Minggu, 18 Maret 2018
The Perfect Bracket? Joe Giglio picks every NCAA tournament game - News & Observer
The odds of picking a perfect bracket are 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Like Han Solo said, "Never tell me the odds."
It's a new tournament and that means the bracket is free of red ink. Perfection is still achievable, although has not happened since I started the annual tradition in 2005.
Who's going to win it all? Where will the first-round upsets be? How will Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State do? Here's my guess at all 67 games:
First Four
▪ No. 11 Arizona State (20-11) vs. No. 11 Syracuse (20-13): As good as Tyus Battle is, the Orange probably don’t belong in the field. Pick: Arizona State.
▪ No. 11 St. Bonaventure (25-7) vs. No. 11 UCLA (21-11): Senior guards Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley lead the Bonnies to the main draw. Pick: St. Bonaventure
▪ No. 16 LIU-Brooklyn (18-16) vs. No. 16 Radford (22-12): The Highlanders politely, led by junior Ed Polite, ask the Blackbirds to exit to the premises. Pick: Radford.
▪ No. 16 N.C. Central (19-15) vs. No. 16 Texas Southern (15-19): The Eagles return to Dayton and this time pick up their first Division I NCAA tournament win. Pick: N.C. Central.
South region
First round
▪ No. 1 Virginia (31-2) vs. No. 16 Maryland-Baltimore County (24-10): At least one Maryland school was able to get into the field (hey, oh!, sorry, Terps). The Wahoos make quick work of the America East champions. Pick. Virginia.
▪ No. 8 Creighton (21-11) vs. No. 9 Kansas State (22-11): UNC fans are still mad at Creighton for injuring Kendall Marshall in 2012. Senior guard Marcus Foster gives the anti-Creighton crowd in Charlotte a reason to boo. Pick: Creighton.
▪ No. 5 Kentucky (24-10) vs. No. 12 Davidson (21-11): Guarantee the Wildcats win. Pick: Kentucky.
▪ No. 4 Arizona (27-7) vs. No. 13 Buffalo (26-8): Guarantee the Wildcats win. Pick: Arizona.
▪ No. 6 Miami (22-9) vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (28-5): The Ramblers have scoring balance and play sound defense. The Missouri Valley champs knock off the Hurricanes. Pick: Loyola.
▪ No. 3 Tennessee (25-8) vs. No. 14 Wright State (25-9): More like Wrong State (am I right?). Pick: Tennessee.
▪ No. 7 Nevada (27-7) vs. No. 10 Texas (19-14): Bracket Rule for 2018: Move any team with an N.C. State transfer (or two) into the second round. The Martin twins lead the Wolf Pack (two words, space, capital “P”) past Texas and star freshman Mo Bamba. Pick. Nevada.
▪ No. 2 Cincinnati (30-4) vs. No. 15 Georgia State (24-10): Same rule applies to the Bearcats and former N.C. State forward Kyle Washington. Pick: Cincinnati.
Second round
▪ No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 8 Creighton: Creighton’s an offense-first team but the Bluejays won’t score enough to beat the Wahoos. Pick: Virginia.
▪ No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 4 Arizona: Kentucky gets zapped by a one-and-done star (Arizona’s Deandre Ayton)? Go figure. Pick: Arizona.
▪ No. 11 Loyola vs. No. 3 Tennessee: Ramble on, Ramblers. The Sweet 16 is calling Porter Moser’s plucky squad. Pick: Loyola.
▪ No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 2 Cincinnati: A Wolfpack reunion with the Martins and Washington, who were all on N.C. State’s 2015 Sweet 16 team. Injuries have slowed the Wolf Pack (two words, space, capital “P”) otherwise the Bearcats would have been in trouble. Pick: Cincinnati.
Regional semifinals
▪ No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Arizona: Virginia’s going to double Ayton every time he touches the ball and force Arizona’s guards to beat them. (Spoiler: Arizona’s guards can’t). Pick: Virginia.
▪ No. 11 Loyola vs. No. 2 Cincinnati: Enjoyed it, Ramblers, it has been real but it’s time to go. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here. Pick: Cincinnati.
Regional final
▪ No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 2 Cincinnati: Ken Pomeroy’s No. 1 adjusted defense vs. the No. 2 adjusted defense. You don’t beat Tony Bennett at his own game. The Wahoos return to the Final Four for the first time since 1984. Pick: Virginia.
West region
First round
▪ No. 1 Xavier (28-5) vs. No. 16 N.C. Central: It has been a good year for teams with the nickname Eagles, but a better one for these Musketeers. Pick: Xavier.
▪ No. 8 Missouri (20-12) vs. No. 9 Florida State (20-11): The Seminoles are not very good away from home. That’s a losing March formula. Pick: Missouri.
▪ No. 5 Ohio State (24-8) vs. No. 12 South Dakota State (28-6): When in doubt, go with the nickname: Jackrabbits > Buckeyes. Pick: South Dakota State.
▪ No. 4 Gonzaga (30-4) vs. No. 13 UNC-Greensboro (27-7): There are bigger things ahead for Wes Miller. The Spartans will put a scare into the Zags. Pick: Gonzaga.
▪ No. 6 Houston (26-7) vs. No. 11 San Diego State (22-10): Caulton Tudor’s No. 1 Bracket Rule: It’s the coach, stupid. Houston’s Kelvin Sampson has always been a good coach. The Cougars dispatch the Aztecs. Pick: Houston.
▪ No. 3 Michigan (28-7) vs. No. 14 Montana (26-7): Michigan mountain man Mo Wagner is too much for the Griz to tame. Pick: Michigan.
▪ No. 7 Texas A&M (20-12) vs. No. 10 Providence (21-13): The Friars are back in North Carolina. They won their first-round game in Raleigh in 2016 and will pick one up in Charlotte. Pick: Providence.
▪ No. 2 UNC (25-10) vs. No. 15 Lipscomb (23-9): Win scomb, lose scomb, Lipscomb. Pick: UNC.
Second round
▪ No. 1 Xavier vs. No. 8 Missouri: The Musketeers leave Mizzou with only questions. What if Michael Porter had been healthy the whole season? Pick: Xavier.
▪ No. 12 South Dakota State vs. No. 4 Gonzaga: The Zags aren’t the same team that lost in last year’s title game but they’re better than the Jackrabbits. Pick: Gonzaga.
▪ No. 6 Houston vs. No. 3 Michigan: (John) Beilein makes another bee line for the Sweet 16. Pick: Michigan.
▪ No. 10 Providence vs. No. 2 UNC: This is traditionally the round that gives Roy Williams the most trouble but the Charlotte home-cooking helps. Pick: UNC.
Regional semifinals
▪ No. 1 Xavier vs. No. 4 Gonzaga: Gonzaga’s big breakthrough came with a win over Xavier last year in the Final Eight. The Musketeers return the favor to move into the Final Eight for the fourth time since 2004. Pick: Xavier.
▪ No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 2 UNC: Wagner will be a problem for UNC but Michigan’s guards aren’t good enough. UNC seniors Theo Pinson and Joel Berry add a fourth Sweet 16 trip to their resumes. Pick: UNC
Regional final
▪ No. 1 Xavier vs. No. 2 UNC: Xavier has always had good, tough guards but has usually been one big man short of a Final Four team. Kerem Kanter, a grad transfer from Wisconsin-Green Bay, has given them a steady option in the middle. Senior guards Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura give them the firepower to knock the Tar Heels out a round short of a third straight Final Four trip. Pick: Xavier.
East region
First round
▪ No. 1 Villanova (30-4) vs. No. 16 Radford: Good news for Radford: Villanova’s first-round margin of victory as a No. 1 seed has gone down from 41 to 30 to 20 points in the past three years. Bad news for Radford: that’s still a 10-point loss. Pick: Villanova.
▪ No. 8 Virginia Tech (21-11) vs. No. 9 Alabama (19-15): Alabama’s a mystery. The Crimson Tide ended the regular-season with five straight losses and then beat Texas A&M and Auburn in the SEC tournament. Pick: Virginia Tech.
▪ No. 5 West Virginia (24-10) vs. No. 12 Murray State (26-5): Want to pick the Racers just to see Temetrius Morant’s name on the CBS scroll. Alas, it’s Daxter Miles and Jevon Carter’s world. Pick: West Virginia.
▪ No. 4 Wichita State (25-7) vs. No. 13 Marshall (24-10): Find somebody to love you the way Marshall loves the 3-point shot. If only the Herd had the defense to match. Pick: Wichita State.
