Hey, Earthquake Preparedness Is Cool Again in California

At Instapundit, "WELL, YES: For Californians, 2 Quakes Put Preparedness Back on the Map."

And, "IS CALIFORNIA OVERDUE FOR A BIG EARTHQUAKE?"



Hey, there's a 46 percent chance that the "big one" (7.5 or above) hits in the next 30 years. Personally, I've actually felt most of the big quakes in the last few decades, from Loma Prieta to Northridge. I fully expect a big one to hit, since there's no way to predict precisely when it's coming. That's life on the precipice in the once Golden State.

Prime Minister of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, Calls for Destruction of Israel (VIDEO)

And so it goes in the Middle East.



And at JPost, "75% of Palestinians: Chances for state in 5 years ‘nonexistent’":

A total of 62 percent of Palestinians would oppose US Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposed framework agreement if it includes a request to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a public opinion poll published on Monday showed.

Because peace.

The Demographics Behind Dems' 2014 Troubles

From Andrew Kohut, at WSJ:

Early national polling is supporting the prevailing view in Washington that Democrats are in trouble in the 2014 midterm elections. While Democrats are more popular than the GOP among the general public, the party faces a number of challenges in November.

First, there's an enthusiasm gap. Typically, but not always, Republicans vote at higher rates than Democrats in congressional elections. And at this early stage, that seems likely to happen again, perhaps at an even greater rate than usual. One telling indicator came in December, when the Pew Research Center found that Republicans are much more optimistic about their party's electoral prospects than Democrats are. Fully 55% of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters expect the GOP to do better in 2014 than the party has in recent elections, while only 43% of Democrats expressed such confidence.

Recent national surveys of registered voters by the Pew Research Center, the Washington Post/ABC News and the New York Times/CBS News show congressional voting intentions about even. But if these polls were narrowed to likely voters, they might find a strong GOP lead. It could be a replay of 2010, when Pew's final congressional poll of registered voters showed a one-point Democratic lead, but among likely voters Republicans held a six-point advantage, which was about their margin of victory when they retook the House.

Another challenge for Democrats is winning independents, who typically decide election outcomes. Democrats trail Republicans among independents by 38% to 44%, according to Pew's February survey. Democrats also lost the independent vote in the 2012 presidential election, 45% to 50%, according to national exit polls. In other words, President Obama owed his re-election victory to his base. This is an important indication of how lagging Democratic engagement could sway 2014.

A third challenge is the white vote. While winning whites is not as essential as it once was, they will still make up close to 80% of this year's midterm electorate. Democrats have consistently lost the white vote in recent decades, even in the 2006 congressional landslide. The early polls in 2014 don't show a changing tide. The Pew Research Center's February poll showed the GOP with a 53% to 38% advantage in congressional voting intentions among white registered voters.

Then there are the millennials. While support for Democratic candidates among African-Americans and Latinos remains high, young people are less enthusiastic. The Pew center's in-depth surveys of those ages 18-34 indicate that this generation, a voting bloc so important to Mr. Obama's two victories, is growing more disillusioned with the president. Millennial self-identification as Democrats has edged down to 50% from a high of 58% in 2009. Pew also found Mr. Obama's job approval among millennials has fallen to 49% in early 2014, down from 70% in the honeymoon months of 2009, his highest rating among any generation.

Opinion of the president is probably the greatest problem for Democrats this year. At 44%, Mr. Obama's overall approval rating about matches President Bush's rating in early 2006 when Republicans lost Congress. And it is not too different from Mr. Obama's own approval in 2010—45%—when the GOP regained the House.

Mr. Obama's image as a leader is at a low point, thanks to discontent with the Affordable Care Act and a pessimistic view of economic conditions...

The Dems are going to get hammered. A bloodbath in November!

But hey, respondents "like" the president (who the hell knows why?). And how about that ObamaCare website?!! Winning!

'Officer Bledsoe, meet the Streisand Effect...'

