, so that indicates this will include the flashback to Ellie and Riley in the mall, and show how Ellie got infected. Maybe also intersperse that with Joel and Ellie going to the university to look for the Fireflies. End with Joel getting injured? Episode 8 - When We Are in Need - Guess this would have to be the part with David. But like . . . really don't think one episode is enough for that. Episode 9 - Haven't seen a different title for it. If they really are doing everything in one season, then this would be the ending. In theory, I guess it could work. But would mean they are going to push through the David part of the story quickly. Alternatively, maybe Kin is finding Tommy and going to the university, if they can find a way to combine those two things together. And then Left Behind is the flashbacks and also the start of the David story?

Don't think its accurate to say the show is a shot-for-shot rehash of the game. They're definitely hitting all of the major scenes and themes, but they're also streamlining and modifying certain things along the way. And I think its working well. Both episodes have been great. And the changes all make sense. Overall, I'm super happy so far. They're hitting the tone perfectly. Joel and Ellie's characters have been on point. There's a good mix of quiet moments and tense action. The Clicker scene was awesome. Supposedly, next week's episode is one of the best (according to reviews), so looking forward to that.

I guess it's true that they don't want to pay him, but I don't think it's for the reason you're thinking. It's not as if they think he's a $200 million player who they can't afford. It's because they probably don't place a very high value on a 2B/1B who doesn't ever reach double digit HR. I mean...my guess is that Lopez will probably get a bigger free agent contract than Arraez, if they both stay healthy. Twins might not sign him long term either, but my point is I think this was more about them setting up their team for the upcoming season and the future than it was about dumping a super valuable asset for less valuable assets.

Fangraphs article on the trade Personally I take Lopez over Arraez. Both are good players. But I'd rather have a talented pitcher over a contact hitter who doesn't have much power or speed. Arraez has an extra year of control, though, so I guess that balances things out to some degree. Until you add in the fact that Miami also gave up two high upside prospects.

Thought that was excellent. Great start.

Yeah, it says: *Whiskeyjack gets 10% credit for setting Jace's lineup the last 2 months(**) (**Minus 1% credit for forgetting to set it in the championship while he was on vacation, thereby leaving in Deandre Hopkins to get a 0......but she won anyway, so lets just forget about that)

Guess we're going to go ahead and use this process. So here are the final results. Experts Jace = 92.28 + 29.1 (Allen) = 121.38 Jaxom = 85.92 + 12.82 (Mixon) + 5.85 (Knox) + 8.19 (McPherson) = 112.78 Jace wins Westeros A Tywin = 126.42 + 13.04 (Diggs) + 8.74 (Singletary) = 148.2 Jaime = 110.18 + 26.29 (Burrow) + 5.85 (Knox) = 142.32 Tywin wins Westeros B Ross = 120.92 + 29.1 (Allen) = 150.02 Whiskeyjack = 83.66 + 10.49 (Higgins) + 8.24 (Davis) = 102.39 Ross wins Westeros C POTN = 137.36 Jaime = 88.44 + 29.1 (Allen) = 117.54 POTN wins All of these results are actually the same as what we already have in Yahoo after the Buffalo/Cincy game was canceled, so nothing changes there. Tywin, Ross, and POTN are all invited into Experts. Congrats everyone! @BBB Jacelyn @Jaxom 1974 @Tywin et al. @Jaime L @Prince of the North @l2 0 5 5

When I was going through a medical issue a year and a half ago, it was during the Euro. I watched every game, a lot of them while in the hospital. And when they talked about his cancer, I looked him up. Ended up reading some very inspirational words from him that helped me through some tough times. This is a very sad day.

I've been on vacation all week (and still am), so haven't been around to check in. Think the fairest resolution is to just use season averages for the players in question. So you subtract out the scores they put up in the partial game, replace them with season averages, and get a champion. Co-champions would be fine too, but I think this is the best suggestion I've heard from people in other leagues. Doesn't affect me - my result in Westeros B is already set in stone regardless.

I also made the finals in my work league (for the 2nd straight year), so have a shot at the title in 2 of 5 leagues. Not bad . . . though both teams have been hit by so many injuries over the past month, so my expectations for the championship are low.