▪ No. 6 Florida (20-12) vs. No. 11 St. Bonaventure: The Gators have stumbled down the stretch but they still have the guard-power to handle the Bonnies. Pick: Florida.
▪ No. 3 Texas Tech (24-9) vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin (28-6): Injuries cost the Red Raiders the regular-season Big 12 title. A little rest should help guard Keenan Evans. Pick: Texas Tech.
▪ No. 7 Arkansas (23-11) vs. No. 10 Butler (20-13): Woo pig sooie. Senior guards (Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon) lead the Razorbacks to a win. Pick: Arkansas.
▪ No. 2 Purdue (28-6) vs. No. 15 Cal State-Fullerton (20-11): The Titans last NCAA appearance (in 2008) was also a loss to a Big Ten team (Wisconsin). Pick: Purdue.
Second round
▪ No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 8 Virginia Tech: Buzz Williams gets to relive a little Big East glory days with the Wildcats. Villanova lost in this round last year and in 2015 but avoids the same fate here. Pick: Villanova.
▪ No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 4 Wichita State: The season started with such promise for the Shockers but they’re left in the dust by “Press Virginia.” Pick: West Virginia.
▪ No. 6 Florida vs. No. 3 Texas Tech: The Gators made a surprise run to the Final Eight last year. Don’t pick a team a year late. Pick: Texas Tech.
▪ No. 7 Arkansas vs. No. 2 Purdue: Woe pig sooie. The Razorbacks have no counter for Purdue big man Isaac Haas. Pick: Purdue.
Regional semifinals
▪ No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 5 West Virginia: It’s like an alternate Big East tournament for Villanova with a Sweet 16 date with former conference foe West Virginia. The Mountaineers press works better against teams without great guards. Pick: Villanova.
▪ No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Purdue: It’s a shame the Red Raiders couldn’t stay healthy. They had something going in January and February. Pick: Purdue.
Regional final
▪ No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 2 Purdue: Matt Painter has been a relative disappointment in the postseason but this is his best team. Haas, Carsen Edwards and Vincent Edwards lead the Boilers to the Final Four for the first time since 1980. Pick: Purdue.
Midwest region
First round
▪ No. 1 Kansas (27-7) vs. No. 16 Penn (24-8): Steve Donahue is a heck of an Ivy League coach. The Quakers aren’t going to become the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1, though. Pick: Kansas.
▪ No. 8 Seton Hall (21-11) vs. No. 9 N.C. State (21-11): The Wolfpack atones for its ACC tournament bust with a nailbiter over a tough Seton Hall team. Pick: N.C. State.
▪ No. 5 Clemson (23-9) vs. No. 12 New Mexico State (28-5): Guards matter in March. Clemson has three good ones. They take care of the Aggies, who are making their seventh NCAA trip in nine years. Pick: Clemson.
▪ No. 4 Auburn (25-7) vs. No. 13 Charleston (26-7): Another SEC team trending in the wrong direction. The Tigers have lost four of six. The Cougars, with guards Grant Riller and Joe Chealey, pull off the upset. Pick: Charleston.
▪ No. 6 TCU (21-11) vs. No. 11 Arizona State: Pitt’s a mess but former Panthers coach Jamie Dixon is doing just fine with the Horned Frogs. Pick: TCU.
▪ No. 3 Michigan State (29-4) vs. No. 14 Bucknell (25-9): Remember two years ago when the Spartans were stunned in the first round? That’s not happening here (fingers crossed; right, Sparty?). Pick: Michigan State
▪ No. 7 Rhode Island (25-7) vs. No. 10 Oklahoma (18-13): Everyone wants to see Oklahoma guard Trae Young against Duke. Bracket Rule No. 4: If it was that easy, everyone would get it right. Pick: Rhode Island.
▪ No. 2 Duke (26-7) vs. No. 15 Iona (20-13): Ken Pomeroy’s computer rankings have this as a 19-point Duke win. Sounds about right. Pick: Duke.
Second round
▪ No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 9 N.C. State: Not many people will give N.C. State a chance in a semi-road game against the Jayhawks in Wichita. But like wins over Arizona, Duke and at UNC this season, this is a “Law of the Wolfpack” kind of game. When you expect the least, you get the most. Pick: N.C. State.
▪ No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 13 Charleston: Just two teams from South Carolina chilling out in San Diego. Senior guard Gabe DeVoe pushes the Tigers into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997 and only fourth time in school history. Pick: Clemson.
▪ No. 6 TCU vs. No. 3 Michigan State: Dixon’s Horned Frogs have pretty much alternated wins and losses since Big 12 play began. After an opening-round win, it’s time for TCU to part. Pick: Michigan State.
▪ No. 7 Rhode Island vs. No. 2 Duke: The Rams nearly beat Oregon last year in this round. Behind seniors Jared Terrell, EC Matthews and Stanford Robinson, Danny Hurley’s team gets the job done this time. Let the preseason hype begin for Duke’s next can’t-miss recruiting class. Pick: Rhode Island.
Regional semifinals
▪ No. 9 N.C. State vs. No. 5 Clemson: After shocking Kansas, just about the dumbest team the Wolfpack could lose to is another ACC team. This is what happened in 2015 after N.C. State knocked out Villanova. Pick: Clemson.
▪ No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Rhode Island: Michigan State does what Duke can’t and exploit Rhode Island’s interior defense. Jaren Jackson and Miles Bridges carry the Spartans into the regional final. Pick: Michigan State.
Regional final
▪ No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 3 Michigan State: Bracket luck is a real thing. The bracket opened up for the Spartans in 2015 and does again. They make the Final Four without having to beat the No. 1 seed. Pick: Michigan State.
Final Four
National semifinals
▪ No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 1 Xavier: Previous Virginia teams have failed on the offensive end. Guards Devon Hall, Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome are different. They are all shot-makers. Forwards Isaiah Wilkins and Jack Salt know their roles and De’Andre Hunter and Nigel Johnson can add points off the bench. The Hoos reach the national title game for the first time in school history. Pick: Virginia.
▪ No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 3 Michigan State: Maybe that week off between the Big Ten and NCAA tournament wasn’t such a bad idea after all? The Spartans have the size to match up with the Boilers and Tom Izzo gets a “been there, done that” edge in this one. Spartans won the only regular-season meeting and get this one, too. Pick: Michigan State.
National championship
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 3 Michigan State: Whatever mojo Michigan State lacks against Duke and Carolina, it has in spades against Virginia. The Spartans have knocked out Bennett’s best teams before (in 2014 and again in 2015) and complete the hat trick in San Antonio. Eighteen years after his first national title, Izzo adds a second.
Pick: Michigan State, 71-64.
Minggu, 11 Maret 2018
Rich The Kid - Plug Walk - YouTube
"Plug Walk" out now! http://smarturl.it/PlugWalk
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https://twitter.com/richthekid"Plug Walk" out now! http://smarturl.it/PlugWalk
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A Creative Row / Rich Forever Film
Starring: Rich The Kid and Lil Mayo
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Music video by Rich The Kid performing Plug Walk. © 2018 Interscope Records
Sabtu, 10 Maret 2018
Jumat, 09 Maret 2018
Charley Walters: Case Keenum would be Vikings' least-risky QB choice - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
Among the Vikings’ apparent quarterback options — Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford and long-shot Kirk Cousins — Keenum would provide the least amount of risk.
It has to be hard for the Vikings to have full trust in any of the group. But if the team agrees that Keenum provides its best chance for success, he could be signed to a free-agent deal soon, even before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. NFL deadline to designate either a franchise or transition tag on him.
By the way, the rumor around the league that the Vikings have decided not to tag Keenum should be considered for what it is. A rumor.
It’s difficult to speculate what sort of contract — length, money — the Vikings would be willing to give Keenum, who turned 30 two weeks ago, or what other teams would be willing to offer him.
The Vikings don’t know whether last season’s play — an 11-3 regular-season record as starter — was serendipity or not. But they have to choose somebody, and Keenum seems the most prudent choice.
It’s hard to believe the Vikings would trust Bridgewater or Bradford, because of knee injuries, to be their starter.
Cousins is considered the best free agent available. But he is not among the NFL’s elite QBs. Also, he is expected to sign with whatever team gives him the most money, and the Vikings can’t offer the most money. The Jets would win a bidding competition for Cousins.
