102-98, 4:36 4th

100-96, 5:40

98-94, 6:12! lolol

Never. Count. Out. The. "Pacers."

It's 96-88 with 7:44 left to play. Indiana has never led. Oklahoma City has led by as many as 15. But Indiana cut into the "Thunder" half-time lead by 3 in the third quarter and by one, yes just one, so far in the 4th. But this is Indiana...

Public Occurrences June 5, 2025

The Chattersphere is debating who will be the winner of the Trump-Musk bout.

Are you kidding me? TRUMP! Trump has the power to 1) deport 2) investigate (Bannon already calling for it) 3) bankrupt Musk. What does Trump have to lose? Nothing! He's in his last term. He has evaded prison in four separate criminal investigations. Now he has immunity. He can do with Musk as his mood directs.

Musk PERSONALLY lost $20B TODAY! My (second ex-) wife has said for eight years, "touch Trump and you die." He's the third rail. Switching metaphors, the closer you get the stronger the gravity of the Trump black hole. There is a point of no return. Nothing escapes it. Musk is back from the event horizon but he is still in the helpless debris field swirling around it.

7:02 pm

This is beautiful. I wish I could write this cleverly. Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian:

"If you paid attention during physics class you will remember the third law of ego-dynamics."

6:49
It's embarrassing. The guy just had a very friendly send off in the Oval Office. Now, he's calling for Trump's IMPEACHMENT. 

Musk slamming Trump for "ingratitude" over the 2024 election, agreeing with a call for his impeachment...

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate."

"Such ingratitude,"

Later, he reposted a comment calling for Trump's impeachment to be replaced by Vice President JD Vance. "Yes," Musk wrote in response to the idea.

ABC

And then this:

6:38 pm

Tesla Loses $152B in Trump-Skum Pissing Match

$152B here, $152B there, pretty soon your're talking real money!

"Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump spoke from the Oval Office earlier Thursday and said Musk was upset that EV credits were not included in the bill.

"Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday. "I was surprised."

"Whatever," Musk fired back as the president spoke.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," he posted on X.

What is not real is MAGA world. Nothing either said above is true. I have no desire to, and never will, understand MAGA world. They're not worth it. 

50-37, 2:18 2Q. Oh deary me. Trump vs Musk is more entertaining.

Oklahoma City 29 Indiana 20, End 1Q. Indy has never led and never will. They have no answer for SGA. OKC will win G1.

Enrico Caruso 19-13, 2:33 1st

16-10, 4:05 1st

I will be extremely interested to see the TV ratings for this series

14-10 (SGA 9 pts), 4:59 1st, Yellow FTO

12-10, 5:51 1Q. SGA 7 pts, Haliban, (0/1)

Yellow Peril! "Thunder" 10 "Pacers" 10, 7:07 1Q, OKC forced to take panicked FTO

7, 9:42 1Q

 

4-0

G1 OKC tyoo Indianoplace 0 (It's EXTREMELY EARLY in the game)

FT Oil (1-0) 4 Endangered Felines 3

The euphoric scene in downtown Edmonton.

Edmonton-Flarida G1 3-3, End 3P OT

A live look at Rogers Place.

"KNICKS" FIRE THIBODEAU

I've posted previously that that is what I would have done.

Thibodeau was there a long time, 6 yrs, had all the resources, and the ceiling is not Larry O'Brien, it's not even making the Finals to get CRUSHED by OKC.

If I was Dolan or Rose, I would have no reasonable belief for the team to win the title. After  this regular- and post-season, I see NO even hopeful case for them to win it all. There was no progress from last season to this, 50 dubs in one 51 in the other, 13 back, 14 back. 

Thibodeau had a golden opportunity after knocking off Beans and having the Cavalry summarily dismounted for him. And then he got outcoached by Rick Carlisle in the Eastern Conference Finals. "What are we doing guys?". I can see that question being asked in the boardroom. "It has been FIFTY-TWO YEARS since we won a title!" I bet that was said. 

Why Do We Have to Poop?

Why isn't the body efficient enough to use what we put into it without waste? I ran on coffee, adderall and Diet Pepsi until about noon when I had ONE bagel and immediately had to go number two.

Noel Skum: Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" a "disgusting abomination"

Man, they had SOME falling out!

Good Morning Trump, Putin!

SLAVA UKRAINI!

God, I love Ukraine.

"Stunning".

"Astonishing."

"Audacious".

“a taste of the future of warfare.”

"Ukraine...can still flip the script on how wars are waged."

This was the most spectacular military operation of our time, with, as the Wall Street Journal said, "potentially far-reaching geopolitical operations." The world is in awe. 

India:

Public Occurrences June 2, 2025

Boulder Muslim Terrorist,"wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead; stated he would do it again."

He "said this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific in the Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land (Palestine)."--Mohamed Soliman

🙄 Your land, Mo? Mo has nothing to do with Palestine other than being Muslim. He's Egyptian or Kuwaiti. 

Mo, why did you come to the U.S.? Why didn't you stay in Egypt or Kuwait and fight the Zionists?

Soliman is in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He entered the U.S. in August 2022 on a B2 visa and he filed for asylum in September 2022, according to Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.