At Instapundit, "KNOW YOUR PLACE, PEASANT! Man ordered to take down police officer’s name and picture from Internet."

Yep, the video's here.

New IPCC Report Warns of Floods --- And Earthquakes, Locusts, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, Volcanoes , AAAHHHHH!!!

We're doomed.

At the Sydney Daily Telegraph, "Floods, drought, heatwave ... climate change already happening says IPCC." And Business Week, "World Ill-Prepared for Global Warming Impacts, UN Panel Says (3)."

Also at the Guardian UK, "Climate change is a threat to food, security and humankind as a whole." And at Metro UK, "Thousands more ‘face floods risk in Britain’: Climate warning in new global report."

And Telegraph UK, "IPCC report: 'no one will be untouched by climate change'":

Flooding, storm surges, droughts and heatwaves are among key risks of global warming that will pose growing threats to humans.

More at Pirate's Cove, "Climahysteria: Alarmist Warns “Climate Change” Could Make Humans Extinct." And back at the Guardian, "James Lovelock: environmentalism has become a religion."

FLASHBACK: At the Wall Street Journal, "No Need to Panic About Global Warming."

Thank God, Baseball is Back

From Mike Barnacle, at the Daily Beast, "The Timeless Beauty of Baseball":

Put on a glove, watch a game, and the years fall away, time stands still, and the joy of baseball reminds you again of life’s eternal sweetness.

U.S., Russia Talks Fail to Ease Crisis

At WSJ, "Kerry's Talks With Russia's Lavrov Fail to Ease Ukraine Crisis: Kerry Pressed his Russian Counterpart to Pull Troops Back From the Ukrainian Border":

PARIS—Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart appeared to make no major advances Sunday in a four-hour meeting aimed at easing the standoff over Ukraine, raising the specter of a prolonged crisis that threatens to bring broader instability to Europe.

Mr. Kerry, in remarks after the negotiations, said he received no assurances from the Kremlin that it would pull back thousands of Russian troops amassed on Ukraine's eastern border.

The chief U.S. diplomat and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also didn't appear to reach any major common ground on discussions aimed at revamping Ukraine's political system. Mr. Kerry said his counterpart pledged Russia's desire to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine but offered no specifics.

"Any real progress in Ukraine must include a pullback of the very large Russian force that is currently amassing along Ukraine's border," Mr. Kerry said. "Tonight I raised with the foreign minister our strong concern about these forces."

Mr. Kerry said he would bring back to Washington proposals laid out by Mr. Lavrov on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After the talks, Mr. Lavrov told Russian television that although the U.S. and Russia disagreed on the causes of the Ukrainian crisis, they agreed to "seek common ground to resolve the situation in Ukraine."

The Russian diplomat said he and Mr. Kerry had discussed "constitutional reform, in favor of which we stand together with the Americans."

Sunday's meeting was viewed by the U.S. as a test of whether Russia's surprise overture on Friday, when Mr. Putin called President Barack Obama to discuss a diplomatic resolution, was a genuine effort to start talks or a delaying tactic before another assault on Ukraine's borders. The outcome appeared to leave Russian intentions no less clear...

More.

The Geopolitical Consequences of the Shale Revolution

From Robert Blackwill and Meghan O'Sullivan, at Foreign Affairs, "America's Energy Edge":

Only five years ago, the world’s supply of oil appeared to be peaking, and as conventional gas production declined in the United States, it seemed that the country would become dependent on costly natural gas imports. But in the years since, those predictions have proved spectacularly wrong. Global energy production has begun to shift away from traditional suppliers in Eurasia and the Middle East, as producers tap unconventional gas and oil resources around the world, from the waters of Australia, Brazil, Africa, and the Mediterranean to the oil sands of Alberta. The greatest revolution, however, has taken place in the United States, where producers have taken advantage of two newly viable technologies to unlock resources once deemed commercially infeasible: horizontal drilling, which allows wells to penetrate bands of shale deep underground, and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which uses the injection of high-pressure fluid to release gas and oil from rock formations.