Remember, whenever a player says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.
Cousins, who is from Holland, Mich., could fetch a deal worth $30 million a year, much of it up front and guaranteed. He reportedly is building a home on Lake Michigan in his home state.
Regarding Cousins and the Vikings and the Jets, as pointed out by “The Sports Tax Man,” CPA Robert Raiola, although the tax rate in Minnesota is 9.85 percent, Michigan and Minnesota have a reciprocal agreement. That means if Cousins plays for the Vikings, he would pay the Michigan tax rate of 4.25 percent instead of the 9.85 percent.
The Jets play in East Rutherford, N.J. The tax rate in New Jersey is 8.97 percent. New Jersey does not have tax reciprocity with Michigan.
The Vikings need to reserve cash for next year to re-sign core players Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks and Danielle Hunter. The Vikings are built on defense. There’s also Stefon Diggs on offense to pay.
The only free-agent quarterback worth the Vikings busting the payroll for would be Drew Brees, a future first-ballot hall of famer who is likely to remain in New Orleans.
The Vikings are picking too late in April’s draft (No. 30) and don’t have enough to trade up to get a quarterback for the future.
It won’t be surprising if the Vikings offer Bridgewater a backup QB contract. Should he decline, the team would have to seek a veteran backup.
Interestingly, the Super Bowl champion Eagles last week sounded like they would be willing to trade QB Nick Foles for the right price. But after the Vikings got pinched in the Bradford trade with Philadelphia two years ago, another deal with the Eagles would seem unlikely.
A trade for Foles probably would require a second-round draft pick and another pick. Arizona could be a destination for Foles.
It appears the Vikings won’t be able to afford to re-sign free agent guard Joe Berger, who could end up with the Giants. It’s also expected the Vikings will try to renegotiate down running back Latavius Murray’s $5.8 million salary for next season.
It’s assumed wide receiver Michael Floyd won’t be re-signed by the Vikings.
Wild owner Craig Leipold lights up when encountered by people who ask him what’s wrong with his team.
“I say, ‘What’s wrong with the team?’ — it’s the second-best we’ve ever played!” he answers in wonderment.
Leipold is right. The Wild, more than three-quarters into the season, have the second-most points in their 17-year history. The only season when they were more productive at this juncture was last season.
“We still have a lot of work to do to get into the playoffs,” Leipold said. “This is exactly where we’ve wanted to be — it’s all about peaking at the right time. It’s going to prepare us for the playoffs, and that’s what everybody looks at.”
Among the NHL’s 31 teams, the Wild lead in tickets sold over arena capacity (106 percent).
“It doesn’t get much better,” Leipold said. “I think our fans see we’re committed, that we’ve got a good, exciting team.”
The Wild rank No. 7 in the NHL in attendance, averaging 18,997. In crosstown Minneapolis, the Timberwolves rank No. 22 in the 30-team NBA, averaging 16,811, 88.6 percent of arena capacity.
The Timberwolves have had 11 sellouts this season.
The Wild carry 25-to-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bovada-Las Vegas. The Timberwolves, following the indefinite loss of Jimmy Butler because of knee surgery, have gone from 33-to-1 to 75-to-1 to win the NBA championship.
Glen Taylor has had more than his share of misfortune since buying the Timberwolves 23 years ago. Finally this season, after not making the playoffs since 2004, it appeared the long-patient owner had a team headed to the postseason.
Then Butler last week underwent surgery for a torn meniscus. His return is uncertain.
“I just said, ‘Why me again?’ ” Taylor said when Butler went down. “I’ve talked to Jimmy since the injury, and he’s confident about the team that they have the tools” to get into the playoffs.
Going into his final game, in college basketball’s six major conferences, the Gophers’ Jordan Murphy was one of only three players to average at least 17 points and 11 rebounds. The others were Duke’s Marvin Bagley and Arizona’s DeAndre Ayton.
Ayton, a 7-foot freshman, is expected to be the NBA’s No. 1 pick in June’s draft, the 6-11 freshman Bagley among the top five.
Murphy, a 6-6 junior, finished averaging 16.8 points and 11.3 rebounds. But he’ll have to become a three-point threat in order to get a chance in the NBA.
The Gophers men’s basketball team finished 2-14 after Reggie Lynch was ruled ineligible.
The Penn State men’s hockey team that defeated the Gophers three straight times in eight days has six players from Canada, two from Russia and one from Finland.
Former Mr. Basketball Minnesota Royce White, 26, hoping to return to the NBA, leads the London Lightning in Canada in scoring (24.5 points per game) and rebounds (7.9).
As soon as it was clear that the New York Rangers decided to rebuild, the Stanley Cup-contending Tampa Bay Lightning moved last week to acquire Ryan McDonagh, the Cretin-Derham Hall grad who was the Rangers’ captain.
“We got a real solid player and a real solid human being — by all accounts, every direction, the character of this guy is something special,” Tom Kurvers said. “Captain of the New York Rangers, that’s a big deal.”
Kurvers, 55, the 1984 Hobey Baker winner from Minnesota-Duluth and Bloomington Jefferson, is senior advisor for Tampa Bay.
“Ryan fits in really well, strengthens our blue line — we have plenty of offense,” Kurvers said. “He was part of (the Rangers) decision to go young and renew their team. And it’s not like he’s an old player (28). Once that was clear, we were very interested, like most teams.
“It makes us stronger, but guarantees nothing. It’s a tough road once the playoffs start.”
J.T. Brown, the former UMD star and son of former Vikings running back Ted Brown, was waived by Tampa Bay and picked up by Anaheim. In 24 games for Tampa Bay, Brown had a goal and three assists. He has a goal and two assists in 18 games for the Ducks.
“Anaheim smartly picked him up — he’s good player,” Kurvers said.
Apple Valley’s Tyus and Tre Jones — one of a handful of brothers to be named McDonald’s All-American high school basketball players– will appear at 5:30 p.m. Monday for a promo at the Apple Valley McDonald’s.
The Gophers baseball team that plays host to UCLA at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Dairy Queen Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium has a handful of pro prospects, but foremost might be junior shortstop Terrin Vavra, son of Detroit Tigers quality control coach Joe Vavra, the ex-Twins bench coach from Menomonie, Wis.
Vavra, expected to be chosen in June’s major league draft, had five multi-hit games in the Gophers’ first eight games.
“He had a back problem the first two years from an old injury that finally healed, and he’s been able to practice every day and been healthy since last summer. And that’s been reflected in his game,” Minnesota coach John Anderson said. “He’s playing at a high level.”
Vavra was the Big Ten player of the week last week.
Gophers men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino speaks at a Dunkers breakfast Tuesday at the Minneapolis Club.
Happy birthday: Former Gopher-Minnesota Fighting Saint Pat Westrum turned 70 on Saturday.
Nice story: Jade Tucker, cut as a senior from her White Bear Lake varsity basketball team, persevered to become a starter for her Wisconsin-Superior basketball team that advanced to Division III NCAA tournaments the past three seasons.
Not since 1999, when Augsburg College featured future NBA player Devean George, had the Auggies made the NCAA Division III tournament. But they achieved it this season by beating St. Thomas (three times), No. 3-nationally ranked St. John’s on the road and Bethel at Bethel to become the MIAC playoff champion.
The Auggies sprang into the 64-team tournament behind 6-foot-8 former Buffalo star Collin Olmscheid, the MIAC’s player of the year after hitting 45 three-point field goals.
Coach Aaron Griess, by the way, left a head job at Division II Chaminade University in Honolulu to coach Augsburg 13 years ago. In the 2003 Maui Invitational, it was Griess who coached Chaminade to a major upset of Villanova.
Woodbury’s Jake Guentzel, who last season scored 16 goals in 40 games for Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh, has 20 goals in 65 games this season.
Former St. Paul Saints hockey player Freddie Brown, who had more than 500 career points and probably would have made it to the NHL had there not been just six teams when he played, died the other day at age 90 in assisted living in West St. Paul. Brown coached in West St. Paul and at St. Thomas Academy.
The Twins’ $31.86 average price for spring training games is the 10th-cheapest in baseball, according to TickPick. The Chicago Cubs’ $65.80 is the most expensive.
Lindsey Vonn, born in St. Paul, was the eighth-most talked about athlete during the Olympics on Facebook, as reported by Cynopsis Sports. Shaun White was No. 1.
Matt Bowen is out as men’s basketball coach at Minnesota-Duluth.
