Much belated thank you, this is hugely informative. Appreciate the insight from all.

Soccer DUAN!

Perfect response, this is exactly what I had been going for, more pointing out the interesting way that parties' identities change over time as opposed to focusing on one specific issue.

Pickin' up what you're puttin' down...

He sounds like a delight. THAT'S what America is all about.

Certainly one of my favorite times of the year to stay off of Facebook/The Twitter Machine

I think the permanent starter part isn't necessarily true. He'd have to fight for his spot over there, which has never been his forte. That being the case, I 100% agree on liking Dempsey more, I think his story and the origin of his skills is just fantastic.

Stalingrad by Antony Beevor is fantastic. Came out like ten years ago and will make you realize the Western Front in WW2 was basically a bar fight compared to the Eastern Front.

Goddamn, I know this has been discussed ad nauseum, but do you think Berman is tired of himself? Like "I should really get a new act but I'm in too deep" types of thoughts? Or would that require a level of self-awareness that's beyond him?

To be honest, I find the sound effects more irritating than the nicknames, especially when his voice does that thing where he clearly needs to take a breath so it gets all croaky. Hearing him spray spittle while making the bowling ball sounds is more than I can take, and I can say that I actively do not watch pre- or…

Agreed with everything said about Brookline, also worth looking at Newton and Wellesley. Congrats on the new gig!

Didn't feel like reading the whole piece, huh?

Went to a college with a guy named Mike. First night of orientation week freshman year he's playing video games in his room with a bunch of guys he had just met like 4 hours before. They're playing Madden, he runs a lousy play, and someone goes "nice playcall, poophead." Mike stiffens up and says "don't you ever…

Scottie Upshall just tweet something weird about PSU then immediately take it down?

Seconded on In The Heart Of The Sea . Probably my all-time favorite book.

I feel like I'm the only one who notices that Ryan Clark might be the dirtiest player in the NFL. That hit on McGahee in this vid, I mean, my God, he throws like five of those a year.

Rugby DUAN!

Deadspin DUAN:

It's interesting you say this, I had this EXACT thought today. One of the Saints' offensive tackles went down with a non-contact injury and looked near tears coming off the field and the announcers were treating him like he was inconveniencing viewers and basically gave him the silent treatment.

Best vocalist in hard rock trivia: Chris Cornell was brought into Temple of the Dog because Eddie Vedder couldn't hit the screaming parts of their lyrics.