The resulting uptick in energy production has been dramatic. Between 2007 and 2012, U.S. shale gas production rose by over 50 percent each year, and its share of total U.S. gas production jumped from five percent to 39 percent. Terminals once intended to bring foreign liquefied natural gas (LNG) to U.S. consumers are being reconfigured to export U.S. LNG abroad. Between 2007 and 2012, fracking also generated an 18-fold increase in U.S. production of what is known as light tight oil, high-quality petroleum found in shale or sandstone that can be released by fracking. This boom has succeeded in reversing the long decline in U.S. crude oil production, which grew by 50 percent between 2008 and 2013. Thanks to these developments, the United States is now poised to become an energy superpower. Last year, it surpassed Russia as the world’s leading energy producer, and by next year, according to projections by the International Energy Agency, it will overtake Saudi Arabia as the top producer of crude oil.

Much has been written lately about the discovery of new oil and gas deposits around the world, but other countries will not find it easy to replicate the United States’ success. The fracking revolution required more than just favorable geology; it also took financiers with a tolerance for risk, a property-rights regime that let landowners claim underground resources, a network of service providers and delivery infrastructure, and an industry structure characterized by thousands of entrepreneurs rather than a single national oil company. Although many countries possess the right rock, none, with the exception of Canada, boasts an industrial environment as favorable as that of the United States.

The American energy revolution does not just have commercial implications; it also has wide-reaching geopolitical consequences. Global energy trade maps are already being redrawn as U.S. imports continue to decline and exporters find new markets. Most West African oil, for example, now flows to Asia rather than to the United States. And as U.S. production continues to increase, it will put downward pressure on global oil and gas prices, thereby diminishing the geopolitical leverage that some energy suppliers have wielded for decades. Most energy-producing states that lack diversified economies, such as Russia and the Gulf monarchies, will lose out, whereas energy consumers, such as China, India, and other Asian states, stand to gain.

The biggest benefits, however, will accrue to the United States. Ever since 1971, when U.S. oil production peaked, energy has been construed as a strategic liability for the country, with its ever-growing thirst for reasonably priced fossil fuels sometimes necessitating incongruous alliances and complex obligations abroad. But that logic has been upended, and the newly unlocked energy is set to boost the U.S. economy and grant Washington newfound leverage around the world.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT

Although it is always difficult to predict the future of global energy markets, the main effect the North American energy revolution will have is already becoming clear: the global supply of energy will continue to increase and diversify. Gas markets have been the first to feel the impact. In the past, the price of gas has varied greatly across the three largely distinct markets of North America, Europe, and Asia. In 2012, for example, U.S. gas prices stood at $3 per million BTU, whereas Germans paid $11 and Japanese paid $17.

But as the United States prepares to generate and export greater quantities of LNG, those markets will become increasingly integrated. Already, investors have sought government approval for more than 20 LNG export projects in the United States. However many end up being built, the exports flowing from them will add to major increases in the flow of LNG that are already occurring elsewhere. Australia is soon set to surpass Qatar as the largest global supplier of LNG; by 2020, the United States and Canada together could export close to Qatar’s current LNG capacity. Although the integration of North American, European, and Asian gas markets will require years of infrastructure investment and the result, even then, will not be as unified as the global oil market, the increased liquidity should help put downward pressure on gas prices in Europe and Asia in the decade ahead.

The most dramatic possible geopolitical consequence of the North American energy boom is that the increase in U.S. and Canadian oil production could disrupt the global price of oil -- which could fall by 20 percent or more...

Not the kind of baloney you hear from the sky-is-falling leftists, the dummkopfs.

But keep reading.

Angelina Jolie Moved to Tears on Bosnian Visit

At the Independent UK, "Angelina Jolie moved to tears during Bosnia visit to campaign against war rape":

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie was reduced to tears on Friday as she paid tribute to the thousands of women raped during the Bosnian War.