Cretin grad Pat Sweeney was recently inducted into the North Dakota AP Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.
Duluth native David Friedman is an international scout for the Cincinnati Reds while a bench coach for Ireland’s national team in the Confederation of European Baseball championships.
Former Princeton star Paul Sather this season has coached Northern State (Aberdeen, S.D.) men’s basketball to a 20-2 NSIC record and No. 9 national ranking.
Former Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson is partnering with St. Thomas Academy to host the inaugural J Robinson Wrestling Classic for charity on Sunday.
Don’t print that
When Zygi Wilf bought the Vikings 13 years ago, he had two objectives, he said recently: “The first thing was to win the Lombardi (NFL Super Bowl championship trophy); the second thing was to make sure we have a home here in Minnesota,” he said.
Of his quest for a Super Bowl title, Wilf said, “I thought the Lombardi would be easier. We have the stadium — now we have a goal to get the Lombardi.”
It’s no surprise that the NFL will rule Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater is a free agent rather than toll his 2018 contract for $1.35 million. The league, and the Vikings, couldn’t afford the bad publicity that would have come otherwise.
Adam Weber, the former Gophers record-setting QB who was offensive analyst for UCLA coach Jim Mora last season but hasn’t been retained by new UCLA coach Chip Kelly, remains in Los Angeles while considering his next coaching job. The Mounds View grad met with Sean McVay, but the Los Angeles Rams’ coach is looking for more experienced candidates.
“For the time being, I’m staying prepared and ready,” Weber, 30, said.
The Twins, who announced last week they they’ll televise each of their 162 games on Fox Sports North this season, in 1979 televised only four home games and 46 road games. The rights holder was KMSP.
Ex-Twin Jim Kaat, tweeting on baseball’s plan to speed up games: “As a former player, it’s embarrassing to read the attention given to mound visits. No rule should be necessary. Sixteen-year-old pitchers have more experience as pitchers than most people that visit the mound. Ludicrous.”
Purdue’s men’s basketball victory over the Gophers last Sunday was worth a bonus of nearly $28,500 to Boilermakers coach Matt Painter for finishing tied for second in the Big Ten, USA Today points out.
Gophers senior Carlie Wagner will be chosen by the Lynx with the last pick in the second round of the WNBA draft in April, a panel of league coaches and general managers projects.
Among game promotions the St. Paul Saints are considering this season, for the 40th anniversary of the movie “Animal House,” is a ballpark-wide food fight.
Despite having the Gophers on the schedule Oct. 20 at home, Nebraska, under new coach Scott Frost, has the hardest football schedule nationally in 2018, according to bleacherreport.com.
Overheard
Gophers baseball coach John Anderson, on winning the 1,250th game of his career last week against North Dakota State: “But who’s counting.”
Rabu, 07 Maret 2018
Hope Hicks and the history of White House 'white lies' - PolitiFact
According to news reports, White House communications director Hope Hicks testified to the House Intelligence Committee that she had told "white lies" as part of her job representing President Donald Trump. Within 24 hours, Hicks announced her departure from the White House.
For all of the public cynicism about politicians telling the truth, it is rare to hear a senior government spokesperson acknowledge lying, even the "white lie" variety. (The White House told some news outlets that her decision to leave was in the works well before her House Intelligence Committee testimony.)
We decided to take a closer look at how unusual it is for such officials to acknowledge not telling the press the truth. In interviews conducted largely before Hicks announced her departure, numerous public relations experts told PolitiFact that it would be hard for a spokesperson to continue to do their job effectively or remain in it at all.
"The first rule of public relations is, 'Don't lie,'" said Tracy Arrington, director of media for Blackboard Co. of Austin, Texas, and a lecturer at the University of Texas’ Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations. "It isn't acceptable. And you will eventually get caught."
This is especially true for someone in as elevated a role as the White House communications director, said Colleen Connolly-Ahern, senior research fellow at Penn State University’s Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication. (Hicks didn't give televised briefings from the White House press room, but she did work with reporters off-camera.)
In fact, telling even "white lies" might have crossed a boundary with the Public Relations Society of America, the leading national association for public relations professionals. "Honesty" is one of the key elements of the society’s ethics code.
Lying isn’t the same as spinning
Experts drew a distinction between "spinning" and lying. The former emphasizes the positive aspects of a situation but doesn’t spread falsehoods. They also noted that there is a difference between inadvertently giving information that turns out to be incorrect and saying something that they know to be false.
"The public has come to believe that all public officials, especially press secretaries, spin, and that spin is tantamount to a lie. But that's wrong," wrote Dee Dee Myers, a spokeswoman for President Bill Clinton, in the book All the Presidents' Spokesmen by journalist Woody Klein. "Spin may be marshaling the facts in the service of an argument, the way a skilled debater would. But a lie is still a lie. And once a press secretary gets caught -- or even accused -- of being less than truthful, the game is over."
Sometimes, though, the lines aren’t entirely clear.
"Occasional deceptiveness comes with the territory, as it does with generally admirable politicians like President Barack Obama," said Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, the nonprofit school that trains journalists and is also the parent of PolitiFact. "This is especially true in the business and financial sphere, where certain impending events -- such as an imminent bank failure -- must be denied until the hammer drops."
Living White House press secretaries in 2001: Jake Siewert, Jerald terHorst, Ron Ziegler, Ron Nessen, Ari Fleischer, Mike McCurry, Larry Speakes, Marlin Fitzwater, and Joe Lockhart. (AP/Doug Mills)
Past untruths from the White House lectern
The most common examples of dishonesty by White House spokespersons tend to involve thorny national-security issues.
For instance, during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, Defense Department spokesman Arthur Sylvester defended President John F. Kennedy’s incomplete, even misleading, statements about what the government knew about Russian missiles in Cuba. Sylvester said that "the government has a right to lie," later doubling down on that view in congressional hearing.
"Obviously, no government information program can be based on lies; it must always be based on truthful facts. But when any nation is faced with nuclear disaster, you do not tell all the facts to the enemy," he said. (According to Klein’s book about White House press secretaries, Kennedy White House spokesman Pierre Salinger was specifically kept out of the loop for several crucial days so that he would not be forced to lie about the situation.)
Later, Jody Powell, President Jimmy Carter’s press secretary, took heat for a misleading statement about whether the United States was planning a rescue mission for U.S. hostages in Iran. And Larry Speakes, a spokesman for President Ronald Reagan, denied that an invasion of Grenada was under way when it actually was about to happen.
Mike McCurry briefs reporters in Edgartown, Mass., on Aug. 22, 1998, during President Bill Clinton's vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Clinton had recently ordered missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan. (AP/Greg Gibson)
Mike McCurry, who served as press secretary for Clinton, told PolitiFact that the key to answering delicate questions such as these without lying is "telling the truth slowly." He recalled an incident in 1998 when the Clintons were on a summer trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Reporters were asking for a "lid," which is an end to the public announcements of the day.
"However, I knew that we were about to launch a cruise missile strike against Osama Bin Laden and all hell would break out in a few hours," McCurry said. "Pressed for a ‘lid,’ I said I had a few things to check on and we would be back shortly."
One reporter came up after McCurry’s briefing and asked him if something was up. "I told him, you know there is always something going on around this president, so just let me check a few things," recalled McCurry, who is now director of the Center for Public Theology at the Wesley Theological Seminary. "These questions about national security are the most sensitive and create the dilemma. You tap dance, but never lie."
We’ve previously criticized the Obama White House’s communications shop, including press secretary Jay Carney, for sticking with Obama’s claim that if you liked your health care plan, you could keep it under the Affordable Care Act. That statement, repeated at least 37 times without sufficient qualifiers, earned our Lie of the Year for 2013. Columnist Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the public "was entitled to hear the unvarnished truth, not spin, from their president about what they were about to face."
Still, experts said the Trump White House and its communications strategy are different than any other they’ve seen in the past.
"This is an unprecedented situation, which unfortunately produces ‘teachable moments’ in what not to do from all sectors of government daily," said Penn State’s Connolly-Ahern.
Is it possible to regain trust once you’ve acknowledged lying? The private sector record is not promising.
"See what happened to the CEO of Volkswagen after they lied about engineering emissions cheats," said Suzanne E. Boys, public relations program director at University of Cincinnati. "See what happened to the leaders of Wells Fargo when they lied about a lot. Although reputation repair is possible for an organization, that is often achieved by offering up a scapegoat. Organizations will likely try to redeem their corporate reputation at the cost of the spokesperson or leader's individual reputation."