Why did you file for asylum in the U.S., Mo? Egypt and/or Kuwait didn't want anymore Muslim terrorists?

His B2 visa -- which is typically a tourism visa -- expired in February 2023, McLaughlin said.

Soliman was granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, a senior official told ABC News. That work permit expired on March 28, so he has been in the country illegally since then, the official said.

He was born in Egypt and lived in Kuwait for 17 years, according to the state charging document.

ABC

1:58 pm

Ukraine’s Stunning Assault Roils Russia’s Global Military Strategy

Surprise drone attack hits Moscow’s capacity to threaten distant rivals such as U.S.

(Wally)

Public Occurrences June 1, 2025

Suspect used a flamethrower and yelled ‘Free Palestine’ in Colorado attack, FBI says

(CNN)

Palestinians want to kill Jews. No matter where they are. They want to kill Jews in Israel, they want to kill Jews in Europe, they want to kill Jews in the United States. They want Jews to die painful, torturous deaths, by intimate knife attacks, by burning, as in this instance in Boulder. And it is the responsibility of those nations to not have their Jewish citizens tortured, maimed and killed. 

What makes this Boulder attack so difficult for Americans is that the suspect is identified as an Egyptian national who entered the United States in 2022 and overstayed the terms of his entry. Egypt is nominally a...partner(?) of the U.S. Egypt and Israel are at peace. We give then the same egregiously large sum of money every year that we give Israel. Yet, here cones an Egyptian and burns American Jews in America. Palestinian sympathy has deep roots in the Muslim world. What do we do?

I don't know what policy should be. But until Palestinians and their supporters, Muslim and otherwise, change this central operational objective to kill Jews wherever they are found, Palestinians in all of those countries, are going to be killed in response to these attacks that have gone on periodically for half a century. 

Palestinians are never going to have their own state. They're not going to be "Free". Ever. They forfeited that claim because of their actions. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be Israeli.

The world does not want to genocide Palestinians, but a large number have been killed, and a large number will be killed in the future. Palestinians and their sympathizers will be killed in whatever number is necessary for them to cease killing Jews. And if every single Palestinian must be killed to protect Jews from being killed, then every Palestinian will be killed. 

This is brutal, and simple to understand. Just not by Palestinians and their sympathizers.

7:56 pm

Pro-Israel March Attendees Burned by Thrown Incendiary Device in Boulder, Colorado Terror Attack

The Guardian (UK)

Almost immediately after the Knicks’ playoff run ended on Saturday night in Indianapolis, the fan discourse in New York began to closely resemble American politics: hyperbolic, binary and allergic to nuance. ...😄

...

Knicks fandom is a hell of a place. Like the US political scene, it allows only two positions: praise or condemnation. Rational analysis rarely gains traction. Hyperbole prevails. 

This season wasn’t a referendum on Thibodeau’s genius or ineptitude. It was something more complicated: a year of real progress, missed chances and rising expectations.

Hold on there now, Limey. 2024/25: 51-31 3rd place, 13 GB, 4-2 loss to Indiana in EC Finals; 2023/24: 50-32, 2nd place, 14 GB, 4-3 loss to Indiana in EC semifinals. "Real progress"?

...

...Terms like “drop coverage” and “schemes” have become lazy shorthand for tribalized opinions.

But just like the disappearing middle ground in national discourse, the truth lies somewhere in between.😏

This was the Knicks’ first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years. That progress only happened because ownership finally stepped aside. Once James Dolan hired former agent Leon Rose and gave him room to operate, the team pivoted from star-chasing to smart-drafting, financially-disciplined and culture-building.

...

But against Indiana, their momentum stalled. ...

...

The hypocrisy of Thibs detractors borders on performative. ...

The Knicks played from behind in nearly every playoff game except Game 5. Critics use this as justification to call for Thibodeau’s dismissal. But 17 turnovers in Games 4 and 6 – not a product of coaching – were decisive. The team’s 19.5 assists per game in the series weren’t on Thibodeau either. He ran a wide array of actions – ...– but Indiana smothered secondary options, forcing Brunson and Towns into iso-heavy, low-efficiency looks.

Brunson recorded just five assists to Towns across the entire series. That lack of connection played right into Rick Carlisle’s hands. His game plan – blitzing on switches, walling off Hart and Bridges in the lane – was clinical. Carlisle outcoached Thibodeau. But there’s no shame in that. Carlisle is a champion and one of the sharpest minds in the game.

Okay, the turnovers and assists were not Thibodeau's fault but he got out-coached because Brunson's meager assists to Towns "played right into Carlisle's hands," whose game plan was "clinical". Thibodeau got outcoached, "But there's no shame in that" as "Carlisle is a champion."

I think you need to go around in circles a few more times. Look, whoever you are: The "Knicks" and their fans want a "champion". Is that hypocritical? Is it "performative hypocrisy" to want a champion coach? Should the org and its fans just accept Thibodeau since there is no "shame" in being outcoached by Rick Carlisle? 