The Hollywood star was accompanied by British Foreign Secretary William Hague on a visit to the country to promote a campaign to end sexual violence against women in war.

"There can be no peace while women in conflict or post-conflict zones are raped with impunity," Jolie said in Sarajevo.

The pair, who will co-host a global conference in London in June on preventing rape being used a tactic in war, hailed Bosnia’s decision to include prevention of sexual violence in military training...

More.

Molly Ball: Democrats Like 'Chickens With Their Heads Cut Off...'

Heh.

Too bad it's just a metaphor.

Republicans to Scale Back Hours and Days for Voting in Key Battleground States

Oh boy, the race-baiting progs are going to be all batshit over these developments.

At NYT, "New G.O.P. Bid to Limit Voting in Swing States":

CINCINNATI — Pivotal swing states under Republican control are embracing significant new electoral restrictions on registering and voting that go beyond the voter identification requirements that have caused fierce partisan brawls.

The bills, laws and administrative rules — some of them tried before — shake up fundamental components of state election systems, including the days and times polls are open and the locations where people vote.

Republicans in Ohio and Wisconsin this winter pushed through measures limiting the time polls are open, in particular cutting into weekend voting favored by low-income voters and blacks, who sometimes caravan from churches to polls on the Sunday before election.

Democrats in North Carolina are scrambling to fight back against the nation’s most restrictive voting laws, passed by Republicans there last year. The measures, taken together, sharply reduce the number of early voting days and establish rules that make it more difficult for people to register to vote, cast provisional ballots or, in a few cases, vote absentee.

In all, nine states have passed measures making it harder to vote since the beginning of 2013. Most have to do with voter ID laws. Other states are considering mandating proof of citizenship, like a birth certificate or a passport, after a federal court judge recently upheld such laws passed in Arizona and Kansas. Because many poor people do not have either and because documents can take time and money to obtain, Democrats say the ruling makes it far more difficult for people to register.

Voting experts say the impact of the measures on voter turnout remains unclear. Many of the measures have yet to take effect, and a few will not start until 2016. But at a time when Democrats are on the defensive over the Affordable Care Act and are being significantly outspent by conservative donors like the Koch brothers, the changes pose another potential hurdle for Democratic candidates this year...

There's a Memeorandum thread on this, with some left-wing idiots calling these reforms "voter suppression" efforts. But California, a blue state with a liberal Democrat majority across the board, has never had Sunday voting or early voting days. And if one looked around the rest of the states, no doubt places like Ohio and Wisconsin are in fact returning their state voting-practices to the norm of Tuesday (election day) voting --- which is by no means an effort to suppress the vote. And of course the idea that it's a burden on the voter to show proof of identification is one of the biggest scams of the current era. The requirement for ID prevails in all other aspect of life, like buying alcohol or cigarettes, or making a purchase on a credit card. Leftists simply want the ineligible to cast a ballot and they'll call you "racist" if you're not down for that lawbreaking.

Moral reprobates and f-king morons, all of them.

The Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka Epitomizes the Japanese Approach to Baseball

A big front-page report at today's New York Times, "A Passion to Pitch":

ITAMI, Japan — Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees’ $155 million import, grew up in a nation where joining a baseball team was like entering a religious order. The field was hallowed ground, the equipment sacred gear. Coaches were obeyed with bowed heads.

A baseball-centered life required absolute devotion to the team. Practice made perfect, so the young athletes trained year round with seldom a day off, their after-school drills commonly lasting seven hours. Pitchers sometimes threw 300 times in a single day; hitters took 1,000 swings. And then the team finished its work by picking up stray baseballs and raking the dirt to cleanse it of cleat marks.

Tanaka’s success or failure will be among the biggest story lines of the baseball season that begins in earnest Sunday night, but the fuller narrative is about the step-by-step making of a 25-year-old pitcher and the impassioned approach of the Japanese toward America’s national pastime.