Carter’s spokesman, Powell, "survived because he was just such a good guy and he went drinking with the reporters every night -- it was a different Washington," McCurry said. "But he told me once that he paid a price. Everyone who’s a press secretary pays a price for it. Maybe not fair, but necessary if we are to keep the trust and confidence of the American people -- something we see now that can be easily eroded."
Speakes came clean about a few instances of making up quotes supposedly by Reagan -- but only in his memoirs after he left office. And even then, the revelations sparked negative reactions.
Speakes acknowledged making up quotes by Reagan on two occasions, including one when the president held his historic first meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva in 1985.
Then-NBC White House correspondent Chris Wallace, who had reported the manufactured quote, told the Los Angeles Times that he was "astonished, flabbergasted" to learn that Speakes had made up the quotes. "These are two crucial events in the history of Reagan's presidency," he told the newspaper. "I don't think it should be naive of us to assume that, when the press secretary quotes the president, the president said the words."
CLARIFICATION, Mar. 5, 2018: This version of the article has modified the description of the Poynter Institute.
Why Did It Take Two Weeks To Discover Parkland Students' Astroturfing? - The Federalist
“Can you believe these kids?” It’s been a recurring theme of the coverage of the Parkland school shooting: the remarkable effectiveness of the high school students who created a gun control organization in the wake of the massacre. In seemingly no time, the magical kids had organized events ranging from a national march to a mass school walkout, and they’d brought in a million dollars in donations from Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney.
The Miami Herald credited their success to the school’s stellar debate program. The Wall Street Journal said it was because they were born online, and organizing was instinctive.
On February 28, BuzzFeed came out with the actual story: Rep. Debbie Wassermann Schultz aiding in the lobbying in Tallahassee, a teacher’s union organizing the buses that got the kids there, Michael Bloomberg’s groups and the Women’s March working on the upcoming March For Our Lives, MoveOn.org doing social media promotion and (potentially) march logistics, and training for student activists provided by federally funded Planned Parenthood.
The president of the American Federation of Teachers told BuzzFeed they’re also behind the national school walkout, which journalists had previously assured the public was the sole work of a teenager. (I’d thought teachers were supposed to get kids into school, but maybe that’s just me.)
In other words, the response was professionalized. That’s not surprising, because this is what organization that gets results actually looks like. It’s not a bunch of magical kids in somebody’s living room. Nor is it surprising that the professionalization happened right off the bat. Broward County’s teacher’s union is militant, and Rep. Ted Lieu stated on Twitter that his family knows Parkland student activist David Hogg’s family, so there were plenty of opportunities for grown-ups with resources and skills to connect the kids.
THIS CONSPIRACY THEORY IS INSANE. Our kids know David Hogg. My wife and I know his mom, who taught at our kids' elementary school before they moved to Florida. Although David is very articulate, he is not a crisis actor.
He is a student who lost 17 of his classmates to bullets. https://t.co/V9gLgbbdpk
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 21, 2018
That’s before you get to whether any of them had been involved in the Women’s March. According to BuzzFeed, Wassermann Schultz was running on day two.
What’s striking about all this isn’t the organization. If you start reading books about organizing, it’s clear how it all works. But no journalist covering the story wrote about this stuff for two weeks. Instead, every story was about the Parkland kids being magically effective.
On Twitter, I lost track of the number of bluechecks rhapsodizing over how effective the kids’ organizational instincts were. But organizing isn’t instinctive. It’s skilled work; you have to learn how to do it, and it takes really a lot of people. You don’t just get a few magical kids who’re amazing and naturally good at it.
The real tip-off should have been the $500,000 donations from Winfrey and Clooney. Big celebrities don’t give huge money to strangers on a whim. Somebody who knows Winfrey and Clooney called them and asked. But the press’s response was to be ever more impressed with the kids.
For two weeks, journalists abjectly failed in their jobs, which is to tell the public what’s going on. And any of them who had any familiarity with organizing campaigns absolutely knew. Matt Pearce, of the Los Angeles Times, would have been ideally placed to write an excellent article: not only is he an organizer for the Times’s union, he moderated a panel on leftist activism for the LA Times Book Festival and has the appropriate connections in organizing. Instead, he wrote about a school walkout, not what was behind it. (In another article, Pearce defined Delta caving to a pressure campaign’s demands as “finding middle ground.”)
But it’s not just a mainstream media problem. None of the righty outlets writing about Parkland picked up on the clear evidence that professional organizers were backing the Parkland kids, either. Instead, they objected to the front-and-centering of minor kids as unseemly, which does no good: Lefties aren’t going to listen, and it doesn’t educate the Right to counter.
The closest anyone got was Elizabeth Harrington at the Washington Free Beacon, who noted that Clooney’s publicist was booking the kids’ media interviews pro bono, and said that a friend (not Clooney) had asked him to do it. The result of all this is that the average righty does not understand what’s going on in activism, because all they see is what the press covers. The stuff that’s visible. It’s like expecting people in the Stone Age to grok the Roman army by looking at it. Conspiracy theorists happily fill this ignorance vacuum.
On one hand, sure, the issue with people who believe in crisis actors and various other kinds of conspiracy theories is that they’re susceptible. If they didn’t believe in crisis actors, they’d believe in something else (and they probably do). But on the other hand, I think one reason there’s an opportunity for righty conspiracy types to get all hopped up on goofballs with respect to protests and such is the abject failure of the Righty establishment to explain to its people how protests actually work.
This results in occasional hilarity when the Right tries to organize its own protests. For example, then-Internet celebrity Baked Alaska tried to create pro-Trump flashmobs in Los Angeles during the election. His efforts consisted of posting times and locations online. And that’s it. You see this attitude often among Righties: “We have the Internet! We’ll post a notice and people will show up!” Well, no; they won’t.
It’s not that Baked Alaska needed a magical kid, because there are no magical kids. There’s just hard work, and our press and politicos do everyone a disservice when they pretend otherwise. Here’s an example of how to turn out people, cribbed from “Organizing for Social Change,” the activist manual published by the Midwest Academy, which has been around since 1973 and has trained over 30,000 activists, some of whom went on to found their own training schools.
Say you run an organization that wants to impress a city councilman, and you’ve landed a meeting. You want your group to look bigger than it is. You’ve got 15 dedicated people you know will go, but you want to show the councilman 60 people.
The first thing you do is get 10 people from other groups (you do know other ideologically aligned groups in the area, right?). That leaves 35 people. To get them, you don’t post an ad on Craigslist. You look in your database of people who’ve signed your petitions or whatever. Call and ask them to come.
If they say yes, call them again a day or two in advance to confirm. Of the people who say yes twice, only half will actually show up. So you need 70 people to say yes twice. Expect to make seven times that number of phone calls to get them. That’s 490 five-minute phone calls, which breaks down to five people a night making phone calls for five straight nights.
That’s a little more work than posting an announcement on Facebook. And that’s organizing. It’s not magical kids, and it’s not George Soros sprinkling money around. It’s hard work by people who’ve trained to do it.
Now that the organizations are more open about their involvement, at some point the Parkland kids will go into the background a bit in media exposure, the same way Deray and Linda Sarsour did. That’s part of how organizing fame works these days: Two Minutes’ Heroes, in frequent rotation. But the problem remains: until the press covers organizing campaigns accurately, organizers will be able to punch above their weight politically even if they don’t win every election.
In his excellent book “Hegemony How-To,” leftist organizer Jonathan Smucker wrote, “Power tends to appear magical to those who have less of it, and mechanical to those who are accustomed to wielding it instrumentally.” Or, for that matter, to even seeing it instrumentally.
For two weeks, journalists treated power as if it were magical. It’s not. It’s mechanical. The people organizing the response to Parkland, and a host of other causes, know that. So should you.
Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Note 8 - Tech Advisor
Samsung’s Galaxy range of smartphones continuously set the bar for technical innovation, performance, and design. Yes, the iPhone X has a few tricks up its finely tailored sleeves, but if Android is your preferred platform then a Galaxy will be at the top of the list.
At Mobile World Congress in February, Samsung pulled the covers off its new S9, which will be certain to sell in huge amounts and quickly become a regular feature up and down the high streets of the UK. So, how does this new flagship compare to the last technical marvel that Samsung released; the Galaxy Note 8?
We take a look at the two powerhouses to see whether bigger is still better.