Thibodeau isn’t a fraud or a genius. He gave fans what they asked for: deeper rotations, experimental lineups, extended minutes for the Towns-Robinson twin tower pairing. It still wasn’t enough. The Pacers were simply better.

That's what he isn't? What is he. No, Thibodeau did not give fans "what they asked for," which is a championship. There is no "shame" in wanting that after 52 years.

Tom Thibodeau resurrected the Knicks, but firing him might be the only way to get to the next level

By Sam Quinn

Quinn is a knowledgable, smart guy who I respect.

The focus of Quinn's indictment of Thibodeau is the latter's wooden reliance on the starters that he decides on at the beginning of the regular season.

No team relied [as] heavily on its starters in the regular season than the Knicks. ...Cracks started showing in that unit during the regular season, then the wheels fell off in the playoffs. It took losing back-to-back home games in the conference finals to make a change.

It was necessary, but it was also desperate. Most successful coaches treat the regular season somewhat experimentally. They try different lineups so they can see what combinations work and are ready to adapt in the playoffs. Thibodeau didn't do that...He rarely does. His commitment to his starters is notorious among head coaches. The rest of the series reeked of panic. That's what leads to minutes for Delon Wright and Landry Shamet...

...

Never did Thibodeau address the core playing style concerns here. The Knicks lost their defensive identity with Isaiah Hartenstein. ...

I believed when it happened that losing Hartenstein--to Oklahoma City!--would hurt; it turned out to be the most impactful move on the "Knicks" roster last summer, negatively impactful.

I was intrigued by the "Knicks" last season and this; I was delighted by the "Nova Knicks"; I followed them fairly closely; I was aware of Thibodeau's Billy Martin-esque overuse of his starters, to the detriment of their physical soundness and of the team's prospects for sustained success; I was lukewarm on the Randle-Towns trade, Randle had to go but KAT did not seem an upgrade. What I saw in the Indiana series was Rick Carlisle comprehending Thibodeau's 82-game book at a glance and nimbly dismantling the book's entire thesis in six games. As Quinn says, knocking off Boston and having Cleveland eviscerated by these "Pacers" was a "golden opportunity" for Thibodeau and the "Knicks". 

"But playoff-level opposition and coaching weakened them significantly." 

Sam Quinn does not end his piece calling for Thibodeau to be replaced. I end my piece here calling for him to be replaced. With whom, I don't know, that's the sports-talk show host's smug retort to any fan who suggests a coaching change. Those are two separate, but related, decisions. Is change is necessary? That is first. That is a question that fans and management both can opine on intelligently. If change is deemed not necessary, then it is necessary not to change. The common fan can form valid opinion when a coach has not worked out, or when his methods have come up short because he watches the games. The fan does not know who is available as replacement and who is not. That is the second question and only management can answer. That's why they get paid the big bucks. When change is necessary, it is necessary for decision-makers to make a change.

No D in KAT: "Knicks" Frustrated With Towns' Defense

Karl-Anthony Towns' Defense Reportedly Caused Frustration for Knicks Players, Coaches

"Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it." After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn't grasp the importance of the matter.

"The ability to constructively critique became a point of emphasis."

The Knicks knew what they were getting when they acquired the five-time All-Star. Towns is one of the best shooting big men of all time, but his defense has long left something to be desired.

...His defending — or lack thereof — was among the talking points as the Knicks gave up 125 points in Game 6.

I'm given to hyperbole. So that is conceded as preface to this. I don't however, engage in click-bait shock blogging. I say what I truly believe. I am often wrong but always confident. I was touting Oklahoma City as The Next Dynasty before this season. If they lose the Finals to Indiana I will own up and eat my words. But I have predicted not just a win in this Finals but a Dynasty. The reasons are satisfactory to me. One, they are fully integrated, I think that's the corporate buzzword; oh no, maybe it's aligned. The concept, whatever the term du trend, is that from owner to water boy the basketball corporation is on the same paragraph of the same page of the same chapter of the same book. Oklahoma City is that.

Second, and this is one of my hyperbolic leaps for I have not compared rosters, I believe that 1-15 Oklahoma City has more talent than any team I can rhink of ever. Indiana beat New York with, among other things, like coaching, their depth. Oklahoma City has deeper depth.

Three, Indiana plays 94 feet 48 minutes. Oklahoma City does that similarly.

But I have also tagged the "Thunder" as a Dynasty...before they've won one. I truly believe that, and my evidence is the gold mine of future first round draft picks that they own. A scout said of OKC that he is "scared of the future" of the NBA if OKC get one. There is no reason to think that they can be stopped from running off four or five or seven titles. They are the second youngest team in the Association...and they won 68 games NOW?! Oy VEY. There's the "Stepien Rule" that a team cannot trade its first round picks in two consecutive years. With OKC the Association may need a reverse Stepien Rule. No other team has a chance. especially under the current CBA, of building a team that could challenge OKC through free agency. Aprons and caps and all make it prohibitive. Yet, the alternative is the draft and the best team in the league has more first round picks than any other and it's not even close. Will the league office see this and require OKC to redistribute some of their stockpiled gold futures? It is "scary." To prevent superteams, the league may have created one that cannot be stopped in the future with its own rules. 

But first they have to get one.