Tanaka comes from Itami, near Osaka, in western Japan. But he chose to play baseball at a high school in the nation’s far north, 900 miles away. The field froze during the winter months, and suffering the numbing cold was among the ordeals meant to build an athlete’s stalwart character. The boys stamped on the persisting snow, attempting to level the slippery surface for a truer roll of ground balls.

A tall teenager, growing his way toward a husky 6 feet 2 inches, Tanaka had close-cropped hair and a wide, expressive smile. He attended special classes for athletes and lived in a dormitory with 40 teammates. Gatekeepers enforced a curfew and strict rules: no smoking, no drinking, no mah-jongg. Baseball provided its own family. Tanaka rarely went home.

“I lived so far away,” he said with a shrug in a recent dugout interview.

He seemed to his friends like two people in one: shy and good-natured off the field, yet so fierce and determined while on it that he could appear possessed. He roared as he threw a pitch. He pumped his fist after striking someone out. He scolded teammates for sloppy play.

Every young ballplayer shared a dream, to compete in the national high school tournament, known to most as the Koshien, an event in Japan as compelling as March Madness, as consequential as the World Series. Each August, 49 regional champions vie in the single-elimination tourney. Each game is nationally televised. The best players are plucked from obscurity and elevated to celebrity, as famous as any movie star.

The Koshien dates to 1915, and the 2006 tournament stands out as a classic. Two exhausted pitchers — Tanaka and another phenom, Yuki Saito — carried their teams to the final in an epic display of grit...

Keep reading.

Jerry Brown for President?

Better than Oprah Winfrey, I guess.

Well, he's a little old actually (at 75), but Jack Ohman makes the case, at the Sacramento Bee, "Jerry Brown is running for president?"

Mentioned there is MoDo's interview with the governor, which is interesting, "Palmy Days for Jerry."

And from last summer at the New York Times, "Brown Cheered in Second Act, at Least So Far."

Again, he's too old. But I'll give him credit for his recent comments on fracking and marijuana. That said, as long as far-left Kamala Harris is in office, California's screwed on civil rights and social issues.

FLASHBACK: "Back to the Future with Jerry Brown at the Helm in California."

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Barry's Bracket," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

CARTOON CREDIT: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Theory of Irrelevancy."

Long Overdue #Rule5 Sunday

I think it's been a month at least since I've done this, so stand clear!

Starting things off from last week's roundup from Wombat-socho at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Monday."

More from Dana Pico, "Rule 5 Blogging: United States Marine Corps."

And now over to Blackmailers Don't Shoot, "Rule 5 Linkfest: Touch Me I’m Sick." (E.C. Hackett's got a bad cold. Get better dude --- and keep the Rule 5 flowing!)

Also at Goodstuff's, "Here lies a monumental photo dump of Sophia Loren and metablog of all the neat and groovy stuff found this last week."

Now at Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is a horrid evil dog causing a terrible flood world, you might just be a Warmist."

And at Odie's, "The Bikini ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

At Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart (On Friday)...Natalia Paris."

From Bob Belvedere, "Rule 5 Saturday - Tibby Muldoon Breastacular!"

At Knuckledraggin', "‘Random’ pat down coming up."

Still more from Daley Gator, "YOUR WEEKEND LINK-A-ROUND," and "DALEYGATOR DALEYBABE BUSY PHILLIPS."

At Proof Positive, "Best of the Web* Linkaround," and "Friday Night Babe: Katee Sackhoff!"

Now check Soylent, "Still No Football, But..."

Also at Wine, Women, and Politics, "Open Them Up!"

Heh, at Evil Blogger Lady, "Proof demanded Spring Break Rule 5 and edutcher demanded wet tee shirts…"

Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

And from A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, "The Friday Pin Up."

More at Diogenes' Middle Finger, "North Korean Leader Has Perfect NCAA Bracket."

And from 90 Miles from Tyranny, "Hot Pick of the Late Night," and "Morning Mistress."

Subject to Change has "Hump Day."

At Egotastic!, "Nicole Aniston Shows Off Her Bikini Body In Malibu."