Price and Availability
When shopping at the premium end of the market these days, you’ll need to brace yourself for the prices on the boxes if you intend to buy one outright. The Galaxy S9 will set you back £739/$US719.99, which is an increase of £50 (and decrease of US$30) on the price of last year’s Galaxy S8, although still £260/US$280 cheaper than the aforementioned iPhone X.
You can pre-order the Galaxy S9 direct from Samsung, which has the incentive of placing it in your hands on 9 March, a week before the general release date of 16 March.
Due to the popularity of the device, it’s worth shopping around for the various offers available from phone providers. See our best Samsung Galaxy S9 deals roundup for the most tantalising promotions.
Those wanting a bigger display should look at the Samsung S9+, which can also be pre-ordered from Samsung for £869/US$839.99.
Even though the Galaxy Note 8 was released in September 2017, it’s still a very expensive handset. Buying directly from Samsung will cost an eye-watering £869/US$950, so an easier route is probably to approach your mobile provider to see if it’s available on a tariff instead.
Read our guide on where to buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 for more details.
Features and Design
Samsung’s aesthetics department should be very pleased with themselves right now because the current high-end Galaxy phones are some of the best-looking devices we’ve ever seen.
Both feature slim bodies, Infinity displays that curve at the sides to make them appear to fill the entire width of the chassis, and slim upper and lower bezels to make the most of the real estate offered by the front panel.
All this display means there is no room for a Home button or biometric sensor, so the fingerprint reader can be found on the rear of the device instead. With the previous Galaxy S8 and the current Note 8 this is positioned next to the camera, which can be a bit troublesome as it’s easy to accidentally put your fingers over the lens as you feel for the button.
When designing the S9 Samsung listened to the various gripes of its users, so the sensor has now been relocated to beneath the camera where it’s better to reach without smudging the lens. Well done!
On either device a slim metal circumference is home a USB-C charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack (yes!), microSD card slot, plus the obligatory volume and power buttons. The Note 8 has an additional aperture which houses its S-Pen.
This is one of the true differences between the two devices. Of course, the Note 8 is a bigger handset, but the S-Pen adds the unique functionality that makes the Note a range that inspires such passionately devoted followers.
Removing the small stylus from its housing in the Note 8 automatically opens up the options to create notes, highlight anything on the screen, select an area of the display, or to just doodle. You can also use the S-Pen to navigate the OS, which is actually a really great way to use the device.
If you like the idea of writing and drawing on your screen then the Note 8 is the best way to do it.
Displays
Another immediately apparent difference between the S9 and Note 8 is their size. This is primarily down to the fact that the former has a 5.8in display, whereas the Note 8 boasts a bigger 6.3in expanse of glass, much like the S9 Plus (with 6.2in).
Dimensions aside, the displays boast the same Quad HD+ (2560x1440 resolution) SuperAMOLED panels, which look absolutely gorgeous.
Due to the 18.5:9 aspect ratio used by Samsung, the devices are taller than you might expect. This is offset by being slimmer in the hand, making them far more comfortable to use than screens this size usually allow. It takes a little getting used to but is definitely the way to go as devices continue their inexorable march to larger and larger displays.
| Model | Dimensions | Weight |
| Galaxy S9 | 69x148x8.5mm | 163g |
| Galaxy S9 Plus | 73.8x158x8.5mm | 189g |
| Galaxy Note 8 | 75x163x8.6mm | 195g |
Specs and Hardware
With six months between them, it’s not surprising to see that the S9 has a newer processor than the Note 8. An Exynos 9810 Octa-core makes its debut at the heart of the S9, which Samsung claims will be 40 percent faster than the Exynos 8895 found in the Note 8, S8 and S8+.
In the US and China, you'll instead get a Snapdragon 845 chip.
Now, a processor isn’t alone in deciding the rapidity of a system, so much will depend on how the 4GB works with the chip compared to the 6GB found in the Note 8 and S9+. One thing’s for sure though, all three devices are very fast indeed.
There’s only one storage available for either handset – 64GB – but as Samsung still includes a microSD slot this isn’t an issue. The Note 8 can accept cards up to 256GB, while the S9 beats this with the option of a 400GB card. 464GB on a phone? What times we live in!
As you’d expect with Galaxy flagships, the S9 and Note 8 come replete with all the connectivity and sensors you could want. 11ac dual-band Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 5 with aptX, iris scanners, heart rate monitors, and USB-C ports. Plus, both support the DeX technology that allows users to dock the devices and use them with an external display, keyboard, and mouse as an instant Android PC.
Battery-wise, the Note 8 sports a 3300mAh unit, while the smaller S9 has a 3000mAh cell and the S9+ a 3500mAh capacity. All are non-removable, but support fast charge 3.0, wireless charging, and fast wireless charging.
Here's a detailed breakdown of the technical specifications of each device.
| Galaxy S9 | Galaxy S9+ | Galaxy Note 8 | |
| Operating System | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 7.1.2 Nougat |
| Display | 5.8in Quad HD+ (2960x1440) 18.5:9 SuperAMOLED Infinity Display | 6.2in Quad HD+ (2960x1440) 18.5:9 SuperAMOLED Infinity Display | 6.3in Quad HD+ (2960x1440) 18.5:9 SuperAMOLED Infinity display |
| Processor | Exynos 9810 octa-core | Exynos 9810 octa-core | Exynos 8895 octa-core |
| Memory | 4GB RAM | 6GB | 6GB |
| Storage | 64GB (expandable up to 400GB via microSD) | 128GB (expandable up to 400GB via microSD) | 64GB (expandable up to 256GB via microSD) |
| Primary Camera | 12Mp rear-facing camera with OIS and f/1.5-2.4 | 12Mp rear-facing camera with OIS and f/1.5-2.4 | Dual 12Mp rear-facing cameras with OIS |
| Front Camera | 8Mp | 8Mp | 8Mp |
| Video Recording | 4K @ 60fps, Super slo-mo 720p @ 960fps, HDR | 4K @ 60fps, Super slo-mo 720p @ 960fps, HDR | UHD 4K (3840 x 2160)@30fps |
| WiFi | 11ac dual-band | 11ac dual-band | 11ac dual-band |
| GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 with aptX | 5.0 with aptX | 5 |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless charging | Yes (fast-charging) | Yes (fast-charging) | Yes (Fast-charging) |
| Colours | Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, Liliac Purple | Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, Liliac Purple | Midnight Black, Maple Gold |
| Ports | USB-C, 3.5mm Headphone jack | USB-C, 3.5mm Headphone jack | USB-C, 3.5mm Headphone jack, S-Pen housing |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
| Dimensions | 69x148x8.5mm | 73.8x158x8.5mm | 75x163x8.6mm |
| Weight | 163g | 189g | 195g |
| Battery | 3000mAh | 3500mAh | 3300mAh |
Cameras
Samsung has been long renowned for making some of the best smartphone cameras in the business, and the two units here are no exception. The Note 8 features dual-cameras, with a 12Mp f/1.7 and 12Mp f2.4 telephoto combination.
These return excellent images, and with optical stabilisation on both lenses video footage is beautifully wobble-free.
With the S9, Samsung has broken some new ground by including a mechanical dual-aperture that changes between f/2.4 and f/1.5. This gives the photographer a lot of range to work with, and the fast f/1.5 setting should make low-light shots much cleaner than on the S8 or pretty much any other camera in this class.
The unit itself has a 12Mp sensor, OIS, and boasts the ability to record slo-motion video at 960fps. This makes the results both impressive and ridiculously smooth.
On the Plus version, you get a second 12Mp camera with a 2x optical zoom, and the Live focus you can see in the photo above.
We’ve not spent enough time with the S9 and S9+ yet, but we’ll be updating this review once we’ve put it through its paces.
Software
Many Android users have a love-hate relationship with Samsung’s interface. TouchWiz, as it’s called, has undergone significant refinements over the last few years though, and the versions found on both devices are for the most part clean, well designed, and eschew the headache-inducing colour schemes adopted in the past.
There’s the requisite bevy of settings and options, plus a fair does of Samsung’s own productivity apps, but for the most part we’re happy with how TouchWiz is coming along. Of course, for many users it will be the only interface they’ve used on a smartphone and will therefore be pleasantly surprised by the spit and polish Samsung has applied.
The S9 arrives with the latest Android 8.0 Oreo pre-installed, while the Note 8 remains back on 7.1.2 Nougat, although we expect the latter to be updated very soon.
