Your counterargument is actually a very stoic, pro-Epictetus argument. Effectively: nothing is in your control. The world is big and you are little. All suffering comes from attempting to control anything but your reaction to the world.

This is what’s so hilarious to me about Bonds hate. With all the incredibly shitty things professional ballplayers do/have done, Bonds is somehow the uber-villain of the baseball universe.... because he was perceived as treating people with a vague sense of contempt.

Remind me what was so bad about Bonds? Other than that he didn’t like talking to the media.

Yes, completely. Most mid-sized cities in America have multiple high school boys who are capable of running a mile in 4:30. And for perspective, that’s four measly laps around the track.

That’s agreed. No one is making you be friends with him. I’m appalled by the guy’s actions. But this is about a system of laws. He’s legally entitled to attend university— it’s actually super fucking important to society that ex-cons and especially juvenile offenders are allowed to pursue education.

“Because there are no laws blocking it, it should be allowed.”

I don’t know why you’re putting ridiculous claims in my mouth that have nothing to do with reality or my statements. Judges make many of the determinations you’ve listed above all the time as part of sentencing, and I’m fine with that. There are laws preventing those convicted of DUIs to be commercial truck drivers…

Of course not. The law has been very clear about sex offenders not being able to be around children once they are out of prison because of concerns that they present an ongoing risk. That is part of the sentencing for being a sex offender.

Wanting to associate with someone is not how the law works. Not even close. A baker cannot simply not sell a cake to a gay couple because s/he doesn’t want to associate with gay marriage, for example. No one has to like this guy, sit at his table for lunch etc. But he’s been admitted to the university— because…

It does prevent someone out of jail/juve from moving on because it means one’s ability to live his life one’s controlled by arbitrary standards subject to change at any time. What are the things he is not allowed to do? Who gets to decide those things? If enough people vote on it, can he no longer go to college?

If you’re upset with the sentencing judge, that’s fine. What seems odd is the attitude that once out of jail (or juvenile detention) people shouldn’t be able to go on with their lives. Worse, that the limitations of what they are and aren’t allowed to do (in this case play football) should be completely arbitrary and…

The worst thing about this lack-of-ambition argument is how blatantly it ignores the demand side of the equation.

He means that PSG is Qatari-owned, something that would have been easily explained by two or three words in the article but is missing because... well, I don’t know why. The writer wrongly assumes that more than 1% of soccer fans know who owns PSG.

All of them are, that’s why this was at best the B-team, but more likely the C-team.

Deadspin really needs to make up its damn mind on the Gold Cup. When the US won the early matches with its C-team, you freak out over how we’re not winning by enough and are an embarrassment. When they upgrade to the B-team and win the stupid thing, you freak out about why aren’t we playing the C-team for more player…

Where exactly is the Rockets’ edge?
Paul over Curry? Beard over Durant? Melo over Draymond?

Yes, losing to Martinique would have been super embarrassing. History is filled with things that would have been embarrassing had they happened...

The point with Italy is that even the best, most competitive nations in the world labor through matches with minnows, not that their fan bases understand such things happen. Which is to say, there’s no scenario in which the US will ever go into a Gold Cup, especially with its C-team, and win its group games 4-0, 8-0…

The other factor here is that this is how soccer works: it’s a highly tactical, low-scoring game. Germany may go out and beat France 2-0 and then turn around and beat Northern Ireland 1-0... and in both those games, you are one or two weird things happening away from a completely inverted result.

This is tournament play in an exhibition tournament. I don’t know what else to tell you. Recently, Italy needed a 90+2 goal to beat Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier, not a meaningless regional tournament.