Hey Man Hustle, "Claudia Galanti Bikini Beach Vacation Makes Her an Instant A-Lister in Miami" (via Linkiest).

BONUS: At Blazing Cat Fur, "Parrot put on Prozac after being left in garage for three years for repeating name of owner's dead wife."

Washington Post Pushes Jeb Bush for President

If establishment Republicans are that hard up for a nominee, we're obviously screwed.

From Jazz Shaw, at Hot Air, "The inevitable “draft Jeb” campaign shifts into high gear."

And don't miss Robert Stacy McCain, "Stopping the Bush Bandwagon":

Everyone in the GOP except actual GOP voters love Jeb Bush! "Top Republicans working to draft Jeb: http://t.co/FTC1AzCtq9 #Caring #Loser

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) March 30, 2014

@rsmccain @instapundit Jeb was an excellent governor and is an admirable man, but I don't hear a nation crying out as one for another Bush.

— Kevin D. Williamson (@KevinNR) March 30, 2014

Even before the 2008 campaign had ended, it became apparent to me — from the rumblings about certain aides to the McCain/Palin campaign, especially Nicolle Wallace — that Sarah Palin was being sabotaged by Bushies, so that one could perceive at that early date the stealthy moves toward a dynastic restoration via former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. As I said at the time, however, the lesson was obvious enough: “Lie down with Bushes, wake up with Democrats.” That is to say, electing a Bush to the White House is always the foreshadowing of a future Democrat victory, and therefore the urgent task of conservatives since 2008 has been to rid the GOP of its doomstruck taint of Bushism. Thus to explain my horrified reaction at this Washington Post story:

Concerned that the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal has damaged New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s political standing and alarmed by the steady rise of Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), prominent donors, conservative leaders and longtime operatives say they consider Bush the GOP’s brightest hope to win back the White House. . . .

(The reported “alarm” toward Rand Paul is ill-founded. If Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker can get re-elected in November, he will immediately emerge as the likely 2016 GOP nominee, based on his success in fighting Big Labor in an industrial Midwestern state.)

One bundler estimated that the “vast majority” of Romney’s top 100 donors would back Bush in a competitive nomination fight. “He’s the most desired candidate out there,” said another bundler, Brian Ballard, who sat on the national finance committees for Romney in 2012 and John McCain in 2008. “Everybody that I know is excited about it.” . . .

(Obviously, the idiotic big-money GOP Establishment would be “excited” to repeat the doomed campaigns of 2008 and 2012.) ...

Keep reading.

Raising Sled Dogs in Manhattan

I wish I had a sled dog, heh.

At NYT, "Planes, Dog Sleds and Automobiles":

Samantha Brooke Berkule and Scott Stuart Johnson were married Saturday evening in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. Cantor Jill E. Abramson officiated at the Acqualina Resort and Spa on the Beach.

The bride, 35, is an assistant professor of psychology at Marymount Manhattan College and a research assistant professor of pediatrics at New York University. She graduated from Cornell and received a master’s in psychology and a doctorate in developmental psychology from Yeshiva University. Her previous marriage ended in divorce. She is the daughter of Andrea S. Berkule of Yonkers and the late Lloyd I. Berkule.

The groom, 41, owns SJ Partners, a New York investment firm, and is an adjunct professor teaching entrepreneurial finance at Columbia Business School. He graduated from Columbia, from which he also received a Master of International Affairs and an M.B.A. He is the son of Cindy S. Johnson and Tod S. Johnson of Scarsdale, N.Y.

Dr. Berkule and Mr. Johnson became acquainted in 2012 after she reached out to him through Match.com...

Interesting. The world of dating is enormously different from when I was on the market, lol.

More, including video, here.

Students Riot in Arizona Wildcats Loss to Wisconsin Badgers

At Fansided, "Arizona fans riot, get pelted with tear gas after loss to Wisconsin Badgers (Video)," and Deadspin, "Arizona Loses to Wisconsin; Students And Riot Police Face Off."