Selasa, 06 Maret 2018
An Open Letter From A Teacher To Students “Walking Out”… - 550 KTSA
Giovanni Marotta (from left), Jack Riccardi, Robert Fleming, and Arthur Cavazos
BY JACK RICCARDI
Whoever this man is, his open letter to students thinking about walking out of school as a protest touched a nerve on our show. Here is the complete letter as I saw it:
“Dear Students,
I know you. I am a retired teacher of 24 years. I have taught you as 7th graders all the way through 12th grade. This is not a tweet or a text. It’s called a letter; lengthy and substantial. Do you really want to make a difference? Are you sincere about making your schools safe? Don’t walk out, read this instead. Walking out of school is easy compared to what this letter will challenge you to do.
First of all, put down your stupid phone. Look around you at your classmates. Do you see the kid over in the corner, alone? He could likely be our next shooter. He needs a friend. He needs you. Go and talk to him, befriend him. Chances are, he won’t be easy to like, but it’s mainly because no one has tried to like him. Ask him about him. Get to know him. He’s just like you in that respect; he wants someone to recognize him as a fellow human being but few people have ever given him the chance. You can.
Next, see that kid eating lunch all alone? He could likely be our next shooter. Invite him to eat lunch with you. Introduce him into your fold of friends. You’ll most likely catch a lot of flack from the friends you eat with because they don’t want him upsetting the balance of their social order. After all, who you hang out with is critical to your status, is it not? If status is important to you, don’t you think it’s important to him also? The only difference being that he has no status because generally, shooters have no friends. Are you serious about wanting to make your school safe? Invite him to your lunch table and challenge your friends to do something meaningful with thirty minutes of their lives each day.
Lastly, are you completely frustrated by that kid who always disrupts your class and is consistently sent to the principal’s office? He could likely be our next shooter. Do you know why he causes so much trouble? He initiates disruption because that’s the only thing he does that gets him attention, and even bad attention is better than the no attention he receives from you and your classmates. You secretly wish he would get kicked out of school or sent to the alternative disciplinary school so that he wouldn’t disrupt your classes anymore, that somehow, he would just disappear. Guess what? He already feels invisible in a school of thousands of classmates, you included. So, before he acts out in your next class, why don’t you tell him you’d be willing to help him with the assignment that was just given? Or why don’t you ask him to join your study group? If you really want to blow his mind, ask him for help on the assignment. He’s never been asked that. Ever.
If you’ve read this far, you probably really do care about the safety of your school. Don’t trust that walking out of school will bring an answer. Gun control or more laws is not, and will not, be the answer. You are the answer. Your greeting, your smile, your gentle human touch is the only thing that can change the world of a desperate classmate who may be contemplating something as horrendous as a school shooting. Look past yourself and look past your phone and look into the eyes of a student who no one else sees. Meet the gaze of a fellow human being desperate to make contact with anyone, even just one person. You. If you really feel the need to walk, walk toward that person. Your new friendship can relieve the heartache of one person and in doing so, possibly prevent the unjustifiable heartache of hundreds of lives in the future. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.
And teachers, my fellow guardians of our youth, I know you too. I know the desire of wanting to make a difference in a young person’s life. I know the thrill of stepping in front of a classroom of students but simultaneously intimidated by the trust bestowed upon you. I also know the crushing, sometimes unbearable responsibility that your shoulders are asked to carry. But that’s why you got into teaching, because you have big shoulders. And a big heart. You’re overworked (I would add underpaid, but you didn’t get into teaching for the pay, so it needn’t be said), underappreciated and exhausted. May I add one more item to that list? You’re also a miracle waiting to happen in the life of your worst student. He could likely be our next shooter. The next time (and there’s always a next time) he’s ready to wreak havoc in your classroom, I challenge you to pull him aside and ask him if he’s ok, if there is something bothering him and is there anything you can do to help? Your genuine concern for him may be just the miracle he’s looking for. The miracle we’re all looking for. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.
A former teacher who is as heartbroken as you and trusting you not to walk out on the real answer,
David (yes, teachers really do have first names) Blair
The True Story Behind Andrew Cunanan & David Madson's Relationship on American Crime Story - HarpersBAZAAR.com
We've watched the rocky, ultimately deadly romantic relationship between Andrew Cunanan and David Madson play out over several episodes of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. In tonight's episode, we learn more about the dynamic between the two, and watch a desperate Cunanan attempt to woo a man who eventually admits he's not interested.
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In reality, Cunanan and Madson's relationship was even more complicated than this fictionalized account. Here's what we know about the two, according to Maureen Orth's reporting for Vanity Fair and her book Vulgar Favors, and additional publications such as the Washington Post.
Andrew Cunanan and David Madson met in November 1995.
According to Vanity Fair, Cunanan was dining with friends at a restaurant in San Francisco when he spotted Madson drinking alone at the bar. Cunanan sent Madson a drink, then invited him to join their group. Later, the two had a "nonsexual sleepover" in Cunanan's room at the Mandarin Oriental.
At the time, according to Vanity Fair, Cunanan was receiving a monthly stipend of $2,000 from a wealthy retired millionaire named Norman Blachford.
Madson had a very attractive personality.
Those who were close to Madson gushed about his personality to the press. His boss described him to the Washington Post as "enormously charming" and "full of energy and enthusiasm and joy of life," while friends told Orth for Vulgar Favors that he was "so charismatic that he blew people away." A college friend named Wendy Petersen told Orth, "I think people always wanted to be around him because of the electrifying magnetism of his personality."
Cunanan and Madson dated long distance for several months.
Cunanan was very secretive with Madson. According to Vulgar Favors, Madson had no idea where Cunanan lived, and Cunanan often changed his phone number, citing his wealthy family's need for privacy as the reason. In reality, Cunanan was likely just hiding his relationship with Madson from Blachford, who was bankrolling Cunanan's lavish lifestyle at the time. Cunanan had a reputation amongst friends and acquaintances as a pathological liar, and wove intricate tales about his upbringing and background to impress people. Orth reports that Madson was often frustrated with Cunanan's deflections.
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According to Vulgar Favors, Madson would often visit Cunanan in San Francisco, where Cunanan would pay for him to stay in a hotel. In April 1996, Cunanan made his first trip to Minneapolis, and these trips would continue even after Madson and Cunanan broke up, especially once Cunanan's friend (and eventual first victim) Jeffrey Trail moved to Minnesota (more on that later).
Friends of Cunanan actually warned Madson about Cunanan's dishonesty.
In May 1996, during one of Madson's trips to visit Cunanan in San Francisco, a friend of Cunanan's told Madson to be wary of Cunanan's lies. "Andrew is a pathological liar," the friend told Madson, according to Vulgar Favors. "It's crazy. You don't know who he is. Don't put anything you're not prepared to lose in that basket."
Even Jeffrey Trail, a friend of Cunanan's acquainted with Madson through Cunanan, warned Madson about Cunanan, Orth reports. Trail had moved to Minnesota in November 1996, and spent some time with Madson after the move. At one point, Trail warned him, "You can't believe a word [Cunanan] says. He'll say anything just to get a reaction."
Cunanan and Madson broke up in July of 1996.
According to Vulgar Favors, Madson wanted Cunanan to be honest and open, something Cunanan could not do. The last straw came when Cunanan promised to spend the Fourth of July weekend with Madson, but ultimately bailed.
Cunanan referred to Madson as "the love of my life" and "the man I want to marry."
In the weeks after Cunanan and Madson's breakup in 1996, Cunanan sought solace in his friendship with Trail, according to Vulgar Favors. Cunanan even gushed to Trail's then-boyfriend about Madson, calling him, "the love of my life, the man I want to marry." According to Vanity Fair, Cunanan kept a photo of Madson on his refrigerator.
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Cunanan proposed to Madson sometime between Valentine's Day and Easter 1997.
Orth reports in Vulgar Favors that months after Madson and Cunanan broke up, Cunanan told one of his friends in San Diego that Madson denied his proposal.
Cunanan spent a lot of money on Madson and Madson's friends.
Cunanan was intent on getting back together with Madson, Orth reports in Vulgar Favors. One weekend in April 1997, months after Cunanan and Madson broke up, Cunanan treated Madson and two friends to a lavish weekend in LA complete with a room at the Chateau Marmont and several expensive meals.
Cunanan continued visiting Madson in Minneapolis after the two broke up.