And especially at the Daily Wildcat, "Fans riot on University Boulevard after Elite Eight loss." Added: From the comments, heh:

Many students are taught to believe in progressive academia that they are entitled to free education, free health care, free birth control, free Ipads, and free everything in this increasingly socialist nation, so maybe these sore losers thought they were entitled to a guaranteed trip to the Final Four as well?

Cops went a little overboard, it looks like.



Here's the game report at the New York Times, "Final Shift in Momentum Puts Wisconsin in Final Four."

Time-Warner's 'Dodgers Network' Leaves Most L.A. Fans Out in the Cold

I'm still shaking my head over the decision by the Dodgers' owners to enter into a stupid television deal that's so far been universally panned as unnecessary and fan-unfriendly.

At LAT, "Dodgers channel still not available to much of Los Angeles":

Good news for Dodgers fans. This Sunday's regular-season game against the San Diego Padres is on ESPN, which means everyone with a pay-TV service will be able to see it.

The bad news for Dodgers fans is that Tuesday's game against the Padres is on SportsNet Los Angeles, the team's new channel that is being distributed by Time Warner Cable. Unless there is some last-minute deal-making, subscribers of DirecTV, Charter, Dish, FiOS, Cox and AT&T U-Verse will have to whip out their AM radios to keep up with the action.

Time Warner Cable, which shelled out billions to handle carriage of SportsNet LA, has been unsuccessful at closing deals with other area distributors. Such tense negotiations over sports channels has become commonplace. A few years ago Time Warner Cable didn't complete its distribution deals for SportsNet, the home of the Lakers, until after the regular season started.

DirecTV is the key for the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable. With more than 25% of the market, DirecTV is the second-largest distributor in the area after Time Warner Cable, which has over 30% reach here.

Not everyone can get Time Warner Cable but anyone can subscribe to DirecTV. That's why a deal with the satellite broadcaster would help Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers put pressure on other distributors to sign deals.

Conversely, if all the other distributors agreed to carry the channel, DirecTV would have to sign on or risk a mass desertion.
On Thursday, Dodgers President Stan Kasten said he was not pleased with the SportsNet LA situation.

"I am disappointed that deals haven't been closed yet," Kasten said. "And I have to tell you with the first regular-season game coming on Tuesday, I am now concerned that some fans at the start will not be able to see games. And that's disappointing and it shouldn't be happening."

Also, "For Dodger fans, new channel is a rude awakening," and "Most Dodger fans to be shut out from viewing games on opening day."

Added: WSJ has a big background report, "Pay TV Balks at Price of the Dodgers" (via Google).

The End of College Sports as We Know It?

At the Arizona Republic, "Brave, new, unionized college football world":

It’s almost as if colleges and universities were inviting the stunning ruling by the regional director for the National Labor Relations Board, who last week affirmed that football players at Northwestern University have the right to unionize.

Anticipate appeals and lawsuits galore. But as it stands now, Northwestern University football players can organize a union, collectively bargain with college officials for a portion of their program’s revenue, and go on strike if negotiations falter.

A strike. Or, for that matter, a “management” lockout. Ponder, all you Northwestern Wildcats fans, the resulting spectacle: replacement players wearing the purple and white going up against those Wolverines in the Big House. How much might you pay to not see that happen?

The very thought of it violates classic notions of students exchanging their expertise on the field for a valuable education. Exchanging athleticism for four unforgettable years of college life.

To that, labor negotiators and union organizers would observe that universities abandoned those ancient, leafy notions of “student athletes” when they began signing billion-dollar TV deals and started frantically reorganizing into ever-expanding super conferences. All in pursuit of more revenue.

It can scarcely come as a shock to university officials that their athletes might at last find support for getting a piece of that pie.

This NLRB decision is a stunner, all right. It well may mark the end of college athletics as we know them.

Or, it might simply mean that wealthy organizations end up paying their employees fairly. Sometimes, after all, that is what forming into unions can do.

RTWT.