Cunanan used Trail moving to Minneapolis in November 1996 as an excuse to pursue Madson with more force, Orth reports in Vulgar Favors. According to Madson's friend Wendy Petersen, "From my understanding, Andrew would come to town unannounced. He would barge in and put himself in David's presence, and David would not be comfortable."
Madson eventually moved on from Cunanan and began dating other men, but that didn't deter Cunanan. According to Vulgar Favors, in a particularly heated moment at a November 1996 party at Madson's apartment in Minneapolis, Madson's then-boyfriend, Rob Davis, got tired of Cunanan's pursuit. He pushed Cunanan against a wall and told him, "I understand you're excessive. I'm not gonna have you pressing up against my man. While I am here, you respect my presence or you won't be here."
Both Trail and Madson did not want Cunanan coming to Minneapolis the weekend of their murders.
According to Vanity Fair, Trail and Madson were tired of Cunanan's behavior by April of 1997. Madson's boyfriend at the time, Cedric Rucker, told Orth, “David was apprehensive about Andrew’s visit." Nevertheless, Madson picked up Cunanan from the Minneapolis airport on Friday, April 25. At dinner than night, Cunanan encouraged Madson to show off the new Cartier watch Cunanan gifted him to all his friends. Less than a week later, Madson would be dead.
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Senin, 05 Maret 2018
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Minggu, 04 Maret 2018
Galaxy S9 Exynos 9810 Hands-On - Awkward First Results - AnandTech
Following our launch article I promised an update on the performance scores of the Exynos 9810 variant of the Galaxy S9. I was able to have some time with one of the demo devices at the launch event and thoroughly benchmark it with a few of our common tests.
| Samsung Exynos SoCs Specifications | |||
| SoC | Exynos 9810 | Exynos 8895 | |
| CPU | 4x Exynos M3 One Core : 2.704 GHz Two Core: 2.314 GHz Four Core: 1.794 GHz 4x 512KB L2 |
4x Exynos M2 @ 2.314 GHz 2048KB L2 |
|
| 4x Cortex A55 @ 1.95 GHz No L2 512KB L3 DSU |
4 x Cortex A53 @ 1.690 GHz 512KB L2 |
||
| GPU | Mali G72MP18 @ 572 MHz |
Mali G71MP20 @ 546 MHz |
|
As a refresher, early in the year Samsung LSI had dropped a bombshell in claiming an astounding 2x single-thread performance improvement with the new Exynos 9810. While this initially caused a lot of controversy and discussions on the validity of the claim, early this year we exclusively covered the high-level micro-architectural features of the new Exynos M3 core and by then it was clear that the performance claims were not just marketing claims. The new Samsung CPU core is the first “very wide” CPU microarchitecture to power Android SoCs and the first to finally follow Apple’s footsteps in the direction of maximising single-thread performance. As a result it stands to be a very interesting - and ideally very powerful - SoC for the Android market.
Determining Clock Speeds
Firstly one of the biggest questions for me was confirming the final clock that Samsung would use on the Galaxy S9. We detected the clock as 2704 MHz, which is 200MHz less than the 2.9 GHz that Samsung's LSI division advertises for the chipset. What makes the story more compelling is that the 2.7 GHz clock is only achievable when one of the cores in the cluster is active - thus making Samsung employ scalable maximum frequencies depending on active core numbers in the big cluster. At two active cores the frequency drops down to 2314 MHz while three and four active cores the cores clock down to only 1794 MHz.
We can also confirm that the Mali G72MP18 GPU is running at a very conservative 572MHz. This is not what we had expected - the previous generation Exynos 8895 had a larger MP20 configuration, running at a similar 546MHz. The resulting performance gains for the GPU thus seem to be even lower than we had expected, as I was betting on a ~650-700 MHz clock for the graphics.
Memory Latency
I was also able to confirm the cache configurations of the CPUs with help of our latency test. The L1D cache of the M3 cores is 64KB, up from the 32KB on the previous generation. The M3 cores also come with 512KB of private L2 caches, and a shared 4MB L3 cache.
The little A55 cores came at a surprise as they look to be in a separate cluster, rather than in a single DynamIQ cluster with the big cores. This creates something similar to a big.Little design, but each part of the 4+4 is its own DynamIQ cluster. So here it looks like Samsung has decided not to employ the optional L2 caches for the Cortex A55s, and instead the cluster solely relies on a shared 512KB L3 cache of the DSU. The latency scores to DRAM are outlandishly good and the best we’ve ever seen among current Android SoCs, so Samsung has definitely introduced a new generation of interconnect or memory controllers.
Parsing the Benchmark Results: Geekbench Looks Good
In our testing we were able to confirm the GeekBench 4 scores already leaked, where we saw the Exynos 9810 achieving excellent performance gains and vastly outpacing the Snapdragon 845, and coming into the territory of the Apple A10 and A11. Meanwhile versus the last-generation Exynos 8895, the floating point performance increases handily exceed Samsung’s projected gains of 2x as we see a 114% improvement even at the lowered 2.7GHz frequency.
When looking at the performance per clock it is clear how the Exynos M3 distinguishes itself as a much wider microarchitecture compared to any other existing CPU which powers Android SoCs.
Parsing the Benchmark Results: PCMark and Web Tests
Finally I stumbled upon some very questionable performance figures when testing system performance. I’m not going to go into the details for every benchmark as they are generally all painting the same picture:
What seems clear is that there is something is very very wrong with the Exynos 9810 S9+ that I tested. It was barely able to distinguish itself from last year’s Exynos 8895, let alone the Snapdragon 845 in the Qualcomm Reference Device which we previewed earlier this month. I looked through the system and monitored frequencies and indeed the big cores were reaching the maximum 2.7GHz core frequency. The only explanation I have right now is that it’s possible that the DVFS configuration, as well as the scheduler, are currently so conservatively tuned that there is barely any activity on the big cores.
I dug a bit more through the system and found out Samsung uses some new scheduler called “eHMP”. I’m not sure if this is something based on EAS but the system did use schedutil as a frequency governor.
One of the Samsung spokesmen confirmed to me that the demo unit were running special firmware for MWC and that they might not be optimized. I’m having a bit of a hard time believing they would so drastically limit the performance of the device for the show demo units and less so that they would mess around with the scheduler settings. I did get confirmation that Samsung is planning to “tune down” the Exynos variant to match the Snapdragon performance – however the current scores which I got on these devices make absolutely no sense so I do hope this is just a mistake that will be resolved in shipping firmwares and we see the full potential of the SoC.
Parsing the Benchmark Results: Graphics
On the GPU side, the lower cluster count of the new Mali G72MP18 is a surprise, as the minor clock bump is negated by the fact that the new SoC has two less GPU cores compared to the 8895. If the performance per clock per core between the G71 and G72 were the same then this would actually mean a downgrade in raw GPU power from the Exynos 8895, so any increase, if any, should come solely thanks to the architectural changes of the new G72 GPU, power efficiency improvements, as well as possibly SoC memory subsystem improvements.
In Manhattan 3.1 the Exynos 9810 sees a mere 7% increase and lags far behind the new Snapdragon 845’s Adreno 630.
In T-Rex, the increase is 18% which might be one of the benchmarks that Samsung sourced their 20% improvement from. Here the Exynos is more near to the performance of the Snapdragon 845.
Measuring Power
I wasn’t able to properly measure power on the event demo devices, as they had different interface settings than my tool had been programmed with, so I only was able to make some inaccurate estimates based on coarse current readout from the system.
For CPU workloads, our usual CPU power virus used up 3.1W at 1-core 2.7 GHz loads. 2-core 2.3 GHz seemed to have floated around 3.1-3.5W, and a 4-core load at 1.8 GHz maintained this power consumption.
Over the following days I will need more time, and hopefully get some SPEC figures to paint a more accurate picture. For now the results could swing either way and be either positive or negative for the M3 cores. It’s clear that the higher frequencies have a very large power penalty, and Samsung should want to operate more in the low-to-mid frequencies, hence the current frequency scheme.
On the GPU side for Manhattan fluctuated between 4.5 and 5.2W, which is an improvement over the Exynos 8895. But again, this is still at a disadvantage compared to the Snapdragon 845.
Quick Thoughts
Overall today’s quick benchmarking session opened up more questions than it managed to answer. Hopefully with more time we will be able to investigate the working of the new SoC and, fingers crossed, today’s results are not representative of shipping product as that would otherwise be an utterly massive disappointment.